Roddick, Blake, Sharapova Stink Up Wimbledon

Wow, what an opening week… and it isn’t even over yet!

jane, yes, our pet peeve. Pressers are dangerous on oh so many levels.

Von, I’m glad you could appreciate the humor in that. And I also think it’s probably best to have one’s children whip themselves; it avoids so many potential complications and resentments. Funny stuff.

Man, I like Gulbis more and more by the moment. I’m not sure what his true level of ambition may be, but I’d love to see him on the up and up for a long time to come.

I’m sad for Andy R., but I’m thrilled for Andy M… Could this maybe just maybe be his year? Tall order, I know, but still… And if he and Gasquet should meet and play their best stuff, that’d be a dream match.

Sean, I agree that Nadal’s road is a bit tricky. If he should face Stepanek, I see a major possibility of an upset there. I mean, Nadal could potentially just school him, but they’ve had some close ones and have never met on grass. If Nadal’s serve isn’t all there or if Radek’s returning is particularly on, he should have a lot of potential opportunities to break at net.

June 26th, 2008 at 4:26 pm

[…] And Maria has had service problems now for quite some time. So much for being the favorite to win Wimbledon. source […]

June 26th, 2008 at 4:29 pm

Von – where are ya girl? Hope you’re okay – “big hugs” as zola used to say. :-(

Maybe it’s all Safin’s fault; one Serb falls another must rise? lol. I don’t know, but lots of crazy upsets so far this year.

When Maria crashed out I started to think that maybe her and Novak had a rendevous planned?! again, lol.

Ra,

My seniments exactly the following (sorry to echo your words so lenghthily but I just really agree):

“Man, I like Gulbis more and more by the moment. I’m not sure what his true level of ambition may be, but I’d love to see him on the up and up for a long time to come.

I’m sad for Andy R., but I’m thrilled for Andy M… Could this maybe just maybe be his year? Tall order, I know, but still… And if he and Gasquet should meet and play their best stuff, that’d be a dream match. “

June 26th, 2008 at 4:45 pm

Bummer. I thought Roddick had mis-spoke when, in his interview with Gimel-slob, he named himself among the 5 favorites to win Wimbledon. He normally says he takes things “one matches at a time” and keeps talk about himself as favorite to a minimum – so adding himself to the mix publicly on the air was, in my opinion, a bad idea. It’s much better being under the radar.

Blake, interestingly, said he couldn’t look past Schuettler, and he was right!

Can’t phone in the results…bad loss for Roddick, bad loss for Blake.

June 26th, 2008 at 4:48 pm

Sean,

Although Tipsy’s serve may seem unimposing, it has a lot of pop considering he’s a smaller guy; Fed couldn’t get a lot of breaks against him at the AO either.

I am sad for Andy; I’ll miss his presence here at the tournament. Yet, I am happy for the tattoed, Dostoyevsky-reading Janko: he’s nothing if not a character.

June 26th, 2008 at 4:49 pm

However, Fed did beat Tipsy at 2007 AO.

June 26th, 2008 at 5:10 pm

I really like Tipsy and hope he can advance further. I liked his interview. He seemed very pleased.

June 26th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

djoker out, arod out, looks like another boring steamroll to the final for federer and nadal -falls asleep-

June 26th, 2008 at 5:59 pm

Sean,
“Andy Roddick looked terrible today against Janko Tipsarevic in a stunning defeat…but in the rallies he’s just looks very below average and the pace of his shot appears lacking.”

I watched the match in entirety and very closely and find this passage not to be an accurate observation of how Roddick played and lost.

In total, he just missed 3-4 shots (safe shots overhit in agitation) more than he should have (read my posts in the other thread) to win the match, and that was enough to lose the match. About rallies, he played only one really bad rally, in which he tried to play safe and waited Tipsy to make error. Actually, I was impressed by the way he performed in the rallies. One big mistake behind his loss was his over-preparation for returning Tipsy’s weak 2nd serve, which resulted in wrong/confused selection of shots.

Overall, it was a praiseworthy performance by both players, and there was nothing “terrible” about Roddick except the loss. Well, at the end, what matters most is win, and you can characterize the loss any which way you want.

Maybe, you were showing some love for Roddick in your observation, which I may have missed it. If that is the case, my apologies.

June 26th, 2008 at 6:39 pm

Every one speculates that Fed’s day is over. What about Arod? I think his day is passed.

June 26th, 2008 at 6:41 pm

Before the start of the tournament I said Federer would be the champion.

Now I see it even clearer.

I said as well that only Nadal could beat him if he gets to the final and plays great, but honestly, he has a long road to go.

Kiefer is a very talented player (though a bit crazy as well) and extremely dangerous on grass.

If Nadal wins that one, then he would face Youzhny or Stepanek. Both them can beat him on grass.

Youzhny has powerful groundstrokes and a good serve, and has given trouble to Nadal more than once in the past.

Stepanek plays great at the net, has a good serve and his style could harm Nadal.

But even if Nadal wins that one too, he may face Gasquet or Murray or Hass, all of them extremely dangerous players on grass that could trouble him a lot.

I know Nadal has won his last seven matches on grass, but to get to the SF he must win three consecutive tough matches.

He can do it, but only if he plays great.

If he has a “bad day”, he’ll be out in one of those three matches.

But if he wins them all and gets to SF, I see him beating whoever gets there (Tipsarevic or Cilic or Tursunov or…) quite comfortably, and so reaching the final.

In the top half of the draw I can’t see anyone defeating Federer. Not Hewitt, not Ancic, not Berdych, not anyone else.

June 26th, 2008 at 6:51 pm

tasty tasty.

best of all, the rest of the tournament can be enjoyed without the smug mug of novak leering out at me. no doubt he’s back in serbia plotting his next disastrous PR move. heck, he and borg should start working together before the US Open to see what kind of drivel, i mean predictions, they can come up with.

as much as i have never liked roddick on court, off court he has always been an entertaining interviewee. i don’t think of him as a threat anymore; although i did think he’d make it past the second round.

janko is one of those guys that can just hang around. his match against federer earlier this year was unreal.

June 26th, 2008 at 7:07 pm

What would happen if Maria spent less time fussing about her outfits and hired a real coach instead of her dad? I think if she could ever acknowledge the need to accept advice from an unbiased expert and spent a year working to add depth to her one-dimensional game we might see a player far less prone to meltdowns. Currently she has no back-up plan to turn to when her game falls off the rails. Maybe a mature version of the raw promise that surprised and delighted us that first Wimbledon would resurface. Maybe the dreadful shrieking would disappear in the process. Will it happen? Doesn’t seem likely. Sad for the game, and sad for her.

June 26th, 2008 at 7:52 pm

I think Nadal played great… his style seems way more aggressive than last year’s… if he gets to the final I predict he will own Federer… maybe not as ridiculous as in Roland Garros, but he will win it in less than 5….. so myself being a Federer fan, just really hope Nadal gets beaten before the finals… (and yes, I am positive Federer will cruise all the way to the finals.)

June 26th, 2008 at 7:59 pm

Von,
I am sure Roddick will be back soon with a great statement. When I read/watched his interview, he showed great determination to work hard for another slam. As you know, he’s skipping Olympics for the summer prep, leading to US Open, so he will be playing most/all of US Series. And in his words, “I want to be prepared…physically and mentally…. playing a lot of matches going into a slam…has worked before, so that’s the best way I know how to go about it.” His plan to prepare for the US Open early on should produce the desired result, “win another slam.”
I know how it feels. I just went through that. Let’s get over it and move on. Roddick has a lot left and is capable of doing some wonders. I am fully convinced that he will live up to his promise.

