Grand Slam Tennis ( updated )

[Beni]

https://www.chesterbugle.co.uk/2021/09/10/emma-raducanu-credits-piers-morgan-for-her-success/#

[Sooperstar]

1 hour ago, Beni said:

https://www.chesterbugle.co.uk/2021/09/10/emma-raducanu-credits-piers-morgan-for-her-success/#

Morgan showing that you just can't satirise him.

 

 

[XB52]

8 hours ago, Ibrahim Tall said:

Can tell Radacanu isn’t 100% British to be honest, she didn’t make a complete ***** of things.

Bloody immigrants taking our tennis. 

[XB52]

1 hour ago, Beni said:

https://www.chesterbugle.co.uk/2021/09/10/emma-raducanu-credits-piers-morgan-for-her-success/#

That is absolutely brilliant. 

[The Real Maroonblood]

1 hour ago, Beni said:

https://www.chesterbugle.co.uk/2021/09/10/emma-raducanu-credits-piers-morgan-for-her-success/#

[Maroon Sailor]

Looks like she did toughen up as she is now a Champion🏆 

 

However the fact she is a major champion was not the aim of Morgan's Tweet. He thought she would be a serial nearly champion like Henman and all he was doing was, what he always does, put the boot in to somebody when they are down.

 

 

Edited September 12, 2021 by Maroon Sailor

[MoncurMacdonaldMercer]

sometimes for the long term it’s the smartest move to ‘quit’ and nothing to do with toughness

 

i remember one of those James cracknell programmes where they were walking to the South Pole or something and his feet were absolutely knackered - the doctor advised him to stop for a couple of days to manage the situation saying no one could work-through the pain as they would get worse not even him

 

cracknell showing toughness and mental strength beyond only what a few per cent could muster  limped on for a couple of days

 

net result - lost time due to his slowness during his 2 days of exhibiting extreme mental toughness and a then a 5 day (instead of 2)break  to manage his further ****** feet

 

morgan is an absolute snake only existing in the public-eye due to today’s social-media driven society where Jim a plumber from east riding can lay into any expert on any expert he likes on the back of one google search and an ability to send emojis

 

 

[Victorian]

I highly suspect that Fernandez getting herself incrementally more and more worked up and upset as every second passed of her ranting led to her losing all focus and she more or less threw her chance away.  Splendid.  Maybe next time she'll avoid losing her shit at an unavoidable circumstance and recognise the rules.  

[stirlo]

27 minutes ago, Victorian said:

I highly suspect that Fernandez getting herself incrementally more and more worked up and upset as every second passed of her ranting led to her losing all focus and she more or less threw her chance away.  Splendid.  Maybe next time she'll avoid losing her shit at an unavoidable circumstance and recognise the rules.  

 

She was already on the verge of losing by then but I'm pretty sure those around her will make sure she learns from the incident. As far as I'm aware the officials were simply implementing the rules so it was difficult to understand what her issue was. As for ER she is clearly the real deal. To win a Grand Slam at such a young age is a big big hurdle to overcome as it gets the whole pressure of winning your first Grand Slam out the way.  

[JudyJudyJudy]

4 hours ago, Lord BJ said:

It was a very good match of tennis. 
 

It’s an amazing achievement for ER. She appeared so calm throughout what must have been an incredibly stressful situation was amazing. 
 

You would imagine she will go on and win more slams and has the potential to dominate the women’s game. 
 

 

 

1 hour ago, stirlo said:

 

She was already on the verge of losing by then but I'm pretty sure those around her will make sure she learns from the incident. As far as I'm aware the officials were simply implementing the rules so it was difficult to understand what her issue was. As for ER she is clearly the real deal. To win a Grand Slam at such a young age is a big big hurdle to overcome as it gets the whole pressure of winning your first Grand Slam out the way.  

It is a great achievement but again she didn’t play one top ten player in the whole tournament . Not being a Debbie downer just being realistic. However has a decent set of tennis skills to Trouble the top 5 players . As she herself said last night the women’s game is very open now unlike a few years back when it tended to be dominated by 1/2 players . 
 

I think Fernandez was ironically more impressive by beating 3 of the 5 top seeds on the way to the Final. That shows me she’s got real potential , grit and courage . Yes she was rather immature in her reaction to the knee incident but was slightly on the ascendency so was probably disappointing but if she was that determined she would have won. 
 

