Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Alright - Im gonna try this for the third time. I see there's not many tennis followers, but what the hell, we need an official thread!

Rafa Nadal won his quater finals match at Cincy yesterday agains Nicolas Lapenti from Ecuador. With that Win, he's clinched the number one spot in the ATP rankings putting an end to 230 + weeks of Roger FedEX reign.

Rafael Nadal is not showing number one in the rankings yet . However, due to the ATP ranking systems where players have to defend their points they've accumulated the previous year, here's the outcome of what could happen in the following weeks (I will just say one more time, Nadal is virtually the number one in the rankings).

If Nadal wins Cincy this sunday (he's gotta beat Djokovic first today in the semis, I have betted against RAFA though...Novak had great odds) he will inmediately be listed this monday as the number one in the rankings overtaking Roger Federer.

If Nadal wins tonight but loses the final, he will officially be listed as the number one tennis player on August 11th.

If Nadal loses tonight, he will officially be listed as the number one tennis player on August 18th.

Some of you may wonder..if he loses today or tomorrow, he won't be the number one yet...Well, that's not accurate. Some of you may be familiar with the ATP ranking points system. For those who are  not, players have to defend the points they've earned in 2007. Roger Federer won Cincy and was a runner up in Canada last year and that earned him 850 points. This year, he lost eary in both tournaments, so he's earned 200 points in both tournaments. Since he had to defend 850 points, he will LOSE (that means, those points will be deducted) those 650 points.

Also, since we got the olympics this year, both the Canadian and Cincy tournaments have been played sooner than last year. That's the reason why Federer will not see those 650 points been deducted of his ranking until 365 days have passed since those tournaments were played last year.  That is On August 11th (the Canadian) and August 18th (Cincy).

To sum up, either this weekend or within the next two weeks, You will see RAFA NADAL FIRST here http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/home/ It's just a matter of time when within these two weeks. Either way, RAFA has deserved this spot for long time now. This is the culmination of what's of his best season, having won:

Roland Garros - Clay
Wimbledon - Grass
ATP series Montecarlo - Clay
ATP series Hamburg - Clay
ATP Series Toronto - Hard Court
Barcelona  - Clay
Queens (London) - Grass.


This will also put to an end all the nonsense comments about Nadal beeing just a clay court player!

Congrats NADAL

Man, I do love my tennis....

Nadal earned it that's for sure.  I said it before I'll say it again...best tennis match I've ever seen.  Both Federer and Nadal seem like class acts.  It was nice to see Nadal get that monkey off his back!

All right, it's a tennis thread.  I'm obligated to mention her name, Maria Sharapova.  :drool:

Good, now maybe people will hush with the Federer is the greatest of all time shit.

Well you can see why surely.

5 wimbledons in a row.... every grand slam final for 2 years (until oz open 08)..... longest consecutive no1 ever (and by some way) .... winner of 3 of the 4 grandslams all more than once..... 46 weeks behind all time no1 record...... 3rd in all time titles list (i think thats right)

and the way he plays he can keep going for a while. as Nadal's game will take a toll on his body. Persoanlly i think Sampras is still the yardstick but i think Fed is in that group of two or three right behind.

I love tennis and i think the next year will be great watching but its a different pressure for Nadal now. and a different feeling for Federer and lets not rule out Djokovic or even Murray who despite being ranked 6th is clearly the 4th best player in the world now.

Dont get me wrong, he is a fantastic GREAT player, I just feel he has benefited greatly by playing in an era of not a lot of other great players.

Who will be remembered from his era other than he and Nadal?

Sampras played in a golden renaissance age of tennis where there were tons of top competition and future hall of famers.

Well keep in mind Fed played in Sampras's later days. and really Sampras only had Courier and Agassi... and Agassi disapeared for 2 years. I mean players like Muster and Safin  only took over when Sampras was injured towards the end.

The problem is with this argument its all relative to how good the No.1 is. I mean say Sampras really was the best ever (like all the best played in the same era) players like Fed and Nadal might not have made the top 5.... who knows.

All i know is that Fed, Nadal, Djokovic & Murray at this moment in time are very strong. all have victories over the others in that group. I can't think of a time where Sampras had 3 players that could beat him right behind him. And then throw into the mix players like Ancic, Gasquet, Davydenko, Safin, Hewitt, Moya, Nalbandian, Bagdathis & Roddick, who on their day can beat anyone and with youngsters like Gulbis coming through i think Mens Tennis is deep with quality.

The question of who is the best ever is one that cannot be answered because people will always argue quality of opposition but Federer is 76 weeks ahead of Jimmy Connors for consecutive weeks at No1 and is exactly 50 weeks behind Sampras as weeks at No1 in total so for me they go down as the two best in the modern era with players like Agassi, McEnroe, Laver, Borg, Conners & Lendl in the group behind.

I think if Federer ever managed to win the French open or overtake Sampras's weeks at No1 or win 3 more grand Slams then i think he would become the undisputed "best ever".

It will now be interesting to see how far Nadal goes with No1. with the US open round the corner can Nadal win a Grand Slam on hard courts with the likes of Fed, Djokovic and Murray... who are seen as better on that surface.

I do agree to some of the things you are saying.

Tennis these days it's way more competitive than it was 10 years ago when Sampras ruled. However, to some americans this may not be true as Tennis was really hot 10-15 years ago with the Agassi - Sampras rivalry sparked by the Nike Commercials and Agassi's antics in and off the court. As you say, That rivalry was on and off since Andre was never really consistent in the rankings. He would have an awesome year and he'd be playing challenger tournaments the next to get ranked again. Sampras had not really a consistent rival other than Andre and (every now and then) Jim Courier. Players like Bruguera, Muster, Stich, Becker, Krajicek, Chang, Moya, Kuerten, Rafter...never really had a change against Pete. He'd beat them all time after time.

Hewitt and Safin did cause some damage, but that was while Pete's late, very late days as a tennis professional.


I have also said before Sampras is the number one in my book of all time. He never won the french, but he dominated the sport just like FedEX's done with all players but NADAL. Both Roger and Pete will go along the all time greats for sure, but if Roger wins the French, he will undoubtely be the greatest player ever.


Today, we do have some amazing players that constanly beat each other. Djokovic has beaten NADAL 4 times (Nadal's got him 9 though) and FEDEX, Nadal's beaten Roger, Roger's beaten Nadal. The top 3 players have won pretty much every single GS and MS tournament in the past 3 years. You also have Davidenko, Ferrer, Roddick, Nalbandian (the most talented player by far on the tour but likes to eat hamburgers instead of playing tennis) those can beat the top three in any given day. Im glad Murray is now there with the big boys...although I dont see him as strong mentally as the other three and...I dont see him better than  NADAL in any surface (hard court included). Murray has never BEATEN Nadal in HARD COURT (or any court for that matter) so I have to disagree with your last statement. He's not better than RAFA.

Nadal was tired last week. He had won 32 matches in a row (5 tournaments) and lost to an incredible Djokovic in the semis. When Nadal is fit, he can beat anyone, anytime.

Nadal is the strongest player on tour right now, in any kind of surface. Nadal won the Canadian open two weeks ago, RG and two other tournaments on clay, and Wimbledon (and queens) on grass. He's the number one in the world.

I'm looking forward the olympics and the US open. The only thing that concerns me about NADAL is his physical condition. That's the problem with him year aftter year. 80% of his tournament wins always come before Wimbledon, then he's just too tired to mantain the same intensity. It's hard to see him going down a few gears, but that's the way it is. I wish he could dominate every tournament like he did in Wimbledon. We'll see what happens this year.

But all of them were either at the end of their career or not good enough to seriously challenge Sampras. Moya was great on clay as was kuerten but their games never had consistency on other surfaces.


Well aside from the clay before Wimbledon Federer had been doing ok against Nadal. It just so happened that most of their meeting were on clay.

I agree that Sampras is the yardstick unless Federer wins the French or beats Sampras's No1 record or Grand slam record.


I honestly think he is the 4th best on tour at present. I also think he is mentally stronger than Djokovic. Murray can just read his game so well and it got to the point where Djokovic was hitting all or nothing shots against Murray. . . that was because he had no answer on the day to what Murray was doing to him.

Also matches like Wimbledon against Gasquet shows he has mental strength i think 2 sets down and the crowd was flat he manages to come from nowhere and make Gasquet look distinctly average.

I think thats murrays greatest asset... he can change game plans better than anyone on tour. I thnk Rafa is brilliant but he plays one way and if that doesn't work then i believe he is in trouble. Thats what happened against Djokovic last week

I think Murray still has a long way to go but i believe he can beat Rafa although he hasn't yet. He had his chances last time they played but didn't take them.


yeah but he had a rest after wimbledon. and despite a long winning streak i think he got beaten by the better man. I think Nadal's style will take more out of him than other players styles but i don't think he'd use tiredness as an excuse. I mean Fed went 2 and half years in the final of every Grandslam and getting to advanced stages of 99% of tournaments. I think thats a bit of a cop out.


Correct he has been a pleasure to watch recently. Although i'm not convinced he is the best on hard court still. I guess the US Open will give us some indication. I still think he is probally 3rd behind Fed and Djokovic on Hard courts.

He deserves to be No1. Federer has not been himself since the Australian Open IMO and Nadal has been red hot. But i honestly believe that if Federer can get the belief back he might be No1 again this year.


Like i said his style does that to him. its aggressive, hard hitting and intense. Compare that to federer or Murray and they look lazy in comparison but its kinda like the Tiger Woods thing.... his style is what makes him great but it may take 3 or 4 years off his career and even more worrying might allow him less time at the top.

The US Open is gonna be great.... Nadal, Djokovic, Fed and Murray all have a chance IMO. I'd love to see a Murray vs Federer Final persoanlly. But a Murray vs Nadal & Djokovic vs Fed Semis.... that would be sweet.

Although its so soon after the Olympics can one man win both? gonna be tough i think.

Nadal's beaten Federer twice if I recall on hard courts; Miami and Dubai. Federer has beatn Nadal three times on HC; Twice on the Masters CUP and a 5 setter in Miami. The very first  match this two played took place in Miami and Rafa won that, the second one, a year later, Rafa was two sets up and just two points away from victory in the third, Fedex fought back to win the title in 5. Roger has had problems with Rafa from day one, regardless the surface.



No way Murray is stronger than Djokovic. Just look at the two players single titles comparission. They both pretty much hit it big at the same time; early 2007, but Murray didnt really achieve anything until this year. He was injured for a while - I give you that - but the Djoker has been a constant presence in the late rounds in every big tournament for almost two years now. He does know how to win the important points. Murray, on the other hand, faces enormous amount of trouble when he's down in a match.

If you take a look at his body language everytime he loses a few games is a real clue of whats going on in his mind. Take a look a RAFA for instance, he doesnt show emotions and the guy always displays the same body language whether he is down 5-0 against the Djoker or 6-1, 5-0 against Serra. You can't really tell.

Murray, on the other hand...well, if you saw him against Rafa in Wimbledon, the guy had no chance. In his mind, he had already been defeated when Rafa broke him the first time. He did beat Gasquet in the quaters coming from 2 sets to love defecit, but for him, playing Wimbledon is like playing the Davis CUP. It's a lot easier when 20,000 people are cheering for ya.

Last sunday, against Novak, he did what he had to do for the first time to beat a better player. Novak had beaten him each and every time till the Canadian Semi finals (on this note, Djokovic killed Murray in the Queens semis...) simply cause his game plan was sightly different on those ocassions. Against Murray, the Djoker just went for it from game one, collecting a shit load of winners but also God knows how many unforce errors. Against Nadal, Djoker was flawless, everything he hit was a winner, against Murray, he average 2-3 UE's per game!

Dont get me wrong, Murray is a good player, probably a top 5 potential this year, but I've seen nothing from him other than winning Cincy. I really hope he now joins the exclusive top 3 club in which time after time, its players hit the semis in pretty much each and every tournament.

I do still see moments in the match where he just looks totally lost. In the Cincy quaters agains Carlos Moya, he was totally outclassed in the first set. He did though got his shit together and pulled it off in the end, but had he faced the likes of Fedex, Nadal, DAvidenko, that day..he'd probably lost.



Rested? Nadal has played 6 tournaments in a 75 day span - two of them were GS's. Fedex has never, ever played those many matches in such a short time, not too mention, has had a winning streak that long in 3 different surfaces. Nadal needed rest, after wimbledon, he only rested for over a week and had to pack up his bags again to Canada. Where he won by the way. Fedex has won a lot of GS and MS, but not in a consecutive manner just like Nadal has. RG and Wimbledon are only two weeks apart and ROGER has never achieved that.


There's not really an indication of who's the best HC player. It's all subject to opinion really. However, this year, Nadal has collected more points than anyone in HC's (Djoker may have a 100 point or so advantage since he won the AO) so it's not far fetched to think Nadal is the best HC player there is.



I believe FedEX glory days are a thing of the past. He may win one or two more GS's but I dont think he will ever win the french unfortunately. I wish he could get it though so he would be labeled as the greatest of all time,...but Nadal's got him good, Wimbledon was the last straw.


Could be, yeah. But Nadal's biggest asset is his willingness to learn and adapt himself so he can become a better player. He's improved his backhand a lot and serve, he does need to gear it up some more though. When he does that, he will get a lot of more free points on serve so he will not have to fight for each and every point as he does now. He desperatly needs a big serve that can get him out of trouble when he's facing Breack points.

Yeah he has problems but he still beats him in big matches. Masters Cups and Wimbledons. I know Rafa won Wimbledon this year but that 5th set could have gone either way.


Well he has beat him the last two time they have played and quite comfortably too. I know he has lost to him before but this is a new Murray, a fitter more dedicated player. He reads Djokovics game better than anyone and you get the impression he enjoys playing against him. I'm not aying he's a better player i'm just saying that his game seem harder for Djokovic to break down that others including nadal.

As far as Murray having trouble when he's down... i dont think that the case anymore. He was behind in matches against Moya, Querrey, Gasquet and Karlovic all within the last month and has powered back. Like i said he is a different player than that of this time last year. Is he gonna win GS..... probally not but if there is one who could break that top 3 on hard courts its Him at the moment.


Maybe but those fans can work against you too at 2 sets down. The pressure is more than a non british player and there is always so much hype around him in England. I agree that sometimes his body langauage is bad but he is getting better every match he plays.

The Match with Rafa was bad but only because Rafa was so good. he would have beaten anyone that day. That was the most impressive i have seen Nadal on grass. But every other time they have played it hasn't been a walkover for Nadal and i'm sure that Murray wants to beat Nadal more than anyone on tour right now and he isn't someone you want gunning for you.


Every player has moments when they are lost... Nadal's 1st set against Djokovic he just keep looking to his box almost with the look of what do i do.

But thats what i'm saying about murray his best asset is his ability to change his game when its not working. I watched that match and as good as Moya was in the 1st Murray was better in the 2nd and Moya knew he'd lost halfway through the 3rd and gave up. Thats the sort of turn around Murray can produce.


But its not like Fed plays less matches at the French. he just loses in the final. and maybe he doesn't play as many but he still played alot when he was in his prime. I just dont think its a excuse for a young player who is as fit as Nadal, he just got beat by a better man on the day.


I'd never back against Federer.... Never! i'd love to see him win the US Open. It would dispell rumours of his demise. Although Nadal must be the favourite. I wouldn't mind betting on a federer final appearence.


You see, i'm not sure he can change the way he plays like Federer and Murray have done. That high top spin he uses is so effective but if it doesn't work i am yet to see a plan b from him. He needs to develop it if he is gonna stay No1 for a considerable period.

I don't think 3 tie breakers out of 4 sets is quite comfortably. I watched both matches and for me, Nadal's win over Murray in Canada looked more confortable than Murray's wins over Djoker.

I do love though when Murray beats Novak cause I just don't like him (Djokovic). It's a mixed feeling of fear he may be the biggest thread Nadal will have for the next 5 years to come and just disliking somebody.


Agreed, but some players are more likely to get lost thorughout a match than others, and Murray is (or was until a few months ago) one of them.


It all came down to the 3rd game of the second set. Moya was 2-0 already and had a few break points. If I remember correctly, Murray served like 4 lets and managed to save those break points and won his service game by luck. From then onwards, Moya obviously lost his serve (that always happens) and Murray gained confidence and won the match. This was a nice comeback, but it did happen against a player who's ranked 40th in the world and 11 years older than him. We'll see what happens when he faces a similar situation against a Rafa, Roger or Novak.




Of course he does, it doesnt all evolve that top spin forehand. Nadal has improved his cross court backhand to the extreme that in Wimbledon he really played with two forehands. Also the flat forehand down the line when he takes the ball up above is also an asset.

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I just dont see Murray beating Nadal soon, for two obvious reasons.

1.- Mindset. Murray has lost 5 times to Nadal. That, whether you like it or not, adds more pressure on the losing player than the winner. Nadal feels more comfortable playing him cause he's always beaten Murray, whereas with Novak, he's lost 4 times against him, so the mindset is different as he doesnt see himself as a clear favorite (specially on hard courts).

2.- Style. Murray is not the kind of player that can really put a threat in Nadal. Rafa, struggles the most against the heavy hitters who happen to have their best day; look at Tsonga, Blake, Youzhny, Djokovic...all those players have beaten Nadal on their best day. And Nadal didnt really have his day when those loses came along. I see Murray as more of a moonballer than a heavy, agressive tennis player. He's got a good all around game, but Nadal doesnt really feel threaten (yet) by it.

I guess only time will tell, but for me, the only really threat to Nadal is Novak Djokovic and Nadal's slump in the second part of each and every season.

Ok I don't think anyone will really give a shit about this other than AxlPrez, D and GNRfan, but here's the Olympics draw!!


SINGLES
(1) Federer - Tursunov
Lee - Arevalo
Robredo - Seppi
Berdych - (14) Karlovic

(10) Simon - Soderling
Niemeyer - Ca?as
Bellucci - Hrbaty
Guccione - (8) Blake

(4) Davydenko - Gulbis
Mathieu - Lapentti
Loglo - Anderson
Mirnyi - (15) Kiefer

(12) Gonzalez - Darcis
Cilic - Monaco
O. Rochus - Minar
Tipsarevic - (5) Ferrer

(7) Nalbandian - Zeng
Massu - Darcis
Bolelli - Hanescu
Monfils - (11) Almagro

(13) Youzhny - Vanek
Nieminen - T. Johansson
Schuettler - Nishikori
Ginepri - (3) Djokovic

(6) Murray - Lu
Calleri - Ljubicic
Daniel - Melzer
Dancevic - (9) Wawrinka

(16) Stepanek - Llodra
Querrey - Andreev
Hewitt - Bjorkman
Starace - (2) Nadal


Ok, if anything goes as should - which I think it will not since tennis in the olympics has never been logical -

Nadal would meet Murray in the quaters, the winner would probably play Nalbandial or Djokovic. Nalbandian could be the guy to watch..he's done nothing so far this year so I reckon the possibility of winning gold will be a motivator.


Again, easier draw for Federer, his only threat is Karlovic really...Lucky him Nadal, Murray and the Djoker are on the other side of the draw.

But he never looked like getting broken and put alot of pressure on Novak's serve throughout the match. Murray gets closer to Nadal everytime. and i see they could be meeting in the quarters of the Olympics. Could be a cracker if they can both get that far.


was i think i correct. He has matured brilliantly this year and has won 3 tournaments, admittedly not all big ones but still its and improvement.


True but my point was that a year ago his head would have dropped and probally would have lost in two. He has a fantastic mentality considering i think technically he is behind quite a few players on tour and i think that belief and temprement is a reason that he has done so well this year.


I don't see it. Sorry. compared to other who mix up their game alot more with variety in their rallys.... Nadal goes with what serves him best 90% of the time. and dont get me wrong it seems to work. But when he is struggling it seems to take him 2 or 3 games to understand whats working and whats not and that can cost him from time to time. I think Federer and Murray figure it out a bit quicker.... whether or not the change in tactic works i'm not sure but i just think Nadal could use more flat shots from time to time to add variety to his game.


But i'm telling you that 3 of the 5 won't even affect Murray. he is a different player now. The Wimbledon match was just sheer brilliance from Nadal and the other one a few weeks ago was tight. I think Murray had some break points which he wasted but thats all it takes as you well know. We all know Nadal is gonna beat 99.9% of people if he is playing at the top of his game, but what i'm saying is.... if Nadal is off by just 5% Murray is probally one of 4 or 5 who could beat him. and i think will by this time next year.


I agree. I was in Oz when Tsonga played really well to beat Nadal and i agree that Nadal's style is not great to Murray but i think Murray is one of the most intelligent players on tour and i think he will find a way sooner rather than later.


I spot upset potential with Ginepri vs Djokovic and Gulbis vs DavyDenko.

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Good to have a Tennis thead good job Ignatius  : ok:

fairies

Well, We disagree. Nadal not only has the skills, but also he's capable of changing tactics if the "normal" doesnt go as planned. Against Gasquet in Toronto, Richard got the rythm with the backhand and hit 14 winners with that shot in 5 games or something. Nadal, was able to see that and changed the direction of all his shots to Gasquet's forehand. The result? 6-2, 6-1 second and third sets.

Against Djokovic in Hamburg, same thing. Nadal has a tendency to hit that top spin forehand into his rival's backhand since it normally is the weaker shot. With Djoker, it doesnt realy work  cause he takes two handed backhand very early so he doesnt have to hit it over his shoulder. Nadal, varied his game more onto Novak's forehand and he was able to come back on that set and won it.

Also is the slice backhand..he's developed that shot since Wimbledon 07. He uses that a lot to change the tempo and the rythm of the point. The ball lacks power, but it's deep and doesnt bounce hight.

About Federer, let me tell you why he's losing so much this year. Fedex has (or used to have) the best all around game; that is serve, volley, forehand, backhand..the gyuy has so many weapons in his arsenal it's very tough to beat. However, next time you see Roger playing, notice how he's lately relying on his ripping forehand these days. Notice how he will move three-four meters to the left so he can rip the forehand each and every time.  This is not the way Roger played from 2004-2007. I se his confidence has come down some and you can really tell by his erratic backhand and the lesser points he wins at the net.  Federer's game lately has become very, very predictable.




Gulbis...he's way to inconsistent. One day he can beat Blake and the next day he loses over Jose Acasuso. Too young yet.

I really hope Ginepri gets the Djoker in trouble.

Well actually I'm a big fan to, I'm just more of a lurker than poster in these threads.  As a kid I always love watching Wimbledon each year, but since the outset of this year I've started watching every event I can and I really enjoy it.

Whenever I've seem him play, many of his matches seem to range from excellent to awful.  There's been a number of his matches where he'll get crushed in a set 6-0 and then suddenly wake up and turn things up a gear then he seemingly goes on vacation again, shame cos he's one of my favourite players.

On the Andy Murray subject, the guy has always seemed, visually at the very least, someone who struggles when he gets behind, he has the oh no I'm losing I might as well give up look, to put it another way, he wears his heart on his sleeve, but he shows his emotions too much.  As for these comebacks people have cited.  Moya and Gasquet as far as I saw choked (As Ig. said, see what happens if he gets behind against the top caliber guys).  True he made some fantastic shots, but that was after they'd intially handed him a lifeline by double faulting and messing up....

Murry put in a very poor performance this morning (UK TIME) at the Olympics I was very disappointed he seems to either play very well or very averagely bad never a ok performance.

yeah tell me about it. The indication seems to be that he wasn't taking it very seriously with the US open coming soon. But if thats true why not pull out all together. And certainly dont play in doubles too.

I dont know who the more heartless player is between Andy Roddick or Andy Murray


I bet on a Tennis Parlay and Guess who I fucked up and took and lost with? Andy Murray

I don't think it was that. All players want to win the Gold medal, the motivation is there for Roger, Rafa, Novak and even Murray. I blame it on the calendar really. It's crazy. These players are playing matches week in and week out travelling thousands of miles and obviously you can expect results like this.

Also, the conditions there are tough. Very hot and humid, I'd assume players like Novak or Murray would have more problems to deal with such conditions...





Ouch!

I wouldn't do that D, not in the olympics.

If you want to gamble a bit, wait till the US open where results would be a bit more "normal".  The olympics is like tossing a coin really., the odds for the big players are not that good and you can always expect a few loses...I knew there were going to be huge upsets early in the first rounds and that's proven to be truth; Murray and Ferrer out.

I'm gambling some in Leg masson tournament in Washing DC. Better odds and strategy seems to work!

Heartless?.... another 5 set comeback from Murray.

He is the 4th Best in the world right now. Warinka next will be tough.... but i think we could see Murray in the Semis or better this year

Helluva good match, I don't know whether it was just cramp, but if anyone was heartless towards the end it was Melzer.

Calling Murray Heartless is like Calling Nadal lazy.... its just the opposite of them. If Murray was heartless he would be out of the top ten, i think his heart and fight is his best quality. He isn't as talented as the top 3 and even someothers out there but his determination is brilliant.

Federer looking good against Stepanek today.... looking back to his best. I've watched all 3 big names now and i have to say i thinkn Federer has been the most impressive

Definately agree, he's looked the best, out of them, so far.

Outside of them, Robredo has really impressed me.  Seems really mentally strong, down against Safin he came back with ease and against an admittedly poor Tsonga tonight, he never wavered, not even in the first set when Tsonga seemed to be coming back into it, he kept on him and never looked to be struggling, it was one of those games where nearly every shot he hit payed off.  Not just that though he worked his ass off, really good to see, I think he might do really well.

That Japanese Wonderkid had my favourite match so far against Ferrer, awesome stuff to see, especially when he looked pretty much done in the 4th...

.....so far this has been a really enjoyable open to watch, the Women's as well has kept my attention to.

I doubt he will get past the semis. He's on the same draw as Nadal so eventhough this is not Nadal's favorite court, Murray is not the biggest thread for him.

Actually, I dont even think Murray will even get to the semis. He'll be facing the red hot Juan del Potro. I hope I'm wrong, but Del Potro will defeat Murray and will face Nadal in the semis. I wish it was Murray instead of the argentinian just because Andy's game is more suitable for Nadal than Del Potro's.





Yeah, me too. Specially beating Tsonga so easily. To be fair, the frenchman has been out since May and he's played only a few matches, but Tommy really put out a great performance. Good Win for him. He's up against the Djoker in the quaters...I dont think he's got a chance there..but will see.


And Fedex has played well so far. Truthis though, the first few rounds were pretty easy for him, not real strong opponents. With Stepanek, you never know, but it doesnt look like he was in the same shape as he'd been earlier this year. He's up against the heavy hitter Andreev. Federer should win easily though, Igor just doesnt have the mind game for tennis. Too bad, I wish he had Davidenko's brain instead.

Yeah its gonna be tough but if someone can break him down its Murray. I watched that Del Potro guy and what a player he looks on that form. I'm really hoping for a Nadal vs Murray semi. Whatever happens there... it will be great

Nadal has been the least impressive out of the top 3 for me. He struggled with Querrey and if Querrey was half decent he would have been 2 sets to 1 down but Querrey threw it away. You can never doubt Nadal's quality and i certainly wouldn't write him off but he has looked out of sorts against some very average players and i think better players will punish him if he plays like that.

