First round
Djokovic over Janowicz in 3, Myneni over Vesely in 4
Pella over Fratangelo in 5, Youzhny over Klizan in 4
Isner over Tiafoe in 3, Darcis over Thompson in 4
Lacko over Escobedo in 4, Gasquet over Edmund in 3
Tsonga over Andreozzi in 3, Haase over Duckworth in 5
Kovalik over Pospisil in 5, Anderson over Nishioka in 5
Sock over Fritz in 4, Herbert over Zverev in 5
Stakhovsky over Elias in 4, Cilic over Dutra Silva in 3
Nadal over Istomin in 3, Seppi over Robert in 5
Bellucci over Kuznetsov in 3, Ramos-Vinolas over Benneteau in 4
Pouille over Kukushkin in 3, Clezar over Chiudinelli in 4
Baker over Delbonis in 4, Bautista Agut over Garcia-Lopez in 4
Monfils over Muller in 4, Satral over McDonald in 4
Almagro over Fucsovics in 5, Cuevas over Sela in 3
Paire over Lajovic in 4, Baghdatis vs. Bagnis in 3
R. Harrison over Mannarino in 3, Raonic over Brown in 3
Thiem over Millman in 3, Jaziri over Berankis in 3
Carreno Busta over Ivashka in 3, Querrey over Tipsarevic in 3
Johnson over Donskoy in 3, Del Potro over Schwartzman in 3
Fognini over Gabashvili in 4, Ferrer over Dolgopolov in 3
Kyrgios over Bedene in 3, Zeballos over Mayer in 4
Dodig over Marchenko in 4, Tomic over Dzumhur in 3
A. Zverev over Brands in 3, Evans over Ram in 4
Giannessi over Kudla in 5, Verdasco over Wawrinka in 5
Nishikori over Becker in 3, Khachanov over Fabbiano in 3
Mathieu over C. Harrison in 4, Mahut over Kohlschreiber in 4
Karlovic over Lu in 4, Young over Struff in 4
Troicki over Albot in 3, Goffin over Donaldson in 3
Coric over Lopez in 5, Sousa over Estrella Burgos in 3
Chardy over Mmoh in 3, Dimitrov over Cervantes in 3
Stepanek over Simon in 4, Lorenzi over Berlocq in 4
Monaco over Granollers in 4, Murray over Rosol in 3
Second round
Djokovic over Myneni in 3
Youzhny over Pella in 5
Isner over Darcis in 3
Gasquet over Lacko in 3
Tsonga over Haase in 3
Anderson over Kovalik in 4
Sock over Herbert in 4
Cilic over Stakhovsky in 3
Nadal over Seppi in 3
Ramos-Vinolas over Bellucci in 3
Pouille over Clezar in 3
Bautista Agut over Baker in 3
Monfils over Satral in 3
Cuevas over Almagro in 4
Baghdatis over Paire in 4
Raonic over Harrison in 3
Thiem over Jaziri in 4
Querrey over Carreno Busta in 4
Del Potro over Johnson in 4
Fognini over Ferrer in 4
Kyrgios over Zeballos in 3
Tomic over Dodig in 4
A. Zverev over Evans in 4
Verdasco over Giannessi in 3
Nishikori over Khachanov in 3
Mahut over Mathieu in 4
Karlovic over Young in 4
Goffin over Troicki in 3
Coric over Sousa in 4
Dimitrov over Chardy in 4
Stepanek over Lorenzi in 4
Murray over Monaco in 3
Third round
Djokovic over Youzhny in 3
Isner over Gasquet in 4
Tsonga over Anderson in 3
Cilic over Sock in 3
Nadal over Ramos-Vinolas in 3
Pouille over Bautista Agut in 4
Monfils over Cuevas in 3
Raonic over Baghdatis in 3
Thiem over Querrey in 4
Del Potro over Fognini in 4
Kyrgios over Tomic in 4
Verdasco over A. Zverev in 4
Nishikori over Mahut in 3
Goffin over Karlovic in 4
Dimitrov over Coric in 5
Murray over Stepanek in 3
Fourth round
Djokovic over Isner in 5
Cilic over Tsonga in 3
Nadal over Pouille in 4
Raonic over Monfils in 4
Del Potro over Thiem in 4
Kyrgios over Verdasco in 4
Goffin over Nishikori in 5
Murray over Dimitrov in 3
Quarterfinals
Cilic over Djokovic in 4
Nadal over Raonic in 5
Kyrgios over Del Potro in 4
Murray over Goffin in 3
Semifinals
Cilic over Nadal in 4
Murray over Kyrgios in 4
Final
Murray over Cilic in 4
[polldaddy poll=9506440]
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I was tempted to pick Cilic over Novak in fact maybe I should’ve cuz Novak’s wrist. I definitely hope it happens. What I’m rooting for is a Cilic vs Del Po final.
I was tempted to do Isner
Why Myneni over Vesely?
Vesely is hurt
What’s wrong with Jiri?
I thought you would pick Fratangelo over Pella.
Pella converted me after his match at the French
But you were very positive about Bjorn making the R32 in the draw analysis, now you say he will lose right away.
Yes,and he took Lopez to five sets in Australia.
ATP racket bracket http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketUsOpenATP/TheGrandstandIsBack/Pre-Register.aspx
Cilic over Djokovic is a GOOD pick…. don’t know how Djokovic will play here but Cilic is surely capable of storming his way to the semi…
I am not sure about Cilic over Novak. It could happen, but I don’t see Novak going out that early unless the wrist isn’t okay.
I am also not that sure about Kyrgios. He can blow hot and cold. He should do well, but one never knows for sure. I think it’s interesting that Ricky has Rafa going further than Novak.
In the earlier poll, I did vote for Delpo to get to the quarterfinals, so I agree with Ricky on that one. I don’t know that I agree about Goffin going that far.
I doubt Nick can take out Delpo. Doubt Nando will take out Stan either but bold pick.
Some very bold predictions there, I’ll give you that, it’s just your draw assertion does not match up with these actual picks.
