2024 ATP General News

[MargaretMcAleer]

Mpetshi Perricard d Ben Shelton 64 76(4), to win his maiden ATP500 title at the Swiss Indoors, Basel, and did not drop serve all tournament, he was the lowest ranked champion since Basel became a tour level event in 1975.
NOTE: Perricard started 2024 ranked 204, currently Top 30 in the race
Shelton told him at the end of the match 'I nearly killed myself trying to return your serve",

Jack Draper won his maiden ATP500 title at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna and saved tennis defeating Khachanov 64 75
Draper will be Top 15 with this result.

 

[mrzz]

Jack Draper won his maiden ATP500 title at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna and saved tennis defeating Khachanov 64 75

Jack the cheater winning does not saves tennis, quite the contrary.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Jack the cheater winning does not saves tennis, quite the contrary.

Well I am not a fan of KK and his tennis, he is a ball basher, it is a joke Moxie and I share, saying that anyone that defeats him, saves tennis, and Jack played well and deserved his victory,
In regards to that double bounce incident, I think there have been other incidents in tennis that have been far worse just my opinion. I have re looked at that video with the double bounce and quite frankly the umpire should have intervened and they should have replayed the point, though the umpire was adamant it was not a double bounce.

 

[mrzz]

Well I am not a fan of KK and his tennis, he is a ball basher, it is a joke Moxie and I share, saying that anyone that defeats him, saves tennis, and Jack played well and deserved his victory,
In regards to that double bounce incident, I think there have been other incidents in tennis that have been far worse just my opinion. I have re looked at that video with the doubles bounce and quite frankly the umpire should have intervened and they should have replayed the point, though the umpire was adamant it was not a double bounce.

I got the joke, don't worry.

Regarding the incident, he knew the ball bounced, period. He offered to check a video which he also knew was non existent. He took the opportunity, then he worked something else out of it. Professional cheater.

 

[Jelenafan]

Perricard 6’-8” ?

Who knew the French also had redwoods.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I got the joke, don't worry.

Regarding the incident, he knew the ball bounced, period. He offered to check a video which he also knew was non existent. He took the opportunity, then he worked something else out of it. Professional cheater.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Well Draper did offer to replay the point but left the decision to the chair umpire who was said it wasnt a double bounce.
I dont think Draper is a professional cheater, a bit harsh, this was the first time it happened in any match he has played, if he had done this before yes? though the chair umpire in my opinion should have made the players 'replay the point'
Usually the chair umpire's decision stands, unfortunate in this match, unless over ruled by the tournament chair director, which did not happen.
I must give great credit to FAA who handled the situation well, stayed calm and collected under the circumstances

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Thats a wrap the 2024 ATP500 season!
13 ATP500 tournaments played,

Rotterdam Sinner
Rio Baez
Acapulco De Minaur
Dubai Humbert
Barcelona Ruud
Halle Sinner
Queens Paul
Hamburg Fils
Washington DC Korda
Beijing Alcaraz
Tokyo Fils
Vienna Draper
Basel GMP

 

[mrzz]

Well Draper did offer to replay the point but left the decision to the chair umpire who

No, he did not. He said he would replay the point *if* he could see it on video. He knows, as everyone else, that this is not possible.

 

[Moxie]

No, he did not. He said he would replay the point *if* he could see it on video. He knows, as everyone else, that this is not possible.

He also said that he didn't know for sure what happened, as it happened fast. I think it's unfair to peg him for the rest of his career as a "cheater," when it was actually poor officiating. The umpire didn't see it clearly, either, and he's charged with that. The chair told FAA he was 100% sure it was a clean shot, and it turns out he was wrong. Draper did actually offer to replay the point if the umpire was unclear. Given it was match point, I think the umpire should have had them replay it. There's an umpire there for a reason, and you can't put it all on Draper. Unless of course you think he knew that the ball was not up, and lied about it, which clearly you do. But I prefer to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

He also said that he didn't know for sure what happened, as it happened fast. I think it's unfair to peg him for the rest of his career as a "cheater," when it was actually poor officiating. The umpire didn't see it clearly, either, and he's charged with that. The chair told FAA he was 100% sure it was a clean shot, and it turns out he was wrong. Draper did actually offer to replay the point if the umpire was unclear. Given it was match point, I think the umpire should have had them replay it. There's an umpire there for a reason, and you can't put it all on Draper. Unless of course you think he knew that the ball was not up, and lied about it, which clearly you do. But I prefer to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

Moxie

Thanks I just returned home and could not finish my post to Mrzz
Agree it was very poor officiating from the umpire
They point should have been Replayed
I am not going to peg Draper as a 'cheater' I agree with you I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

ATP 500 Bonus Pool Winners,
Fils $615K
Sinner $310K
Draper $130K
Humbert $80K

 

[mrzz]

He also said that he didn't know for sure what happened, as it happened fast. I think it's unfair to peg him for the rest of his career as a "cheater," when it was actually poor officiating. The umpire didn't see it clearly, either, and he's charged with that. The chair told FAA he was 100% sure it was a clean shot, and it turns out he was wrong. Draper did actually offer to replay the point if the umpire was unclear. Given it was match point, I think the umpire should have had them replay it. There's an umpire there for a reason, and you can't put it all on Draper. Unless of course you think he knew that the ball was not up, and lied about it, which clearly you do. But I prefer to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

Again, and I am so tired to repeat it, he DID NOT offer to replay the point. He did offer to replay it IF he could see it on video, which he knows is not available.

