2013 Aegon Championships

by The Special Juan Sat 08 Jun 2013, 11:30 am

First topic message reminder :

It's my third favourite tournament of the year!!! Headlining the bill is Sir Andrew of Murray who will be hoping to do better than last year which we will not speak of. Second seed is Berdych. The third seed is DelPo who is making a long-awaited appearance at Queen's Club and the number 4 seed is grass court extraordinaire Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Amongst the other seeds are previous champions Sam Querrey and Marin Cilic and Federer-wannabe Grigor Dimitrov. Also, keep an eye on 12th seed Lukas Rosol as he has potential.

ualifying is currently underway with Feliciano "Deliciano" Lopez as the top seed. There are also a plethora of Brits in action including ex-British-number-2 Alex Bogdanovic.

The main draw isn't out yet unfortunately but I'll keep looking.

Draw: http://www.lta.org.uk/3G/Tournaments/AEGONChampionships/Draws/2013/MDS.pdf

by Dave. Tue 11 Jun 2013, 5:20 pm

Aye, Fleming was pretty much spot on. And as well on the marathons, he didn't like the 6 hour match at the AO, and I agree with him. For a match to last 6 hours and not even go past 6-6 in the fifth, something needs changed there. The recent FO match between Nadal and Djokovic was better than the AO match, IMO, as it didn't drag and went at the right pace.

by Guest Tue 11 Jun 2013, 6:35 pm

As far as I'm concerned it's blatant cheating. If you know the rule is 25 secs then deliberately taking extra time CONSISTENTLY = cheating.

by time please Tue 11 Jun 2013, 7:33 pm

See that Kyle Edmund was defeated by Grega Zemlja (world ranking 51, and seeded 16 here) 6-4, 7-6 (4).

by lags72 Tue 11 Jun 2013, 7:58 pm

Sounds like a highly creditable performance against a player with such a ranking.

by **laverfan** Tue 11 Jun 2013, 8:12 pm

@Lags - RG 2013 final was Pascal Maria.

Fergus Murphy is the Irish guy doing the Delpo-Malisse match now. Is that the one you are referring to?

by **laverfan** Tue 11 Jun 2013, 8:50 pm

Good to see Delpo pull it together at the end. Ok!

by Dave. Tue 11 Jun 2013, 9:11 pm

JubbaIsle wrote:
Dave. wrote:
JubbaIsle wrote:
The Special Juan wrote:No idea Dave. It really should be a 1000, never mind a 250 or 500.

Wardy's away to dump out Dodig. Not a bad day for the Brits

From previous delvings into the strange ways of the ITF's machinations, I think its to do with tournament size, ie..seating and amenities. If its large enough, you can put in a tender for a rise in the rankings. But there's a long waiting list as far as my memory goes.

Thanks for that. Can never get my head round it.

I may be a bit behind the times Dave....

Arthur Ashe centre court capacity = 23000, slam 2000 points
Wimbledon cc cap = 15000 - slam 2000 points
Shanghai cc cap = 15000 - masters 1000 points
Cincinnati cc cap = 11400 - masters 1000 points
Hamburg cc cap = 13300 - masters 500 points
Thailand cc cap = 12000 - masters 250 points

Not sure now......"In 2009 the ATP introduced a new tour structure called ATP World Tour consisting of ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500, and ATP World Tour 250 tier tournaments. Broadly speaking the Tennis Masters Series tournaments became the new Masters 1000 level and ATP International Series Gold and ATP International Series events became ATP 500 level and 250 level events respectively"

So since then the structure has changed, amongst other shifts, Hamburg was dropped, then reserved but had its status changed to 500 from 1000 in place of the Monte Carlo masters which eventually kept its 1000 status. All a bit confusing, I wish I hadn't stuck my neck out now

Never worry, thanks for the insight!

by Andy11 Wed 12 Jun 2013, 9:09 am

I would venture that Malisse is the most skilled player of the decade thus far. I wish he had worked harder and had a great rivalry wth Federer.

by Mad for Chelsea Wed 12 Jun 2013, 9:24 am

a bit disappointed that Evans vs Nieminen is not on Centre Court, would have liked to have watched it. While I understand that Berdych is second seed, would also have thought that his match against De Bakker would garner less interest than Evo's...

by lags72 Wed 12 Jun 2013, 10:26 am

laverfan wrote:@Lags - RG 2013 final was Pascal Maria.

Fergus Murphy is the Irish guy doing the Delpo-Malisse match now. Is that the one you are referring to?

I couldn't see Delpo/Malisse but I believe it was indeed him.

However, I must have something wrong on the French guy, because I'm 95% sure it wasn't Pascal Maria who was being interviewed. So either I misheard re this year's RG Final or something ..... Erm

Maybe it was the 2013 big semi that he umpired OR maybe it was LAST year's Final .....

