Wimbledon

[jimlosaltos]

Tangentially, more on Jannik and Carlos each practicing specifically to play each other.

From Jannik's coach Simone Vagnozzi "“Carlos is such a special player that he creates problems for you that other players cannot,” Vagnozzi said of Alcaraz, who leads Sinner 8-5 in their gripping Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “Therefore, it’s essential to prepare as well as possible to resolve the conundrums he sets you. The more you practise those situations in practice, the more comfortable you’ll feel in the match.”

[jimlosaltos]

Ha I feel the beef here gets me nervous in the states too! Apparently college tennis players from other countries that come to USD, gain 15lbs in a month or so, because the meat is so different than in European and South American countries

Yes lots of differences between US and Latin beef.

I attended a cookout hosted by Microsoft in Uruguay years ago. It was meat with meat with more meat.

Started with a variety of blood sausage, main course of extremely bloody steak { supposedly South Americans cut their beef differently than we do in US so it holds more blood }, followed by ... another round of beef, perhaps tartare. I can't recall now. Also remember another dinner in Punta del Este on that speaking trip, at what was basically a meat bar. Hanging carcasses were butched to order. My companion ordered beef tartare. I explained to him that half a kilo means over a pound of raw beef. I don't think he believed me. The look on his face when his dish arrived was priceless.

[neilchok]

I hadn't heard but not surprised since a player sued on those grounds and got his suspension overturned. Sorry I can't recall who now.

Apparently, farmers in Mexico give cattle so many steroids, clenbuterol, simply eating beef in Mexico can get one suspended -- and good abs, I guess.

Or extending the bad joke, you order the ribs and get a good set of abs to go with them?

Also, that was the reason the Chinese govt gave for all (23 was it) members of its Olympic swim team testing positive for TMZ. And WADA went along with it -- despite the dosage not being indicative, TMZ not going in food, and no explanation of how TMZ got in the restaurant. Other than that ... and a lot of Yuan to the international Olympic committee ...

Ha I feel the beef here gets me nervous in the states too! Apparently college tennis players from other countries that come to USD, gain 15lbs in a month or so, because the meat is so different than in European and South American countries

[jimlosaltos]

one interesting point, is Chris Eubanks on Andy Roddick's podcast did say that they do account for minor variations based on the country the players are visiting. So Chris said the standards are different, because in Mexico once, 55 players failed there test, but that was based on the food. So I think those variations are accounted for.

I'd just logged out and ran into this. Even sports drinks can be "contaminated".

Article says 1) Electrolytes are a hype, there is no need for them. Just drink water. 2) Like all supplements you really don't know what's in them.

"Like most supplements, however, electrolyte products are not well regulated and can even be contaminated, Dr. Hew-Butler said. In 2015, she and her team found unsafe levels of arsenic in Muscle Milk and Gatorade powders that had been provided to college athletes."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/w...effective.html

[jimlosaltos]

Ah, GenAI comes through again .... but it was Colombia in this case

Nicolas Zanellato, a Brazilian tennis player, was cleared of a doping charge after providing evidence that his positive test for boldenone likely resulted from eating contaminated beef in Colombia.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted Zanellato's explanation after he provided documentation, including receipts and information on the source of the meat consumed. Independent scientific experts verified his explanation as plausible.

[jimlosaltos]

one interesting point, is Chris Eubanks on Andy Roddick's podcast did say that they do account for minor variations based on the country the players are visiting. So Chris said the standards are different, because in Mexico once, 55 players failed there test, but that was based on the food. So I think those variations are accounted for.

I hadn't heard but not surprised since a player sued on those grounds and got his suspension overturned. Sorry I can't recall who now.

Apparently, farmers in Mexico give cattle so many steroids, clenbuterol, simply eating beef in Mexico can get one suspended -- and good abs, I guess.

Or extending the bad joke, you order the ribs and get a good set of abs to go with them?

Also, that was the reason the Chinese govt gave for all (23 was it) members of its Olympic swim team testing positive for TMZ. And WADA went along with it -- despite the dosage not being indicative, TMZ not going in food, and no explanation of how TMZ got in the restaurant. Other than that ... and a lot of Yuan to the international Olympic committee ...

[neilchok]

one interesting point, is Chris Eubanks on Andy Roddick's podcast did say that they do account for minor variations based on the country the players are visiting. So Chris said the standards are different, because in Mexico once, 55 players failed there test, but that was based on the food. So I think those variations are accounted for.

