United Cup - Sydney

Virginia

Hall of Fame
Everyone is criticising him for retiring. He wouldn't have done that, just for having failed to hold serve and win the match. Clearly there was something else going on. He knew he couldn't win that set, feeling the way he did and losing that set would have meant playing a decider. He decides the risk wasn't worth it. Yes, he had a melt down, no two ways about it, but please, guys, cut him some slack. He also knew (as was proven later) that the deciding doubles match would be won by USA.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
3 points in and this is already delivering.

Swiatek with a gorgeous down the line.

If she can beat Rybakina and Coco on back to back days, that's crazy. Just hope they all deliver at the AO.
 

Subway Tennis

G.O.A.T.
Iga did a drive-by handshake after her match with Coco :confused:

Hopefully Hurkacz can figure out a way to beat the United Cup GOAT Taylor Fritz and we can get a live doubles.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Iga did a drive-by handshake after her match with Coco :confused:

Hopefully Hurkacz can figure out a way to beat the United Cup GOAT Taylor Fritz and we can get a live doubles.
I like Iga but she is never going to be the charismatic, loveable #1 the tour needs. Which is why it needs to be Sabalenka or Gauff.

Andreeva is going to be so fun to watch this year too, she has huge personality and chance to be a face of the sport.
 

Gizo

Legend
Well done to Gauff.

Back to back straight set wins vs. Swiatek will surely be a big confidence booster, alongside the fact that her forehand was very effective including on the run.

I want as many title contenders as possible, and hopefully she's looking primed to do well in Melbourne.

Team competitions and representing Poland in general clearly mean a lot to Swiatek, and it seems that she puts too much pressure on herself in these scenarios.
 

Subway Tennis

G.O.A.T.
I like Iga but she is never going to be the charismatic, loveable #1 the tour needs. Which is why it needs to be Sabalenka or Gauff.

Andreeva is going to be so fun to watch this year too, she has huge personality and chance to be a face of the sport.
Yeah, fair. I’m not a fan of the driveby handshake, and particularly in this case. Iga has had so many wins over Coco, and it’s never been like that from Gauff. I’m an Iga fan and love her but her time at the top has been sometimes been marked by a bit of a siege mentality and there are certain things she does that don’t help her cause at all.

Agree about Andreeva. It’s so clear how much she loves being out there and also how much of a little tennis nerd she is lol. Tennis is not being run well at the moment but I think even how badly our sport is run it will be impossible for Andreeva not to become a mega star in the next few years.
 

Rovesciarete

Hall of Fame
Well done to Gauff.

Back to back straight set wins vs. Swiatek will surely be a big confidence booster, alongside the fact that her forehand was very effective including on the run.

As I have written before, Gauff has been winning despite her forehand. If she can keep that stroke level more and more....
 

Subway Tennis

G.O.A.T.
Man, Hurkacz has lost some serious pop with the racquet sponsor change. I’m sure it’s a matter of dialling in his setup to get things back to where they use to be, but it looks like he is really struggling to penetrate the court.
 

Rovesciarete

Hall of Fame
Gauff and iga will be around awhile but yeah mirra andreeva is the nextgen for wta. she just needs to mature a little more. I think having conchita martinez as a coach was good move for her

Yep. I frankly like it a lot when such talent tries to attack and goes for difficult shots. That is the right attitude to learn and grow. Hate it, when so many kids at the lower level get coached against taking creative risks.
 
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Gizo

Legend
As I have written before, Gauff has been winning despite her forehand. If she can keep that stroke level more and more....

Agreed. The fact that Gauff has been a permament fixture in the top 10 (actually top 8) since the US Open 2022, has already pocked a major and YEC title, is still not old enough for another 2 months to legally buy an alcoholic drink in her country, and has had clear technical areas to work on and improve, was always a positive and encouraging thing to me.

She was already making very nice progress indeed at such young age (much of the criticism she has received has been ridiculously hysterical), with clear room for further improvement and time very much on her side.
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Great to wake up to Coco closing the H2H deficit on Iga. Even at 11-3 it's still lopsided but if Gauff can win more regularly going forward it won't look like such a bloodbath.

