Federer Plays Better-er as Favorites Roll at Wimbledon; Hanescu in Hissy Spit

by Sean Randall | June 25th, 2010, 7:46 pm
  • 306 Comments

Roger Federer seems to be improving with each round. In the first round the Swiss was almost embarrassingly extended to five sets by Alejandro Falla. On Wednesday Federer make quicker work of unsung Ilija Bozoljac needing just four sets. And today Federer brought his best stuff to the ballpark shutting down Arnaud Clement in straight sets 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. ADHEREL

But again it was only Clement.

“I knew I had more of an active role today in my match, you know, that Clement was only going to allow me to play a bit more,” Federer said after his seventh straight win over Clement. “He has different assets than the last opponent. I knew it could be somewhat like in the first round. I’ve played him on numerous occasions, also on grass before, so I know how he plays. I’ve been successful the last few times we’ve played. So it’s the kind of guy I didn’t like to play against. Today I don’t mind it, so I’m happy with the score line.”


Federer, who met with the Queen of England Friday, now lines up against French Open semifinalist Jurgen Melzer. The 29-year-old Melzer and Federer have unbelievably never played before. But the matchup should favor Fed.

Melzer finds himself against the Swiss in his first Wimbledon fourth round after dispatching Feliciano Lopez in four sets 4-6 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Andy Roddick gained some measure of revenge on Phil Kohlschreiber. Roddick, a three-time Wimbledon finalist, lost to Phil at the Australian Open in 2008 8-6 in the fifth set. Today, it was all Roddick as the American collected a tough four-set win.

“Kohlschreiber, I think I had one of the tougher second‑round draws,” Roddick said. “For the slotted seeds that I could have played, 25 to 32, he might be the most dangerous one there. Obviously I’d lost to him in a slam before. He comes to play at slams. So, yeah, I mean, I knew it was going to be tough. I was relieved to have gotten through.”

Yen Hsun Lu, a winner over Florian Mayer, now awaits Roddick on Monday.

Like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic may have played his best match of the tournament on Friday. The Serb brushed aside Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. That win put Novak into a tasty Monday encounter with former champion and my pick to win it, Lleyton Hewitt.

Hewitt looked like his usual self in a 6-3, 7-6, 6-4 win over Gael Monfils. Full credit to Hewitt, in an age of power players who should do excel on the faster surfaces, the Aussie somehow measures up well and doesn’t back down. Monfils of course got far too defensive against Hewitt today, and you can’t win playing that way against a quality opponent like Lleyton on a grass court.

Hewitt, however, has beaten Djokovic just once in four tries.

“He’s been a little bit up and down over the years,” said Hewitt looking ahead to Djokovic. “I played him at Queen’s once the year that he made the final against Rafa at Queen’s. I thought he played bloody well on grass that year in particular. Then he came and lost to Safin second round I think here at Wimbledon, which was surprising. So he’s been a little bit up and down on grass.”

And in the final top half fourth round match on Monday, Daniels Brands will play Tomas Berdych after both won five setters today. The big bird Berdych beat Denis Istomin 6-4 in the fifth.

For Brands, it turned out to be a much different story. According to reports, Hanescu grew increasingly irritated after blowing multiple match points in the third set. In the fourth set he received treatment for his leg which incited the Court 18 crowd. In the fifth set down 2-0, as the crowd got on him further he spat at a fan which earned him an immediate conduct penalty. Hanescu then intentionally foot faulted the game away and promptly retired from the match because of his injury.

“In the final set I recognised that he had some problems with his leg and he was getting angry, and angry with the crowd,” said Brands to the Guardian. “The main reason was because [he was getting jeered] from some people in the crowd. I didn’t hear [him swear]. I think he was deliberately foot faulting and serving some double faults on purpose.”

That’s a heck of way to finish out a match Victor. A day after John Isner and Nicolas Mahut play an epic, you come up with that act on the same court? Shame on you.

Speaking of Isner, the 6-foot-9 Bulldog had nothing left in his second round match against Thiemo De Bakker. In a three set loss the exhausted Isner couldn’t even muster a single ace against the Dutchman. I can’t blame him either, the big man needs some rest!

