couldn’t agree more. i am so glad to not be surprised at this reaction by DelPo, who seems like the most likable guy on the tour.

excellent analysis. better kinja.

holy shit that’s good

what kind of man was i?

awesome

jimmie is one of the most underrated guitarists around:

right, i read the comparison in Tennis magazine. Evert did call him the GOAT on clay, the article i read actually mentions this fact and how her better record on the surface makes what she said to him all the more remarkable.

saw something interesting about this in an article recently. Nadal is the king of this surface, but he may not be the most dominant player ever on clay.

i’ve heard a few (admittedly not even close to substantiated) rumors that he’d had an affair with Bollywood star Deepika Padukone. in any event, he doesn’t seem to care as much about his tennis career.

that’s right. none.

none of this is true at all.

i feel like her religion (which is what Scientology is for her, for better or worse) shouldn’t matter here. even if it’s misogynistic.

it may well go beyond that, but her punishment is still WAY over the top. the competitive benefits of meldonium are, at best, in dispute. she was caught in late January during the Australian Open, mere weeks after the drug had been added to the banned substance list. preparation for a Slam may have taken precedence…

not sure about that. she’s Russian, which is a huge country filled with many people who love tennis. she’s won 5 Grand Slams, which is more than anyone else over the same timespan except for Serena. she’s beautiful, which certainly doesn’t hurt.

i LOVED this film. I was sad to find out that Malik Bendjelloul (writer/director) committed suicide, he had such a gentle take on the Rodriguez story.

sure, that may be true in a very narrow, non sport-specific sense. my point is more that any examination of the way that RF has made this resurgence happen requires a more nuanced, tennis-centric analysis rather than ‘90s baseball PEDs duuurrrrrrr’.

i get it, i really do. i’m not even saying i don’t have a few questions about his performance, and i say this as a huge RF fan. but just saying ‘90s baseball’ without any more insight or evidence is kind of bullshit.

Wondering why you think Rafa is ‘a step slower’. I’m not sure i see that, but i could admittedly be missing something.

I’ve been suspicious of a few of the top players before, but from your comment here I’m just not convinced you watch much tennis. Whatever ‘help’ you think RF might be getting it’s not the kind that would help him to strike the ball more cleanly; take it earlier; be more confident in the big moments; etc etc etc.