by Oploskoffie This is where we come together to sit and eat strawberries and cream, complain about the weather, perhaps break into song, drink Pim's and chat about the players. Feel free to drop by whenever the spirit moves you. We enjoy discussing the players' strengths, weaknesses, color palette preferences, and pratfalls.
Be forewarned, everyone will be expected to rise if the King pays us a visit.
by Oploskoffie The first couple of entries are in - deadline is tomorrow morning, 11 AM CET!
Here's wondering how many Raducanu wild card entries we're going to see. Will she get through Wimbledon qualifying?
by ashkor87 I am assuming Raducanu gets a wild card
by
Oploskoffie ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2024 7:14 pm
I am assuming Raducanu gets a wild card
Both she and Wozniacki have entered qualifying:
https://www.wtatennis.com/news/4033404/ ... -alternate
Seems like a good move to me; both are short on match practice. Will definitely be following the quallies this year
by ponchi101 Even if she gets a WC, she will be a wasted pick.
by Oploskoffie And we're off! (In Stuttgart that is - the weather in 's-Hertogenbosch isn't helping at the moment..)
The trades thread will be up some time later today.
by
Oploskoffie ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2024 10:31 pm
Even if she gets a WC, she will be a wasted pick.
Let's see how this post ages
In the end, though, only two people picked Emma was the wild card option. A couple of Osaka's in there as well.
by jazzyg My first match of the contest was a wild one when Koepfer got outplayed for the first two sets but managed to hold his serve through the second set and win the tiebreaker. Then he got up a break in the third set, gave it back, was two points away from winning three times before going to another tiebreak, got down 6-4 and then benefited from a double fault by Zhang on the first match point on his way to winning the final four points.
Koepfer won despite winning seven fewer points overall. I'll take it.
by
Oploskoffie I would too!
Wouldn't it be nice if that's a sign of things to come
by jazzyg It probably won't mean much in the long run, but there has been a lot of drama in the opening rounds.
Maria, picked by 4 of us, saved six match points over three games--one near the end of the second set and then in both tiebreaks.
Mannarino, picked by 2, rallied from a set and double break down when he was a point away from falling behind 5-1 in the second set and ended up winning despite taking three fewer points overall.
Berettini, picked by 4, saved 4 break points over three games in the third set before breaking for the first time in the match to win despite taking eight fewer points overall.
by
ponchi101 Preparing our nerves for the Wimby SP?
by Oploskoffie I think the Boulter - Dart match is also worth a mention, lasting for over three hours and including Dart effectively betting the umpire 50.000 pounds that an overrule was (very) wrong.
by
Oploskoffie ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2024 11:20 pm
Preparing our nerves for the Wimby SP?
Not sure mine will have healed themselves in time from the FO
by ponchi101 Oh, after that double first day exit, I am just scar tissue for wimby. I am picking Alcaraz on day 1 and at the very least Ons. Just to be sort of sure.
by jazzyg The gods got me back for Koepfer saving match points with the help of a double fault by Zhang in the first round.
This morning, he played one of the best matches of his career against Musetti and was two points away from a straight-set victory at 5-3 in the second-set tiebreak on his serve when he made a routine error at the end of a long point, something he had not done at all earlier. Musetti sneaked out the tiebreak, but Koepfer recovered from the first break of the match early in the third set to break right back and got up 15-40 on Musetti's next service game. Musetti held on with the help of hitting the sideline with a winner to save the second break point and ended up winning an outstanding match. He was effusive in his praise for Koepfer on the ATP website, but my only reward for that effort was a first-round win.
by
Oploskoffie And so, with the exit of Osaka, the dream of three category E (or wild card) entries winning a tournament this week is over. That leaves us with four Berrettini hopefuls and two Raducanu enthusiasts heading into this weekend. Good luck
by jazzyg When I asked the question about wild cards potentially replacing a player from a higher category, I was thinking about Andreescu. I would have loved to pick her, but there was no way I was taking her over Berrettini, who will be one of the three best players on grass in the world in the Wimbledon draw if he is healthy.
by
ashkor87 There should be bonus points for wild card winning a tournament?!
by
Oploskoffie ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 15, 2024 5:38 am
There should be bonus points for wild card winning a tournament?!
For the regular competitions, I believe we'll be sticking with the scoring "as is"
However... There may be an Olympic competition coming up here at TAT2 which has some rather different ways of scoring than we're used to. So, perhaps something to be on the lookout for?
by
ponchi101 ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2024 10:31 pm
Even if she gets a WC, she will be a wasted pick.
