Diamond Age has Begun

Meles said:
Its a devastating Diamond Age sweep for the new wave of players; Edmund repels Davis Cup wannabe Monfils at European Open. Tsitsipas breaks Lord Gulbis late in both sets for rather decisive win in Stockholm. Khachanov dismantles peak Mannarino in Kremlin Cup

Diamond Age off with a bang
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Prediction time:

Will a Diamond Age player reach the SF of the 2019 Australian Open?
 
Zara said:
Dear Meles, why did you like this post when he called you clueless? Just trying to understand your psyche given that it strikes as an exception to the rule.
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Just abmk's style. We interact all the time. I like posts so I can quickly see I've read them. When I totally flat out disagree I won't like. I like abmk so don't have a problem liking him even though he's trying to scorch me in the debate. If face to face, I doubt anyone says stuff like this lol.
 
IowaGuy said:
Those two haven't done anything since :)
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Meles said:
Its a devastating Diamond Age sweep for the new wave of players; Edmund repels Davis Cup wannabe Monfils at European Open. Tsitsipas breaks Lord Gulbis late in both sets for rather decisive win in Stockholm. Khachanov dismantles peak Mannarino in Kremlin Cup

Diamond Age off with a bang @abmk
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This means Edmund won the tournament.;)
 
Meles said:
This means Edmund won the tournament.;)
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Well, if winning 250's is your idea of kicking butt on the tour, then Edmund is doing it!

Let's face it, neither Edmund nor Chung have come close to living up to the hype they created by reaching the SF of AO 2018...
 
IowaGuy said:
Well, if winning 250's is your idea of kicking butt on the tour, then Edmund is doing it!

Let's face it, neither Edmund nor Chung have come close to living up to the hype they created by reaching the SF of AO 2018...
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Let's be realistic. Edmund had odd illness issues and getting back on track. Chung all too typical injury issues.
 
Meles said:
Let's be realistic. Edmund had odd illness issues and getting back on track. Chung all too typical injury issues.
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I actually really like Edmund's game, he is an exciting player to watch. I saw him play in person in summer 2017 at Winston-Salem Open, he has one of the biggest FH that I have ever seen in person. (He got beat by Džumhur, due to lots of UE.)

If he can get a little more consistent with his BH and FH, and little better footwork/fitness, he could definitely be a top-10 player over the next few years...
 
Meles said:
Let me give you a primer on the history of tennis. Very simple, there were 4 eras with a fifth just starting:

1. Woolpants Era (1920s+)
2. Golden Era (1980s-1990s: Sampras, Kafelnikov, fierce international competition)
3. Weak Era (the 2003-2007 lapse toward woolpants level)
4. Ultra Modern Era (2008+)
5. Diamand Age (2018+)

Let’s examine the woolpants era:

A small group of upper-middle class Anglosaxon men started playing each other for the amusement of affluent public. They were nice middle-aged, mildly athletic men, who wore wool pants and fur coats during their “matches” and still never broke a sweat. They were nice people you enjoyed a scotch and a cigar on their changeovers. They gently bunted balls back and forth over the net. Groundstrokes were rudimentary and passing shots were unheard of, so they all liked to walk briskly forward toward the net, whenever they felt tired and wished to end a point.

In the 1980s tennis started getting international and elements of athletic play were introduced, ultimately culminating in the 1990s Golden Era, when the likes of Sampras and Kafelnikov battled all-time greats in virtually each and every slam round.

A number of tragic events of 2002, precipitated by the Sampras-Kafelnikov retirement and Safin injuries, left the ATP in a state of vacuum, which brought tennis back onto its woolpant knees until the 2008 liberation. And now we have a new wave of Diamond Age talent joining the greats left standing from the Ultra Modern Era.
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You forgot to mention the rise of the young Muscovites, Rublev, Khachanov, Medvedev, Donskoy providing a shining beacon out of the mid 00s cesspool.

Furthermore, I believe they were drinking pimm's and lemonade at changeovers back in the wool pants days. They were not manly enough for scotch and cigars.
 
Meles said:
Let me give you a primer on the history of tennis. Very simple, there were 4 eras with a fifth just starting:

1. Woolpants Era (1920s+)
2. Golden Era (1980s-1990s: Sampras, Kafelnikov, fierce international competition)
3. Weak Era (the 2003-2007 lapse toward woolpants level)
4. Ultra Modern Era (2008+)
5. Diamand Age (2018+)

Let’s examine the woolpants era:

A small group of upper-middle class Anglosaxon men started playing each other for the amusement of affluent public. They were nice middle-aged, mildly athletic men, who wore wool pants and fur coats during their “matches” and still never broke a sweat. They were nice people you enjoyed a scotch and a cigar on their changeovers. They gently bunted balls back and forth over the net. Groundstrokes were rudimentary and passing shots were unheard of, so they all liked to walk briskly forward toward the net, whenever they felt tired and wished to end a point.

