TENNIS THREAD- it's '"Bienvenidos a Miami"- and then onwards to the clay season (with hopefully no unwanted injuries ) Vamos!

[Raahh]

Bit of Will Smith there to start a new thread.

I wanted to put 'and no anti- vaxxers' but the title was long enough already .

So Barcelona starts today- with no Rafa for the first time in years- which is sad. Hopefully there will be some good matches on the court named after him.

I wonder if Goody the Mascot will be back?

I put the tennis on and was wondering why Novak was on one of the hoardings until I realised I'm watching the Serbia Open. Doh.

I can't watch anything- Virgin has gone down in our area and nothing is working. Dd2 is unimpressed

Just checking in - haven’t had chance to watch much tennis lately but have been keeping up with scores and this thread! I did manage to watch a bit of the BJK cup the other day - saw Harriet and Emma’s first matches. Shame they didn’t win (overall). Emma does seem to be struggling with some injuries, but I suppose it does take the body time to get used to being on the tour and playing tennis constantly. This time last year she was revising for her A levels!!

Evening Chessie.
I've only seen a few scores from the BJK Cup- including Swiatek's double bagel win. I love Iga- I am glad she is doing well.

I am going to make the most of watching tomorrow (internet allowing) - I have to go away for a couple of days and won't be able to watch.

Just switched on to see Korda losing his match in straight sets against Taberner - it seems sad having the Rafa Nadal court without him being there

It looks a bit gloomy in Barcelona - yes hope that Goody the scary fish monster doesn’t make an appearance

I saw something on Rafa’s Instagram saying that he was doing gentle training for the first time since his injury - hope he manages to get fit soon - not much time left before the French open

I've been out all morning so just managed to get in to watch.
It is sad not having Rafa there- and I really hope he makes it to RG (if not Rome before it- I don't want Djok winning that as well).

I wasn't planning to watch Belgrade, but noticed Domi was playing Milkman. So far, Joh has the upper hand, but it's early days- Domi might play his way into the match. (I do like Millman though).

Back in Barcelona, I think the Humbert match has started. It hasn't been a great season so far for Ugo- he's lost in the first round of nearly every tournament he has played since his win in Halle last year.

I remember the first year I really noticed Tsitsipa, was the year he made the Barcelona final. That was a very gloomy day.

Back on serve for Domi now. He is wearing a polo shirt version of the Aztec top . It does make him look a bit like he's wearing a p.e kit.

There are quite a few versions of the Aztec kit - apparently the patterns are supposed to represent sustainability

I might check out the Belgrade tournament but don’t really want to see Djok!

Fizzy you should be ok today- Djok isn't due to play until tomorrow, I think. Playing Djere, in his first round. Fingers crossed Djok is still 'rusty' .

Thank you Raahh - I’m just watching Thiem and Milkman now - it’s good to see Domi back (although he’s lost the first set)

Yes I also hope that Djok is still rusty and stays like that for a while!

Oh good- we've had the 'botanical gardens' explanation for the Aztec looking shirt.

It's clearly a talking point- I wonder how many times over the next few weeks we will hear the same thing .

Oh so the tops are based on the Botanical Gardens at Roland Garros - interesting …

x post Raahh - I think they’re an improvement on the skeleton and bee kit

Hopefully we won’t be seeing any more of the poo kit!

X post

Yes- not sure if it was Robbie last week who first mentioned it. I still think they look Aztec, and not very 'botanical'.

Not like the Nike floral thing from the other year.

FIzzy no, we mercifully haven't seen the poo kit since IW. That really was a very bad design. Maybe no-one noticed how bad it was, until the players were actually seen in action on court. (And then they binned the whole lot, hopefully).

Yes hopefully the poo kit has been quietly forgotten about

Domi is finding his feet in this set.

Erm... why are they discussing Kyrgios? There are so many other good young players out there now, that Dick is largely irrelevant.

Well done, Milkman, but Domi did well to get back into the match.
Lovely comments from John to Dom at the net.

Just watching the boys in pink.

Well done Diego.

Ugh. I hate this new format. And it's showing a notification that I have a private message- when the last one I got was over 6 months ago.

I have to go away to for a couple of days, and will miss the tennis.
I have read that Rafa is going to Madrid with Uncle Toni and hopes to play. I really hope he is fit enough. Much as I want to see him play, I'd rather he be fully fit and wait another week til Rome, than risk a more lengthy injury. I'm sure he knows better than I do whether he's ok though.

Ugh I usually use the app but it’s gone bonkers and won’t let me post.

I hate the new format as well Raahh 😡- different emojis!

Hope that your trip goes well

I’ve just seen that Wimbledon has banned Russian players