Tennis thread: Australian Open finals and beyond!

[PrivateSpidey]

All tennis chat welcome here

I’m not sure I’ve missed the tennis really either - all the matches I watched seemed to last forever and didn’t have the outcome I wanted! (Apart from Rafa beating Kyrgios)

Overall I prefer AC to JI - although AC is annoying I think he’s quite benign in his wittering about beards and butterflies but Inverdale has been horribly sexist in the past - he said that it was a good job Marion Bartoli was good at tennis because she wasn’t a looker . I didn’t like him even before he said that!

Does anyone know what the next tournament is?

Fizzy next up is Dubai/Acapulco, iirc.

Still think it a bit odd that Djok is scheduled for Dubai I(I'm sure he doesn't usually bother)- I wonder if that was merely for the number 1 bid, and he won't bother now? Rafa lost early on in Acapulco to Kyrgios last year- hoping he has a better run this year!

Fizzy yes, it's pretty difficult to forget that Bartoli comment really, isn't it?

Bartoli was doing some of the radio commentary on the men's final, and she was really good, v insightful and quite funny as well.

I think there are some European indoor tournaments next. Richard Gasquet is playing in Marseille, as are Tsitsipas, Goffin, Shaggy (both Shaggies I think ), FAA, etc. I don't know if it's this week or next though .

I was supposed to be cancelling Amazon prime but I haven't quite got round to it, and now it has tennis on again... so that's that.

Ah well, it's the thought that counts

Of course- Buenos Aires/Rotterdam and Rio/Marseille are before that.

Federer played Rotterdam the other year- but it was the first time in years he had- and it clear at the time that he was doing it in the bid for the nimber 1 spot too (needn't ahve bothered, Rafa was injured, and didn't go to Acapulco).

The Cordoba Open is on at the moment but I don't know if it's being shown anywhere.

those two beloved commentators I have to say despite all his faults I would have Inverdale on Today at Wimbledon over Clare Balding. When it comes to commentary he's more annoying than AC though. Marion annoys me with her Serena bias. I don't think Inverdale meant what he said to sound so insulting.

Jane I have to say, I agree- Inverdale is an idiot, and what he said was not great but he basically repeated what Marion had said about herself. She made the comparisons to players like Sharapova first.

And yes, her Serena bias is nauseating.

I don't mind Clare. I think the main problem is they have messed with the format of TAW so much that it is rubbish and pretty just the 'Serena and Andy' show. Which a heavy dose of Federer. Which, as a fan of none of the above, it pisses me off.

No, he probably didn't, to be fair.

Marion's commentating was good, not sure if I've heard her commentate on a Serena match though!!

I checked after I posted and Marseille doesn't start until 17 Feb, so there must be something before then. Is Acapulco the one with the sombrero??!

Btw Tsonga is on the list for Marseille as well, so hopefully he's recovered from his Aus Open injury.

Anyway magi what do you think?

I still found what Inverdale said about Bartoli pretty offensive - he didn’t seem to realise how bad it was but I didn’t know that Marion had already said it about herself. I still don’t think he should have said it though.

Marion is definitely a Serena fangirl.

I’m not really a Clare Balding fan - I preferred the Des and Gerry show

I know it will come as a huge shock when I say that I prefer JI to AC

JI has got worse over the years but he was better on TAW, although the Des and Gerry show was the pinnacle. What he said about Bartoli wasn't nice or clever but I don't think there was any malicious intent. He was just stupid. And if Marion has said she's forgiven him and continues to work with him, then why should anyone else continue to hold a grudge.

Clare Balding is also getting worse. She is too smug, doesn't know enough about tennis and too rampantly feminist, to the detriment of fair and balanced presenting.

Raahh I know what you mean.
DH finished work two weeks ago and hasn't got a new job yet. It's handy in some ways - I'm not having to operate Kazza's Taxis as often at the moment - but I'm used to having the house to myself and being able to lounge around guilt free if I feel like it.

kazza
Dh has gone in today. But now I have dd2 off ill- 3rd time this term, and she's only been back 4 weeks. There is no way she can go in, but I feel awful about it. I can't believe it is a nearly a year since she was in hospital - and I think we might be headed back.

So, it is a shame the tennis has finished- I could use the distraction . I'm sure I can find something.

I've done some washing, changed the beds, cleaned the loos and basins and am now sitting down with a coffee. So a productive morning at Kazza Towers.
Haven't really seen DH much as he is painting the study, which hasn't been done since the house was built about 20 years ago.

We've got post-mock GCSEs parents evening later

Hope your daughter gets better soon Raahh

Sounds very productive kazza. Hope your parents eve goes well.

How's your DD doing Raahh? Hope she's ok.

Just to cheer us all up I see Mats Wilander is saying Djok could win at least 20 Slams, maybe 25. I mean, really. How can you say someone is going to win 8 more?! Surely there are too many unknowns?! I mean, in that time some unknown prodigy could emerge and win everything!!

PS Jane you were saying about Cordoba - apparently they have become the first dog-friendly ATP tournament! Dogs are allowed in and there is a dog play park there

Sascha could take all his dogs with him! (If he was playing there that is)

Haven't we discussed ball dogs on here before? And when they carried players' towels in their mouths, it would look ok - unlike when Dick or Isner do it

I’m laughing at the thought of my dog at the tennis. He’d be like a loony after all the balls.

that would be an issue for a lot of dogs probably!!

I see the roof is complete on Chatrier. I wonder if that'll be the end of that pesky biased wind they have there?!

Spidey DD was a bit better today, so she went in to school. She's not 100%, but not much we can do at the moment.

My dog would be a useless tennis dog. He would sit on the towels, and keep the balls.

I used to like Mats - I don't know, Djok looked set to smash all records when he won at RG, he seemed totally unbeatable- then he fell apart, mentally and was injured. So who knows really.
I want Rafa to at least win another RG (or2)

Speaking of RG- I have seen pictures of the roof, and I think it really spoils the stadium. I always loved how big and open it looked when the sun was shiniing- and now it looks a bit claustrophobic.

I used to like Mats

Same! Nice guy, rubbish predictions (hopefully).

Agree about the roof. Centre Court was always quite enclosed anyway, and the way they've done the roof has kept it essentially the same. Whereas RG looks really different.

It probably won't rain there at all this year (isn't that what happened when Wimbledon first got a roof?!).

Are they going to play at night as well with floodlights, or is it purely for weather purposes??

Glad your DD is a bit better Raahh

I remember last year, when the weather was bad, someone said it had been years since the tournament had been so adversely affected by the weather. The first time a whole day has been lost. This will probably be the start of storms over Paris every May/June.

It's all the fault of the tennis roofs.

I don't want them to start playing really late, as standard, I suppose with only one roof, they can't really. If they start scheduling Rafa at 10pm on a cold hard court , under a roof- I will smell a conspiracy.

Ooh a new roof - that will give AC a lot to talk about!

I’m sure I heard on the Tennis Podcast that they were going to have later starting matches at RG so they could end up being played under the floodlights.

Yes what does Mats know (hopefully nothing!)

I don’t think tennis ball dogs would be a good idea - poor Rafa would probably have a nervous breakdown - he’s very particular about his balls (lowering the tone!)

I thought the roof wasn’t supposed to be finished until (whisper) Rafa retires? (That was Mac’s weird conspiracy theory anyway!)

particular about his balls

Well, we can't have a whole bunch of random dogs just racing around the courts.

(Actually I would secretly love it)

They would turn ornage at RG, so no white dogs would probably be best ..