In the 1980s tennis started getting international and elements of athletic play were introduced, ultimately culminating in the 1990s Golden Era, when the likes of Sampras and Kafelnikov battled all-time greats in virtually each and every slam round.

A number of tragic events of 2002, precipitated by the Sampras-Kafelnikov retirement and Safin injuries, left the ATP in a state of vacuum, which brought tennis back onto its woolpant knees until the 2008 liberation. And now we have a new wave of Diamond Age talent joining the greats left standing from the Ultra Modern Era.
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Fantastic. Another masterpiece.
 
metsman said:
You forgot to mention the rise of the young Muscovites, Rublev, Khachanov, Medvedev, Donskoy providing a shining beacon out of the mid 00s cesspool.

Furthermore, I believe they were drinking pimm's and lemonade at changeovers back in the wool pants days. They were not manly enough for scotch and cigars.
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Yes. Rublev, Shapovalov, Medvedev, Khachanov, Tsitsipas, Zverev, Popyrin to name a few. There are children who are slow to hit their developmental milestones, yet most of us have the sense to refrain from comparing them to aged liquors.
 
Meles said:
Yes. Rublev, Shapovalov, Medvedev, Khachanov, Tsitsipas, Zverev, Popyrin to name a few. There are children who are slow to hit their developmental milestones, yet most of us have the sense to refrain from comparing them to aged liquors.
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Who do you think will step up and defend Fraud’s slam record?
 
KINGROGER said:
Who do you think will step up and defend Fraud’s slam record?
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By that you mean defeat Djoko.... That is a tough ask as we don't have a lot of history given Pepevics little interlude. Zverev serving really well. Tsitsipas for sure. Medvedev maybe, but don't see him having weapons to hit through Djoko... Basically I think before too long it will basically be a pile on as the draws become more and more saturated with Diamond Age players plus likes of Thiem, Basilashvilli, Schwartzman, etc. I'd love to see de Minaur and Chung in full form take their tolls as well. The worst for the game is the same old pigeons coming through.
tumblr_maun4tWWss1qal0bdo1_r1_500.gif

Applies to Fedal as well.;)
 
Definitely not going to call it any kind of “age” yet, but this is definitey the most exciting the next gen has been since Nadal/Djokovic/Murray’s generation.

There will definitely be at least a few multi slam winners and stable top tenners out of this bunch.
 
tennis_pro said:
250s that nobody plays - check.

Next stop, a Masters 3rd round.

:cool:
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Khach, Djoko, Thiem, and Fed all Diamond Agers in the Paris SFs.

Amazing three of the greats all playing now; Nadal, Djokovic & De Minaur || The Art Of Defending || Ultimate Trio
 
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Meles said:
Fraudulent court speeds this time of the year make for some of the worst viewing.
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Anderson out, Isner out, top players are breaking often enough to make it interesting. I'm quite happy with what I'm seeing except for the horrendous camera angle! Let's see how the stats come out. If Novak breaks at 32% of return tames or higher or higher, I don't think it is too fast. And remember the biggest factor is not "speed" but the height of the bounce, which reduces the time the ball is in the air after bouncing and demands faster reflexes. ;)
 
Gary Duane said:
Anderson out, Isner out, top players are breaking often enough to make it interesting. I'm quite happy with what I'm seeing except for the horrendous camera angle! Let's see how the stats come out. If Novak breaks at 32% of return tames or higher or higher, I don't think it is too fast. And remember the biggest factor is not "speed" but the height of the bounce, which reduces the time the ball is in the air after bouncing and demands faster reflexes. ;)
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Nishi v Fed was pretty darn boring. Ditto Thiem v Coric.

Sock v Thiem surprisingly good. Ditto Djoko v Cilic. I'd like it harder to hold serve.
 
IowaGuy said:
Well, you could always start watching WTA :)
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WTA players would hold serve no problem at the Guy Fraudget Paris fast court horror show. Even Fed v Djoko was turned into near servebot tennis. Sorry this surface is a total dud in my mind.
 
Meles said:
Nishi v Fed was pretty darn boring. Ditto Thiem v Coric.

Sock v Thiem surprisingly good. Ditto Djoko v Cilic. I'd like it harder to hold serve.
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For sure you have a point when we watch several sets and there are no breaks. I have still not seen today's match. I've been avoiding it, because I wanted Fed to win, and apparently he came really close. But I do admit to starting to fast forward when there are a ton of matches and wait for the scores to get to at least 30/30. Sometimes I zip so fast that it's 40/15, I think there goes another game, and suddenly a break happens. Then I rewind to find out exactly how the break happened.

I like fast tennis, quick points, lightning fast shots, but for me the serving has gotten out of hand. It's like you can skip everything but the TBs, because that's the only time in many matches where the outcome is dramatic. I'm assuming something good happened when Fed broke in the 2nd set, but probably no serve breaks in the other sets.

