Andy Murray Withdraws From The US Open With Sore Hip, Could Miss Rest Of 2017

A shame really for Murray, and for the tournament with so many top 10 players missing.

This will surely represent a chance for someone from the bottom part of the draw now. Cilic and Zverev should be the favorites, but we may very well see some more surprises.

August 26th, 2017 at 5:36 pm

Gutted for Andy. He was clearly trying to get fit in time but it didn’t quite work-out, in spite of his best efforts.
The most important thing is for him to get fit again, so good luck with that and I hope he’s back on the court when he’s fully recovered. He had a decent draw too and this must hurt.
That leaves some opportunities for others however and I hope it’s a good tournament…

August 26th, 2017 at 5:43 pm

Cilic is the sole Slam winner in bottom half (2 finals), Tsonga has 1 final and Ferrer has 1 final. Other than that nobody has a Slam final debut.

Tsonga seems on a down path and Ferrer had a mini resurgence, but can be beta at any time. Cilic still with so question marks on his injury, but seems the favorite now. If these 3 loses before QF, it will be a huge opportunity for somebody else. Zverev can finally breakthrough in a Slam and go QF or beyond.

Top half is more solid. One of Fed / Nadal / Kyrgios / Thiem / Dimitrov will be in finals for sure.

August 26th, 2017 at 5:55 pm

Damn!
The tournament organisers must be using stronger expletives. This is the down side of the increased longevity of singles players. Late withdrawals have become a plague. Andy must be wishing right now that he could enjoy strong drink.

August 26th, 2017 at 6:21 pm

i know murray didn’t really know if he’d be a go or not, but he really screwed over fed by not ceding the #2 seed to him before the draw occurred.

August 26th, 2017 at 6:27 pm

What a jackass, ‘messed up the draw when it was clear at Wimbledon itself that his year was done. Would have been awesome to see a nasal Federer final, now that’s impossible.

August 26th, 2017 at 6:39 pm

Nadal, not nasal!!

August 26th, 2017 at 6:40 pm

No James : As you said first – Nasal suits better for you.

August 26th, 2017 at 6:54 pm

Milos Raonic was considerate and showed class when he withdrew on Wednesday night — two days BEFORE the draw. Raonic Instagrammed: “I have too much respect for the US Open and my fellow competitors to take a spot in the draw when I know I cannot give full effort due to this injury.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYKNQl9Hnh1/?taken-by=mraonic

A top pro player and his team of specialists and professionals around him should have a good understanding of the status of the player’s injury and his level of play. Almost certainly they would have known two days ago whether or not Murray was fit enough to win the championship, which was his stated reason and goal for coming to New York.

Murray joins Nadal as the only members of the Big Four who have withdrawn from a Grand Slam championships shortly after the draw came out — Nadal did it within hours of the 2009 Wimbledon draw and Murray did it one day after this US Open draw. Shameful.

Also shameful are the daft tennis journalists who failed to ask Murray an obvious question: why did you not withdraw one hour before the draw yesterday? [Journalists asked the following questions and even tried to put an answer into his mouth: Q.”Can you tell us about the medical advice you sought? Was it that you didn’t need an operation and that you wouldn’t be hurting yourself by continuing to try and play?” Q.”(Question about prognosis and hope to play again this season.)”. Q.”Having seen how Roger has come back after a long break and seeing some of your contemporaries also make a decision in their long-term interests, does that give you hope you similarly can come back and be as good as you were before?”]

August 26th, 2017 at 7:47 pm

What a joke of a draw. One half has the top two players in the race to London with 34 slams between them.
The other two has only 1 slam winner.

Murray should have really taken this decision a day earlier.
We’ll . It’s good in a way that the younger guns get a chance to get to the finals against Fed.

August 26th, 2017 at 10:14 pm

Wish Andy all the best!…Do whatever u have to do to heal..and come back stronger next year k?…C’Mon Andy!…Be strong!…Still believe in u!!

August 26th, 2017 at 11:42 pm

Murray needs some serious Fines for ruining the tournament.

August 26th, 2017 at 11:55 pm

It’s a shame they can’t do a redo on the draw. Thank you very much Mr. Andy Murray!! Ugh.

August 27th, 2017 at 12:43 am

The-mind-reels was spot on. Bummer :(

August 27th, 2017 at 1:16 am

Murray deserves karma for this poor form. Should’ve figured this out yesterday.

August 27th, 2017 at 1:59 am

Skeezer: Expected better from you.

