Soda in…very interesting. Good to see Nalby playin again.

Nadal? What can one say. Look out for the Lion!

Shammmonn!

April 19th, 2010 at 1:49 am

Congrats to Rafa for 6 in a row. That was some performance today. This is a clear sign that he is 100% back and tennis is better with Rafa at the top of his game. Hopefully we will get to see a couple of Roger-Rafa finals on during the clay and grass season. It’s long due.

April 19th, 2010 at 2:18 am

Long Live the King,
This is a post in response to your http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2010-04-15/3920.php#comment-133185

My conclusion you have turned into real a coward.

Why?

You surrendered to her when she used to hammer you and bully you day in and day out with her articulate long posts. Go back to the time when she accused you of multiple names or what you call “retarded handles.”

Here is a post from you friend about you

“Long Live… I’ve never seen you posting here before, unless you’ve changed your name, so I haven’t seen you doing any defending, only chiding.”

“He’s posted many times with many, many names. The last one Federer Rules, when he applauded you because you thought Mirka’s pregnancy was wonderful, and I was the ’scum of society”. You were bringing back respect to women for that remark. His all-time famous name is “Roddick is a Donkey, but what’s happening today bro, you can’t dance or do anything, because your tail is stuck between your legs and you’ve got to hop on one foot outta here. Sorry, I couldn’t let that one pass. And, you can’t use your other name of “Federer rules”, because he ain’t ruling now, comeuppance is a b**ch, ain’t it? So I guess you’ll have to resort to plain old ‘Jack” “Fed Ex”, “latent talent”, etc., etc., Too many to list, but you get my drift, don’t ya? You’ve got a very discernible writing style that you can’t hide, and my eyes find it all the time after a few sentences. Anyway, carry on smart-lessly, as per usual. Blue skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face!!!!”

And you LLTK curled your tail between your legs and disappeared for several days without responding to her. Those were the days we were on the same side and your friend was a riding, self-proclaimed anti-Federer of this site.
Find the evidence in this thread and any thread before that—
http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2009-04-02/1086.php#comment-64337

Funny you are imitating and accepting her leadership and accusing me of the same thing your friend Hatchet Woman did to you.
Only cowards do that.
It appears that not even Federer matters to you anymore. I just cannot believe this. Once you were the champion of Federer defense in all circumstances but today your cowardliness has found a friend in anti-Federer. I feel sorry for you, eunuch, unless she has taken over your ID and double-crossing you in your absence. By the way I was a fan of yours back then when you used to battle fearlessly against all adversaries and defend Federer.
Wake up Long Live the King. I mean the old King.
Go Federer.

April 19th, 2010 at 2:57 am

LLTK,
To make it easier for everyone let me copy and paste what your so-called friend said of you on 3 April 2009—-
Long Live the King “has posted many times with many, many names. The last one Federer Rules, when he applauded you because you thought Mirka’s pregnancy was wonderful, and I was the ’scum of society”. You were bringing back respect to women for that remark. His all-time famous name is “Roddick is a Donkey, but what’s happening today bro, you can’t dance or do anything, because your tail is stuck between your legs and you’ve got to hop on one foot outta here. Sorry, I couldn’t let that one pass. And, you can’t use your other name of “Federer rules”, because he ain’t ruling now, comeuppance is a b**ch, ain’t it? So I guess you’ll have to resort to plain old ‘Jack” “Fed Ex”, “latent talent”, etc., etc., Too many to list, but you get my drift, don’t ya? You’ve got a very discernible writing style that you can’t hide, and my eyes find it all the time after a few sentences. Anyway, carry on smart-lessly, as per usual. Blue skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face!!!!”

April 19th, 2010 at 3:02 am

Stupidity thy name is Nadal! Why the eff play all the stupid tournaments under the sun and then act dumb when your knees break?

