We will discuss the tournament after tomorrow's final, including the two SFs, some other observations, etc. Two things seem quite apparent right now. This year's French Open has solidified my own impression of this tournament, built through a 40+ year appreciation of the sport. I have heard this sentiment echoed throughout much of the tennis …
Category: Dominic Thiem
Semi-final Friday
Rain rain -- the red clay The winds of change, leaves falling A glass of champagne ___________________________________________ There's rain in the forecast. Conditions could be tricky for all four. Rafa and Djoker have already reserved their spot in the final, in the popular tennis imagination. They are heavily favored to win their respective matches. The …
PSA: We Beliem in Thiem
Fuck Serena. Even some of the scheduling, the Tennis Channel programming, the laughable "quality" of the WTA. This "agenda" -- whatever "they" think is "right" and "fair" -- is bad. I have said this here and there on this blog: women's tennis used to be a legitimate competition with legitimate champions and leaders and a …
Domi(nant) Thiem Wins Barcelona
What a run from Dominic Thiem. I don't see this just in terms of a win over Nadal in the Barcelona SF in straights, in total command, on the court named after his lofty opponent, where the Spaniard has won 3 million times (11 times actually); I see this as the Austrian's continued move to …
Thiem Wins Indian Wells
Such a great week for Dominic Thiem, beating Federer in Masterful fashion, finding all kinds of form on the rough, choppy hard courts of Indian Wells. This has a lot of meaning for me personally. For one, I've been rooting for this guy for a while, partly because of his OHBH, partly because of his …
QF Thursday Indian Wells
Due to distractions (work), I can't formulate too many thoughts on the first two QF matches today, so let's make this simple: I might say a slight upset would be Thiem beating Monfils today. I guess watching either on Saturday (trying to be transparent here) will be a joy. I prefer Thiem's style and, quite …
KISS (Keep it Short, Stupid)
I'm talking about the match, not my posts. Ha ha. Thiem losing in the second round is not very shocking. His style (strategic approach to the point) perpetuates this difficulty he's having. He had a tough first round match, which we discussed. Paire is a talent (a petulant asshole, but a talent). But Thiem needing …
Tsitsipas Triumphs, Thiem Toes-the-Line
As we know, Tsitsipas beat De Minaur, the ultimate two-hander, for the Milan NextGen crown, which, like our Thiem v Coric Paris-Bercy bout, amounts to a short trial of the sport's ferociously antagonistic style ideologies. Hear hear! Nice to see the more elegant, classic and sophisticated doctrine rise in the defeat of the younger, adolescent, …
Paris Masters Commentary
A great few days of tennis, which brings me to this question: how can I argue that once again, men's tennis isn't worth a shit when we get this kind of higher-end competition on tour? Well, we're still looking for a heartbeat outside the Top 3 (or even the Top 1 at this point) and …
Remember to Vote Nov. 6
Stefanos Tsitsipas for President! He (and his running mate Dominic Thiem -- or vice versa) can save this God-forsaken country-sport. Basel QF Tsitsipas v Medvedev is a statement match, if you're interested in those kinds of things. Thiem about to get into the thick of things Vienna (Querrey, then Nishikori). In other words, wash your …
