OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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sportdan30
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Post by sportdan30 »

Great match! I found myself pulling for Del Potro. What a tremendously strong forehand he has. You gotta think as he gets a little stronger, his serve will become deadlier. I too was surprised that Federer kept setting him up to hit a forehand winner.

It was time for a new U.S. Open mens champion.

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Post by vader29 »

Great Tennis match, I like Federer but ended up pulling for the youngster at the end.

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Post by rhymes450 »

Brilliant Del Potro. Game of two halves. Who'd have thought with Fed serving for the for the second at 5-4 that things would have worked out the way they did. 10spro, I have to confess that I got so wrapped up in this that I was watching it more from an emotional rather than an analytical prespective. In any case I think it's not uncommon for players to attack the forehand. Delpo went after the Nadal forehand big time yesterday and Rafa made a huge amount of mistakes. In Fed's semi against Djokovic you could see he was happy enough to trade forehands with a Djokovic who was having big problems switching to go down the line. I think the big problem was the pace at which Delpo was hitting and the fact that he was going down the line so big with that forehand. Anyway it's all theory. Who knows? As sportdan says it was time, not only for a new U.S. Open mens champion, but for a new star to challenge Roger and Rafa. Great day for Argentina.

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Post by 10spro »

rhymes450 wrote:Brilliant Del Potro. Game of two halves. Who'd have thought with Fed serving for the for the second at 5-4 that things would have worked out the way they did. 10spro, I have to confess that I got so wrapped up in this that I was watching it more from an emotional rather than an analytical prespective.
Haa, I know what you mean. I do have a soft spot for the Swiss but growing up in Buenos Aires I had to pull for Del Potro. He had like 40+ winners on the forehand side and many like you said, down the line. And they were haymakers too, and not that his backhand was the weakest weapon, but seeing so many outright winners from the forehand side and the way he was connecting them, I would have changed my tactics a bit, hit more down the middle (a lot of Del Potro's forenhand winners were running shots) or even rush to the net a bit.

Great win, and gracious in defeat as usual for the great Roger.

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Post by rhymes450 »

10spro wrote
Haa, I know what you mean. I do have a soft spot for the Swiss but growing up in Buenos Aires I had to pull for Del Potro. He had like 40+ winners on the forehand side and many like you said, down the line. And they were haymakers too, and not that his backhand was the weakest weapon, but seeing so many outright winners from the forehand side and the way he was connecting them, I would have changed my tactics a bit, hit more down the middle (a lot of Del Potro's forenhand winners were running shots) or even rush to the net a bit
On a court as fast as this, I suppose the most important thing is to have the initiative as much a possible. Fed had it for the best part of two sets so his plan A was sound but when Juan Martin upped the ante, he didn't seem to have a plan B. Maybe by doing what you suggest he could have regained the initiative. I think Delpo's fearsome hitting off the ground knocked him out of his stride too and that he became a bit edgy. His double fault count was unusually high in the latter stages and there was that uncharacteristic exchange with with the umpire in the 3rd set. Must be pretty tough trying to think straight in that kind of cauldron. In any case, he wasn't that far away from taking it in the fourth. If you grew up in Buenos Aires, special congratulations are in order. Enhorabuena. Ha nacido una nueva estrella del tenis mundial. Nice to see Juan Martin being given the opportunity to address his people in his mother tongue. Emotional moment.

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Post by JackB1 »

just got done watching the replay....

great, well played, entertaining match and just "what the Dr ordered" after that women's final snoozer. I told someone before the match that if Federer tries to just slug it out from the baseline with Delpo, then he might lose, and thats what he did. I am not sure why Federer didn't try and get the big man running forward more and try a little finesse game?
He also kept setting up his big forehand. Federer also was very shaky serving, which was highly unusual. That last set went to Delpotro easily and that was very surprising. Roger seemed confused and wasn't able to figure out how to consistently beat the big man.

Delpotro's forehand has got to be one of the hardest shots in all of tennis. The speed at which that thing skips accross the court is unreal.
So many winners!

