Is Novak Djokovic Already Practicing On Red Clay With An Eye On Winning The French?

by Tom Gainey | February 7th, 2014, 10:21 am
  • 126 Comments

Novak Djokovic posted on social media yesterday that even though it’s still over 3 months out, he’s already started his red clay training in search of that elusive French Open title.

As part of the sponsor promotion, Djokovic wrote on Facebook, “It’s no secret that I have my eyes set on ROLAND-GARROS, but how about my new sponsor Peugeot !! They made me start clay court preparations a bit sooner than i planned haha, better safe than sorry! Fingers crossed it works”.


Djokovic just needs the French Open to complete the career Grand Slam. But before then, Djokovic, who has played in just one event this year, is scheduled to compete on the hard courts in Dubai on February 24.


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126 Comments for Is Novak Djokovic Already Practicing On Red Clay With An Eye On Winning The French?

montecarlo Says:

This is ridiculous. Djokovic edited his earlier posted matter. This is the link for what he posted first:-

http://i.imgur.com/5aZtsrS.png

I’m all set to win FO? Wow.. He has been saying that since 2007. LOL


Margot Says:

Much more importantly, whose the hunk?…..;)


Brando Says:

He’s just having a laugh. A sponsor led initiative.


Hippy Chic Says:

Margot OMG couldnt agree more indeed what a hunk lol;))..


courbon Says:

@Margot & Hippy: I never thought to become a pimp but you gave me idea.I have a good friend who looks better then hunk on photo,is single, French and like English girls (serious!).I can arrange date in South of France for you-so romantic.So, girls-lets start biding! I’ll take first bid…now!


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon lol when do i get an introduction,unfortunatly i dont think hubby would be too happy,but then again im quite happy hes also a bit of a hunk too,i think the only man i would ever leave hubby for would be Hugh Jackman(i wish)lol.


Steve 27 Says:

For some trolls Rolando Garros is not important.
Yeah, right!


Hippy Chic Says:

Rafa has managed to do whats so far eluded both Novak and Roger by going into their teritories,Rafa has beaten Roger at Wimbledon in 2008,and the AO in 2009,also hes beaten Novak twice at the USO,Roger did win the FO in 2009 although he didnt beat Rafa along the way(nothing wrong in that though,dont get me wrong,as Rafa wasnt good enough to get there),ive been saying for sometime now that i wouldnt be surprised if this year he didnt actually win the FO,and actually even though i hate myself for feeling this way and hope im wrong,im actually now convinced of it,the law of averages ends all runs eventually.


Hippy Chic Says:

Meant to add i wouldnt be surprised if Novak or anybody else wins the title this year.


Steve 27 Says:

Roland Garros, I mean.
Hippy chic, the US Open is not Djokovic’s territory.


Hippy Chic Says:

Steve 27 probably not no,but you missed the point,HCs are Novaks best surface not Rafas??


Steve 27 Says:

Plexicushion is different forma Decoturf, but I understand your point of view.


Steve 27 Says:

From, I mean.


courbon Says:

@ Hippy: Ok, I’ll try to get Hugh…it will be difficult, but I’ll try.


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon oh er yeeees purlease lol,i think i would probably faint if i ever got that lucky,but hell what a way to go though lol?? ;))….


Okiegal Says:

@Chic

After I saw the movie Australia, I became a huge Hugh Jackman fan. His wife is older than him…..so that’s a plus for this old cougar! LOL

Hey, Courbon, don’t forget about me!!!


Margot Says:

Actually gals, I saw this hunk first so please form an orderly queue behind me.
Lol courbon, a new career….pimping! ;)


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon, lol i think there will be some tennis x catfights,Margot as they say alls fair in love and war,and Okiegal i think i would crawl through broken glass naked to get to Mr Jackman,are you prepared to do that?also hes the same age as me,so he wouldnt need to go cougar lol.


