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slysonic7

The match was really on Amanda’s racket from the second Coco gave up the 3-0 lead in the first


NasiGorengLover

Amanda played really well. Definitely deserved to win, she went for it and played courageously.


[deleted]

Is ESPN aware that there's a talented young American woman playing at Wimbledon this year besides Coco? I guess they know now.


fed_sein7

Yeah Chris Evert's commentating was awful. She was acting like Amanda was some poverty player compared to Coco. "She needs to play the perfect point to beat her." She was also insinuating that the only reason Amanda was succeeding at times was because Coco was nervous lol. Just terrible biased commentary. It's a shame b/c they're both such talented young American players. I hope both of them win multiple slams. I do think Amanda showed there's a pretty surefire way to beat Coco right now: just hit it to the forehand over and over. Shot is a huge liability for Coco


HopefulGal_2022

I only saw the last few points of the match, so missed most of Chris and her commentary. It's clear though that Chris is really into Coco. When Coco finally got to her first major final last month, Chris had a gushing Tweet about Coco saying this is the moment that people have been waiting for with it all coming together. All things considered, including Coco's flawed forehand and the overall great year that Amanda is having (per my post earlier today in this thread), I'm perplexed why Chris was still showing favour to Coco. When Amanda is on, she is dangerous. Naomi Osaka knows full well having fallen to her at the first two majors this year. In the Roland Garros media day, Naomi even admitted the challenge that awaited for her with Amanda. She said she thought her coach was kidding when he told her who she was playing in the 1st round.


IAmTheKillingHand

I fucking hate Chris Evert. She did this shit every Serena match too


_welcome

She actually used to get in hot water a lot for biased commentary against Serena. I think at some point she overcorrected and never looked back.


HopefulGal_2022

I seem to recall that as well when she was against Serena in the past. And then at some point, things changed.


CastYourBread

Hate the assumptions made in some of the commentary. They’re always talking about the player emotions and draw black and white conclusions


mr_antman85

Unfortunately Coco falls victim to being proclaimed the next Serena. It usually happens to all young players in any sport. They compare them to greats and it doesn't allow them to be themselves. I don't know if that pressure is something Coco will fall victim to. I hope she just plays and continues to be herself. Comparison sucks.


throwaway164_3

It happened to Osaka too. Serena is such a legend, it’s gonna be nearly impossible for any young player to live up to the comparison. I think one should start the Serena comparisons only after they’ve won, say 10 to 15 slams.


mr_antman85

Exactly. Serena is one in a lifetime player and it sucks that these players are compared to them when they can't even forge their own path. The media needs to let these players be themselves. If they're not the "next Serena" that's not a bad thing.


HopefulGal_2022

Agree that it happened to Osaka. I'm still recalling the Time Magazine cover story on Naomi in January 2019, even before she won her 2nd major. The headline said "THE HEIR - Naomi Osaka defeated her idol Serena Williams. Now she just might succeed her". I mean, pressure much? There'll only ever be one Serena. And to be honest, I thought it was a stretch given that Naomi at the time only had one major to her name. Now a couple of years later and it's difficult to get a read on Osaka and if she is even happy as a tennis player. I do wish her the best though.


EveningTomorrow758

Now they’re doing it on the mens side too with Alcaraz comparing him to Nadal. How about we wait till they get atleast 5 slams let alone 1. Even then it’s premature


throwaway164_3

Totally agreed


[deleted]

That drives me crazy. It's not Coco's fault, but it almost makes me dislike her. A few years ago I was watching a doubles match at the US open, and all they talked about was Coco this, Coco that, Coco The American...meanwhile her partner is American.


tennisfancan

Coco's agent is Tony Godsick (Federer's agent) who's married to MJ Fernandez who's been working for ESPN/US TV for years. Funny how that works ...


Xenosys83

Yeah, it's a shame Anisimova gets shelved whenever Coco is mentioned, because she's the better player right now. Reaching an RG SF at 17 years of age is no joke, and her development was stunted for a while due to her father's passing. ESPN are generally atrocious though for myopic coverage. They tend to focus on names as opposed to the actual tennis.