Maybe slightly less emotionally mature than Emma ( who is the new Ice maiden like Chris ) maybe Fernandez will be the “ heart on their sleeve l player like Martina . So maybe this will be an intriguing ongoing rivalry . Only time will tell . 

[MoncurMacdonaldMercer]

2 hours ago, stirlo said:

 

She was already on the verge of losing by then but I'm pretty sure those around her will make sure she learns from the incident. As far as I'm aware the officials were simply implementing the rules so it was difficult to understand what her issue was. As for ER she is clearly the real deal. To win a Grand Slam at such a young age is a big big hurdle to overcome as it gets the whole pressure of winning your first Grand Slam out the way.  

 

it was absolutely the worst timing for Fernandez - no-ones fault just a random event at a very crucial time and she cracked a bit 

 

no shame in that and as you say odds-on she turns the experience into a positive going forward

 

 

 

[ri Alban]

Canada have good tennis players, these days.

[Tazio]

2 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

Canada have good tennis players, these days.

Give it a rest. For a start she was born in Canada to non Canadian parents. You’re veering close to your nationalistic purity nonsense again. 

[ri Alban]

[milky_26]

2 hours ago, MoncurMacdonaldMercer said:

 

it was absolutely the worst timing for Fernandez - no-ones fault just a random event at a very crucial time and she cracked a bit 

 

no shame in that and as you say odds-on she turns the experience into a positive going forward

 

 

 

the thing is fernandez got it to a break point, if she had won that the momentum might have shifted. it is not as if ER won the next couple of points for the title

[ri Alban]

[Cade]

The lassie stands to make an absolute killing in the next couple of years.

As long as she keeps winning.

 

Social media, the mainstream media, press commitments, sponsor demands and the pressures of the world tour will all take a toll.

 

Enjoy it while it's still fun!

 

[I P Knightley]

5 hours ago, Cade said:

The lassie stands to make an absolute killing in the next couple of years.

As long as she keeps winning.

 

Social media, the mainstream media, press commitments, sponsor demands and the pressures of the world tour will all take a toll.

 

Enjoy it while it's still fun!

 

The way things work, she doesn't need to win quite so often as you seem to suggest.

 

There will be endorsements lining up round the block for her based on the image that she portrays. PLUS, she sent a video clip spoken in Mandarin to the people of China to than them for their support. Massive Chinese sponsorship will be knocking at the door.

 

I understand that someone asked her about Pies Moron's comments and her response was, "I'm sorry, I don't know who that is."

 

She's perfect!!!

[Ray Gin]

33 minutes ago, I P Knightley said:

 

I understand that someone asked her about Pies Moron's comments and her response was, "I'm sorry, I don't know who that is."

 

 

 

 

[JudyJudyJudy]

I found this quite interesting 

[Tommy Brown]

22 hours ago, Barack said:

Up ye, Piers!

 

Not seeing anything wrong in that tweet

[neilnunb]

Always daft to write Djoko off but pressure getting to him it seems.

[Mikey1874]

25 minutes ago, jonesy said:

Wonder if there are Serbs sitting on a Partizan Belgrade message board grumbling about how Djokovic always drags these out and puts them through the wringer!

 

 

[neilnunb]

25 minutes ago, jonesy said:

Wonder if there are Serbs sitting on a Partizan Belgrade message board grumbling about how Djokovic always drags these out and puts them through the wringer!

 

 

Haha  turning into a hammering anyway

[Mikey1874]

1 minute ago, jonesy said:

Looks more like Turkish or something. What does it say?

 

 

[JudyJudyJudy]

5 minutes ago, neilnunb said:

 

 

Haha  turning into a hammering anyway

Not just a hammering a real well I’ll mind my French 😂

[neilnunb]

11 minutes ago, jonesy said:

That classy New York crowd cheering missed first serves from DM.

 

 

😁  he isn't very popular generally, right?

[neilnunb]

Just now, jonesy said:

Think they just want their money's worth.

 

 

True but Medvedev is known to be a bit of a dick. I guess a lot of the fans also want to see a bit of history.

 

Unlike the BBC text updates which show most folk wanting him to win.

 

😁

[neilnunb]

Djokovic in tears at the changeover? Weird.

 

 

[JudyJudyJudy]

Oh dear ! That didn’t end well . 

[Beni]

Think the crowd were quieter when he won than they were when he was trying to serve at match point.

Poor show.

 

 

[JudyJudyJudy]

Medveded Is 9th different Chapion in 14 Years at the US open . Seems anyone has a good chance there 

[JudyJudyJudy]

4 minutes ago, jonesy said:

Well done to Medvedev. 