I would not hate to see Sabalenka v Gauff in the AO final. Actually I'm craving it and it would be so apt. It's a shame Swiatek and Sabalenka will be in opposite halves of the draw as that's a match up I'd love to see at HC majors more, and Gauff v Rybakina has still hardly occurred over the years.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Oh wow, bit of a lack of sportsmanship here by Poland, Hurkacz changing not just his shoes but his socks too.

Taking quite a while.

Fritz and Team USA not happy. Taylor talking to Mohamed.
 

Subway Tennis

G.O.A.T.
Taylor Fritz continues his legacy as The United Cup GOAT. Gotta say he did everything he could to let Hurkacz into that tie-break. Barely made a first serve in the first half of the breaker, but Hurkacz had his own problems with some suicidal net approaches. Fritz was good enough to capitalise and is just so clutch on the big points in this United Cup format.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Coco Gauff goes 5-0 in singles having beaten:
Leylah Fernandez
Zheng Shuai
Donna Vekic
Karolina Muchova
Iga Swiatek

Taylor Fritz goes 4-1 in singles having beaten:
Borna Coric
Zhang Zhizhen
Tomas Machac
Hubert Hurkacz
(Lost his first match to Felix Auger-Aliassime)

The pair also played 2 of the 4 doubles matches winning both by beating:
Fernandez/Auger-Aliassime
Marcinko/Dodig

Full credit to those two and hope they have a great Australian Open.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Taylor Fritz continues his legacy as The United Cup GOAT. Gotta say he did everything he could to let Hurkacz into that tie-break. Barely made a first serve in the first half of the breaker, but Hurkacz had his own problems with some suicidal net approaches. Fritz was good enough to capitalise and is just so clutch on the big points in this United Cup format.
Mmm, indeed he has 2 United Cup titles but his win/loss in the 3 editions he's played is 9-3.

Meanwhile poor Swiatek is 12-2 without a title!

Back to back losses in the final for Iga and Poland.
 

Subway Tennis

G.O.A.T.
Mmm, indeed he has 2 United Cup titles but his win/loss in the 3 editions he's played is 9-3.

Meanwhile poor Swiatek is 12-2 without a title!

Back to back losses in the final for Iga and Poland.
And Taylor gets a lot of help too. For example this year Gauff was player of the tournament for me and the US are so good at cultivating the team atmosphere.

I can understand Iga’s frustration regarding Poland. She should have won at least one of these UC’s already!
 

marc45

G.O.A.T.
Gauff's game is rounding into form quite nicely, played the best tennis of her career I thought, especially considering the competition...very well rounded...coaching is obviously locked in and her attitude is great...looks to be in awesome shape

Iga has become a trainwreck, both her play and her mentality...never seen her so agitated, bordering on Rublev territory (new psychologist?)...clearly the rest of the tour has caught up to her and I don't see one thing she has done to counteract it...serve is weak and inconsistent...can't volley well, doesn't hit overheads well and has no diversity in her groundstrokes, no extra topspin, no slice off the backhand...and she clearly feels the need to go for a ton, always looking for a winner, preferably clean and off the line...she's become an unpleasant watch...her days as a dominant #1 are over, any kind of #1...the only question is can she continue to be dominant on clay, at least the best by a bit...I'm not so sure there either

p.s. was a nice win over Rybakina considering their history, though it was still a massive struggle and Rybakina doesn't appear to be in great form either, maybe the off-court stuff
 
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robyrolfo

Hall of Fame
Yeah, fair. I’m not a fan of the driveby handshake, and particularly in this case. Iga has had so many wins over Coco, and it’s never been like that from Gauff. I’m an Iga fan and love her but her time at the top has been sometimes been marked by a bit of a siege mentality and there are certain things she does that don’t help her cause at all.
Well, Gauff's celebration was a bit much, and I can see how the behavior of the whole US team would be annoying to opponents, so I don't mind the handshake.

Anyway, it's clear that Iga has a huge issue between the ears. She simply looks mentally frazzled more and more often now.

