Tennis

[kingfox]

Halep was determined to get that one, not seen that level of determination from her before.

 

The monkey is off her back now.

[StanSP]

49 minutes ago, Kendal Fox said:

The biased commentary as well as the crowd against Stephens is shocking.

 

At 1 set up and 2-0 in the 2nd set, the commentators were still talking about the hopes for Halep that Stephens blows it and allows her back into the match. Rather than the fact that Stephens, should she win, would have won 2 slams in recent months with the chance to win 2 more this year.

 

No doubt Halep will go on and win, but how much help does she need from the crowd FFS?!

 

 

29 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

It’s in Paris, it’s going to be generally more pro Halep.

 

edit - did wonder what you were talking about regarding bias commentary but if your watching itv there’s your real issue!

 

was really fvcking annoying constantly hearing Marian Bartoli (?) shouting 'THAT'S A PLAY' whenever Halep won a point  

[SouthStandUpperTier]

Halep doing her Norman Collier routine in the post game interview. 

[Manwell Pablo]

8 minutes ago, StanSP said:

 

was really fvcking annoying constantly hearing Marian Bartoli (?) shouting 'THAT'S A PLAY' whenever Halep won a point  

 

Do none of you have Euro Sport  

 

i hate listening to Bartoli

[Kendal Fox]

I remember thinking when Stephens was a set up and 2-0 in the 2nd that if she could beat Halep along with the crowd, she'd have the knowldege and confidence that she could win anywhere - slam-wise. Obviously though, once the crowd started to go into overdrive whenever she made a mistake, she let it get to her.

 

The build-up to the match and the general narrative was all heavily in favour of Halep though and I'm not sure Stephens will get the same sympathy, should she be in the same position in the next slam. I say this because of how little there was in the post-match commentary of how Stephens blew it and let Halep back in.

Edited 9 June 2018 by Kendal Fox

[Kendal Fox]

41 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

She needed to keep them quiet which she  did effectively for a set and a bit but since Halep got level in the second the noise has consistently cranked up as the games gone on.

 

Im afraid if you want to win multiple majors you’re going to have to live the fact the crowd may occasionally want your opponent to win and you have to deal with that.

 

and tbf halep  has been brilliant since she levelled 

 

Where do you draw the line though? I might be wrong but did the umpire appeal to the crowd to be more muted at any point? We've seen many matches where the umpire does this.

 

Let's not kid ourselves the tennis establishment wanted a Halep win. Credit to her for digging deep and showing the staying power of course, but I found the general feel of the match a little unsporting to Stephens. And I say that as a neutral that just wants to see a match with balance towards both players.

Edited 9 June 2018 by Kendal Fox

[Manwell Pablo]

5 minutes ago, Kendal Fox said:

Where do you draw the line though? I might be wrong but did the umpire appeal to the crowd to be more muted at any point? We've seen many matches where the umpire does this.

 

Let's not kid ourselves the tennis establishment wanted a Halep win. Credit to her for digging deep and showing the staying power of course, but I found the general feel of the match a little unsporting to Stephens. And I say that as a neutral that just wants to see a match with balance towards both players.

 

 

I say again, it’s Paris. Their rather appalling at staying quiet. But I think they were warned after shouting when Halep was serving so nothing to do Stephens would of put Halep off if anything

 

sounds a little conspiracyish to me, Stephens lost because she fell apart and Haley raised her game.

 

 

 

 

[StanSP]

27 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

Do none of you have Euro Sport  

 

i hate listening to Bartoli

I do, just didn't think to watch it on there

 

Funnily enough I've been able to tolerate Bartoli throughout the tournament but she was intolerable today. 

[Kendal Fox]

6 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

I say again, it’s Paris. Their rather appalling at staying quiet. But I think they were warned after shouting when Halep was serving so nothing to do Stephens would of put Halep off if anything

 

sounds a little conspiracyish to me, Stephens lost because she fell apart and Haley raised her game.

 

 

 

 

Oh, I agree with you for the most part. And I also thought Stephens had an opportunity to garner some sympathy - as Halep did last year - during the presentation interview but instead chose to be smiley and nicey, nicey.

 

I just think she could have been honest about letting the occasion (and crowd) get to her, might have stood her in good stead for future support because there's clearly a point where all players need that boost from the crowd, as evidenced by Halep today for one.

[Manwell Pablo]

1 hour ago, Kendal Fox said:

Oh, I agree with you for the most part. And I also thought Stephens had an opportunity to garner some sympathy - as Halep did last year - during the presentation interview but instead chose to be smiley and nicey, nicey.

 

I just think she could have been honest about letting the occasion (and crowd) get to her, might have stood her in good stead for future support because there's clearly a point where all players need that boost from the crowd, as evidenced by Halep today for one.

 

Maybe that’s genuinely how she felt and maybe she didn’t feel like it was the crowd or the occasion that got to her but the way her opponent came back at her. I dunno, it was a pro Halep crowd but I’ve seen much more partisan atmospheres than today’s.

