US Open

[jimlosaltos]

I have long been a proponent of no timeouts, not that it matters ha

Agreed.

Back to the MTO prop, gen Ai says they don't do that and why. But I imagine someone must.

~~~~


As of September 1, 2025, there are no published prop bet odds on Novak Djokovic taking a medical timeout during his upcoming US Open quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz. This is typical for sports betting, as this specific type of prop bet is almost never offered by legal sportsbooks.
Why medical timeout prop bets aren't offered
Sportsbooks avoid this kind of bet for several key reasons:

• Difficulty setting a line: Odds are determined by probability and expected outcomes. Predicting a specific, non-statistical event like a medical timeout is almost impossible, making it challenging for bookmakers to set a fair and informed line.
• Concerns about integrity: Offering wagers on medical issues could raise ethical questions and invite potential match-fixing concerns. A player or those close to them could influence the outcome of the bet, compromising the integrity of the match.
• Varying rules and interpretations: The rules for when a player can and cannot take a medical timeout are strictly enforced, but subjective interpretations of a player's condition can occur. This gray area makes it an unreliable betting market.

How to place related bets
If you are interested in betting on a related market, you can explore other prop bets offered for Djokovic's match:

• Match Result: Betting on who will win the match.
• Set Score: Betting on the exact number of sets or the final score.
• Total Games: Betting on whether the total number of games played will be over or under a set line.
• Specific Game Spreads: Betting on a player to win by a certain number of games or sets.

You can find the latest available odds for these markets on major sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM

[stroke]

I am a big fan of Taylor. I also really like Novak. What he has overcome vs Roger and Rafael stands alone. That being said, I am a bit tired of his what I consider "Karen" antics. I think this is finally Taylor's time to get it done.

[stotty]

I’m not watching the US Open this year as none of the channels I subscribe to are showing it. From what I’ve read in the press, though, it seems Carlos and Sinner are on a collision course for the final—and if they’re both playing as well as people say it’s hard to argue otherwise.

I expect Novak to get past Fritz, but at what price? It won’t be straightforward, and he’ll burn a lot of fuel—only to face Carlos in the next round.

The bigger question is: does Novak truly believe he can win this tournament without a little help from the draw? Deep down, maybe yes...but only with a little help. Novak would love that 25th title, but realistically he’d need Fritz to get injured after a set and then Lehecka to take out Carlos. Now that would be a helpful draw. Novak, in a recent presser, said he feels he’s still playing well but by the semis of a slam he has nothing left in the tank — not sure how he gets round that without the draw conveniently panning out his way.

It reminds me a bit of Roger at the end of his career. He perhaps wasn’t at his best but still playing so well — you sensed he was hanging around the slams waiting for Rafa, Novak, or one of the other top names to stumble. If they had, he’d have been in like a shot.

[jimlosaltos]

I am a big fan of Taylor. I also really like Novak. What he has overcome vs Roger and Rafael stands alone. That being said, I am a bit tired of his what I consider "Karen" antics. I think this is finally Taylor's time to get it done.

Really! Bold call. Fritz is certainly playing the best I've ever seen from him. Match up is tough if his serve is neutralized.

What's the old line, was it Vitas Gueralitis, "Nobody beats Vitas Gueralitis 16 times in a row"?

[stroke]

Sinner was in full flight, playing as only he can, vs Bublik. It was something to see, taking the ball on so early off both sides, not making many errors at all. He looks a bit like a full flight Fed when he is playing like that, or maybe Davydenko, with more pop off of everything.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CN2uZ7Vng/

[jimlosaltos]

Sinner was in full flight, playing as only he can, vs Bublik. It was something to see, taking the ball on so early off both sides, not making many errors at all. He looks a bit like a full flight Fed when he is playing like that, or maybe Davydenko, with more pop off of everything.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CN2uZ7Vng/

It was something. Bublik beat him not long ago in Halle but this was completely different.

Hard for Bublik to get his disruptive game going when seemingly every time Bublik served Jannik's return was back at his feet before he recovered.

This is reportedly what Bublik said at the net:

"You're so good, this is insane. I'm not bad, like what the f***"

-- Bublik at the net to a broadly smiling Jannik Sinner after losing 6-1 6-1 6-1

Otherwise .... Yesterday was a bit strange. All but one of the eight (8) singles matches on Labor Day were over in straight sets. Only Muchova over Kostyuk required a deciding set. Bagels. Breadsticks. Bicyclettes abounded.

[stroke]

All Fritz has to do to become the first American player since Roddick to win US Open is beat Novak, then probably Alcaraz and Sinner.

[jimlosaltos]

All Fritz has to do to become the first American player since Roddick to win US Open is beat Novak, then probably Alcaraz and Sinner.

Well ... that sounds easy{ sarcasm intended } UNTIL you add, beat Djokovic for the first time after 10 losses. If I'm reading this correctly, Taylor was won only 2 sets vs Djokovic in 10 matches ??? Can that be true?

I see only two sets won by Fritz, both at the Australian Open in different years. That tiny white type reversed is hard to read but ...

https://www.atptour.com/en/players/atp-head-2-head

[don_budge]

Very shaky service games from both Karen Djokovic and Prince Fritz. Karen to serve out the set…again.

[don_budge]

I watched just a few games as Novak "Karen" Djokovic wobbled it home and got the horse in the barn. Once upon a time I wrote, Novak is relevant until he isn't. It's all about his legs. To his credit being the wily old Karen that he is, he managed to beat a much younger opponent who has an infinite amount of motivation to beat him. Most impressive. Impressive at the highest level of the game...even historically speaking. If only we could have seen this great "Modern" tennisplayer with a Dunlop Fort. Or a Slazenger. Something wood. At least so we could compare him with the past legends of the game.

