The Tennis Thread

[chippy17]

glad Federer went out now, poor Robredo! Nadal is an utter beast at the moment, not dropped his serve yet, not that Djokovic is looking bad either did not loose a single point on his serve in the first set against Granollers

Murray will have his work cut out against an in form Wawrinka, never tire of watching is lovely backhand

[chippy17]

wow Stan is THE MAN, thought Murray would have his work cut out but never thought straight sets, good for Stan well deserved with all the talent he has. Great forehand, awesome backhand, decent serve and great volleys/touch. Love watching him play, Stan to win the whole thing!!

Old Murray rearing ugly head, problem I have with Murray is I just cannot see him dominating in the way the other greats have. He seems to play brilliantly but only in small pockets of time. Is it because he just does not quite have the natural gifts of Say Federer or Nadal, so when his amazing conditioning is not enough he stumbles because there is not the raw talent to fall back on or perhaps he is lacking the mental arrogance that is required?

Don't get me wrong he deserved Wimby and all that he has achieved in the last year or so and is more than good enough to win more slams, I can see him winning at least a couple more but I worry that the No.1 in the world is going to elude him...

Edited by chippy17 on Friday 6th September 13:16

Edited by chippy17 on Friday 6th September 13:17

[chippy17]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

even half a step can make a difference and it may not even be that noticeable, it will as you know affect timing thus the spraying, having said that the metal side of things might be what is going on...

yes not a lot of people even know he had it throughout the entire 2008 season and still managed to win one GS and runner up in 2 others, so could be he is not feeling very well, I had just not seen the unsweatiest man in sport sweating so profusely

[chippy17]

JNW1 said:

Victor McDade said:

So Djokovic and Nadal to face off in the final.

I wasn't very impressed with Djokovic (he seemed to play very passively) however Nadal looked great in his semi final.

Should be a good final.

In truth I think Djokovic has been struggling to repeat the form he showed in 2011 (or at least he's been struggling to do it consistently); of course he's still an excellent player but I think Rafa will turn him over in the final tomorrow. If anyone had said to me this time last year that Nadal would come back so strongly I really wouldn't have believed them; he may not be number one in the world according to the official rankings (because of the way they're calculated) but I suspect he will be by the end of the year and for me he's the best player in the world at the moment. Great player, great competitor!

Nadal right now is clearly the best player in the world, just look at the 'Race to London' points and he didn't even play Aus Open which Djoker won. But Djoker wants this one badly so who know, how about some techy analysis:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23979080

Edited by chippy17 on Monday 9th September 18:16

[chippy17]

Robbo66 said:

Daz68 said:

Robbo66 said:

No way through for Djoko....Nadal is a pure animal. Some of his 'gets' are astonishing.
Djoko trying everything and nothing working.

Agree. Nadal is on a different level.

The difficulty is no none else plays like him, the high kicking top spin forehand, and to add to this....he's a lefty.
Struggling t find a weakness to his game...possibly his serve...

if you sped the courts up a bit it would help, the court was playing like a fast clay court just what Nadal likes, I have never seen the US courts so slow and bouncy

[chippy17]

Murray possibly out for the rest of the season, having minor back surgery on Monday, I think this is worrying...

[chippy17]

I just find it worrying as back surgery however minor is a pretty serious thing. As you all know it can have the effect of things never being the same so it must have been a decision he has not taken lightly...

[chippy17]

JNW1 said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I don't think Fed has ever endured a bad patch quite like this. Even when he went through a period of not winning Grand Slams (most of 2010 and 2011) he was still winning other titles and you felt he was a potential contender at the slams and would at least be involved well into the second week. This year, though, losses to players he would have beaten without breaking sweat have almost become the norm and I see he's now split with Paul Annacone as well. That may just be the scheduled end of a 3-year plan but it may also be an indication that neither party think there's any mileage in continuing with the arrangement. I know I was premature a couple of years ago when I said I didn't think Fed would win another slam but the more I see the more convinced I am that Wimbledon 2012 was his last hurrah....

I really want you to be wrong again but I fear you may be right. at this moment in time the last matches that he played well in was Wimbledon 2012, semi and final he was playing like prime Fed he has not played like that since, even watching him in the Olympic final I was worried, he looked like me; old and tired!
I think splitting with Annacone is a good move freshen things up a bit but whether it will be enough who knows regardless of reasons

I would dearly love to see him win another slam or even 2. Apart from anything else I fear Nadal is going to overhaul him! Don't get me wrong I have nothing against Nadal and can only respect his beast of a game but in terms of pure ballet on a tennis court Fed needs to be at the top of the GS pile for the sake of the game!!!

