Bad Look For Olympics. Alcaraz First Round Opponent: #300 Hady Habib From Lebanon.

......She did indeed tell me a story once about Lebanese tennis players. They train incredibly hard, because they know
that every other week, they have to stop when the "Sands of Beirut" blow over the tennis courts. That means,
if Roland Garros (French Open to those who are travel-impared) has extreme winds, they may win a gold medal!!!
------ So Be It ⚜ ------ (Cedar of Lebanon)

EDIT ---the above post should have ended with a photo of a tree, but TTW didn't print it. (No, I'm not Mr. Cedar!!)

Heh, heh. Not to worry, the hot air from this forum will soon spread sand in RG and benefit the Lebanese yet! Hope Molisa approves. So, there may be some surprise that the underserving Lebanese won 4 games, 3 more than the more experienced Ebden who managed 1 game against Novak. Do the Sands of Beirut hold a secret???????
 
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Better_Call_Raul

Hall of Fame
The same situation happened with Rune.

Rune withdrew before the tournament started. Instead of having Denmark replace Rune with an alternate singles player the Olympic dunderheads replaced Rune with Australian doubles specialist Ebden. Who had not played singles match since 2022.

Of course Djoker bageled the hapless Ebden. It was a bloodbath. Our compassionate Djoker graciously donated a game to spare the hapless Ebden embarrassment on the world's stage.

The solution is simple:
If a singles player withdraws before the tournament start replace him with a singles alternate from that same country.

Apologies if this rationalist common sense thinking offends anyone.
 

silentkman

Hall of Fame
Wimbledon has a 128-player draw. 104 players gain direct entry based on their ATP rankings which will be ~Top 100.
Those are 104 quality opponents.

That leaves 24 players.
8 players receive wild card entries. Do NOT agree with wild cards but the general idea is that your opponent will be some promising local tough young player.
Or some injured ex-champion.

16 other players qualify by having to win 3 rounds. If your opponent has won 3 rounds, he is likely about to break into Top 128.
Sample of 2024 Wimbledon qualifiers:
  1. Hugo Gaston - Ranked 81 .
  2. Zizou Bergs - Ranked 163 .
  3. Lloyd Harris - Ranked 95 .
  4. Cristian Garín - Ranked 120 .
  5. Vít Kopřiva - Ranked 103 .
  6. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard - Ranked 153

In summary, 90%+ of the 128-player Wimbledon draw will be quality players ranked in the Top 150.

Finally, the Olympics is a much smaller 64-player draw. It is problematic to have a #300 player in a 64-player international draw.

Also keep in mind that these players from Lebanon have never qualified for a Slam. Have never even one a single Q match for a Slam.
These Lebanon players will never qualify to even play in a Slam. Or even win a Q match. That is the reality.
it's the Olympics for crying out loud. We all know how the majors operate.
 

Operation20

New User
the best part for me is when message board folk think top 300 means they aren't great players. Literally no clue what a top 300 player even looks like, let alone how hard it is to achieve.

Not to hijack the thread, but there is a video on the Youtube channel pongfinity, that hosted Otto Virtanen (Finnish ATP pro ranked in the 800s at the time) for a serve challenge event.

He offered 1000 euros to return his serve and not a single person could get it back.

Most people couldn't even get a racquet on any of the balls. These guys are just on a whole different planet to club and tournament players. Huge respect.

EDIT : Here it is at 3:00
 

Better_Call_Raul

Hall of Fame
the best part for me is when message board folk think top 300 means they aren't great players. Literally no clue what a top 300 player even looks like, let alone how hard it is to achieve.

You are confused. There is a world of difference between #300 and #100.

That is precisely why this guy from Lebanon is playing second tier Challenger events and will never qualify for a Slam. He will never even win a Slam Qualifier match.

And therein lies the difference between #100 and #300. It is a HUGE chasm


But the Olympics need to promote the fairy tale narrative that a second tier Challenger player is competitive with an ATP Top 50.

But anyone who knows tennis knows that is an impossibility.
 

mahatma

Hall of Fame
It’s very cool the way the Olympics has a unique qualification format.

For one special moment in their career the chance arrives for a player from a smaller tennis nation to come from the clouds and win something that gives them sporting immortality.

