Wow what a clash it will be if Federer and Nadal reaches the SF! For Federer it’s a bit tough as he has to face Delpo….Nadal will easily cruise through!

The Humble Rafa- Part I http://bit.ly/yj0JqW

March 16th, 2012 at 1:16 am

If the Roger-Nadal does come through as it is more likely, the edge in that contest will be in favour of Nadal especially the more positive H2H he has against Roger. It is also against Roger that Nadal delivers his best and that has shaken Federer many times before. I have seen many matches between these two where Nadal just doesn’t miss shots even tough ones whereas against many other players it is not the case. May be the sight of Roger propels Nadal to give his best and he executes that to perfection. Coming to the current contest, the edge will be in favour of Nadal, but if Roger plays his best then anything can happen. I would say 60:40 in favour of Nadal especially considering that it is a slow court.

March 16th, 2012 at 1:45 am

Nadal will be hoping Fed beats Delpo – because frankly, now, with so many hard court matches in recent months, Delpo is a real danger to Nadal on hard courts, even if they are slow like in IW. He could really blow Nadal off the court.

Nadal seems perfectly healthy. Wow, he really is fit!

March 16th, 2012 at 2:42 am

Nadal has always been prety beatable even during his peak years. His best year was 2010, when he went 72-10, still lost 10 matches. Compare that to 74-6, 81-4, then 92-5, for federer in 2004, 05, 06. Or Djokovic went 70-6 last year, with a couple of losses just due to injury.

Almost all of Nadal’s losses are outside of clay anyway, with at least a third of victories on clay. So if you look at his match record outside of clay, he is pretty beatable.

The reason he NOW beats Fed often on outdoor hard courts – again, Fed is 30, guys, 5 years older, and has a one-handed backhand, which nobody else will every have going forward. Its too much of a liability, and no slam champion in the future, after Fed, will have a one-handed backhand.

Now Nadal might get really lucky to get an unfit Federer!!

March 16th, 2012 at 3:01 am

tennisfan says: “Wow what a clash it will be if Federer and Nadal reaches the SF!”

I’m not sure if you have been watching tennis, specially matches between these two. I’m not sure if there is anything more to be excited about them meeting anymore on the outdoors.

March 16th, 2012 at 3:36 am

trufan says “Now Nadal might get really lucky to get an unfit Federer!!”

Did you get a chance to see Nadal meet a healthy Roger in last year Miami, in the similar conditions.

March 16th, 2012 at 3:42 am

i’m federer fan – but dont see hom beat delpo today – he seem not healthy ;(

March 16th, 2012 at 4:03 am

Though both DelPo’s wins came on faster courts at the US Open and London Indoors, there were mitigating factors in both losses.
- At 2009 World Tour Finals, Federer’s three set loss to delpo was not critical. Roger had entered the WTF without beating a top 50 players since the US Open (he had taken a break to rest his bad back and lost Basel to Djokovic and then Paris first round to No. 49 Julien Benneteau). At WTF, Federer qualified for the semifinals by beating Verdasco and Murray in three setters. Federer had qualified for the semifinals, and Roger was top in his round robin group even with the loss to Delpo. So possibly Federer was conserving energy in the third set.
- At 2009 US Open final, while leading 2 sets to 1, Federer led the fourth set 5-4, 15-30 on del Potro’s serve. Roger was just two points from the title. Delpo’s first serve winner at 15-30 was makeable for Federer on his backhand returns of such first serves. As well, Federer — the king of tiebreaks in tennis history — would have wanted back the fourth set tie-break that was controversial for fans calling line calls. Reputed tennis correspondent Tom Tebbutt analyzed: “It appears more and more obvious that Roger Federer’s troublesome back was at least a partial explanation for his late-match fade in the U.S. Open final against Juan Martin del Potro.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/match-tough/federers-back-needs-a-break/article1301682/

Federer beat delpo easily on the slow Australian Open courts. But, after four consecutive losses to Federer and Roger not being 100%, Delpo has nothing to lose and should just close his eyes, pray and hit… and hope he catches Roger in a funk.

Federer said he probably caught the flu bug while travelling from Europe to Indian Wells — not at Indian Wells. Probably caught the flu at the New York exhibition, as there was a flu epidemic in New York at the time, I think. federer’s comments on his flu and Delpo are in his interview here:
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=78456

Delpo has a good chance to beat Nadal, if they meet. Already on grass — Delpo’s worst surface — Juan Martin gave Nadal all he could hand le last Wimbledon (Rafa even called for a medical time out at 6-6 first set yet ran like rabbit before and after, lol)

Federer today is at a different level than where he was in last year’s Dubai-IW-Miami stretch. After a third consecutive loss to Djokovic within six weeks at IW last year (people were still coming to grips with the suddenly improved Djokovic), Federer seemed lose motivation at Miami. Federer’s match against Nadal was so uncharacteristically bad that some felt the crafty Federer tanked the match to throw Nadal at Djokovic. And what a strategy it turned out to be — Nadal’s seven consecutive losses to Djokovic has put a big dent on his supporters’s claims of GOAThood.

Federer has the confidence from knowing he has the best hardcourt winning record in ATP history (probably entire tennis history)in terms of career win-loss percentage (83.2%), total titles (50) and hardcourt grand slams (9). As well, Federer knows he has the third best winning outdoor record in ATP history (81.7% is co-third with Jimmy Connors and ahead of Lendl, Laver, McEnroe, Djokovic, Agassi, Sampras, Edberg, Becker, etc). A great champion like Federer goes into his matches with these positive thoughts in his mind, and does not expect to lose.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Reliability-Zone/Reliability-Hard-Career-List.aspx

Federer’s fitness will be a major factor in his semifinal athletic match with Nadal, assuming both meet (Nalbandian and Delpo are both capable of pulling off upsets). In Roger’s mind he knows he has already Nadal outdoors, otherwise he would have never beaten Nadal in Spain on outdoor clay in 2009. Surely he wanted back their last match in Australia, after such a great start and despite Nadal playing better tennis than he did against Djokovic.

Since after the 2009 Australian Open Final,

- Federer and Nadal have met in four finals. Federer won two finals (2010 World Tour Finals, 2009 Madrid) and Nadal won two finals (2010 Madrid, 2011 French Open).

- Federer 2011 WTF beatdown of Nadal is the most lop-sided career win between the Big 4 players in terms of percentage of total points won and second fastest win in terms of matchtime (Fed’s 2006 WTF over Nadal was 2 minutes faster). And Roger did it at age 30 despite the bad H2H record.
http://www.menstennisforums.com/showthread.php?t=193260

- Federer past his prime has only a 3-5 losing record to Nadal in his absolute prime. Three of Nadal’s wins came on clay, as usual.

- Federer won three slams (2 points away from winning fourth slam at 2009 US Open) and two world tour finals. Nadal won four slams.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:07 am

@Nirmal kumar

I think the Australian open match is a better example of how the match will be with fed coming short at the big points, rather then the miami match were nadal didn;t really have to do a bloody thing execept give fed an opportunity to hit the ball in the net or out.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:10 am

Let’s be fait nadal is a good player but he never had ofr ever will have a TMF like year. Djoker proved he had won Nadals best year doesnt come close to a TMF year.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:20 am

The brilliant Nalbandian laid two big beatings on Nadal in 2007, including a 6-0 bagel set in Paris and a whipping in Spain. Nalbandian’s last three losses to Nadal included four tight 6-7 or 5-7 sets even though Nalbandian wasn’t at his best or fittest. With a day to rest, let’s see what problems Nalbandian can pose for Nadal. It’s a big match that might just motivate Nalbandian to bring something special, though it’s a lot to ask. But Nalbandian has a better record against left handers than right handers.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=N301&oId=N409

Nalbandian beating Nadal 6-4, 6-0 at 2007 Paris.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p82bOJUcfRc

Nalbandian beating Nadal 6-1, 6-2 in Spain at 2007 Madrid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx1NO8cOP-I

March 16th, 2012 at 5:33 am

sienna lets be fair rafas not a good player,hes a great player,and has 10 grand slams to novaks 5,rafa has 46 titles overall,a career grand slam,a singles gold medal,and ATM holds the record for the most masters titles,novak has half as many titles overall,its not just about what you do for one year,rafas been either the best or second best player for years,novaks done for one year,what rafa and especially roger have done for years.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:15 am

tennisfan thanks for the link at the top of this thread, i know Rafas not for everyone,but as a fan its nice to read something positive thanks again.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:56 am

Darian..So you are pretty much sure of the result, but you think it would be more competitive. Yeah, you may be right. It may even go to 3 sets. It’s possible.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:47 am

tennisfan says: “Wow what a clash it will be if Federer and Nadal reaches the SF!”
—
It may be news to some of the Fans of the Arrogant One. I eat Arrogant One on Saturdays.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:55 am

Fed- rafa is NOT a done deal. It could easily be delpo- nalby. Let’s just wait and see how the matches unfold.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:14 am

I would put my house up against a chocolate bar that it will NOT be delpo-nalby. Lets get a grip. I love chocolate bars.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:36 am

brando yeah exactly,and novak has to get through isner on the other side,too much gets taken for granted sometimes,not necasarilly a given that whomever wins this touney will also go on to dominate the year either,its only march the seasons still young yet,BTW dont get to see much doubles,but judging by everyones comments,its nice to here of Rafa and Mark doing so well up to now.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:36 am

Rafa to become great needs to beat Djokovic in a slamfinal not Garros.

he’ll then probably becomes #1 again, have 11 or 12 slams and can be considered a great player.

As it is at the moment he has only proven to be a great claycourter and that he could beat a sub par Fed in 2 slamfinals.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:38 am

As a Federer and DjokerNole fan (and one who understands Federer has a mental block again Rafa pretty much the same way Nadal has against Djokovic), I hope Del Potro wins against Federer so he can defeat Nadal and then Del Potro vs Djokovic should be interesting match too. Nadal-Federer means Nadal winning and ONCE again the new slow match playing rivalry Nadal vs Djokovic.

March 16th, 2012 at 10:02 am

sienna err he did, what was the 2010 uso final?rafa having a h2h record over roger, has never taken away rogers greatness,neither should the loosing streak that rafa has against djokovic,as everyone on this forum says time and again,its the overall field that your sucess is measured upon,and the yardstick is in gs titles and other titles overall, and correct me if im wrong but there is only 5 players in history that have won more slams than rafa,as for been a clay court player granted his best surface is clay,and his least sucessfull surface is hardcourts,but the last time i looked he had won wimbledon twice,and also been in three other finals,and djokovic has yet to make a final at rg,against a player thats won it six times,and nothing against fed,but simply put rafa won those finals because he was the better player end of.

