Tennis [ ATP&WTA tour ]
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strange...he didn't mind winning in Montreal when he did the two times before...
and it is strange why he would enter such a "no-clue" tournament...not to mention two of them when he needed "rest"
and he, like all the other top players play in *tuneups* so they do not go into majors flat and cold.
and by the way...both tournaments are Masters 1000 level tourneys...the next lowest from A Grand Slam...they are worth 1,000 ranking points to the winner, 700 to the finalist and so on...in other words, two wins would equal nearly 25% of his ranking points for the year.
The masters events are huge. one step below a grand slam.
you really need to do some research Skull, my semi-hysteric friend :wink::smile:
yes.
David Nalbandian 2-1
James Blake 3-2
because neither have played him on clay...and the fact is, when you remove the absurd glut of clay court tourneys there are, and look at his record on other surfaces, they are rather pedestrian
NON CLAY/OTHER SURFACE CURRENT TOP 25 OPPONENTS WITH EQUAL OR WINNING RECORDS VS NADAL
Djokovic (including tonight) 5-5
Federer 5-4
Davydenko 2-1
Fernando Gonzalez 2-2
David Ferrer 2-1
Berdych 3-2
James Blake 3-2
David Nalbandian 2-1
---
don't you mean do well on grass or hard courts? (Clay is the slowest surface, which explains his total dominance on it)
part of the reason that has allowed Rafa to rise to equal Federer at Wimbledon and the Australian is the despicable slowing down of the courts and the increase in size of the ball.
totally ridiculous, it has killed the players who are faster and more technical and with bigger strokes.
Grass was always the very fastest, Hard courts the second fastest, clay the absolute slowest.
I have complained about this before...they have now slowed Wimbledon down so much that it plays like a medium speed hardcourt...they have slowed the Australian court down so much that it plays like fast clay.
they have ensured that the ball no longer skids and stays low on the grass and instead gets a truer bounce, and the size of tennis balls has been increased. the type 3 ball (used on fast courts) is now *14-17%* larger in surface area then the normal type 2.
complete bullshit.
now it favors endless rallies and defensive baseliners and counterpunchers.
it makes me angry...tennis has gone from rewarding agressive play to favoring endless attrition and endless rallies and defenders.
look at the entire top 5 now.
Federer is the only all court player.
(Roddick has crept back in to the top 5, and he is an offensive baseliner, but he has been overtaken)
#s 2,3,4, Murray, Nadal and Djokovic, are all defensive baseliner/counterpunchers.
they have benefited most from the larger, slower balls, and the slower grass and hard courts.
pisses me off.
I Agree completely. total basket case...a bit like James Blake, but Safin had more talent.
Safin could have been dominant for a long time if he had the right mind set.
totally agree. not to mention he wasted by being heavy, lazy, eating and drinking to much bad stuff and having no strategy or understanding of point construction.
Agree about Connors...Connors did nothing for him...he kept him the same heavy, lazy, plodding dinosaur who just smashed everything...
the one thing Connors taught Roddick was to behave with hate and contempt for the opponent, to fire himself up. To literally seethe on the court. if you look at Roddick's history, he was always a loud, spoiled brat,, but under Connors, Connors encouraged "Anger tennis" because that is how he played and it worked for him...frankly, during that time, Roddick played some of his worst tennis!
Federer decimated him in the Australian Open in 2007 and it was pathetic...then Roddick tried being all tough and nasty in the USOpen in 2007, screaming and sneering at Federer to the point where Agassi who was in the commentator's booth even said..."Uh, it probably isn't a good idea to upset Roger at this point"...sure enough, Roddick pissed Federer off, and Federer stomped him the rest of the match, and then Roddick behaved like a baby afterwards...as usual.
