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SMB Tennis thread


Class from Thiem that, clearly wasn't fit so to come back from 2 sets down is incredible really, be interesting to see if he is now ready to dethrone Rafa in Paris.
 
Blue_Monday said:
Class from Thiem that, clearly wasn't fit so to come back from 2 sets down is incredible really, be interesting to see if he is now ready to dethrone Rafa in Paris.
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Won't have played on clay for a month, rafa and Djokovic playing rome, thiem maybe injure too.
Would not be surprised if he exits early....next year may be his chance
 
Did anyone see what happened with Kasatkina today in her match against Azarenka? I seen her in floods of tears but missed what happened.
 
Gan on Liam Broady lad 8-) just won three matches in a row on clay for the first time in his career (above futures level) to qualify for the French Open for the first time! f***ing effort and a half that, three wins as a underdog and didn't drop a set either. Top man, deserves it.

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French Open draws are out in 2/3 hours time. Rafa currently around evens, Djokovic and Thiem roughly the same price at 3/1. Prices will change as soon as the draw's made if Thiem's in Rafa's half I imagine. I understand why people would back Thiem but anyone who looks at Djokovic and Thiem at the same price and picks Thiem is nuts in my opinion.
 
MarcoG said:
Should do a re-draw for that, absolute bollocks :lol:

Djokovic will be over the moon with that draw, could be at the semi final stage without dropping a set.
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Looks like a cakewalk for him to the semis, hope tsistipas brings his best and gives him a run for his money.
Thiem and Nadal have both got shockers + new tennis balls that they don't like as they don't bounce as much.
Thiem has got former grand slam winner cilic in the 1st round, then maybe Opelka 2nd, ruud, Sardinia or Murray or Felix in 4th, monfils, nadal, then probably Djokovic in the final. absolute killer of a draw.
Nadal isn't much better - 3rd round onwards, nishikori, fignini, zverev, thiem, then djokovic.
Djokovic is 3-1 right now to win the tournament, rafa is above evens just for the 1st time in years.....Think I'm sticking a few quid on Djokovic and hoping to be poorer come the end of the tournament 😂
 
Thiem v Cilic could be interesting for a couple of sets.
MarcoG said:
Should do a re-draw for that, absolute bollocks :lol:

Djokovic will be over the moon with that draw, could be at the semi final stage without dropping a set.
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What’s Djokovic likely route to the semis?
 
Djokovic is only the 3rd best clay court player mind, Thiem has done him the last few times in the French open, having said that Djokovic has a bye to the final.
 
ferryhill mackem said:
murray to face stan in the first round
konta has gauff
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On the face of it, not the greatest draw for British players. Norrie has drawn Sandgren, Evans versus Nishikori, Edmund has withdrawn. On the women's side, Watson plays a French woman who's in the top 50, which is an even match up. Don't expect Murray to beat Stan, Konta slight favourite (has Coco played much on clay?), the rest 50:50ish (but I'd make Nishikori favourite to beat Evans).
Arkle said:
On the face of it, not the greatest draw for British players. Norrie has drawn Sandgren, Evans versus Nishikori, Edmund has withdrawn. On the women's side, Watson plays a French woman who's in the top 50, which is an even match up. Don't expect Murray to beat Stan, Konta slight favourite (has Coco played much on clay?), the rest 50:50ish (but I'd make Nishikori favourite to beat Evans).
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Totally misread Norrie's draw, he's got a qualifier then Sandgren. Woo hoo!
 
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Blue_Monday said:
Djokovic is only the 3rd best clay court player mind, Thiem has done him the last few times in the French open, having said that Djokovic has a bye to the final.
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Djokovic is better than Thiem on clay. By a somewhat decent distance I'd say as well.

JL1985 said:
Thiem v Cilic could be interesting for a couple of sets.

What’s Djokovic likely route to the semis?
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R1: Mikael Ymer
R2: Hugo Dellien
R3: Hurkacz/Sandgren
R4: Garin/Khachanov
QF: Bautista Agut/Carreno Busta/Berrettini
SF: Tsitsipas
F: Nadal/Thiem
 
MarcoG said:
Djokovic is better than Thiem on clay. By a somewhat decent distance I'd say as well.



R1: Mikael Ymer
R2: Hugo Dellien
R3: Hurkacz/Sandgren
R4: Garin/Khachanov
QF: Bautista Agut/Carreno Busta/Berrettini
SF: Tsitsipas
F: Nadal/Thiem
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I'd disagree with djokovic being better than Thiem on clay overall...however I would say he his better right now by virtue of playing on clay competitively more recently and due to the ball change at the french open.
Honestly that draw is a bit of a joke - not too mention that when the draw was happening it skipped to the 4th seed medvedev the went back to thiem as the 3rd seed for the bottom half.....something dodgy there I reckon as all other seeds were In order
 