You would think he would have learnt his lessons last year? guess not. Next time he or his fans use his injury as an excuse, they should be kicked in their *ss. or should it be their knees? LOL

April 19th, 2010 at 6:39 am

haha O-kerr, that’s classic :)

April 19th, 2010 at 6:51 am

O-kerr:

Thanks for digging up those posts, but I am not dumb like Cindy beach that I forget my earlier interactions. Von was justified with that post as I had given her a tough time. Anyway, donot understand what is the point of your post. Two things for you :

1) People are going to have differences, unless the same person posts in different IDs like you/Cindy Beach/Goat Galz/mini me/

2) get a life - I am flattered you are digging up my interaction with Von, but it is creepy when it is a person like you who has a documented history of being a psycho and whacko. go search your and cindy beach’s posts - the collective dumbness in those posts is nothing short of a miracle.

April 19th, 2010 at 7:10 am

Just to let people know, Roger won atp fan favorite 7times in a row and Edberg sportsmanship 6yrs in a row. Sampras ended world no.1 6yrs in a row. Monte carlo and barcelona seem like midgets when compared to those 6-peats.

Just saying :)

April 19th, 2010 at 7:15 am

nevertheless, rafa @ MC was in super form! Haven’t seen such dominating tennis on the men’s side since Rafa’s own 2008 FO!

Haven’t seen a player more hungry for victory. It would be unbelievable if he can carry this level into the FO. If 2009 taught us anything, it is that anything can happen.

Federer has his task cut-out. He needs to put the babies aside for a moment and get down to work. Nadal wants his throne back and preventing him might be tougher than what the King of the Court has achieved - even with all his super-achievements. Interesting times ahead….. Go Roger!

April 19th, 2010 at 7:32 am

i guess Rafa deserved all the crap that is about to happen to him, since he hasn’t learned anything from past experience. I just hope he shuts up once he gets injured again and doesn’t spew crap like “it’s unfortunate” etc.

Why the hell is he playing Barcelona (and he’s Real Madrid fan to boot)…500 points, who cares. He can take Rome and Madrid with a week’s rest in between and come up with more points than he earned in the same period last year, + be fresh for RG.

I’m aware his camp is aware of this, but clearly they’re being megalomanic and he with them. After all who cares about all the shitty tournaments, win 5 masters 1000 tournaments, but end a year withouth a slam and it’s still a failure season.

Shocking that he didn’t scrap Barcelona. Fed at his age would never make such a dumb move, just shows you being a champion is not all about heart.

April 19th, 2010 at 8:18 am

I was very impressed with how Nadal did at Monte Carlo and congratulations to him. I am sure he gets advise from his doctors about his knees. I just hope he and his group listen. Sometimes we don’t really learn our lessons the first time around. Young people tend to think they are immortal. If his knees act up again because of his hectic schedule, I am sure he will finally learn from it. I just hope his knees will continue to hold up.

I want Nadal to be the next number one and keep it for a long time. Federer is no longer in his prime and much as I like him, I have lowered my expectations of him. I don’t expect him to win as often or as frequently as he did in the past. I know he will start to slip down the rankings, slowly but surely. Of all the other players, I believe Nadal to be the best suited to take over.

April 19th, 2010 at 8:58 am

…or as easily… (not …as often or as frequently…) That’s redundant in case some grammar police is reading. Hahaha!

April 19th, 2010 at 8:59 am

He spent about 6 hours total in match play throughout the entire week. I’ve called him dumb before but if he’s winning that fast then playing a bunch of tournaments doesn’t matter. Last year he wasn’t feeling 100% since his AO triumph but he kept stock piling his event list anyway. This year he looks a lot healthier and hasn’t played as much. And he’s clearly playing amazingly well so he’s winning in record time. Last year he set the record for longest 3 set match ever. This year, he could likely set the record for fastest complete 2 setter ever.

April 19th, 2010 at 9:06 am

Ben, what excuses have you lined up for 2005, 2006, 2007 and hell even 2008? this guy barely plays half the season. Can you tell me one complete season he played?

He is dumb, no 2 ways about it, get your excuses ready when all and sundry will be beating him like an old drum by the time USopen rolls around. That is the M.O for camp nadal. LIVE and NOT LEARN and wallow in our dumbness.