She was already making very nice progress indeed at such young age (much of the criticism she has received has been ridiculously hysterical), with clear room for further improvement and time very much on her side.
Are you the one joking? She was being touted as the next Serena, or the next great thing. People pointing out the obvious (that she doesn't have half the talent of Serena, only the physicality) shouldn't be criticized for doing so. Her tennis is ordinary. That she grabbed a slam, and might grab a few more, is only an indication of how bad things are in the WTA right now.

Mmm, indeed he has 2 United Cup titles but his win/loss in the 3 editions he's played is 9-3.
Meanwhile poor Swiatek is 12-2 without a title!
Back to back losses in the final for Iga and Poland.
Iga and Hurcaz are both headcases, so...
 

Gizo

Legend
Well, Gauff's celebration was a bit much, and I can see how the behavior of the whole US team would be annoying to opponents, so I don't mind the handshake.

Anyway, it's clear that Iga has a huge issue between the ears. She simply looks mentally frazzled more and more often now.


Are you the one joking? She was being touted as the next Serena, or the next great thing. People pointing out the obvious (that she doesn't have half the talent of Serena, only the physicality) shouldn't be criticized for doing so. Her tennis is ordinary. That she grabbed a slam, and might grab a few more, is only an indication of how bad things are in the WTA right now.


Iga and Hurcaz are both headcases, so...

You basically proved my point by responding with a pretty hysterical post.

It shouldn't matter what she was 'touted' as by other people, including when she was just 15 years old. She wasn't going round predicting that she'd win huge numbers of majors or dominate herself. It shouldn't be difficult to separate the player themselves and their progress, from what other people are saying about and predicting for them.

The sensible approach is to judge her career in its own merits. The bottom line is that she still hasn't turned 21 yet, has achieved plenty already (achievements that more than 99% of players that try to turn pro could only dream of emulating), and has scope and potential to improve her game technically and achieve plenty more in the future. She's doing great.
 

robyrolfo

Hall of Fame
You basically proved my point by responding with a pretty hysterical post.

It shouldn't matter what she was 'touted' as by other people, including when she was just 15 years old. She wasn't going round predicting that she'd win huge numbers of majors or dominate herself. It shouldn't be difficult to separate the player themselves and their progress, from what other people are saying about and predicting for them.

The sensible approach is to judge her career in its own merits. The bottom line is that she still hasn't turned 21 yet, has achieved plenty already (achievements that more than 99% of players that try to turn pro could only dream of emulating), and has scope and potential to improve her game technically and achieve plenty more in the future. She's doing great.
You seem to be struggling with the meaning of the word "hysterical." Google is free.

How do you expect American tennis fans to separate themselves from someone who is constantly being shoved in their face? She is the most featured on all of the TV coverage, she is the most talked about, and she is the most praised during matches by commentators. And this was well before she won a slam, and there were numerous higher ranked American players. Likewise, how could you say she didn't buy into it herself? Did you not listen to her speak? Did you not see her on court attitude?

Ok, she hasn't turned 21 yet, but in the WTA achieving big things, or actually showing big potential, isn't unheard of at age 18, 19, 20... or even younger. And any player in the top 100 has already achieved more than 99% of their aspiring peers. That means nothing.
 

Gizo

Legend
You seem to be struggling with the meaning of the word "hysterical." Google is free.

How do you expect American tennis fans to separate themselves from someone who is constantly being shoved in their face? She is the most featured on all of the TV coverage, she is the most talked about, and she is the most praised during matches by commentators. And this was well before she won a slam, and there were numerous higher ranked American players. Likewise, how could you say she didn't buy into it herself? Did you not listen to her speak? Did you not see her on court attitude?

Ok, she hasn't turned 21 yet, but in the WTA achieving big things, or actually showing big potential, isn't unheard of at age 18, 19, 20... or even younger. And any player in the top 100 has already achieved more than 99% of their aspiring peers. That means nothing.

