SMB Tennis thread (note there is a specific Wimbledon 22 thread)



Another win for Andy Murray in the Davis Cup.

Didn’t watch it but by BBC timeline it sounded like an epic & a tough game.
 
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Saw the last set of it, ground it out well. The defence to win the break back when he was down in the final set tie breaker was peak Andy Murray. Evans just lost the second set after serving for the match and is a break down early in the third set, the tie's still in the balance.

Still think it's a shame they've ruined the best tournament in tennis for this though.
 
I must admit I've thoroughly enjoyed this years version so far and I'm pleased that you can actually watch the other nations matches on TV, and there's been some cracking ties already. Last year there wasn't even any UK coverage of the final between Croatia and France (or the Fed Cup final the other week), and with the event more compact and in one place, it does generally make the other ties more relevant to fans whose own nation isn't involved in that match.

It's obviously a sensitive issue and there are many well against the changes, and they have every right to be, due to the history and tradition, and more chance to watch their nation, but while possibly not this extreme, I personally think it definitely did need some significant changes to make it generally more appealing to a larger market - imagine if the Aussie or French Open men's final was only available on the ITF website for a fiver.

While I wouldn't change it in the slams, I also do generally prefer watching BO3 over BO5 (probably why I prefer the women's tour), which is another issue that many have since there has been a massive reduction in BO5 matches in recent years, but from my POV it does make it more watchable, and will be more likely to attract the casual fan too IMO.

There's been a few issues so far like the late late finishes and also Canada conceding their doubles rubber and giving the USA a 6-0 6-0 win, which could have caused major problems, and hopefully they can sort these out for the coming years, but the tennis has largely been great, the passion has been there, and while there could always be more in the crowd for the non Spain matches, the atmosphere has generally been positive. Still work to do, but I think it's gone a lot better than many were anticipating / fearing (or even hoping) so far.
 
GB vs Germany Davis Cup QF starting in about 15 mins on Eurosport 1. No (Andy) Murray again today (in the single's at least), so it's Edmund vs Kohlscreiber and Evans vs Struff, and it could well come down to the deciding doubles rubber where Germany have the current French Open champs to call upon. I'd say a 50/50 tie.

Spain vs Argentina starts at the same time, and that's Carreno-Busta vs Pella and then Nadal vs Schwartzman. The winners of these 2 ties play each other in the semi final tomorrow. Canada and Russia will meet in the other semi final, also tomorrow. Russia-Serbia this morning was an epic QF.
 
Some tweaks needed here and there, but this week has largely been great, and there's been so many good matches / ties. Not sure who I want to win this deciding Spain-Argentina doubles match (on Eurosport now, just started). Argentina would likely be the easier tie, as you'd expect Nadal (who has been massively fired up for this) to win whoever he plays, and then realistically, it's a doubles shootout at best, but a Spain win would guarantee a big, passionate crowd, rather than risking it being 25% full (one of the issues), and it would be better for the tournament with Spain still involved, even if not best for GB.

I really hope this format is here to stay and they can eventually get a more convenient spot in the calendar, like September (even if that may clash with the Laver Cup), and potentially extend it to 10+ days, so that it is not all crammed in, and risking 3/4am finishes some nights. I've personally never watched so much 'Davis Cup' in my life, and I am a big fan of the changes. Some issues need resolving, but there's a lot of potential.
 
So Canada beat Russia in a deciding set tie break of a deciding doubles rubber to reach their first ever final. GB vs Spain now. Edmund vs Lopez, Evans vs Nadal, and then the deciding doubles if needed. Speaking the obvious, I think Kyle really needs to win this match to have any chance.

The LTA gave away almost 1,000 tickets to British fans in Madrid.
 
Spain win the inaugural edition of the new format. Rafa absolutely superb all week, and was a massive part of their success. Many will be divided on the changes, and there are certainly tweaks needed if it is to prosper, but that's got to be right up there with the best tennis week of the year, and if Eurosport continue to show 15 hours of tennis each day for the course of the week, then it's all good with me.