Yeap, I agree to some extent. Nadal defeated Troicki in the third round though easily. Sure he ain't a top 10 material, but he's played well in the US open series tournaments. I thought Rafa was going to struggle more against the serb.

Against Querry, you are right, Nadal looked tired. Footwork wasnt there and it you take that away from him, Nadal turns then to an average player. However, he was ripping it at the beginning with 6-2 and 4-2. Then, he blew it all away. The wind also picked up a little, and Rafa played the worst game of the match at 5-4 with serve.  Since then, he really played badly. He walked away with the match cause Nadal does the things you need to do in order to win matches...those small insignifcant details that no ones ever sees or notices but are decissive in tennis. Nadal hit less winners than Querry but almost as many UE..but he walked away victorious.

Nadal needs to gear his game up a little if he wants to beat Fish. The American is desperate to do well here. Sure will be a touch match for Rafa since Mardy has a good serve, volley and solid grounstrokes. However, if Nadal is fit, he should win it. (regardless of how good he plays).

On a side note,  If any of you are into tennis gambling, bet 2 units for Del Potro against Murray. Great value! (sorry Gnrfan...I do like Murray, but Potro has a chance)

No i agree with you. Murray has put pressure on himself to reach the semi's and Del Potro is playing as good as anyone out there at the moment should be a cracker.

nadal will batter fish simply coz Fish will try and make the points short by coming to net and Nadal is a great passer and i think Nadal will have a shit load of winners and with the limited unforced errors Nadal usually makes thats gonna be too strong.

I think everyone wants a Nadal vs Murray & Federer vs Djokovic semi final line up

Jesus. Federer vs Andreev.... What a Match.

I mean Andreev for near enough 2 sets was unplayable.... but FedEX found a way in the end. But it could have gone either way.

He'll need to play better to win it but coming through matches like that just like Djokovic did is what champions are made of.

My Canal + box is down, so I have to watch some of the matches online. I couldnt watch any of the matches from yesterday, just the highlghts.

Fedex came back strong. I knew he was going to havea touch match IF Andreev had one of his good days. What I never expected is Robredo pushing the Djoker to the limit. I expected an easy three set win for the serb, but not a 5 setter.

I'm happy both players (Roger and Novak) advanced though. I can't wait to watch Roddick Vs Novak in the quaters, what a match will that be. I predict an upset for Novak. Roddick in 5 sets will come as a winner. Federer will defeat this Muller guy (he defeated Nadal in Wimbledon 2005) in three sets. Although Muller beat Davidenko pretty easily, I dont' think he's gota a chance against the swiss.

I'm worried about Rafa though. I think this is it for him. I read an interview today with Toni (his uncle and coach). Nadal's match against Querry was a worrying sign that things are not really on his side. He's played probably more than 25 matches than any other tennis court this season...he's just running out of gas phisycally and mentally. Toni said Nadal is not even close to 70% of his condition right now, so I believe this could be the end of the season for him unless he really takes some time off after the US open.

Time will tell, but I dont think Nadal has anything left for him this year. I think he won't win any more tournaments until 2009.

This is really entertaining!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muM-UQc_Tnk

Watch an earlier match between del Potro Vs Murray. Bad blood between the two,...

Del Potro trying to him Murray in the head, Murray complaining, Del Potro talking about murray's mother...All while they were seating down om game exchanges!

I like how the ref tells Murray to calm down and he'll speak to Del Potro and then he pretty much says the same thing to Del Potro, I was expecting at least a slightly more sizeable bollocking.  Good to see this though, it was annoying me when they were talking about this earlier in the week but not showing us any clips of it.

Speaking of Murray, since Davydenko and Ferrer are gone I read he'll definately become #4 in the World now.

Do you know whats brilliant about this US Open. Is all the top players (Nadal, Djokovic, Federer & Murray) have struggled at some point and found ways to win while playing badly. No one is going out there and dominating, making us think ..... this guy is a sure thing. Anything seems possible.

DavyDenko was coasting in this tournament and then BANG! he's out. Federer & Nadal both would be out if they had been playing someone better i think. Murray, Djokovic & Federer all have scrapped through in 5 set matches that could have gone either way. Brillliant entertainment!


Yeah Andreev was just incredible for 2 sets. he served so well and at time Federer was looking like a defeated man. Then Federer comes out and makes Andreev look average for 2 sets and then in the 5th i think Federer had like 9 break points to go 2 breaks up and couldn't take it. and then Andreev has 4 break points to break back at 4-2 but Federer scrapped through. Amazing.

Didn't see all of Djokovic's match but i hear he was confortable at one point and then all of a sudden he looked in real trouble. but like the top players do they find a way.


I think everyone has a chance against everyone to be honest. Like you said Murray has a tough match, and i think Federer will have one too. I honestly think that Nadal has the easiest Quarter final match against Fish. I just think Fish will play right into Nadals hands! If Federer starts well then maybe he'll run away with it. But if Muller wins the first hold on to your hats coz its gonna be a classic. Federer seems to have lost that absoulte coolness under pressure that he used to have and as where before he only needed 3 or 4 break points a match to beat you he seems to neeed 8 or 9 now which is why i think he is struggling a little bit more.

Roddick with the crowd behind him is gonna be tough to beat.... but he has to serve at leat 78% first serves in to beat Novak and might even need more. That serve is such a weapon but so often it lets him down when under pressure. I think if he is down below that Novak is good enough to take him apart. If Roddick wins the 1st set then i reckon we'll have another 5 set epic on our hands.


yeah but he is gonna say that. Takes the pressure off his man. Nadal is at more than 70% maybe not 100% but anyone who played Olympics isn't going to be. And mentally he has to be the strongest around.... he has lost 1 match in 70 odd. That will make a man pretty sure he can win. and as far as the 25 matches more go thats simply not true.... i knwo for a fact that if you add up Murray's doubles apperences (which he is so stupid for playing) along with his singles  then Nadal has not played many more. I know doubles if different but still tiring and still mentally tiring.

I wouldn't worry about Nadal.... He'll be in the semi's and for his sake he'll be hoping that Roddick beats Novak coz Nadal will take Roddick apart as where we all know the trouble he has against Novak. Champions find a way and its safe to say Nadal is a champion. He will probally take time off after the US Open whatever. He is the favourite i think after the year he has had and with Hard court specialist like Djokvic and Federer struggling at times he has to have that mantal.

And lets remember Nadal is young and one of the fittest out there.... so he's probally better than they lead you to believe.

What a Prick that guys is! now i really hope murray crushes him. Although he is playing well so its gonna be tough.

Really he just couldn't take losing that break.... i mean if people started insulting peoples mothers everytime someone shouted c'mon tennis might as well be MMA.

I loved Murrays comments.... " Just Like If He Hits One Off The Frame Out Of The Court, I Can Say C'Mon".... haha little digs are funny.

I'm suprised that Del Potro didn't get points off for that.

You are right, there were not 25 my bad. The difference is 34!!  :P

Nadal singles record: 70-8
Nadal Doubles: 8-7

Murray singles record: 35-13
Murray doubles: 5-6


Now,  you are telling me that 30 single matches more matches is not a big difference?? 30 matches are more than 50% of the total amount Murray's played all year long. Huge, huge difference.






C'mon man! It's both ways man....I can tell you are definitely a Murray fan...

Del Potro does nothing. He's trash talking same as Murray. Del Potro hit a forehand over Murray's body but that's something it happens every day. Tennis players are allowed to do that as long as you are playing the point. It happens all the time. Even the judge said so...

Murray started the trash talking bitching cause del potro had tried to hit him....Del Potro did make a comment about Murrays mom saying "it's always you are your mom" but that was it...he didnt say anything bad about her, just made a statement.

To me, it looked like both players were just trying to psyche each other out. Both were taking part on it and both were equally responsible for it.

What i'm saying is that with sucess come extra matches. if you win all 4 majors in a year you'll have to play 28 matches (7 in each i think) .... Fact. What i'm saying is he can't have it both ways. Thats what being a number one is about. He can pull out of any tournament he wants to. And thats why its a unvalid excuse, especially for someone so fit. And lets not forget Murray missed 2 months with a ankle injury earlier in the year. and even when he played he was unfit. thats all i'm saying. You can't say i'm too tired and it be a legimate excuse when you choose what tournaments you play in. Victim of own sucess maybe but he wouldn't be No 1 now if he didn't play all those tournaments.


You can insult the other play if you want but you dont talk about their family thats just low.... The ball thing isn't the problem, he got angry with Murray shouting c'mon when he won a point and then started talking crap... so murray gave some back.... and then he started insulting his mum.

Thats a prime candiate for the Twat label

Ok Murray has just played his worst set of the US Open... and managed to win it.... Go figure.

if he keeps playing like this i can't see him winning.

Well Murray has ended the run of that idiot. But i have to say i think Del Potro will consider himself unlucky. I have to be honest its one of the worst i've seen Murray play in a long time... but his heart and grit got him through again. He'll have to improve whoever he plays but

I have to say i'm a little skeptical about Del Potro injury breaks... i mean Del Potro looked ok until he lost the first set then needed treatment. hmmm.

I thought Murray played within himself and couldn't serve well enough throughout to dominate. Del Potro threw everything at Murray and Murray kept coming back. the 4th set at 2-2 Murray defended his serve against several break points.... but Del Potro kept coming back and when he broke Murray in the 4th i thought he we go another 5 set. but I think Murray turned it up a level and showed his class.

They said on there tonight Murray will now be 4th in the Rankings... i think thats where he should be. He is the leader of that pack chasing those brilliant top 3. I just hope its Murray vs Nadal now coz even if he loses (which he will if he plays like he did tonight) it will be good to see how far he has come since Wimbledon.

Say what?

Ok, now you are talking about something else. I did show you some proof that Nadal has played not only 25 but 34 matches all year long. You replied by saying you didnt think there were that many, in fact, you even commented on Doubles matches, wrongly asuming Andy had played more matches than Nadal (in doubles).

Fact is, Nadal has played 34 more matches than Murray, 27 more than Federer and 27 more Djokovic. You can double check by clicking here http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/

Now, let's talk about what you refered in your last post.

adal is indeed tired. You cant deny the obvious...he's played 93 matches al year long...the way must feel something. Now, he's not only phisically tired, mentally as well. His last 5 months have been more INTENSE than any other player's have EVER experience in at least 10 years.

Not only he's won in RG, Wimbledon, Olympic GOLD, clinched the number 1 spot, but also, he's won 3 master series and 2 international series. Not only that, he has been threatend to lose his number 2 spot (God, that seems to be ages ago) twice this year in two matches against Djokovi. Those were either a WIN for nadal or LOSE and go back to number 3.

I don't think no one has ever been placed under such level of pressure in the past 5 months as NADAL has. He must be mentally exhausted.

When Federer clinched the number one there wasnt a solid, constant all around player then. He had just won Wimbledon and the Masters Cup in 2003 and reach the semis in the Assuie open in '04 and that was enough. Federer has won many tournaments in these past four year but he's never had a run this succesful in such short time. Nadal, on the other side, to be in the position he is today, has performed the most notorious and successful run tennis has seen in at least 10 years to gain that number one spot and relegate the wonderful FedEX to number two spot. Nadal saw there was a chance, and he's gone for it.

It's true players can decide where they play and when but Nadal saw an open door and went for it. This was the very first time he was in position to take the number one spot and succeeded.

The difference here is, circunstances are differente these days. Tennis in general has reached an incredible level of quality and competition. Not only that, the former number one player will go down as one of the best players of all time and Nadal is playing on this ERA. Had Nadal been the same age as Roddick, Hewiit or Safin, he could've been easily the number one player in the world from 2001 - 2004 when there was not a solid tennis player.

Nadal will sure take some time off when he believes he is not in danger. If Nadal wins the US open, he will retain the number 1 spot in 2008 no matter what. If that happens, you wont see Nadal playing again until mid October.

Congratulations Andy!!

I missed the match  :no:

Bur I have my box back!! ill be watching some action tonight. Go Roddick!!!

Then, we'll wait for Nadal Vs. Murray. Cant' wat to see that one!

Well you didn't miss much, it wasn't a classic but some of Murrays defence was brilliant.

Murray vs Nadal will be awesome i think. although i see Nadal winning i'm hoping Murray can at least get a set and play better than against Del Potro

hehe i just saw Del Potro crying in a aftermatch interview.... hehe..... Thats what Karma does to you :yes:

Djokovic was good again. Looked sharp.

Although after his poss match interview, i doubt he'll have the crowd on his side for Federer!

One thing you should never do after beating an American in Amercia, Get cocky!.... They booed him off. haha When was the last time a player got booed off the court after winning a Quarter Final at a Major?

Interesting.

Well Ignatius looks like we have the Semi-Finals we all wanted. I'm obviously hoping for a Murray vs Federer final. But i'd Settle for Nadal vs Federer. I just don't want Novak to win it. : ok:

^ Really?  What's with the Novak dislike?  The dude seems like a nice enough guy.

As for Murray's chances, do you think he is capable if Nadal is in form, or does he need Nadal to have an off day?

I think if they both play their best Nadal will have to much. But if Nadal goes down to 90% Murray is right in there.

I quite like Novak too, But i'm a huge Federer fan and would like him to win, just to shut all the doubters up. And if i'm honest i'd like him to beat Nadal, as i think he needs to for his condfidence.

Plus i think the place would riot if Novak won it after last night.

Nadal is saved by the rain!

We'll see if he bounces back tomorrow... Federer for the title!

Damn right he was!!! That was the best could that could happen to him.

Great display put by Andy yesterday, I'd never seen him playing so well. Nadal looked very, very tired though, but, we can't take any of the credit from Murray. He was on top of his game.

I don't know what will happen today. Hard to predict. If Nadal manages to hold serve a few times from the start he'll have a real chance to take on the 3 set and take this match a bit further, however he better feel fresher than he did yesterday. If Andy plays like he did yesterday, this could be over in 30 minutes though.

I'm so GLAD FedEx is in the final. I just cant stand the Djoker. Roger played the best match probably since the Wimbledon final. Good for him.

Now I only wish he will face Rafa in the final tomorrow.

Murray was awesome yesterday, wouldn't surprise me if after the rain delay he chokes and Nadal goes on to win though. It all reminds me a bit of Henman against Ivanisavic at the Wimbledon semis.

Murray has twice the heart of Henman! just not comparable especially on hard courts. If Nadal wins from here Murray has to play bad or Nadal has to play his best tennis this year.


Its gonna be interesting. You just could never rule out Nadal. But he was taught a tennis lesson in that first set.


I'm really hoping for a Murray vs Federer final... i'd feel like i couldn't lose.

Its impossible to predict..... If Nadal wins the third then its game on. If it goes to 5 sets Nadal wins. So i'm hoping Murray see's its out in 3 but i'd settle for four.

I feel so bad for Murray, he plays the tennis of his life and Nadal gets saved by Rain... I know Ignatius will disagree but i think Murray deserves to go to the final just for his guts yesterday.

and the crowd seem to love him in New York.

Murray looked sharp & comfortable and playing the best tennis he has played all year. Nadal was clawing his way back and I honestly think the rain stoppage will be the best thing for Murray, he will be able to assess what he can do better and will be fresher. Nadal didn't look like he was totally into the game, head wise. Something just seemed alittle off and I think it is safe to say Murray has more passion for the game than Nadal at this moment in time. He has drasticly improved in the last year, no longer the tempered sloppy player he once was. Murray is going to only get better in time.

Cracking game thus far though, way better than their Wimbledon encounter. Shame Federer is in the final, just never liked the guy. Of course I think Federer has the advantage in the final due to the terrible schedual this year, absolutally shocking delaying the Nadal/Murray match by 1hour & 30mins when they could have been finished. Just an unneeded call and gives Federer more rest time which in my books is unfair to Nadal/Murray.

Nadal keeled over and out of gas, now that's something I haven't seen before  :hihi:

Great match and some wonderful exchanges towards the end.

Fantastic display from Murray, I thought he was going to fall apart after throwing away all those break points early in the 4th and then giving away his serve so easily the very next game. All credit to him he showed he was made of much stronger stuff, he got stronger and stronger as that final set went on. Nadal just seemed to run out of steam after he was broken in that final set, take nothing away from Murray though he was on fire today (and yesterday).

Should be a great final.

It's a change that has happened in a matter of months.

Earlier in the year when I was watching him in Masters Series Events and such, when he was losing he'd be swearing when he lost a point, getting visibly annoyed and falling apart.

Today he was cool, calm and collected, heck even in winning he was, I half expected a bigger celebration....someone's definately coached him well on how to conduct himself  :yes:

That second game in the 4th set, Wow!  How many break points did Nadal hold off, 7 I think?  That turned out to be a really entertaining match...  After watching that, it seems like Murray will give Roger a bigger challenge in the final than Rafa.  Roger seems fresh though, I still think he has it in the bag.

Murray has actually been playing like this for a while now but i agree he went up a gear in those 1st two sets. but i feel he doesn't get the credit he deserves. People label him "heartless" or "Bottler" or "Not Mentally Strong"... when infact they are his best assets. He has beautiful variation to his game and it must be hard for his opponent to read him. To think he has beaten Federer twice, Djokovic and now Nadal... so all of a sudden people say he is playing well when in fact he has snowballed and gets better and better for every tournament he plays.


I think the break suited Nadal more. He had a chance to go and view the tapes of what he was doing wrong and he came out all guns blazing... no one can say Nadal didn't play some of his best tennis.


I think the argument of his hectic year will take its toll but he wasn't tired tonight and it was some of the best tennis i've seen. Both players were simply brilliant. Nadal came out like the No1 in the world and showed why he deserves that title. But i think Murray does that to you. He wears you down with his variation and patience and i think he got into Nadals head in those 1st two sets and i think he just had no answer, which hasn't happened to Nadal this year.


Thats whats so exciting. We now have 4 players who on their day can beat any of the other 3. Brilliant.


I know, Murray was moving him so well. And even with Nadals hectic season even his biggest fan couldn't say a set and a half was too much for him.

Some of the rallies were incredible. Both players were playing close to their peak i believe so it was so gripping. I was really impressed with Nadal when he came to net, which i have never been before. Its scary that Nadal, Djokovic & Murray are so young too.


Well if he did then he needs fitness training because he only played a set and a half.... i think maybe it was more mental tiredness.


yeah there is a story there whatever isn't there. Murray's 1st grand slam and emerging talent. or Federer back in the business of winning a major.

Federer has to start favourite with the extra rest time and all his experience in finals, but Murray has beaten him twice and i think Murrays slice backhand might cause Federer's tempremental forehand some problems.

Oh and i'd just like to point out that i've been saying for a while Murray would be in a Slam final in the not to distant future. My comments were met with a far bit of cynasism but i'm really glad he has got himself there and its testiment to his mental strength and heart that many say he lacks that he is in the US Open final.

As for Nadal... he has gone up in my opinion alot this year, showing he more than just a clay court player, he has improved vastly in many areas and is always polite in defeat and humble in victory. He is the best player in the world right now but i think he just ran into a Murray masterclass in those first two sets and it was always gonna be tough to come back against Murray when he was serving so well.

Well too bad  :no:

I thought Nadal had it when he was 3-1 up in the 4th and 0-30., but Murray kept strong and won the game. That was an illusion anyway, Andy again seemed the fitter, fresher and the better player. Nadal was really struggling to hold serve through the set it ws a matter of time for Murray to break back and break again to clinch the set and the match.

Good win for him, he deserves to be in the final. He's got a fair chance against FedEX, he's defeated him twice so it's a tough call. Roger played very good against the Djoker, he probably got the confidence he needed by beating a top player in such a dominant fashion...it'll be interesting to watch.

I believe Federer will win in 4 though.

I do not think though Roger in unhappy about his rival today. Andy deserved a final spot, but if you asked Federer last night after the Nadal - Murray game which player would he like to face in the final, I have no doubt he'd picked Murray. A mediocre Nadal (the one we saw in the semifinal on both days against Murray) is still a much dangerous threat to FEDERER than any player at the top of his game now (like Andy). That's the way it is...Nadal has beaten Federer so many times that Roger's mind frame is a bit different when he's facing the spaniard than any other player. Andy is 2-1 I believe against the swiss, but Nadal is 12-5 or something like that. It's been only two months from Wimbledon and I'm sure Roger still has nightmares about that match,....

Now, about Nadal last night...well, he wasnt on top of his game at all. There are some things that are simply undeniable and Nadal was simply tired. I dont think the match we saw last night was brilliant at all. Murray was, but not Nadal. If you think Nadal displayed a similar effort than he did against Murray in Wimbledon then we are not on the same page. Nadal lacked the depth, fitness and the confidence he had in Wimbledon against Murray.

I'm not the only one saying that, check the match reviews at the US open site or atp tour... they all say Nadal was just tired. He was struggling with the serve, he couldnt move properly to reach out Murray's returns, his forehands were all short and soft...GNRfan mentions how can he be tired after one set an a half? Well, there's nothing wrong with Nadal fitness, as a matter of fact, his fitness is one of the key factors that's taken him this far...it's the fact that he's played 35 more matches this year than Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. That's a huge factor to be taken into consideration...

Im not taken anything away from Murray's win. He deserved, he was the better player. No doubt. However, we didnt see Nadal fit enough to beat such a quality player. If Nadal is playing at 70% he can beat Fish, Querry, Troicky...but not Murray nor Djokovic nor Federer. He needs to be 100% fit to win any of those match ups, especially if those are played on hard court, and Nadal last night was not even at 60%.

Nadal will only play two more ATP tournaments in 2008. That's is Madrid Master Series and the Master Cup. He needs some time off!!

Me too dude. I was cursing at the TV.


1st set is so important for Murray! if he can get that i think Federer could be rocked


I agree. If you ask Federer who he'd prefer to beat.... he'd say Nadal coz i think he needs that condfidence against him but i believe he will be happier playing Murray especially having being rested up for two days.


Yeah but you see at Wimbledon , Murray played on of his worst games of the year. Yeah Nadal played well, but Murray let him. This week Murray just didn't let Nadal play well for sustained perioid of time by using his variation so well. Murray is one of the only guys i know who doesn't mind hitting to Nadal's forehand because he knows 90% of the time Nadal will be hitting into his strong Backhand.

And i think Nadal was playing well yesterday. Maybe not 100% but then i dont think Murray played as well as he did in the first set either. In fact i dont think he played his best game in the 3rd & 4th sets. Just did enough.

I think saying if Nadal plays his best Murray doesn't have a chance is disrespectful to the job Murray has done in the past 12 months he is in that group now, he has beating all the players ahead of him and done so with style. I'd admit Nadal is the best in the world but on Hard Court i just don't think he is. I believe that Nadal is king of clay, Federer is still the best on grass and on Hard we have 4 players who are hard to seperate. I remember you telling me that Nadal always ran out of steam in the 2nd half of the season... well maybe it not a coincidence that a majority of the 2nd half of the year is hard courts.


I'm Sorry dude but thats just rubbish IMO i dont care if he's played 100 more matches he is the No1 in the world and with his fitness and young age he should be able to go and play for 2 sets without using fitness or tiredness as an excuse. Yeah if it goes to 5 sets and 4 hours .... maybe i'd say yeah ok tiredness featured heavilly. But they said in commentry last night that Murray had played more hours of tennis than Nadal at the US Open and McEnroe said that he believed that the Rain would help Nadal because he will be fresh and tiredness shouldn't effect him. He just got beat!


Oh Please. well if he was at 60% i guess Murray was at 70% coz there wasn't much between them last night. I believe Nadal is the best player in the world right now and he came out of the blocks at 90% minimum and i believe in that 3rd set Murray played quite badly... Nadal saved 7 break points. Even Nadal can't do that against Murray playing at 60%.


I think he needs some time off. and it will only do him good. :yes:

I think next year he has to take a hard look at the way he books his tournaments. Booking the tournaments you play in is a big part of tennis for the top players Federer used to book himself so well when he was on that incredible run. Maybe Nadal was desperate to get to No1 and thats why he played so many. But he's gotta wise up if he honestly thinks he is out of the US Open because of how many smaller tournaments he has played this year. Because if he believes that then he only has himself to blame.



Mindset... Check

Style... Check

 : ok:

It's not disrespectful at all. Nadal, right now is the best player in the world, better than Murray, Djokovic and Federer. It's funny how you justified Murray's loss at Wimbly cause he played like crap and now last night you say both players played brilliant tennis. You even go further by saying Nadal could not play the same way he played Andy at Wimbly cause Murray didnt let him??  :confused:

Dude, watch those matches again, Nadal played like crap yesterday, it was not as bad as he did two nights ago, but definitely not at the same level ha has played on the first half of the season.



Dude, here we go again...you think 35 more matches in one year shouldnt affect in any way???? this puzzles me to no end. The extra day Nadal had did some good to RAfa, no doubt, but it was just not enough. Why is so hard to understand?? Nadal has played 35 more matches than Murray...many of those have taken place during the last 4 months.

Nadal was TIRED. That's one of the reasons why he lost.



Ok, this is ridiculous! Murray makes it to his first GS final and all of the sudden he's at the same level as Nadal...

Get your facts straight. Murray has done NOTHING yet. He's won 1 Master Series tournament and some shit tournaments you mentioned Nadal likes to play so much. Nadal's won 5 GS, 31 tournaments, 12 or 13 MS...Murray still has a long way to go if he wants to accomplish 1/3 of the Nadal's achievements!



What?? man, you need to get your facts straight on this one too...The only smaller tournament he's booked this year was Chennai in Jan. Murray has won Doha and Marseille this year (shit tournaments)...

You would think that Nadal has had to played small tournaments to reach the number one, but hey, look at the smaller tournaments Nadal's won this year:


Montecarlo -->This is a Master series tournament (as you know there are nine of this every year) - Murray also played
Barcelona --> An international series tournament - This is a step down from the Masters Series, but still an important tournament - Murray played an lost in 3rd round.
Hamburg -->Another master series - Nadal beat Murray in two sets
Roland Garros
Queens -->Grass tournament.- It?s an international tennis tournament. Andy lost against The Djoker in the semis
Wimbledon --> Nadal beat Murray
Toronto -->Another master series -- Nadal beat Murray
Olympics

Those are the 8 tournaments Nadal's won this year.  6 major tournaments and 2 international series. Where amongst this are the smaller tournaments?


On a side note. Nadal is not just the king of clay. If you compare his Hard court results with Murray's hard court results Nadal is still thousand miles ahead.

Nadal's won 4 MS in Hard Courts (he's also reached two other finals)
Olympics
2 other Tournaments (Dubai and Hong Kong)

Anyway, we could be having this discussion for hours and still not really prove anything. I've been wacthing tennis pretty much all my life and also have followed Nadal's career from the early stages 5 years ago...people tend to misjudge Nadal's ability to learn and develop better tennis skills so he can win in all surfaces...He's won big tournaments in each and every surface and some people still call him the King of Clay. You talk about disrespectful earlier, calling Nadal the King of Clay is just stupid...simply because he wins tournaments every where he goes. I mean, the guy has reached the Wimbly final 3 times and won the last  one...who would've thought that the king of clay could accomplish that??

Well, enough for today...I'd like to know what Andy told Rafa at the net when they finished the game. Seems like there's some good vibe between the two.

Cant wait for tonight. This is the real deal, we'll see if Andy has it or not

I agree Nadal is the best player in the world. I'm just saying that sometimes he plays well and loses. Nadal played like crap in the first two sets but i refuse to believe that he played crap yesterday.