“Mentally and physically, I was obviously a bit drained,” Isner said. “I just didn’t have much in the way of my legs. I was just low on fuel out there really. Didn’t really have a chance.

“Actually, I mean, I thought I might be all right. But I also have this pretty gnarly blister on my left toe. That was bothering me, too. Sometimes with a blister you can work through it. Once you play, adrenaline will take over. But that wasn’t the case today.”

As for tomorrow, Rafael Nadal is on against Phil Petzschner, Andy Murray meets Gilles Simon, Robin Soderling faces Tomaz Bellucci and in the other match of interest Sam Querrey gets Xavier Malisse.

I think Saturday should be straightforward with Nadal winning (though he could drop a set), Murray in straights, Soderling in straights and Querrey in four or five.


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306 Comments for Federer Plays Better-er as Favorites Roll at Wimbledon; Hanescu in Hissy Spit

Kimmi Says:

Great win by fed. straights sets at last. just watching the recorded match..he was fantastic today. Next, melzer.

Roddick came thru a tough match with kohls, that was a tough third round for him. Now he get a little easier 4th round. while djoko had easy one today, gets a tougher 4th round…it all kind of balances out in these draws imo..

Murray get simon tomorrow. great to see simon winning some matches again. third round at wimby is very good especially what he is been thru. Go Muzza

Soda pop and bellucci. If it was clay then this would have probably been tough for soda but I am not sure on grass. First time for bellucci to the third round here..he must be improving his all court game. bellucci is another one to watch imo.

Glad I will get to watch some live tennis at last. Looking forward to tomorrow.

BTW, the middle sunday at wimbledon sucks :(


tennisfansince76 Says:

Roddick played so passive in the second set. I hate it when he unleahes his inner Michael Chang.


dari Says:

Roger did play better today, backhand on, errors low, and he came in really well today. Am happy, and happy about Roderick, too. Good luck to Mr .Murray tomorrow!
This type of wi. Was just what the doctor ordered for roger!


dari Says:

The spell checker is heavy handed on my phone! That is supposed to say RODDICK!
PS there was always something I liked about hanescu, wish I had a FULL story on what went down. No press conference to be found of course. Court 18 has seen too much action


Kimmi Says:

i was trying to look for the bandage on federer thigh, did not see it today. good news :-)


skeezerweezer Says:

Thanks for that report Kimmi :). Must have been embarrassed with the “Yoga” and “Massage” rumors. As a result, took it off before play. Don’t blame him. Damn tabloid press!


skeezerweezer Says:

@Sean

“Federer Plays Better-er as Favorites Roll at Wimbledon; Hanescu in Hissy Spit”

You need to place that article title in the TennisX archives….”Classic!” lol……..


johhny Says:

Nole will roll over little feisty terrier.


Andrew Miller Says:

tennisfansince, that was humorous on Chang. Depends on the year I think! Chang 95-97 was easily one of the world’s best, maybe the world’s 2nd best for that time?

Shockingly, Melzer “far exceeding” expectations. He felt he played well against Nadal at Roland Garros (with the shocking semifinal) and continues to do well in Slams this year. Still shocked.


Andrew Miller Says:

I thought Chang had another Slam in him, especially with Petr Korda nabbing Slams (from the most talented ball striker I’ve ever seen outside of Nadal and Federer, Marcelo Rios).

Hey that Laura Robson kid plays with flair! Hope the lefty does well in future slams. She and Rezai if they put it together…could have better results than my faves MaKiri and FlaPanetta.


madmax Says:

4 people have been arrested at wimbledon, court no.18, just on the news this a.m. that they have been bailed until August. Also reported that this may be an unrelated incident. Anyhow, here is the link on Hanescu who apparently was verbally abused by spectators.

I don’t think this has happened before at wimbledon (people getting arrested).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8764203.stm


Huh Says:

I hope Melzer gives Fed some stern test.


madmax Says:

It’s just incredible that Roger hasn’t played Jergen Melzer ever before.

Shortly after the match, he gave this press interview, saying they had played doubles back in 1998!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8764030.stm


madmax Says:

Falla is left handed huh, and already gave federer a stern test!

