Running tennis thread for 2023

And maybe no Swiatek, either. Retired yesterday with a thigh injury.

 

Wow.

How close do you think he is to hanging them up for good? I know he’s talked about it several times recently.

 

No one wants to play a qualifier in the main draw, they're match-ready at that point.

 

If you're the No. 2 player in the world, coming off a tournament win in Madrid (your fourth title of the year, three of those on clay), you should chew that guy up and spit him out.

 

Should, but didn't. The men's game has never been stronger, top to bottom.

 

French Open is underway at Roland Garros!

Watched No. 1 seed Alacaraz take out an Italian qualifier named Flavio Cobolli today, a match in which Alcaraz again showed he is the king of "How did he do that?" shots. Alcaraz won the first two sets 6-0 and 6-2 before Cobolli (BTW, you've heard of someone having "chiseled features"? Cobolli legit looks like a Roman statue) put up a fight in the third before falling 7-5.

This is the most intriguiging French Open in awhile -- on the men's side, at least -- because with Rafa out, there's no clear favorite. Alcaraz is currently No. 1 and has been dynamite on clay this year until he lost to an unknown qualifier in Rome. Djokovic is, of course, always a favorite, but he's been battling injuries and hasn't shown much in the clay court season. Medvedev, 2023's hottest player (since Melbourne) but notoriously uncomfortable on clay, threw himself into the picture with his victory in Rome, the first clay court tournament win of his career. He didn't have to face Alcaraz or Djoker, as both lost earlier in the draw, but he did take out Zverev and Tsitsipas along the way.

This should be a fun one.

 

Agreed. Alcaraz has the talent no doubt to win this. Medvedev is the ultimate "can get hot" and win the French but I'm not sure he's up for it mentally IF he meets Djoker or Alcaraz in the final. If its someone else, yeah Medvedev can absolutely win. I don't see Zverev winning but I could see one of those new guys from Scandinavia doing it (Ruud, Rune).

 

It’s interesting how things have changed since pre-Nadal. Twenty years ago, many of the top French Open contenders were clay specialists — Gaudio, Costa, Coria, Kuerten — and Sampras never got it figured out. Now almost all of the top guys are threats on clay, with Medvedev joining the group the last year or two. Grass is still a problem for some, though.

 

When he withdrew from this year's French Open, he said he wanted to take time off to really heal and recover, the better to have a good 2024 campaign, which he acknowledged will probably be his last. Personally, I don't think he's going to make it through another full year of competition, even after taking these upcoming months off. I think he MAY get himself in good enough shape to get to the French Open, just because it's so beloved by him, and his signature event.

I think he'll make that his last event.

 

A big part of that was the "top players" were mostly American --- and American players don't grow up on clay and traditionally struggle on it, compared to their European and South American counterparts.

Three of the top four in 1996 were American, four of the top nine and six of the top 19. That opened the door for clay specialists to steal a few majors.

 

She's in. Opens tomorrow against 70th-ranked Cristina Bucsa.