Weekend Wrap: Ginepri Wins at Indy, Williams Featured at Stanford

by Staff | July 26th, 2009, 11:26 pm
  • 41 Comments

THIS WEEK ON TOUR

BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC
Stanford, Calif., USA
Surface: Hard outdoor
ADHEREL
Seeds: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic, Nadia Petrova, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Marion Bartoli

Floaters: Maria Sharapova, Sam Stosur, Shuai Peng, Daniela Hantuchova, Maria Kirilenko, Na Li, Bethanie Mattek-Sands


Notes: Openers of interest include (1) S.Williams vs. Li, (6) Cibulkova vs. Stosur, (8) Bartoli vs. Peng, (5) Petrova vs. Mattek-Sands (winner to potentially face Sharapova); five of Top 10 players entered; wildcards to American Hilary Barte and Canadian Stephanie Dubois; Canadian defending champ Aleksandra Wozniak unseeded.

ISTANBUL CUP
Istanbul, Turkey
Surface: Hard outdoor

Seeds: Vera Zvonareva, Patty Schnyder, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Aravane Rezai, Vera Dushevina, Yaroslava Shvedova, Olga Govortsova, Lucie Hradecka

Floaters: None

Notes: No appearance by defending champ Agnieszka Radwanska (playing at Stanford this week), but you get her sister Urszula.

LA TENNIS OPEN
Los Angeles, Calif., USA
Surface: Hard outdoor

Seeds: Tommy Haas, Mardy Fish, Dmitry Tursunov, Dudi Sela, Igor Kunitsyn, Sam Querrey, Banjamin Becker, Marat Safin

Floaters: Indy winner Robby Ginepri, (WC) Taylor Dent, John Isner, Frank Dancevic, Marcos Baghdatis

Notes: Openers of interest are (1) Haas vs. Levine or Reynolds, (8) Safin vs. Ginepri, (7) Becker vs. Isner, Dancevic vs. Baghdatis; Haas (2006,’04) is the lone defending champ in the field.

ATP STUDENA CROATIA OPEN
Umag, Croatia
Surface: Outdoor red clay

Seeds: Nikolay Davydenko, David Ferrer, Viktor Troicki, Jurgen Melzer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Nicolas Almagro, Andreas Seppi, Mischa Zverev

Floaters: Pablo Cuevas, Ivan Ljubicic, Nicolas Massu

Notes: Opener of interest is (2) Ferrer vs. Daniel “Crazy Dani” Koellerer; Italian Filippo Volandri wrangles a wildcard; no past champs in the shaky field.

ALLIANZ SUISSE OPEN GSTAAD
Gstaad, Switzerland
Surface: Outdoor red clay

Seeds: Stan Wawrinka, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Igor Andreev, Victor Hanescu, Jeremy Chardy, Nicolas Kiefer, Feliciano Lopez, Paul-Henri Mathieu

Floaters: Jose Acasuso, Mikhail Youzhny

Notes: (6) Kiefer vs. Acasuso to open; Gaston Gaudio receives a wildcard along with Swiss Marco “Chud” Chiudinelli.

WEEKEND WRAP

INDIANAPOLIS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Surace: Hard outdoor

It was four years coming, but American Robby Ginepri won the Indianapolis title on Sunday, his first since winning at Indy in 2005. The unseeded Ginepri beat No. 3-seeded fellow American Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-4, handing Q-Ball his second loss in a row in a final after Newport. The 26-year-old Ginepri was making his first appearance in a tour final since beating Taylor Dent in the Indy final four years ago.

INTERNATIONAL GERMAN OPEN HAMBURG
Hamburg, Germany
Surface: Outdoor red clay

No. 2-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko won his first title in over a year on Sunday in Hamburg, defeating No. 13-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-2 for the championship. “When you win the tournament then you always say it’s the best week because before I did not win any tournaments,” Davydenko said. “It’s a very good week for me.”