Will be good that he has the weekend off to re-assess his game and re-focus for Monday.


margot Says:

If British reportage of this incident is correct then the chair umpire is really at fault. S/he should’ve got these yobs removed or called for advice if s/he didn’t know what to do. Players are very vulnerable on the outside courts. Only shame is Victor didn’t finish match and win. Never b4 in the annals of time has such a thing happened at Wimbles…….
kimmi, jane: fingers crossed today and if Andy’s serve is still clicking we’ll know he’s got a real chance to make the semis and GAME ON!
jane: is that the Pacific Highway you’re travelling? Have done Santa Monica to San Francisco. Marvellous.


guy Says:

melzer must be returning well to deal with lopez in that manner, fed might be in for a fight there

as for djoko hewitt, they had a huge match at wimbledon few years back, extremely close. i’d say djoko was playing better back then though, so this time it’s a hard one to pick


NELTA Says:

Almagro was being heckled by Brazilian fans when he played Bellucci in Miami this year. He did the right thing and asked the umpire to get them removed. Security had a talk with the offending fans and there were no further issues.


margot Says:

yum, yum Chardy’s on, bads news soon to be off. What a little fox terrier Ferrer is, never stops nipping at the ankles.


Kimmi Says:

soda pop takes the first set, bellucci was hanging on very well in this set, then couple of errors at the wrong time.


Kimmi Says:

is this for real from serena, serving bagels every everywhere so far.


guy Says:

serena is only serving bagels because none of the girls she’s playing can serve. chakvatadze, and midget girl?

having said that, on the Wta tour, even girls 5’10+ can’t serve properly. no excuse when you look at henin and stosur, both pretty small and big serves.

if you look at the stats for the chak match though, serena wasn’t winning much on her second serve. i like sharapova’s chances actually.

and ferrer is looking dangerous.


Kimmi Says:

soda pop is popping, love this match.


Kimmi Says:

guy – the midget girl is matching serena in this second set. would you say her serve has improved? it is 4-4 right now. lets say she started a little slow. in danger here though

match point serena


Kimmi Says:

5-5 what do i know. great fight back by cibulkova


guy Says:

i guess ferrer has ceased to look dangerous


guy Says:

nah her serve is poor, but she has great technique on her groundies etc that keeps her in the match.

i don’t expect midget girl to have a great serve.
she’s 161cm or whatnot.
but there’s not excuse for players like chak, radwanska, jankovic, etc etc.
radwanska is serving second serves at 70mph.
henin in good form was serving 95mph on second serves.
if jankovic could serve even at clijsters level, she’d be winning slams i believe.
at 178cm she should be serving like petrova or better. she’d definitely be winning slams then.


Kimmi Says:

i see ferrer match guy. what a fight back by chardy. bellucci fightinh in this third set too.

wow, bellucci has 2 break points


Kimmi Says:

another break point. apparently soda has never been broken in this tornament so far.

bad error by bellucci


guy Says:

i still give ferrer a shot here, given his returns…


NELTA Says:

Chardy is really going to feel the pressure here. It won’t be easy for him to serve out the match.


Kimmi Says:

ferrer is down a break in the 5th set guy. needs to break back first.

3 match point for soda pop


NELTA Says:

Nadal breaks in the 1st game. That’s a bad sign for Petz. He needs to have a strong start to have any chance against Nadal.


Kimmi Says:

game set and match soderling. great perfomance. still not broken..keep going soda.


NELTA Says:

Soderling hasn’t dropped a set or a service game so far in the tournament.


Kimmi Says:

chardy serving for the match and is down 15-30

or no 15-40


Huh Says:

Wow Nelta,

then Sod’s playing obviously well! :D
WAY TO GO SOD!


Kimmi Says:

chardy lost serve..too bad. now i give a chance to ferrer


Thomas Says:

soderling hasnt dropped serve once in this tournaemnt. He is playing really well. Gilbert/cahill think that he will beat Nadal playing like this,assuming they clash in the QF.


guy Says:

ferrer has him


guy Says:

soderling is looking very good and i’m not sure how nadal is going to handle him if they meet. but soderling also hasn’t faced a good returner yet, so the fact he hasn’t lost serve isn’t overly telling. he plays ferrer next and if he isn’t troubled on serve in that match, i think nadal should worry. but we’ll see.


