ATP M1000 WTA 1000 BNP Paribas Open 3/8 - 3/19 2023

[nelslus]

That was a tough loss for Paul. Very much in his hands and then, nothing.
If he wants to enter the realm of top players, he cannot lose matches like this.

True, but he is not really that good anyway, not that complete a player, FAA is a 'higher class' player..if Paul weren't American...

Ah, another disagreement brews!
I actually like Paul's game a lot. The strokes are solid; you don't see any biomechanical flaws in there. He is solid at the net, the serve is good. What I am not sure is if he has a weapon to dominate. A "Rafa's FH" or "Novak's BH". I don't know if he is going to be like a Berdych or a Ferrer, good enough for a very good career. But he may be missing that final something.

.....WELL, finally- what we all have been waiting for, inevitably. A Ponchi/Ashkor war. SOMEONE, bring me my popcorn.

Actually, I've been talking about the slowing down of the court surfaces for ages. For example, I think Rafa would have struggled at Wimbledon back when the Wimbledon grass was lightning fast. However- IMO, it is very arguable that the courts getting slowed down has made for more entertaining tennis matches, with better rallies.

Of course, court speeds are a significant factor with the success of today's players. Interestingly enough- I truly have no idea the court surface speeds have changed over the years with Indian Wells and Miami. I just haven't paid attention to these tournaments as much, in many ways. Does anyone have any sense of any changes with Indian Wells and/or Miami.

[nelslus]

Tiafoe just took Norrie out in straights 4&4

I love when Francis plays this well. I'd love for him to win at least one Slam. If only he could find a consistently high level.

[nelslus]

BTW, truly- one has to see Sabalenka live to fully appreciate how freakin' hard she hits the ball. I actually especially loved watching some of her doubles live when she played with Mertens. Incredible groundstrokes. The sound of the thumps when she hits the ball.

[ponchi101]

...

.....WELL, finally- what we all have been waiting for, inevitably. A Ponchi/Ashkor war. SOMEONE, bring me my popcorn.

Actually, I've been talking about the slowing down of the court surfaces for ages. For example, I think Rafa would have struggled at Wimbledon back when the Wimbledon grass was lightning fast. However- IMO, it is very arguable that the courts getting slowed down has made for more entertaining tennis matches, with better rallies.

Of course, court speeds are a significant factor with the success of today's players. Interestingly enough- I truly have no idea the court surface speeds have changed over the years with Indian Wells and Miami. I just haven't paid attention to these tournaments as much, in many ways. Does anyone have any sense of any changes with Indian Wells and/or Miami.

Rafa and Novak would have never won Wimbledon on 1985's grass. Never.
Roger would have reached 10 titles.

[nelslus]

...

.....WELL, finally- what we all have been waiting for, inevitably. A Ponchi/Ashkor war. SOMEONE, bring me my popcorn.

Actually, I've been talking about the slowing down of the court surfaces for ages. For example, I think Rafa would have struggled at Wimbledon back when the Wimbledon grass was lightning fast. However- IMO, it is very arguable that the courts getting slowed down has made for more entertaining tennis matches, with better rallies.

Of course, court speeds are a significant factor with the success of today's players. Interestingly enough- I truly have no idea the court surface speeds have changed over the years with Indian Wells and Miami. I just haven't paid attention to these tournaments as much, in many ways. Does anyone have any sense of any changes with Indian Wells and/or Miami.

Rafa and Novak would have never won Wimbledon on 1985's grass. Never.
Roger would have reached 10 titles.

AND the Aussie was still on grass in 1985.

I think Novak would have won some Wimbledon titles regardless. Rafa would, for sure, have struggled. I do agree that Roger could have gotten double digit Wimbledon titles. In any era, Rafa was gonna win 20 Roland Garros titles. But, hey- all three got ridiculous careers out of today's court speeds.

[nelslus]

BTW, yet another default. Bencic & Teichmann have apparently dropped out of the doubles. No specific snark meant against either player- could be injuries, illnesses, etc. But, this is, indeed, a significant issue.

