thanks for sharing tom. all the big three – rafa, murray, nole – won with their doubles partners today. would’ve been cool to be at that court to see them all in a row playing in a slightly different mode.

August 10th, 2015 at 7:53 pm

Nothing against you Novak personally,but i would also like to see some other players win some titles too,there is such a thing as overkill….

August 11th, 2015 at 4:37 am

why? isnt it allowed to have a personal aversy against Novak?
I personally hate him because he brought Nationalism and race preferences into tennis. A #1 who makes clear he cares only for his own kind is a big let off. Especially since the last 2 #1 set high standards on and off court.

We are being robbed and racist mob is having a blast.

August 11th, 2015 at 6:57 am

As a Novak fan, I would like for him to pace himself and keep his eye on the real prize of this hardcourt swing – the US Open. Just use these tune up tourneys as, well, tune up. Masters titles are great, but he already has a lot of those in his case. Points are also great, but he also a bunch of those already.

If he wins, great! If he doesn’t, on to Cincy.

August 11th, 2015 at 7:25 am

Karlovic vs Raonic today!
That should be a display of subtle stroke play and delicate volleying. Do the line judges get danger money? Will the balls get changed more frequently than usual?

August 11th, 2015 at 8:43 am

Sidney – The other stuff is importamt as well, IMO. Slams, yeah, but Djokovic is looking to surpass Lendl&Rafa with the most Masters won. He is chasing Federer for a distant chance to have more points in a year record.
Right now, Nole owns titles to 2 Slams, 5 Masters, and the Year End Championship. Pretty awesome, and he can only add more titles because he doesn’t defend anything until Paris. If he won all 4 coming up next, as unlikely as it would be – it would mean only 2 major titles out of 14 escaped him in a 365 day time period.

August 11th, 2015 at 9:29 am

It might be entertaining for Djok fans to see him win everything but tennis would be boring. It is rivalry and the excitement of a duel between equals which draws fans. Who would pay millions to see an elephant crushing an ant? So in their own interest as well as that of Djok, Djok fans should pray for a rival for Djok. Maybe rise of Nadal (phoenix-like) or resurgence of Murray or arrival of an entirely new REAL DEAL?

August 11th, 2015 at 9:46 am

Kick the tall boys OUT!! Anyone over 6’2″ should find something else to do……just kidding. I just get amused how some have a dislike for the ace masters of the game. I like it when two face off against each to see who can stay mentally strong. Yes, I watched Isner and Mahut for three days and loved every minute of it…..waiting to see who would break who first. I guess it’s not the best brand of tennis for most everyone, but it was a suspenseful match!! I watched history in the making that day. I doubt that scenario will ever happen
again!

August 11th, 2015 at 11:20 am

The only thing that can stop Djoko is fatigue. He is well rested now and should be in top form comes the US Open. A scary thought indeed!

August 11th, 2015 at 11:35 am

“It is rivalry and the excitement of a duel between equals which draws fans. Who would pay millions to see an elephant crushing an ant? ”

Arguably untrue.

People love winners. That’s why people like Fed (who crushed players like ants for years 05-06 anyone?) and Tiger Woods (pre scandal) have millions of fans the world over. Many people love that kind of dominance – perhaps not more committed fans of a particular sport but more general fans love it.

August 11th, 2015 at 1:29 pm

They do love winners true,but do they love the exact same people winning absolutely everything all the time?,i know in our English Premier League id grown tired of Manchester United winning the title,the FA cup,the League cup,the Champions League every season,Jaleps a Fed fan,and a Novak fan,but shes said she does enjoy competition in tennis,and that outright domination gets waring after a while….

August 11th, 2015 at 1:51 pm

case in point: a few years ago certain family members of mine who do not follow tennis suddenly started mentioning this “djokovic” fella because of his streak and dominance in 2011. of course this was amusing and ironic to me, since I’d been happily following him and cheering him on for 4 years, through all the tough times, but his success had suddenly tuned in the attentions of some of my family members, who were now watching the sport to see how much he’d win that year.

it’s interesting, too, that some of the gals and people here who say this about novak don’t say anything about serena, who is much more “dominant” on the court and who is practically a shoe-in for the calendar slam. again, this is drawing non-tennis fans to the sport, since it is a feat so rarely achieved.

i found fed’s dominance from 2004-2007 frustrating because other than rafa at the french, or on clay, federer was winning almost everything. but a lot of people began watching tennis because of it. a lot of them have openly said they’ll stop watching when he retires too, so it’s a kind of mixed blessing.

novak’s dominance has never been as sustained as fed’s or even rafa’s. he’s won 1 slam a year for a few years. this year is only the second time in 5 years he’s won more than one slam.

rafa did it in 2008, 10, 13. fed did it even more years, winning 3 of the 4 slams for i think (?) 4 years in a row with rafa taking the other one and winning everything in sight on clay for so long that he earned the well deserved and long standing moniker “king of clay.”

we just happen to be witnessing these very adept champs over the past decade, so they tend to be the ones taking the spoils.

August 11th, 2015 at 2:00 pm

Case in point Rafas only ever really dominated on clay,hes had multiple slam winning years 3 times,but hasnt actually dominated away from the slams the way Novak has or Roger,and as many people like to mention hasnt dominated the number 1 ranking,or won the WTF,and the also mention ad nauseum how 1 dimensional he is as 9 of his 14 GS are on clay,i guess clay isnt a surface,and i guess 5 GS are not good enough either?….