The fun of tennis for me is waiting for the breaks. I think I'd enjoy a lot of tennis more if they only got one serve. :(
 
Gary Duane said:
For sure you have a point when we watch several sets and there are no breaks. I have still not seen today's match. I've been avoiding it, because I wanted Fed to win, and apparently he came really close. But I do admit to starting to fast forward when there are a ton of matches and wait for the scores to get to at least 30/30. Sometimes I zip so fast that it's 40/15, I think there goes another game, and suddenly a break happens. Then I rewind to find out exactly how the break happened.

I like fast tennis, quick points, lightning fast shots, but for me the serving has gotten out of hand. It's like you can skip everything but the TBs, because that's the only time in many matches where the outcome is dramatic. I'm assuming something good happened when Fed broke in the 2nd set, but probably no serve breaks in the other sets.

The fun of tennis for me is waiting for the breaks. I think I'd enjoy a lot of tennis more if they only got one serve. :(
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It's crazy that even when 2 good returners meet (Fed and Djok), there is only 1 break of serve over 36 service games !?!

Granted, they are both good servers, but something is wrong when even Djok can't get a break in 3 sets, yet only gives up one break of his own???
 
I think this is one reason that we're not seeing player types like Ríos, Nalbandian, and Hewitt among today's top players.

Good shotmakers (and exciting players!) who lack a top serve simply cannot expect to hold their serve enough (80%+) to beat today's big servers.

Except maybe on clay, but there aren't enough ATP points available on clay to keep a good returner high in the rankings...
 
Gary Duane said:
For sure you have a point when we watch several sets and there are no breaks. I have still not seen today's match. I've been avoiding it, because I wanted Fed to win, and apparently he came really close. But I do admit to starting to fast forward when there are a ton of matches and wait for the scores to get to at least 30/30. Sometimes I zip so fast that it's 40/15, I think there goes another game, and suddenly a break happens. Then I rewind to find out exactly how the break happened.
I like fast tennis, quick points, lightning fast shots, but for me the serving has gotten out of hand. It's like you can skip everything but the TBs, because that's the only time in many matches where the outcome is dramatic. I'm assuming something good happened when Fed broke in the 2nd set, but probably no serve breaks in the other sets.
The fun of tennis for me is waiting for the breaks. I think I'd enjoy a lot of tennis more if they only got one serve. :(
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Federer derangement syndrome?
 
IowaGuy said:
I think this is one reason that we're not seeing player types like Ríos, Nalbandian, and Hewitt among today's top players.

Good shotmakers (and exciting players!) who lack a top serve simply cannot expect to hold their serve enough (80%+) to beat today's big servers.

Except maybe on clay, but there aren't enough ATP points available on clay to keep a good returner high in the rankings...
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This is the Demon's problem though he's got a lot of pop for his height and age. Serve a must have against the veteran elite.
 
Bender said:
@Meles is out partying it up like it's 2003 again

Congrats on one of your hemsworth ducklings blossoming into a full blown swan
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Diamond Age is Big 4 or thereabouts plus new blood. LostGen and geraitric servebots need not apply. Nadal withdraws WTF and we have the dark before the light with Isner, Anderson, Cilic, Zedrot, and ****** trying to servebot us into sheer boredom. See the light Bender and check out the wonder of Milan where Khach couldn't even make SFs last year.o_O
 
Meles said:
Diamond Age is Big 4 or thereabouts plus new blood. LostGen and geraitric servebots need not apply. Nadal withdraws WTF and we have the dark before the light with Isner, Anderson, Cilic, Zedrot, and ****** trying to servebot us into sheer boredom. See the light Bender and check out the wonder of Milan where Khach couldn't even make SFs last year.o_O
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For but a brief moment I thought you had suggested that I watch the wonder of Millman.

That WTF lineup looks terrible with those giraffes but Fed, Rafa, Djoko, Nishi can potentially make things interesting still. Fed if his baseline is actually working, because otherwise he's just going to serve out his matches.
 
tennisaddict said:
Don't know about lost gen but do believe we haven't seen the last of Tweety Bird and Tstronga
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LOL. Long, long road to their best after such long layoffs. Little chance of success at their advanced age. If Djoko has hands full with Nextgen, these two just need to retire with dignity.;)
 
Bender said:
For but a brief moment I thought you had suggested that I watch the wonder of Millman.

That WTF lineup looks terrible with those giraffes but Fed, Rafa, Djoko, Nishi can potentially make things interesting still. Fed if his baseline is actually working, because otherwise he's just going to serve out his matches.
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Something is rotten in Denmark for Fed with his low 2nd return points won since Wimby. Djoko looks good. Nishi got thumped by Medvedev in Tokyo final, so little chance for him with such big serving.
 
These were the diamond age scenes by my TV as Zverev crowned off the first short period of the diamond age with WTF title backing up Khach's Paris triumph.
 
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