The Gays and Tennis Part 176 - Is this where we talk about Nitto ATP Finals?

Coco was amazing! Maybe she's conquered her demons?

outdoor bubble bath?

So first matches today at the ATP mens finals.

Medwedew vs. Fritz de Minaur vs. Sinne

What are your predictions?

Daddy wins! Helped in part by Medvedev choosing the ATP Finals to be the occasion where he loses his goddamn mind!

r4. Could you see it somewhere on TV?

R5 I'm in the UK, we get coverage through Sky Sports / Now TV. I'm not sure what the broadcasting arrangements for the tournament are for the US, unfortunately - think it may be just The Tennis Channel?

I am in Germany. Sky Tennis covers it.

So no free TV/Eurosport.

Tennis is besides Olympia and the Grand Slams not very popular in the main stream sports coverage, even with Zverev being number two in the ATP ranking.

Tennis had its peak in Germany with Boris Becker an Steffi Graf, with a lot of young people beginning with tennis.

But this is long ago, clubs are struggling with findig new members. Btw, sailing is much worse. We are back to the elitist lable.

R7 How is Zverev viewed in Germany?

Having watched him at various German events, I don't get the impression that there is a huge amount of enthusiasm for him, given his sustained place at the top of the game.

Boss Daddy looking FINE

I’m watching the ATP finals on TennisTV, and was surprised to see they’re covering it. Usually, they only cover ATP up to Masters 1000 events. Not complaining, except for when Lucie Ahl is commentating.

r8. Oh, the tennis crowd likes him. He always gets warm welcomings.

People know, that his trial for allegedly abuse his then girlfriend was mostly about getting much more money. At the end he decided to accept paying a certain amount of money. So there would be no dirty laundry washing in a public trial with a former girlfriend and with the mother of his child. You never heard anything from them.

I asked this yesterday on the last thread:

Which white male players have yellow skin?

We told you to fuck off. So, fuck off NOW.

Carlitos Team or Wuud Team?

RFC Team or Woobie Team?

Wuud team

Woobie team

Does anyone know what Jon Wertheim said about Krejcikova?

He made fun of her looks, her fivehead in particular.

It took all of 4 seconds on Google to find that out.

He said her pussy STINKS!

Here's a clip

Barbora has a widow's peak?

[quote] her fivehead in particular

Did he say she looked like a scissor sister?

Players, including Shapo, answering Halloween questions.

R16, Wertheim was on camera pre-show getting his makeup fixed, and said something about how enormous his forehead was by referencing Krejcikova’s. Hardly worth writing home about—we used to call Hingis Fivehead, after all—and I honestly believe Wertheim is too stupid and dull to be capable of wilful nastiness.

Doesn't Swiatek have a fivehead too? But even so, I think she's quite pretty. Not Rybakina level, but second level to that. B+ I'd say. (I do this to men to so I'm certainly NOT a misogynist hmmm - just an equal opportunity appearance-shamer)

Iga reminds me a lot of a young Jodie Foster

R4 back to Meddy's breakdown - here's a 2 minute video of it.

How come the commentator says that all Fritz can do is apologize that his mishit lob actually landed INSIDE the court? Why would he need to apologize that a freak shot went in against his opponent? WTF?

Anyway, I'm thrilled my daddy Tay Tay has beaten one of the giants (figuratively and literally - though I guess Fritz is pretty damned tall himself). Tennis is getting like basketball, a game just for giraffe-people.

Damn, forgot the link.

R28 it's fairly standard for players to 'apologise' for a point they win through a mis-hit shot. I say 'apologise' - it's generally just a case of raising your racquet towards the opponent in acknowledgement.

I can understand Medvedev getting frustrated, but his reaction was way overblown - it's not like he was the victim of a very bad call, or Fritz had indulged in deliberate gamesmanship.

Not fairly standard —uniformly standard. Basic tennis etiquette.

Blimey.

Against all expectations Wuud is currently giving Carlitos a pasting: takes the first set 6-1. Casper seems to have suddenly remembered how to play after months in the doldrums. Alcaraz looking distinctly shell-shocked.

WOW! I didn't see this coming.

Wuud!

....

Feel free to not like Wertheim but he is far from stupid. If you’d ever read his column, you’d know he’s quite smart and thoughtful.

And he’s excellent on 60 Minutes..but that’s not any excuse.

Wuud looks great at R34. Thanks for the pic.

Good chest hair placement. He’s still a dull player.

Legz+ looking ADORABLE with his baby niece.

I'm so happy for Casper. He finally beat Carlitos!