Federer showed a lot of class the way he handled the loss (take note Serena) and gave a nice little speech. Delpo almost looked embarassed when he went to the net to shake hands with Roger. The big Argentine played a remarkable tournament and those two really treated the US Open faithful to a great show. Great Open overall too. I really enjoyed it. Sorry its over!

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Post by JackB1 »

Anyone else watching the French Open?

Did anyone catch Venus Williams' outfit? I don't know why she wears these ridiculous outfits for the majors? Looked like a ballet outfit or something. And what's with the skin colored bottoms? I don't know about you guys, but I don't really find her sexy. Here's a link if you are interested: http://www.examiner.com/x-12837-US-Head ... -slideshow

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Post by 10spro »

Personally, I don't care about the Williams sisters, if Ivanovic, Hantukova or even Sharapova wore that I may have problems following the fuzzy ball.

Back to the French Open, if Rafa remains healthy, I am picking him as a favorite to win it all.

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Post by JackB1 »

10spro wrote:Personally, I don't care about the Williams sisters, if Ivanovic, Hantukova or even Sharapova wore that I may have problems following the fuzzy ball.

Back to the French Open, if Rafa remains healthy, I am picking him as a favorite to win it all.
Agree about Ivanovic, etc. :) I don't know why Venus cant just play tennis and stop trying to be a fashion spectacle. Leave that stuff to the models on the runway. A muscular, sweaty Venus in a "trendy fashion tennis outfit" is like putting a tuxedo on Iggy Pop...just doesn't work.

Agree that Nadal is the man to beat as he always is on clay. Its amazing that the little bit of extra edge he gets from clay makes it so hard for Federer & the others to beat him. Is it the extra time you have to get to the ball or the way he gets such a high bounce with all that topspin? What is it that Nadal is able to capitalize on so much on clay?

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Post by 10spro »

JackB1 wrote:
10spro wrote:Personally, I don't care about the Williams sisters, if Ivanovic, Hantukova or even Sharapova wore that I may have problems following the fuzzy ball.

Back to the French Open, if Rafa remains healthy, I am picking him as a favorite to win it all.
Agree about Ivanovic, etc. :) I don't know why Venus cant just play tennis and stop trying to be a fashion spectacle. Leave that stuff to the models on the runway. A muscular, sweaty Venus in a "trendy fashion tennis outfit" is like putting a tuxedo on Iggy Pop...just doesn't work.

Agree that Nadal is the man to beat as he always is on clay. Its amazing that the little bit of extra edge he gets from clay makes it so hard for Federer & the others to beat him. Is it the extra time you have to get to the ball or the way he gets such a high bounce with all that topspin? What is it that Nadal is able to capitalize on so much on clay?

To be honest, growing up and playing on the surface of your choice has a lot to do with your current game. Nadal grew up playing on clay, he's got the patience to stay all day long in rallies, you do have that extra second to hit a ball, and the bounces are higher which suits to his topspin game just fine.

That's why you have so many Spaniards doing well on clay, Argentinians and many other Latin players that grew up on that surface. The key thing for Rafa is to stay healthy, his knees are a concern to me, but physically he's a bull.

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Post by rhymes450 »

I'll be following this.

Regarding Venus, I saw her live for the first time in Madrid a couple of weeks back and I was surprised that she seemed a lot more attractive and slimmer than on TV. That's probably down to watching tennis broadcast in 4:3 format on a widescreen TV, which makes the players look a fair bit chunkier than they really are.

Del Potro is a big loss to this tournament. Shame that his injury seems to be quite serious. He was on a great roll and looked ready to take on the world. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off when he returns. That's often not easy though. Also a pity Gulbis is out. He looked to be coming good in Rome and Madrid.

On the question of clay, apart from the incredible amount of spin these courts take, I think the difference in movement with respect to other surfaces is a factor. Players who haven't grown up on clay tend to struggle a bit more with footwork.

