Talk About Tennis 2.0

This is very mean of me but..how to get to #1 without actually winning ...

When I first saw Shnaider play, i said to myself :she is the second coming of Safina

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 10, 2025 2:14 am This is very mean of me but..how to get to #1 without actually winning ...

Remember how we were recently saying that the rule that forbid Madison Keys to play in a 250 was dumb? Well, the rule was to avoid more players like Dinara getting to #1, by winning 100 250's.
So Dinara's formula may not work.

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 10, 2025 2:21 am When I first saw Shnaider play, i said to myself :she is the second coming of Safina

You think so? She seems like another mindless ball basher to me. They often hit the tour like a storm and fade once people are familiar with playing against them. Safina might have been a pusher, but she had a mind for tactics.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 10, 2025 3:52 pm

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 10, 2025 2:14 am This is very mean of me but..how to get to #1 without actually winning ...

Remember how we were recently saying that the rule that forbid Madison Keys to play in a 250 was dumb? Well, the rule was to avoid more players like Dinara getting to #1, by winning 100 250's.
So Dinara's formula may not work.

They should have named this rule after Anna Chakvetadze

ER, season 8, episode 2...

Raducanu discussing coaching job with Petchey

https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/articles/c0r5190l88do

Why would anyone take this job, without a hefty retainer to begin with, is beyond my grasp.

Oploskoffie wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 1:03 pm ER, season 8, episode 2...

Raducanu discussing coaching job with Petchey

https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/articles/c0r5190l88do

Whatever

Just read this on a Dutch news website: Griekspoor splits with coach Xavier Malisse after ten days

"I quit our partnership right after Monte Carlo. We started in Marrakesh and that lasted about nine to ten days. It was a major let-down from my perspective. I expected more." Malisse had previously stated his intention of helping Griekspoor become a top-20 player. "If things disappoint then I have to make a choice, which I did pretty quickly. I'll be in Madrid without a coach, just my physio, and I'm perfectly fine with that. The most important person is here."

So yeah... That went well

Griekspoor and Malisse were kind of a strange pairing though, weren't they? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? The overarchieving player turned coach takes on the underarchieving but talented pupil? This pairing flipped the axis.

But if Griekspoor wants to stick with this equation... What's Gulbis up to these days?

I had completely forgotten about Ernest.
Indeed, as you say. What could Xavier Malisse teach anybody? A massive talent that amounted to almost nothing.

Hard to say. Remember the best players don't always make best coaches and vice versa. A lot of the best coaches had neither talent nor ever had any results

dryrunguy wrote: ↑Wed Apr 23, 2025 1:42 pm Griekspoor and Malisse were kind of a strange pairing though, weren't they? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? The overarchieving player turned coach takes on the underarchieving but talented pupil? This pairing flipped the axis.

But if Griekspoor wants to stick with this equation... What's Gulbis up to these days?

Gulbis

As for Griekspoor: I genuinely believe he has the talent to be top-25 at least, possibly even top-20, but dear lord he is yet another headcase. In a recently documentary it became painfully clear how he constantly and relentlessly keeps getting in his own way inside his head space. Like, seriously negative, counterproductive. You quickly get to the point where you think he needs a shrink and then they show him talking to his therapist, I mean...

For any coach, he seems like a lot to handle. His previous coach, former player Kristof Vliegen, also features prominently including the moment he can't handle it any more and calls time on their partnership, in no small part to keep their friendship intact. If I'm harsh, then Vliegen was too soft. But Raemon Sluiter, who is as laid-back as he is direct, also didn't work out. Maybe Tallon just needs (legal) happy pills...

dryrunguy wrote: ↑Wed Apr 23, 2025 1:42 pm What's Gulbis up to these days?

Couldn't help but look this up: president of the Latvian Tennis Union

Seemed like a good idea to some. Now it is over. What next - for both?

Djokovic and Murray split after six months

https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/articles/c3rpqd4zy01o