Speaking of legs...Carlitos. He is skipping and dancing around the court. Novak might get overwhelmed. It might not be pretty. This may be his last hurrah. He looked pretty wobbly and he was horsing around a bit. Making fun of himself and his inability to be mobile. Getting old. The inevitable decline. At my age I am seeing a lot of it. The last year...I've lost so many. I wish him luck. It's a little sad. I never was a fan of Novak Djokovic much. He stood in the way of the Hero too often. The Hero was declining and Novak was up and coming. The same theme. Novak linked the game to the hero. One last thread. It's enough to root for him to the bitter end. It was over when the Hero exited the stadium and when Novak leaves the entire era dissipates. What are we left with? It isn't tennis...I'll tell you that. Not even a reasonable facsimile. Now that is sad. Really sad.

[stroke]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ybx7iQHNEAP41Jdx6

Pretty much tells the story.

[jimlosaltos]

Taylor Fritz on how he lost the match despite having 13 breakpoints vs Djoko, via ATP:

“I had so many more chances that you're not going to see on a stat line,” Fritz said. “I was in points at Love-30, 15-30, 30-All. I was just playing these points just really poorly. When it comes down to the break points themselves, I'd say, out of the first 10, I would say five or six of them he played pretty well.

“Then maybe, like, four of them I just played a bad point or was too conservative or pulled the trigger at the wrong time. Just bad decision-making, because I wasn't playing as well as I would have wanted to.”

The crux of the disappointment lies in the sheer amount of opportunities squandered and knowing that, for the most part, Fritz was on equal footing with Djokovic; the victor admittedly struggled in the middle two sets to get a feel for the ball.

Fritz raised his game even more in the third set, and both players were at their best in an nip-and-tuck fourth.

“I just can't come out of those first two sets down two sets to love. Like, I need to play better,” Fritz said. “That's the thing that's frustrating. I don't need to play that much better to make it happen, because I had all the chances I had playing how I was playing, and I just need to serve a little bit better, too.”

[jimlosaltos]

On a trivial note, this photo of Jasmine Paolini by noted sports photographer Ray Giubilio is getting some buzz.

To me it seems more of a novelty than a great photo, but it draws your attention. The "mask" over her face is from the Yonex logo making the strings lighter there and just happening to fall over her face and mouth. Ray had to be in the right position and work hard to get a chance, but I'm sure he wasn't aiming for this. For camera buffs, Ray was using a Nikon Z9 { my camera of choice! } which is "fast" enough to catch this.

Look at this and more Ray's photos on his 'Gram

https://www.instagram.com/p/DNyAv5O4vT8/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=028d372d-3e72-4705-918e-a5ea177d3c97

It's quite common to get photos of the racket in front of players' faces, so much so that there is a term for this -- "a Phantom Zone photo". That's from DC Comics where villains like "Zod" are cast into the Phantom Zone, their faces on a moving two-dimensional surface. { Zod actor Terrance Stamp just passed, by the way. A great).

That's my digression of the day.

filedata/fetch?id=108289&d=1756921915&type=thumb

[stroke]

Taylor Fritz on how he lost the match despite having 13 breakpoints vs Djoko, via ATP:

“I had so many more chances that you're not going to see on a stat line,” Fritz said. “I was in points at Love-30, 15-30, 30-All. I was just playing these points just really poorly. When it comes down to the break points themselves, I'd say, out of the first 10, I would say five or six of them he played pretty well.

“Then maybe, like, four of them I just played a bad point or was too conservative or pulled the trigger at the wrong time. Just bad decision-making, because I wasn't playing as well as I would have wanted to.”

The crux of the disappointment lies in the sheer amount of opportunities squandered and knowing that, for the most part, Fritz was on equal footing with Djokovic; the victor admittedly struggled in the middle two sets to get a feel for the ball.

Fritz raised his game even more in the third set, and both players were at their best in an nip-and-tuck fourth.

“I just can't come out of those first two sets down two sets to love. Like, I need to play better,” Fritz said. “That's the thing that's frustrating. I don't need to play that much better to make it happen, because I had all the chances I had playing how I was playing, and I just need to serve a little bit better, too.”

Fritz has a real mind for the game. He is a superb player, just not quite as good as the Big 3, Sinner, and Alcaraz. Tennis is a brutal game.

[stotty]

Taylor Fritz on how he lost the match despite having 13 breakpoints vs Djoko, via ATP:

“I had so many more chances that you're not going to see on a stat line,” Fritz said. “I was in points at Love-30, 15-30, 30-All. I was just playing these points just really poorly. When it comes down to the break points themselves, I'd say, out of the first 10, I would say five or six of them he played pretty well.

“Then maybe, like, four of them I just played a bad point or was too conservative or pulled the trigger at the wrong time. Just bad decision-making, because I wasn't playing as well as I would have wanted to.”

The crux of the disappointment lies in the sheer amount of opportunities squandered and knowing that, for the most part, Fritz was on equal footing with Djokovic; the victor admittedly struggled in the middle two sets to get a feel for the ball.

Fritz raised his game even more in the third set, and both players were at their best in an nip-and-tuck fourth.

“I just can't come out of those first two sets down two sets to love. Like, I need to play better,” Fritz said. “That's the thing that's frustrating. I don't need to play that much better to make it happen, because I had all the chances I had playing how I was playing, and I just need to serve a little bit better, too.”

I’ve heard the story so many times before. It’s not as though Novak (or Roger, or Rafa) has spent his career cruising to 6–2, 6–1 wins. Far from it—many of those matches have been 6–4, 5–7, 7–5 battles. The difference is, he’s come out on top in the vast majority of them, for twenty years! He has a knack of winning the tight ones, over and over again. As a good friend of mine recently put it: His matches are close but they’re not.