Tennis 2018

[Nearly Sane]

Djokovic v Federer possible quarter final at U.S. Open. And given the 1, 2 seedings Nadal Federer can only meet in the final, a match up that has never happened at Flushing Meadow.


Williams sisters seeded to meet in third round.

[Nearly Sane]

Halep out first round. Big shock!

[Nearly Sane]

And a farewell to Slams by Ferrer. I would think this is going to be one of a number in the next couple of years. Federer might be thinking of lasting till Tokyo though next year might be a farewell tour. but we may have seen the last of Karlovic, the Bryans will likely go, Verdasco and Lopez I think, Gasquet and maybe Tsonga and Monfils at the French? And I think any significant injury to Murray, Nadal, Djokovic. and Wawrinka would be the last one.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/45327854

[Nearly Sane]

Nice story on those players for whom this is their last Slam. Just to note that it was written before Benneteau lost to Struff yesterday


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/sports/tennis/mikhail-youzhny-david-ferrer-us-open.html

[Nearly Sane]

Never seen anything like this from an umpire.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/45363541

[SusanDoris]

Never seen anything like this from an umpire.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/45363541

From what I've heard, I think that he should not have stepped out of his role as umpire, but I do not feellll strongly about it .

 What is your opinion of Andy Murray's opponent talking to his coach?  Obviously, it made no difference to the result, but I think it is a shame these things happen.

[Nearly Sane]

From what I've heard, I think that he should not have stepped out of his role as umpire, but I do not feellll strongly about it .

 What is your opinion of Andy Murray's opponent talking to his coach?  Obviously, it made no difference to the result, but I think it is a shame these things happen.

If there are rules that are there for this then I think the Verdasco incident should at least be looked at. It may well be that nothing substantial happened.


The Kyrgios incident seems much more worrying. First of all the course of the match changed, and secondly Herbert had a real reason during a substantial part of the match to think that the supposedly disinterested official is supporting Kyrgios.

[SusanDoris]

If there are rules that are there for this then I think the Verdasco incident should at least be looked at. It may well be that nothing substantial happened.


The Kyrgios incident seems much more worrying. First of all the course of the match changed, and secondly Herbert had a real reason during a substantial part of the match to think that the supposedly disinterested official is supporting Kyrgios.

Yes, perhaps he has a right to demand a replay of the whole match.

[Nearly Sane]

Yes, perhaps he has a right to demand a replay of the whole match.

I can sort of understand the umpire, if he wasn't an umpire. Kyrgios is one of the most naturally talented players I have ever seen, and the public paying for tickets do deserve in a sense to see him at his best. So from the good of the tennis in the day, I can see what the umpire thought. It's just hugely bad for the match, and the umpire as an authority figure and tennis as a sport.

[jeremyp]

And now Serena...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/45462014

[SweetPea]

And now Serena...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/45462014

Yes, and I don't have a lot of sympathy for her. One of those rare moments where I agree with MSM: that the 'new to the tennis scene' winner of the final was completely overshadowed by Serena's antics.

….. and I like Serena..

[Rhiannon]

Yes, and I don't have a lot of sympathy for her. One of those rare moments where I agree with MSM: that the 'new to the tennis scene' winner of the final was completely overshadowed by Serena's antics.

….. and I like Serena..

The problem is the lack of consistency. The umpire was well within his rights; Williams has a point when she says that the rules aren't applied consistently.

[Rhiannon]

This is astonishing.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/sep/11/repugnant-racist-news-corp-cartoon-serena-williams-mark-knight

[jeremyp]

This is astonishing.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/sep/11/repugnant-racist-news-corp-cartoon-serena-williams-mark-knight

It's a caricature of Serena. He did an equally unflattering cartoon of Kyrgios (white male) a couple of days ago. Not everything is about racism or sexism.

[Rhiannon]

It's a caricature of Serena. He did an equally unflattering cartoon of Kyrgios (white male) a couple of days ago. Not everything is about racism or sexism.

Well you could argue that. Til you see how he pictures Osaka.

[jeremyp]

Well you could argue that. Til you see how he pictures Osaka.

