Seriously...is this really the Wimbledon lineup?
https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/cu...edon/540/draws
There doesn't seem to be a single real bonafide grass court player besides Roger Federer in the draw. Thank God for Roger. This might just be his swan song as well. But even so...there is only one reason to get slightly interested in this tournament and it is all about Roger. I don't think his form is as bad as he has made it out to be. Hopefully the lawn at Wimbledon and the crowd and atmosphere will revive him. Inspire him. I could see him getting through his section of the draw to the round of 16...maybe even the quarters. But even by taking it one round at a time...he will keep it interesting as long as he is around. Who knows? He might just have one more surprise left in him. Just forget about the recent performances. They don't count for much if anything. Particularly the last match against Auger-Aliassime. He let it go after the first set. I want to believe that. Adrianno Mannarino is a really good first round opponent for him. Not to soft and not too strong. We'll get a finger on his pulse after this round. I saw Mannarino playing recently and he looked quite sharp against a favoured opponent. Actually it was Daniel Evans he played against and lost to.
The rest of it is just frightfully boring. Not a single volleyer in the bunch. Novak is the odds on favourite. A virtual lock. He is the wily cat in the field with all of his assets still at his disposal. He has reached an age where his experience is just about maximised and yet his physical skills and endurance have not been impaired. He played dead two rounds at the French and came roaring back as if nothing had happened. He put a real whipping on Nadal and made up his mind for him...about Wimbledon. If he couldn't beat Novak on the dirt he certainly doesn't have a snowball's chance in hades on the velcro...I mean lawn at Wimbledon. Nadal showing his true colours by the way. What a huge mistake to make a statue of him at Roland Garros. Suffice it to say that I will never return to that place again. Not to mention it is boring, boring...boring.
The only other point of interest other than Roger is good old Saint Nick. Nick Kyrgios. Which Nick is going to show? Has the time off given him time to think? Will he come back a changed man? This tournament could be his if he had his head on straight. The tournament is going to need a character like Nick to keep it awake as well. Otherwise it just could be four or five rounds of foreplay and Federer. Novak isn't going to cause any excitement at all. He will make his way through the fortnight without so much as a wakeup call. He could sleep walk to the finals. Unless someone gets hot and can see it through. But they will have to get the final nail in the coffin to make it stick. Otherwise this guy is slippery. He gives you the limp leg and then he is off to the finish line.
All eyes on Roger Federer. The preparation is all under his belt now. This guy knows how to prepare. Has he had sufficient time to do his homework? We are about to find out. Aren't we?
https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/cu...edon/540/draws
There doesn't seem to be a single real bonafide grass court player besides Roger Federer in the draw. Thank God for Roger. This might just be his swan song as well. But even so...there is only one reason to get slightly interested in this tournament and it is all about Roger. I don't think his form is as bad as he has made it out to be. Hopefully the lawn at Wimbledon and the crowd and atmosphere will revive him. Inspire him. I could see him getting through his section of the draw to the round of 16...maybe even the quarters. But even by taking it one round at a time...he will keep it interesting as long as he is around. Who knows? He might just have one more surprise left in him. Just forget about the recent performances. They don't count for much if anything. Particularly the last match against Auger-Aliassime. He let it go after the first set. I want to believe that. Adrianno Mannarino is a really good first round opponent for him. Not to soft and not too strong. We'll get a finger on his pulse after this round. I saw Mannarino playing recently and he looked quite sharp against a favoured opponent. Actually it was Daniel Evans he played against and lost to.
The rest of it is just frightfully boring. Not a single volleyer in the bunch. Novak is the odds on favourite. A virtual lock. He is the wily cat in the field with all of his assets still at his disposal. He has reached an age where his experience is just about maximised and yet his physical skills and endurance have not been impaired. He played dead two rounds at the French and came roaring back as if nothing had happened. He put a real whipping on Nadal and made up his mind for him...about Wimbledon. If he couldn't beat Novak on the dirt he certainly doesn't have a snowball's chance in hades on the velcro...I mean lawn at Wimbledon. Nadal showing his true colours by the way. What a huge mistake to make a statue of him at Roland Garros. Suffice it to say that I will never return to that place again. Not to mention it is boring, boring...boring.
The only other point of interest other than Roger is good old Saint Nick. Nick Kyrgios. Which Nick is going to show? Has the time off given him time to think? Will he come back a changed man? This tournament could be his if he had his head on straight. The tournament is going to need a character like Nick to keep it awake as well. Otherwise it just could be four or five rounds of foreplay and Federer. Novak isn't going to cause any excitement at all. He will make his way through the fortnight without so much as a wakeup call. He could sleep walk to the finals. Unless someone gets hot and can see it through. But they will have to get the final nail in the coffin to make it stick. Otherwise this guy is slippery. He gives you the limp leg and then he is off to the finish line.
All eyes on Roger Federer. The preparation is all under his belt now. This guy knows how to prepare. Has he had sufficient time to do his homework? We are about to find out. Aren't we?