August 27th, 2017 at 4:36 am

The following copied from TENNIS TOURNAMENT RULES:

“Draws once made should not be altered, except to substitute players who have withdrawn. In such cases, the substitute player should be selected from losers in qualifying tournaments, in preference to new entrants, and should be no better than the player he/she is replacing in the original draw. It is not permissible to make changes to a tournament draw once the first ball of the tournament has been struck. However, matches may be rescheduled at the discretion of the Tournament Committee.”

August 27th, 2017 at 5:41 am

So many withdrawals, now Murray wont play, im gutted, a real blow for this tournament, possibly a real opening for someone new, however seriously doubt it, my interest has waned now, glad im going away next weekend TBH ….

August 27th, 2017 at 6:44 am

I am going Saturday, day and night session. Never been to the event so interested to see but agree with Willow, hard to get excited over the field.

August 27th, 2017 at 8:39 am

I never want to say anything negative against Murray but that move is unequivocably bad. He took a step down in my respectavility ladder.

August 27th, 2017 at 8:58 am

“respectability”

August 27th, 2017 at 8:59 am

@Margot: always hard to know exactly what’s going on with these guys, but I really didn’t see on Wednesday how Murray was going to compete given how he was hobbling around the practice court. And that was 2 days prior to the draw! I’m not medical expert, but it would seem like a big ask that one’s hip would go from that to healthy enough to compete for 2 weeks in a matter of days.

August 27th, 2017 at 9:44 am

Damn! Downright ‘douchebagery’ from Murray. I thought he was above that. As someone mentioned earlier, Murray officially ruined this years USOPEN.

August 27th, 2017 at 10:26 am

Murray wouldn’t have entered the draw unless he thought there was a good chance he could compete. Obviously he gave himself time to decide and he has every right to that time. Some of the fans here think the players are their performing monkeys and have no right to their own priorities.

August 27th, 2017 at 10:44 am

Hi the_mind_reels! I totally respected your opinion as an interested and objective bystander, but I really hoped you were wrong. Que sera.
OMG so many people on the moral high ground, looks really crowded up there, careful you don’t fall off it’s a long way down…………

August 27th, 2017 at 11:10 am

Margot and J-Kath, only just heard this news and it’s horrible for you both as Andy’s greatest fans. Have to look forward to a better, stronger, injury free Andy. You just have to and you will.

Good luck!

August 27th, 2017 at 11:34 am

Thank you madmax. Fingers crossed.

August 27th, 2017 at 11:38 am

For fans who are gutted from the withdrawal of Mr. Lady Forehand, ask yourself this? Did you have realistic expectations? Some players are fit (like me). Fitness does not happen by accident, it is through hard work.

August 27th, 2017 at 12:10 pm

Kind of you Madmax. Will Andy be back? – maybe – although heard/read somewhere that his problem is arthritis ….not that arthritis is uncommon in young people (under and over 30) – but for a tennis player – ah well best not to think about it.

August 27th, 2017 at 12:40 pm

Skeezer, I expected better from you… than to allow yourself to be duped by J-Kath quoting Rule D5 of The Tennis & Rackets Association Tennis Tournament Rules and Procedures (“which are intended to be a reference document for those running, or competing in, REAL TENNIS tournaments in the UK”).

However, this US Open is not a ‘Real Tennis’ tournament. The antique sport of Real Tennis is the predecessor of the modern tennis (fka ‘lawn tennis’) that’s played at the US Open. For example, here’s Federer playing ‘real tennis’ a few days before 2005 Wimbledon.
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/federer-playing-real-tennis-in-2005.454363/

The only rules that matter in this year’s US Open and other ITF Grand Slam tournaments are those rules in the ITF 2017 Grand Slam Rule Book and the ITF 2017 Rules of Tennis (you can download both from the Internet), such as below:

ARTICLE I Y 2 f iii “If two or more of the top eight seeds withdraw more than forty-eight (48) hours before the start of the tournament, the tournament may choose either to remake the draw or let the draw stand… Any vacancy created by the withdrawal of a seed prior to the release of the Order of Play for the first day of Main Draw shall be filled as follows: If the withdrawal is among seeds 1 to 4, the 5th seed is moved into then open position, the 5th position shall be filled by the 17th seed, and the 17th position shall be filled by the next highest ranked player eligible to be seeded…”

ARTICLE I Z 1 e. “Late Withdrawal: Any player who withdraws after the deadline for withdrawal shall be subject to the sanctions provided in the Grand Slam Code of Conduct.”

