#volleying

For those unfamiliar with Verzuz, these shows are informal competitions between artists. Each superstar plays one of their hits, followed by the other, volleying back and forth like a tennis match. Then it's up to the public to decide (voicing their opinions in the comments and on social media) who won.

Verzuz has been massively popular, and Swizz Beats (the event's co-creator) announced that the previous battle (Gucci Mane vs Jeezy) broke an "all-time livestream viewership record," with 9.1 million streamers watching along. That's a massive multiple of the prior most popular Verzuz, when Brandy vs Monica had an estimated apex of 1.2 million viewers.

If you're OK watching on a phone or laptop, go ahead and open the Verzuz IG account and click on the LIVE button. They may direct you to the individual artists' accounts, we'll see then.

There's typically a short wait from the 9:30 p.m. ET start time before the actual festivities begin, so you have time to pour a nice beverage if you haven't already.

New Post has been published on https://www.stl.news/djokovic-returns-from-injury-layoff-with-dominating-win/64986/

Djokovic returns from injury layoff with dominating win

MELBOURNE, Australia/January 10, 2018(AP)(STL.News)— Novak Djokovic played his first competitive match in six months on Wednesday, a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classic. He couldn’t have been happier — or more impressive.

It was apparent early on that Djokovic was back to full court fitness. He stopped quickly, abruptly changed directions and stabbed at a full-stretch volley that whizzed past Thiem for a winner.

He then turned and beamed. Djokovic was back after the longest injury layoff of his career and he was clearly enjoying himself on the court again.

Wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm to protect his troublesome elbow, Djokovic dominated the fifth-ranked Thiem in an exhibition match at the Kooyong Classic, a key tune-up event for next week’s Australian Open.

Still smiling afterward, Djokovic said he’d had doubts whether he’d be ready to play the first Grand Slam of the year, but the win over Thiem was a major confidence boost.

“Obviously, I was waiting for this moment for six months to get out on the court and play a match,” he said. “Also, I got a great opponent today, the No. 5 in the world, so it was a fantastic test for me to see where I am.”

Djokovic, who had been sidelined with the elbow injury since a quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon last year, initially planned to play in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and then a tournament in Qatar to start the season, but withdrew from both due to lingering pain in his elbow.

He still traveled to Melbourne hoping to be fit to play in the Australian Open, where he’s won six of his 12 career Grand Slam titles. Despite playing pain-free on Wednesday, he said he’s still taking it “day by day.”

“I don’t want to be over-confident,” he said. “Obviously, I’m very, very happy with the way it went today, but I don’t want to say it’s 100 percent. I’ll say that when I start a tournament and when I get to actually feel that it’s 100 percent. For now, I’m in the (Australian Open) and let’s hope with God’s grace that everything will be fine in the next five days.”

Djokovic displayed few signs of rust after his lengthy time away from the game, hitting penetrating groundstrokes deep into the corners, moving extremely well and volleying with precision.

He also unveiled a more compact service motion intended to put less pressure on his elbow that resulted in three aces in a single game against Thiem in the first set.

Perhaps the biggest change was his more relaxed mood on the court — a major contrast to his demeanor during his recent slump from late 2016 to mid-2017 when he struggled in the majors and lost his No. 1 ranking.

Freshly confident, Djokovic will now head to Melbourne Park with the aim of replicating Roger Federer’s feat at last year’s Australian Open, when the Swiss star returned from his own six-month injury layoff and surprisingly won the title.

“Luckily for me, I’m here,” Djokovic said. “So glad to be back and so nice to start in a country and a city where I have the greatest memories.”

A few weeks ago while getting a haircut I began doing something I often do; bantering with the person cutting my hair and asking a ton of questions about what their business is like. Before I could get a foothold on the conversation and become the one asking the questions, she turned the tables on me. After I told her what I did, she immediately asked, “What do you think is the most common error…

Volleying Among the Nightingales: The Old Guard at the US Open

Volleying Among the Nightingales: The Old Guard at the US Open He climbed into his canary-yellow kit, pulled his socks high up on his calves, and surveyed himself again, this time in the full-length mirror behind the door. He couldn't tell if he looked old. He couldn't remember … She must've been hard-pressed to … Read more on The Oregonian – OregonLive.com

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