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Post by JackB1 »

rhymes450 wrote:
Regarding Venus, I saw her live for the first time in Madrid a couple of weeks back and I was surprised that she seemed a lot more attractive and slimmer than on TV.
Sorry, but there's nothing "slim" about Serena. Her thighs are wider than my waist. That's a "man baby"! :)

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Post by 10spro »

JackB1 wrote:
rhymes450 wrote:
Regarding Venus, I saw her live for the first time in Madrid a couple of weeks back and I was surprised that she seemed a lot more attractive and slimmer than on TV.
Sorry, but there's nothing "slim" about Serena. Her thighs are wider than my waist. That's a "man baby"! :)
He mentioned her sister Venus, not Serena.

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Post by 10spro »

rhymes450 wrote: Del Potro is a big loss to this tournament. Shame that his injury seems to be quite serious. He was on a great roll and looked ready to take on the world. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off when he returns. That's often not easy though. Also a pity Gulbis is out. He looked to be coming good in Rome and Madrid.

On the question of clay, apart from the incredible amount of spin these courts take, I think the difference in movement with respect to other surfaces is a factor. Players who haven't grown up on clay tend to struggle a bit more with footwork.
No doubt about DP, rhymes. Wrist injuries can be career ending injuries along with shoulders as I well know personally. However Agassi did fairly well after coming back from wrist surgery himself. Del Potro had so much potential and was serious on challenging the top 3 guys in the world.

Another factor when you grow up playing on clay is that a player learns to glide laterally more naturally, buying some extra time when pulled wide something that Rafa does better than anyone.

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Post by rhymes450 »

10spro wrote:
Another factor when you grow up playing on clay is that a player learns to glide laterally more naturally, buying some extra time when pulled wide something that Rafa does better than anyone.
That could be the script for the second clip of this little video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzUHPjF_0Ms

And what about Gaels Monfils at the end? Did he enjoy that or what?

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Post by JackB1 »

rhymes450 wrote:10spro wrote:
Another factor when you grow up playing on clay is that a player learns to glide laterally more naturally, buying some extra time when pulled wide something that Rafa does better than anyone.
That could be the script for the second clip of this little video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzUHPjF_0Ms

And what about Gaels Monfils at the end? Did he enjoy that or what?
I love watching Monfils on clay. BTW did any of you guys seem him playing his match in the dark the other night, due to scheduling mess ups?

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Post by rhymes450 »

JackB1 wrote:
rhymes450 wrote:10spro wrote:
Another factor when you grow up playing on clay is that a player learns to glide laterally more naturally, buying some extra time when pulled wide something that Rafa does better than anyone.
That could be the script for the second clip of this little video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzUHPjF_0Ms

And what about Gaels Monfils at the end? Did he enjoy that or what?
I love watching Monfils on clay. BTW did any of you guys seem him playing his match in the dark the other night, due to scheduling mess ups?
Didn't see the match but I was a bit surprised that Monfils let it slip after leading by two sets. Judging by the scoreline, Wawrinka made short work of what was left of Fognini after such an epic effort. Interesting match-up now between the two Swiss guys. Nadal v Hewitt is another match I'll be trying to catch.

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Post by wco81 »

Was watching a couple of games before it was suspended.

Apparently Monfils started hotdogging after he got the 2 set lead.

Very rowdy French crowd cheering after every point he won.

They made them play a couple of games after it got pretty dark. The announcers were outraged at what seemed like an effort to help the local favorite.

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Post by 10spro »

Hey nobody beats Roger Federer 16 times in a row or whatever winning record the Swiss had over Soderling. Stunning upset to say the least. After the rain delay, the Swede just out-aced Roger. This guy has upset some top guns over the past few years.

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10spro wrote:Hey nobody beats Roger Federer 16 times in a row or whatever winning record the Swiss had over Soderling. Stunning upset to say the least. After the rain delay, the Swede just out-aced Roger. This guy has upset some top guns over the past few years.
You watch a match like that and wonder why Soderling doesn't win more often? He has monster groundstrokes and a killer serve. Federer looked overmatched today.