Wait Ricky how injured is Vesely? I thought he might’ve just had minor injury against Kuznetsov and withdrew because he didn’t want to push it before the U.S. Open
First round:
Djoker over Janowicz in 3, Vesely over Myneni in 4, Fratangelo over Pella in 5,Youzhny over Klizan in 4, Isner over Tiafoe in 3, Darcis over Thompson in 3, Escobedo over Lacko in 4, Gasquet over Edmund in 4, Tsonga over Andreozzi in 3, Duckworth over Haase in 4, Pospisil over Kovalik in 4, Anderson over Nishioka in 4, Sock over Fritz in 5, Herbert over Zverev in 4, Stakhovsky over Elias in 4, Cilic over Dutra Silva in 3, Rafa over Istomin in 3, Seppi over Robert in 4, Bellucci over Kuznetsov in 4, Ramos-Vinolas over Benneteau in 4, Pouille over Kukushkin in 4, Chiudinelli over Clezar in 3, Baker over Delbonis in 4, Bautista Agut over Garcia-Lopez in 4, Monfils over Muller in 4, Satral over McDonald in 4, Almagro over Fucsovics in 4, Cuevas over Sela in 4, Paire over Lajovic in 5, Baghdatis over Bagnis in 3, R. Harrison over Mannarino in 4, Raonic over Brown in 4, Thiem over Millman in 4, Jaziri over Berankis in 4, Carreno Busta over Ivashka in 3, Querrey over Tipsarevic in 3, Johnson over Donskoy in 3, Del Po over Schwartzman in 3, Fognini over Gabashvili in 3, Dolgopolov over Ferrer in 5, Kyrgios over Bedene in 3, Mayer over Zeballos in 4, Dodig over Marchenko in 4, Tomic over Dzumhur in 4, Brands over A. Zverev in 5, Rampras over Evans in 5, Giannessi over Kudla in 4, Wawrinka over Verdasco in 4, Nishikori over Becker in 3, Khachanov over Fabbiano in 4, C. Harrison over Mathieu in 5, Mahut over Kohlschreiber in 4, Karlovic over Lu in 4, Young over Struff in 3, Troicki over Albot in 3, Goffin over Donaldson in 4, Lopez over Coric in 4, Sousa over Estrella Burgos in 3, Chardy over Mmoh in 3, Dimitrov over Cervantes in 3, Stepanek over Simon in 4, Berlocq over Lorenzi in 4, Granollers over Monaco in 4, Murray over Rosol in 3
Second round:
Djoker over Vesely in 3
Fratangelo over Youzhny in 4
Isner over Darcis in 3
Gasquet over Escobedo in 3
Tsonga over Duckworth in 3
Anderson over Pospisil in 4
Sock over Herbert in 4
Cilic over Stakhovsky in 3
Rafa over Seppi in 3
Bellucci over Ramos-Vinolas in 5
Pouille over Chiudinelli in 4
Bautista Agut over Baker in 4
Monfils over Satral in 3
Cuevas over Almagro in 4
Paire over Baghdatis in 5
Raonic over R. Harrison in 4
Thiem over Jaziri in 3
Querrey over Carreno Busta in 4
Del Po over Johnson in 4
Dolgopolov over Fognini in 4
Kyrgios over Mayer in 3
Tomic over Dodig in 4
Rampras over Brands in 4
Wawrinka over Giannessi in 3
Nishikori over Khachanov in 3
Mahut over C. Harrison in 3
Young over Karlovic in 4
Goffin over Troicki in 3
Lopez over Sousa in 4
Dimitrov over Chardy in 3
Stepanek over Berlocq in 3
Murray over Granollers in 3
Third round:
Djoker over Fratangelo in 3
Isner over Gasquet in 3
Tsonga over Anderson in 4
Cilic over Sock in 3
Rafa over Bellucci in 4
Bautista Agut over Pouille in 5
Monfils over Cuevas in 3
Raonic over Paire in 3
Thiem over Querrey in 4
Del Po over Dolgopolov in 4
Kyrgios over Tomic in 4
Wawrinka over Rampras in 4
Nishikori over Mahut in 3
Goffin over Young in 3
Dimitrov over Lopez in 4
Murray over Stepanek in 4
Fourth round:
Djokovic over Isner in 4
Cilic over Tsonga in 4
Rafa over Bautista Agut in 4
Monfils over Raonic in 5
Del Po over Thiem in 4
Kyrgios over Wawrinka in 4
Nishikori over Goffin in 4
Murray over Dimitrov in 4
QF:
Djokovic over Cilic in 5
Rafa over Monfils in 5
Del Po over Kyrgios in 5
Murray over Nishikori in 4
SF:
Djokovic over Rafa in 4
Del Po over Murray in 4
Final:
Del Potro over Djokovic in 5
I’m super tempted to go back and pick Cilic or even Isner over Novak but I don’t usually like to go back to my draw after I’ve made it. I don’t want to change my picks because if I get them wrong and Cilic beats Novak I’ll be so happy even though my pick would be wrong like even though I have him losing I’ll be hardcore rooting him on in that match if it happens. If Novak does beat him though I’ll be sad but at least I’ll have gotten the pick right. Really very sketchy about the whole draw. I love Del Po and I have a feeling he is gonna have a magical run here. Maybe I went a little too bold by having him make it all the way to the title but still I hope it happens and I think it could. I also feel that Monfils/Raonic could definitely get through the quarter as well but like I said I don’t go back and change my draw really. I did change a few minor things though. I changed my original Kovalik over Pospisil pick to Pospy for the win and I had Gabashvil in round three before realizing he’s in awful form lately. I think the most likely player by far to make semis from who I have there is Murray while Del Po Rafa and Novak could very well lose before semis. Really have a bad feeling about the Novak but like I said about my reasoning for the draw and all so I’m not gonna go back and change it. I’d freakin love it if your picks were right though Ricky. Minus Murray beating Marin in that final lol.
Also kind of regret putting Young over Karlovic but look what happened with Young last year here.
Federer will win it 🙂
probably!
Just from the 4R :
4R:
Djokovic over Isner in 3
Cilic over Tsonga in 4
Nadal over Baustista Agut in 4
Monfils over Raonic in 5
Del Potro over Thiem in 3
Kyrgios over Verdasco in 4
Nishikori over Goffin in 3
Murray over Dimitrov in 4
QFs:
Cilic over Djokovic in 4
Nadal over Monfils in 4
Del Potro over Kyrgios in 4
Murray over Nishikori in 3
SFs:
Cilic over Nadal in 4
Murray over Del Potro in 5
Final:
Cilic over Murray in 5
A hard fought victory for the Croat 🙂 He might have to beat Djoko, Nadal and Murray to win.
And some uncommon picks for the early rounds :
Verdasco over Stan in 4
Janowicz takes a set of Djoko
Dolgopolov over Ferrer in 4
Coric over Lopez in 5
sorry manwerty but i really don’t believe cilic is capable of beating nole rafa and murray back to back. everyone is getting on board the cilic train but there are a lot of question marks about him. look at how he choked up against fed at wimby!
i see a lot of people are also on the nick train but again i am a bit sceptical as he can play a gr8 match and then an abominable one and certain players like gasquet seem to know how to take him out. he doesn’t have the tenacity to go really deep yet without a lot of help from the draw.
Amy,
I agree with you and well said! There is no way that Cilic is just going to beat Novak, Rafa and Murray back-to-back. The top players do not roll over at slams. There is a reason why they have dominated in recent years. They come ready and are fit enough to handle best of five set matches. They have the mental toughness to outlast other players.
People have forgotten how Cilic let the match with Fed get away from him at Wimbledon.
I have noticed this kind of bandwagon effect in the past. I think it’s also happening with Delpo. It would be a great story to see him do well at a slam. But I don’t see it happening. Delpo did manage to beat Novak in a best of three set match at the Olympics. Then he beat a worn out Rafa to get to the final. That is where his run ended.
We have to see if Delpo can produce the king of tennis he did at the Olympics and in all best of five set matches. A slam is a whole other thing entirely.
thanks nny. i am very sceptical about the cilic bandwagon but as delpo is one of my 3 faves my heart is ruling my head and so i am backing him in a big way.
i do think his second round match with johnson is very tricky for him though.
Yeah I agree it’s probably not possible. However, I believe that one of these three (or even more) will bail out earlier – Djoko is a big question mark, same goes for Rafa, Murray is the most solid and consistent one right now but who knows, maybe Del Po throws him out?
also nole taking 5 sets to beat isner! believe that when i see it unless the wrist is bust and he is mentally shot in which case he could go out early to anyone.
Apparently his wrist is still not at 100% so that’s why I’m thinking he won’t win the tournament. It was either after the French or Wimbledon that I predicted a drop in his level during the summer because I feel like his motivation may not be fully there because he completed the career grand slam earlier this year at RG. I still don’t think he will win it especially with the wrist problems. That’s why I was thinking I maybe should’ve picked Cilic to take him out because it’s probably more likely he loses at that stage than in the finals. But I have del Po winning over djoker in the final anyways. Doing what he did to fed at U.S. open 2009. Bottom line here is I don’t think Novak will win the U.S. Open. I have made a mistake putting him in finals though cuz if the wrist thing is affecting him he could fall to Isner or more likely Cilic/Nadal. But it is Nova of course. He could find a way to go deep here even with a wrist problem.
I meant I may have made a mistake putting him in finals. Obviously he’s Djokovic and could still get there.
Also the second last sentence should say Novak lol
yeah benny i agree with a lot of what you say. this uso is impossible to pick in advance IMO because we don’t know what level nole is at right now. he’s still the best hard-courter in the world so he doesn’t have to play his best to win. but if he still has significant problems he could go out early.
obviously i want rafa to win but if he doesn’t i am really on board the delpo train in a big way.
Nah, at the USO Djoko has to play his best to win, if not he would be just the runner up. I mean how many times he had reached the USO final and how many times he won? Its 2 out of 6 finals. He was beaten there by Fed, Murray and Rafa (twice) in the finals.
With a broken wrist it would be worse for him. I think Cilic, if he plays well and gets that far, will be a big problem for Djoko.
People are questioning about what Cilic has/had achieved after winning USO but he was injured after that. He had missed some masters this year due to injury and so he needs time to get back to his normal level. He is a fast court player and had pushed Djoko to the limit on grass at Wimbledon twice; and should have beaten Fed this Wimbledon if not for his head case issue at crucial moments. When his head is properly screwed on, he can be quite a scary player (USO2014 and Cincy 2016).
I was impressed by how well he hit his FH at Cincy. In the past, his FH was his biggest problem, hitting it too flat and into the net very often but this Cincy, he hit it well, didnt mishit many or overhitting it. In fact he had hit some stunning running CC FH passing shots vs Murray.