Margot Says:

@hippychicky
Us Brits don’t jump queues though do we? Dunno about that Okiegal though…..;)


Hippy Chic Says:

Margot lol fair enough,you got me there damn it,just to say im wondering if that is Justin Gimelstobs son,there seems to be a likeness there??


Okiegal Says:

Hey, girls, I can looky but no touchy……same goes for hubby!! LOL……..and also, the old gray mare ain’t what she used to be…….just saying!!


courbon Says:

I just wake up and…wooow!I can see my new business will grow very quick. First, I need to buy some right clothes for job.I already got a gold chain from my rapper days ( Ok, its not real but it looks a part! )so maybe fur coat and similar…

Okiegal-deal.I put you on my clients books.
I thought it would be appropriate ( since this is Tennis blog ) to put some tennis guys on my books.But even before that, I need assistant, so I thought to give a ring to Radek Stepanek-he has a way with the ladies.
Regarding the list I guess the obvious would be Nadal, Fognini…any suggestions????


roy Says:

‘(nothing wrong in that though,dont get me wrong,as Rafa wasnt good enough to get there)’

clearly he is good enough to get there and win it a ridiculous amount of times … if he’s fit.

he didn’t even try to defend his wimbledon title after the soderling loss, which is pretty good evidence he was in serious physical trouble.

federer got lucky. everybody knows it.


Colin Says:

It’s ironic that the media are accused of stereotyping women by featuring so much coverage of players’ wives and girlfriends, because it’s the women on this board who are stereotyping THEMSELVES, by introducing non-tennis topics!

By the way, I reckon it’s a good thing Nole and Andy Murray (to name two) have beautiful girlfriends, otherwise the rumours would start. Andy’s hitting partner Danny Valverde is very good looking and now we have this “hunk”, whoever he may be.


courbon Says:

@ Colin: A little bit too hash criticizing? Bit of harmless fun and if you have not notice, its all in a piss-taking mood.It may be non-tennis topic but then reading countless fights between Rafa and Fed camp on this blog, is far from real tennis.It’s more like a tennage girls fighting which member of boy bend is prettier.And all this is done by serious,tennis knowlegable people supposedly…


skeezer Says:

“federer got lucky. everybody knows it.”

You don’t win a Slams by getting “Lucky”. Clearly they are the most grueling Tournaments in the Sport of Tennis. You can only play who is in front of you, and don’t get to choose your opponents. He overall had an excellent tournament and deserved to hold his head up high, as well as the trophy.
Sod didn’t look “Lucky to me when he beat Rafa in RG. He was simply hitting flat-out winners left and right and running Rafa all over his “owned” court.
With your version of “Luck” Rafa must have been real Lucky to face someone other the DJoker in the final of this years AO, but he couldn’t capitalize on it when he ran into Stan. He just got outclassed, outhit, and outsmarted to win the title.
Lucky? Pffft.


Brando Says:

@Courbon: don’t sound jealous about the fedal wars. I know you wish you could take part in them had your guy been upto the mark. Lol. Just messing. I agree: Fedal wars are stupid playground stuff. I don’t mind comparison between players or whatever. As long as its done intelligently, based on sound judgement and in good spirit: it can be very enjoyable. But when done in a childish, immature, mud slinging manner: pass on that BS. In this day and age: if your successful and are eminent in your field of competitive sport: you are going to get automatic hate. Period. Sad but true. On a side note: Arsenal just got battered 5-1 by Liverpool. Did not see that one coming at all.


Giles Says:

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/02/great-federer-con/50522/#.UvXiZGtYCK1
Don’t know where else to post this. The article is entitled
“The Great Federer Con”. written by Peter Bodo, skeezer’s favourite writer.


Giles Says:

“Federer got lucky everybody knows it”.
That is common knowledge, can’t argue with it. Fed must have thought all his Christmas’s came at once when Nadal was knocked out.


courbon Says:

@ Brando: You are right there! If Novak had 13+ slams he would be included in those silly wars.At least one advantage I can think of not having that many slams! (-:
Even Novak is used often ( 7:0 from 2011 ) for smearing Nadal’s success and so on…
Off course, GOAT debates, comparing players, injuries…all that can be done( and sometimes is )in decent manner.
Bigger you are as a player-more hate.Nobody ever writes bad stuff about Almagro…
That side note is BIG! I thought Arsenal are doing well…I guess MU are still in the free fall???