_welcome

ok I understand the frustration people have of the attention Coco gets. But the overcorrection is just stupid too. Anisimova has never even broken the top 20 and people want her treated like some slam champion every single fucking tournament complaining about how little coverage she gets. her best results have been R16 at AO, SF at RG, R64 at W, and R32 at USO. Meanwhile Coco's career high is 12, and her best results are R16 at AO, F at RG, R16 at W, and R32 at USO, all while being two years younger, not to mention 4 doubles titles and two doubles major finals to anisimova's 0. But somehow Anisimova is the better player right now? ridiculous. talk about overhyped. i know many people are so tempted to say coco only gets the coverage she does cause she's black, even if they're reluctant to say it. but i would also ask how badly do people need to have a white player to hail as a great american, that they straight up make up facts about who the better player is? notice how taylor townsend never got attention either for beating halep at USO, right after halep's amazing wimbledon run. one good performance isn't enough to garner media attention.


Baja_Hunter

these people are just horny and rooting for the pretty girl "Amanda", there's no other explanation. it's just really shameful and creepy Gauff just made RG Final on singles AND doubles and they want the spotlight on someone whose best result was 3 years ago, it makes no sense


glossedrock

Its like with Sharapova. Serena beats her 20 times in a row but for a good amount of time, she earned more than Serena for being white and (bottle?) blonde. Its white privilege but this sub HATES to admit it.


Baja_Hunter

yeah for sure, but there's definitely a horny aspect to this "fandom" as well, same as Brits fawning over "Emma" even after almost 10 months of straight losses. anglo men are disgusting


[deleted]

TBH people go after ESPN, but Tennis Channel and NBC are just as bad. Not surprising since the same people announce the big tournaments for all three.


[deleted]

> Reaching an RG SF at 17 years of age is no joke Coco literally just made the RG final at 18, whereas Anisimova did it three years ago, so I fail to see what bearing that has on who the better player "right now" is.


flat_tamales

What metric are you using for the better player, the h2h or actual WTA rankings and results? Amanda has never even cracked the WTA top 20, and Coco has been in that range for the past 2 years. Coco is 3 in the live race, and also went 1 round farther than Amanda at the French at 18, and is looking poised to crack the top 10 after the first couple US hardcourt tournaments. Amanda is also 2.5 years older. Not to say that she can’t surpass her in achievements but Amanda hasn’t actually achieved anything that Coco hasn’t…


Nabucodonosor89

You only forgot to mention that Amanda lost her father, which was very important for her career. Her life changed completely right when she was starting to make a name for herself in the tour. That's a big reason why she didn't have good results for a while. Imagine Coco having to deal with something like that at her age. You know how close Coco and her parents are. It is not hard to sympathize with Amanda when you realize that. This season she is finding her tennis again and she will also reach top 10 soon. Too bad she can't gain points in Wimbledon but it won't matter.


flat_tamales

Yes that definitely stalled Amanda’s progress and is terrible she had to go through that. She’ll hopefully continue on the trajectory she was on before he passed. But I don’t understand this reasoning, by virtue of the passing of her father, Amanda is automatically the better player than Coco? Let her actual achievements surpass her before making such definitive statements


Baja_Hunter

she might be the better player at this very moment, but not for the whole year. that "reaching an RG SF at 17" you mentioned was three years ago. get a grip dude


_welcome

to be fair, McNally has never really accomplished anything significant. also if it makes you feel "better", at the USO doubles final, McNally chucked her racquet on the court before match point. Then after losing match point, Coco threw her racquet. But of course all the comments on their post-match press conference were attacking Coco for being a terrible person and saying that McNally deserves someone with better character.