Happy for Ruud too! Such a nice guy, underrated. And the hairy chest? The constant bulge? Love.

It's so ugly, you guys are blind

What’s so ugly, R42?

I'm jonesing for Legz+

RFC thumps Woobie, no surprise

Well, that was quick

RFC.

Boss Daddy Team or Il Gingio Team?

Demon Team or Small Cat Team?

Boss Daddy Team, Demon Teams

R27, Iga reminds me of Prince William at current looks. She is his twin

What is happening with my dear Carlos???

Get up Carlitos! We love you!

Well, 10 matches - singles and doubles - at the ATP Finals, so far. 10 straight sets wins.

Compelling!

Il Syringio.

Daddy Fritz team

Minotaur/Hitlerstache team

Carlitos has a coldito, r51. Ruud says he knew going into the match that Alcaraz wasn't at 100% but he just played his game and took advantage.

¡Norge bastardo!

Coño, yo jugué medio muerto

Sara Foster Confirms Breakup From Tommy Haas, Shares Personal Update Amid Separation

Sara Foster announced her breakup from Tommy Haas after 18 years together and revealed what their living situation looks like now.

Tommy was HAF back in the day. My first tennis crush.

....

Your first tennis crush? How young are you?!

Carlitos Team or Woobie Team?

RFC Team or Wuud Team?

Carlitos team

Wuud team

Thanks so very much for asking.

Same

Okay, I'll take the dark side. So Zverev.

Tommy Haas's big cock back on the market.

Boss Daddy Team or Demon Team?

Small Cat Team or Il Gingio Team?

Is Carlitos still in it.. to win it?

r68. Yes. One win, one lost.

Boss Daddy over Demon in 3

Small cat team.

So Zverev needs only to win one set (!) against Carlos to make it to the half final.

I'm so proud to Daddy Fritz for making to the SF! He lost to Sinner but who doesn't - he beat Medvedev and de Minaur and I never would have predicted that. I'm gonna have to stop rooting for Woobie though, good grief.

*proud OF Daddy

Carlitos Team or RFC Team?

Wuud Team or Woobie Team?

Mektic and Koolhof -- hawt for different reasons

Carlitos team

Wuud team

Thanks so very much for asking!

Again, Team Zverev. Kind of return match for his lost game at the French Open.

Rummo pasta is the best!

Carlos kaput!

So. Next stop. Semifinals vs. Fritz who beated him two times this year.

But after breaking the spell against Carlitos, we'll see.

r80. But to be fair, Zverev is playing his best tennis at the moment.

Carlitos and Woobie, though Woobie is hard to love with all these ups and very very downs.

We want Daddy!

Casper completes the semi final line up. Good to see him end the year with some really impressive matches afterv playing like a drain since September.

Also good of Casper to knock NoVaxx down to seventh in the ATP year-end rankings.

Zverev only does consistently well in these 2 out of 3 tournaments. His record in the Slams has been spotty. For someone second in the rankings to have only reached two Slam finals, that ranking seems too high this year or any other.

Someone pushing 30*

RFC Team or Boss Daddy Team?

Wuud Team or Il Gingio Team?

I don’t agree, R86.

About that IG pic, Yevgeny.....

r86. Zverev lost the Fench Open finals dramatacilly due to his illness. He won more games on the tour this year than any other player. He was the busiest player, played even, when he was not 100 % healthy.

So, yes he deserves being No 2 in the ATP ranking.

As much as I dislike The RFC, it can't be denied that on form he's the second best player at the moment. Whether, he's now got the stones to keep it together to win a slam, the jury's still out. I hope he doesn't for reasons beyond his level of tennis, but if he wins one it would likely be on merit.

It's hard to justify his number two ranking when Alcaraz won the French and Wimbledon this year and is number 3...

Daddy Fritz team

Wuud team

R93 unfortunately that just shows up how poor Carlitos's form has been outside those two events - they account for about 2/3 of his points. He'd barely be scraping the top 10 without them.

DADDY!!!!!!

Matter of opinion, R91/R92, and whether we agree with the ATP's ranking system. My opinion is that more ranking points should be given to the Slams since those are the only events now with best 3 out of 5 and a larger group of players. More matches to be played and more endurance per match is needed to get the trophy, which Zverev never has. In the year-end rankings' top two you have to go all the way back to '99 to find a player who's never won a Slam. That's the equally unpleasant Marcelo Rios, who's aged like milk.

Actually it's '98 when Rios ended as #2.

Wow, Rios looks really rough. All that nasty cray on the inside made its way outside.

Well then. Good for Kathy May Jr. good job!

Il Gingio took Casper to the wuudshed.