Brando Says:

@Courbon: very true: less success, less hate. More success- be prepared to get trashed. Re side note: very big indeed. I’m curious: is Wenger respected in France? Here he’s starting to get laughed upon and turned on by his own fans. ManU are abysmal at the moment. I honestly do not think Moyes is a good manager at all. He’s never won a title in his career: how’s he suddenly going to fill Fergie’s shoes? No chance IMO.


courbon Says:

@ Brando: Wenger is respected in France but not with my father in law-who is ex-Saint-Etienne player and really knows football! He thinks Fergie was amazing manager and loves guys like Scoles, Gigs etc…
French still look upon English football as best in Europe , so mamager of big English club would always get respect.Also Wenger comments a lot on Canal+…I liked Wenger before but he is failing.Slowly over the years…
At least Moyes will f**up MU quickly, so he will get replaced quickly.


Margot Says:

Oh Colin lighten up, you’re always criticising someone for something – grammar/linguistic style etc etc.
And as for women only being the ones off topic. ROFL. And please see the above!


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon i agree its great sometimes just to have a bit of fun,a thread can be nice pleasant chit chat about tennis,then boom out of nowhere you make a comment that gets taken out of context,and you end up opening up a whole can of worms,as i found out on the Rafa worst 90 minutes thread,when all i did was ask a pertinent/objective question,and it rather snowballed from there.


Hippy Chic Says:

Colin agree with Margot its all just harmless fun,but agree Andys hitting partner Danny is good looking too.


Okiegal Says:

@Colin

As Courbon stated, just a little harmless fun. STEREOTYPING THEMSELVES BY INTRODUCING NON-TENNIS TOPICS……are you serious?? I have read comments on TX before that had nothing to do with tennis. The “hunk” in question was on a tennis court standing by the number 2 player in the world. I guess we women folk should excuse ourselves and get to the kitchen and prepare a meal for the men folk. LOL

@Courbon

Thanx for bringing a little lighthearted humor to the thread. I guess it would be a more interesting read if we were badgering each other back and forth like school kids. I am so over the constant banter of my guy is better than your guy. As I’ve said before, there are so many amazing tennis players out there for our enjoyment. I will continue to watch but will give up posting, I don’t want to be guilty of stereotyping women.

Cheerio to everyone and have a great week-end!


courbon Says:

@ Hippy Chic: And now Andy partner is hot??You little horny Chic…


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon lol yeah thats me, well Hippies believe in all that free loving stuff,i sound like a pervert to be honest :))..


Hippy Chic Says:

Rafa is my favorite,but its not like he or any other player have some god given right to winning anything/everything,the reason Roger won the FO was because he was the better player,the reason Rafa lost was because he wasnt good enough,pure and simple.


courbon Says:

@ Hippy Chic: By the way, whats the next tournament that Rafa is playing? ( I know he is not in Dubai )


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon Rio on Feb 17th,all been well.


Susan Says:

Djokovic’s territory would be the Oz Open with 4 titles more than US Open (1 title) and so far Nadal has not beat Djokovic at Oz.


Hippy Chic Says:

Susan true,but i think youve missed the point,as i said to Steve 27 HCs are not Rafas best surface they are Novaks though,and so far Rafa has beaten Novak and Roger on their best surfaces,but the latter so far have not managed to do the same to Rafa,teritory was probably the wrong word though,i shouldve said best surface instead.


Susan Says:

True but hard courts vary. Oz is different from US.