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[jimlosaltos]

Yes, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against her because, per them, the dosage was too high to have been inadvertent. Unlike the Halep case, I haven't seen numbers or more details come out. Halep got a top medical advisor to the French government to rule that the testing agency's conclusions were nonsense, but it didn't matter. And, by then, she'd missed a year anyway.

Her case, and Sinner's point out several differences between the drug process and what we think of as "fair" or "Justice" in the legal system.
First, all players are considered guilty until proven innocent and even if proven innocent can still be punished.

Secondly, there is no concept of "double jeopardy" being unethical. That goes back to English common law, and even the Greeks, and was codified in the US with the 5th amendment in 1791. Yet, sports/ drug rules ignore it.

A player can win a case and then, WADA or a tennis organization or other parties can appeal, try them all over again and find them guilty. That happened to Tara Moore but also even though Jannik negotiated a deal, he was forced to negotiate by WADA's appeal seeking a year long suspension, I believe it was. Otherwise, he could have ended up like Halep, suspended indefinitely, seemingly for ever while appealing. A player can have their career effectively ended not by being found guilty but by sitting in limbo. So, the legal idea of a right to a quick and speedy trial is also MIA.

And who is responsible for what? Why is WADA, a testing organization, appealing a ruling? Why did WADA decide unilaterally not to announce overwhelming evidence against the Chinese swimming team?

The whole system is an archaic and bureaucrat mess without due process we see in every Westernized country's legal system.

[don_budge]

American Scottie Scheffler wins the British Open by five shots. An elegant performance by the American. Very classy. Much better than the tennis in England last week.

[glacierguy]

[jimlosaltos]

Along with a social media mini-storm of criticism for British announcer Andrew Castle (I plead ignorance there) John McEnroe's comments are getting their share of rice.

John McEnroe branded as speaking 'nonsense' by Roger Federer's ex-coach including this from Ivan Ljubicic.

McEnroe: “You took a look at them bringing their A-game right now – I’m saying Sinner and Alcaraz against Nadal on clay – you would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal, at his best,” stated the seven-time Grand Slam champion to TNT Sports.

Ljubicic: “It was a very, very, very good final and the drama was perfect with the match points saved, but people always exaggerate,” the Croatian rebutted.

“John McEnroe said Nadal wouldn’t have stood a chance against these boys. That’s nonsense. We haven’t seen the best of Alcaraz and Sinner yet. They still have a lot of room for improvement.

“But I don’t think they’re ahead just yet. I sometimes watch matches from 2005, 2008, 2012, 2015 [between] Roger and Rafa. That was already incredible tennis.”

[don_budge]

Two drug cheats winning men's and women's singles at Wimbledon is a new low.

I don't agree with the "nothing to see here" zeitgeist.

Of course you don't agree with "the nothing to see here" zeitgeist. You are a discerning and rational thinker. Intelligent. There are lots of "new low's" going on all around us. One particular peeve of mine is this forum...no fault to the current participants. Ahem. Tennis is becoming a nothing to see endeavor. The two "champions" both being players who have served drug suspensions is a terrible sign. What is worse is this forum not seeing the problem with this and just drumming up useless quotes and statistical analysis of a once beautiful and aesthetic sport. I miss Roger Federer. He was once the "Living Proof" and now he is sadly "The End".

Tennisplayer.net needs a facelift. At the very least. The key to survival is the one who adapts. Not the strongest or the smartest. I nominate Craig Webster. Use RotarySwing, the golf site, as the new prototype. Any questions?

[stroke]

Two drug cheats winning men's and women's singles at Wimbledon is a new low.

I don't agree with the "nothing to see here" zeitgeist.

Nick agrees with you, at least in regards to Sinner.

[glacierguy]

Iga wins 6-0 6-0. It’s a 100 years since a player did that.

One comment I saw online: That’s one drug cheat through. Another could win tomorrow.

It’s a cruel world out there for those who make a misstep.

Two drug cheats winning men's and women's singles at Wimbledon is a new low.

I don't agree with the "nothing to see here" zeitgeist.

[jimlosaltos]

Order is restored. After an up and down clay season I was asking whether Sinner's serve had regressed to the mean.
Sinner answered by ascending back to his mean at Wimbledon.

Per the ATP's metric, Sinner is the best returner, the best under pressure and merely the third best server.

Clearly, Darren Cahill needs to stick around since he's got more work to do.

Otherwise, Taylor Fritz served well enough at Wimbledon to pass Gio for top server ranking. The bad news is that serving that well wasn't good enough to beat Carlos Alcaraz.

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