Weeks 35 & 36 - US Open

indiana · Tennis legend

Weeks 35 & 36 - US Open

indiana · Tennis legend

R4: (2) Andy Murray WR 2 beat (22) Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) WR 24 (CH 8 08/14) 6-1 6-2 6-2

QF: (2) Andy Murray WR 2 vs (6) Kei Nishikori (JPN) WR 7 (CH 4 03/15)
H2H: 7-1 including Davis Cup and Olympic SF this year. Kei's sole win was against a cumulatively knackered Andy at the 2014 ATP Tour Finals.

-- Edited by indiana on Tuesday 6th of September 2016 03:00:07 AM

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

First serve was very fast tonight. Dimitrov was inviting the serve down the middle on both first and second, which got the response it deserved. For a while, I was watching the position of the receiver when the serve was hit. Andy was much more central when receiving.

Spectator · All-time great

Excellent. Needed to make a statement, and did.

the addict · Tennis legend

Excellent win.
Rather puts Kyle's performance against Novak into perspective - if he can perform like that aginst the No 1, he is already looking much better than Dimitrov who is ranked 24

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

I've had a look at the pressers from last night.

It's interesting that Andy said he was playing well whereas Dimi said Andy wasn't playing his best. Also that Dimi said that he wasn't playing his best as it was his first time on Ashe at night and it got to him abit. (Same as Novak said of Kyle). Also interesting that Andy said that levels rise and fall, whereas I would say that of Novak didn't rise and fall in his dominant streak - the thing that has set him apart.

It's encouraging that Andy still bopped Dimi when both were abit under par. Nishi should be a great match, I only hope that Delpo and Stan go longer and harder. I'd love Tsonga to take it to Nole tonight, but I suspect a well rested Nole will be too much for him. I have to admit that I have no real interest in the other QF as I don't really think that either would give Nole a good match. I hope I'm proved wrong.

I just fear that Andy's half now seems loaded with tougher potential opponents than Nole's half. Come finals day if it's Andy vs Nole I fear that Nole will have lots more in the tank.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

You might be right, Helen, but - like you - I am SO hoping that Jo might manage to pull off the very unlikely and give Djoko a beating tonight.

Both Jo and Gael are the toughest opponents out there ON THEIR DAY - unfortunately, those days are rather spotty and difficult to predict. In fact, I rate Gael above Jo but Gael is even more mercurial and so prone to some really dreadful tennis. But both could do it....

However, Novak certainly seems to have Jo's number .....

NB Lucas Pouille had never played on the Ashe before his match against Nadal. He'd never even practiced on it. Or even stepped on it. When asked why he didn't come and practice on it beforehand, he said that the only slot was 10 a.m. and that was way too early, he wasn't doing that.

Wish the guy well - (I've forgiven him for the stunt he pulled against Tom Allen a long time ago - can't bear grudges for ever....) He's half Finnish, half French - played a blinder against Nadal - is one of the fittest out there (has moved to Dubai and embarked on some super fitness regime), with a fearsome forehand. And, at 22, has managed to do what the more talked of Thiem, Kyrgios, etc. pack haven't done i.e. made the last 8

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

I fell asleep towards the end of the second set listening to the radio commentary in bed. Woke up some time after it was all over & had to check digi-text for the result! At least I was able to go back to sleep with an easy mind! smile

Another assessment of the match from the BBC 5 live tennis correspondent, Russell Fuller:

This was a regal performance by Murray, who only allowed Dimitrov to hold serve four times in the entire match. Crisp, powerful ground strokes rarely missed and invariably landed deep in the court.

On the few occasions Murray found himself in trouble on serve, he usually dug out a first serve for the occasion, including one clocked at 141 miles per hour.

Twenty-four hours after Novak Djokovic's eye-catching performance against Kyle Edmund, this was a reminder that Murray is the one who has been playing the best tennis over the past three months.

Well played, Andy!

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
NB Lucas Pouille had never played on the Ashe before his match against Nadal. He'd never even practiced on it. Or even stepped on it. When asked why he didn't come and practice on it beforehand, he said that the only slot was 10 a.m. and that was way too early, he wasn't doing that.

