OT: Pro Tennis Thread

[10spro]

Djokovic must be thanking the Gods tonight. With the five setter yesterday against RF, I don't think he would have any mustard left against the fittest guy on the tour.

[JackB1]

Djokovic must be thanking the Gods tonight. With the five setter yesterday against RF, I don't think he would have any mustard left against the fittest guy on the tour.

You got that right. HUGE break for Djoko, but kind of more fair. It's weird that one guy in the finals gets a full day's rest and the other guy has to come back in 24 hours. 5 setters are so draining....both finalists should have the same opportunity to recover.

That Djoko vs Federer match was some of the best tennis I have seen in a while. What a battle! I can't believe Federer didn't out it away when he had match point. Djokovich is playing out of his mind right now and should give Rafa a pretty competitive match. If Rafa disposes of Djoko easily, then can we draw the conclusion that he would have beaten Federer?

[10spro]

Djokovic must be thanking the Gods tonight. With the five setter yesterday against RF, I don't think he would have any mustard left against the fittest guy on the tour.

You got that right. HUGE break for Djoko, but kind of more fair. It's weird that one guy in the finals gets a full day's rest and the other guy has to come back in 24 hours. 5 setters are so draining....both finalists should have the same opportunity to recover.

That Djoko vs Federer match was some of the best tennis I have seen in a while. What a battle! I can't believe Federer didn't out it away when he had match point. Djokovich is playing out of his mind right now and should give Rafa a pretty competitive match. If Rafa disposes of Djoko easily, then can we draw the conclusion that he would have beaten Federer?

To be fair to Rafa, he played Saturday too but Youhny was no opponent for him so it was an easy 3 sets for the Mallorca man. RF had all the momentum to win that fifth setter against Djoko but the Serb played with no fear during the match points. He just went for it. Took huge risks and it payed for him. Surprisingly Federer looked bothered for long stretches of the match and wasn't as cool and confident as he's usually on the court.

It would have been nice to see Rafa-Fed in the finals again but Djoko will surely put a better fight today. Not sure if he can win it all, but he's good enough to take a set or two from Nadal.

[rhymes450]

I watched a replay of the 5th set yesterday and I think it was Fed's best set of the match. He couldn't really have done much more on those match points. From 15-40, Djoko played three of the most brilliant forehand winners imaginable. Fed's only real mistake for me came at 15-30 in the final game of the match when I think he should have gone down the line with the pass and Djoko managed to control the volley into the open court. That would have given him two break points to take it into a tiebreaker.

As regards whether Rafa would have beaten Fed, I think it's fun to speculate but ultimately irrelevant. I don't know if it's true that Bill Shankly once said something along the lines of "our job is to beat the team on the pitch against us and not any other team" on being asked by a journalist if Liverpool would have one the match had the opposition not been missing two star players. Even if Shankly never said it, it's a good story. I guess we could equally speculate on how Rafa would have done against Murray, had Murray fulfilled expectations by making the semis.

I think Djoko has a fair chance of winning the title especially if he reaches the level he did in the semi. He might want to win the first set this time round though. Apparently, Rafa has only ever lost one match in a slam after winning the first.

[JackB1]

I watched a replay of the 5th set yesterday and I think it was Fed's best set of the match. He couldn't really have done much more on those match points. From 15-40, Djoko played three of the most brilliant forehand winners imaginable. Fed's only real mistake for me came at 15-30 in the final game of the match when I think he should have gone down the line with the pass and Djoko managed to control the volley into the open court. That would have given him two break points to take it into a tiebreaker.

I thought Fed used his backhand slice way too much... especially on weak 2nd serve returns. Djoko seemed to hit a lot of strong forehands off those backhand slices and Federer didn't seem to pick up in it.

[rhymes450]

I watched a replay of the 5th set yesterday and I think it was Fed's best set of the match. He couldn't really have done much more on those match points. From 15-40, Djoko played three of the most brilliant forehand winners imaginable. Fed's only real mistake for me came at 15-30 in the final game of the match when I think he should have gone down the line with the pass and Djoko managed to control the volley into the open court. That would have given him two break points to take it into a tiebreaker.

I thought Fed used his backhand slice way too much... especially on weak 2nd serve returns. Djoko seemed to hit a lot of strong forehands off those backhand slices and Federer didn't seem to pick up in it.

Just talking about the 5th set rather than the match in general, I take your point that Fed regularly opted for a backhand block return on the Djoko serve, though fairly early and aggressively from inside the court I thought. I'm not sure about weak 2nd serves. Djoko has one of the best kick serves in the business IMO and the height it gets up to makes it pretty tough for a one-handed player to come over them. Once the rallies opened out, I thought Fed was generally pretty aggressive on the backhand side, coming over it more often than not.

[10spro]

Great finals match. Djoko fought hard but just didn't have the energy and power that Rafa possessed. There were a lot of long tough rallies out there and Rafa just played the crucial points with more determination. Only the 7th men to win all GS. Well deserved.