Kimmi Says:

wow chardy. no heart at all. how could he lose like that


NELTA Says:

I think every game so far in the Nadal/Petz match has gone to deuce.


Kimmi Says:

the challange system is there to be used. petzchner hit a volley close to line,then he is not sure if the ball is in or not but does not challenge. hawkeye shows the ball was in.

didn’t their coaches tell them when in doubt they should challenge? he is lucky to hold after being down a break point.


NELTA Says:

I just saw Melzer in the 1st row giving Petz some encouragement.


grendel Says:

Soderling is unrecognizeable from the player at Miami and Indian Wells. Of course, the competition was stiffer there – guy’s point is spot on – so we wait to see how Soderling will react to being pushed. Ferrer will indeed be a good test.

What a nice smile the Sod has. Kind of shy and at the same time expressing a kind of wonder at the good things which seem to be happening to him, almost as if not quite believing it. This is someone to whom fame has come relatively late.


NELTA Says:

I don’t see Ferrer winning a set against Soda. He may break Soda once or twice, but Soda will be competitive in a lot of Ferrer service games.

Sometimes winning to easily can be a bad thing though. All of a sudden you find yourself in a tough match for the 1st time and it can be difficult to produce under that pressure. Bellucci did push Soda in that 3rd set. He had double break point to go up 6-5 and serve for the 3rd set.


Kimmi Says:

de bakker vs P H mathieu gone to 2 tie breaks and de bekker lost both..argh! must hurt. still fighting in this third set though


Kimmi Says:

DOUBLES ALERT!

nestor/zim about to lose to unseeded british pair. eaton/inglot have a match point. and they win. big upset to take out no.1 seed


Kimmi Says:

de bakker another tie break, can he win this one..c’mon


Kimmi Says:

yes! de bakker takes the third set. the match is getting interesting now..


Kimmi Says:

petzschner takes the second set. so sean was right about nadal losing a set…mmmmmmmh


dari Says:

Nadal dropped a set to petzshner. The men from all levels are showing up big.


margot Says:

I’ve noticed Rafa always puts his opponent in first, if he can. It’s a very smart tactic because often the opponent is nervous and doesn’t serve well at first. And so it’s proved to be. Opponent always from there playing catchup.
Not sure if I’m still on the de Bakker bandwagon, another one whose return of serve is c–p.! Brilliant American woman commentating, from voice can’t tell but might be Lindsay D.


Kimmi Says:

so margot, de bakker bandwagon is slowing down? c’mon, he did well to get to the third round here. still a learning in progress.


blank Says:

Sean is the new Oracle, unless Nadal loses this match and Hewitt wins the title.

But honest;y, Sean has been spot on in his predictions all summer.


grendel Says:

Well, Petzschner got out of that service game despite having set up the initiative 3 times – and each time blown it! In particular, he volleyed twice right in the nice spot for Nadal to give it the treatment. Just shows, I suppose, that to get the volley right when you’re being hurried you’ve got to have very quick instincts.


grendel Says:

Petzschner wins the point, easy put away volley this time and THEN Nadal challenges for the serve. Surely that’s too late?


grendel Says:

Nadal serving T 4-5, 15-30, Petzschner does some Federer type bh slicing – very reminiscent of his heroe – gains position, goes for it – and hits the top of the net. By such margins are sets won and lost.


grendel Says:

Petzscner earns pole position, all he has to do is smash the ball, but he’s cautious, his shot would have been enough agasinst many players, got to be vold against Nadal – he wasn’t, and predictably paid the price. Deuce.


sheila Says:

this is a big tournament 4 federer. if he loses b4 the final that sends a msg that he is now becoming more vulnerable in the best of 5. hes got a lot of pressure on him. winning the 3rd rd against clement, imho, really wasnt a test of how well federer is playing. i think meltzer will be a real test and the rest also. i’ve been watching all these different matches and it seems 2me, roger isn’t hitting w/much aggression compared to the other players. i’m really worried roger won’t make it to the finals, but i hope, w/all my heart, i’m wrong & he wins this tournament.


guy Says:

petzschner has an impressive serve


Kimmi Says:

unless petz serves like crazy in the tie breaker, nadal to win it..he is been closer in petz games so far.


grendel Says:

camera homes in on a rather serious looking young woman holding up a card saying:”Rafa, I’ll have your babies.” That’s all very well, but would he have hers?


