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

Actually although I didn't pick any of the GEM shocks I had no great long term plans for any of the losers and was thinking hey actually maybe not bad that Baghdatis is out of the Fish path to the last 16 when......

I then see Fish from winning the first set 6 - 0 somehow managed to lose the next 2 sets to Hajek. But then he's just won the 4th set 6 - 0 again so all will maybe be well, but who knows

daisy · County player

Allez les grenouilles!!!

I'm in shock - and I don't know how Steven even managed to keep typing the BOTB twitter update.
He was probably on the phone at the same time to check when the banana truck was being delivered.
evileye

PS. I'm such a saddo I screen-capped the Pick'em leaderboard .................
smile

steven · Tennis legend

When I saw that all 374 entrants had picked Numpty Nalby to beat de Voest, I did wonder if he might see that as an IMO (irresistible muppeting opportunity) ... a break down in the 5th after being a set and 2 sets to 1 up suggests I had reason to be worried! furious

steven · Tennis legend

The GEMs are a ridiculous 10-2 with 2 to play in R1 at the moment. Robert and Gicquel the only ones out so far. Berdbrain (playing Llodra) must be quaking in his boots!

steven · Tennis legend

2010 US OPEN BOTB - DAY 2 'SYNDICATED' REPORT

22 matches were played on day 2, and it seems to have been the day the Muppets took Manhattan this year, with some of those you can usually rely on at the USO muppeting out in R1 and those you can usually rely on to go out early at the USO, i.e. the French, having another ridiculously good day. Remember, they're not just GEMs because they lose when you pick them to win, it's also because they win when you finally give up on the mand pick them to lose too!

GEMs provided more than half of the day's biggest shocks, which included 'le choc du jour' (Clément 2% beating Baggy), together with Paire 17% (v Schüttler), Serra 31% (v F Mayer), Schwank 16% (v Ginepri), Polansky 16% (v Monaco) and 11% picks Gimeno-Traver (v Nieminen) & Chardy (v Gulbis), who will play each other in a 0%/10% R2 match.

GEMs won the two near-50/50 matches too, with Mannarino 60% beating Riba and Benneteau 42% seeing off Stepanek, while Numpty Nalby looked for a moment as if he was finding having been picked by all 374 of us to beat de Voest far too temping a muppeting opportunity to pass up but he eventually pulled through.

Detailed results, lists of everyone's picks and so on can be found at http://www.freewebs.com/britishtennis/Competitions.html and these are now being updated regularly each day.

TEAMS

The lead changed hands a number of times during the day, but when the dust settled, world no. 4 team AM.com, WTA specialists GBTG (with the highest unadjusted average) and the Dammitaires had all moved up 3 to fill the top 3 places.

Less than 2 points separate first from last, thus allowing plenty of movement. The fastest risers of the day were JM.org, up 9 to 5th, and the biggest fallers were overnight leaders MTF, down 7 to 8th.

The battle to avoid last place in R1 (which would mean missing out on qualification for the team KO contest) is still very close, with the Ducklings, whose 9 entrants have scored 265 points between them, just behind NewBallsPlease, whose 9 entrants have scored 267. World no. 1s TAT in 14th and world no. 5s Rusedski.co.uk in 15th are not safe from that bottom spot either.

INDIVIDUALS

With the day's top score of 18/22, muzza (IN), up 24 to 1st, now leads with 37/46 by a point from world no. 77 (and the only top 100 entrant currently in the top 6) anne (IN), Nevets (CC) & Gigi (AM), all up 23 to 2=, sengale (RG), still in 2= (but may suffer later from having failed to pick a winner in the Final) and erstwhile serial gorilla-botherer sallydaisy (JM), still in 2= as well.

13 entrants are one further point behind, of whom the biggest risers were t_torres (VB) & Daniel/Belgarath1981 (RF), both up 75 to 7= after getting 17/22 correct on Tuesday. All of the top 100 are within 4 points of the lead.

Overnight leader and world no. 1 Scotsguy (ML) had a nightmare 0/4 start to the day but recovered to finish the day down just 6 in 7=.

ON THE RISE

The new leader got the highest score of the day (see above), but the 14 other entrants who got 17/22 also had a very good day.