Tennis OP continues to hit home runs with his thread pics.

there's a couple of us R102

the tradition continues!

Boss Daddy Team or Il Gingio Team?

[quote] BD, but I don't think he'll win -- Team

I agree.

Daddy Fritz team.

Yes, Daddy! And I volunteer to make another baby with him if he beats that cheater.

Boss Daddy

I saw most of the match and it was highly entertaining. Two great servers and base-liners cracking the ball.

Il Syringio.

Is this where we talk about Federation Cup?

[quote]Is this where we talk about Federation Cup?

Isn't it called Billie Jean King Cup now? Team USA got knocked out by Slovakia!

[quote] Isn't it called Billie Jean King Cup now?

It will always be Federation Cup to me.

[quote] Team USA got knocked out by Slovakia!

USA Team.

Anyone know whose ass this is?

Um, I believe the official name is Billie Jean King's Cup...

Rafa, R112.

[quote]Um, I believe the official name is Billie Jean King's Cup

Like...Roger's Cup?

Players look so green in that Turin arena.

BJK just said that the tennis scoring system should be overhauled so as not to turn off potential new fans who are confused. instead of 15-30-40 and then game, she just wants 1-2-3-4. This idea isn't anything new - it's been proposed at various times for decades. I wonder if instead of ad-scoring - where the score rotates among deuce, ad-in, and ad-out - if she proposes just going to "first to 4 points, have to win by two points" So if a game gets to 3-3 (the former 40-40 deuce), from there it's just 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 6-4 (game), for example.

Tennis scoring isn't THAT hard to learn, but yeah, simple 1-2-3 is easier.

Of course, no ad scoring makes it even easier - first to four points, no ads, if tied 3-3 (40-40), next point wins. But tennis purists generally don't like no-ad.

Tennis scoring isn't difficult. It's based on the clock. "Love" comes from the French word "L'œuf" because a zero looks like an egg. I'd say the recent changes to the scoring system have made it more difficult to follow. Even the players sometimes don't know what's going on.

Billie Jean King has been harping about this since the 1970s when she started World Team Tennis, where they used her 1-2-3-4 scoring system. Like World Team Tennis it didn't catch on. Billie Jean is a great innovator only when she's riding on other people's coat tails, like Gladys Heldman, her own 'innovations' invariably flop. This has been proven time and again...

[quote] Billie Jean is a great innovator only when she's riding on other people's coat tails

The Original Nine!

Billie Jean King is also convinced that taking the WTA finals to Riyadh is going to help women in the UAE break free of the appalling oppression they’re subjected to every day.

She’s been wrong more than once.

The German pair, Krawietz/Putz, upset the Number 1 seeds and take the doubles crown.

Il Syringio is your 2024 year-end champion.

Sinner is simply the best player, by far, in the world.

Carlos has a stronger ceiling. But Sinner is just so rock solid. He has no real weaknesses and he's so damn steady.

Who pickle ball year end champion?

He's the best without a doubt but Carrot Top does not make a great cover model fro the ATP.

What happened to the WADA appeal of his apparent exoneration for the drug issue?

Help!

Start a separate pickle ball thread r125.... most of us don't care.

^^^^ tee-hee

I'm a purist, too.

ESL.

That's aman at r110

Adios beloved Rafa.

Rafa loses to Botic VDZin the opening match of the Davis Cup in Malaga. Possibly his last ever singles match if either Carlitos or the dubs team loses.

Not sure whether they could draft in Rafa to play alongside Granollers for a final fling if Carlitos loses to Griekspoor.

Is VDZ the new NDL?

;)

WAP!

WHO is that @ R137???

Jiri Vesely?

R139, it is Jiri.

adios, Rafa

Why Rafa no retire at French Open?

I's lost for Team Canaduh.

OPs thumbnail always looks like he’s reaching for his clit and I can’t unsee it.

Oh well.

I need a new hobby I guess.

Big Kokk beats Shelton in an insane 16-14 final set tie-break to give Australia the lead against the USA.

Daddy's on course to top Demon to level up the tie - he's just about to serve for the match.

Italy wins the BJK Cup.

Dumb USA go out after deciding to put singles stars, Shelton and ODS Tommy up against Australian doubles experts Pornstache and Matthew Ebden.

Pretty sure they would have done better with original picks, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek.

What a year for Pow Pow Paolini and Italian tennis. Historic!

One for the record books

luvs me sum Pornstache

very fuckable

shaggy Pornstache

Gay former tennis professional Brian Vahaly named President of the USTA.

👍🏼well done!

