2024 Wimbledon

(7) Paolini 2/6/4 - 6/2/6 (31) Krejcikova

As Paolini was stepping up to take the opening serve, Krejcikova asked for a moment and they each mumbled around the court for an extra second before starting; but it struck me that Krejcikova wasn't saying, 'hey, could you give me a second?' to Paolini it was more like 'no, no, you're not supposed to start yet'. A brilliant little eye of the tiger moment. And in the opening set, Paolini struggled to find her serve and Krejcikova played solid (if rather vanilla) and easily rolled up over her diminutive  competitor. Krejcikova's serve was pretty much the same fast ball down the middle every time, not overpowering but consistent (even robotic) and Krejcikova was putting her forehand returns deep to the baseline and pushing Paolini back. Often times, especially in Ladies' tennis, the one who has to work harder will not be the victor, so as active as Paolini was, it felt like in the long run she was working against herself. Felt like Krejcikova was in control and Paolini was flailing, felt like this was gonna be over quick. 

But after dropping the 1st set, Paolini found her serve, suddenly Krejcikova was making a lot of unforced errors and the second set was the opposite of the first: Paolini's work was paying off and it was Krejcikova lumbering around out there. Another detail: in the 2nd set Krejcikova went through this phase of not hitting her serves and letting the ball drop back down; the commentator fretted that she was losing her confidence but I thought it was another psych-out technique: she was trying to put Paolini on the puppet string and get her thinking about tennis instead of playing it. 

Once they both went through their ups and downs and settled into themselves, the 3rd set was good stuff. Paolini had some nasty returns, Krejcikova had some nifty winners, it was back and forth action. Then tied at 3-3, Paolini double faulted away the game and that felt like the death blow. At 5-4, serving for the match, Krejcikova brought back her non-serving thing and, again, it didn't strike me as nerves, it struck me as a psych-out move. But sometimes that can backfire: instead of just playing your best tennis, you're trying to tiptoe through some game you're playing in your head and you lose focus. It felt for a moment like Paolini was gonna steal the break back and we might get to a tie break. But Krejcikova got over her shakiness, made enough winning plays to seal the match.

Fun match! These were two totally different players, different styles, different temperaments, different strategies and they both overcome their adversities to put on a good show. Good win for Krejcikova, not sure if she's back on track or if this was just a good two weeks for her. Tough L for Paolini but I think she's gonna be a tough out at the US Open, looking forward to seeing her. 

(2) Djokovic 2/2/6 - 6/6/7 (3) Alcaraz

Man, I've seen Djokovic lose before but I don't recall ever seeing him just get stomped like a bug before. Alcaraz was returning every ball which pushed Djokovic into really weird unforced errors compounded by the fact that Djokovic never got his serve going either. Really, the only moment of hope for Djokovic was when Alcaraz got the yips when serving for the match: he's up 40-love and then somehow loses the game. Alcaraz pretty well dominated from beginning to end. When Medvedev took out Sinner in the quarters (kept waiting for Medvedev to blow it in the 5th, kept waitng for Sinner to take over, but it never happened--good win for Medvedev), Djokovic must've been thinking that the tourney was his now, but he forgot about Alcaraz, who is officially the man now. I presume he'll be #1 going into the US Open and I'd put him as the fave.

2023 French Open

I caught almost none of the French this year and that's too bad. Grand Slam tennis is always good and without a clear female fave and no Nadal on the other side meant that this year's French was wide open and worth catching.  Oh well, I saw both Finals, so not a total loss.  

(1) Swiatek 6/5/6 - 2/7/4 (NR) Muchova

Swiatek is a hell of a player but, you know, she doesn't have any signature moves, there's no real transcendence to her game, she's just all-round good at everything. And as for Muchova, she played steady, whereas I was expecting her to be emotional, spotty, up and down, she really wasn't any of that. She was consistent and played hard and smart all the way through and it almost worked for her. Swiatek was the better player but she had moments of doubt and she was the one who had ups and downs. 

I hesitate to say Swiatek didn't play her best, I suspect this mostly good/but occasionally out of sorts is who she is. Muchova played well--really well--but just couldn't match Swiatek's best effort. Swiatek is an interesting champ because I feel like she can hang anywhere with anyone, but she can also fritter away her best chances and probably could be had by even an unranked no-name if she has an extended braindead period. That said, Swiatek is #1 for a reason and I could also see her dominating the women's game for a few more years. 

