Tennis - Sinner accepts three month ban - won't miss Roland Garros (1 Viewer)

[El Floppo]

Love Tsitsipas' comments in the story below. Even though he complained about Carlos grunting during the match, that's the attitude everybody should have about losing. Gracious, humble, inspired by, and trying to learn from it.

"I tend to believe that my ball quality is one of the best on the Tour, and every time I get to play Carlos I feel like he delivers a shot quality that I don't quite get against other opponents," he said in his post-match press conference. "It just brings me trouble. I feel like his shot is deep and has a lot of topspin to it and I just haven't been able to come up with something good.

"He in a way overpowers me, but he's also patient enough to do it in a very constructive way."

Tsitsipas said it was rare for him to feel overmatched on the court, but that Alcaraz is one of the few players on the ATP Tour who can overwhelm him. The Greek praised his opponent's speed and compared him to Novak Djokovic in the way he is able to change direction and construct points with a "great tennis IQ".

After winning his third Monte-Carlo title in April, then reaching the Barcelona final and Rome quarters, Tsitsipas entered Roland Garros full of confidence. The No. 9 in the PIF ATP Rankings felt he was in top form in Paris, saying he played "close to 100 per cent" in his fourth-round victory against Matteo Arnaldi. But his "great trajectory" was stopped by the impenetrable Alcaraz.

"My chances, yes, I won't lie, I was confident," he said of his hopes to win the Roland Garros title. "I felt more confident than I usually am. Maybe that hurt me I guess. I don't know.

"I was pretty sure I could face Carlos today and maybe do something different than any other time that I have played. The kid is just too good. I can only congratulate him because he's really playing amazing. I've maximised anything that I was able to try and do out on the court. I've maximised everything. I just need to figure this out.

"It's a difficult journey. It's not a pleasant one, for sure. Of course, I wish him the best because when I play against him, I get reminded of how much there is to get better at as a tennis player."

 

[El Floppo]

And genuinely sucks about Joker.

I mean, a 5 setter until 3am followed by another intense 5 setter wasn't setting him up optimally regardless, but damn- if he could have fought his way through that and still won? And I don't doubt he could have.

Overwhelming favorite has to be Alcaraz at this point, right?

And the way Igas playing, can't be anybody but her (unless Sabalenka can keep herself composed). Nothing against Coco, who has been playing great- but I don't see enough in her game to take Iga down at this point.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Swiatek 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, 6-2...those are the last 4 sets she's played in the Round of 16 and then the Quarterfinals
Coco will be much better competition but I still think Gauff is gonna get rolled this time around, just feels like Swiatek is rolling right now.
IIRC, she got pushed to her limit earlier in the tournament, think she was down 5-2 to Osaka in the 3rd set and then ripped off 5 games in a row
She hasn't looked back since

 

[El Floppo]

Down goes Sabalenka, to the Russian teenager Andreeva.

Iga has this thing wrapped up.

 

[El Floppo]

And genuinely sucks about Joker.

Surgery, and will miss Wimbledon. He's a physical freak, but what are the chances he's able to come back from this?

And Iga steamrolled Coco. On to meet the Italian in the final, who beat the Russian teenager.

Coco needs to develop more oomph to her game if she's going to want to challenge Iga- who I always think is late 20s but is only 23 and barring something else, will be in Cocos way for most of her career. Coco defends amazingly, has a good backhand and serve, but no forehand... So everybody just works her forehand and she essentially pushes everything back. Iga doesn't really have any weaknesses, and attacks every point the second she can- the moment it's 50/50, she's hitting the ball deep and wide and putting her opponent in trouble. I still think Sabalenka has the best game to counter that with her own offense, but is just too inconsistent (not Cocos problem). Hopefully Naomi gains momentum from this and gets her game back on track.. otherwise we're looking at a loooong Iga run.

 

[BobbyLayne]

I’m so conflicted







Great stuff at Roland Garros

 

[identikit]

And genuinely sucks about Joker.

Surgery, and will miss Wimbledon. He's a physical freak, but what are the chances he's able to come back from this?

My $$$$$ is on Joker

 

[BobbyLayne]

Last 20 years of Men’s Champions at Roland Garros (last win):

• Nadal 14 (2022)
• Djokovic 3 (2023)
• Federer 1 (2009)
• Wawrinka 1 (2015)
• Today’s Winner 1 (2024)

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Great Finals Match
5 sets and the 5-2 turnaround by Zverev in the 3rd was something to watch unfold
Still feels like Alcaraz is clearly better
That said, Zverev has one of the most insane backhand weapons we've seen in some time, Agassi being the Gold Standard of all time

 

[El Floppo]

I just turned on at 3-1 in the 4th.

They both look tired. Lots of sloppiness. This last set will need one of them to dig deep and hold on to their game. Zverevs body language and increasimg unforced errors at the worst points the last few games tells me it will be Alcaraz.

 

[identikit]

What a point!!

 

[El Floppo]

I thought the video assist overrides the ref? I guess not. Zverev should be apoplectic if he loses this game.