Lucky,
I know that you like Cilic and have been a strong supporter of his. I did mean to mention that hex was injured for a time. That is part of why he could not capitalize on his 2014 win at the USO. But it was also about Novak playing well and being able to dominate win Rafa not able to get himself together last year and now still having injury problems this year.
Cilicia dangerous when he’s on his game, I am not saying that he can’t take out Novak. But I am not going to predict that before I have even seen Novak play one match.
Cilic did hit his forehand very well in the Cincy final. But he was playing a Murray who was far from his best after a great run at Rio. Cilic also needs to work on his mental strength so that he doesn’t lose a match that he should win the way he did with Fed at wimbledon.
I actually agree about Novak nit needing five sets to beat Isner! Not unless that wrist is shot!
It’s not like Isner has done anything at the USO to make one think he can take it to Novak. Again this is all speculation before the early rounds have been played.
goffin beating nishi..mmm..not sold on that one either..
Amy,
Again I agree with you when it comes to Goffin beating Nishi. I will believe it when it happens.
Goffin suffers meltdowns at times, able to lose from a winning position – Kei is too good for Goffin.
Kei will win against Goffin. Unless Kei is injured!!!
Ricky always gives Goffin too much credit.
yeah hawks he tends to big him up IMO.
goffin is one of ricky’s five faves remember!!
talking of ricky’s faves where is gulbis in the draw?
i reckon ricky is often over-optimistic about another of his faves isner as well.
Isner will make fourth round and with Novak’s wrist and Isner having multiple wins over him big john reaching the fourth round and almost beating Djoker isn’t over optimistic. I mean who knows Djoker lost to the big serving Querrey at Wimby and now Isner will have more crowd support than Querrey did and a bigger serve.
Ricky used to play up Pospisil a lot and poor Vashy has never recovered since!
Very confusing choice for me: Kei or Goffin. I’ll enjoy the match if it happens! Probably will go with Kei – he’s who I picked last yesterday. But I don’t want to underestimate Goffin 😀
I will go with Nishi against Goffin. I am also not sold on isner’s prospects at this USO.
#IsnerIsPastHisSellByDate
He should make fourth round at least. He’s got a great draw. Most likely path would be Tiafoe (wildcard), Darcis (qualifier), and Gasquet (struggling mightily). And he has taken down Novak a few times on U.S. soil before so almost beating Djoker isn’t as bold as it may seem.
Yeah, but he’s in terrible form this year. Although with that kind of player you never know, he might just have the match of his life out of nowhere.
I agree with Benny about Isner. I think those standing in his path before the fourth round are quite beatable even for a non top form Isner.
I think he can reach the fourth round; whether he can beat Djoko there we have to see how Djoko plays this USO.
Yeah… so much depends on how Djokovic plays. There are doubts which is the reason Isner and Cilic are being given realistic chances. Cilic has a really explosive game but Djokovic’s game on the day is the biggest factor.
Been watching Rafa’s practice and he is going after second serve returns so often now. He has started to get better depth on his return finally. It will take more time but but he is on the right track…esp on the deuce court.
Novak will come back with a bang. He will lift the US Open title.
Very possible!
Most likely.
Fed, Tiggy and I’ve picked him.
Here is my full draw:
R1
Djokovic
Vesely
Fratangelo
Klizan
Isner
Darcis
Lacko
Gasquet
Tsonga
Haase
Pospisil
Anderson
Sock
Herbert
Elias
Cilic
Nadal
Robert
Kuznetsov
Ramos-Vinolas
Pouille
Chiudinelli
Delbonis
Bautista Agut
Muller
Satral
Almagro
Cuevas
Paire
Baghdatis
Mannarino
Raonic
Thiem
Jaziri
Carreno Busta
Querrey
Johnson
Del Potro
Fognini
Ferrer
Kyrgios
Mayer
Marchenko
Tomic
A. Zverev
Evans
Kudla
Wawrinka
Nishikori
Fabbiano
Mathieu
Mahut
Karlovic
Young
Troicki
Goffin
Lopez
Sousa
Chardy
Dimitrov
Stepanek
Lorenzi
Granollers
Murray
R2
Djokovic
Klizan
Isner
Gasquet
Tsonga
Anderson
Sock
Cilic
Nadal
Kuznetsov
Pouille
Bautista Agut
Muller
Cuevas
Paire
Raonic
Thiem
Carreno Busta
Del Potro
Ferrer
Kyrgios
Tomic
Evans
Wawrinka
Nishikori
Mahut
Karlovic
Goffin
Lopez
Dimitrov
Stepanek
Murray
R3
Djokovic
Isner
Tsonga
Cilic
Nadal
Bautista Agut
Muller
Raonic
Thiem
Del Potro
Tomic
Wawrinka
Nishikori
Karlovic
Dimitrov
Murray
R4
Djokovic
Cilic
Nadal
Raonic
Del Potro
Wawrinka
Nishikori
Murray
QF
Djokovic
Raonic
Del Potro
Murray
SF
Djokovic
Murray
F
Murray
just looked at the espn expert picks. 7 are for murray and only 3 for nole!! when was it last that nole only got 3 espn picks in any slam let alone a hard-court one?? so people clearly think that something is still up with him.
garber picked cilic.
anyone else remember a time when murray was such an overwhelming favourite?
Only among the media who seem to be reactionary with a short memory.
Djokovic is still the heavy favourite in betting circles. He’s just about the odds on favourite outright.
ok didn’t know about the betting odds hawks…good to know…quite a turn around when a few months ago he was the prohibitive favourite in the media and in possession of all 4 slams! that was only 3 months ago!
You are right Amy.
Andy has all of the momentum and Nole is a big unknown in terms of his injury and personal issues.
Rafa is sounding good but it’s been a very long time since he made it past QF rounds.
i am still very nervous for rafa in the early rounds hawks. he hasn’t got even to a qf since rg 15! that is a lot of pressure on ANY elite player.
if he gets to the quarters i see him beating raonic. did you know that j-mac isn’t working with raonic the next 2 weeks? a trifle odd no?
Yup. And after that, he said he will only be returning if Milos wants him too.
So, reading between the lines, I think that they will be splitting ways.
Which is OK IMO. I don’t think that JMac would make a great long term coach. However, it was a smart short term move for Wimbledon.
You could readily see the improvement in Raonic’s approach/net game and it was no coincidence that Milos made it to his first slam final.
As far as Rafa goes, I think the pressure is somewhat off of him because expectations are low. Same for me as a fan. I am cautiously optimistic but I’m not expecting a deep run past the QF for him.
If it happens, it will be great of course but I’m less uptight about it compared to when I saw him as the No. 1, 2 or 3 favourite to win.
Oddsmakers currently have Rafa as a virtual fifth favourite tied with Cilic, Nishi and Stan.
Top favourites are Djokovic, Murray, Raonic and Delpo but the latter two aren’t very significant favourites ahead of Rafa.
Rafa’s best shot of course to win another slam is at the French. I don’t hold much hope for him anywhere else TBH.
do you know anything about pouille who rafa is due to meet hawks?? i have never seen him play but i know he is supposed to be talented and i don’t think rafa has played him before – and we know rafa doesn’t like playing people new to him. i am nervous about this match!
benny you probably know a lot about pouille?
obviously if rafa is playing like rafa then pouille isn’t a threat. but i worry he may be tight. does pouille have the ability to capitalise?
hawks i think raonic is fine with moya!! doesn’t need j-mac…
You didn’t ask me but imo, he’s dangerous, very dangerous. I didn’t pick him to beat Rafa, though. But he’s the kind of opponent who could make it a long match.
thanks rc! happy for info from anyone who knows their tennis! i have never seen him play. i am worried about this match. what weapons does pouille have? does he have a big serve?
Cilic already one break down. So far isn’t looking like USO 2016 champion!
He’s bit atypical as a Frenchie, I say. Calm, strong and hard working like Dominic Thiem; powerful serve (not like Isner, Karlovic, Raonic), but consistent. I think Rafa can work out how to beat him. I’ll defer to Hawks or Benny to elaborate.
He’s not the type to be intimidated or shrink away from a fight.
I am surprised that so many ESPN analysts picked Murray. They must think that Novak is a question mark due to the wrist and after getting knocked out early in both Wimbledon and Rio.
You don’t want to write off the guy who has dominated the sport for the last two years. Novak will be motivated to do well at the last slam of the year. He’s already made history this year.
