beast of mallorca
G.O.A.T.
Enjoy Sir. Savor watching The Greats while they're still playing. Hopefully, we can do so as well in the near future
When was the last time you attended a pro tennis match?
- Thread starter Kralingen
- Start date
Enjoy Sir. Savor watching The Greats while they're still playing. Hopefully, we can do so as well in the near future
StifleYourself
New User
I saw Alcaraz the week before that in Cincinnati. He had to qualify, and my son took a liking to him then and decided to start following him closely. For his first-round match against Sonego, we sat right next to JC FerreroI saw a fair amount of USO matches last year but a cool one I saw was Carlos Alcaraz (world #40 something) in front of like 90 people in Winston Salem last year. I’m really glad I got to see him in a tiny North Carolina 250 before he really blew up. He took a tactical bagel in the 2nd set which pissed Fucsovics off
Also gotta say that some of my best experiences have been outer courts and or practice sessions. You can sit directly Court level for top 50 matches in early rounds of the USO, it’s insane the level of access that is available if you want it. Can’t think of any other sport that is this way.
I saw Stan hit with Carlos Alcarez and Tiafoe hit with Shapo in Cincinnati. As an aside, those of you who have only experienced tennis on TV have no idea how hard these guys hit the ball.Updated. 10 minutes ago. No way Simon is losing to Mmoh as his final USO career match..
Fun practice match today with Stan and Big Foe even with the USTA grandstand hype lady that no one asked for.
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
I'm glad you got to see them. I know a lot of posters don't get the opportunity but every tennis fan should see these top guys in person. Alacaraz played with PCB for a practice session today. Stan IMO from seeing him many times from close up has some of the "heaviest" strokes in the game.
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Backspin1183
Talk Tennis Guru
WTF (the tournament of course)! How lucky of you to witness that epic in person.
Backspin1183
Talk Tennis Guru
Gstaad 2018.
Taro Daniel vs Bautista-Agut.
Taro Daniel vs Bautista-Agut.
The Guru
Legend
If Laver Cup counts I went to that when it came to Chicago but other than that it's been since the 2009 US Open. Which is depressing... Haven't timed my travels well for tennis tournaments. Almost gone to Cinci a dozen times but never pulled the trigger. I went to Wimbledon off season a few years ago even got to step on Centre but no matches unfortunately. I'll do all 4 majors at some point in my life I hope.
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
Just to clarify, Nishikori is the American spelling of Nishioka, correct — they’re the same player?
gjm127
Hall of Fame
No, no, this was Nishikori, you know that LostGen Uniqlo Asian dude? The one who was supposed to be a tactical specialist but ended up not winning anything major in his career? Yeah, that Nishikori.
Giant Squid
New User
I usually go to 2 tournaments per year (attending at least 3 days/tournament). this year I have attended one and expect to attend another.
Jack the Hack
Hall of Fame
The last event I was at was the special October version of Indian Wells last year. We have a friend that owns a huge 5 bedroom mansion in one of the gated golf communities nearby that let us stay for free, so we were there from qualies through to the final. Because of the vaccine restrictions and the unusual timing, the crowds were smaller and the tickets were super cheap. You could often get resold tickets for far less than face value or even the price of a grounds pass. That was at least the 4th time I've been to the Indian Wells tournament and I've never been disappointed. It's the best event in my opinion.
We usually go to a pro tournament every other year or so. In the past, aside from Indian Wells, I've been to pro events of different levels (challengers to M1000s) in San Jose, Palo Alto, Vegas, Hilton Head, Miami, Orlando, Portland, Seattle, Dallas, and Vancouver (most of which are defunct now or have moved to other cities). I've also been to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros, and the Davis Cup finals (back when it mattered). We have plans to go to Australia in 2024, which is by far the hardest to reach, but will be a bucket list item.
I feel super fortunate to have seen as much pro tennis as I have, including getting to both meet and watch the Big 3 up close, along with numerous other Slam champs from the past like Agassi, Sampras, Moya, Courier, Roddick, Murray, Wawrinka, Del Potro, McEnroe, Connors, etc.
We usually go to a pro tournament every other year or so. In the past, aside from Indian Wells, I've been to pro events of different levels (challengers to M1000s) in San Jose, Palo Alto, Vegas, Hilton Head, Miami, Orlando, Portland, Seattle, Dallas, and Vancouver (most of which are defunct now or have moved to other cities). I've also been to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros, and the Davis Cup finals (back when it mattered). We have plans to go to Australia in 2024, which is by far the hardest to reach, but will be a bucket list item.
I feel super fortunate to have seen as much pro tennis as I have, including getting to both meet and watch the Big 3 up close, along with numerous other Slam champs from the past like Agassi, Sampras, Moya, Courier, Roddick, Murray, Wawrinka, Del Potro, McEnroe, Connors, etc.