No i do understand.

i'm sure it affects him, But i'm saying its not an excuse for last nights tennis. Are you telling me that Rafa Nadal is sooooo tired he can't manage 1 and a half sets after 24 hours rest?

and you're right its One of the reasons he lost.


Well you do the same with Nadal. I'm saying if they play 100% Nadal will win 9 out of 10 times... But what i'm also saying is that Nadal only has to be at 90% on Hard Courts for Murray to be able to beat him. None of this 60% rubbish. Thats like saying Murray can only beat Nadal if Nadal is half the player. and i think thats taking away from how good Murray was.


I have never said that Murray is as good as Nadal... Not once. In Fact i have said several time that Nadal is the best player in the world. But he is now at the stage in his career that on Hard Courts he can beat Nadal, Djokovic & Federer. You have to remember that Nadal has a 4 year head start on Murray in terms of his Pro career and i believe it was only this year that Nadal won any major aside from the french and some might say that as well as Nadal has played, Federer has played worse.

Murray will never acheive what Nadal has IMO and i have never said he will. But tournament wins are wins when you play the quality type of player that Murray has.


You can't have it both ways... you can't say he's too tired to win but then say he's chosen his tournaments well.... if you are a sucessful player like he has been this year then you have to expect this sort of thing. I mean its possible Nadal could win every tournament he enters... and he'll expect to win every match he plays. So he knows how much he can take and if he's too tired to by the time the US Open rolls around every year then something is clearly wrong.

Please dont get aggressive with comments like "Get Your facts right" if yours are not. its a conversation. I enjoy talking about Tennis with you on here coz you are passionate about it like me. But i wont bother if you get aggressive. i'm allowed my own opinion like you are. I don't need the hassle. Just getting that straight.


Yeah if you compare him to Murray... a guy who has only become a big threat this year. Right now Nadal is the king of Clay, Federer is the best grass player and you'd have to say that Federer is the best Hard court player. i think thats undeniable. Nadal has made huge strides on Grass and improved alot on Hard courts but you couldn't say he was the best on anything other than clay! I mean if you're talking Hard Court Grand Slams he hasn't won anything more than Murray. Maybe its just due to his 2nd half of season tiredness but Grand Slams are Grand Slams.


Yeah i gathered you have and thats why i like talking to you as opposed to my friends who think a slice shot has no merits coz its "slower". I played tennis a quite a high level until i was 15  and have been interested all my life too.

And are you really saying that calling Nadal the "King Of Clay" is disrespectful? its a honour! and you could hardly call him the "King of the Hard Courts" when he hasn't won a Hard Court Grand Slam yet!


I reckon it was something to do with him being his hardest opponent.

So does that mean if Federer, who has got to the last 5 finals beats Murray in his first... Murray doesn't have it?  ::)



 

Come on Andy!! I'm looking forward to this one  : ok:

Thats what i like.

I'm really hoping he wins. Especially coz Ignatius will shame me if he doesn't. Personally i think Federer in 4 or 5 but Andy has got to win the first to win i think.

Man i'm really looking forward to this Murray vs Federer match.

Britain hasn't had a Grand Slam winner for like 70 years... so we are due. I just hope Murray plays close to how he played against Nadal. coz he'll have a chance if he does.

I really feel like i can't lose tonight. I'm a huge Federer fan and would really like him to go past Sampras in Grand Slam titles and hopefully win the french at some point (if Nadal feels like playing like a mortal on clay one year) and go down as the best ever. So i'd be happy to see Federer's doubters put to rest.

And then there is Murray and i think he really deserves to be in the final and these chances won't come along every year for him, so i'd like him to get a grand slam under his belt so he doesn't have the type of pressure that Henman had all his career.

However at the start of the year Federer was looking to beat Nadal in the French and Retain his Australian title and maintain his two strong holds of Wimbledon & US Open. He lost his Australian crown to Djokovic, failed to beat Nadal again at the French and even lost his strong hold on Wimbledon to Nadal so the US Open is the last thing he has left so if he loses to Murray after losing to Djokovic and Nadal then i think Federer will start to worry that there are 3 other guys around him who can beat him.

I hope we see a great match.

Fed breaks Murray, dang! Fed's gonna take this first set now  :-\

Jesus. Where are all these Federer mis-hits i've been hearing about.

Fed is playing brilliant. Murray has gotta get his serve going. or its gonna be all over quickly. Federer looks frsh from his days off.

Agreed. Fed looks a class apart tbh.

Fed got lucky in that game. Murray should of challenged coz he would have had the break.

He's played better this set so far.... Maybe coz Federer isn't serving as well this set

Just shows you how important line peoples jobs are and the challenge system. If he had challenged that call at 2-2 it would be one set each right now.

Its gonna be hard from here

Match over tbh, Fed won't let this slip now.......

No its gonna extremley tough now.

The only solace i have is aside from 4 games in the middle of the 2nd set Federer has been awesome. Its great to see him coming back to some of his best form.

Oh well, Murray had a brilliant two weeks underlining how good he can be. Finally beating Nadal in his most impressive display of his career

Its a shame he didn't play as well in the final as he did in the Semi but i think credit has to go to Federer who was just awesome. Murray fought hard to the end. Anyone else sense a comeback when he made it 5-2 in the last haha. He just never gives up. He just didn't serve well enough to have a chance today. and i'm not sure how good he knee is by the end... but thats not why he lost.

Hopefully he'll get another chance at some point next year. But i think Nadal might find an onslaught of pressure from Federer now. Coz i think anyone would have had been beaten by Federer today.

And all of a sudden a poor season from Federer turns into a pretty impressive one.... 1 grand slam, two grand slam final apperences, one semi final and lets not forget a Gold Medal.

I feel bad for Murray coz thats the best Federer has played this year (well thats what they are saying on TV) and not many players can live with that type of form.

Form is temporary, Class is permenant - The King Is Back

Federer was just too good today, Murray will get other opportunities, I think this is just the beginning for him really. I think Federer had a point to prove and nobody was going to stop him, he wants to be the no.1 again and on that display, he is.

Only Nadal could possibly live with Federer in that form.... and on hard court i don't think even he could.

Federer was brilliant. And i hope you're right, and Murray gets more chances. Grand Slams chances don't come along too often. Unless your name is Roger Federer

Again, I don't think he played brilliant. None of his strokes seemed to hurt Murray at all...not even the forehand, nothing. Nadal doesnt have the strokes FedEx has but man, if you see Nadal at RG or Wimbly he looked like a totally different player.





Well, we don't seem to agree on this one...fitness for me it's a crucial factor when you are playing tennis at this level, Nadal just doesnt have it now. Even if he had played the semis tomorrow instead of sunday, he would've been tired. He just needs some time off to get that fitness back.



I'm not saying that, but you make it sound like Murray is almost at the same level as Nadal is now in Hard Courts and I believe is still too early to make such a statement. It seems like you are the one taking away credit from Nadal's accomplishments in Hard Courts. Murray has had a good few months winning a big tournament and reaching the later rounds in another two. But it's too early to say Murray is on the same level than Rafa, Roger or Novak. I'd love to see Murray battling with these three next year so we could have the most exciting season of all time, but I think it's not there yet. The big three are still a long way from the rest of the pack.,





True, but he's  won 7 major Hard court tournaments (Olympics included and 4 Master Series), reached the Wimbledon final three times (winning one)  at the young age of 22. 2/3 of his 31 titles have come on clay, but Nadal keeps proving he's not just the king of clay. This year don't forget he was the king of Grass too and prior to the US open, he was also the king of hard courts.






And you are so very right here. I apologise. I do get carried away a bit... I do also enjoy talking to you about tennis...I thought I was the only one here who liked the game! It's great to discuss tennis with another GNRfan    8)



I can say this year Nadal is the king of all surfaces. He's got the best results (with the exception of the US open) in all surfaces. Clay, Grass and Hard Courts. He didnt win the US open, but he won the Olympics, Toronto, reached a MS final in Miami and four other Semi finals (AO, US, Indian Wells and Cincy)



-----------

And about the final...well, FedEX was too good. I hadnt seen him playing this level since sets 3 and 4 in the Wimbledon final. Forehand was too fast, solid backhand, effective slice, serve..he had it all.

I do believe Muray's game plan was maybe a little off. With Nadal he really went for it, he was taking the ball early and being agressive from the start. Against Federer he showed a more conservative plan. I remember in Dubai this year, when Andy beat FedEX, there was a bit of controversy in the press conference cause Roger said Andy had not evolved and still was a moonballer and a conservative player. Maybe, Murray tried the same game plan or maybe FedEx was just too good to even let Andy have a game plan. Either way, Roger was just brilliant.

There was a few games in the second set in which Murray was playing better, but it didnt last long. That "call" gnrfan refers too it was not really decissive in the match. He was talking to Bernad?s about it wondering why it wasnt overuled. He could've stopped the point and get the electronic assistance if he was so sure that ball was out...and he didnt.

We have exciting months coming up for tennis. Nadal is up by 1000 points in the rankings. He doesnt have too many points to defend, so all he can do is add some more eventhough I dont think he'll play many tournaments. Fedex has the Master Cup and Basilea title to defend, also a runner up show in Madrid last year. It'll be very difficult for Nadal to lose the number one spot, but we'll see.

Nadal has been the best player on tour this year by far and has earned that No1 position he has. But when i call someone King Of Clay... i do so with a "Live Forever" attitude. If i'm right (and i'm no expert here) But only Borg has more French Open wins than Nadal, but i think we all expect at least another 4 or 5 years of Nadal dominence on Clay whuch would mean he would be out on his own. I believe he has only lost 1 match on clay since winning the first french and that was to Federer (again i could be wrong) and has never lost at Roland Garos, which is simply amazing and he will go down as undoubtably the greatest Clay court player of all time. Thats why he is "King Of Clay" its not to say he isn't good on Grass or Hard Courts but his Slam records don't put him up there with others.

To be "King Of Grass" i think you have to have a spell of dominance like Borg, Sampras & Federer have had. I mean if Federer beat Nadal in the French next year... he'd hardly be "King Of Clay" would he? I Mean Sampras won i think 7 Wimbledons in 8 years and Borg and Federer won 5 in a row. Now to Win Wimbledon is a fantastic feat and Nadal was better than Federer this year but i think he has to do a little more to be up there with those other 3 guys in the "King Of Grass" category.

And the same goes for Hard Courts, Nadal has had a standout year on all surfaces, and i'm not saying its finished either with Shanghai coming up. But despite all his Masters events won he hasn't won that Hard Court Slam yet. He has made great improvments getting to two Semi-Finals, losing to Tsonga and Murray, and who knows maybe next year will be like this year for grass and he'll break that duck (it does only seem a matter of time). But Federer has just won his 5th straight US Open and he has won 3 out of the last 5 Oz Opens, so its hard not to put Federer in that Category with the likes of Connors, Agassi & Sampras. Being the "King Of A Surface" to me isn't about one year its about 4 or 5 years of dominance.

I understand why you think "King Of Clay" is disrespectful, you think it makes him look like a one-trick pony.... which we all knwo he is not. But its hard for me to agree that he is the "King Of Every Surface" when he didn't win a Hard Court Slam and only took ot his 1st Wimbledon.


I do too. So not to worry. Its better than not caring. : ok:


Agreed. He just moved Murray too well. And that serve was just awesome.


To be honest i think Andy was suprised at how well Federer played him from the Baseline. I think he thought once the rallies get going from the baseline he would win as many as he lost. But that wasn't the case and i think he was going for shots but found his serve under more pressure than the match against Nadal especially 2nd serve. Plus his service % was down. For him to have beaten Federer he was going to have to match Federer in the serve and Federer was too good on serve.

I think it was the first time i've seen Murray dominated this year on Hard courts. I mean people have beaten him but not like that.

Also i think Federer net play was great. I remember earlier in the tournamnet that Llodra did well against Murray by coming in to net alot. and i think with Federer's net game Murray found it extremely hard to pass him. In fact i can only remember 3 passes in the entire match. He couldn't get his lob going like he has this tournament and Federer punished him.

But i still maintain that if he had of challenged that call at 2-2 in the 2nd he would of made it one set each. But for some reason didn't challenge when it was 15-40 on Federer's serve.


I know. its his own fault. But i think it was decisive as far as that set went. He took out his next 3 service games easily. To be honest i think that period in the middle was more Federer hitting some unforced errors, than Murray playing better. I don't think he played badly, i just think Federer looked fresher and made Murray play his game.



No he won't lose it this year barring a nightmare, but i think Federer will be closer than many expected by the end of the year. I think Tennis is just golden right now. Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Murray, Roddick, Ferrer, DavyDenko, Blake, Nalbandian & Del Potro... so much talent around, which shows just how good Nadal and Federer have been this year.

Murray is up to 4th now. Along way behind the top 3 but i'm hoping that he has 2 or 3 years of staying 4th to 6th in the Rankings and doesn't get consumed by breaking that top 3 coz thats gonna be hard.

I dont really understand how the rankings work but i'm pretty sure that Nadal will be No1 at the end of the year.... but i'm really looking forward to seeing Murray in the Masters Cup this year. I just feel its where he belongs... up there with the big guns of the game.

I didnt say he was the king of grass or Hard courts in general, I said he's the king of GRASS, Hard Courts and Clay this year. It'd be dumb for me to put Nadal on the same level as Sampras, FedEX or Borg on grass. Nadal has just won one Wimbly, that's why the "This year" is so important.




I really believe Murray didnt have the same plan against Federer than he did agains Rafa. With Rafa, he had a head to head of 0-5... with Roger it was 2-1. He was certain he needed to step up his game with Rafa and maybe change his strategy if he wanted to win, with Roger he may have felt he could've won playing the same tennis he did 6 months ago in Dubai against him. It'd make perfect sense if that crossed his mind.

Then again, I don't really know. Andy didnt serve as good as he did against Rafa and it looked like he wasnt really going for the shots either with Fedex, but that's an impression of mine.

I don't think Federer was so great at the net. He was good, but not flawless, he missed not a few number of what appeared to be easy volleys. Volleys he didnt miss 2 years ago.


That's pure speculation and you know it..it's like saying if Murray had won the first set he would've gotten his chance. There's always an IF this would've happened...

Also, we dont really know if that call was really in or out. How can you be so certain it was out? Did I miss an unofficial replay?? I remember I want to the bathroom for a few mins, did they show it? If they didnt, it's really impossible to know if that call was in or out... to me it hit the line, but I couldnt really put my money on it. if Andy was so certain, he could've stopped the point and use the challenge, he would've lost the point though if the ball had been in though.

Maybe he thought the ball is still on play it'd risky to challenge since it was not a clear winner by Roger.

See, you cant have it both ways and Andy knew it. If you think it's out, challenge it. Otherwise don't complain once the game is over...this is why they have now have the Electronic aid, to avoid possible mistakes line judges could possibly make. However, we still dont really know if that ball was in or not.







Yeah, but that doesnt prove anything. Those three games could've a totally different outcome if Murray had won that game (when they were 2-2). Future doesnt always bring the same result if you change the past. That's speculation and it's not based on anything substancial. I understand what you are trying to say, but I do not agree simply because tennis is not 2+2=4.


Amazing talent. It's really a shame that "El gordo" Nalbandian doesnt really have the mind for this game. He's just as talented as Federer but doesnt really have the discipline, commitment, compromise and right mind set for this. Last year he destroyed the big three twice in Madrid and Paris walking away with both titles without losing a set...but this year, he does nothing (AGAIN).




I do. It's kind complicated..but basically, if you win let's say Wimbledon, you get 1000 points. The year after, you can only lose points and not gain any since you are the title holder. If you win again, you don't lose any points but you don't add any either. Federer lost this year the number one spot cause he lost more than 300 points in Wimbledon, and a total of 900 points combined in Toronto and Cincy. He doesnt get any points from the US open cause he won it las year.

Next year Nadal will face a very difficult time to hold the number one spot. Look at the amount of points he must defend in order to retain it.


About the Master Cup I really cant wait either. We have the big three + Murray and dont forget Roddick, Davidenko and possibly Del Potro. It'll be a hell of a tournamente for sure.

I'll definitely be in London for the 2009 Masters Cup.

No they didn't but the English commentry team saw it on playback and told the viewers that it was out


Oh right so if you have a good year... then you have to be even better the next year really. Jesus that makes hanging on to No1 extremly hard. and makes Federer's run pretty incredible

So what happens to the points at the end of the year? Does it just carry over? Or does it start again?

Not the most objective commentry team...or is it?  :P

There has not been an British GS winner in God knows how long...the english are a bit biased with their tennis players. It's understandable though, now it seems like Andy can really go far in GS's and has a much solid chance than Rusedsky or Henman ever did. But the english commentators go a little bit too far when it comes to their players.

I was actually in London the day Nadal played Murray in the Wimbledon quaters this year and the expectations were unreal. They were hyped up cause andy had come back from a 2 set to love deficit against Gasquet (awesome match) and thought Nadal could've been next. Even when Nadal was winning one set to love and a break in the second, still the english commentators broadcasted the match like Murray was right there in the money. Thanx God Jhonny Mac was there to put some comon sense back  ;D




Basically, yeah. Not only you must have an outstanding year to reach the number 1 spot but the follow up (year) has to be at least just as good to retain the throne. The points carry over year after year. If the year ended today, Nadal would have 7000 points, Fedex 6000, The Djoker 5100... Starting next year, the players HAVE to defend the points they've earned in 2008 so they dont lose points. I give you an example, Djokivc won the AO in 2008, so he has to defend in 2009 1000 points. If he wins the title, he will not add nor lose any points, but if he doesnt win, he'll lose some points. How many? well, it depends on which round does he fall. If he makes it to the final but gets defeated, he'll lose aprx 350 points (as a final in a GS tournament is worth 680 points). If he loses in the semis, he'll lose 600 points, if he loses in the quaters, he'll lose 750 points...

This applies also to Nadal, Federer all players. That's why Nadal has a tough year ahead in 2009 to defend the points he gained in 2008. Fortunately, the first quarter of 2009 he wont have to defend many points cause he didnt win that many. From April 2009 until sept 2009, Nadal will have to defend at least 4000 points.

Federe's run was simply unreal from 2005-2007. He lost the throne in 2008 cause he lost a lot of points in Wimbly, Hamburg, Toronto and Cincy.

Oh..I forgot to mention. You know there are two rankings. First is the entry system, which is the one that COUNTS for the ATP and all the seeds in every tournament are set using the entry system. Nadal is first with 7000 points, Federer is second,..

Then you have the RACE rankings. All players start from zero each and every year and doesnt take into consideration the points you gained the previous year. This ranking is the one  ATP uses to determine who'll play the Master CUP in November. The top 8 players from this ranking, will go to the Master CUP.- Nadal tops this ranking too with 1275 points, Federer has 920 and Djoker has 875. Murray is 4th 520.

Normally both rankings would be VERY much alike, however, some players are on the ATP rankings - Nalbandian - on the top 10, but they are not in the RACE ranking cause this year they have not done crap. Nalbandian is on the top 10 because he won the last two master series tournaments last year, but he will fall off the top 20 again when the year is over.

No but all commentry teams have access to the playback (i.e. Hawkeye) for all points.

Argentina and Spain reached Davis Cup final. It will be played in Argentina from 21 to 23 of november.

Argentina is a VERY strong team in clay, but guess what, Spain is undefeatable on that surface.

So, we will have to make a huge decision: betraying our roots, putting an extremely fast surface like indoor-carpet (a surface we DO NOT like, IN A FINAL) or trying to defeat Spain in clay, which is like trying to beat Reggie Miller on a 3 point contest at the Conseco Fieldhouse.

I think the proper decision would be the indoor-carpet. Nalbandian is a very strong player at ultra-fast surfaces, and Del Potro plays exactly the same in every surface. He can make his serve do the talking. Even though Ferrer and Nadal are extraordinary players, I think Argentina's gonna have the adventage in that surface, and with the incentive of playing at home.

None of these countries have strong doubles. It will be a very tough series. I think we will win 3-2  :beer:

Nalbandian no est? gordo, Ignatius. Est? muy repleto de talento! :hihi:

I think Nalbandian is such a wild card anything could happen in that match. Nadal is the best player on earth right now but we all know if Nalbandian brings his A game he can beat Nadal. however we also know that Nalbandian can stink up the court too.... so its gonna be interesting to see.

I think they'll play on Clay and i think Spain will win.

Another impressive display by Murray in Madrid this week. Once again shows he can beat the big boys.

If you take away the Olympics Murray has been the form player in the world since July. A host of Semi's, Finals (including US Open) and two masters series wins.

I know when you compare it to the Big 3 you can say he hasn't won a Major this year but i think he is clearly making progress and has beaten all the big 3 in the last 4 months. And since Wimbledon he has been as impressive as anyone on tour

Beating Federer this week after the beating he took in the Final of the US Open took mental strength beyond belief and extreme condfidence in his own ability.

Yeah. He sure can.

His most impressive match though was  against Monfils. With Roger he struggled in the first set but got himself together in the second and third sets and pulled off the win. I thought FedEX was going to win easily, specially after the first set, but he lost momentum which Andy gained. It was not a display of agressive tennis by no means by Andy though, but he did what he had to do in order to win.

I notice Andy is a quick learner. His second serve was superb against Roger. He served a lot more to Roger's forehand side and that was crucial. In the US open final, Andy served most of his second serves to Roger's backhand and Roger backhand's return is more difficult to deal with than a forehand return. When Roger returns with his backhand the ball slices so much it makes you dig down to put it back into play. On Saturday, his second serve placement varied and that was a huge plus for him.




Yeah you can say that. Nadal's won two tournaments, same as Murray. They're both done pretty much the same when it comes to wins and loses ratio since July.


His biggest asset for me know is they way he implements strategy. He knows what he's gotta do to beat any of the top three players and that's impressive. If you take a look at Djoker, you know he's always going to play the same no matter against who's he's up against, but Murray varies his game depending his opponent. Against Rafa he takes a more aggresive approach, against Roger he's a bit more conservative and lets Roger dictaminate the points, but when he's gotta a chance, he takes it.



Next year is going to be amazing. We will have 4 players with good chances to win any slam or Master Series. Del Potro could make it 5 (he's got the game and the winning mindset) but he's yet to win a major or a Master Series.





It'll sure be an exciting final. Argentina has never won the Davis, so for them this is a huge deal. Im not saying for Spain is not, but we have won it twice this decade so far.

This final will go down as one of the most dramatic ever. I have a strange feeling about it...Argentinians (crowd) will make sure we go through hell. Im sure Maradona will be in the crowd since he rarely misses tennis when played in Argentina.

I'm a little worried about the final though. Like I said, Argentinians are loud and proud when they come to sports. Nothing wrong with that, but there's a very thin line between rooting for the home team and make it a living hell for the visitors team. I hope nobody poisons our water like Billardo did once agains Brasil  :P

OK so the new season has started here are my predictions for the season.

> Nadal will stay No1 all year.

> Federer Will Win his 14th Slam to equal Sampras

> Murray will win a Grand Slam

> Nadal, Federer, Djokovic & Murray will all win at least 2 Masters Titles

> No one will win more than 1 Slam (Although if Nadal hits top form he could win all four)

> Tsonga, Del Potro & Nalbandian will have good years

> James Blake & Roddick won't finish the year in the top 10

Makes sense, that is if tennis was logical.

However, tennis has really become so unpredicitable. So far...

Djoker loses against Gulbis.

Gulbis loses against Matheiu.

Djoker destroys Mattheiu a week later.

Nadal loses to MONFILS!!!

Verdasco loses another final (nothing new there).

Tsong? loses early in Brisbane.

the 200th player in the world reaches the Chenai final.

To be honest, I don't have any clue what could happen, not even a slight idea.

Murray is probably the strongest player out there this year (so far). He's gained confidence and is looking good entering the Aussie open. He's a strong favorite...but then again, THE AO is the toghest of all the GSlams. Not only it's comes very early in the year, but the temperatures are a living hell. It's really hard to tell what may happen...also, there's always an unexpected player who reaches the semis or final...Baghdatis, Tsong?, Korda, Johanson, Moya...those players reached the AO final before...so who knows.

Strong favorites for me are Murray and the Djoker.- For Nadal - athough he's rested and perfectly fit - this slam comes to early (I guess just like any other player) but Nadal normally needs more time to get into rythm.

As for the rest of the year...I wish I'd see Nadal No1 at the end of 2009 but he's gotta a shit load of points to defend. From March till July....Not only he must win every clay court prior to RG, but he must win RG and Wimbly again to maintain that difference. Murray and FedEX do not have many points to defend (just Marseille title for Andy and Estoril for Fedex) so they will be the rivals to keep an eye on.

Good thing though is like you pointed out, there are  other players who most likely do well this year also. Del Potro, Tsong?, Simon, Davidenko...all of those players can beat any of the top 4. It won't happen often, but it can happen. Look how Davidenko trashed Murray in the Masters Semis to then lose to the Djoker... However, I don't think all of those players will do well. There're only a certain amount of tournaments a year and it's really difficult for all the top 10 players to have "good years".

As for the MS series, yeah...it could be. Although I don't think it's going to be that EVEN, who knows. I don't see the Djoker winning 2 titles...(maybe one). Nadal will most likely clinch a few, also Murray, Fedex maybe one and the rest could go to Davidenko, Tsong?, Del Potro...

Nevertheless, it's going to be an exciting year that's for sure. Tennis has never been so unpredictable and that's a good thing.

who ya guys think is gonna win the Australian open? Nadal n Federer bot looked impressive.  Djokivich is the defending champ. Im gonna say Federer

Nadal's first match performance was simply stunning. I've never - EVER - seen him playing with so much power. He hit 30 forehand winners...the last game was a good sum up of what he had done throughout the match. However, it's a bit early. Rochus is not what you'd call a tough contender these days so it's hard to say whay Nadal may accomplish until he's up against a fairly difficult opponent. He's looking good so far, but it's too early.

Federer's first match was ok. Seppi is a stronger opponent than Rochus but Fedex struggled to win the 2nd and 3rd sets. Today's match against Korolev I have not seen, but looks like an easy victory for Roger. The russian is not really a touch match up either for any of the top players as he's ranked 118th. Looking at the match stats, Fedex hit 25 winners (Nadal hit 47 on his first round match).

Murray's first match does not really tell us many things either. After one and 1/2 sets Pavel couldnt play no more and handed the game. Murray looked shaky in the first three or four games (it was a bit windy out there) but he gained momentum after and show a solid display.

I haven't seen any Djokovic matches so I cant really comment on him.

I still believe Murray and Djokovic are strong favorites though. If Nadal shows the same level of play in the next two matches, I would also add him as a strong contender.

What an amazing tournament so far...

The 8 first seeds play the 4th round.

Nadal's firing off more winners than any other player (winner/game ratio).

Federer coming back from a 2 set to love deficit to defeat Berdych.

Roddick, Tsong?, Simon all with comfortable wins

Murray Vs. Velasco tomorrow - That will be an amazing match to watch

Djoker Vs. on fire Bagdhatis (in just a few minutes)

Crowd favorite J. Dokic back in form after a few years and beating seeds all the way through


And some people still say tennis is not the same as it was 10 years ago   ::)

I haven't witnessed this level of excitement in the world of tennis since Agassi beat Sampras in the '95 AU!