Keep dreaming about the quickest 2 setter. This guy takes 2hours to adjust his bottles and panties! oops! i meant undies!

April 19th, 2010 at 9:32 am

He’s never won this fast.

If he burns out in the second half again, well, so goes it. I’m not exactly begging him to win everything and reach number 1 again. I want good tennis and Nadal is at his best on clay anyway. He’d be better off skipping the hard court events later anyway, preserve the body.

April 19th, 2010 at 9:35 am

Lion - are we still on Nadal’s obsessive compulsive habits? They all have something about them. It is really easy to carp about unimportant traits…as follows;
1) Federer always looks like he is smelling a rotten fish
2) Nadal is like Dr Jekyll (off the court - worlds best smile) and Mr. Hyde - on the court, contorted face snarl.
3) Djokovic’s eyes are close together like Anthony Perkins or George Bush, has a head a bit too big for his body like the Nutcracker Soldier and occasionally does that post-coke-snort thing with his nose
4) Murray looks like he has just burst out of Signourney Weaver’s abdomen whenever he yells.
5) Del Potro looks like the bottom half of his face has been shot with novocain (I did see him smile…twice) and looks like he is moving in slow motion (guess all the really tall ones do).
…and on and on…
So what…
Not all Federer fans have such an visceral loathing of Nadal, but some of you…geez - some of you need to give it a rest.
Federer is probably even greater because of Nadal…think of it that way.

April 19th, 2010 at 10:11 am

“occasionally does that post-coke-snort thing with his nose”

LMAO. Wow.

April 19th, 2010 at 10:15 am

“Why the hell is he playing Barcelona” - It’s the same reason Fed plays Basel. We’ve talked about this before, probably every spring almost. Barcelona is the closest thing to a “home” tournament for Rafa; I am certain he feels a certain obligation to play there, and maybe too he simply wants to!!

I can understand the concern/logic behind him not playing there, but to me he should think about skipping Madrid instead. I am guessing he will play all of them.

Aside from the 2 months off last year, before North American hard courts, this year, he had an additional extended break. He did not play at all between his retirement at the AO and IW. That’s what? 2 months? That may’ve helped him feel fresher.

So in defense of Rafa and his team, he is taking breaks to manage the tendonitis, even breaks from slams if need be (i.e., skipping Wimbledon, retiring at AO). That said, I hope he is healthy for the full season as he fun to watch compete.

April 19th, 2010 at 10:30 am

Ben - well, you have seen it then…
There are enough tennis experts in this blog without me feigning to be one of them. I love tennis but am a total novice. However, sometimes I like to throw myself into the ‘lion’s’ with my own two cents (maybe one euro).
My field is the performing arts so visual aspects of a person gain special notice.
I could go further down the list of player’s idiosyncrasies but I am afraid some of the more angry sorts who blog here might find me….
Cheers

April 19th, 2010 at 10:45 am

Oh, I am absolutely not hinting that Djokovic actually does anything illegal, anymore than I believe Federer actually is perpetually smelling smelling some mal odeur or Murray actually has burst out of Signourney Weaver’s solar plexus. I am sure it is just a tic…albeit an entertaining one.

April 19th, 2010 at 10:50 am

Rsutherland,

“My field is the performing arts so visual aspects of a person gain special notice.”

Very cool! I’d love to be in that field. My I ask you this: could you re-write that list with some of their more positive phyiscal idiosyncrasies? I found your caricatures funny, but surely there are more endearing visual aspects. : )

April 19th, 2010 at 10:53 am

typo - My s/b May.

April 19th, 2010 at 10:53 am

It’s just funny the way you said it. I never thought of it that way but now…

It’s true all players have their little quirks. I don’t see what the big deal is.

April 19th, 2010 at 10:58 am

Oops maybe that came out wrong - no big deal for me Ben - I was just picking RS’s visual brain to see what he could come up with on the flip side.

