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Post by pupdurcs on Sept 1, 2022 2:51:01 GMT
No thread yet specifically for this year's US Open tennis tournament, so might as well make a general one we can use forever  Anyhow, Serena Williams just beat the World number 2 and 2nd seed Anett Kontaveit in 3 sets in the 2nd round. Williams becomes the first woman in history age 40 to beat a top 3 player in the world. If she is still capable of this level at age 40, Williams should really consider postponing her retirement, because she may well have another Grand Slam or two in her, considering the inconsistent nature of the WTA. Or maybe she can have a dream run and win this tournament and go out on top? |
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 1, 2022 10:21:04 GMT
I can't think of a single athlete who will be as miraculously awesome and a more "fairy-tale" farewell to their sport than Williams winning the US Open 22 after her somewhat sudden announcement of retirement.
Maybe Brady retiring after winning a Super Bowl this year ......but in general the GOAT athletes Ali / Gretzky / Lemieux / Orr / Jordan didn't leave at peaks yanno ......maybe Baldal winning his 15th French in '23 before picking out his cane / walker but would that or Brady be a surprise or that inspiring?
Nah.....
Now I don't think she will win - heck I think Swiatek might bagel her (kidding, not kidding) but if I did think Serena could win then it wouldn't be such an amazing feat if she pulls it off, would it?
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cherry68
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Post by cherry68 on Sept 1, 2022 22:13:58 GMT
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 3, 2022 2:25:02 GMT
Serena... over and out .....in 3 sets to Ajla Tomljanović ......the last game was kind of amazing as Serena held off a lot of match points........ but....
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urbanpatrician
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Post by urbanpatrician on Sept 3, 2022 2:38:17 GMT
I can't think of a single athlete who will be as miraculously awesome and a more "fairy-tale" farewell to their sport than Williams winning the US Open 22 after her somewhat sudden announcement of retirement. Maybe Brady retiring after winning a Super Bowl this year ......but in general the GOAT athletes Ali / Gretzky / Lemieux / Orr / Jordan didn't leave at peaks yanno ......maybe Baldal winning his 15th French in '23 before picking out his cane / walker but would that or Brady be a surprise or that inspiring? Nah..... Now I don't think she will win - heck I think Swiatek might bagel her (kidding, not kidding) but if I did think Serena could win then it wouldn't be such an amazing feat if she pulls it off, would it? pacinoyes, you really think Jordan didn't leave at his peak? I mean there were those 2 years with the Wizards, but I'm sure most people views him as this huge icon who was still winning championships even at 35 years old and near the end of his career. I don't think anyone thought the Wizards could've seriously won a championship even with Jordan. That 1998 series against the Jazz were the stuff of legends. I truly thought Utah could've beaten the Bulls, but the Bulls just stomped down and overcame two teams (Pacers, Jazz) that were dangerously looking like they could've ended Jordan's career in a bad way. I think that championship cemented his legacy as the #1 All Time greatest athlete, as voted in 1998. I know Elway went out in style as well, but that last Super Bowl everyone thought Denver was gonna win... it wasn't really much of a hurdle to overcome. And as for Manning, it wasn't him that won that last Super Bowl, it was the Denver D. Serena was never gonna win this whole thing, unfortunately. Quite a lot to overcome to actually win this whole thing at this point of her career. |
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 3, 2022 2:52:22 GMT