 

I like Djokovic, but also like seeing players cut through booing and a hostile crowd.

Yes good to see him win . I recall couple years ago he lost a great 5 setter to Nadal. So nice to see him win. Think he also lost another tight grand slam but can’t remember . Novak has just as much chance winning the grand slam next year. he’s that’s good 

[ri Alban]

Up ye Lance.

[AlimOzturk]

8 hours ago, JamesM48 said:

Yes good to see him win . I recall couple years ago he lost a great 5 setter to Nadal. So nice to see him win. Think he also lost another tight grand slam but can’t remember . Novak has just as much chance winning the grand slam next year. he’s that’s good 

It’s been coming but I think we are finally about to see a changing of the guards. Been wanting this to happen for ages because as much as I have enjoyed the  greatest players of all time play in Nadal, Federer and Djokovic i wanted other player to break through and challenger the status

[Maroon Sailor]

[Big Slim Stylee]

On 12/09/2021 at 00:58, jack D and coke said:

Aye sure it was him. Marcus Rashford stuck up for her saying the same thing had happened to him when he was young, some panic attack or something.

A huge GIRUY to that knob end Morgan then. 

Who to have in your corner….Marcus Rashford MBE or Piers Morgan DIK? Tough one.😀

[PortyJambo]

18 hours ago, I P Knightley said:

There will be endorsements lining up round the block for her based on the image that she portrays. PLUS, she sent a video clip spoken in Mandarin to the people of China to than them for their support. Massive Chinese sponsorship will be knocking at the door.

 

 

The Yen will be piling in after that. Sure she said previously that Li Na was one of her idols growing up too.

Edited September 13, 2021 by PortyJambo

[I P Knightley]

21 minutes ago, jonesy said:

Can't see the Japanese chucking money at her, TBH.

They've got Naomi Osaka (still) and Kei Nishikori (still).

[PortyJambo]

1 hour ago, jonesy said:

Can't see the Japanese chucking money at her, TBH.

 

Oops, knew Yen didn't look right when I was typing it 😜

[I P Knightley]

13 hours ago, PortyJambo said:

 

Oops, knew Yen didn't look right when I was typing it 😜

I missed it too. I was thinking Remnimbi but knew there was another word for their currency.

[skinnybob72]

What sort of state is women's tennis in? I don't really follow it at all but if an (almost) complete unknown can just pitch up and win a major tournament without playing in any run of the mill events beforehand she's either exceptional or the standard is fairly low. 

 

I can recall Boris Becker winning Wimbledon as a 16 year old unknown but generally there have been a few exceptional players in the men's game most of the time - with 3 of the greatest players of all time hoovering up most major titles for the best part of 20 years. I always thought Andy Murray was really unlucky in that respect - how many majors would he have won in a different era. 

 

Serena Williams has been a dominant player in the women's game for a long time but age / injury are clearly seeing her career coming to an end - is there a gap for Raducanu to fill? Will she be able to handle the expectation / hype? Good luck to her - hopefully not a flash in the pan. 

[SectionDJambo]

I used to watch Wimbledon when I was a lot younger and when it seemed that there were a few great players and characters involved. This is back in the days of McEnroe, Nastasi, Smith, Connors and Borg. I haven't really watched it much since, but took an interest in the US ladies final the other night.

What was obvious was how much more powerful and athletic these young women are in comparison to those of times gone by. They were showing Virginia Wade in the crowd, with reference to her being the last British woman to win a Grand Slam title. I don't think that she, or her contemporaries, could have played with the intensity that those two played with. The power they can repeatedly produce, albeit with a modern day racket, is phenomenal. The fitness levels to get around the court so quickly are in stark contrast, in my opinion, to previous generations of women players jogging back and forth. 

How a couch potato like Piers Morgan could have criticised Emma Raducanu for her Wimbledon exit is laughable. He couldn't stand the pressure of an argument in a tv studio. There will be plenty younger and fitter men than him who couldn't live with her on a tennis court. 

[PortyJambo]

17 minutes ago, skinnybob72 said:

What sort of state is women's tennis in? I don't really follow it at all but if an (almost) complete unknown can just pitch up and win a major tournament without playing in any run of the mill events beforehand she's either exceptional or the standard is fairly low. 

 

I can recall Boris Becker winning Wimbledon as a 16 year old unknown but generally there have been a few exceptional players in the men's game most of the time - with 3 of the greatest players of all time hoovering up most major titles for the best part of 20 years. I always thought Andy Murray was really unlucky in that respect - how many majors would he have won in a different era. 

