2016 Non-GS Tennis Thread

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Brisbane draw

Doha draw

Chennai draw

I'll certainly be paying attention if Nadal and Djokovic meet in the Doha final. There could be other potentially interesting matchups, but I haven't examined the draws very closely.

Gasgquet pulled out of Aussie because of a sore vag. Or something like that.

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I was looking at your 2015 thread and you mentioned how Ferrer always beats guys below him, but can't beat the top guys. Even after all these years, it seems the books still haven't caught on.

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He was amazingly dependable in this regard -- and thus eminently gamble-able -- for a solid 4-5 year run. I'm not so sure he still has the gold medal in this category -- he had a few more upset losses in 2015 than normal (though they were all to guys who were more talented than their ranking gave them credit for).

I'm definitely on the lookout for guys who will carry that baton in the coming years. Milos Raonic is in the conversation. Steve Johnson is another guy who rarely gets upset. And Sam Querrey might not even be a human being, but some kind of hologram acting in accordance with statistical projections that dictate that he must lose in the third round of every tournament he enters.

Tennis abstract has a consistency metric you could check out. I like to filter them by upset rate (the percentage column). LINK

I see it hasn't been updated since June, but something is off with the numbers. I didn't look at the 2nd half of 2014, but Steve J was upset by Kukushkin in Miami. Since the update, he was upset no less than 7 times in the last half of 2015.

That said, I do find it interesting that the big servers seem to be more consistent. I would have guessed the opposite, since their matches are a lot closer and decided by 1 or 2 breaks or mini breaks. Apparently they have perfected the art of going for broke on returns and being more consistent in tiebreakers. Also, my personal experience is that I have less "off" days with my serve than any other part of my game.

I just bet on Groth after seeing that info. He might be a good one to follow going forward.

Any tips for someone picking up tennis in their early 30's? TIA.

It's funny you guys talk about Querrey because he is one of the first players I think about for some reason when I wonder what the average player's life is really like and whether all of that time/effort/investment is worth it. At first blush, $6.5 million in career earnings and 7 titles traveling the world seems like a no brainer. But, if he doesn't have sponsors paying his traveling expenses, he probably isn't netting much. It has to be weird being a stud junior and just hitting that third round wall every week in your adult life. Something about that seems sad. I hope Sam got his share of tour chicks and parties. He always gave off a beach bum vibe.

Aussie Open always reminds me of that damn 30 Seconds to Mars song I just heard the other day for the first time in a while.
LINK

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Any tips for someone picking up tennis in their early 30's? TIA.

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Picking it up as in:
1) playing it?
2) following it?
3) gambling on it?

If #1, just join a local league. They have leagues for all skill levels. And the good part about just starting out is that you can go hit with chicks without it being an obvious ploy to bang them. And then you can bang them.

If #2, just dive in.

If #3, start with #2 first, then branch out from there.

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Aussie Open always reminds me of that damn 30 Seconds to Mars song I just heard the other day for the first time in a while.

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ESPN is going on year 5 with that song (which I actually like, so I can't bitch). I won't even begin to guess how much money Jordan Catalano has netted on account of ESPN's choice of tennis match fade out music. Okay, so I'm guessing even as I write this. And I'm sure that guy doesn't need any more money.

Venus loses to wildcard 18 year old Daria Kasatkina in the first round of the ASB Classic.

Is it the most effective way to learn? Possibly. But I'm a tennis fanatic and have no desire to hit against a wall. If he wanted to pick up boxing, would you tell him to hit a punching bag for hours?

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Is it the most effective way to learn? Possibly. But I'm a tennis fanatic and have no desire to hit against a wall. If he wanted to pick up boxing, would you tell him to hit a punching bag for hours?

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No, I would tell him to hit the heavy bag -- which is exactly the same focking thing as hitting against a backboard -- just like every other boxer in the history of the sport has spent hours upon hours doing.

I feel like you were kinda proud of yourself for that example there. Sorry I had to be the one to break it to you that it didn't work.