March 16th, 2012 at 10:07 am

@TV: lmao, I actually like chocolate bars too! But I’m sure you ge rhe point I’m making- one of or both fed- rafa can get knocked out ofthe tourny today. Fed seems vulnerable, delpo is capable. Rafa hasn’t been tested yet, whilst nalby can pull of ljubicic and cause an upset.

March 16th, 2012 at 10:07 am

Nirmal,

DId you ever see that match between Nadal and a Federer his own age? Oh wait, that never happened….

The 6-3 6-0 beatdown at YEC was certainly fun.

That butt has been totally picked!

March 16th, 2012 at 10:51 am

I love this Andy Murray video / Head ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBRy4HfDuxc

March 16th, 2012 at 10:58 am

@ jane: lol, I love the motionless expression on andy’s face when rhe reporter asks him the question. Some subtle but funny acting mr Murray pulled off there. Thanks for the vid!

March 16th, 2012 at 11:05 am

alison hodge Says
what was the 2010 uso final?

Yes and youre point is?

I just stated that in order to become a GREAT player he needs to do those things. The 2010 year just makes him a good player. All thong are relevant of course. I;m talking in terms of tennis history etc

March 16th, 2012 at 11:07 am

Trufan..before you get bit excited, this is what i meant

“I’m not sure if there is anything more to be excited about them meeting anymore on the outdoors.”

Looks like you have missed out the “Outdoor” before commenting. Still in Outdoors it looks pretty bad. We will have a different talk if IW is played in Indoors.

March 16th, 2012 at 11:44 am

@alison hodge, don’t you get it? @sienna is the annointed arbiter of true tennis greatness……….so stop banging your head against a brick wall….

March 16th, 2012 at 12:38 pm

have they unbanned you yet at tennistalk, eh @sienna?

March 16th, 2012 at 12:40 pm

Anyone with 10 grand slams, a career slam, a lopsided winning record over Fed, a few Davis Cup titles, and an Olympic gold medal, and the record for most Masters titles won is a GREAT player! It doesn’t matter what his name is – that list of accomplishments speaks for itself.

Fed has an amazing list too of course, but that doesn’t nullify the fact that Nadal is a great player.

Heck, for me Nole and Muzza are GREAT players! :))))

March 16th, 2012 at 1:16 pm

Sienna,

very interesting, your point about h2h and some other things;

first of all, i do not believe in this GOAT theory because there is no way you can single out one player as the greatest in the history of tennis; there are just too many variables to consider, but i do believe there is a “greatest player in each era.”

anyway, it never ceases to amaze me that when you guys engage in this GOAT discussion, many of you like to include only the things that help solidify roger’s status as GOAT while eliminating things that are unfavorable. i hate to burst your bubble but it doesn’t work that way. when determining who’s greater, everything that relates to the comparison must be considered.

so for those who say the h2h doesn’t matter when comparing roger vs rafa accomplishments, provide a logical reason why not. the h2h is part of their tennis history! they had to play matches in order to establish that statistic; so where do get the idea that the stat is meaningless. also, tennis is played on three different surfaces, like or not, clay is one them, so someone explain to me why results on clay do not matter.

if that’s the case, then maybe we shouldn’t count the losses rafa has suffered on indoor courts, particularly at the YEC, because that’s not his favorite surface. maybe we shouldn’t include roger’s 5 or 6 yec titles because rafa hasn’t been able to beat him on that surface nor has he won the year end championships yet. so those losses don’t matter! let’s just throw out roger’s perfect 4:0 record against rafa on that surface. in other words, i don’t think that h2h is significant because that’s roger’s favorite surface. now you see how absurb that sounds!
you get my point!

i don’t know what these two players will achieved over the rest of their careers, but in the meantime, whether you like it or not, when all is said and done and historians compare the two careers, statistics on every surface will be matter.

March 16th, 2012 at 1:25 pm

nadalista, what are you, a Tennistalk site moderator who is stalking Sienna? Typically sites do not announce who is banned (so no one has a clue who is banned unles they work for the site) and many posters just leave sites whenever they get bored. Instead of attacking Sienna, why don’t you try to refute her comment if you actually have a good argument?

March 16th, 2012 at 1:39 pm

mem,

It;s not that just H2H never matters, but its all you Rafa fanatics continue to bring up, like that is all you want to hang your hat on. That is the BIG thing? LOL…..

Ands what about his other great achievements? How many GS on Clay? Now that is a great achievement, no one in this era comes close. But Rog has the total package against the “Field” of players. And in the end, Fed got 16 Slams with Rafa around, Rafa got 10 with Fed around. Now, its clear. When Rafa;s career is over, then you can take another look see.

March 16th, 2012 at 1:43 pm

@dave, what are you, @sienna in disguise? Ah, poor sensitive @sienna can dish it out but she cannot take it.

Hit a nerve, didn’t I……………get a life.

March 16th, 2012 at 1:53 pm

Federer is definitely great. Nadal is just this big thorn on his side.

March 16th, 2012 at 2:19 pm

skeezer:

the point is not about whether roger has 16 or rafa has 10, it all started from sienna’s claim that rafa is not a great player!

I mean, c’mon!

IMHO, one just cannot take seriously a comment which says that rafa’s not a great player.

i mean, how shi##y then all the other players have to be as they almost all’ve losing records to rafa(may be barring one or two guys who just mightn’t have faced him much)

March 16th, 2012 at 2:30 pm

nadalista: we’re still waiting for you to stop attacking posters and to post something with a good argument. Otherwise, “get a life” would apply best to you :)

In modern tennis history, only Federer, Laver, Lendl, Borg, Connors and Djokovic have had truly great seasons where they dominated their fields in such a one-sided way, despite all their top rivals playing well (Federer, Laver, Lendl, Borg did it for multiple seasons). Nadal had a great year in 2010 just like Wilander had a great year in 1988. But in 2010, let’s not forget that Federer and Djokovic were in a slump while Del Potro and Davydenko (Nadal’s nemeses outside clay) were recovering from injuries. And still Nadal lost 10 matches and won only 7 titles. Had Djokovic not had that titanic USO semifinal with Federer, could history have been different in the final?

Martina Navratilova on what it takes to be considered the greatest player: “It’s a combination of how many grand slams have you won, how many tournaments have you won, how many years you were number one”. At the 2009 Australian Open, Federer was asked: “Which is the most prestigious record in men’s tennis? Is it the most Grand Slams?” Federer: “Yeah, I mean, I guess this one is — yeah, to me it almost seems like, you know. Or weeks at No. 1 maybe, because that shows how long you’ve been at the top. More than slams, I guess. But then there’s many other ones as well. I feel those two are the most important at the moment.”

There are five basic ways of assessing greatness of a tennis player: the number of titles you won; which titles you won (e.g., grand slams, world tour finals, balance of titles on all surfaces, indoor/outdoor etc.); how long you were No. 1; other career/season records or streaks you achieved; and your talent in the way you hit the tennis ball. These are all measurable either objectively (see link) or subjectively (e.g.,”Rod Laver’s 10 best past and present players” in Herald Sun newspaper as well as Jack Kramer’s “I have never seen anyone play the game better than Federer” in the Observer/Guardian newspapers).

Perhaps Ken Rosewall — one of the greatest players who would probably have the record for most grand slams had tennis been open in the 1950s and 1960s — has the best answer: “It’s terribly difficult to come up with a specific answer because the strategies and the techniques of the game, and the rules and regulations, have changed so much in the last 20 or 30 years, especially with equipment. But look, I think you can’t deny the ability of the players today and obviously you would put Roger at the top of those players. I believe the players of days-gone-by would find it very, very difficult to compete against the players of today even with this new equipment. But, on the other hand, if you gave Roger Federer the old wooden racquets we used, I think he would still be very, very good. I would say the level of his play at the moment is at the highest standard you could hope to get.”

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATP_World_Tour_records
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/archives/old-sport-pages/gallery-fn77kxzt-1226250654969?page=1
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/jun/24/tennis.wimbledon8
http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/tennis/whos-the-greatest-laver-or-federer-who-better-to-ask-thanmuscles-rosewall-133/2009/07/02/1246127635758.html
http://goroger.net/article/2009/times090608.php
http://goroger.net/article/2009/times090705.php

March 16th, 2012 at 2:36 pm

dave,
I’m taking a leaf out of your book here :)

FEDERER FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
• The World No. 3 has a 36-8 career record here and he won three straight titles in 2004 (d. Henman), ’05 (d. Hewitt) and ’06 (d. Blake)…Since then, has reached the semi-finals in three of the past four years (2008-09, ’11)

• Opened on Sunday night with a 64 61 win over American teenage wild card Denis Kudla and followed on Tuesday night with a 67(4) 62 64 victory over No. 27 seed and top Canadian Milos Raonic, then came back to beat top Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 36 63 64 on Wednesday

• Has held serve 34 of 37 service games (92%) and has hit 26 aces while winning 84% of first serve pts.

2012 Highlights:

W: Rotterdam (d Del Potro); Dubai (d Murray); SF: Doha (W/O vs Tsonga); Australian Open (l Nadal)

2012 in Review:
• The 30-year-old Swiss native comes into the quarter-finals with an outstanding 19-2 match record on the season, having won his last 12 matches since a Davis Cup four-set loss to John Isner on Feb 10

• Won back-to-back ATP World Tour titles in Rotterdam (d. del Potro) on Feb. 19 and Dubai (d. Murray) on Mar. 3…During streak, has only dropped three sets, to Nikolay Davydenko in semi-finals of Rotterdam and to Milos Raonic here on Tuesday and Thomaz Bellucci on Wednesday

• In Dubai, held serve 52 of 53 games, losing serve only time in final vs. Murray…Also led tournament with 39 aces…It was his fifth career Dubai crown and 72nd career title, which is No. 4 in Open Era

• Has won at least one ATP World Tour title for 12 straight years, best among active players (Roddick has 11)…Has won 36 of last 38 matches (losses since US Open: Nadal in Australian Open SFs, Isner in Davis Cup), capturing five titles in seven tournaments

2012 MATCH WINS LEADERS – The winner of Federer-del Potro will tie Almagro for the most match wins on the ATP World Tour this season:
W-L Titles
1) Nicolas Almagro 20-6 1
2) Roger Federer 19-2 2
David Ferrer 19-2 3
4) Juan Martin del Potro 19-4 1

The h2h always gets brought up by the same old, same old you know whos, how about concentrating (for a big change on how many finals nadal has lost since September? How many titles he has won since September? Yeah, I forgot. All the bad news only applies to Federer. Mem, you really need to get a life.

