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    #26
    One anecdote was after losing as a 17 year old in the Wimbledon semis to tournament winner and world number one Davenport, her dad called her a disgrace and refused to let her come back to the hotel. She slept in the players lounge in Wimbledon instead.

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      #27
      I think Serena's comeback might be more bumpy than anticipated. Infact some of the articles about her health difficulties during and after labour might be preparing the ground for that.

      Given that she's so close to overtaking Margaret Court, might she just settle for one more Slam then bow out? I see no point in her staying on too long.

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        #28
        GB face Davis Cup elimination in Spain: no Edmund or Murray so the singles guys will be outranked debutants Liam Broady and Cameron Norrie, both playing Spaniards ranked in the Top 25.

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          #29
          I don't think GB would have had a chance with Murray and Edmund. Sensible decision by Edmund not to rush back for it.

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            #30
            Amazing 0-2 to 3-2 comeback win by Norrie, on clay against Bautista Agut.

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              #31
              Norrie’s first match on clay as a pro and first ever five-setter, astounding stuff.

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                #32
                And from two sets down as well. Completely left-field that he would win.

                I see the rules have changed for this year to allow sides to nominate five players. So Kyle Edmund could play Bautista Agut (or a sub for Roberto such as World no.10 Pablo Carreno Busta) on Sunday. If Inglot/J.Murray win tomorrow, then it feels like a worthwhile gamble to put Edmund in.

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                  #33
                  Musing on a thread title: "Cameron fighting to prevent Brexit"?

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                    #34
                    Spain win the doubles in straight sets. Feliciano Lopez was the outstanding player on the court. Very likely the decisive moment of the tie.

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                      #35
                      Norrie is putting in another very fine performance this morning. The match is shaping up to be another epic. Unless Ramos Vinolas wilts, that is...

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                        #36
                        Do we know who would have played the decisive singles if Norrie had won?

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                          #37
                          No. The nominations for each match can be altered up until the last minute. As that rubber was left unplayed, the last minute never arrived.

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                            #38
                            Why do some ties have the dead rubbers played and some not - anyone know?

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                              #39
                              Isn't it a choice? I'm sure I've seen some played as 3 and some as 5.

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                                #40
                                I think sometimes it comes down to how long on the day is left and whether the prevailing mood is people want to see any more. The match today took almost 4 hours, if it had been 2 or so I can imagine some of the crowd wanting a bit more

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                                  #41
                                  Yep, that. It's whether the Sunday crowd are deemed to have had enough Tennis for their ticket price. 90 mins or less and they will play the dead rubber.
                                  There was no fifth rubber in the Australia-Germany match, despite Kyrgios-A.Zverev being straight sets and reasonably quick at that (1h47). I guess the enthusiasm of the crowd is also a factor, so a situation where the home team have lost makes packing up there and then more likely.

                                  I don't recall any recent examples of dead rubbers played over best-of-five, though. In recent years it's always been best-of-three. I can't imagine they would find many/any willing takers for a five setter exhibition.

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                                    #42
                                    Are ranking points at stake in all the rubbers, including dead ones?

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                                      #43
                                      There are no ranking points at all for Davis Cup anymore, they did away with before the 2017 season. Prior to that, only live rubbers could score.

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                                        #44
                                        What kind of boost might Norrie have got if ranking points had been awarded?

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                                          #45
                                          Not a great deal. IIRC it was only around 40 points per live World Group win. About equivalent to winning a first round of a 500 series event.

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                                            #46
                                            BTW, you know Norrie is one that you can claim, right? His Mum is Welsh.

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                                              #47
                                              Oh yeah, all over that one already. I've made an impassioned plea on social media for the Wales Davis Cup team we so clearly deserve.

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                                                #48
                                                No slip-ups from Britain in their first pool game in the Fed Cup. Just nine games lost in total in the three rubbers in fact. That said Portugal are extremely weak; the other team in group are Estonia, which will be a much bigger test, particularly as it's happening in Tallinn.
                                                The good news for Britain is that the hosts are missing Kaia Kanepi, who is their no.2 ranked singles player... and they don't have a third Woman on the WTA singles rankings! Pressure on Heather Watson and Boulter/Smith in the doubles to deliver as Jo Konta vs Anett Kontaveit in the top string is a toss-up. That match happens on Friday, presumably following a similar comfortable win for Estonia over Portugal tomorrow.

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                                                  #49
                                                  Watson won easily against her much lower ranked opponent. Konta scrambled through in three against Kontaveit. Britain now play Hungary tomorrow for a place in the World Group play-offs (a slightly conflicting one for Konta, that). Hungary don't have anyone ranked in the top 200, so Britain strong favourites on paper. However Stollar and Galfi, Hungary's likely singles players, are no mugs and have both been ranked higher than currently.

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                                                    #50
                                                    Heather Watson made heavy weather of beating Dalma Galfi by the sounds of it, but she got there and then Jo Konta cruised past Fanny Stollar. So Britain are through to the World Group II play-offs again (as they really should be, they had by far the strongest team by ranking in Tallinn). A first home tie in a quarter of a century would be nice...

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