[rhymes450]

Only caught radio coverage of the end of the 2nd and the last two sets. Finished at about 4 in the morning in Europe. After two weeks of trying to follow this tournament, I'm suffering from severe jet lag. Amazing achievement by Nadal, not only in completing the career GS but also in the way he has constantly adapted and improved his game and finally managed to win the toughest tournament of all for him. From the king of clay to the master of all surfaces. The frightening thing for his opponents is that Nadal now comes complete with a big serve. How formidable is that going to make him?

[JackB1]

Nadal has turned into a MONSTER and he is still getting better! Djokovich did the best he could,
but in the end Rafa was superior in every way. His serve is so much better now. Didn't he have
3 aces in a row at one point? Djoko tried staying away from Rafa's forehand, but Rafa proved his
backhand is also a formidable weapon.

I think there is no doubt that Rafa would have taken down Roger also. If he stays healthy, he will be
on top for a good while now. Only negative, is Men's tenneis might get boring until someone can challenge
him for that #1 spot.

[10spro]

I think there is no doubt that Rafa would have taken down Roger also. If he stays healthy, he will be on top for a good while now. Only negative, is Men's tenneis might get boring until someone can challenge him for that #1 spot.

It would be foolish to count Federer out. He's been injured free for most of his career, I think he's got more game left in the tank. With the armada of Spanish players on the rise, Del Potro getting healthy, Djoko raising his game and upcoming players like Isner coming up, the game is far from being dull like the years I. Lendl or Sampras dominated the game.

[JackB1]

I think there is no doubt that Rafa would have taken down Roger also. If he stays healthy, he will be on top for a good while now. Only negative, is Men's tenneis might get boring until someone can challenge him for that #1 spot.

It would be foolish to count Federer out. He's been injured free for most of his career, I think he's got more game left in the tank. With the armada of Spanish players on the rise, Del Potro getting healthy, Djoko raising his game and upcoming players like Isner coming up, the game is far from being dull like the years I. Lendl or Sampras dominated the game.

I hated those years that Sampras dominated. So boring.

I am sorry, but I just don't see anyone unseating Rafa from that #1 spot for a long, long time.

Del Potro is still too inconsistent and slow.

Djokovich is probably peaking now and Rafa is still on the improve.

Isner is all serve and no return game. Won't win a major anytime soon.

[fsquid]

How bad is the tennis scene in America where CBS dumps the final to bring you reruns. Was surprised by that since this is one of CBS's signature events along with the Final Four and the Masters.

[wco81]

You never know, someone else juices up and comes up to upset the apple cart.

[rhymes450]

You never know, someone else juices up and comes up to upset the apple cart.

When you say "juices up", are you referring to the taking of performance-enhancing substances? It's just that I'm not completely familiar with the expression and maybe you're referring to something completely different. Don't misunderstand me. I'm by no means suggesting that you're not above engaging in the kind of casual slander so prevalent in internet forums.

[wco81]

Yes PEDs.

Why, you think tennis is immune, a sanctuary of integrity in professional sports?

[rhymes450]

I think there is no doubt that Rafa would have taken down Roger also. If he stays healthy, he will be on top for a good while now. Only negative, is Men's tenneis might get boring until someone can challenge him for that #1 spot.

It would be foolish to count Federer out. He's been injured free for most of his career, I think he's got more game left in the tank. With the armada of Spanish players on the rise, Del Potro getting healthy, Djoko raising his game and upcoming players like Isner coming up, the game is far from being dull like the years I. Lendl or Sampras dominated the game.

I'm with you in that I don't think Federer can be counted out. He's played three tournaments at a very high level and was very close to making the US Open final and, who knows, maybe even winning the thing. He's a great champion and maybe the most amazing player in the history of the game. Whether he can fend off the Nadal threat, I'm not sure but I'd be surprised not to see him react and that's going to make things very interesting over the next few months or maybe years. I really hope Delpo comes back strong after his wrist injury. His absence has been the greatest loss to the scene this year after the amazing 18 months of non-stop progress from June 2008. Djoko has come out of this tournament looking a lot better than when he went into it and Murray, with 5 Masters Series titles in the last couple of years, is hardly just going to disappear either. Not sure about Isner, though who knows. There are a lot of great players out there and maybe Rafa's greatest asset is that he treats all of them with the same humility and respect. I'd say the number of players who have beaten him because he was overconfident going into the match would be pretty close to zero.

[rhymes450]

Yes PEDs.

Why, you think tennis is immune, a sanctuary of integrity in professional sports?

I'm really not sure. I believe the checks are fairly stringent and I guess I'd like to think that tennis and other sports have cleaned up their acts. I don't really have proof to the contrary. Do you or is it just intuition on your part? Do you think Nadal is alone in tennis or do you also suspect other players? I've heard people point to his physique as evidence that he's doping but as a Barca fan (judging from your avatar), you might agree that alongside his uncle, Miguel Angel, Rafa looks as if he could do with a square meal or two and that his muscular frame is not unusual in his family history. Why single him out for this type of accusation?

[wco81]

Of course nobody has smoking gun proof, or else he wouldn't be celebrated today, after his career GS.