Thoroughly enjoyed that week.
 
The Bridge Lad said:
Spain win the inaugural edition of the new format. Rafa absolutely superb all week, and was a massive part of their success. Many will be divided on the changes, and there are certainly tweaks needed if it is to prosper, but that's got to be right up there with the best tennis week of the year, and if Eurosport continue to show 15 hours of tennis each day for the course of the week, then it's all good with me.

Thoroughly enjoyed that week.
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I think the format is good. As Djokovic said, maybe a move to earlier in the year would be good?

Also, is there an intention to start rotating the host nation? It's in Madrid again next year, which will give Spain all of the advantages again.
 
The Bridge Lad said:
Spain win the inaugural edition of the new format. Rafa absolutely superb all week, and was a massive part of their success. Many will be divided on the changes, and there are certainly tweaks needed if it is to prosper, but that's got to be right up there with the best tennis week of the year, and if Eurosport continue to show 15 hours of tennis each day for the course of the week, then it's all good with me.

Thoroughly enjoyed that week.
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You going to watch the Murray documentary
 
The Bridge Lad said:
Yes, will be mate - it sounds really good. I'm meant to be going to watch Frozen 2 tomorrow so will try and rewatch the first one, and if I get time, I'll watch Resurfacing tonight as well, if not, then it''ll be some other time this weekend. You?
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Might watch it Sunday not usually one for documentaries but it looks interesting, had bit of time away from tennis lately just getting back into it.
 
Not a huge surprise, although I was hoping she'd have made an announcement but then had another year on tour to play each event a final time, but Wozniacki will retire after the Australian Open. She's acheived a lot - loads of WTA titles, YEC, #1, multiple slam finals, and of course, the Aussie Open title last year. It's been a rough year for her with her illness, and she's just recently married, so it did kind of just feel a case of when. Thoughts @alexander?
 
The Bridge Lad said:
Not a huge surprise, although I was hoping she'd have made an announcement but then had another year on tour to play each event a final time, but Wozniacki will retire after the Australian Open. She's acheived a lot - loads of WTA titles, YEC, #1, multiple slam finals, and of course, the Aussie Open title last year. It's been a rough year for her with her illness, and she's just recently married, so it did kind of just feel a case of when. Thoughts @alexander?
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I think it is the right time for her to bow out. She has nothing more to prove, really. Am pleased she has made it through this year and that her final tournament will be the Aussie Open next month.I was expecting this but had hoped she would have taken the Olympics next Summer as her farewell to the sport.

The future for Danish tennis may look bright. This year we have had a player at number one on both the girls and the boys rankings. But Caroline's will be big shoes to fill.
 
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alexander said:
I think it is the right time for her to bow out. She has nothing more to prove, really. Am pleased she has made it through this year and that her final tournament will be the Aussie Open next month.I was expecting this but had hoped she would have taken the Olympics next Summer as her farewell to the sport.

The future for Danish tennis may look bright. This year we have had a player at number one on both the girls and the boys rankings. But Caroline's will be big shoes to fill.
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Yeah, largely agree, it's just a bit weird how she'll never play certain events again, like that Zhang match was the last well see of her at Wimbledon, and it would have been good for these tournaments to have given her a send off, but she'll know when its best to leave, and this has been talked about for a while, so it's not a bombshell or anything. Carla Suarez Navarro is retiring at the end of next year.

Regarding Tauson, she's progressing well, but there will be a bit of a void for a while. Clara has had a couple of WTA WCs this year, and she may well get some next year to preserve interest, but in a more ideal world from a Danish tennis POV, it would have been better for Caro to have stuck around just that little bit longer and then Clara may have been just outside the top 100 when Woz retired, rather than 270, and it would have been more of a natural passing of the baton, if you like, but then Caro obviously shouldn't have to delay her plans to keep Danish media happy, especially with her not being in the best of health. The Aussie Open pretty much always give their previous jr winner a QWC (if it's required), so we should see Clara in quals next month.
 

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