BANKA KOPER SLOVENIA OPEN
Portoroz, Slovenia
Surface: Hard outdoors

World No. 1 Dinara Safina continues to scoop up the minor titles, on Sunday defeating No. 5-seeded Italian Sara Errani 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-5 for the Portoroz title. It is her third title of the year after Rome and Madrid, and the Russian improved to 21-11 in career finals.

NURNBERGER GASTEIN LADIES
Bad Gastein, Austria
Surface: Outdoor red clay

Unseeded 21-year-old German Andrea Petkovic won her first pro title of any kind on Sunday, defeating unseeded Romanian Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-2, 6-3 for the Bad Gastein title. In the doubles final, Czechs Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka successfully defended their title from last year, topping Germans Malek/Petkovic 6-2, 6-4.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS

DECHY RETIRES — France’s Nathalie Dechy is pregnant and will retire from pro tennis at age 30. The Guadeloupe-born Dechy turned pro in 1994, winning one career singles title and seven in doubles (three this year), including three Grand Slams (two US Open women’s and a mixed at the French).

Monday has been declared a national day of mourning in Croatia following a train accident. Consequently, there will be no play at the ATP Studena Croatia Open on Monday. Main draw action will begin on Tuesday…

How do the Washington Kastles get to bring in a marquee player like Nadia Petrova in at the last minute when it is against the stated rules?…

37-year-old Juergen Waber, coach of Sybille Bammer, is the new Austrian Fed Cup captain, replacing Alfred Tesar who steps down after eight years on the job…

Why are both the ATP and WTA website re-dos so crappy? Could it be harder to find things, slower to navigate and slower to load?…

Sam Querrey tells FOX Sports that Andy “Winning Ugly” Roddick is the new Brad Gilbert: “He’s got the willingness and drive and he’s not afraid to go out there and have 20-30 ball rallies every point. He’ll win ugly. If something is not working for him, he can kind of junk his way through matches, serve big serves and make the guy hit an extra ball. I’ve never seen him not go out there and fight every point.”…

Sam Querrey speaking to SI.com on Andy Roddick: “He cares about the youngsters who are coming up. When I am at Davis Cup, he knows the results in the Futures and the Challengers and even some of the juniors [events]. He wants the new wave of Americans to enjoy the success he has. You can ask him about any 17-, 18-, 19-year-old and he knows about them. I first met him when I was a practice partner with the Davis Cup team in 2005 at Belgium. We introduced ourselves. We started hitting, then played a set. I was up 5-3 maybe, and he wound up beating me 7-5. Every time he’d get a point, he’d give me a staredown or a big fist pump just letting me know that even though I’m 17 and it’s a practice set, he’s there to beat me. But there are some funny jokes. He lets you know that you aren’t going to come in and take his Davis Cup spot.”…

…and Querrey on being a punching bag at Wimbledon: “I was walking home from breakfast and someone who appeared to be a homeless man just punched me. He left a bruise on my left bicep. That was one of the first few days that Wimbledon started. Then a few nights later, there’s a restaurant called the Dog and Fox, and some drunk girl walked straight at me and poked me in the stomach. I was getting a lot of physical contact from random strangers around Wimbledon Village.”…


You Might Like:
Serena Returns Tonight In Stanford; Berdych, Raonic, Isner Begin In Washington
Ginepri Gives Countryman Pep Talk for Federer v Isner US Open Match-Up
U.S. Open Series Preview: Indy
Angelique Kerber Outlast Karolina Pliskova For Fourth Title Of The Year In Stanford
Raonic, Pospisil Meet In Historic First All-Canadian Final; Serena Seeds Third Stanford Title

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41 Comments for Weekend Wrap: Ginepri Wins at Indy, Williams Featured at Stanford

Kimmi Says:

“World No. 1 Dinara Safina continues to scoop up the minor titles”

This should be on this thread instead..

Congrats safina for her win. But why oh why does she play in Portoroz where the 2nd seed was ranked 21 ? why not entered to play in Stanford, here other seeds are closer to her ranking and it is a big tourney too….Oh well, so many questions !

