US Open 2018 Discussion Thread (Update)

/ thadp2

Have at it.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

I’ve been trying to get a new domain for this blog for quite some time now (since the current one is obviously less than optimal). The most obvious choice would have been tennishasadopingproblem.wordpress.com, but unfortunately I messed up which is why that domain is no longer available (I wasn’t aware that WordPress domains are permanently taken unless a full blog transfer is performed). Nonetheless I’ve come up with a new domain which should be easy to remember and much more suited for search engines. In order to ensure that it won’t be taken prematurely I can’t disclose the domain at this point, however. This is why I’ll just be announcing hereby when said domain transition will happen, not which domain it’ll be. That way people can actively search for this blog after the transition and add the new domain to their favourites (the old domain will no longer work).

I figure that the blog will get the most traffic right after the Men’s final has been concluded, so making the transition on Monday (September 10th) around 10 pm GMT should be a good choice. If you have any concerns or questions about the transition in general and the date at which it is scheduled in particular please let me know in the comments.

 

106 thoughts on “US Open 2018 Discussion Thread (Update)”

  1. My money is on Jon Snow to win the US Open given the way everybody’s* been coming back from the dead these past couple of years to win major titles at advanced ages.

    *except Andy Murray

    -Amy

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    • Serena’s catsuit outfit is back! For whatever reason, she’s allowed to wear it again.
      Some interesting 1st rd matches.
      Wawrinka v Dimitrov
      Ferrer v Nadal
      Shapovalov v Felix Auger Aliassime

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    • “Serena’s catsuit outfit is back! For whatever reason, she’s allowed to wear it again.”

      After the catsuit was banned, Serena and Nike did what they always do by making it all about race and discrimination. It works every time.

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  3. Roger Federer hasn’t won a US Open in 10 years. I’m betting on his chances here. Djokovic may deny him in the quarter finals however. Tough call.

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    • No I didn’t but I did see Nishikori looking loaded to the gills against Monfils. Monfils had to retire because he couldn’t keep up. Nishikori is a monster. Doesn’t ever get tired no matter how much he sprints. These guys are lab rats for sure.

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  9. We can see that they’re at it again in the women’s side, all those seeded players going out early. A very cliche and tired routine. Yes, this is obviously to clear the way for that doper and transgender Serena. This is a farce that is worse than the known-fakeness and acting of the WWF. And the tennis groups want to help tennis grow or stay relevant? Wrong move.

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  11. Any sudden peak in form should be a red alert. I’m watching Osaka. She’s hot again out of nowhere. She just handed out a double bagel. Nishikori, De Minaur. All these peakers.

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    • Isn’t Serena one of the most blatant examples? Her w/l record on the WTA tour is 3-4 this season. Her record at Grand Slam events? 13-1!

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    • It’s possible Shadow. But it’s possible that some players may be enhanced without their knowledge by their handlers. For cash reasons.

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    • I dunno about Osaka tbh, but Nishikori kinda makes sense – he’s had a slowish recovery from a wrist injury.

      De Minaur we don’t have much history for cos he’s so young, but the way he started the season it really isn’t that surprising he might end it in the top30 or so.

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  12. Plus Serena has barely played in WTA events this year though seems to peak at Grand Slam.

    I’m also surprised how well De Minaur played against Cilic. De Minaur doesn’t really have powerful shots but managed to stay in the rallies for 4 hours.

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  14. Federer lost to Millman ranked #55 after being 40-0 @ US Open against anyone outside top 50! He looked very human today… Played a lot of uncharacteristic drop shots & missing several routine shots especially at crucial times. Methinks he wanted to avoid Djoker. Lol!

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  15. Weird how when Djokovic was in that crazy slumo, he hardly met Federer or Nadal. Now that the role (Federer and Djokovic) have been interchanged, they’re avoiding meeting again. Federer lost to John Millman? Yeah I don’t understand it. 20 years ago, this was very normal in men’s tennis, but all of this seems too carefully orchestrated to me.

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    • Yes Federer has previously spoken about training in Dubai. So he should be used to the humidity?!
      Throughout the Australian Open he had no issues with the weather even though the other players complained. He was lucky, avoiding the heat thanks to a perfect schedule. AO organizers are pro Federer.

      Interesting result today, Stephens lost.

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  17. Either it’s a case of doping v age only getting you so far, or the authorities starting to realise that it’s become impossible to explain Federer away naturally.

