Talk About Tennis 2.0

It may be Serena's last Wimby. I think that should be considered.

Serena would be the choice, I think - if she wants it. She may not want that spotlight, however, after not playing for so long.

Giving it to Raducanu would be a huge mistake in my view... With her poor record since the U.S. Open, in addition to the numerous in-match retirements and withdrawals, and now going into her home tournament, she's got more than enough pressure to perform already without needing the added pressure of the spotlight centre court initial match.

Please not Raducanu. "Highest-ranked Brit" isn't a good criteria. Either the current no. 1, last finalist, last champ, or a legend like Serena - one of those makes sense. I like Last Finalist - in the event the reigning champ cannot fulfill her duties, the runner-up assumes them.

It would be a lovely - and earned - gesture for the All England Club to give Serena the spot

All very well but I still remember the racism on display at Centre court..when Serena was supposed to play in front of the Queen (Serena had even practiced her curtsy!,) But they switched her out for Wozniacki instead...no wonder I dislike the Wimby administrators..

the Moz wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 2:08 pm It would be a lovely - and earned - gesture for the All England Club to give Serena the spot

Just occurred to me - she's a good friend of Meghan Markle. Wonder if that's a factor.

Medvedev would not have been a second-week lock.

Rublev is a non-factor on grass and Karatsev is not winning matches on any surface right now.

Osaka withdrew because of an Achilles injury. Maybe she would have played through it if points were allowed, but this was not an imagined injury.

Given the right draw, Kasatkina could have made a deep run, but no one would have missed her if she had been out with an injury.

Sabalenka would have been a prime candidate for a first-round flameout. It is conceivable she could have matched her run from last year, but her head is not in the right place.

As far as I can tell, the ONLY player at the moment who is skipping. Wimbledon because it offers no ranking points in Bouchard, who understandably wants to play in events to raise her nonexistent ranking and would have had little chance to win her 1st round.

jazzyg wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 5:33 pm Medvedev would not have been a second-week lock.

8-4 on grass this year. Would have been a huge upset if the World No. 1 would have lost before R4.

Won 5 games while losing to unknown Dutchman.

Won 5 games while losing to Bautista Agut today.

Struggled mightily to beat Simon in a match I watched, never looked comfortable in a few others despite winning them and plays too far behind the baseline to be effective against good players. The only guy ranked inside the top 20 he faced, Hurkacz, crushed him.

I do agree it would be considered a huge upset, but I would have expected it if he had tough matchup in one of the first three rounds. He is a one-surface threat at the moment.

Emma Raducanu on course to be fit for Wimbledon after side injury
British No. 1 Emma Raducanu looks set to play at Wimbledon as she recovers from a side strain suffered at the Nottingham Open; Raducanu, who made the fourth round at the All England Club a year ago, has only played seven games on grass this summer

Last Updated: 23/06/22 7:24pm

Emma Raducanu is making good progress in her recovery from injury and is expected to take her place in the Wimbledon draw on Friday.

The 19-year-old managed only seven games of her first grass-court tournament of the season in Nottingham a fortnight ago before pulling out after suffering a side strain.

Raducanu was not ready to return for this week's WTA tournament in Eastbourne but has been practising at the All England Club this week and the PA news agency understands she is on course to be fit for the Championships.

The British No. 1's team are not taking anything for granted, though, and will monitor her carefully over the next couple of days before a final decision is made.

Raducanu, who made headlines with her debut run to the fourth round at Wimbledon last summer before going on to win the US Open, is the 10th seed in the women's singles.

Meanwhile, in a break with tradition, Rafael Nadal, Matteo Berrettini and Novak Djokovic all practised on Centre Court on Thursday.

The two main show courts are normally off limits for players until the first match on the opening Monday but, after a number of incidents of players slipping in the early days, Wimbledon has decided to allow a limited amount of practice to bed the surface down.

Serena Williams and Adrian Mannarino were both forced to retire during their first-round matches last year after suffering injuries.

Djokovic will be bidding for a seventh title at Wimbledon, where he owns a 79-10 record.

Nadal is a two-time Wimbledon champion, in 2008 and 2010, and has won the first two Grand Slams of the season. He is bidding to become the first man to win all four majors in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.

Williams has seen her return to action unexpectedly cut short after doubles partner Ons Jabeur suffered an injury and had to withdraw from the Eastbourne.

https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/1 ... ide-injury

jazzyg wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 5:33 pm Medvedev would not have been a second-week lock.

Rublev is a non-factor on grass and Karatsev is not winning matches on any surface right now.

Osaka withdrew because of an Achilles injury. Maybe she would have played through it if points were allowed, but this was not an imagined injury.

Given the right draw, Kasatkina could have made a deep run, but no one would have missed her if she had been out with an injury.

Sabalenka would have been a prime candidate for a first-round flameout. It is conceivable she could have matched her run from last year, but her head is not in the right place.

As far as I can tell, the ONLY player at the moment who is skipping. Wimbledon because it offers no ranking points in Bouchard, who understandably wants to play in events to raise her nonexistent ranking and would have had little chance to win her 1st round.

You're reaching extremely far in your attempt to justify your position that this year's Wimbledon will be virtually the same as all previous Wimbledons.
That's your right, of course. I simply very much disagree with your perspective.

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:10 pm All very well but I still remember the racism on display at Centre court..when Serena was supposed to play in front of the Queen (Serena had even practiced her curtsy!,) But they switched her out for Wozniacki instead...no wonder I dislike the Wimby administrators..

Was there any actual evidence that this was the result of racism?
If so, what is that evidence?
If not, the ugly accusation is unwarranted.

The AELTC allowed for some players to practice on Centre Court. Perhaps the most fragile court in the world, and which will be basically a cow pasture by the end of week 1 (especially the baseline area).
I am not sure if this was smart. I hope they can make sure it will not be slightly chewed up before start of play on Monday.