Half a dozen of them rose over 200 places -Imoen (BT), mattk77 (SG), James Comerford (BB) and Rads (IN) all rose 214 to 50=, while risers of the day francky (RG) and Canadian WxMan (IN) both jumped 232 to 101=.

DODGY DROPPERS

Only two entrants failed to get a score in double figures on day 2 - new serial gorilla-botherer Mom of Twins (IN), down 39 to 372=, and
bagou (RG), down 14 to 374/last. The latter is the only entrant still at the cage door.

Three more entrants got just 10/22 on Tuesday and two of them, faller of the day MrsRoddick (AR), down 270 to 295=, and Allan (AM), down 257 to 339=, dropped more than 250 places. Meanwhile, 11/22 resulted in 200+ falls for Raven (AM), down 210 to 235=, and Anna (BT), cfn33 (BT), TarpleyTennis (TM) & Jess (NB), all down 213 to 295=.

WEDNESDAY

The remaining 18 R1 matches and 2 R2 matches (Duckboy 99% v Tipsy 1% and le Monf 87% v Andreev 9%) are due to be played on Wednesday, so there will once again be 22 points up for grabs. The remaining swing (60:40 or closer) matches in R1 are Brown 60% v RRH 40% and Lu 56% v Chela 44%.

indiana · Tennis legend

Flushing Meadows is in Queens smile

Of course, should add thanks for time on great report as always !

-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 1st of September 2010 08:36:23 AM

LadyTigress · County player

*groan* Well, that's my Pick'em down the pan already. This may be the earliest in a tournament that my Pick'em has ever taken a disastrous turn of this magnitude.

Akhenaten · Pro player

indiana wrote:

Flushing Meadows is in Queens

"The Muppets Take Queens" is a rubbish name for a film though. Sounds like a game of chess.

I forgot to enter.. cry

indiana · Tennis legend

Yes, good point, call it poetic license smile

Anyway, wherever it is being played, the French and indeed the Spanish are doing rather well. Of 46 first round matches played so far, the French and Spanish combined have won 18 of them ! The French have won 10 and lost 2, the Spanish won 8 and lost 1 ( to a Frenchman ).

At least of the remaining 18 first round matches, there are "only" 2 French and 4 Spanish competing.

It is going to be rather disconcerting going into round 2 with still so many GEMS around

-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 1st of September 2010 08:25:09 PM

steven · Tennis legend

Akhenaten wrote:

indiana wrote:

Flushing Meadows is in Queens

"The Muppets Take Queens" is a rubbish name for a film though. Sounds like a game of chess.

Yes, exactly. I do tend to add "(ok, I know the USO is actually played in Queen's)" when I use that phrase, as I seem to have regular reason to do, but couldn't be bothered last night. wink

indiana · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:

Yes, good point, call it poetic license

Anyway, wherever it is being played, the French and indeed the Spanish are doing rather well. Of 46 first round matches played so far, the French and Spanish combined have won 18 of them ! The French have won 10 and lost 2, the Spanish won 8 and lost 1 ( to a Frenchman ).

At least of the remaining 18 first round matches, there are "only" 2 French and 4 Spanish competing.

It is going to be rather disconcerting going into round 2 with still so many GEMS around

The French and Spanish have concluded their rampage through the first round with a total of 23 players into Round 2 !

French : Won 12, Lost 2 Spanish : Won 11 Lost 2

Monfils now a set up in his Round 2 match. He's allowed to win, but for most of the other GEMs it is now time to behave.

LadyTigress · County player

What did I miss?!

I had this graduation ceremony that took up most of my day today, but that's obviously nothing to finding out how I'm doing in Pick'em.

steven · Tennis legend

2010 US OPEN BOTB - DAY 3 'SYNDICATED' REPORT

The remaining 18 R1 matches and 2 R2 matches were played on day 2, with 'GEM power' continuing - 12/14 through R1 and 1/1 through R2 so far. The P(aella)EMs are doing similarly well, but that's not quite so unusual.

