2018 US Open

Shadowlight

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Starting next week but first a bit of tennis news.

The French Open is introducing a stricter dress code. Not quite as strict as Wimbledon but they announced that Serena will not be allowed to wear her "cat suit."

Once in a while reason prevails in this day and age. People just want to watch a simple tennis match without being subjected to torture.

On the men's side the rumblings are growing louder. When are the "youngsters" going to start asserting themselves? The big three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic loom so large over the field most experts feel one of the three will take the title. Their greatness is universally undisputed. And their long reign has been spectacular to witness.

But in tennis I still keep asking the question of where is the bold young upstart who will rearrange things in a heartbeat? Heck the history of tennis has been built on that premise.

Give or take a couple of other players the following four are players most think could break through at anytime. I am not so sure.

Frances Tiafoe- An American black. From the killer over hype of Donald Young to the seemingly stalled career of Gael Monfils the tennis world has been openly aching for a black male player to emerge on top. Thankfully it hasn't happened because it would be insufferable. As for Tiafoe I haven't seen him much at all but I get the impression he could end up being solid but not top tier as far as I can tell at this point. Needless to say I am not rooting for him.

Alexander Zverev--the 6'6" German has been touted for over a year now and he has stubbed his toe this year at the majors. I am not a big fan of his game even though he does have talent.

The next two are more to my liking.

Dennis Shapovalov took the tennis world by storm last year but he has stalled a bit this year. Just a glitch as he moves forward (not unheard of for budding young players) or is he yet another over hyped young player?
He is a bundle of excitement and would be a real plus if he could emerge and become a top player.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, only 19, has just entered into the big time playing Nadal tough in a recent final. An athletic 6'4" player from Greece he easily fits the mold of Borg and or a young Agassi. The type that makes girls swoon. Like Shapovalov he has that exciting it factor going for his game.

This old vs. young scenario will be a clear background factor as we approach the prestigious US Open.
 

Shadowlight

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Good thing Halep bagged the French Open. Despite a strong hard court season Halep, much like Wimbledon, has been bounced early at the US Open. Good grief. Just another reminder that the women's division is up for grabs. Too bad she was in the same bracket as the Williams sisters. Don't want to see a repeat of Wimbledon where Serena gets to play a bunch of chumps on her way to the final.

Speaking of Serena it seems some portions of the media are interpreting her cat suit ban at the French Open as somehow racially motivated. Pure horse manure. It was an in your face disgusting outfit that has no business seeing the light of day on a professional tennis court.

Quickly turning into a completely clueless twat ESPN morning chat gal Michelle Beadle has echoed that racial slant. These morons don't realize historically tennis officials have tinkered with outfit guidelines. One of the most notorious was when white Anne White wore a white skin tight outfit at Wimbledon ( she looked alluring unlike Serena) and was told in no uncertain terms never to wear that outfit there ever again.

But Beadle has been on a roll this summer. She has decided not to watch the NFL or college football because they are somehow unfavorable to persons of color and women. WHAT? And this moron is on the "premier" chat show in the morning so what the hell will be her purpose the entire fall where football is the main topic of conversation? I got a great idea. Don't want to talk about the heavily black football leagues they should give her something else to do at ESPN like clean the toilets.
 

BeyondFedUp

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The end of the line for Fed. He's out at the Open, beaten by the 55th ranked player in 4 sets. He had a great career.
 

BeyondFedUp

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Ok guys, the highest ranked woman left at the Open and that has to face Brutus next is Karolina Pliskova, who is currently ranked 7th or 8th in the world depending on where you look. She's tall (6'1") and her stats show she weighs 159. Uuuumm, and Brutus is listed at 155...uuuuummm, does anyone actually believe that? (See Karolina's pic in the article below)
She beat Brutus here at the Open in the 2016 semifinals. Hopefully she'll run her all over the court and we'll be done with her for another Major:

https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/a...iskova_eager_for_serena_williams_rematch.html
 

Shadowlight

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There is little historical reference for what is going on in tennis today. The women's field is a travesty. All four of the favorites including Kerber, Wozniacki and Halep went down with their tails between their legs. Add Stephens to that list as she just lost in bad fashion.

All talented these gals possess an inner wimp that crops up far too often. Unheard of back in the day.

Once again we are staring down the barrel of Serena. If nature behaves she gets knocked off. But this is the women's field where courage has left the building.

