2010 US Open 'Battle of the Boards' pick 'em contest

steven · Tennis legend

RE: 2010 US Open 'Battle of the Boards' pick 'em contest

indiana · Tennis legend

Good gawd, since Wimby built its roof their's been more rain at the US Open than in SW19

Spectator · All-time great

It all depends how far the hunter is prepared to trail the rabbit . . . .If he stops at the AM site, you're safe. But if he comes here, where the unedited/unexpurgated version remains . . . .

eblunt · Club Coach

I think someone ought to tell them what it really means. :)

steven · Tennis legend

I think they know, I might have inadvertently let on some time ago LOL

LadyTigress · County player

SMC1809 wrote:

LadyTigress wrote:

Frankly at this point I've given up in disgust. Let me know if I manage to pull out a top 50 finish, otherwise it's a write off till the next Pick'em.

Is this that overly hasty naysayer you were referring to?

Now where did I naysay Djokovic in that? Oh yes, that's right, nowhere.

LadyTigress · County player

The Knight wrote:

LadyTigress wrote:

Having searched through the finals of every Grand Slam since they began, there has not been a single final featuring Nadal vs Djokovic. Expressing disgruntlement at it becoming a regular occurrence implies that the event has occurred at least on several occasions in the past, thus giving one reason to complain that you might suspect that it is becoming a regular occurence. As this is clearly not the case, there is no reason to complain.

Personally I agree with Indy that when Nadal and Djokovic are at the top of their game there's the potential for a searingly good match (see Madrid 2009, for example), thoroughly good stuff from a spectating point of view. But if anyone wants to suck lemons, they can go right ahead. I'll sit back and enjoy the final, thanks very much.

In the Pick'em stakes, I've got extra interest and the chance to pick up those glorious champion points. Either way things are looking pretty good. If Nadal wins, which I've thought likely since Picking two weeks ago, I have a chance for a half-decent Pick'em finish and he'll complete the career slam, possibly marking a new shift in dominance and a new era in the game, and if Djokovic wins it could mark a really good return to form for him which'll be good for us spectators, and in the words of the immortal Blackadder "yah-boo-sucks" to the overly hasty naysayers. Win-win. We're looking forwards to it.

Must be a nice view up there on that moral high ground, huh?

No but seriously, i couldn't watch tennis simply to admire the quality - don't get me wrong i can do that as well it's just not enough to make me watch. I don't like either of these guys (though i will never belittle their outrageous abilities), so when they are playing how am i meant to get excited about it? Isn't that the real thrill - not the quality on show but taking one side or the other, and living on the emotional rollercoaster of it all? (obviously high quality is preferred)

Otherwise what is this sport if we aren't taking sides? Just chin-stroking, saying "good shot old boy" after a rally, with no real care for the ultimate result. Just look at this website, what do you think people are looking for when they read it? Eg. Are they looking for how long and close the rallies were when Dan Cox play De Chaunac? No. They're looking for whether Coxy won or not, and ultimately are much more satisfied by a positive result than anything else

Oh yes and you didn't read my post correctly, i said "If" it became a regular occurence, which implies either once or twice (or even never)

Your reply is needlessly defensive and mistakes not caring about letting another person's view hinder your own enjoyment for some sort of moral high ground.

As far as I'm concerned I wasn't addressing a moral point, merely presented facts (GS finals), presented a widely accepted interpretation of an English idiom, presented ONE reason of many why the potential match up might for some people be considered not boring, and then expressed a personal opinion in agreement with another poster and stated that the views of others were not going to affect what I might enjoy. Frankly I think that most people would agree that no matter who you are you shouldn't let the views of others affect your own enjoyment.

That's an announcement that I'm not going to let what you find boring affect my enjoyment, nor should I. What it is not is a personal comment on you. I didn't say that your opinion was wrong - I think your opinion is totally right in fact. You find the match up dull. That's fine. There is no "wrong". It's a personal preference for god's sake. It's perfectly alright to say:

John: I don't like the colour blue.
Jack: I do like the colour blue and your not liking blue isn't going to stop me liking blue. Other people may like blue too.

What that is not saying is;

John: I don't like the colour blue.
Jack: Well you are WRONG and you ought to like it!

I actually fully agree with you that there needs to be something more than just skill in order to grip the spectator, and that view pretty much encapsulates my own approach to what I do and don't enjoy in tennis - Federer for example. Is he a maestro? Yes. Do I support him? No. But skill can be a factor in support. It can also be an initial starting point to draw you in, such as in the case of players you've never seen before. But on a long term basis it's a combination of factors. Skill level is all relative in any case. If a person is citing just one of many possible factors then they might cite skill as a possible cause for enjoyment. That statement does not then exclude the existence of other factors or present it as the only factor.