Surprises on Wednesday included 9% pick Harrison taking out Ljubo, Granollers 18% beating Seppi and Sela 24% repeating his LA win against Malisse, but the biggest shocks of the tournament so far were the favourites to reach the QFs from two sections of the draw going out - iron GEM Llodra despatched Berdbrain, as predicted only by Gauloises (NB), and Duckboy quacked spectacularly against Tipsy, a result foreseen only by banskogirl (AM), Cain Bradley (BB) & Rads (IN), who are therefore the only entrants to have got both R2 matches played so far correct.

The close to 50/50 matches were won by 44% pick Chela v Lu and 60% pick Dustin Brown v RRH.

Detailed results, lists of everyone's picks and so on can be found at http://www.freewebs.com/britishtennis/Competitions.html and these are now being updated regularly each day.

TEAMS

AM.com finished the day where they started, in 1st place, as did GBTG in 2nd, and the WTA specialists got the highest unadjusted average for R1 too. The biggest risers were BT.net, up 4 to 3rd, and MTL, up 5 to 4th, with the Dammitaires, down 2 to 5th, completing the top 5.

The biggest fallers were JM.org, down 3 to 8th, and MTF, down 3 to 11th. However, with only the top 16 teams qualifying for the team KO, the crucial battle was the one to avoid last place at the end of R1, and that was lost by the Ducklings, though given the result of the last match of the day, it is very doubtful whether they would have made much impression even if they had qualified.

INDIVIDUALS

Nevets (CC) rose 1 to outright 1st by winning R1 with 51/64 correct and getting the Monfils win in R2 for 17/24 points on the day. However, the best score of the day was 18/24 by airsmashers (BT), who jumped 18 to 2=, level with Gigi (AM) who got 16/24 and finished the day where she started. They are both 1 point behind the new leader.

Three entrants finished R1 with 49 points - Babfive (GB), up 3 to 4=, and SteveWalker (BT), up 16 to 4=, together with sallydaisy (JM), who nevertheless ended the day down 25 in 27th after picking Zeballos to win the Monfils R2 match ...

Three points behind the leader, 21 entrants plus Billy the Bookie bot share 6th place. They include five players from the top 50 in the overall rankings - world no. 1 Scotsguy (ML), up 1 to 6=, cazza99 (AM) WR 17, up 14 to 6=, hfwardhouse (AM) WR 26, up 14 to 6=, t_torres (VB) WR 44, up 1 to 6=, and Omegadoom (TA) WR 48, up 1 to 6=.

ON THE RISE

15 entrants were one away from the highest score of the day with 17/24 and four of them moved up over 100 places as a result - SweetSweety (RF), up 115 to 53=, kayce (JM), up 148 to 87=, mover of the day Bruce (GR), up 157 to 138=, and Allan (AM), up 140 to 199=.

Overnight lanterne rouge bagou (RG) also got 17/24, rising 7 to 367=.

DODGY DROPPERS

Four entrants got just 10/24 on day 3 - Reeltime (AM), down 187 to 194=, The Man From Onken (IN), down 184 to 352=, Huong Nguyen (RF), down 125 to 360=, and TarpleyTennis (TM), down 77 to 372nd.

The biggest faller of all though was IntnstyAngle (TA), down 202 to 252= after getting 11/24 on Wednesday, while the new lanterne rouge, two points adrift of the 2nd last entrant and salvaged between the US bot and the gorillas, is Dusty Dick (BT), down 2 to 374th.

OUTLOOK

A lot of us have already lost two quarter-finalists, Berdbrain and Duckboy, but Jojo56 (RG) in 28= started R2 with an astonishing 30 R2 winner predictions still standing, two more than anyone else!

TEAM KO

The draw for R1 of the team KO is now known - results will be based on USO R2 scores:

(1) AndyMurray.com v (16) NewBallsPlease
(9) MensTennisForums v (8) JamieMurray.org
(5) Tennis4you.com v (12) RogerFederer.com
(13) Rusedski.co.uk v (4) MyTennisLounge.com
(3) BritishTennis.net v (14) TalkAboutTennis
(11) BBC 606 boards v (6) Tennis-Warehouse
(7) RichardGasquet.net v (10) Centre Court Forum
(15) Tennisopolis.com v (2) GBTennisGirls.com

LadyTigress · County player

Gee, thanks everyone for the INUNDATION of congratulations. cry