    In other sports Alistair Cook announced his retirement from International Cricket at 33. He has played a great deal, and admitted to having “nothing left in the tank”. His skill has been diminishing over the last two or three years.

    Compare and contrast with Federer. Tennis is by far the most physically exacting of the two sports.

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    • Plus the fans and media are questioning what’s going on. Why can’t the younger players beat the top 3 or win Grand Slams. Recently , Safin made similar statements. It would’ve been a joke if Federer made the final.

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    • Yeah Cook’s decline is characteristic of a clean sportsman. I find it weird that doping seems to have not affected cricket as much as I thought it could, given the match fixing etc.

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    • We’ve seen this song & dance so many times with the top players. Who knows. Saw the entire match & he seemed out of it, especially the 4th set where he could have gone up 5-2 & the tiebreak where he double faulted twice & seemed to want to lose it. Was Playing very strangely, so many drop shots that didn’t make sense.

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    • Song and dance is what I’d call it. The decline and comeback story probably generates revenue. Although Federer might be finally contemplating bowing out. This arms race is madness and he has a family, unlike Nadal.

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    • Bit more vulnerable to attack these days – he’s only barely coping with the weight of shot from the likes of Khachanov and Thiem. I’m wondering how he copes with Del Potro.

      If Nadal is to win it now, he’s played two hard rounds before, near 5 hours vs Thiem, then probably a long one vs Del Potro ………. and how long vs Djokovic?

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    • Thiem threw everything including the kitchen sink at Nadal & still lost! His game style kind of looks similar to Nadal’s minus the skills at the net. And man was he truly bashing the ball at times that even Nadal was trying to keep up. It’s a shame that this is leading to Djoker vs Nadal in the finals. For Nadal, playing 5hr. Matches doesn’t even phase him. Pretty sure people are aware how prevalent doping is in sports. They just look the other way & don’t seem to care as long as it’s a good show/great entertainment. Ben Stiller looked so joyous at Nadal’s victory, he seemed like part of his family.
      As for Serena, fairytale story indeed leading to #24 at the US Open.

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  22. Impressive match between Thiem and Nadal. The way Thiem was playing he would have thrashed any other player. I really hope this draw isn’t just leading to the inevitable Djoko vs Nadal 5 hour bore-athon.

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  23. Djokovic V Millman was eventful.
    The Serb warned for time twice within a few points. Exhausted, then at full fitness minutes later.
    Ball boy got some tablets off of his wife and the exhaustion magically disappeared. Any chance a tennis ‘journalist’ will enquire about what the tablets were? I’m not holding my breath as they’ll be too busy eating Djokovic’s chocolates and asking about his kids.

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    • It seemed fishy whatever he was asking for. His physio looked so shifty & worried that he wanted it @ that time. Wonder what’s in all these colorful drinks these players have concocted for them. Don’t think anyone bothers to monitor what they’re drinking or popping into their mouths during matches.

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    • He’s definitely playing like he’s juiced up. And he did beat Djoker to reach US Open finals. But this time around Djoker will be ready for him with his own juice. Don’t be fooled by all the theatrics Djoker displays during his matches. He still manages to win while acting all sick & exhausted.

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  27. I cannot believe an actual tennis journalist exists. The beginning of the video of the press conference is more dodgy than the tablet debacle. When the question is asked about the tablets, Djokovic nervously starts rubbing his face. Unexpected question alert.

    Djokovic – ‘No, I mean I can’t talk about it’!
    Why exactly? The man could win a 14th major on Sunday and millions more $’s. It’s so wrong.

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    • I remember specifically Djokovic was given tablets and/or drink v Murray at the AO one year. Given to him over the stand fence via a ballboy. He won the match.

      Why on earth can’t he talk about it then? It’s not good optics for him. Make up something about “they were dehydration tablets i forgot to put in my bag” or some such nonsense.

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    • Checking up the history I am sure this was AO 2012, he beat Murray in the semi in 5 hours followed by beating Nadal in the final in 6 hours. There was nothing to see there folks!

      Must admit, I hope he beats Nadal in this USO final by whatever means necessary. A six and a half hour farce would be ideal…

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    • Because it might open a Pandora’s box. That’s my best guess. What he’s using in plain sight may be legal but who knows what it shows.

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    • “Checking up the history I am sure this was AO 2012, he beat Murray in the semi in 5 hours followed by beating Nadal in the final in 6 hours. There was nothing to see there folks!”