ARTICLE II A 1 “Late Withdrawal Non-Appearance. No player may withdraw his entry from the Main Draw of a Grand Slam Tournament for any reason after the withdrawal deadline… A player who has entered the Main Draw or Qualifying and been accepted, and not timely withdrawn, shall appear for play. Violation of this Section shall be penalised as follows: Ranking (Entry List) 1-10 Fine Amount $20,000’ “

August 27th, 2017 at 12:40 pm

Margot: “Those on the high ground” are very selective – I seem to remember someone pulling out of a final at O2 late enuf to prevent one of the “substitutes” from taking his place. A sore back was the problem (I think) – which miraculously improved 48 hours later. The 3M-guy – (Much Maligned Murray) rose to the rescue and played for free.

A it’s Sunday – I’m off now to see if I can find my Christian self.

August 27th, 2017 at 12:58 pm

Hmmm. It’s interesting when people who climb on the moral high ground in support of their worldview will also look down on the crowded moral high ground when it’s inconsistent with their worldview. Regardless, it’s not moral ‘high ground’ when there are norms, practices and rules governing such issues.

August 27th, 2017 at 1:00 pm

Tony N: Exactly the same as I posted. Well done You.

August 27th, 2017 at 1:00 pm

Exactly, it’s ‘common ground’ in such situations, not ‘high ground’.

Anyway, here’s something in support of Andy Murray: does he not have an excellent ‘retirement’ record… in other words, he rarely retires from a match once it’s started, even when he’s injured or playing poorly? How many times has he retired from a match in his career?

August 27th, 2017 at 1:20 pm

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/andy-murrays-hip-problem-us-open-world-ranking-a7915651.html
Before springing to any moral judgement, people might try reading this.

August 27th, 2017 at 1:32 pm

Fed and 02;
He entered and made it to the finals. He tweaked his back whilst playing in the tournament. He did not start with a back problem. Murray had a hip problem back at FO, which got worse over time. IMO he had ample time to decide before the draw was made.

I would be upset if any of the other top 3 did this so it is not a personal knock on Murray. The draw is a disaster thatcould have been reasonably avoided

August 27th, 2017 at 1:36 pm

I don’t mind taking the “moral high ground” on this. Murray has been complaining of injuries since the beginning of the year and his results support this. What makes him think he can miraculously heal for the US Open when he has not played since Wimbledon due to his hip problem that made him hobble “like a 70-year old as the_mind_reels has observed? Suddenly he thinks he will heal and can compete in 5-set matches on a hard court? He is either deluded or just plain selfish to not take into consideration the effect of his action to the tournament. Maybe, both. That’s my moral high ground which I will apply to any player who does the same.

August 27th, 2017 at 1:49 pm

Kimberly lovely to see you here :-)

August 27th, 2017 at 2:20 pm

J-Kath,

I hear you. I hear your concerns, but you mustn’t think like that. You would read more about his health issues than me, and take whatever is reported with a pinch of salt. Has Andy ever alluded to this? Surely, like Rafa, if this were the case, he would have mentioned something in a press report? He seems a pretty honest guy, but who knows? All players play with some kind of injury and when you think of the amount of stress an athlete puts themselves through on a daily basis, it is a wonder they can play as well as they do. But they do.

Onwards and upwards, after a period of recuperation. Rafa did it. So did Roger. Now it is Andy’s, Novak’s and Stan’s turn.

August 27th, 2017 at 2:37 pm

It must be nice to have all of Scotland, England, Wales and other countries who have yet to Brexit to support the only tennis talent they have. They know they may not have another one in their lifetime.

August 27th, 2017 at 3:42 pm

Kimberly, I’ve been to USO in 2009, awesome venue and atmosphere all around. Huge enteraintment everywhere, and a lot of courts. For you with kids is the best Slam.

If going to Main Court, try to get below the nose bleed section. One day I was there and you hardly could see, following by big screen. Next other days I was lower and was awesome. Also as the matches go late, some people leave so me and my friends keep coming down, eventually we were pretty close to Serena.

August 27th, 2017 at 3:44 pm

“For you with kids is the best Slam.”

How one can make such claim with such certainty about USO without visiting AO also known as a “Happy Slam”, slam particularly designed as family event?

August 27th, 2017 at 4:07 pm

I feel for Andy fans, they were duped in buying double decker bus last year because of those band wagoners who are now rubbishing Andy, same band wagoners that Nole fans rejected as not reliable and not trustworthy.

Now you are back to original size of the vehicle, Toyota Tarago…very comfortable for remaining Andy fans on TX.

