Talk About Tennis 2.0

nelslus wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 12:36 am Oh, heck, obviously V has earned the right to do whatever the heck she wants to do. She's had a few good wins this year, and all that. Not at all sure how she will process this. NOT fun.

I agree she's earned the right to play as long as she wants to but she's only had 3 wins this year over Kudermetova, Giorgi, and Volynets, and she hasn't one consecutive matches since Cincinnati in 2019.

skatingfan wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 12:48 am

nelslus wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 12:36 am Oh, heck, obviously V has earned the right to do whatever the heck she wants to do. She's had a few good wins this year, and all that. Not at all sure how she will process this. NOT fun.

I agree she's earned the right to play as long as she wants to but she's only had 3 wins this year over Kudermetova, Giorgi, and Volynets, and she hasn't one consecutive matches since Cincinnati in 2019.

WELL, I mean....we don't have to watch her matches, either. (I sure am not).


LOL, in a masochistic way, a part of me had wished that she had signed up for the mixed. NOT that it would have been- ahem- likely that she'd win a match in that draw, either.

I would be asking for a refund on my Arthur Ashe tickets tonight

To be fair Koepfer did twist his ankle but otherwise, yeah, I agree. Not a good night for the corporate suits or the the fans who shelled out the big bucks.

Garcia..report says she was standing way inside to return..and not making them..sounds familiar, happens to all of us as we get older..eyesight and reflexes ...

Owendonovan wrote: ↑Tue Aug 29, 2023 8:10 pm FAA certainly isn't playing like a 15th ranked player (with this loss he's ranked 14th today somehow), he's 14-14 with no titles this year. How is he still floating around the top 20?

He is 51st in the ATP race this year.

Owendonovan wrote: ↑Tue Aug 29, 2023 8:10 pm FAA certainly isn't playing like a 15th ranked player (with this loss he's ranked 14th today somehow), he's 14-14 with no titles this year. How is he still floating around the top 20?

Once upon time FAA, Shapovalov, Musetti and Sinner were all grouped together as future stars. Right now it looks like only Jannik will make it.

saw a bit of Pegula-Giorgi on you tube.. Pegula's returns, depth of approach shots and volleys, all excellent, made the difference - completely nullified Giorgi's power..

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 2:44 am Garcia..report says she was standing way inside to return..and not making them..sounds familiar, happens to all of us as we get older..eyesight and reflexes ...

anyone who saw the match have a comment/diagnosis?

Suliso wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 6:55 am

Owendonovan wrote: ↑Tue Aug 29, 2023 8:10 pm FAA certainly isn't playing like a 15th ranked player (with this loss he's ranked 14th today somehow), he's 14-14 with no titles this year. How is he still floating around the top 20?

Once upon time FAA, Shapovalov, Musetti and Sinner were all grouped together as future stars. Right now it looks like only Jannik will make it.

true, but even then it was obvious Sinner was streets ahead of them.. he has kept it up, the others have fallen off.. Alcaraz was not even in the picture then, if I remember right..

skatingfan wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 12:48 am

nelslus wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 12:36 am Oh, heck, obviously V has earned the right to do whatever the heck she wants to do. She's had a few good wins this year, and all that. Not at all sure how she will process this. NOT fun.

I agree she's earned the right to play as long as she wants to but she's only had 3 wins this year over Kudermetova, Giorgi, and Volynets, and she hasn't one consecutive matches since Cincinnati in 2019.

Serious question here.
We agree with have no say on when a player should retire, or what they do with their lives. But, do the other players have a say? Because Venus was there thanks to a WC, meaning that in some parallel universe, some other person received her $80K paycheck.
It was not that she lost; her quality of play was a ghost of what she was in years past. So, if you qualify (like Minnen), go for it. But if you are only there for what you were a long time ago, then maybe the other players might look at it in a different light.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 3:01 pm

skatingfan wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 12:48 am

nelslus wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 12:36 am Oh, heck, obviously V has earned the right to do whatever the heck she wants to do. She's had a few good wins this year, and all that. Not at all sure how she will process this. NOT fun.

I agree she's earned the right to play as long as she wants to but she's only had 3 wins this year over Kudermetova, Giorgi, and Volynets, and she hasn't one consecutive matches since Cincinnati in 2019.

Serious question here.
We agree with have no say on when a player should retire, or what they do with their lives. But, do the other players have a say? Because Venus was there thanks to a WC, meaning that in some parallel universe, some other person received her $80K paycheck.
It was not that she lost; her quality of play was a ghost of what she was in years past. So, if you qualify (like Minnen), go for it. But if you are only there for what you were a long time ago, then maybe the other players might look at it in a different light.

Other players have no say. If they did, they would have ganged up on the Big 3 to retire 5 years ago.

Wild cards are a business tool for tournaments, agencies, and federations to use to their advantage, and the market decides who gets them. They suck but many times the fans get what they want. If the other players want in, win like Venus did 20 years ago.

Theoretically, Nao Hibino would have gotten Venus's spot in a no-wild-card world. Hibino was the No. 1 seed in qualifying. She lost her first round. She had a chance. She also could have won a few more matches earlier in the year and made the MD cutoff.

I see your point and it's empathetic. But nah. Believe it or not, a lot of people like seeing Venus play (ideally better than she did Monday), and she generates press for the sport and tournament. She beat a Top 15 player a few weeks ago. I think she'll get WCs at the US Open and Wimbledon as long as she wants.

I did kind of wonder if Pat Rafter would be given a US Open wild card. He won it twice, too.

How about a WC into the qualies? A bit more fair?
And the players' associations could have a say: NO WC's for players ranked below a certain cutoff point. Because, as I said, then somebody gets taken out of $82K.

Most great players don't find it fun to play THIS far past their prime level. Clearly Venus is a rare exception.

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 11:36 am

Suliso wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2023 6:55 am

Owendonovan wrote: ↑Tue Aug 29, 2023 8:10 pm FAA certainly isn't playing like a 15th ranked player (with this loss he's ranked 14th today somehow), he's 14-14 with no titles this year. How is he still floating around the top 20?

Once upon time FAA, Shapovalov, Musetti and Sinner were all grouped together as future stars. Right now it looks like only Jannik will make it.

true, but even then it was obvious Sinner was streets ahead of them.. he has kept it up, the others have fallen off.. Alcaraz was not even in the picture then, if I remember right..

Obvious only in a hindsight. Albeit Sinner and Alcaraz were the leaders of the group via a statistical approach (age, ranking and junior accomplishments).