——————————————-

LOL about Sam “punching bag” at wimbledon village.


grendel Says:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26072009/58/sharapova-refuses-written.html

Interesting comments from Sharapova in the above link. Everything she says is informative, and is consequently satisfying. She’s a curious woman, Sharapova, obdurate but also rather honest. Not someone, you feel, who suffers fools gladly.

Obviously the new truncated service action, to which she alludes,is designed to protect her shoulder. It lacks the flow, and consequent aesthetic appeal, of her old serve. In terms of spectator enjoyment, that matters. I’m not a Serena Williams fan, but with the possible exception of Michael Stich,I’ve never seen such a smooth and seemingly effortless service action. And it has this over Stich: there is a tigress in the engine room. Sharapova remarks that she has yet to get the new serve working at full power. Of course, as she used to point out herself, her serve was never one of the more ferocious. Reasonable power combined with marvellously accurate placement is what made her serve so telling. I do hope she gets that back.

On the question of her immediate prospects, Sharapova gets the tone just right – you instantly accept that she is saying exactly what she believes. Quite unusual, I’d say, in this area.


scineram Says:

Good fields this week.


Dan Martin Says:

Safin v. Ginepri is a good 1st round match


jane Says:

Dan Ginepri has the upperhand in that match up, just coming off a win, playing at home and having a winning record against Safin. Plus Safin hasn’t been on good form, exactly.

Dancevic vs. Baghdatis is a good opener too, as noted. I hope I can find some footage of this one.


Veno Says:

I agree Jane, but it’s nice Marat plays LA, also in doubles with Kunitsyn.

For me it’s frustrating that all we get here is WTA tennis(I won’t get started…ok just a little vent then)…yeehhh…World number 1 Safina just won Portoroz, Slovenia…pfffff why

Anyone have tips if I can stream some tennis coverage somewhere? Doesn’t have to be live.
Dancevic-Baghdatis is a great match-up. LA looks like a fun tourney to watch…


Von Says:

TV Schedule for US Open series in the US:

http://www.usopenseries.com/en/TVSchedule/Default.aspx

Veno: Try the following for Europe. it does not work here in the US:

http://channelsurfing.net/watch-eurosport-news.html


Veno Says:

Tx Von, I will!!!
I’m back 2 days and already ranting on the other thread loooool….Sorry all.

Btw Von, I love Andy, but just saw his promo line for the Legg Mason and my oh my, what the heck!!!!
For someone who is so good in front of a camera, giving live pressers as natural as a baby sucks his thumby, he should refrain from persuing an acting career after that performance(just messin’ with ya of course) Gonna take me a couple more days probably to shrug off the irritating state of mind having to work in stead of enjoying some more R&R in España(btw, I haven’t drank too much…could walk straight every night..I behaved properly at least that’s how I remember it)

Looks like there will be plenty of good tennis to enjoy in Washington. Hope I can catch some of it!!!


Von Says:

Veno: You’re welcome. As far as I know there isn’t any live streaming here in the US from Monday-Wednesday, but Galaxie and Eurosport show our matches on their networks. Therefore, I think you’d be able to find more streaming and TV coverage in your homeland. A friend from Slovakia mentioned a while back that he was able to watch some of the tourneys on Galaxie.

I’ve always thought secretly that Roddick should pursue some type of TV hosting career. He’s very glib and can improvise at the drop of a hat — in sum, he’s a natural for that type of work, not to mention he’s got the face to go with the quick tongue. LOL. Andy hosted Saturday Night Live way back in 2003 and was a big hit.

Yes, I saw your rants (only kidding) on the other threads, but you make good sense, so rant whenever it tickles your fancy — the more the merrier. LOL.


tenisbebe Says:

Veno says: “Anyone have tips if I can stream some tennis coverage somewhere? Doesn’t have to be live.
Dancevic-Baghdatis is a great match-up. LA looks like a fun tourney to watch…” According to my friend who is at LA, the cameras are covered right now. You can watch the WTA Stanford matches at:

http://www.atdhe.net

Good luck!


