Tennis

[Stuntman]

Big news today in the US Open as Andy Roddick announces his retirement after playing the US Open. I started watching tennis about a decade ago at then end of Pete Sampras' career. When Roddick won the US Open, I thought he would be the next Sampras and win more Grand Slams. Little did I know that a fellow by the name of Roger Federer would get in the way. Anyway, it was a wonderful career.

He's the second big name player who is retiring after this year's US Open. Clijsters will also retire as well. I've been a big fan of Clijsters since she came out of retirement after having a child. I didn't expect that she would do so well winning a few Slams.

Best wishes to both of these players.

 

[FallnShadw]

Yeah.. sucked to hear about Roddick's retirement.. Had to watch that match for sure. Was also disappointing to hear Nadal wouldn't be competing at all.

But Murray made world news in a few instances. Being the 3rd person to win both the US Open Junior Championship as well as the US Open pro tour title, the first male from the UK to win a major since 1936 and the first man ever to win Olympic Gold and the US Open in the same year.

 

[RazorSharp]

Great championship match in the U.S. Open. Djokovic is one of my favorite players on the tour, but even I couldn't help but root for Murray - he played incredibly well. The match was intense and evenly matched almost until the very end; I remember late in the fifth set they showed a stat with how many points each had won to that point in the match, and it was exactly even. Crazy.

 

[Stuntman]

I'm glad Murray won the US Open as well for a few reasons. This is the first time in almost a decade where a different player won each of the men's Grand Slams. With the big 3 so dominant for so long, it is hard for any other player to win one. Also, I don't want Murray to have an 0-5 record in Grand Slam finals. I really feel sorry for him for being so good yet unable to break through for so long. Finally, I'm a Federer fan. With Djokovic losing, Federer retains the #1 ranking. I'd like to see him make it 300 weeks at #1.

 

[Stuntman]

I got up at 2am local time to watch the Federer Raonic match in the Australian Open. I didn't expect Ranoic to have a realistic chance of beating Federer in a best of 5 sets match. Raonic pushed Federer to a third set in their previous best of 3 meetings. It seems Federer really brings another level in Grand Slams. He really schooled Raonic at his own game by serving well and putting pressure on his opponent's service game.

The match finished around 4am, so I got some more sleep before work today.

 

[olbriar]

I was sursprised to see Andy take out Roger and then lay down in the final.

 

[jhawkkw]

I was sursprised to see Andy take out Roger and then lay down in the final.

It was a good match for about 3 sets, but I think Andy was out of gas because of that battle with Roger, while Djokovic had plenty of energy after plowing through Ferrer.

 

[myrecek]

I agree.
That's the difference between Djokovic and the others. Djokovic has shown several times that he has plenty of energy even after very hard matches when nobody is expecting it.

 

[Stuntman]

Both of these players are very even. Watching the first 2 sets, I would say that Djokovic was just a little bit better. I was disappointed that Murray didn't have more fight in him in the 4th set. Maybe being down 2-1 just killed his moral. Not being able to break early in the 2nd with 3 break points was huge. That could be weighing on him as well.

 

[Stuntman]

Canada defeats Italy to advance to the Davis Cup semis. Canada faces Serbia next who defeated the U.S.

 

[Stuntman]

As expected, Nadal crushed Ferrer to win his 8th French Open and 12th Grand Slam title.

 

[Stuntman]

Wow! Huge upset as Steve Darcis defeated Rafael Nadal in the first round in Wimbledon. I never would have seen this coming considering Nadal was playing so well since returning from injury.

 

[Stuntman]

This is turning out to be a tournament of upsets. Federer and Sharapova are out. Other top seeded players out include: Azarenka, Ivanovic, Jankovic, Wozniacki, Cilic, Tsonga and Isner.

Regarding Federer's defeat, that I didn't think had anything to do with a possible injury. Maybe it was because he had to change shoes because they didn't allow orange soles.

An unusual number of players could not play or retired due to injury including Azarenka, Cilic, Isner and Darcis (the player who defeated Nadal). Isner now holds the record for playing in a match with the most and fewest complete games as he retired after it was 1-1 in the first set.

