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    Set point Gauff...

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      6-all.

      The tension in this is insane.

      The quality of Tennis is not.

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        Are they still hoping to get the Murray/Williams doubles match on after this?
        Last edited by Jimski; 05-07-2019, 18:10.

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          Hercog stops a rally to challenge a ball she was desperate to be out. It wasn't. Set point to Gauff. But long, eventually. 7-all.

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            Another sp

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              Originally posted by Jimski View Post
              Are they still hoping to get the Murray doubles match on after this?
              Think so. They have put Heather Watson's mixed on Court 2. But Gauff wins set two so there is a way to go yet...

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                Christ, I was so hoping Hercog would find a way there. It's tough watching someone's world call apart.

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                  Originally posted by Jimski View Post
                  Are they still hoping to get the Murray/Williams doubles match on after this?
                  Put back to tomorrow

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                    So Muzza has two matches in one day. He won't be impressed with that. All it would have taken is holding off for 15 minutes with scheduling Watson/Kontinen for Court 2 to see what happened in Hercog-Gauff. D'Oh

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                      Tight game now from Gauff when serving at 4-2. It's back on serve.

                      Over on court 1, Auger-Aliassime is a set down to Humbert.

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                        mp Gauff

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                          GSM Gauff

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                            Was there a time limit for closing the roof? If the Murray men's doubles goes 5 sets, I can't see him playing the mixed, so they either shunt to Monday or he withdraws.

                            But it's odd that at 8.12 centre is free but play has ended.

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                              Serena is on first tomorrow. On court 1, so at 1pm but even so a Mixed match that only starts at 8:30pm could well still be going at 11:00. That was the reason the commentators mentioned for the postponement.

                              Playing much past 8pm is unusual for Centre and #1. Starting a match under the roof is only going to happen if the championship schedule is under serious strain.

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                                Originally posted by Tony C View Post
                                Currently watching Medvedev-Goffin on iplayer and it's a terrific match.
                                Wasn't it just? Certainly the highlight of my day and it clearly thrilled the entire crowd on Court 2. I'm no expert but it was one of the most old-fashioned (in a positive way) and enjoyable matches I've ever seen live.

                                Goffin particularly was full of deft, delicate touches but both players moved around the court a phenomenal amount and had a real range of shots (as Janik predicted). Medvedev had some kind of meltdown near the end over a few calls and some incident I couldn't quite see as it was well behind the baseline below us. He left the court smashing racquets against chairs, floor and walls to a hail of boos.

                                Speaking of meltdowns, Wozniacki had a vast amount of issues with line judges and even Hawkeye itself and from 4-0 up in the first set managed to collapse and lose 12 of the remaining 14 games. Zhang did remarkably well not to fold early on and all she had to do was stay steady while Wozniacki imploded.

                                Which brings us to Khachanov, who clawed his way back in to the match with Bautista Agut forcing a second set tie-breaker before losing it then falling apart. A bad day for the Russians altogether.

                                We'd sussed we had no chance of seeing Murrena when our final match went in to a fifth set but it was such an enjoyable contest it didn't really bother us. With Coco's match looking like ending early and cloud cover meaning it looked like light might be an issue Centre Court looked like the right call. That said, the cloud dissipated and Watson's match managed to finish on Court 2, though we never heard it being announced as being on there until we'd already headed to the screens to watch the finale of Gauff's match.

                                Brilliant day, absolutely fried now though.
                                Last edited by Ray de Galles; 06-07-2019, 10:43.

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                                  Medvedev was ranting at the umpire because a ball kid moved as he was about to hit a second serve. The commentators were saying there had earlier been some sort of distraction between first and second serves which he felt had contributed to a double fault. However, he is also a rather spiky character. Two years ago he deposited a bunch of coins under the Umpires chair after defeat in R2. He then lost considerably more money in fines for doing so.
                                  Last edited by Janik; 05-07-2019, 22:04.

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                                    Day 6 picks

                                    Women’s
                                    Riske vs [13] Bencic – 1st on #12
                                    [11] S.Williams vs [18] Goerges – 1st on #1
                                    [4] Bertens vs Strycova – 2nd on #3
                                    [9] Stephens vs [19] Konta – 2nd on #1

