US Open

[arturohernandez]

Frances is all fast-twitch muscles, a latter day Dolgopolov. I know the word "snap" is a no, no here but that's what he does -- serve is almost all forearm/ wrist and he can hit 135 MPH doing that.

Amusing discussion of coaching of Sheldon by his father. Coach/ dad tells him "You're muscling it. Be lose" then later something like "Variety. Don't go for so many big ones". After which young Ben hits a double fault doing 143 MPH then 140 MPH second serve <g>. Announcer says, "Dad's shaking his head - 'kids' " <g>

I just wonder if the fast twitch muscle produces speed but not heaviness. My guess is that Sheldon's serve is heavier because of the use of the body to produce the serve rather than just the arm.

This is just a supposition.

[arturohernandez]

Hard to imagine two more contrasting ATP service techniques than Sheldon and Tiafoe. Sheldon obviously has a very extreme set up position leading to his explosion to contact. Looks similar to what Sam Groth used to do, and Sam also had a huge serve.

Very interesting contrast indeed. I just wonder if Tiafoe's serve is less heavy since he is kind of arming it more and not letting the serve flow across various body parts.

[jimlosaltos]

TV ratings for US viewership are in, and they likely aren't what some expect. Yes, Coco is new and from the host country ...

Via "The Street": "Coco Gauff's first Grand Slam victory over Aryna Sabalenka on Sept. 9 delivered an average of 3.42 million viewers. The number was over a million more than the 2.32 million during the next day's U.S. Open men's finals match that saw Novak Djokovic win his 24th Grand Slam in a win over Daniil Medvedev.

"Gauff-Sabalenka crushed the ratings of last year's finals between Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur that averaged 1 million viewers, and even 2021's finals match between Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez that averaged 1.4 million."

Caveats: Mens final was opposite NFL game, and both finals were dampened by dispute black out on on Charter.



https://www.thestreet.com/media/espn-us-open-viewership-reveals-stunning-look-the-state-sports?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

[jimlosaltos]

Damn. I pasted this under the wrong thread the first time. That's twice now. Sigh. I had a Wimbledon spreadsheet open to compare numbers, so that's my excuse.

Sorry.

Some 30,000-foot level stats from match play over the entire singles events. -- at the US OPEN

What stands out. Overall stats are very consistent across other tournaments and years to a casual check.

Return games won is considerably higher at the US Open than at Wimbledon for both genders.

Men: 21.6% at USO, vs 16.5% at Wimbledon
Women: 34.5% a USO vs 16.5 vs 29.6% at Wimbledon

Men hit more aces per set than the women. No surprise. But, if you subtract aces from winners the percentage of points ended with winners off the ground is nearly the same for men and women.

A stat relative to the compensation argument: Women not only play fewer matches but they have nearly 50% more straight-set matches than the men, i.e. not just shorter but presumably, less competitive and thus potentially less entertaining. One could argue how much men's four-set matches differ from straight set wins.

The tournament posts "leaders" in stats such as aces, first serves won, return points won -- but only on total points. So, obviously this is heavily skewed by how many matches someone played. So, I took the steps of dividing event totals by matches played, where relevant. Per sets played would have been better but ... I'll leave that as an exercise for the overly ambitious reader <g>. I'm burned out. I'll reread later and hope for few typos or, heavens forbid, equations pointing errantly


Men's play
Winners were 30.0% of points
UFEs 34.4% of points
Rally Points Won on Errors: 67.4%
Return Games Won 21.6%
Aces Per Match 17.7
Aces/Set 4.9
Winners Less Aces: 26.6%
Sets Per Match Aver 3.69
% Straight Set Matches 44.9%


Women's Play
Winners were 32.6% of points
UFEs 39.7%% of points
Rally Points Won on Errors: 70.0%
Return Games Won 34.4%
Aces Per Match 5.7%
Aces/Set 2.4
Winners Less Aces: 27.0%
Set Per Match Aver 2.35
% Straight Set Matches 64.6%


Return Leaders

Again, the event's stats only had gross numbers, which are obviously distorted by the matches and sets played. So, I calculated stats per match.

First serve returns show the two mens finalists being among the leaders, but Zverev and Sinner both won more first serve return points per match than the finalists.