I will have my crow sandwich now, if you don't mind.
by
Oploskoffie ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 15, 2024 4:06 pm
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2024 10:31 pm
Even if she gets a WC, she will be a wasted pick.
I will have my crow sandwich now, if you don't mind.
Maybe we wait until we see how well she fares against higer-ranked oponents like Boulter? Sure, she'll earn all who picked her some handy points this week, but beating Snigur and then getting a walkover, I remain... sceptical for now.
by ponchi101 No. My point was not about Emma and her tennis. My point was about her and being a pick. And she has already paid off way more than most E picks do during our contests. So, I was irrefutably wrong. She already is/was a very good pick.
by
Jeff from TX Oploskoffie wrote: ↑Sat Jun 15, 2024 6:08 pm
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 15, 2024 4:06 pm
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2024 10:31 pm
Even if she gets a WC, she will be a wasted pick.
I will have my crow sandwich now, if you don't mind.
Maybe we wait until we see how well she fares against higer-ranked oponents like Boulter? Sure, she'll earn all who picked her some handy points this week, but beating Snigur and then getting a walkover, I remain... sceptical for now.
From the pieces of the match that I saw against Boulter, it was a high quality match that could have gone either way. Both played well.
by
Oploskoffie Jeff from TX wrote: ↑Sun Jun 16, 2024 4:59 pm
From the pieces of the match that I saw against Boulter, it was a high quality match that could have gone either way. Both played well.
That's a real positive for Emma than, nice
Also on the comeback trail, Bianca Andreescu did really well in 's-Hertogenbosch. Once Samsonova found her range during the second set things became difficult, but the fact that it went to 7-5 in the third was, imho, to Andreescu's credit. If she stays in one piece (she had to get her thigh taped, though it didn't seem to hamper her much) she'll only need a couple more tournaments to get back into the top 100.
by jazzyg Here are the players in each category that would have earned you the most points in the opening week:
A) DiMinaur for men, Jabeur for women
B) Korda and Samsonova/Boulter
C) Draper and Pliskova
D) Parry
E) Berrettini
Oploskoffie had seven of those nine. Very, very well done.
by
ponchi101 Impressive
by texasniteowl hmm. I only had 5 of those. boy do I regret passing on Berrettini and Pliskova!
by
Oploskoffie This year the WTA 125 Veneto Open was added to possibly add some incentive to picking certain category D or E players. Five of us added Tatjana Maria to our team, myself included, possibly dreaming of her scoring some handy points this week. And then she pulled out....
(here's hoping she'll be just fine for the remaining two weeks after this one)
by jazzyg Kudermetova's win against Samsonova was cathartic for me.
I debated which one to pick on my initial team and was leery of both since Kudermetova is having an awful year and Samsonova has been a .500 player on grass aside from her seven-match wins streak to win Berlin in 2021. I decided to take Kudermetova because I have seen her play more often and know her game works well on grass, then had to stomach Samsonova blasting her way to a second grass title while Kudermetova lost in the second round to 138th-ranked qualifier Dalma Galfi.
I doubt Kudermetova will turn around her 0-4 record against Rybakina in the second round (none of those meetings were on grass), but it still felt good to find out she rallied from a set and a break down to beat Samsonova today in Berlin.
by
Oploskoffie ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 17, 2024 9:12 pm
Impressive
Equally impressive this week, perhaps, is that my remaining active selection of players is already down to four. And none of those have ever won a tournament on grass. So, am I feeling optimistic?
by
Oploskoffie Imagine if this competition were like a Survivor Pool and everyone had neatly been able to save Sabalenka, Jabeur and Rybakina for the quarters. And then the past 24 hours happened
So, with only a week before Wimbledon, there's a shoulder injury, gastrointestinal illness and breathing issues to sort out. And all of us have some choices to make about our WTA A picks - or trades.
by
tenedab Yep. That's what makes it more interesting. 3 out of 4 QFs in Berlin ended with retirement. Maybe it's something unhealthy in Berlin
by
tenedab Is it germs in Germany?
by jazzyg Welp.
Trading Paul for Alcaraz seemed like a good idea at the time, but it really backfired on me. Paul looked totally overmatched when he played Korda last week (I watched the whole debacle), but he handled him comfortably today after beating the same guy (Draper) who beat Alcaraz. If Paul beats Musetti tomorrow (a 50-50 proposition in my book), I cost myself 85 points.
by ponchi101 I traded Alcaraz in for Deminaur. A plus, but not the trade that I needed.
