Re: The Wimbledon Thread - anyone for tennis?

by tricycle Wed 03 Jul 2013, 17:09

Verdasco crapping on Murray. 2 sets up

by Henry Wed 03 Jul 2013, 17:15

Murray 'Belling' it big time.

Time to put the house on Djokovic winning this.

by PeterCS Wed 03 Jul 2013, 17:51

If Del Potro can get his knee working, he might stretch Joko.

by tricycle Wed 03 Jul 2013, 18:18

And now Murray's crapping on Verdasco

by eowyn Wed 03 Jul 2013, 19:19

Henry wrote:Murray 'Belling' it big time.

Time to put the house on Djokovic winning this.

Finally he "Trev's" for the good...

by taipan Wed 03 Jul 2013, 19:33

Good win for the pom

by beamer Wed 03 Jul 2013, 20:52

Why can't McEnroe/perhaps Yanks in general pronounce the hard 'o' sound? "Jokervic", "Del Poe-tro"...

Still think it was Ivanisevic I heard on the radio earlier who I thought would have been told by the BBC by now that you don't pronounce the 'a' in Murray...

by LeFromage Wed 03 Jul 2013, 21:13

Come on, Tim.

by Brass Monkey Wed 03 Jul 2013, 22:11

Raa-ther....

by PeterCS Wed 03 Jul 2013, 23:45

beamer wrote:Why can't McEnroe/perhaps Yanks in general pronounce the hard 'o' sound? "Jokervic", "Del Poe-tro"...

Still think it was Ivanisevic I heard on the radio earlier who I thought would have been told by the BBC by now that you don't pronounce the 'a' in Murray...

"Seinfeld" made fun of this with a comedy number around risotto ("reez-ohhhhhhh-tohhh").

"Educated" American pronunciation has a greater tendency to make a diphthong ("o-u") out of an "o" when it's a stressed syllable.

This is sometimes found in UK English too. ~ It's even the rule when the "o" is followed by a single consonant and "e":

home, tome, wrote, poke, cone, strobe (but for historical reasons, not "some" or "come" - originally written -"um")

But there are other examples in UK English: e.g. solo, polo, rolo, .... roll, poll, toll, scroll (and the American boll weevil!). (But not doll or moll.)

But some Americans take it further, make a rule of it, and then it can become a posh-sounding "Ivy-League"-type affectation as you suggest (> "risotto"!)

On the other hand, we have such a pronunciation to thank for "The Joker". Otherwise, should Murray scrape into the final, it might be "Jock vs Jock", which could be confusing ...

Ivanisevic. I think they just love his baritone exotic charm and point-free dark arts.

As they used to say when he won Wimbledon: All tennis players are into black magic. That tall Croatian included - even 'e's a witch.

by PlanetPakistan Thu 04 Jul 2013, 17:36

Andy M has a HUGE chance now, i expect the FIRST semifinal to last for several hours while Andy M should be able to win his match in straight sets...

Andy M may go on to win the Wimbledon this year.

by PeterCS Thu 04 Jul 2013, 17:45

Miss Licky gets out of jail, eventually.

Stiff-armed nervous ball toss almost cost her. Affected her whole playing confidence, as well as neutralising a big weapon (her powerful first serve), giving up double faults and serving up hittable winners for her opponent on the second serve.

Will she go on to win the final? If she sorts out the ball toss, yes. Otherwise the weirdly eccentric but doggedly determined Bartoli, for all her inaccuracies, might win even in straight sets.

I hope it's not a nerve-riddled final, in any case.

And I hope the (in all sorts of ways) striking Lisicki can win it. In terms of her game, she has the power, but the footwork and brains too. But as today showed, also nerves, like almost anyone unused to the big spotlights.

by lardbucket Thu 04 Jul 2013, 22:00

Nerves reminiscent of Jana Novotna?

by JGK Thu 04 Jul 2013, 23:15

It will be a freaking disgrace if someone like Bartoli won Wimbledon.

by beamer Thu 04 Jul 2013, 23:19

What, someone not "tall enough, thin enough or blonde enough" as she once put it herself?