I agree. I've watched Tennis for a long time and the end of last season and the start of this is the best i've ever seen.

We have 4 top top players and we have about 8 in that pack behind who can always come through with a good week.

Its just so hard to pick a winner. Nadal has been extremley impressive, i'm watching Djokovic now and he looks like he fancys the retain, Federer had to show some class and spirit to get by Berdych and Murray has slowly gone about his job without hitting top gear like Nadal has, but i'm hoping he can raise it against Verdasco otherwise he's gonna be in trouble.... although aside from Nadal Murray has never lost to a lefty.

But you're right ignatius ... its been brilliant!

This tournament just gets better and better.

Fantastic match between Murray and Verdasco. I'm happy in a way cause Fernando advanced, but I did want to see some semifinal action between Andy and Nadal. I knew this match was going to be a challange for Murray...I had been following Verdasco up close ever since Davis Cup last year and he's improved the mental aspect of the game a whole lot.

Verdasco's always been know for being as "choker" though. He's got the talent, groundstrokes...but has always lacked the mental toughness that best tennis players have. Today, he's moved forward, at last. I really don't think he'll beat Tsong? in the quaters, but he's gained a lot of confidence after his win against Murray. He'll finish the year playing the Master Cup (or World cup series).

Easy match for Nadal against Gonzalez. Struggled a bit early in the third, pulled himself together and managed to win easily in the end. I was going back and forth between the Nadal's and Murray's match. It was so difficult to pick one and stay there!

Now, Nadal faces difficult opponent. Gilles Simon is not only the world's best moonballer, in addition, he's come up with a decent number of winners. He already beat Nadal in Madrid last October, so Rafa better be patient and get himself ready for a long battle. If, he does win, he'll most likely face Tsong?, which is the toughest player to beat on that side of the draw now. The guy looks larger than life and already beat RAFA in the semis last year.

On the other side of the draw, Roddick will most likely lose to the Djoker in 4 sets and Federer will have to battle hard to beat Juan Martin del Potro in 4 or 5 sets. So my semifinal predictions are

Rafa Nadal will beat Simon in 4 sets
Tsong? to beat Verdasco in 3
The Djoker to beat Roddick in 4
Fedex to beat Del Potro in 5

Hmmmm... not quite...  What do you think about him retiring?



Come on, let's get another Fed / Nadal final...   :beer:

Yeah, so far I'm just 1 out of 3 in my predictions. Hopefully Nadal beats Simon so I'm up to 50%  :hihi:

Djoko's done this before. He's well known for retiring when things don't go his way. Agains Nadal he's retired 2 or 3 times, against Fedex once and now against Andy. I don't know whether he really had a heat stroke or not, fact is, it must be damn hot and humid there, but then again, he was 2 set to 1 down and totally out of the match mentally... Like Fedex said, congrats to Andy. He really pushed him hard.


That's what everyone wants, but Nadal still has two last hurdles; Moonballer Simon and "on fire" Verdasco who just beat Tsong? in 4.

I just love tennis.

One of the most incredible, amazing, stunning tennis matches I've ever watched (and I've been watching tennis since Boris Becker won Wimbledon in 1985).

Eventhough I was lucky enough to see Nadal at wimbledon playing that final against Federer in 2008, the match I watched today between Rafa and Verdasco was even better. The standard of play and intensity today was out of this world. I don't think Rafa or Fernando will ever forget this match... This was definitely the match of the open and will go down as the match of the year.

As for the final, looking forward to it. Roger is the favorite as he's got much more time to rest. If Nadal was normal he would have no chance but you never know with this kid.

Vamos RAFA!

Brilliant. Simply Brilliant.

Not as good as Federer vs Nadal at Wimbledon IMO but bloody close. I just always thought that Nadal would pull through. But you have to applaud both players for their levels of quality. Verdasco has been playing like this since the Murray match in patches but his all or nothing attitude against Nadal has to be commended.

Can't wait for the Final.

That was a great match this morning.
Very early in new york :hihi:

I hope Nadal bounces back physically and mentally after that draining match.

The overall play of this mornings match was great. Some incredible winners, and Great serving
Nadal hit some cuts and slices that were phenomenal.
 

What a match. Either could have won it and both deserved it for the tennis they played. Nadals fitness levels are incredible and Federer look to be effected most by the week than Nadal. For 4 sets it was at the highest quality.

The crucial moment in the match was in the third set when Federer had 6 Break points and didn't take them and then fell apart in tie break. When Federer's first serve was working Nadal couldn't handle him and when it wasn't you always felt as if Nadal had the better of the rallys. Federers serve and backhand let him down.

Just looking at the final stats.... Federer actually won more points and had more winners but Nadal's unforced errors was good and at the key points i don't think Federer did enough.

Congrats Rafa.... On to the French!

What do you mean by "the week"?

Federer had an extra day to rest, I don't think he was affected by that (if that's what you meant).

Roger totally blew it in the 5th. Couldn't stand the pressure of playing against NADAL in a 5th set again and lost. Here's a guy who had lost 12 times against Nadal (last one at Wimbly) playing the decisive games in a GS final. Had he played against any other player, Roger would not have felt such pressure but against Nadal, the hesitiation and ghosts from the past must've gone through his mind in the final set.


Yes. That was the key to the match. Fedex had 6 BP but Nadal played solid. Nadal is the best player in the tour when facing break points on his serve so kudos to Nadal.



Yeah, Nadal won the points that matter the most though. Again.



To me this was another great match between these two. This is without a doubt, the greatest rivalry of the sport - EVER - by a mile. These two players always bring the best of each other, it's amazing how this rivalry gets better and better each year. When you think nothing could top Wimbledon 2008, we get a dramatic AU 2009 final filled with suspense, intensity and incredible moments.

I'm happy Rafa won, but I felt for Roger. His breakdown during the ceremony was simply heartbreaking. I trully hope he beats Sampras record so he will be considered best tennis player of all time. In fact, I'm pulling for Federer to win the french...I hope he wins  it.

In the mean time, Rafa CONGRATULATIONS! you are the World's best tennis player. You've proved it again today!

Its only gonna be the best ever IMO if it starts to even itself out. If Nadal wins most finals against Federer like its going then its not gonna be IMO. If Federer could say beat him at the French and take the crown then you would be talking. Nadal takes his Grass dominance away and if Federer can do the same on Clay to Nadal then i might agree. But at the moment you know that Nadal has Federers number and thats not much fun to watch unless you're a Nadal fan.

The Tennis is excellent and its up there with the Connors/McEnroe, Borg/McEnroe & Sampras/Aggasi but they couldn't compete with Fed/Nadal if they start beating each other and really not knowing who is gonna win. And if we take your example Igantius then Federer was beaten by a guy who was exhausted.... if thats the case then Nadal is MUCH better than Federer and therefore the rivallry is not as great as it could be.

Yea if Federrer could finally conquer Nadal on clay, that would throw a wrench into the situation. Nadal never loses on the clay and has been better then Roger the last year and a half.

I hope they meet in the finals at all the majors this year because its a guaranteed fantastic match  : ok:

Glad I stayed up for this.

Nadal is so cool.

Well, I agree it's not that much of a rivalry if you look at their head to head. Nadal's won 13 and FedEX won 6. But to me, this rivalry covers many more elements than their  W-L record against each other. We are talking about two players who've accomplished:

16 out of the last 17 GS,
30 out of the last 36 MS tournaments,
70 tournaments total
Number 1 and number 2 since 2005,
Some of the most dramatic finals in the history of tennis (Wimby 07 & 08, AU 09, Rome 06...)

All of the above in just 4 years.

Yeah I call this a rivalry cause we are seeing the best players of our time. Federer is already amongst the best up there with Sampras, Laver and Borg. Nadal's not there yet but could very well soon be. Nadal is number 1 now and FEDEX is ranked 2, but this could change sooner than you think since Nadal has so many points to defend from March to July.

Now, what Rog needs now is a coach for God's sake. Not that he's going to learn any secret shot that will destroy NADAL but Federer needs to change his game plan when playing against the spaniard. Especially, he needs to use more that slice backhand when Nadal plays theh high kick forehand to the left corner.

Still 4 months for Roland Garros  :(  But hey, in march we have Indian Wells and Miami looking forward to it!!

Bump.

Nadal Vs Murray today at Indian Wells.

None of the players have really played well this week, so it's hard to point out a favorite.

Murray beat Fedex yesterday which was expected. Federer's totally lost it, he really needs a coach so at least he can have a game plan when he faces stronger players (mentally) than him. Roger managed to clinch a set mainly cause he's the most talented tennis player ever, but you can't expect to hit 50 winners and 10 UE's in every match. Impossible.

Nadal had his ups and downs agains Roddick last night. He's a better player and he won, but if he wants to beat Muzza today he needs to hold his service games.

My prediction is Murray will win this one in 3. He's moving well, service's improved a lot, playing well under pressure, ball placement is perfect and the guy plays smart. This is, along with Nalbandian, the most difficult match-up for Nadal of all.

Well Murray is playing with at least one injury and this is his first Tournament back after being out so i'm amazed he's got this far. To be fair he was awesome against Federer, Murray just waited and let Federer hit his errors.

I think Nadal will win he's had more recent match practice i think and Murray with that injury can't be 100%

Good win by Nadal  :yes:

Rafa dealt with the win better than Murray and eased through both sets. Unfortunately, the conditions out there played a key role in the match. Both of the players had to adapt their game plan in order to have a chance in the match. Rafa seemed to be more comfortable and won.

To be fair, Murray has been ill recently. Andy hadn't played since first round of Dubai 3 weeks ago and he looked to be out of gas already in the fourth game of the first set. Then and there I already knew Nadal as going to win easy.

Next Miami.

By the way, this is Nadal's 13 Master 1000 series tournament (formerly known as Master Series). He's just 4 titles away to tie with all time's best Andre Agassi's 17. Also, he's just 1 GS way to tie with Boris Becker and 2 to reach Agassi. And he's not even 23 yet!

Scary isn't it. If his body holds up then he'll break a shit load of records.


Murray didn't play well. Rafa deserved it. He definatly coped with the condidtions better than Andy. I think Murray needs more match practice and he desperatly needs to win a slam because if he wins one i think he'll win a few but the longer he goes without winning one the less likely he'll ever win one

Murray - Djokovic.

Not the dream final everyone was expected but the most deserved final. These two have been the better players by a mile throughout this tournament so it's fair.

Djokovic has been surprisingly dominant this week. He's won every match easy (with the exception of the semis against FEDEX), looking better than a few months ago.

Murray's been business as usual. Not his best display but he's playing another final. Quaters against Verdasco was impressive, although the spaniard was injured, he played some great tennis that day. Against Del Potro, he played more defensively but Murray is one of the best defenders on tour.

I dont really know who will win today. I'd say Murray, but the Djoker seems to gotten his shit together for this tourny so it's hard to tell. Nevertheless, I can't wait to see this match!

Yeah its one of those matches where if Djokovic hits those insane shots and they go in i can't see Murray doing much playing the way he's playing. However should Novak drop his game and especially his serve quality you get the impression Murray will take advantage.

As a Murray fan i'm liking that Murray is getting to these finals despite not playing well. Should he find the form of last year when he beat Djokovic and Nadal then he'll surely have a great year.

Its interesting that Novak wasn't aware how close Murray was to his No.3 spot and that makes this match even more interesting. For a while Novak has been in limbo. Miles ahead of 4th and not close enough to the top two but all of a sudden he has pressure from behind and a chance to move up with the way Federer is playing. Maybe its the spur for Novak that he needs.

Glad to see Andy pick up what many consider the "5th Major" and certainly one of the hardest tournament due to conditions.

The first set he made Djokovic look average but then didn't play too well in the second... but he keeps finding ways of winning. Its not bad when you are beating someone like Djokovic when playing "Ok Tennis" as Andy put it.

There is no doubt that Both will play better but that first set showed what Murray can do. There is probally only Nadal that can stand-up to Murray when Andy is playing at his peak now. I've seen him beat Novak the last three times and Federer struggles against him. The demolition of Verdasco was the most impressive performance of the week. Beat Del Potro playing poorly for the most part. He is starting to look the real deal.

I think Djokovic needs to look at himself and get fitter. He has no excuses for yesterday he just wasn't good enough and i think his fitness needs to be better for him to progress. I saw an interesting stat yesterday that since his first wimbledon Murray has made 12 players retire in matches. I don't think that coincidence. Thats his level of fitness and how he moves them around. : ok:

Congrat's to Murray!

One of the things that I like most about him is his ability to switch from defense to offense. Against Novak he did like a hundred times. He can get the ball back even when he's been put a lot of pressure. Playing like this also means his opponent will make a lot of UE's cause if you don't put it away against Murray he can pass you down the line or cross court very easy.

The difference with Nadal now (in my opinion) is Nadal is making more UEs now cause he's finishing the points early. He's offense's gotten more agressive so he can quicken the points. The idea is to get to the second half of the year on good physical conditions unlike the previous 3-4 years.

Clay season's already started. Let's see what Murray brings. He's got no points to defend so I'dnt be surprise if he gets the number 2 spot by after RG.

Well Murray has said that Clay is his worst surface but i'm suprised coz his game seems suited to clay.

I guess we'll see.

Can anyone stop Nadal on Clay?

I guess we'll find out.

I watched Nadal yesterday and he was Awesome. Murray is playing poorly and scrapping through which isn't a bad thing i guess.

If Murray can manage to get a set against probaly the greatest clay courter ever and certainly the best player in the world at the moment then i think he'll see it as progress as this is as far as he has got on clay in his career.

I think Murray will need to be aggressive and keep the points shorter than usual otherwise he'll need his tarck shoes to keep up with Nadal

On Evidence of the 1st Set Murray was well out of his league.

But Murray does what he is so good at and figured out a way to play in the 2nd Set and that set could have gone to either player.

I think Murray will look forward to the next meeting with Nadal and see if what he now knows can be effective. I think Nadal was brilliant in the tie-break but the 2nd half of the 2nd set Murray had Nadal running about like Nadal usually does to his opponents.

As  for the final i think Nadal will walk over Djoker i thought that he was average against Wawrinka at times and Nadal will definatly punish him.

Yeah, against Murray, Nadal dominated for one set and a half, then Murray started to play more high balls to recover position and turned out to be effective. He had Nadal 2 meters behind the base line and that allowed him to dictate.

After 5-5 in the second, the tennis by both players was superb. Incredible tie break, with Nadal clucth as usual elevating his tennis when it mattered the most.

Murray's a talented and smart player. He'll do whatever it takes to beat Nadal. If he has to adapt, he will. Unlike Federer who despite being the most talented player ever, he just doesnt feel the need to change his game plan on clay...that's the reason why he's never won RG!

Against the Djoker it was a extrange match. Nadal was not on top of his game but he managed to win. Djoker did what he had to do....it was actually the best I've seen him play on clay since last year in Hamburg but he lost. He had a chance at the beginning of third set but Nadal saved the break point with an amazing cross court backhand and from then onwards, Nadal had the upper hand!

Can't wait till Rome!

So finally the top 3 is broken up.

I have a feeling that its gonna chop and change alot this year. I've had a look at the points that are being defended and Federer, Djokovic & Murray have similar points to defend. Federer was strong last year in the Slams he's got 2 finals and 1 winner spot to defend, however he hasn't got many points to defend in the masters events.

On the other hand Nadal, Murray and Novak have a crap load of points to defend especially Nadal. It would be interesting to see Nadal struggle after the French to see how close all four guys are come the end of the year.

Not yet, but from next week onwards Andy will be number 3 in the word.



And don't forget Federer made it to the Master 1000 last year final in Hamburg, which has moved to Madrid starting next week. So I'd say he's gotta a lot of points to defend.

Murray on the other hand, has an easier road at least till the start of the hard court season in August. Hardly no points to defend from here (Madrid, RG, Queens, Wimbly) till Toronto.


Nadal has as shit load but it's incredible how he has managed to ADD more points so far on clay. Last year he won Montecarlo, Barcelona, Hamburg and RG. This year he's won Montecarlo, Barcelona and Rome with Madrid and RG coming next. By the look of things Nadal won't have lost any points through the Clay season and that's amazing. After RG, Nadal has to defend Queens, Wimbly, Toronto and the olympic games (which obviously he won't be able to defend). But after that (mid august) till the end of the season, Nadal will face less difficulties (just semis at the US open and Cincy)

If Rafa maintains a 3000 point lead difference by the end of RG, he will finish Number 1 also in 2009.

BTW, Nadal has already surpassed Federer in Master 1000's titles. He now has 15.

He is just a beast. Its a shame that Federer has passed his best coz a sustained battle with these two at their best could of been even better than their rivalry already is.

I'm kinda hoping for a suprise Federer win at RG as i think it would be a brilliant way to break the record (on a surface he hasn't won on) but you just can't see anyone beating Nadal.

I know you won't agree Ignatius but i'd like Nadal to go out early this year and leave the tournament open.

So happy that Murray has broken in to the top 3 although i think the top 4 will probaly end the year the same as it started.

You know what? I'll root for Fedex in RG too. He deserves it, so why not?

If Nadal wins though I will not be too unhappy :-) but yeah, RG is what Roger needs to be labeled as Greatest of all time so yeah, let's go ROGER!

On a side note, did you read what Federer say about Murray's rise to number 3? Nothing too bad, but he did take away some credit saying something to the lines of "being#3 and #4 doesnt matter...the only thing that matters is being #1 and #2...

1 & 2 is all that matters to people of Federers talent. Some players ae happy yo make the top 10.

I think if Murray ended the year in 3rd he'd consider it a good year. Obviously Andy would love to go higher but there are some great players ahead, and behind him and Nadal is gonna have to drop off big time for anyone to catch him anytime soon

The door is open for Federer!

Incredible stuff.

Nadal and Djokovic out in the space of two days. I have to say the Nadal vs Soderling match was one of the most enjoyable matches i've seen in recent times. I know Rafa wasn't at his best  but Sodering played incredible. Vollyeyed well, Served well and got the better of Nadal in the longer rallies. Every time you thought "Oh here comes Nadal" Soderling fought back admirably. I thought when Nadal won the 2nd set we would see awesome Rafa power on but creditto Soderling he re-grouped and played excellent especially at the net where i thought Nadal found him tough to pass.

I'm a massive Rafa fan and he is brilliant for this sport but its good to see this depth that people keep talking about come to the forefront. It can't be the best set ofplayers ever if Rafa just keeps on winning and i think him losing his dominance of the french is a good thing for tennis much like Federer losing his dominance over Wimbledon last year.

Nadal: 33 winners  
           28 Unforced Errors (alot for Rafa)
           77% first serve (really good)
           2/4 Break Point Conversion

Soderling: 64% First Serve
                 61 Winners
                 59 Unforced Errors (Very High)
                 5/6 Break Point conversion

I think i'm right in saying that Federer and Roddick are the only previous Slam winners left in the draw. Guys like Murray, Gonzales, Tsonga, Del Potro and Verdasco must be thinking this could be my chance to get that first Major.

And Federer must be thinking.... there will never be a better chance to take the title of "Best Player that has ever lived". Many say his failure to win the French (much like Sampras) is the only thing that people hold against him for that accolade.

I'm sure it would have meant a lot more if he had been able to knock off Nadal in a finals match at the French, but you can't get picky.  Like you said though, a lot of guys will be hungry for that first major...Novak & Rafa's elimination will just fuel that... Still not an easy road for Federer by any means.

What can I say really...

This is the biggest upset in tennis in the past few years. I really was not expecting Nadal to be out of the French on week one. Shocking.

Soderling played incredible tennis today. He dominated the rallies, serves, volleys... Nadal was just standing 2 meters off the baseline trying to hit back the swede's bombs and that was not enough today. Robin has balls, he kept cool when he needed it to.

Even Rafa said it today, he didnt play aggressive enough but that's credit to Robin. Rafa usually has had problems facing these type of players; Tsong?, Blake, Berdych...players who hit very flat and in a very, very good day, they can beat anybody. In a normal day, Nadal would've beaten this guy 6-0 6-1 like he did last month in Rome.

Now the draw is wide open. I'm hoping Fedex gets it, but like Eazy said, if Roger wins it will not have meant as much as it'd had been had he knocked off Nadal in the final. However, it's not done for Roger yet. Roddick is playing well on that side of the draw. Same as the german guy who beat the djoker.

Then on the other side we have Muzza, Davidenko and the mighty swede.... Tough for Muzza as well since he'll most likely have difficulties against either the russian or the swede, but I have a feeling he'll survive his way to the final.

On a brighter side, Nadal now has one more week to prepare Wimbledon  :yes:

I have to say i think Del Potro and Davydenko seem like the favourites to me right now. Federer is two sets down and looks out. Sink or Swim Roger!!!! Davydenko was really impressive in his defeat of Verdasco.

Murray hates clay and i'm sure he wishes he could have this situation a the US Open. I think Gonsales is a massive test for Murray and i have my doubts whether he'll win. There are only 3 players left in the draw that i think Murray will struggle with and that Del Potro, Davydenko and Gonsales and something tells me he'll have to play all three to win it and i'm not convinced he'll be able to do that.

I'd love a Federer vs Murray final as i feel that i couldn't lose there. But looks like Federer is on is way out, which i think will kill Federer inside.

If Murray gets to the final then anything can happen but i'm hoping that Davydenko and Del Potro get knocked out coz i think Murray will struggle big time against them on clay

Federer Survives!!!!!!!

C'mon Roger! I'd love to see him get this at Roland Garros. Imagine the set up for Wimbledon if he wins the French! 14 Slams and going to try and re-claim his throne on Grass vs the Red hot Rafa. Could be stuff legends are made of.

He'll have to improve though to get passed the likes of Roddick, Pel Potro & Tsonga.

Federer vs Murray final = My Dream : ok:

...And he did it so easy...

I started to watch the match when 3 all third set. Haas had a break point with 4-3 up Federer saved with an incredible shot. From then onwards, it was too easy for Roger.

This is why Tommy Haas has never done anything really important in tennis. He just doesnt have the mind for this. He totally blew it...how can someone be so focus for the first one and a half, and then completely get out of the match mentally for the second part. Sets 4th and 5th looked like as if Roger was playing a junior!

Great quaters lined up. We have Davidenko against the mighty swede and Muzza Vs Gonzalez. I'll say Davidenko wins easy in 3 sets and Muzza advances in 5.

On the other half, Del Potro will most likely beat Robredo in 3 or 4 and Federer will advance maybe in 4 or 5. Monfils already gave him hell last year in the semis and he's with confidence after defeating Roddick in 3 yesterday.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind a Roger Vs Muzza final. I'd cheer for the swiss though, but Murray is playing good. Corretja's clay court expertee is paying off.

No wonder why I don't bet bet anymore $ in tennis  :hihi:

SoderKing was impressive again allowing only 5 games against the russian. Davidenko was simply put outplayed.

Muzza didnt really have too many answers against Gonzo's forehand. When the chilean is on a roll, he's almost unstoppable. It'll be interesting to see which of the heavy hitters advance on to the final; The swede or the chilean.  Both will hit a shit load of winners, so I'm thinking the one who makes LESS unforced errors will advance.

Difficult to make predictions for today. I hope Tommy wins and faces Fedex in the semis, but Del Potro is playing pretty decent. Roger Vs Monfils it's going to be a tough call. The frenchman will have 18,000 screaming french supporting him so it'll be like a David's cup match. I still say Roger in 5 though.

This is the most exciting version of Roland Garros since 2004 edition, when Coria and Gaudio reached the finals.

Federer has destroyed Monfils, and this is his chance to turn himself the best tennis player ever in history. If he wins RG, he will beat Sampras, Borg, Agassi (by total ammount of slams), Connors, Wilander. There will be no more doubts about who's the best in history.

I'm very glad Del Potro is playing solidly. He's not a clay player but he's really on fire. He's 2 sets to 0 against Robredo right now.

I think Del Potro will lose in a very tie match with Federer in sf's, in 5 sets, and Gonzalez will reach the final.

Exciting? Exciting for you because two argentinians played in the final then?   :P

2004 must've been the most boring year for tennis. Claudio won RG cause Coria choked big time after leading 2 sets to love. After RG, Coria was never the same...we are talking about a guy who would average 11 double faults per match! He had a hot girlfriend/wife though.  ;D

This year RG it's pretty dull too. I understand you think it's exciting cause Del Potro is already in the semis, but to me it's Interesting rather than exciting since 3 of the top 4 players are already out.  Del Potro is playing well, but against Federer he seems to choke everytime he plays him. Fedex destroyed Pony in the Australian and beat him recently in Madrid. The argentian seems like he can't raise his game in the big tournaments. Last year he won 4 or 5 tourneys but the small ones, and was taken out in all the Slams, Masters 1000 and let's not forget, The Davis Cup final. This year we've seen pretty much the same. He won early this year in Auckland I think it was, but he's not really done anything other than beating Nadal in Miami to then lose to Murray in the semis.

Argentinian players have either a lot of talent or a lot of heart, but they rarely have both. Take a look al "gordo" Nalbandian. This guy is probably the most talented player tennis has seen in the past 15 years, but he's  yet to win a GS. He just simply doesnt have the mind and heart for this game. When he's on a roll, he beats everyone, including Nadal, Federer...but it doesnt happen often. Besides, every year after the Christmas break, he's 15 pounds fatter.

Del Potro, has good solid groundstrokes, hits it very hard from both sides. He may be a force though within 2-3 years, but I don't think he will accomplish anything worthwhile this year (I could be wrong and he could end up winning RG and Wimbledon...)

Monaco is awesome. This guy is all HEART. If Nalbandian or Del potro had HALF the heart Juan has, they'd probably be GS winners by now. Monaco, a pretty average player with decent groundstrokes but an iron mentality and a warrior. I like him a lot, he's good friends with Nadal so that's a plus :-)

Then we have Chela, Acasuso, Maximo Gonzalez, Calleri I have seen them all playing live in Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga. Nothing outstanding, I guess they could be just like the spanish Almagro, Granollers, Garcia Hidalgo, Lopez...typical clay courters with a lot of heart who will make you fight hard to beat them. They were more or less top 30 material a while back, but they've dropped big time in the rankings.

Will this taint Federer's grand slam any if he wins cause he didn't face or defeat Nadal?

I'm more worried about his steroid use.

borg stopped playing at the age of 26, federer turns 28 this year, achieving all that borg did during his short career makes him the best  ;)

Maybe to some extent.

Why did people talk so much about Wimbledon last year? Because it featured a match between Nadal and Federer. Rafa defeated Roger in a epic final on his favorite surface. Since then, everyone talked about a momentum SWITCH in mens tennis. The clay courter had beaten the grass monster in Wimbledon.

If Roger had beaten Nadal in a RG final we would've probably witnessed the biggest comeback in the history of the sport, not too mention, he would undoubtely, have been honored as the best tennis player in the history.

However, if he wins RG it won't be the fairy tale story everyone would've loved to see. It'll still look awesome on his accomplishments and most of the critics and people will say he's the best ever, but to some (myself included) he will not get some closure until he beats NADAL in RG. Thats just the way it is...Roger has a mental block against Nadal in RG and if he were to beat Rafa, I will have no doubts.