      It was actually the AO final 2013. I remember because Murray had won a tight first set and took an early lead in the second, but got absolutely steamrolled by Djoker after he took his pills.

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  30. @ Mystery – I was just getting into Murray at that time, and it was those two matches that first made me think there had to be a drugs problem in tennis. I couldn’t believe they could do that naturally. It led me to googling “Doping in Tennis”, and so to the original site.

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    • Those matches, especially the final, woke a lot of people up. It was reported that even Lendl and Courier were talking about “how on earth to they do it, what’s going on?” when they were on the same plane the next day.

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  31. Djokovic’s theatrics the other night was dirty sportsmanship. He’s cueing to the rest of the field that they have no chance cause he’s back to ‘his best’. Especially to Nishikori.

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    • Yes, I was watching that match. Del Potro was playing well while Nadal looked frustrated. He had a medical time out and then eventually called it quits. Apparently it’s a knee injury?

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    • it looked as if Delpo was outplaying Nadal to the point of Nadal faking that his knee is acting up & retiring. He even said to the umpire he’s gonna retire before the second set even ended. That’s just bad sportsmanship & a sore loser. How many times has Nadal blamed it on injury when he loses rather than genuinely giving credit to his opponent

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  33. @TennDen – Didn’t Nadal miss all ATP tournaments until DC tie/Monte Carlo with the same injury he picked up in Oz?
    Surely sometimes an ‘injury’ is just that? I saw Nadal with my own eyes converse with his support box at 2-2 first set, he had his knee taped twice, his 1st set stats were better than DP’s. Leave the land of make-believe to religious people as there’s a great deal of dodgy going on in tennis without dwelling on non-events.

    Doubt any top pros worry about Cilic ‘playing well’ as they know it won’t last. It was a fine day though when he battered Federer in 2014.

    Hope JMDP wins Sunday but doubt I’ll watch as I suffered enough watching the Serb against Millman. I consider him to be a disease but it would be funny to see the reactions of Federer’s fanboys if Djokovic wins more slams. His competition is not exactly peaking currently. 20 years a fan but I’m just about done.

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    • That’s right, after the AO Nadal didn’t play for months and skipped Miami and IW to focus on the clay court season. During that time, Federer became no1.
      Nadal’s injury today was odd especially after he told the umpire after second set he is going to quit….

      Injured or not, I think Del Potro still would’ve beaten Nadal today, he was hitting the ball well .. I hope he beats Novak.

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    • I used to think of Djokovic as the antidote to the Federer Nadal shows (at the time, drugs weren’t in my mind), but he’s joined them in a big way. It’s a big cancer in this sport. Both Djokovic and Nadal should not have had more than 5 slams each.

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    • Nadal had the same problem in the Khachanov match.

      The way I see it, you play such incredibly physical matches, there’s likely a cost. Thiem was just short of five hours. Basilashvili was 3hrs20, but the last two sets Nadal was doing a lot of flat out running. Khachanov was 4hrs23. Total of 16 hours court time – that’s way too much.

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  34. Well the way I see it Federer began the trend of ‘miraculous’ career turnarounds when he finally overcame the likes of Henman, Hewitt, Nalbandian who all had is number. It’s only fitting that he & his proteges Nadal & Djokovic play until eternity.

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    • Possibly yes. Didn’t think much of it at the time, but the 2004 season seems to be a red flag now for me. I guess Federer just being Federer, a great talent, no one would have thought if it that way. He was legitimately considered Sampras’s successor around 2003 after his first Wimbledon.

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  37. The sad things is, even when Serena is losing, I can’t shake the feeling that she’s just toying with her opponent and going to turn it on in a second.

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    • What a disgrace and this is why I’ve never been a Serena fan. She got outplayed and couldn’t accept it, instead decided to yell at the umpire . It’s unfortunate that Osaka couldn’t enjoy the moment.

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  40. Interesting factoid – Osaka is listed as 5’11”, 152 lbs. But when she hugged Serena at the end, it looked like Serena (who is usually listed as 5’9″, 155 lbs) outweighed her by a good 20 lbs and was taller as well.
    I think those are bogus stats for Serena that are widely disseminated to hide her true muscularity, and its likely source.

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    • Serena is 5’9″-9.5″. I’d peg Osaka at 5’8″-8.5″.