Now, I'm going to get on with the far more pressing things I have to do today. This should not be construed as a personal snub, but honestly, we all have lives outside of this forum and there's seriously no point in "much ado about nothing" when we could all be doing much better things. I've got to go down to the local charity shop to drop of a load of items to donate, and then see my solicitor about releasing funds for tuition fees this forthcoming academic year, and then I've got a hospital appointment for a cancer scan in the next town over. Thanks very much again to Steven and Bethan for, as per usual, running and organising the Pick'em, probably knowing Steven awake at 2am updating the picks charts.

Looking forwards to the next one, and great job again.

SMC1809 · All-time great

LadyTigress wrote:

SMC1809 wrote:

LadyTigress wrote:

Frankly at this point I've given up in disgust. Let me know if I manage to pull out a top 50 finish, otherwise it's a write off till the next Pick'em.
Is this that overly hasty naysayer you were referring to?
Now where did I naysay Djokovic in that? Oh yes, that's right, nowhere.

Sorry, did I accuse you of naysaying Djoko?

I just thought it funny that, given your winning pick, and subsequent rise up the table, that you were an overly hasty naysayer regarding your own picks.

BTW, I like Blue.

Akhenaten · Pro player

SMC1809 wrote:

BTW, I like Blue.

I don't like Blue. I like Five.

steven · Tennis legend

Re. LT's post:

I have indeed been up at 2 am (or later) for the last couple of weeks updating the BOTB results, but from a work point of view it's been quite convenient to run on US Open time (I get more done in the quiet of the night) - I've not been getting up too early in the morning and sleeping a bit each evening and it hasn't worked out too badly at all. I could do with gradually getting off US Open time now though.

I hope, re your last paragraph, that everything turns out ok on all counts.

I must say that personally though, I think that anyone who doesn't like the colour blue is wrong and ought to like it. wink

indiana · Tennis legend

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-- Edited by indiana on Tuesday 14th of September 2010 02:59:33 PM

steven · Tennis legend

POST-US OPEN 2010 BOTB PICK 'EM RANKINGS

The new overall ranking list (with over 700 ranked players) and the pick 'em 'Hall of Fame' after the 2010 US Open can now be found at http://www.freewebs.com/britishtennis/Competitions.html

TEAMS

World no. 1s TAT did not manage a top half finish in the teams league at the USO but 4th place in the KO was enough to keep them at the top of the overall team rankings. If they are still no. 1s after Shanghai (where they have no points to defend), they will be on top for the 8th time, equalling Team CC's record from 2008-9, though the latter stayed at no. 1 after 8 consecutive tournaments, while (after ending that run when they rose to the top after Rome 2009) the TATers have lost and regained the top spot three times.

However, AM.com are now just 48 points behind after their USO league win and KO 3rd place saw them jump 2 places to WR 2 (the 7th time they have been 2nd in the rankings without ever making it to no. 1), ahead of BT.net & MTF, who drop to WR 3 & 4 respectively after below-par performances in New York. Rusedski.co.uk also performed badly at the USO - they remain at WR 5 but have 2nd place points to defend in both Shanghai and Paris.

The fastest risers are the main beneficiaries of GEM power at the USO, the Gasquetaires, who have shot up 5 to WR 6 after winning the KO and finishing 2nd in the league there, and MTL, up 3 to a career high WR 13, while GBTG have edged up another place to a new high of WR 11.

The biggest fallers after the USO are BBC 606, down 2 to WR 9, and Tennisopolis, down 3 to WR 12.

NEW INDIVIDUAL TOP 10

"It is my lifelong ambition to be world no 1" he says, and now he has made it in emphatic style - top 10 finishes in three consecutive slams is an amazing achievement that sees eblunt (BT) soar 7 places to WR 1 ... and he has managed it without even playing Miami or Rome!

Because the previous top 2 both had lots of points to defend, fomer no. 1 Shabba (IN) has moved back up 1 to WR 2 despite a bottom half finish at the USO and Sparkey (GB), up 1 to WR 3, has reached a new CH despite not getting a counting score at the USO either and with no points to defend this autumn, must have a chance of being year-end no. 1, as must Roy (GR), up 2 to a new CH WR 4.

Previous no. 1 Scotsguy (ML) fell back 5 to WR 6 with 3rd place points to defend at the remaining two Masters events of the year, just behind previous no. 2 TimS (GR) (top 10 in Shanghai last year), down 3 to WR 5, while Hen (MT) (runner-up at Shanghai 2009), down 2 to WR 7, has dropped back as well.

Two more former world no. 1s are moving back up again - Scratchy (BT), up 1 to WR 8, and cazza99 (AM), up 8 to WR 9, celebrating 3.5 years since she was at the top of the pile by returning to the top 10!