I wish someone had asked Federer who wil he rather play in the final; an stunning Soderling who's able to hit 70 winners with huge serve and forehand or Nadal playing at 50% of his capabilities. I have no doubts even if Nadal was at 10%, Roger would rather played the hottest player on tour and having to play RAFA in another RG final.

So to answer your question, some people and some critics will not give him all the credit.




He didnt win all 4 GS's...

See the swede had an amazing short run, but he just didnt wrap it up. He retired after a few bad beats against Mcnroe. He won the french and Wimbly so many times but he never won all 4 GS's.

Who do you consider the best?

Rod Laver
Pete Sampras
Federer


I think if Agassi had kept his head straight for his entire career like he did the last 5-7 years of it, he could've been the best.

No! You beat who's in front of you. Simple as that! in 50 years when Federer's record is read out the names of the people he beat won't even come into it.

Yeah for him to beat Nadal it might mean more to him personally much like Nadal beating Federer on grass, but If he wins the French (All the guys still in are playing better than FedEX) i don't think he'll care one bit about who he plays.


I think Laver has a brilliant record but not the level of competition at the time and i think Laver has even said that himself. But you have to respect the wins.

Sampras for me is the best ever at this moment but people will always question him at the French and why he never won. If Federer wins the French and surpasses Sampras GS record then i think most in the know would admit that Federer will go down as the best ever.

Borg is another one who you can throw into the mix but i think due to his short career i don't think he'll be regarded as the same level of the other 3.

Connors and McENroe were part of a great era of Tennis and probally would have won more if one had toatlly dominated.

I agree about Agassi, brilliant player but consistancy of brilliance was his let down.

The big question in my mind is how many will Nadal win? Could be the first guy to get to 20 GS if his body can last.

mmhh, not necesarily. That tournament featured great players in top form like Moya, Henman, Nalbandian and the greatest clay player ever in  tennis history in my opinion: the great Guga Kuerten. Hewitt did a great tournament, and had two of the most brilliant clay players ever, Gaudio and Coria, in the final. Its not my fault they're argentine. Messi is the best football player in the world, and just because he's argentine am I not allowed to say it? And RG's 2004 final was without any doubts the most exciting and electryfing final ever seen, I think, in history of Grand Slams finals, not only because they were both players from the same country, but because the duration of the match, the two match points Gaudio survived and his incredible 0-2 comeback, the score of the 5th set, and because its worldwide known Gaudio and Coria hate each other with a passion. Plus, they were two clay phenomenons at that moment.

One of the most boring and mediocre Roland Garros ever, in my opinion, was the next one, with nadal and Puerta at the final. See? I can admit when a tournament is boring even if an argentine player is in a decisive match of an important tournament.

And I think you're asking too much to Del Potro. He was 60 in the world last year, he won 4 titles in a row, 5 in total, defeated Nadal, Roddick, and pretty much everyone except Federer, and now is semifinalist of a Grand Slam, 5 in the world (with an incredible oportunity to raise one position if he ends the tournament as champion or runner up). For the record, he's 20 years old.

I  knew GNrfan was going to jump on this one  :hihi:

There's been lots of tennis discussion here..

I don't really know what's going to happen in 50 years, but I can only imagine what's going to happen if he wins RG and the reactions from the press will be like. 80-90% of the people will give him all the credit, but to some this win will not have the same weight as it'd have been had the swiss beat Nadal.





Oh my God, you mentioned Henman?? a top player on clay? Also Hewitt...another top player on clay? and Moy?...a former 1998 RG winner but WAY past his time.

Esteban, man...really...



See? Comments like this come from people who may have some hidden agenda against Nadal. What makes Kuerten better than Nadal? Nadal's won more clay court tournaments and more RG than Cuga, so I just don't understand why would someone like Kuerten could be better on clay than somebody who's won many more events than him. You are entitled to have an opinion but I don't think you are being objective. Also you are putting Kuerten on a higher level than Bjorg - who won 6 RG.

This would be like me saying...Stefan Edberg is the greatest grass court player there is when that's a wrong assertion to make when Sampras and Federer have won many more Wimbledon than the swede.


Again, I don't think you've been objective or maybe you haven't seen may GS finals. How can you say something like this when Roger and Nadal played last year what many people refer to as the best final in the history of tennis? Or even the one at Australia this year? I watched that 2004 final and it was interesting to see Claudio fighting back, but then saying that final was the most exciting in GS final goes beyond any logic. It's not only about the nature of the match but also the stake.





You are going too far again, Claudio and Coria were great players then, but not two of the most brilliant clay court players in the history, there're are 30 players that have won many more clay court tournaments than those two..I could name just a few...

Courier
Moya
Ferrero
Kuerten
Muster
Rios
Bruguera
Vilas
Bjorg
Nadal
Chang
Kafelnikov



You finally admitted it?? I remember not too long ago you thought TEVEZ owned Messi. I remember you even had that in your avatar somewhere,...is funny how things change now.


I'm not asking anything. I like Del potro, he's young that's all and he's got problems against Federer and big ocassions...we'll see what happens tomorrow.

haha. I think the stats and titles will say otherwise.

Nadal is the best clay courter ever already in my opinion.... and its scary how high he could set the bar. Something tells me he'll win more Clay tournaments than anyone ever.


haha. The papers will talk like always. My point is Federer won't care as long as he wins. Its not Federers fault that Nadal lost! Whoever wins deserves credit coz its not easy to win a slam which is why guys like Sampras, Nadal and Federer are so incredible.

People might say "Well we all know Federer would have lost to Nadal"..... and i'd say "Well Federer is the greatest ever"

I think if you'd have said that Federer would win the French and he would beat Nadal on clay a few weeks before i think many would have said "No Way" but thats Tennis.

I would also like to add that i still don't see Federer as favourite. I fancy him to beat Del Potro but i fancy Gonzo to win the tournament.

Will anyone look at Nadal getting upset at a sign of possible early burnout?

OR would that be an extreme overreaction.

You know how Tennis is, when it goes, it usually GOES fast.

I think that's jumping the gun.  People were saying Federer had "lost it" after that Wimbledon matchup last year, then he comes out and wins the U.S. Open.  I think it's likely that Rafa's body won't hold up in the long run, but this was just one upset and he's still #1.

I agree with everything you said.

But...this is different. WE've all seen what's happened in the past 4 years. Nadal has pushed Federer to the extreme where the swiss reached a point in which he didnt know how to beat the spaniard on any surface. We are talking about Wimbly and Australia and let's not forget RG 4 years in a row.

Nadal and Federer have a history, same with Bjorg and Mcnroe, Becker & Edberg, Sampras and Agassi...all those rivalries were different from one another. Ever since there's been talks about Federer being labeled as the World's best ever, a majority of press and critics concluded that he needed to win the french, preferably against NADAL. This way,  not only he will win the only GS he doesnt have, but also he will go and defeat his biggest nemesis on his favorite surface. IF Fedex wins this, he will probably be best player in the history in my books, but I still think he needs to beat Nadal one more time in a big event (preferably, the french)





Believe it or not, there's people already talking about this. This is all what it takes, one early exit at RG and people are talking about how this will be Nadal's end.

Do you want to know why I think Nadal lost so early in RG?

Regardless playing Soderling who is in the best shape of his life, Nadal lost because:

A) He played Madrid one week before RG and he shouldn't have. This is by the way not an excuse from Nadal's camp, but Rafa played 4 clay court finals in one month before going to RG. That's a little bit too much... he should've skipped either Barcelona or Madrid but he couldn't skip either. For those who don't know, there's a big rivalry between those cities, not only just in sports, but also political. Nadal had to play both to keep everyone happy and that in the end, was not beneficial. Also in Madrid, is not the best practice for RG cause the courts are faster due to the city's altitude (more than 600 meters). What this does is make the hard courts faster which favored Federer as he's more comfortable on such conditions.

B) He's changed his game style more to hard courts now. Many tennis players he's faced in the past months on clay are saying Nadal's crosscourt forehand doesn't kick as much as it used to. This means - especially on clay - his forehand will not fly as high so Nadal's opponent can hit the ball more comfortably. This is because Nadal's learned how to flatten his forehand in order to cause more damage on hard courts. On hard courts, the ball flies way faster so high kicks are not as effective as on clay.


I personally don't think losing so early in RG will have a negative effect  on Rafa. If anything, this defeat will make him more of a threat in Wimbledon. For the first time in 5 years, Nadal's early exit in RG will do some good. At least, he's enjoying some days off in Mallorca :-)


Oh and who's the best tennis player ever? Well, I wish I could say Boris Becker (he's the guy who got me into tennis) but right now it's a tie between Roger and the incredible pistol Pete Sampras. Agassi's was not consistent enough...so he's not on that list. Sampras was a beast. It's a shame but sometimes I have a feeling he hasnt got the credit he always deserved...back on his prime, Agassi had more fans cause he was just more charismatic, but Pete was phenomenal.

However, Federer will most likely win the french this year. If he does - man, I still can't say he's the best...eventhough I want him so much to win the french, but I reckon he'll be the GOAT (greatest of all time).


On a side note... man, still 1 hour and a half to the NBA finals kick off....I hope I can make it. Go LAKERS!!

yes, why not? Henman in top form was a menace for any player at any surface, same for Hewitt, more like a gladiator than a player. Moya was one of the 2 or 3 favourites to win that RG, and he only lost against Coria with his highest level ever. There were also Nalbandian, Guga, Ferrero, Ancic and a lot of good clay players. These names seen from 2009 may look ''average'' but in 2004 they were extremely solid players being at a great tenistic moment.

Agassi, Seles, and Serena Williams weren't never clay players and the three of them won Roland Garros. Federer, not being a clay player, is by far more dangerous than, for example, Verdasco, Almagro or Monaco, three ''born to play in clay'' players.


Easy to explain:

1) I used to enjoy a lot seeing Guga's playing. He was a much more aggresive player than Rafa is, even though Rafa is becoming more and more aggresive day after day. From 2004 to 2007, watching a game with Rafa Nadal in clay was just an outstanding defense demostration, and you may love that but its not my case.

2) I find Guga a much more entertaining tennis player than Rafa, I love his single handed back shot (probably the best of all times) his ''mu?eca'' and he was very charismatic, something I think Rafa lacks of.

3) Guillermo Vilas won double number of clay tournaments than Rafa, and I think Rafa is superior than him under all posible points of view. See? There's no agenda. And everybody knows Guga could have won other 3 editions of RG if he would had been more lucky, because his injuries ruined his career prematurily. Rafa has the ''gift'' of having an incredible physic, he has almost no injuries, and he is much more focused on tennis than other as talented players as Guga or Nalbandian, who take tennis as a profession, not their whole lifes.


Well, many people in the world think that the 1974 Netherlands national team was the best football lineup in terms of quality and greatness of all times. And they failed at conquering the World Cup. Ayrton Senna conquered less titles than Prost, Schumacher and Fangio and many people think he was the best F1 racer of all times.


Well, I also think that federer / nadal final was extraordinary, but it was predicatable since they were 1 and 2 and I think its impossible to compare one comeback with the other. Gaudio was LITERALLY terminated. He said that after the end of the second set he was only hoping to win a few games just not to make a huge embarrasment in front of millions of people watching. Gaudio knew he would lose since set 1. And Rafa and federer are ''friends'' or they have a great relationship, but Coria and Gaudio were public enemies, and that's something that contributed to the general vibe of that final.


Messi won two champions league since I've said that, and people can change their minds. I still think Messi has an overall environment that lets him explode, and Carlitos didn't have that at Manchester United.

Anyway, what I put in my signature was ''Tevez Owns Rooney'' and I still think that :hihi:

Nice to read your posts Ignatius. We should discuss in spanish, though  :hihi:

Esteban, you make some good points, but all of them are based on personal preference rather than objective facts.

It's good to have personal preferences, we all do...but don't let them fool you.

Kuerten was an amazing clay courter, but he retired having WON less clay court tournaments than what Rafa Nadal has already won. Nadal just has turned 23 a few days ago and you saying Kuerten was better than Nadal is not really objective. In tennis we all have our preferences, mine was Boris Becker, but I'm not that biased to say Boris was at the same level or better than Federer or Sampras on grass.

It's ok to like Kuerten more than you like Nadal, it's ok to say Kuerten was more aggressive than Nadal circa 2004-07 and it's even ok to say Kuerten was more charismatic than Nadal (although I don't agree with you), but saying Kuerten was better is just not acceptable. In Sports, the better team or player is the one who WINS.




Well, Henman was never a clay courter. He reached Wimbly's semis a few times but never, ever was a clay courter. So he was not really a menace on clay.

Same with Hewitt. He's indeed a warrior, but never achieved anything on clay (he did win in Houston this year though)

Moya won RG in 1998. in 2004 he was wayyyy past his best. He was a top 10 then, but not at the same level he was in 1998-99

Ancic? you are talking about Mario Ancic from Croatia?? Man, I don't think I have ever seen a player who's less of a menace on clay. Ancic is the typical grass court player serve & volley.






Ok just for the record, being incredible fit is not enough to reach the number 1 in tennis. There's this misconception about Nadal being the number 1 cause he's the fittest guy on the tour and that's bullshit. Nadal is currently the BEST player on the tour cause he's the guy who's won more tournaments than any other player in the past 18 months. Simple as that. And you don't win GS just by being fit... people need to understand Nadal is not only fit, but Nadal is a talented player too with many other weapons in his arsenal. Maybe not as talented as the likes of Fedex or Nalbandian, but definitely a better balance of talent - mind and physical strength



Really? says who?? I didnt know that. See, speculating is the weakest way to defend an argument. History only remembers FACTS and not speculation theories.


Really? Rafa has injuries all the time. Every year, at the end of each year he misses out the last 3 or 4 tournaments because of bad knees. Actually, every year after Wimbledon there's always a slump in Nadal's performance cause his knees are hurt. That's the main reason why he's adapted more to hard court, so he can shorten the points/matches in order to be FIT for the entire year.



Right..and that's a bad thing I assume, correct?

Esteban, this is professional TENNIS. If you want to be the best, TENNIS has to run your life, simple as that. If you rather eat "asado" and go fishing with your friends instead of being at practice, you will never, ever be the best. So in a way, is really up to the player's priorities...



See, here's where you talk about personal preference. I believe for you and maybe for Argentina, that RG final of 2004 was the most exciting final in recent history. But for Tennis in general and for the rest of the world, the Nadal Vs Federer Wimbledon final will go down as one of the best finals in the history of tennis! I understand you were more emotionally involved with the 2004 final cause there were two argentinians facing each other, they both hated each other and it was a dramatic ending...but please, that final was not even 1% as relevant and exciting to TENNIS as the Roger Vs Nadal final in Wimbledon 2008




You are right..i knew i had seen that before  :) However, I remember reading a post of yours a few years ago in which you said Tevez was a better striker than Messi. It's ok though, everyone can change their minds  :)



Agreed Esteban! Vamos a ver que pasa con Del Potro contra Federer hoy

Del Potro is 2 sets to 1 against Roger. Please God let the guy win one more set. THIS is the true final of the tournament.

Get in there! Great to see Federer in the final. I just hope he can win it.

Big props to Del Potro for 3 sets probally the better player. But his fitness just went and Federer just started playing with him. I think the difference in the end was Federer's variety opposed to Del Potro big serve and big hit game.

Come on Roger!

Yes, great Del Potro's performance. This is where great players appear, in the decisive moments, and Federer was born for them. I wonder how many points of distance are left from Del Potro to Murray right now...

Well Murray has gained points this week, so he's further ahead of Djokovic now. In fact if Murray had got to the final and Federer had lost to Monfils Murray would have gone 2nd. Obviously Nadal has lost points but he's so far ahead it doesn't really matter. But Djokovic is the biggest loser from the french and i reckon Del Potro must be getting close to him in 4th.

Good semis y'terday.

I was impressed when SoderKing came back 4-1 against Gonzo in the 5th to win 6-4. Great effort.

Del Potro did pretty good against Roger. I don't know what gotten to him in the final two sets; he looked tired so I just going to assume he didnt have any energy left. He should work on hit fitness thought cause yesterday's match it shoould've been his had he been as fit as Roger.

Now regarding points, there's still a huge gap between Djokovic and Del Potro. The Djoker will lose around 600-800 points only (Nadal 1400 more or less) while Del Potro will add around 800. Right now there's 4000 point's difference so I don't think Del Potro will reach Novak's unless the serb loses every match from here till the rest of the year and the argenitian wins it all. Let's not forget, Del Potro has a shit load of points to defend after Wimbledon.

I think this Soderling vs Federer final might be a classic.

Yesterday Federer seemed content to let Del Potro go for his shots and if he does that again then Federer will see that ball going passed him a lot.

I think the first set is vital for both men, but more so Soderling. If he wins that then i predict a 5 set match. If Federer wins the first then i think he'll take it in 4.

Guile vs brute force. Who wins?

I think Federer.

Soderlin's played incredibly well but this is his first GS. He's handled the pressure well so far, but we are  talking about a GS final against probably the best player in the history of tennis if he wins tomorrow. 99% of all people will be rooting for Federer, the crowd will be rooting for Federer...Soderling is up against a wall here. Also, Soderling is yet to win a set in all matches he's played against Roger so obviously that'll be on each player's minds.

Now heading up to Wimbledon...

Nadal withdraws from Queens http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8085394.stm and http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/Nadal/aguanta/dolor/elpepudep/20090606elpepidep_7/Tes

The article in spanish says:

Uncle Toni: "Let's see if we make it to Wimbledon. It's not clear. But even if he has to go with a shock treatment, if he's reasonably well, he'll go. Right now, however, we can't tell".

The article goes on saying he has been having pain in his knee, the problem wasn't deemed to be serious (bone edema), only a matter of pain, but it's been getting worse and worse. In the end he didn't bend his knees like he usually does and that was affecting his shots. In the third set against Soderling he said to his camp "It hurts. I can't...", but they decided not to comment on it afterwards because "you have to be a good loser".


I don't know how bad his knees are hurt. Nadal's has played with bad knees before, but withdrawing from Queens is not a good sign. If Nadal goes to Wimbly (and I'm almost 100% he will) this will be his first tourney on grass this year for him, so it'll be more difficult for him to adapt. He could lose the #1 if Federer wins RG, Halle and makes it to the Wimbly final if Nadal doesn't play or crashes in the first round.

Get In There.

Arise Sir Roger.... Best Player ever? Who Cares..... Just great to see him win.

He is now certainly top 3 of all time. Laver and Sampras the only other contenders. Personally i think Federer is the best ever.

Longest Reign as No 1
Joint most GS of all time
Career Grand Slam
Hasn't lost at the US Open since 2004
5 consecutive Wimbledon wins
Olympic Gold Medal
3x 3 Slams in a year
Most GS finals in a row - 10
19 GS final appearances (Only one man has ever beaten him)

Simply incredible. : ok:

I was so happy to see him win. He really deserved it  : ok:

I really think he's the best ever now. Eventhough it'd have been unquestionable had he beaten Nadal in the final, in my books he deserves to be "The Greatest of all time". Last year we were having this discussion here and all of us thought he needed the french to be the GOAT. Well, now he's got it, let's just stick to what we said...Federer is the all time Great.

The final was a no brainer. Soderling couldn't control his nerves and Federer just kept his cool. I don't blame Robin, it was his first GS final and there was too much going on. A great tournament for the swede though...I'm sure we will see much more from him. In a way, the swede's performance reminded me of the french Tsong? when the blasted through the Australian Open in 2007, beating everyone (including Nadal) except his loss against the Djoker in the final. the french, hasn't really lived up to the expectations since, I don't know if the swede's future will hold similar results.

It's a great time for tennis guys. Even Johnny Mac said it yesterday when he was asked if this era was the best ever and he said it was. Hopefully, if Nadal plays Wimbledon we will see Rafa more motivated than ever up against the GOAT and the likes of Murray, Djoker and raising stars Del Potro and Soderling.  I can't simply wait.

He's the best of all times, no doubt about it.

He's the player with the biggest amount of Grand Slam titles (with Sampras) and with more finals (with Lendl, if I'm not wrong) BUT he won all 4 grand slams. Other 5 players won the 4 slams, but Federer won more titles than them all, including Laver, Emerson and Agassi. Not being a clay player, he is the 5th or 6th player with more total Roland Garros finals, all of them consecutively.

In terms of ''quality'', Federer is 1298309123109 times better and a more complete player than Sampras. I haven't seen Laver. I did saw Agassi, and I think the comparison with the kid is much more tight in terms of quality than againts Sampras.

Let's no forget Nadal is probably the 2nd or 3rd favourite player to win the next US Open and if he succeds he will obtain all grand slams and will be very close to Agassi in total number of grand slams (7 against 8)

After seeing this final, I now realise HOW CLOSE was Del Potro to win the tournament... just a few games

The Only thing i'd like to see is Federer getting back to No.1

Sampras holds the record weeks at No1 and showed incredible resiliance to get overtaken at No1 on several occasions before going back to No.1. Some have said that Federer doesn't have hunger to get back to No1 and was all about the GS. I dont think thats true i just think Nadal is incredible. But some have said it.

To me Federer is the best ever now but i think getting back to number 1 against a strong player like Nadal will take any doubt (if there is any) away.

He should have smacked that whacko

Hmm...I'll say he's now the 1st favorite as he still is the number 1 in the world. To many maybe he's second after Federer, that's ok...but definitely not 3rd.



You mean, how close was Del Potro to reach the FINAL.- Again, there's this tendency on this forum to assume things based on personal preferences. If Del Potro had played the final, he would've gotten to play Soderling. And trust me, the swede would've been much more comfortable playing the argentinian than playing Federer. So don't assume just because Del Potro took Fedex to 5 sets, he'd had it easy against Soderling  ::)

Federer is now 3000 points away of Nadal. If Rafa doesnt play wimbly (im pretty sure he will) and Federer wins Halle and gets to the Wimbly final, the swiss will get the #1 back.  Let's hope the spaniard is fit and ready for the grass GS.

Oh God... and what do you want me to base me on? Tennis is a sport, passion and preferences will be always involved, this is not algebra or maths. Yeah, same for me thinking Federer and Djokovic are more favourite than Nadal to win the US Open, so what? Sometimes you talk like if you were the paradigm of tennis knowledge...

You dont always need to base the favouritism of players in a tournament  in the ranking. Sampras was always the main favourite to win Wimbledon no matter what ranking he had. Agassi was always one of the main favourites, if not THE favourite, to win both Australian and northamerican opens, even if he was 20th in the ranking. And Marcelo Rios and/or Carlos Moya were never favourite at ANYTHING even being #1 at the ranking. Guga was never favourite at Wimbledon being #1 for a long long time...

I repeat: tennis is not exact science, its not math. If it were,  it wouldn't be as entertaing as it actually is.

I think the difference is that Nadal has won as many Hard court titles as anyone over the last 18 months and thats why Nadal will be favourite. He won the last major on Hard Courts and he's the No 1. Some of those guys you mentioned hardly ever won regular season tournaments let alone slams.

This is Tennis and Nadal is the best player in the world and has proven he can win on all surfaces and thats why he'll be favourite in my eyes. To be honest i think Nadal will be more of for the US than Wimbledon despite Federer's record in flushing meadow and Nadal being Wimbledon reigning champion. I just wonder if Federer will now fancy his chances at Wimbledon... Nadal isn't 100% , mentally losing his dominance at the french must affect him a little and now Federer has no shackles of pressure. 15th Grand Slam? could be.

What I meant was more in line with you saying "del potro was a few games away to win the tournament".  In another words, you already assumed Del Potro would've beat Soderling in the final...and I just made a comment about you being a little bit biased that's all.

And then you said something about Agassi being a better player than Sampras...to which I chose not to really comment cause it'd have lead to another argument that really I don't really think it'd contribute in any way to this discussion... but then again, that's an opinion and NOT a fact. Sampras was a better player I have no doubts in my mind because he won many more tournaments than Agassi did, their HEAD to HEAD was in Sampras favor and Sampras held the number 1 spot for much, much longer...but hey, as usual you don't really agree with FACTS. 




See Esteban? This in an unbiased post. 100% objective.

Gnrfan knows his tennis. His favorite is Murray but he is aware of Federer and Nadal's accomplishments!

ok, this discussion is becoming senseless. You want to believe that the ranking determinates it all, cool. I prefer to take in consideration other aspects like the past, history, skills, and ''moments'' of the players to try to estimate who will win a tournament. Federer won 5 US Opens, one million hard-court master series, he won other 3 titles at the other hard court grand slam, but ''he's not the favourite'' because he is #2 and Rafa, who NEVER won a single US Open trophy and won 7 hard court grand slams less than Federer, is the #1 and ''there nothing more to explain in here: the fact he's one determinates it all''.

If THAT is being objective, well, I think I will stay away from objectivity. I still think Federer and Djokovic have more chances to obtain the US Open trophy than Rafa Nadal. They are, in my eyes, more dangerous players in hard courts than Rafa, and ''they've proven to be able to win the tournament'', and Rafa doesn't. Oh, and for God's sake, I have not any agenda against Rafa.

I can see what you are saying but in the last 18 months the only hard court Federer has won was the US Open, i believe. and that was a against Murray who has never been in the final. Federer has the worst record of the top 4 against each other this year, athough he has beaten Nadal on clay.

Due to the lack of Grass tournaments i could see an arguement for that Federer could be considered the favourite for Wimbledon, but on hard courts no one has won as many titles in the last 18 months than Nadal. and Federer is well down on that list i would imagine.

Now Federer is probally my fav tennis player of all time. But facts are facts and he isn't the player of 3 years ago where any defeat was an upset. Instead of Him being favourite for every event now there are 4 maybe 5 guys that have genuine shots at winning the slams and more importantly have all beaten Federer.

Now i will say that Federer is a big game player.... Only Nadal has beaten him in GS finals (3 French, 1 Wimbledon, 1 Oz Open). So if he gets to the final then he's a force but to say that Federer's US Open win is his only winning points he has to defend pretty much says its all. If Murray, Del Potro, Djokovic play Federer they all fancy their chances as where with Nadal those players remain the underdog. Guys like Murray & Del Potro still have to win a slam to even enter the "favourite" arena. Djokovic career seems to go up and down and its been a while since he's seriously contested a Slam after that Oz Open victory in 08 so he has something to prove.

I think if Federer wins Wimbledon then maybe people can start saying he's getting back to old form. If Nadal wins Wimbledon again then thats a crushing blow to Federer who dominated on grass for so long.

.... But hey Federer is the greatest player ever..... So write him off at you peril.

I don't just rely on ranking to determine it all, but ranking, among with other factors such as tournament wins are pretty objective criteria when it comes to judge how good a player is. You, on the other hand, are yet to come up with anything that could be labeled as objective, instead you make bold statements such as "the 2004 RG final is the most exciting GS final in recent years" "Coria and Gaudio are amongst the best clay court players in the history" "Del potro was just a few points away to win RG" "Rafa has no charisma" "Nadal is third favorite to win the Us open"...see, all those bold statements are a pretty accurate indication that you are biased towards argentinian players and that you may have an agenda against RAFA. 

Either way it's FINE. You are free to like whoever the fuck you want and say whatever you want, this is a message board and there has to be some kind of discussion going on, but...your arguments come accross as somebody who does let his personal preferences get on the way of objective and solid FACTS.