I can't think of a single athlete who will be as miraculously awesome and a more "fairy-tale" farewell to their sport than Williams winning the US Open 22 after her somewhat sudden announcement of retirement. Maybe Brady retiring after winning a Super Bowl this year ......but in general the GOAT athletes Ali / Gretzky / Lemieux / Orr / Jordan didn't leave at peaks yanno ......maybe Baldal winning his 15th French in '23 before picking out his cane / walker but would that or Brady be a surprise or that inspiring? Nah..... Now I don't think she will win - heck I think Swiatek might bagel her (kidding, not kidding) but if I did think Serena could win then it wouldn't be such an amazing feat if she pulls it off, would it? pacinoyes, you really think Jordan didn't leave at his peak? I mean there were those 2 years with the Wizards, but I'm sure most people views him as this huge icon who was still winning championships even at 35 years old and near the end of his career. I don't think anyone thought the Wizards could've seriously won a championship even with Jordan. Agree - just I meant it like Serena is a Jordan level athlete on her sport who would have left on an incredible high if she could have pulled off a miracle and nobody expected her to win this particular Open......I really do think Swiatek - may have totally destroyed her and I wouldn't have wanted to see that - so it's better she went out like this, and that last game was pretty gutsy stuff from her. Elway is a great mention btw ...forgot about him....... |
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Post by mhynson27 on Sept 3, 2022 14:27:46 GMT
Serena... over and out .....in 3 sets to Ajla Tomljanović ......the last game was kind of amazing as Serena held off a lot of match points........ but.... Lol, sorry Americans. |
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 3, 2022 21:05:38 GMT
Alcaraz (#3) was pretty impressive and efficient today - hasn't dropped a set yet; Nadal (#2) plays tonight - they could meet in the semis.........Swiatek tonight also.....
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 5, 2022 6:30:10 GMT
Nick knocks out the defending champ Medvedev....  |
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ibbi
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Post by ibbi on Sept 5, 2022 10:04:59 GMT
I really hope we don't, but if we actually get the long-awaited Nick Kyrgios-Casper Ruud match in the semi-finals of the US Open, that'll be pretty funny.
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 5, 2022 22:08:23 GMT
Rafael Nadalosingmyhair ...... out......so this will not be another "grand slam Nadal wins with Djokovic banned from the tournament" for the "GOAT pretender".........AO 23 is when Djokovic should tie Nadal btw - and I will be insuffereable - because then he will have less of an advantage after that tournament. ...........and less hair.........
Congrats Frances Tiafoe |
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 6, 2022 11:08:19 GMT
Ok, now we have the highest seeded male left - Alcaraz (#3) vs. MAR favorite Sinner (#11) - tomorrow. Battle of the new generation .....already rivals...... Who do you got? Potential male match of the tournament ......and both got taken to 5 sets yesterday....... Kyrgios plays tonight .......  |
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ibbi
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Post by ibbi on Sept 6, 2022 20:07:33 GMT
Ok, now we have the highest seeded male left - Alcaraz (#3) vs. MAR favorite Sinner (#11) - tomorrow. Battle of the new generation .....already rivals...... Who do you got? Potential male match of the tournament ......and both got taken to 5 sets yesterday....... Kyrgios plays tonight ....... It is sooooooo well set up, and it really could be freakin' epic. They both kind of struggled some in the last round, but at their best have looked amazing. Sinner whipped Alcaraz's ass the last two times they played, but Carlos looks like he's back closer to the form he was in earlier in the year when he was best in the world, and this is his best surface (also probably Sinner's too). I kind of think whoever wins could win the tournament, depending how they hold it together mentally. It's kind of like Jefferson vs. Hamilton, Nixon vs. Kennedy, Frank Grimes vs. Homer Simpson, Vince McMahon vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, that western European Germanic frigidness vs. that southern mediterranean fire that fucks, that nice churchgoing boy your mama likes vs. that killer in the leather jacket she warned you about. |
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 7, 2022 20:47:27 GMT
Tiafoe not only knocks out Nadal - in 4 - today he knocks out Rublev, the #9 seed in straight sets.
Love how he's been playing....
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cherry68
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Post by cherry68 on Sept 8, 2022 6:57:53 GMT
Let poor Alcaraz go to bed. He has to play tomorrow.
Insensitive journalists.
