Running tennis thread 2024

Cliff at Wimbledon is a smile inducing memory....thanks. ("Mary Joe what do you see down there courtside?")

 

Woke up to find something unexpected: Zverev up two sets to love over Alcaraz with a couple of easy wins (6-1, 6-3).

But Alcaraz pulls out a tiebreaker to win set 3, and it’s game on.

 

Great win by Zverev.

 

Sasha finally with a big win at a major; maybe this is his breakthrough?

 

Jim Courier asked Zverev about his semifinal matchup with Medvedev and Zverev said, "He’s been kicking my ass in recent matches. I’m hoping that this will be place that that changes."

 

Break through what? His girlfriend's face?

 

Didn't see the match since it started at 3:30 a.m., but Sabalenka held off Gauff to get to the final again. I'm surprised in that coming into the tournament I thought Gauff looked like a champion, but maybe not so surprised after watching Gauff struggle through her quarterfinal.

Sabalenka now faces Qinwen Zheng in the final. I know next to nothing about Zheng -- I saw maybe 30 minutes of her third-round match against another Chinese player (whose name escapes me), which Zheng won in a third-set tiebreaker. I do know, thanks to the live tennis rankings website, that she will be ranked a career-high seventh if she loses and will pass Jabeur for the No. 6 spot if she wins.

 

Gauff should have won the first set, she served for it after Sabalenka tried choking it away. If Gauff wins that first set, I find it hard to believe that Sabalenka could string together consecutive sets under pressure against Gauff, who has the ability to make Sabalenka hit an extra shot. But Sabalenka didn't give her any openings from the tiebreak on.

I think the highest-ranked player Zheng faced was 54th to get to the final. That's got to be a record. Granted she did give Swiatek some trouble at the French Open a couple of years ago. It'll be all up to Sabalenka. Zheng should just try to make Sabalenka hit as many shots as possible and hope she has another psychological breakdown.

 

Coco has got to do something with that forehand, it should be a weapon not a high looping defensive shot. Supreme defensive skills are extraordinary but at some point you need to take the offensive too. Also, I hope she irons out her serve and develops a forceful topspin first serve to go with the flat one.

 

Her serve apparently was problematic again last night. Eight double faults, just 57% of her first serves in and 65% of those points won, and a mere 39% of her second serve points won -- affected, obviously, by those eight doubles.

 

Also from the stats, Sabalenka had seven return winners. That does not speak well about Coco's serve.

BTW, Gauff had none.