And Zverev did not deliver in Halle.
by ashkor87 I hope your strawberries are better than the strawberries and cream at Wimbledon! The he cream there is sickening, ruins the strawberries....
by
Oploskoffie ashkor87 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2024 9:11 am
I hope your strawberries are better than the strawberries and cream at Wimbledon! The he cream there is sickening, ruins the strawberries....
I'm sure we can help
We have fresh Mouikkos, Honeoyes, Jewels, Mara des Bois and Allstars to name but a few. Heavy cream not your thing? We can also do a light and airy whipped cream. We could also do Mexican
fresas con crema which offers another take on this wonderful summer food.
Or, if you really want to upset the good folks at Wimbledon, add Cool Whip
by jazzyg The most productive players in each category for the second week were Sinner and Paui in A (100), Musetti in B (70), Zhang in C (45), Hijikata in D (25) and Billy Harris (who?) in E/wildcard (25), and for the women, Pegula in A (100), Kalinskaya in B (70), Putintseva in C (70), Golubic in D (7) and Tomljanovic in E/wildcard (45).
None of us picked Musetti, Zhang, Hijikata, Harris, Kalinskaya, Putintseva or Tomljanovic. Six people picked Sinner, two had Pegula, one had Paul and I had Golubic in all of her seven points of glory (she did serve for a straight-sets win against Fernandez in the second round before losing).
by
ashkor87 Oploskoffie wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2024 5:32 pm
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2024 9:11 am
I hope your strawberries are better than the strawberries and cream at Wimbledon! The he cream there is sickening, ruins the strawberries....
I'm sure we can help
We have fresh Mouikkos, Honeoyes, Jewels, Mara des Bois and Allstars to name but a few. Heavy cream not your thing? We can also do a light and airy whipped cream. We could also do Mexican
fresas con crema which offers another take on this wonderful summer food.
Or, if you really want to upset the good folks at Wimbledon, add Cool Whip
Sounds scrumptious!
by
Oploskoffie For the current week, 7 of us are seriously rooting for Vekic, two people are seeing their faith in Raducanu rewarded (ashkor87 traded her back in, though at the cost of Fernandez), two more still have Fritz, there are six teams with Boulter, just one person decided to keep Shelton and two added Keys. Oh, and ashkor87 also still has Michelsen
by
tenedab Bad Homburg weather is apparently bad. What a surprise
Vekic is into SF before the 2nd round is over
by
jazzyg Oploskoffie wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2024 8:18 am
For the current week, 7 of us are seriously rooting for Vekic.
It would be eight if I had not traded her. I'm absolutely killing myself with bad trades, although I was done with her after having her on my team for all of last year's contest and the first two weeks this year. I looked at her tough draw and though there was zero chance she would go deep, but I had a bad feeling when Siniakova was limping between points Tuesday against Samsonova. She gutted out that win when the match resumed yesterday but pulled the rip cord today.
It's easy to say this when I can't be proven wrong, but Vekic would have had zero chance to beat a healthy Siniakova, who was too good on grass for Samsonova's mindless ball-bashing style and would have had an easier time with Vekic, whose confidence goes in and out from set to set and game to game.
by ashkor87 When it comes to W, it will be the A and B players who produce...can't see any reason to trade now, unless Rybakina seems genuinely unwell...seems foolish to trade just because I can...would have had Paolini on my team but she is an A...too high for me...there are better A players...
by ashkor87 I still can't understand Vekic, though...like Sakkari for me..someone I just can't figure out at all .what can she be relied on? Same with Shelton, not touching him now...
by
Oploskoffie As far as Wimbledon goes: bring on the draw
As far as my A's go, the WTA side of things will determine my final trades in a big way, especially after these last couple of weeks.
- edit -
Having seen the draws, I'm depressed. These does not mix well with my plans
by ponchi101 I had Rybakina in my team from the beginning. We know she has delivered nothing. So I will trade her.
And if she wins the whole thing, it will make me happy so I won't mind. But her health issues keep popping up to frequently.
Full A team to be changed. Anyway, I am so far behind it will make no difference.
by jazzyg I'm down to having to hope a long shot that no one else has wins the women's draw, which ain't happening even though it appears wide open considering the health issues of the top contenders.
If Vekic beats Shnaider, I will be down 178 points than what my total would have been because of two trades. There has to be a Hall of Shame for that.
by
ponchi101 jazzyg wrote: ↑Fri Jun 28, 2024 5:05 pm
I'm down to having to hope a long shot that no one else has wins the women's draw, which ain't happening even though it appears wide open considering the health issues of the top contenders.