 

[El Floppo]

Zverev got ****ed there.

Eta.. I mean, credit to Carlos... But damn.

 

[El Floppo]

Ah.. they talked about Hawkeyes margin for error covering it. Still... Yuck.

Zverev has missed so many winners... Gonna be hard to pull this thing back like that.

 

[El Floppo]

Oof.

And why did Zverev complain about?

 

[El Floppo]

Lol... Just don't hit to Alacaraz forehand.

 

[Desert_Power]

I just turned on at 3-1 in the 4th.

They both look tired. Lots of sloppiness. This last set will need one of them to dig deep and hold on to their game. Zverevs body language and increasimg unforced errors at the worst points the last few games tells me it will be Alcaraz.

Yea, they look exhausted out there.

 

[El Floppo]

I just turned on at 3-1 in the 4th.

They both look tired. Lots of sloppiness. This last set will need one of them to dig deep and hold on to their game. Zverevs body language and increasimg unforced errors at the worst points the last few games tells me it will be Alcaraz.

Yea, they look exhausted out there.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic... Because with all the errors, they're still playing some great stuff.

 

[BobbyLayne]

 

[El Floppo]

To me, Carlos took his chances better. His forehand is so lethal. Zverez took advantage in a lot of points that he'd hit an error on the kill shot. That was the difference to my eyes.

 

[identikit]

I don't watch nearly as much tennis as many do, but when I have caught Zverev's matches he seems to buckle quite a bit when things get gritty

 

[baymen]

This post match interview with Andy Murray is great.

 

[El Floppo]

Surgery, and will miss Wimbledon. He's a physical freak, but what are the chances he's able to come back from this?

Lol.. not so fast.

The man is a machine. Wimbledon semis just after surgery. Incredible.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Fritz wind in 5 sets then loses in 5 sets
Bummer

Djokovic walks into the Semifinals with De Minaur withdrawing from the QF
Little extra rest for the Joker, maybe this will be his last push for a Major
I thought after the French he was going to miss a significant amount of time but I guess not

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Not much left on the Women's side but since Paolini is having such a terrific year with a French Open Finals appearance
I doubt she will get this far again, she's never been a dominant player and is a lot shorter than most of the top female tennis players
I would enjoy watching her take it down with so many top seeds eliminated already

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Looks like the new king is taking his throne.

What Serbian bar is @Deamon watching this at to jinx Joker?

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Wow, Alcaraz really tightened up there

 

[Don Quixote]

Wow, Alcaraz really tightened up there

Yeah, choked that one away. Double fault and then guy screaming in the middle of the point seemed to get him off track.

 

[QuizGuy66]

Please finish this off Alcatraz

-QG

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Lets Go Joker

 

[Long Ball Larry]

joker never loses a tiebreaker. Will be interesting

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Wow, cannot believe that Alvcaraz shot was out. Looked definitely in in real time

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Learn his name, auto-correct!

 

[QuizGuy66]

Excellent!
-QG

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Helluva Wimbledon run by the GOAT since 2018. Finals every year. 37 years old and playing on a reconstructed knee this year.

 

[Desert_Power]

Helluva Wimbledon run by the GOAT since 2018. Finals every year. 37 years old and playing on a reconstructed knee this year.

Very enjoyable interview as well.

Alcatraz is on fire right now.

 

[Deamon]

Looks like the new king is taking his throne.

What Serbian bar is @Deamon watching this at to jinx Joker?

lol been back for a while now

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Just when you think "there'll never be someone as good as/better than Player XYZ"
...

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Learn his name, auto-correct!

Alcatraz, right?

 

[kevzilla]

Just when you think "there'll never be someone as good as/better than Player XYZ"
...

In the last 30 years, Sampras became the GOAT, surpassed by Federer, surpassed by Nadal, surpassed by Djoker. And  he got whipped by the next one this morning. Remarkable.

 

[fantasy stud]

Interesting wimbeldon. The draw definitely was part of the story. They really gave the #1 seed Sinner the hardest possible draw. He had to go through the wimbeldon finalist Berretini, then US open semifinalist Ben Shelton, and then major champion Medvedev just to get to Alcarez? In the mean time, Djokovich never had to play a top 15 player until today. In the end, the best player won it. However, I don't why these major tournaments keep putting Alcarez and Sinner on the same side so they can't meet in the finals.

 

[Mitchie]

Just when you think "there'll never be someone as good as/better than Player XYZ"
...

In the last 30 years, Sampras became the GOAT, surpassed by Federer, surpassed by Nadal, surpassed by Djoker. And  he got whipped by the next one this morning. Remarkable.

Not really remarkable when you consider Djokovic is 37 years old. He also had a knee operation a month ago.

 

[kevzilla]

Just when you think "there'll never be someone as good as/better than Player XYZ"
...

In the last 30 years, Sampras became the GOAT, surpassed by Federer, surpassed by Nadal, surpassed by Djoker. And  he got whipped by the next one this morning. Remarkable.