Kimmi Says:

OMG, I was wrong. Petz took the 2nd set. trouble for nadal..petz is gaining confidence here


dari Says:

Grendel, hilArious.
Men’s tennis, where do you get these guys?!


guy Says:

rafa only has babies with his gf and shakira….

petz is going for broke. he hit a 112mph forehand just then. don’t think he can keep this high risk style up , but in a good position of course.


Kimmi Says:

yap grendel..funny haha


Kimmi Says:

what a return by rafa..is this what nadal needs to get back


Huh Says:

I. CANNOT. BELIEVE.


grendel Says:

quite incredible return by Nadal right to the incoming volleyer’s feet off a superb serve – just, if I am not mistaken, what NELTA was referrring to the other day, when Nadal returns against Federer. Break point.


SDriversInn Says:

This match is unreal.


NELTA Says:

Petzschner’s legs looking a little heavy here


guy Says:

crowd showing little support for nadal here, what’s wrong with these people.

what sounds better, nadal/soderling…or petzchner/soderling….hm


grendel Says:

Petzschner’s flagging – I think this is his 3rd 5 setter, plus he’s been in doubles and mixed. Match is now Nadal’s for the taking. Again, the importance of fitness!


dari Says:

No no no why is he pointing to the knee?


guy Says:

ok, enough is enough, time for nadal to put all his money into bionic knee technology…


Fot Says:

The knees again?


NELTA Says:

The last 2 Nadal service games Petz has dumped a bunch of forehands in the net and wasn’t chasing down balls with any authority. It could just be a let down after winning the set, but it could be the legs. I think Petz has to win this in 4. I don’t see him beating Nadal in a 5th set.


Eric Says:

Who said there was no crowd support for Nadal? Apparently Hanescu gets boos and jeers for needing a trainer, but the entire audience bursts into applause when Nadal comes back on…


gannu Says:

Gamesmanship at its best..every time he is abt to lose nadal comes wid a knee injury.. Disgusting and a shame to tennis


NELTA Says:

Nadal gets the break after the medical timeout.


Fot Says:

The medical timeout really hurt Petzschner. Uhm..I wonder if that was the plan all along? lol!


guy Says:

so nadal breaks serve in the fourth and the crowd actually groan in disappointment after the hawkeye confirmation. that’s called mediocre support. esp for a no.1


Kimmi Says:

did that medical time out throw away petz concentration? too bad if it did…


Maso Says:

The time out knocked Petz out of the match… but he was getting really tired anyway, I don’t know if he’s got the resources to go 5 sets with Rafa. And what a brilliant shot by Nadal!


Eric Says:

guy, how come nadal deserves support more than petzschner? they were groaning because that was a great point petzschner deserved to win.


Fot Says:

So much for the ‘knees’. We all know what happened and it worked for Nadal. Nothing against the rules on that. Usually the better players come through in the end anyway. Seems like Nadal is moving better in this match that Petzschner anyway. I think, even if Nadal didn’t take that medical timeout, he would have had Petz on the run because Petz seems like he was tired at the beginning of this set.

I actually see Nadal running away with set #5. I’ll guess 6-2.


Daniel Says:

Amazing forehand by Nadal!

The umpire complained about Nadal being coached on court by Toni, some habits just doesn’t change..


dari Says:

Rafael nadal has THE best celebration moves!
But what the heck on that med timeout? I don’t fall so easily for the gamesmanship explanation, I just find it hard to believe but this is strange.


Kimmi Says:

petz is breaking down here


Daniel Says:

The imporatnce for Petsh is to serve first in the final set, he has to make Nadal serve for this set, his only maybe shot.


sheila Says:

my heart wants federer to win wimbledon, but my rational head says nadal will take this easily. he has no one that will threaten him. soderling has proven that he doesnt have the, unowhat, when it counts and the rest of the field are wimps so nadal will grab this & he may very well be the newly crowned king of not only clay, but grass, if fed isnt last one standing a week from sunday.