 

i guess if you had itvs lop sided ramblings going with it I can see why you’d think the way you do.

[SouthStandUpperTier]

53 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

i guess if you had itvs lop sided ramblings going with it I can see why you’d think the way you do.

Courier and Petchey are pretty good commentators on ITV I think, although Petchey has the annoying habit of pronouncing his t's as d's (eg little becomes liddle). Sam Smith is good, and I kind of sensed she was getting annoyed with Bartoli today. And you can always rely on Inverdale for a couple of hilarious Partridge-esque gaffes during the 2 weeks of coverage.

[StanSP]

10 minutes ago, SouthStandUpperTier said:

Courier and Petchey are pretty good commentators on ITV I think, although Petchey has the annoying habit of pronouncing his t's as d's (eg little becomes liddle). Sam Smith is good, and I kind of sensed she was getting annoyed with Bartoli today. And you can always rely on Inverdale for a couple of hilarious Partridge-esque gaffes during the 2 weeks of coverage.

I can't remember what match it was but Courier and Petchey were commentating on something, got totally distracted on to talking about something else and must have got told by the directors in their ears to shut up and talk about the match they, and we, were all watching  

[StanSP]

Nadal broken Thiem already. 2-0 first set.

 

@Manwell Pablo, watching on Eurosport. Much better. Who knew  

[Dr Marco]

Great final so far

[Manwell Pablo]

11 minutes ago, Dr Marco said:

Great final so far

 

Good quality. Sadly thiem not quite on it enough to make it competitive.

[Manwell Pablo]

Theim needs to get pressure on here 

[leicsmac]

Nadal wins at RG.

 

In other news, Pope Francis confirms his interest in Catholicism and Donald Trump acts like a prat.

[kingfox]

Disappointing end to a disappointing tournament, Nadal got more and more comfortable as the match went on, Thiem played well in patches but gradually got worse. He'll be back in the final though at some point, if he is to win a Slam then it will probably come at Roland Garros.

 

Roll on tomorrow for the Grass Season, can't wait for a Cilic vs Querrey Wimbledon final in a few weeks.

[leicsmac]

Queens still my favourite tournament of the year - and Murray is back!

 

(Not expecting too much from him against Kyrgios today, though.)

[Manwell Pablo]

5 hours ago, leicsmac said:

Queens still my favourite tournament of the year - and Murray is back!

 

(Not expecting too much from him against Kyrgios today, though.)

 

NIck Curious will beat him comfortably, shit draw really.

 

He'll probably draw Rog first round at Wimbledon as well.

 

Hopes all pinned on Kyle making the second week  

 

As for Queens. Pretty open this year. Only player who is realistically going to do anything is Edmund but will be interesting to see how Dan the animal gets on. 

[Facecloth]

Murray breaks. 4-2 first set. Kyrigos had a mini implosion though.

[Facecloth]

Set 1 Murray 

[leicsmac]

3 hours ago, Manwell Pablo said:

 

NIck Curious will beat him comfortably, shit draw really.

 

He'll probably draw Rog first round at Wimbledon as well.

 

Hopes all pinned on Kyle making the second week  

 

As for Queens. Pretty open this year. Only player who is realistically going to do anything is Edmund but will be interesting to see how Dan the animal gets on. 

Mad Nick did get the better of Murray, but it was pretty damn close and I think that bodes well for the future for Andy.

 

Here's hoping Kyle and the Danimal can do well.

[Manwell Pablo]

2 hours ago, leicsmac said:

Mad Nick did get the better of Murray, but it was pretty damn close and I think that bodes well for the future for Andy.

 

Here's hoping Kyle and the Danimal can do well.

 

Yeah he did better than I thought good first game back...will be a tough few months with no seedlings but all part of coming back off a long lay off, luck of draws gonna play a big part.

[Facecloth]

Hearing talk this morning of calls for Serena Williams to be seeded at Wimbledon, and the US Open have said they probably will change policy and seed her. This was after murmurings at the French Open. I'm sorry it's bollocks. She chose to take time out to have a baby. You don't compete, your rankings slips, you lose your seeding. The reasoning given this morning was that not seeding her means she plays better players earlier and we'd rather see big names in the latter stages. So based on that, is Murray getting seeded at Wimbledon? He didn't choose to take a year out injured, so surely he's more worthy that someone who did? Nobody called for Kvotiva to be seeded on her return from her hand injury, and that certainly wasn't her choice. The system works fine as it is, if a ranking drops, for whatever reason, then tough.

 

It's bollocks. Williams is a fantastic athlete, given time she'll get her status back, she doesn't need help. I think it opens a can of worms and we'll end up with seeds being player ranked way down the rankings but living off past glories. It's gonna get messy too with players claiming they should be seeded when their not. Also it punishes the players who have worked hard to earn their rank and seeding whilst the the likes of Williams have been out. Just leave it as it is. It wouldn't even have come up if it wasn't Williams. Obviously she's a level above others, but top 10 players have had babies on the past and the subject has never been mentioned.