Veno Says:

thanks bebe, appreciate it!


Veno Says:

Thanks Von, I have seen the episode of SNL hosted by Andy….he did great. A lot better than most actors(other than comedians of course) who hosted SNL. He is naturally funny, ot scripted funny.

I’ll keep on ranting….ehm….speaking my mind when it concerns tennis. But I always try to do it in a respectful way, not to offend anyone. If I’m not, please let me know and pull me back onto the ground ;-D


JoshDragon Says:

Great article. I was kind of disappointed by the finals. I wanted Sam to win.


Veno Says:

Fed is also funny(but in a very dry manner) especially in French and German, in English a lot gets lost in translation. But for a Swiss guy Fed does well!!!

Did you see his 2001 interview at Rotterdam? Lovely to see!


Von Says:

Veno: No I never saw Fed’s 2001 interview. I’m bad when it comes to reading pressers and watching interviews of any of the athletes.

BTW, I know you mentioned the results of the women’s relay swim race, but did you watch the race live? The US barely got edged out and I think the reason was Torres being placed in the wrong spot. Glad your country’s team won though. Mexico killed the US in Gold Cup soccer 5-0. OUCH!!


Skorocel Says:

“Why are both the ATP and WTA website re-dos so crappy? Could it be harder to find things, slower to navigate and slower to load?…”

LOL and amen to that!


Kimmi Says:

“Why are both the ATP and WTA website re-dos so crappy? Could it be harder to find things, slower to navigate and slower to load?…”

WTA is even worse. The choice of colours is awful..how can green and pink go together..I will say it slowly G-r-e-e-n and p-i-n-k. It just does not work with me.


Kimmi Says:

Veno: “Did you see his [Federer] 2001 interview at Rotterdam? Lovely to see!”

Was the interview in English ? If so, do you have a link ? I would like to see that. Thanks


Veno Says:

Kimmi, see the link below….it is in English
He was interviewed while playing indoor HC tourney in rotterdam 2001(he was 19 then and just won his first title)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxXDBDRfIA4

Von, I saw all the finals live(in the same timezone as Rome)and I agree… Respect to Torres vor defying age and time!!!

Also saw defending champs USA getting creamed by Mexico…Ouch! First Confederations Cup and now this….


Kimmi Says:

Veno, Thanks for the link. I really enjoyed it. Nice to see a young Federer talking about his game, his goals….I like the end where he said he is hoping to win wimbledon or US open one day. WOOOW ! he now has 15 GS. Incredible.

Love it, Love it. Thanks again.


Von Says:

jane:

It seems as though your boy is aiming to sharpen his doubles/net skills.

http://www.tennistalk.com/en/previews/20090728/Djokovic_sighting_in_Umag


jane Says:

Thanks Von! I’d missed that news. Yeah, maybe it is strategic. It certainly can’t hurt. I wonder if he’d like to help out Marko too?

BTW, Safin won the first set, but Pete’s up a break in the second. I wish I could watch this!


Von Says:

Jane: You’re welcome. Djoko refused to play at LA when Roddick pulled out. I suppose his refusal was based on his decision to play at Umag. I’d speculate that he wants to help his brother while gently easing himself back into the tour, and also collect some kind of appearance fee at Umag.

I’m so mad at the USO series for not providing some kind of live streaming and/or TV coverage from Monday through Thursday. So many good matches are being played and we’re sitting through a blackout. OY VEY!!!!

I think Pete will win.


jane Says:

Von,

Safin won! Quite a surprise, in some ways; then again, even though Safin is having a weaker season, he is match grooved.

I didn’t think Djoko usually plays in L.A., so I am surprised to hear that news. As far as I recall, the past couple of seasons, he has taken a hiatus after Wimbledon, until the two Masters series events. I don’t think he’s played the Indy, LA, DC swing. Mind you, last year was the Olympics so that changed things. Maybe he did play those events in 07? I think he was recently on holiday with his girlfriend, so it makes sense what you say about “easing” himself back into the groove.