June 26th, 2008 at 8:00 pm

What a very cruel headline!! How did they “stink” up wimbledon? If they did, what about the others who had prior losses, and those who wil fall tomorrow and the day after, and after, and after ……?

Shital:

“Overall, it was a praiseworthy performance by both players, and there was nothing “terrible” about Roddick except the loss. Well, at the end, what matters most is win, and you can characterize the loss any which way you want.”

Yours is a more accurate description of the match in its entirety as opposed to the writer’s. I saw the entire match, and except for A-Rod’s frustration and lapse at the end of the second set, I think he played very well. Tipsy got stronger as the match progressed; while A-Rod’s urgency and restlessness got the better of him. I’m sad that he lost but did not really hold out much hope for him going very far at Wimby due to his lack of match play coming into the tournamnet and his existing back problem. He gave his best effort and as a fan that’s all that matters.

_____________
jane:

Thanks for the concern — it’s appreciated. :)

Tipsy’s eyes wide-opened are pretty scary to look at. :)

June 26th, 2008 at 8:00 pm

I agree with a few others that Tipsarevic once again was really tough. I saw the match and believe it is a matter of Tipsarevic being great as much as Roddick being terrible.

Players hate it when people comment without being qualified players themselves, but I thought Roddick appeared basically content to just volley right back at Tipsarevic. There didn’t appear to be any strategy to win a point. It was just keeping the ball in play and hoping for the best…count on aces to hold serve.

On the other hand, Roddick was no pushover, and Sharapova and Blake are among the world’s best, so I don’t appreciate the unwarranted snark in the title to this article. I think it is more an issue of players struggling on grass, others better suited to that surface.

Some players are overrated just because they are Americans or just because that had some success in the past. There are many has-beens that get more press than they deserve. Sometimes this is all more entertainment than sport, but that’s where the prize money comes from, right? If it’s kind of dry, we invent some drama.

Taking Tursunov seriously is a joke. All I ever see him do is lose, lucky to get past a first round in other touraments. What was his last success?

June 26th, 2008 at 8:11 pm

andrea – your arrogant gloating & smugness is a little much. funny that you criticize novak for the same thing. pot calling kettle black much?

in the last thread you made some snippy remark about arod, in previous umpteen threads you’ve made barbs about novak.

it’s obvious you’re a fed fan to anyone with eyes, and that’s fine; roger has a lot of them.

but do you have to repeat over and over again how much you hate novak or how much you dislike borg just because he predicts something you don’t like? i mean the guy is a tennis legend and you make disparaging remarks about him repeatedly. does it make you feel better to put others down or kick others when they’re down? i guess i just don’t get it.

but you can bet roger would never speak that way about borg, b.t.w. and since you love rog so much maybe you should try emulating his behaviour? just a thought.

June 26th, 2008 at 8:14 pm

rogers twin sister – you’re correct that Fed did beat Tipsy, but I assume you mean AO 08. my point wasn’t who won or lost, but just that Tipsy is a tougher player to break than he seems to be.

June 26th, 2008 at 8:25 pm

Dan & trilby – a couple of good insights into “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” I’d say the sadomasochistic (humiliator / humiliated) bent in Maria comes from her nutso father. I agree with trilby that Maria could really benefit by changing things up, getting a coach who’s not related. trilby puts it best as such:

“maybe a mature version of the raw promise that surprised and delighted us that first Wimbledon would resurface.”

It was delightful to watch her win this thing at 17; reminded me of a certain Boris’s run. I’d like to see some of that back in Maria, but she needs something / someone new.

It is sad to see her implode like that.

June 26th, 2008 at 8:31 pm

<>

Try watching the match instead of polishing each other’s knobs.

Roddick played like garbage, lost his head, choked, and Tennis-X called him on it.

June 26th, 2008 at 8:31 pm

“Overall, it was a praiseworthy performance by both players, and there was nothing “terrible” about Roddick except the loss. Well, at the end, what matters most is win, and you can characterize the loss any which way you want.”

Yours is a more accurate description of the match in its entirety as opposed to the writer’s.

Try watching the match instead of polishing each other’s knobs.

Roddick played like garbage, lost his head, choked, and Tennis-X called him on it.

June 26th, 2008 at 8:31 pm

just to echo jane … I agree with her previous post to andrea.

I posted on the other thread to andrea — Be careful what you wish for others, it might come back to haunt you — you could choke on your own gloat. Now wouldn’t that be a tasty morsel? Your stupid barbs shows the level of your intelligence. They’re childish!

I might not like Federer but I do not gloat when he or any other player loses. It’s in poor taste. The player has enough to ponder; why make it worse adding trite nonsense? That’s just my thinking anyway, no one has to follow me. Carry on smart-ly!!

June 26th, 2008 at 8:35 pm

Chris:

“Roddick played like garbage, lost his head, choked, and Tennis-X called him on it.”

You say to-may-toes, I say to-mah-toes. I felt he played a good match, you don’t. Tennis.X loves to lambaste Roddick. You’d never see such a headline if the top 2 lost — like when fed lost in Dubai. He didn’t stink up anything, eh?

Only Roddick played like garbage? Blake could not take out Shuettler who has not won a title for aeons. He’s over the hill!

Tipsarevic is one of those players who’s very persistent when playing a top seed — he gives it his all, and then goes down in the next one or two rounds. Isn’t that what most lesser ranked players like to do? Secure a big scalp.

June 26th, 2008 at 8:45 pm

Thanks, Sean, for now jinxing Dmitry. He’s sure to go out in the third round now.

June 26th, 2008 at 8:49 pm

“and James Blake, well, he went James Blake losing from ahead in crushing five-set defeat to Rainer Schuettler.”

Aww.. just when he was making in roads on those 5 set matches. I thought he was getting the hang of them.

June 26th, 2008 at 9:03 pm

jane,

I have no qualms with being echoed. Especially since you’re always on top of giving credit for that sort of thing.

sardino and others,

I don’t know if you ever saw my point by point response on the “Serb Shocker” page. Anyhow, it’s there for you to see.

June 26th, 2008 at 9:04 pm

Andy needs a new coach.His brother needs to do him a favor by stepping aside.Andy holds the best serve in tennis.Lets get serious Andy.Its time for a change.Times tickin……..

June 26th, 2008 at 9:27 pm

Andy does not hold the best serve in tennis. He has the biggest serve, but not the most effective. He doesn’t serve the most aces.

The best serve is either Karlovic’s or Guccione’s. It’s not just about power, but placement and accuracy also, plus what you do after the serve.

Federer always outaces Roddick despite having an inferior serve.

June 26th, 2008 at 9:57 pm

Aaron Says: “Andy needs a new coach.His brother needs to do him a favor by stepping aside.Andy holds the best serve in tennis.Lets get serious Andy.”

Could not agree more Aaron. I hope John Roddick will employ a good psychologist to get to the bottom of Andy’s choking habits!

Well one good thing is that Andy’s shoulder appears to have healed, he was serving exceptionally well today.

June 26th, 2008 at 10:30 pm

Andy’s arm has been shot for at least 2 years now. Saw him live about 3 years ago, and his forehand was blistering. Then saw him live again last year, his forehand is average speed. Although he can still crank the odd serve at over 140 KMH, his serve has dropped velocity too- substantially. He’s lucky to still be in the top 10. He’ll be ranked in the 20’s by next year.

June 26th, 2008 at 10:59 pm

Chris

“Try watching the match instead of polishing each other’s knobs.”

Spot on.

Jane.

You seem to take great umbrage with what andrea said but its obvious that all she is doing is speaking her mind. We are a motley group of people on a random discussion group and we have different styles. Just because Von, Shital and you are cute to each other doesent mean that others have to be too. I for one find that tendency to be ‘gracious’ and sweet annoying but so what? Thats my problem really innit? I think its great that people speak their mind here and are offensive and sarcastic in good measure. Disparate styles make for more interesting discussions. If everyone was as ‘civil’ (As Shital put it recently) as the three of you, it would drive me nuts and I would surely abandon this site.