Kimmi Says:

that slice from petz sits up..nadal is punishing it


guy Says:

eric,
nadal’s participation in the tournament makes it much more exciting.
potential great matches with soderling, murray, fed etc. won’t happen if he’s beaten. so yes he deserves a little more support.


Maso Says:

Don’t understand waht you mean, Sheila. Nadal’s having trouble, these past 2 matches. I can totally see him losing before the final. The same way I can see Federer losing before then too.


NELTA Says:

If Nadal gets through today he will be very happy with his next round opponent who is a much better match up for him. Haase and Petzschner have big serves, but Mathieu’s isn’t anything special.


Daniel Says:

Bye, bye Petz..


Kimmi Says:

double faults..oh man he is completely rattled


Kimmi Says:

how are these guys getting tired..mahut and isner played at high level for 11 hrs..its just stupid


Daniel Says:

The only problem for Nadal is that this long matches can catch him in later rounds. He better waste no time with Mathieu due to the potentia Soderling match in the quarters.


guy Says:

petz serve has gone off
few free points on the first serve
and only won 1/10 second serves that set


dari Says:

Maybe petzch will come back roaring after this med time-out!


Fot Says:

Maybe the trainer will do for Petzschner what he did for Nadal? *innocently speaking* lol!
The trainer did wonders for Nadal. He came out running everything down and playing great after that medical time out. Maybe Petzschener will up his energy and make this 5th set competitive? I’d hate to see a run-a-way 5th but something tells me it might be (for Nadal).


Ben Pronin Says:

Kimmi, Isner and Mahut did a minimal amount of running. Petz and Nadal are running around like rabbits. It’s a lot more taxing than hitting 100 aces. Plus, it’s not like they weren’t tired, they were just running on adrenaline. You really think either one wanted to lose that match after it passed the 10-10 mark?

Like the commentators have been saying ever since, the Isner-Mahut match has completely skewed everything, and it’s a little unfair. It’s an outlier, not the norm by any means. You can’t just assume that no one is allowed to be tired if they don’t go 70-68 in the fifth.


Maso Says:

That *had* to be the stupidest miss I have ever seen there, by Petz, at deuce.


NELTA Says:

They need to escort Toni Nadal out of centre court. That’s the 2nd time he got caught coaching.


Daniel Says:

Toni hurting Nadal with talking. He should the f… up!


Daniel Says:

The first time Francisco Roit even lowed his had in embarassment as he know Toni was talking to Nadal.


Daniel Says:

Head


Maso Says:

Well, so far, they’re both holding pretty comfortably. Petz seems exhausted, though. Definitely think Nadal’s taking this one, but quite tense for a third round match!


Ben Pronin Says:

It’s almost funny. Nadal had to tell Toni to “shh” and Toni complied. If that’s not a clear cut sign of coaching during the match then I don’t know what is.


Maso Says:

What a return by Rafa at 15-15! This might be it here. 15-30. Let’s see if Petz can pull out the big serves when he needs ’em again.


Maso Says:

Well, think that’s over. Petz shat himself in that service game.


Kimmi Says:

break, nadal seving for the match


Eric Says:

What a disappointing end to a great match.


NELTA Says:

No 1st serves in that game by Petzch and Nadal broke rather easily.


Maso Says:

What a disappointing end of match, Petz had nothing left. Well deserved for Rafa who hung in there, though.


Daniel Says:

Congrats Nadal, once more outlasting his opponents, his will is remarkable. Moving close to another Soda match, last time they meet in Wimby the match was on fire.


Fot Says:

Petz was GASSED. I guess having played all those earlier 5 setters will do that to you. I know some Nadal fans won’t like this – BUT – remember when Roger said he was ‘lucky’ in that first match? I think Rafa was a little lucky in this match becaust Petz ran out of gas and couldn’t put anyting on his serve that last game – could hardly move.