I hope he can live up to the legacy of Katrina Adams as USTA President.

(Rolls eyes)

She did well —don’t be an ass.

Adams completely ruined her reputation with the way she handled the Serena USO default incident and its aftermath. Completely.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

I'm not saying his team looks gay, I'm just saying, who doesn't enjoy the smell of fresh baked polvorónes?

Beefy Buxom Bouncy Big Boy, Tallon Griekspoor, defeats Struffi in 3 close sets to take the Dutch to the Davis Cup Final.

The Selfish RFC couldn't be arsed to represent Germany in their best chance to win it in years.

R156. Which was not within her control. She wasn’t in charge in court or running the tournament —was she?

"Carlos has a stronger ceiling. But Sinner is just so rock solid. He has no real weaknesses and he's so damn steady."

I used to think Alcaraz had the "higher high" but had a larger range overall, thus more surprising upsets than Sinner. But, I'm not so sure anymore if Carlos's high is higher. It may be more "artistic" and varied, but that's not the same thing. Interested to see what Sinner will do at the French and Wimbledon this year. Clearly he's the best on hard courts.

[quote] Interested to see what Sinner will do at the French and Wimbledon this year.

He lost to Small Cat at Wimbledon and to Carlitos at the French Open.

Watching Sinner vs. De Minaur..... As much as I admire Sinner, he bores me lately. He is damn perfect but I cannot watch him playing.

BREAKING: Novak Djokovic has appointed Andy Murray to coach him at the Australian Open....

nice! what's boris becker doing these days?

^^^^

gambling, drinking, getting some AA tail and evading taxes

I thought Boris' black chicks were European, primarily. So AE tail.

So it's Italy Vs The Netherlands in the Final tomorrow.

Praying that Tallon, Butt-Itch and Wesley can 'pull off' a shock and spare us from further Sinner winning tedium.

Yeah, I realise that it must be a tennis ball but this pic is hilariously deceptive. Tallon is REALLY excited at yesterday's win...

Rafa’s first and last DC appearance

R164 I thought you were making a joke, but holy shit it's real!

I've booked my room, and got my tickets for the first week of Indian Wells next year. Anyone else plan on going? I'll give everyone an update like I do every year. Super excited.

You could be dead by then…

R171 I always enjoy your IW updates. You're a doll!

R173 Right back at ya! Oh, I forgot it's DL. FUCK OFF, CUNT! Jokes aside, I think it'll be a good year for tennis babes.

R172 Very true - but at least I'll have something to look forward to while I stay away from the light.

[quote] I've booked my room, and got my tickets for the first week of Indian Wells next year.

When Sunshine Double?

I'm going, R171. I've been there before as a guest of BNP Paribas and it's a fabulous tournament. I'm going on my own this year, glad to spend some late-winter time in the CA desert and see good tennis!

Shapo, Domicakes and The Kokk discussing the Big Three.

I both love and hate Novak and honestly thought this coaching revelation was some kind of joke, but it could be interesting.

They're old friends since childhood and there's no denying Andy knows his stuff.

They're totally going to Challengers it up, if they haven't already...

If I was the Netherlands I'd sacrifice Botic to go up against Sinner; and save Tallon to play either Matteo or Lore. That way they're more likely to get at least 1 win out of the singles matches.

The doubles then would be more of a 50:50 shoot out between Koolhof/VDZ and Sinner/Bolelli.

I hope they add Amelie to team Djokovic, so that at least someone coaches the coach in the coaching department.

Andy and Novak joining forces at the top together: it's like the Big Two era all over again!!!

R119 -. The 1-2-3-4 scoring system was Jimmy Van Allen's invention. He also came up with the first sanctioned tiebreaker system adopted by the USLTA. BJK championed the simplified scoring system for team tennis which made sense....five sets a night didn't need 20 deuce games. The Slims used it a bit in 1972 but the women started playing too conservatively at 3-3, so they went back to traditional scoring. At the club level we always played no-ad because of court time. I thought it was great,

Italians won...

Davis Cup. Zzzzzzzzzz.

The happy champions

I used to like Sinner but now every time I look at him I cringe. Why was Simona treated so badly when this guy just got away with it, with no consequences? Fuck him. I hope he destroys his knee or something. He'll never be a champion the sport and its fans can be proud of.

Did the hot Italian who had to dump the nympho girlfriend because she was wearing him out by demanding constant sex play?

yes, lovely Matteo

he won his singles match

ditched the PP, got his mojo back

Did Sinner know about the test results when he opted out of playing the Olympics? Seems odd to make the effort to represent your country in a less and less relevant international event and skip the Olympics, which has a profile way beyond the traditional tennis audience?