March 16th, 2012 at 2:43 pm

if one believes that federer is greater than nadal, then it’s one thing and even I’d call it perfectly justified, but how can one not call nadal a great player is beyond me. And give up the rafa’s a clay courter excuse already, he’s either dominated or still holds great and comfortable winning records over all the supposed grass/hard court specialists even on their favoured courts! and he’s invincible on clay, almost. It’s actually way too late now for anybody to try to take anything away from nadal!

and btw, nadal doesn’t have to win a single more slam, and yet he can be always remeberered and respected as one of the greatests, for the way he proved his doubters wrong, for the way he could turn the table on fed in even non-clay slams, for the way he adapted to the conditions, and for the way he continuously tried to improve himself and could overcome some of his weakness!
rafa’ll always be remembered for answering his detractors: who used to scoff at the idea of him winning a wimbledon one day, who laughed at the idea of him beating federer enroute his first wimbledon, who stil brought up excuses that AO is faster than wimby and therefore fed should beat him there! Rafa gave fitting reply to those also who were in self-denial by thinking that nadal cannot even further improve his overall game to win in the fastest and lowest bouncing of all-US Open courts! He crushed the hopes of those(one of whom was me too) who did not want him to win a olympic gold/USO in his life!

nadal’ll also be always remembered for looking upto his greatest rival(read federer) in order to observe him and then try things so that he could improve stuff in his own game to first match and then out-match and even eclipse his greatest rival roger federer…

nadal’ll be also remembered coz of how he handled the antagonistic FO crowd and force on them the wisdom that they shouldn’t hate one of their greatest champs!

and the list goes on!

these are the reasons why nadal’ll always be remembered and revered as one of the all-time greats…

March 16th, 2012 at 3:10 pm

and btw nadal>djoker

so he doesn’t have to beat him anywhere to prove he’s great…

and it’s not nadal’s fault if he has evolved as a player better adapted to the evolution in tennis in terms of surface speed/bounce. in a way, it makes nadal look pretty impressive and one could understand without much of heartache/envy why he’s such a great record over federer(whose game imo is less evolved to fit into the current scene).

March 16th, 2012 at 3:19 pm

and btw, if even for a moment we assume that djoker outgrows nadal in slamcount, then we can although say djoker’s greater, but we still certainly cannot dismiss nadal as not great.

March 16th, 2012 at 3:22 pm

@Ajet: Spot on.

I agree with you- i think most will remember rafa as the guy who proved his detractors wrong.

The guy who was doubted the most, yet overcame the odds on more ocassions than most. I think that’s why alot of sportsmen from other sports like rafa: he’s the champion who doesn’t let the naysayers, tough defeats, competition knock his will to keep coming back for more until he overcomes whatever challenge has been put in front of him!

March 16th, 2012 at 3:30 pm

P.S.: Props to you Ajet for being a fed fan, yet being open minded enough to recognise rafa as a great!

March 16th, 2012 at 3:31 pm

Ajet, for as much as you love Fed, it is nice to see how much you respect Rafa, too, as your 3:10 post shows. I agree with all those things. Fed is still ahead in slams and length of records, like slam finals, semis, quarters and weeks at number 1, which sets him apart in some ways, but it doesn’t mean Nadal isn’t great as well for all the reasons you’ve listed; they both are..

I believe Murray and Nole look up to Roger and Nadal, perhaps for different reasons, but maybe Nadal is more relatable to them since he is of their age group and they can look at what he has achieved already, only a year older than them, with 10 slams. It almost seems like they’ve tried to adapt that model of improving and evolving as much as they can to reach their best. That evolution in Rafa is maybe what has been most striking to observe over the years I’ve seen him play. How he encounters a challenge, works to overcome it, and how he pretty much always does overcome it! That’s inspiring. Even the fact he plays left handed when he’s right handed – that’s so unique. Interesting guy.

March 16th, 2012 at 3:36 pm

@Jane @Ajet @Brando – Completely agree with your comments about Rafa…

I am looking forward to these semis today. Delpo and Nalby are going to be tough outs no matter where or who they play.

March 16th, 2012 at 3:49 pm

Ditto Ajet. I am a huge Fed fan (if there is a GOAT, in my opinion he is it, absolutely and clearly – at least as of now). But it is beyond the pale to deny that Rafa is a great player.

As things stand, in the Open era there are clearly four in their own special group: Laver, Borg, Sampras, Federer. The ranking between them is debatable but not really between them and the rest. Except for one: Nadal is the only other player meriting consideration to join that illustrious group. In fact, I myself think he is already part of it. These top five are really a cut above the others, including true greats of the game like Connors, McEnroe, Agassi, Edberg, Becker. Even if you don’t agree that Rafa joins the big 4 yet (and I really do think that he is there), to deny he’s with Connors et al right below them is really, frankly, embarrassing.

March 16th, 2012 at 3:59 pm

Hairy guy vs hairy guy! Match is on.

March 16th, 2012 at 4:09 pm

jane, brando:

well, that’s why he’s champion. that’s why fed’ds champion. nobody thought nadal can win wimby, but he did. nobody believed fed can win RG after what happened to him in 2008 there, but he proved those doubters wrong too. and nobody was giving fed any chance of beating nadal in madrid, but fed did it! proving doubters wrong is the hallmark of champions from every sports, including tennis. that’s understandable.
what’s funny is some think otherwise, and arew never satisfied. just like no matter what fed does, to some detractors he’s just plain lucky and stuff, same for nadal!

and I have enjoyed thoroughly djoker rising too, to break fedal dupoly in tennis! nobody cpuld have believed at one point that djoker can do it, but guess what, he did it! similarly everybody was scoffing at the idea of delpo having enough steel to beat fed in a slam final, nd delpo made all of them look like idiots! the way he could turn around the year’s story from being thrashed by fed to finally beating him, was amazing! similarly roddick may have lost the wim 09 to fed again, but i remember nobody believed roddick could make it so hard for fed and with due disrespect to him, were instead busy lamenting the absence of rafa; but proving others wrong and his fighting spirit, roddick really made fed earn his win in the toughest possible way instead of just lying down in the battle for fed to pick up victory! roddick gave us as memorable a wimby final as anyone ever did! it’s because roddick’s also a champion, though the situation seemed always pitted against him in the form of forcing him to play a guy in fed whose game was taylor-made to make roddick ineffective! but still roddick fought like a tiger and didn’t walk away from the challenge like a doggy. so looking at all these guys, we can know why they’re so special and why we should admire them!
this is why the guys are champions in true sense!

March 16th, 2012 at 4:15 pm

skeezer,

did i step on your toes again? shame on me for thinking differently from you. has anybody informed you that you are free to your choice?
if roger is your choice for “GOAT”, you made a great choice. as far as i’m concerned, it’s just not written in stone yet.

btw, you should be the last person on earth to refer to a fan as a “fanatic.” take a look at the “man in the mirror.”

March 16th, 2012 at 4:16 pm

”Nelson Goodman Says:
I am a huge Fed fan (if there is a GOAT, in my opinion he is it, absolutely and clearly – at least as of now). But it is beyond the pale to deny that Rafa is a great player.”

NOBODY COULD HAVE SAID IT BETTER FRIEND! :D

March 16th, 2012 at 4:18 pm

@Ajet: I agree.

The roddick reference is a good one. I don’t think i have ever felt as sorry for the RU in a slam final than i did for andy on that occassion (wimby 09′).

Fed deserved the win, but it would have been really nice to see andy win the trophy that he most wished to win- you could almost feel his heartache when he lost.

March 16th, 2012 at 4:20 pm

marathon first game going o…so far 16 points played

March 16th, 2012 at 4:23 pm

Why the hell they have the HE when it can’t even determine the outcome of the rally EVERY SINGLE TIME a player asks for it? Are we really in 21st century or what? Delpo absolutely furious, and rightly so! Meanwhile, Fed, despite serving horribly, wins that marathon 1st game and breaks JMDP immediately to lead 2-0, then confirms the break easily to go 3-0…

March 16th, 2012 at 4:32 pm

Dave Says:
nadalista: we’re still waiting for you to stop attacking posters and to post something with a good argument. Otherwise, “get a life” would apply best to you :)

Who’s “we”?……you really are full of shi-ite. So which committee do you represent that I have to address myself to, oh chairman?? Take a leaf out of your alter-ego, @sienna and fade quietly into the background, will ya?……..even she realises that she was talking baloney about Rafa.

Thank goodness there are clear-headed Fed-fans even on this site who are savvy enough to see that acknowledging Rafa’s greatness does not diminish Roger’s…you, are not one of them!

And by the way, I have better things to do than present “arguments” to counter b#$lls%^t, that, is your vocation judging by your long boring posts!!!!

Vamos Rafa!

March 16th, 2012 at 4:36 pm

Dave Says:
nadalista: we’re still waiting for you to stop attacking posters and to post something with a good argument. Otherwise, “get a life” would apply best to you :)

In modern tennis history, only Federer, Laver, Lendl, Borg, Connors and Djokovic have had truly great seasons where they dominated their fields in such a one-sided way, despite all their top rivals playing well (Federer, Laver, Lendl, Borg did it for multiple seasons). Nadal had a great year in 2010 just like Wilander had a great year in 1988….

So true this. This is just what Nadal cannot achieve. He is a good player not a great player.

March 16th, 2012 at 4:40 pm

if one says djoker was in a slump on 2010 and that’s why nadal won 3 slams, then what about fed beating a virgin djoker for his 4th USO; kinda balances out, ain’t it! so what if nadal didn’t beat a legendary looking djoker for his USO; fed also didn’t beat a legendary djoker either for his 4th USO! and people may come up with fed won wimby 09 coz roddick was his best match-up(and who’s some mental block agaonst fed to falter at the last hurdle, no matter how hard he had fought; just like what happens to fed when he plays nadal in slams finals) or one might add just unluckily missed a volley in the 2nd set! and fed won 2009 FO coz he didn’t have nadal to deal with. and the list goes on(e.g. getting a shell-shocked murray in 2008 USO)! and it’s not like federer always beat and laver to win his slams either…
all the crap of demeaning fed’s wins in the aforesaid manner could come up if some fedmaniacs try to demean nadal’s 2010 in any way. so give up the lame excuses that nadal won slams in 2010 due to djoker’s tiredness and this and that and blah blah blah!

you can only beat whom you get in front to win slams, so no need to bother about fed/nadal beating some lesser guy than sampras or laver/ boris becker/ bjorn borg/ agassi or the like taking anything away from their magnificent years.