As for Rafa, I don’t have expectations beyond a quarterfinal result here. Anything more than that would be a bonus. But with all that has happened at the slams with Rafa, I am not getting carried away. He hasn’t played a slam since RG, and he didn’t get very far there or at the AO. We know how demanding it is to compete in a slam. So we have to see how Rafa’s body holds up. I also think that it’s good that Rafa is coming in under the radar. No pressure on him.
Wow!! deuce still asking her “innocent” questions!!!
deuce is hoping somebody will take Rafa out. If he does go to the final and meet Muzz, chances are, Rafa will win. deuce has bought a sofa!!!
Yes, Cilic with a slow start. But it’s on serve.
Ostapenko with a break over Kvitova.
Pouille is a very good player for his age.
However, he has Top 10 wins against Gasquet and Ferrer. Otherwise he is 0-6 including s 6-2, 6-1 loss to Rafa at MC last year.
He can only trouble Rafa if Rafa is not on his game.
ok thanks rc. he sounds very dangerous if rafa is tight. however i made a mistake when i thought rafa had never played him. i just looked it up and he played him last year on the clay and won with the loss of only 3 games!! that has reassured me big time!
Cilic match now on serve. Vinci on a roll
Contest:
Mary: 1
Mary W AUGUST 29, 2016 AT 3:41 PM
Wow!! deuce still asking her “innocent” questions!!!
deuce is hoping somebody will take Rafa out. If he does go to the final and meet Muzz, chances are, Rafa will win. deuce has bought a sofa!!!
snap hawks i just looked him up and saw that match result. so am reasssured. of course as i said above i am only worried if rafa is very uptight.
When Rafa is very uptight, even the Mental Toothpick can beat him.
Forza Robbie!!
yeah exactly. can lose to anyone.
mental toothpick is now one of my fave nicknames!
your’s are better than brad gilbert’s – what’s his for nando…dinner at nando’s??
Verdasco Sauce maybe?
I wasn’t far off. It’s “Tabasco”!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/01/17/brad-gilbert-espn-tennis-nickname-list/1842859/
wow genuinely surprised by that! am sure he’s called him dinner at nandos on numerous occasions…
gilbert has nicknamitis so maybe he has several monikers for players…
remember him calling him tabasco as well..
why don’t you tweet him your suggestion of mental toothpick??!!
actually mental toothpick might get him sued no? don’t suppose nando would be thrilled by it funny though it is…
#MuzzFavorite
#deuceMustBeDoingCartwheels!
What about a upset from Johnson to beat Delpo. He is playing fantastic the last weeks.
not looking likely after Johnson’s first-round struggle
Muzz has a cakewalk draw. The only threat is Delpo who may not really be in contention. Rafa has a good draw before the Quarters. Can he get past Raonic or Djok or Cilic or Muzz? The answer is yes if his forehand is back.
Anyway, every win of his seems a bonus these days after the disastrous 2015 so I am not allowing myself to hope or expect any great results. I think Rafa’s best shot to win another slam is at USO and RG. Not just RG.
Unless Djok is really injured, a Djok/Rafa semi is more likely than a Cilic/Rafa semi.
An expert predicts: Pouille will win the U.S.Open.
http://www.espn.com/tennis/usopen16/story/_/id/17402656/us-open-experts-picks-some-doubts-whether-novak-djokovic-serena-williams-prevail
Totally underwhelmed with ESPN’s “expert” panel. Murray is the Flavor of the Month (or two) so picking him is understandable, while Djokovic has been struggling and has a much tougher draw. He’s also got to be well rested and isn’t a player that needs a lot of court/practice time to find his game. If healthy he’s quite capable of working his way into even a slam. Can’t see anyone other than these two as favorites. Rafa needs his normal forehand back to do serious damage here. He does seem relaxed and happy and feeling no pressure.
I suspect JMac has chosen broadcasting over coaching for the US Open.
Ramara (AT 4:14 PM),
I posted an article about JMac & Raonic a couple of days ago:
https://tenngrand.com/social/player-pages/north-of-the-border/#comment-147994
TENNIS.com @Tennis 32s32 seconds ago
Upset in the making? Kyle Edmund is routing No. 13 Richard Gasquet, 6-2, 6-2. #USOpen http://tennis.com/scores
#Wow
#BlownGasquet
Sad but not surprising. Reeeshie is having a bad year, as is Daveeed. Those two may be done as even top 20 players.
Now that one is a surprise!
nny i just looked at the pool and margot is there. thought you might like to know. you could leave her a comment!
Amy,
Thanks for letting me know. Of course I will leave deucey/margot a message!
?
obviously the real truth is that i am so evil and devious that i have registerd twice. once as me amy and once as the real me margot/deucey!!
is there nothing which i am not capable of !!!
Amy,
I forgot how to put in a comment!
You know, it would be funny if it wasn’t so out there! Yes, you registered as two different people! LOL!
Now if you and deucey/Margot actually exchange comments, wouldn’t that be just hilarious!
?
Tiafoe up a set and two breaks against The Pox On Tennis.
A set and ONE break.
Tiafoe up two sets against The Pox On Tennis.
Hopefully it won’t be just another classic deer in the headlights unable to close when it really counts match.
#BetweenTheEars
#HowManyTimes
In response to Amy, Pouille is a good young talent who has a very solid game. He had a great QF run at Wimbledon and he could test Rafa. Only way he could win is if Rafa was way off his game. I don’t have him getting there though. I have RBA outlasting him in five in round three.
ok thanks benny. just fretting as usual! worried he will get tense and lose control of the forehand in deja vu of previous slam collapses.
I always think that Rafa has the advantage in a best of five set match. Pouille’s got game. He’s had a really good year. But as long as the wrist is okay and Rafa is fit enough, then I think he will be okay. I really cannot complain about Rafa’s early round opponents. He got lucky.
I see that Isner came back to tie it up at two sets all. Unfortunately, that is what I thought would happen. Tiafoe is not experienced enough to get it done when he’s up two sets.
Mugu is in quite the battle.
what’s going on with mugu?
Mugu won!
Tiafoe just broke Isner to serve for the match!
He really needs to try and keep it together now!
come on tiafoe!! make hawks’s day!
No, tiafoe was broken by Isner. He doesn’t have enough experience in this kind of situation.
I think Tiafoe lost his chance for the upset win when he couldn’t serve out the match.
They may be heading for a tb.
5-5 in the fifth set
ESPN commies were saying that Isner was rattled by all the crowd support for Tiafoe.
Tiafoe down 0-30
Now 30-30
Hang in there, Tiafoe!
Tiafoe holds serve. Now Isner serving to get to a tab.
To get to a tiebreak!
What a Heartbreaker ! Didn’t see it but omg, the score.
Tiafoe didn’t believe.
Anyone who doesn’t think tennis is between the ears doesn’t know tennis.
The Pox On Tennis survives.
#GodsCountry
Unggoy playing tennis between his ears? Huh?
Rough loss for tiafoe. Huge win for Isner.
Yes, that was tough to watch, but you could see it coming. Isner was able to handle the pressure of a fifth set tb. Tiafoe folded under the pressure.
As Hawkeye said, he just didn’t believe. More work to be done by this young man. But he needs to take the experience he gained from this match and keep on working to get better.
Phil Collins. Cool.
Stand up Colin. God’s country.
JJ has come out fearless and is using his varieties…not giving Nole much rhythm…the Serb serving well
wow…MTO for djokovic so early on
Nole 0.2
When you lose at a challenger QF in Germany to a guy named Geens then take the second set off of Djokovic a few weeks later. #janowicz
I was checking back in on this match while watching other programming. When I last tuned in JJ broke Novak. Now I see that JJ won the second set.
This is surprising. He took a MTO. So I guess something is up with the wrist. JJ hasn’t done anything lately to suggest that he might give Novak trouble.
Novak up a break in the third set. ESPN commies talking non-stop about what is going on with Novak.
This could go really ugly for Novak…he seems to be struggling physically and JJ is playing well enough to capitalize if things don’t improve for Nole.
What the hell is Jerzy doing? Djoko is rolling the serve in and has no power on his forehands. Jerzy is looking to bash the ball rather than engaging him in a rally
That’s exactly what the ESPN commies are saying!
vr,
Didn’t you notice something about novak’s serves not having as much on them at some point not too long ago? I seem to remember you making a comment about his serves not having as much on them.
That appears to be the case in the match. It does seem as though something is amiss with Novak.
What a weird match. Cant make out if it is Djoko faking or Jerzy not playing intelligently
JJ is a notorious ball basher. It’s one thing about his game that I have never liked. He has no finesse. Just hits the ball hard, harder and hardest.
