2018 Wimbledon

BeyondFedUp

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Ok, Wimbledon starts later today if you're in the east and with all the storied tradition that it is.

I am rooting for Federer as always but for some reason this year I don't think he repeats. I hope I'm wrong. Father time takes edges off all the greats eventually. This year may be his last to win Majors. He took the Australian again and September has the US Open, but Wimbledon is one of my top favorite sporting events.

Really, the men's and women's side are wide open. Should be interesting.
 

BeyondFedUp

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Sloane Stephens OUT in the first round on the Women's side in straight sets. She was beaten by this Croatian blonde:

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/players/overview/wta318516.html

In other matches, Ray Lewis Jr had to win a tie-breaker first set before winning the second, so she moves on. But if she's struggling like this on opening day hopefully she'll be out soon.

Fed won in straight sets in apparently workman-like fashion.
 
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Don Wassall

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Sloane Stephens epitomizes wild inconsistency. After winning the U.S. Open last year she lost in the first round eight straight times, including at the '18 Australian Open. She was runner-up at this year's French Open, but then was eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon for the second year in a row. She's still very far away from following in Brutus's steps as a dominating force. Speaking of which, the monopoly AP "news service" editorializes that "Nothing feels as significant in tennis today. . . as what Williams does -- because of what she has accomplished in the past and because of what she's trying to accomplish in the present." Yeah, only a know-nothing would regard Roger Federer's attempt to win Wimbledon again as being as important or more important, or Nadal and Djokovic trying to win another Slam event. The tennis media will continue to revolve around Serena Williams, just as it is in perpetuity in golf for Tiger Woods.
 

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Along with Stephens there has been a rash of upsets on the women's side so far. Top ten players Wozniacki, Svitolina (highly athletic player-- huge disappointment last two majors), Garcia, Murguruza and Kvitova have all gone down in flames. And sadly Maria Sharapova was bounced in the first round. Is she all but finished? Hard to say but something is lacking now. And Bouchard got knocked off today. Never regained her form from four years ago and is now a bottom feeder go figure. Such a shame. She has a great body.

Annoyingly both the W sisters are still in it. If Serena somehow manages to win this then the entire women's field should be considered a bunch of weak kneed cowards. Wozniacki is a mystery. She was playing well in the grass tune ups. Even after bagging a major she is still a basket case not to mention Serena's bestie (translation her pet).
 

BeyondFedUp

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Brutus won again today, but at least Venus lost.

And Monfils (also getting to play on Centre Court today), won against a higher ranked player. Seems like Wimbledon is spotlighting and catering to all things diversity today in that regard.

Anyway, as stated earlier in thread, the Women's side is very inconsistent and some of those girls we had high hopes for are just downright disappointing. We can only hope the Linebacker doesn't win this Major again. That would be pretty awful...
 

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Venus hasn't won a grand slam singles title since 2008, the same year Tiger Woods won his last major, so she's long done as a contender though she does sometimes still play well at Wimbledon.

Brutus looks big enough to be classified as morbidly obese. Instead of the Hulking Linebacker maybe she should now be called the Hulking Defensive Tackle. If she wins at her age and weight it'll be a disgrace to the women's game, though of course the media will celebrate it as just the opposite. She was moaning the other day about how often she's drug tested, but if she is regularly tested and keeps passing she must have a natural level of testosterone that's through the roof and/or a great masking agent. But much like Tiger's "miraculous" transformation from skinny to muscle bound, many questions about Serena will never be asked, much less answered.
 
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No. 1 seed Simona Halep knocked off by some Oriental. Ugh.
 

BeyondFedUp

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Yep, with #1 seed Halep now out this is looking very, very sickening...
 

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I'm really surprised Simona followed the rest of the top non-Serena seeds and collapsed.

Was watching a match last night and Mary Carillo asked fellow announcer Lindsey Davenport how the American girls can play with "more fangs," meaning play much tougher and consistently and with something to prove though it was an odd phrase to use. Of course it's not just the Americans, who are mostly black and half-black these days, all the Europeans fall into the same category. It was an ironic thing to ask as during her playing days Davenport was often criticized for lacking a killer instinct, yet compared to today's female players she was a terminator.
 
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Shadowlight

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For sure Halep losing just destroys any notion that a sea change was going to happen on the women's side. Not too long ago if players finally broke through and won their first major they would relax and start to win some more. But both Wozniacki and Halep have assumed the fetal position. Given their past psychological profiles I guess we can't be too surprised. And I won't give up on them yet especially feisty Simona.

But as much as I like Halep she has her shortcomings most notably she doesn't have the easy power that many of the top players possess and has to fight and scratch for every thing. And to be fair grass is her worst surface but still she should not be losing to a bottom feeder. Not after her massive French Open victory.

We should solidly be in a post Serena era by now but sadly nobody has taken the reigns. As mentioned above it would be quite an indictment of women's tennis today if a post pregnant fat out of shape Serena bags this illustrious tournament. She could still lose. Enough is enough already. Her era needs to be ushered out and pronto.
 
