What a joke. This was up there as the match of 2024 so far. It was entertaining, thrilling in spots and very high quality from both players in sets one and three (second set Holger semi-tanked). Grigor played lights out and at a VERY high level. Only on TTW is Grigor's play today described as "a weak performance." People who don't even watch the matches have no business wading into match threads with pithy comments which have nothing to do with reality.
I was thinking how great it will be to see Rune finally play a top player on a big stage again. But, he very well might be tired. We'll see what he can do That's one of the things about MC - only one week, so playing every day with no days off.
I was a bit thankful when Sampras started wearing the long, baggier ones. A much better look, IMNSHO.
It was the best match of 2024 that I have seen.
Sinner gonna tie the head to head on Sunday. Are you ready?
I am not ready to believe these two are meeting 100%
Skip the second set, not worth watching. First and third sets were epic. Roddick said a few minutes ago on air, "Absolutely the match of the year. Insane hitting from both guys, Rune showing a helluva lot of composure and maturity today, that's for sure."
T2 Live (tennis channel 2 didn't)
Good to hear. While I'm loving Dimitrov's rediscovered play in recent times, it's also good to hear that Rune is starting to show his best form again.
You go girl! Agreed.
Not the whole match, but in the tiebreak Grigor was pretty meh. He was doing great in the third. I know you like Holger, but let's be real, that tiebreak wasn't nearly as good as the rest of the third.
Well, the third set TB was 5 minutes out of a 3.5 hour match. Dimi played beautifully up until then, Holger hung in there. It was clearly a great, entertaining match. Dimi's BH was absolutely rock solid, very impressive hitting.
Yes, and staying on the baseline trying to hit relatively early and flat off those loopy shots is simply hopeless. Coming to the net with Hubi's decent skills and one of a kind kick serve gets you more success, or at least gets you to the shower with more energy conserved for the next tournament. Hubi's forehand is not strong enough for a one-two punch, he needs to use his volleys in those circumstances as much as possible.
I'm trying to catch up, the atmosphere is certainly on point
Sorry, but Monte Carlo is the fastest of the major clay court tournaments, not the slowest. It's a big reason Agassi hated to play there ("the court speed was nothing like the French Open, not even close"). These are the court index speeds of the clay events from 2023:
Humbert was somewhat inevitable in the third, when he's redirecting the ball well he's hard to beat.
Lendl wore the shortest shorts ever and did so 40+ years before Holger showed up.
Ok... Roddick himself said "the match of the year". From Roddick, sounds like Rune played VERY well. And apparently two MPs saved, wow. Definitely going to try to catch a replay of this.
Your graphic is from 9 years ago.
I already posted the 2023 court index speed because it's the latest available. In any case, my interest in getting into a p-ssing contest with you hovers at zero, so move on to someone else.
Your graphic is from 9 years ago.
I feel like he's on the cusp of an MTO or a "ret."
Exactly right and the differences on clay are negligible. It is all about air density which is largely controlled by temperature and altitude. Monte Carlo and sometimes Barcelona are the coldest and slowest. Madrid plays the fastest because of altitude (Zverev I believe won Madrid one year without facing a break point, no chance of that in Monte Carlo unless on court temperatures probably like the surface of Venus.Repeat please, surface speed are unequal playing conditions. Madrid slowest clay surface maybe, but never the slowest tennis tournament.
) Paris and London in this older graphic are indoor hard and how those courts used to be before they were sped up in 2017.
This. Dimitrov certainly can play much better and did in Miami. As a diehard Holger fan his play has been abysmal at this tournament (lost 2nd set with Nagal even today which shows his level.) This is much like the Ruud Acapulco semi-final to my eyes. Against Ruud, Holger got dragged into a long 38 shot rally in the 4th game of the 2nd set. He was playing quite well up until this point and did just manage to get over the line and break, but then he was completely gassed and got destroyed the rest of the 2nd set. Come the 3rd he had recovered enough to successfully go for some shots, but was avoiding long rallies as much as possible by crushing the ball with some success (Ruud was furious.) He almost got over the line (or at least to 5-2 in the 3rd) before Ruud tightened thinks up and ground him down (Holger started missing the big shots more.) It was an incredible 3rd set by Rune simply because he almost pulled off the win despite being completely gassed. Today Holger got over the line in the first set and it was much the same story (had already played 1.5 sets just before the match). His play was not as good as Acapulco, but Dimitrov was a much weaker opponent on clay so he somehow got it over the line with his moxie.
Dimitrov has only himself to blame. He had match points at 6-5 in the third, and he was playing beautifully. How he crumbled in the tiebreak is a mystery. I agree that it’s a pattern with Rune, I saw it too and was thinking along the same lines while watching. Anyhow it was a fun match and both players played high quality tennis at times. Very entertaining.
Did you watch that match point? Because Holger belted a +1 forehand about 100 mph down the line right into the backhand corner. Then proceeded to do that about 6 more times to win the match.
I actually rewatched most of the 3rd set with a tennis friend (who'd been watching Nole) to confirm my impressions. I generally don't watch Dimitrov, but was well aware of his big jump in form down in Australia this year and then recent near peak level in Miami (watched both.)
To be fair, he’s better than Prakash.
Agree. Court speed CPI, Temperature, Altitude, Humidity and the Ball used all are factors that determine how fast a player perceives a court as playing. The time of year, time of day/night of the match etc. have a lot to do with how fast the court plays. It is the same when you play yourself or if you watch the pros.Exactly right and the differences on clay are negligible. It is all about air density which is largely controlled by temperature and altitude. Monte Carlo and sometimes Barcelona are the coldest and slowest. Madrid plays the fastest because of altitude (Zverev I believe won Madrid one year without facing a break point, no chance of that in Monte Carlo unless on court temperatures probably like the surface of Venus.
Exactly right and the differences on clay are negligible. It is all about air density which is largely controlled by temperature and altitude. Monte Carlo and sometimes Barcelona are the coldest and slowest. Madrid plays the fastest because of altitude (Zverev I believe won Madrid one year without facing a break point, no chance of that in Monte Carlo unless on court temperatures probably like the surface of Venus.
Short shorts were very common in the 80s in every sport. When watching old football my wife always notices the very short shorts and asks "why don't they wear like that anymore?".. she's obviously a fan of those, and probably one of the reason she's also a Rune fan
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Should we wear short shorts or tight shorts? Or short, tight shorts?