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Silentchimera
Semi-Pro
2018 AO where I watched Federer carve up Berdych in straights.
Dominic & Andrey
Legend
I saw the Moselle Open several times because that's where I live. I saw Thiem losing to Pouille in 2016. I saw Nishikori lost to Bachinger in 2018, the Japanese played like crap lol. Then Gilles Simon schooled the German in the final.
I probably should move my lazy *ss and go to Roland Garros or Bercy once.
I probably should move my lazy *ss and go to Roland Garros or Bercy once.
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Clay lover
Legend
A bit of both - HK isn't a good place for tennis in general and have been busy with my two kids since 4 years ago.
Went to 2015 HK open for the ladies and 2016 Toronto and Shanghai for the men when I had the opportunity.
Some observations:
HK2015
Stosur was already in decline but still had a sick and pretty forehand and by far the one with the most power and spin potential. Venus had some power but looked quite cumbersome and slow. Kerber's strokes were as ugly in real life as they were on TV but man did she play an effective counter-punching game. A pleasant surprise was Jankovic-who actually won the whole thing that year, she had by far the best movement out of the bunch and crisp, smooth strokes off both wings.
Toronto 2016
Watched Wawa vs Kandy, Nishi vs Dimitrov , Djoko vs Berdych and Monfils vs Raonic. To be honest neither Wawa nor Kandy looked too impressive - while Wawa had good consistent power off both wings his shot-making didn't wow me like some other players. Kandy looked just downright mediocre other than his serve. Nishi was immensely quick on his feet and had great strokes which he sometimes took on the rise, but his relatively more limited power potential compared to the bigger guys, which might not be as visible on TV, really showed in person. Dimitrov was easily hitting the ball harder than him whenever he was in position, but of course wasn't as quick or consistent, and in the end he was outmanoeuvred and lost. Berdych had impressive power but choked away the first set in typical fashion, while Djoko just played his usual brand of measured, placement-based tennis and picked him apart. Djok's strokes are moderately paced at best but I was impressed by how balanced he was and how easy he was able to redirect the ball and hit his spots.
Shanghai 2016.
Watched some doubles. Isner is a mammoth of a person and his serves bounce so high. Sock has super quick hands whether at the net or baseline.
Watched the semis where RBA upset Djoko. His forehand isn't super powerful, but flat as a pancake and well-placed, to the point where he was almost dictating play with it. BH is honestly just a rally shot he aimed to keep in play but still extremely consistent. Also has good grit and hit many a good defensive shots on the full stretch. Placement of the serve was good too despite it being slow. Murray vs Simon was every bit as boring as I had imagined it to be.
Went to 2015 HK open for the ladies and 2016 Toronto and Shanghai for the men when I had the opportunity.
Some observations:
HK2015
Stosur was already in decline but still had a sick and pretty forehand and by far the one with the most power and spin potential. Venus had some power but looked quite cumbersome and slow. Kerber's strokes were as ugly in real life as they were on TV but man did she play an effective counter-punching game. A pleasant surprise was Jankovic-who actually won the whole thing that year, she had by far the best movement out of the bunch and crisp, smooth strokes off both wings.
Toronto 2016
Watched Wawa vs Kandy, Nishi vs Dimitrov , Djoko vs Berdych and Monfils vs Raonic. To be honest neither Wawa nor Kandy looked too impressive - while Wawa had good consistent power off both wings his shot-making didn't wow me like some other players. Kandy looked just downright mediocre other than his serve. Nishi was immensely quick on his feet and had great strokes which he sometimes took on the rise, but his relatively more limited power potential compared to the bigger guys, which might not be as visible on TV, really showed in person. Dimitrov was easily hitting the ball harder than him whenever he was in position, but of course wasn't as quick or consistent, and in the end he was outmanoeuvred and lost. Berdych had impressive power but choked away the first set in typical fashion, while Djoko just played his usual brand of measured, placement-based tennis and picked him apart. Djok's strokes are moderately paced at best but I was impressed by how balanced he was and how easy he was able to redirect the ball and hit his spots.
Shanghai 2016.
Watched some doubles. Isner is a mammoth of a person and his serves bounce so high. Sock has super quick hands whether at the net or baseline.
Watched the semis where RBA upset Djoko. His forehand isn't super powerful, but flat as a pancake and well-placed, to the point where he was almost dictating play with it. BH is honestly just a rally shot he aimed to keep in play but still extremely consistent. Also has good grit and hit many a good defensive shots on the full stretch. Placement of the serve was good too despite it being slow. Murray vs Simon was every bit as boring as I had imagined it to be.
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