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Don Wassall

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Just inadvertently came across the two hour special "Strokes of Genius" on the Tennis Channel. It's built around the epic 2008 Wimbledon singles final between Nadal and Federer, which is often called the greatest tennis match ever. Rafa won the first two sets, Roger hung on to win the next two in tiebreakers, before Rafa took the fifth set 9-7 as darkness was descending (there was also two rain delays). That ended Federer's string of Wimbledon championships at five straight, the same number in a row Bjorn Borg won from 1976 to 1980 before John McEnroe broke through and beat him in '81.

There's a lot of back story shown the entire two hours on both Rafa and Roger, many interviews, some reliving of the Borg-McEnroe rivalry and footage of Pete Sampras and other great players, just a lot of really good stuff packed into two hours. Strokes of Genius reminds me of the great specials the Golf Channel did on Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, those rare treats when the anti-White media gives great White athletes their due. If you're a tennis fan, especially if you've been a fan going back a while, check out Strokes of Genius while it's still showing.

Note: I just read through CF's thread for the '08 Wimbledon final and all agreed Federer-Nadal was the best tennis match we'd ever seen.
 
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BeyondFedUp

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Brutus won again today, and in easier fashion. Starting now in the Quarters, all her opponents are ranked higher it looks like. Albeit, it seems they all fold like wilting flowers at the site of this huge manly female.

I'm thinking my hopes are in Angelique Kerber, who made it to the Final in 2016 but lost and has done decent in other tournament play. She is seeded 11th and ranked 10th in the world (the Linebacker is seeded 25th) and looks like the only player with any consistency. She and Brutus are on opposite ends of the draw so they could meet in the Final if they both keep winning. If this ends bad it will be justification for the worst criticism of Women's tennis in history.

On a positive note, Fed won again today in straight sets. I still see him as very possibly being knocked off but I am hoping he wins Major #21. That would only add to his shining legacy.
 
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Shadowlight

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In all sports we have noticed for years the freeze effect on white athletes that occurs after black athletes enter the scene. I think the Williams effect psyched out a whole generation of potential white tennis stars. We know the drill. They are told over and over again that the black players are physically superior and suddenly players with potential literally give up figuring they have no chance
of reaching the top. The freeze effect securely in place. Hence most of the future of US women are either black or part black.

As for the Serena train things seem to be falling into place for her where every top ten player has feebly flopped out of the tournament. This is Wimbledon for crying out loud and a victory here represents the pinnacle of the sport yet these sorry ass chicks don't really seem to care.

Kerber has the physical tools to beat Serena which she did in the 2016 Aussie final, her first of two Grand Slams (US OPEN 2016). But she is so wildly inconsistent I jumped off of her bandwagon.

But back to the listlessness that has infected the women's field. I think one of the major issues revolves around what I will term the Princess syndrome. Over a decade ago many of the tour risers were not only coached by a parent but as they went from event to event the parent doubled up as a chaperone too. Not to put too fine a point on it but if the young player was traveling with her mom it is safe to say the player was in bed at a certain hour with no opportunity for monkey business (hanging out with boys).

Another example is Wozniacki. Jet setting with other famous athletes she finally did win her first major but you can't help but think she should have more than one by now. Her friendship with Serena, where she plays the useful underling by never threatening Serena in a major and the way she antagonizes some of the tour players like Maria doesn't say much about her will to win.

The young female player today is usually accompanied by a horde of people and nearly all of them are men. So about ten to fifteen men answer her every beck and call 24/7. What young lady doesn't want to be fussed over by a bunch of men? Which is why that show "The Bachelorette" is hugely popular. But the truth of the matter is they are so spoiled they turn into infants. Crying and lashing out at everyone but themselves. Not to
mention the obvious flirting that goes on between the male and female tennis players which is fine but for too many of the girls it becomes all consuming. Stan Warwinka is 33 years old and his babe Donna Vekic, the tall willowy striking blonde from Croatia is 22. By the way she lost today. Once a promising rising star ( the next Maria?) she has settled into a mid range player. That age difference between the two of them seems a bit steep to me. The point is this environment is not conducive to winning.

In fact what these girls need is a dose of learning things the hard way and development of the sort of toughness that is necessary to reach the top. Instead of the constant pandering they need to learn about the sacrifices and self determination needed to consistently win big at this level. And they also need to accept responsibility a trait that is sadly missing in too many young people today where everyone else is to blame but themselves.

A fat half ass old Serena in a truly competitive field shouldn't be moving along with such ease but sadly this is the state of women's tennis today. It is in a perpetual state of being static. The whole scene needs to quickly toughen up before the vultures circle.

On a more positive note it sure is nice to see Federer looking sharp at least so far.
 