Second serve returns show Djokovic's and Medvedev's ranking falling significantly, with each winning fewer returns off second serves per match than the average of the top 20 players. Interpret as you will. One might be that returning first serves has a lot more importance in ATP tennis than returning second serves.

Among the women, Elise Mertens is far ahead of the other top 20 listed women in average points won against both first and second serves.

I'm signing off before I post my tax returns or something ...

[stotty]

TV ratings for US viewership are in, and they likely aren't what some expect. Yes, Coco is new and from the host country ...

Via "The Street": "Coco Gauff's first Grand Slam victory over Aryna Sabalenka on Sept. 9 delivered an average of 3.42 million viewers. The number was over a million more than the 2.32 million during the next day's U.S. Open men's finals match that saw Novak Djokovic win his 24th Grand Slam in a win over Daniil Medvedev.

"Gauff-Sabalenka crushed the ratings of last year's finals between Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur that averaged 1 million viewers, and even 2021's finals match between Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez that averaged 1.4 million."

Caveats: Mens final was opposite NFL game, and both finals were dampened by dispute black out on on Charter.



https://www.thestreet.com/media/espn-us-open-viewership-reveals-stunning-look-the-state-sports?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

Woeful figures for a country that size. Is this because it's pay to view? If Raducanu made the the final at Wimbledon the viewing figures would be in excess of 15 million. And we are a small country with a much smaller population than the US.

[jimlosaltos]

Woeful figures for a country that size. Is this because it's pay to view? If Raducanu made the the final at Wimbledon the viewing figures would be in excess of 15 million. And we are a small country with a much smaller population than the US.

ESPN was the sole broadcaster of the full event in the US {tennis channel had some} and most people with cable or a package that includes broadcast TV channels, such as YouTube TV or Hulu Live, can get ESPN.

So, no, this is more a relative measure of the popularity of tennis in the United States.

ESPN, which needs all the sports it can find to fill its air time, dropped ALL main tour -- both ATP and WTA matches -- citing low viewing, too long matches, and difficulty scheduling. ESPN used to frequently cut away from ATP matches to show -- wait for it -- children's baseball. Literally ESPN would cut away from the middle of an ATP to avoid missing the Little League World Series.

[stroke]

https://tennis-infinity.com/atp/nadal-federer-under-fire-for-failing-to-congratulate-djokovic-on-24th-grand-slam

[jimlosaltos]

Bryan Shelton, Ben Shelton's father and former coach of NCAA champ Georgia, rips Djokovic for mocking his son.

I have to agree. For the world number one to mock a 20 yo is poor sportsmanship. Ben says he didn't notice and doesn't mind, but the look Ben gave Novak at the "handshake" at the net was one of complete disrespect.

From GQ's Lengthy Story.

When Ben came back in the third set:

>Shelton proceeded to play some of his best tennis of the tournament. His shots were cleaner, gutsier; he attacked long rallies. The push worked. He broke Djokovic’s service game. Shelton stayed aggressive. He broke Djokovic again, forcing a tiebreak. The crowd roared, loving every moment of it.

The person not loving it: Novak Djokovic. He became visibly irritated. The crowd was cheering during his service motion—a sign he took as disrespect. Who was this punk? Consider: When Djokovic won his first Slam, the Australian Open in 2008, this kid in front of him was only five years old.

During his match against Ben Shelton, he played angry. Djokovic’s mean side emerged. He appeared furious to be pushed into a third-set tiebreak, pissed that the audience was celebrating a newbie more than him. Even though Djokovic eventually triumphed, he couldn’t help himself. He closed his victory over Shelton by imitating his phone celebration. It looked a little awkward—like an adult attempting a Fortnite dance. A chilly handshake followed.

The reaction to Djokovic’s celebration was mixed. Tennis writer Christopher Clarey questioned if Djokovic’s behavior was “really necessary.” Shelton, to his credit, thought very little of it. He didn’t even see it at the time, only afterward on TV. Besides, he hates when anyone polices a player’s behavior. To Shelton, if a guy wins, he gets to celebrate however he wants.

Bryan Shelton, however, was less amused, especially coming from a competitor like Djokovic. “He wants to be loved so much, Novak…” Bryan went on: “He wanted to mock Ben at the end. It wasn't something he was doing just to copy Ben. It was to mock him. And that's too bad, for that to come from such a great champion.”