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 8, 2022 11:19:14 GMT
Alcaraz - Sinner........Great match - these guys are going to be amazing to watch over the next few years.......and think of this for 2023:
Nadal will be the favorite at 1 Grand Slam next year (French Open), but he's breaking down obviously and Djokovic at 2 theoretically (Australia and Wimbledon) will have to keep his playing shape up.....but they may not win a slam - or many slams - after that if even they win that ....the era of the Big 3 isn't over but is winding down .......this rivalry is great for the game.
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 9, 2022 3:19:44 GMT
Loses the 1st set, down 4-2 in the 3rd....... wins anyway....... because she's awesome Iga Swiatek vs Ons Jabeur final Saturday  |
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 10, 2022 0:00:13 GMT
Caspar Ruud is in the final - he won in 4 sets - and I think even if he loses he might ascend to world number 1 for a few weeks - which might make him the weakest #1 ranked player ever (male)?
He made the finals of two slams this year though
Alcaraz-Tiafoe playing now for the other spot.....
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 10, 2022 8:34:39 GMT
Alcaraz into his first GS final - another 5 set win
You have to start to wonder if any of the Big 3 at 36+ could endure against him in 2023 - when he plays every point.......potentially with Świątek and Alcaraz as winners you are looking at the future of men's / women's tennis for many years to come......of course you have to win first.....
Świątek-Jabeur play today ........Alcaraz-Ruud tomorrow
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ibbi
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Post by ibbi on Sept 10, 2022 18:59:36 GMT
Alcaraz-Ruud playing for the title and the number 1 ranking is pretty cool. Three five-setters in a row is nasty though, especially when your reward is a human wall like Ruud.
I don't believe any person ever won 4 matches that went the distance in one tournament, so even though this is a matchup Alcaraz has absolutely dominated in their two prior meetings I kind of feel like he's got to get the final done quickly.
Already looked like he was running out of gas the last couple of sets against Tiafoe. Hope he is resting well, the tennis world does not need the Lily James of tennis as king of the mountain.
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 10, 2022 22:08:14 GMT
One of the few totally awesome things in a zombiefied 2022 - besides my music review posts I mean - is Iga Świątek and she wins her 1st US Open title - and her 3rd slam already matching the retired Ash Barty - in straight sets - 2nd set in a tie-break - yeah her feet still haven't hit the ground.   |
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Post by countjohn on Sept 10, 2022 22:43:45 GMT
That was a terrific second set with all the long rallies. Reminded me of why I used to prefer the woman's game and might start to again with the big three drying up and the WTA finally having exciting young players again. With Serena retiring and Swiatek this is the first time in ages a woman's slam has been more interesting than the men's one.
Not sure if she has the power game to break through at Wimbledon but Swiatek looked great today outside of getting a little flaky at the end. Reminds me a bit of Justine Henin and she doesn't have the prime Williams sisters to deal with so she could really rack up some French Opens and hardcourt slams over the next five years.
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 11, 2022 23:01:17 GMT
.......Alcaraz pulled out a 3rd set tie break when he was THISCLOSE to going down 2 sets to 1 and having to go 5 sets again - that was clutch in a kind of GOAT-ish way tbh....
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 11, 2022 23:38:52 GMT
.......Alcaraz pulled out a 3rd set tie break when he was THISCLOSE to going down 2 sets to 1 and having to go 5 sets again - that was clutch in a kind of GOAT-ish way tbh....
Alcaraz will be now the youngest male # 1 - ever - and he of course is the highest ranking player from Spain now ........and yeah I like that and that makes me laugh a little He'll be a threat next year in 3 of 4 Slam tournaments - and maybe 4 if he gets better on grass ..... .AO 23 is gonna be awesome if everybody plays......  |
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ibbi
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Post by ibbi on Sept 12, 2022 0:18:28 GMT
First teenager to win a major in 17 years!
First to win a slam after playing three five-set matches in a row in 30 years!
Youngest US Open champion in 32 years!
Youngest number 1 EVER by a full year!
Historic day in the mens game, and what a performance.
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