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Post by rhymes450 »

JackB1 wrote:
10spro wrote:Hey nobody beats Roger Federer 16 times in a row or whatever winning record the Swiss had over Soderling. Stunning upset to say the least. After the rain delay, the Swede just out-aced Roger. This guy has upset some top guns over the past few years.
You watch a match like that and wonder why Soderling doesn't win more often? He has monster groundstrokes and a killer serve. Federer looked overmatched today.
I only caught the first set, when Fed was on top, and the end of the 3rd when Soderling saved an amazing set point, widely regarded as the turning point of the match. The amazing set-point save, with Soderling finding a high-backhand volley to counter Feds "defensive smash", comes around second 27 of the only video I can find on the net: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHCIK1dt ... r_embedded

I guess that if Fed had gone 2-1 up, he'd have managed to close it out. Those who know about these things seem to think that the slow conditions made it difficult for Fed to expose Soderling's relative lack of mobility but that those conditions were not so slow as to prevent Soderling from being able to hurt Fed with those bombing serves and forehand.

Nadal looked very good yesterday (Almagro deserved at least a set) and must be hot favourite against Melzer. Could be in for a grudge showdown between him and Soderling on Sunday. Berdych beat Soderling easily in Miami and looks to be in great form too so that semi doesn't look so clear-cut to me.

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Post by 10spro »

Watched the finals in Miami last week between Berdych-Soderling and to be honest, the Swede seemed to just have no interest at all after the first set. I think he'll be much stronger this time and will advance to the finals against Rafa who looks very strong, not just physically, but mentally too.

The game with Almagro was so tight that the first set could have gone either way. I think the stats after their 1st two sets were dead even on winners and unforced errors.

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Post by rhymes450 »

10spro wrote:Watched the finals in Miami last week between Berdych-Soderling and to be honest, the Swede seemed to just have no interest at all after the first set. I think he'll be much stronger this time and will advance to the finals against Rafa who looks very strong, not just physically, but mentally too.

The game with Almagro was so tight that the first set could have gone either way. I think the stats after their 1st two sets were dead even on winners and unforced errors.
10spro, Have to agree that Soderling is favourite (after your Diego Milito pick on the soccer thread prior to the Champions League final, my official policy is to go with your instincts) against Berdych tomorrow. In Miami, I think Berdych just overpowered him and his game wasn't really on. Miami is a big tournament and Soderling has yet to win a Masters 1000 event so I doubt it was lack of interest. He fell away a bit against Roddick at Indian Wells after winning the 1st so for me there's still a bit of a question mark about his capacity to win a big event. Now that we've been deprived of the Rafa-Fed showdown (one of the hottest tickets in sport?) a Rafa-Soderling match would have a lot of spice, considering last year's result and the fact that there's definitely a bad vibe between these two going back to their Wimbledon clash a few years back.

The Almagro-Rafa match was of exceptional quality and about as close as a 3-setter can be. Another stat that appeared on-screen just before the 2nd-set breaker was that they had each won 76 points. Almagro is some player IMO and one to look out for in the coming months. I'm ruling out Melzer completely so if he beats Rafa, I'll be posting tomorrow with both hands in the air.

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Post by JackB1 »

Hoping for a Soderling / Nadal Final!

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Post by 10spro »

Rhymes, I am glad that you did not asked me 'bout who would be in the women's finals. :) Geez.

Big win for Soderling and props to the Swede for making the finals for the 2nd year in a row. It should be Rafa on the other side of the net but I would think that the match won't be as easy as it maybe printed on paper.

If Soderling serves well and keeps his serves wide to either side of the Spaniard, he can take advantage of his heavy forehand, problem is of course, Nadal is probably the best serve returner today since A. Agassi retired.

Soderling has mental lapses in his game, he must fix that to have any chance at spoiling the party for one of the great clay players of all time.

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