Tennis Thread - Official

[Ignatius]

What Esteban is referring to is the play itself. I don't think he means the tournament is boring.

Wimbledon is my favorite grand slam, but it is for other reasons than the play. The atmosphere, the crowd (to me, the most respectful tennis crowd in the world) the player's motivation, the history...this is the slam all players want to win. Even the claycourters 

I don't think the play is boring anymore though. Since they slowed the courts down, we get to see much baseline play and I like that. The balls still travels fast, but often we get long rallies. To me, play at wimbly's became boring in the mid 90's cause it was no longer serve and volley. It was more serve and forced error, serve and force error and repeat, however I wouldn't miss a final regardless who was playing cause it was... Wimbledon.

Oh...and how could I forget? you really want to know what makes Wimbledon different??

Pimm's and strawberries and cream 

[Eazy E]

anyway, I'm glad with Gisela and Del Potro victories. Now its time for Delpo to erase Hewitt 

Not quite.

[Gnrfan]

Good couple of days at Wimbledon. Del Potro goes crashing out to an ever improving Hewitt.... it just goes to show despite all the promise he has Del Potro still isn't quite there with the top 4 yet. But at only 20 he has a lot of time yet.

Murray destroyed Gulbis which was impressive.

Its shaping up to be a pretty good tournament

[Ignatius]

Del Potro leaving early wasn't that big of a surprise. Grass is not his favorite surface and he was playing a former champion who has been playing very good recently. I only watched the first set, but Leyton seemed in control all the time. He faced a few break points but got out of trouble with some solid play.

Murray had a test against Gulbis. Im still hoping the latvian will breakthrough soon. He's got incredible powershots but he can't seem to go past the second round in any tournament. He has to watch his UE's more, he plays every point trying to hit a winner and there's no way you can win like that against top players. Andy did what he had to do, he mixed his game, aggressive and defensive with good shot placement. He reads the opponent well.

What I did watch is the Juan Carlos Ferrero against Santoro. I was impressed with the spaniard. Truth to be told, Santoro is not Andy Roddick but Juan Carlos hit so many winners (68). His groundstrokes looked like Roland Garros 2003. Now he's facing Gonzalez in the third round. That'll be a difficult match but if JC wins, that will open up the draw for him.

[Gnrfan]

Murray had a test against Gulbis. Im still hoping the latvian will breakthrough soon. He's got incredible powershots but he can't seem to go past the second round in any tournament. He has to watch his UE's more, he plays every point trying to hit a winner and there's no way you can win like that against top players.

Funny you should say that about Gulbis. I was reading an article over here before he played Murray. They were saying that he comes from a really rich family and has always been transported by private jets ever since he came on tour. He was also offered the chance to go and work with Agassi and TURNED HIM DOWN!!! The general opinion seemed to be that he is a very talented player but just doesn't put in the hours and doesn't really have the hunger to be a top player.

[Ignatius]

What a fantastic day of tennis. I watched 4 of the 4th round matches today 

I'm loving this tournament. It so feels like 2003 again. We have Haas, Hewitt, Roddick, Ferrero still on the draw!

Verdasco found himself choking again. I thought he had left those days behind, but this guy no matter what he does or who he trains with (his coached by the Agassi camp) he will never win a GS or a Master 1000. Today he had a difficult match against Karlovic, but he had a set point on set 4th and wasted it away. Then on match point he sent a backhand 4 meters off the baseline.

Ferrero. What can I say about Ferrero. The surprise of the tournament. He's hitting the ball so clean and deeeeeeeeeeeeeep. He outplayed Simon in every aspect of the game. Returned well and moved the ball at his will. Incredible. He's back at the 2003 form and a real THREAT to any player left in the draw.

Murray won like a champ today. Wrawrinka had more chances to win it but this is why the swiss is not a top 10 player and why Murray is the biggest contender to win Wimbledon (with Federer). This guy knows how to win...he's one of the most competitive players on the tour. He's tough to beat. He came back from being almost ridiculized on set one and found his rythm. The swiss was the more dominant player, but Andy with a great mix of offense and defense (it's amazing the number of points Murray wins when he's got no room to hit a shot) did what he always does best. Good win.

Federer against Soderling was a tight match. It was decided in just a few points. The Swede had more winners and looked more solid on serve, but Fedex won the points that mattered the most. That's the difference between a top player and the best player ever.


I can't wait for the quaters.

My predictions are (and as usual, I will get 3 out of 4 wrong)

Hewitt Vs Roddick it's a difficult match up for either player. I say Roddick in 4 or 5. His serve is too important on grass.

Ferrero Vs Murray. Heart says Ferrero, but my mind says Murray. However, if Ferrero plays the way he's played so far, the match will most likely go to 5 sets. I've never seen Ferrero playing like this before. To me, he's got the most solid groundstrokes I've seen in Wimbledon'09 so far.