I don't have nothing against people liking other players. It's ok to diss Nadal, it's ok to think Djokovic has a more aggressive game than Nadal, it's even ok to think Del Potro has a more aggressive game than Nadal...but you seem to take away NADAL's credit simply because you don't like his game or him for that matter.




See, you should've checked that before you said it... Rafa has won more HARD COURT tournaments than Novak Djkovic. Rafa has proven he can win in any surface (he's won indoor, hard courts, grass, clay) something that Novak is yet to accomplish (he's yet to win on grass). If you like Novak's game more than you like Rafa? that's ok, I'm not going to get into that, but you saying Novak is more favorite than RAFA it's clear that either you don't know all the facts or you have an agenda against the spaniard.

Oh...one last thing about charisma...

You said Nadal had no charisma or that Guga had more charisma than Nadal...

I've been fortunate enough to attend a few tournaments around the world. I was in the Wimbledon final last year and also the Toronto semis in 2005. Last year at Wimbledon, when Rafa and Roger practiced a few hours before the match in different courts, while Roger's court was half empty, in Rafa's you couldn't even see beyond the thousands of people wanting to see him practice. Nobody came close to Federer while he walked out, but with Rafa he always had 50 kids around him trying to get his autograph. Rafa is not the most talkative person ON COURT but he draws thousands of people who want to see him. He may not have Djokovic or Tsonga's antics, but he's the one everybody wants to see play...and that in my books is charisma.

Well, let's see if these things may qualify as ''objective'' for you. Why I think Federer and Djokovic are MORE favourite than Nadal to win the US Open?

- Total US Open won: FEDERER 5 / DJOKOVIC 1 / NADAL 0
- Total Hard Court Grand Slams won: FEDERER 8 / DJOKOVIC 1 (the one in question) / NADAL 1

Anyway, the one is Nadal, so It doesnt matter if Federer won 70 US opens instead of 5: he's not one > he's not the favourite. Very good reasoning, objective as hell.


Nadal has NEVER won the US Open, and DJOKOVIC AND FEDERER have. You still keep talking about FACTS and objectivity, but you seem unable to see the biggest and most concrete facts available: precedents. As I said before, Kuerten was never the main favourite to win the US open even though he was #1 for a long time. You still think YOU are the one taking facts in consideration. FACT is Nadal never won a US Open. FACT is Federer won way more hard court titles than Rafa. FACT is Federer won 7 hard court grand slams more than Rafa. FACT is Roger won 5 US Opens and Rafa won ZERO. FACT is Roger is the last player to win a Grand Slam title, so the argument ''he won a lot of titles, but he's now over'' cant be used

If you still think Rafa is the favourite, without seeing the other fact (which it is added to the facts in bold) that Federer is #2 and getting closer and closer to the #1, and you think that impression is OBJECTIVE, good for you. Be happy with your fantasy. Rafa is not the favourite to win Wimbledon even though he won the title last year and he's #1 if Roger is there too, same for US Open, and even the Australian Open.

Nadal, talking about Grand Slams, is only the main favourite in Roland Garros. You can say whatever you want but the whole world sees it this way. In the other hand, Rafa can be #15 in the world in May 2010, Federer is the last RG champion and can be #1 at that point, but NADAL will CLEARLY be the favourite to win that 2010 edition of Roland Garros.

Do you really think Spain is ''the main favourite'' to win the next World Cup at southafrica just because FIFA ranks it #1? :rofl:


That's absolutely irrelevant. Federer is NOT the current #1 in the ranking, I think he's the favourite to win the US Open, he won more hard titles than Nadal, 7 hard coust grand slams more, 5 US Open titles against ZERO, and I also like Federer's tennis much more than Nadal's.

In the practice, you decide to ignore FACTS (contradicting your theorical speech), and still think Rafa is more favourite than Roger to win the US Open title.


I dont see how this applies to the discussion, but I'm happy for you. I would love to have someday that kind of experience. One of my dreams is to attend a Roland Garros final. Dont worry about what I said (or what lots of people say) about Rafa's lack of charisma. If that happens to be true, who cares? Does that really matter? Yannick Noah is not the best player in tennis history even though he was very charismatic...

Estaban Buddy, I don't think Novak has won the US Open... you might mean the Austrailian Open.

Nadal has one and so does Djokovic.... but if you then compare Masters events results on hardcourts in the last 2 years Nadal will have won more than anyone.

I can see your point that Federer has won lots more US Opens and he is a formidable oponent.

My question is this.... Uruguay have won as many world cups as Argentina.... Would you consider them joint favourites to win the next world cup? You would assume that Argentina are more likely to win.... Why? ..... because in recent times Argentina have played with more potential than Uruguay. Its the same with Nadal and Federer. Federer has had a good month he has beaten Nadal on Clay and won the French but juding by performances in the last 18 months Nadal is the player to beat on all surfaces.

i'm not here to win arguments... but can you see that point?


i'd honestly say that Spain are the favourites for the World Cup.... and thats from an Englishmen. Them, Argentina & Holland..... and maybe England : ok:

Wrong.

Djokovic has not won the US open either...so my argument is still solid as a rock and yet you still believe Djokovic is "more favorite". Fair enough but for the rest of the tennis world (with a few exepctions maybe in Argentina) Nadal is more favorite than Djokovic to win ANY tournament as of today.


That's ok, Federer has the momentum now and has won 5 US opens so I would consider him just as favorite or even more than Nadal now to win the US...but that was not the main point of the discussion. And as for Wimbledon, well it remains a mistery yet. Rafa is the former Wimbledon Champ and the current #1 so he is with a reasonable doubt one of the main favorites there.


The whole world?? Again, you are assuming people think like you. Rafa was one of the favorites to win Australia this year, moreso than Federer, he's the main favorite and RG and now in Wimbledon, Roger maybe the biggest favorite but Nadal is the defending champ and current #1. You are stil stuck in the past, with some other people who still think Nadal is only favorite on clay while Nadal has proved he can win in any surface.


I'd say Spain is one of the favorites yeah, but not because the shit stupid FIFA ranking says so, but because to the majority Spain is the team who's played the best in the past two years. Difference with FIFA rankings and ATP rankings is that no one really cares about the FIFA rankings cause none understands how in the world they work.



It is relevant...I just dont' understand then why you would think Djokovic could be more favorite than NADAL in any hard court tournament...I have given you evidence that Nadal has won more tournaments than Djokovic in HC, recently, Nadal has also won more tournaments than Djokovic in HC, none of them have won the US open...so in your eyes, what makes Djokovic more favorite? I'm really dying to know...






It does apply. You said Rafa lacked charisma and I thought telling you what I saw in Wimbly last year was relevant.  Whether you think that's not enough or tha's not charisma that's ok, then our definitions of charisma are slightly different...

Sorry for my mistake saying Djokovic won the US Open. He was runner up in 2007 as you might know (still better than best Nadal's result which was SF last year)

Difference between uruguay and federer is uruguay w?on two worlds cup 60 years ago and Federer won the 4 Grand Slam titles in less than 2/3 years.

Anyway, fuck everything I said here: my favourite to win Wimbly is Baghdatis, just because I find him very funny!  ;D

Yeah, but runner up is not really worthwhile commenting, is it? Robin Soderling is a RG runner up but that won't make it more a favorite next year than Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic.

Federer as expected withdrew from Halle. That's good news (for us Nadal fans) since he's going to lose the 250 points he earned last year, same with Nadal at Queens, but at least th gap will still be the same as it is now when Wimbledon begins.

I've made some calculations, Nadal needs to reach the semis to maintain the #1 regardless what Roger does. It'll be interesting to see each player's draw...the first few matches are sometimes the most difficult. Difficult match ups for Federer or Nadal (and Murray and Djokovic) in first and second rounds matches could be Gulbis, Hewitt, Kendrick, kiefer, Ancic, Hass, Querry, Ljubicic, Muller...

Ignatius, what if Nadal withdraws (as is now being reported as a possibility), how far does Roger need to advance to reclaim the #1 spot?  Or, if they both play, is there any chance that Roger passes him?

If Nadal withdraws and Federer goes all the way and wins Wimbledon, the swiss will get the #1 spot back.

If both play, If Nadal makes it to the semis, Federer won't get the #1 regardless

Here's the point projected breakdown.

Round Projected - Points after Wimbledon

 

        Nadal Federer
R128 10745 9230
R64 10780 9265
R32 10825 9310
R16 10915 9400
QF 11095 9580
SF 11455 9940
F 11935 10420 
W 12735 11220


Nadal lost today in an exhibition match against Leyton Hewitt. He says his knees hurt. It's not looking good  :no:

I just hope that Rafa makes this decision with his head and not his heart. Everyone knows that Rafa would want to play and defend his title. But this is a guy who has a genuine shot at being the greatest of all time if he can stay fit and make his career last another 7 - 10 years. My worry for him is that he'll rush himself back and cause terminal damage to his entire career.

If he thinks he's ok to play then great, Wimbledon will be a better tournament for it, but if not he should pull out and live to fight another day.

Nadal pulls out from Wimbledon!!!

http://www.atpworldtour.com/

This is sad news really. I wanted to see him play so badly but health comes first. Hope he gets some rest. 

Good news is for the other players, Nadal's absence in wimbly is going to open up the draw big time. He was on Murray's side, so now Muzza would play Del Potro -who is not very comfortable on grass - on a hipothetical semi final.

It's a shame for the tournament that Nadal isn't playing... but I'm pulling for Roger to reclaim his spot at the top.

Del Potro said last week (just one of a lot of the same kind of comments he done in the past) he feels more confortable in grass than in clay... and he was semi-finalist in Roland Garros. For obvious reasons (strong serve, ball speed, great drive) I think Del Potro has some serious chances to reach, at least, semifinals.

It's pretty clear Federer will be #1 again. And he does deserve it. He's clearly the best player in the world, and in my opinion, by far.

Not really sure what you are basing that on.... but i'd also like to see Federer reclaim No1. I think its another thing that can be added to his CV for the freatest of all time. I think a fully fit Nadal probally would of prevented Federer ever re-claming No1 and people could of said "Well he only ever had one period of Dominance" so to re-claim the No1 by winning Wimbledon would be massive for Federer.

Its a shame for Nadal but i think common sense has come through here. I was worried his desire might force him to risk it but i think Nadal and his team have made the correct choice. Even if he has 2 or 3 months off..... just make sure they get it right. Nadal will have plenty of chances to be No1 again (thats if he loses it) and i'm sure plenty of titles are still in his tank. This little break from Tennis could prolong his career by 2 tp 3 years.

The real winner from this is Murray. Looking at the draw there is only Roddick, DavyDenko and Gonzales that look to be of the quality to beat him. Simon is also there but he hasn't had a brilliant year up to now. If Murray can avoid complacency and get through the early rounds then he has a fantastic chance of at least a semi-final. Like always a Federer vs Muray final would be my dream but Murray has so much pressure on him right now i think it might be a bit early.

The thing is Murray can't keep missing great opportunities to win that first major. He under performed in the final of the US Open against Federer, Had a great chance at the French to get to the Final and Now Wimbledon with probally the best draw he could have hoped for. They say the first slam is the hardest and i think this is a great opportunity for Murray, however in guys like Federer, Del Potro, Djokovic playing so well at the moment he certainly isn't favourite.

For JMDP grass is not his best surface if you look at previous years, in addition he's facing a difficult draw (playing Clement - a quaterfinalist last year first round, leyton Hewitt on second, Tursunov who just won a title on grass on third, grass specialist Stepanek on fourth and Andy Roddick in the quaters...) not to mention Juan Martin has not played a single match on grass this year.

He does have a good serve and a good forehand, but grass is all about movement, about return of serve, about shortening your swing, slicing the ball...also the ball bounces low and for a tall guy (almost 2 meters) it's more difficult to bend deep. It'll sure be interesing to see how far he goes in here, but like I said, it's not his best surface. If it was Hard courts, he could be a strong contender to reach the semis, but on grass...my guess is that Stepanek or Roddick will take him out.

About Nadal, I agree. He has to take some time off and get some rest. If he loses the #1, he's got plenty of time to get it back. Now Federer is the strong favorite, but I don't think it'll be easy for him. Murray has the pressure, but he's not the same player he was last year when he lost against Nadal in the quaters. He's now the #3 and has a few good important titles under his belt. He can handle it now...and don't forget Djokovic...nobody is really talking about the guy after his early loss at RG, but he's reached the semis here before. He lost early in 2008, but he could be a threat to FedEx if they both get to the semis.

I think that Del Potro will destroy Stepanek but Hewitt & Roddick could be massive tests to him if he feels at all unconfortable.


Oh Djokovic is definatly in with a chance. You almost feel with him if he can get into the second week he'll be the guy to beat. I get the impression with Djoker that sometimes he isn't into the easy matches mentally and it can cost him. So if he gets to the quarters he'll probally be joint favourite with Federer.

I think Federer has to be favourite, with Djokovic and Murray behind him..... my choice as and outsider is Tsonga..... he serves well and is one of the best volleyers around. I wouldn't be suprised to see him go deep into the tournament like Semis maybe even a final.

well, Ivanisevic and Philippousis were tall players with NOTHING more to offer than a great service and a decent volley, and Ivanisevic won the tournament and Philippousis was runner up if I'm not wrong. Del Potro has a lot more things to offer, so I think he has some serious chances. That's one of the main reasons I hate grass, and specially Wimbledon. That's not the type of tennis I like to see, where perfect nobodies become dangerous players just because of their serve. No rallies, points last 8 or 10 seconds in the best of the cases... boring...

At least there are no master series in grass...

Stepanek beat Del Potro earlier this year in San Jose or Memphis. Radek is a true grass court player...he's a threat to any player here. I wouldn't count him off.


I agree. Last year he lost in the second round against Safin, if he wins a few matches he'll find his rythm. I'd like to see him doing well...hopefully he'll beat FedEx in the semis  ;D



Tsonga could be one of the outsiders, but he's just not consistent enough IMO. I'd say Roddick has more chances...he's got an easier draw up until the quaters.



You know grass is not what it used to be 5-10 years ago. They did slow the courts (and balls) down cause it became extremely boring. So Del Potro could have a better chance now than if he had to play 10 years ago.

About Invanisevic, he did win Wimbledon indeed and was one of the most talented players I've ever seen play. Far more talented than Del Potro or any player on the tour now with the exeption of Federer. The problem with Goran was in his head. He just didn't have the mind for this game...but he was more than a good serve. He had one of the best volleys on tour and great solid groundstrokes. Del Potro, has good serve and good solid groundstrokes, but he doesnt have the game style that's needed to win Wimbledon, however, neither did Nadal and he managed to win.

Having said that, Rafa won Wimbledon cause he adapted his game to grass, not the quicker grass like Ivanisevic and Philipousis played on 5-10 years ago, more like the newer grass courts; slower but quick enough that obliges you to make modifications on your game. If Del Potro wants to win Wimbledon, he'd have to make those changes. However, I don't see him winning this year...maybe in the future; but to me the strongest favorites are Fedex, Muzza and Djokovic on that order.

On a side note. Wimbly started today. Verdasco strong against the qualifying brit, Djoker needed 4 sets to beat Benettau, Federer through in 3, Tsonga in 4. Blake lost against Seppi.

Dulko defeated Sharapova  :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace: :peace:

http://uk.askmen.com/top_10/sports/top-10-tennis-matches.html

Some of the greatest ever matches have taken place on Wimbledon and Grass. The link above is the top 10 matches of all time and the top 3 are all at Wimbledon so i think boring is a little off base with common opinion there.

To me its the best tournament in Tennis. Great setting best crowd and just brings out the best in players. You ask 90% of player if they could win just 1 slam and i think the majority will say wimbledon. Just such a classy tournament.... its run fantastically and there is something incredibly pure about the players all wearing white.

i still think its boring (i stated it was MY opinion), and I think ATP thinks the same because grass tournaments are 5% of the total. And as time goes by there are less grass tournaments (thank God).

anyway, I'm glad with Gisela and Del Potro victories. Now its time for Delpo to erase Hewitt  :beer:

edit: http://uk.askmen.com/ by By Dave Golokhov :hihi:

What Esteban is referring to is the play itself. I don't think he means the tournament is boring.

Wimbledon is my favorite grand slam, but it is for other reasons than the play. The atmosphere, the crowd (to me, the most respectful tennis crowd in the world) the player's motivation, the history...this is the slam all players want to win. Even the claycourters  :hihi:

I don't think the play is boring anymore though. Since they slowed the courts down, we get to see much baseline play and I like that. The balls still travels fast, but often we get long rallies. To me, play at wimbly's became boring in the mid 90's cause it was no longer serve and volley. It was more serve and forced error, serve and force error and repeat, however I wouldn't miss a final regardless who was playing cause it was... Wimbledon.

Oh...and how could I forget? you really want to know what makes Wimbledon different??

Pimm's and strawberries and cream  ;D

Not quite.

Good couple of days at Wimbledon. Del Potro goes crashing out to an ever improving Hewitt.... it just goes to show despite all the promise he has Del Potro still isn't quite there with the top 4 yet. But at only 20 he has a lot of time yet.

Murray destroyed Gulbis which was impressive.

Its shaping up to be a pretty good tournament

Del Potro leaving early wasn't that big of a surprise. Grass is not his favorite surface and he was playing a former champion who has been playing very good recently. I only watched the first set, but Leyton seemed in control all the time. He faced a few break points but got out of trouble with some solid play.

Murray had a test against Gulbis. Im still hoping the latvian will breakthrough soon. He's got incredible powershots but he can't seem to go past the second round in any tournament. He has to watch his UE's more, he plays every point trying to hit a winner and there's no way you can win like that against top players. Andy did what he had to do, he mixed his game, aggressive and defensive with good shot placement. He reads the opponent well.

What I did watch is the Juan Carlos Ferrero against Santoro. I was impressed with the spaniard. Truth to be told, Santoro is not Andy Roddick but Juan Carlos hit so many winners (68). His groundstrokes looked like Roland Garros 2003. Now he's facing Gonzalez in the third round. That'll be a difficult match but if JC wins, that will open up the draw for him.

Funny you should say that about Gulbis. I was reading an article over here before he played Murray. They were saying that he comes from a really rich family and has always been transported by private jets ever since he came on tour. He was also offered the chance to go and work with Agassi and TURNED HIM DOWN!!! The general opinion seemed to be that he is a very talented player but just doesn't put in the hours and doesn't really have the hunger to be a top player.

What a fantastic day of tennis. I watched 4 of the 4th round matches today  :yes:

I'm loving this tournament. It so feels like 2003 again. We have Haas, Hewitt, Roddick, Ferrero still on the draw!

Verdasco found himself choking again. I thought he had left those days behind, but this guy no matter what he does or who he trains with (his coached by the Agassi camp) he will never win a GS or a Master 1000. Today he had a difficult match against Karlovic, but he had a set point on set 4th and wasted it away. Then on match point he sent a backhand 4 meters off the baseline.

Ferrero. What can I say about Ferrero. The surprise of the tournament. He's hitting the ball so clean and deeeeeeeeeeeeeep. He outplayed Simon in every aspect of the game. Returned well and moved the ball at his will. Incredible. He's back at the 2003 form and a real THREAT to any player left in the draw.

Murray won like a champ today. Wrawrinka had more chances to win it but this is why the swiss is not a top 10 player and why Murray is the biggest contender to win Wimbledon (with Federer). This guy knows how to win...he's one of the most competitive players on the tour. He's tough to beat. He came back from being almost ridiculized on set one and found his rythm. The swiss was the more dominant player, but Andy with a great mix of offense and defense (it's amazing the number of points Murray wins when he's got no room to hit a shot) did what he always does best. Good win.

Federer against Soderling was a tight match. It was decided in just a few points. The Swede had more winners and looked more solid on serve, but Fedex won the points that mattered the most. That's the difference between a top player and the best player ever.


I can't wait for the quaters.

My predictions are (and as usual, I will get 3 out of 4 wrong)

Hewitt Vs Roddick it's a difficult match up for either player. I say Roddick in 4 or 5. His serve is too important on grass.

Ferrero Vs Murray. Heart says Ferrero, but my mind says Murray. However, if Ferrero plays the way he's played so far, the match will most likely go to 5 sets. I've never seen Ferrero playing like this before. To me, he's got the most solid groundstrokes I've seen in Wimbledon'09 so far.

Fedex Vs Karlovic. If the croat doesn't feel pressured (which he shouldnt, but the thought of playing against Roger on centre court could make him choke) this has to go to 5 sets. Karlovic's serve is just so difficult to break. He's faced one break point in all championships!! I say Roger in 5 sets (3 or 4 tie breakers)

Djokovic Vs Haas. The german is playing so well but the Djoker has to win this one. He's just the better player, but he lost against the Haas a few weeks ago in Halle. The Djoker in 4.

I predict Roddick Vs Hewitt is gonna be THE match of the tournament. I can imagine an extremely tight 5-sets match, but I think Hewitt will win. It all depends on how boombastic is A-Rod's serve the day of the game. Connors made Roddick a much more complete player, but at the end of the day this is Wimbledon and a good serve determinates almost everything. As I said before, a more than mediocre player as Karlovic is ONLY can still survive in an instance of a GS like this in Wimbledon. He's just a serve, nothing else.

Ferrero and Murray: Murray is the favourite, but i LOVE Ferrero and maybe his experience in this kind of matches can make him win. Ferrero is one of the most fabulous player's I've ever seen. Period. I know this is not ''his moment'' but he's playing on fire, consistant, deep, and he seems to be very focused and motivated (something that doesn't occurs very often in my opinion). Another tight match. If I had to bet, I'd bet for Murray, but as Ignatius says, my heart is with el mosquito.

Federer will destroy Karlovic in stright sets. I will be extremely surprised if Karlovic wins more than 4 or 5 games in total.

Djokovic and Haas: another tight game I think... as I said referring to Ferrero, I love how Haas plays tennis, his style, his movements, he's a living enciclopedy of how to play tennis. Again, like Ferrero, this is not ''his moment'' but he's playing incredibly well. But Djokovic is the favourite anyway. I would like to see Haas win, but everything points to a Djokovic victory.

Everything you said made perfect sense until...


Federer will be lucky if he can break Karlovic's serve. I'm not saying Ivo will win, but the croat's serve has been superb. Even Roger says playing with Karlovic is not about returning the serve it's all about reflects. He knows Karlovic will hold serve 99% of the times tomorrow.

What a Match. Probally the best of the tournament so far. Like you say i think that "Stan" was probally the best player but Murray fights and fights and has glimpes of quality at crucial moments. I honestly thought he'd buggered it up after losing the 4th coz Stan looked so strong. I've also never seen Murray look so tired after a match he looked like he had nothing left.


Hewitt vs Roddick is a interesting match, just coz both are playing so well. Roddick does drop sets when he seems in control of them and Hewitt is great at grinding you down both Physically and Mentally. I think its the hardest match to call out of the 4 quarters. But i'll go for Roddick in 4 after losing the 1st.

Murray vs Ferrero is a good draw for Murray i think. Ferrero is playing well but i saw Murray destroy Ferrero at Queens where it could have been easier than it was. The only issue is the tiredness issue. Murray has just come off probaly the most demanding match of his career and if Ferrero can get into rallies it could be a long day for Andy. However if Murray can win that 1st set i think he'll go on to win quite comforatbly. I'll go for Murray in 4.

Federer vs Big Ivo. To be honest i think Federer will win. I can see Federer breaking once a set and not dropping his serve. So i'll say Federer in 3 tight sets.

Haas vs Djokovic - I haven't seen either play this whole tournament but i know that Haas is playing extremley well of late including taking Federer to the brink at the French and Beating Djokovic at Halle. 1st Set is so important to Haas's belief but i'll go Djokovic in 4

Today is the day!

Vamos JCF, beat the brit  : ok:

Well old JCF got his ass handed to him.... by that Brit :hihi:

In all honesty Federer & Murray played so well today it was scary for the others. Haas played well against Djokovic but Novak never got going and played a very poor match.

I'm sitting wondering who Murray would prefer out of Hewitt and Roddick? I think he'd prefer Roddick personally but both are dangerous.

My Dream of a Federer vs Murray final is still on the cards.

Sad but true  :no:

JCF was more like the player we saw over the past two years than the player we've seen so far this tournament. It's strange cause one would think Andy's game allows Ferrero to be aggressive like in the other matches, but today JCF seemed lost out there. Besides, Murray served A+ in the first set and hit a lot of winners later on in the second and third sets so that made it more difficult. I was really anticipating a closer match, but Murray dominated all the way.

Surprise to see the Djoker losing against the german. Haas has been playing some incredible tennis though. So far, I have not seen old choking habits...we'll see if he keeps this cool against Roger (I doubt he will though).

What a dissapointing match between the swiss and Karlovic. I knew it was going to be boring, but I really thought Karlovic was going to clinch a set ot two. He didn't move today. Against Verdasco he volleyed well, today he really looked like he was volleying in slow motion. Awful net play by the croat. The serve wasn't as effective like in the other matches...in addition, Roger returned well.

And the battle between Roddick and Hewitt..I didnt see the match so I can't say much. I knew A-Rod had the upper hand cause of his serve and he walked away with the W. Roddick is a touch match-up to Murray, but the brit is the favorite.

So..in the end... I got 3 out of 4 right. Not bad.  :yes:

 :peace:

anyway, I made 2 out of 4...

I want to see Haas or Roddick win the tournament, but these are exactly the least probable options...

Amazing women's Semi just now


Serena survived!

Semis today!

Go Roddick, go!

I hope Haas wins at least one set against Roger. If he plays the way he  played against the Djoker, he has to win a set. And the battle between the two Andy's, Im pulling for the least favorite (Roddick). I wouldn't say Roddick is the underdog because if he wins it wouldn't be that of a surprise, but Murray is playing at home (this will be like another davis cup match) and he's ranked higher. Besides, I've always liked Roddick. He's one of the most articulate tennis players on tour. Nice chap.

So...

I say Federer in 4 and Roddick in 5.

Looking forward to Roddick/Murray

I use to be a diehard tennis fan

haven't watched much since Agassi hung it up. Starting to get back into it though.

I am gutted. I really thought Murray would win. He played his worst game of the tournament and Roddick played brilliant.

I think the final will be less quality now and i think Federer will win in straight sets.


 :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying:

Here comes #15!!

The consistency of Federer is asbsolutely amazing.... 7 straight Wimbledon finals?

Yeah i have to say now he has got his back sorted i don't think even Nadal could live with Federer. Haas played well today and only managed like 10 points on Federers serve all match. Simply brilliant.

Go Roddick!

Final day. Not the final everyone was expecting, but nevertheless a great final. Federer is the favorite obviously to win this in straight sets, but I hope Andy finds a way to hold serve and at least win a tiebreak or two. Federer's been playing like circa 2005-'07 so there's nothing Roddick can really do unless the american plays the math of his lifetime. Even so, the swiss would still be the favorite.

Having said that, I feel like gambling today. If Roddick wins the first set, I say the american will go all the way.

So, my pic is Andy Roddick in 5 sets!

I am being unpatriotic saying this

but Roddick has no chance

he hasn't shown any ability to fight through adversity

Federer wins in straight sets 6-4 7-5  6-4

For Roddick to win he'll need a 75% 1st serve. And the most important thing is he'll have to volley as well as he did against Murray. If Federer gets to dictate then its over before he begins.

