re: 2017 Non-GS Tennis Thread

"This week will be the 707th week in a row that Nadal, Federer, Djokovic or Murray will be No. 1 (ever since Federer first got it on February 2, 2004)."

Nuts.

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2017 Non-GS Tennis Thread
Just wanted to state for the record that I don't believe Dolgopolov was involved in match fixing. In addition to the obvious deterrent that he has $6.5 million in career prize money, I watched the highlights and didn't see anything all that unusual. That last game of the first set looked a little fishy, but he started trying to chip forehand returns because his normal return wasn't working. Monteiro just had a rare great day from the service line by his standards, with 8 aces and 1 double fault.

Do I have an explanation for the outrageous line move prior to the match? Not really. This is the part I'm the most curious about. It's possible that some people picked up on the fact that Dolgo either retired or gave less than 100% in a lot of his 1st round matches this year. But that much of a swing in the line is insane.

Anyone know if he has said anything since the match?

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I wish I agreed with you. But I don't.

We've got two factors in play.
1) hugely abnormal line move
2) curiously bad play.

I'm sorry, where there is smoke there is fire.

Now, is Dolgo a random-as-fock player? Yes, he is. Him playing that bad isn't unexpected. But the thing about guys like Dolgo who randomly meander between great and journeyman -- and especially in the case of Dolgo-- is that they do so randomly (i.e. not in a way that can be predicted). Dolgo's terribleness was quite clearly predicted by many many people who are in the business of making wagers on tennis.

The only legitimate possibility I am willing to entertain is that he had an injury that leaked to some very important people But doesn't that seem like a stretch given his performeances both before and after the match in question?

Sloane Stephens is easy to like. She just has a magnetic personality. And I say that in the most non-dirty-old-man way that I can muster* (though I would certainly not decline an invitation to get balls deep)).

She's just cool.


LINK


*I'm arguably not old yet. The dirty ship, on the other hand, sailed long long ago.

Here is a rundown of the remaining schedule for this year:

Week starting:

October 2nd:
- China Open (500)
- Japan Open (500)

October 8:
- Shanghai Masters

October 23:
- Erste Bank in Vienna (500)
- Basel (500)

October 30:
- Paris Masters

November 7:
- Kiddie ATP Finals

November 12:
- Adult ATP Finals

November 24:
- Davis Cup finals

MV Editorializations:
they jampack October chock full of tournaments. I didn't list the 250 level tournaments, of which there are several. I don't love them cramming two Master's events in October when nobody but degenerate gamblers and full-on tennis nerds are paying any attention at all.


General Thoughts:
Not really a ton of great storylines for the remainder of the calendar year imho. It's almost a certainty that The Great Great RN will finish the year out as the world numero uno. He knows it. Fed knows it. Freaking Marcellus knows it. And so there's not going to be a great deal of incentive for either Rafa or Nadal to go balls out in this the red zone of the ATP calendar. Rafa, especially, considering that this is the time of year when his body tends to break down, and he didn't do his body any favors by playing I believe four matches in Laver Cup, two of which were highly competitive single's matches. For Fed, no need to put unneeded stress on his back when he, practically speaking, has virtually no chance of finishing the year out as no. 1, and so will, if he's prudent, prioritize a fully-healthy defense of his Oz title over a meaningless late-game attempt at vulturing points.

Novak is out. Andy is out. Stan is out. Kei is out. Jesus -tap-dancing Christ.

This is a GREAT opportunity, though, for a guy like Shapovalov to rack up as many ATP points as possible. There's no reason that kid shouldn't be in the top ten.

This would also be a nice opportunity for the most talented tennis player on the planet to build off his match against Fed at Laver -- where he showed tremendous competitive fighting spirit from start to finish -- and maybe just maybe learn the life lesson that giving effort at your chosen profession is a noble and worthwhile endeavor. Why do I care? I mean, it's his talent to waste, right? I care because I'm a fan of the sport, and that guy is just so focking good at tennis. It would hurt my feelings a great deal if his nigh boundless potential was completely squandered. I'm not saying that he has to transform himself into a guy like Nadal who plays every goddamn point like he's penniless and starving, because that's just never going to happen. Just show me you wanna win. When you play, play hard.

Expounding on that last point, talent squandering isn't a binary thing. There is a definitely a talent squandering continuum. One on end, you have Rafael Nadal, who is just wonderfully competitive all the time, and completely maximizes his talent, which is rare for a guy who has it in spades. On the other hand, you have Nick Kyrgios right now. Slightly up from there you have Marcelo Rios. A bit further up you have maybe a Marat Safin. And I'll stop there, because all I'm asking from you, Nick Kyrgios, is to only squander your talent at about the same level that Safin squandered his. Or squander it way less. But don't squander it even more than that. From a fan of the game, it's not an unreasonable request.

One more point on Rafa. He's never won the ATP tour finals. Surely he's aware of this slight dent in his resume and will want to check that one off the list. If achieving that goal meant sitting out one of the two upcoming masters, then that would probably be the preferred play. He won't, though.


General Thoughts on WTA
- MV desireth biblical knowledge of Garby

Who will be in the Kiddie ATP Finals (race to milan)? Looking like:
1. Alex
2. Rublex
3. Karen
4. Denis
5. Coric (I thought he was older than that)
6. Jared Donaldson (he's been putting together a nice few months)
7. Medvedev
8. Tiafoe (he's sitting at 9 now): this is probably more hopeful than objective, but I feel like he's really starting to come into his own, has been hurt recently by some nasty draws, and is going to make a deep run in a meaningful tournament sooner rather than later

Honey Nut taking it to Alex

Kyrgios just hit two balls out of the stadium and quits after first set.