MarcoG said:
Djokovic is better than Thiem on clay. By a somewhat decent distance I'd say as well.
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Djokovic used to be better on clay than Thiem but hes not now, Thiem has beaten him in the French Open the last twice they have met. The draw this year had given Djokovic the catwalk to the final but I still wouldn't expect him to beat Nadal or Thiem in it.
scotch said:
Looks like a cakewalk for him to the semis, hope tsistipas brings his best and gives him a run for his money.
Thiem and Nadal have both got shockers + new tennis balls that they don't like as they don't bounce as much.
Thiem has got former grand slam winner cilic in the 1st round, then maybe Opelka 2nd, ruud, Sardinia or Murray or Felix in 4th, monfils, nadal, then probably Djokovic in the final. absolute killer of a draw.
Nadal isn't much better - 3rd round onwards, nishikori, fignini, zverev, thiem, then djokovic.
Djokovic is 3-1 right now to win the tournament, rafa is above evens just for the 1st time in years.....Think I'm sticking a few quid on Djokovic and hoping to be poorer come the end of the tournament 😂
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No matter how good he is on clay I think Nadal at evens is poor value looking at the draw, even money for him to beat Thiem and Djokovic offers no value. 4/1 for Thiem to win it which basically means beating Nadal in the semis is tempting I must admit, Djokovic at 2/1 isnt bad either, basically getting 2/1 for him to beat Nadal or Thiem in the final.
 
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MarcoG said:
Djokovic is better than Thiem on clay. By a somewhat decent distance I'd say as well.



R1: Mikael Ymer
R2: Hugo Dellien
R3: Hurkacz/Sandgren
R4: Garin/Khachanov
QF: Bautista Agut/Carreno Busta/Berrettini
SF: Tsitsipas
F: Nadal/Thiem
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Cheers
 
Blue_Monday said:
Djokovic used to be better on clay than Thiem but hes not now, Thiem has beaten him in the French Open the last twice they have met. The draw this year had given Djokovic the catwalk to the final but I still wouldn't expect him to beat Nadal or Thiem in it.
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Do you think Stan Wawrinka is a better hard court player than Novak Djokovic?
 
MarcoG said:
Do you think Stan Wawrinka is a better hard court player than Novak Djokovic?
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Nope, but that is a silly comparison.

If Wawrinka played Djokovic on a hard court tomorrow then Djokovic would win.

If Thiem played Djokovic tomorrow on a clay court then Thiem would win.

Thiem has improved massively over the last few years and beaten Djokovic the last twice they have met in the French Open, Djokovic hasn't even got to the final since 2016, Thiem has been in the final twice in that time.

All recent French Open tournaments show that Thiem has now overtaken Djokovic as the 2nd best clay court player.
 
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Blue_Monday said:
Nope, but that is a silly comparison.

If Wawrinka played Djokovic on a hard court tomorrow then Djokovic would win.

If Thiem played Djokovic tomorrow on a clay court then Thiem would win.

Thiem has improved massively over the last few years and beaten Djokovic the last twice they have met in the French Open, Djokovic hasn't even got to the final since 2016, Thiem has been in the final twice in that time.

All recent French Open tournaments show that Thiem has now overtaken Djokovic as the 2nd best clay court player.
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You claim he's better than him because he's beaten him in two Grand Slams recently. He beat him in 2017 and 2019 at the French. Stan's beaten Djokovic in his most two recent hard court matches, both at the US Open in2016 and 2019. So by your logic Stan is a better hard court player.

In reality, Thiem and Djokovic's match in 2017 has absolutely zero relevance to their currently level of ability. Jack Sock finished that year 8th in the rankings. Djokovic won one 250 tournament that year, lost to Denis Istomin in the Australian Open and retired at Wimbledon after a set in his match against Berdych and took the next six/seven months off because he finally had the surgery he'd needed for around a year because it was clear he was hurt every time he played a match.

Their 2019 match was an absolute clusterfuck. If you want to rate their ability based on that match we're probably looking at players who are around about 50th and 51st in the world. They played the first two sets in a wind tunnel near enough. Beating someone 7-5 in a fifth set doesn't prove you are a undisputedly a better player than someone, that's not how it works.
 
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MarcoG said:
You claim he's better than him because he's beaten him in two Grand Slams recently. He beat him in 2017 and 2019 at the French. Stan's beaten Djokovic in his most two recent hard court matches, both at the US Open in2016 and 2019. So by your logic Stan is a better hard court player.

In reality, Thiem and Djokovic's match in 2017 has absolutely zero relevance to their currently level of ability. Jack Sock finished that year 8th in the rankings. Djokovic won one 250 tournament that year, lost to Denis Istomin in the Australian Open and retired at Wimbledon after a set in his match against Berdych and took the next six/seven months off because he finally had the surgery he'd needed for around a year because it was clear he was hurt every time he played a match.

Their 2019 match was an absolute clusterfuck. If you want to rate their ability based on that match we're probably looking at players who are around about 50th and 51st in the world. They played the first two sets in a wind tunnel near enough. Beating someone 7-5 in a fifth set doesn't prove you are a undisputedly a better player than someone, that's not how it works.
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Djokovic retired in the 2019 US match against Stan so its hardly beating him properly.

Thiem has improved past Djokovic on a clay court I think, hell you could even argue based on the Australian Open and US open this year he isn't even that far behind him on a hard court anymore.

I think the winner of the French will be whoever wins the Thiem Nadal semi final, Djokovic has a catwalk to the final and I still dont think he will win it.
 
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