If Vekic beats Shnaider, I will be down 178 points than what my total would have been because of two trades.
There has to be a Hall of Shame for that.
I have the keys. You want to join me?
by
Oploskoffie The second half of this competition is conspiring against me
Also, I should have just picked Vekic instead of Pliskova. She's already scored twice as many points and still isn't out of Wimbledon yet
by
ponchi101 Or Raducanu. Just like I did, remember?
(I will have ANOTHER crow sandwich, if you don't mind. Send it over to the SP lounge, where I am enjoying my demise courtesy of Ruud).
by jazzyg This is the small victory that means next to nothing in the contest but make it worth playing for me.
When I picked up Kalinskaya looking for a long shot who might even win the tournament, I had to decide which of the two losers on my team to get rid of --Krejcikova or Kudermetova, who were playing each other in the first round. I went back and forth, Kudermetova, normally dangerous on grass, has been awful all year and could not keep two balls in a row on the court in the lead-up tournaments. Krejcikova has been mystifyingly bad and lacking confidence coming back from injury and looked terrible in the two matches I watched her lose before Wimbledon. I decided to keep Krejcikova because at least she has a history of going deep in slams. I watched a little of their match today, and it was as terrible as I thought it would be, with no clear winner until the final point. Kudermetova blew five set points in the opening set and trailed 5-3 in the third before winning what seemed like 10 points in a row to level it at 5-all and go up 30-0. I stopped paying attention for a few minutes, and the next time I looked Krecjikova was up match point, which she (we) won on yet another tame Kudermetova error.
Yes!! I won five extra points with a chance for more, although Krejcikova will have to be more consistent to even beat Volynets tomorrow. She has moments when she plays really good points, but other stretches when she hacks at forehands that float 10 feet past the baseline. I cannot figure out why a player who beat in-form, dominant Swiatek and Sabalenka early last year is struggling this much, but after making a pair of disastrous trades earlier, at least I got this one right. Barely. Yay me.
by ponchi101 Krejcikova doing fine. This might work for you.
by jazzyg It is ridiculous to be crushed when Keys gets hurt because she always gets hurt, but that truth aside, I am crushed.
With the way the draw has opened, she had a good path to the final. I am starting to believe Kalinskaya can go all the way, but Rybakina might 3 and 2 that idea tomorrow morning.
by
ponchi101 jazzyg wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2024 11:39 pm
It is ridiculous to be crushed when Keys gets hurt because she always gets hurt, but that truth aside, I am crushed.
With the way the draw has opened, she had a good path to the final. I am starting to believe Kalinskaya can go all the way, but Rybakina might 3 and 2 that idea tomorrow morning.
You know I am the first one that says that outside of Iga on clay, the WTA is wide open. But, why Kalinskaya? Why are you high on her?
by texasniteowl ouch. my hopes took a hit today with Gauff. I do still have Sinner, Vekic, and de Minaur alive but I know others still have some combo of Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic, and Rybakina alive so who knows what will happen!
by jazzyg I posted here about Kalinskaya at the Australian Open for the first time. Really like her smooth game. Also like how she beat Swiatek and Gauff at the same tournament a little later and how she had multiple match points to win Berlin on grass.
She has not closed well in big matches or she would be more well known. She was up a set on Zheng in the AO quarterfinals but collapsed midway through the second set. She was up a set and a break on Paolini in the final of the event where she beat Swiatek and Gauff but lost. And she has dispatched Bouzkova and Samsonova with ease at Wimbledon. Might turn out to be totally wrong about her, but she is 2-2 against Rybakina.
by texasniteowl Well, I am done for sure now. First Gauff's meltdown/whatever that was. Second, Sinner's loss. Third, de Minaur's withdrawal due to that hip injury.
Good luck to everyone who still has more than 1 player remaining!
by Oploskoffie Yeah, it has been a brutal Wimbledon for some and there are going to be some pretty big changes in the rankings. Because there are still some variables I'm not going to name any names but having a certain Donna on a team turned out to be a better move than I ever thought it would be!
by ponchi101 Vekic was obviously gold. And she has a chance against Paolini. So, maybe even better still.
by ptmcmahon Well jinxed!
by
Oploskoffie With the final results posted in the
scoreboard thread, the time has come to close the Strawberries and Cream Lounge for this year.
However...
As this is an Olympic year, we're moving straight ahead with a new, somewhat different kind of competition for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Want to challenge yourself and possibly win a rather rare bit of TAT bling in the process? Check out this thread:
Paris 2024: Playing for Gold