                                    I know, I know, my fandom of Alison Riske shouldn’t have a bearing on which matches I pick to highlight. However, I genuinely believe this will be a fascinating match. It will certainly feature a type of Tennis away from the usual top-spin baseline stuff that characterises much of the Women’s game. And that is because neither of these players has overwhelming power. Of the two Belinda Bencic has more at her command but her game is still based around working a opening, just like her foe in this match. Expect to see players regularly trying to take the net before the other one gets in and looking to end rallies early. This is also a repeat of a match last year which Riske kind of blew as four match points came and went during a set two breaker. Neither player has truly lived up to their grass court talent at SW19 (previous bests R3 for Riske, R4 for Bencic) and this year is a chance to reverse that. It is hard to call, but in the end I think that little bit of extra pop Bencic’s shots and the extra work in Riske’s legs (she went past 4-4 in the third in both R1 and R2) will get Belinda home. Just.
                                    Serena Williams came into Wimbledon rusty, and so far that has showed with letting strong positions slip a little in R1 and dropping an actual set in R2. She did come through both, but Julia Goerges is a serious step up from Gatto-Monticone and Juvan, with all due respect to those players. Goerges warmed up well with a final appearance in Birmingham, which shows good grass court form. As does her run to the Semis last year... which ended at the hands of Serena! That was a tough match, but the American always looked to have a fractional edge. However she was played in by then. If there is still rust to shake off, she is rather vulnerable here to Goerges combination of a big serve, big forehand and, even if she will rarely use this, genuine comfort in the front court. However, if Serena is ready then there is only one winner. She will hold serve, break Julia once a set and cruise through. Given how often in the past Serena has produced exactly that when needed, it’s impossible to back against her.
                                    If people want a contrast in styles, then tune in or head over to Court 3 for the match between Kiki Bertens and Barbora Strycova. Bertens is a superb clay courter who hits an extremely good consistent ball from the baseline. Like any good clay court should, she loads it with top spin and gives significant net clearance. However, like other good clay courts (cf. Nadal) she can both drop and volley if call to do so to come in and take advantage of making a dent in her opponent. She won’t be at the net anything like as much as Strycova, though. The Czech will slide under the ball and rush in and try to pressure Bertens to make the passes. She will crowd the net, saying six inches above the tape is too high, I’m ready for that. For Bertens to come through she will need to serve well (her delivery is big) and stay calm when rushed. She is capable of doing all of that, though.
                                    Sloane Stephens was utterly insistent before her Roland Garros Quarter-Final with Jo Konta that their two previous meetings in 2019 had no bearing. Sloane dismissed Jo’s win at Brisbane as the first match of the season, and the one in Rome as having come on a tough day when players had to play twice. I’m not sure what excuse Stephens can make to herself about Paris though as Konta just bludgeoned her in what was arguably the best perfrmance of the Brit’s career. If Konta is at 90% of the form of that day she wins again, given grass is her best surface and clay her worst, and vice versa for the American. If Jo is less than that, then the scrambling of Stephens might work. However Sloane may accept that waiting to Jo to miss is a fool’s errand and she has to go more offensive than she did in France or is entirely comfortable with. That is risky. If Konta serves well, she wins again and begins to look like she really has Stephens number.


                                    Men’s
                                    Sousa vs Evans – 3rd on #1
                                    Tsonga vs [3] Nadal – 2nd on Centre
                                    [8] Nishikori vs Johnson – 1st on #3
                                    [27] Pouille vs [2] Federer – 3rd on Centre

