TENNIS THREAD- and it's the US OPEN already! where is 2017 going??

[Raahh]

New thread ,as we are very close to the end of the other.

I'm in denial that it is nearly September.

I am looking forward to Flushing Meadows. I feels like ages ages since I was able to 'watch' any tennis.

Gasquet has beaten Mischa Zverev so no meeting of the brothers.

Lovely to see Henri Leconte on the commentary.

Rafa won that easily. Thiem will not be so easy.

The scores suggest Rafa had a fairly straightforward match there. Which is good.

Might be a bit tougher against Thiem. But it's looking good so far.

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Looks like Raonic has withdrawn from his match against Cilic. Which makes his already easy half even easier.

Shame about Milos though. I hope it's nothing too bad. He's another who has had nothing but bad luck since 2016.

Richard Gasquet was looking really good on the clay. I love watching him anyway though so I'm pleased he's gone through. I feel for Raonic, he's having no luck with injuries at all.

Amazon looks like the way to go from 2019! Will be exploring getting prime & becoming a couch potato!!

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/43825337

Well feck that Magi. Looks like I'll have to give up being a couch potato!

Well, Grigor has beaten Goffin, so Rafa/Dom is next up.
Thiem was the only one to beat Rafa on clay last year, in Rome. But Rafa did go on to get his revenge quite easily later at RG.

I think Rafa's plan is to dazzle his opponents by wearing this shirt.

Yes, the yellow is definitely something

Vamos Rafa!

Looks like a good start so far!

He's on fire.

Whoop!
Well done Rafa.

Dimitrov has withdrawn from the doubles. Must be saving his energy for his match with Rafa. Bit unfair on Goffin.

That is unfair, unless it was mutually decided. Maybe Goffin isn't quite 100%.

following the scores for Rafa and Grigor- looks like a trickier start so far.

But Rafa has the upper hand in their recent meetings, although they were all close score wise.

so I was multi tasking by walking the dog ( who was too warm) and checking the scores too. definitely a hard won set by the look of things.

vamos

Ok, Grigor seems to have lost his way a bit this set...

I didn't get to watch because Liverpool were playing which seemed to be very stressful...

Vamos Rafa. Fingers crossed for the final.

vamos indeed. it will be a massive signal to everyone Roger if he defends this title. there is still a big mountain to climb before the end of RG , but it would be a major step.

so it's nishikori in the final. He's had good results on clay, he's won Barcelona twice. But he's only just coming back from injury, so he might struggle against a pretty on form Rafa.

He was also runner up to Rafa at Barcelona last year too. But a peak Rafa on clay is a nightmare for any player.

It will be tough, Dan, but it's good for Kei (even though he's a player that for no real reason, I've never warmed to at all) that he's finding some form.

He's one I've never warmed to either.

Rafa looks as fresh as a daisy so far after coming back from that hip injury.