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The freeze effect was showcased big time in women's gymnastics in the last Olympics, with only one White woman on the so-called "American" team (the others being two blacks, a mestiza mystery meat, and a Jew). The endless media coverage of the two blacks, Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles, promoted the myth of gymnastics as yet another blakk spote when historically it's been very white. (Ironically, the Jewish girl, Aly Raisman, didn't get nearly as much hype from her own media cousins, probably because most people will look at her and think of her as white). I did dance and gymnastics growing up, and while there were always some black and brown girls in the regular dance classes, gymnastics was essentially snow white, with the occasional Asian here and there.

While cucked fans who paint their faces for the TV cameras and drool over clowns like Richard Sherman and LeBrown James get the airtime for obvious reasons, most White people are more rational and prefer watching athletes of their own race, even though most won't say it out loud. There's a reason why the NBA is declining in popularity, and the NFL's ratings have fallen after so many afroletes engaged in their anthem-kneeling dog-and-pony show. Even normies are getting tired of Serena Williams, and it helps (us, not her) that she has such a terrible attitude and always makes excuses when she loses, never acknowledging that her opponent was the better player. Hopefully she'll go away soon and leave Margaret Court's record unbroken.

The men's game, at least, is in a golden age, with consistent stars like Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, and Wawrinka, lots of great rivalry matches among them, and no one player being too dominant as to make things boring. And, of course, as a bonus, all of those big names are White.
 

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The nightmare that won't go away reaches another final. She will face off against Kerber. Kerber took the mean pig down in the 2016 Aussie final but Serena avenged that loss by beating Kerber at Wimbledon the same year.

Kerber has physical gifts and is athletic but she is not a true offensive player. She relies on her opponent making mistakes which is not the best formula for winning majors but she has two including the 2016 US Open. Kerber is also one of the most inconsistent top players on the tour. She faded terribly in 2017.

In the final expect Serena to slap a lot more winners than Kerber but hopefully Kerber finds a way to wear out this goliath.

At the end of the day the state of women's tennis is terrible. These chicks just don't have the competitive fire needed to win big. Shameful.

As for the men's side Federer's age, as predicted, has finally caught up with him. Still a top player but I suspect he will retire at some point next year, perhaps after Wimbledon where everyone can celebrate his good bye tour. I would hope he can stick around long enough for that, given his history with the grand event.
 

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Good to see Novak make his first semi in a major since '16. His match against Nadal might be a classic.

It would be easy to say the winner of that match will win the title, but John Isner has yet to lose a service game, a pretty amazing statistic, so he has a chance, as does Anderson after beating Roger.

It's the first time Isner has made the semis in a major. Who was the last White American man to win a slam title? Andy Roddick? And on the female side, Lindsey Davenport maybe?
 

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Yes Andy Roddick was the last white American male winning the US Open in 2003 which turned out to be his only major. Federer prevented Roddick from winning another US Open and several Wimbledon titles. Sampras won the US Open in 2002. In 2001 a young Federer defeated Sampras at Wimbledon to reach the quarterfinals. He was 19 at the time. Roger's first title was Wimbledon in 2003. I remember it well. It was a watershed moment full of joy.

Agassi won the Aussie earlier that year.

Jennifer Capriati was the last non black US Grand Slam winner. She won the Aussie Open back to back in 2001 and 2002.

Davenport won Wimbledon in 1998, The US Open in 1999 and the Australian Open in 2000.
 

BeyondFedUp

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Ok. Been reluctant to even post. Absolutely dismal results with a manly female offensive lineman (and you guys can feel free to pronounce "offensive" any way you feel) wins in straight sets. Just beyond horrible...

Kerber isn't the type to be running her all over the court. She almost needs to turn into a Saturday afternoon hacker like Authur Ashe did way back in 1975 when he shocked the world and changed up the pace on the balls and placement to defeat the seemingly invincible Jimmy Connors.

Kerber may not have any tricks up her sleeve, but she at least knows she can indeed beat Brutus, but I'm not holding my breath.

If y'all don't see any posts from me for a couple of weeks have Don contact my local Sheriff. This could be very debilitating to my love for the sport and my White psyche, not to mention Fed was sent packing after the Quarters. Good grief.
Drab city could be just up the road...
 
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Nadal vs. Djokovic will get the big headlines, but Anderson vs. Isner is an interesting case. A White American vs. a White South African, men from two countries whose governments and media have shunned White athletes and relentlessly glorified blacks.
 

BeyondFedUp

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Wow! Anderson beats Isner 26-24 in the 5th! Would have been cool if the American Isner had won, but wow, just wow! The match was well over 6 1/2 hours. Onto the Final to await Nadal vs Novak.
 

BeyondFedUp

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YEEEESSSSSS!!!!
KERBER WINS!!!!
 

Don Wassall

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Wow, I wasn't even bothering to watch. Great news!!!
 

referendum

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It seems that the women are catching up to Williams in grand slam finals, she's now 2-3 in her last five. Congrats Kerber.
 
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