Susan Says:

Roger and Novak did beat Rafa on his best surface more than most players though not at the slam.


courbon Says:

@ Okiegal:Do what I do-don’t give up posting but when it gets too much, just have a break-day,two,week or even month , depending of a mood.It would be shame if you stop posting-we like you ( talking in my and Hippys name)There always some comments from Tennis police, then there is Gramma police, moral police and so on…( even Rafa fans have a Rafa policeman in Giles.God forbide, you write something bad about Rafa..(-:.LaST ONE IS A JOKE!)Have a good weekend!


Hippy Chic Says:

Ok Susan fair enough.


Hippy Chic Says:

Susan the GS is what i meant.


courbon Says:

@ Hippy Chic: I think all BIG 4 are good on any surface ( Andy not great on clay, Novak so-so on grass ) but the reason why others did not won RG is simple-Rafa.He is extremely good on clay so Iitdoes not give a chance to others much…let me quote my countryman Tipsarevic.When he was asked what is the hardest thing in tennis, he replied:
Beating Rafa on clay…


Giles Says:

Courbon. You know me well. :))


Hippy Chic Says:

Okiegal as Courbon says we all like you,and i think we have become good friends,so i would be sad if you stopped posting,i think Colin was only joking anyway,hes actually a very fair and often funny poster,whos always open to having a discusion,maybe just take a break for a while if you need to,sleep on it and you might feel better in the morning,take care anyway whatever you decide to do :))..


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon thanks,i think its about the form of the players on the day,Rafas credentials on clay are off the scale,the thing that has always p*ssed me off,is when people regard it as the inferior surface,to which i think if its so inferior then why does Novak want to win it so badly,why did Roger want to win it so badly,if its so inferior then why do they care so much????


Bad Knee Rules Says:

The Hunk is Novak’s old friend from Monte Carlo who lives in London and often travels with Novak. You saw him numerous times with Novak and in Novak’s box, the difference is hairdo.
British girls don’t have to travel too far to get him … and he is rich.

Something for Nadal’s fans:

http://www.tennisplanet.me/blog/2014/02/why-i-wanted-to-boo-nadal-too-2014-australian-open-final-from-ish-thanks.html


courbon Says:

Hippy Chic: I look this way
Wimbledon: Beatles
Roland Garos: Bob Dylan
US Open: Rolling Stones
Australian Open:James Brown
You may not like Bob Dylan (some people ) but all 4 above gived something to music in a different way…
Giles:Well, its probably 3 years since I read your posts-I get to know you a bit.


skeezer Says:

“That is common knowledge”… And “everyone knows it”. What a bunch of crock! Lol. Who is everyone? Who”s common knowledge?
Vamoshead material that always grasps for the ring they never can get a hold of.

BNR,
Great read, thanks. Everyne knows and its common knowledge.


Bad Knee Rules Says:

skeezer,
Agree.
In case some missed to read the article in its entirety:

http://www.backpagelead.com.au/index.php/tennis/12098-why-i-wanted-to-boo-nadal-too


Okiegal Says:

@Courbon and Chic

I have enjoyed our conversations very much. The reason I posted on TX in the first place is because I have no friends who even like tennis. So, this forum is an outlet for me. Maybe I do need a break…..but I will continue to check in from time yo time. In saying that, I’m sure a lot of non-Rafa fans will be very pleased.

@BKR

I read your link about why the writer wanted to boo NADAL……He should have booed and maybe he would have felt better. I don’t think Rafa would give a big hoot anyway……and Del Po is the pot calling the kettle black. He has been guilty of gamesmanship…..there isn’t a tennis on the planet who isn’t guilty of that at one time or another. He took an 8 min toilet break just the other day.

In the famous one word of Skeezer……PFFT!! Lol


Okiegal Says:

^^^^Should read…..a tennis player on the planet and yo should read to.


metan Says:

Oh boy, Nole has made a preparation. RG is gonna be hot. Courbon must be happy 😄.


courbon Says:

@ metan:He prepares every year but comes short.I don’t care if he wins it or not ( off course would be great to win RG but I start feeling he may never will… ), as long as he wins some Grand Slams this year.(-:


Giles Says:

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/02/great-federer-con/50522/#.UvXiZGtYCK1
Reposting this article in case skeezer & Co. missed it!!
“The Great Federer Con”


Margot Says:

And in further shocking news…Andy is preparing for RG too!


metan Says:

@Margot. D. And Courbon, Nole obstacle is his mind, imo. He didn’t have his focus and determination anymore as 2011.