June 26th, 2008 at 11:31 pm

Kroll,

Wrong – I don’t take great umbrage with what she said per se, just that she’s been saying it ad nauseum lately – the stuff about Borg in particular.

As for people having different opinions, that’s great and I am all for that. When I came on this site it was pretty unilaterally a pro-Federer website, but now it seems to be more disparate, with plenty of different fans and opinions.

That said, I don’t see a reason for crudeness, insults, ad hominem attacks, etc., even in the context of disagreement.

June 26th, 2008 at 11:51 pm

Von

I am sorry I cant let this go but the one thing that truly annoys me is taking the high ground. A few comments (ridiculously offensive and uncivil by your standards I expect – Sorry for that)

“Your stupid barbs shows the level of your intelligence. They’re childish!”

Expressing your likes or dislikes does Not show your level of intelligence. Thats ridiculous. And besides you dont know the player, you are not his best friend, you are a fan (presumably). Your devotion to him and this rabid defence seems rather more childish.

“I might not like Federer but I do not gloat when he or any other player loses.”

Thats your choice, it seems a bit much to expect everyone to take your lead.

“The player has enough to ponder;”

Von, Are you kidding? He’s Not reading this discussion and this thread is not the subject of National Television so its irrelevant. Do not make a mountain of a mole-hill. Its just an opinion.

“That’s just my thinking anyway, no one has to follow me.”

Inevitably.

June 26th, 2008 at 11:52 pm

Jane,

Making ad hominem attacks on players is rather different than making them against others in the group, unless of course it gets too offensive. I think the former is well within the norms of discussion in this group. I am just saying that attacks on players are hardly the cause for personal concern, at least to the extent that you (and Von) seem feel.

June 26th, 2008 at 11:57 pm

Kroll:

You like andrea’s style, fine, I don’t. She’s annyoing and unfair in her criticisms. Try speaking your mind too much and you’ll be eaten alive by the vultures — especially the majority of the Federer fans. i used to speak my mind freely, but they didn’t like it. I have one behemoth who loves to give me an evaluation every 4 wweeks or so concerning any comments I utter about Federer. Consequently, I refrain from saying too much about him, unless it’s provoked. Is that fair? No, but it’s a means of survival. I could certainly crank up some not too sweet’ comments, but I won’t — it’s not worth the trouble.

Speaking one’s mind freely is different from someone consistently behaving like a bufoon. How many times do you have to lambaste anyone for your words to sink in? I like being friendly to people, but I’m not condescending. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. You stick to your style, i’ll stick to mine. I don’t get into most people’s comments because there are parameters. Hence, i won’t get into yours and I ask you to do the same for me. However, I’m glad that you’re so very open-minded, but I can assure you, that’s not the norm on these threads. Perhaps, eventually you’ll understand what I mean if you consistently read the commenrts, and then maybe, you won’t be so judgmental, and will understand why it’s better to be nice than nasty, or fully speaking one’s mind.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:01 am

Jane

I see there is a history here (about andrea’s comments about Borg) that I am missing so sorry for that. Though I should say, Borg missing his predictions is not a big deal. Nobody expected Djokovic to be out this early. In fact great players getting their predictions wrong seems to be the natural order of things. Look at Pele (in football) or Sampras or Borg
.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:04 am

Kroll:

I’m at a disadvantage here because I don’t know which player you support. If it’s Federer, then you’re OK since you won’t say anything anti-Federer. However, if you’re not, then try making some impartial anti-Federer comments and then you’ll find out what it really means to speak your mind.

“Expressing your likes or dislikes does Not show your level of intelligence. Thats ridiculous.”

I agree that if you express your likes and/or dislikes does not show your level of intelligence, but you have to consider the source, and then you’ll understand what’s a reflection of whom. What we write and/or speak is a reflection of who we are. You can’t make bread out of stone.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:13 am

Kroll,

I don’t care that you missed it – no biggie. Usually I ignore the “barb-ers”; it’s their prerogative to come along and make insults. But when it’s utterly repetitive, sometimes I take issue. I’m entitled, I figure. I actually like what andrea has to say when she’s not insulting other players and/or their comments.

It’s good that you instigated this discussion about style. If you hate our “cuteness,” find us sickeningly annoying, what can I say? You’re entitled. Maybe you should take a page from “hiding behind our keyboard” (another poster) and imagine Brundlefly puking on our keyboards. LOL. I hate some posters’ rudeness similarly.

Anyhow, my bad if I implied there’s not room here for all types & styles. Within reason. (there’s always gotta be a caveat with me, another annoying habit i suppose)

June 27th, 2008 at 12:23 am

Von
I see where you are coming from and your comments are fair so I admit to judging you early. An apology, I expect is in order. Unfortunately my natural form of humor is sarcasm and its hard to stray from that . And I can be creatively offensive ad infinitum irrespective of the environment so there :)

BTW, I am a Rafa supporter, though I disapprove of his annoying modesty in interviews. Also, I think Fed’s excuses in the AO regarding his mono are hokey. Its a wonderful card to pull out in the face of his declining dominance.

And

“You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”

You ve got to be kidding me!

June 27th, 2008 at 12:28 am

Kroll,

“Though I should say, Borg missing his predictions is not a big deal. Nobody expected Djokovic to be out this early.”

PRECISELY. Thanks – you just reaffirmed (to a degree anyhow) my point to andrea in the first place. It’s not a bloody crime to get predictions wrong, and shouldn’t mean the tennis champ Borg has to be sullied because of it – sheesh.

I’m outta here – still gotta watch some taped tennis.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:28 am

Kroll,

“BTW, I am a Rafa supporter, though I disapprove of his annoying modesty in interviews.”

Don’t know if you saw my response this your comments about the players’ attitudes on the other thread, but I liked what you said. I also think Rafa can be too self-deprecating and Djoko too self-aggrandizing (or at least vocal) – both largely in relation to Fed! The two need to find a happy medium.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:31 am

Kroll:

Apology accepted. I’m glad to know you understand.

“And I can be creatively offensive ad infinitum irrespective of the environment so there. :)

I can hold the world record on that if I’m provoked, but I’ve learnt that it ain’t worth it — I now harness my tongue.

“You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”

You ve got to be kidding me!”

No kidding, it’s a proven fact. Corporate America has taught me many lessons on that addage. Try it, you might like it. :)

“Also, I think Fed’s excuses in the AO regarding his mono are hokey. Its a wonderful card to pull out in the face of his declining dominance.”

I hope you can survive this statement if, and when, his fans read your post. Or, maybe they won’t now that I’ve alerted you that a special type of wrath will be descending on you at any time. You’ll need eyes behind your head. My weird sense of humor is coming through. :)

June 27th, 2008 at 12:38 am

Von you talk to much sometimes you should shut your big mouth…just shut it please woman.

June 27th, 2008 at 1:25 am

Angel:

Why am I not surprised you would say such drivel. You run true to form. Any and everything anyone says about Federer that you dislike you vent. Why not attack Kroll, or is it because you’re afraid to — I’m easy target.

June 27th, 2008 at 2:26 am

This is some comment thread. I am trying to understand this, we can’t criticize Federer? Why is he immune? I personally think Rafa is really that shy, and the language barrier perhaps accentuates this. Novak is a breath of fresh air, I like his arrogance and his impressions. He is funny and entertaining to watch. Roger is wonderful, this is his worst year, he is human. Do I have to pray to the Roger ideal to speak hear. I love watching him play, but Nadal is awesome too, I like them both. Shoot me.