BTW, any news on Roddick’s injury? Is he set to play in Washington?


sensationalsafin Says:

What was the Sampras-Safin score????????


jane Says:

6-4, first set Safin; 6-3, second set Pete. Then they played a tiebreaker which Safin won 10-6. Let’s hope he can parlay this into some wins on his last tour.


Von Says:

jane: No, Djokovic does not usually play LA, but the tourney wanted to get some big names in lieu of Roddick and Blake, so they asked Djoko and Murray, but it was ‘no mas’ from both of them. Here’s the article:

http://www.tennistalk.com/en/news/20090727/LA_directs_appearance_money_at_game%27s_golden_oldies

Note, fifth paragraph:

“When it became clear Roddick and James Blake were un-doable, we began working strongly to get Murray and Djokovic. It didn’t work out, and so we went another direction with our money”.

I find it strange that Djoko and quite a few other players are playing in the clay tourneys despite the fact that the USO is approximately four (4) weeks away.

The only news I’ve heard on Roddick is he’s due to play in DC on August 3rd.

I’m happy Safin won as it will give him some positive thoughts while playing at LA. Maybe, he’ll be enticed by his win over Sampras to groove back to his 2000 form and win the tournament, which would indeed be very nice!


grendel Says:

Continuing my solipsistic discourse on Sharapova (talking to myself is an art form which I am beginning to master), I see she had to struggle to beat Sugyama. However, she struggled to beat Sugyama (not to mention Hantuchova and Davenport) the summer she won Wimbledon, so I don’t think she’ll be too fazed. I was interested in some of her comments, which could be taken to imply that her inability to close out in the second and her dominance in the third were, in a sense, independent of her will. You often see players saying things like this, which doesn’t mean they regard themselves as mere playthings of fate or fortune. It seems to be more a question of being able (or unable) to capitalise on opportunities as they arise.

I mentioned Sharapova’s down to earth, and believable, remarks yesterday. Here are some comments from Sampras on the goat business (tedious it may be, but it won’t go away) – on the occasion of the birth of the Federer twins:

“It’s a hard question to answer and I just feel each generation has its player,” he added.

“You had (Rod) Laver in the sixties, (Bjorn) Borg in the seventies and the eighties, me in the nineties and Roger today.

“The greatest player of all time? It’s hard to say but I would give it to Roger.

“Do I think I could beat Roger at my best? There is no reason why I couldn’t. That’s not being cocky. It’s just how I feel.”

First and second sentences, Sampras is saying what he thinks. Third sentence, Sampras feels constrained by the thought of how people might react to his choice – so one doesn’t sense candour here. Fourth sentence is oddly tentative. Sampras is generally pretty bullish about his ability to beat anyone when at his best, yet here he feels a need to justify his claim. That is a pity, and I hope it doesn’t set a trend just because Federer has 15 (or 16, 17 or 18 for that matter – the number does not affect the point being made). Of course Sampras thinks he could, at his best, beat Federer at his best – and vica versa. That is why they are the players they are. Naturally, everyone else has great fun speculating who is right. Suppose a time lord could arrange the best of nine. One of them wins; the time lord then arranges another series, and the other one wins that. So there is a third possibility: each COULD beat the other, but there is no compelling reason, for the rest of us, to pick one of them to win – providing our motivation has been strictly rational; say, a lot of money hangs on the result.


jane Says:

Sampras’ little boys are so adorable and Pete is looking content and well; certainly photos don’t tell all, and not always the truth, but the photo of the Sampras family at the ATP site is lovely, none-the-less.

Sharapova will never go out without a fight; that’s clear. What’s not clear is whether she can recapture her championship form without a strong serve.


Von Says:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/28072009/58/sampras-twins-won-t-affect-federer.html

I doubt anything Pete says with respect to Federer will be taken as positive and/or termed as probably ‘sour grapes’, so he might as well just say ‘no comment’.


Von Says:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/28072009/58/reed-rafa.html

Poor Simon Reed he’s hoping against hope that Nadal will will retire. sheesh.