R190, yes, he knew. He has tested positive twice in March, months before the Olympics.

Wow, what a year for Italian Tennis

R190 Most definitely. His actions scream "silent ban", with him pulling out of tournaments with a virus etc. I don't necessarily think he intentionally doped but the way it was handled by the authorities was really bad.

The excuse given was so preposterous though. His trainer, who had been in trouble before for this same drug, treats a frickin' cut on his hand or something with this very banned, very widely-known to be banned, substance, and doesn't wait a bit and wash it off his damned hands before giving Jannik what was apparently a very deep massage?? And I think Italian sports is even known for the use of this anabolic steroid Clostebol.

This reminds me of figure skater Kamila Valieva's excuse for the heart drug trimetazidine (known to also help with endurance) in her system. Seems she accidentally took a drink out of her grandfather's glass (and he was on this medicine for heart disease).

Which excuse is better - or more creative?

R194, perhaps she had a legitimate heart condition. Benefit of the doubt!

The reason Sinner didn't get any temporary ban is because he knew exactly what happened and how it happened in terms of his being exposed to the illegal agent. Which is different than most positive tests other players receive. And that made all the difference according to the rules.

Now it might all be BS, but that's the narrative.

R196 That's not how the rules work, though. You get suspended pending investigation. It's no coincidence he took basically two months off (including the Olympics) after testing positive. It's the secrecy and cover-up by the tennis authorities I have a problem with. If he'd been ranked No. 125 it would have been announced immediately and he'd have been officially suspended. Instead he got to invent some illness so he wouldn't be found out at the Olympics, where the testing is a lot more rigorous. Everyone in the tennis authorities knew about his TWO positive tests and didn't follow the correct procedure.

R197 I believe because he was able to instantly tell the powers that be what the issue was regarding the positive tests, he avoided that lag time that hurt other players. Most people either claim they don't know why they tested (either because they're lying or they truly don't know). Sinner knew exactly what happened, detailed it, and and the PTB bought it.

Let me see if I can find the detailed explanation. I know for sure I am missing pertinent stuff. I listened to a tennis podcast when it all happened and they podcaster explained it all way better than I am. Going to find it now...

WADA has appealed the decision clearing Sinner and has asked that he be banned for one to two years. I don’t know when that will be decided.

R198 The point is, he tested positive then didn't play for two months. He wasn't physically injured - he said he wasn't feeling well. That just coincidentally happened at the time of his positive test. That's a cover-up. Do I think he intentionally doped? Not really. Did the authorities and his team say "Right, take some time off so you don't test positive again while we sort this out"? Yes. I think that's what happened.

There has never been an “accidental” doping case that didn’t sound like absolute nonsense. We as spectators will never know for sure but I think most athletes push the boundaries of what is acceptable in terms of “therapeutic” drug use. Obviously they have teams that make specific decisions about concoctions to use, the athletes themselves don’t decide that. People get caught because it’s not an exact science; sometimes an athlete’s body can’t eliminate evidence of a drug quickly enough.

Ginger chemistry is funny.

And the Italian skater Daniel Grassl, while training in Russia, missed three scheduled doping tests, and was sort of banned for a bit, but is now back winning medals like nothing happened.

An Italian, training in Russia - Sinner's Italian, Valieva's Russian - all coincidences, I'm sure. Oh and was Sharapova Russian? I just found out she was 6'2"! Does steroid use in young girls make them grow taller? Just asking...

R200 that's not actually true. He did play quite a lot from from Indian Wells (when he tested positive) to August 20th, when the news finally broke and he was (temporarily) cleared.

In fact, he played Miami, Monte Carlo, the French, Halle, Wimby, Canada and Cincinnati (which he won the day before the news broke).

He skipped Madrid, Rome and the Olympics, citing illness each time.

So it doesn't really seem like there was a "soft ban" in place. If there was, why did he play seven of the ten tourneys he was scheduled to play during that stretch?

I don't think there was any cover up. I think he was able to circumnavigate a suspension because he could "prove" or convince TPTB that it was accidental positive tests and do so in a very, very timely manner. With details, with receipts.

Now, why did the TPTB keep it quiet for six months? No idea. I assume that's just their protocol.

And why is WADA appealing that decision? No idea.

But I don't there's a cover up. At least not with the evidence I've read about.

[quote] Oh and was Sharapova Russian? I just found out she was 6'2"! Does steroid use in young girls make them grow taller?

I wouldn’t know, but growth spurts are associated with heart conditions.