June 27th, 2008 at 2:41 am

***
veronicaromm Says:

This is some comment thread. I am trying to understand this, we can’t criticize Federer? Why is he immune? I personally think Rafa is really that shy, and the language barrier perhaps accentuates this. Novak is a breath of fresh air, I like his arrogance and his impressions. He is funny and entertaining to watch. Roger is wonderful, this is his worst year, he is human. Do I have to pray to the Roger ideal to speak hear. I love watching him play, but Nadal is awesome too, I like them both. Shoot me.
***

My thoughts exactly. I like all three of them, too – but particularly Djokovic and Federer.

In any case, it seems to be a case of Federer fans taking these criticisms personally. What I find most perplexing is these *certain* fans’ inability to adopt an objective viewpoint – it seems they are compelled to defend Roger vigorously while constantly denigrating other players, particularly Djokovic.

I see it as hypocrisy of the highest degree when they accuse others of being unfair to Federer, when they are simultaneously and completely unjustifiably labelling Novak a cheater, wimp, cocky, whatever it may be. It really speaks volumes about the character of these people – extremist and capable of both unwarranted loathing, and double standards.

June 27th, 2008 at 5:00 am

veronicaromm:

As a big Fed fan, I have no problem with people criticizing Roger, as long as they make honest and/or well documented points…

On the contrary, Von’s comments really hurt my feelings nearly every time. In spite of what she says, I feel a very strong bias and terribly unfair attitude on her part. She has changed somewhat her style recently, but you can still detect the hate of her first comments. I don’t know what’s the origin of that but it does not feel very healthy to me and I’m thinking of leaving this forum because of it…

June 27th, 2008 at 5:08 am

I’ve only just realised that I used a couple of words repetitively in my above post. If there was an edit button, I’d change it!

***
Von says,
“If it’s Federer, then you’re OK since you won’t say anything anti-Federer. However, if you’re not, then try making some impartial anti-Federer comments and then you’ll find out what it really means to speak your mind.”
***

This gave me a laugh, because it’s true :)

June 27th, 2008 at 5:14 am

“jane Says:

andrea – your arrogant gloating & smugness is a little much. funny that you criticize novak for the same thing. pot calling kettle black much?

in the last thread you made some snippy remark about arod, in previous umpteen threads you’ve made barbs about novak.

it’s obvious you’re a fed fan to anyone with eyes, and that’s fine; roger has a lot of them.

but do you have to repeat over and over again how much you hate novak or how much you dislike borg just because he predicts something you don’t like? i mean the guy is a tennis legend and you make disparaging remarks about him repeatedly. does it make you feel better to put others down or kick others when they’re down? i guess i just don’t get it.

but you can bet roger would never speak that way about borg, b.t.w. and since you love rog so much maybe you should try emulating his behaviour? just a thought.”
====

Try not to call someone arrogant in an arrogant way. It’s arrogant.

Although it’s preferable to the insipid nice-nice. It bugs me almost as much as Novak snogging his little brother in that youtube video.

June 27th, 2008 at 6:30 am

Von says,
“If it’s Federer, then you’re OK since you won’t say anything anti-Federer. However, if you’re not, then try making some impartial anti-Federer comments and then you’ll find out what it really means to speak your mind.”
***

Funny you should say that, considering Fed’s dominance is on the wane (leaving him to take refuge in ‘mono’ whenever it suits him).Further, talk of him winning RG is moot after the whipping
he got from Rafa this time (thank god for that!) with his fans left with quips like “Andre won it when he was 29 so Fed might too”. He might be the GOAT I admit but his dominance was getting tedious and the eulogies directed at him, cloying. I for one will be happy enough if he doesen’t win another slam.

June 27th, 2008 at 6:48 am

Every player has good fans and bad fans. To single out one player’s fans like all the “victim of fed’s fans” club members above is a bit childish.

Von, if a 1000 people tell you you hate federer maybe it is time for you to take a look within yourself. Obviously it will be only Fed fans who take offense at your repeatedly biased statements going as far as to accuse him of lying about the mono. Your pals Shital and Jane will obviously not call you on that because they share the Federer dislike to some extent. (Definitely not as pathetic as you.) I will throw in this Kroll too with those other two. Kroll ofcourse would have seen the choice words a poster used for him if the people who moderate this site had not deleted those comments. Before you moral police crucify him as a Fed fan, let me tell you it is a novak fan called MD!

Anyway, Von you are hurt when Sean says Roddick stinked up the joint(something Roddick himself admitted in his press conference yesterday.) Yet you had no qualms in accusing Fed of lying about mono. If you have the right to deny Federer had mono which 99% of the media has no problem with, then surely Sean and everybody here is right in claiming Roddick choked especially since he himself claims so?

You deserve what you get. People who are fair and respect other players and their fans will get fairness and respect. Obviously you cannot in anyway even claim you have done so.

And another thing, stop lumping people as Fed fans. If you are human enough, take up the issue with which ever poster you have problem with. To paint Federer fans as some monsters is totally juvenile, especially when you are no Saint yourself.

June 27th, 2008 at 8:41 am

As for the matches yesterday, I did not have great hopes for Blake anyway. His game his so high risk you just donot know when it will prove his undoing.

Roddick, we all knew this was a tough match. There is no doubt that roddick choked this match, but let us face it, we all knew this was a tough match going in. Much like the safin-djokovic match (which definitely had the biggest upset potential) and the gulbis-nadal match. That 2 of those 3 fears materialized and that nadal lost the 1st set only tell you how deep men’s tennis is. Federer’s dominance the last 4years might make people claim that men’s tennis does not have depth but that is far from the truth.

Tennis is still the MOST competitive sport in the world and it is as dog eat dog as it has ever been. It is just that people dont yell and scream at each other like the uncivilized morons that connors and mcenroe were. More people are diplomatic and civilized in the borg, sampras and agassi (in his later stages). Thank God that the Good still inspires people even though there is a lot of cleansing of the bad and learning to be done in tennis and this world.

Getting back to the match, Tipsarevic played a really good match much like he did at the australian open. Roddick made the mistake of not taking control of the match and letting Tipsy dictate the match. That is always a disaster for recipe. Ask nadal for more information (on why he routinely gets whipped by huge underdogs)

Another thing that was against Roddick was the slow courts of wimbledon. He will definitely be much tougher to handle on the faster courts later this year. If you look at the last two years, he has lost only to Federer at the open. US open is the new wimbledon (in the sense that big serving based games are better rewarded there). It might be time for Wimbledon officials to use heavier balls to restore the pendulum which has definitely swung towards making the conditions slower.

Another important thing regarding roddick is he needs a great coach like gilbert/cahill to be in his camp. The biggest misfortune both andys – murray and roddick have had is not being able to hit it off with a great coach like gilbert. I donot know what went wrong there but the price these two may pay might be humongous. All the more so in murray’s case. He has no way he can stand upto players like nadal and djokovic mentally without an expert like gilbert who seems to not only be a great strategist but a manly version of Dr.Phil – a motivational guru that is.

If murray ends up underachieving like he has done thus far he will certainly regret not being able to work things out with gilbert!

June 27th, 2008 at 9:19 am

As for sharapova, looks like she has begun her customary walkabout after winning a grandslam like she did with her prior grandslams. I like her fighting spirit and the effort she gives but her shrieking and yelling like a mating moose on the court means I am not terribly sad she has lost.

It is not like maria has some unique game which we have never seen before or will never see after ( like players like justine/hingis/mauresmo/venus or even davenport) Her game is a very ugly version of that most hackneyed style of play in women’s tennis these days. Mindless ball bashing with no plan B

June 27th, 2008 at 9:26 am

Jack,

I find this comment a bit surprising: “Ask nadal for more information (on why he routinely gets whipped by huge underdogs)” –

Does he routinely get whipped by huge underdogs? It’s a sincere question because I’ve never noticed it.