But he and others have been under suspicion. Maybe not fair but the circumstances of the tourneys he's won and the tourneys he's bowed out of, along with complaints about drug testing, have raised suspicions.

Tennis is such a genteel sport that I think honest players won't complain too much, because they get paid for appearances almost as much as actually having to win. Or in a sport like the NFL where it's widespread, there's little motivation to tell on each other.

[rhymes450]

The Shanghai Masters 1000 is underway. It'll be interesting to see whether Fed and Rafa are really up for this or whether they take it as an end-of-season obligation to be fulfilled. Hopefully it'll be the former. The official website in English is a bit patchy. There's a cryptic headline about David Ferrer and a press conference with Roger Federer that doesn't really take off until about half-way through. Here's the link.

http://www.shanghairolexmasters.com/English/index.shtml#

It's being shown free-to-air in Spain so I'll be tuning in as much as I can.

[10spro]

The Shanghai Masters 1000 is underway. It'll be interesting to see whether Fed and Rafa are really up for this or whether they take it as an end-of-season obligation to be fulfilled. Hopefully it'll be the former. The official website in English is a bit patchy. There's a cryptic headline about David Ferrer and a press conference with Roger Federer that doesn't really take off until about half-way through. Here's the link.

http://www.shanghairolexmasters.com/English/index.shtml#

It's being shown free-to-air in Spain so I'll be tuning in as much as I can.

Thanks for the heads up. I actually will be in Shanghai this coming Thursday but on a very short business trip. Would love to go for a day. The carpet surface maybe too quick for Rafa but then again, never count him out.

[rhymes450]

Happy coincidence 10s. Hope you can make it along. Thursday would probably be QF day so the quality would most likely be top-notch.

At the moment, I think Rafa would probably be favourite even if it were played on ice. In any case, I think it's just a normal synthetic hard court. it seems to be an outdoor complex with a retractable roof on the centre court. One of the commentators yesterday was of the impression that the court was reasonably slow and inclined to take a fair bit of spin. Have a good trip and let us know if you get to see the action.

[10spro]

Happy coincidence 10s. Hope you can make it along. Thursday would probably be QF day so the quality would most likely be top-notch.

At the moment, I think Rafa would probably be favourite even if it were played on ice. In any case, I think it's just a normal synthetic hard court. it seems to be an outdoor complex with a retractable roof on the centre court. One of the commentators yesterday was of the impression that the court was reasonably slow and inclined to take a fair bit of spin. Have a good trip and let us know if you get to see the action.

Keeping my fingers crossed, but then again the stop is only for 2 days, so here's hoping that the hosts will have some tickets. Saw a bit of the Verdasco game who lost, this is the time of the year where some guys are just dragging their tired bodies and injuries along.

[rhymes450]

10s, I'm sure you'll be able to persuade your hosts of the importance of those tickets in terms of cementing the relationship between your respective organisations as we stand here on the threshold of the 2nd decade of the 21st century in a climate of economic uncertainty...blah blah

Verdasco (didn't see the match but I'm told he threw away a useful lead in the 2nd set) needs to get the finger out. He's had a few consecutive 1st round losses and he needs those ranking points if he wants to play the World Tour Finals at the end of the year. The race to get there is pretty hot with the likes of Ferrer, Youzhny, Roddick, Davydenko and Berdych all fighting for the last few places.

[rhymes450]

Guess the big news is that Nadal lost to Melzer. Can't win em all, I suppose. Federer looked great and extremely motivated against John Isner yesterday. If I was afraid of flying (which I am), I'd still be fairly comfortable travelling on the same plane as Guillermo García López these days. He probably has Harry Houdini smiling in the grave. Recently, in the semis of Bankok against Rafa, he saved about two million break points before converting his one and only break point to win the match and later the tournament. In the first round of Shanghai, he was 4-1 down in the 3rd against Schwank before the Argentine imploded (as he is wont to do). In 2nd round, Roddick was a set and a break up and was cruising to victory before he got injured, leaving García Lopez march on to face Berdych. No problem! I saw him play a sublime first set on his way to a straight-set win. Anyway, tomorrow he's surely going down against Djokovic in the quarters...maybe. I assume absolutely no responsibility for those who believe in fate and who, on reading this post, decide that the best investment option at this point in time is to put the house on GGL. QF match of the day is probably Fed's revenge match against Soderling (1st meeting since Soderling beat him at Roland Garros).

[10spro]

Guess the big news is that Nadal lost to Melzer. Can't win em all, I suppose. Federer looked great and extremely motivated against John Isner yesterday. If I was afraid of flying (which I am), I'd still be fairly comfortable travelling on the same plane as Guillermo García López these days. He probably has Harry Houdini smiling in the grave.

Well, it's almost 8:32 Friday morning in Shanghai, Rhymes. If you ever have a long flight ahead, PM me, we'll chat. To me it's the lenght of these trips that bother me, 12 1/2 hours yesterday just did it for me. Doesn't look that time will allow me to watch any Tennis even on TV on this trip, Expo is still going on here, pulling for the Fed express.