OT: Pro Tennis Thread

[10spro]

It took two days, but Borg's remarkable record at RG was finally surpassed by Rafa's win over Novak this morning. Nadal's level of play this year was on a different pedestal, well deserved 7th French open title.

[rhymes450]

Historic win for Nadal but we saw enough from Djokovic to suggest that this rivalry is going to be very intense over the next few months. Wimbledon, the Olympics, the American hard court season and the US Open are going to be fascinating. Might be "burn out" or "fade away" time for Federer. 1 final appearance in the last 9 slams suggest the the clock is beginning to run down on a brilliant career.

[rhymes450]

Wow! Rafa out of Wimbledon at the hands of Rosol. I only caught a few points of the final games of the match but it looks as if the Czech managed to take the, by now, standard all-out attack strategy against Nadal to a happy ending. I thought Rafa might have a bit of a toughie against Kohlschreiber in the 3rd round but this is an even bigger shock than that would've been.

[wco81]

I was flipping around the DirectTV sub channels and forget which match but they had some kind of white roof!

When did they put in roofs at Wimbledon?

[rhymes450]

I was flipping around the DirectTV sub channels and forget which match but they had some kind of white roof!

When did they put in roofs at Wimbledon?

Two or three years ago. There's been some pressure on the US Open to follow suit but apparently the design of the Arthur Ashe centre court means that the cost of roofing it would be very high.

[10spro]

Wow! Rafa out of Wimbledon at the hands of Rosol. I only caught a few points of the final games of the match but it looks as if the Czech managed to take the, by now, standard all-out attack strategy against Nadal to a happy ending. I thought Rafa might have a bit of a toughie against Kohlschreiber in the 3rd round but this is an even bigger shock than that would've been.

More shocking to me was the fact that t was only Rosol's first crack at the big W and only second grass tournament. Nadal just seemed very uneasy with the Czech's raw power who served wonderfully and was outplayed. The great Federer has a chance to get his former number 1 rank if he can reach the semis. The way he's winning easily in straights sets, I only see Tsonga and of course Djokovic giving him some trouble next week.

[wco81]

Other thing I'm noticing is more use of drop shots than they used to.

Is the grass slower now that the balls die more? You don't have the torn up areas around the net any more either.

[10spro]

Other thing I'm noticing is more use of drop shots than they used to.

Is the grass slower now that the balls die more? You don't have the torn up areas around the net any more either.

Yeah, you won't see those worn out areas around the net anymore during singles play. Doubles competition is going to start soon so you may see some yellow patches in those areas and the use of drop shots on grass is a great strategy as the ball will almost skid and die on you before you can get to the ball.

[rhymes450]

Nice to see Mardy Fish has recovered from his recent health problems. Should be a good match against Tsonga, presuming he's up for it. The other American left in the draw at Wimbledon has a pretty interesting story too. I've followed tennis pretty closely over the last few years, but I'd never heard of Brian Baker until a few weeks ago when he reached the final of Nice on clay. Now he's in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. Here's a link to a report on both guys.

http://espn.go.com/tennis/wimbledon12/s ... come-sagas

[10spro]

IMO this is the best chance that Roger Federer has at another shot to his collection of GS wins. At 30 years old and in a surface that favors his game, he should be favorite to win it all against either Tsonga or Murray who are slugging it out currently.

Murray has the hope of an entire nation behind him not to mention a lot of pressure to win it all.

Should be an exciting finals on Sunday.

[rhymes450]

IMO this is the best chance that Roger Federer has at another shot to his collection of GS wins. At 30 years old and in a surface that favors his game, he should be favorite to win it all against either Tsonga or Murray who are slugging it out currently.

Murray has the hope of an entire nation behind him not to mention a lot of pressure to win it all.

Should be an exciting finals on Sunday.

Agreed. Fed will be under pressure to take this opportunity. The court seems to be playing perfect for his game. He's able to hit that backhand at the height he likes and about midway through the third set, he was beginning to come out on top in the longer rallies, which were supposed to favour Djokovic. The break point he saved at 4-4 in the third proved a huge turning point. Murray seems to be playing well. He looked in trouble against Ferrer at a set and 5-2 down in the second-set breaker but managed to turn it around. If Fed serves as well as he did today, it's going to be tough for Murray. The stakes are very high for both of them so it'll be interesting to see how they start. A final without either Rafa or Djoko is nice for a change. Between them, I think they've won the last nine slams!!

[wco81]

Serena said she's server better at 30 than she ever has.

Maybe some of these older pros have some artificial enhancements to compete for the top levels? After all, world may be closing down on Lance Armstrong.

[rhymes450]

Serena said she's server better at 30 than she ever has.

Maybe some of these older pros have some artificial enhancements to compete for the top levels? After all, world may be closing down on Lance Armstrong.

I'd look on it as almost the opposite. If Serena was taking on Azarenka in prolonged baseline rallies and outlasting an opponent ten years her junior, there might be a stronger basis for asking questions. The serve in tennis is mainly technique and requires little enough in terms of strength and endurance. The fact that Serena went for broke on her serve suggests that she didn't really want to engage in a more physical battle. Federer is much the same against Djokovic and Nadal. The shorter the rallies the better as far as he's concerned. One of the reasons he's lasted so long is because he takes the physical endurance element out of it by winning service games in just over a minute and generally keeping things short and sweet.

That being said, there's a lot of money and glory at stake in professional sport and I don't think your suspicions are without foundation, which is a bit unfortunate to have to say. I used to follow professional cycling on TV and I don't anymore, mainly becasue of the doping cloud that surrounds the sport.

[wco81]

Only thing is they've both been at the top for a decade or more, in a sport where other top players flame out by their late or even mid 20s.