August 27th, 2017 at 4:12 pm

I’m gonna give Andy the benefit of the doubt on this. Maybe he was better and thought he would be able to compete and tweaked something practicing….it doesn’t take much. I don’t think there is any need for trashing the guy. I mean tennis is his livelihood and I am sure he wanted desperately to play in the USO. Don’t kick a guy when he’s down…..especially when there is not one person on this forum that’s ever walked in the shoes of a professional tennis player!

@JK
@Margot……Sorry you two…..this is a real bummer!

PS…..I seriously doubt that he has singlehandedly ruined the 2017 USO! Good grief……..eyes rolling…….

August 27th, 2017 at 4:20 pm

Exactly Okie, i very much doubt Andy wouldve taken this decision lightly, hes hardly missed a GS in his whole career ….

August 27th, 2017 at 4:25 pm

Hey all, there’s about 18 hours left to join the Racket Bracket.
J.S., Squirrel, Jalep – are you here? We don’t want you to miss out!
Here’s the link: http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketUsOpenATP/TennisXersUSOpen2017/default.aspx

FYI, I probably won’t be on this site much the next week. Apparently no one told Andy I would be traveling. He wasn’t going to win the tournament but my absence would have assured a trip to the middle weekend.

August 27th, 2017 at 4:35 pm

My Bad WB, AO is still missing, intend to go before 2020, hope so!

I’ve been to USO, Wimbledon and RG (twice) and by far USO is the best for Kids. Kimberly is American and with young kids, pretty sure they will prefer USO as well, There is a lot of outside things for kids, even I wanted to play in one of those. A lot going on there!

August 27th, 2017 at 5:13 pm

@RZ — thanks for the reminder! Going to join now.

@Wog Boy: I’m pretty sure that many people in the US would much rather take their kids to the US Open purely based on it being far more accessible than Australia, both on cost and travel time…to take nothing away from the Aus Open, which does look like boatloads of fun.

August 27th, 2017 at 5:16 pm

TMR,
You missed the point, nobody is talking about where Amerikans would prefer to go, that’s so obvious.

This is what was said that prompt my comment;

“For you with kids is the best Slam.”

Nothing to do which slam Americans prefer, that’s not rocket science.

The only way for AO to survive is to make it as family friendly as possible, Australia has only 25 million residents, no common boundary with any other country not so many tourists (to expensive, so to bring almost 800.000 people through the gates every year is astonishing success, they are mostly family’s with kids who are planning and saving money for that event, the vast majority are just working class people who are flying from all corners of this big country and memories stays for a life.

August 27th, 2017 at 5:36 pm

Humble Rafa:

If only it were true. Andy made a joke to Tim Henman several years ago that many English folk chose to take umbrage at and many still do. They only like Andy at the Olympics.

Wogboy: Yep the Double Decker bus….good memory! Good chuckle!

Thanks Willow and Madmax.

And to Okiegal: With the 5-star comment: “PS…..I seriously doubt that he has singlehandedly ruined the 2017 USO! Good grief……..eyes rolling…….”

Yes, Okie – I haven’t understood accusations along these lines – Federer and Rafa can still meet – could be a better match in the semis than in the final (which often does not live up to the hoped for competitiveness).

August 27th, 2017 at 6:17 pm

@JK……Thanks for the nice compliment regarding my comment…….WOWZER 5 Star status!! I don’t get those often!! Lol. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

August 27th, 2017 at 7:46 pm

allright guys, my 12 year old son and I are both in the bracket challenge. Hope its a great contest. thanks RZ for setting up. we are in as Kimberly o and colin o

August 27th, 2017 at 8:20 pm

Daniel, we just returned from two weeks abroad with the kids, Greece and Croatia. We actually played tennis on red clay in the tenis klub where ivo karlovic and goran Ivanisevic came from and the courts were terrible! and that red clay, give me a good old amercian hard court!!!!!!

August 27th, 2017 at 8:23 pm

I prefer HC as well Kimberly, but grew up playing on clay (latin america). Stopped using white socks and shifted to black ones;-)

August 27th, 2017 at 8:50 pm

Doubles great Todd Woodbridge tweeted that Andy Murray has “ruined” the U.S. Open draw. Woodbridge said Federer and Nadal rate the highest in terms of TV viewership (and I might add, ticket sales and other revenue). However they both would play on the same day since they are in the same half of the draw.

