Monday, November 18, 2019

Weekend Tennis Roundup


Although I thought I'd be happy either way, I must say Stefanos Tsitsipas's 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 win over Dominic Thiem in the ATP Finals was a little more bitter than sweet. Of course it was incredible to see the gifted 21-year-old win the biggest title of his career, with the promise that someone from the so-called Next Gen might just be ready to challenge the big three in 2020's majors. But at five years his senior, what it said more to me was that my fear that the Ass From Austria doesn't really have the killer instinct needed to go to the next level is looking to be correct -- beating both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer yet still coming up short when push came to shove. (You may recall I first got this nagging feeling when he squandered a two-set lead against Rafael Nadal in the 2018 U.S. Open quarterfinals. And don't get me started about Daniil Medvedev blowing a 5-1 lead in the third set against Rafa in London.) Damian still thinks Thiem's got future French Open champ potential, but I think a better bet is gay-porn bareback bottom.


And even at that ...


Has anyone noticed the 6-4 Greek god is now giving Dominic a run for his money in that department, too? 


When's the last time the Big Three were in a tournament and none of them reached the final?


Meanwhile in the doubles, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut put the finishing touches on a brilliant if discombobulated season by claiming their maiden ATP Finals title on Sunday, with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus.


And in Challenger Land: James Duckworth won the event in Pune, India, beating Jay Clarke 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. The points will push the 27-year-old Aussie to 82nd in the world, granting him direct entry into the main draw of his home Grand Slam in January.


And sex bomb Marcos Giron beat Ivo Karlovic to win the event in Houston, saving six match points.



His new mustache only added to his appeal ... only he called it “hideous” on Instagram while vowing to shave it. 😩 



The Big Three have now ended the year No. 1 five times each. Pete Sampras is still the all-time leader, having accomplished the feat six times (in a row).



Also in London, former World No. 4 Tomas  “The Bod” Berdych announced his retirement.


P.S. I was away last week when Jannik Sinner defeated Alex de Minaur (4–2, 4–1, 4–2 -- whatever that means) to win the 2019 Next Generation ATP final. (Tsitsipas was the defending champion, but decided to withdraw as he had also qualified for the 2019 ATP Finals!)


Former Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova called it a career at the age of 30. The winner of eight WTA titles, Cibulkova's last triumph will go into the books as her greatest, having lifted the WTA Finals crown in Singapore to close out the 2016 season. Bonus: Now she'll have more time to f**k her hot hubby



And Kristina Mladenovic inspired France to a drought-breaking Fed Cup triumph, a nail-biting 3-2 win in the final against Australia on Sunday.  Mladenovic combined with Caroline Garcia to beat Ashleigh Barty and Samantha Stosur, 6-4, 6-3, in the decisive doubles match at Perth Arena. She produced a herculean effort on the outdoor hard court after earlier Sunday upsetting the top-ranked Barty in a three-set thriller to move France into a 2-1 lead.


Up next is "Davis Cup" in Madrid. Here's Novak Djokovic and the man who ruined the legendary world tennis championships, which are described like this:

The new season-ending Davis Cup Finals event will take place over the course of one week -- Nov. 18-24. The Finals will feature 18 teams -- 12 qualifiers, the previous year’s four semifinalists and two wild card nations. The 18 teams will compete in six round-robin groups of three teams. The six group winners plus the two second-placed teams with the best records based on sets and games won will qualify for the quarter-finals. The Davis Cup champions will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase. The four semifinalists will qualify automatically for the 2020 Finals. The nations that finish in 5th-18th positions will contest the 2020 Qualifiers. These teams will also be eligible to receive a wild card into the 2020 Finals, along with the winners of the 2019 Group I ties. (Huh?)

At least the players still clean up nicely for the event.


Team Spain


Team France


Team Germany


Team Serbia


Team Croatia ...


Not sure what 2020 holds for Borna, whose constant injuries knocked the wind out of his sail.
  

Fine dining ...


Italian fare.


 Team Canada 


Or as I see it, Team Canada


Team Great Britain


Team Argentina 

Around the net ...


I'm ready for a ride on Tommy Paul's mustache ...



Did Tommy Robredo marry an actual woman?! 


Jan-Michael Gambill joined Tracy Austin, Stevie Johnson and others at a fantasy tennis camp in Maui.


I think I see what the fantasy refers to ...


Nice work if you can get it.


From Russia, with lust.


Jonny angel ...


How I love him.


Even if he vacations in homophobic Dubai.


Demure he's not.


Christian Harrison would make a fine wife for Vasek.


And with that new sexy 'stache, anything is Pospisil ...


Brits playing with balls ... huh-huh.

(With wire services) 

2 comments:

Andrew Scharf said...

And Berdych retired! Never a favorite (except when he posed in the nude in Sports Illustrated). But like many others, he surely would’ve had a Slam were it not for the Big 3.

Kenneth M. Walsh said...

@Andrew: Thank you for the reminder!