Roger Federer retires

Unadulterated hotness? Yep, you're darn right.

Like I said, I'm hoping he can get hot after the French. That, or maybe Federer can do him a solid and just beat Novak in one of the two final grand slams.

I have no idea, which is horrible. Just think when the Big Boys are all finished. Tennis will be what golf presently is: a new winner each grand slam because no way can sustain greatness.

And Thiem advances, winning 3-6 6-4 7-6 7-6.

I find having the same people winning over and over gets boring. The last time one of the non-big 3 won a grand slam was Wawrinka at the 2016 US Open. That's 12 consecutive grand slams (and it will soon become 13 when Novak wins, and then 14 when Rafa wins the French).

And Kenin beats Muguruza 4-6 6-2 6-2 to win her first GS title!

Before her match, women playing in their first ever GS final were apparently 1-48 after dropping the 1st set...

And Djokovic beats Thiem 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 to win his 8th Aus Open, and 17th GS title overall!

« Last edited by Matt77 on Feb 2nd 2020 »

Boring. Rafa FTW @ French!

Watch out Lonely God. In Thiem's first GS final he lost in straight sets. In his second he lost in 4 sets. In his third he lost in 5 sets. The Prince of Clay is ready to take the throne

Jk. Rafa will win the final in straight sets regardless of who he plays.

Ehh, the Joker might stake one set if they meet in the Finals, but that's about it. Is Roger sitting the French again? I would have to imagine he will after losing the way he did, giving him more time to prep for Wimbledon.

Not sure what Roger is doing this time. He played the clay court season last year because he said he missed it. I'd imagine now that he's experienced it again, he'll go back to the route of skipping it, especially given his age. Plus he has a 0% chance of winning the French, unless Rafa, Novak, and Thiem all get injured.

Yeah, I'd be shocked if he played the French. I would skip it if I was Novak too simply because the odds aren't good.

You just want Novak to skip it so that Rafa is more likely to win

Rafa gonna win anyways. lol

Warrior13 said:

Murray is done.

He surely has a lot of proving to do.

Murray should be retired. After the show he put on during the 2019 Aus Open, I wish him to get back to being healthy, but nothing else after that. He said he was retiring, and several players and media people made heartfelt messages. Only a few months later he miraculously recovered from his injury.

Again, Murray is done.

The race for the most grand slams on both the male and female sides of tennis is going to take a big twist. With 1 coronavirus case in California causing the entire Indian Wells tournament to be cancelled, no doubt we will see most tennis tournaments being cancelled this year, and maybe even the Australian Open next year. There's a good chance that the next 4 grand slams will be cancelled.

The more time passes, the closer Roger and Serena get to retirement. Maybe even Rafa given his injury history. As much as I don't like her, I want to see her beat Margaret Court's record, but that's definitely not happening anymore. Wimbledon 2021 is a long way away for Roger, and that may be his last ever chance to contend for a GS again. The 2020 French Open is only 2 months away, and is in the heart of infected Europe, meaning Rafa likely misses his chance to tie Roger at 20 GS titles.

Novak has been given the title as record GS winner gift-wrapped on a silver platter. He still has so much time left. Sadly Novak and Margaret are going to get away with it...

EDIT - Seems I was right. It's extremely likely that tennis will be shut down for probably 6 months at minimum. It could be even longer. Warrior13 and Sanzano what do you think will happen now in terms of the GS leader race? Do you agree with what I said above 8 days ago?

« Last edited by Matt77 on Mar 17th 2020 »

They should just do empty stadiums.

They can't. That was suggested at Indian Wells, but they cancelled the tournament anyway. It's the same as all sports. No fans doesn't mean anything when it comes to these regulations etc. I can understand in tennis because there are players and their teams coming from all sorts of countries.

Worst case is that the next 8 grans slams are cancelled. Best case is that the French Open goes ahead with 0 clay court lead-up tournaments.

An extended break puts in jeopardy Rafa's chance of overtaking Roger, and winning enough GSs to fend off Novak.

I think you're underestimating the panic Warrior. Whether it's justified or not, it's mad.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Mar 17th 2020 »

I feel tennis is a little different. I don't think it would be unbearable to watch without fans, like it would be with basically all other sports.

There is no issue with empty stadiums in tennis. Believe me I've seen it myself. Smaller WTA tournaments on the Asian swing are disgraceful. There were QFs and onwards played in front of 0-20 people.

The issue is the organisers of the ATP/WTA and the events. Tennis in front of no fans is not an option AT ALL. As long as there is 1 case state-wide or country-wide, tournaments will be cancelled. As long as the coronavirus is a threat, zero tournaments will be played. I believe there is a 98% chance that the French Open will not be played, and probably 90% that Wimbledon won't be either. It's probably 50/50 whether the US Open will be played too.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Mar 17th 2020 »

The French Open will be held from September 20th to October 4th, just 6 days after the US Open concludes.

Just. Have. No. Fans.