March 16th, 2012 at 4:40 pm

fed off to a fast start just like in their prior meetings this year.
Fed is a tough matchup for delpo.

March 16th, 2012 at 4:42 pm

……….oh, oh, spoke too soon……

March 16th, 2012 at 4:46 pm

first set 6-3 looks like he wants to end the points with one or two swings.

Delpotro will have to take care of his serve, Fed will be looking again for an early break.

March 16th, 2012 at 4:51 pm

nelson goodman:

I completely agree with you that laver, borg, samras, federer and nadal are the 5 greatest players of tennis.

even though I’m a fan of purely aggressive tennis, and i root everythime against nadal except when he plays berdych, i still don’t find guys like connors, agassi, lendl, becker etc. comparabale to nadal. my vote for the top 5 guys in tennis is same as yours. to me also only laevr, borg, pete and fed are above nadal…

in tennis i consider greatness as sum of three factors:
TALENT+HARDWORK+ATTITUDE

and if points could be assigned to each of these factors, then fed, borg, laver, pete and nadal are above all else…

March 16th, 2012 at 4:55 pm

Lendl is above Nadal. Connors is above Nadal Come to think of it Mcenroe is above Nadal.

Nadal is in the third groupe just creeping in at #10 or something. He needs to beat Djoker in a slam other then gravel.. then he upos his status to one the greats in tennis. But not yet if the top 4 players. In order to become one of those he needs to get #1 and hold it for another year.

Fed is GOAT at the moment. Djokovic plays like last year for a year or 2 possible 3 then he could become GOAT or equal.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:02 pm

“So true this. This is just what Nadal cannot achieve. He is a good player not a great player.”

Uhm. 10 slams, 19 M 1000 titles, another 15 or so titles + 100 weeks at No 1. & 2 YE No 1. finishes certainly doesn’t equal greatness… Not only that, it’s actually WORSE than 5 slams, 10 M 1000 titles, 1 YEC titles, 13 other titles + 35 weeks at No 1 & 1 YE No 1. finish… What a pearl, Sienna ;-) Keep them coming!

March 16th, 2012 at 5:05 pm

Federer in God mode today

March 16th, 2012 at 5:05 pm

Skorocel it doesnot matter what you think or say.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:06 pm

Federer’s really toying with Delpo right now…

March 16th, 2012 at 5:08 pm

the achievements you list above clearly indicates Nadal is not among the top 5 players of all time. Heck they show he is not top 7 so after thjat it becomes a litl biased to place the players….
Thanks for reminding us.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:09 pm

Well this is the first match i am able to see of Fed this week. 3 oclock at nogth is hardly a time to watch a masters tourney….

Someoen is getting schooled. And Fed likes to get of court as quickly as possible to saveevery ounce of energy.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:11 pm

Well said Sienna,
I dont know how on earth these people think that Nadal is greater than Djokovic.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:12 pm

nadal is already above everybody except the 4 that i have mentioned, so let’s get real and not unnecessarily waste time over it arguing.
time to move on folks, cheers or tears depending on whether you love or hate nadal! ;)

March 16th, 2012 at 5:13 pm

@Dave is Annacone with him this week?

And I read in your comments you are not such a fan of him. Why is that?

March 16th, 2012 at 5:13 pm

&Sienna: As long as what I think is true, it doesn’t bother me a bit…

March 16th, 2012 at 5:13 pm

Geez, what happened? i turn on the TV and there is no contest. this is actually the easiest match federer had in IW so far and to come from delpo..i am VERY suprised.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:14 pm

Roger Federer Fan Says:
Well said Sienna,
I dont know how on earth these people think that Nadal is greater than Djokovic.

I am sorry Roger fan but I do not think Djokovic is above Nadal. Djoker getting another year like last year would easiley put him there. but not yet as it stands.

Do not be alarmed Nadal is 1 of the 2 or best claycourters I reckon he is already the best but that is a matter of taste.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:16 pm

What is that, demolition derby, is Federer so good or Delpo so bad or both?

March 16th, 2012 at 5:16 pm

RFF: “Federer in God mode today.”

Yup. Very impressive, clean, hard ball striking by Fed today. And then the variety on top of that.

A bit ambivalent due to the crappy momentum-shifter at the start. First game was a real struggle – very similar to Rotterdam where, as Fed said after, if Delpo had broken to start it might’ve changed the whole color of the match. Here as well, but with a twist: at deuce Fed hit a first serve called an ace but Delpo was sure it was out (and Fed didn’t move, indicating he agreed). But the challenge system broke and, without a reply, the call had to stand. Delpo was just livid and it’s clear it continued to affect him for at least a couple games after, up to 0-3.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:18 pm

I just had the same reaction, kimmi. At work so just checking scores, but i like delpo a lot so I am almost disappointed! Well, then, go fed! Close it out

March 16th, 2012 at 5:19 pm

HA Ha Sienna, lol, actually must be new to tennis or otherwise totally ignorant about tennis history or the contemporay period.Nadal has got 10 grandslams,19 masters,4 Davis cups,Olympic gold,having better head to head against “the greatest ever”.Nadal`s success must have made Sienna totally delusional so as to utter absolute gibberish.Whate a joke.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:19 pm

Fed cries to pretend he is human…but today he shows us he is not!!!!

March 16th, 2012 at 5:20 pm

how bad that nadal at least is above fed in their head-on encounters, nadal must be really feeling sad and ashamed about it; certainly denies nadal some greatness in the eyes of some fedfans! ;)

and if djoker continues to beat fed, he too’ll become ordinary in the eyes of some fedfans! ;)

March 16th, 2012 at 5:21 pm

i just hope fed shows some real magic against rafa tomorrow. go fed!

March 16th, 2012 at 5:24 pm

LOL @paradox ;)

March 16th, 2012 at 5:26 pm

Allez, Rog! Bring it in the semifinal, even if it is purple clay, you gotta find a way to win it!

March 16th, 2012 at 5:28 pm

indeed ALLEZ ROG!

March 16th, 2012 at 5:29 pm

Delpo let a questionable call get to him way too much. He needs to (a) grow up, and (b) show some fight, for god’s sake. What was that second set? He rolled over for Roger…again.

PS., one questionable service call – at DEUCE, on your opponent’s serve, when you’re only still in the game thanks to a lucky net cord on the preceding point? — sorry, but that shouldn’t send you spiraling into shoddy play for five minutes. Even if the call was wrong, and who knows, being “robbed” of facing a second serve at deuce isn’t the same thing as being robbed of a break point, let along of a break! The commentators were still talking about it in the second set when it was really just an irrelevant little blip.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:29 pm

Poor JMDP, he really’s licking that USO 2009 win clean… Make that 5 in a row for Fed!

March 16th, 2012 at 5:29 pm

*alone

March 16th, 2012 at 5:30 pm

Eric, although no doubt Fed was playing well, including serving 13 aces to Delpo’s none, I agree that Delpo didn’t seem to have much gumption in that second set, until the very last game, but it was too late.

It says Nadal and Nalby won’t be on before 3:00 so we have a wee hiatus.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:31 pm

as usual, hope again makes me think that fed’ll beat rafa tomorrow. :)

March 16th, 2012 at 5:31 pm

Skorocel, lol.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:32 pm

@van orten: Just wait 1 more day, and I’m afraid you’ll once again see Roger’s “human” side ;-)

March 16th, 2012 at 5:32 pm

seeing fed in semi’ll make nadal super motivated and so he’s beating nalby imo and reaching semi. and there i sure ”hope at least” that he’ll lose to fed!

March 16th, 2012 at 5:36 pm

This gives a litle more confidence about his sickness. He really did not wanted to waste any energy.

I think many of the Nadal fans and Ajet are new to tennis. They are probably very young fans and girlfans who where attrackted to the young warrior. ( he looked like a dream untill the hairlos started to arrive)but they do not have the full capacity and overview clearly that Dave has or myself as a matter to judge Nadal for the good player he is.

He never had a total dominant year. He never defended a nonclay title (which his odd! In defending titles you eliminate the element of luck involved and it shows you are a true dominator. Yet Nadal never could defend a nonclay title.)

Ajet,
I am not impressed with youre claims to being a Fedfan. You are a joke.
You are obviously only here as a poster to throw people of ,and with youre fake fandome (and fake ID?) you are trying to stir trouble.

But have a really good one you must be thrilled Fed got such an easy Victoire tonight

March 16th, 2012 at 5:37 pm

Skorocel Says:
@van orten: Just wait 1 more day, and I’m afraid you’ll once again see Roger’s “human” side ;-)

LOL ;)

March 16th, 2012 at 5:38 pm

Ajet Says:
Skorocel Says:
@van orten: Just wait 1 more day, and I’m afraid you’ll once again see Roger’s “human” side ;-)

LOL ;)

Really there it is. Youre true colours are shown. No fan of any player would make such a statement.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:43 pm

@Eric: Agree that JMDP shouldn’t be all that concerned when it was actually the very 1st game of the match, but on the other hand, it was a very long one. In other words, it’s not exactly pleasant if you fight 15 minutes for just one single game, have a couple of BPs & another 10 deuces & then lose it in the end…

March 16th, 2012 at 5:43 pm

Mem no problem with what you are saying. But don’t you think tournaments should have been balanced in terms of speed to get a 50 50 ratio for both Rafa and Roger. Rafas success is skewed by his clay court titles. Someone metioned that Roger beat Novak for his 4th US title. If Rafa is great why has he never showed up in the GS finals of 05 06 and 07 You could find him in Clay finals of cause. Fact of the matter is that Roger showed up in clay finals. His success on all surfaces, with clay being his less favourite, meant that rafa could get a positive head to head. Onle when roger start to decline was rafa able to really beat him in other GS finals. And stop the Nole keeping rogers record intact. What goes around comes around. If it wasnr for Rafa Roger would have had a 20 plus GS record. Then Nole showed up. That is the nature of competition. Some decline(Roger) and others get a serious beating(Rafa).

