kennie makevin Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Sad to see. Just hope he doesn't hang around too long and that he gets the acclaim he deserves for being Scotland's finest ever sportsman. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 There's the debate now as to whether he should've retired 'on top' as in at the 2019 Australian Open or keep battling on into his late 30s, losing in the 1st or 2nd round of every tournament, getting routinely bodied by guys 10-15 years younger than him who all now seen to have Fernando Gonzalez power on both wings. I don't think the first option was ever going to happen to due to his fierce competitiveness, but seeing him barely getting to the 3rd round of any tournament is a hard and frustrating watch. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 What's happening to Andy is perfectly normal and happens to almost all pro tennis players. They peak late 20's, then their body starts to breakdown and by the time they're in their mid 30's they're no longer competitive at the top level. This has happened to all but three of the major winners of Andy's generation, Del Potro, Cilic, Wawrinka are all in a similar boat. I remember the great Pete Sampras retired at 31 and that was not unexpected, he had injuries mounting up, was past it and it was time for him to quit. Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, who all won slams after their 35th birthday, is the abnormal thing here. They're the three oldest slam winners of the last 50 years. I suspect their freakish longevity is having an influence and making other players carry on a bit longer than they should have. Murray, Wawrinka and CIlic all grand slam champions, all mid to late 30's, all still plugging away, and all three of them lost in the first round of the Australian Open in the last 24 hours. Del Potro did retire but he's trying to make a comeback. They should all have packed it in years ago, but it also wouldn't surprise me if they all kept going for another year or two, and why not. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 49 minutes ago, Lex said: What's happening to Andy is perfectly normal and happens to almost all pro tennis players. They peak late 20's, then their body starts to breakdown and by the time they're in their mid 30's they're no longer competitive at the top level. This has happened to all but three of the major winners of Andy's generation, Del Potro, Cilic, Wawrinka are all in a similar boat. I remember the great Pete Sampras retired at 31 and that was not unexpected, he had injuries mounting up, was past it and it was time for him to quit. Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, who all won slams after their 35th birthday, is the abnormal thing here. They're the three oldest slam winners of the last 50 years. I suspect their freakish longevity is having an influence and making other players carry on a bit longer than they should have. Murray, Wawrinka and CIlic all grand slam champions, all mid to late 30's, all still plugging away, and all three of them lost in the first round of the Australian Open in the last 24 hours. Del Potro did retire but he's trying to make a comeback. They should all have packed it in years ago, but it also wouldn't surprise me if they all kept going for another year or two, and why not. It's just tough to figure out what they are trying to achieve, I presume they don't need the cash. Can't see any of them winning anything of note, so why continue to put your body through hell to turn up at tourneys to be dispatched comfortably by jobbers you would have hammered years ago? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 (edited) 7 hours ago, peasy23 said: It's just tough to figure out what they are trying to achieve, I presume they don't need the cash. Can't see any of them winning anything of note, so why continue to put your body through hell to turn up at tourneys to be dispatched comfortably by jobbers you would have hammered years ago? That’s my take on it as well. Hang the racket up and go home and watch your kids grow up ffs. Edit - all that off season preparation from Murray and Wawrinka to be beaten by 2 utter jobbers in Etcheverry and Adrian Manna-fucking-rino? Call it a day lads. You’ve had your fun. Edited January 15 by TheScarf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHF-23 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) 18 hours ago, TheScarf said: That’s my take on it as well. Hang the racket up and go home and watch your kids grow up ffs. Edit - all that off season preparation from Murray and Wawrinka to be beaten by 2 utter jobbers in Etcheverry and Adrian Manna-fucking-rino? Call it a day lads. You’ve had your fun. Have to agree, I don't know what Murray's getting out of it now, whether there's a delusion that there's some Hollywood last big tournament win in his mind or whether it's more the workaholic tendencies these guys all have, but surely he can't believe it's worth it anymore. I would have retired after the 2019 Australian as you mentioned earlier, revolutionary surgery or not he was never realistically getting back to the top. Say you've given it your best shot but you're going to retire as a multiple grand slam and two time Olympics winner and spend time with your kids - he'll never want for money again; can always do the odd bit of coaching and I'm sure the BBC would love to have him for a couple of weeks of Wimbledon every year. It's all just a bit sad now Edited January 16 by GHF-23 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 3 minutes ago, GHF-23 said: Have to agree, I don't know what Murray's getting out of it now, whether there's a delusion that there's some Hollywood last big tournament win in his mind or whether it's more the workaholic tendencies these guys all have, but surely he can't believe it's worth it anymore. I would have retired after the 2019 Australian as you mentioned earlier, revolutionary surgery or not he was never realistically getting back to the top. Say you've given it your best shot but you're going to retire as a multiple grand slam and two time Olympics winner and spend time with your kids - he'll never want for money again and can always do the odd bit of coaching. It's all just a bit sad now That's it for me too. He's never going to re-live yesteryear, he's getting bodied by anyone in the top 50, he's 37 in 4 months and has 4 kids under the age of 10. Get yourself home ffs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHF-23 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 2 minutes ago, TheScarf said: That's it for me too. He's never going to re-live yesteryear, he's getting bodied by anyone in the top 50, he's 37 in 4 months and has 4 kids under the age of 10. Get yourself home ffs. Flip side - would have to spend more time with Judy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Challenger tour back in Glasgow next month for the first time in years. It's a decent day out and there's usually some names you've heard of playing along with the usual youngsters and jobbers. Best part is it's free to go along and watch. All the big names through today, but Djokovic did drop another set against the Aussie Popyrn before winning in four. He will play the conqueror of Murray. Etcheverry, in the next round. Tiafoe the highest seed to fall so far. