TENNIS- The hard court season is in full swing on the run up to the US Open.

[Raahh]

This match is very up and down.

Oh dear. It's not ADF's day.

Hiding under his towel- aww.

Yes, I like Paula's attitude.

So long as there are no courtside PDAs .

Yes, Robbie. I always find Mark Twain has a quote for all occasions.

I think Greg is just ignoring him.

I'm glad Greg has acknowledged that Dick is not as great everyone thinks, and has a lousy work ethic.

The body language is not good

Spanish lessons with Greg- taking a leaf from Sam's book.

Maybe his little pep talks under his towel have helped.

Well that was not a classic!

Well done Alex

So windy

Or maybe not.

Well done De Minaur.
I hope ADF is ok, he seemed quite sad.

The crowd did their best to gee him on

The Windy has a lot to answer for- although Greg isn't having it at an excuse (he's changed his tune a bit now Alex has won- don't think he wanted ADF to win anyway).

I got the feeling for the most part they were definitely more on his side.

Maybe they don't want a lacklustre final. I really hope Sinner wins- I can't get enthusiastic for a De Minaur/Tommy Paul final.

No I'm not interested in Tommy Paul being in the final. It would be nice for Alex to win.

Morning all! I am on holiday and the Wi-Fi is a bit crap so not sure I’ll be able to watch any tennis this week. Plus the timing of US events is rubbish for me as I struggle staying up late!

I did like the BBC Sport headline today: Swiatek beaten by Pegula amid Cotton Eye Joe chaos

Cotton Eye Joe chaos - it looks as if the second women’s semi will have to be played today because of the rain and then the winner will have to play the final a few hours later - not ideal

enjoy your holiday Chessie - I also struggle with watching the US tournaments

Looks as if Sinner made it through to the final (poor Tommy Paul - no none seemed to want him to win!) I’m struggling to remember what he looks like - he’s just sort of generic tennis player!

I saw that about Montreal fizzy. It's* *ridiculous. They insist on an afternoon and a night session, despite only having one singles semi and one doubles semi in each session. I said to DS last night, what happens if the weather turns and cancels the night session? And that's what's happened! So Pegula is sitting there all rested from her semi yesterday, whilst her potential opponents slug it out today, only to be back on court for the final a couple of hours later. Same with the doubles.
As I said, bloody ridiculous!!

Scheduling has been a real issue everywhere this year. It's been the case for awhile, but it seems to have got a lot worse. They don't seem to consider the players- it's all about the tickets and money. Which is important,obviously, - but players are starting to voice their complaints - and tournaments need players.

Cotton Eye Joe. It's funny- but at the same time really unfair to the players.

I wonder if the dj will be sacked?!

no none seemed to want him to win
Except for Alex according to this shady article https://tenngrand.com/toronto-final-preview-and-prediction-sinner-vs-de-minaur/

"It’s safe to say that Alex de Minaur was rooting for Tommy Paul against Jannik Sinner in the second semifinal at the National Bank Open on Saturday night.

After all, De Minaur is 5-0 lifetime against Paul and 0-4 in his career against Sinner. That 0-4 mark in the head-to-head series with Sinner includes 1-10 hopelessness in total sets."

They also describe De Minaur as "someone who relies on running all over the place to achieve success."
What's wrong with running around? Cheeky feckers.

I don't mind which of them wins the final. I think it would be nice for Alex because Jannik is more likely to reach another final than him!

Poor Tommy!

And yes, pretty rude to describe Alex to someone who just runs a lot. He's not Doctor Who. Bit like reducing someone to 'just a serve'.
I agree that Jannik will probably win more in the future, but Alex seems to be really coming into form this year, so can't be written off.

Do they want him to stand there and let the ball whizz past him? Of course he's going to run!

I enjoyed the video of Carlos and Holger playing with racquets which had half the strings missing

Annoyingly, the final may be on too late for me- although if the last few days are anything to go by, I will probably be awake when it starts.

Nice to see Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram back in a final too- they really haven't had the best year, all things considered.

Salisbury and Ram have a lot to defend in the next few weeks, having won Cincy and the US Open last year.

Not going well for Salisbury and Ram. Lots of background noise getting picked up by the sound. The Unpire looks a bit fed up.

Just discovered some first round matches at Cincy have started
Shelton is playing Eubanks.

And the scary baby insurance advert is back.