March 16th, 2012 at 5:50 pm

Ha Ha Sienna, If what Sienna is telling is true,then Nadal is the greatest asset for tennis in that he brings many young casual sport fans to tennis.Atleast Sienna admits it openely.Tennis always needs more fans to compete globally among sports.Having hair or not does not have anything to do with popularity,as Agassi`s fame proves.

March 16th, 2012 at 5:50 pm

Hahaha skorocel…lets Hope for once not!!!!

March 16th, 2012 at 5:54 pm

Ajet,

You are not fit to be a Federer fan

March 16th, 2012 at 5:57 pm

I wouldn’t read much in to Sienna’s posts, that poster is what my Aussie friends call S&@TSTIRRER.

She or he is just having fun and btw english is her/his first language just pretending it is not.

Nadal belongs to the top shelf of gratest players ever, even if he stops playing tomorrow and yes, I am not Nadals fan but I am tennis fan.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:03 pm

sienna:

you being a lunatic, deserve my utmost mercy! but don’t get surprised if you get shock treatment at times!

March 16th, 2012 at 6:04 pm

good grief Juan Martin….what the hell was that? talk about not even making an effort. that ump in definietly in the hot seat this tournament…bad calls against fed raonic, bad calls here.

but, at the end of the day, if the challenge system is down, players have to respect the umps call and he called it good. can’t go changing the rules on the fly or bending the rules to suit one player…unless you’re rafa and take your sweet time between each point to serve.

;0

i wonder if the ump on rafa/fed match (if rafa makes it) will call him out on that….would be pretty funny of he did.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:07 pm

Roger Federer Fan:

What are you fit for??? What people like you or lunatics like sienna think about me doesn’t mean a squat to me, for your info…

March 16th, 2012 at 6:07 pm

Fed will Not be human ever again this year yeah!!!!

March 16th, 2012 at 6:09 pm

Wog boy Says:
I wouldn’t read much in to Sienna’s posts, that poster is what my Aussie friends call S&@TSTIRRER.

She or he is just having fun and btw english is her/his first language just pretending it is not

Hou jij nou eens even op Wog jongen! In Nederland krijgen we Engels als les misschien vanaf groep 5 of 6. Maar ik ben helaas iets ouder en mijn engelse les begon op de middelbare school. Maar omdat elke maar ietwat leuke film of televisie serie in het engels is kent iedere Nederlander of Europeaan een beetje engels.

So it is actually a compliment for my english skills.

Nadal at the moment is not part of thetop 8 all time players which in my book makes him a good player not a great player. Grow up people.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:13 pm

if fed can keep kicking nadal’s butt in the right moments, i wouldn’t mind him being human as nadal is the only threat to fed’s record. if fed can check rafa, then my worry ends w.r.t. anyone closing in on fed’s slam tally in this generation!
and that’d be so cool! :D

March 16th, 2012 at 6:16 pm

Meanwhile Nalbandian lokes in topshape. He lost a few pounds. SO he really is looking and working to gethis tennislife going once again.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:18 pm

IMO Nadal deserves a lot of respect, and I don’t agree that he is not in the top 8 of the open era.

He is not the best player, but without any doubt he is the greatest fighter I have ever seen on a tennis court.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:18 pm

just one more slam for fed’ll save my tennis year!

March 16th, 2012 at 6:20 pm

Ajet,

You should be ashamed of yourself to call yourself as a Federer fan.

The basic qualities required to be an OBJECTIVE and FAIR Federer fan:
1. Hate Nadal.
2. You should “take out clay” in all your discussions (except of course Federer’s wins on clay).
3. Applaud the “objective” posters like Sienna, Dave, Skeezer, madmax, etc. when they throw cheap shots at Nadal.
4. Support and become a fan of big hitting players like Delpo, Raonic, etc who have either beaten Nadal a couple of times or show potential to beat him in future.
5. Support Djokovic in all the slam finals till be crosses 10 GS titles.
…..more to follow

March 16th, 2012 at 6:20 pm

I am happy for rog on the quick win so he has rest, but I’m hearing delpo barely showed or sonething was wrong with him? Hope all is well

March 16th, 2012 at 6:21 pm

nalby is prepared to kick butt today hopefully.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:22 pm

@RFF:

+5

March 16th, 2012 at 6:22 pm

Oh sure sure Roger Federer Fan, HAHAHA! YOU GOT ME TODAY! ;) :P

March 16th, 2012 at 6:27 pm

paradox Says:
Ha Ha Sienna, If what Sienna is telling is true,then Nadal is the greatest asset for tennis in that he brings many young casual sport fans to tennis.Atleast Sienna admits it openely.Tennis always needs more fans to compete globally among sports.Having hair or not does not have anything to do with popularity,as Agassi`s fame proves.

Paradox of course tennis needs Nadal. Without Nadal Fed would have had how many slams? So him still being the Goat at this moment really shows the greatness of Federer.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:28 pm

ditto mat4 @ 6.22 pm post!

March 16th, 2012 at 6:29 pm

Sienna, your books are irelevant.

English is compulsory in Holland, so everybody can read, wright and speak english so that comes to same.

My next door people are from Holland and when I asked them how come they speak such a good english they explained to me. Very good people, though football fans (Ajax) don’t care about tennis. Good drinkers too, though only beer no spirits;(

March 16th, 2012 at 6:37 pm

Sienna ek dink Ajet het n gesplete persoonlikheid

March 16th, 2012 at 6:37 pm

Yes indeed he hangs tough old Nalby.
He is younger then Fed.

Many younger player would have crumbled after seeing breakpount at 2-2 Nalby has faced stiffer competition …..

March 16th, 2012 at 6:38 pm

A few thoughts about Delpo.

Last year I noticed that, though he was moving well laterally, he had problems when he had to go forward, to change direction. A poster made fun of me. We have seen once again that Roger uses that weakness perfectly.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:40 pm

@Wog boy

Fok Ajax little wogger. Have been reading AJet’s ,misery about his religion thoughts well boy! Just do not tredpasses there.(;-)) ALl though really FOK AJAX.

And of course we have Our own Wimbly Champ King Richard. He coulde have made a second Wimbledon title. Actually he has a winning H2H against Tne pistol! How about them apples?

Jeanius Says:
Sienna ek dink Ajet het n gesplete persoonlikheid

Jeanius Ik denk het ook///LOL If youre Dutch is as bad as my english then I am in a lot of trouble;-) No actually I think he is and sometimes he doesnot know if he is Nirmal or Ajet!

March 16th, 2012 at 6:44 pm

I love watching Nalbandian; I will be sad when he decides to stop playing. He has a kind of “ease” about him when he plays. Ahh, would love for him to win this Masters – or better yet a slam – before he’s done. Wouldn’t even care if he beats Nole, cuase it would just be lovely to see for tennis fans.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:48 pm

Nein, ich bin in Suedafrika. Someone cannot love tennis if he\she doesn’t support Federer. Vive Federer

March 16th, 2012 at 6:49 pm

exactly jane. me too. wouldnt it be a feat for nalby to beat rafa today, fed tomorrow and nole on sunday? that will be fantabulous.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:50 pm

Pff Nadal reacted on his return? And then took a look at the line for a double challenge. Well the litlle fokheas. How about that fo gamesmenship? I saw Roger playing a return or questionable ball. And he wnated to challenge but time already went by and the referre thought he could still challenge. Rog said No, to late.

Gamesmanship on the line of the wnant to be players council president. Eventhough the service of Nalbandian was out. That is orrelevant. If his bal landed right on the line he would have continued.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:52 pm

@Kimmi- Nalby did do exactly that in Madrid 2007 masters – took out Novak, Rafa and Fed in that order.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:53 pm

This place has become bitter and annoying. How is it different from MTF then?

All sane posters should make a stance that the offenders either stop or leave.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:55 pm

Thus far, Nadal’s looked everything but splendid in this one…

March 16th, 2012 at 6:57 pm

LOL Jeanius. So lovely to see Soud african speak or here themtalk.

It ressembles to dutch so big of course the reasons behind it are not always to be proud of but anywayz.

Fed is SoudAfrican also. SO Fed has some dutch roots perhaps?;-)

March 16th, 2012 at 6:58 pm

Nalby’s crosscourt backhand is outstanding, maybe the best I have ever seen.

He plays quite well here.

March 16th, 2012 at 6:58 pm

Not a bad BH from Nadal…

March 16th, 2012 at 6:59 pm

@Epsilon:

Just ignore.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:01 pm

Nalby comes forward! Take note Nole, for future reference. :)

March 16th, 2012 at 7:03 pm

I thought that stopball was a stupid move, but boy, did it land perfectly… Setpoint Nalbandian!

March 16th, 2012 at 7:03 pm

And he takes the 1st set with a stunning FH DTL winner!

March 16th, 2012 at 7:04 pm

nalby gets the set… great play on set point

March 16th, 2012 at 7:04 pm

nalby takes the set!! go nalby

March 16th, 2012 at 7:04 pm

Wow…I am really loving this…..hope Nalby takes Nadal out in straights

March 16th, 2012 at 7:05 pm

@mat4:

Can’t. Too much visual pollution.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:05 pm

Wow did that really just happen? Nadal a set down. He looks a bit rusty or is he injured?

March 16th, 2012 at 7:06 pm

You have to be kidding me!

That’s the backhand down the line that does the damage…

Nalby played spot on…

I adore Robbie Koenig.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:07 pm

I also have a thing for blue shoes; Nole wore blue shoes in 2009. Love Nalby’s blue ones.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:08 pm

Rafa is playing well, but Nalby’s backand “does the damage”. “His shot selection is perfect.”

March 16th, 2012 at 7:09 pm

He probably is not feeling well so he is ducking anther bullit from Fed. Remeber down the yearthis should have been 1 all for them. He still can turn it around…

March 16th, 2012 at 7:10 pm

@Jane:

Our only hope for Nole to win this tournament is slowly fading… Vamos, Rafa! We need you in the final!

March 16th, 2012 at 7:11 pm

Outstanding play by Nalby!