Now I don’t think you guys will have to worrry about Rafa physically because I don’t think nothing can be too serious with him when he was still ‘running like a rabbit’ at the end of the match. Plus he’ll have Sunday off. So I think he’ll be ok.

This is really looking like it might eventually be a Nadal/Soderling upcoming match which would be very interesting the way both players are playing.


Eric Says:

Nadal has outlasted opponents who were, frankly, outclassing him twice in a row now. His next match will be a breather (like Federer’s last match), giving him perfect preparation for the upcoming Soderling showdown. I like Soderling to win that, but Nadal has shown remarkable determination (even for him) these past few matches and he seems to have the stars aligned in his favor, so who knows.


tennisfansince76 Says:

another pretender to the throne. doesn’t anybody want to take nadal out?


tennisfansince76 Says:

that match was hard to watch on NBC. the commentary was blithering and idiotic.


guy Says:

yes they need to crack down on toni telling nadal to vamos…it’s very good tactical advice.


NELTA Says:

One positive Nadal can take out of this is he only faced 2 break points the entire match and was broken just once.


Eric Says:

haha Guy, yeah, if that’s all he was saying, what was that all about? i watch tennis with the sound off (damn grunting) so I’m not sure what people are arguing about sometimes…


dari Says:

That coaching bit, nadal’s “sshhh” ing uncle toni, and the attitude after the warning, very entertaining. Not to mention the high quality of tennis players beyond the top 20’s are producing. On to super Monday! Wow


Ben Pronin Says:

Good argument, guy.


dari Says:

Actually on to Murray match but I don’t know where ill get coverage


Huh Says:

Toni Nadal must stop his on-court coaching, enough!


Dan Martin Says:

The one thing I will say about NBC is that Mary C. is the only person who can literally in two sentences go from arguing Nadal as the GOAT to then saying his on court coaching is ridiculous and should have been confronted years ago. I am not sure I have seen love turn to scorn so quickly in any avenue of life.


blank Says:

It’s always a good thing to put the tv on mute or listen to the ipod when those goons are doing the commentary.


Ben Pronin Says:

Carillo is a joke.


Huh Says:

But the Nadal-Petz match was not boring by any means. Some good tennis from both. Nadal faced tough test for sure, however some of the misses Petz made were just unbelievably silly!

Congrats to the Rafa fans though.


Kimmi Says:

Murray on cruise control at the mo. GO MUZZA!


blank Says:

Speaking on commentary, John McEnroe is the master of exaggeration. I get more nervous listening to him than actually due to the match. He is like a pendulum that swings way over on either side depending on how the match is playing.


Huh Says:

C’mon Muzza, crush Simon!


Eric Says:

McEnroe is a self-parody. According to him, about seventeen different players on tour have the “best” of any given shot or aspect (FH, BH, serve, movement, etc). He’s still more insightful than all the other commentators at times, but really tennis commentators are a bunch of useless talking heads, completely full of it. No sense of perspective at all.


tennisfansince76 Says:

I normally like Mac but put him in a booth w/ carillo and that other guy and the ship be sinkin’. the worst was in teh 3rd set tiebreaker. they were just yappin about all kinds of stupid things instead of shutting up and focussing on the tiebreaker. just talkin inanely about things they could better leave until a lull in the match.


tennisfansince76 Says:

the ass kissing by the commentators re: Nadal was at an unbelievable level. he got his thigh massaged or something and they treated it like he was a marine in Iraq having taken 3 bullets and then charging a nest of insurgents. unreal.


Huh Says:

Again Nadal injury is being talked about. I just can’t understand what’s up.


tennisfansince76 Says:

although to give them some slack that is their job, to kiss ass on the top players until they show weakness and then their job is to pile on like hyenas feasting at a carcass.


Huh Says:

“he got his thigh massaged or something and they treated it like he was a marine in Iraq having taken 3 bullets and then charging a nest of insurgents. unreal.”

Tennisfan:

Totally agree.