I don't think we have the two players who have played best these two weeks and thats the reason i want Federer to win. I think going back to No1 is massive for Federer on his resume and he has been playing as good as i've ever seen him so i'll take Federer in 4

Wow, both are holding serve with Roddick leading 5-4 on serve right now.
Seeing Sampras and Borg watching is just cool as hell!!!!

I love my country, but I'm rooting for Federer.  I want Roger to get #15.

1st set to Roddick. To Be honest i thought that was a possibility i'd expect Federer to turn it on now though. This set is vital to Federer's chances

Thats incredible. 6-2 down in the tie break to win the 2nd set. I guess thats why he's the greatest.

This could be a 5 set thriller at this rate

Well we are in to a 5th. I think Roddick has been the better player really and i just get the feeling that this is his title today. Federer is probalyy playing as bad as he has played in this tournament But you never know with Federer.

At the end of the 4th set Federer had won 1 more point than Roddick in the match thats how close this is.

OMG!  Those volleys were amazing at 6-5 15-love in the 5th set!

Awesome stuff.

btw, there are some cute ball-girls at Wimbledon. :)

Damn!  I've gotta get working out here.  But I can't leave this match!  It's now 14-14 in the 5th set...with no sign of any server getting weak.

What a match. Maybe not the fireworks of last year, but such intrigue. 16-14..... OMG

I think Roddick was brilliant and unlucky in some ways. Roddick got broke once in 5 sets against probally the best player ever..... unbelievable.

Great for Roger 15 GS titles, 6 wimbledons and once again Number 1 in the world.

Great to see Sampras back at Wimbledon, he was my idol in the tennis world when i was young

Wow, what a match.  That said...the way Roddick handled himself with such grace...I will be rooting for this man hard next year!  How funny was it when Federer, looking to console Roddick when he talked about how he lost it last year, and Roddick interjected with, "Yeah, but you already won it 5 times!"  Priceless!

btw, the gold trimmed jacket with the # "15" on it was a bit much for me.  I respect the man...Federer, but he didn't win points with me off the court.  (still a nice guy, but Roddick really shined through for me after the match) 

Great to see Pete!  He's a class act.

Yeah well funny.


Its a sponsor thing dude, that #15 on the jacket is probally worth ?1Million to Federer and about ?50Million to Nike. I think its fair enough, its a historic moment in Tennis and people will always capitilise on that.

I felt for Roddick at the end, and i think he deserves credit for an incredible 2nd week this year and i think he'll go on to better things now. He seems to have found his game again. Its such a shame that he didn't win but i think he just ran out of steam at the end.

Having said that i feel privledged to see Federer win the 15th Slam and that it happened in my country. As you can imagine us British haven't had much success in Tennis of late and its good that Federers record breaking achievement was at Wimbledon.

I have mixed feelings about Andy Roddick

I feel he is a guy who has squandered his career by not working hard and dedicating himself properly.

Today he confirmed that. If he showed this determination his entire career, he'd have multiple grand slam titles.

Roddick had his shot. He had 2 break pts but Federer just stormed back.


Great Epic match and I watched every game.

Tennis is such an amazing,beautiful game.

gnrfan, I didn't mean to slam Federer...trust me, something tells me the hype machine will make money no matter what.  There were congratulatory commercials immediately following the broadcast, and I'm okay with that.  I had one little prob, and that was the #15 on his jacket.  That's all!  It was a brilliant performance, and he's the best player in tennis today without a doubt...and maybe the best ever...that's always open for debate.

Hey D, hopefully Roddick goes through what Agassi did when Agassi finally got focused. 

I still place Federer 3rd best all time behind Sampras and Rod Laver


Name one HOF caliber player Federer went against when he won all those slams.

Just Nadal.

Feds came in at the right time.  If he played against Samps and 'dre, he would not even be in double digits.

With that said, I think he can get to 18 slams easily.

Just a few points off...



Viva el Tennis!

Incredible, amazing match. Roddick put one of his best performances I'eve ever seen him put on a tennis court and it was just not enough.

There are so many little things to comment on about this match. Small details that had their gone in some other direction, they would've totally changed the outcome of the match. Amongst them all, one of the things people don't seem to rely on is fitness. Roger won yesterday simply because he was fitter than Roddick.

Andy has gotten incredibly fit now that he's been trained by Stephansky, but it was Roger who seemed fresher out there in the latter games of the 5th. While Roddick's serve kept getting slower and slower, the swiss kept on firing aces game in and game out. the first sign of fatigue in tennis is the serve, the moment a player's serve % goes down or gets slower, it's a sign that he's tired. Andy's serve coordination was way off in the last 3 service games and that was enough for Federer to break it in the end.

Speaking of serve, Roger had one of his best service matches. He had 50 aces...he's not the most powerful man out there, but man can he change direction with the serve. Amazing stuff.

I really felt for Roddick in the end. I thought he had it. He had a few chances when they were 8-8 or 10-10 to break Fedex's serve, but couldn't manage to do it. Roger was too clutch as usual. Just as he was when facing 4 set points in the second set. Did anyone see that half volley off the down the line Roddick's forehand at 2-6? That was just the point of the tournament. Roddick could've pulled it off with 6-5, but his backhand volley landed 3 meters wide. That was the key to the match. Roddick held serve on set three, but I thought (we all thought) Roger was going to win the match in 4 after having won the second set.

In the end, it was just a matter of time to see Roger finally win. Andy was struggling to hold serve until he really couldn't keep it up anymore. That last forehand by the american was - again- a sign of fatigue. He just didnt had the proper footwork and didnt bend his knees.

Congratulations to Roger. Finally and without a doubt, the best player in the history of tennis.

Now I hope Nadal gets back soon enough to play the US open. If he does, he will lack the rythm, but for the first time in years, he will be 100% injury free in the late stages of the season.



I disagree Garry.

Federer's played with Andre at least 7 years. Sampras though is different cause he retired in 2001-2002. Andre played until 2006-2007.  Agassi could've been an all time great, he was just not consistent. He had amazing runs, but also gap years.

Pete didnt really have a rival. Andre and him played plenty of times but their head-to-head was like Nadal Vs Federer. Sampras won many many more times. Other than him, Sampras didnt really have strong contenders in his era; Kuerten, Krajicek, Bruguera, Muster, Courier...were the ones to name a few - but those were dominant on clay (with the execption of Krajicek and Courier). Becker and Edgerb were already on the glimpse of retiring, so for Sampras it was an easier road to travel (IMO). Federer has Nadal, Murray (these two had better W-L record against the swiss) and the Djoker.

Roddick kept making two huge mistakes

He would go for that slice backhand which failed him way more than helped him

and his approaches to the net got him burnt so many times.

He should've stayed confident in his power game and he would've won.

There are only 4 possibilities IMO Federer, Sampras, Laver & Bjorg. Eveyone to their own but its hard to say anyone is better than Federer.

15 GS titles in 6 years (Sampras won 14 but in 12 years / Laver 11 in 19 Years) - That in itself is incredible more titles in half the time of his nearest rival.

20 GS Finals out of a possible 25 since 1st Slam win (Sampras got to 18 out of 48 possible after 1st Slam win)

Longest single reign ever at No1 by over a year (237 Weeks)

Won a career Grand Slam

and thats just a few i found knocking about.

I also think that this generation of players are incredible. You may not have the top 4 of other generations but IMO its the best top 20 of all time and i know guys like Becker, McEnroe, Sampras and Laver agree because they all said it on BBC after the final.

The problem with discussing the quality of a generation is that you never know how good Federer is. D ask the question of how many HOF's are in this generation. Well my answer to that is "Maybe Federer is that good".... i mean think about it. Roddick could be a HOF'er if he'd have won Wimbledon the 3 times Federer has beaten him. Nadal is definatly in that group already. Maybe other generations have more HOF'ers because the No1 guy wasn't as good as Federer.

And thats why its so hard to say who is the "Best". IMO Federer is the greatest, He has won every GS, broken records all over the place. If you are ultra critical you could say Laver won the Year Grand Slam twice and Federer hasn't done that. But then you have to say he has lost to the best Clay Courter ever 3 times in the French Final and hs won 3 of the 4 GS tiles on 3 occasions with the French the missing piece. Thats pretty close.

So the argument of quality works both ways. If Federer was sitting here having won the Year Grand slam 3 time there really would be no argument..... and Nadal is the only thing that stood in the way of that.

I would rate Laver as the greatest player of all time. He was not able to compete in the Grand Slam events for five years during the peak of his career because the Slams were only for amateur tennis players up until the late 60's. Laver went pro in 62/63 and was not able to take part. Technically, Laver would have gone on to win many more Slams given the chance.

Federer is a clear second though.

Federer is not better than Pete Sampras


Sampras went through amazing players every tourney

Federer has had no competition till here lately and Nadal kicks his ass.

Here here on Laver...and classy too!  Did you all see the interview afterwards with McEnroe interviewing Laver, Borg, and Sampras?  How cool was that?  Pete was very gracious ducking the question (with good reason!)  Pete said he can't answer that standing next to Laver and Borg.  So much class.

McEnroe is an amazing commentator btw.  He's my all-time favorite player...the Axl Rose of tennis in his day!   8)


Can I also add, somebody mentioned some half-volleys by Federer.  Oh my God, he had some backhand volleys that were just unbelievable.  I've missed some good years of tennis. 

Also, great points made by Ignatius earlier.  It's so hard to compare players across generations.  All you can do is be the best against your contemporaries.  One day we'll all be in heaven watching these guys gut it out against each other in their primes!
That's my belief.   :yes:

Nadal kicks his ass ON CLAY.  Their head to head record is skewed by the 9-2 record for Nadal on clay courts... and considering Nadal is the "King of Clay", that just goes to show Federer's ability to make it far in clay tournaments and Nadal's inability to do so on other surfaces.  Granted Nadal is improving on grass and hard courts, but pit him against Federer the way he's playing right now and I'll take Roger any day.

In terms of quality, skills, movements and variety of shots, Federer is a much more complete player than Pistol Pete was.

* Sampras was an average player playing behind the line of serve / Federer is probably the best player on that aspect in history, at least since he improved and pulished his backhand shot.

* Sampras used to abuse of slice. Federer used to do that also, but now he has one of the most extraordinary single handed-backhand shots. He can play it plain and aggresive in almost all circunstances.

* As for drives, Federer has the most powerful and devastating drive from all active players, only comparable with Fe?a Gonzalez's, but Fedex's is much more consistant and regular.

* Sampras could have been better playing at net. Federer doesn't use that resource too much often, but when he uses it he does it flawlessly most of the times. Must admit Sampras' volley was incredible.

* As for serving... this aspect could be considered as a tie.

* Sampras was an average/mediocre player at clay. Federer won several master series and reached 3 RG's finals, winning one of them. They were both superlative players in grass and hard courts.

* Federer is a master of defense, in those few moments in games were he's been attacked. He showed it perfectly with Del Potro at Roland Garros. Sampras was ''average'' as deffensive player.

* Federer can play a variety of effects Sampras couldn't. Also, Federer can explode, if needed, other ''tricks'' like drop shots from any part of the court.

In terms of TITLES, well, Its all said and done. Federer won more grand slams than Sampras; reached more grand slams finals, he won all 4 grand slams and he defeated Pistol Pete in their only match. Oh, and it was in WIMBLY.


Federer played (and still plays) with multi-grand slam champions like Hewitt, Nadal at his best, Agassi, Safin, and other incredible players like Djokovic, Murray, Nalbandian and Roddick.

I dont think Sampras played with much more talented players like the ones I mentioned.


Well, I dont know what you mean by ''kicked his ass'' but the Nadal-Fedex record difference is not as extreme as federer-roddick. Federer is a much more complete player than nalbandian, and nalbandian was his worst nightmare in 3/4 of Roger's career. Same for Nadal: Nadal was erased from the court twice in two weeks by Nalbandian at two consecutive master series last year, but everybody knows Nadal is a much more complete player than Nalbandian

And let's not forget that, in the Nadal-Federer record, most of the matches were played in clay, where Nadal is an almighty god.

------------------------------------------
Very happy to see Roddick playing that well, and much more happy to see Roger in the place that he deserves. Congratulations to Federer, the best player in tennis history.  :beer:

Nadal's kicked Federer ass in all surfaces. More than half of their matches has been played on clay so obviously Nadal has won more times on clay than any other surface. But let's not forget, Nadal has beat Roger on grass and hard courts; Wimbledon, Miami, Dubai and of course, Australia.

Calling Nadal the "King of Clay" is so  2007. Nadal has a better record on hard courts than any other player in 2008 and 2009. I wish people gave that up already. He's not just improved, he's been the best throught 18 months on hard courts.

And, I do not want to take any credit away from Federer. I already said he's now (in my books) the best tennis player in the history, but take the last two slams he's won and the highest ranked player he's played against was Juan Martin del potro (ranked #5).  This year, he's lost to Nadal once, Djoker twice and Murray three times. He's not played against any of these three players on his way to RG and Wimbledon.  On the french, he struggled against unseeded players; Acasuso and Haas (unseeded then) and was taken to a 5th against Del Potro whose best clay cour result then was a quaterfinal. In Wimbly, he did beat good players; Karlovic, Soderling and a rejuvenated Haas, but again, he didn't really play a top 10 player until Roddick. Andy had not played a GS final in years but was able to take the match to a decissive 5 set.

I don't really think Federer is playing better than last year. The only match I was really impressed was against Haas in the wimbly semi final, that was too good.  So saying Federer would beat Nadal any day is a risky assertion. Like I said, all the credit to the swiss, but let's not forget WHY he lost the number one and WHAT other player/s have been constanly beating him over the past 12 months.

Hard court season is coming up now. This is where Murray, Djokovic and Nadal have achieve BETTER results than Federer this year. If Nadal is fit, Roger will struggle if he plays against the spaniard, the same way the swiss will struggle if he's against Murray and Djokovic. This summer will be interesting.

I have to say i think Federer has played better players. Sampras is my Tennis idol but his stats just can't compare to Federer now. Less title in a longer period. The only thing that Sampras has is the total time at No1, which Federer has time to try an beat. Aside from that Federer has all the important records.

To me now its:

1/ Federer
2/ Laver
3/ Sampras


Thats true.... but Federer has also beaten Nadal on all surfaces. Lets not forget according to reports Federer's back has been bad for nearly 2 years and his tennis is definatly improved in the last 5 months. Every player has their bogey players and Nadal is certainly Federers.



Its just a term.... You can't call him the King of Grass or King of Hard Courts because Federer has won 6 of the last 7 Wimbledons and the last 5 US Opens. The king of clay is not saying he's rubbish at the others because he certainly isnt but rather a title for how brilliant he is on clay.


I think you can only beat who's in front of you. In the French Nadal was not good enough to beat Soderling and therefore didn't get to the final against Federer.

As far as Wimbledon goes... Nadal beat Federer last year in a 5th set so he was not a certainty to win Wimbledon if he'd have played. Its not Federer's fault that Murray and Djokovic lost before they played him. I think a GS is the same no matter who you beat. And you certainly don't win 15 by getting lucky draws. I think Roddick was playing as good Tennis than anyone at Wimbledon and Federer came through a tough match.... a sign of a true champion.



I think Federer is playing better than Wimbledon of last year. So many Unforced errors in 2008 and obviously had trouble (we now know it was his back) on court at times.

Is he playing that much better he'll be No1 at the end of the year.... I'm not sure of that but he is certainly injury free now that gave him such a sub-par 2008. Already this year he has beaten Nadal on Clay and got to all three GS finals winning 2 and losing 1 and now is back at No1.... so i'd say its already been better than last year.



Yeah Federer does struggle against the other top 3 but Federer has less points to defend than the others and of course there is the US Open where he hasn't lost since 2003 to come. I love the Hard Court season.... you always get classics. I'll never forget Murray beating Nadal last year. Its Murray's best surface so i look forward to that. I hope Nadal gets back fit coz right now i think we have 6 players capable of winning big on Hard Courts.

According to reports coming from Federer's camp?

I don't buy it. Federer hasn't missed any big tournament in God knows how long, if his back had been so bad, he would've at least missed a few. Nadal's missed a major, 2 master cups, 5 Master 1000's and Davis cup all due to injury. I'm not saying Federer's back has not bothered him at some stage, but that's not the reason why his results have not been that great over the past year and a half. Simply put, other players were just better and in Nadal's case, Rafa has always done the same to beat Federer regardless the year.

I don't think he's improved that much in the past 5 months. He did win the French and Wimbledon but did he did so in a dominant fashion like he's done in the past? In the french open he was on the edge of losing against Acasuso, Haas and Del Potro. He won those matches because he's got what it takes to win close matches, but not because he was dominant against those players. In Wimbly, he played better and beat some good quality players, but again, he has not won the tournament in straight sets like he's done in the past.




No it's not. "King  of Clay"is a label Nadal's tried to get rid off over the past the past two years. It does imply that Nadal "only" does well on clay courts and that's not true. King of clay would've been something more appropiate to players like Kuerten or Muster, but not Nadal. A player who's won majors and master1000's in all surfaces deserves something else.



True, I'm not saying Nadal would've beat Federer in RG, but every match is different. If Soderling beat Nadal it doesnt necessary mean that Federer would've beaten Nadal cause he beat Soderling. That's not how tennis works.  In the end, it doesnt' really matter, Federer won and that's that. However, just for the sake of analyzing things, I do believe Roger himself was more or less relieved he didn't have to face none of the players who have beat him this year on the way of winning RG and Wimbledon.



I'm not saying Federer won because of luck. He's the champion, he deserves it.  Nadal was not the clear favorite anyway coming into Wimbledon so I'm not saying he would've won had he played. Roddick played just as good as Roddick could have played and it was not enough. But again, Andy Roddick is no Nadal nor even Andy Murray in terms of these two players know what it takes to beat Federer cause they do it all the time.

Even you said after the semis match that Federer was going to win in three sets against Roddick. You didn't believe in Roddick. Why? Because you knew Murray had more chances to beat the swiss than the american. I'm pretty sure that thought wanderer Federer's mind also. Does he rather play a guy he's beat 16 out of 18 matches including a Wimbledon Final? or against the crowd's favorite to whom he's lost 7 out of 9 matches? I think the answer is very simple.

The frame of mind would've been totally different had he played Murray in the final.



Sometimes people seem to scratch the surface only. You are saying he committed more unforce errors because of his back? Federer made UE cause he was playing Nadal in the final. If losing against Nadal was something that had never, ever HAPPENED before then I would probably agree with you, but Roger has lost 13 times against the spaniard so I don't think it was just "his back". Besides, Nadal took him to 5 close sets at Wimbledon in 2007 so you are saying he had back problems then also?

Nadal beat Federer simply because he was the better player that day. Back problems had nothing to do with that...instead, Nadal beating Federer at the french and allowing the swiss 4 games only may have gotten something to do with it, Nadal beating the swiss so many times may have something to do with it, Nadal getting closer and closer to claim the number 1 spot then may have gotten something to do with it...

It's all about momentum and pressure. Tennis is a very psychological sport and Roger reached a point in which he just didn't know what to do. Roger had the pressure - not Nadal - and he failed to deliver.



Last year he was number one also, he reached 3 GS finals, won 1. This year he's won two yeah, but the question remains the same for me...is he really playing better?

Again, he struggled to win the French Open and didnt face Nadal. Fair enough, he won the French and that's the only thing that matters, but he didnt win the French like Nadal's done in the previous 4 years.

In Wimbledon he seemed stronger out there, but again, he didnt destroyed his rivals like he used to and he didn't face any of his main opponents. And yes, he got the number 1 back because Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon. I give Roger credit, but to me he's been fortunate enough to have things going his way. We'll see what happens once the hard court season begins.

Nadal is gonna make Federer cry on the hard courts of NYC like the last time those two met on a hard court.

Federer has played less tournaments this year than anyone i think. You can't say when Nadal is injured, thats the reason he loses and then say Federer's arguments don't stack up. You have to remember that Federer also had Glandular Fever back in Jan 08 which is horrible for a sportsman. It drains energy and it usually takes 18 months to compltetly disapear from your system. If Federer says he had a bad back i'd believe him, just like i believe Nadal especially when it happens in line with a dip of form.

And lets be honest with all Nadals claims of injury he has only missed one GS himself.


Well what can we call him? He certainly can't be King of Grass 1 GS to Federer's 6 and he can't be King Of Hard Courts 1 GS to Federers 9 (i think). You can win all the Masters 1000 you like thats not where the greats earn their names.... its at the GS's and Nadal is the best ever on clay IMO and i don't see it as in anyway disrespectful to call him the King Of Clay. I would agree he is the best player in the world at the moment..... but he has got to where he is mainly on the back of his amazing consistancy on Clay. Yes he had a great year last year on all surfaces but that doesn't mean people should forget how good he is on Clay.


Oh of course he is relieved but you get what you deserve in Sport and if Murray didn't deserve to beat Roddick and therefore he didn't get to play Federer. Its all well and good knowing how to beat someone but if that person gets to the final and you don't you'll never get the chance to show it.

Anyone would like to avoid Nadal.... who wouldn't. But if Nadal doesn't make it to the final you can't turn around and say "Well this GS isn't worth playing for, coz Nadal couldn't beat Soderling".


I thought Federer played the worst game of his tournament in the Final. Roddick played incredibly well. I though Federer would win in 4 because i thought Federer would play better especially on Roddick's serve.

Last Time Murray came accross Federer in a GS final.... Federer destroyed Murray. And that was on Murray's Favourite surface. Yes Murray had an incredibly tough Semi but still Federer took him apart.

Also it adds pressure to Federer to play someone who he is expected to beat doesn't it? I mean Roddick had no pressure at all on him did he? I'm not saying that he would of preferred Murray but i'm saying that there isn't much evidence that Murray would of done any better against Federer on grass in the final of the a GS.


But thats whats so Amazing... despite not being 100% he still reached 3 GS finals. And when you say he didn't win like Nadal did.... what do you mean. Because everyone seems to be suggesting that Nadal beats Federer quite easily and often so was it that impressive? I think it is.... but you can't have it both ways. You can't say Nadal has Federer's number and say he wins tournaments better because he played someone he finds confortable to beat in the Final ..... thats a contradiction.

The most impressive record going in Tennis is Federer's US Open run.... even Nadal at Roland Garos can't match that consistancy.

I'm really looking forward to the Hard Court season now. Murray is in big trouble because of the points he has to defend but guys like Nadal should have the easiest run back o Number 1 unless Federer really turns it on. Below are the points the players have to defend from now to the end of the year based of GS & Masters1000 tournaments. I was suprised by the numbers:

Nadal - 3050
Federer - 3060
Murray - 4700
Djokovic - 3450

When you look at that you think if Nadal comes back fit then he has a great shot at Number 1 by the end of the Year. Federer would have to win the US Open again and at least one other to have a chance. On the other side Murray and Djokovic have alot of point to defend and both don't seem to be playing as well as this time last year so there are definate possibilities of position changes between now and the end of the year.... So don't worry Ignatius i'm sure Nadal will be Number 1 by the end of the year : ok:

It's obvious that we don't share the same opinion here, but since there are a few points I'd like to make regarding this debate, I thought they could add to this discussion.


He took 45 days off after the Australian yeah but that was an easier decission to make cause there are no important tournaments that take place from late jan till early march.



I never said that. I don't know what happened in RG, Nadal played too short and lost. This could've been because he had pain on his knees and could not stand to hit the ball the way he does or it could've been because Soderling was unstoppable that day. Either way, Nadal has not played a single official match since, so it's safe to assume he may be in some kind of pain, specially since he was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon where he was the defending champ and where he had to defend 2000 points.


Again, he didnt miss a single tournament. He played the same tournaments he plays each and every year. Whether it was mono or a bad back, it wasn't enough to stop him from playing every tournament so I don't believe it was bothering him that much.


Yes, and 2 Master Cups, 5 1000's tournaments and a davis cup. Nadal's injury is not a broken bone or even a torn muscle. It's a tendiditis. Like I have said before, Nadal's knees are more in pain on the second half of the season because he's already put a lot of pressure throughout the year and because hard court (this is where players suffer the most physically) start from August and last till the end of the year. If you take a look at all tournaments Nadal's  missed because of injuries, they've all taken place from september onwards (with the exeption now of Wimbledon). 

This year however, Nadal's played more matches coming into RG than any other previous year. He won 5 tournaments before RG...Truth to be told, it's his fault. He should've missed one or two clay court tournaments, but he had to defend a shit load of points and he played them all. We already know the consecuences...he had to skip wimbledon. I'm sure he'll learn from this.


Obviously something different. I'm not saying he's the king of grass or the king of HC, but he's won tournaments there also, and calling him "the king of clay" implies that he only does well on clay. It's on that surface where he has achieved better results in the past, but not in the last 18 months. He's now an all around player who is tough to beat in all surfaces. You can obviously call him whatever you want, but IMO, King of clay doesnt give him justice.




Like I said Gnrfan, Federer won both GS's and that's what most people will remember.  All the credit to him, the others were not good enough to make it to the late stages. However, I'm just trying to make a point. Federer was fortunate that he didnt have to face any of those players; Nadal, Murray and Djokovic. It's true other players beat them, but hey, tennis is not mathematical formula. If A beats B and B beats C, it doesn't mean A will beat C.






I disagree.

Federer has had Roddick's number for a very long time. I think he was relieved. Playing Murray will have put much more pressure on Federer's side. First of all, the crowd would've been all over. The final could've been like a Davis Cup match and you know how that is when you are playing at your opponent's home court. Pressure there is hell for the visitor. Also, Murray has beaten Federer 7 outta of 9 times, so the pressure on there is also on Federer. How does he enter a match against the crowd's favorite who happens to have beat him constanly over the past year? Mentally it drains out. This is why Federer loses 70% of the matches he plays when he faces Nadal, Nadal has the edge mentally cause he's beat him so many more times...






The problem with those numbers are that they are not FAIR.

Nadal will lose the 800 points he earned last year at the olympics. He obviously won't have a chance to defend that title. In a few weeks he will lose another 1000 he won last year in Canada. That tournament was held in July last year because the olympics so Nadal will lose those points. He will have the chance to "claim" them back in Ausgust when the Canadian open starts this year.

So, In a 2 week span, Nadal will lose another 1800 points. This will probably relegate the guy to #3 in the world before he's back from injury. So in a 2 month span Nadal will have lost 5500 points.

Hopefully, after Canada, he doesnt have many points to defend, so he should be able to claim the number 2 spot back and if Federar tanks, maybe even the number 1.

Either way, this second half of the season is going to be awesome!!!

Couldn't agree more. I looked up the odds on Nadal and Federer being No1 at the end of the year and they still have Nadal as favourite to end the year at No1 so they don't appear to have much faith in Federer's ability on the Hard Courts.

Finally!

The Rogers Cup tournament started yesterday. A 1000 series tournament featuring 19 of the top 20. It also marks the return of the former world number one Rafael Nadal.

The draws have not been kind with Nadal nor Murray. Federer has a much easier path (or so it seems). Nadal could play Del Potro in the quaters and then Djokovic or Roddick in the semis. Murray has Davidenko, Gonzalez, Hewiit, Haas, Ferrero, Karlovic...all those players are on his side. Potential semis with Federer.