In some Olympic sports the Nation-filtered qualification process creates comical moments. I don’t think anyone will forget Eric “The Eel” Moussambani who used the Olympics qualification loophole to swim an Olympic heat race representing Equatorial Guinea. He should absolutely not have been on the Olympic stage, and his heat swim was one of the worst / slowest ever.

But more often it’s the case that this unique opportunity inspires people to greatness and we see people absolutely smash their personal bests when given the chance to represent their country on the worlds biggest athletic and sporting stage.

Leander Paes world #98 in singles, winning a bronze in Atlanta Olympics comes to my mind. What a run he had

Edit : He was world #126 at that point. All the more bigger
 
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LeftyMagic

Rookie
You are confused. There is a world of difference between #300 and #100.

That is precisely why this guy from Lebanon is playing second tier Challenger events and will never qualify for a Slam. He will never even win a Slam Qualifier match.

And therein lies the difference between #100 and #300. It is a HUGE chasm


But the Olympics need to promote the fairy tale narrative that a second tier Challenger player is competitive with an ATP Top 50.

But anyone who knows tennis knows that is an impossibility.
im not confused at all. ever hit with a top 300 player? they are very good. i didn't say he was going to win the olympics or a slam. you did. let them promote the fairytale. a guy from a smaller tennis focused country gets his shot. whats the problem, the quality of tennis is too low for you?
i also like when tennis message board folk tell me im confused about players ability thats fun.
 

Devilito

Legend
It should be a bagel tbh
Wrong. If you're 300 in the world you can definitely win multiple games off the best tennis player in the world. The problem is often nerves and being in an overwhelming situation for the first time. It's not the game. There is no reason this dude couldn't win a game or two or three every set. The only problem i'd see is that it takes place on clay, which is historically bad for people that learned to play on US hardcourts.
 

insideguy

G.O.A.T.
Not sure why its controversial. The olympics isnt about bringing all the worlds best athletes to compete for a medal. Its about having countries compete against each other. The top 100 best table tennis players are not there either, because each country only gets to send so many athletes. The 15th best USA swimmer is not there either, because even if he might be a top 50 swimmer he cant go because he didnt make the cut for the US swim team.
 

LeftyMagic

Rookie
like we’ve never seen an absolute beat down in the first round of a slam either from no name qualies, journeymen, wildcards or whoever else. the runners who dont finish anywhere near the podium shouldnt be at the olympics either right? its a horrible take, wrap it up.
 

Better_Call_Raul

Hall of Fame

Breaking News: Djoker Agrees That Olympic Rules Must Be Changed!!!​


Novak Djokovic calls for rule change after farcical Aussie scenes​

However Djokovic wasn't impressed by the calibre of his Aussie opponent and called for changes to the Olympic tennis entry rules. Ebden was a late inclusion in the singles competition after a number of withdrawals - including high-profile players Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.

Under Olympic rules, only players who are entered into other events (doubles or mixed doubles) can replace them if the withdrawal comes after the draw is completed, rather than the next best singles player in the world. The rules led to farcical scenes of doubles specialist Edben playing singles - even though he hasn't played a tour-level event in singles in two years - and is effectively retired from individual competition.
 

Better_Call_Raul

Hall of Fame
im not confused at all. ever hit with a top 300 player? they are very good. i didn't say he was going to win the olympics or a slam. you did. let them promote the fairytale. a guy from a smaller tennis focused country gets his shot. whats the problem,

You make no sense. Nobody disputes that #300 is a very good player. The issue is whether such a low-ranked player should be playing.

the quality of tennis is too low for you?

You are finally starting to get it. The rules need to be changed. If a singles player drops out before the Olympics start, replace him with a quality player.

Listen to Djoker and learn.

Novak Djokovic calls for rule change after farcical Aussie scenes​

However Djokovic wasn't impressed by the calibre of his Aussie opponent and called for changes to the Olympic tennis entry rules. Ebden was a late inclusion in the singles competition after a number of withdrawals - including high-profile players Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.

Under Olympic rules, only players who are entered into other events (doubles or mixed doubles) can replace them if the withdrawal comes after the draw is completed, rather than the next best singles player in the world. The rules led to farcical scenes of doubles specialist Edben playing singles - even though he hasn't played a tour-level event in singles in two years - and is effectively retired from individual competition.
 