June 27th, 2008 at 10:15 am

Jack – just checked Rafa’s playing activity: so far this year Rafa has lost to Youz (after lengthy semi); Tsonga (who plowed through at AO); Roddick; Djoko; Davydenko; and Ferrero (due to blisters).

The only huge underdog I see in this years results is maybe Seppi, who beat him in Rotterdam. All the others I listed seem reasonable enough losses: 3/6 are top-teners and the other 3 arguably had favorable circumstances or momentum (in Tsonga’s case – you can’t argue the guy didn’t play phenomenally at the AO).

So maybe you mean previous to this year or on a particular surface? I just don’t see Rafa as being “routinely whipped”; he’s the leader in wins this year.

June 27th, 2008 at 10:22 am

Jack
I dont dislike Federer, I enjoy his matches and I think he is the GOAT (as I ve mentioned once before) but that does not mean that I worship him or am a fan. Life thankfully is more nuanced than you see fit to imply. I do think however that Fed has been making excuses about his fading dominance, with the mono being a perfect crutch.
Thats my opinion, but does that mean that I hate him? Please! Part of growing up is understanding nuances and I have no idea where you are in that process.

Its entirely likely that I am wrong about Fed and he was in fact right about the mono, something that would easily be proved if he gets back to his dominance of recent yore(Though if he doesent, there is little to say one way or another). If that happens, will I curl up in shame about the terrible accusations I made about the great champion. No. Its just an opinion, I havent spent countless hours researching or mulling over ever statement he’s made and I woudlnt lose sleep if I was wrong. So judge me as you seem fit.

June 27th, 2008 at 10:28 am

To continue – in 2007, Rafa lost to: Fed, Nalby, Ferrer (injured USO), Djoko, Mahut (Queens finalist); Youz (Dubai finaist); Gonza (AO finalist). All, again, reasonable losses. And most of them top ten players. I don’t think we can call top tens or even top 20s underdogs, since as you mention above, tennis is very deep so in the top 20, on any given day, no one is a clear underdog.

Before the 2007 AO he lost to Malisse – the only noticeable underdog; and he wasn’t whipped. It was a tight two set loss.

June 27th, 2008 at 10:29 am

Jane
There is some truth in what Jack says about Rafa. As you ve pointed out, he hasnt lost that much to underdogs this year but he is vulnerable on hardcourts to a lot of players you wouldnt expect he would lose to based on ranking. Thats because he is still rather lacking on hardcourts. Besides Tsonga was playing fabulous tennis and I thought Novak was impressive in taking him down in the final.

June 27th, 2008 at 10:42 am

Sean
Rafa does have a tricky draw and if he gets through, he ll really have affirmed his grass credetials. One would think that winning Queen’s has already done that but two of the prominent players he beat there(Djoko and Rod) are already out of Wimby! I think its only fair that he has a trial-by-fire this year. After all, his fabulous final performance last year notwithstanding, he got through his draw with considerable amount of good fortune.

June 27th, 2008 at 10:49 am

Jack:

You’ve written so much that it’s difficult to answer everything, but I have one question for you, just show me where I’ve written that Fed didn’t have mono. Perhaps you’re using the quote I used to quote Kroll in his post to me, or a quote from another psoter. I’d just like for you to find my statement where I’ve stated that of which you’re accusing me.

“Von, if a 1000 people tell you you hate federer maybe it is time for you to take a look within yourself.”

More like 4 or 5 of the Fed worshippers. However, they’re like a militia, speaking for the whole gang. You’re just getting ahead of yourself here. I can name them for you if you’d like.

June 27th, 2008 at 11:25 am

Jane:

At any moment there are top dogs and under dogs. From 2005-07 it was Federer and nadal, before that federer, roddick, hewitt and safin. 08 it is federer, djokovic and nadal.

The point is Nadal loses routinely to players he is not expected to on hardcourts. These are not mere losses. He gets the wallop of his life-time. You can explain away or qualify the losses in any which way you want – that he was tired against youzhny, surprised by tsonga or gonzalez on a hot streak or blake playing the match of his life, nadal is young etc, etc. If you start doing that no player ever has lost a match. I for one would not do that.

Maybe if nadal keeps continuing his miserable run on the hardcourts, I wouldn’t be counting him as a top-dog on hardcourts much like what happens with roddick on clay now.

Kroll:

When it gets proved that Federer did lie about the mono, i will curl up in shame at the accusations I made against you. I am surprised you cannot see that given that you are nuanced enough in life? Till then I will brand you a moron who spreads rumours against great champions. If you have not researched well enough on what Federer has said before you start making your oh-so-logical conclusion that Fed is using his to his declining abilities then you are just being a dumbass.

June 27th, 2008 at 11:28 am

jack:

Isn’t also obvious to you that aside from myself there are fans of other players who see that the Fed group take umbrage to any and everything stated about him. Some of the Fed fans behave as if they are personal family members expressing deep hurt. That said, where am I being the chief offender?

June 27th, 2008 at 11:29 am

Jack;

I’ve just given a cursory look at all of your comments, but in gist I have to say that you have appointed yourself judge and jury of anyone who has written anything you deem unfitting toward Federer, e.g., Kroll, calling him a “dumbass”. Maybe you have a psychological problem and are using this site to vent some displaced anger. I believe you need to look within yourself and ascertain what it is that’s really the problem here, defending Federer or just your need to vent. Don’t you think calling someone a “dumbass” is going a bit too far just becuse you disagree with their opinions? This is a classic case and exactly the form of abuse to which I refer when I say that one cannot speak freely on these threads because they are subject to abuse and tirades. Are you any better Jack? Reverting to name calling is a bit low and childish, don’t you think? Rise up out of the mire, please. it’s unbecoming and unnecessary.

June 27th, 2008 at 11:42 am

Von:

So you have NEVER suggested that Federer faked mono?

If the Fed fans are militia, then what are you, jane and shital? Atleast that fed fans share a “like” of federer. What is common to a Djokovic fan and a roddick fan? You know the answer.

Are there any Federer fans who think you are a fair and objective poster when it comes to Federer? Anyways you dont have to prove anything.

June 27th, 2008 at 11:43 am

I agree with all that Rafa’s most vulnerable surface is hardcourts; that’s reasonable enough. He stands too far back, though seems to be working on this – he’s smarter on clay and grass in adjusting his game in the moment. I don’t see it as much on hard – the adjustments. But he’s still gotta be one of the best players at making adjustments as a match proceeds. And this year his results on hard have been darn good. Semis at AO; quarters at Dubia; semis at IW; finals at Miami.

We’ll have to wait and see how he does in the latter part of this year.

Meantime – Sean – I agree Rafa has a tough path to the final here, tougher than Fed now that the draw has opened up on that side.

June 27th, 2008 at 11:46 am

Jack;

you’ve still not answered my question, where did you see a post from me suggesting Federer lied about his mono? Don’t give me another question for an answer. You want to make broad statements, then back up your talk with the necessary information. If you can’t, then please stop making generalized statements.

I’ve answered you concerning the Fed posters who are the ones that take umbrage, aside from them the others are open minded and leave room for criticisms, bearing in mind that no one is perfect. If you take the time to read instead of just jumping in mid-stream you’ll find those comments where some of his fans do acknowledge certain aspects of his demeanor as not perfect.