I don't hold many expectations for Rafa. He's seems to be fit, but he's hitting the ball badly. I was watching him practise a few days ago and he's really off target. This is normal though, he hasn't touched a racket in almost 6 weeks. His knees seem to be ok though. I'll be happy if he just played a few singles matches to get some kind of rythm. That, along with the doubles action he's getting, will allow him to play at least 3 matches (he already won the first doubles encounter).

My favorites for this tournament are Andy Murray, Davidenko, Del Potro and Roddick. I'm not including Federer cause he's been too busy with his twins and wife and has not really though tennis that much since Wimbly. His mind is not ready yet and with Djokovic you never know. He could win the tourney in straight sets or lose in the first round. It's really difficult to predict with the Djoker.

Anyway, the fun has just started.

Well Federer is out. good match mind. When Tsonga is playing well he is one of my favourites to watch and for bits today he played well.

The big shock is Federer let a 5-1 set lead go. I know he has been busy with the twins and hasn't practiced in two weeks before the tournament but to let that position go is odd and i'm sure a bit of a reminder for Federer that there are guys that can beat him if his standard drops to 90%.

As far as Murray goes..... he battered Ferrero in one of Murrays best displays yet. But he wasn't as good today and Tsonga will be a tough match. I'm hoping that Murray gets to the final and Nadal doesn't so Murray can take the no2 spot from Nadal.

Well Murray, Roddick, Del Potro & Tsonga left in. A New Wave maybe?

If Murray beats Tsonga he goes to No.2 albeit probaly for a short period. But with Djokovic, Federer & Nadal out if Murray can take this title he'll get as close to No.1 as well as he ever had been. And with Federer's focus maybe elsewhere and Nadal still recovering Murray has gotta try and get to as many finals as he possibly can in preperation for the US Open

Del Potro erased Rafa Nadal and today defeated Roddick in a tough match, with nineteen aces  :beer:

we have a great final to see tomorrow!! Go Delpo Go!  :beer:

 :'( :'( :'( :'(

Another classy win for Murray. Up to No2 in the world.

Del Potro is an incredible player but he needs condidtioning. Little injures become bigger as he gets more tired. the same thing happened to Murray a few years ago. I also think that Del Potro's style is suseptible to injury and stamina problems. Such big swings must take it out of him especially in 5 set matches

yes, i agree, and that's something he needs to solve URGENTLY if he hopes to be #1 someday.

He moves extremely well for a 2.00 meters guy, he's fast and flexible, not like other tall guys like karlovic, rusedsky or ancic. And his right arm, his drive, is a shotgun. It's between him, Gonzalez and Federer where to find the best drive in the circuit.

but it seems he finds very hard to keep his physic in form in long matches, and i think that's the only reason he lost today, because he played better than Murray all tournament long.

anyway, he stepped up to #5 position. A good US Open (semis) could make him make another step up.

Congrats to Murray. I sorta predicted he was the man to watch here.

I was kidnapped the entire weekend so no tennis on TV for me, I couldn't even watch Nadal against Delpo on friday.  :'(

I knew Del Potro was going to beat Nadal anyway. He's usually not the best match-up for Rafa on equal terms so this time around it the argentinian was the favorite. I did watch Rafa's first two matches and he's totally off rythm.  The knees don't seem to bother him so I'm not really concerned on that aspect. It's his tennis what worries me. He's playing too short and with players like Delpo, Davidenko or Tsong? he is really going to struggle.

As for Federer, I knew he was not going to get far. The match against Tsong? from what I've read was really strange but in the end the french advanced.

Djokovic did what he does best, being Novak Djokovic. It's a mystery with this guy.

And Murray...his hard work has payed out. Apperantly he's trained really tough in Miami leading up to this tournament. Andy is way fitter than he was 6 months ago. He's put on some muscle weight. I've read his calory intake prior to this tournament was close to 6000 calories per day. I saw him play against Ferrero and Davidenko and he didnt even have to try hard to beat those guys. It's really scary to see how much damage this guy can do.

Now we have Cincinnatti. Hopefully Rafa can play a few more matches in addition with some doubles action. I don't think Nadal will go any further than the quaterfinals here either. My favorites here and Roddick and Federer. I'm not considering Murray cause no one has won back to back Masters 1000 tournaments in hard court in a while. Delpo seems physically drained.

Yeah Murray must be feeling the sting of so much Tennis.

I disagree that Del Potro out played Murray. I thought Murray stuck with him all along knowing that Delpo would tire. I think Delpo will struggle to ever get as fit as Nadal or Murray coz of his size and how much energy he takes out of himself with his ground strokes.

Wow.

Not too often you get the top 4 seeds in Masters Semi's. Federer vs Murray & Djokovic vs Nadal. I have to say i fancy a Federer vs Djokovic Final. Murray has played more Tennis than the others recently and looked tired in his match yesterday and Nadal is still on his way back although i think Nadal vs Djoker will be closer than than the other match.

Federer coasted past Hewitt yesterday without much hassle and look refreshed mentally and physically after his aberation against Tsonga and i think he'll have too much for Murray who looked tired but found a way to get past a lucky loser.

Whatever happens we have a great month of Tennis coming up. The US Open will be brilliant if the top players all get to the latter stages. Imagine the Semis if it involves 4 of the top 6. We could have fireworks. I think any one of Federer, Nadal, Murray, Djoker, DelPo and Roddick could win it.

Week one of the US open has passed.

No major upsets, just Roddick losing to Isner. Big guys are on round 4.

I've seen quite a few matches last week. Each of the wonder 4 has lost at least one set (at least)... Probably Federer is looking the strongest. Murray lost a set to Capdeville although destroyed Dent last night. Nadal has not really faced tough competition yet..so it's difficult to evaluate his performance so far. From what I've seen, he's still playing too short. He better increase his level some if he wants to beat Monfils. Del Potro is looking good, pretty good win against Monaco but dropped a set yesterday...and the Djoker did face more diffiiculties against a complete unknown player.

Tsong? and Gonzalez will be an amazing match. I believe the frenchman will advance. Delpo against Ferrero looks like it could go to 5 sets. Juan Carlos had a great run prior to the US open. He's pretty confident. Mind says Delpo will win but heart says Juanqui. I'm going with Ferrero in 5.

Federer will beat Robredo in 3.

Murray will beat Cilic in 4

Nadal will beat Monfils in 5

Djokovic to beat Stephanek in 4

Verdasco to beat Isner in 4

Soderling to beat Davidenko in 4

Well, Rafa defeated Monfils in 4 and now we got the 8 for quarterfinalists:

NADAL VS. GONZALEZ
DEL POTRO VS CILIC

---------------------

FEDERER VS SODERLING
VERDASCO VS DJOKOVIC

My predictions:

- Nadal will defeat Gonzalez just because Gonzalez never wins these kind of matches and because Nadal is mentally stronger.
- Del Potro will defeat Cilic (at least if he keeps serving that way. overall, he's a much more complete player than Cilic and he's playing extremely focused)
- Federer will defeat Soderling in 3 sets. Easy.
- Verdasco will defeat Djokovic in 5  :peace:

Spot on. Nadal will win cause Gonzalez hardly ever passes the quaters in Grand Slams and because Nadal is mentally stronger.



I watched Del Potro against Ferrero yesterday. Solid match from Juan. I wouldn't count off Cilic though, he totally destroyed Murray yesterday.



You think? I think Robin will walk away with a set.



It'd be a long match for sure. 5 sets, but I say Djokovic.

:peace:

well, it took Roger 4 sets to defeat the swedish but it was a solid and clear victory anyway.

I want Delpo to play against Nadal. Delpo can defeat Rafa.

Vamos Rafa!

Great semis tomorrow. First match will be Rafa agains Delpo, followed up Fedex Vs Djoker.

Rafa Vs Delpo.

Very difficult match to predict. Juan Martin will always be a difficult match-up for Rafa. Big serve, big grounstrokes. Offensive player with good defensive strokes. Also he has a two-handed backhand which means Nadal's cross court high bouncing forehands won't hurt him as much as when he plays against one-hand backhanders (Federer, Gonzalez...)

Key to the match will be Rafa's serve. If he's able to serve decent, he'll have his chances. I don't know how much his abdominal strain is bothering but it's true to some extent Rafa is serving an avergage of 10 mph less in this tournament. Rafa's serve has never been a keystone of his game, but if he's able to vary his serve tomorrow and reaches at least 80% of first serves is, he'll be the favorite to win this.

On the other hand, Delpo's been playing well. He has the groundtrokes to beat Nadal like he did already in Montreal 3 weeks ago. This time around things are different; Rafa's found his rythm and also this the semis of a grand slam. Experience may play an important role tomorrow. If things go well for Delpo, let's see if he can handle the pressure to close the match.


Djokovic Vs Fedex is another classic. The first set will be crucial, if Federer wins, the swiss will probably get this in 3 sets, but if Djokovic wins the first, we will go to 5. I have a feeling Novak is going to win this one tomorrow. Everybody is already talking about a Nadal-Federer final but I feel Djokovic has also a chance.

Either way, we have two great matches tomorrow. I can't wait.

Count me in on this group, I will be disappointed if these two don't move on.  It won't be a  walk in the park for either of them, though.  Can't wait for tomorrow's matches.

(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a125/estebanf/Dibujo-2.jpg)

 :beer: to Del Potro!!!

Federer's SHOT!! Greatest ever!!

Dissapointed match from Nadal. Del Potro was just too good.

Hopefully Nadal will get his AO'09 form back soon. He was totally outplayed and outhit by the argentinian. The first few games though seemed like the outcome was going to be different, but once Del Potro saved a few break points, he took control and never looked back. Congrats to him, I'll be rooting for Juan tonight.

And Federer, what can I say really. Novak played an amazing match and lost in 3 tight sets. And that point and 0-30 with 5-6 in the third was simply amazing. Nothing but class.

Congrats for both Roger and Juan for putting the best tennis on this tournament so far. They deserve to be in the final. I hope Juan is able to put behind his head-to-head with Federer and plays with the same confidence he showed against Nadal.

Oh man...Del Potro just choked away the third set. 2 doubles in a row with 4-5 down 30-30. Lost the game and set.  :no:


Add to Edit.- Great match. I thought Juan Martin was not going to be able to come back after the third set, but he sure did. Congrats to him  :beer:

On a side note, what a dick the broadcaster. Del Potro wanted to say a few words in spanish and the CBS broadcaster said they were running out of time.

COME ON DELPO LA PUTA MADRE QUE LOS PARIO!!!!   ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

damn man what a great final we've seen!! Federer played in an average level but that's more than enough for him to win these finals. But Juanma unleashed the machine gun he has got in his right arm and Fedex wasn't able to stop it!! This is where the ''he cant win big matches against big players'' argument is buried forever: he destroyed Nadal in straight sets in semis and then defeated the best tennis player in history and current #1 of the ranking playing in the final, being ALL THE MATCH down in the score.

What amazes me more is the fact he didnt make too many aces, but after this championship its safe to say Delpo has the best and most aggresive drive of all the circuit.

I think this is the birth of a new tennis monster. He needed a trophy of these dimensions to believe in himself. After this final, I can clearly see in Del Potro the next #1 in the world. He has everything needed to be #1: he's tall, he's fast, he has the best drive in the world, a solid backhand, a superb serve and he can defend if needed. He might need to improve his skills at net but that's something he can just practice and improve with the pass of time.

Congratulations to Del Potro! Another latinamerican player in the big history of tennis. A line for ''La Torre De Tandil'' must be added next to Vilas, Guga and Gaudio  :beer:

edit: atptennis.com/en is down... damn it  :rant:

Well, it WAS Dick Ebersol.  ;D

At least he let DP speak en espanol.

That was one of the great matches.  I always enjoy watching Federerererererer collapse in the 5th set in grand slam finals.

Great match with a deserved winner.
I thought he lost it in the third with the double faults but mentally he seems to be very strong. This amazes me if you consider that it was his first major final and he is only 20.

 :hihi:

Oh was it? I promise i didn't do it on purpose. I didn't know



Yeah me too. I was rooting for Delpo moreso after the second set.

Federer is class and the best player ever. But his antics on and off court are really something I'm starting to dislike. Against Delpo he lost the second set cause he wanted to show off and humilliate Juan Martin by going too far with his shot arsenal. Shot behind the back here and there, half volleys drop shots...I understand some of those shots are useful and definitely a part of Federer's game, but Roger's dominance was so brutal in the first set and a half he made it seem like he was giving a lesson to a junior and I didnt really like that.

Also, the way he orders challenge reminds of the Marinees (not that I've ever been). Last night, at one stage of the match, Delpo challenged the call 10 seconds after it was called out and Federer got pissed off cause he said it was too late to challenge. To be fair, he was right cause in his match against Djokovic he challenged a call "late" and the ref said he couldn't use it. However, the way he talks to refs in general could very well be worth of a warning. But hey, he is Mr. Roger Federer and no one dares to give the best player of all time a warning.

Dick Enberg...get your Dicks straight!   :hihi:

Apperantly she said something else other than that (is there any audio of that?), but that was a fucked up call anyway. I understand this is tennis and there are rules judges and players must go by but calling a foot fault with 4-5 down, 15-30 on second serve is ridiculous. Serena snapped and she should'nt have, but imagine how that must feel if you are in a GS semis playing the most critical points of the match.

She apparently told the linewoman ''I will kill you''.

Federer was even ruder with the umpire in the final he lost against Del Potro and he wasn't even warned

Apparently, I heard that was what Serena thought she heard the linesperson  say, but Serena misheard the linesperson in front of the chair.  Serena clear as day as day said she'd take the fucking ball and shove it down her fucking throat.

McEnroe was entertaining back in the day, but this was completely out of line.  Serena should be heavily fined and suspended...and never should have been allowed to continue playing the Doubles championship.  By letting her continue with zero remorse, none, the governing body of professional tennis let the sport down.

and can somebody please answer me this...why on earth was she wearing sneakers with black coloring?  What idiot makes it EASIER for the linespeople to even see small foot faults?  Grrr.   :rant: 

Crystal meth, hair weaves and majors

Andre Agassi knows how low he once sunk because of the grand view he has now

If image really is everything, why would Andre Agassi admit in his new book that he used crystal meth? Not once but dozens of times? And why would he admit he lied about it to the Association of Tennis Professionals?

Why would a son admit how much he feared his Iranian father -- feared him and hated him since the age of 7? And why -- why! -- would a man admit he wore perhaps the world's only Mohawk toupee?

Why? Because this isn't just any book.

This is Agassi's mea culpa -- "Open" (from Knopf, written with Pulitzer Prize winner J.R. Moehringer) -- and from the beginning, he and Moehringer set out to write the most revealing, literate and toes-stompingly honest sports autobiography in history. From the parts I've been allowed to read, they might have done it.

"I just tell people, this book is honest," says Agassi, who worked with Moehringer for a full year, meeting nearly daily at the Las Vegas house Agassi once lived in with Brooke Shields. "It lives up to the title. It's my life, for better or worse. Get ready, buckle up, and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times."

"Open" is the story of a flawed man who sees everybody's imperfections, but none more than his own. It's the tale of a man who knows how low he sunk if only because of the grand view he has now.

Agassi's early life was not his, never his, not from the beginning, not from the time his Olympic boxer father built a backyard prison especially for him, a tennis court he was figuratively chained to day after day, while his father's homemade ball machine -- the dragon, Agassi called it -- ceaselessly spit out balls faster, harder, forever.

Agassi bucked against tennis like a horse with a two-sizes-too-small bit. But he could not escape it. And so his life became a kind of lie, from his shoelace groundstrokes to his Mohawk, a hairpiece that once came apart in the shower before the French Open. The day was saved by bobby pins.

Your own life is hard enough. Living somebody else's life for them weighs on a man like a stone backpack. By 1997 -- even after winning an Olympic gold medal in 1996 -- Agassi was down, depressed and stuck playing a game he didn't love. He was physically wrecked (wrist) and emotionally spent. He was with the wrong woman -- Shields -- and knew it.

He'd sunk to No. 141 in the world. He recalls that he was sitting at home when his assistant, Slim, introduced him to one of the most addictive substances known to man:

Slim says, You want to get high with me?

On what?

Gack.

What the hell's gack?

Crystal meth.

Why do they call it gack?

Because that's the sound you make when you're high. Make you feel like Superman, dude.

As if they're coming out of someone else's mouth, I hear these words: You know what? F*** it. Yeah. Let's get high.

Agassi pulled himself out of the French Open that year and hardly practiced for Wimbledon. That fall, it got worse. The ATP informed him at the end of 1997 that he'd flunked a drug test. He would likely be looking at a three-month suspension. He would probably lose all his endorsements and most of his fans.

What to do? Keep lying.

Agassi admits he wrote a letter to the ATP saying Slim accidentally "spiked" his drink, that it was not his fault. The ATP dropped the flunked test, with no discipline for Agassi. He admits in the book he felt "ashamed."

It was the lowest point in a life that would suddenly begin to soar. You can condemn Agassi all you want for the crystal meth -- and he'd deserve it -- but remember, Agassi dropped the habit soon after. Then, in 1998, he made the biggest one-year jump into the Top 10 in the history of the ATP Rankings, going from his year-end 122 to No. 6. He'd win five of his eight major titles after finding the bottom.

They call Agassi the greatest returner in history. They aren't kidding.

We all know what became of the showy, glitzy kid with all that fake hair and real talent. He shaved his hair off. He started being real. He learned to love tennis, and tennis learned to love him. The kid who never got past the ninth grade in school wound up funding and running the prestigious Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas. The man who couldn't find the right woman finally married the one everybody wanted -- tennis goddess Steffi Graf. And the son who hated his father learned to love him and his own two kids.

Why is Agassi so scorchingly honest in these excerpts? Maybe because he once lived enough lies for five men. Or maybe because, as an educator, he's heard the truth can set him free.

But hopefully, by the time you close "Open," you'll know that this book is about more than the wrong turns he took. It's about how that broken road led him straight to the good man he is now.

I was supposed to play tennis for the first time ever today, but the windy conditions have canceled my plans.

We'll try again tomorrow.

I bought a Wilson racket and a canister of Wilson Official U.S. Open balls.

The whole transaction only set me back $20!

You never know, the wind may have helped....blowing the right way :P

Agassi on meth? I would've never thought of that...

Agassi's tennis career was a rollercoaster; lot's of ups and downs.

I remember right after his win in Wimbledon in 1992, he soon dissapeared from the tennis world for at least 18 months. Out of shape and out of touch. He then came back as a truly underdog in the US open series in 1994 where he win his first US open.

On a side note,  I'm going to London in 3 weeks to catch some of the ATP World Tour Finals. My plan is to attend two days (if budget allows). I'll post some pics  :yes:

Have a great trip, Ignatius.

I got to play on Thursday, I had so much fun.

already got Agassi's book preordered

one of my fave athletes of all time

I have great respect for Andre Aggasi...and this latest news does nothing to change that opinion.  :)
Crystal meth or no crystal meth, I really love that guy.

btw, I know nothing about crystal meth (Crystal Light yes) but not crystal meth.  Is it smoked, inhaled, or what? 
Not that I do drugs, I was just curious how the hell it is taken.

Yes.

(I've never done drugs either, but I know...  :nervous:)

Andre is my favorite ever and I could care less about his mistakes.  That would be like ditching Axl because he has done a few bad things.

Fuck Safin...Fuck Navratilova...and anybody else who continues to diss Agassi.
Navratilova compared Andre to Clemens.  Fuck that!  Agassi took a recreational drug proven to FUCK YOU UP!  He didn't take a drug that enhanced his performance, it fucks up performance.  If anything, give the man some credit for crawling out of that pit!  Such assholes.  I can't wait to hear some voices that (while not condoning the behavior) have some sympathy and respect for the guy.
 :rant:

I don't really care if Agassi used meth or not. That's not an enhancing drug, but neither it's cocaine and players like Richard Gasquet, Puerta have been suspended from using it. Agassi should've been suspended as well.

People are not dissing him cause he used meth and was not suspended. People are dissing him cause what he says is a disgrace and insult to the sport.

A friend of mine read the book and some of the stuff Agassi says is pretty fucking shocking.

One of the things he says is how he let  Michael Chang beat him in the Semi final of the AUS open in 96 cause he (Andre) didnt want to face Boris Becker in the final. Apperantly, Agassi and Becker never liked each other and Andre was worried that Boris was going to constanly blow kisses his girlfriend at the time... (Brooke Shields)

Then we have the FO final in 1990 against Andres Gomes. Agassi lost the final and he didnt really care.  At the time Andre was already wearing a wig and he was more concerned that the wig was going to fall off his head than really losing or winning the match.

Also he disses Pistol Pete (calls him a boring robot), and his Davis Cup mates Courier and Chang.

On Sampras: Agassi says Sampras "sounds more robotic than" a parrot. At his depths, Agassi thinks: "I envy Pete's dullness. I wish I could emulate his spectacular lack of inspiration, and his peculiar lack of need for inspiration." Agassi tells of betting coach Brad Gilbert about how much Sampras tipped a parking valet; they ask the valet, who says $1; Agassi's conclusion: "We could not be more different, Pete and I."

_On Chang: "He thanks God ? credits God ? for the win, which offends me. That God should take sides in a tennis match, that God should side against me, that God should be in Chang's box, feels ludicrous and insulting. I beat Chang and savor every blasphemous stroke." When Chang wins the 1989 French Open, Agassi thinks, "I feel sickened. How could Chang, of all people, have won a slam before me?"



Pretty shocking stuff to be honest. I mean, letting Chang win because he was concerned if Becker could annoy Shields? Agassi wearing a wig and making such a big deal about it, big enough that he would not care about winning a Gran Slam final?

I have respect for Agassi as to the obstacles he's overcome and the player he later became, but  I have to admit, some of the things he did make him look bad, not to mention unprofessional. No wonder why people are dissing him. Losing a match on purpose and screwing up a GS final because your wig could fall apart doesn't really speak greatness.

Links to the info above.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/292738,agassi-book-says-hair-his-biggest-worry-at-first-grand.html

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/tennis-ace-andre-agassi-deliberately-lost-australian-open-semi/story-e6frf9if-1225795908193

I'm going to London this friday. I already have tickets for the ATP world Tour Finals on tuesday the 24th (evening session). Can't wait!

I'll happy if I see Nadal or Verdasco, but any match would do really. The best of the best will be at London.

Group A

Fedex
Muzza
Verdasco
Delpo


Group B

Rafa
Djoker
David Enko
SoderKing


Strong favorites are Djokovic, Davidenko and Murray. I have a feeling Nadal won't pass the round robin matches (He will win 1 lose 2).

Federer remains a mystery. He has not really played since the US open, he's out of tune, but he's the most talented player of them lot.

Delpo has lost early in all tourneys since the US open too.  I don't think he'll pass the first round either.

I'll post some pics  :yes:

Delpo defeated Federer and qualified to semifinals!!

goodbye Murray! So long, farewell!  :beer:

I came back from London last night and boy..what a week.

I attended two night sessions. First night I got to seat in a box high up. Lots of space and good view but not close enough to my taste. The match I saw was Murray Vs Federer. To my surprise, the crowd rooted for Federer more than they did for Murray. The swiss was cheered before, during and after the match. The O2 arena was packed, with the execption of a few empty seats scattered around the low tier.

On Wednesday I attended the night session as well. This time Rafa was up against Davidenko. I do have to say I have not ever been to a sports event where the crowd was so one sided (not even football). It's increible to witness the following and fan base Rafa has in the UK. The whole crowd was behind him from the first minute. Maybe the crowd was different or they were just simple drunk, but Rafa got more cheers and claps than Federer and Murray the night before. The Arena was packed as well, only a few seats empty in the low tier too.

This time around I purchase low tier tickets, very close to the court, the view was much better than being in the box the night before.  The match was more or less what I expected. Nadal is not playing with confidence and against top players it shows. I must've said "Vamos Rafa" like a million times throughout the match.

As far as the match itself, first set against the russian was one sided, the second however could've gone either way. Rafa played much more aggresive which put him in a position to win the second set. In the end the russian prevailed with a deserved win.

On group A things were so equal. Verdasco lost all matches but he managed to take to a third set tie break in the last two. Murray, Fedex and Del Potro won the same number of matches and sets, so the tie breaker had to be games won and lost. Delpo beat Murray by ONE way and advanced to the semis.

I'll post some pics soon  :)

Is Nadal going to be healthy for the French Open?

From what I read he is injured for at least a month . But the French Open doesn't start until may 23 so there is enough time to recover and hopefully come back in full strength.

Things Get Ugly Between Two Legends At Charity Event

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QSK9t6OrgU

Truer words have never been spoken. Nadal has swept the clay court season and breaking Agassi's record of 17 Master Series (or 1000's) tournaments at only 23.

Things are looking well for the French Open.

Bump.

Nadal's won the French Open for the Fifth time!  :D

This victory means a lot to Rafa. Not only he's shut down those critics who said his career was over after last year's injuries and lack of confidence. He's done it in style beating no other than Soderling (the guy who beat him last year). And he's even killed two birds with the same stone as he will be number #1 again from tomorrow.

Nadal, who just turned 24, has already 7 GS titles under his belt (just one short of the likes of Lendl, Connors or Agassi), 18 Master series events (he holds the all time best) and a 40 singles titles in his young career.  (Federer has 62).

Next is Wimbledon in two weeks!

Damn, from what I know this will leave Federer one week shy of most weeks at #1 behind Pete.  I hope he can bounce back at Wimbledon!  Hopefully we get something similar to last years Roddick/Federer final as opposed to the domination Rafa showed in this most recent French final.

All I have to say is how the hell is the tennis thread at the top of this page with the stanley cup finals game 5 and nba finals game 2 on tonight...this is ridiculous

I guess this thread would not have been so ridiculous if an american had just won the French Open...

BTW Eazy, Federer has a difficult year ahead. He defends 2000 points at Wimbly (Nadal defends nothing) and runner up at the US Open and Cincy. This only means that even if Nadal lost in the first round of Wimbledon and Federer won the title, Nadal will still be number 1.

This thread deserved a bump.

Rafael Nadal won his second Wimbledon last sunday. He dominated all the way from the quaters, beating the likes of Soderling, Murray and Berdych in the final. He's obviously the number 1 player in the world and will most likely retain his spot at the end of 2010.

Now Nadal has won 8 GS (Federer has 16) at the young age of 24. Roger is on 16 at still young age of 29. If Rafa's knees leave Rafa alone, he's got a fair shot to surpass Roger.

Nadal now shares the same place in tennis history with: Mcenore, Agassi and Ivan Lendl.

Congrats to Rafa Nadal for achieving the career grand slam.
He played an amazing tournament. In my opinion he really improved his service over the last months.

I know it's a tad late but congrats to Federer for winning yet another tite at the 02. He played brilliantly, and by the way Nadal played against Murray, I thought it was going to be a close call.

But Federer kept his head down, and played the game rather than the player and it payed off. I like Nadals style alot, he seems very strong like a bull, but Federer has got a pure tennis brain, and makes better decisions.

I don't rate Murray at all, he reminds me of Tim Henman, never quite making it but always has alot of promise. When you have guys like Federer and Nadal who are on top of their game, it's going to be hard for regular players to come through.

All hail king Federer.  ;D