he is trying to upset his opponent...he only does it when he is *LOSING*
he should get penalties...the worst i ever saw was during the USOpen Final when he had just blown a crucial break to Federer in the first set, he went to his chair, seething (fair enough, i understand that) but he then took his bottle of water, opened it, took a sip...then in mock "rage" threw the water down towards the court...the water must be cleaned up and dried, and while it would only take an extra few seconds during the change,...it was a pathetic attempt at gamesmanship...if he was *THAT* angry, he would have thrown down the bottle before he opened it and took a sip, right? :wink:
and his family are the worst...you know how bad you have to be, when your parents piss off Roger Federer so much that in the middle of the match he looks toward your family (Djokovic's) who have been loud and obnoxious the whole match and tells them to "Be Quiet, okay", because of their loud and incessant sniping about a call, and the crowd applauds you, for dealing with the call gracefully, erasing the mark, thus offering a replay of the point.
YouTube - Federer Tells Djokovic Family to Shut Up
then Djokovic is such a pussy during the same match, that after Federer is totally wasting him in the second set after taking the first, Djokovic quits.
and Djokovic's parents vs the crowd at the Australian Open were fucking awful...they were awful because the crowd was cheering Tsonga, and they didn't like that, so they were telling the chair umpire to make the fans stop cheering so loudly for Tsonga, and they would turn and tell the fans to shut up...but of course, when Djokovic fans were cheering, they said nothing...of course Djokovic complained that the fans were cheering for Federer in the semifinal too...
first his father gestures at Federer going from thumbs up to thumbs down, when Djokovic won
YouTube - Djokovic's father thumbing down
but the worst was when he acted like a complete baby at the US Open...and New Yorkers won't take that kind of crap, especially considering Djokovic was insulting Roddick, who NY fans like alot. i was so happy when he gave that obnoxious on court interview, and the fans started booing him...all of a sudden, the guy who the year before was making fun and doing all the impressions of people, and the people were eating it up and he became "The Djoker", didn;t like it when someone (Roddick) made fun of him...so he whined like a fucking baby.
I fucking loved this...go to the 1:00 minute mark
YouTube - Novak Djokovic booed after defeating Andy Roddick
I loathe Djokovic...he reminds me of a more arrogant, obnoxious, egotistical version of Ivan Lendl.
one thing i will say....the commercials for the Olympus summer tour with McEnroe have been really funny
with Federer
YouTube - World's Greatest Tennis Player (Ad)
with Rafa
YouTube - Rafa US Open series commercial
with Federer
YouTube - World's Greatest Tennis Player (Ad)
with Rafa
YouTube - Rafa US Open series commercial
Well, i used to love novak when he started playing, he was a funny guy to watch....
But then we met the rest of the family!
they talk way too much!
Novak is gifted, he should stick to tennis, and tennis alone!
Yes, i don`t like when Roger badmouths anyone, but somehow he can be forgiven, he has results to back him up!( he recently said Karlovic knows only to serve, that`s VERY true, but...hm... NOT NICE)
But then we met the rest of the family!
they talk way too much!
Novak is gifted, he should stick to tennis, and tennis alone!
Yes, i don`t like when Roger badmouths anyone, but somehow he can be forgiven, he has results to back him up!( he recently said Karlovic knows only to serve, that`s VERY true, but...hm... NOT NICE)
And flashy about slowing down surfaces, very true!
I remember when Sampras said after Rogers` loss to Nadal in the Wimbley final that he talked to Roger, and Roger said something like-grass is slower every year!
That`s a real pity if u ask me, cause i`m a big fan of the net game....and slowing courts down doesnt help talent to show!
Oh, and i remember Guy Forget saying something like- Nadal is pure strenght!
I remember when Sampras said after Rogers` loss to Nadal in the Wimbley final that he talked to Roger, and Roger said something like-grass is slower every year!
That`s a real pity if u ask me, cause i`m a big fan of the net game....and slowing courts down doesnt help talent to show!
Oh, and i remember Guy Forget saying something like- Nadal is pure strenght!
