Talk About Tennis 2.0

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2024 9:31 pm I don't think that whatever is ailing Rybakina is just an infection. It has been lingering too long.

Sometimes, when your immune system takes a hit, you just get one ailment after another..hopefully that is all it is.. of course, immune systems in general can be hit by depression, stress too...

Former men's champions Thiem, Wawrinka among 2024 US Open wild cards
Wednesday, August 14, 2024

A pair of former champions will be among the eight men's singles wild cards this summer at the 2024 US Open.

Dominic Thiem, the 2020 champ, will make his 10th and final US Open appearance as a wild card, while 2016 winner Stan Wawrinka is also guaranteed a place in the main draw.

In addition to the former titlists, the other six men's singles wild cards announced Wednesday include Americans Christopher Eubanks, Zachary Svajda, Learner Tien and Matthew Forbes, plus France's Alexandre Muller and Australia's Tristan Schoolkate. The names were anounced alongside the women's wild cards, which include former champs Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu.

Thiem, 30, will compete in his farewell US Open four years after winning his first major crown in New York in 2020. The Austrian was not able to defend his US Open title due to a wrist injury that has persisted since 2021. He announced earlier this year that he would retire after the 2024 season, in large part because of the wrist issue.

"I want to tell you a very important, very sad, but also very beautiful message," Thiem said in May. "The 2024 season is going to be my last one. I’m going to finish my career with the end of this season."

Wawrinka is set for his 72nd Grand Slam main-draw appearance, which would make him fifth all-time on the all-time men's singles list behind Roger Federer (81), Feliciano Lopez (81), Novak Djokovic (75, before the US Open) and Richard Gasquet (74 before the US Open).

The 39-year-old Swiss star won his three Grand Slam titles in consecutive years, triumphing at the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 Roland Garros before his 2016 New York crown. The former world No. 3 reached the second round at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon this season and is currently at No. 141 in the ATP rankings.

Eubanks, 28, is currently ranked No. 123. Last summer he reached a career-high ranking of world No. 29 after advancing to the Wimbledon quarterfinals and winning his first ATP Tour title in Mallorca. He reached the semifinals at the ATP 250 event in Newport earlier this summer and recently represented the United States at the Paris Olympics.

Svajda, 21, is currently ranked No. 110, one spot off his career-best ranking of No. 109 achieved in July. In 2023 he qualified for the US Open main draw after receiving wild cards in 2020 and 2021 as the USTA Boys’ 18s national champion. He earned his best US Open result in 2021, reaching the second round where he lost to current world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in five sets.

Tien, 18, is currently ranked a career-best No. 232 and earned his wild card by winning the US Open Wild Card Challenge. This summer Tien won 28 consecutive matches, winning five consecutive tournaments including his first ATP Challenger Tour title at the USTA Pro Circuit event in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. This will be Tien’s third consecutive US Open main draw appearance after receiving a wild card each of the past two years as the USTA Boys’ 18s national champion.

Forbes, 18, will make his Grand Slam debut after winning the singles title at the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships. The Raleigh, N.C., native will play college tennis at Michigan State in the fall. He won the boys’ 18s doubles title at th

A pair of former champions will be among the eight men's singles wild cards this summer at the 2024 US Open.

Dominic Thiem, the 2020 champ, will make his 10th and final US Open appearance as a wild card, while 2016 winner Stan Wawrinka is also guaranteed a place in the main draw.

In addition to the former titlists, the other six men's singles wild cards announced Wednesday include Americans Christopher Eubanks, Zachary Svajda, Learner Tien and Matthew Forbes, plus France's Alexandre Muller and Australia's Tristan Schoolkate. The names were anounced alongside the women's wild cards, which include former champs Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu.

Thiem, 30, will compete in his farewell US Open four years after winning his first major crown in New York in 2020. The Austrian was not able to defend his US Open title due to a wrist injury that has persisted since 2021. He announced earlier this year that he would retire after the 2024 season, in large part because of the wrist issue.

"I want to tell you a very important, very sad, but also very beautiful message," Thiem said in May. "The 2024 season is going to be my last one. I’m going to finish my career with the end of this season."

Wawrinka is set for his 72nd Grand Slam main-draw appearance, which would make him fifth all-time on the all-time men's singles list behind Roger Federer (81), Feliciano Lopez (81), Novak Djokovic (75, before the US Open) and Richard Gasquet (74 before the US Open).

The 39-year-old Swiss star won his three Grand Slam titles in consecutive years, triumphing at the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 Roland Garros before his 2016 New York crown. The former world No. 3 reached the second round at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon this season and is currently at No. 141 in the ATP rankings.

Eubanks, 28, is currently ranked No. 123. Last summer he reached a career-high ranking of world No. 29 after advancing to the Wimbledon quarterfinals and winning his first ATP Tour title in Mallorca. He reached the semifinals at the ATP 250 event in Newport earlier this summer and recently represented the United States at the Paris Olympics.

