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ChickenStu Retired Number

Joined: 25 Apr 2015 Posts: 35214 Location: Anaheim, CA
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Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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Especially since these guys aren't all souped up on PED's like they were a decade earlier and before that, asking guys past 35 years of age to win 7 matches, every other day, for 2 weeks in a best-of-5 format is asking a lot. |
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ChickenStu Retired Number

Joined: 25 Apr 2015 Posts: 35214 Location: Anaheim, CA
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 2:58 am Post subject: |
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Keys did it! Keys got up 5-1 in the first before winning the opening set 6-3. Then Sabalenka turned it around and easily won the second set 6-2. Finally, the two of them both produced their best tennis in the final set. Keys came up with two great winners at 3-3 and 30-30 to hold, and then did exactly the same serving at 5-5 and 30-30. There were no breaks of serve in the final set before Sabalenka stepped to the line at 5-6. She got all of her first serves in but it didn't matter. Keys came up with a huge backhand down the line winner at 0-15 and then, with match point at 30-40, ripped another return deep to get Sabalenka off balance, and two shots later she found an inside out forehand to put the match away. Anyone who has followed tennis for the last 10 years has seen Keys fall apart several times in big spots. This time, she seized the moment. Just awesome stuff. |
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DuncanIdaho Franchise Player


Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 17953 Location: In a no-ship
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 7:27 am Post subject: |
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She beat 4 top 10 seeds and Svitolina on this run. Absolutely epic. So happy she finally broke through!
I can’t think of a better run in a major in recent memory, or maybe even in the last two decades. |
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ChickenStu Retired Number

Joined: 25 Apr 2015 Posts: 35214 Location: Anaheim, CA
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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DuncanIdaho wrote: | She beat 4 top 10 seeds and Svitolina on this run. Absolutely epic. So happy she finally broke through!
I can’t think of a better run in a major in recent memory, or maybe even in the last two decades. |
Twelve wins in a row in Australia. She had won the prior tournament in Adelaide as well. |
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LongBeachPoly Franchise Player


Joined: 14 Jul 2012 Posts: 18380
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Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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Instead of Alcaraz, it might be Sinner who’s the next one (PEDs and all). |
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ChickenStu Retired Number

Joined: 25 Apr 2015 Posts: 35214 Location: Anaheim, CA
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Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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LongBeachPoly wrote: | Instead of Alcaraz, it might be Sinner who’s the next one (PEDs and all). |
He reminds me of Djokovic a bit. Like Novak, Sinner may not have the flair of his biggest rival or rivals, but he is a workmanlike robot from the baseline off both wings, point after point, and his movement is excellent. He appears to be the king of the hard courts at the moment. |
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dont_be_a_wuss Franchise Player


Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 22541
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Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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LongBeachPoly wrote: | Instead of Alcaraz, it might be Sinner who’s the next one (PEDs and all). |
I just read the PED story. His alibi is that his trainer was personally using an over the counter spray to treat a wound on his own body, but residue from the spray remained on the trainers hands and was passed to Sinner through bare hand sports massage. That’s a new one. |
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LongBeachPoly Franchise Player


Joined: 14 Jul 2012 Posts: 18380
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Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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dont_be_a_wuss wrote: | LongBeachPoly wrote: | Instead of Alcaraz, it might be Sinner who’s the next one (PEDs and all). |
I just read the PED story. His alibi is that his trainer was personally using an over the counter spray to treat a wound on his own body, but residue from the spray remained on the trainers hands and was passed to Sinner through bare hand sports massage. That’s a new one. |
Everybody caught swears they are innocent.
Tatis Jr. had some kind of skin rash as well.
I have a theory that people pick PEDs based on their availability in over the counter medications. That way, if they're caught, they can point to the over the counter version. |
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C M B Franchise Player


Joined: 15 Nov 2006 Posts: 20230 Location: Prarie & Manchester, high above the western sideline
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Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2025 10:17 pm Post subject: |
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I really miss Roger. _________________ http://chickhearn.ytmnd.com/
Sister Golden Hair wrote: | LAMAR ODOM is an anagram for ... DOOM ALARM
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Wilt LG Contributor


Joined: 29 Dec 2002 Posts: 14132
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Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2025 11:01 pm Post subject: |
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I miss Edberg and Becker and Sampras.
I must have spent thousands of hours watching Tennis in the late 80s and 90s as a kid. There was something about the brevity and aggressiveness of serve-and-volley that I enjoyed.
I watched the first two sets of the final the other night before falling asleep. But it's the same boring long rally before the opponent makes a mistake type of tennis that is just not fun to watch, at least for me. And whenever either guy approached the net, it was comical. |
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ChickenStu Retired Number

Joined: 25 Apr 2015 Posts: 35214 Location: Anaheim, CA
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Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2025 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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Wilt wrote: | I miss Edberg and Becker and Sampras.
I must have spent thousands of hours watching Tennis in the late 80s and 90s as a kid. There was something about the brevity and aggressiveness of serve-and-volley that I enjoyed.
I watched the first two sets of the final the other night before falling asleep. But it's the same boring long rally before the opponent makes a mistake type of tennis that is just not fun to watch, at least for me. And whenever either guy approached the net, it was comical. |
It's not as visually pleasing to watch, there is no question about it. I completely agree with you that there was far more nuance when you had the clashes of styles like Lendl vs. McEnroe, Edberg vs. Wilander, Sampras vs. Agassi, Navratilova vs. Evert, and so on. Even in the women's game, if you got a medium-short ball, you were coming to net. But now, it's just not the right play analytically because they'll just pass you at net too easily (due to various factors which we've already discussed here in this thread). So the game has evolved, and the tennis is "better", but it doesn't look as pleasing to watch. The same thing is going on in the NBA and the same thing was going on in MLB. At least baseball has instituted new rules to try to bring some excitement back into the game, but yeah, it's still less exciting than the brand of baseball that was played in the 80's and 90's and probably the 2000's also. |
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jodeke Retired Number


Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 71185 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
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Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2025 11:09 am Post subject: |
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I haven't been watching tennis. Watching the morning news I found out that one of my favorite players won the Australian Open, Madison Keys. Injury has been her bane.  _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be
because we destroyed ourselves. |
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