Perhaps the greatest moment for me as a tennis fan was the 2004 Wimbledon where Maria at 17 shocked the world and beat Serena in the final and Roger bagged his second Wimbledon beating Andy Roddick.

After both went down in rather poor fashion last night it makes me think the end is somewhat near. Not sure how Maria will finally exit but for Roger I would like to see him play The Australian in 2019 and say goodbye where it all started at Wimbledon. That would be an emotional scene to say the least. It would be a shame if he exits before Wimbledon.
 

CrazyFinn

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The nightmare continues, as it has for every major since basically forever as far as I can remember. I don't even recall the last time I enjoyed a grand slam from start to finish on the women's side, knowing the fat linebacker was about to win another one. We have gotten fortunate a few times as she ended up losing in the semis or finals, but this time the biggest miracle is needed.

The draw is completely open now, with a bunch of nobodies and never weres still left. The biggest hope to defeating her is some half-bred Japanese negress and some American mulatto named Madison Keys, how about that?

But what can you do? The way all those white European women keep losing is a disgrace in my opinion, and this sad state of affairs in women's tennis means a 200lb, 36 year old overweight player who should have no business contending for majors continues to be strong contender to keep winning. Depressing stuff.
 

Don Wassall

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Great quarterfinal match between Nadal and Dominic Thiem of Austria, who battled for close to five hours in stifling humidity before Nadal won via a fifth set tiebreaker at 2 am this morning. Nadal was soaked in sweat just from the pre-match warm-up, which gives you an idea how oppressive the weather was. It was one of those matches I came across inadvertently but then couldn't stop watching. Just admirable determination and astounding conditioning from both men. The women's side is more pathetic than ever, but men's tennis remains a treat to watch.
 

icsept

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I watched the first 3 sets of Nadal v Thiem. Thiem is a spectacular athlete with explosive strokes, great speed, and an amazing one handed backhand, and a better serve than Nadal. However, Nadal is an all time mental grinder who would not be denied. Now, I expect Del Potro to knock off Nadal in the semis - he has the huge serve to win easy points.

On the other side, it’s opened up for Novak. Either way, a Novak v Nadal or Del Potro should be great.
 

Matra2

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Serena Williams having an absolutely epic meltdown, again, in a US Open final. This is the third time. What a disgusting human being she is. And the crowd are on her side. New Yorkers are the lowest.
 

Heretic

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Serena Williams having an absolutely epic meltdown, again, in a US Open final. This is the third time. What a disgusting human being she is. And the crowd are on her side. New Yorkers are the lowest.
Same on the #USOpen Twitter thread...95% on her side.
 

Don Wassall

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Osaka played a beautiful match, and now what should be her moment of triumph has been tainted in large part because Brutus ruined it with her endless verbal jousting with the umpire followed by a complete on court meltdown. Osaka was by far the better player, and would have won going away even if Williams hadn't been penalized for her behavior. Such a drama queen, such a sore loser, so glad she lost in straight sets 6-2 6-4.
 

Matra2

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Same on the #USOpen Twitter thread...95% on her side.

I just had a look at the Men's Tennis Forums, which are international, but include a lot of Americans, and there everybody hates her. Osaka's great win has been overshadowed by Serena's antics. Same thing happened when Clijsters and Stosur won against her.
 

Matra2

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Wait till you hear the crowd during the presentation when the umpire Carlos Ramos is called forward.
 

Heretic

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Just saw that Kraperneck Nike commercial for the first time and they showed a few highlights of Serena during it and then said "The greatest athlete of all time." right in the middle of her highlights. Geez...delusional propaganda, but unfortunately will be lapped up by many if not most Amerikans.
 

Don Wassall

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I just watched the trophy presentation. Katrina Adams, the black head of U.S. tennis, called Brutus "a great role model." Brutus urged the crowd not to boo, which was treated by cucky Chris Fowler and the other announcers as a tremendous act of leadership, after she had ruined the event for Osaka. Osaka was so sad, saying it was her dream to play Serena in a U.S. Open final. Turned out to be more like a nightmare. The chair umpire was banned from the presentation. But in Amerika, Serena will get a pass for her despicable actions, in fact she'll be lauded more than ever. Standards of behavior have been lowered beyond comprehension to appease and elevate a group of people who will never appreciate it and who in fact never tire of playing the victim now matter how successful they are. What a country!
 

