Utterly ridiculous. But I stand by what I said regarding Murray. He legitimised the abuse by 1) accusing Stef of cheating and 2) following it all up on social media and then not letting it rest, with even his brother joining in. I feel you and others might hv been braver on this. Petch denied it and said it was about the issue. Maybe, but it turned into bullying.
Shaming. Even PM agrees with me
I seem to hv become something of an apologist for Stef but you know me, I hv done the same for others. Pack mentality attacks are the worst.
Aldi, let’s be honest, this is more about the vaccine than about a loo break. He’s not a cheat, nor an anti vaxxer. He is just a slightly awkward, pretty immature outsider who lives in a bubble, and lacks self awareness, who as Sakkari said, does things slowly and deliberately. Also, I loath these pressers whereby knowing English isn’t his first language and nuance/irony not his strengths, he is called apon to explain himself…
Mental health for some, but not for others.
Oh, I’d still like to see Ben R wrestling with a wet and soggy sports bra! ;))
Thanks for this. From my perspective I had barely heard of this happening before Cincinnati and that infamous Zverev Tsitsipas match. It does seem like, as you say, the best solution is to just have a word with Tsitsipas, and anyone else who gets out of line on the bathroom breaks, and only punish if it becomes a recurring theme.
“As a result the press unfortunately reports on these morsels with the sort of breathless seriousness, gusto and outrage that feels more at home in the more serious, but scarce, topics. This is merely the reality of the easy-attention based model that underpins parts of modern media outrage. It’s also much easier, and usually more rewarding, to write angrily about bathroom breaks and ‘CHEATING’, than match-fixing, conflicts of interest or match analysis, even when those topics are relevant. But the end result is that fans and viewers get whipped up into a frenzy of outrage over generally trivial, or at least fleeting and avoidable, matters in this sport.”
Superb as ever Matt.
Q: What did you make of Murray’s performance and what achievement levels, in your view, are his new ceiling?
Thanks Colin. I think that was the most encouraging Murray performance since his comeback. There's an alternative universe somewhere were he closed out the 2nd set and won the match in straights. His coach Petchey said the biggest breakthrough was being able to be fit enough to consistently practice and play sets with elite players, so the more of that he can do the better. Would still like to see him be more aggressive with 2nd serve speed and placement, but his serve +1 forehand aggression vs Tsitsipas was as good as I've seen it in years for the first two sets.
It's wrong for Tsitsipas to be getting the abuse on social media, but the media aren't wrong to report it. That's on the leaders, like you say. Why shouldn't we talk about it? It's a valid talking issue, for, definiteoy something to scrutinise, which you have done. Stefanos clearly has thick skin, if he was so bothered he would have changed it before, but against Alcáraz there was a much quicker break.
You mention Zverev, match fixing...we're in the middle of a tournament that I for one am enjoying a lot, do you really want these more serious issues taking over a grand slam? By all means write investigative articles about these subjects but they are tricky issues that require facts.
I can understand the frustration, but that's the media and social media. I guarantee you people are talking about and enjoying the tennis (for example, in Britain it wasn't just journalists frothing at the mouth, plenty were praising Murray's performance, although I suppose none pointing out his loss of focus and not taking the opportunity).
Thanks for the thoughtful comment Josh. My point isn't that the media shouldn't be talking about the issue, nor that they should be writing about match fixing at a time where nothing of note is happening at the moment, but instead that I wish the media would stop reporting on issues like the Tsistipas bathroom break with the seriousness that should be reserved for actual controversy. This is of course wishful thinking but I'm trying to give some readers the signs of manufactured outrage vs legit outrage within the narrow scope of tennis news, because this sport is rarely that deep, and yet it sometimes takes itself far too seriously.
By the way, for some modern coverage, you have https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCObs7FwjNmLB3u5fcHiLCWA Cam Williams I just told him to check this newsletter out. Don't think you guys are on exactly the same page but he's got a good following and it's fun chat.
Yes, fair enough, I can see that's the point you were making now. Maybe they choose these lines because they think it's for the good of the game or there's nothing else to talk about, which there surely is but might be a hindrance to the sport, as far as they see it. I suppose there will be investor or sponsor protection as well on some level.