Todd Woodbridge tweet: “Feel sorry for #AndyMurray but he just ruined the US open draw. Would have been better for #Fed #Rafa to be in opposite halves.”
https://twitter.com/toddwoodbridge/status/901563374810439680

August 27th, 2017 at 10:51 pm

Todd Woodbridge tweet: “Fact. From broadcaster point of view Fed & Rafa rate highest. Being in same 1/2 draw means they play same day. Leaves a lag day viewers.”
https://twitter.com/toddwoodbridge/status/901591285030457344

August 27th, 2017 at 10:51 pm

The USOpen, seems a grand slam which is more accessible to children if you analyse the others and their non-accessibility. The USO seems fun, fun, fun, pizza, ice cream, music, ‘hold on to ya hats’, this is more exciting than a roller coaster, Wimbledon for kids? : too staid, too polite, French Open? Nah, too nouveau riche on the one hand and too raucous a crowd in Paris, on the other. Australia? Probably the one slam which is more on a par for lots of reasons, one of them being, sunshine (who doesn’t love the sunshine?), the friendliness of the Australian people, (well, some), but probably the one thing that goes against the AO is that it is ‘too far away’, in terms of perhap, getting the money together to go.

Either way, I can see the USO being more accessible to all, but like Ben and Jerry’s, for kids, too much of a good thing, can make you sick. The USO seems to be too over the top and verging on an entertainment show, and kids lOVE entertainment.

August 27th, 2017 at 11:40 pm

Do not understand, why so many are so angry with Andy.
Fed and Rafa never played at the US Open and there are higher chances for both, that they would reach semifinals then finals.
Fedal fans should thank Andy for this opportunity :)

August 28th, 2017 at 1:37 am

Wog Boy @ 4.12 LOL I’ve parked the double decker in the garage, you just never know….
OKiegal @ 4.20 Great post.
Kimberly : Have a good time.
I agree Andy, for whatever good reason and I’m assuming he hoped to be playing right up to the 11th hour, left the decision rather late, but as for “ruining the US Open!” ………Well I’m issuing a language warning – there’s a dangerous hyperbole overhead, which is causing major disruption to logical thinking.

August 28th, 2017 at 1:38 am

@Margot……Thanks…..my comment was heartfelt. Feeling sad for Andy atm. I’m sure it’s very disheartening for him to read all the negative comments about him ruining the USO….give me a break!!

August 28th, 2017 at 3:34 am

Well I’m also issuing a rationality warning: there’s dangerous hyperbole just above, which is subverting logical thinking. Todd Woodbridge has walked in the sh, courtesyoes of a great tennis player and so he knows much more about Grand Slam tennis than virtually everyone defending Andy Murray (certainly everyone here) — since Woodbridge (a) is one of the greatest doubles players of all time and (b) has been a broadcast commentator at the Grand Slams for many years.
http://tinyurl.com/yaypxmz3

As I noted before, Milos Raonic with a smaller team had the professional respect and unselfishness to withdraw two days BEFORE the draw and explain: “I have too much respect for the US Open and my fellow competitors to take a spot in the draw when I know I cannot give full effort due to this injury.” The top players all understand this.

Andy Murray was being selfish. It’s irrational for the big-time professional Murray (with a larger team of medical experts and advisors around him) to be hoping — right up to the 11th hour — to be able to play. Murray’s hip has been injured since his match against Stan Wawrinka on June 9 at the French Open – so his hip injury has lingered for almost 12 weeks and he has played grass court tournaments with it. Given that Andy Murray showed signs of injury while he was practicing in the days BEFORE the draw (according to several expert and casual observers who had watched his practice sessions), it was unlikely he would miraculously become fit enough to play seven best-of-five set matches starting three days later. In other words, no good reason to hope for a miracle. In other words, Murray acted selfishly.

There is no rational reason that “Fedal fans should thank Andy for this opportunity :)” (for Federer and Nadal to get to play each other at the US Open in the semifinals). As Nadal said recently: “Is true that we (Federer and Nadal) played in all the other Grand Slam finals. We never played here (at US Open) and for sure this year we are not going to play in finals. Finals are more special than semifinals, in that case.”

Pro tennis has made Murray a very rich man with public relations staff and professional advisors. He’s also a big boy. It’s unlikely he would be disheartened from reading great tennis players call him out for ruining the USO — given that he knows and considered what he did.

August 28th, 2017 at 10:58 am

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/tennis/australian-open-2011-kim-clijsters-771152

Oh THAT Todd Woodbridge.

August 28th, 2017 at 11:46 am

I don’t think anyone should thank anyone for being injured. It’s a cruel sport and everyone will be in with a chance whoever is off injured. It’s an ‘open’ Open – that is for sure.

August 28th, 2017 at 11:47 am

@Wog Boy: thanks for the lecture. You seem to have missed the point of my post, which was based on an assumption — that Daniel and Kimberley are two posters here who are familiar with each other and that Daniel’s suggestion was made because Kimberley lives in the US. I’m happy to be corrected on either of those assumptions…by one of them.