March 16th, 2012 at 7:16 pm

Ah, that FH from Nalby should’ve crossed the net…

March 16th, 2012 at 7:17 pm

@jane: Agree with your 6:48 post. A slam win for Nalby would be great, but unfortunately, as great as it would be, it’s also a great, if not greater fiction :-(

March 16th, 2012 at 7:18 pm

The beauty of having an easy draw. I anticipate gamemanship. Wouldn’t mention the individual. Most probably from Spain

March 16th, 2012 at 7:20 pm

Nalby at his best still promises a great tennis, esp. when he is playing against the top 3. And this is one of those rare occasions Nalby is striking the ball really good. He won the 1st set. You can read in his eyes that he sees his chances today. Yet, we question, “Can he sustain his hunger and focus for another five games after missing two breakpoints in the 2nd game?”

March 16th, 2012 at 7:21 pm

Dave Says:
The brilliant Nalbandian laid two big beatings on Nadal in 2007, including a 6-0 bagel set in Paris and a whipping in Spain. Nalbandian’s last three losses to Nadal included four tight 6-7 or 5-7 sets even though Nalbandian wasn’t at his best or fittest. With a day to rest, let’s see what problems Nalbandian can pose for Nadal. It’s a big match that might just motivate Nalbandian to bring something special, though it’s a lot to ask. But Nalbandian has a better record against left handers than right handers.

Great call Dave.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:21 pm

@ S Green:

It crossed my mind too that those missed opportunities could be crucial.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:23 pm

Though it is a very bad match up for him, Rafa plays valiantly.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:26 pm

Has anyone noticed Nalbys coach is Uncle Toni s look alike. I think the uncle has defected

March 16th, 2012 at 7:31 pm

yes! just checked in and reading all the comments. i hope david pulls this off.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:31 pm

I am certain now. Rafa changed his patterns, he’s going first on Nalby’s FH.

Nalby goes for too much.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:35 pm

Ah, that stopball from Nalby should’ve been an inch higher!

March 16th, 2012 at 7:36 pm

great comments from jane,ajet,skorocel etc,always fighting rafas corner,thanks guys,you are true tennis fans.
sienna lol dont know what to say,so no comment.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:36 pm

Don’t get me wrong Nadal has looked sharper than his main rivals, Federer and Djokovic. So, I will be surprised if he loses this match.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:36 pm

alison hodge
I/m of to bed. I’m sure he will pull the win off. He is a champion and champions always find a way.

He is a good champion lol;-)

March 16th, 2012 at 7:39 pm

Yeah, overall S Green, i was thinking Rafa was looking to win this thing. Could it be that all the doubles play too is catching up to him? Maybe not. We’ll see how this finishes up. Right now, tough to say, but this hold is crucial for Rafa.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:40 pm

david just handling all of nadal’s shots like they were nothing.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:41 pm

Nadal is absolutely off today… He just can’t put together 2 “reasonable” shots today – especially in crucial stages…

March 16th, 2012 at 7:41 pm

Rafa has changed his game a little bit. It is difficult for him, because he doesn’t have a clear plan here.

So, I have the impression that he tries to deny angles to Nalby backhand, but unfortunately, Nalby is playing great with his forehand down the line, so you can’t pressurize the forehand neither. If Rafa wins this match, it will be only with his heart.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:42 pm

Talk about being inch perfect…

March 16th, 2012 at 7:43 pm

@Skorocel:

:-)

March 16th, 2012 at 7:44 pm

Ajet,

Re 2:30pm post

Never said Rafa wasn’t A great player. Never read Sienna’s post, was just reading mem’s and responded…

March 16th, 2012 at 7:45 pm

Never seen Nalbandian play this well ever. :-)

March 16th, 2012 at 7:46 pm

“Skorocel Says:
Nadal is absolutely off today…”

Look who he’s playing

March 16th, 2012 at 7:46 pm

@Skeezer:

RFF’s post was a good one. Just for fun, but inch perfect. You have to be kidding me…

March 16th, 2012 at 7:47 pm

All the Nadal excuses starting. A swollen knee, heartburn daaaaamn. He is currently suffering from nalbandianitis. It can be diagnosed as a rare form of “pain inflicted “

March 16th, 2012 at 7:48 pm

Another easy BH miss from Nadal…

March 16th, 2012 at 7:49 pm

Nalby is just playing insane tennis and willing his way to victory, yet he needs a little bit of luck to win this match.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:49 pm

@Jeanius:

Enough…

March 16th, 2012 at 7:51 pm

Last time Nalbandian played Nadal here, he had multiple match points in the second set, got tight, and couldn’t close. He then received a bagel in the third set.

Nalbandian remains the underdog until and unless he wins.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:51 pm

Nadal at 30-15 on Nalbandian’s serve. Nadal will break now and serve it out.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:54 pm

Fed is into his 9th STRAIGHT Semi final…..way to go Champ!!!

March 16th, 2012 at 7:55 pm

Oh come on.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:55 pm

Nalby’s still mentally fragile. DF on break point is Nalby special.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:55 pm

@Steve-o:

spot on…

March 16th, 2012 at 7:55 pm

I knew Nalbandian would choke. He double-faulted to drop serve. I smell another bagel coming in the third set.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:55 pm

Oh God….pls save Federer

March 16th, 2012 at 7:56 pm

Facepalm – double faults on break point. Nadal played some great tennis though to get there.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:56 pm

Ah, that was a pretty sloppy game from Nalby… Will it matter in the end?

March 16th, 2012 at 7:57 pm

But Nalby looks leaner and in good shape. So… there is still a lot to play.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:57 pm

That’s the BH I’d see more of from Nalby!

March 16th, 2012 at 7:58 pm

Nadal played great to avoid facing a BP at 0-30 the game before. Not so sure it wasn’t just Nalby choking at 5-5 though. Now we’ll see if Nadal can hang on for the set. Gut and brain both say ‘yes’ though, eh?

March 16th, 2012 at 7:58 pm

“Roger Federer Fan Says:
Oh God….pls save Federer”…..er…you mean save your Rafa right? hehe

March 16th, 2012 at 7:59 pm

It’s not about Nalbandian’s body, it’s about what’s between his ears.

@Skorcel: you’re kidding me, right? This match is over.

March 16th, 2012 at 7:59 pm

Great stopvolley from Nadal brings him 2 setpoints…

March 16th, 2012 at 8:00 pm

Somebody pls kick this spanish cheater out of tennis

March 16th, 2012 at 8:00 pm

I smell a Fedal….

March 16th, 2012 at 8:01 pm

Every time I see this scary fighting spirit of Nadal, I think how amazing it is of DjokerNole to have mastered the art of beating him.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:02 pm

@Steve-o:

Nalbandian went for too much in the end. He overdone it. But let’s wait and see. He has a clear cut plan, was the better player for most of the match, so he has no reason to go down easy. And though he can be tight in money time, I saw him play great too in such moments.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:03 pm

Nadal at his absolute best..winning second Set and noone knows ho iw he did it

March 16th, 2012 at 8:05 pm

@Skeezerweezer: Of course I know who’s he (Nadal) playing… My 2nd favourite player after Federer, after all…

March 16th, 2012 at 8:06 pm

Poor Nalbandian. He should keep his cool in this set and play like he has played throughout the match.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:08 pm

Nalby plz hold!

March 16th, 2012 at 8:08 pm

And there he goes…

March 16th, 2012 at 8:09 pm

If Federer loses to the cheater tomorrow it is only because he was suffering from flu.
Otherwise Federer would simply thump him away

March 16th, 2012 at 8:14 pm

@mat: plenty of people play great against Nadal for large stretches of time. The problem is that it’s nearly impossible to play that well for long enough to beat him.

To penetrate that impenetrable defense requires an amount of winners that very few human beings can generate without making a correspondingly large number of mistakes.

Eventually the opponent tires physically from trying to hit so hard and run so much, or mentally from trying to hit so close to the lines. Their game collapses in a rash of errors and Nadal prevails by attrition.

Djokovic has beaten Nadal because he can now run as long as Nadal can. Instead of having to go for winners from impossible positions, he can play long rallies until he has a clear shot. And he can do this for hours, until he finally breaks through Nadal’s defense.

Nalbandian has dropped serve and Nadal has held for 2-0. I said it would be a bagel and I see nothing yet to contradict my prediction.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:15 pm

This is a must win game for Nalby…

March 16th, 2012 at 8:16 pm

so close nalbandian..always. oh well :(

March 16th, 2012 at 8:16 pm

Nadal is worth than tooth ache!!!! You all know it!!!!

March 16th, 2012 at 8:17 pm

Good hold for the Argentine! Not over yet…

March 16th, 2012 at 8:20 pm

I guess I was wrong. Nalbandian holds for sheer prides’ sake. Will that be the extent of his efforts?

March 16th, 2012 at 8:20 pm

Horrible to see this guy bringing his clay game to hard courts

March 16th, 2012 at 8:21 pm

Whatever happens, Nalby was playing sublime tennis for a set and a half. Happy to have seen that. If it stays at one break, he may have a chance to comeback, but I suspect Rafa has wrested control of this match and will win.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:22 pm

@steve-o:

I don’t feel that Nalby has to play the lines all the time. He just has to play his game and be consistent. They don’t play in best of five. (Great bh winner by Rafa.)

March 16th, 2012 at 8:24 pm

Nadal’s volleying is AMAZING.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:25 pm

I was utterly wrong.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:30 pm

This one goes out for true FED fans: you know what Murray’s mother and Nadal have in common? A crush on Feliciano Lopez.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:31 pm

Looks like it’s either 19-9 or 10-18 tomorrow, LOL ;-) This one’s already over…

March 16th, 2012 at 8:35 pm

Come on Rafa….

March 16th, 2012 at 8:37 pm

Dory, I agree, and it’s underrated and underused by Nadal. He is so good at net when he gets there I can never figure why he doesn’t get there more often.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:39 pm

Yea! Time Violation: Rafael Nadal.

Sweet.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:39 pm

Has Nalby woken up suddenly again?

March 16th, 2012 at 8:41 pm

Next time when the time violation happens, he should be banned from tennis

March 16th, 2012 at 8:41 pm

Nalby will have a lot to regret…

March 16th, 2012 at 8:41 pm

Sweet indeed. I wonder why he didn’t protest ;-)

March 16th, 2012 at 8:42 pm

Imagine if ‘chicken-legs Nalby’ had 90% of the athletic speed and endurance of Federer or Djokovic. Nadal looked pedestrian for parts of the match because Nalby outsghone him. Nalby was 1 or 2 lucky shots from winning this in straight sets. Had Nalbandian kept up his level from the first 1.5 sets, Nadal would have had little chance. Win or lose, the high quality of Federer’s generation has proved themselves once again.