The points you make about commentators and the like are essentially irrelevant, as they're not an extension of her. The last time I checked, she and the members of ESPN, Evert, McEnroe etc. are not actually joined at the hip, and are in fact separate individuals. If commentators and analysts make outlandish predictions about her future, I don't see why that should be held against or associated with her. And I also don't see why that is so difficult to understand. It's not like she's preparing ready made scripts for the networks, demanding that they devote an alloted amount of time to her etc.

And how many of those 'numerous higher ranked American players' that you speak of, other than Serena who didn't win any more majors by the time Gauff came to the fore, all noticeably older than her no less, have achieved as much as she has done already? It seems like the decision to talk about and cover her was well and truly worth it.

And you're last paragraph is all over the place and way off the mark. Saying that anyone in any field achieving more than 99% of their aspiring peers 'means nothing' shows a comical lack of perspective. Did you actually read that back before you typed it? That's definitely one of the most 'bizarre' comments I've read on this forum for a while.

We're talking about a sport in the vast majority of players lose money, and can only dream of 'merely' establishing themselves at WTA (or ATP) tour level, with more than 1,400 players currently listed in the WTA rankings. And we're also talking about the youngest player in the WTA top 10 and 4th youngest in the WTA top 50 currently. A grand slam title (and thus a guaranteed place in the history books) plus other big titles already banked at this stage, with the potential and plenty of time to add to that collection in the future, is extremely good going. Again that shouldn't be difficult to understand. A lot of supremely talented players don't win majors, and some like Muchova (sadly as I like her) struggle to win anything bigger than Seoul.
 

robyrolfo

Hall of Fame
The points you make about commentators and the like are essentially irrelevant, as they're not an extension of her. The last time I checked, she and the members of ESPN, Evert, McEnroe etc. are not actually joined at the hip, and are in fact separate individuals. If commentators and analysts make outlandish predictions about her future, I don't see why that should be held against or associated with her. And I also don't see why that is so difficult to understand. It's not like she's preparing ready made scripts for the networks, demanding that they devote an alloted amount of time to her etc.

And how many of those 'numerous higher ranked American players' that you speak of, other than Serena who didn't win any more majors by the time Gauff came to the fore, all noticeably older than her no less, have achieved as much as she has done already? It seems like the decision to talk about and cover her was well and truly worth it.

And you're last paragraph is all over the place and way off the mark. Saying that anyone in any field achieving more than 99% of their aspiring peers 'means nothing' shows a comical lack of perspective. Did you actually read that back before you typed it? That's definitely one of the most 'bizarre' comments I've read on this forum for a while.

We're talking about a sport in the vast majority of players lose money, and can only dream of 'merely' establishing themselves at WTA (or ATP) tour level, with more than 1,400 players currently listed in the WTA rankings. And we're also talking about the youngest player in the WTA top 10 and 4th youngest in the WTA top 50 currently. A grand slam title (and thus a guaranteed place in the history books) plus other big titles already banked at this stage, with the potential and plenty of time to add to that collection in the future, is extremely good going. Again that shouldn't be difficult to understand. A lot of supremely talented players don't win majors, and some like Muchova (sadly as I like her) struggle to win anything bigger than Seoul.
Sorry, but she definitely bought into the hype, and she did so well before winning the US Open. You could tell from some of the comments she made, and her demeanor during interviews, but most obviously from her behavior on court. It's not bad behavior, but she acts and reacts in a way which makes it obvious that she believes she is the next ATG. Which is laughable.

And you purport to be watching this sport, and yet you don't seem to know so Sofia Kenin is? I mean, it's understandable because she has been completely ignored by the American media, but at one time she was a young American grand slam champion (and finalist), beating the last legitimately good player we have seen in the WTA (Ash Barty) in that slam final.

You are also struggling with a simple concept. Everyone in the WTA top 100 (or ATP top 100) is already the best of the best, the 1% highest achievers in the sport, so your argument is simply ridiculous.

Look, she is still young, and she won a slam. Nice. But if you look at the true greats (or just really goods) of the sport, she simply doesn't compare. They all either won more than her by this age, or showed the type of form/tennis that made their talent undeniable. Coco's tennis is painfully average, and her best asset (her physicality) is not the stuff of greatness.
 
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