Chris Eubanks had a different take. His gut reaction in the moment was to be protective of his friend. But the more he thought about it, the more he loved that Djokovic copied his friend’s phone celebration. Think about other sports: A defensive end tackles a quarterback and imitates his touchdown dance; someone dunks on Russell Westbrook and taunts him with his own rock-the-baby.

“This happens in every other sport,” Eubanks says. “We could use some more of this."

Ben Shelton hadn’t won the match, but he had succeeded at rattling maybe the best player to ever do it. With Shelton, the brash, rowdy energy of American sports is back in tennis.




GQ Article:

https://www.gq.com/story/ben-shelton-us-open-hype

[jimlosaltos]

Let's see if this table will past in here. It worked! I try to always be pleasantly surprised when technology works.

Men's Singles Fastest Serves at USO23

Perhaps others, like me, are numbed a bit by historically best serves from the likes of Roddick, Rusedski, & Karlovic. We expect a 150 MPH every year !

But what 20 yo Ben Shelton did hitting 147-149 multiple times truly stood out at this year's US Open.

His best is 7 MPH fastest than second place Fritz, while only 5 MPHs separates 3 through 20, all in the 130s. Mere 130s?
Humph. Were they hitting underhand serves? Drop shots?

Rank	Matches	Player	Fastest serve speed
1	6	B. Shelton	149 mph
2	5	T. Fritz	142 mph
3	1	M. Raonic	139 mph
4	5	A. Zverev	138 mph
5	3	J. Vesely	137 mph
6	2	G. Monfils	136 mph
6	5	F. Tiafoe	136 mph
8	2	S. Ofner	135 mph
8	4	T. Paul	135 mph
8	1	J. Wolf	135 mph
8	1	A. Cazaux	135 mph
8	2	Y. Hsu	135 mph
8	4	B. Gojo	135 mph
8	1	M. Huesler	135 mph
15	3	G. Dimitrov	134 mph
15	2	J. Isner	134 mph
15	3	M. Mmoh	134 mph
15	2	T. Droguet	134 mph
15	2	H. Hurkacz	134 mph
15	3	Z. Zhang	134 mph

#

[jimlosaltos]

Women's Fastest Serves at USO23

Alysa Parks & Arnya Sabalenka at the top is to be expected. Others from Masarova to Rus surprise (me at least).

Zheng, subject of this month's Tour Portrait (plug, plug) hits 118 reliably, as do "old timers" Keys, Garcia, Pliskova.

Wang Xinyu is a second, hot newcomer from China. 21 yo R18 doubles/ 38 singles.

	Rank	Matches	Player	Fastest serve speed
	1	1	A. Parks	123 mph
	2	7	A. Sabalenka	122 mph
	3	2	L. Tsurenko	121 mph
	4	2	R. Masarova	120 mph
	4	7	C. Gauff	120 mph
	4	1	A. Rus	120 mph
	7	6	M. Keys	119 mph
	7	3	E. Rybakina	119 mph
	9	5	Q. Zheng	118 mph
	9	3	L. Samsonova	118 mph
	9	1	C. Garcia	118 mph
	9	2	P. Martic	118 mph
	13	1	C. Dolehide	117 mph
	13	2	K. Pliskova	117 mph
	15	2	B. Haddad Maia	116 mph
	15	3	J. Brady	116 mph
	15	4	I. Swiatek	116 mph
	15	3	E. Mertens	116 mph
	15	2	X. Wang	116 mph
	20	1	C. Ngounoue	115 mph

#

[jimlosaltos]

Update: The viewership for the NFL game that was opposite the men's championships are in: "UPDATE: The NFL game that was opposite the men's finals, "Despite the most-lopsided shutout in NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” history, the Dallas Cowboys’ 40-0 win over the Giants on Sunday averaged a total audience delivery (TAD) of 21.8 million viewers. Viewership peaked early in the first half at 25.9 million viewers from 9-9:15 p.m. ET. That’s the eternal viewership power of the Cowboys brand.

So, the Djoko-Medy final got a smidge 7-10% the viewers of the NFL game. How many of those sports fans would have shifted to tennis? I have no idea.