Svajda, 21, is currently ranked No. 110, one spot off his career-best ranking of No. 109 achieved in July. In 2023 he qualified for the US Open main draw after receiving wild cards in 2020 and 2021 as the USTA Boys’ 18s national champion. He earned his best US Open result in 2021, reaching the second round where he lost to current world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in five sets.

Tien, 18, is currently ranked a career-best No. 232 and earned his wild card by winning the US Open Wild Card Challenge. This summer Tien won 28 consecutive matches, winning five consecutive tournaments including his first ATP Challenger Tour title at the USTA Pro Circuit event in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. This will be Tien’s third consecutive US Open main draw appearance after receiving a wild card each of the past two years as the USTA Boys’ 18s national champion.

Forbes, 18, will make his Grand Slam debut after winning the singles title at the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships. The Raleigh, N.C., native will play college tennis at Michigan State in the fall. He won the boys’ 18s doubles title at the 2023 Orange Bowl.

Muller, 27, is currently ranked No. 77 and reached a career high ranking of No. 71 in January. He earned his wild card based on a reciprocal agreement between the USTA and FFT where wild cards between the US Open and Roland Garros are exchanged.

Schoolkate, 23, is currently ranked No. 160 and won his first ATP Challenger Tour title earlier this year. He earned his wild card based on a reciprocal agreement between the USTA and Tennis Australia where wild cards between the US Open and Australian Open are exchanged.

The USTA also announced the American men receiving wild cards into the US Open Qualifying tournament, held Aug. 19-22 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center:

Brandon Holt, 26, who has reached three singles finals this year, winning one title; Ethan Quinn, 20, the 2023 NCAA singles champion who reached his first ATP Challenger Tour final in Cleveland in January; Nishesh Basavareddy, 19, the Stanford All-American who reached the final at the ATP Challenger in Bloomfield Hills in July; Kaylan Bigun, 18, the 2024 French Open boys’ singles champion who was ranked as the No. 1 junior in the world as recently as June; Eliot Spizzirri, 22, the two-time ITA National Player of the Year at the University of Texas; Aidan Mayo, 21, who reached the singles final at the ATP Challenger in Charlottesville in October; Bruno Kuzuhara, 20, the former world No. 1 junior; Michael Zheng, 20, the Columbia University junior who was the 2024 NCAA men’s singles runner-up; and Jack Kennedy, 16, the USTA Boys’ 18s national singles runner-up.

https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/artic ... cards.html

Osaka, Andreescu and Anisimova among US Open wild card recipients
2024 US Open

Former champions Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu, as well as resurgent Amanda Anisimova, are among the eight players who received US Open main-draw wild cards on Wednesday.

Main-draw play at the year's last Grand Slam event starts on Monday, Aug. 26. The wild cards join an already jam-packed field, with top-ranked Iga Swiatek and defending champion Coco Gauff leading the way.

Naomi Osaka: Former World No.1 Osaka won two of her four Grand Slam titles at the US Open, in 2018 and 2020. Overall, the Japanese star has played the US Open main draw seven times, and she has a commanding 22-5 win-loss record in the main draw of the event.

Osaka returned from maternity leave at the start of this season after giving birth to daughter Shai in 2023. The 26-year-old returned to the Top 100 last month and has risen to World No.90 as of this week.

Bianca Andreescu: Andreescu won her first Grand Slam title at the 2019 US Open, becoming the first Canadian player to win a major singles title. That same year, she also won WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells and her home event of Toronto.

Former World No.4 Andreescu holds a 12-2 main-draw win-loss record at the US Open. The 24-year-old missed last year's edition due to injuries.

Amanda Anisimova: Former Top 25 player Anisimova zoomed back up the rankings after making her first WTA 1000 final at the National Bank Open in Toronto last week. The American defeated four straight Top 20 players in Canada to reach her first singles final since 2022.

The 22-year-old Anisimova took an eight-month hiatus from the sport last year and started this season ranked outside the Top 300, but she is now back inside the Top 50 after Toronto. Her performance in Canada won her this year's USTA's US Open Wild Card Challenge.

McCartney Kessler: American Kessler also received a main-draw wild card and will be making her US Open main-draw debut. The 25-year-old is a former All-American from the University of Florida.

After playing in the main draw at this year's Australian Open and Wimbledon, Kessler won the ITF W100 Challenger event in Landisville, Pa. last week and made her Top 100 debut on Monday.

Iva Jovic: American teen Jovic earned her main-draw wild card by winning the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships in San Diego last week, and she will make her Grand Slam main-draw debut. The 16-year-old Jovic is a two-time Junior Grand Slam doubles champion.

Alexa Noel: The 21-year-old American Noel will also make her Grand Slam main-draw debut, notching a main-draw wild card by winning this year's NCAA singles championship for the University of Miami. Noel had a solid junior career, reaching the 2019 Junior Wimbledon final.

Chloe Paquet: Paquet received her main-draw wild card through a reciprocal exchange with the French Tennis Federation. The 30-year-old Frenchwoman made a long-awaited Top 100 debut last month. Paquet has played in the main draw at the other three Grand Slams, but this will be her first US Open main-draw appearance.