RG will be a good time and a good place for doing revenge against Stan .

Come on guys Stan is the man to beat.


metan Says:

Giles,
IMO, that is why most people likes Bodo He is fair and square. That’s really good one. Ding ding ding!!!


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon/Metan Rafa is still the man to beat on clay and at the FO,although Novak might bounce back strong,which im sure he will be keen to do now,Rafa also after the dissapointment of the AO,although Stan is the man of the moment,and i dont really know about his CC credentials,it will be interesting to see if he can back this up(thats assuming im allowed to actually say that without it been taken out of context,and not a slant on Stan just asking a pertinent question?(sigh)*ROLLS EYES*),anyway Rafa and Novak are both better on clay than Stan and Andy ,but both are also GS champions that are capable of rattling Rafa and Novak now,it will be exciting to see what happens next and where they all go from here.


Hippy Chic Says:

To think Rafa fans always had a problem that Bodo was a Rafa hater hmm.


Giles Says:

Bodo IS a Rafa hater. This might be the first anti Fed article he has written. Most of his articles are anti Rafa. Can’t stand the man. Steve Tignor is by far the better writer.
I wonder what prompted this article. May e Fed left him out of his Lindor list!! Lol


Giles Says:

Alison. Have you read many Bodo articles? Don’t think you have!!


Hippy Chic Says:

Giles no i havent,some but not all,i just go by what fans say about the guy whether its Rafa or Rogers fans both sets of fans have opinions that vary on the guy,i would be interested to hear what Feds fans think about this article though.


metan Says:

Alison,
Re: Rafa. My only concerned for him just his body. After seeing what happened in AO , I don’t think so it is a good sign, but let’s see when clay season is in. I pray for his good health.

Re : Bodo.
I read his articles sometimes, it means not all and I do have Some of his books. The way enjoy his writing based on tennis perspective not from Rafa glasses. I give you example, if you see Nole and you think about seven loses, you will hate him. But I see him in different way, because of he beat Rafa for seven times, Rafa learned and look at Rafa games. He improves a lot from serve to volley even his netting is better, imo. But well, I can not expect everyone one to see things the way I see it. I knew Some of his writing is biased about. RAFA but Rafa keep making history, I am sure someday Bodo will write good things often about Rafa. Love takes time, no.😄


Skeezer Says:

Obviously, Bodo is NOT a Rafa hater. He is a good tennis writer, covering the game for over 30 years. It does not surpirze me he is critiqing Fed, just shows his unbias. However, its well known Tigger is a Rafa lover, even at times talking to Rafa’s lovesick fans.


Giles Says:

Congratulations to Mardy Fish who became a daddy yesterday. Beckett Gardner Fish.


A Tango Lad Says:

Oh heaven help us. Now a debate on the best tennis writer?

Where will it end.

(For the record, Tignor is the superior writer by a substantial margin.)


courbon Says:

Ernest Hemingway much better writer then both of them…


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon nah have you read E.L.James Fifty Shades Of Grey lol?maybe Mr Jackman or the hunk at the top next to Nole can take me into the red room of pain lol,seriously i cannot really coment much on either writer as i havent read hardly any of their articles,but Skeezer made a fair point in that if hes critisised Rafa in his articles then hes also doing the same here with Roger.


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon nah have you read E.L.James Fifty Shades Of Grey lol?maybe Mr Jackman or the hunk at the top next to Nole can take me into the red room of pain lol,seriously i cannot really coment much on either writer as i havent read hardly any of their articles,but Skeezer made a fair point in that if hes critisised Rafa in his articles then hes also doing the same here with Roger.


Hippy Chic Says:

^Sorry for the double post^.