Not really remarkable when you consider Djokovic is 37 years old. He also had a knee operation a month ago.

My bad. I didn't mean to imply the result was remarkable. Each of these GOATs still active when the next one comes along is remarkable.

 

[El Floppo]

He also had a knee operation a month ago.

Playing 1 match, let alone getting to the finals of Wimbledon is the remarkable thing, imo.

 

[Capella]

Interesting wimbeldon. The draw definitely was part of the story. They really gave the #1 seed Sinner the hardest possible draw. He had to go through the wimbeldon finalist Berretini, then US open semifinalist Ben Shelton, and then major champion Medvedev just to get to Alcarez? In the mean time, Djokovich never had to play a top 15 player until today. In the end, the best player won it. However, I don't why these major tournaments keep putting Alcarez and Sinner on the same side so they can't meet in the finals.

Somebody explained it in here a year or two ago but I truly don’t understand why the bracket isn’t just 1 plays 8 and 4 and 2 plays 7 and 3 etc like a basketball tournament.

 

[El Floppo]

Interesting wimbeldon. The draw definitely was part of the story. They really gave the #1 seed Sinner the hardest possible draw. He had to go through the wimbeldon finalist Berretini, then US open semifinalist Ben Shelton, and then major champion Medvedev just to get to Alcarez? In the mean time, Djokovich never had to play a top 15 player until today. In the end, the best player won it. However, I don't why these major tournaments keep putting Alcarez and Sinner on the same side so they can't meet in the finals.

Somebody explained it in here a year or two ago but I truly don’t understand why the bracket isn’t just 1 plays 8 and 4 and 2 plays 7 and 3 etc like a basketball tournament.

I can't claim to follow it, but I assumed they did do this at the beginning? So that the 1 and 2 seeds at least were on opposite sides of the draw?

 

[fantasy stud]

Interesting wimbeldon. The draw definitely was part of the story. They really gave the #1 seed Sinner the hardest possible draw. He had to go through the wimbeldon finalist Berretini, then US open semifinalist Ben Shelton, and then major champion Medvedev just to get to Alcarez? In the mean time, Djokovich never had to play a top 15 player until today. In the end, the best player won it. However, I don't why these major tournaments keep putting Alcarez and Sinner on the same side so they can't meet in the finals.

Somebody explained it in here a year or two ago but I truly don’t understand why the bracket isn’t just 1 plays 8 and 4 and 2 plays 7 and 3 etc like a basketball tournament.

I can't claim to follow it, but I assumed they did do this at the beginning? So that the 1 and 2 seeds at least were on opposite sides of the draw?

They do put the 1 and 2 on opposite sides. But, unlike basketball in the final 4, they didn't have 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3. Instead it was 1 v 3 and 2 v4. Also, the one seed played the 5 seed in the quarters instead of the 8 seed.

 

[Mitchie]

Interesting wimbeldon. The draw definitely was part of the story. They really gave the #1 seed Sinner the hardest possible draw. He had to go through the wimbeldon finalist Berretini, then US open semifinalist Ben Shelton, and then major champion Medvedev just to get to Alcarez? In the mean time, Djokovich never had to play a top 15 player until today. In the end, the best player won it. However, I don't why these major tournaments keep putting Alcarez and Sinner on the same side so they can't meet in the finals.

Somebody explained it in here a year or two ago but I truly don’t understand why the bracket isn’t just 1 plays 8 and 4 and 2 plays 7 and 3 etc like a basketball tournament.

They draw each round by chance, as explained above 1&2 on opposite sides but then 1 could play 3 or 4 in semis or 5, 6, 7 or 8 in the quarters, etc. They do it this way b/c rankings can be somewhat static especially at the top and they don't want 1 to keep playing 4 and 8, etc.

 

[El Floppo]

Interesting wimbeldon. The draw definitely was part of the story. They really gave the #1 seed Sinner the hardest possible draw. He had to go through the wimbeldon finalist Berretini, then US open semifinalist Ben Shelton, and then major champion Medvedev just to get to Alcarez? In the mean time, Djokovich never had to play a top 15 player until today. In the end, the best player won it. However, I don't why these major tournaments keep putting Alcarez and Sinner on the same side so they can't meet in the finals.

Somebody explained it in here a year or two ago but I truly don’t understand why the bracket isn’t just 1 plays 8 and 4 and 2 plays 7 and 3 etc like a basketball tournament.

They draw each round by chance, as explained above 1&2 on opposite sides but then 1 could play 3 or 4 in semis or 5, 6, 7 or 8 in the quarters, etc. They do it this way b/c rankings can be somewhat static especially at the top and they don't want 1 to keep playing 4 and 8, etc.

Thanks! Interesting, and I get it finally!

 

[BassNBrew]

Did any of you catch the men’s doubles finals? The young guy on the winning team went to UNC Asheville. A virtual nobody on an unranked team that just won on the biggest stage. He he went to grad school after college and had no pro ambitions. They saved three championship points. No breaks in the match and I believe all three tiebreakers won by 2 points