Thanks Sienna. Too many people were prematurely counting out Nalbandian, without considering that he is a big match player capable of rising to the occasion. Annacone was in the stands in Fed’s earlier matches. But apparently Annacone is sick with Fed’s flu today. My disappointment with Annacone, I’ll post later.

No prizes for guessing who “Roger Federer Fan” really is. Running to support Ajet everytime the youngling is in trouble. Boring.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:44 pm

@Dave:

Come on… Everybody knows that RFF is HR.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:46 pm

“I wonder why he didn’t protest ;-)”

cause the Ump was right ;-/

March 16th, 2012 at 8:46 pm

Dave
Wow…whata great post….keep it up

March 16th, 2012 at 8:46 pm

Wow this match has everything. Drama and great play.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:48 pm

A real leg burner. That is probably it for Nalby right there.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:49 pm

Ray of hope now

March 16th, 2012 at 8:51 pm

ah, drop shot NOOOOOOOOO!

March 16th, 2012 at 8:51 pm

Nalby is very well known for missing clutch shots at times…..

March 16th, 2012 at 8:52 pm

A real heartbreak

March 16th, 2012 at 8:54 pm

Great match till the very end.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:54 pm

what a match point. great volley to finish the match by rafa.

nalbandian, i salute you. if only….

March 16th, 2012 at 8:54 pm

@jane: Nadal’s lefty serve allows him to drag the opponent well wide of the court before he comes in. Nalbandian is never in a position to pressure Nadal with a passing shot. Nadal has plenty of time to hit a low-risk stop volley into tons of open court. He doesn’t need to be very precise.

He volleys pretty well when there’s no pressure–so do all the top players, Djokovic, Murray, Del Potro. They rarely come in unless the opponent is completely out of position.

Hitting volley combos, volleying right on the lines, at tough angles, or deep behind the opponent: that’s a lost art from the days of Sampras and Edberg.

Only a few serve-and-volleyers practice it now, and Federer too, of necessity, because he needs to shorten the points.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:54 pm

:( :(

But Rafa-Roger match now!

March 16th, 2012 at 8:54 pm

Pity…

March 16th, 2012 at 8:54 pm

Congrats to Rafa and his fans..

Nalby….glad to see your back….no one can say you were not in shape this time!

March 16th, 2012 at 8:55 pm

He made it exciting at the end there, but had he not gone down two breaks, he would’ve had a good shot. Nice match! Be happy fans of tennis!!

Fedal it is then. :)

March 16th, 2012 at 8:55 pm

Roger Federer Fan Says:
A real heartbreak
——————–

parody troll

March 16th, 2012 at 8:55 pm

What a horrible match
Come on friends….I request all of you to join hands with me and bad mouth this $$ picking cheater

March 16th, 2012 at 8:55 pm

Eric,

Matrix, “it was inevitable”

March 16th, 2012 at 8:55 pm

Federer-Nadal XXVIII. I have the privilege of being able to see it live. Hope there’s no rain to interfere. Go Roger!

March 16th, 2012 at 8:56 pm

steve-o: “Hitting volley combos, volleying right on the lines, at tough angles, or deep behind the opponent: that’s a lost art from the days of Sampras and Edberg.”

Sad but true…

March 16th, 2012 at 8:57 pm

Edberg played his first volley usually deep in the middle of the court.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:58 pm

steve-o thanks for your take. I don’t know but I have seen Rafa exhibit some great plays at net, maybe volleying in the classic way isn’t the right way to describe them. He just has good hands. But he plays so far back most of the time, he’d have to have his opponent way out of position. That is also why I don’t understand why players don’t come in more and finish points against him when he is behind the baseline. Mind you, he is darn fast too.

March 16th, 2012 at 8:58 pm

Oh you’re lucky steve-o – have fun at the match. Let me know what you think of Nole if you see him as well!

March 16th, 2012 at 8:59 pm

@Jane:

Good news for Nole’s fans. ;-)

March 16th, 2012 at 9:01 pm

steve-o – maybe you be give rog the lucky charm. enjoy!

March 16th, 2012 at 9:02 pm

In fact as much as I dislike Rafa’s usual style of play (which is why I like Federer’s natural and beautiful style and Djoker’s reasonably effortless style), I think Nadal may the most accomplished volleyer today. His % of net points won or successful volleys must be quite high.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:02 pm

On a more serious side, I think that of the top three players, Nole played the worst, but had a very good draw.

We also should not write off Isner, who is a danger for everyone. He will have to play better than against Simon, though.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:04 pm

So tomorrow once again heartbreak time to see RF lose. Hopefully Djokovic will reign supreme again in the final. No reason to believe now that he shouldn’t unless he’s physically tired or not well.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:05 pm

@Dory:

Don’t be so pessimistic. I think that Roger has excellent chances. They are both in great form.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:07 pm

@Kimmi: I went to IW last year and Roger lost :( so I don’t know how effective I am as a lucky charm. The history to date is not promising but I am an optimist.

@jane: I will also see Djokovic/Isner. That will be very fun, a big server against such a dangerous returner.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:08 pm

Nadal gets to beat a 30 year old, now another 30 year old next. Then a player his own age will give him the beat down…

As for “the arrogant one” – that’s Nadal, always in time violation, and arrogant enough to keep doing it ALL THE TIME…

I hope Federer is fit tomorrow – I think he could really beat Nadal, especially in a best of 3 (so he doesn’t have to worry about lasting 5 sets).

Of course, if Nadal plays by the rules, he will lose tomorrow (i.e., no time violations, every violation called out by the referee).

But if he continues his unsporting behavior, then he has an edge.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:09 pm

BTW, where is the Humble?

March 16th, 2012 at 9:11 pm

@mat4: Federer always has chances against Nadal. So did Nalbandian. But he butchered them, so he ended up losing.

Whether Federer wins depends entirely on what’s going on his head, whether he is comfortable with his game plan. It was quite close in AO, but he didn’t have the confidence to execute on the important points.

Will he have the confidence tomorrow? That uncertainty is what adds suspense and interest.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:15 pm

Roger Federer Fan Says:
What a horrible match
Come on friends….I request all of you to join hands with me and bad mouth this $$ picking cheater
————————————————
This is Humble Rafa

March 16th, 2012 at 9:17 pm

@mat4: They were in great form also in Australia (especially Federer), but we know how it all ended…

March 16th, 2012 at 9:17 pm

I think Fed has a better chance in a best of 3…

But what someone said on this board a few posts ago is correct – Djokovic knows he can outlast NAdal, so he can be patient and not rush into winners. Patience is very important in beating Nadal.

NAdal always makes the other player wait, even for the toss. Talk about arrogance and unsportingness! Then he runs around like a boxer in a ring. And then its all butt picking. Boy, I am surprised players shake that hand!!

March 16th, 2012 at 9:19 pm

too bad for david. he and federer have a nice history so i think their semi match would have been entertaining.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:19 pm

steve-o Says:
“@jane: Nadal’s lefty serve allows him to drag the opponent well wide of the court before he comes in. Nalbandian is never in a position to pressure Nadal with a passing shot. Nadal has plenty of time to hit a low-risk stop volley into tons of open court. He doesn’t need to be very precise.

He volleys pretty well when there’s no pressure–so do all the top players, Djokovic, Murray, Del Potro. They rarely come in unless the opponent is completely out of position.”

This is what I like about my fellow Federer fans…..they track down every single positive comment about the cheater and refute them “objectively”.
Way to go mate….i like it

March 16th, 2012 at 9:21 pm

Hard to pick against Nadal in the Semi, from what I saw the ball is sitting up nice for him , giving him plenty of time to wind up and swing. This kinda surface he has a clear advantage, but will still cheer Fed, 9th Straight semi final at age 30, still relevant, still demanding respect from all he plays, deservedly so.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:26 pm

mat4, agree with you – while it might be good for Nole that Rafa is through, you never know. Isner could beat him and so could Fed or Rafa. Maybe you were being facetious.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:27 pm

@steve-o:

I think that, after a long time, Roger finally HAS a good plan against Rafa. But he didn’t stick to it in Australia and I believe that Roger, basically, can’t stick to a plan for a whole match. His last two semis in Australia demonstrated it clearly: against Djoko, he played the beginning of the second set with a clear conception in mind, against Rafa he went for Rafa’s BH a few games by set. But both times, he lacked the patience indispensable to win those matches and reverted to his aggressive, but ineffective game.

And yes, his mindset will be very important.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:33 pm

what a match!
nalbandian is such an incredible talent! too bad both guys couldn’t win. i just knew nalbandian was going to try to bake nadal in his oven and he almost had my boy for dinner.

rafa needs a spanking for putting his fans under this kind of pressure, but i forgive him; he fought his way through. good job rafa! a win is a win is a win is a win, on to the next round.

all the best tomorrow, it won’t be easy!

March 16th, 2012 at 9:40 pm

@Jane, Skorocel:

I remember just one match when No1e didn’t play well against Rafa, in the DC a few years ago. Then, Novak slowly improves with each match. So I don’t worry about the final, if he makes it: he will play reasonably well.

I also think that he should win against Isner, whose backhand is a liability, and when you make him run, he usually doesn’t serve that well.

March 16th, 2012 at 9:45 pm

Now I am certain: Roger Federer Fan is Humble Rafa… ;-)

March 16th, 2012 at 9:47 pm

mem

U wouldn’t even be posting if Nalby pulled that out, lol.

But your boy did play well, lots of time to wind up his strokes

March 16th, 2012 at 9:48 pm

@Skeezer:

mem is not the only one. I lose interest in tennis for a week at least when No1e loses. Until the next event…

March 16th, 2012 at 9:56 pm

@jane:

A link for No1e fans:

http://www.thetennisspace.com/on-court/novak-djokovics-coach-deserves-more-recognition/

March 16th, 2012 at 10:11 pm

I believe the reasons why Federer lost the AO Sf were:

He was obstinate and continued to hit the short return towards Nadal’s forehand throughout the match.
He made 63 Unforced errors against 34 of Nadal.
Nadal had one game plan and he executed it to perfection with constantly hitting his forehand to Federer’s backhand whereas Federer didn’t.
And not to mention the lack of confidence has against Rafa at crucial points. (Roger Federer- Responsible for his own Downfall? http://bit.ly/zpv4QI )

If Federer really wants to win this time, he will have to stick to his game plan and continue to exploit Rafa’s backhand just like Djokovic has done in the last 7 meetings. Otherwise it will be Deja Vu all over again for Federer.