[chippy17]

Victor McDade said:

Federer lost a three set final against Del Potro at the weekend. He showed some glimpses of brilliance mixed in with a lot of dross. Since beating Tsonga at the Australian Open in January, Federer has not had a single win against a top 10 ranked opponent all year.

Anyway, not long now until the World Tour Finals at The O2 - anyone here going?

yes that was a lot better from Federer, also the quarters and semis against 2 young'uns with prospects was encouraging, hope he makes the WTF, sadly I am not going

he did say in an interview recently that he has been injured for a while (back problems again) and that he should not have kept playing after Wimby...as he was unfit and not able to practise properly etc

[chippy17]

JNW1 said:

chippy17 said:

yes that was a lot better from Federer, also the quarters and semis against 2 young'uns with prospects was encouraging, hope he makes the WTF, sadly I am not going

I think (and hope!) that Fed will now make the WTF at the O2. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be going this year but can recommend it to anyone who has the chance to get there; however, the top tier is probably best avoided if you don't have a head for heights and/or don't possess a pair of binoculars!

I have never been and would like too, I almost blagged some tickets last year and am trying to this year but not holding out much hope...

Fed has to win one more match but he is either going to play Youzhny or Anderson, either player is going to make life difficult...

[chippy17]

psgcarey said:

Federer has qualified. If Tsonga and Gasquet win their second round matches they play each other in the third round, so one has to go out.

so the draw has helped Fed? he does not have to win another match to qualify?

[chippy17]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

well yes it is 10 - 0 to Fed but the way Fed is playing you cannot count on him winning and Youzhny is no mug, what is he at the moment 15? 2 titles this year, 1 more than Fed!

[chippy17]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I agree but that is the reality this year for whatever reason, I agree I don't expect him to do much in the Tour Finals but his last few matches have been better and he might surprise with a win or 2, just being there will give him a bit of confidence and help on the mental side and I think he will be very relaxed about the whole thing which may well help him to play well...he needs a win over a top player

[chippy17]

well the old boy made it!

[chippy17]

psgcarey said:

I have a sneaky suspicion Del Potro will win Paris Masters this week.

I also have a sneaky suspicion that Gasquet will beat Nadal tomorrow. (h-2-h is 11-0)

I have an even stronger sneaky feeling I have had too much wine!

Delpo needs/deserves a Masters1000 on his resume and it will come, can't see Gasquet beating Nadal but stranger things have happened

yes I had a couple while the kids were out terrorising the village last night!

[chippy17]

psgcarey said:

Just been having a hunt around the ATP site, Jimmy Connors has 1253 wins

at the age of 39 he got to the US Open semi and lost to Courier, think he retired at the age of 43, astonishing career

[chippy17]

psgcarey said:

chippy17 said:

well yes it is 10 - 0 to Fed but the way Fed is playing you cannot count on him winning and Youzhny is no mug, what is he at the moment 15? 2 titles this year, 1 more than Fed!

Fed is 1-7 against top ten players this year. The solitary win was against Tsonga at the AO, and that went to five sets. In July he lost to Delbonis, who was outside the top 100 at the time, and if not for his surprise run to the final of the ATP500 in Hamburg, would still be outside the top 100.

I like watching Fed play, but I would prefer that he retire, rather than damage his legacy.

However, a mere eighty more wins and he will have a thousand wins!

I am going to reserve judgment on Fed retiring until next year...!

[chippy17]

so the 8 who are going to the WTF are the 8 left in the Paris Masters...

[chippy17]

Justices said:

Get in there Rog! Tell everyone that's wants a pound of flesh off-court to get stuffed for a bit and focus on a few more slams.

He is looking slick on the practice courts at the moment, a good sign indeed. Currently breaking down the big Argie and showing the whippersnapper what this game is all about.

Good stuff!

yes that's more like it! have you noticed his return of serve is sooo much deeper and more aggressive, giving him a chance in oppo service game

eta and it's a win, woohoo

[chippy17]

Justices said:

chippy17 said:

Have you noticed his return of serve is sooo much deeper and more aggressive, giving him a chance in oppo service game

eta and it's a win, woohoo

Depth on the return makes ALL the difference. Otherwise against any of the big hitters or smart players you are in trouble, immediately. The frustration sets in as you are making the returns but getting punished fairly swiftly. Neutralise the serve then capitalise on a solid return. Great job today.

too true, talking of ROS Rog now has to face a pretty fresh Djokovic almost entirely due to his brilliant ROSs today as he mauled poor Stan!