(3) Djokovic 7/6/7 - 6/3/5 (4) Ruud

Early on, I thought Djokovic looked a little rusty and when Ruud went up a break early in the 1st, I really felt like Ruud would hold it and take the set. But, it didn't happen. Ruud was good but just couldn't maintain his composure, I just kept waiting for Ruud to pull it together but when he let the 1st set get to a tiebreak, I knew it was probably over for him. Then in the 2nd set, felt like Ruud was gonna go full Richie Tannenbaum melt down and he just never got his fight back in him. 3rd set, too, I was wondering if Ruud would pull it together and he didn't. 

As for Djokovic, he was loose and free, playing with house money, nothing to lose, just went out there and played his game, kept the audience from cheering for the underdog and like your roommate's pet python, Djokovic slowly wrapped himself around anyone that might want some of the oxygen he was hoarding. 

Another great W for the GOAT (*), though I really felt like Ruud had a chance--not a big one, but the path to steal the first set was there and he couldn't stay on it. 

(*) Oh yeah, I made my peace with it a while ago, Djokovic is the all-time greatest tennis player of all-time (**). 

(**) Not a typo--he's that fucking great, dude!

2021 US Open

Raducanu 6/6 - 4/3 Fernandez

Fun match! I didn't see much of the Ladies' side this year but I doubt I would've paid much attention to either of these girls anyway because they were both such crazy long shots, so just as well that I missed it. Fernandez was the crowd favorite who came out of nowhere to win everyone's hearts but all I saw was the Final and I gotta say: holy balls, she looks like a little child! She looks like she should be selling candy bars so her middle school soccer team can go to the state finals. The crowd (including Steve Nash) was clearly rooting for her. She moves well, big hitter, great footwork, I think she's got a future. But I was blown away by Raducanu--she's the shit! First qualifier to ever win the US Open and I don't think she's done. I was impressed with Fernandez, but Raducanu was legit better at every phase of the game. She's top ten right now. And considering the standard bearer on the women's side is Ashleigh Barty, who probably has the most all-around talent but just does not get it done in the Finals, I think Raducanu can be the next big big big star. I would be surprised if this was her last major. Great match, a lot of fun, the crowd was totally into it, always great to see new faces and I think both Fernandez and Raducanu are gonna have staying power (which should elevate this particular Final to an all-time classic). 

(2) Medvedev 6/6/6 - 4/4/4 (1) Djokovic

Yipes! I don't remember the last time I saw Djokovic just get roasted like a hog before....yeah, I've never seen that happen. Djokovic was weird all through this tournament, kept dropping sets when normally he's just a robot that crushes all comers, so I don't know what kind of funk he was in. But the fact that he was not exactly at his best in this tourney and still made the Finals (even eviscerating Zverev in the semifinal), just shows what an unholy badass he is. But, man, Medvedev came to play--and he was talking shit, whooping up the crowd, staring Djoker down--and Djokovic couldn't smooth talk his way back into this. Wow, it's amazing how far off the baseline Medvedev was hanging--holy shit, when he was in the near court, you couldn't even see him on the TV broadcast! I'm amazed that that strategy worked. You would think a craftsman like Djokovic could find the holes (he was definitely pumping drop shots whenever possible, but it wasn't enough), but Medvedev is just a such a big dude, he was tracking everything down. I like watching Medvedev, the way he unfolds as he takes his shots is funny to watch (reminds me of Utah's Joe Ingles). Is Djokovic done? Is Medvedev ready to de-throne him (seems like Zverev has shown that he is not)? We'll see, it could be Meevedev's for the foreseeable future. Good match, even Djokovic at half strength still makes for great tennis. 

2021 Australian Open

Ladies

(3) Osaka 6/6 - 4/3 (22) Brady

I didn't see any of the ladies' final but I did see a little of each of these players earlier in the tournament. I thought (14) Muguruza had Osaka beat in the 4th round: she was up a break in the 3rd, felt like she was cruising, but I kept thinking this Osaka girl gets to every ball--she returns everything! Sure enough, Osaka pulled some Jedi mind shit, got her break back and swept the last three games when Muguruza was serving for the match.  Nice. Osaka is the shit, I was not surprised she housed Serena, nor was I shocked by the final over Brady. 

I watched Brady over Pegula in the Quarters, but honestly I thought Pegula was the better player. Brady made timely plays but I felt like Pegula faltered more than Brady bested her. I will say Brady looked pretty good in the highlights I saw of the Final, she looked intense and engaged and made some plays. But Osaka is the shit right now, no shame in going down to her. 

I was surprised Serena dispatched Halep so easily in the quarters and that Barty fell to Muchova. I watched Muchova beat Pliskova and I was impressed because I was expecting Pliskova (back to back Aussie semifinals) to make a run, but Muchova controlled the match, probably should've made the Final. Barty strikes me as quite capable of winning big matches, she's got a no-nonsense quality and competitive spirit that seems well built for deep runs, but she is allergic to the Aussie, I don't get it. 