Fedex Vs Karlovic. If the croat doesn't feel pressured (which he shouldnt, but the thought of playing against Roger on centre court could make him choke) this has to go to 5 sets. Karlovic's serve is just so difficult to break. He's faced one break point in all championships!! I say Roger in 5 sets (3 or 4 tie breakers)

Djokovic Vs Haas. The german is playing so well but the Djoker has to win this one. He's just the better player, but he lost against the Haas a few weeks ago in Halle. The Djoker in 4.

[estebanf]

I predict Roddick Vs Hewitt is gonna be THE match of the tournament. I can imagine an extremely tight 5-sets match, but I think Hewitt will win. It all depends on how boombastic is A-Rod's serve the day of the game. Connors made Roddick a much more complete player, but at the end of the day this is Wimbledon and a good serve determinates almost everything. As I said before, a more than mediocre player as Karlovic is ONLY can still survive in an instance of a GS like this in Wimbledon. He's just a serve, nothing else.

Ferrero and Murray: Murray is the favourite, but i LOVE Ferrero and maybe his experience in this kind of matches can make him win. Ferrero is one of the most fabulous player's I've ever seen. Period. I know this is not ''his moment'' but he's playing on fire, consistant, deep, and he seems to be very focused and motivated (something that doesn't occurs very often in my opinion). Another tight match. If I had to bet, I'd bet for Murray, but as Ignatius says, my heart is with el mosquito.

Federer will destroy Karlovic in stright sets. I will be extremely surprised if Karlovic wins more than 4 or 5 games in total.

Djokovic and Haas: another tight game I think... as I said referring to Ferrero, I love how Haas plays tennis, his style, his movements, he's a living enciclopedy of how to play tennis. Again, like Ferrero, this is not ''his moment'' but he's playing incredibly well. But Djokovic is the favourite anyway. I would like to see Haas win, but everything points to a Djokovic victory.

[Ignatius]

Everything you said made perfect sense until...

I will be extremely surprised if Karlovic wins more than 4 or 5 games in total.

Federer will be lucky if he can break Karlovic's serve. I'm not saying Ivo will win, but the croat's serve has been superb. Even Roger says playing with Karlovic is not about returning the serve it's all about reflects. He knows Karlovic will hold serve 99% of the times tomorrow.

[Gnrfan]

Murray won like a champ today. Wrawrinka had more chances to win it but this is why the swiss is not a top 10 player and why Murray is the biggest contender to win Wimbledon (with Federer). This guy knows how to win...he's one of the most competitive players on the tour. He's tough to beat. He came back from being almost ridiculized on set one and found his rythm. The swiss was the more dominant player, but Andy with a great mix of offense and defense (it's amazing the number of points Murray wins when he's got no room to hit a shot) did what he always does best. Good win.

What a Match. Probally the best of the tournament so far. Like you say i think that "Stan" was probally the best player but Murray fights and fights and has glimpes of quality at crucial moments. I honestly thought he'd buggered it up after losing the 4th coz Stan looked so strong. I've also never seen Murray look so tired after a match he looked like he had nothing left.

I can't wait for the quaters.

My predictions are (and as usual, I will get 3 out of 4 wrong)

Hewitt Vs Roddick it's a difficult match up for either player. I say Roddick in 4 or 5. His serve is too important on grass.

Ferrero Vs Murray. Heart says Ferrero, but my mind says Murray. However, if Ferrero plays the way he's played so far, the match will most likely go to 5 sets. I've never seen Ferrero playing like this before. To me, he's got the most solid groundstrokes I've seen in Wimbledon'09 so far.

Fedex Vs Karlovic. If the croat doesn't feel pressured (which he shouldnt, but the thought of playing against Roger on centre court could make him choke) this has to go to 5 sets. Karlovic's serve is just so difficult to break. He's faced one break point in all championships!! I say Roger in 5 sets (3 or 4 tie breakers)

Djokovic Vs Haas. The german is playing so well but the Djoker has to win this one. He's just the better player, but he lost against the Haas a few weeks ago in Halle. The Djoker in 4.

Hewitt vs Roddick is a interesting match, just coz both are playing so well. Roddick does drop sets when he seems in control of them and Hewitt is great at grinding you down both Physically and Mentally. I think its the hardest match to call out of the 4 quarters. But i'll go for Roddick in 4 after losing the 1st.

Murray vs Ferrero is a good draw for Murray i think. Ferrero is playing well but i saw Murray destroy Ferrero at Queens where it could have been easier than it was. The only issue is the tiredness issue. Murray has just come off probaly the most demanding match of his career and if Ferrero can get into rallies it could be a long day for Andy. However if Murray can win that 1st set i think he'll go on to win quite comforatbly. I'll go for Murray in 4.