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryMc93 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Norrie now the only remaining Brit in the singles. Did notice only 4 players in the men's draw are yet to lose a set after 2 rounds with Sinner and Etcheverry the only seeds. Imagine that'll change tomorrow. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Left Back Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Great win for Cam Norrie against Ruud. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 After three quarter finals it looked like we would have seeds 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the semis, but it was not to be. An upset of sorts happened in QF number four, Norrie's conqueror Zverev beating Alcaraz in four sets. The smart money is on a repeat of the US Open final in August, Djokovic v Medvedev. Sinner will have one of these breakout wins against Djokovic one day, but probably not here, maybe in 2025. I can't see how Zverev beats Medvedev on the hard court to be honest, but stranger things have happened. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Didn’t see the wife beater getting one over Alcaraz in a best of 5 match. I watched an hour of it at lunch and he was imperious. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 (edited) Sinner beats Novak in four sets We will have a new Australian Open Champion for the first time since 2014. Edited January 26 by Lex 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Sinner wins it in an epic five setter over Medvedev. He went two sets down and won it in five, remarkable stuff. The first of many slams for the young Italian I’m sure. Him and Alcaraz are going to dominate the remainder of the decade at least. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Medvedev becomes the only player in history to lose two Slam finals from two sets up. Now has lost five slam finals from six. Sinner was superb in the end, he couldn’t cope with Medvedev’s disruptive brilliance and then took Medvedev’s legs away much like Novak has done to so many of his victims in Australia. He was absolutely ruthless against Novak and has been incredible the last six months. That was the first ever completed slam match where Novak never made a break point. In the women’s side Sabalenka is just relentless. Her mental demons are just slowly disappearing, and her pressure on Gauff after what happened at the US Open was great to see. It’s difficult to think that two years ago she would double fault fifteen times a match. Andy Murray returns to action tonight against Benoit Paire. Probably the biggest waste of talent tennis has ever seen. He’ll be wanting to put behind his awful display at the Australian Open. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 25 minutes ago, Loki said: Medvedev becomes the only player in history to lose two Slam finals from two sets up. Now has lost five slam finals from six. Sinner was superb in the end, he couldn’t cope with Medvedev’s disruptive brilliance and then took Medvedev’s legs away much like Novak has done to so many of his victims in Australia. He was absolutely ruthless against Novak and has been incredible the last six months. That was the first ever completed slam match where Novak never made a break point. In the women’s side Sabalenka is just relentless. Her mental demons are just slowly disappearing, and her pressure on Gauff after what happened at the US Open was great to see. It’s difficult to think that two years ago she would double fault fifteen times a match. Andy Murray returns to action tonight against Benoit Paire. Probably the biggest waste of talent tennis has ever seen. He’ll be wanting to put behind his awful display at the Australian Open. Pleased for Sinner, seen it often that a player beats Djokovic/Nadal/Federer but puts so much into it that he loses his next match, and for much of yesterday that looked like being the case. Did really well to dig deep and turn it around. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chapelhall chap Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Spotted the match at 2 up for Medvedev and went over to other TV delights but dropped back in later on. It was a great fight back and I stayed with it. Some absorbing tennis. On Andy I think it's time to end and remember the great guy he's been. Who do I follow now? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) 55 minutes ago, peasy23 said: Pleased for Sinner, seen it often that a player beats Djokovic/Nadal/Federer but puts so much into it that he loses his next match, and for much of yesterday that looked like being the case. Did really well to dig deep and turn it around. I think it was a combination of Medvedev just being unable to continue at the level due to running out of steam and Sinner coming into the match. No one in history has ever been on court as long as Medvedev in his Australian Open run. Much like Murray his exertions in getting to the final probably robbed him of the chance of performing at the highest level. Edited to add: Sinner deserves much credit for just sticking in there and believing that he would do it. Once he broke in that third set, it felt to me like the many matches Andy turned around. The I’ve got you now moments. Edited January 29 by Loki 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Connolly Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Andy goes a set up on Paire in Montpellier. Live on Sky at the moment 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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