[quote] The most common time to screen for HCM is during puberty or adolescence. The reason: This condition often manifests during a rapid growth spurt or once the affected individual engages in competitive sports. HCM accounts for roughly one-third of sudden cardiac deaths among young athletes.

R204 He should have been immediately suspended when he tested positive. He wasn't. That's where the cover-up is.

r204, don't the Olympics have their own anti-doping protocols/tests? My thought was that Sinner intentionally sought to avoid those.

Not sure R207. I am not really much of a Sinner fan (I think if he cheated he should be banned) and certainly don't know everything about the situation.

I am just parlaying what I've heard as to why he didn't get suspended after the positive tests.

Again, the speed and veracity at which he defended/explained himself seems to be why he wasn't suspended. It wasn't any sort of cover up. He just had really good lawyers who knew how to avoid that punishment AND a reasonable story that the PTB clearly believed. At least at the time.

Also, tennis players, even injured ones, can be randomly drug tested any time, any place. So Sinner missing a few tourneys because of illnesses (however suspicious this might look) would not protect him from drug testing at all. And all of those tests administered to him during that time period came back negative. Make that of it what you will.

R199:

[quote] WADA has appealed the decision clearing Sinner and has asked that he be banned for one to two years. I don’t know when that will be decided.

Another question. What if WADA’s appeal is successful and Sinner does get a one-year or more ban? Retroactively, he will have to forfeit all moneys and titles earned post-positive test up to and including the full term of the ban. Does this mean that Italy will also have to forfeit their Davis Cup victory? After all, Sinner played in all matches that led to the victory, including the Cup-winning match.

Mon Fils

Ici...

For a certifiable Tennis Nut I'm surprised to find myself feeling a sense of relief that this season's finally over - bar the odd Challenger here and there..

I'm not sure whether it's anxiety with the prospect of a period of Sinner domination if Carlitos fails to get his shit together, or it's just fatigue with watching the same players grind out matches week in, week out. I find indoor hard court tennis the least enjoyable so that may be a factor as it dominates the final months.

On the bright side it looks like there are some new - many hot - players that have really emerged this year (like Fils, Draper, Legz+) who should be fighting at the sharp end of the big tournaments next year.

What are all of you fellow cunts looking forward to for 2025 in Gays and Tennisland?

For an active (or passive or vers) ATP player to finally come out, r212. I’ve been following the Gays and Tennis threads since the first one last millenium, virtually, and still nothing.

Well there's Brian Vahaly.

Passive, from my sources.

R212, looking forward to seeing Fils make a mark in 2024 as well as Mpeshi Perricard. Also for Alcaraz to get his shit together, and finally may we see an end totnhe reig of Djokovich. Here's to a year of Novak winning zero titles absolutely nothing , zero, zilch..nothing

What's the next important tournament before the Australian Open?

There's Hopman Cup and a couple of 250s in Perth and Brisbane. That's about it.

Oops, I guess it's now United Cup.

[quote] and a couple of 250s in Perth and Brisbane

I’ll be there!

Is this where we talk about Hopman Cup?

Is this where we talk about United Cup?

I'm usually grateful for the break, for the time to pay attention to other things, the holidays, a good book, etc. I watch less and less after the US Open. I start ramping up again in Oz.

The Next Gen finals are in late December. I'll be rooting for Fils, Shang, Fonseca, Van Assche, and Mensik, in that order.

[quote] Madison Keys marries Bjorn Fratangelo in Charleston

May they have beautiful tippy turtle children.

dogface thread

Casper got engaged

She has a shovel head (his intended).

We don't like her. DL not approved PP

[quote] Casper got engaged

Link please.

They should create a new surface that approximates the speed of carpet but without the obvious deficiencies and use that surface for the year-end indoor tournaments, including the ATP Finals.

So carpet. We get it.

You're welcome, r225. (Ya lazyass.)

Oops, sorry r225, I meant to slag r228!

Caspar will name his kids 250 and 500.

Does Casper's fiancee qualify as a PP?

I'm thinking not.

She doesn’t look it, r234. If he starts competing in Challengers rather than 250s and 500s, then we should reconsider.

[quote] Nordic Battle 2024 – Casper Ruud vs Holger Rune

They play twice, 30th of November and 2nd of December.

Woon team or Wuud team?

Oops! IGA.....The ITIA announces that Iga Świątek has accepted a 1-month suspension after testing positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August 2024.

1 month? 1 MONTH?

Throw the book at the Dirty Druggie!

That's nothing!

That's the drug that caused Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to lose her gold medal at the 2022 Olympics?

Did her granddaddy mix into her borscht by accident?