LeftyMagic

Rookie
You make no sense. Nobody disputes that #300 is a very good player. The issue is whether such a low-ranked player should be playing.



You are finally starting to get it. The rules need to be changed. If a singles player drops out before the Olympics start, replace him with a quality player.

Listen to Djoker and learn.

Novak Djokovic calls for rule change after farcical Aussie scenes​

However Djokovic wasn't impressed by the calibre of his Aussie opponent and called for changes to the Olympic tennis entry rules. Ebden was a late inclusion in the singles competition after a number of withdrawals - including high-profile players Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.

Under Olympic rules, only players who are entered into other events (doubles or mixed doubles) can replace them if the withdrawal comes after the draw is completed, rather than the next best singles player in the world. The rules led to farcical scenes of doubles specialist Edben playing singles - even though he hasn't played a tour-level event in singles in two years - and is effectively retired from individual competition.
how do i not make any sense? i dont think a player ranked 300 representing his country shouldnt be allowed to play in the olympics. thats my opinion. yes ill listen to djoker and learn lol, you sound like another internet tough guy. read above many ppl agree with me. move on man, you have your opinion and i have mine. one thing i cant take is “you seem confused” “you make no sense”. get a life man.
 
like we’ve never seen an absolute beat down in the first round of a slam either from no name qualies, journeymen, wildcards or whoever else. the runners who dont finish anywhere near the podium shouldnt be at the olympics either right? its a horrible take, wrap it up.
Yah,man,yah. The Lebanese Hassan beat Eubanks in straights, 64/62. The Lebanese could serve/dropshot/pass with effect. Evans lost 2nd set to the Tunisian Echargui, ranked 384.
Hope these rank outsiders with or without dual nationalities will provide more entertainment, enjoy their time and **shock! horror** win a medal to boot, whilst sticking 2 fingers up to the wagging finger of the self proclaimed wise ones of this silly forum.
 

smalahove

Hall of Fame
I follow a French ATP player called Jules Marie, who's currently ranked in the low 200s. He has his own YouTube channel where he posts from every tournament he plays. Great production value.
I highly recommend watching his matches, as over time, you will get an accurate representation of the level of various ranked players, and how the the biggest difference between them is not peak performance, but performance variability (variance) / stability.

Having watched the highlights of both Alcaraz's and Djokovic's 1R matches, Habib was putting up a decent performance. The problem with with Ebden, is not so much that he is a doubles specialist per se, it is that his movement is way too slow and he lacks clay-specific footwork technique, so he gets completely exposed against a high caliber player. Afaik he stopped competing in singles in '22, played his last clay match in '22 as well, but we have to go back to '17 to find his last clay victory. During the years in between, he played about a handfull clay matches and lost them all.

it's not his fault that he is equally as good a doubles player as he is "less-good" as a singles clay player :) Just un-luck of the draw and the situation.
 
I follow a French ATP player called Jules Marie, who's currently ranked in the low 200s. He has his own YouTube channel where he posts from every tournament he plays. Great production value.
I highly recommend watching his matches, as over time, you will get an accurate representation of the level of various ranked players, and how the the biggest difference between them is not peak performance, but performance variability (variance) / stability.

.... :) Just un-luck of the draw and the situation.

Man, you nailed it. Luck / un-luck is the key to all in my view. Fate, destiny and the stars. Part of the mix of what often becomes the 'X' factor separating this one from that one. Federer referred to the small margins that make the difference in his speech at Dartmouth. I agree, all else being equal. I'll look out for this dude, Jules Marie. Sounds interesting.
 

smalahove

Hall of Fame
Man, you nailed it. Luck / un-luck is the key to all in my view. Fate, destiny and the stars. Part of the mix of what often becomes the 'X' factor separating this one from that one. Federer referred to the small margins that make the difference in his speech at Dartmouth. I agree, all else being equal. I'll look out for this dude, Jules Marie. Sounds interesting.

Following Marie's matches, you get to see those small margins, as well as Marie's assessment where he acknowledges that some unranked college player or a low ranked player (+1000) on the ITF circuit can pull off a top 100/200 performance out of nowhere. I'm amazed at the quality of those unseen and unsung players are (i.e. 150-1200 f.ex.). It's strange to me, how these players often are berated, with what seems to be little actual knowledge of their competitive level.
 
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