Tennis anyone? (Wimbledon thread)

Hingis dating the unfortunate Radek Stepanek, Wimbledon quarter-finalist.



There's something of a young Lendl about him, but I'm afraid he'll shortly fall victim to Hingis's "black widow" touch, much the way her previous tennis boyfriends have. Where are you Ivo Heuberger and Magnus Norman?

And, of course, Pavel Kubina, now exiled to the Toronto Maple Laffs after tasting the sweet nectar of the S. Cup.

 

Hey Moddy,
I'm not sure winning the French Open on red clay and Wimbledon on grass back-to-back (the hardest double in sports) is indicative of a tanker. I think the reason he quit so young was that the ice-man thing was just ripping him to shreds. He realized his mistake later, but the ship had sailed.

Mats Wilander sacked up pretty good.

 

Of course there was. But it takes a unique combination of things to have that kind of longevity you're talking about. There's no way Agassi would be anywhere near a tennis court had he not had quite a nice break mid-career. Graf was barely 30 when she called it quits. Not sure Edberg made it to 30; if so, barely.

The way Borg felt he had to be to compete at his best was a time bomb waiting to explode internally. God, you could see it on his face; he looked 1000 years old at age 25. He also had a monk's life. Every move he made was monitored by his creepy coach. He had no life. Suddenly, in his mid-20s, he suddenly caught a clue as to what he was missing out on, probably by watching Vitas Gerulaitis cut such a swath and score so much skirt.
At that point, you can't think you can ease up even a little and still have the same results. McEnroe had his number by then. So he left. At 26. Gutsy move, probably incomprehensible to most, but understandable given the circumstances. He might have been found dead, hung in the shower by some racket string, by 30 the rate he was going. Life since then has just proven exactly what kind of impenetrable bubble he was in during his early life, completely unprepared for life's complexities, challenges and realities.
He overcompensated, of course.

 

I have to agree. Wilander would stay out there all day and beat you.

 

Before Andy Roddick can be finished as a consistent top tier player, he has to first become a consistent top tier player. Let's face it, he's more famous for being Mandy Moore's ex-boyfriend than anything he's done on the tennis court.

 

Spnited was watching when they had 21-19 sets because there were no tiebreakers.

 

At his peak he made the Wimbledon finals and won the U.S. Open, plus made the Aussie semis. He was near the top of the men's game for a while. Of course he's like 1-35 against Federer.

Oddly enough I'm wondering if there happens to be a lot of Agassi in him. He'll flame out and come back in three years with a terrible hairline, a new focus and start winning events.

 

Stranger things have happened.

 

Two syllables: Ann-ette.

 

If memory serves, he was also No. 1 for awhile in that black hole B.F. (before Fed).
But he would have to completely overhaul his game technically before that could happen. Andre only had to overhaul his head.