Boils down to what the young uns are learning in tennis academies - it’s endless drilling (groundstrokes and serves) from age 8+. Also, as the grass court has shrunk to barely a month - decades back, tennis was mostly a grass + clay game - there’s no premium to getting to the net. Seems like the current prototype -…

Financially painful too ... free agency coming up and a couple years ago, he was a lock for a mega 8-10 year $200-250 million deal.

Watered down tour with all the injures - no fault to Fed/Rafa but it’s pretty mediocre out there. That’s how Rafa can be beaten by two up-and-comers (Shapo and Krygios) in the two hardcourts leading up to the USO (not to mention the Muller loss at Wimbledon) and then manage to win the USO title without facing a single…

This is third-grade level life lessons. But folks need to push content and narratives and clicks so “next” Danica stuff will live on ... especially in a traditionally male-dominated sport. Kinda the same thing when women MMA was gaining popularity and everyone was the next Carano or Rousey. And didn’t Danica really…

Think this is to counter Brad Gilbert on the Tennis Channel/etc. who was really pushing “Denis the Menace” last week.

You’re nuts. Kvitova was slashed in a HOME INVASION (where a knife was held to her throat). Venus is a 37-yo overachieving her many years. Root for Sloan? She’s not an underdog at all - just a supremely talented player coming back from injury. Her ranking fell quite a way but no one in the draw looks at her as being…

I think so ... only because everyone would want to fight the guy as it guarantees a much-hyped, mega-fight. McGregor didn’t prove his boxing skills against Mayweather (who was flat-footed, didn’t move his head, and lunging the entire fight) as much as he proved his box office draw. And that’s really the only that…

The bottom half of the draw is in absolute shambles. But somewhat predictable as 5 of the top 10 or so guys in the game didn’t even suit up - and thanks to Murray’s late withdrawal to keep Rafa/Fed in the same half. Zverev may and should win majors down the line but he’ll look back at this event and wonder what might…

The commentators mentioned the slow courts during the first day - something about the court surface being laid out late. So they expect the courts to “speed up” the more they are played on ... so bodes well for the big hitters (and Fed, who loves fast courts) who can squeeze into the second week.

“ ... and when their man went down two sets to zero ...” You sprinkle in these kind of mistakes all the time - Fed won the first set!

I hear Sarah McLachlan has signed on to do a PSA for NFL running backs.

Unfortunately reality. When my ethnically-Korean family was in Japan back in the day, they actually used a Japanese last name (as did many Koreans) as Japanese-driven racism/classism is quite fierce.

Great effort but he’s a long, long way from rounding out. Playing out of your mind in front of a electrifying capacity crowd against a gracefully aging but clearly not 100% GOAT is different than grinding it out week-in, week-out on tour - when everyone in the top 100's a threat. Tiafoe is 5-13 on tour this year and…

For many colleges, it’s more the TAs instead of the professors ... especially for frosh/soph-type classes. Some TAs (usually 1st/2nd year graduate students) treat it like open season.

“... after they had already gone down the status list and checked everyone’s miles.” So you’re saying there’s still a chance?

Also no Cilic (defending champ and Wimbledon runner-up), Frail Nishikori, and Raonic. Probably the most watered down Masters draw in 10-15 years? Also Krygios double-faulted THREE times in his last service game, gift-wrapping the title to Grigor. Wouldn’t be surprised to see either competing deep in the second week at…

Maybe the reception for Bennett’s sit-down would’ve been better if he doesn’t have a history of being an obnoxious, I-love-my-team-but-I-love-myself-more attention-whore.

We’ll see. The guy was down four match points to a nobody in the first round and if he’d lost that match, would be on his way to a Vancouver challenger event. He has a ton of talent and a pretty game (takes big cuts on everything a la Wawrinka) but he’s on everyone’s radar right now and the last Canadian who became…

It’s a no brainer.

Your argument doesn’t make sense. Novak HAS stepped away more from tennis during the past year because of his wife/kid. It’s not reflected on the number of matches he’s played but instead, his time away from training. His overall performance has suffered because of non-tennis obligations. There’s a reason why he…