Tennis Random, Random (On Court)

[the Moz]

Wikipedia has solid merits, WTA website has solid issues.

[Deuce]

Leylah's greatest asset is her focus, determination, and drive. I've been watching pro tennis for over 40 years, and I honestly have never seen that level of those three elements in any other player - with the exception of Nadal.
I'm not saying that Leylah has Nadal's level of physical talent - no-one really does. But her level of focus, drive and determination definitely equals that of Nadal when Nadal was that age (and maybe older).
It is extremely uncommon.
Honestly, if she possessed but a common level of focus, drive, and determination, she'd be ranked around 150 or a bit lower instead of the 68 she is currently.

She has risen in the rankings considerably faster than even I thought she would. It's difficult to say how 'legitimate' that rise was because the ranking system was, and continues to be, rather messed up due to the pandemic.

I also like Leylah's game - she's not afraid out there - she plays aggressively. The first time I saw her play live was at a WTA tournament (qualifying), and I remember thinking - and saying out loud "The kid's got guts." She was 15 years old at the time. And she mixes things up, using a variety of shots - angles, drop shots, etc. She wants to be unpredictable on the court, and usually succeeds - though there are times when she falls into one rather predictable pattern or another.

Other short, successful players include Justine Henin and Amanda Coetzer. If Leylah can have a career like Coetzer, I'd be quite happy. She wouldn't be, though - she always strives to reach the top. As she should.
That's why I'll never say "No, she won't be able to do that" about her.

[Fastbackss]

Ok. Time for another AITA.
Roger retires from RG citing the need to listen to his body. But then he loses his first match at Halle and, with only one more week before Wimby, he does not even do the Novak and takes a WC in doubles at Mallorca? Again, AITA, but he needs court time now. His problem against FAA was that he could not even touch his serve, and you can't practice that on a practice court: you need to go out there and face real people trying to ace you for real.
For all the talk during all his career about all his great strokes, his return of serve was never mentioned when it was a superb shot. He used to tee off Roddick's FIRST SERVE and put people on the defensive immediately when he was returning. No way he can emulate that just practicing.

There is a lot of merit in what you are suggesting regarding match play.

With that preface - sometimes you have to defer to someone with that much experience if they feel it is the proper process.

[ponchi101]

Sure. Roger once asked me where my 20 slam trophies were and I had to tell him I lost them when the house burnt down, but...
If he wants to practice return of serve, he has a pretty good coach for that. Ljubicic had a monster serve so standing one foot inside the baseline when he serves will give Roger the equivalent of Isner's serve to deal with.
It is just that I am a great believer that there are some things in tennis that you simply can't emulate in the gym, and some things, when you play matches, that you can't emulate in practice. For example, playing tie-breaks in practice, and forcing you to believe that they are real, is not the same as getting into a real TB after fighting for 45 minutes and reaching 6-all.
Maybe it does not work for me, but maybe for people like Roger it does. It's just that the match he played against FAA means he escapes from the 2nd round and loses in the 3rd. The way he looked, he is SP first round pick material.

[JazzNU]

I'm not trying to make excuses for Roger's results, but I don't think he's been helped by playing so little, but not just because of his on-court performance. But because he's given himself very few opportunities to acclimate to bubble life on Tour. And obviously didn't have to deal with the worst of it in Australia. There are plenty of players who are still struggling with going from one bubble to another and they are on their 12th tournament played since the resumption, not the 4th like Federer. I'm not saying he'd otherwise look like 2018 Roger or anything, but more experience with the limitations on practicing and movement would've been to his benefit to figure out the best mix he needs to thrive in that environment.

I' haven't read the particulars, but the commentators have been talking about Wimbledon's bubble as if it will be stricter than what the players have had in recent months. And if that's true, I'm not clear on if they will have a setup closer to RG 2020 or closer to the US Open, which from what players have said, seem to have set up the best bubble environment to date with the many open spaces, practice facilities, and entertainment they made available.

If there are greater limitations once you enter the Wimbledon bubble, then the argument for Federer playing this week outside of it are likely even stronger. Because if he can't easily practice for extended periods with Zverev, Tsitsipas, Thiem, Schwartzman, etc. then that does seem like it may not be the best preparation given the rust we've seen.

[ti-amie]

[ponchi101]

Sorry. I am missing something. Sure, the post is not going to be printed and framed around the world for posterity, but why is the STAR person LMAO'ing?

[ti-amie]

They're laughing because Andreescu withdrew from Indian Wells March 8. The tournament was cancelled March 9. Ms Andreescu was caught in a lie.

[Fastbackss]

The way you said "Ms. Andreescu" made it sound like you are a prosecuting attorney (and I am all for it)

[JazzNU]

Sorry. I am missing something. Sure, the post is not going to be printed and framed around the world for posterity, but why is the STAR person LMAO'ing?

It's because the photo with Bianca is cropped in that side by side. Unfortunately for Bianca these are all time stamped so easily exposed.

[JazzNU]

Dayana Yastremska has provisional doping suspension lifted

Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska's provisional doping suspension has been lifted with immediate effect as there was no fault or negligence on her part, an independent tribunal under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme said on Tuesday.

Yastremska, 21, was suspended in January after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found a banned substance in an out-of-competition urine sample she submitted.

She denied using performance-enhancing drugs and said the positive test was the result of a "contamination event." Since her provisional suspension, Yastremska filed many appeals but failed at every attempt.

The ban meant the world No. 37 was ineligible to play in the Australian Open despite travelling to Melbourne. She also missed the French Open and is not playing at Wimbledon which starts on Monday.

"I'm glad and relieved to announce that I have been cleared of any wrongdoing," Yastremska said on Twitter.

"I've been through a lot during the last six months and it has been difficult to cope with all the negative comments."


https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/ ... ion-lifted

[ti-amie]

Dayana Yastremska has provisional doping suspension lifted

Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska's provisional doping suspension has been lifted with immediate effect as there was no fault or negligence on her part, an independent tribunal under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme said on Tuesday.

Yastremska, 21, was suspended in January after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found a banned substance in an out-of-competition urine sample she submitted.

She denied using performance-enhancing drugs and said the positive test was the result of a "contamination event." Since her provisional suspension, Yastremska filed many appeals but failed at every attempt.

The ban meant the world No. 37 was ineligible to play in the Australian Open despite travelling to Melbourne. She also missed the French Open and is not playing at Wimbledon which starts on Monday.

"I'm glad and relieved to announce that I have been cleared of any wrongdoing," Yastremska said on Twitter.

"I've been through a lot during the last six months and it has been difficult to cope with all the negative comments."


https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/ ... ion-lifted

[JazzNU]

Scroll to the right in the photo for her full statement.

[JazzNU]

It's a true flaw in their system, using the presumption of guilt as the standard and not allowing a stay while it is fully investigated and litigated.

[ti-amie]