He clearly didn't do his research.

[Rhiannon]

He clearly didn't do his research.

So he drew a caricature of a black woman having a tantrum based on a match he didn’t see and assumed her opponent wouldn’t also be brown. Either that or he’s playing up Setena’s blackness by portraying her opponent as blonde.

A lot of sexism is unconscious anyway. You felt the need to explain to me who Kyrgios is. I doubt you would in a reply to NS. You’d assume he’d know.

[Udayana]

Yes, at best it gives an unconsciously racist and sexist caricature.  But, you would think anyone over the age of 15 could look at the cartoon and see that.

[Rhiannon]

Interesting comments here.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/11/world/australia/serena-williams-cartoon-herald-sun-racist.html

By the way the cartoonist talks about watching the match. And still he chose to portray Osaka as white and blonde.

[jeremyp]

So he drew a caricature of a black woman having a tantrum based on a match he didn’t see and assumed her opponent wouldn’t also be brown. Either that or he’s playing up Setena’s blackness by portraying her opponent as blonde.

Have you seen the Women's tennis tour? A disproportionate number of the players are white. Maybe the other player was not meant to be Naomi Osaka but some generic female tennis player. If so, it was a misstep but should it be the lynching offence that people seem to be implying?

A lot of sexism is unconscious anyway. You felt the need to explain to me who Kyrgios is. I doubt you would in a reply to NS. You’d assume he’d know.

I did not explain to you who Kyrgios is, I placed a description of his appearance and sex after his name to emphasise the fact that the cartoon was a caricature of somebody who is neither black nor a woman.

[Rhiannon]

Have you seen the Women's tennis tour? A disproportionate number of the players are white. Maybe the other player was not meant to be Naomi Osaka but some generic female tennis player. If so, it was a misstep but should it be the lynching offence that people seem to be implying?
I did not explain to you who Kyrgios is, I placed a description of his appearance and sex after his name to emphasise the fact that the cartoon was a caricature of somebody who is neither black nor a woman.

It’s not often I see a post that really should stand without further comment. This is one.

[ad_orientem]

I watched the final. I thought what happened was a shame, because Osaka was from the off the better player by far and fully deserved to win. Whether Serena had a point or not I really can't say, because I don't watch that much tennis. I do think the same rules should apply to both the men and women though.

[Rhiannon]

I watched the final. I thought what happened was a shame, because Osaka was from the off the better player by far and fully deserved to win. Whether Serena had a point or not I really can't say, because I don't watch that much tennis. I do think the same rules should apply to both the men and women though.

I agree. The coaching thing is a nonsense. I'm not sure that bad umpiring is divided along lines of either race or gender though. Some decisions clearly are, but others...it just seems like inconsistency.

It was so sad to see Osaka crying after the match. Whether she intended it or not, Williams ended up winding the audience up in her favour. I do believe she was sincere in trying to calm things once she herself was calm. I thought she seemed angry rather than petulant, but I'm not sure that the umpire was the accurate target for her rage

Osaka is in the ascendency and we will see so much more from her.

[jeremyp]

I do think the same rules should apply to both the men and women though.

The rules are the same for both the mens' game and the women's game: no coaching. The issue here is whether the umpires are applying the rules fairly. This and the Kyrgios incident suggest perhaps not.

I think Serena got what she deserved. There were several incidents including racquet abuse and calling the umpire a liar. I think her punishment was totally fair. The problem is do men get away with similar behaviour? If they do, clearly they shouldn't.

[Rhiannon]

The rules are the same for both the mens' game and the women's game: no coaching. The issue here is whether the umpires are applying the rules fairly. This and the Kyrgios incident suggest perhaps not.

I think Serena got what she deserved. There were several incidents including racquet abuse and calling the umpire a liar. I think her punishment was totally fair. The problem is do men get away with similar behaviour? If they do, clearly they shouldn't.

I think the rules are the same in the Slams - no coaching. But the WTA does allow limited coaching in tournament matches. That I think is where some of the confusion lies. For a coach of a female player it could almost be habit.