Don't know whether this piece (ie the interview) can be caught on the iplayer or elsewhere but it's well worth a viewing if so ......

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 11:09 am

Ah Dimitrov v Hewitt, not a bad way to start the day. Come on Rusty!! Sir Andrew of Murray is on 3rd on CC and as de Bakker b Berdych won't last too long (I don't think it will anyway) hopefully he can get on before the rain.

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 11:33 am

Evans serving for the first set v Nieminen!!

by ryan86 Wed 12 Jun 2013, 11:35 am

Won 100% of his points on his first serve in the set.

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 11:37 am

And he gets it!!! It might be a bad time to say that the winner plays DelPo....

by ryan86 Wed 12 Jun 2013, 11:41 am

Now a break-up in the second.

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 11:44 am

Dimitrov's moving like Bambi on ice.

by lags72 Wed 12 Jun 2013, 12:07 pm

Maybe it was a late night for Grigor with Masha. Not to mention being exhausted after signing all those autographs for the swooning ball girls ......

Hewitt can sometimes still roll back the years, all credit for his effort in sticking around. But sadly it never leads to much these days.

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 12:19 pm

And that's it. Hewitt really rolled back the years there and used some intelligent shots to take down Dimitrov, who was woeful, but take nothing away from Hewitt because he contributed to that.

by ryan86 Wed 12 Jun 2013, 12:23 pm

Dan isn't the man and Jarkko takes the 2nd set 8-6 in a tiebreak.

by lags72 Wed 12 Jun 2013, 12:33 pm

TSJ - sounds like a good performance from Hewitt. Am struggling to remember the last time he made the QF's in any Slam (or even Masters) but he can still turn in the occasional top level performance in a one-off match.

As for Grigor .... I'm hearing that he was way below his level of yesterday v Sela when he was serving well and turned it around to take the decider.

by Mad for Chelsea Wed 12 Jun 2013, 1:41 pm

Evo does it clap

comes back from 4-2 down in the third to take it 6-4, and that really is a very fine win for him. Next up, Del Potro.

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 1:46 pm

lags72 wrote:TSJ - sounds like a good performance from Hewitt. Am struggling to remember the last time he made the QF's in any Slam (or even Masters) but he can still turn in the occasional top level performance in a one-off match.

As for Grigor .... I'm hearing that he was way below his level of yesterday v Sela when he was serving well and turned it around to take the decider.

It was a vintage Hewitt performance. Dimitrov was off his game but Hewitt's shot selection kept Dimitrov guessing and, more importantly, kept him off balance. His backhand was utterly woeful today and Hewitt took full advantage of it. Querrey's up next which is definitely winnable.

by banbrotam Wed 12 Jun 2013, 2:02 pm

Why's this finished game, showing as 'live' on BBC2 / iPlayer? picard

Can anyone explain - is it raining? If so, surely it would say replay

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 2:13 pm

It's definitely raining and I have no idea why it's showing as "Live"

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 2:14 pm

Ok, it's not raining. Sorry. Dunno why the Beeb still have Rusty v Dimitrov on though.

by banbrotam Wed 12 Jun 2013, 2:33 pm

The Special Juan wrote:It's definitely raining and I have no idea why it's showing as "Live"

Cheers. I eventually realised as the ATP scores weren't updating although it looks like they are back on now

by banbrotam Wed 12 Jun 2013, 2:33 pm

Nasty Andy!!

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 2:36 pm

Poor Mahut. He sustained a sore one on the leg during the doubles final at the FO too.

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 2:59 pm

There's the break!! It's been an entertaining match so far, 4-3 Murray on his 4th break point.

by banbrotam Wed 12 Jun 2013, 3:07 pm

I'm getting worried about Kevin Spacey's stalking of Murray Wink

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 3:08 pm

There's the set, sealed with a delicious lob. There's the rain too Sad

Doesn't Kevin Spacey work anymore?

by banbrotam Wed 12 Jun 2013, 3:16 pm

So far so good. What's pleasing is the way he's gliding about the court, as though he's continuing where he left off from the Olympic final, with that sweet timing he often shows us

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 3:22 pm

The only negative is the second serve which has looked a little off today but hopefully that's just rust. Everything else is running smoothly.

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 3:51 pm

All this time, Rosol v Becker has continued. Amazing!!

by The Special Juan Wed 12 Jun 2013, 4:50 pm

I find Tomas Berdych being sponsored by H&M to be highly amusing. I forgot they were a leading brand in tennis clothing.

by time please Wed 12 Jun 2013, 6:38 pm

Rain really irritating!