April 19th, 2010 at 11:04 am

De Bakker won his match 1 and 0. Talk about a coincidence. He lost his last match 0 and 1.

April 19th, 2010 at 11:06 am

This writer crystallizes my thoughts eloquently about Nadal on clay. Which makes sense.

http://www.examiner.com/x-22652-Pro-Tennis-Examiner~y2010m4d19-Beating-Nadal-on-clay-the-hardest-thing-in-the-history-of-tennis

April 19th, 2010 at 11:12 am

Funches, good read, but, “Plus, there’s the sticky issue of whether Federer is even better than Nadal on grass right now.” It’s not a sticky issue. Federer is better.

April 19th, 2010 at 11:41 am

Federer is an overall better player on grass than Nadal could probably ever be. However, at this point in time, Federer is no longer the player that he used to be. Therefore, for now, I would pick Nadal over Federer on grass. There should not even be a question with regard to clay.

April 19th, 2010 at 11:52 am

How can you pick Nadal on grass right now when he hasn’t played on the stuff in 2 years?

April 19th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

Everything is “what have you done for me lately” attitude. Before MC, everyone was analyzing “what’s wrong with Nadal”…they were thinking his career was over! That he hadn’t won a title in almost a year! Now that he’s won MC, he’sn ot better than anyone - even on grass! Some people go from one extreme to the other. Let the Nadal fans just enjoy this time of the year because Nadal is the best on clay, but I caution folks not to crown him victory over everything right now. It’s still a long season to go and anything can happen. Remember, May, 2009-present was something most tennis fans never thought would happen (that the great Nadal would not win a title during that entire time!). So anything can happen. Injuries happened; great streaky players came along and prevented victory, etc.

So I would not get carried away right now and crown Nadal the victor of all the clay tournaments and all the grass tournaments right now. We still have a long way to go.

April 19th, 2010 at 12:27 pm

That should be “he’s ‘now’ better than anyone - even on grass.

April 19th, 2010 at 12:30 pm

I think Nadal has withdrawn from Barcelona. Still not 100% confirmed.

April 19th, 2010 at 12:42 pm

RE: Rsutherland April 19th, 2010 at 10:11 am POST,

LMAO! Too funny.

“Classic!”

April 19th, 2010 at 1:01 pm

Wow,

Nadal wins his first tourney in all most a year ( on Dirt ) and he is already better than Fed on Grass now?

April 19th, 2010 at 1:04 pm

Rafa out of Barcelona. Gonzo/Sod final? Rsuth- nice post! The coke-sniffing was great.

April 19th, 2010 at 1:09 pm

I took these out of obscure Spanish news websites so not sure but something is brewing if hasn’t already…

BARCELONA .- Rafael Nadal will not play the 58th edition of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell, tournament better known as Conde de Godo.

The Spanish tennis player continues with knee problems, those which had to be infiltrated to play in Monte Carlo event on Sunday won for the sixth consecutive time.

Nadal will not play this tournament he has won his last editions and which has on many occasions that you feel ‘at home’.

The cause of this waiver are, once again, their knees, they need a break from face-to party does not overload on this stretch of the season, where he faces defending the majority of titles and points.

Also…

PALMA .- There is still no official confirmation but it is assumed that Rafa Nadal will not participate in the Trofeo Conde de Godo. His knees have had enough and doctors have advised him to rest to avoid greater evils.

The Spaniard, winner in Monte Carlo tournament that ended in great pain, has undergone a series of medical tests to see what you have. His decision not to defend the title at the Barcelona Open, where he has won five times in succession, is a precautionary measure. This is reserved for the major events of both Rome and Madrid Masters 1000 -.

April 19th, 2010 at 1:14 pm

I had to translate so sorry for the weird phrasing…

April 19th, 2010 at 1:18 pm

It’s official. Nadal has withdrawn:

http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2010-04-19/3953.php

April 19th, 2010 at 1:20 pm

If the ATP won’t cut down on the tournaments then the players have to look after themselves. Anyone can see that there is overload. You can’t expect players to play every week of the year in a game that is so taxing on the body. They hardly have time to have a holiday or do other things.