___________________
Veno: If you look under Nadal’s picture you’ll see a link ‘Eurosport player’, click on it and it should take you to some kind of live streaming; you’ll probably be able to see some older matches too, which is what you wanted yesterday, isn’t it? I tried it, but it doesn’t work here in the US, but I’m thinking it should work in the Netherlands and some European countries.


Veno Says:

Hey Von. Thanks, but both links you posted for me, I have to subscribe to and I refuse that :)
I hope all the hype about Fed reaching 15 slams will fade out soon.
And please leave Pete alone. Man, how tedious for him to have to keep answering the question. And everytime it is mentioned all my fellow Fed fans(whahahahahaha….joke) start harassing everybody again that Fed is GOAT bla bla bla.

And of course Pete thinks he would beat Roger in his prime….duhhhhhhhhh
Ask Connors, Borg, Laver, Mac etc the following question: What if you were 22-28 yr old now, and you could play Roger at his best….could you take him? I bet ya they all would say yes!!!
Unfortunately we’ll never know…but can we PLEASEEEEEEEE stop living in the past and concentrate on the tennis now!!!
Plenty of good times ahead imo.

Btw, why do a lot of players play a European clay event?(ok, Stan Wawrinka is playing in his home country)

PHM makes a final, then goes to clay event in Gstaad and loses in the first round to Marcos Daniel!!!!!
I will call him JoJo Matthieu from now on.


Von Says:

Veno:

Sorry, I didn’t know you have to pay for those links. I agree that you shouldn’t have to do so because I view this whole live streaming subscription stuff to be nothing but a big rip-off and an effort to fleece the tennis viewers. I’d prefer to watch tennis on my wide-screen TV than sit at my computer for hours, but that’s just me. Thus, it all translates to I won’t pay a dime to the live-streaming companies either.

With respect to Pete’s comments, thanks for your input. The guy can’t seem to say anything right without some in-depth analysis thrown his way, and because his record has been broken, he’ll be determined as ‘sour grapes’ and/or untruthful with respect to his comments. sheesh. It’s unbelievable the stuff Sampras fans have to endure.

Alright, I can understand Wawrinka wanting to play on clay in his country, but why are the other players playing on clay when they need to work on their transition from clay/grass to hardcourt considering the USO is just 4 weeks away?

‘JoJo Mathieu’ that’s a funny one. LOL.

BTW, do people live on the Wadden Islands? I remember reading a few years ago one of the islands shifting, so what happens to someone living on the island that has shifted? Does his/her address and home just move? I’d say that’s even worse and more scary than the California earthquakes, to wake up one morning and find your home has shifted about 10 miles.


Veno Says:

Hahahahaha, yes people do live on the “Wadden Islands” but the I’m afraid you misinterpreted the meaning of “shifted”

Because of the changing tides(the islands are above sea level when ebb and below when flood)pieces are ripped off from the islands and later pieces “hook on” again so the demographics of the islands changes all the time.

the surface area of the islands is 1047,5 km²(404.61 sqr miles) and inhabited by approx. 81,000 people.

I have been there and when it’s ebb, you can walk(called “wad-walking”) to the Dutch coast.

It’s a funny phenomenon as is my whole country because 80% of it is below sea level.
That’s why after New Orleans’ disaster the US government called upon our expertise to help them give insights how you can deal with floods.


Veno Says:

Ok, back to tennis….

I’m still waiting on confirmation by Fed to play Rogers Cup and Cincy. I think he will, because he really wants to end the year as number 1, as he should.
I won’t be surprised if he blows everyone off court. But I hope it will be good quality matches and hard battles. Also wondering how Rafa and the Andy’s will look….Still not sure about Novak. Hope he has rested well and cleared his head. It seemed he was thinking too much on court and trying too hard in stead of enjoying it.
Good times coming!