[stotty]

Bryan Shelton, Ben Shelton's father and former coach of NCAA champ Georgia, rips Djokovic for mocking his son.

I have to agree. For the world number one to mock a 20 yo is poor sportsmanship. Ben says he didn't notice and doesn't mind, but the look Ben gave Novak at the "handshake" at the net was one of complete disrespect.

From GQ's Lengthy Story.

When Ben came back in the third set:

>Shelton proceeded to play some of his best tennis of the tournament. His shots were cleaner, gutsier; he attacked long rallies. The push worked. He broke Djokovic’s service game. Shelton stayed aggressive. He broke Djokovic again, forcing a tiebreak. The crowd roared, loving every moment of it.

The person not loving it: Novak Djokovic. He became visibly irritated. The crowd was cheering during his service motion—a sign he took as disrespect. Who was this punk? Consider: When Djokovic won his first Slam, the Australian Open in 2008, this kid in front of him was only five years old.

During his match against Ben Shelton, he played angry. Djokovic’s mean side emerged. He appeared furious to be pushed into a third-set tiebreak, pissed that the audience was celebrating a newbie more than him. Even though Djokovic eventually triumphed, he couldn’t help himself. He closed his victory over Shelton by imitating his phone celebration. It looked a little awkward—like an adult attempting a Fortnite dance. A chilly handshake followed.

The reaction to Djokovic’s celebration was mixed. Tennis writer Christopher Clarey questioned if Djokovic’s behavior was “really necessary.” Shelton, to his credit, thought very little of it. He didn’t even see it at the time, only afterward on TV. Besides, he hates when anyone polices a player’s behavior. To Shelton, if a guy wins, he gets to celebrate however he wants.

Bryan Shelton, however, was less amused, especially coming from a competitor like Djokovic. “He wants to be loved so much, Novak…” Bryan went on: “He wanted to mock Ben at the end. It wasn't something he was doing just to copy Ben. It was to mock him. And that's too bad, for that to come from such a great champion.”

Chris Eubanks had a different take. His gut reaction in the moment was to be protective of his friend. But the more he thought about it, the more he loved that Djokovic copied his friend’s phone celebration. Think about other sports: A defensive end tackles a quarterback and imitates his touchdown dance; someone dunks on Russell Westbrook and taunts him with his own rock-the-baby.

“This happens in every other sport,” Eubanks says. “We could use some more of this."

Ben Shelton hadn’t won the match, but he had succeeded at rattling maybe the best player to ever do it. With Shelton, the brash, rowdy energy of American sports is back in tennis.




GQ Article:
https://www.gq.com/story/ben-shelton-us-open-hype

I didn't see the match but it sounds like both players got under each other's skin. I have seen it a lot at all levels of tennis. It's not a good idea to provoke Novak, though, as it will only strengthen his resolve and any opponent has enough on his hands to start with!

On the whole Novak is very respectful of other players and has a high level of tolerance. Just look a what he has endured with Kygrios. I think he's come to the conclusion that he is never going to be liked but I think he enjoys being respected by fellow players at least. I think he's earned that by now.

[John Yandell]

Great thread on the data! And on another point idiotic to put the Men's final versus NFL opening day. I watched the niners and then the final on dvr!

[stroke]

I didn't see the match but it sounds like both players got under each other's skin. I have seen it a lot at all levels of tennis. It's not a good idea to provoke Novak, though, as it will only strengthen his resolve and any opponent has enough on his hands to start with!

On the whole Novak is very respectful of other players and has a high level of tolerance. Just look a what he has endured with Kygrios. I think he's come to the conclusion that he is never going to be liked but I think he enjoys being respected by fellow players at least. I think he's earned that by now.

I saw the match. I did not feel Sheldon got under Novak's skin. Novak was certainly irritated with the crowd. But as you say, it only seems to make him play with more resolve. My original take on Novak's end of match phone thing was also that is was completely unnecessary, kind of like piling on. But Chris does bring up food for thought. At the handshake, Sheldon certainly appeared not happy about it. Certainly understand that.

[stroke]

https://tennisuptodate.com/atp/i-accepted-that-role-i-have-as-maybe-the-bad-guy-of-tennis-djokovic-says-there-wasnt-room-for-him-in-big-three-alongside-nadal-and-federer