For what it’s worth, your comments about the population of Australia, the attendance of the Australian Open, and the kinds of people who attend it seem to miss the point of the discussion. If you want to talk about what’s obvious, I suspect it is obvious to everyone that it’s great that the Australian Open is such a success every year (!). Moving right along…

August 28th, 2017 at 3:12 pm

Was almost picking Ferrer to go really far, but went back and had him losing R3 I think. Now he lost R1, which indicates he can be consistant anymore at his age, even with his mini ressurgance of late.

Tosnga winning but lost a set, Isner also lost a set. Curious to see Shapovalov match which will start soon.

Cilic also lost a set, so everybody in these bottom half is not on top form. Let´s wait for Zverev jr to make a statement

August 28th, 2017 at 3:24 pm

TMR, I think he was bothered because I stated that USO is the best for kids, when AO is knwo to be a family Slam.
I haven’t been to AO to assess and know for sure, but the other 3 I went and you are right, I posted directly to Kimberly as she lives in Miami, is a regular tennis player and for her, USO will be the best with her kid, specially as a first time, they would love it. There is tons of outside entertainment tennis related, games, interactive, a lot of diverse food options. It’s just great. The days and night sessiosn as well are fun and diverse (during day is hot summer feel, but night gets colder).

I love all of them, Wimbledon gave me goosepumps as was my first; RG has all that mise en scene feel and the most beautiful people per square inch + Paris and USO is American entertainment as its best, the biggest venue of our sport + NYC.

August 28th, 2017 at 3:32 pm

Margot – I am “innocently” more of a put-down than you – I had no idea who Todd Woodbridge was – is he an American – is he a tennis player?

August 28th, 2017 at 3:52 pm

Everyone knows Woodridge and Woodforde were 2 famous wood cutters of their generation.

August 28th, 2017 at 5:30 pm

Of course – taa HR – remember now.

August 28th, 2017 at 5:36 pm

TMR,

You are welcome, it is always pleasure to educate someone and widen his horizon, knowledge is power.
I’ll be here always for you.

August 28th, 2017 at 6:21 pm

JK,

Todd Woodbridge is the worst possible commentator with his squeaky voice, biased comments and talks on top of other two commentators, likes of John Newcombe and Jim Courier,the moment Channel 7 decided to put him as commentator I switched to FoxSport. When Federer is losing he is almost crying, that tells you all.

August 28th, 2017 at 6:30 pm

Wogboy:

Re. Todd Woodbridge INDEEDIE. Certainly as a Commentator he demonstrates a great deal of ignorance – surely he could have properly informed himself (gone thru the motions of debate) before jumping in with a two big feet and a bigger mouth….and leading innocent Tennis-X and other by-standers astray.

August 28th, 2017 at 7:00 pm

I see there are plenty here who have more tennis acumen than a former
Touring Pro.

August 28th, 2017 at 9:39 pm

With half the best players in the game out from injury, or you might say 60%-70%, the younger players with a shot have the opportunity they need. Cilic capitalized before, and more top players are out this year than when Marin won. Those Nishikoris and below can shrug at not getting closer in Paris and London, because Nadal is supreme on clay, and Fed’s maybe one of the best 5 ever on grass.
But this is hardcourt. And Zeverev and Kyrgios have a moment in time when a Slam is there if Fed and Rafa are removed. And both are less likely to do well on hardcourt as their “special” surfaces. Querrey may have a shot. Sadly injured yet again Raonic doesn’t. Thiem does. Karen does. Delpo playing? He might have a chance..what a career bookend that would be…

August 28th, 2017 at 9:42 pm

“and Fed’s maybe one of the best 5 ever on grass.”

Have to laugh hard on this one, maybe one of top 5?!?! C’mon, bias aside, they guys has 8 Wimbledon out of 11 finals, won it at 35 yld almost 36 without dropping a set winning in a Spam of 14 years, has other 9 Halle titles and he is maybe. No one else comes closer to those numbers.

The only other 2 that may have an small argument with him is Sampras and Borg: Sampras who never lost a final and Borg, who retired early so he doesn’t have the longevity parameter to evaluate. Fed has it all and playing on shifting surfaces, from fast grass to slow wannabe clay grass. Sampras also didn’t get this transition in surface.

August 28th, 2017 at 10:19 pm

skeezer: “I see there are plenty here who have more tennis acumen than a former Touring Pro.”