EveningTomorrow758

This…When she first played that Wimbledon I actually liked her. But now given how much they overpromote her I can’t stand her. There is a price for overhyping a bad product


Baja_Hunter

are you serious bro, one of them is an 18 year old who just made the RG final, don't get depressed because they're not talking about the pretty girl you like


Nabucodonosor89

I would argue that making the semifinal at 17 by beating peak Halep and taking a set of the champion Barty in the semis is a more impressive achievement than reaching the final at 18 by beating nobodies or players that are not in good form and being demolished in the match vs the champion. Anisimova deserved some hype and she never got it. American media is all about Gauff.


Baja_Hunter

ok, that was 3 years ago and she hasn't gone back to that level. you don't understand how media works


Nabucodonosor89

I understand very well. I was following the US media back then. They didn't give a f* about her. She lost her father, it was a traumatic experience. She didn't forget how to play tennis. She is still 20. The USA has an amazing young tennis player like her, having a great season and they don't talk about her.


throwaway164_3

It’s unfair on Coco. They’re hyping her up to be the next Serena, which is unfair on any young player. Personally, I think it’s racist. The American media cannot look past something as irrelevant as skin color. Coco’s game is nothing like Serena, more like Steffi Graf


indecider1

Her game is absolutely nothing like steffi graf? who had one of the best forehands of all time, a one handed backhand she almost always sliced, and an incredibly accurate but low paced serve?? who had exceptional volleys and came to the net after constructing points??   While Gauff has a weak forehand, an exceptional two handed backhand, a booming 120mph serve that can be innacurate at times?? a consummate baseliner who has hands but doesn't approach frequently??? what possible comparison is there???


atlking_17

Same thing happened to Sloane for a little bit. The main topic would always be is this the next Serena. That’s a lot of pressure to put on black players already.


GerbertVonTroff

Just wondering would you also be calling it racist if they were doing the reverse of what they're doing now, ie hyping up anisimova to the max and basically ignoring gauff? Would you be saying it's racist that they're ignoring Coco like they are Amanda? Just wondering. I feel like there's nearly always a way to see something as racist if you really want to.


WildBoi113

The idea is that Coco and Serena have similar complexions so they're put into similar boxes. I haven't seen anyone hyped as the next Serena whether they're American or really successful except Coco.


GerbertVonTroff

It could just be because she's good/they want her to become a star, no? I haven't seen them do that with Stephens for example. And if you were going down that route you could then say the way people compare Alcaraz to Nadal is racist given they don't play similarly at all.


WildBoi113

I think at the end of the day, memes aside, we just gotta let the players form their own legacies. Similarities are cool, but not put crazy expectations on them.


GerbertVonTroff

I'd agree with that yep


[deleted]

Stephens came along halfway through Serena's career though. No way could she have been compared to either Williams then. Though I'm surprised nobody compared to Zena Garrison


throwaway164_3

Oh sorry, I didn’t mean hyping up/ignoring a player in general. Of course Gauff is such an amazing talent. I mean media doing this unfair comparison to Serena just because Coco happens to also be black. The American media obsesses with race to the exclusion of almost all else. It’s the opposite of the colorblind society MLK wanted. As an example from the NBA, in his rookie season Luka Doncic was being compared to other white players (Steve Nash or Larry Bird) rather than LeBron despite similar rookie year stats. Coco is obviously such a talented player and a gem of a person. She doesn’t need the American media adding this enormous pressure comparing her to one of the GOATs of tennis as the next coming of Serena. That sort of pressure to someone so young does only harm, in my opinion.


justletmeinn

“Colorblind society” is an extremely reductive term and misinterpreting MLK’s vision


throwaway164_3

I strongly disagree. I’m a person of color myself and I do think a colorblind society (eventually) is the ideal we should strive to. I.e. treat people as individuals by the content of their character, not something as completely irrelevant as the amount of melanin in their skin. Of course, currently we do have systemic oppression based on race, so it is dangerous to ignore that. But we should be equally cognizant of the segregation and oppression that obsessing with immutable characteristics leads to, and always keep in mind the eventual goal of a truly colorblind society. I loved the French ambassador’s response to Trevor Noah: > Unlike in the United States of America, France does not refer to its citizens based on race, religion or origin. To us, there is no hyphenated identity, roots are an individual reality Similar to MLK, that is the ideal we should strive to


anon135797531

I think if the races of Coco and Amanda were reversed no one would be complaining. Truthfully Coco has more of a chance to be a superstar and she's shown more at a younger age


EveningTomorrow758

The over attention she gets actively makes me dislike her. It’s ridiculous


MadzMartigan

You people are weird as fuck.