Exactly! He was given so many chances against a subpar Djoko yet he couldnt capitalize. All he knew was to go for broke hence all the UEs.
Credit where credit is due, Djoko is simply a great champion; when not playing well he still finds a way to win. Good job!
Yeah…I thought JJ had a decent chance to make it at least 5 sets after he ended the second on a real high and Novak was struggling. But, JJ being JJ and couldn’t do much.
Djokovic was struggling and he fought. He is a legend of the game.
there is obviously something wrong with nole. i said before that i thought he could go out early and i reckon that could happen this week with him losing to anyone. don’t suppose he’ll be thrilled to play vesely if he is feeling way off the pace.
don’t want him to lose to the pox on tennis.
if nole is going out then rafa HAS to get through his first rounds!! huge chance for him as he can definitely beat raonic if he gets that far.
is nole with his personal issues – supposedly fixed now but still emotionally draining and dodgy wrist – really in a fit state to be playing? is he just spent after his huge fight to get the french and now just hasn’t got the same willpower and energy?
i mean a combination of all this looks like temporary burn out…
Wrong. He has one of the best drop shots in the game. He has some deft touch at net too. Just because he has a hugh serve and forehand does not by default make him a ball basher.
As a matter of fact. It does still make him a ball basher. Many players use the drop shot at times. That does not mean they have finesse.
JJ had a real opportunity and the ESPN commies kept pointing it out. He wasn’t able to capitalize on novak’s mediocre serving. All JJ knows is to bludgeon the ball. He also doesn’t seem to have a lot of mental strength and different strategies. He’s a one-note at this point in time.
Nny, I simply have a soft spot for JJ.
Btw, you are in the #1 spot in the bracket after the first go. See, I told you so 😉
so are you and alison rc!! i see puig is out. i knew i shouldn’t have picked her to go several rounds.
ricky and i are tied for 4th!!
but i just looked at the scoring system and what matters most is who you have in the last 4 and final. all the points are there.
You and Nny were worried about your first round picks, and look at you! No problems at all.
And you’re of course right. No sense even fussing ove first round matches, if the last 4 and final are wrong and with the WTA, you never know! Why I like it. Also why I try hard to get the first rounds.
The safest pick is still Serena – and I think you both took her. Radwanska tho – I just couldn’t have her losing to anyone until the semi-final! And I don’t think she’s ever made a US Open SF. Risky.
It was tempting to take Puig deep …have her beating Mugu again, anyway. Glad I resisted the urge. And Mugu makes me nervous. So does Kvitova – tho I love Petra.
Good luck to picks today!
yeah i feel the same way about mugu rc. she’s so talented but can lose early. and petra. i left a message for you today on the pool saying exactly that so i won’t repeat it!!
an honour to be tied with ricky no?!!
ps yes i love petra too and she really frustrates me..
Oh yes, an honor to be anywhere near Ricky in a bracket!
And Biggy Al – he does rather well at these games. At the moment, we’re doing very well.
rc,
I did check the standings and was shocked to see myself in the #1 position in good company! Some of that was just luck.
But as you said, what is important are the later rounds. That is what counts. So we will see what happens. I worry about upsets for the top ten seeds with the women. It always seems that there are more top women seeds knocked out than with the men.
Rosol is a ball basher. Soderling was also. JJ has finesse when he chooses to use it. Sorry to say your attempt to prove your point is nonsense.
Alyssa gets it
#nativeDoesn’tWatchMatches
Alyssa,
Saying my point is nonsense is not a rebuttal to the points I made. I did not dispute Jerzy being able to drop shot. However, the mere use of the drop shot does not mean he has finesse. Drop shots are not exclusive to certain players. It’s a shot that can be effective when used at the right time in the right way.
I do not respond to rudeness. Opinions are opinions. Yours is no more valid or less valid than mine, so please spare me your negative description of my point of view.
The ESPN commentators also said that Jerzy was not able to take advantage of novak’s sub par serving and overall play. My issues with him go beyond just being a ball basher. He also lacks the mental strength to change tactics and strategize.
I stand by my assassment of his game, regardless of what you may think.
A great drop shot requires finesse.
He moves amazingly well for 6’8″. I like his drop shots too. Also just in general like Jerzy’s tortured soul 😉
Wish he’d get back to winning more after the injury troubles.
I must confess to never warming to Jerzy. I always thought the whole tortured soul mentality and being too emotional in his matches, would hurt him. I know that he’s had some injuries that have also caused him problems. But he seems to be a shadow of the player who got to the Wimbledon semis a few years ago and took s set off Murray. That was when people got on the Jerzy bandwagon and tapped him to get into the top ten. I never thought he had the mental mindset to do well.
native doesn’t watch matches so she doesn’t know about Jerzy’s drop shots and his movement.
It’s nice to see Jerzy back, imo.
Like him or not it’s about personal taste thing – much of it. I generally dislike the tallest players because I value movement and speed and dread the day the seven foot pluser’s arrive in tennis.
Troll Instigator Contest:
Mary: 3
Mary W AUGUST 30, 2016 AT 1:52 PM
native doesn’t watch matches so she doesn’t know about Jerzy’s drop shots and his movement.
Mary W AUGUST 29, 2016 AT 2:25 PM
#why holier- than -thou native no take him to task?
#hypocrisy is their middle name ( extract from the song of the trolls)
Mary W AUGUST 29, 2016 AT 3:41 PM
Wow!! deuce still asking her “innocent” questions!!!
JJ A-ok in my books (except for his mental walk-abouts).
He has power, precision ,drop shots, net skills and has a really good lob.
Hampered by injuries and mental immaturity a la Kyrgios.
About Rafa’s match – he seemed nervous, understandable and typical of him each time he lost early in the previous year. Cant stand Jimmy Arias, the way he sounded as if Rafa’s FH is so hopeless now; he has forgotten that Rafa has had a wrist injury and is just slowing getting things back to normal.
Rafa’s forehand will be okay. It was better in Rio against Delpo because he knew he had to be aggressive no matter what. Against Istomin, he knew he’d win even if it were at 70-75% or something like that. He got the win and I think he’ll play a bit more freely against Seppi and the fact that Seppi is not big hitter, that will give Rafa peace of mind.
rc,
To each their own! That is what makes the world go round. I just never really liked Jerzy’s game, but that is just me. ?
http://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/32833/10557744/rafael-nadal-encouraged-by-strengthening-wrist-after-breezing-through-us-open-first-round
“I am hitting very well in the backhand, but it’s true that I need time with the forehand,”
“I need confidence and I need to keep practicing the forehand. It’s not easy to go two-and-a-half months out of competition in the middle of the season without hitting a forehand.
“I need to have the confidence again with my wrist. That is coming, because I feel the wrist much better, and every day feel that the wrist is a little bit better.”
No wonder he is satisfied with the backhand! The forehand will come back. Have faith and keep practicing, Rafa.
Nole is Fucsoviced. His right arm looks dead. He is going out.
BBC, August 29, 2016: ¤¤ He [Djoko] called a medical timeout after the fifth game to allow the trainer to work on his elbow and upper arm. ¤¤
According to the picture – on his RIGHT arm.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/37216656
.
CINCINNATI, August 10, 2016: ¤¤ …Novak Djokovic officially withdrew from the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday morning due to a LEFT wrist injury.
“I am very sad to announce that I won’t be able to play …,” Djokovic said. “I have a recurring injury …” ¤¤
http://www.wsopen.com/news/injury_forces_novak_djokovic_out_of_tournament/?CategoryId=12618&Year=2016&pg=4
(I’ll continue in Reply, because WordPress doesn’t allow to post more than 2 links per post)
In Toronto, Djoko had a problem with his RIGHT arm/elbow:
https://twitter.com/MGLovesTennis/status/757434871509811200/photo/1
So, Djoko has more than one RECURRING injury ?
there is nothing to imply that the right arm injury is RECURRING?! He never said that. He referred to the injury which forced him to withdraw from Cincinnati as recurring and that was the wrist injury. Nowhere has he said he has a recurring right arm elbow/arm injury.
vamosrafa (AT 11:56 AM) says:
“there is nothing to imply that the right arm injury is RECURRING?!”
===
.
Nothing? I posted photos from Toronto and USO – from 2 tournaments.
I am talking about what Djokovic himself SAID. I am not talking about any speculations and judgement based on looking at some practice photos?!! He said they injury which kept him out of Cincinnati (the wrist issue) is recurring but nowhere has be used the word recurring for ANY other injury; be it a shoulder or an elbow injury. And, there is NOTHING to suggest they are the same injuries/tweaks anyway!