You made some crude comments about Sharapova, just try making comments concerning Federer with similar language and then you’ll find out how much his fans can come down on you. You’ll get away with your comments regarding Sharapova because she does not have the same fan base as Federer on these threads.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:02 pm

Jack

“When it gets proved that Federer did lie about the mono, i will curl up in shame at the accusations I made against you. I am surprised you cannot see that given that you are nuanced enough in life? ”

Thats what nuance means? I dont see how the first statement leads to the second. Maybe there’s a Logic 101 course around that might be of some assistance.

Besides I never said Fed Lied about mono. A famous sportsman cannot lie about a disease and get away with it. I meant that he overstates it and uses it to justify every defeat he has, claiming right till he loses that he’s in the form of his life.

The statements I ve made about Fed and his mono :

“Also, I think Fed’s excuses in the AO regarding his mono are hokey.”

i.e. his excuses are hokey, not the mono itself.

“leaving him to take refuge in ‘mono’ whenever it suits him”
“with the mono being a perfect crutch.”

ditto for the others….

Its my mistake really, I assume that people understand the English language and are not normally as linguistically challenged as you seem to be (which is why you have little more to say than ‘dumbass’, though its probably the pinancle of creative prose by your standards). Words like ‘nuance’ and ‘excuse’ are clearly too hard to understand. I assure you that I shall simplify things appropriately in future.

Again, my sincere apologies for this oversight.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:04 pm

As I mentioned in another thread, Ferrer seems to be flying way below everyone’s radar. The #5 seed and S’Hertogenbosch winner is precisely the kind of player that has given Federer headaches in the past. That is, players who are very consistent and happen to be there when Federer has an off day. A couple of examples of this were Canas and Nalbandian last year.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:05 pm

Jane
Funny that you should mention this point, I remember a recent interview by Fed when he said precisely this, that Rafa is aggressive on grass and defensive on Hard courts. Which is bizarre since hard courts these days are faster than grass.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

Jack,

Just to clarify – I am a tennis fan first & foremost.

Although Novak is probably my current favorite player, I like many other players’ games & personalities for various reasons, as I’ve repeatedly stated as such on these threads: e.g., Rafa, Murray, Roddick, Safin. I also increasingly like Gulbis and Cillic. The former in particular impresses me with his composure and power.

I don’t “dislike” Fed; he’s just never been a favorite of mine. This may be in part because of his utter dominance for a long while there; I like unpredictability in sport. For example, I appreciate Rafa’s amazing play on clay, but even that, with his winning everything on the surface becoming a foregone conclusion, is something I hope will evolve. That others will step up and give it a go against him even on clay. This is one reason why I began following Novak because he really crashed Rafa & Roger’s party. I hope more players follow suit and we’ll have a top ten of consistent players. Imagine the rivalries.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

Kroll,

I thought the Miami final was clear evidence of that; Rafa let Davy step in and dictate in that match, retreating back to old patterns on hard court. To me Novak really has show how key court positioning is – he steps in and is aggressive off the return, and usually it’s paid off as he keeps the other player back. Gulbis did a bit of that against Rafa yesterday, but on grass Rafa made the adjustments; we’ll see if he’ll bring that onto hardcourts this summer.

b.t.w. – I didn’t read that Fed interview but it makes perfect sense. Remember when Rafa beat Fed at Dubai? It’s because he stepped it up, made the adjustments after losing the first set, and then he won. He can win on hardcourts but will have to adjust his game for the surface.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:20 pm

Jack:

“If the Fed fans are militia, then what are you, jane and shital? Atleast that fed fans share a “like” of federer. What is common to a Djokovic fan and a roddick fan? You know the answer.”

No, I don’t know the answer. I can’t see the obvious — I’m not as smart or discerning as you are.

I’ve been posting on these threads for approx. 6 months, and I know that you’ve not been a regular poster for that duration, unless you had a different screen name. Hence, you have now become the ‘messiah’, taken the podium, the one who is going to redeem federer’s image, and right all of the injustices. My compliments. What better way to make a grand entrance to grandstand on a subject matter that is so near and dear to the hearts of the majority. Enjoy the platform for as long as it lasts. Your usurpation of the Federer scenario is be applauded in order to engender popularity. Go for it, Jack!! I hope it does not come back to bite you. Remember hero today, goat tomorrow, and I don’t mean “GOAT”. I mean the animal with the horns.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:39 pm

One possible explanation for Nadal’s greater success on Grass and Clay has to do with his “buggy whip” forehand. The fact that he is able to take the ball very late off of the forehand side gives a little bit of extra time to deal with bad bounces. On hard courts this is a non-issue and early ball strikers have the upper hand. Nadal’s backhand is not vulnerable on hard courts as its fairly conventional. So the conventional wisdom seems to be to attack his Forehand with hard, deep and flat shots.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:42 pm

Kroll:

“Words like ‘nuance’ and ‘excuse’ are clearly too hard to understand. I assure you that I shall simplify things appropriately in future.”

I write in very simple language, using small words, but sometimes there isn’t a small word to really express oneself is there? However, some of my statements are still misunderstood, ergo, therein lies your answer.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:45 pm

” What is common to a Djokovic fan and a roddick fan?”

I’ll take a stab at an answer, since Jack’s not speaking generally but is referring to three specific posters – Shital and I share the same profession; Von and I have a similar sense of humour. We all like to see our favorites win. I’d say we’ve developed a kind of friendship that transcends fan-ship. So what of it? Truth be told, we seem to spend more time defending the players we DO like on this blog than saying anything negative about Fed.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:46 pm

jane:

“Truth be told, we seem to spend more time defending the players we DO like on this blog than saying anything negative about Fed.”

I want Jack to answer, but he seems to have taken a sabatical. Probably he has more insight into the situation than you or I have. Jack please answer.

Anyway, you’re right that we do spend more time speaking about our players than about Fed, but whenever we do mention Federer, the roof caves in. Lord help us — I suppose it’s best to leave the Fed fans together and seek some greener pastures. However, that might make these threads pretty boring — everyone signing the same praises. How sickening. That’s similarly to what Kroll mentioned about the nauseating sweetness. I wonder though ….

June 27th, 2008 at 12:54 pm

Vulcan,

Can you elaborate on “buggy whip”?

You’re explanation is interesting, because clearly Rafa’s top/various spins aren’t as effective on hard either. But I hadn’t though about the unstable bounce on grass/clay. Makes sense though.

June 27th, 2008 at 12:56 pm

Von,

Nah, we shouldn’t leave. We should continue to talk about the players and game we like. Shouldn’t we?

June 27th, 2008 at 1:00 pm

jane:

“Nah, we shouldn’t leave. We should continue to talk about the players and game we like. Shouldn’t we?”

Sure we can do that, at the same time bridling our tongues and/or sitting out any comments pertaining to Federer. Very democratic. Aren’t these threads for “constructive” criticism? However, that’ not the norm here. Constructive criticism and/or speaking the truth as I see it is what started this whole nonsense with Jack who is now the “behemoth”. It’s unfair that there’s so much liberalism enjoyed by some and so little by others. jack is using this thread to be abusive — there’s a psychological component here.

June 27th, 2008 at 1:28 pm

Jane,

The “buggy-whip” forehand is so-called because it resembles the motion of a driver of a horse-and-buggy carriage cracking a whip. The motion is from low to high and starts and finishes on the same side. Its pretty common for forehands hit on the run (on of Sampras’s favorite shots) but Nadal uses it all the time which may be a fairly innovative approach. It also seems to make a big difference in hitting passing shots which curl back into the court…a shot which Nadal is one of the best at.

June 27th, 2008 at 2:14 pm

Kroll said:

“Besides I never said Fed Lied about mono. A famous sportsman cannot lie about a disease and get away with it. I meant that he overstates it and uses it to justify every defeat he has, claiming right till he loses that he’s in the form of his life.”