R240, yes, it cost Russia the group gold medal and, even worse, the medal went to the U.S. team.

Facts matter.

Another silent ban. I think from now on whenever any player pulls out of a tournament without an obvious injury, I'm just going to assume they tested positive.

Another Toxic Trollop snags one of our DL Fave ATP Hotties!

Felix has fallen!

Delish Camilo Ugo Carabelli keeps us entertained in the off season with a shirtless celebration at getting through to the semi finals of the Challenger in Chile.

Such a shame no zoom on the fixed court camera!

Useless^

yeah the camera needs to be WAY closer

Hope Felix doesn’t gets distracted from his game. I mean, it’s all been going so well.

So. Guys. Who is Carlos fucking?

Period. Full stop.

Pedro Martinez. Pedro lets Charly dive into his warm beef empanada.

Giron of the Great Ass.

Are there any girls in his age range training at Juan-Carlos' academy?

R254 MEN ONLY.

Train better that way. These boys can meet a woman later like at the bank.

carlos is in NYC, he's playing ben shelton. they are playing in MSG.

She got ONE month of suspension for a drug that improves cardiac function? Somewhere Sharadopa who got two years suspension for another drug that does more or less the same thing is having a meltdonium.

Gill Gross has an informative take on the Iga situation. I really love that guy.

He's pretty confident that Iga didn't knowingly dope. Seems she really had the receipts as to what happened. He also believes Sinner didn't knowingly dope, but admits that case has more shady elements to it, fwiw.

His big issue (and mine) is how the tennis powers that be handle these cases. The weird secrecy, for one.

Second, the fact that Iga and Sinner - totally playing by the rules as currently defined - have the resources to fight back in a way average players don't. That just seems so unfair. (For instance Iga was able to take the melatonin she took and pay for labs to see if that was the source of the problem (it was). Most players could not afford that.). I know, money talks. But it irks me and it irks Gill.

I do appreciate the fact he said that positive tests producing varied results for players actually prove that system DOES work. If everyone who tested positive had the same punishment, that would be even more suspect. Since every case is unique in its circumstances and context, the conclusions should also be unique to reflect that.

At any rate, this top players need to be smarter!

It's hilarious how everyone here thought Alcaraz's muscles were due to him doping, yet Sinner was the one who was caught doping, not Alcaraz. Truth is most substances used for doping in tennis are enhancing stamina, like oxygen in the blood. Muscles aren't that big of an advantage anymore. However, a skinny guy like Sinner would've improved his game due to increased stamina.

R258, honestly, they’re all liars. Everyone else’s supplements get contaminated with mouse feces or fentanyl, but with these guys it’s always PEDs.

R260 my guess would be that if one were to actually test for mouse feces, they'd for sure find trace of amounts in many tests. Since we all know every factory on the planet has vermin scurrying around.

Ditto fentanyl, assuming the factory producing the contaminated product also produces a product that has fentanyl as an ingredient.

Contamination is a part of food/supplement preparation. All the time, the world over.

Btw, the same company that made Iga's melatonin, also produces a product that has the damning agent (TZM, I think it's called) as an ingredient. Of course there's a chance that some in one might get in the other.

We shouldn't damn Iga if that's what happened. And if you read the report (I did) it really seems like that's the case. (Oh, I'm a Saba and Coco fan, so I have ZERO net positive bias in this!)

She’s a one-surface wonder.

R261, I did read the report. Nothing in it seems inherently far-fetched, but Swiatek initially did not disclose taking melatonin. She “forgot,” even though she had taken it earlier that day.

what does melatonin. do?

People take melatonin to sleep more easily. With the frequent jet lag players experience on the tour it's quite common.

R264, it was the melatonin that was the purported source of the Trimetazidine (TMZ) contamination. TMZ improves the body's use of oxygen. It's been banned for use by athletes since 2014.

R263, they said she listed melatonin on some forms over the years but not others. Maybe she took it off and on, who knows.

Melatonin is sometimes used as an adjunct antidepressant but is primarily prescribed as a sleep aid. In the US requires a prescription.

Melatonin doesn’t require a prescription in the US. It’s a supplement and therefore unregulated.

R263, yes, she wasn't sure why she tested positive at the onset.

She basically sent to a labs EVERYTHING she ingested. Everything. And that lab came back and said it was, oddly enough, the melatonin. Then, she gave that bottle of melatonin and another, unopened bottle of melatonin (very lucky she had that on hand) that she'd purchased from the same batch and gave that, plus the aforementioned lab work, over the the tennis powers that be. And the tennis labs found corroborating evidence.

It really does seem rather cut and dry in Iga's case.