[JazzNU]

Honest question... Why would a young tennis player choose to have a really high ball toss on their serve? With so much of the season played outdoors, I am a bit mystified why someone would choose such a toss. If conditions aren't perfect, things can go horribly wrong very quickly.

(This is not intended to advocate for the other end of the spectrum--like a shoulder-high Conchita Martinez serve.)

As a guess, that they were having trouble timing the hit right when the ball toss was lower. Like maybe they were chasing it too much or maybe most of the serves with the lower toss were going into the net or something like that because their contact point was lower than it should be. They also might have been bad at timing the lower throw well or just not great at throwing in general with their non dominant hand. But yes, the higher ball tosses can go awry.

[ponchi101]

We are also seeing the European school. Steffi had a super high toss. Lendl too. Sukova's was high.
It does give you a bit more time for that racquet to get there. And since nobody is even pretending to serve and volley, no big deal.

[JazzNU]

'I know what is hard court,” he told Lichtenstein, “I’m a specialist at hard court. This is not hard court.” Medvedev complaining about the slow court! Told the umpire he would take his time walking slow to the bathroom because it is a sloooow court !

This is for those on this forum who don't believe IW is the slowest court on the planet! Actually, I think Miami may be even slower..we shall see!

What are you basing this on?

[nelslus]

.....As for the Sabalenka/Gauff match....SHEEEESH!!!!

[mick1303]

...

.....WELL, finally- what we all have been waiting for, inevitably. A Ponchi/Ashkor war. SOMEONE, bring me my popcorn.

Actually, I've been talking about the slowing down of the court surfaces for ages. For example, I think Rafa would have struggled at Wimbledon back when the Wimbledon grass was lightning fast. However- IMO, it is very arguable that the courts getting slowed down has made for more entertaining tennis matches, with better rallies.

Of course, court speeds are a significant factor with the success of today's players. Interestingly enough- I truly have no idea the court surface speeds have changed over the years with Indian Wells and Miami. I just haven't paid attention to these tournaments as much, in many ways. Does anyone have any sense of any changes with Indian Wells and/or Miami.

Rafa and Novak would have never won Wimbledon on 1985's grass. Never.
Roger would have reached 10 titles.

AND the Aussie was still on grass in 1985.

I think Novak would have won some Wimbledon titles regardless. Rafa would, for sure, have struggled. I do agree that Roger could have gotten double digit Wimbledon titles. In any era, Rafa was gonna win 20 Roland Garros titles. But, hey- all three got ridiculous careers out of today's court speeds.

Disagree about "any era". Without synthetic strings and without over-sized racketheads Rafa's game would suffer the most. I actually think that Borg would win against Nadal more often than lose if they were meeting back then.

[ponchi101]

If Rafa had ever tried to hit that FH with a wood racquet, his elbow would have been shattered.

[ti-amie]

.....As for the Sabalenka/Gauff match....SHEEEESH!!!!

You're too kind.

[nelslus]

.....As for the Sabalenka/Gauff match....SHEEEESH!!!!

You're too kind.

....First time I've ever gotten this compliment.

[nelslus]

Rafa and Novak would have never won Wimbledon on 1985's grass. Never.
Roger would have reached 10 titles.

AND the Aussie was still on grass in 1985.

I think Novak would have won some Wimbledon titles regardless. Rafa would, for sure, have struggled. I do agree that Roger could have gotten double digit Wimbledon titles. In any era, Rafa was gonna win 20 Roland Garros titles. But, hey- all three got ridiculous careers out of today's court speeds.

Disagree about "any era". Without synthetic strings and without over-sized racketheads Rafa's game would suffer the most. I actually think that Borg would win against Nadal more often than lose if they were meeting back then.

Borg's one of my all-time favorites. So, I'm all for you being right about this. (IF, sadly, I'd also disagree in this case. But, again, I'd rather agree with you.)