                                    Why is an all-unseeded match drawing attention? Well, two reasons. One is Joao Sousa’s impressive R2 victory over Marin Cilic. Beating the big Croat 4, 4 & 4 at Wimbledon is an effort deserving major respect. However, the bigger reason is Dan Evans. Evo has been playing really well recently and is atypical on the ATP as his favoured surface is grass (as Federer asked after the Clarke match “how many players would say that these days?”). That makes Dan much more dangerous than his overall world ranking states. If Wimbledon was still seeding by the eyeball test rather than the World Rankings, there is every chance Evo would have a number by his name. This is actually the first time Evans has played Wimbledon since his drug-ban of 2017, and just the fifth appearance in the main draw overall in his mess of a career. His last showing in 2016 ended in a career best R3 showing, culminating in a fun but ultimately one-sided match against Federer. Facing Joao Sousa, though a good player, is an altogether more winnable task. The Portugese players; best is identical, R3 in 2016 but that and this year aside he hadn’t won at match at the event. Clay and hard are his surfaces. Ones where you can win from the baseline. Evans will take the net some of the time, and that makes him the favourite in my book.
                                    Rafael Nadal and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga are from the same generation. And back when they initially broke through in 2005-2007 it was far from clear that their career Slam totals would be so markedly different as they are now, with 18 to Rafa and, er, zero for Jo-Willy. It’s not like Tsonga hasn’t had chances, or big wins in Slams down the years. In fact, he has beaten all of Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal on the biggest stages at some point. He also has a decent record against Rafa over the years, in the context that everyone struggles against the Spaniard (it stands at 4-8). All that would say the Frenchman has a chance, especially on the surface that gives his game the most and Nadal the least. The big but here is fitness, though. Tsonga is unseeded as his world ranking is now down to 72 due to lack of playing time. Does he have enough in the tank physically and mentally to produce the necessary against Nadal for going on four hours. Because that is what it’s going to take. As for Rafa, the question is whether he has recovered from the sturm und drang of the Kyrgios match. I can’t see any reason why not, and go for him to win comfortably enough. Let’s hope for a set for Tsonga, though.
                                    If Nadal and Tsonga are similar ages, that is nothing on Kei Nishikori and Steve Johnson. These guys were born within a week of each other in late December 1989. Nishikori, the younger by five days, has had the greater career with a Slam Final, two other Semis and 8 QFs, the most recent of which was his QF run on these very courts 12 months ago. Johnson, by contrast, has made just one R4, here in 2016. Stylistically they are both strong but also flawed in being out-and-out hard courters. It’s back of the court and over and through the ball time. Johnson’s problem is that Nishikori does that better than him. That would be why Johnson has only won one set in their previous four meetings. Kei should win after a tough battle over four sets and continue on his merry way back to the last eight.
                                    The final match of the evening on Centre is the clash of Roger Federer and Lucas Pouille. This should involve some high class shot-making, and not just from the Swiss player. Pouille is a talent as we saw in his breakthrough period in 2016 when he made the QFs here and in New York back-to-back, and also earlier this season when he got to his first Slam SF in Melbourne. He is just somewhat inconsistent in how often he brings it – in the eight Slams between New York ’16 and Melbourne ’19 he only just won more matches than he lost. Federer, well, we know about him. He actually hasn’t been as dominant in the early stages as in previous years, dropping a set to Lloyd Harris and going to a breaker vs Jay Clarke. If he is off, then Pouille is the sort of character who would leap at the chance. He also has a coach, Mauresmo, who has previous experience in working with a shotmaker who needs to find a way to counter the Federer’s of this world. That experience is very helpful. Will we see her influence in Pouille coming in more often that in the past, looking to pressure Federer’s backhand passes? Hopefully, because staying back = defeat. Come forward, take a risk, and I think he has a genuine chance of pulling off something major tomorrow.

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                                      I was thinking about Kyrgios, and the earlier discussion. He's an odd player - I find myself disliking the idea of him, but whenever I actually see him play, end up liking him again, however he's acting. He has incredible charisma and likeability, even when he's being an arse. I'm not sure why that is. And some of the shots he hits are the sort I've never seen any other player play ever. An incredible talent. But he's definitely not making the most of it - all of his antics do him more harm than they do anyone else, which is I guess one reason why it's possible not to be too hard on him.

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                                        My guess would be that he finds playing tennis very boring, and if he didn't do that stuff he'd just grind to a halt.

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                                          When Kyrgios is confronting officials and acting the brat on court, I find him obnoxious. When he's slagging off the sacred cows, i.e the revered greats of tennis, I like him. Someone needs to give a bit of variety in the face of the adulation heaped on the big 3 from all sides.

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                                            Herbert and Murray down two sets to one after two and half hours on court. I think he and Serena will play their mixed on Centre assuming Nadal and Federer wrap up up their matches in straight sets, which is currently on schedule, otherwise it looks as though 1 or 2 will be available for them by 7pm, assuming Murray feels OK.

                                            Edit: They are getting creamed in Set 4. Meanwhile the Bryans are in a long fist set tiebreak at 11-11.
                                            Last edited by Satchmo Distel; 06-07-2019, 15:05.

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                                              Federer took a little longer than Nadal. But it's done, so Centre is available for the marquee Mixed Doubles match. About 15 minutes time, I'd guess. The only R3 singles left going is Evans-Sousa. Evo blew a break lead in set two to lose it, so that is a set-all. He is now a break up in set three.

                                              Oh, and Fabio Fognini is in trouble again. He could see his two-Slam ban go from suspended to enforced.

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                                                Evans broken to 15 when serving for set three. Now 5-all. It feels like a 3-1 win for whoever wins this set, so this is the match right here, right now.

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                                                  Second successive break for Sousa, which is exactly what happened at the end of set two as well. Then Evans went from 4-2 up to losing it 4-6, this time 5-3 to 5-7. Long way back now.

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                                                    What do I know? Two sets all, and the roof shut with the light fading and some rain possibly on the way. With a rest day tomorrow, it really must finish today. Good old new roof!

                                                    SerAndy (sorry) are on the brink of victory on Centre, a set and 5-1.

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