I'm not sure what it is about this year's Wimbledon. There were a number of players who had falls and slips. Azarenka had one on opening day and it seemed as if she would be out then, but she continued and was able to win the match. I noticed a few other people slipping here and there including Djokovic. Djokovic was OK, though. Hopefully, the early injuries are just an anomaly and not a trend for the remainder of the tournament.

 

[sntaylor]

You missed out Nadal being beaten in first round! Lol....I think it may be djokovics year again as there may be too much expectation on Murray with half the top ten out before the quarters!

Of course I do want Murray to win though ;-)

 

[Stuntman]

You missed out Nadal being beaten in first round!

I already mentioned it in an eariler post. Serena got knocked out as well. The ladies draw is wide open now.

Lol....I think it may be djokovics year again as there may be too much expectation on Murray with half the top ten out before the quarters!

Of course I do want Murray to win though ;-)

I'd love to see Murray win as well. I'm also rooting for Del Potro. I want to see another player join the multiple Grand Slam winner club.

I thought that Berdych would have won one by now. He's got all the ability, but seems to be missing something to push him over the top. I recall seeing him play Federer a few years ago in the Rogers' Cup. Berdych looked like he was going to serve it out when he just lost it. Mind you, Federer seemed to somehow will his way to beating him and Djokovic in that tournament, eventually losing to Murray.

I like Ferrer, but he seems to not believe he can beat any of the top players. He was quoted I think last year that he doesn't think anyone can beat the top 4 because the gap is too huge.

 

[laura7]

With all of the surprises in Wimbledon, who knows what will happen in the US Open this year!

 

[Stuntman]

Vasek Pospisil managed to fight through the pain and win his second round match at the Australian Open. Unfortunately, he was too injured to continue. He withdrew as to not risk further injury.

Big upset as Del Potro went down. I thought he had a chance to go all the way.

 

[olbriar]

It's a wonder any of them are surviving the heat!

 

[Stuntman]

It's a wonder any of them are surviving the heat!

Dancevic actually collapsed during the match. He was revived and actually finished the match. He lost, though.

Looks like the heat wave is over now. Temperatures are only going to be in the twenties into next week, so conditions will be more comfortable.

That was quite a cloud burst yesterday. Rain started pouring down in the middle of a point in the tie break between Ivonavic and Stosur.

 

[olbriar]

Federer just advanced with no problem at all.

 

[Stuntman]

Federer just advanced with no problem at all.

Today will be his first big test against Tsonga.

Serena and Sharapova are out. Huge upsets there. I saw both matches. Both Ivanovic and Cibulkova played really well.

Ivanovic plays Bouchard who has had an easy draw so far. This will be Bouchard's first big test.

 

[AndroidFanN1]

Guys what tennis apps are you using to follow the tennis scores from ATP/WTA tournaments and challengers? Any recommendations?

 

[Stuntman]

Guys what tennis apps are you using to follow the tennis scores from ATP/WTA tournaments and challengers? Any recommendations?

I highly recommend Tennis Live scores. It lists matches for APT/WTA tournaments, Challengers as well as Grand Slams. It also gives details like who won each individual game. There is also a live ATP/WTA rankings, so during the week, you can tell how they are doing instead of having to wait until the end of the week for the rankings to be updated.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tgnc.tennistemple

Another good app is ATP/WTA Live. It is the official ATP/WTA app. It shows the draws for the tournaments as well. It does not have any information on the Grand Slams. For those, you need to download each individual Grand Slam app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=atpwta.live

Each of the 4 Grand Slams have their own app as well. The Grand Slam apps have more features like alerts on your favourite players whenever they play. Updates will include when they start and finish the match as well as alerts on scores after each set.

 

[Deleted User]

Murray on court in the French Open against Stan Wawrinka. Tough match.

Radio coverage of a tennis match is absolutely manic!

Update: Murray looks in good form. Tempting fate, but it looks like a Murray v Djoko final.

 

[Deleted User]

Murray playing in the final today then. You would normally put your money on Novac to win, but Murray has been showing some very strong form this week. So he could be in with a chance if he can maintain that.