Wish the guy well - (I've forgiven him for the stunt he pulled against Tom Allen a long time ago - can't bear grudges for ever....) He's half Finnish, half French - played a blinder against Nadal - is one of the fittest out there (has moved to Dubai and embarked on some super fitness regime), with a fearsome forehand. And, at 22, has managed to do what the more talked of Thiem, Kyrgios, etc. pack haven't done i.e. made the last 8

Me being me, I was fascinated by Pouille's surname when I first saw it crop up in Futures main draws three-four years ago. I've thought of him as "Fleabag" ever since (pouilleux being the French word for a "tramp" or a "fleabag" or, as an adjective, for "flea-ridden"... wink ). I've been astonished by his meteoric rise to join the ranks of the big boys since his first appearance in a Grand Slam (he was handed a wild card for the 2013 French Open, when he beat a fellow WC, the Yank tyro, Alex Kuznetsov, in straight sets in the first round, but then lost to Dimi, at that time the world N° 28, in straight sets in the next.

His mother, incidentally, is apparently a Swedish-speaking Finn, so very much a member of a linguistic minority in the country.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

French genealogy sites think it's more likely that the name comes from an old form of the word for chicken

Especially common in the North, where Lucas' dad comes from.

Although it may well have been a very flea-ridden chicken !

TMH · Futures qualifying

Helen40 wrote:
Also interesting that Andy said that levels rise and fall, whereas I would say that of Novak didn't rise and fall in his dominant streak - the thing that has set him apart.

I agree. On his day it's clear than Andy can go toe-to-toe with Novak. But it's Novak's insane consistency - both over several tournaments, the course of one tournament and throughout a match - that really sets him apart from Andy, and the rest. He does have off-days, but (aside from the last couple of months) he usually always find a way to win regardless - then often finds his best tennis when he faces Andy in the final. Andy of course is also very good at grinding through matches when not at his best, but does seem to have said off days a bit more regularly than Novak.

TMH · Futures qualifying

Stircrazy wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
NB Lucas Pouille had never played on the Ashe before his match against Nadal. He'd never even practiced on it. Or even stepped on it. When asked why he didn't come and practice on it beforehand, he said that the only slot was 10 a.m. and that was way too early, he wasn't doing that.

Wish the guy well - (I've forgiven him for the stunt he pulled against Tom Allen a long time ago - can't bear grudges for ever....) He's half Finnish, half French - played a blinder against Nadal - is one of the fittest out there (has moved to Dubai and embarked on some super fitness regime), with a fearsome forehand. And, at 22, has managed to do what the more talked of Thiem, Kyrgios, etc. pack haven't done i.e. made the last 8
Me being me, I was fascinated by Pouille's surname when I first saw it crop up in Futures main draws three-four years ago. I've thought of him as "Fleabag" ever since (pouilleux being the French word for a "tramp" or a "fleabag" or, as an adjective, for "flea-ridden"... ). I've been astonished by his meteoric rise to join the ranks of the big boys since his first appearance in a Grand Slam (he was handed a wild card for the 2013 French Open, when he beat a fellow WC, the Yank tyro, Alex Kuznetsov, in straight sets in the first round, but then lost to Dimi, at that time the world N° 28, in straight sets in the next.
His mother, incidentally, is apparently a Swedish-speaking Finn, so very much a member of a linguistic minority in the country.

Question - is it pronounced "pooey"?

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

More like 'pwee', I'd say

Or your 'pooey', but said quickly

Close enough, whatever

And certainly good enough when compared to one US commentator who called him 'poo-lay'

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
More like 'pwee', I'd say

Or your 'pooey', but said quickly

Close enough, whatever

And certainly good enough when compared to one US commentator who called him 'poo-lay'

Now that would be chicken! wink

The phonetic transcription is [puj], with the "u" having the same sound as the "ou" in "you" & "j" that of the "y" in "yes", but kept short, if that helps.

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

With CD's assessment of Gael being the best player in Nole's half when he's on, I hope Pouille has a pooo-eee day and Gael can take it to Nole in the semis.

-- Edited by Helen40 on Tuesday 6th of September 2016 12:28:35 PM