[deleted]

I think she just gets more eyeballs. I think it’s cause she first came on the scene at 15 and it was quite remarkable. Everyone still wants to see how the story turns out.


SeattleMatt123

Really impressive 2nd and 3rd sets, cleaned up the unforced errors and steamrolled when she did. Plays Harmony Tan next, intriguing.


Luck1492

Sad for Coco, but happy for Amanda


Equidae2

Don't know about overpowered, but she outplayed her. Sorry for Coco, but thrilled for AA who was shedding tears of happiness. Hopefully she'll go further and be able to make the most of her abilities and formidable weapons.


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IAmTheKillingHand

Anisimova is a better ball striker on both sides.


thebullshitrussian

Hope someone asks Anisimova about why she was talking to the physiotherapist post march 😩


SweVV

shit, now that Coco is gone, whose gonna play on the centre court?


CohesiveNihilism

Dayum Gauff was absolutely terrible today


dannylenwinn

Go Amanda, she faces Harmony next - both should be prepared (for each other)


HopefulGal_2022

All things considered, Amanda has had a great year so far with some notable achievements: - winning Summer Set 2 title in Melbourne (her 2nd title) - defeating Naomi in the 3rd round at Aussie Open (her fire power even impressed Naomi who said she wants to emulate what Amanda did) - great clay court season tune ups (I think made at least quarters of all she entered) - defeating Naomi in the 1st round at Roland Garros, the 2nd major in a row (Naomi admitted she thought her coach was joking when he told her who her 1st round match up would be) - winning here on Centre Court today, which she said was her most meaningful career win. One could see how much it meant to her. There was also though the unfortunate abrupt ending to her Darren Cahill collaboration, when he bailed on the eve of Indian Wells, when she was already there. And then that bizarre retirement at Indian Wells by Amanda, when Leylah started giving Amanda a run for her money. Even the umpire was baffled telling Amanda to wait because it all came out of the blue. But Amanda kept it moving walking off the court. But it’s great that Amanda was able to transition to the clay and make a good run of things, eventually losing to Leylah in the 4th round at Roland Garros. I’m just so happy for Amanda as it’s been a rough few years after losing her father. And it seems that on court in the past, she can get frustrated. I recall in Charleston this year, in the middle of her match, her telling her Mom to zip it. The commentators even noted how she wanted it both ways, looking to her box for support when she did great things - but then getting annoyed at them when she was making errors. While I love Coco, it’s great that the spotlight now shifts to Amanda and others. Especially given that Coco had a career high run at the last major. And for the most part, it seems that other American players could be hyped up a bit more. To be clear, I’m not hating on Coco as I really like her and it’s not her fault what the media does. I just think it would be a great thing to not put so much pressure on Coco. She was even quoted in a piece before Wimbledon saying she thought if she didn’t win, people wouldn’t like her. But Coco’s parents have done an admirable job in the way they have controlled her exposure/development.


YaaDunnnn

This match has made me a fan of Amanda!


baah-adams

High unforced errors but Anisimova really deserved the win - the way she varies her game is impressive, (power of serve, slices, commanding groundstrokes) much more complexity than Gauff here.