I prefer to listen to what the player and his team are saying rather than speculate by looking at pictures.
vamosrafa AT 1:43 PM says: “I prefer to listen to what the player and his team are saying rather than speculate by looking at pictures.”
===
.
I posted pictures taken/posted by a fan who WATCHED Djoko’s practice in Toronto! You shouldn’t speculate if you have less information than that fan had.
Djokovic has been consistent in his statements.
Augusta has nothing to refute that from what I’ve said, only interpretations from others.
VR is right.
@Augusta, what are you talking about?? is that fan his doctor?? do you know you have can 10 different types of issues on the area around the shoulder? HOW do you know it is the same injury.
He is clearly nursing injury(ies) of course but I fail to understand the duty to speculate to highlight which one is recurring when the player himself is saying something on the matter!
Anyway, this is a shit issue. I don’t give a damn whether it is recurring or not. It is just not nice to see any top player injured. Yeah I would want them to lose to Rafa or may be to other players so that Rafa can win but injuries are not nice.
vamosrafa AT 4:35 PM says:
1) “Augusta, what are you talking about??”
2) “HOW do you know it is the same injury.”
===
.
1) I said clairly that this fan was in Toronto, he did NOT speculate by looking at pictures.
2) Don’t reconstruct my posts! I don’t know, I ASKED !!!
Djokovic has been consistent in his statements.
Augusta has nothing to refute that from what I’ve said, only interpretations from others.
VR is quite right.
vamosrafa (AT 11:56 AM) says: “there is nothing to imply that the right arm injury is RECURRING?!”
augusta08 (AT 12:00 PM) says: “Nothing? I posted photos from Toronto and USO – from 2 tournaments.”
===
.
NOVAK DJOKOVICs says at his Press Conference on September 11, 2016: “I made a lot of double faults throughout this tournament. I was struggling with that shot and with, you know, with the motion, with the movement and on the serve, with the technique because of what I carried into this tournament.
So, you know, I was working a lot on it and trying to find that rhythm, but my body has kind of compensated and, you know, made some different things to protect the problem I had with the arm. …”
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/interviews/2016-09-11/novak_djokovic_interview_final.html?chip=1
So, Djoko confirmed that he had at the USO the arm problem he had already before it.
The poster AT 2:51 PM is factually incorrect. Again.
Ah yes there is.
vr,
Don’t get yourself worked up over this. It’s the same old thing all the time. You make a point and the response is just to ignore what you said and come back repeating the same thing over and over.
I would put more faith in what Novak says over what any fan thought they saw in a practice!
As you said, it’s just unfortunate for any player to be injured. I never want to see that. It’s bad enough that Fed us out. Rafa was gracious enough to give him a shout out in his post match on court interview. Now that is what you want to see! Rafa is a true sportsman!
nny, exactly, it’s only difficult to understand when someone wants it to be difficult.
Either that or perception problems.
Too much tinfoil maybe.
you seem to have forgotten you have posted this info before augusta?
also every time mirka is mentioned you post the same cry baby stories about her regardless of the context. we don’t need to keep hearing the same thing over and over thanks.
and i for one do not need a translation of pleure bebe…
amy (AT 12:11 PM) says:
1) “you seem to have forgotten you have posted this info before augusta?”
2) “also every time mirka is mentioned you post the same cry baby stories about her regardless of the context”
===
.
1) No! Vice versa! The point is: a RECURRING injury.
2) One poster has kept repeating the same ‘CryBaby’ topic regardless of the context for almost 1.5 years. I only reacted to yet another his post related to ‘CryBaby’. You should ask him not to repeat…
Augusta,
No, we are asking you not to repeat the same things over and over. That was Amy’s point that you seem to have missed.
You bring up the same things over and over without any promoting from Hawkeye or anyone else. You just refuse to take responsibility for it.
The story about Mirka and the cry baby incident with Stan is just one example of how you repeat the same story over and over.
Saying that you do it because of what others post, is a cop-out.
NNY AT 1:47 PM,
You missed THIS point:
2) One poster has kept repeating the same ‘CryBaby’ topic regardless of the context for almost 1.5 years. I only reacted to yet another his post related to ‘CryBaby’. You should ask him not to repeat…
#deuceInAggressiveTrollMode
#LoyalsBeware!!!
#HerFellowTrollsInAweOfHerScam
#HasdeuceBeenMadePresidentOfTrollNation
The point which you trolls avoid is that no one knows whether it is Djok’s wrist or elbow or shoulder or whether it is his LEFT or his RIGHT!!! He is a drama queen and has always been one. I think it was Muzz who said they are all familiar with Djok’s theatrics and faking, that Djok will seem on the point of collapsing, then next moment he is running “like a rabbit”.
So all this injury drama maybe to throw his rivals off guard or to make his family forgive him for his trespasses or because he has other things to do and needs an excuse to lose or he is really injured. With Djok you never know.
And the pont augusta was trying to make is that neither injury can be qualifed as recurring because it’s always a different one…
Novak may just be overspent as many of his fans expected to see at some point due to his high level of play for so many years now…but I still see him going deep in this USO…
you think he will go deep natashao? i really wonder if he is shot in some way. why is he just rolling serves in when his serve is such a weapon and is normally so reliable? he’s been doing that for a while now and it suggests there is something wrong physically.
think he needs some time out myself. the #1 ranking is probably gone anyway
amy AT 2:50 PM says:
“he just rolling serves in when his serve is such a weapon”
===
.
How is it related to Djoko’s LEFT wrist injury ?
#natashaoGetsIt
deuce upbraids augusta for saying something before?
#Hilarious!
#TrollGangOwnsPatentOnBrokenRecords
Troll Instigator Contest:
Mary: 6
Augusta08: 1
augusta08 AUGUST 30, 2016 AT 2:38 PM
You shouldn’t speculate if you have less information than that fan had.
Mary W AUGUST 30, 2016 AT 3:09 PM
deuce upbraids augusta for saying something before?
#Hilarious!
#TrollGangOwnsPatentOnBrokenRecords
Mary W AUGUST 30, 2016 AT 2:39 PM
#deuceInAggressiveTrollMode
#HerFellowTrollsInAweOfHerScam
#HasdeuceBeenMadePresidentOfTrollNation
Mary W AUGUST 30, 2016 AT 2:17 PM
The point which you trolls avoid is that no one knows whether it is Djok’s wrist or elbow or shoulder or whether it is his LEFT or his RIGHT!!!
Mary W AUGUST 30, 2016 AT 1:52 PM
native doesn’t watch matches so she doesn’t know about Jerzy’s drop shots and his movement.
Mary W AUGUST 29, 2016 AT 2:25 PM
#why holier- than -thou native no take him to task?
#hypocrisy is their middle name ( extract from the song of the trolls)
Mary W AUGUST 29, 2016 AT 3:41 PM
Wow!! deuce still asking her “innocent” questions!!!
it is pollution. This poster is is throwing away all these instigative posts and they are bound to cause pollution.
Stay focused on tennis, my friends.
The resident troll named hawk… is invincible!
I am not counting troll comments directed at me, but the contest shows where the trolling is being instigated from.
If I WAS counting troll remarks directed at me since yesterday, the contest would be much closer between 1. and 2.
But the point is clear.
This self-description says it all:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CppoII7XEAAvvh9.jpg
As I said, I won’t count insults directed at me.
Since yesterday it is plain to see who instigates here proving my point all along.
#Marynevergetsit
#Marytoobusytrollingtowatchmatches
well andy murray calling nole a drama queen is a bit rich as he is one himself. in gb a sportsman or woman suddenly grabbing at some part of their body because they are losing is known as doing an andy murray! everyone knows he does that when he is losing.
tommy haas said years ago that no-one does injury faking like andy murray!! one minute he is dying the next running around like a jack-rabbit.
Well, that is true indeed… Andy would look like he is going to drop dead on the court and the minute later he would go on chasing each ball wearing down his opponents… ?
yes it is a source of affectionate humour here in gb!! even the british commies say he does it…
Amy,
I think you make a good point about Andy and his dramatics on court. When a match isn’t going well, then he starts grabbing his back or his leg or something. Commentators have made note of it.
I don’t think Novak is a drama queen at this point in his career. I do think it was true earlier in his career. But there was definitely something wrong in his match last night. He also did not want to answer questions about the MTO in the post match interview on court. Whatever it is, he’s not talking. If there is still an injury issue, he’s not going to want his opponents to know about it.