March 16th, 2012 at 10:19 pm

This blog have all federer troll fans. What a pitty!

March 16th, 2012 at 10:20 pm

@mat4
Too bad. Fed is not the only reason I watch or am a fan. Watched Rafa’s match and Isner. You’ll find Jane, Kimmi , Dari ( as an example ) have ther favs also but enjoy others games as well and is appreciative .Too each there own.

March 16th, 2012 at 10:30 pm

If Federer this, if Federer that, what a funny thing!
goodbye to Annacone and hire experts in this blog are the way to defeat the Spaniard. Urgent, Roger needs “method djokovic” to have a success match against Rafa.
First candidate, the supercomputer Dave

March 16th, 2012 at 10:32 pm

Thanks for the article on Nole’s coach mat4; I agree with the “taking a backseat” approach. He seems to really care for Nole and helping him realize his dreams; they have a simbiotic relationship that works so well.

March 16th, 2012 at 10:36 pm

skeezer,

don’t confused me with other sore losers. i don’t obsess over losses like you guys do. i understand that wins and losses are a part of the game. i post when i’m in the mood, not because nadal wins or loses.

you should try accepting reality as i do and you wouldn’t be so stressed out over things you can’t control!

enjoy the semis!

March 16th, 2012 at 10:38 pm

azarenka is doing a nole. she hasnt lost a match this year. she is in the final..AGAIN!

March 16th, 2012 at 10:44 pm

Mem, if Fed wins guarantee you won’t post and say congrats, never have, don’t expect u to change. Have fun with besting Fed but losing to Djoker, again. Hehe…

March 16th, 2012 at 10:45 pm

I think it is going to be Deja Vu all over again. Nothing to take away from Fed, but that is the way their games and mind sets are set up right now.

If you play the right way, Nadal and Djoko are beatable. Nalbandian just proved that by playing sublime for 1.5 sets today. I am afraid if Fed will be able to do that. Fed is capable enough, but it happening today is less probable, esp here at the clay court in Indian wells. IF Fed plays like 2009 Madrid, he MAY win this one.

But Fed deserves all the credit to reach so far in the draw fighting illness and hot players. No one can take away that from him. Moreover, Fed at his best, is unbeatable, unlike Nadal and Djoko.

See you, Fed in Miami!! (even though my heart says “Fed, please win atleast this one, outside of indoor courts”).

Isner and Djokovic MAY be a competitive match if Isner ups his level.

March 16th, 2012 at 10:50 pm

skeezer,

you’re right, i may or may not post tomorrow regardless of the outcome, but that’s my choice.

i just be myself. i’m not a pretense! i don’t need to post a congratulatory note on this blog everytime roger wins to convince you guys that i’m not bias toward him. i don’t congratulate nadal or any player every time he wins. in fact, i rarely come here to congratulate to any player. it’s not my thing! everybody here knows who i favor, but i love watching many players, including roger, but i don’t feel the need to announce it to the world.

contrary to what you might think, it has nothing to do with hating roger or any other player, because i don’t allow myself to be dragged down to a level of hating a player (whom i do not know) for beating nadal. tennis is not about that! i may criticize a player’s game or his attitude or anything to do with tennis, but i’m not into hatemongering. i enjoy tennis and i love a healthy debate, but attacking a player for personal reasons is not part of it. also, i don’t have the time to constantly post nor do i want to.

all i can say, to each his own!

March 17th, 2012 at 12:06 am

Nalbandian produced some swashbuckling Tennis today and what a match it was. Although Nadal was not at his best, he still found a way to win as his won’t (except against Novak ofcourse). I would say Nadal was lucky to scrape through as for the first two sets, Nalbandian was clearly the better player except for some minor blemishes towards the fag end of the second set which turned the match upside down. If only Nalbandian can produce this form with consistency he could be in the top five. But he rarely does and that is where the faultline lies. As far as Nadal is concerned, he played a okay match not upto his level, but still managed to win courtesy some silly mistakes from Nalbandian and that is a positive. It is now the tournament has reached its crescendo and we are in the semis where Nadal will meet Roger and what a blockbuster that would be. Although Roger does not have a good record against Nadal in outdoor Hardcourts, yet my gut feeling tells me that this time around he would make a match out of it especially considering that they are playing in day light where the court will be fast.

March 17th, 2012 at 12:21 am

As regards the match of Roger with Del Potro, I would say that Del Potro has become Roger’s bunny. As simple as that.

March 17th, 2012 at 12:23 am

Jane:
“simbiotic relatioship”

All said!

That brought me back to my biology classes:)

March 17th, 2012 at 12:39 am

Wog Boy, Hope the symbiosis is working tomorrow. :)) Cheers.

March 17th, 2012 at 12:49 am

Contemporary,

Are they playing in the clay courts in Indian Wells ??

March 17th, 2012 at 1:08 am

oh well, fedal again. GO FED!!!
I sure hope fed’s able to play two great sets tomorrow and not think of who he’s facing. That way, I think fed’ll have an equal chance at least, if not better, to win the match.

But I’m afraid if fed loses, sienna would go even more lunatic! ;)

March 17th, 2012 at 1:51 am

comedy king dave feeling bored, entertainment in tennis-x likely to take a jolt!

March 17th, 2012 at 1:54 am

Hope so too:)

March 17th, 2012 at 1:57 am

Michael,

You know what I meant.

March 17th, 2012 at 2:46 am

Skeezerweezer Says:

“But your boy did play well, lots of time to wind up his strokes”

Great post.
I love the way you take a dig at the cheater…attributing
all his wins only to the slowness of the court.
All hail Roger Federer the God.

March 17th, 2012 at 2:49 am

Contemporary,

Yeah now I can guess that you said that because Indian Wells hosts a slow hard court. But I feel that the courts are faster than Miami and in the sun the ball travels even faster. The fact that Roger and Nadal are playing in the sun would give an advantage to the former in my humble opinion. Yes, you are right in saying that Roger has a mental block against Nadal and that prevents him from giving his best in a match that involves both. But I am hoping against hope that this time that things will be different and Roger will produce his magic on the courts. If Roger plays at his best level, nothing is impossible for Roger.

March 17th, 2012 at 2:53 am

Last year, Nadal defeated a “strange” Federer in the Miami SFs at night. While I don’t expect that tomorrow’ match is not going to be a 6-3 6-2 affair, it may be something like 7-5, 7-5 or 6-4 7-6 affair given the way Federer is playing now. If Federer is more aggressive and as you say, able to come out in a better mindset, we might see a three setter with a 50:50 chance to both.

March 17th, 2012 at 3:04 am

“…..attributing
all his wins only to the slowness of the court.”

No, just stating the facts. Nice try on the word shuffling.

March 17th, 2012 at 3:12 am

Skeezer,
Wow….what a great post.
I whole heartedly agree with you….whatever you say is afact

March 17th, 2012 at 3:21 am

Michael,

Dont be so pessimistic about Federer’s chances against the cheater.
Roger at his best would simply blow him out of the court.
He may lose this one only because of his illness or due to mono.
Federer is going to surprise us all by simply coming out all guns blazing against the cheater.
Even the gamesmanship and cheating wont be enough to beat Federer now.

Fedex all the way.

March 17th, 2012 at 3:33 am

To some of the very smart posters here who seems to think Nadal is not a great player, there is an average tennis player who may not have the same IQ as these posters had the following statement to make. Looks like Rafa is one of the great players of all time.

“He’s got a great work ethic, and obviously he’s one of the great players of all time,” Federer said of Rafa

March 17th, 2012 at 3:58 am

nims thank goodness for sensible posters like yourself.

March 17th, 2012 at 6:40 am

alison says “nims thank goodness for sensible posters like yourself.”

I think most of us here are sensible, except very few. It’s always nice to talk tennis in positive way, rather than taking dig at other players.

March 17th, 2012 at 6:43 am

thanks NK yeah i completely agree,im too much of a lady,but i have to say without mentioning names,theres a certain poster who i could quite happily slap this morning,if i were to come face to face with them lol,BTW im not a violent person either.

March 17th, 2012 at 7:16 am

@Skeezer:

I was joking. But it is true I have to be selective with my timetable and to rely on streams when my children are watching cartoons.

March 17th, 2012 at 7:16 am

great posts yesterday from ajet,@3.10pm,3.19pm,3.22pm,i read some really idiotic posts yesterday,so it was refreshing to here someone using some common sense,regardless of rogers h2h against rafa,or rafas loosing record against nole,none have anything to be ashamed of,ones the best ever,and the other two are up there with the greats of the game,i dont know why some people have such a problem agreeing with that,facts are facts end of thanks again.

March 17th, 2012 at 8:25 am

@mat4

Sorry recently aquired head cold has left me humourless. Sorry I missed that.:( your last post I did get and was hilarious ;)

Also, mem is my very favorite poster so I am quite sensitive when anyone brings her name up. I have issues and often need a tissue.

March 17th, 2012 at 8:36 am

Moreover, Fed at his best, is unbeatable

Safin 2005
Nadal Roma 2006

When he win is unbeatable but when he isn’t he play below his level
Yes contemporary, you know a lot of tennis!

March 17th, 2012 at 9:01 am

These courts are not quite what Roger needs at this point in his career in order to beat Rafa. IW is slow and, more importantly, high bouncing which makes it: 1. Harder to take Rafa’s time away and 2. Easier for Rafa to get the ball up on his BH.

In the past 2 years Roger has only won 1 tournament on slow outdoor hard courts (2010 Australian). Of the 11 tournaments he won since the beginning of 2010, 7 were on indoor hard and 3 were on relatively fast outdoor hard.

Also, Rafa always comes back very strong after these breaks he takes. It’s probably going to be Nole vs Rafa. Yawn. We can look forward to a 4 hour final. Yeah!

March 17th, 2012 at 9:09 am

@5.06pm,sienna to skorocel it does not matter what you think or say hmm,eer evidently yes it does matter,quite alot in fact,ajet,nk,skeezer,skorocel,jane,mat 4,nims,michael,swiss maestro etc etc,and the great man roger federer himself,are all in agreement when they say,that rafa is one of the greatest players of all time,this forum is full of people that say that,you are in a very small minority who argue otherwise, err rant over.

March 17th, 2012 at 10:03 am