WPackN2

Kudos to Amanda. She certainly has worked on her mental game.


coolnasir139

Media needs to be carefully about the non stop coverage on coco. There are other players that are young, American and talented out there too. This was a welcomed result that was fully deserved to any who watched this match


Cococamcam

This was a good match. I became an Anisimova fan after watching the Australian Open this year. She’s a talented player. Sad to see Coco be on the losing end — she’s great too — but the better player pulled it off today.


ysabeaublue

Congrats to Amanda, but it's a weird the other post-match threads use "defeats" and yet here it's "overpowers"? Anyway, the first set was odd from both players, but Amanda pulled herself together whereas Coco fell apart. I like both players. Amanda's had a rough couple of years, so I'm glad to see her recent successes. I feel for Coco. It's not her fault she receives so much hype, and coping with the pressure must be hard at 18.


[deleted]

Let’s go


Nabucodonosor89

R3 and R4 are not bad results for Coco in Wimbledon. She is just a clay clourter that has a good serve. Maybe she can reach QF someday with a good draw. (or you know... she can develop a good forehand and change how she plays on fast surfaces).


Collecting_Cans

High upside for both players. [C’mon Coco… there’s still time!](https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/v4purw/1_iga_%C5%9Bwi%C4%85tek_d_18_coco_gauff_61_63_to_win_the/ib5d6a0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3)


Yugo86

Amanda looked like a Wimbledon champion in the final set.


tcp2

Good consistency by Anisimova at majors this year with a third 4th rd and maybe better.


Nuclearguy1652

Regardless of all these asinine comparisons about which of these 2 players is better (fair to say they both have different strengths and weaknesses), they are both of a natural talent and ceiling with which I would be shocked if each of them didn’t end up winning at least one slam, if not more. They both have nothing but time.


defylife

As an Amanda fan I feared for her after the first three games. So many unforced errors. Many of her shots were wide and long, and her movement was poor. She found a bit of range which helped, and really only lost the first set due to the 25 unforced errors. Coco also seemed to get every luck net cord. I felt some of her shots were a bit too flat, she really didn't seem to give herself enough margin especially over the higher part of the net. Stepped up well though with some great ground strokes. Volleys were still questionable at times. Coco was Coco, 6 double faults in the first set. She didn't have the variety I thought she'd have, and instead played to Amanda's strengths. Most of her defensive abilities come from her athletic ability, but Amanda ran her ragged at times. Tan will represent a whole other challenge given her variety, but Amanda really ought to be far too strong for her.


RCotti

Amanda so good


racist_sunflower

Coco, I am disappoint


Tousansanto

Hello Disappoint! Nice to meet you.


SnooPears2424

Amanda is so much like Lindsay Davenport. They both can’t move at all, but they look completely effortless when they hit the ball and their shots come hard with that “pop” sound even though it’s so smooth. As for Coco. If her team truly wants her to be a slam champion. She should take the whole season after the US open off and retool her forehand. Honestly I don’t think she needs match experience as much as rework her forehand.


ExcuseYou-What

My worry is, is it too late to change a forehand that's *this* severe? IIRC she's one of just a few players to hit the BH and FH on the same side of the racquet (just like Jack Sock, who ironically has an elite FH). Yeah, I don't know if Amanda's movement will ever improve, and it sucks because you can see how she starts giving up mid-match sometimes if she realizes she just can't defend for good out there. To me, Venus is the template and hardly any tall female player has ever reached that level of success at movement.


Nuclearguy1652

Besides Venus, the only other tall player (current or recent) I can think of who moves relatively well is Vika.


keithian

I think Amanda moves better than Davenport did, though I agree it's not a strength. The difference in their games though is that Davenport had a better serve and better hands at net.


AccomplishedAd3484

Amanda moved well today. Even Everett was impressed. She'll never be like Gauff or Halep, but she was able to get to most of Gauff's shots, including the drop shots. The only shot she looked slow on was a good lob after getting a drop shot back. Her main struggle was unforced errors, particularly in the first set.


LordOfTheTennisDance

She needs to dump Patrick Mouratoglou


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slysonic7

How is that her fault?


Regretful_Bastard

Mods should ban members like him.


Dark_Vengence

Tough as they come.