I think it’s more than just being fried mentally. His serves did not have the speed and pop that they usually do.
i too think there is something wrong nny. with all this talk about him exaggerating and faking no-one is looking at the other rather obvious possibility which is that he is trying to hide an injury which he doesn’t want his opponents to know about.
Amy,
Yes, you are spot on. It’s easy to take cheap shots at him, but he wasn’t faking the mediocre serving. He got lucky because Jerzy could not take advantage of it.
Even after he won, Novak was very subdued when he came to the net. He just did not seem like himself.
I had issues with Novak earlier Ingrid career when he used to take MTO’s often in matches and retire at the drop of a hat. Too much drama. But he dealt with some of his health issues, got stronger both physically and mentally and left the drama behind.
There is no up side that I can see to faking or pretending when it comes to injuries. In fact, when Andy does all that stuff with the grabbing of different parts of his body, I always think he’s giving the advantage to his opponent.
well it is not a good situation for the men’s game to have fed out injured, rafa only just coming back from injury and nole in trouble. like it or not, these are 3 of the greatest players of all time. most likely the 3 greatest, and their not being fit (rafa is just coming back from injury so he is hardly at his strongest) is pretty disastrous.
Except Andy didn’t call Nole a drama queen.
He was misquoted here. Factually inaccurate I believe is the term.
British media: ¤¤ Novak Djokovic’s glum-looking wife Jelena returns to watch him at the US Open but leaves early – after ‘private issues’ led to tennis star crashing out of Wimbledon and the Olympics¤¤
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3765028/Novak-Djokovic-s-glum-looking-wife-Jelena-returns-watch-Open-leaves-early-private-issues-led-tennis-star-crashing-Wimbledon-Olympics.html#ixzz4IpgyzAwK
hahaha! jelena left the match and came back later on!! non-story. nothing like that nice reliable source the daily fail. notorious as a hate mongering, lie-peddling, woman-hating right-wing rag.
Daily Mail. The same paper that rewards the paparazzi for invading Rafa’s privacy while he is on vacation.
Rag is right.
Amy,
I was watching Novak’s match and the camera kept panning to jelena and she was smiling all the time! So they wait to get one picture where she is not smiling and not clapping and that is supposed to mean something!
I think the British tabloids are as bad as our National Enquirer!
Yep.
They showed a little of Stan and Nando early in their match.
Now they are showing Tipsy and Querrey in a first set tb.
Tipsy playing aggressive tennis to win the first set tb.
Picks are losing left and right on the WTA side LOL…
But thankfully, not any players that any of us picked deep….yet. Just held my breath while Stosur took the first set off Giorgi – Giorgi is inconsistent but very dangerous and fun to watch!
Tipsa and Querrey could take a very long time 😀
Time for lunch. When I come back, I better not find Goffin losing!
Kohls and Dolgo both retire their respective matches.
Ferru and Mahu(t) thru.
Du Yu?
Yes and why did I pick both Kohls and Dog. Luckily I didnt’ pick them more than 2 rounds.
Goffin gifts Donaldson a break! Because he can’t serve it seems.
And Donaldson is flying high on confidence now. He’s serving like Sascha. Drop shooting the ball like Jerzy. wow.
I picked Ferru. I was gonna pick Dog until I saw that he retired in Cincy and looked at his record this year.
Imma sucker for the Dog – tough to pick against him. I knew it was a weak pick. Did it.
Just as I suspected. Goffin won the first set sort of comfortably – he was beet red in the heat and struggling and Jared Donaldson looked cool, not too overwhelmed. I thought Jared could take a set and he did! Now in the third set, I’m worried he’s going to win this. It would be a great for teenager but for my bracket…sheesh. Goffin having trouble trouble serving (9 df’s) and Donaldson cruising. Impressed with Donaldson right now.
I wouldn’t be too concerned about your bracket rc because I’m betting no one took Donaldson. So as long as you don’t have Goffin making semis, you should be ok.
🙂
Picked him to make the 4th round and lose to Kei! But I made some other picks, trying to be cute, maybe, that I’ll regret. Like Liu over Karlovic.
Oh hahahhaha….Hawks. I picked Verdasco over Stan 😀
Yep. I stuck to the boring picks lol.
Bouchard is about to lose to Siniakova. Whoever that is. I picked Bouchard. Now watch my picks on the women’s side go down.
I just checked the live scores online. I believe that Goffin is down a break now.
Yes, Goffin is down two sets to one to Donaldson and down 3-0 in the fourth set. It looks like he may be going down.
ricky won’t like that. he has goffin beating kei remember…!
whyohwhyohwhy….
??
i see stan beat mental toothpick in straights. said he would!!
bouchard going out.
bracket buster toothpick
hahaha did you pick him rc? that was unwise…
yes. seriously did it. T’was me own theory that convinced me.
there is no theory sufficient to accommodate the vagaries of mental toothpick!!
I picked Stan to win on the predictions thread. I was leaning towards him, thinking that he’s done well at the USO and would want a decent result at the last slam of the year. But I did not think it would be in straight sets.
I guess the mental toothpick lives on!
is bouchard ever going to start winning matches again? this freefall has been going on for years now…
heather watson out. thought that might happen even though i picked her for the win.
Had an asterisk on that Bouchard match. Felt like Siniakova would win but chickened out and went with Bouchard.
very surprised bertens lost. with her power she should have won. did well at rg as well.
easy to chicken out of picks isn’t it? i did it several times…
Bertens lost to teenager, Konjuh. Didnt asterisk that one. Some of the picks that lost didn’t surprise me – it was a tough choice. Lucie Safarova is back! I picked Gavrilova because Safarova has been struggling but I love her tennis — happy to see her win!
Got all WTA – first 7 of the day wrong. Only had Halep right before going to lunch. It looks better at the moment
I picked Ivanovic to win and not following women’s tennis cost me with that one. She apparently is in free fall right now.
I went with Bouchard, but her opponent did play well.
Tough for me not to pick Ana. I keep thinking she’ll catch fire again. It’s a great win for Denisa Allertova (had an asterisk on her too). And the odds favored Ana, even though Ana has had a bad season, other than getting married, maybe.
a lot of people picked ana including myself. on a personal note, i really like her. it’s rare to find a woman who is so beautiful and in the public eye be so modest and unassuming.
She has a bad year, but I didn’t think she would play that bad (the second set was so horrible). I still really love watching her play when she’s in form (the other reason I love watching her play is that she’s smokin’ hot 🙂 )
Anyway, I picked her to lose to Larsson in the next round so it’s no big deal for my bracket.
I also had a couple of missed picks today on women’s – Bouchard, Gavrilova, Bertens, Kasatkina, Ivanovic (and it’s not over yet)
I didn’t have Ana going that far either. I remember when she was #1 and at the very top. I also remember watching her terrible slide down. I was always rooting for her to get it together and come back. She did for a time. I like her and think she is quite charming and not full of herself, considering the attention to her looks.
I have to check my picks again and see how I did. I can’t remember who I picked in all of these matches, but I do know that I did get some wrong.
Donaldson taking down Goffin right now!! Let’s go Jared!! And Stan won allez!!
Salt in the wounds!
Tomic down a set and a break to Dzumhur (who beat Rafa in the heat earlier this year).
Go Dzumhur!!
What’s going on with all those retirements?
Coric definitely had sth wrong with his knee I think, didn’t see Kohlschreiber, Dolgopolov seemed normal to me. Is it the heat?
The commentator just said that it is over thirty Celcius degrees in NY (would be around ninety Fahrenheits), it has to be tough to play in those conditions.
Also, I’m watching Schwartzman – Del Potro and it’s pretty funny how Schwartzman looks like a dwarf when compared to Juan Martin 🙂 Pretty good match so far but it’s not looking as if a suprise was possible.
It’s too hot and humid in NYC. Goffin looked like a heatstroke in progress. I kept in mind it was going to be suffocating there today but thought Goffin would be fine.
Delpo losing will wreck an entire quarter. A lot of us are over-eager for him to get back to top 10. Schwartzman may be short but he’s like Cibulkova.
Fogna is down 2 sets to love and looking to make the classic comeback in 5. Gabashvili serving for the set and the Italian dramatically breaks him. Forza! Can he do it? Tomic doing the same — going for the win in 5. Fognini and Tomic. ? slackers….