Dudes

(1) Djokovic 7/6/6 - 5/2/2 (4) Medvedev

The first set was fun, Djokovic went up a break early, Medvedev got it back, but then faltered late and Djoker stole it from him. Felt like it was gonna be a match, though, especially when Medvedev took a quick break in the second; then Djokovic turned it on, got his break back, then another, and it was pretty much over right there. Medvedev started looking to his wife and muttering out loud from that point on and he was out of it. (Can I say something racist? Russians, man, big talent but they go out like Richie Tanenbaum every time) Medvedev is a helluva player but Djokovic is strengthening his grip on GOAT status (yeah, I think I'm there, he's better then Federer, Nadal, Sampras, Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Edberg, Becker--best I ever saw), and Medvedev's unraveling made this a relatively easy tourney for Djokovic. 

I also watched Djokovic in the semis against Karatsev, fun player (qualifier got all the way to the semis), but you could see right away that he just wasn't gonna beat Djokovic. Karatsev was a qualifier that smoked his way through (8) Schwartzman, (18) Dmitrov and (20) Auger-Alisiama but you could tell right away that Djokovic was gonna stomp this guy. Going through (6) Zverev and (14) Raonic was enough to get Djoker up to speed, but avoiding (3) Thiem, (7) Rublev and (2) Nadal pretty much handed him the trophy. 

I watched Medvedev over (5) Tsitsipas in the semis and I gotta say: Tsitsipas had the win of the tourney coming back from two sets to beat Nadal, but I wasn't impressed with him at all in the semis. Felt like Medvedev was in control throughout the match. I also watched Medvedev over (7) Rublev in the quarters and, uh, yeah, Rublev was even more Baumer than Medvedev was in that one. 

Nice to have tennis back, I was skeptical and this tourney got off to a shaky start, but once they got going this was good fun. 

Australian Open

The Australian Open is maybe my favorite tennis event of the year. Unfortunately, on the East Coast its on at 3am making it tough to watch live and tough to stay away from to watch tape delayed; fortunately, I've been putting my insomnia to good use and I got to catch the semifinal matches.

Djokovic over Federer in 4 sets
Man, Federer is only slightly worse than his decade-ago peak when he flat mooshed everyone he played (except for Nadal in Paris). Nadal stepped up his game and Federer went from penceled-in champ of every Grand Slam to quarterfinal-at-best also ran....except that he didn't. Federer is still easily a top 5 player in the world of tennis and he still mooshes most everyone he plays to breeze into the semifinals. Swept Berdych (#6), crushed Goffin (#15), dropped a single set to Dmitrov (#27), Federer is still rolling, man, still beating top ranked talent with ease. But Djokovic is a robot, gets to every ball, as smooth as Federer in his prime with the athleticism of Nadal in his prime. The first two sets went to Djokovic without much effort and it looked like the rout was on. But Federer finally snuck a break in the 3rd and the fans went nuts (tennis fans always love the guy they forgot to love at his peak). But, man, I ain't gonna lie: even when Federer got his break, I still thought Djok would break him back and take the tiebreaker. Fed held on but couldn't get it going in the 4th. Djokovic is the man right now, he doesn't dominate exactly, he wears people down with his grueling intensity. Federer is still mostly untouchable (Wawrinka and Murray can push him but no one else really) but he can't beat Djokovic, who's learned everything about being the best from Federer. Even though Federer probably won't win another major, he's still piling up impressive wins, going deeps in all four slams year after year even after Roddick, Davydenko and Nadal have long since fallen back.

Murray over Raonic in 5
Tennis is a game of inches. The match took almost 4 hours but it all comes down to 3 games: Murray dropped his 1st serve handing the 1st set to Raonic; Raonic had a brain freeze in the 2nd set, which propelled Murray back to form; Raonic lost his cool in the 4th set, which gave the momentum back to Murray. Raonic couldn't make a push in the 5th and Murray put it on him. The other 4 sets were basically a draw. Raonic impressed me but he let Murray get into his head when he challenged a call in the 2nd set, even though he won the call (seemed like he won every replay challenge in this match), Murray complained about Raonic's slow poke challenge and Raonic never quite seemed the same after that. Murray is a solid player but not vastly better than Raonic and if Raonic can keep his head together (always a tall order for tennis players), he should surge up to the top five this season.

I gotta go with Djokovic in the final. Murray's length will keep him in the match but Djok gets to every ball--EVERY ball--and I just don't think Murray has enough to knock him off. Then again, Murray only needs to capitalize on 3 or 4 chances and the Slam is his. I'll say Djokovic in 4 sets.