Can you please tell me ONE, just ONE example where Fed did say he lost BECAUSE OF MONO? I’m all ears! You’re saying that he’s overstating it and using it to cover up his losses, but the truth is, the only ones who are doing this are the people like you… You’re just creating a sense that Fed’s saying he’s lost all these matches because of mono, but what’s the truth? Once again, tell me just one example where Fed openly stated he’s lost this or that match because of mono, and I’ll humbly eat my words…

June 27th, 2008 at 4:26 pm

Vulcan said:

“As I mentioned in another thread, Ferrer seems to be flying way below everyone’s radar. The #5 seed and S’Hertogenbosch winner is precisely the kind of player that has given Federer headaches in the past. That is, players who are very consistent and happen to be there when Federer has an off day. A couple of examples of this were Canas and Nalbandian last year.”

Excuse me, but you gotta be kidding on this one :) I mean, how many matches these two have played against each other? EIGHT. How many of those did David win? ZERO. How many sets did David win in those matches? No more than ONE.

The truth is, Ferrer is simply a perfect opponent for Fed… But then again, aside from Nadal, Nalby, Djoker, or maybe Murray, who isn’t? I wouldn’t exactly put him in the Canas category – as far as the retrieving skills go, of course. People call him a grinder, which may indeed be true, but he can still be easily outplayed with winners – something, which you can’t do that easily against Canas, not to mention Nadal. Comparing him to Nalby doesn’t make sense at all… The Argentine’s an excellent ball-striker, a pure joy to watch if he’s on, whereas David’s game is pretty much one-dimensional… If you’re David’s fan, then please don’t take this as an umbrage, but I just can’t help myself… Of all the players in the Top 10, he in my opinion has the most primitive game out there. He just returns that ball back so stubbornly – it’s almost comical at times :) It seems to me as if he’s there to just feel that ball bouncing off his racquet…

June 27th, 2008 at 5:03 pm

Kroll;

” I think its great that people speak their mind here and are offensive and sarcastic in good measure. Disparate styles make for more interesting discussions.”

veronicaromm:

“This is some comment thread. I am trying to understand this, we can’t criticize Federer? Why is he immune?”

Del Torri:

“My thoughts exactly. I like all three of them, too – but particularly Djokovic and Federer.

In any case, it seems to be a case of Federer fans taking these criticisms personally. What I find most perplexing is these *certain* fans’ inability to adopt an objective viewpoint – it seems they are compelled to defend Roger vigorously while constantly denigrating other players, particularly Djokovic.

I see it as hypocrisy of the highest degree when they accuse others of being unfair to Federer, when they are simultaneously and completely unjustifiably labelling Novak a cheater, wimp, cocky, whatever it may be. It really speaks volumes about the character of these people – extremist and capable of both unwarranted loathing, and double standards.”

__________________

I hope that you’ve all been enlightened from many of the foregoing comments after I responded to Kroll’s comment regarding jane, Shital and myself as being “cute to each other”. As I stated due to the backlash and name calling, it has been the easier and more pleasant route to take. There’s about a 5 percent window on these threads for objectivity, hence, I try to take the path of least resistance, however, even then it doesn’t work.

June 27th, 2008 at 5:35 pm

jane said:

“This is one reason why I began following Novak because he really crashed Rafa & Roger’s party.”

Well, I wouldn’t call it “really” yet… Surely, he’s won some matches here and there over these two, but still, it’s 5-15 in total (if I remember it correctly, that is :) ). As Sean’s already said, Novak (unlike Fed & Nadal) is still yet to show us what he’s really made of… I certainly like his chances against Nadal (even on clay) and Fed (at least on hard courts), but we need more evidence…

Don’t know about you, but what I would like to see from him more is basically the consistency in his results… I mean, the guy’s without question the best player on hard-courts in 2008, and actually can be pretty consistent as well (for example, in this year’s clay-court season, he got to a semi in MC, won in Rome, got to another semi in Hamburg, and reached another one at FO – which certainly is more than a decent consistency), but still, unless he can avoid them in the future, such losses like that one against Anderson in Miami or indeed that yesterday’s one against Marat will always remain as a huge asterisks…

June 27th, 2008 at 5:41 pm

Skorocel – I didn’t mean in H2Hs I meant in terms of ranking points; he’s gotten closer to those two than anyone else and he’s done it rather quickly. We’ll see if it lasts; he lost some here losing early and has a lot to defend now. Time will tell.

June 27th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

Skorocel

“Q. How much of a relief was it to actually find out what was going on healthwise?
ROGER FEDERER: I don’t know. It wasn’t a shock at first, when I found out what it was. It was, okay, fine. Let’s find out what that exactly means, you know. Because the news I got first was I had mono. I go, Okay, what does that mean? It’s going to take two more days or two more months, you know, I don’t know.
They did more tests and they said actually I went through a very strong mono. Only later did they tell me I had it all over and fixed. This was when I was quite relieved. It was just good to know it was something other than food poisoning. I was always joking around in Australia saying I never ate chicken and at the said it came from chicken.
I think I had food poisoning and mono at the Australian Open. I was sick prior to that before Christmas, and it wasn’t normal. I got sick three times in such a short period of time after not having been sick for like eight years.”

Now, did he Explicitly say he lost because of that? Maybe not. Did he seem to imply there was a reason why he didnt win it? I think so. Maybe he’s just making general conversation? Sure, if ur a fan boy.

Just so you know, he gets asked repeatedly about the mono and he always has loads to say about it, no “Sorry I think we ve talked enough about it”, that doesent happen does it? He talks ad-nauseum about it which annoys me no end.

June 27th, 2008 at 6:21 pm

Von
You make a fair point but I for one am impervious to name-calling, which usually happens when people have less intelligent things to say. Which means that you are actually getting to them (Not a bad thing). Maybe you shouldnt try and discipline people about it everytime as all they’ve done then is get a rise out you. So when somebody does that, ignore them. You dont have to right every perceived wrong that people commit, especially at the cost of making you defensive, which is far worse. You just need to let it go and know when to do that.

June 27th, 2008 at 6:27 pm

Skorocel
As an addition to my earlier comment, there is a notion of reference to context that is of essense here. When Rafa was asked about his knee after last year’s Wimby final, he said he didnt want to talk about it at all as that would be a percieved excuse. Imagine if he’d reeled of a lengthy monologue on the state of his knee, would you say he didnt use that as an excuse, as long as he didnt Explicitly say it was such? Please!
Annoyed as I am at Rafa’s percieved modesty, he does know when to shut up.

June 27th, 2008 at 6:33 pm

Skorocel
“but the truth is, the only ones who are doing this are the people like you”

Its good that you do some research before making your statements. I just found a whole bunch of news reports from respected publications, all of which seem to conclude the same and by all accounts they believe him. So its hardly the case of “people like me”. Besides the “mono” excuse is a staple of fan boys as a reason why his form has dipped, hardly my invention is it? So that would be, People like You.
Incidentally from the NYT

“When I heard it was mono, I was actually even more happy to have made the semifinals of the Australian Open, because probably a doctor would have said, You’re not allowed or can’t play,” Federer said.

Clearly, nothing explicit about it.

June 27th, 2008 at 6:42 pm

Kroll:

thanks for your reply to my post.

“You just need to let it go and know when to do that.”

I’ve tried doing that only to be told that I brush people aside and treat them as unnecessary. As I’ve stated before there isn’t a happy medium.

June 27th, 2008 at 6:46 pm

Wow, that is a brutal headline and a scathing review. It makes me wonder Sean Randall has ever played tennis before. And, if so, I hope he is as hard on himself as his is on those three top pros.

