Great Tennis Journalism 2.0

[Suliso]

Do we know what he predicted for this week?

[meganfernandez]

Do we know what he predicted for this week?

Semis: Alcaraz over Tsitsipas, Medvedev over Rublev
Final: Alcaraz over Medvedev

So he was way off, and he's doubling down on Meddy and Rublev. Predictions in B3 matches are always wild guesses, especially when most top players are changing surfaces. Medvedev talked about the uncertainties of his form in Toronto, being the first hard-court tournament in awhile. Of course, someone's going to do well in Toronto and plenty of top players have come in with guns blazing without any HC prep since Miami, but it's still a variable.

He was off in the women's draw, too - Swiatek over Gauff, Rybakina over Sabalenka, and Swiatek over Rybakina. But again, a lot of predictions are a fool's errand.

[ponchi101]

Just look at our own predictions this week. We were way off.

[meganfernandez]

Just look at our own predictions this week. We were way off.

fool's errand. I said it once and I'll say it again.

[meganfernandez]

Here's Caitlin Thompson's piece on American tennis for Vanity Fair. Uninspired hyperbole. Written from afar. Mainly about the photos and bare chests. Missed opportunity here. And an easy $5k paycheck.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0 ... een-hotter

[ponchi101]

NEVER BEEN HOTTER?
How can you say that? The USA has no current Slam holders, and we know the drought on the ATP side is nowhere neat to ending.

[meganfernandez]

NEVER BEEN HOTTER?
How can you say that? The USA has no current Slam holders, and we know the drought on the ATP side is nowhere neat to ending.

Exactly. I guess they mean physically hotter, as in sexier? That might be correct, I guess.

Gauff is the big hope, and maybe Pegula in the short term. I don't expect her to maintain this level for years. I don't see one of the guys breaking through with a Slam title soon. Maybe Fritz or Paul with a final, but hard to see them beating Alcaraz or Djokovic in B5.

[ti-amie]

Here's Caitlin Thompson's piece on American tennis for Vanity Fair. Uninspired hyperbole. Written from afar. Mainly about the photos and bare chests. Missed opportunity here. And an easy $5k paycheck.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0 ... een-hotter

I posted the photos but not the article. It's interesting that neither Gauff nor Fritz are featured.

[meganfernandez]

Here's Caitlin Thompson's piece on American tennis for Vanity Fair. Uninspired hyperbole. Written from afar. Mainly about the photos and bare chests. Missed opportunity here. And an easy $5k paycheck.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0 ... een-hotter

I posted the photos but not the article. It's interesting that neither Gauff nor Fritz are featured.

Guessing they didn't want to do the photo shoots or couldn't make it work with their schedules. Only explanation. Zero reason they wouldn't have been in editorially.

I asked Caitlin on Twitter whether she really thinks this generation will come close to the accomplishments of previous ones, and she said her point is she doesn't care, and neither do they. I can see fans not holding it against them, but the players should be a lot more ambitious than that. I'm disappointed to hear that's true. You won't get anywhere with that thinking, and I'm not even sure it's true. They just needed a premise other than "we wanted to show a bunch of hot 20-somethings."

[ptmcmahon]

NEVER BEEN HOTTER?
How can you say that? The USA has no current Slam holders, and we know the drought on the ATP side is nowhere neat to ending.

Exactly. I guess they mean physically hotter, as in sexier? That might be correct, I guess.

Yeah Ponchi - get your mind IN the gutter

[mmmm8]

Here's Caitlin Thompson's piece on American tennis for Vanity Fair. Uninspired hyperbole. Written from afar. Mainly about the photos and bare chests. Missed opportunity here. And an easy $5k paycheck.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0 ... een-hotter

Caitlin Thompson is the editor/founder of Racquet Magazine and co-hosts a monthly podcast with Rennae Stubbs. I think this is an intentional fluff/puff piece rather than someone that doesn't know tennis.

[nelslus]

Here's Caitlin Thompson's piece on American tennis for Vanity Fair. Uninspired hyperbole. Written from afar. Mainly about the photos and bare chests. Missed opportunity here. And an easy $5k paycheck.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0 ... een-hotter

I posted the photos but not the article. It's interesting that neither Gauff nor Fritz are featured.

Gotta think that this was by their choices.

I mean, a lot of players are missing here. No Carlos. No Novak in a Prada faux-fox-fur jockstrap, either.

[meganfernandez]

Here's Caitlin Thompson's piece on American tennis for Vanity Fair. Uninspired hyperbole. Written from afar. Mainly about the photos and bare chests. Missed opportunity here. And an easy $5k paycheck.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0 ... een-hotter

Caitlin Thompson is the editor/founder of Racquet Magazine and co-hosts a monthly podcast with Rennae Stubbs. I think this is an intentional fluff/puff piece rather than someone that doesn't know tennis.

I asked her about it on Twitter. She said her point is that this generation is known for its swagger and isn't living in the shadow of previous American greats - they don't care and neither does she, as a fan. I do think she was trying to do better than a puff piece. She wouldn't put her name on something she didn't think was decent. She just had to find SOME throughline/angle other than "meet the new generation of American tennis players." She had to try to find some DNA to this generation. I don't get it and I don't think the little bio for each player let her accomplish much. All the heavy lifting was in the intro. And it still had to be for a non-tennis audience. This is an attitude piece. The photos are the main course anyway.

[meganfernandez]

Here's Caitlin Thompson's piece on American tennis for Vanity Fair. Uninspired hyperbole. Written from afar. Mainly about the photos and bare chests. Missed opportunity here. And an easy $5k paycheck.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0 ... een-hotter

I posted the photos but not the article. It's interesting that neither Gauff nor Fritz are featured.

Gotta think that this was by their choices.

I mean, a lot of players are missing here. No Carlos. No Novak in a Prada faux-fox-fur jockstrap, either.

The story is only Americans.

[ponchi101]

...

I asked her about it on Twitter. She said her point is that this generation is known for its swagger and isn't living in the shadow of previous American greats - they don't care and neither does she, as a fan. I do think she was trying to do better than a puff piece. She wouldn't put her name on something she didn't think was decent. She just had to find SOME throughline/angle other than "meet the new generation of American tennis players." She had to try to find some DNA to this generation. I don't get it and I don't think the little bio for each player let her accomplish much. All the heavy lifting was in the intro. And it still had to be for a non-tennis audience. This is an attitude piece around a fashion story.

And a good clip/paycheck.

Great. This generation may think they are not living in the shadows of the previous great Americans.
But it is the same as with the Aussies. You are an Aussie? The names Laver, Rosewall, Newcombe, Goolagong, the unmentionable one and many others are there to remind you of a great tradition. And so it is with Americans.
Which makes the saying "American tennis has never been hotter" factually wrong.