Either way, you're right that tennis reporting often seems a bit superfluous or overly focussed on temporary or glamorous narratives. Often doesn't seem good fr the players or the fans either
Utterly ridiculous. But I stand by what I said regarding Murray. He legitimised the abuse by 1) accusing Stef of cheating and 2) following it all up on social media and then not letting it rest, with even his brother joining in. I feel you and others might hv been braver on this. Petch denied it and said it was about the issue. Maybe, but it turned into bullying.
Shaming. Even PM agrees with me
I seem to hv become something of an apologist for Stef but you know me, I hv done the same for others. Pack mentality attacks are the worst.
Aldi, let’s be honest, this is more about the vaccine than about a loo break. He’s not a cheat, nor an anti vaxxer. He is just a slightly awkward, pretty immature outsider who lives in a bubble, and lacks self awareness, who as Sakkari said, does things slowly and deliberately. Also, I loath these pressers whereby knowing English isn’t his first language and nuance/irony not his strengths, he is called apon to explain himself…
Mental health for some, but not for others.
Oh, I’d still like to see Ben R wrestling with a wet and soggy sports bra! ;))
Thanks for this. From my perspective I had barely heard of this happening before Cincinnati and that infamous Zverev Tsitsipas match. It does seem like, as you say, the best solution is to just have a word with Tsitsipas, and anyone else who gets out of line on the bathroom breaks, and only punish if it becomes a recurring theme.
“As a result the press unfortunately reports on these morsels with the sort of breathless seriousness, gusto and outrage that feels more at home in the more serious, but scarce, topics. This is merely the reality of the easy-attention based model that underpins parts of modern media outrage. It’s also much easier, and usually more rewarding, to write angrily about bathroom breaks and ‘CHEATING’, than match-fixing, conflicts of interest or match analysis, even when those topics are relevant. But the end result is that fans and viewers get whipped up into a frenzy of outrage over generally trivial, or at least fleeting and avoidable, matters in this sport.”
Superb as ever Matt.
Q: What did you make of Murray’s performance and what achievement levels, in your view, are his new ceiling?
Thanks Colin. I think that was the most encouraging Murray performance since his comeback. There's an alternative universe somewhere were he closed out the 2nd set and won the match in straights. His coach Petchey said the biggest breakthrough was being able to be fit enough to consistently practice and play sets with elite players, so the more of that he can do the better. Would still like to see him be more aggressive with 2nd serve speed and placement, but his serve +1 forehand aggression vs Tsitsipas was as good as I've seen it in years for the first two sets.
It's wrong for Tsitsipas to be getting the abuse on social media, but the media aren't wrong to report it. That's on the leaders, like you say. Why shouldn't we talk about it? It's a valid talking issue, for, definiteoy something to scrutinise, which you have done. Stefanos clearly has thick skin, if he was so bothered he would have changed it before, but against Alcáraz there was a much quicker break.
You mention Zverev, match fixing...we're in the middle of a tournament that I for one am enjoying a lot, do you really want these more serious issues taking over a grand slam? By all means write investigative articles about these subjects but they are tricky issues that require facts.
I can understand the frustration, but that's the media and social media. I guarantee you people are talking about and enjoying the tennis (for example, in Britain it wasn't just journalists frothing at the mouth, plenty were praising Murray's performance, although I suppose none pointing out his loss of focus and not taking the opportunity).
Thanks for the thoughtful comment Josh. My point isn't that the media shouldn't be talking about the issue, nor that they should be writing about match fixing at a time where nothing of note is happening at the moment, but instead that I wish the media would stop reporting on issues like the Tsistipas bathroom break with the seriousness that should be reserved for actual controversy. This is of course wishful thinking but I'm trying to give some readers the signs of manufactured outrage vs legit outrage within the narrow scope of tennis news, because this sport is rarely that deep, and yet it sometimes takes itself far too seriously.
By the way, for some modern coverage, you have https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCObs7FwjNmLB3u5fcHiLCWA Cam Williams I just told him to check this newsletter out. Don't think you guys are on exactly the same page but he's got a good following and it's fun chat.
Yes, fair enough, I can see that's the point you were making now. Maybe they choose these lines because they think it's for the good of the game or there's nothing else to talk about, which there surely is but might be a hindrance to the sport, as far as they see it. I suppose there will be investor or sponsor protection as well on some level.
Either way, you're right that tennis reporting often seems a bit superfluous or overly focussed on temporary or glamorous narratives. Often doesn't seem good fr the players or the fans either