D_Tintagel_Demondong
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I can't believe that I wrote that. Thanks for correcting me, Flashy. I'm sure that Nadal will regain his #2 spot by the end of the claycourt season. Tomas Muster managed to reach #1 with his claycourts results alone.
I meant to write that the fast US Open surface (DecoTurf) was chosen intentionally a long time ago because American players tended to have the bigger strokes--especially the serves. Sampras dominated there and at Wimbledon for about 10 years. Meanwhile the Russians loved the clay and I even remember a Davis Cup where they watered down the home courts to make them favor the Russians even more. Not surprisingly, the Ruskies beat the Yanques.
Wimbledon and the Oz have been slowing he courts down to counter the big American hitters like Roddick and Venus (The two biggest servers on their tours). It's all politics and gamesmanship--not sportsmanship.
Some big events are played on indoor (carpet) surfaces too. This is actually my favorite surface to play on.
I do think that grass needed to be slowed a bit. Players like Becker, Cash, and especially Rusedski, who had awful groundies could always rely on Wimbledon to get their points back up. They all were just a big serve... nothing more.
Ironically, if they kept Wimbledon fast, I think that Henman, the last true serve and volleyer on the tour (until Tsonga popped out of nowhere) could have won it before he retired. He had a beautiful game.
The WTA is even worse. They haven't had a net player since Touziat retired about 10 years ago. Most are tall, Russian baseline bashers. But it works, as we saw with Sharapova's win tonight.
There are a few other fairly raw players who need polishing. Roddick was in this category. His game was a rollercoaster, depending on his anger or nervousness. He could easily give the match away to a qualifier, and probably has before. They need technique. Technique doesn't know nerves, anger, crowd noise, or whatever else is thrown your way.
Oh man. It was so frustrating seeing him so often do the opposite of what he should do. I can't recall him ever chipping and charging before a few years ago. These days, he's hugging the baseline (remember when he'd split step at least 5' behind the baseline), he's moving well (finally mastering the cross step and check step!), he's making higher percentage shots (slicing when pulled very wide a la Agassi), and using more drop shots and approaches. He's improved his game, but I think it's too late.
He only threw (and broke) his racquet once at the Canuck Open. I think that players should be forced to play with those racquets for at least one point. That should teach these prima donas a lesson. Speaking of Safin... I think he holds the racquet-breaking record. Ivanisavic might be a close second.
I agree the Connors almost ruined Andy's game, but luckily they severed ties quickly. It was a bad idea from the start.
I love that. Success is the best revenge. I think it might have been a wake-up call for Andy because Federer, who can always somehow step up his game, beat Roddick with finess and touch and not by out-hitting him.
Sorry, but nothing gets under my nerves more than the 20 fucking bounces!!! I remember that incident (I'm sure one could youtube it), but I wouldn't call it "gamesmanship" so much as "psychological strategy" He's not cheating or being abusive, after all. He should have gotten a warning for that too.
That was a class act from Federer. I don't entirely blame the parents, though. McEnroe had nice parents and look at how he turned out.
Fucking hilarious. He shouldn't bring those idiots to his matches. The parents are lucky that they weren't at a NY night match. That's the wildest crowd in tennis.
A thumbs down from the stadium has classical significance that basically means, "kill him". I wonder if his parents know this. Regardless, this is incredibly immature behavior.
I don't like it when players talk about other player's injuries. It's not their business. Maybe Roddick is equally to blame here. I remember when NY loved Djokivic. Even Mac had sympathies for him after that interview. I noticed mommy and daddy supporting him (overzealously) from the stands.
At the end of the day, Djokovic kissed away a few million dollars in sponsorships, so Roddick won the off-court match.
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Among current players I like Federer because he's a genius and I love Hewitt because he's gutsy and he never gives up. Another guy who's exciting to watch is Fernando Gonzalez: he's got the best forehand in the game. On the other hand I hate Nadal and Djokovic.