      The weight listings are usually bogus. There’s no way Sharapova weighs 130 pounds at 6’1.5″, for example.

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  41. Courier and Croft were both defending Serena’s antics on commentary and also questioned Ramos’ decision to award the game penalty. They would soon change their tune if it was somebody like Kyrgios behaving in that manner, I’m sure.

    Now, of course, Serena will be made the victim by herself and the media. Give me strength.

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    • It’s beyond silly. Williams argued that she “never takes coaching” and “never cheats”, yet right after the match Mouratoglou confirmed that he indeed has been coaching her. She also went as far as claiming that she’s being targeted because she’s a woman.

      It’s also worth noting that Ramos was denied the usual souvenir trophy for invigilating a major final.

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    • I was wondering what happened to Vamos afterwards though Serena probably didnt want him there. Unfair on him, he was doing his job whereas Serena went too far with pointing and yelling at him.
      Good point, imagine if Kyrgios behaved that way, no one would defend him. He would’ve been suspended immediately.
      And, that crowd were a disgrace, booing during Osaka’s presentation..
      re: height and weight stats I don’t think they are ever accurate. Skewed data.

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  42. But are we all going to give Osaka a pass for her heroic performance over the fortnight? Her miraculous turnaround just in time for a major after poor results all Summer?

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    • The women’s game appears to be inherently less consistent (except for Serena). While I don’t doubt there is doping in the women’s game, the fact that female players are generally less consistent and have very bad streaks as well as good ones makes it harder to discern who is doping.

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    • She had been consistently winning slam matches (1 1r loss in three seasons) and the WTA in its current iteration is inherently inconsistent, so the Indian Wells win showed that a breakthrough was coming soon while also putting pressure on her that she hadn’t felt before. We’ve seen innumerable WTA players nab a big title or two and then wilt under the weight of expectations. Sloane Stephens was awful for months after winning the US Open, Kerber imploded in 2017, Ivanovic, Ostapenko this year, Muguruza after both of her slams, etc.

      Plus, between Indian Wells and the US Open, her only legitimately bad loss was to Linette in DC. The rest were Svitolina (Miami), Goerges (Charleston), Zhang Shuai (Madrid), Halep (Rome), Keys (French Open), Barty (Nottingham), Kerber (Wimbledon), Suarez Navarro (Montreal), and Sakkari (Cincinnati).

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  43. Serena is a disgusting animal as far as I concerned from now on. To behave this way all while basically stating that having had a daughter makes it all uncritiqueable, and then afterwards act like the victim, is unforgivable. She did it in the USO final against Stosur in 2011 or whatever year it was too, threatening the lineswoman with violent acts because she was losing. She loses in her home slam final and she can’t handle it and melts down, gets aggressive and threatening. And thinks that saying “I’m doing this for women” means it’s ok to behave this way and gets her let off for free?

    If she was born a man she would be one hell of a violent, aggressive, unpleasant man – but I guess little is different with her being a woman.

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    • The lineswoman stuff was in 2009 (where she charmingly told the lineswoman, “If I could, I would take this —-ing ball and shove it down your —-ing throat.”). In 2011 she too clashed with the chair umpire after having been given a code violation.

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    • Serena seems to be feeling the pressure of trying to tie Margaret Court for most Grand Slams. Her behavior was disappointing.

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    • Mystery,  I don’t think she’s an animal,what she is is a very spoiled brat .
      she also loves to play the victim. 
      after all these years and so much success, 
      she still thinks they(whoever they maybe)are out to get her , when in reality the officials were just trying to do their jobs.
      it is true that roids might have something to do with her behavior but in my opinion , she just got used to having her way her entire life and loses it when she doesn’t just like a spoiled brat

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    • Thadp2: ok I think I am getting the 2 separate previous incidents conflated. It was after all many years ago now, a different era altogether! (Strange that our heroine Serena has managed to stay on top throughout these different eras! Almost ‘superhuman’.)

      The fact that there are two separate incidents to get confused on in the first place just shows what shame to brings to this once great sport. And not even to mention yesterday’s performance…

      -Mystery

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  44. I was hoping that the world would finally witness how much of a sociopath Serena Williams is, but she ended up getting an ovation in the press conference:

    This is the media we have in tennis. Disgusting.

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    • 17,000 is nothing. Too bad she won’t cop a suspension..
      I can’t believe this has turned into a sexism debate on social media, hopefully she retires soon.

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