Good on you Rafa. VAMOS!

April 19th, 2010 at 2:04 pm

Rsutherland :

Hope you have got the attention you have been craving for. before you talk about federer fans, get your head out of Nadal’s itchy bottom and look at your fellow rafatards. They are even worse than retards!

Look who is laughing now. Nadal withdrew from barcelona. Atleast he has a brain unlike you jokers who hang by his…. hair…. LOL what were you guys thinking I would say? Get your head out of the gutters.

April 19th, 2010 at 2:30 pm

I just think that Federer is on the way down. He will still win big tournaments of course but he is just as likely, probably, even more likely to lose rather than win them, grass included.

April 19th, 2010 at 2:31 pm

Nadal with good knees with beat Federer on grass. I am more likely to bet on that than the other way around.

April 19th, 2010 at 2:33 pm

Federer is so far down with over 3000 points separating him from the 2nd ranked player. If Federer is playing like The Fed, he won’t lose to Nadal on grass.

April 19th, 2010 at 2:37 pm

OK Ben, if Federer is playing like The Fed, I agree he won’t lose to Nadal on grass. But the last time I saw Federer play like The Fed was at the Australian Open. The Federer I have seen recently have been playing like one of the also runs. Stringing loads of unforced errors and not converting match points and on successive tournaments. With age creeping up on him and probably less motivation, focus on other important things (family, children), I don’t expect him to go back to being the The Fed who seemed to win just by showing up.

April 19th, 2010 at 2:56 pm

How different is that from what’s been happening for the last 3 years? Federer has had bad results at the Masters for a while now but he’s still currently holding 3/4 slams with a final in the other. The Fed has a tendency to show up at the slams because he does find motivation there. I believe Nadal will still get the better of him should they play at the French but it’s absolutely foolish to pick against the guy in any slam. He’s the Slam King. It’s what it is.

April 19th, 2010 at 3:18 pm

We can only speculate. Let us see what happens in the next two majors, Wimbledon being the more telling of the two. I would be very happy to be proven wrong because I like Federer to at least equal Sampras’ Wimbledon record. I do think that that is one motivation that still burns solidly in Federer’s head and heart.

April 19th, 2010 at 3:28 pm

I kinda want Roddick to win Wimbledon this year.

Actually, where will Nadal be seeded this year? Wimbledon has their little formula for seedings that account for the grass events of the last 12 months with extra weight. For Nadal, will they look at the last 12 months he PLAYED on grass or just his actual last 12 months? I wonder… Because techinically Roddick should be seeded 2nd or 3rd with Federer 1st. So Nadal has an increased chance to be in Federer’s half. Maybe they’ll play an epic semi that’ll tire them out too much and Roddick will just pick them off… maybe.

April 19th, 2010 at 3:41 pm

By the way, Nadal is second to Roddick in ATP Race for this year:

1 - Roddick: 2450 pts
2 - Nadal: 2230 pts
3 - Federer: 2225 pts

And, will be n.1 next week when he’ll win Barcelona again.

April 19th, 2010 at 5:39 pm

Well, the knee problem explain why he was in killer mode during MC. He had to win as quikly as possibe. Smart move, rest one week, pay one week, rest the other, play another, rest and go to RG in full force, if the problem don’t agravate.

This settles that Djoko will be seeded 2 in RG. We are in for a 50/50 chance of a Fedal semis.

April 19th, 2010 at 5:49 pm

Daniel, “This settles that Djoko will be seeded 2 in RG” Are you sure this is the case? Djok has loads to defend and with his play being uncertain he could lose enough points to make Nadal #2 at RG couldn’t he? (Novak’s points: Serbia win; Rome final; Madrid semis).

April 19th, 2010 at 5:54 pm

daniel, thanks for those points.

Roddick is the “man” this season, keep going man..sky is the limit!

April 19th, 2010 at 8:56 pm