What's interesting is that why she got that initial ban (while she was testing her various supplements) is, as you say, because she "didn't know" what caused the positive test at first. But why get banned for that? Of course she didn't know! Unless she was blatantly cheating, why would she know?

Sinner, on the other hand, DID know exactly why he tested positive. And told them right off the bat. So he did NOT get any initial ban. Per the rules.

To me, that's something tennis needs to figure out. It's a bizarre rule. Since we can assume - for those who test positive accidentally - that they don't know how they tested positive, it seems totally unfair to penalize them for, well, not knowing!

They should have something in place where the athlete gets a month (or whatever) to do the same kind of recon Iga did before any suspension occurs. Especially for trace amount positive tests like both Sinner and Iga had.

Apologies R269. For some reason I was thinking of Mirtazapine but you are absolutely correct. My bad.

Coach Patrick Mouratouglu has one hot ass!

^ I’ve always thought Patrick was kind of dirty hot. Do we know for sure if he and Serena were doing it?

R273, yes, she broke up his marriage.

I've seen him at events as a fan and he comes off as a sleazy opportunist, though I supppose you don't have to see him in person to get that vibe off him.

Australian tennis legend Fraser dies at 91

What's up with Titsi? I just happened to see his most recent Instagram post featuring a clip about narcissistic parents. I'm out of the loop. Has he broken up with his arrogant father?

[quote] I’ve always thought Patrick was kind of dirty hot. Do we know for sure if he and Serena were doing it?

I think Mouratoglou’s such a manwhore that it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d also found his way into Legz’s shorts.

^^^^ oh, my

I need a cigarette

Can we figure out who Andy Roddick is talking about when asked for the player he respected LEAST on his latest podcast? (He doesn't name names.) The answer starts at the 54-minute mark.

Short version: The guy had great speed, a great body and a career-high ranking of 6 or 7. Ironically, Andy says he was a nice guy but didn't care enough to use his talent (à la Kyrgios).

Nice shot of Jiri.

R280 The only one I can think of is Robin Soderling - he reached #4 though.

Robin S wasn't a nice guy tho... hmm, this is a great question.

My guess would be Fernando Gonzalez, although he reached #5.

Actually I meant Fernando Verdasco, who did peak at #7.

Ah, Verdasco, that's a great guess. I was also thinking of Fabio Fognini. Very talented, but a hothead and a preening prima donna.

R283 No, he wasn't. He was literally talking shit about Nadal and borderline bullying him. I will never forget him making fun of Nadal during a match. It was disgusting.

Roddick said he was a nice guy off the court and one of the fastest on the court.

Was Verdasco super fast? I can't recall. Fognini is definitely not super fast, so I doubt it's him.

I said Soderling "wasn't", R287. I think you read my comment too fast. I'm with you 100% - RS talking shit about Rafa was poor form.

Wow. I didn't know Robin was such a prick. I never really paid too much attention to him when he was playing.

How about Dmitry Tursonov - definitely had a great body and speed?

I recall him being quite casual during his time on the tour - he never seemed like he had the hunger to push himself to the top.

r291, Tursonov is definitely in the running on the bod front, but he peaked at #20. (Nothing's to say that, after all this time, Roddick might not have misremembered the ranking.)

How about Tomáš Berdych? Same era, pretty nice body, career high #4. Or David Nalbandian?

Kyrgios insinuates Roddick doped.

Oooh, now Nalbadian seems like a good possibility! I don't remember Berdych being particularly fast (or beloved). Cute, but lumbering.

R291 Chat GPT told me Tursonov peaked at 7 - which did seem high to me. Fucking crappy AI!

Looking at his Wikipedia page I see he took 7 titles - must've been what it understood I was asking about.

Is this where we talk about Garden Cup?

I see The Viking, Holger Woon, didn't forget the Maybelline for the exhibition match against Minotaur/Hitlerstache.

There's chatter on r/tennis that João Lucas Reis, a Brazilian who plays Challenger events, came out on Instagram this weekend. He's currently ranked 370 in singles, with a highest ranking of 204 last year. He and his partner make an attractive couple.

Apologies if there's a Part 177 that I missed.

Nice. Good for him, and success!

He's only 24, so even more impressive.

I noticed earlier today, and others have as well, that the UnitedHealthcare CEO killer, Luigi Mangione, looks like Cerundolo.

They look nothing alike. 😵‍💫

IG gay tennis/sports accounts going gaga over Joao. Good to see.

I MISS TENNIS!!!

Is Chrissie's cancer back again? I saw I bleep of her shaved head, but no confirmation.