ILE rolling non-slam Tennis thread

Just remembering Nole's history of saving MPs against Fed now...

Brave of Fed to come into net to save that SP...

The old man just keeps winning tournaments, eh?

Excellent finish - Fed's been so good at the net all week.

The TB was pretty good quality, for a second I thought Nole was gonna pull another escape act after he came back from 0-3, but he missed a routine FH at 4-3, then Federer was the one who served big and took risks like coming into net to save SP.

I think that game lasted as long as the entire Federer/Djokovic first set. The Li comeback continues.

i think she just won 10 points in a row lol

it's ridiculous, 30min ago she was missing everything

Li being 4-0 up and two games away from the title is a bad memory though.

I don't trust Kerber when she acts like she's given up BUT she does look completely knackered.

(Also, this has been a pretty good match. Really great, in the middle.)

Li Na!

First title since her RG win. Held it together so well.

thank god

My two favourite WTA players titling in consecutive weeks, plus Fed winning too. Love tennis so much right now. The only thing that could stuff this up would be a gross combo of winners at the US Open (i.e. Azarenka + anyone really).

This has been a weirdly amazing USO series, hasn't it. Of course it won't last.

Yay, happy for Li - couldn't stay up for her match though what with Eid and everything yesterday.

Not gonna happen but hope some random person wins the USO on the men's side, just cause it'd be cool to have five different winners at the majors (incl. the Olympics) this year. My biggest hope was Del Pony obvs but his other wrist is giving him problems. :/

now watch, you're going to get Mardy Fish USO champion

Or Isner. Or Querrey.

And Stosur oh wait

20-minute bagel. Nole won 10 points. All those DFs o_0

totally read this as all 10 points won by novak being DFs from federer

listening to kerber talking to her coach down 3-0 in the 3rd yesterday was hilarious. "i'm down 2 breaks and she won't miss any shots and i've lost this now, ciao"

yes she literally said the word 'ciao'

Not gonna happen but hope some random person wins the USO on the men's side, just cause it'd be cool to have five different winners at the majors (incl. the Olympics) this year. My biggest hope was Del Pony obvs but his other wrist is giving him problems. :/

― Roz, Monday, August 20, 2012 11:50 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Raonic is your best hope probably

although how important is Del Potro's left wrist, really?

You guys...I think Young might be about to break The Streak. A break up in the third against L. Mayer (who is DREADFUL, incidentally but obviously).

He did it.

This is the second 17-match losing streak Mayer has snapped! The other being when he lost to THOMAS MUSTER in his ill-advised 2010-11 comeback LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.

Hahhahahaha wau

as for this: although how important is Del Potro's left wrist, really?

I'd say very, given how he ended up taking the hand off and just slicing everything last week. :/

LOL @ Roddick's racquet smash on losing the first set TB. Darcis (who is basically like a Rochus redux) twice choked a mini-break lead away but took the set with a fine pass.

Roddick's decline is fun to watch in a way his prime never was :D

item one: JUSTINE HENIN IS PREGNANT
item two: SERENA WILLIAMS IS DATING PATRICK MOURATOGLOU

tennis is not done with its bombshells this year

http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/pc/Serena+Williams+coach+Patrick+Mouratoglou+AF7Yb07Z6cel.jpg

Sleazy I mean how nice for them.

idk given that Serena's past bfs include Brett Ratner and Drake I think this is a huge step up

Predictably, the guy Venus is supposedly dating is hotter.

who is Vee dating? I read something the other day where she told an Italian magazine that she was getting a lot of action from this new dude, and I was all like you go, girl.

sat a few rows from Mouratoglou during a match once and he def gives off skeezy vibes.

Elio Pis, a model she met on a photo shoot for her clothing line. Only photos on the net seem to be rubbish. I saw a Youtube that looked much better but I can't find it anymore (taken down prob).

lol I had to read tennisforum and someone made the crack about "Will Justine attempt to breastfeed" and I laughed because I'm a bad person even though I <3 Justine forever.