I saw a nice piece on Fed training in Dubai(’06 with Tony Roche) in 44 degrees(111 F), 90% humidity!!! And he was training like a bull!!!!
And he does this every year!!!! He doesn’t get credit for how hard he works and how mentally tough he is. Kudos to Andy for commending that aspect of Fed after the Wimby final(even when he was soooo disappointed)


Dan Martin Says:

I read the Sampras statements and think he is saying what he thinks. He was asked if he thought he could beat Roger on grass specifically in the article I read. Why wouldn’t he think that? I am not sure I think that but if Pete won 7 Wimbledon titles and 3 other grass titles with a game suited really well for fast grass – why would he not be confident? I think if the journalist said what would you think in Paris vs. Roger Pete would be honest and say he’d have a big mountain to climb. No one asked outdoor hard court or indoor court questions either. I think on grass in their primes (Pete 1995 and Roger 2006) it would depend a lot on the speed of the grass. On clay … Hard courts would also depend on surface speed quite a bit. I’d tilt rebound ace to Roger, who knows with the new surface down under, decoturf seems pretty even to me as even if it is fast the bounce would be more consistent helping the guy hitting passes and lobs some. Indoors would swing to Pete. So who knows both guys won heaps of matches and know how to win and would use that against one another. Would have been fun, but it is a hypothetical.


Dan Martin Says:

I have another Indy write up if anyone cares to read and comment … I mean with decorturf that even if the speed is equal to a fast grass court the bounce offers some help to the player being asked to pass and lob. Roger does muff some volleys but why would he not put Pete’s backhand to the same test and take the net away when it was wise to do so? These articles paint it as though Roger can’t ever come forward. Approaching against Pete’s backhand (not a bad shot by any means) is not as daunting as approaching versus Nadal, Agassi, Hewitt, Murray, or other guys who make/made their living hitting passing shots and returns, so as an adaptation I would see Roger trying to make Pete do what Pete would try to make Roger do – namely hit a lot of good backhands.


Veno Says:

Amen Dan, it would have been a great match up between Pete and Roger if Pete were 5 yrs younger and Roger 5 yrs older.
I was a huge Sampras admirer and am a huge Fed fan now and I think it would have been very close overall(besides the clay) They played only once but wow, I don’t know about you, that was a superb tennis match. In 2001 I was already a Fed fan and still a Pete fan and the quality of that match was through the roof(especially considering the bounce was a lot less and the slice skid through with more sest)But alas, only hypothetical how they would have given us great tennis battles as have Roger and Rafa(and Andy and Fed too, despite the 19-2 lopsided H2H)

read your new Indy write up just now. Thanks for giving me a visual impression of what transpired there(because of the absence of coverage here)


Veno Says:

And click the link below to see the action pic of Fed’s Slam Dunk against tommy Haas in the Wimby semifinal(agreed Pete’s dunks looked so aggressive and powerfull and were the best ever, but Roger doesn’t jump to get good altitude, he just taps his foot down and up he goes…amazing)

https://stpeter.im/index.php/2009/07/05/federer/


Von Says:

Veno:

Thanks for the explanation on the “Wadden Islands”. You’ve no idea how long I’ve waited to find someone who knows about this fascinating freak of nature. Now that you’ve satisfied some of my curiosity, please indulge me a bit further. Has there been anyone or even a house that was present on the pieces of the islands when they were broken off? I have this scenery in my mind of some poor soul or souls walking around in a circle on their little piece of island. LOL.


grendel Says:

“And of course Pete thinks he would beat Roger in his prime….duhhhhhhhhh”.

That was exactly my point. Further, and leaving aside comparisons on different surfaces, I don’t think it makes much sense asking who is better, Federer or Sampras. Who do you prefer – that’s a different question which of course makes sense.

I raised the interview business with Sampras to compare with those given by Sharapova. Although I didn’t spell it out, I was suggesting there are different sorts of pressures and contexts which make it much easier for one player to be candid than another. On this whole goat thing Sampras is, in my view, in an impossible situation. That is why he is sometimes less than candid. This is not a criticism. Absolute candour tends to be a luxury which is available to some and not to others. That’s just how it goes.

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