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Tennis - Sinner accepts three month ban - won't miss Roland Garros (4 Viewers)

El Floppo said:
John Isner is TALL

Otherwise...French Open...what should be watching for here? 
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Whether he can get the other guy's serve back, same as usual. Seriously, his game is particularly ill-suited to this surface. I admire him, though, he's gotten far more out of his talent than I thought.

Winning the French requires either a higher capacity for suffering than anyone else, or the ability to make sure your opponent is doing all the suffering. If you have both, you are Rafa Nadal. The one to watch is the kid, Alcaraz. That boy has rare gifts.

 
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That was awesome.

Nadal comes back from down 5-3 in the 4th to close it out.  Nadal just went back-to-back with over 4 hour matches.  9 total sets.  Two days off will be huge but Zverev is another mountain to climb.  

Prior to today, Joker had not lost ONE set, including the entire prep tourney in Rome, he was primed.

They've played each other 59 times now.  It's 30 to 29.

 
facook said:
Once Joker came back from down 3-0 to win the second I figured he'd roll. Nadal just never out of it on clay.
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He's just never backs down and grinds like no other.

Kind of hard to compare what he has done across other sports but I don't think there too many others above him in any sport who have dominated their sport like he has on clay. 

 
The General said:
He's just never backs down and grinds like no other.

Kind of hard to compare what he has done across other sports but I don't think there too many others above him in any sport who have dominated their sport like he has on clay. 
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Especially when you consider his run has included competing against Joker and Fed.  Not like he was dominating bums like Tiger was.

Not that it will happen, but Rafa WOULD BE halfway to the Slam if he can finish this out.  At 35.

 
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The General said:
He's just never backs down and grinds like no other.

Kind of hard to compare what he has done across other sports but I don't think there too many others above him in any sport who have dominated their sport like he has on clay. 
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There is nothing more demoralizing and harder to face than a player like Nadal.  He will literally work a clock of all things -- something tennis players never really had to deal with -- to its final second.  Whatever it takes to get any possible advantage on the court, and in between the ears, he will do it.  If he can't blow a guy out, he will turn it into a marathon until they wave the white flag.  Even in his 30's, he won't relent, the guy doesn't know how.  Amazing mental fortitude.

Michael Chang was one of the best grinders of all-time.  A rejuvenated Agassi, in his second go-round, also comes to mind.  But nobody finds ways to wear an opponent down more than Rafa.

It's also why clay plays to his advantage, obviously, looking for his 14th French???  Incredible.  That will never come close to being broken.  The guys that excel on clay are toast by their late 20's, it takes too much of a toll.

But here he is, again, at 35.  It's not like this is golf.  Nuts.

 
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El Floppo said:
And Coco to the semis too.
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and now to the Finals!

to face 34 match winning streak slam dunk #1, Swiatek.

unlikely, but would be EPIC if Coco can pull this off.

floppinha might even sell her treasured pink, signed (and given to floppinha by the star herself) Coco tennis ball...

 
The General said:
Just saw this...Honestly don't know how this doesn't happen way more often. These dudes are sliding into shots on hard surfaces as well.
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There was some rain I heard.  Have no idea when it was and/or if it affected the surface, but usually a player would've slid right through that shot.  You can see his foot/shoe grab, obviously, and I wonder if the clay was a little sticky due to moisture.

Of course, had that been the case, we probably would've heard about it by now. 

Either way, a total bummer.  Those guys had already grinded for over 3 hours, without even completing the 2nd set.  It was shaping up to be something super special.

A couple of posts up I said Nadal was 35.  He's 36 now and just caught a slight break, I guess you could say...4 sets with Novak and a 5-setter prior to that notwithstanding.  Hard to believe.  Still, the last thing Ruud needed was a somewhat rested Nadal.

Norway is going to be all eyes on Sunday.  This is something they've never seen.

 
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facook said:
1GA continues her dominance.  I will be quite emotionally "invested" in Rafa winning tomorrow.
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Not even close- a blowout in just over an hour. 

If any of you guys have been watching her, what makes Iga so good? Is it lack of competition, or is she just that good? Just turned 21, so super young still.

And re: Zverev...

Alexander Zverev has revealed he tore "several lateral ligaments" in his right foot in the injury which ended his run at the French Open on Friday.

 
El Floppo said:
Not even close- a blowout in just over an hour. 

If any of you guys have been watching her, what makes Iga so good? Is it lack of competition, or is she just that good? Just turned 21, so super young still.

And re: Zverev...

Alexander Zverev has revealed he tore "several lateral ligaments" in his right foot in the injury which ended his run at the French Open on Friday.
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I'm no expert, but to me it's kind of like Larry Holmes' boxing run.  He was an all around very good fighter, but he also had no one super talented to go up against.  Iga is very very good, but she's not the best athlete, or the most powerful striker, etc.  She IS very precise, and on clay she's excellent.  But with Serena being done, Osaka not nearly at the top of her game, and Ash Barty retiring, the competition level is just not really there right now.  I played her to win Wimbledon at +700 several weeks ago and she's down to +225 and the heavy favorite.  Would not surprise me if she won that tournament but didn't do nearly as well at the US Open.  We'll see.

 
Feels like that is really under selling Iga.  Back in 2020 when she won the French there was data about her spin rates and forehand.

Iga Swiatek: Her top-spin, a new high for women’s tennis

'The average RPM (revolutions per minute) Swiatek puts on her winners is in the mid-2400s, on par with men’s semifinalist Diego Schwartzman. She has averaged the highest topspin winners on the women’s side at close to 3200rpm. On Saturday, her peak RPM crossed into the Nadal territory at 3453; Kenin’s best effort was 2064.'

Analysis from 2021

Decoding Iga Swiatek Style of Play: Forehand Speed, Serve & Backhand

'Her backhand has been recorded to be as fast as Dominic Thiem, and Thiem by the way is a powerful player and one of the most successful currently. But what makes her groundstrokes stand out is the high amount of revolutions she imparts on them, in tennis terminology the ‘ top spin’. The top spin makes the ball jump higher than what it would normally do and this makes it difficult for her opponents to return as effectively as they would like to. Swiatek’s ability to use angles and hit winners is also well known. '

Some former pros on her in 2022

After Serena’s serve, I feel like Iga’s forehand is the most feared shot in women’s tennis” - Pam Shriver on Iga Swiatek

'Former WTA player Pam Shriver has hailed Iga Swiatek's forehand as one of the most potent shots in the women's game after Serena Williams' serve.'

“She’s finishing the slide as she hits the ball,” said Martina Navratilova. "What happens then is your body’s not actually moving when you’re hitting the ball, which makes it a more stable shot. Then, as soon as she follows through, she can go back to the middle of the court. Others, they’re still sliding so they’re later getting back into the court – and more vulnerable."

 
Wonder if Fed ever thought about buying Robin Söderling a house. Or a castle.

Imagine trying to hold him in the same esteem as Rafa or Joker if he never completed the career Grand Slam.

 
From ESPN:

Best W/L at GS Final matches:

Borg, French, 6-0

Sampras, Wimbledon, 7-0

Novak, Australian, 9-0

Nadal, French, 14-0

And Nadal never once got pushed to 5 sets.  In FOURTEEN Finals.  Nuts.

 
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