Talk About Tennis 2.0

ti-amie wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 6:07 pm I'm sorry but I still don't see it with Sinner.

Who's your #2 pick behind Alcaraz?

Suliso wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 6:14 pm

ti-amie wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 6:07 pm I'm sorry but I still don't see it with Sinner.

Who's your #2 pick behind Alcaraz?

Right now "other" and I'm not joking. If I could manage to stay awake during one of Sinner's matches maybe I would feel differently.

No surprise here

Liudmila Samsonova shares furious words against National Bank Open board

AUGUST 15, 2023 15:00
by LORENZO CIOTTI

Liudmila Samsonova severely attacked the organizers of the National Bank Open, WTA 1000 in Montreal, after the final lost against Jessica Pegula.The Russian player, due to the rain that hit Montreal in the previous days, had to play against Elena Rybakina a few hours before the final of the tournament.

Samsonova looked both physically and mentally exhausted and she picked up just one game in the final.

The Russian explained in the press-conference: "I tried to do everything possible with my physio to recover.

After an hour of treatments, I had to play again. It hurts to realize that the tournament organizers don't give a damn about us tennis players. If it's raining, you need to do everything possible to avoid two games being played on the same day.

First final in a WTA 1000? I still can't figure it out, because it's been a tough week for me. Many matches, many experiences, difficult conditions, but in the end I got an incredible result. I would have liked to have more time to recover, but it was not possible for the organizers.

I don't quite know what to say. I immediately found myself on the court."Liudmila then said about her opponent: "I know Jessica well and her way of playing. I know she's a complicated opponent. Before the match, I knew I wouldn't have so much energy.

I really tried my best, but it wasn't enough. Everyone knew the forecast and everyone knew about the rain. They should do a different schedule. This is my opinion."Pegula also knew the precarious conditions in which her rival took the court: "My opponent had to deal with a crazy schedule and played another game with just a few hours left to go.

It's not the ideal situation, but not much could be done.Unfortunately it's just a question of the weather and the programming didn't help, it didn't go in her favour. It's difficult when you're in this condition, she's a great player and I'm sure we'll find her again fighting in these tournaments."


https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/n ... pen-board/

Agree with her, in principle. But, what could the organizers have done, seeing that Cincy starts on the immediate next day? Plus, play that final on Monday and you can expect an empty stadium.
It was bad luck for everybody except Pegula.

ti-amie wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 6:07 pm I'm sorry but I still don't see it with Sinner.

The lack of a 'plan B' is concerning when you're trying to win a major.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 8:00 pm Agree with her, in principle. But, what could the organizers have done, seeing that Cincy starts on the immediate next day? Plus, play that final on Monday and you can expect an empty stadium.
It was bad luck for everybody except Pegula.

Tournaments have to keep the fans in mind too, if they want to keep having a tournament.

Honestly, that semi final match didn't look that grueling. Neither Rybakina nor Samsonova were playing at 100% of their capabilities to save energy for the final, which resulted in a weird scoreline. I'm assuming it's mostly just excuses and sour grapes for not winning.

JTContinental wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 10:01 pm Tournaments have to keep the fans in mind too, if they want to keep having a tournament.

Honestly, that semi final match didn't look that grueling. Neither Rybakina nor Samsonova were playing at 100% of their capabilities to save energy for the final, which resulted in a weird scoreline. I'm assuming it's mostly just excuses and sour grapes for not winning.

Maybe, but I'm also wondering her shoulder injury - it was heavily tapped in the semifinal.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 15, 2023 8:00 pm Agree with her, in principle. But, what could the organizers have done, seeing that Cincy starts on the immediate next day? Plus, play that final on Monday and you can expect an empty stadium.
It was bad luck for everybody except Pegula.

I think the only thing they could have done was push back the match a few hours, or move up the semi a few hours (it started at 1 - should have started it much earlier), but you have fans and TV to consider. I don't know what else they could have done. Maybe Monday final and then Samsonova would get a Tuesday-night start in Cincy, and if it's played with fewer fans, so be it. Should the event prioritize the players over the fans? Probably so. The competition has to be fair, first and foremost. But they could have given her a few more hours.

In theory, I don't think two B3 matches a day is necessarily brutal or unreasonable. Other players have won two matches a day. But it sucks when it's just one player in a final, and not the opponent.

There's just no great solution in these cases unless they had moved the semi to an indoor club with no fans and refunded those tickets. And it's an outdoor tournament. That might not even be legal by the WTA bylaws.

https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/vi ... cincinnati
Some good thoughts from Vika

Ben Rothenberg
@BenRothenberg@sportsbots.xyz
One of the few teams that stuck together through thick and thin in this generation…Cabal and Farah were a huge deal for Colombia, a country with a big, underserved tennis fandom.

A big, underserved tennis fandom.
Where?

At first I read that as undeserved and thought Wow, that's pretty rough.

It is not as if this country pauses when they played. They are very popular indeed, and the tennis playing population knows them. But that is as far as it goes. They can walk through any city mall without being recognized.

That could be said about virtually any doubles player anywhere. A top 10 singles player would be a more relevant measure.

See Mark's Petchey's comment - interesting theory on how to shorten matches and avoid late-night finishes.