So sad to see a good coach such as Dusan forced by life circumstances (age, perhaps?) to have to step down a rung or two from working with a quality player with tremendous potential (you) to working with a player who obviously has no potential remaining (the Joker).
Great post. Not too long. Wonderful two sets in first match on Chatrier yesterday (I expected Paolini to win easily) and horrible first set in the second match. Great to see Rybakina back in form and to see Iga survive a terrible first set. But something has to be done about the points pressure (see Casper Ruud) because we're grinding down players who otherwise would continue to play beautiful tennis.
Can I complain just a little about the broadcast coverage? Who in the world watches sports on TNT or MAX? I just renewed my annual Tennis Channel subscription and got rid of a plethora of apps my husband signed up for in a panic to watch Kevin Costner in a third career's worth of "westerns", FFS (there is a great new acronym for a TV channel...or app...grr...feel my pain.) Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. I have resorted to leaping the time/space continuum and pretending the tournament day starts at 10pm CST. I guess the upside is that the beer tastes better than at 4am.
the max streaming has been excellent imo. it’s a service worth having (unlike peacock) so I didn’t need to sign up for anything, and it’s much easier to find matches than on ESPN. still some minor quibbles but overall v happy w/ it
I had such a crush on Dusan Vemic back in the day 😄.
This is the first time I've read the idea of best of 3 the first week and best of 5 the next week. As a huge fan of best of 5, I think that's actually a great compromise and it makes sense.
I love your read ! You are insightful and really allow us non pros to get in the heads of pros like you for a perspective of the game we couldn’t get from a regular journalist !
Yes, yes, yes! This paragraph spot-on encapsulates how I feel about both of these things.
"I also think the ideal format at the Grand Slams for both women and men would be for ALL of them to play best-of-3 in the first week and for ALL of them to play best-of-5 in the second. If it’s just to settle the constant discussions of equal pay for good. It’s all just a girl’s fantasy. I do stand by my point, though, that the real issue here is the scheduling of the first not the last match."
So sad to see a good coach such as Dusan forced by life circumstances (age, perhaps?) to have to step down a rung or two from working with a quality player with tremendous potential (you) to working with a player who obviously has no potential remaining (the Joker).
Great post. Not too long. Wonderful two sets in first match on Chatrier yesterday (I expected Paolini to win easily) and horrible first set in the second match. Great to see Rybakina back in form and to see Iga survive a terrible first set. But something has to be done about the points pressure (see Casper Ruud) because we're grinding down players who otherwise would continue to play beautiful tennis.
Points pressure?
The pressure to accumulate rating points causes a player to play matches that they are not physically fit for.
Ah
Agreed. The Paolini/Svitolina game was the best so far (IMO) and the stands looked almost empty. This is such a shame.
It was great even though it broke my heart
Always a pleasure to read your posts.
Thank you for a good start into the second week.
Can I complain just a little about the broadcast coverage? Who in the world watches sports on TNT or MAX? I just renewed my annual Tennis Channel subscription and got rid of a plethora of apps my husband signed up for in a panic to watch Kevin Costner in a third career's worth of "westerns", FFS (there is a great new acronym for a TV channel...or app...grr...feel my pain.) Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. I have resorted to leaping the time/space continuum and pretending the tournament day starts at 10pm CST. I guess the upside is that the beer tastes better than at 4am.
the max streaming has been excellent imo. it’s a service worth having (unlike peacock) so I didn’t need to sign up for anything, and it’s much easier to find matches than on ESPN. still some minor quibbles but overall v happy w/ it
The desk host is, I hope he's not reading this, horrendous as well. The Bro-host. No thank you.
I'm not keen on him either. Really makes me miss Chris Mckendry.
I had such a crush on Dusan Vemic back in the day 😄.
This is the first time I've read the idea of best of 3 the first week and best of 5 the next week. As a huge fan of best of 5, I think that's actually a great compromise and it makes sense.
I also agree: perfect compromise. Sad no one would listen.
I agree, it's a fantastic idea. Too bad it's very unlikely to happen.
I love your read ! You are insightful and really allow us non pros to get in the heads of pros like you for a perspective of the game we couldn’t get from a regular journalist !
Delightful read! Always a treat to read other players' perspective on top current players. Please keep writing these <3
Fantastic.
I always look forward to the newest Finite Jest, the subject doesn't really play a siginificant role.
Hopefully there are plans for a new book!
Incorrect spelling of ‘happened’ three times - was that intentional?
Way to highlight Coco, our 2025 champion!!
They’re all good but this one is particularly great! Agree agree agree agree agree!!
Yes, yes, yes! This paragraph spot-on encapsulates how I feel about both of these things.
"I also think the ideal format at the Grand Slams for both women and men would be for ALL of them to play best-of-3 in the first week and for ALL of them to play best-of-5 in the second. If it’s just to settle the constant discussions of equal pay for good. It’s all just a girl’s fantasy. I do stand by my point, though, that the real issue here is the scheduling of the first not the last match."
Andrea IS a genius. 🧠😀💯
This is great--keep it up.
Not too long! Perfect. Can’t get enough. Keep it coming. Bring it on. More, please.
Can I nominate this chapter as the best of Finite Jest yet? That's some grand slam writing.