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3 minutes ago, tkdguy said:

Playing for the Championship and top ranking: Gamblers live for stakes like that. Assuming it happens, of course. But Ruud is now one game away from the Championship match.

 

And in it now.  Saved serve relatively easily twice to win the last set 6-2.  Ruud technically takes over the #1 spot, but Alcaraz passes him if he wins tonight.  The Ruud story is amazing enough...he started the year at #8.  But Alcaraz started at #32...to vault SO much in a year is amazing.  And it's not a 1- or 2-tournament result, as was Raducanu.  Mostly it was a great clay-court run...won Barcelona and Madrid, quarters in Paris (losing to Zverev).  But he did great on the Sunshine Double, Indian Wells semi and winning Miami.  Those are both hard-court 1000s.

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Swiatek takes her 2nd major;  after an absolutely historic run through the French Open, she'd had a tough summer, but came through in New York.  She now has more than twice the rating points as second place...who happens to be Jabeur, and that's her career high.  

 

Also, this marks the first time in *ages* where the real-time #1 and #2 seeds have played in the both the men's and women's finals.  

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And they're railing about a letter from 16 years ago...and in fact, Serena was having problems.  December, 2005, she was #11.  By March, #58.  Bottomed out in July, #140.  Ended the year at #95.  From the French Open 2005 through the US Open 2006, she skipped 3, and didn't make it past the 4th round in the other 4.  She'd pulled off the Serena Slam in 2002-3, but in that stretch, she was playing badly.  So if anything, I'd read it as tough love, and entirely deserved.

 

But we are all too aware that ANY criticism of an icon, justified or not, will be met with derision and denial, *forever*.  

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Juan Sebastian Molano wins stage 21 of the Vuelta.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/62871067

 

Remco Evenepoel wins the race overall, Richard Carapaz wins the Mountains category and Mads Pedersen the sprint category. Crashes and Covid made a great difference to the result. Sam Bennett who was in the lead of the sprints was forced out with Covid, Sepp Kuss one of Roglic's aides was out for the same reason. Jay Vine who was in the lead in the mountains category was forced out by a crash as was Roglic. While Pedersen and Carapaz took over jerseys, Roglic could still have challenged for the overall lead. I feel sorry for him.

 

And that is the Grand Tour season over until next year. It is the first time since 2014 that Ineos (or Team Sky) has not won a Grand Tour in the year. But this year all three winners have not won a Grand Tour before. And two teams who have not won a Grand Tour before have won with Bora-Hansgrohe taking the Giro and Quickstep Alpha-Vinyl taking the Vuelta. It makes the future look bright.

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It was one hell of a match. Alcaraz . I feel for Ruud (as I do for anyone who loses the championship match), but I would have been gutted for Alcaraz had he lost, considering that he had to go through the wringer just to get to the final. 

 

On the flip side, we actually got to see Juan Carlos Ferrero (Alcaraz' coach) actually smile for once. ;) 

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Roger Federer announced today that Laver Cup will be his last professional appearance.  He is retiring.  

 

"As many of you know, the past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries," Federer said Thursday in a post on his social media accounts. "I've worked hard to return to full competitive form. But I also know my body's capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear.

"I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career."

 

Can't be surprising to anyone.  The injuries have added up;  tennis is very hard on the body in many ways.  Not, per se, like boxing or football, but it's a game of explosive motion.  

 

Still, this clearly marks the end of an era, with both Roger and Serena retiring.

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