 

Serena Williams has been a dominant player in the women's game for a long time but age / injury are clearly seeing her career coming to an end - is there a gap for Raducanu to fill? Will she be able to handle the expectation / hype? Good luck to her - hopefully not a flash in the pan. 

 

As you say in the last paragraph, it's mostly that there's no clear-cut better player than anyone else at the moment since Serena declined/got too old. Barty, Halep, Osaka have all spent time at world no.1, but none of them are so much better than everyone else, which is proven by different players winning Slams all the time.

 

There is definitely a vacuum for a player like Raducanu to come from more or less nowhere and be the potential next big thing.

 

Usually, winning a Slam is the peak of a player’s career, and it is no mean thing, but with Raducanu and her age, the challenge will be how she deals with the new pressure and the media (and we know how brutal they can be) now that everyone sees her as the golden girl. Whether she has the head on her shoulders and the right support will be key. I hope she does and becomes the next Serena/Seles/Graf/etc, but far too early to tell.

[Cade]

1997 Australian Open Winner: Martina Hingis (16 years, 117 days old)

1990 French Open Winner: Monica Seles (16 years, 189 days old)

1979 US Open Winner: Tracy Austin (16 years, 270 days old)

2004 Wimbledon Winner: Maria Sharapova (17 years, 75 days old)

1989 French Open Winner: Alexa Sanchez Vicario (17 years, 174 days old)

1999 US Open Winner: Serena Williams (17 years, 350 days old)

1987 French Open Winner: Steffi Graf (17 years, 357 days old)

2021 US Open Winner: Emma Raducanu (18 years, 302 days old)

 

This is not a new phenomenon.

 

[Taffin]

2 minutes ago, Cade said:

1997 Australian Open Winner: Martina Hingis (16 years, 117 days old)

1990 French Open Winner: Monica Seles (16 years, 189 days old)

1979 US Open Winner: Tracy Austin (16 years, 270 days old)

2004 Wimbledon Winner: Maria Sharapova (17 years, 75 days old)

1989 French Open Winner: Alexa Sanchez Vicario (17 years, 174 days old)

1999 US Open Winner: Serena Williams (17 years, 350 days old)

1987 French Open Winner: Steffi Graf (17 years, 357 days old)

2021 US Open Winner: Emma Raducanu (18 years, 302 days old)

 

This is not a new phenomenon.

 

 

Isn't she the first ever Grand Slam winner as a qualifier?

 

If so, I'd say that's quite a phenomenon.

[JudyJudyJudy]

1 hour ago, SectionDJambo said:

I used to watch Wimbledon when I was a lot younger and when it seemed that there were a few great players and characters involved. This is back in the days of McEnroe, Nastasi, Smith, Connors and Borg. I haven't really watched it much since, but took an interest in the US ladies final the other night.

What was obvious was how much more powerful and athletic these young women are in comparison to those of times gone by. They were showing Virginia Wade in the crowd, with reference to her being the last British woman to win a Grand Slam title. I don't think that she, or her contemporaries, could have played with the intensity that those two played with. The power they can repeatedly produce, albeit with a modern day racket, is phenomenal. The fitness levels to get around the court so quickly are in stark contrast, in my opinion, to previous generations of women players jogging back and forth. 

How a couch potato like Piers Morgan could have criticised Emma Raducanu for her Wimbledon exit is laughable. He couldn't stand the pressure of an argument in a tv studio. There will be plenty younger and fitter men than him who couldn't live with her on a tennis court. 

Martina Navratilova started the fitness / diet regime which now dominates tennis . Before 1981 she was a chunky brown haired very plain Czech then I recall watching the US open final and she had completely changed , dyed blonde hair , more athletic et. . She lost a tight tie break in the final set against Austin . From 1982 she then dominated the game . I always found it a bit “ single white female “ territory regarding her and Chris Evert though . Every was ice maiden , straight, pretty , feminine, American  and Martina almost seemed to try and be her ( apart from the straight bit) very strange. 

Edited September 14, 2021 by JamesM48

[JudyJudyJudy]

58 minutes ago, PortyJambo said:

 

As you say in the last paragraph, it's mostly that there's no clear-cut better player than anyone else at the moment since Serena declined/got too old. Barty, Halep, Osaka have all spent time at world no.1, but none of them are so much better than everyone else, which is proven by different players winning Slams all the time.