The minimum he could do was to _concede_ the point, by the way. Replaying it (something he never offered) when you know you lost the point, is dishonest.

It was an awful mistake from the umpire, but there was ONE person in the room with a better point of view than him: Draper.

He was looking ahead (as players do), so he saw the ball, at the very least he saw the upward trajectory. He was holding his racquet, so he felt the recoil (upwards). He could hear the bounce (as it is so loud in a hard court). There is no way he does not know his shot bounced in his own court.

At any point in time he could, and can, recant, come forward and admit he was completely in the wrong. Untill he doesn't, he is a cheater by definition.

If you call this "unfair" then I have no choice than to simply disregard your use of this word.

But let's talk about something positive. FAA's reaction. The classiest act I have ever seen on a tennis court, and it is not even close.

 

[Moxie]

Again, and I am so tired to repeat it, he DID NOT offer to replay the point. He did offer to replay it IF he could see it on video, which he knows is not available.

The minimum he could do was to _concede_ the point, by the way. Replaying it (something he never offered) when you know you lost the point, is dishonest.

It was an awful mistake from the umpire, but there was ONE person in the room with a better point of view than him: Draper.

He was looking ahead (as players do), so he saw the ball, at the very least he saw the upward trajectory. He was holding his racquet, so he felt the recoil (upwards). He could hear the bounce (as it is so loud in a hard court). There is no way he does not know his shot bounced in his own court.

At any point in time he could, and can, recant, come forward and admit he was completely in the wrong. Untill he doesn't, he is a cheater by definition.

If you call this "unfair" then I have no choice than to simply disregard your use of this word.

But let's talk about something positive. FAA's reaction. The classiest act I have ever seen on a tennis court, and it is not even close.

It's very hard to tell what happened from any video available, at least that I found. I said it's unfair to call Draper a "cheater" for the rest of his life, IMO. If you don't like my use of that word, so be it. But this is an opinion forum, and we differ. We do agree, however, that Felix's composure, and way of dealing with it all was very elegant.

 

[Moxie]

I listed a lot more instances of the US Open being a JOKE IMO! Are we living in another reality? You totally ignored the multi-assaults on the senses over the years! They've embarrassed themselves over & over again from '75 thru 2022 (not getting special dispensation to get Djokovic in the country to play the event)! Even Biden thought it made sense IIRC!

I can't let this one go unaddressed. As to the above, I don't see how the US Open was going to get Novak some special dispensation into the US when he was in violation of US vaccination requirements. How do you even know they didn't try, behind the scenes? But Novak knew what was required to get into the US, at that time, and he refused. This was a matter for the government and, last I checked, the US Open has no sway over them. Same with you being mad at them for DQ-ing Novak out in 2020. He hit a person and hurt them. That's a straightforward DQ. You can hate that it happened, but you can't blame the tournament for behavior that Novak has long-known could get him in trouble. He's skirted being disqualified more than a few times. And he has lost opportunities due to his refusal to vaccinate. His choice.

When you throw everything into a hamper of hate, you should try harder to distinguish where the tournament is at fault, and where others are.

 

[Kieran]

I don't see how the US Open was going to get Novak some special dispensation into the US when he was in violation of US vaccination requirements.

Come on, you can’t be that naive. In this day and age . There are videos on YouTube showing the real answer to the question, “Who won the 2020 US Presidential election?” And the real answer is… “The US Open won it.”

They control everything, including the men’s and women’s draws, the border crisis, and space race budgets. Same in Australia. Why else would Novak go there, other than a tennis tournament tipped him a wink? Wimbledon voted for Brexit, and despite the popular vote, the UK left the EU.

Nobody knows what the French Open does. Makes baguettes, I think. And horrible statues of Rafa..

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Stan Wawrinka received a main draw wild card into next weeks ATP250 Belgrade tournament

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Andrey Rublev takes WC for next weeks ATP250 Metz

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

FAA will not play again until 2025 season after withdrawing from next weeks Moselle Open, ongoing back injuries has forced him to shut down his 2024 season

 

[El Dude]

Juncheng Shang is currently the youngest title winner on tour, born in February of 2005. Before him it was Arthur Fils, the first player younger than Carlos Alcaraz to win a title (Shang and Perricard have since joined him; Rune is a week older than Alcaraz). Fils was the youngest title winner for about 15 months, from May of 2023 to September of 2024, while Alcaraz was the youngest for almost two years, from June of 2021 to May of 2023.

Here's a few related trivia questions:

1. Who was the youngest active title winner before Carlos Alcaraz won his first in 2021?
2. Which seven players have been the youngest title winner for longer than Alcaraz in ATP history (roughly 2+ years)?
3. Which eight players won a Grand Slam before a younger player won any title?
4. Of the 12 players to win 6+ Slams during the Open Era, only three were never the youngest title winner on tour. Who are they?
5. One of the seven players in question 3 was the youngest player after Bjorn Borg, and was the youngest title winner for about three years. Who is he?

I'm guessing @Fiero425 will get that last one.

p.s. This is based on some research I did, which is probably 90-95% accurate. So feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!