I hope Lisicki wins but credit to Bartoli for making the best of what she has. You can only beat what's put in front of you...

by tricycle Fri 05 Jul 2013, 02:44

The news presenters really need to get Radwanska's pronunciation correct, she's definitely not Radwanka.

by lardbucket Fri 05 Jul 2013, 08:53

beamer wrote:What, someone not "tall enough, thin enough or blonde enough" as she once put it herself?

I hope Lisicki wins but credit to Bartoli for making the best of what she has. You can only beat what's put in front of you...

So long as she keeps the other girl out on court, stretching and perspiring, for a good while.

by PeterCS Fri 05 Jul 2013, 11:08

... it could be a girls' showerathon, you mean? Very Happy

by Paul Keating Fri 05 Jul 2013, 11:28

A question for our UK forummers in particular.

I have just finished watching a replay of Murray's comeback against Verdasco. The crowd was going troppo.

How will a Murray victory at Wimbledon be received in the UK? Is there genuine affection for him.

I want him to win but that has more to do with my hatred of the joker. But seriously Murray just seems unlikeable on and off the court. And his mum is just a sourpuss.

by PeterCS Fri 05 Jul 2013, 13:02

It's complicated, I think.

Ma Murray is one of those Tiger Mums, who happened not to have been born in the East Asia. And a Tennis Mum, highly involved in the sport, and its running too.

It's hardly so surprising if her son is both driven to succeed and beset with demons.

I don't know if it's fair to say Murray is unlikeable, at least in an unpleasant way. He is just extremely introverted, finds it difficult to radiate anything, show or admit enthusiasm (an "Anti-Lisicki"). He absolutely hates the spotlight, though well aware he has to put up with it.

How a possible success will go down in the UK? It's complicated. There is predictably the age-old thing about a supporter calling the team "We" when it wins, "They" when it loses. The (partly true) joke characterisation is that for the English, it's "that Scottish washout" when he loses, "our British hero" when he wins. Is it the same with say Hewitt? "farqin Barrel psycho" when he crashes out, "fair dinkum battling Aussie" when he wins?

In fact, the range of opinions is a bit more variegated than that. Some support him whatever happens, others loathe his grumpy-looking cold fish lack of aura, many CGAF about him, or tennis. The UK is such a densely populated place, you only need a tiny fraction of the population to create a mass hysteria one way or another.

by Paul Keating Fri 05 Jul 2013, 13:06

Cheers PCS

Will it rate compared to '66 or '05.

by PeterCS Fri 05 Jul 2013, 13:46

Carn Del Boy.

Probably mission impossible with that knee hampering his mobility bigtime. On two good knees, JM is one of the few who can upset the phenomenally athletic Serb. Not only the springloaded boom of a first serve, but power generally, and touch and courtcraft that nobody that huge has any right to possess.

If Del Porto were in full fitness, I think he'd have a very decent chance to beat Djokovic here.

As it is, his last service game, with long rallies (up to 24 strokes) and missed first serves, will have been almost more valuable to Novak than a service break.

Not that I have anything against Djokovic - maybe a bit fick, but he is pleasant enough, and a mighty sportsman.

Just that the Gentle Giant is more of an inspiring character, thrilling shots, great bloke.

Carn Del Boy. Rise up off of the knee, and give us a (Joker) break! Or three good tiebreakers, at least.

by PeterCS Fri 05 Jul 2013, 14:11

Uh-oh. The Shock Djok chasing Del Potro down. First set gone.

by tricycle Fri 05 Jul 2013, 14:51

Del Potro takes the second set

by Chivalry Augustus Fri 05 Jul 2013, 15:31

In pure talent terms, JMDP is a fine, fine player. He proved that when he beat a peak Federer in the US Open final. Unfortunately, he has been riddled by injuries since. If he could have actually got on a court more often in the time since, he would have developed into one of the top players - a regular challenger for grand slams. And a better player than the Jock.

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