Well done to Hewitt, but find it very sad that Dimitrov just can't seem to find any consistent form - sad actually that none of the young guns seem to have the quality to challenge present champions, nor past ones!

by banbrotam Wed 12 Jun 2013, 6:44 pm

time please wrote:Rain really irritating!

Well done to Hewitt, but find it very sad that Dimitrov just can't seem to find any consistent form - sad actually that none of the young guns seem to have the quality to challenge present champions, nor past ones!

Significant how ordinary he's become since that Novak victory

We've a few youngsters on our hands, who at this rate - results wise' are going to do little more the Tsonga. Dimi was far too respectful to Hewitt, when really he should have been throwing a racquet in frustration at his performance

Rather than kicking on like Murray and Nole did, back in the day when they had notable victories - today's youngsters seem to happy to admire their handywork. More and more it's becoming to clear what guts and mental toughness it took for the two 26 year olds to fight their way and stay in the Top 4

by time please Wed 12 Jun 2013, 6:49 pm

Agreed banbro. I think the ever blunt/honest TMF really alluded to this when he talked about the next star probably in the generation after next - can't remember when he said this, but the commentators didn't take the conversation up at the time.

It's a huge disappointment, and I can't ever remember a time when there wasn't a young gun ready to cause an upset and kick on from there.

by banbrotam Wed 12 Jun 2013, 7:00 pm

The two things that have depressed me most about this years Tennis is Dimi not kicking on from his Novak win and Tsonga's pathetic RG SF against Ferrer

In fairness the Fab 4 have enough about them to keep us entertained for the next few years - we then have to hope that there is a young equivalent of a Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel who couldn't give a flying fig about a seniors reputation Wink

by bogbrush Wed 12 Jun 2013, 9:07 pm

I'm getting worried. I've always rubbished concepts of weak eras, but when I see the tattered remnants of a weak era veteran beating one of the big hopes of 2013, well I give up.

Well done Lleyton, a true competitor and hugely skilled player. If you were 21 again today you'd be a beast.

by CaledonianCraig Wed 12 Jun 2013, 9:12 pm

Tennis going back through history has players who can remain relatively competitive well into their 30's. Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Tommy Haas and Roger Federer spring to mind and Leyton Hewitt is another of those players. I will wait until Leyton lifts a trophy before getting excited about things though. True he did damn well to beat Dimitrov who is seen as a leading light amongst today's youngsters but it is clear that he is still striving for what the top players have - consistency.

by bogbrush Wed 12 Jun 2013, 10:39 pm

Mst of the players you mention - and certainly the big winners - were generally free from injury. Lleyton has been ravaged by it.

There's a problem when a guy whose best years are a decade ago is regularly troubling higher reaches guys today.

by User 774433 Wed 12 Jun 2013, 10:43 pm

When was the last time Lleyton beat a top 20 player?

by lags72 Wed 12 Jun 2013, 10:50 pm

2012 in Valencia I believe. Juan Monaco. Ranked 10.

But back in 2010 (and to much consternation and general surprise), he beat a much bigger top ten name ...

by CaledonianCraig Wed 12 Jun 2013, 11:12 pm

bogbrush wrote:Mst of the players you mention - and certainly the big winners - were generally free from injury. Lleyton has been ravaged by it.

There's a problem when a guy whose best years are a decade ago is regularly troubling higher reaches guys today.

Leyton is fit now and that is all that matters. In any case I seem to recall that Agassi was riddled with injuries but won a slam into his thirties which I haven't seen Hewitt do. Hewitt beat a player tipped for the top in an ATP250 tournament - hardly ground-shattering is it?

by bogbrush Wed 12 Jun 2013, 11:22 pm

Its particularly concerning that even at his peak he was only a weak era #1.

by User 774433 Wed 12 Jun 2013, 11:26 pm

Are you gonna bring that up again...

For the record, I believe he fell off after 2005 and then faced subsequent injury problems.
And he's hardly setting the world on fire currently, a few good results from time to time but he's not really threatening to win in any major tournaments.

by The Special Juan Thu 13 Jun 2013, 11:12 am

Wow, Gary Neville v Tsonga!!

by The Special Juan Thu 13 Jun 2013, 11:17 am

It's uncanny!!

Spoiler:

by HM Murdock Thu 13 Jun 2013, 11:44 am

bogbrush wrote:I'm getting worried. I've always rubbished concepts of weak eras, but when I see the tattered remnants of a weak era veteran beating one of the big hopes of 2013, well I give up.

Well done Lleyton, a true competitor and hugely skilled player. If you were 21 again today you'd be a beast.

Would you entertain the notion that a weak era is fast approaching?

It's a monumentally unspectacular younger generation coming through. Or, indeed, not coming through.

And yes, I agree with you about Lleyton.

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