Taylah Preston: Rising 18-year-old Preston received her main-draw wild card through a reciprocal exchange with Tennis Australia. The teen made her Grand Slam main draw debut on home soil at this year's Australian Open, and she will play the US Open main draw for the first time.

The USTA also announced the American women who received wild cards into the US Open qualifying draw: Clervie Ngounoue, Liv Hovde, Tyra Grant, Akasha Urhobo, Sophie Chang, Mary Stoiana, Kristina Penickova, Julieta Pareja, and Valerie Glozman. US Open qualies will take place Aug. 19-22.

https://www.wtatennis.com/news/4082168/ ... wild-cards

I am going to make so sure I pick against Paquet for the SP...
(Yes, I am still bitter. Blame it on my inner 7 yo).

Learner Tien is going to be a bigtime player in a few years.

I disagree and find that this is more of a distraction for the players than anything else. I've waited for changeovers at the US Open many times and didn't find it an inconvenience. People arguing over seats or having trouble finding one lasts a long time.

That is good news at the outer courts but it's not for the bigger courts. People take FOREVER to get to their sets, so there will be constant movement.

Oleg S.
@AnnaK_4ever
US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster on the surface characteristics this year:
"We aim for the court pace rating to be medium fast. Medium fast, per the ITF, is anywhere from 41 to 44. All 17 courts have been resurfaced. The average CPR right now is 42."

And another interesting remark from Allaster -- on Hawkeye Live:
"It's 98% correct. We do know previously when we used line umpires, the line umpires were 75%. With any technology there could be a few glitches, but we have a lot of confidence in the system."

The ATP side looks a bit off but generally ok..Alcaraz, Djokovic are probably fine .Medvedev is off the boil, and Sinner seems unwell..but 2 out of 4 is not bad.
The WTA side looks very shaky...the only player who has struck form is Pegula- she is playing with the kind of crisp authority that can win her the USO..
Swiatek has been off ever since the French, Coco and Sabalenka are on an express train to nowhere..only Rybakina playjng well, when she is not sick ..this could be Pegula's year after all..it is that kind of topsy-turvy year ...

ti-amie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2024 1:22 am Oleg S.
@AnnaK_4ever
US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster on the surface characteristics this year:
"We aim for the court pace rating to be medium fast. Medium fast, per the ITF, is anywhere from 41 to 44. All 17 courts have been resurfaced. The average CPR right now is 42."

And another interesting remark from Allaster -- on Hawkeye Live:
"It's 98% correct. We do know previously when we used line umpires, the line umpires were 75%. With any technology there could be a few glitches, but we have a lot of confidence in the system."

Wow! 42 would make it the fastest of the slams

About Hawkeye.
If it is not 100%, use both. 25% error times 2% error is 0.5% error. Better than the 98% being spoken about.

Ben Rothenberg
@BenRothenberg
#USOpen main draw wildcards announced:

Women:
Andreescu (2019)
Anisimova
Jovic
Kessler
Noel
Osaka (2018, 2020)
Paquet
Preston

Men:
Eubanks
Forbes
Muller
Schoolkate
Z. Svajda
Tien
Thiem (2020)
Wawrinka (2016)

Qualifying Wild Cards-

Men's- Brandon Holt, Ethan Quinn, Nishesh Basavareddy, Kaylan Bigun, Eliot Spizzirri, Aidan Mayo, Bruno Kuzuhara, Michael Zheng and Jack Kennedy.

Women's- Clervie Ngounoue, Liv Hovde, Tyra Grant, Akasha Urhobo, Sophie Chang, Mary Stoiana, Kristina Penickova, Julieta Pareja, and Valerie Glozman.

I don't know if they will be announcing any qualifying wild cards for non-USA players.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2024 2:08 am About Hawkeye.
If it is not 100%, use both. 25% error times 2% error is 0.5% error. Better than the 98% being spoken about.

But what if they make the same kind of mistake? then your calculation doesnt work.

BTW, 42 is pretty fast - historical Cincy rating was 33.6

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2024 6:46 am

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2024 2:08 am About Hawkeye.
If it is not 100%, use both. 25% error times 2% error is 0.5% error. Better than the 98% being spoken about.

But what if they make the same kind of mistake? then your calculation doesnt work.

BTW, 42 is pretty fast - historical Cincy rating was 33.6

If they make the same rate of mistake (assuming 98%, which is what is being claimed for Hawkeye):
2% errors by the judges, times 2% errors for hawkeye means that you get a mistake rate of 0.04%. That is one bad call every 2500 calls.
Mind you. The machine makes a call when the ball lands close to the lines, and that is where you can have discrepancies. The line judges make a call on EVERY ball, because they are tacitly making a call on even the clearest ball in (NOT calling the ball out is making a call).
If Hawkeye has a success rate of 98% accuracy, that means it will call two balls wrong during 100 calls. In a sport measured by one or two points of difference per set, that rate can be questioned as "acceptable".