At the moment women's tennis is depressingly boring. All they do is hit and grunt or squeal; there's no creativity whatsoever. I miss the days when the likes of Navratilova, Evert, Sabatini and Graf roamed the courts.
At the moment women's tennis is depressingly boring. All they do is hit and grunt or squeal; there's no creativity whatsoever. I miss the days when the likes of Navratilova, Evert, Sabatini and Graf roamed the courts.
yup...it is a fact that Wimbledon's grass is now nearly as slow as the US OPEN deco turf...and the DecoTurf at the USOpen is one of the fastest hard courts.
I do not place alot of stock in what Guy Forget says, but it is true that for Nadal, the slower the speed of the court, and the higher the bounce off the surface (which is regulated by the amount of sand that is put into the top coat of the surface) the better chance he has of winning.
if you view highlights from Wimbledon you can see...here is a perfect example!
FEDERER - SAMPRAS!!!! 2001
look at the speed on the court, the size of the balls, and the height of the bounce...low, small, fast (FEDERER WAS only 19...look at the speed the game was played, lightining fast ground strokes, serve and volley, short vicious and agggressive shots and quick rallies, thrilling movement, to the net and back, excellent volleys, wicked passing shots)
YouTube - Sampras vs Federer Wimbledon 2001 R4
Nadal could not play like that
now, look at Wimbledon 2009 (FEDERER - Kolschreiber)
the ball i bigger, comes off the ground slower, because the dirt underneath the grass has been packed differently, and that also affects the bounce, raising the bounce higher now, as opposed to 2001 when the ball stayed low would skid.
YouTube - Federer vs Kohlschreiber Highlights
Nadal needs the ball to be slow to allow him to run down everything, and keep rallying till he can get a kill shot or till his opponent makes a mistake...also, the skidding bounce of grass keeps the ball low, which does not allow Nadal to hit is topspin forehand with the same power, and when it lands it does not "Kickup" the way it does on clay.
now, with the changed speed and different dirt composition, the ball kicks higher, plays slower, and bounces truer, and the ball is bigger and heavier.
here is an example
Federer-Nadal, in 2006 Wimbledon Final (federer won in 4 sets)
Nadal could not live with it...remember, this was 3 years ago...as the continued to reduce the speed of the grass, and raise the bounce and enlarge the balls
YouTube - Federer vs Nadal Wimbledon 2006
then, one and two years later, as the court composition and the balls are bigger and heavier, suddenly, Nadal is all of a sudden on par with Federer on Fed's strongest surface, where he has been the most dominant player around.
Nadal manages to do this with a serve that never breaks 128 MPH (Venus williams top serve is 127), and no serve and volley game, on a grass court, against arguably the greatest grass court player of all time.
Nadal is an awesome player...he deserves to win and succeed. on clay, his game is perfectly suited for clay...he is the best clay courter ever, hands down. but a great deal of his rise in the last year, was on slower grass and slower hard courts then ever before. he always dominated on clay since 2005...yet suddenly, everything changes in 2007 and 2008...Nadal is great...but the surface and ball changes have aided him. speed up the courts, and you will see Federer and the offensive baseliners at the top for awhile, and the defensive baseliners/counterpunchers, like Djokovic, Murray, and Nadal, would not have as much success.
well i like Fernando Gonzalez alot too, but old "Stonehand" as they call him does not have the best forehand in the game...he has probably one of the absolute Strongest forehands in the game...but not the best, or most consistent, :wink:...that honor belongs to Federer.
Skull Mason
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Flashy how many fucking excuses are you going to make, seriously? Rafa owns your boy federer no matter how you cut it. There is nothing semi-hysteric here; no one cares about the "tune up" tournaments, for real...especially if you are coming off a considerable break due to injury. I'm sure if your heroine Roger were coming off a deadly bout of mononucleosis (LOL!!!!) and playing in the cincy tournament he would care more about getting some of his game back rather than expelling himself trying to prove that he can beat a bunch of clowns he has already beaten before in a TUNE UP tournament.