…former touring pro Todd Woodbridge who has won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles (second most in all-time tennis history) including nine Wimbledon titles; a career Golden Slam in doubles with the Olympic gold medal; 6 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles including a Career Grand Slam in mixed doubles; 83 ATP doubles titles; Wimbledon singles semifinalist losing to Pete Sampras. As well as being awarded the ITF’s Philippe Chatrier Award, which has been rarely presented to only 20 recipients who have given long and outstanding service to the game, including Rod Laver, Stefan Edberg, Jack Kramer, John McEnroe, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Tony Trabert, Nicola Pietrangeli.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/mark-woodforde-and-todd-woodbridge-given-highest-tennis-honour/news-story/5b3f6c2fc42f2080032c3798455582a2

In “Exactly who is Channel 7’s worst commentator/broadcaster?” no one voted Todd Woodbridge.

But let’s not allow personal ignorance, bias and an over-inflated sense of tennis acumen to get in the way of facts.

Also read “Seven tunes into the sounds of tennis” in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Seven set for summer of tennis” in the West Australian

August 29th, 2017 at 11:10 am

chrisford1: “Fed’s maybe one of the best 5 ever on grass.”
So who do you believe are the other four best-ever on grass?

In the open era since 1968, Federer has won the most grass titles (17 ahead of Sampras’s 10 and Connor’s 9), all-time best 8 Wimbledon championships (ahead of Sampras’s 7 and Borg’s 5) as well as the best winning percentage 87.2% (ahead of McEnroe’s 85.8% and Murray’s 84.8%) and the second-most grass match wins 164 (next to Connor’s 170 and ahead of Hewitt’s 129).
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/performance-zone/win-loss-index/career/grass/all/?sortByField=Titles&ascending=False

The only players in all-time tennis history who have won more grass court titles than Federer’s 17 are Rod Laver (52), Ken Rosewall (41), Anthony Wilding (39), Bill Tilden (33) and Laurence Doherty (24) – but that’s only because they played in eras where the most common tournament court surface was grass. To put things into context, Federer has 63 hardcourt titles and Nadal has 53 clay court titles.

John Newcombe, one of the great grass court players of all time, said of Federer at 2005 Wimbledon: ‘I lunched after Federer’s semifinal slaughter of Hewitt here with John Newcombe, the Wimbledon singles champion of 1967, 1970, 1971 and six-time doubles champion. The topic of conversation was Federer’s potential place in history. “I think he’s got his own identity,” said Newcombe, now a TV commentator in his native Australia. “He’s playing a quality of tennis that is probably the best I’ve ever seen here. It’s amazing. If you line him up against Sampras, give Pete an edge on the serve. Groundstrokes, both sides, you have to give the edge to Federer. Net game and mobility are about the same. Roger may be even a little better mover than Pete. Certainly his backhand is far better than Pete’s was.” He has a creativity about him that few players have — or ever have had, I suggested. “Absolutely,” Newcombe said. “He’s just fun to watch. I haven’t heard anybody, of all the past champions that are here, who has come up with a weakness.”… Court coverage, net game, backcourt game, flexibility of tactics, confidence and consistency, temperament, variety of pace and spin — can you find anything to quibble about in Federer’s game?… “I think he’s created his own space,” Newcombe said. “Roger has put together a bloody complete package.” ’ (see article “This may be only beginning for Federer” by Barry Lorge in ESPN).

August 29th, 2017 at 11:49 am

J-Kath: “I seem to remember someone pulling out of a final at O2 late enuf to prevent one of the “substitutes” from taking his place. A sore back was the problem (I think) – which miraculously improved 48 hours later. The 3M-guy – (Much Maligned Murray) rose to the rescue and played for free.”

That’s because Murray’s Surrey home is just an hour’s drive from the O2 Arena. It was free big-time publicity to recover from his round robin failure at the WTF that year.

In the World Tour Finals, if a player withdraws from the semifinal or final there are no substitutions (unlike the round robin matches).

There is no moral equivalence between 30-year old Murray pulling out on day after the draw but two days before the US Open tournament has started due to an injury that has lingered on for 12 weeks… and 33-year old Federer playing the WTF tournament, getting injured during the semifinal and, as a consequence, having to withdraw from the next-day’s final.