Bad Knee Rules Says:

The Hunk’s name is Mark Stillitano:

http://www.tennisgrandstand.com/2013/01/25/ana-ivanovic-off-the-market-dating-friend-of-novak-djokovic/

BTW, he is back on the market.


courbon Says:

@ Hippy: Sorry but not read that…Agree with Skeezer, Peter Bodo is quite objective.He is slightly pro Fed so obviously less pro Rafa but as professional journalist, he is quite objective.Same as Tignor, but other way around.


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon as i said not read many of eithers articles TBH,but Bodo is critiquing Roger in that article so you cant really say hes biased,im with A Tango Lad though in that its getting rather silly now when fans start to bicker about whos the best writer,i mean does it really matter.


Giles Says:

^^^ Can’t be more silly than discussing who is the best hunk!!!


kriyuk Says:

“Federer got lucky everybody knows it”.
That is common knowledge, can’t argue with it. Fed must have thought all his Christmas’s came at once when Nadal was knocked out.

Yeah, for Federer win by lucky is not a problem. He still managed to beat everyone, except the energizer bunny to-die-on-court Nadal. Well, not in Federer mind to play such a brutal game and die on court or tear some tendons by playing tennis. In the end he prefer to enjoy tennis, accept loses normally and enjoy his 17 slams record status with his wife and daughter healthy both physique and mind. With that also he doesnt have to fabricate amazing stories of comeback, treatment, whatever. Oh how lucky he is.


kriyuk Says:

For Nadal: if he is 100% he shall win every tournament.
For Fed: if he is not 100%, he still can win most tournament.

Greatness is not about having the most resources you can have to win. Greatness is more about how to maximize the result with everything you have.
Not everyone has a crazy LUCK like Nadal, to have such amazing physique, power, stamina, recovery, robot mentality. In the end you can learn many things from Fed with all the limitation he has.


Michael Says:

Last year, Novak lost by a whisker. He fought valiantly and never I have seen Rafa struggle so much against Roland Garros as he was against him. Novak was dominating many of the long rallies and was hitting winners at will. But the indomitable Rafa stayed on toe to toe. Novak almost came to finish it by leading 4-2 and then that loss of balance at net changed the whole complexion of the match. However, one must give all credit to Rafa for the way he played in the fifth set. He played like one possessed and was not ready to give it to Novak. Finally, his chance came and he grabbed and deservingly won the match. To beat Rafa at Rolland Garros, you need to have an exceptional day. Soderling had that in 2009, but there were doubts about Rafa’s fitness in that match, but still he maintains that record of being the only player to best Rafa at the French. This year, Novak must hope for that breakthrough and believe in himself. All things said and done, he is the only player who is capable of taming Rafa at Rolland Garros.


Margot Says:

Lol courbon, I think BKR is muscling in on your pitch. He’s already given us gals more info about “the Hunk” than you ever did and I wouldn’t be surprised if he personally knows Hugh Jackman.
Gold medallions at dawn?
Lol Giles, are you now known as Colin 2?


Giles Says:

Margot. No dear, still Giles. I was responding to Alison’s comment “it’s getting rather silly now when fans start to bicker about who’s the best writer”.
All this fantasising on a tennis forum …… ??


skeezer Says:

“Can’t be more silly than discussing who is the best hunk!!!”
Truth comes out finally, but expectantly, a hunk lover not a tennis lover! Doh!


Margot Says:

Giles OK love!


Giles Says:

Post 10.58 am. Did you not understand my post? I do know your comprehension levels (or should I say lack of) are low but c’mon!