June 27th, 2008 at 8:26 pm

To Kroll:

Once again, can you give me just one single example where Fed did attribute even one of those losses which he suffered in 2008 to mono? To tell you the truth, he could easily do that after his IW semi against Fish (in which he was as slow as NEVER before), but he didn’t… I’m sorry, but as hardly as I tried, I just couldn’t find anything suspicious in those quotations which you’ve just posted…

He talks about it a lot? Really? The truth is, he hasn’t said even one thousandth from what some people here (are you among them?) have already said about his disease :)

P.S. That Nadal doesn’t want to talk about his injuries doesn’t automatically mean he’s a saint… I’m maybe repeating myself for the 1000th time, but to tell you the truth, what Rafa did in that MC 2006 final was worse than all the bad that Fed did on & off the court in his entire career… Yes, the Spaniard can be humble at times… So humble, that it’s not a problem for him to write Fed’s name on the camera and then scratch it… But yeah, stating that I had mono is still 1000 times worse than this, isn’t it?

June 27th, 2008 at 8:35 pm

People, come on!

Those who are here a long time (I am since 2006) know and remember when Djoko won AO what were being said about Fed, he was being eaten alive out here. He is by far the most criticezed player of these days, but he is n. 1 and it will always be this way.

But these “Fed fans” that, “Djoko fans” this are really starting to became annoying. The main topics of this site always were Fed (n. 1 – target) and Roddick (n. 1 american), since one had more success than the othter off course Rodick will have more “bad news”, but so had Fed. What I think is great and fair here is because the authours know when to salute a player when he did a great job, an so are we (at least most of us).
So Can’t we all discuss tennis and avoid getting so personal?!

All groups have “xiitas” fans and a lot of us here like several players. I for one am a fan of Fed, Djoko, Safin, Roddick (I always see his matches trying to memorize his serve sequence thinking that some day I will repeat it, silly me!) and now Nadal (whos defensive style wasn’t apealing to me. But now I am loving to see him play because he kind of realized the potential he has and decide to go for it! His game is much more agressive, he is now taking risks and is paying off.

Resuming, none needs to live, variety is the essence of a global world and let us all coexist in peace and dissecate every aspect of the game. That is where the fun is!

June 27th, 2008 at 8:48 pm

Its obvious that reason comes hard to you….

“The truth is, he hasn’t said even one thousandth from what some people here (are you among them?) have already said about his disease”

since people like you do the following

“I’m maybe repeating myself for the 1000th time”

If you can do it for Rafa others can do it for Fed so why are you surprised by the numbers?

I would have thought that what people in this forum say is rather less important than what Fed himself says so why are you comparing them? I just dont see what you are attempting to do with these arbitrary comparisons.

Repeat : What the people on the forum percieve is irrelevant, we are after all(mostly) a bunch of fan-boys. The opinion of the world media however is a different issue. The media seems to perceive that Fed lost at AO because of his repeated insinuations. And thats all that counts.

Further, I couldnt care less if Rafa is a saint or not or whether he is much worse than Fed. I like his game and I have no reason to defend him one way or another. I am not a fan-boy like you.

And whats with you and 1000? Surely thats not the only number you know…

June 27th, 2008 at 9:06 pm

Rafa is about to play Keifer and Haas is playing Murray. Any predictions on Rafa?

June 28th, 2008 at 7:47 am

veronicaromm,

Rafa will beat Keifer – that’s my prediction. Murray *should* beat Haas too. Which means we could see that Murray v. Gasquet match.
Tipsy & Turs will be a dogfight till the end, I suspect?

June 28th, 2008 at 10:13 am

Kiefer isn’t any kind of threat to Nadal or any top 10 player for that matter. Maybe, if he’s on song and his opponent is off, he’ll eek out a win. Apart from those two scenarios, he’s not a threat. Rafa will straight aet Kiefer.

Murray has been the aggressor in his match v. Haas. I expect Murray to win this one in 3.

Gasquet will most probably win his match against Simon, who is a similar type of scenario as Kiefer and not a threat. Gasquet in all likelihood should win his match.

Tipsy will beat Tursunov. If Tipsy can take out Roddick, then Tursunov should not be a problem. Tursunov’s biggest problem is his mental instability. Tipsy should win in 3 or possibly 4 sets.

June 28th, 2008 at 11:44 am

Murray just lost 2nd set in tiebreak – of course I can’t see it though because dumb NBC are playing TAPED coverage of Venus’s match – which is utterly irritating and ridiculous! Why can’t fans follow what’s going on LIVE?

Congrats to Tipsy & Gasquet for going one further…

June 28th, 2008 at 12:14 pm

NBC does not have any respect whatsoever for tennis. They were supposed to begin coverage at 12:00 o’clock, instead they did sports desk coverage and then began Wimby at 12:03 p.m. taped, without even so much of a meager apology.

The situation with the TV coverage in general has become very exasperating. ESPN engages in a ping pong style of coverage — only showing bits and pieces of each match. There really isn’t any method to their match selections that are televised. In order to see a match in its entirety one has to physically sit at their computer and watch ESPN 360.com, which even though it is supposed to be live has about a 30 minute time delay in the matches shown. It has become imperative for The USTA to step in and do something constructive for once, putting forth a loud enough voice on behalf of tennis coverage here in the US, taking an aggressive approach coupled with an active role on behalf of the tennis fans. If something is not done soon, tennis will drop even further behind in sports coverage. It’s ridiculous that a country that is so sports oriented is very unbalanced in its TV coverage of Tennis.

June 28th, 2008 at 12:39 pm

Von,

At least they showed the end of Murray’s match and are going to show Rafa live. But I have no idea why they had to show that bit of Venus’s match instead of going straight to live?

So HAPPY Murray is through! I hope he and Gasquet have a cracker of a match; I’d prefer to see Murray go through, but either way, as long as it’s a good one.

June 28th, 2008 at 1:39 pm

jane:

Yes, they did show some of Murray’s match. Murray was in excellent form today. Does he have soft hands! He has so much unharnessed talent which will make his game awesome when he is able to synchronize it.

Glad to see Murray through to the 2nd week along with Gasquet, who is looking pretty impressive at this juncture. They should have a very hotly contested match when they meet, and a tough one to call. It’s a known fact that Gasquet does well on grass, but Murray is not too far behind.

Hopefully, we’ll be treated to some decent TV coverage next week, beginning with the Round of 16 matches. However, NBC will probably mess it up for sure. All we can do is hope, which is a good thing.

June 28th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

“All we can do is hope, which is a good thing.”

I don’t know, eating and breathing are good too.

June 28th, 2008 at 3:33 pm

I have tears of joy watching Nadal play and win, he is my hero

June 28th, 2008 at 4:16 pm

Told ya he’d win veronicaromm.

All my picks through today – Murray, Gasquet, Cillic (!), Rafa.

Probably would’ve preferred to see Step through, but Youz is fine; he’ll be good test for Rafa, but Rafa will win.

Likely Gasquet will beat Murray though I’d rather see Murray through to the Qs. Gasquet is, I think, even flakier than Murray. But it’s a tough call. Gasquet has won both of their previous matches.

Any predictions on that match?

June 28th, 2008 at 4:32 pm

Nadal must be crapping in his pants right now, thinking about his match with youzhny. Nadal fans start getting your excuses ready! And keep praying that youzhny is not fit. If he is ready, nadal is a dead duck.

June 29th, 2008 at 9:08 am

We shall see about Nadal won’t we, be ready with your excuses when Youzhny, tired and well Youzhny faces the POWER of Nadal.

June 29th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

HA whats the excuse? Nadal outplayed out did himself. His serve is 10mph faster than before and he is in top form. Don’t think he was ever worried about Youzhny and rightfully so

June 30th, 2008 at 12:50 pm