Tennis Random, Random (On Court)

[ashkor87]

an interesting thing about doubles is that the court, surface dont seem to matter much - maybe because the ball is in the air mostly..? or because nobody can actually overpower two players? so the game is about positioning, angles, volleys, returns..?

[meganfernandez]

...
Does everyone know my Simon story, or should i tell it again? Pretty sure I helped him break into the top 15.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Please, do tell.

Forgot about this. In 2008, Simon was the #2 seed at the Indy tournament, ranked No. 25, but hardly anyone recognized him. He would practice right by the main concourse and no one would watch. I didn't really know who he was, either, despite his seeding.

I was a media volunteer so I'd sit or stand courtside for the matches sometimes. During Simon's semi vs. Querrey, the crowd was overwhelmingly for Querrey, of course. It was super hot and muggy (July) and Querrey was fading badly in the third set, wilting in the heat (Simon, of course, was fine). But he found himself close at 3-4, love-40 on Simon's serve. Every point of that game, the crowd cheered louder and louder, trying to drag Querrey over the finish line: break here and serve it out.

Simon stepped up to serve at love-40 and had to wait for the crowd to quiet down. I was standing courtside right at his baseline. While he waited, he happend to glance over toward me, and I felt so bad for this guy, seemingly all alone in a city he's probably never been to, no one recognizing him all week. I was wearing a media credential, so I wasn't supposed to cheer, but I couldn't help it. I gave him a fist pump and mouthed "come on!"

He turned around and served an ace. Served another ace. Got it to deuce. Tussled at deuce-ad, deuce-ad, and finally won the game, the match, and the title. A few days later in Canada, he beat Federer on a run to the semis, then won a title in the fall, and then beat Nadal in the Madrid semi (when it was a hard-court tournament) in a third-set breaker. This year was Simon's breakthrough.

Does any of that happen if I don't fist-pump at love-40 in Indy to give him some support amid a hostile crowd? Would he have had the confidence to beat Roger, then Rafa, both ranked No. 1 at the time of those matches?

I regretted it years later when he spoke out against equal prize money.

[ponchi101]

Can you sit by my court side for my next match?
Great story. And maybe, maybe, it was indeed a case of butterfly effect.

[ashkor87]

...
Does everyone know my Simon story, or should i tell it again? Pretty sure I helped him break into the top 15.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Please, do tell.

Forgot about this. In 2008, Simon was the #2 seed at the Indy tournament, ranked No. 25, but hardly anyone recognized him. He would practice right by the main concourse and no one would watch. I didn't really know who he was, either, despite his seeding.

I was a media volunteer so I'd sit or stand courtside for the matches sometimes. During Simon's semi vs. Querrey, the crowd was overwhelmingly for Querrey, of course. It was super hot and muggy (July) and Querrey was fading badly in the third set, wilting in the heat (Simon, of course, was fine). But he found himself close at 3-4, love-40 on Simon's serve. Every point of that game, the crowd cheered louder and louder, trying to drag Querrey over the finish line: break here and serve it out.

Simon stepped up to serve at love-40 and had to wait for the crowd to quiet down. I was standing courtside right at his baseline. While he waited, he happend to glance over toward me, and I felt so bad for this guy, seemingly all alone in a city he's probably never been to, no one recognizing him all week. I was wearing a media credential, so I wasn't supposed to cheer, but I couldn't help it. I gave him a fist pump and mouthed "come on!"

He turned around and served an ace. Served another ace. Got it to deuce. Tussled at deuce-ad, deuce-ad, and finally won the game, the match, and the title. A few days later in Canada, he beat Federer on a run to the semis, then won a title in the fall, and then beat Nadal in the Madrid semi (when it was a hard-court tournament) in a third-set breaker. This year was Simon's breakthrough.

Does any of that happen if I don't fist-pump at love-40 in Indy to give him some support amid a hostile crowd? Would he have had the confidence to beat Roger, then Rafa, both ranked No. 1 at the time of those matches?

I regretted it years later when he spoke out against equal prize money.

Lovely story!! Kindness to strangers!

[meganfernandez]

Can you sit by my court side for my next match?
Great story. And maybe, maybe, it was indeed a case of butterfly effect.

It doesn’t work for my own matches, so….


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JazzNU]

[JazzNU]

^^ Roger Federer/Tony Godsick Blueprint

[ponchi101]

She also says that the company may have one or two other players signed. I guess she is going the Boutique way.

[JTContinental]

I've always found Simon to be chauvinistic and gross, and I will not miss him.

[ti-amie]

[Owendonovan]

I've always found Simon to be chauvinistic and gross, and I will not miss him.

Agree.

[Deuce]

.

Megan - if Simon doesn't mention you in his post-career autobiography, sue him!

^ Stanislas comes across as pretty neutral - kind of a 'vanilla' player. The only thing that really stands out about him is his nice one-handed backhand.
But he does seem to have a good rapport with fans... I saw him once at a pretty big tournament hitting with fans. It was at the end of a practice session, and he invited a few random fans to come onto the court to hit with him using one of his racquets. The fans would hop over the short fence one by one and hit with Stan for about 3 minutes each.
There was no interaction other than the hitting - and the fans saying 'Thanks' - it was just a nice gesture on Stan's part. It's rare that you see pro players do this with fans.

This was about 3 or 4 years ago when Stan was still in the top 20. And it wasn't at 7pm or something when the other practice courts are empty, and all the fans are watching matches on the main courts - this was middle of the day with a bunch of fans around the practice courts.

[ashkor87]

There is a report in a British news agency that the ATP and WTA are considering withdrawing ranking points from Wimbledon..the decision is being left to the players' reps, led by Federer and Nadal in the ATP..
I would certainly support such a move. If a tournament, any tournament, bars players for no reason other than nationality, it should not be allowed to call itself an Open tournament. Indeed, I would go so far as to urge the tours to schedule other tournaments that week, make Wimbledon just an exho..what do folks here think?

[Liamvalid]

There is a report in a British news agency that the ATP and WTA are considering withdrawing ranking points from Wimbledon..the decision is being left to the players' reps, led by Federer and Nadal in the ATP..
I would certainly support such a move. If a tournament, any tournament, bars players for no reason other than nationality, it should not be allowed to call itself an Open tournament. Indeed, I would go so far as to urge the tours to schedule other tournaments that week, make Wimbledon just an exho..what do folks here think?

I’ll be amazed if anyone boycotts Wimbledon, ranking points or not. There’s too much money on the line (and history on the line for some of them). The other UK tournaments will suffer though. I still feel from what I’ve read that the ban has come from the Government rather than the tournament. Even though I’m against the ban myself, reading through online forums it does seem a lot of people agree with it and see it as another necessary sanction

[ponchi101]

There is a report in a British news agency that the ATP and WTA are considering withdrawing ranking points from Wimbledon..the decision is being left to the players' reps, led by Federer and Nadal in the ATP..
I would certainly support such a move. If a tournament, any tournament, bars players for no reason other than nationality, it should not be allowed to call itself an Open tournament. Indeed, I would go so far as to urge the tours to schedule other tournaments that week, make Wimbledon just an exho..what do folks here think?

The dates wouldn't match. We are too close to be able to schedule new tournaments.
Actually, you are right that if some players cannot participate in a tournament, it should not be allowed to call itself OPEN. But Wimbledon is not an OPEN; it is almost a club tournament which invites players. So that move, again, would not work on the AELTC. All the other tournaments, yes.
I would say that the players have to make a decision and take a stand BEFORE RG starts. Either accept this decision (which would be lousy) or make it clear what they will do.