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You know the drill:
This was shockingly easy for me on both sides with the exception of predicting Andreescu's health, which means there will be chaos and everything I think I know will turn out to be wrong.
MEN
Quarterfinals
Djokovic over Berrettini
Nadal over Karatsev
Ruud (Thiem) over Zverev
Tsitsipas over Garin
Semifinals
Djokovic over Nadal
Tsitsipas over Ruud
Final
Tsitsipas over Djokovic 6-4, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5
Biggest loser: Monfils
WOMEN
Quarterfinals
Barty over Svitolina
Swiatek over Mertens
Sabalenka over Kvitova
Andreescu (Anisimova) over Badosa
Semifinals
Swiatek over Barty
Andreescu over Sabalenka
Final
Swiatek over Andreescu 6-3, 6-4
Biggest loser: Bencic
Last edited by funches (5/30/2021 3:22 pm)
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Men's QF
Djokovic v. Federer
Nadal v. Rublev
Zverev v. Thiem (Ruud)
Tsitsipas v. Garin
Men's SF
Djokovic v. Nadal
Zverev v. Tsitsipas
Men's F
Nadal v. Zverev
Champion
Nadal
BL: Medvedev
Women's QF
Barty v. Svitolina
Kenin (Ostapenko) v. Swiatek
Kvitova v. Sabalenka
Bencic v. Vondrousova
Women's SF
Barty v. Swiatek
Sabalenka v. Bencic
Women's F
Swiatek v. Sabalenka
Champion
Swiatek
BL: Kenin
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I am not shocked that Thiem lost. The couple of times I watched him recently, he played awfully. He relaxed so much after winning the U.S. Open that he has become a shell of his former self, both in the way he hits and the way he competes.
When Zverev was down two sets to the German qualifier, I commented to someone he had zero chance to lose his match. He gets himself into trouble far too often but almost never loses to players like that, and it does not appear to affect him later on the in the tournament unless he plays a series of unnecessary five-setters.
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What do you make of the Osaka stuff? She's a talent and I wish her the best, but announcing that she was going to skip press conferences was going to bring the hammer down from the slams. Honestly, I feel they had to, as otherwise everyone would start doing it.
Thiem is the type of player that needs to be constantly playing. Cutting back on his schedule like he did doesn't work for his game.
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The women's draw is gutted, and if Serena was going to get her 24th slam, this tournament is as good as any.
Hearing some of the commentators talk about how Coco Gauff is destined for winning Slams makes me wonder. She has an incredibly complete game for her age (in comparison, I described Sloane Stephens as "a work in progress" when she was 18), but I'm thinking that actually works against her. She doesn't have a weapon that makes me go "wow!" and that can be developed with some experience. I mean, she's got the athleticism and maybe that's enough these days, but I don't think it's as much of a sure thing as the commentators say.
Maybe I'm being too critical. Maybe I'm not giving credit where it's due when Kerber, Halep, Kenin, and Wozniacki are all slam champions (though I would strongly argue that nobody thought Kerber or Kenin would get a slam until after they did while Halep and Wozniacki making multiple slam finals until it happened gave you a sense that they just needed a little luck to go their way). Maybe it's just that commentators have to speak in absolutes to make interesting TV.
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I agree about Gauff. More than anything, though, it's the young, talented American hype that accompanies anyone with her credentials.
She might win a slam. She might win multiple slams. But there's no way to say it definitively at this point.
I can't imagine Serena winning Roland Garros, gutted draw or not. Let's see what she does against the first legitimate player she faces (might be Rybakina, might not).
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The matches that decided it were Djokovic beating Nadal and Badosa beating Vondrousova. Flip those two, and you would have won.
I had five men's quarterfinalists, three semifinalists and both finalists. You had four men's quarterfinalists, all four semifinalists and no finalists.
I had two women's quarterfinalists and nothing else.You had one women's quarterfinalist and nothing else.
The biggest losers were Andreescu and Thiem, who went down in the first round. Neither of us picked a first-round loser.
The final score was 77.5-57.5.
Last edited by funches (6/27/2021 12:19 am)
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When Nadal lost, I knew I had lost the contest. When Tsitsipas went up 2 sets to love against Djokovic in the final, I was left wondering if Djokovic was going to have the questionable honor of beating Nadal and losing in the final twice. It didn't work out that way.