Federer vs Big Ivo. To be honest i think Federer will win. I can see Federer breaking once a set and not dropping his serve. So i'll say Federer in 3 tight sets.

Haas vs Djokovic - I haven't seen either play this whole tournament but i know that Haas is playing extremley well of late including taking Federer to the brink at the French and Beating Djokovic at Halle. 1st Set is so important to Haas's belief but i'll go Djokovic in 4

[Ignatius]

Today is the day!

Vamos JCF, beat the brit 

[Gnrfan]

Today is the day!

Vamos JCF, beat the brit 

Well old JCF got his ass handed to him.... by that Brit

In all honesty Federer & Murray played so well today it was scary for the others. Haas played well against Djokovic but Novak never got going and played a very poor match.

I'm sitting wondering who Murray would prefer out of Hewitt and Roddick? I think he'd prefer Roddick personally but both are dangerous.

My Dream of a Federer vs Murray final is still on the cards.

[Ignatius]

Well old JCF got his ass handed to him.... by that Brit

Sad but true 

JCF was more like the player we saw over the past two years than the player we've seen so far this tournament. It's strange cause one would think Andy's game allows Ferrero to be aggressive like in the other matches, but today JCF seemed lost out there. Besides, Murray served A+ in the first set and hit a lot of winners later on in the second and third sets so that made it more difficult. I was really anticipating a closer match, but Murray dominated all the way.

Surprise to see the Djoker losing against the german. Haas has been playing some incredible tennis though. So far, I have not seen old choking habits...we'll see if he keeps this cool against Roger (I doubt he will though).

What a dissapointing match between the swiss and Karlovic. I knew it was going to be boring, but I really thought Karlovic was going to clinch a set ot two. He didn't move today. Against Verdasco he volleyed well, today he really looked like he was volleying in slow motion. Awful net play by the croat. The serve wasn't as effective like in the other matches...in addition, Roger returned well.

And the battle between Roddick and Hewitt..I didnt see the match so I can't say much. I knew A-Rod had the upper hand cause of his serve and he walked away with the W. Roddick is a touch match-up to Murray, but the brit is the favorite.

So..in the end... I got 3 out of 4 right. Not bad. 

[estebanf]

I predict Roddick Vs Hewitt is gonna be THE match of the tournament. I can imagine an extremely tight 5-sets match

Ferrero and Murray: Murray is the favourite, but i LOVE Ferrero and maybe his experience in this kind of matches can make him win. Ferrero is one of the most fabulous player's I've ever seen. Period. I know this is not ''his moment'' but he's playing on fire, consistant, deep, and he seems to be very focused and motivated (something that doesn't occurs very often in my opinion). Another tight match. If I had to bet, I'd bet for Murray, but as Ignatius says, my heart is with el mosquito.

Federer will destroy Karlovic in stright sets.

 

anyway, I made 2 out of 4...

I want to see Haas or Roddick win the tournament, but these are exactly the least probable options...

[D]

Amazing women's Semi just now


Serena survived!

[Ignatius]

Semis today!

Go Roddick, go!

I hope Haas wins at least one set against Roger. If he plays the way he  played against the Djoker, he has to win a set. And the battle between the two Andy's, Im pulling for the least favorite (Roddick). I wouldn't say Roddick is the underdog because if he wins it wouldn't be that of a surprise, but Murray is playing at home (this will be like another davis cup match) and he's ranked higher. Besides, I've always liked Roddick. He's one of the most articulate tennis players on tour. Nice chap.

So...

I say Federer in 4 and Roddick in 5.

[D]

Looking forward to Roddick/Murray

I use to be a diehard tennis fan

haven't watched much since Agassi hung it up. Starting to get back into it though.

[Gnrfan]

I am gutted. I really thought Murray would win. He played his worst game of the tournament and Roddick played brilliant.

I think the final will be less quality now and i think Federer will win in straight sets.


 

[Eazy E]

Here comes #15!!

The consistency of Federer is asbsolutely amazing.... 7 straight Wimbledon finals?

[Gnrfan]

Here comes #15!!

The consistency of Federer is asbsolutely amazing.... 7 straight Wimbledon finals?

Yeah i have to say now he has got his back sorted i don't think even Nadal could live with Federer. Haas played well today and only managed like 10 points on Federers serve all match. Simply brilliant.

[Ignatius]

Go Roddick!

Final day. Not the final everyone was expecting, but nevertheless a great final. Federer is the favorite obviously to win this in straight sets, but I hope Andy finds a way to hold serve and at least win a tiebreak or two. Federer's been playing like circa 2005-'07 so there's nothing Roddick can really do unless the american plays the math of his lifetime. Even so, the swiss would still be the favorite.

Having said that, I feel like gambling today. If Roddick wins the first set, I say the american will go all the way.

So, my pic is Andy Roddick in 5 sets!