As Britain’s Independent newspaper reported, Federer tried everything on the day of the finals to get himself fit to play: “During the day the seven-time Wimbledon champion was suffering with back spasms. He was still having treatment during the doubles final, which started at 3.30pm, in the hope of being fit to play Djokovic, but eventually decided he could not risk it. “I tried everything I could last night and today – pain-killers, treatment, rest and so forth, warm-up – till the very end, but I can’t compete at this level with Novak in the ATP World Tour Finals like this. It would be too risky at my age to do this right now.” It was only the third time in his career that Federer has pulled out during a tournament because of injury. Back problems, which he had hoped he had overcome after a difficult year in 2013, were the cause of both his previous withdrawals, at the 2008 Paris Masters and the 2012 Qatar Open. In the 1,221 times he has played in his 16-year career Federer has never retired during a match. Federer went on court following the doubles final, which finished just after 5pm, to apologise to the crowd for his withdrawal. “I wanted to come out personally and excuse myself,” Federer said.”

48 hours after the final (on Tuesday), Federer was still not able to practice normally – so it’s false to claim that Federer’s back “miraculously improved 48 hours later”. The Telegraph newspaper noted that Federer only “practised briefly on Wednesday afternoon – wearing a thick white thermal top to protect his sore joints – before returning for a fuller training session on Tursday morning.” According to the Guardian “a light Thursday morning workout on his suspect back, admitted he is not 100% fit… Sources say he was not exactly moving like an angel on the practice court.” The proof that Federer was not “miraculously recovered” was in how he gingerly moved and played in losing to Monfils in the first match on Friday.

Like she herself said, surely she could have properly informed herself (gone thru the motions of debate) before jumping in with her two big feet , a bigger mouth and even bigger typing hands….and leading innocent Tennis-X and other by-standers astray.

August 29th, 2017 at 12:39 pm

Tony N,
They try continually to come up with crap, and continually fail. Chalk it up
just being jealous. Keep fighting the good fight :)

August 29th, 2017 at 12:56 pm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2017/08/30/john-mcenroe-springs-andy-murrays-defence-us-open-withdrawal/
Here’s Mac defending Andy’s decision.
But of course as Mac’s pedigree is nowhere near Woody Woodpecker’s, which apparently is what counts most of all, his comments will just be ignored.

August 31st, 2017 at 7:39 am

McEnroe never makes sense. He talks without thinking and his defense of the selfish action of Murray is just another example. It is a shameful move by Andy and the best way to handle it, for him is for him and his blind followers (at least in this regard), to admit that he was wrong. His fans should also stop making excuses for him or naming other players who did the same because that still does not make it right. Especially shameful is accusing Federer of doing the same. Tony N explained the big difference between the two withdrawals. I used to like Andy but until he and his fans admit to his wrongdoing, I cannot wish him well the rest of his career. He has set a very bad example. He did it once, who’s to say he wouldn’t do it again in other majors?

August 31st, 2017 at 7:54 am

What a load of crap.

August 31st, 2017 at 8:25 am

This is what Australians think about Channel 7 cheerleaders commentators including Squeaky Todd Woodbrige:

“Channel Seven’s nationalistic nonsense has driven me mad for decades, yet this year it seems to have been taken to a new level.”

“The commentary only gets worse when Daria Gavrilova hits the court. Watching Ana Konjuh have her faults cheered against by the crowd and Todd Woodbridge showing as much class as Donald Trump’s critique of a disabled reporter, is a poor reflection on us as a sporting nation.”

…and here is full article, btw, “Channel 7” is officially broadcaster of all GS, it is commercial channel not cable network:

http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/01/21/think-channel-sevens-tennis-cheerleaders-sorry-commentators/

August 31st, 2017 at 9:07 am

Markus and Bullow are like peas in a pod.Both negative and bashing others. Dum and Dee.

August 31st, 2017 at 9:21 am

The most idi@tic statment on this thread is that just because Todd Woodbridge was great doubles player he is automatically great, objective and knowledgeable commentator when he is obviously not, this is anout him from the same article if you don’t feel like reading it, though I find that article is masterfully written:

“The commentary only gets worse when Daria Gavrilova hits the court. Watching Ana Konjuh have her faults cheered against by the crowd and Todd Woodbridge showing as much class as Donald Trump’s critique of a disabled reporter, is a poor reflection on us as a sporting nation.

As Konjuh approached the net and Gavrilova passed the Croation, Woodbridge exclaimed, “great forehand”.

When the roles were reversed, Woodbridge whined, “Oh she made the pass.”

That’s cheerleading, Todd, and, as a tennis professional, it should be below you. John Fitzgerald has refused to join your kind and you could learn a lot from him.”

August 31st, 2017 at 9:22 am

Tony N proves that JK was right. The reasons he gives for Fed’s withdrawal can very well fit Andy. Only difference, Andy did not spoil anything whereas Fed was a spoilsport. He should have played the final at O2 even if he was sure to lose. He owed it to Djokovic and the O2 crowd.

August 31st, 2017 at 9:33 am