Maybe Serena isn't playing all the events that other players are, saving herself for the majors and a few tuneups. But Federer is playing a lot of events, isn't he?

[10spro]

Not sure how often the players get tested but the doping program is an ongoing experiment. Players have been suspended in the past, and in some cases for a full year term.

Grass events are easier on your body and Federer's game is suited perfectly for it. The annual tennis schedule is brutal and it forces a player to play a minimum amount of what you would call 'Main events' so that players can maintain their rankings.

In Rogers's case, his goal is to win one more GS event and hold a record for most Grand Slams.

As for Serena, she's been injured for the past couple of years but again the lower bounce, less rallies just suits her powerful game. Haven't seen her serve so well as she was just nailing down those T lines.

[wco81]

Do rankings matter for established players? They probably make more money from off-court deals than tournament winnings?

If Federer or Nadal dropped out of the Top 10, would their sponsors drop them right away?

Or do the rankings determine the seeds for the major tournaments so you want to be seeded as high as possible in these tourneys so that you don't face the top ranked players until well into the majors?

[10spro]

Do rankings matter for established players? They probably make more money from off-court deals than tournament winnings?

If Federer or Nadal dropped out of the Top 10, would their sponsors drop them right away?

Or do the rankings determine the seeds for the major tournaments so you want to be seeded as high as possible in these tourneys so that you don't face the top ranked players until well into the majors?

It's more on your latter point with the exception of the big W event. A guy like D. Ferrer is currently in the top 5-6 in the world yet he was seeded as high as #8 at Wimbledon because of his more apt abilities in hard court and clay events. When you're Nadal, Djokovic, Federer you don't want to see guys like Tsonga, Del Potro and Ferrer until the semis. And although they get good bucks fom their receive sponsors the tour has estipulated a rule where all players have to fulfill a minimum number of calendar events, or a penalty woud be applied to them such as a drop in points to their current rankings.

If Nadal drops out of the top 10 in the next couple of years due to injuries or lack of participation in main events, Nike would not pay him less but the chances of his renewal for big bucks would certainly take a serious tumble.

[10spro]

Two consecutive beautiful dropped volleys for Federer to tie up the match at a set each, before the typical London rain came in. How do you teach that last one on set point and under all that pressure? Unbelievable shot. A great close match so far, the break may favor Murray more as his body language started to change. Time to get back with coach Lendl to discuss a few pointers as Federer seems to be more comfortable as the match wears on.

Rain, rain go away. I prefer the championship match to end up without the roof.

[XXXIV]

Tied Pete at Wimbledon.

Man has to be the best ever even if he is not Greek.

[rhymes450]

Big swing in the match at the end of the 2nd. Murray missed a break point to go 6-5 up and then conceded his serve having been 30-0 and looking likely to force the tiebreak. Great match in the first 2 sets and once they closed the roof, Fed was absolutely brilliant, and Murray's level didn't seem to drop at all. After the match, Patrick McEnroe summed up my attitude when he said, "I'm done doubting Federer. I didn't think he could get back to number 1". Considering all the disappointments, particularly those two US Open semis where he lost to Djokovic having had match points, it's a phenomenal achievement.

[10spro]

Tied Pete at Wimbledon.

Man has to be the best ever even if he is not Greek.

He is already in my view, even if he didn't tie Pete who is his idol. You could tell that he was on top of his game after those 2 ridiculous drop volleys and once the roof was close, the great Swiss man played flawlessly. If he remains healthy, he still has a lot of tennis in him just when people started to write him off.

[XXXIV]

Tied Pete at Wimbledon.

Man has to be the best ever even if he is not Greek.

He is already in my view, even if he didn't tie Pete who is his idol. You could tell that he was on top of his game after those 2 ridiculous drop volleys and once the roof was close, the great Swiss man played flawlessly. If he remains healthy, he still has a lot of tennis in him just when people started to write him off.

I must agree. Already was the best ever. This was just an exclamation point. ...and yeah...probably more to come.

[wco81]

Does Murray have anything but his serve? Seems like a taller Roddick. Fed with 30 year old legs had better court coverage.

Don't think he could beat Nadal or Djoko either. Ever.

[10spro]

Does Murray have anything but his serve? Seems like a taller Roddick. Fed with 30 year old legs had better court coverage.

Don't think he could beat Nadal or Djoko either. Ever.

I wouldn't write him off just yet. He did have some impressive wins against Federer before today's finals and while he may not ever win the bug W in front of his nation, I do see him winning a major perhaps at the Aussie Open or even the US Open. He's got a solid serve and backhand, his forehand was irregular today.

Federer was smart to slice it low to his right side and you could tell that Murray was having problems getting that low. He's still young, I think Lendl has been good for him, just needs to work harder.

[rhymes450]

I quite like Andy Roddick as a player and he's achieved a lot in tennis but IMO, he's got nowhere near the repertoire of Murray, who'd probably come second only to Federer in terms of range of strokes as far as I'm concerned. He's acknowledged to have one of the best two-handed backhands in the game, and his slice on that wing is much better than that of either Djoko or Rafa IMO. He's also a more natural volleyer than either, I'd say. The forehand and the second serve are where he's considerered to be vulnerable, though he's improved his forehand a lot in recent years, particularly during the spell with Corretja. He's got two wins over Nadal in slams and just today, Fed brought his H2H with Murray to 8-8, though it's 3-0 to the Swiss in their slam meetings. And Murray is a great mover on a tennis court, especially in a defensive sense. I thought he played an excellent match today, came pretty close to taking a 2-set lead and finally got beaten by a great player in sublime form. The failure to pick up a slam after reaching four finals is becoming a bit of a weight around his neck, but if he can keep the faith, his time should come. Not easy with Nadal and Djoko ruling the roost and now Federer coming back into the picture so spectacularly.