Hippy Chic Says:

Michasel no Novak was actaually lucky that the match even went to a 5th set at the FO last year,so can we please stop saying that he lost the match by a whisker,the match had no buisness even going to a 5th set,Rafa was even serving for the match in the 4 th set (sigh),Novak just lost at his best GS to Stan,Rafa lost in the final to Stan but at least he was in contention which Novak wasnt,i dont believe Novak is the only player that can beat Rafa at the FO ,nor do i believe hes the only player other than Rafa thats capable of winning the title,as i think Novak also has players that can trouble him too he was lucky against Tsonga,Seppi,lost to Melzer so its not as if hes not had some close shaves,add to that but he doesnt actually hold a GS ATM,forget about 2011 this is 2014 hes also beatable now sorry.


courbon Says:

@ Margot: BKR is the ultimate pimp on tennis-x!My career is finished, even before started….sorry girls, I’ll return your deposits.


Hippy Chic Says:

Giles as margot says ok then.


Giles Says:

Pimps, hunks – I dunno, thought this was a tennis forum last time I checked! Lol


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon disagree you will always be number 1 tennis x pimp dont worry about that he he.


courbon Says:

Vamos, vamos, vamos…I thought this was tennis blog, not a Spanish language blog…(-:


courbon Says:

Hippy: No more talk about hunks, pimps and hot guys! You should be ashamed! All those hormons running wild on this blog, people are getting upset… Now, lets go to tennis talk.Let me see…Ok, I got it.Something fresh and original.
Do you think this is weak or strong era?


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon lol dont forget GOAT talk or H2H right?


courbon Says:

Hippy: A, yeah I forgot about those topic ‘gems’…


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon more..
1)GOAT talk.
2)H2Hs.
3)Weak/strong eras.
4)Rafas knees.
5)Rogers mono.
6)Novaks GF diet.
7)Female players ranked no 1 without a GS.
8)Grunting/screaming.
9)The Isner/Mahut wimbledon match.
10)Doping.
11)Gasquets dodgy kiss.
12)The lack of competition on the WTA tour.


courbon Says:

What was Gasquet’s dodgy kiss?No clue.


Skeezer Says:

@courban
Lol @ 12:47 ;)

@alison
Lol @ 12:56 ;)


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon dont you remember Reechard in a nightclub kissing a girl named Pamela who had snorted cocaine,and he kissed her was tested the next day,and it found he had cocaine in his system,it was the reason for his ban??


Hippy Chic Says:

Giles link is quite interesting i really enjoy the grass court season,its never long enough IMO so this is indeed great news.


Okiegal Says:

@Chic…….you best stay away from the kissing theory, you know what that can lead to……hunks and mono!! LOL Sorry guys, I couldn’t resist, I had to come out of the wood work for a sec.
I agree with you Chic at 12:28. Like we both have stated on previous threads, the net touch will always come into play regarding that final. I accidentally deleted that match, I could just kick myself. I have to be contented with watching USO 2013 over and over and over…….

I’m still ticked off at Colin about TX discussions
We have discussed all sports on here…deer hunting, Fox hunting, basketball, football, soccer, and the biggest sport of all…….GUY AND GAL WATCHING…..now correct me if I’m wrong! TEE HEE!!


Brando Says:

This thread = redrum redrum


Hippy Chic Says:

Maybe we can have a thread about Giles link about the changes to the tennis calendar in 2015,how about it tennis x staff?


the DA Says:

This blog is lagging behind the news. There was an announcement
today about the new stretched grass court season. Noteworthy that Queens and Halle become ATP500 tournaments and Stuttgart becomes a new grass tourny. This is kinda significant for the admirers of a few great grass court players on this site I would’ve thought.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/02/7/ATP-World-Tour-2015-Calendar.aspx


Ben Pronin Says:

That was the first thing I checked on the new calendar. Good to see.

But I thought they were moving Paris? There is a week between Paris and London now, which is good.


Hippy Chic Says:

The DA im a Rafa fan and i know clay is his best part of the season,regardless of that anyway the grass court season is still head and shoulders my favorite part of the tennis calendar,ive always wished there was more of the grass court season.


courbon Says:

So Rafa has clay season, Novak has Asian swing and now Andy can have grass season…fair is fair.
Joking aside, its good to see this changes but I still think there should be one Master 1000 on grass…( probably Hale I guess ).Still, better something then no changes.


courbon Says:

Hippy: A yes, I remember…such a b***t story.In my wild days I had lots of ‘dodgy’ kisses.Honestly, completely innocent! Just a bad girls around me…Still, I like Gasquet and story was quite inventive-you have to give me a due, for great story making.


courbon Says:

@ skeezer:And now Fed can win something also that has 500 points…he,he (-:


Hippy Chic Says:

Courbon lol why does that not surprise me?


