It is official we call Charly now, I kn ow he prefers that, though I dont mind Kieran's name for him as Chaz lol!
I do like Chaz! And I'm not mandating what anyone should call him. I'm just trying to practice with "Charly" because he says that's what he likes to be called and calls himself. If you saw that video that @tented put up in the Alcaraz fan thread, "Fuzzy Balls," or whatever it's called, he finds "Carlos" to be very formal, "Carlitos" is friendlier...to him.
As I've said more than once, I don't like to trade in French stereotypes, but there does seem to be some preference for style over substance. I give you Paire's elegantly popped collar, hipster beard, and mind-blowingly erratic results.
Charly it is then, easier and quicker to type, I am over callingl these youngsters kids reminds me of a billy goat
I am not a fan of tatoo's though I will alow that small tatoo Charly has on the inside of his wrist, no more though.
I've long agreed with this. Fitness regimes in tennis have changed over the years, starting with Borg and Martina, I think. Top players can also afford a big fitness team. Committed players work hard, adjust their diets, etc. (Remember we used to call Nalbandian "Fat Dave?" He was a one of the great unfulfilled talents for a few reasons.) Ferrer, on the other hand, would go out and run 6 miles after a match. (His coach Javier Piles was a big runner.) So, yes, if you work hard on your fitness, you stay healthy, then there IS the benefit of maturity, of experience, etc. to draw on. But I don't understand those who pretend that the years and the miles don't mean anything, in terms of the late-30s athlete.
It's hard not to call them "kids," but I get your point. I'm sure they'd hate it. I don't have a tattoo, but I've long been fascinated by how and why people ink themselves. Since way before it was common. I don't mind it, though I have opinions, like you. Also, like you, I'd rather see Paire get rid of that mountain man beard, but beards, (and porn-staches) are a matter of taste. As are mullets #jjwolf. And head bands.Charly it is then, easier and quicker to type, I am over callingl these youngsters kids reminds me of a billy goat
Paire could do with shaving of that beard for starters, who knows what he has growing in that bush,to me that isnt stylish at all.
Nadal deserves credit for the way he handled Federer. He was precocious!! He annoyed Federer with his ability to keep the ball on court and his intensity/stamina. Djokovic looked sickly when he was an upstart, but once he solved his physical problems, he was able to go toe to toe with Nadal. That seemed to bother Nadal. What is impressive about Nadal is that he is still competing for slams in his mid 30’s, in spite of his super physicality. At this rate, Djokovic with a similar physicality, too could be winning slams at 39 or 40. I have a feeling that Carlito can change his game to reduce injuries early in his career. He is a fast learner. Even more so than Nadal. Carlito could dominate on faster surfaces, which means he could dominate everywhere.
Novak certainly put Rafa’s nose out of joint for a while. I think Rafa hoped he’d have a couple of easy seasons with the field, but he’s never got that. The other two did, but Rafa always had another of the 3 to contend with. But Novaks change in 2011, where he basically grew a pair, could be the instruction manual for a lot of todays perennial losers, because he was one, as well.
Same argument could be made for Djokovic. The Serbian entered the fray when Roger and Rafa were dominating, and lost a significant number of matches to both. And Roger, in his twilight, had to deal with the other two who are at least 4 years younger than him. Until Carlito came, there hasn’t been anyone to challenge Nadal and Djokovic, especially on clay.
Not really. I think the best of Rafa and Roger was spent facing each other in those early years. Rafa had had 6 seasons of full time battle with Roger before Novak entered the fray…
Wasn't sure where to put this, but this is the most recent conversation about older players doing well. Today, Mannarino won his third title, in Newport. He's 35 and won all of his titles post-30. (Two on grass, one on HCs.) Obviously, this is not about "greatness," but about winning at the mid-top level. (I say "mid-top," because, let's face it, Top 50 in the world is pretty fantastic, in relative terms.) So I got curious.
These are hard to gauge, they’re very subjective. Vinci wasn’t experienced in that situation, and though she kept her nerves, I think she might equally have done the same if she was ten years younger. The key there was that a player with nothing to lose stayed calm against a great player who panicked. We’ve seen that with younger players too. I remember the 1984 Australian Open semi when Martina was stunned by 19 great old Helena Sukova. It was as shocking as - or more so - the 2015 USO semi.
The 1994 Wimbledon final comes to mind. Martina would have never lost to a player like Conchita Martinez in her prime. Sukova was a better player than Conchita, she just ran into prime Evert, Martina, and Graf in her slam finals. Conchita just got lucky and took advantage of a period when Seles and Capriati were out and Graf was injured.
How many times have we seen a first time Slam finalist concede the match before it begins? Just making it to the finals is mentally enough reward for them.
The real question is what if two of them got to a final and played each other. ; ) Their chances go way up, LOL.
Tsitisipas and Zverev are mental head cases, well we saw how much of a head case Zverev was when he lost the USO to Dom when he has 2 CH points, Rublev has worked on his mentality, with new coaching team, though he needs to employ more variety in his game, he does has the better hair out of Stefanos and Sasha
No need for a poll. All I know is that Frances Tiafoe will win a slam before any of them.
