Did you hear that all the courts at USO this year will have Hawk Eye Electronic Line Calling.So if Novak swings a ball again towards a lines woman like he did at last year's USO he cannot get defaulted,there won't be a lines person on the courts.
Best thing introduced to tennis in years. No bad calls, no disruption of play, no repeating of points, no misusing of a challenge. All fair and simple and the whole match flows better without repeated challenges.
You know I have rewatched that match when Novak was defaulted,a couple of shots back he hit a plackard at the side of the court,he should have got a warning in my mind,then he might have been more careful,, not have got defaulted in that match when a lineswoman was hit.
The cult of Robin Soderling comes from one thing. He beat Rafa at RG. When Rafa was nearly 23, and considered to be the surest bet in sports to win the French Open again. Federer fans have glommed onto this defeat, because they felt, IMO, and (basically wrongly) that it proved that Rafa was beatable at RG. That has mostly proven to be a false hope. But the Fed fans have argued strenuously that it had nothing to do with Nadal's knees. Even fairly reasonable Federer fans will tell you they will never believe it had anything to do with Nadal's health. Even though he lost 2 1/2 months to injury after that. They seem to accept that weather played a role, and even bad blood. But not Nadal's knees, even though he skipped DC finals due to them in 2008, in Argentina. Even though they were always taped for months. Even though he could barely move in the Rotterdam final. And even though our friend Broken has told them, shot-by-shot, why he could see that Rafa's knees weren't right in that match, based on movement and timing, they refuse to allow that it's was anything but Soderling's stellar performance that won him that match. Even despite everything that has happened in the 12 years since that match, and that only Djokovic has beaten Nadal at RG, and in Rafa's worst year on tour. No, they have to believe that Soderling won that match with no caveats, by his brilliance, and this is how we get Soderling the "Golden Platinum Champion of Tennis," as you say. He must be magnificent, otherwise that win over Rafa might actually have had something to do with Nadal's knees.
James Blake called that one out. It was a mistake that the umpire didn't cite him for it. Would have made the later call clearer, as a 2nd violation. But you can't be sure that being called out would have made him more cautious. He really doesn't seem to be caring about warnings are violations.
This is pretty good news for Novak, who doesn't seem to care about his poor behavior. He's nearly hit a lines person before, at RG, so at least this lessens his chances. Since he's clearly not going to change his behavior.
I am not saying it would, I said he might have been more careful,just made an observation that is all.
Novak has to be careful at this year's RG,behavior wise then.
Completely agree on above. I remember plackard hit and no warning. It seems now that he abandoned ball abuse and switched mostly to racket smashes.
Would that the French Open implemented it next year. Not going to happen, there is way too many vested interests in keeping things as they are.
Yeah. What do they want him to say.."I will try to be less of an asshole for the next few weeks"
He looked really good on the clay in this tournament. I think he didn't drop a set. He plays a Spaniard he beat in straights last year at RG in round 1 this year, then Tsitsipas will probably be the next opponent, and I don't imagine Stefanos would be especially pleased about that.Nice. I like Korda's game.