Hippy Chic Says:

Im hoping for two things to come true in the grass court season,1stly Andy can retain wimbledon,and Rafa has a better tournament than he did in 2012 and 2013,the least said the better in both of those years.


Brando Says:

@Courbon:

LMFAO:

Your little innocent joke has just reminded me (no offence intended):

Since August 2012 Roger Federer has won ONLY Halle.

A 250 point event.

That’s ONE MERE title in a 18 month stretch- that too a 250 pointer.

I find that to be a insane stat re Fed. It’s hard to predict him in events when such a stat exists since at the end of the day:

He enters events to win them, not end RU, SF or whatever. So you look at the win column and with such a stat it’s obvious that he has not anything of note for a very long time in Tennis terms.

It makes me think: he most surely be nervous when he faces the big boys considering such a stat since winning breeds confidence- the key to success- and having not won anything of note for a long time now:

Exactly how confident must he REALLY be v the big players?

Pre RG Dubai and Estoril Open (if he enters it) seem like his best bet for a win since all other events are Master Series events.

Dubai though also has Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and i’m sure a few other top 10 players: so that’s hardly a gimme to win.

I wonder if Fed can or will pull a Sampras:

Not win anything for 2 years (or of note) and then : BOOM lands a big one and bid adieu to everyone.

Thing is: Pete was 31 when he said goodbye. Fed will be 33 this summer.

It’s ALOT tougher to land titles at 33 than at 31, plus Fed seems to want to play Rio 2016.

It shall be interesting to see what happens to RF from here……..


skeezer Says:

Love the increase in points on the GS, LONG overdue…

#claysucks


Okiegal Says:

Clay is the best sur-frace ever……then grass…the two surfaces that tennis was played on from the get go! Hard courts…….yuck!! Calgon………take them away!!!!!

SKEEZER this one’s for you!! Lol


skeezer Says:

Okiegal,
At least todays surfaces are better than the “old” days of carpet. Yes….carpet. The funniest one was actually artificial turf with Sand thrown on top. Now that was a winner…lol.


Margot Says:

Not sure about clay, when you see the dust blowing all over the players, into their eyes etc., at Monte Carlo eg. It doesn’t seem so user friendly to me.


Hippy Chic Says:

Okiegal glad you had a change of heart and decided to carry on posting,disagree with you slightly though,grass was always my favorite surface,you know who made the transition pretty well won wimbledon on his 3rd attempt and has won the title twice and made 5 finals in all,although with what happened the last two years the least said the better,anyway theres only Roger of the active players that has more wins on grass,Jane put up a reliablity index a while back on grass and he was inside the top 10,not bad for someone who was considered only supposed to be good on clay.


Hippy Chic Says:

Okiegal sorry ive also just seen your post at 3.28am February 10th thanks for the reply and DITTO too.


Hippy Chic Says:

Okiegal when Rafa lost to Soda in 2009 i was gutted,but i gave credit to Soda for outplaying Rafa from start to finish,so when the two met in the final the following year i was delighted,Rafa never forgave Robin for that defeat and the look in his eyes suggested be warned theres no way im going to let you get away what you did to me last year,much like Serena when she lost to Maria at wimbledon in 2004.


Okiegal Says:

@Chic

Yes, we all have our preference on which surface we like. Margot, has a point about dirt in the eyes on a windy day! I love clay, all the sliding that goes on amazes me. TBH, I’m sure I am partial to clay because Rafa is! Oh, to each his own. Our guy has proved to be good on all surfaces.!!! I hope the next tournament is live streamed, because I can’t wait!!

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