First of all, it’s so annoying that ESPN doesn’t go by the same rules as most channels on SlingTV. Two people can’t view it at once even if you pay SlingTV extra for more simultaneous streams. And you can’t use SlingTV’s DVR feature to record the Tennis either, because Disney owned channels like ESPN don’t support DVR, even if you’re paying SlingTV extra for that feature.
Ok, onto actual Tennis.
I enjoyed watching Kerber defeat Sharipova.
I love that Federer and Nadal are in the final 8 again, and that Djokovic is out. And I love that this American player who defeated Wawrinka in the 2nd round just beat Thiem in a 5 set thriller to also make it to the final 8.
It’s shaping up to be another exciting year for the Australian Open.
If Federer and Nadal make it to the final again, I’ll sign up for another new account on Sling so that I can watch at the same time as my Dad in separate houses. Australian open live broadcasts are so inconvenient to watch here in the U.S!
Yeah, I saw Feddy baby made it to the QFs. Berdych, as always, will be a test.
Remember how amazed we all were that Agassi was still competing at 36? Federer could take old-man tennis to a new level, though admittedly it’s a few years before he gets to where Connors and Rosewall were.
I’d say he’s already surpassed Connors. Connors had that great run at 38 or 39 in the US to get to the semis, but Connors won his last major at 31. Fed just won two last year. And five other tournaments. Fed and Nadal are the two best players in the game still! Djokovic and Murray haven’t regained their form (I think Murray might be done) and the young players still aren’t stepping up.
Rosewall had that very late run at 38 or 39 where he lost to Connors in the same year at Wimbledon and the US in the finals. Rosewall was amazing. Never really hit topspin. Flat or slice. Not much of a serve, either. It was a different game back then.
I didn’t really mean surpassing them, just playing when as old as they were.
I’m conflicted on Sandgren. It’s nice having another American making a deep slam run and he’s a good underdog story on top of that. However, I made the unfortunate decision to read about some of his political opinions and they’re not pretty. It’s great to see Chung have a breakthrough at a slam, especially since Alex Zverev is stalling on that front. (I really want some new blood in the men’s game.) Chung struggled a bit in 2016 after getting his ranking fairly high in 2015. He got back on track last year and now he seems to have figured out how to play at main-tour level consistently. Also, I love the glasses he wears on court. It’s a unique look.
If I’m not mistaken, Kerber’s the only major winner left in the women’s draw.
Re: old man tennis: Pancho Gonzalez made a Wimbledon quarterfinal over age 40.
It’s even harder now for players to continue post-peak, since the top players are millionaires tenfold or a hundrefold over. Why play when you know you can’t win it all?
Rosewall was comfortable, I’m sure, but he was more like an exec at a Fortune 500 company ready to retire rather than someone with $75M in the bank.
Connors loved to play. Federer also seems to love to play. I can see Fed playing Wimbledon at 38 just to see how far in the draw he can go. I can even see Wimbledon speeding up the grass just for Fed. He’s an icon. Help him get deeper in the draw!
I think once Fed is gone I will not follow tennis for awhile. I’ll be one of those old guys playing doubles and then after talking about the old days when we played with wood rackets. It’s kind of cool to be part of that last generation. I know what it’s like to hit a shot and see my racket break in half. :)
Cilic beat Nadal in the Quarters. Actually he beat him in the fourth set to tie it 2-2, and then it was 2-0 in the fifth when Nadal retired due to injury. Apparently some muscles in his leg. We shall see.
Either way, this is a good reminder that Cilic is still around as part of the older players too, ready to take advantage when someone at the top falters.
They just need to put Centre Court on a rotating platform so the sun is always in the other guy’s eyes.
And Baby Fed, Dimitrov, lost to somebody ranked 49th. It’s just amazing how the young players still refuse to step up and start winning majors. Perhaps this Korean player will be the one. He beat Djokovic, but Djokovic doesn’t look like his old self yet.
Right now Federer looks like the world #1 and other players aren’t that close. Nadal and Murray are hurt. Djokovic and Warwinka are not back to their old games yet. Fed is just amazing. I hope he wins at least one more. 20 is a nice number.
Yeah, it’s like the Big 4 (especially codgers Fed and Nadal) have created a whole Lost Generation in tennis.Blips and bleeps from Del Potro, Cilic, Nishikori, whoever, but nothing sustained.
Federer personally destroyed Roddick’s legacy. Andy won one US Open before Federer became dominant, and then Federer beat Roddick three times in the Wimbledon finals and one time in the US Open finals.
Yep.
2003 Wimbledon Semifinal
2004 Wimbledon Final
2005 Wimbledon Final
2006 US Open Final
2007 Australian Open Semifinals
2007 US Open Quarterfinals
2009 Australian Open Semifinals
2009 Wimbledon Open Final 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14
All won by Federer.
That last defeat broke Roddick completely I think.
It will be interesting to see how serious Nadal’s injury is. He has some kind of muscle injury. If it’s just a pull, he will probably be fine for the French, which is four months away. If it’s a tear, I wonder if he will be able to play? Those are long matches on the clay courts. Long points and a five set format. You have to be able to run down everything.
It will also be interesting to see what Federer does if Nadal announces he cannot play the French. I don’t think he will play much, if any, on clay, but I could see him trying the French again if Nadal isn’t playing. Then again if he’s playing well he may want to focus on Wimbledon.
I think he’s better off skipping it either way. The French is definitely my favorite tournament, but it’s really hard on player’s bodies. I think it will be smart at Fed’s age to preserve his body as much as he can.
Hmm, Nadal out of the way and Fed in the semis.
Go Fed go!
Danger zone: Hyeon Chung looks potentially like the sort of ‘rogue finalist’ that the Australian Open produces from time to time.
Who is this new Brit in the other semifinal? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him play.
I’m still debating on whether to pay for a month of Sling to watch these upcoming matches or not.
Yeah, I was thinking he could be tough for Fed.
I read that Fed is the oldest semi-finalist since Ken Rosewall made the semis at the age of 42!
From what I’ve seen of Edmund (which admittedly isn’t much), he has a big forehand and a pretty good serve. He plays much more aggressively than Murray and seems to be in the mold of big hitters like del Potro and Cilic. He’s been a steady tour player for the last couple of years and was on Great Britain’s Davis Cup winning team. I saw him lose a match against Jack Sock last fall at the Paris Masters after leading 5-1 in the final set, so he might have some issues closing out matches.
Fed is in the finals. Chung retired due to blisters.
Fed barely ages. He’s amazing.