August 11th, 2015 at 2:15 pm

“hasnt actually dominated away from the slams ”

he has more masters than anyone else.

August 11th, 2015 at 2:17 pm

gypsy you bring that up a lot but i don’t see anyone mentioning that about rafa half as much as you imply. it seems to surface in the goat debates, but mostly people recognize rafa’s dominance in the sport as a whole. look at 2013, he won tons on hard courts didnt he?

August 11th, 2015 at 2:19 pm

I will have to admit, I had stopped watching when Fed was winning everything. Channel surfing one day and saw Rafa win the FO for the first time…..I was hooked! When he retires I will still watch but probably won’t get up at 3:00 am and tune in to the Aussie Open. I do have my priorities straight atm, if Rafa is playing, I break all rules!! Lol
We like who we like, simple as that! TBH I’m not sure I’ll ever enjoy watching anyone else play like I have Rafa. I’m sure all fan bases feel the same about their favorites too.

August 11th, 2015 at 2:22 pm

Gypsy (thanks for approval to cally you Gypsy for short) I am not a fan of Federer winning any more of anything. He doesn’t need it. Will always love his style of play but was perfectly content after he won FO 2009. Just to be clear :). Federer himself would give me 100% permission to cheer for his worthy opponents – quite sure of it ;) So I do.

Nole needs a FO. Love his tennis and personality – always have; even when he began clocking Federer regularly.

jane’s point rings true. If I run across anyone apart from on tennis interweb blogs and attempt to hold a tennis conversation with them, they go comatose. There’s a chance of them reviving if I mention Rafa, Federer, Maria Sharapova, or Serena/Venus. Then it is likely that bringing up ATP or WTA, anything other than Wimbledon or US open, will draw a blank stare and they walk away.

People posting on here regularly are a minority and Nutz :D It’s a dysfunctional tennis blog *chuckles*

And right now i’m excited because Goffin is beating Johnson, not happy because Dimitrov is beating Dolgo, and not happy that Karolina Pliskova lost to Lucic-Baroni – can you imagine me going to lunch and discussing this with a friend in real life? hahahaha certified Nutz!

August 11th, 2015 at 2:39 pm

Jane but they do thats the thing,hes never been regarded as a great tennis player for his achievements in his own right,hes always been compared to the other two and belittled,they even rub our noses in it that he wont be playing when hes 33/34 like Roger is….

August 11th, 2015 at 2:41 pm

“hes never been regarded as a great tennis player for his achievements in his own right”

totally untrue gypsy. i think you’re finding the holes and missing the cheese. ;-)

August 11th, 2015 at 2:46 pm

@jalep
I sit next to people at tournaments where they’ve paid a shed load of money for their tickets and they don’t seem to know their arse from their elbow.
eg Queens this year, in come Dimi and Querry, after they’ve been introduced to the crowd, woman next to me says, “which one’s Querry?”

August 11th, 2015 at 2:48 pm

“We like who we like, simple as that!”

i think there’s something to this okie. we’re naturally drawn to personalities, styles of play etc.

but it’s interesting how this can change too. i don’t feel “locked in” to liking who i like. sometimes i begin liking a player more for something little or for that matter liking a player less.

jalep, great post. and totally agree with you re: “most” sports fans and how they respond to tennis, i.e., who and what they know. it comes down to media hype in part but also success!

August 11th, 2015 at 2:51 pm

Jane it certainly is from some quarters,anyway not here to pick a fight,back to tennis….

August 11th, 2015 at 2:53 pm

Sweet Jeezus, Kyrgios’ hair matches his outfit!

August 11th, 2015 at 2:55 pm

ha ha ha, i know margot.

August 11th, 2015 at 2:59 pm

Oh Margot, really true.

Same thing happened to me at Indian Wells – court-side seats for Nole v Gulbis. Happy to helpful, though…

August 11th, 2015 at 3:03 pm

@Jalep……all of my friends think I’m NUTZ! I bought me a Pandora bracelet with money I got for my birthday. I was picking out charms for it and she asked if I had a hobby and I said watching Rafa Nadal play tennis and she said Well, we have a tennis charm. I was so happy. It is a dangle one, two tennis racquets with a ball on one of them. Yeah, she looked at me like I was NUTZ, but was quiet about it coz she wanted to make a sale!! Lol She made a heck of a sale, I bought 7 charms. Love my new charm bracelet. My niece said OMG tennis racquets….then she said “You so crezzzy”….I cannot deny!!! :)

August 11th, 2015 at 3:08 pm

Okie they are all the rage here too in GB,all the girls have them old or young,hubby said they are a big rip off,and much too expensive for what they are,especially for 1 charm,Chamilia are nice too,and a nice keep sake,i dont have the racket and ball charm yet though,but i will get it,money well spent IMO LOL….

August 11th, 2015 at 3:14 pm

GG…Mine is looking very pretty, I like the pave one’s that sparkle in the sun! It’s gonna be gorgeous when it’s done. The charm I’m saving for is a solid hold one with the pave stone setting. 400 bucks!! My hubby will kill me…..it’s mine and your little secret!! I’ve got a bunch a money in it already!’ I will pass it on to my daughter in law, but she hates tennis!!!

August 11th, 2015 at 3:25 pm

Okie eek you are crazy,they are pretty but thats alot of money,the most i spent was 30 whole English pounds,i will pass it onto a niece or a god daughter one day….

August 11th, 2015 at 3:32 pm