Talk About Tennis 2.0

JTContinental wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2023 8:08 am Or maybe Justine did it more recently

Ding ding ding on Justine. Well done. I couldn't think back that far. She was the last before Kerber (not counting Serena), in 2007. Mauresmo did it in 2006. Venus was 2001. Of course, Serena did it a million times, so that kind of prevented others from having much chance.

I'm torn on whether to say it (a WTA player winning two Slams in a season) hasn't happened much in the last 10 years. Serena 2016, Kerber 2016, Iga 2022, and then Osaka winning back-to-back in 2018/19 and 2021/22... Does that count as rare?

Also, a new Slam champ has been crowned every year since 2014. Ten years. WTA only. I think that will continue.

A new WTA slam champion is always likely albeit sooner or later there will be an exception.

Novak remains in charge. 25 and 26 are simply a matter of where they will happen.
Rafa retires without coming back. The doctors and the pain make the call.
No new slam winners at the slams, with perhaps the exception of Sinner (ATP).
The WTA pattern remains: at least one new slam winner, maybe two.
Osaka ends the year firmly entrenched in the top 10, if not top 5.
Iga remains supreme on clay. Aryna will hit 2 double faults in her first match of the year and everybody will print 500 words about it.
Zverev, Rublev, Matteo, Fritz, Tiafoe and Rune will remain very good players, with little to show for (for the year).
Alcaraz will spend some time off, with some freaky injury he will pick when chasing down another shot maniacally.

meganfernandez wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2023 3:30 pm

JTContinental wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2023 8:08 am Or maybe Justine did it more recently

Ding ding ding on Justine. Well done. I couldn't think back that far. She was the last before Kerber (not counting Serena), in 2007. Mauresmo did it in 2006. Venus was 2001. Of course, Serena did it a million times, so that kind of prevented others from having much chance.

I'm torn on whether to say it (a WTA player winning two Slams in a season) hasn't happened much in the last 10 years. Serena 2016, Kerber 2016, Iga 2022, and then Osaka winning back-to-back in 2018/19 and 2021/22... Does that count as rare?

Also, a new Slam champ has been crowned every year since 2014. Ten years. WTA only. I think that will continue.

I forgot about Mauresmo.

I try to forget about Justine.

Olympics always puzzles me...if Djokovic and Federer really cared about it, would they not have won it by now? Federer lost to Murray a few weeks after beating him at the same court..Wimbledon. The women's story is even more chaotic..Monica Puig? Really?! Sometimes I think the big players must be going to the Olympics as spectators, just to watch other athletic sports ..

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 08, 2023 11:41 am Olympics always puzzles me...if Djokovic and Federer really cared about it, would they not have won it by now? Federer lost to Murray a few weeks after beating him at the same court..Wimbledon. The women's story is even more chaotic..Monica Puig? Really?! Sometimes I think the big players must be going to the Olympics as spectators, just to watch other athletic sports ..

Federer played a marathon match in the semis against del Potro, and I think the pressure of the event sometimes brings out the best in players that otherwise haven't achieved at that level.

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 08, 2023 11:41 am Olympics always puzzles me...if Djokovic and Federer really cared about it, would they not have won it by now? Federer lost to Murray a few weeks after beating him at the same court..Wimbledon. The women's story is even more chaotic..Monica Puig? Really?! Sometimes I think the big players must be going to the Olympics as spectators, just to watch other athletic sports ..

I wrote about tennis at the Olympics years ago. Simply, the event should not hold tennis. Every single slam is more prestigious, in tennis, than an Olympic medal.
Give it so some other sport.

meganfernandez wrote: ↑Mon Dec 04, 2023 4:39 pm Do you think that will hurt her at Wimbledon? Does the ball still stay low on grass

Only Nadal has been able to get over that, and Borg.. in Borg's case, think, it is because there would usually be no grass at all on the court in the second week so it really wasnt a grass court event..Nadal, well, he is so great rules dont apply to him (and even he hasnt been so successful on grass lately), so yes, I think that forehand grip will hinder folks like Coco and Swiatek

Borg's greatness had nothing to do with his grips or strokes. We simply forget what a great mover he was. He had it all: quickness, speed, lightness of foot, perfect balance.
That was the reason he was so great on grass.

About your comment on grips: agree. That grip on low bounces will never be the best choice.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 20, 2023 2:18 am Borg's greatness had nothing to do with his grips or strokes. We simply forget what a great mover he was. He had it all: quickness, speed, lightness of foot, perfect balance.
That was the reason he was so great on grass.

About your comment on grips: agree. That grip on low bounces will never be the best choice.

yes, absolutely true.. his speed around the court was phenomenal. And the fact that he never missed, his amazing stamina enabled him to hit the ball a million times without losing shape or form..

More of my prognostication for Tennis.com

https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/wi ... rs-in-2024


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meganfernandez wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2023 10:42 pm More of my prognostication for Tennis.com

https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/wi ... rs-in-2024


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Very nice! But I am surprised you didn't pick coco for the Australian...the court suits her, and she has momentum...though one could interpret your aricle as predicting a Coco title at the Ausopen..?

The Melbourne court seems to be the fastest of the grand slam courts..technically, that should favor players like Sinner, Coco, Leylah, Alcaraz..in actual fact the ones who have thrived there are Sabalenka, Djokovic, Medvedev ..sigh....

Court speed means nothing to Novak, and little to Medvedev. Novak can shorten his strokes so much he can re-direct shots at will. If the ball is coming too fast at him, he simply knows how to "bunt" it back, at almost the same speed as it came to him. Medvedev is almost the same on the BH side.

ashkor87 wrote:

meganfernandez wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2023 10:42 pm More of my prognostication for Tennis.com

https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/wi ... rs-in-2024


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Very nice! But I am surprised you didn't pick coco for the Australian...the court suits her, and she has momentum...though one could interpret your aricle as predicting a Coco title at the Ausopen..?

Australian is such a toss-up. Wouldn’t surprise me but I’d go with a new Slam winner or Sabalenka or Iga over Coco, but she should contend well and could win it.


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