Finally, after all the work she does with the entries on BOTB, it is great to see Imoen (BT), up 1 to WR 10, make it into the top 10 for the first time in Andy Murray style (he first made it to the top 10 thanks to a Tommy Haas loss, she did it because the previous WRs 7 & 10 dropped back enabling her to move up a place without getting a new counting score), showing that even a former lanterne rouge can turn things around completely! One of her team-mates, The Knight (BT), up 30 to WR 11, was just 5 points off making the top 10 too and, like her, has no more points to defend this year so may well make it in very soon.

The only players dropping out of the top 10 are qczi (MT), down 32 to WR 39, and 2009 USO Champion gu3 (IN), down 70 to WR 80.

ON THE RISE

The biggest risers into the top 50 are airsmashers (BT), up 70 to WR 15 after finishing 21st at the USO, former world no. 3 Kayce (TA), back up 76 to WR 18 after a top 40 finish, and srberg (DF), up 75 to WR 49 after a top 30 finish.

Three people have risen over 100 places into the top 100 - MACBORG (CC), up 101 to WR 63 after a top 25 finish at the USO, plus juliette (RG), up 107 to WR 90, and Sandman (BT), up 128 to WR 99, who have both made it into the top 100 after just their fourth event! In the 101-200 range, only Gigi (AM), up 148 to WR 147, former world no. 2 GoGo (AM), back up 136 to WR 170, and GOATFed (RF), up 134 to WR 191, managed to outdo that 128-place rise.

However, by far the biggest riser in the top 250 is USO winner Jojo56 (RG), who soars up 280 places to WR 235, having left her bottom half finishes in her only previous two events far behind! There is also a massive rise for USO 4th placed Sean Huggan (IN), up 298 to WR 300, while the biggest riser of all is MisterPap (RG), up 336 to WR 380, whose top 50 finish at the USO contrasts greatly with a bottom 3 finish in Miami, his only previous event.

The highest new entrant is jmc116 (IN), in at 344 after finhsing 15th at the USO, while the highest re-entrant (back after having not played a BOTB for more than a year) is Mac (IN), back in at 381 after a top 50 finish in his first BOTB since Wimbledon 2008.

LAST YEAR'S USO WINNERS

The biggest faller I can find is Pieci (AM), down 319 to WR 683 after losing a top 50 finish at the 2009 USO and only having a bottom 20 finish at Wimbledon 2010 left. As has happened here, the biggest fallers are usually those who didn't play in the latest pick 'em and are running out of counting scores, so when looking at fallers it's probably more interesting to see how the top three in the event coming off from last year have fared.

I mentioned above that last year's winner gu3 (IN) fell 70 places to WR 80. Last year's runner-up gut feeling (TM) has not played since so has dropped out of the rankings, while last year's 3rd place finisher Suliso (TA) has fallen 121 to WR 139, though that is still 88 places higher than where he was going into last year's USO, so all is not lost!

THE NEXT PICK 'EM

There are now just two BOTBs left this year - entries for the first, Shanghai, are likely to open by noon on Saturday 9 October (the draw is scheduled for 3 pm Sat Shanghai time = 07.00 GMT but last year they didn't post it until about 4 hours later) and it's a Sunday start (boo!) at 06.00 GMT, so there could be just 18 hours to get your entries in.

The Knight · Challenger qualifying

11th in the world? *gags on his baguette*

indiana · Tennis legend

Congratulations to new WR 1, eblunt, great stuff

Though 3 consecutive slam top 10s is showing off a bit

As far as I can see possibly just needs to get one decent back-up score ( say 500 + ) in the next 3 tournaments ( Shanghai, Paris & Aus Open ) to add to the 6 scores from these 3 slams and may well reign as WR 1 until at least Roland Garros 2011.

-- Edited by indiana on Monday 4th of October 2010 10:46:25 PM

eblunt · Club Coach

indiana wrote:

Congratulations to new WR 1, eblunt, great stuff

Though 3 consecutive slam top 10s is showing off a bit

As far as I can see possibly just needs to get one decent back-up score ( say 500 + ) in the next 3 tournaments ( Shanghai, Paris & Aus Open ) to add to the 6 scores from these 3 slams and may well reign as WR 1 until at least Roland Garros 2011.

Thanks Indy, resting for Miami and Rome kept me fresh for the slams, and ready to try out my new strategy.

Not quite sure if I might have used up all my luck for this year, and getting any sort of a score in the next two Masters might be tricky since I've managed a total of 44pts in Masters so far this year !

Thanks Steven for running a great tournament as ever.

-- Edited by eblunt on Tuesday 5th of October 2010 12:45:23 AM