For real man, I laugh at that shit. You played lacrosse, what if you were coming off injury and playing in a scrimmage? Would your goal be to dominate the scrimmage or would it be to get in shape for when the shit really counts? I played lacrosse for Johns Hopkins and I'll be damned if anyone gave a fuck about kicking ass against some unranked team in a fall ball tournament. We saved it for May when championships were on the line.
LOL at the TWO people who have head to head victories over Nadal...I think something like 20 some-odd people have head to head victories over Roger "Rafa sons me on a consistent basis" federer. "oh oh but clay doesn't count", alright so all those Super bowls Montana won on astroturf don't count let's forget about those, because astroturf is not part of the game. Only hard courts count right? HERE YE HERE YE CLAY IS NOT PART OF TENNIS SO ANY WINS ON CLAY DO NOT COUNT.
Greatest match ever, your boy took an L to rafa, but you make excuses for it every time. Does it hurt that much??? LONG LIVE NADAL THE SONNER!!!! Federer may indeed be the best player ever, but NADAL has his number. There is no debating that. Only excuses one can make for him getting sonned by Rafa. Forget the bullshit rankings, SAFINA'S sorry ass non winning major fold when the pressure is on Ass was #1 what a joke!!! Serena is 10 times the champion she is.
Federer may have all the talent in the world (he is a MASTER of the game I WILL NOT DENY THAT) but Rafa eats his fucking heart (I WILL NOT DENY THAT) and all us real athletes know it! IF roger could have half the heart and tenacity Rafa does he might be able to beat him, but he cowers in the face of Lucifer's Hammer.
For real man, I laugh at that shit. You played lacrosse, what if you were coming off injury and playing in a scrimmage? Would your goal be to dominate the scrimmage or would it be to get in shape for when the shit really counts? I played lacrosse for Johns Hopkins and I'll be damned if anyone gave a fuck about kicking ass against some unranked team in a fall ball tournament. We saved it for May when championships were on the line.
LOL at the TWO people who have head to head victories over Nadal...I think something like 20 some-odd people have head to head victories over Roger "Rafa sons me on a consistent basis" federer. "oh oh but clay doesn't count", alright so all those Super bowls Montana won on astroturf don't count let's forget about those, because astroturf is not part of the game. Only hard courts count right? HERE YE HERE YE CLAY IS NOT PART OF TENNIS SO ANY WINS ON CLAY DO NOT COUNT.
Greatest match ever, your boy took an L to rafa, but you make excuses for it every time. Does it hurt that much??? LONG LIVE NADAL THE SONNER!!!! Federer may indeed be the best player ever, but NADAL has his number. There is no debating that. Only excuses one can make for him getting sonned by Rafa. Forget the bullshit rankings, SAFINA'S sorry ass non winning major fold when the pressure is on Ass was #1 what a joke!!! Serena is 10 times the champion she is.
Federer may have all the talent in the world (he is a MASTER of the game I WILL NOT DENY THAT) but Rafa eats his fucking heart (I WILL NOT DENY THAT) and all us real athletes know it! IF roger could have half the heart and tenacity Rafa does he might be able to beat him, but he cowers in the face of Lucifer's Hammer.
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Gl3nn
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how do you figure?
Rafa has never won three Grand Slams in a single year. Roger has done it 3 times.
Roger has reached the Final of a Grand Slam 20 times, including 10 straight. Rafa has reached a final...8 times...and has never reached a Final more than twice in a row.
Roger has won 6 Wimbledons, Rafa 1
Roger has won 3 Australian Opens, Rafa 1
Roger has won 5 US Opens, Rafa 0
Roger has won 1 French Open, Rafa 4
Roger has been a #1 for 237 consecutive weeks, and is now starting his second stint at #1
Rafa held #1 for just under 50 weeks
Ergo, Federer is betterer
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But for me, he is so boring to watch. Different strokes for different folks.
