Consolidated Break

  First, Mr. President, please pause this war for the NCAA tournament. America cannot, in good conscience, dodge work, watch television and gamble on Thursday and Friday with you and Israel attacking multiple countries.  Speaking of Israel, Mr. President, please speak to them about what a ceasefire consists of. Israel already flattened the Gaza Strip, but they continue to attack refugee camps six months into a ceasefire. Almost a thousand of the over 70,000 people that Israel has killed have come since the ceasefire.  While we are speaking about military terms, Mr. President, please talk to your Secretary of Defense about who wrote the rules of war after WW2 that international law abides by. Murder on the high seas with no evidence or attempt to convict; torpedoing unarmed training vessels full of cadets, killing 84 and refusing to save the rest; speaking about giving no quarter or mercy to the enemy, in clear violation of accepted laws we expect our own enemies to adhere...

  Grand Slam Tennis is back ! We're going to roll through round one, picking every match. Consolidated Break is always the only source for this content ! If you're a real fan of the ATP, Walton vs Alacaraz is a fine R1 contest, worthy of watching with pizza and beer. Walton is Australian and talented enough to secure a set vs 'Los. 'Los wins in 4 tight sets. Grizzly veteran Jannick Hanfmann vs Zach Zvajda is also worthy of a watch. Zack is super talented and plays within himself. If Zach can stay on tour as long as Janick, his career will be a success. But this is the kind of match you have to win if you're Jannick Hanfmann, or a wannabe Jannick Hanfmann. I think Zach proves that he's improving, peerhaps moving past wannabe status. Zvajda wins in 5. It is unknown what was going on the other day when Seb Korda lost to Thanasi, who was using a 15 year old Babolat. But that loss does not look good when he now has to play a guy who doesn't lose very much, two ti...

   It is curious that the ATP tried to award Novak Djokovic his 100th title this past weekend. I don't think the Olympics count on Chris Evert's or Jimmy Connors' list of tournament wins. Besides, when Novak played Mathew Edben in Paris, he questioned how Edben even got into the draw. Let's use his own logic to keep him at 98, thank you very much.  The real headline for the Sunshine Double are the two young champions, Jack Draper and Jakub Mensik. Who needs Sinner ? Did you see that Fritz / Berrettini match ? How about Arthur Fils ? And new faces keep forcing their way into the conversation, see Jacob Fearnley. But Draper and Mensik have arrived.  Have you kept up with Maric Cilic and Borna Coric ? Cilic is back from the 700s, and Borna has won three challengers to sneak back into the top 100. Look for both of these veterans to make their presence known at the next few Grand Slams. Both Wawrinka and Gasquet have wild cards at the Tiriac Open, so we have plenty of old...

   Jannick, Sasha and Novak need to know, we are going to finish the tournament without them. And it is going to be fine.  Both Sasha and Novak criticized the courts after getting rocked. Sasha should have lost in straights. But even if they didn't like how Center Court was playing, they are probably the only players that got to practice on it.   The entitlement is showing in all sports. But tennis has to be uniquely equipped to keep a lid on it. It gets out of hand quickly and takes away from how the public views our sport. The top players should be acting like they have survived the pressures of the tour. The element of complaint over conditions, umpires, parents and fans should be left to everyone's local junior circuit.  Sasha Zverev and Novak Djokovic already missed their chance to gain ground on Sinner. Winning Miami would do little for either one. That's what they should be upset about. The fact that the show courts got painted, but the practice cour...

 So, Sinner is guilty as hell. But he won't even miss the French Open. And doubles continues be disrespected, despite how ingrained it is in the sport. It seems to be going away, as we know it.  Let's hit up the Sinner issue one last time. The fact that he is so blatantly guilty and after all this drama, he gets to take the late winter and early spring off. If he was also getting fined and losing points for not showing up for three months of tournaments, it might make me feel better. But these days, the top guys can go away that long if they complain about their food. There are no consequences.  What the USTA is trying to do to professional doubles is akin to the golden goose flying over the game farm. It's a suicide mission. The USTA is totally reliant on membership dues and advertising during their fall major. They take up a lot of space on the overall landscape while staying a not for profit however. This is mainly due to their rules making ability. Making the pro even...

 This is great. https://talksport.com/tennis/2853676/rafael-nadals-uncle-conspiracy-novak-djokovic-injury/

 Things are quite interesting Down Under. Tommy Paul is currently struggling with Chris O'connell.