The ESPN commies were talking about the heat and humidity in NYC. It’s the humidity that does in the players. They can have an Indian Summer in NY where it gets unusually hot.
They are showing Venus Williams now. I have to follow the matches I want to see on the app.
The second set has been much more competitive than the first with kozlova having set point. She’s won the second set, so this match will go three sets. I picked Venus to win this one,
Tomic down two sets.
Naturally gabashvili is smoking fognini. I had him in the third round and went back and changed it to fognini when I realized how bad gabashvili was playing lately. Shouldn’t have done any research on it. Should’ve just stuck with my gut. He may make third round as Ferrer is a vulnerable opponent these days. He’s not done yet but it’s hard to see fognini coming back from a deficit like this. The only other thing I second guessed myself on was Pospy winning first round tho and got that right thankfully. This is why I usually don’t go back on my picks though. ?
Fognini barely alive in the 3rd set TB… vai vai he made it! won the tb
Tomic won the 3rd set.
Hahaha spoke too soon. Vamos Fabio! So many comebacks from two sets to love down this tourney. This was just like Darcis’ comeback against Thompson because like Thompson gabashvili served at 5-4 in the third for a straight set win and lost it.
RT @SteveTignor: “I quite like Stanimal,” Wawrinka says when asked what his favorite nickname is.
I quite like CryBaby and Family Abandoner.
Schwartzman is back in the second set at 2-2 now.
On a fashion note, what is with the neon yellow that the male players are wearing? It hurts my eyes! Yikes!
Delpo went off the boil a bit here. JMac just said that the oddsmakers have Delpo as the #3 favorite here. He is talking about the difference between playing best of three set matches at the Rio Olympics and playing in best of five set matches at the USO.
That is the point I have been trying too make, even though I would like to see Delpo do well here.
That’s what I noticed about oddsmakers too – Monica Puig was way high on the ‘outright win’ list, meaning to win the tournament. They’re making too much of the recent Olympic medals. Puig on the rise and is a good player, but she was rated way to high.
I use those sites as a suggestion only!
Nny, I wish TC was showing Gabashvili and Fognini. Gaba was so close to winning the match and Fabio stole the third set TB. Teymuraz must be annoyed. The same goes for the Tomic/Dzumher match.
Tomic is on a roll and will win now, I think . Fognini surely won’t make it will he? It’s all smoke and mirrors with him 🙂
Big win for Dzumher in 4! And a case of too little too late for Bernard.
Yes!! I don’t care for Tomic that much. When he actually plays well and looks like he cares I’m okay with him but Dzumhur is complete opposite. Less talent but more determination. Let’s go Damir!!
AT 9:20 PM says: “I quite like CryBaby and Family Abandoner.”
===
.
REUSABLE
Mrs. Mirka couldn’t keep her mouth shut during the match between Fed and Waw at the 2014 WTF and called Waw ‘CryBaby’ after he complained about that.
Why should she keep her mouth shut?
She was aware that Stan was a CryBaby for leaving his wife and young daughter only to hook up with a player shortly thereafter.
Mirka was right.
Fognini just won the match against Gabashvili from 0-2 down! Congratz Fabio.
Also, what’s going on with Steve Johnson? Right now he’s 4-6 1-6 2-5 down against Donskoy. Maybe he really doesn’t want to play Del Po next round.
Karlovic and Lu are in the latter stages of the fifth set in a match where there was just one break of serve yet – it’s currently 4-6 7-6 6-7 7-6 4-4 and Dr. Ivo already has 57 aces 🙂
Forza team Flavia/Fogna! ?
Oh Yes!
Dr. Ivo breaks Lu for the first time this match and wins the match 4-6 7-6 6-7 7-6 7-5 with sixty one aces. Happy for him as I absolutely adore watching him play. Actually Goffin’s retirement gives someone lower-ranked a great chance to reach the fourth round and it might be Ivo Karlovic who’s gonna capitalise on that.
Oh geez, happy for you Manwerty. I was so rooting for Liu and stopped watching — I couldn’t take it anymore 😀
#nailbiter
I am just tuning in again to see that Johnson is down two sets to Donskoy! What is up with that?
But Johnson fights back in the third set tb to win it and stay in the match. Now can he come back to even it up?
Yes!! LETS GO IVO
So much worse will be if Thiem loses to Millman. Reckoned Dominic was due for a deep run…lol
But Karlovic has a good chance vs Young next round, indeed. Then it would be Troicki or Donaldson. Honestly Donaldson was gaining confidence in himself by the minute today. Interesting day. Aga, Serena, and Karolina are good, I think. Time to do some work – fingers crossed for Andy Murray, he better not have any trouble with Rosol 🙂
rc,
If you have checked the standings, then you know that things have changed dramatically today. I did not do well with the matches today. Lots of misses. Now I feel like things are more back to normal, even though I am not that much behind all of you in the lead when it comes to points.
Johnson did come back to tie it up by winning the fourth set. Maybe he can pull out the win in the fifth set. I would hate to see him go out early to Donskoy.
I see that Theim is in a fifth set with Millman.
Thiem got it done.
He was down a break in the fourth set too. I feel like a lot of leads have been lost this tourney. Lots of crazy comebacks and stuff. Some examples would be Darcis in the first round, Thiem in this case, johnson of course, and Vesely was even down 2-5 in the fifth down match point against Myneni. Actually I wanted Myneni to win because it would’ve been great to see him win his first slam match and on his debut. Cramps got to him though and Vesely took advantage. At least Vesely will be tougher for Novak. Myneni wouldn’t have done much at all to hurt Novak while Vesely has that big serve of his. Would’ve been great for Myneni though to make second round and get to play Novak in the biggest match of his career.
Also fognini comeback was epic.
There have actually been seven matches already where a player won from two sets to love down this tourney. Darcis over Thompson, Isner over Tiafoe, Delbonis over Baker, Satral over McDonald, Johnson over Donskoy, Fognini over Gabashvili, and Troicki over Albot.
I put young over Karlovic in my draw but it’s a risky pick I made there
Omg biggest choke ever? Donskoy had johnson 6-4 6-1 5-2 0-40 on johnson’s serve and johnson saves six match points and wins in five. Amazing comeback but wow donskoy how do u lose that
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Raonic’ MTO after the 3rd game of the 3rd set:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CrN0mAnXgAEMMn2.jpg
Raonic’ leg problem (not MTO) after the 7th game of the 3rd set:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CrN4zq2W8AInGnx.jpg
Raonic’ leg problem (not MTO) after the 9th game of the 3rd set:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CrN7Q0SXEAAMHba.jpg
Milos struggling physically out there. Ryan’s gotta step on the gas. Let’s go Harrison!! I’m glad I had Monfils taking out Raonic in the fourth round and not having Milos go even further. This would be a humongous win for Harrison. Really hope he gets over the line.
Raonic is hurting. I went out and missed part of the match. Then I came back and saw that Harrison won the second set. Then I realized that Raonic had some kind of injury.
R.Harrison defeated M.Raonic 6(4)-7, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1.
Raonic was limping (left leg) during the latter stages of the match.
First third round appearance at a slam for Harrison. He came so close back in 2010 as a teen when he blew a fifth set tiebreak 6-3 lead against stakhovsky but lost 8-6. This is a sweet sweet win for him. I just hope he can back this W up. He’s playing well enough to for sure.
While I am happy for Harrison, we have to realize that Raonic was obviously injured. That is always hard to see when a player is injured and can’t really play hus game.
It will be good for Rafa if he can take advantage of it. Rafa has a great draw and s chance to get to the semis.
Raonic has struggled with injuries in his career. He’s like Nishi, who is also very injury prone.
was an even match until Raonic got hurt
Likely wouldn’t have been over best of five.
That’s what makes slams better for top players.
Ricky,
Since I did not see all if the match, then I have to rely on your take. I saw most of the first set and part of the second set before I went out and thought that Harrison was playing pretty well.
I was not sure exactly when Raonic started having problems. First they said it was a wrist problem that he had the trainer look at and then it was cramps. I thought it was some kind of leg injury, but JMac said at the beginning of the night broadcast, that Raonic was cramping,
If that was the case, then fair is fair. i don’t want to take away from Harrison’s win because I think he really needed it. They said he is now in the top 100 and that’s a good thing,
I would like to see Harrison find his way back and realize some of the potential he showed earlier in his career.
Andrew of the Murrays is currently the slight betting favourite to win the US Open ahead of Nole.
Rafa is third at 12:1.
djokovic over murray in whatever it takes.