But as in the post above that I quoted myself on. Is it unseemly? At least I'm not participating in some lick fest. Spot on...I say to myself. You are soooooooo right. Oh...thank you. Same to you. At least there is Roger. The "Living Proof" in my once teaching paradigm. What am I saying? I'm still teaching. Just a little. With great results I might add. Excellent results. Better than excellent. But anyways...there is Roger Federer. The rest of the field is slipping and sliding. Tearing up their joints. Ripping up their ligaments. Who ever thought of anything so stupid? Playing in the backcourt on such a slippery surface. Did you see Adriano Mannarino rip his knee up? Or was it his hip? I would think Andy Murray might have some intrepid thoughts about turning the other direction on a dime. Roger surely is playing it safe because of his tender knees. How many players are injured due to their inability to play the game on grass the way it was designed. It's retarded. Go forwards young man. You don't have that problem. Roger hugs the baseline. Even though he is in the backcourt he is at least looking to take the ball early...going forwards. They showed some of those graphics that you guys love so much. You love your graphics...don't you? Sure you do. It spells it all out for you. Makes it easy. The graphics showed how many times Roger takes the ball inside the baseline and how far inside the baseline he is. I'm not so interested in graphics. About as interested as in what the fake commentators have to say. They try to drum up some interest in an otherwise dreadful dull performance. A play without drama. Completely neutered. Just blah...blah...blah. You should hear them on the women's side. They knock themselves out trying to come up with the commentary. You can't make a silk purse out of pig's ear. Knuckleheads.
But there is Roger Federer. Just as I wrote in the opening post. He is carrying this tournament single handedly. I haven't heard a peep out of Novak Djokovic. I tried to watch him a bit against Denis Kudla. Nothing happening. The occasional drop shot just to break up the tediousness. He isn't called the Joker for nothing. You almost expect him to drill another lines person with a ball just to mix it up. At least there is Roger. What was he doing against Mannarino? He was on the ropes. I tuned in just a couple of games and then BOOM! Mannarino goes down. His leg buckling under him like a car accident in slow motion. That was ugly. I've slipped like that on clay. I got up...luckily. But it scared the hell out of me. Then it was Richard Gasquet. What is it with you guys? Do you really have to bang on old Richard so hard? What did he ever do to anybody? I like Gasquet. It's no crime to be at the end of your career. You guys probably look pretty lame at your jobs as well. Did you ever think of that? But Richard has been around a long time. He deserves a swan song. It's not a crime. Roger has owned him his entire career. Did you know that Gasquet has a 556-337 win/loss record over the years. That is really fucking good in my book. He would be 555-318 without his nemesis in Federer. Even better. Grass isn't his forte either. No? He actually has his highest win/loss ration on grass. He is just getting old. Older. The legs just aren't what they used to be. Roger played splendidly. Just came out firing and didn't quit. Gasquet knew what was coming. He wasn't fooled by the handful of preparation matches Federer played to tune up for Wimbledon. He played it soft. But check out Gasquet's career. Have a little respect. He's 461-70 after winning the first set. The guy is/was a player. The sun is setting on him a bit. Don't worry...your time is coming too.
https://www.atptour.com/en/players/r...x-atp-win-loss
Then along comes Cameron Norrie. The poor Brits were out of their collective minds. They didn't know who to root for. The best of the recent past? Or their very own homey. Come on...dolts. Roger laid that to rest as well. He played well enough to advance but still hasn't showed his hand. I hope. The next match will tell a bit more. Lorenzo Sonego. If Roger thrashes him and why wouldn't he. Italians are clay courters. Roger should pin his ears back. Then the tournament begins. With earnest. Let's hope so. It has been a dull affair. Now Nick is gone as well. Your other whipping boy. Let's face it. I know you love Alexander Zverev. Roberto Bautista-Agut. Karen Khachanov. These guys make Sebastian Korda and Denis Shapovalov to be a breath of fresh air. Cristian Garin...a clay courter from Chile for heaven's sake. This is Wimbledon? You cannot be serious. You have got to be kidding me. Lucky for Wimbledon...Roger is still in the house. He carried the first week. Without him it's a big dud. A balloon without any air. A flop at the playhouse. A serious lack of drama. Where is the passion? The art? Am I the only one?
That's ok. I know I'm not. Even if I was...that would be ok. It's almost over now. Roger cannot last forever. He might just last some more of this upcoming week. As long as he does...there is air in the balloon. But the tennis is bad. Really, really bad. The wear of the courts is a tell. The players crumpling with injuries on the slippery courts another bad sign. The entire sport is nearly done. It is unrecognisable. The announcers droning on and on. There fake excitement is as nauseating as the rest of it. Chris Evert...Patrick McEnroe. The British clones. Thank God for John McEnroe. Once in a while he comes up with a good one. You nearly have to read between the lines with him nowadays. He's afraid to bite the hand that feeds him as well. Boris Becker lends just a bit of reality to the mix...but even he comes from the post classic era. He's from the oversized racquet era that destroyed the game of tennis. It is all a bunch of hooey now.
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