Having been on her bandwagon all year, am finally watching 16-yr-old Donna Vekic in the Tashkent final (against Irina-Camelia Begu). Youngest player in a WTA final for six years! She's not playing that well - it's her eighth match this week as she came through qualies, fatigue might be a factor - but I like the basics: good serve, good movement, good strokes on both wings.

Soooo Begu won, 6-4 6-4.

It was a fairly even match, and mostly decided by their serving - Vekic really only played one loose service game in the first set, and otherwise each dominated their service games. Vekic did miss several putaways by narrow margins, but her inexperience really showed at two points - when Begu served for the first set and was clearly a bit nervous, Vekic just played a horrendous return game and didn't get any into play.

In the second set , I thought Vekic had turned the match around when she came back from *2-4 and played a brilliant game, including two really long, well-constructed, consistently aggressive points (the best of the match), to break back for 4-4. Then she just played a silly, loose service game again to be broken.

Anyway, in short I'm still impressed. Her serve is the most obvious weapon - she gets many free points off it, and it sets up tons of one-two punches. Strokes on both sides are strong, and she's no slowpoke around the court either. She seems to be aiming to develop an all-around game - some points she was content to rally and move Begu around, which worked sometimes; when she was out-and-out aggressive, she sometimes hit flashy winners but also missed more. So still a work in progress, but I'm still on the bandwagon.

Oh, and I like her attitude and demeanour. Some fistpumps and "c'mons" to pump herself up as she was attempting the comeback, but not OTT; and NO SHRIEKING :)

it's funny, so many tennis people I know complain that Robson is overhyped, but she's playing her first WTA final now - first British woman in a final for 22 years - and I swear not a single British person who doesn't already follow tennis either knows or cares. When I tweeted about this yesterday I got multiple responses asking who Robson was ;_;

Anyway she's not dealing with Hsieh's awesome array of clever shots at all well right now and tbh it's Hsieh I'm supporting.

DROPSHOT RETURN OF SERVE <3

Can't find a decent stream of this. Would enjoy either player winning.

Ok I guess the match is suspended.

Erm. So Hsieh loses a 6-3, 5-3 lead and 5 MPs and gives up the set without a fight. Cut to her sitting with her coach at the changeover, laughing and joking as though she's leading 6-0 5-0. She really is an odd one.

Robson is playing really well now.

I don't think it's suspended? I'm watching the bet365 stream. I didn't pay attention for a second there but I'm guessing Robson's gone for a toilet break.

That's what the WTA scoreboard is telling me (bc of "heat), but they've been wrong before.

Oh it's the Hsieh comeback that's on now!

From 6-3, 5-3, Hsieh lost seven straight games, and has now won four straight games.

Hsieh wins 6-3 5-7 6-4. Second title of the year. Thrilled for her! At points in that match you could see why she was touted as the Next Hingis back in 2001...

Aw well done! Tough break for Robson, but she'll get there soon I think.

Aaaaaand we have the second British/Taiwanese final in 3 weeks in Osaka. Kai-Chen Chang showed up Stosur as the Worst Slam Champion Ever again (in over a decade Stosur has only won three titles, and none since the USO), having already ended the Robson hype in the QF - both in third set TBs. (She also beat McHale in R1, though I believe McHale is still recovering from mono.) Watson, OTOH, has cruised through a cushy draw without needing to beat anyone of particular note. Watson is much more the favourite than Robson was three weeks ago and won't give Chang as much pace to feed off. If Watson wins, she leapfrogs Robson to retake the GBR #1 spot, and also becomes the first British woman in the top 50 for probably like 93489392 years.

Also, I watched the end of Flipkens beating Ivanovic 6-4 6-0 in Linz yesterday. As hilarious as you'd expect. Ana literally couldn't even sustain a simple rally - against Flipkens! - let alone come close to winning games.

Any day Ivanovic loses is a good day!

Though Majoli was the far more likeable and interesting player (even if I hate her for beating Hingis), she trails Stosur in achievements imo (5 extra titles and her F wins were over some good players) - I'd take Stosur's three extra slam SFs.

Peak Errorer has come out v Murray. Quality shanking!