 

There is definitely a vacuum for a player like Raducanu to come from more or less nowhere and be the potential next big thing.

 

Usually, winning a Slam is the peak of a player’s career, and it is no mean thing, but with Raducanu and her age, the challenge will be how she deals with the new pressure and the media (and we know how brutal they can be) now that everyone sees her as the golden girl. Whether she has the head on her shoulders and the right support will be key. I hope she does and becomes the next Serena/Seles/Graf/etc, but far too early to tell.

Unfortunately for her the pressure is now on really as she will now be expected to win tournaments as she is a grand slam winner . She still hasn’t proven her metal against top 10 players as yet but I’m sure Graf won’t be an issue . The women’s game is far more open now with anyone able to win the slams it seems 

[Cade]

46 minutes ago, Taffin said:

 

Isn't she the first ever Grand Slam winner as a qualifier?

 

If so, I'd say that's quite a phenomenon.

Yes, but my post was in response to the "state of women's tennis" post towards the top of this page

👍

[I P Knightley]

2 hours ago, skinnybob72 said:

What sort of state is women's tennis in? I don't really follow it at all but if an (almost) complete unknown can just pitch up and win a major tournament without playing in any run of the mill events beforehand she's either exceptional or the standard is fairly low. 

 

I can recall Boris Becker winning Wimbledon as a 16 year old unknown but generally there have been a few exceptional players in the men's game most of the time - with 3 of the greatest players of all time hoovering up most major titles for the best part of 20 years. I always thought Andy Murray was really unlucky in that respect - how many majors would he have won in a different era. 

 

Serena Williams has been a dominant player in the women's game for a long time but age / injury are clearly seeing her career coming to an end - is there a gap for Raducanu to fill? Will she be able to handle the expectation / hype? Good luck to her - hopefully not a flash in the pan. 

Lots of different players coming through for each successive tournament with no one dominating.

 

From what I can tell, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. You've got a whole bunch of very capable players without having any of them streaking ahead or having a game that none of the others can cope with. Raducanu has sprung from nowhere but that's in part due to the pandemic and her parents not wanting her travelling around tournaments, risking picking up the virus. She's clearly a very good, accurate & consistent player from what we've seen at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows. But she's not (yet) head and shoulders above the pack.

 

For tennis followers, it looks good. There will be lots of competition in lots of tournaments without you looking at one side of the draw and saying with almost certainty that, say, Serena will make the final out of that.

 

 

1 hour ago, jonesy said:

 

 

Ha! Got there in the end, IP.

 

In my experience, nobody uses the word renminbi (literally, ‘people’s money’) or even yuan except in the symbol, 元. Most folk, when asked the price of something, while reply with kuai, which I think means ‘piece’:

 

Hey, how much is that bat soup?

Twenty pieces.

 

There’s a joke about pirates in there, somewhere, I’m sure.

 

Pretty sure Raducanu will need to tread carefully (she’s wearing Nike, which is already looked down upon by the Chinese net community), especially when she mentions enjoying Taiwanese TV, lest she end up facing the vitriol of thousands of paid Middle Kingdom lackeys spouting shite about her online.

 

All the best to her, seems like a good kid.

I've been to China three times; all on work and all as a guest of a local host. I've never put my hand in my pocket to pay for a thing. That's my excuse!!

 

47 minutes ago, Cade said:

1997 Australian Open Winner: Martina Hingis (16 years, 117 days old)

1990 French Open Winner: Monica Seles (16 years, 189 days old)

1979 US Open Winner: Tracy Austin (16 years, 270 days old)

2004 Wimbledon Winner: Maria Sharapova (17 years, 75 days old)

1989 French Open Winner: Alexa Sanchez Vicario (17 years, 174 days old)

1999 US Open Winner: Serena Williams (17 years, 350 days old)

1987 French Open Winner: Steffi Graf (17 years, 357 days old)

2021 US Open Winner: Emma Raducanu (18 years, 302 days old)

 

This is not a new phenomenon.

 

17 years since we've had a teenager winning a slam. Winning a slam at only the second time of asking. There is something phenomenal about it.

 

I've written earlier that the totally expected British media hype for her is supported by more measured comment from slightly less hysterical and more knowledgeable commentators (such as Hantuchova). These guys reckon that there's nothing to stop Raducanu becoming a top, top player and that she shows sufficient attributes to make it - more so than the player (Gauff) that they'd previously been tipping to make it to the top.

 

Managed correctly, she will have a career to match those you've included in that list.