Matra2

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US Open crowds are notoriously uninformed about tennis and low class in their behaviour. A few years ago they were mindbogglingly boorish towards Djokovic when he was playing celebrity favourite Roger Federer. They should move it to Indian Wells or Cincinnati where the fans actually like tennis, rather than being there to be seen, but they won't.
 

Heretic

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Osaka to crowd, fighting back tears:

"I know that everybody was cheering for her. I’m sorry it had to end like this. I just want to say thank you for watching the match."
 
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CrazyFinn

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While this loss certainly made my day, and happened in a spectacular meltdown fashion for the linebacker, it's a shame that she continues to play and be a factor in women's tennis at the age of (soon to be) 37. She's obviously a classless, repugnant, despicable human being and a black mark on the sport.

I again put the fault on all of the young, white European women who have completely failed to rise to the occasion and stake a claim as the next dominant players in women's tennis. All it would take is for someone to beat her in the early rounds of a couple of majors, and that might be sufficient to put her out of her misery and force her retirement. But as long as she is able to make these deep runs because of the sorry state of women's tennis, I'm afraid she'll keep on playing.
 

GiovaniMarcon

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McEnroe would never have given such a cuck apology for winning a match. What's wrong with these chicks? Osaka should have been like, "kiss my half-Haitian Black ass."
 
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I have never been more proud to say that I have never owned a pair of Nike's overpriced, low-quality, sweatshop-made shoes and never will.
 

Leonardfan

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I just watched the trophy presentation. Katrina Adams, the black head of U.S. tennis, called Brutus "a great role model." Brutus urged the crowd not to boo, which was treated by cucky Chris Fowler and the other announcers as a tremendous act of leadership, after she had ruined the event for Osaka. Osaka was so sad, saying it was her dream to play Serena in a U.S. Open final. Turned out to be more like a nightmare. The chair umpire was banned from the presentation. But in Amerika, Serena will get a pass for her despicable actions, in fact she'll be lauded more than ever. Standards of behavior have been lowered beyond comprehension to appease and elevate a group of people who will never appreciate it and who in fact never tire of playing the victim now matter how successful they are. What a country!

Serena blamed sexism...not sure how that can even be possible considering that both players were women.
 

Don Wassall

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Serena blamed sexism...not sure how that can even be possible considering that both players were women.

She was bitching that men players say worse than what she did and aren't penalized for it. Even the Serena worshiping analysts agreed that while she may have had a point, she should have shut up after receiving her first warning. She'd had two warnings, one for her coach coaching her from her box (which set her off on repeated verbal tirades against the chair umpire), then one for smashing a racket. The third one, which cost her a game in the second set, was issued after she again ranted and raved at the chair umpire, saying he owed her an apology and calling him a "thief" who was stealing the tournament from her.

I'm surprised she didn't play the race card, but it shows again that in the current era the gender card is now viewed as the most powerful weapon in the communist toolbox.

But really, when Brutus was penalized a game, she was trailing 3-4 in the second set and it was Osaka's turn to serve. I don't think Osaka lost serve the entire match, so Osaka likely would have won the forfeited game anyway. Brutus greatly diminished the occasion, again, and I'll be surprised if she receives anything but accolades from the corporate sports media for her inexcusable behavior.
 

CrazyFinn

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McEnroe would never have given such a cuck apology for winning a match. What's wrong with these chicks? Osaka should have been like, "kiss my half-Haitian Black ass."

I don't blame Osaka for being defensive during the ceremony. After all, here's a 20 year old who just won her first GS, in front of a despicable, hostile crowd and their hero linebacker, being robbed of her once in a lifetime moment.

I watched some additional interviews with Osaka, and she's very polite and soft-spoken, clearly coming from her Japanese half.
 

ramicackle

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Williams will be 37 at the end of September and the Australian Open is over 4 long months away. Williams knows she is finished. Her meltdown began when Osaka came back to tie at 3-3 after Williams was up 3-1 in the second set. Osaka beat her 6-2 in the first set and, to her, Osaka's momentum seemed insurmountable and she just lost her mind.

Williams is one Grand Slam victory behind Margaret Court's 24. It's unlikely Williams will win the next French Open, so if she doesn't win in Australia next January, she has to wait about 9 months for her next chance to pass Court.

There is a good chance Williams will never pass Court and she'll continue to have outbursts such as this until she just hangs it up for good. I wouldn't be surprised if Williams retires for good after the 2019 US Open and doesn't win another Grand Slam from here on out.
 
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