NELTA Says:

Navratilova is the best commentator IMO. When I watched the 09 AO open final Fed/Nadal she was the analyst for TC. She was also the analyst when I watched the 09 USO final Fed/Delpo. She’s very insightful about technique, strategy, court conditions; pretty much everything. McEnroe is boring. He says the same stupid stuff every match about how the player winning wants it more and the player losing needs to show more emotion blah blah blah.


tennisfansince76 Says:

Huh Nadal took a long medical timeout and the announcers made a big production out of it. I kept an eye out for any drop in teh level of Nadal’s movement nd did not see any so I think it was no big deal. the annoying commentary crew kept talking about it thru the match as though Nadal had taken a bullet and was still playing high class tennis. Me I think it was just gamesmanship and Pez fell for it. he let it get to him.


Ben Pronin Says:

Nadal’s only injured when he’s losing. I thought he was playing amazingly well, even in the third set. One bad miss when he had the passing shot set up on the forehand at 3-4 in the tiebreaker cost him the set. Otherwise, anything short and he would hit a winner. Great match from both guys. Injury, shminjury.


tennisfansince76 Says:

exactly ben. i didn’t see any sign from Nadal that he wasn’t hitting and moving at 100%


Kimmi Says:

watch for nadal next match, he will win easily and i bet there wont be a medical time out. :)

Simon has nothing to trouble murray. Well, muzza, get out of this one quick coz the next one will be tough.


Ben Pronin Says:

I agree with the rest of you saying the commentators blew things out of proportion. Nadal was looked at briefly. That doesn’t even compare to Petzshner’s full body massage before the fifth set. But everyone is so concerned about Nadal. Carillo said that she thought Nadal was fully fit but apparently not. Apparently not? Really? Two 5 setters in a row and you wouldn’t even know.


NELTA Says:

That’s the reason Nadal’s peers will never give him the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.


Eric Says:

This match is a complete snoozefest. I expected a slaughter, but not this bad. Simon needed a set just to warm up – not his fault he didn’t have a second round match, but it is unfortunate. And these long 1000-stroke rallies are always going to end with him making a mistake, not Murray.


Kimmi Says:

eric – I forgot simon has a walk over to 3rd round. That explains his good perfomance here.


Huh Says:

Rafa may or may not have injury, none of us know, but what I ABSOLUTELY HATE is when the commentators make a mountain out of the molehill re:Nadal’s medical time out and start claiming Nadal’s injured and all that. S H A M E !


blank Says:

Not playing on the middle Sunday is stupid. I hate these traditions. Sat and Sun is when everyone is at home and can watch the game on tv or go to Wimbledon to watch it, they’d be better off taking the Friday or Monday off instead of the Sunday.

At least this time there is football to keep company.


Fot Says:

Pezt was in worse shape that Nadal! lol! But everyone was concerned with Nadal’s health. I think Nadal is just fine. He was still moving great ieven at the end of the 5th set. He was still hitting the ball hard, even in that 5th set.

He’ll probably come out in his next match and win it in 3 quick sets (like Murray is doing) lol!

Simon has nothing to hurt Murray. Like people said Cement was a great match-up for Roger – Simon is a great match up for Murray. Simon has been out injured so much and if anyone DIDN’T need a walkover in the last round – he didn’t need it! He needed matches. But Murray seems to be moving on along.


Huh Says:

“Carillo said that she thought Nadal was fully fit but apparently not.”

Why is Carillo so pathetic? Sheesh!


Eskay Says:

Given the ease with which they are decimating their opponents, either Sod or Muzza should be in the finals. Rafa’a struggle was the same that he faced against Muzza in A.O last. Rafa’s return of service on backhand has been was so defensive that opponents looked to have played so much better. There are chinks in Rafa’s game which get masked by the spectacle he provides with unbelievable shots. But at the end of the day, he has prevailed so far. But how long more, one can’t say.


margot Says:

kimmi, jane if you’re popping in: good to see Andy so calm and relaxed and my that forehand has come on some. Love Simon’s play actually, a good shotmaker and another little fox terrier.
Even John Lloyd the hugest critic on Andy in the world has nothing but praise at mo. Wonders will never…


Huh Says:

The madness has started again in full flow. I can’t believe that everyone is suddenly so concerned again about Rafa, thanks to that hardly relevant MTO in this match! Now all are again talking about the phantom injury, lack of fitness etc. of Rafa. This only means if Rafa wins WIM, he’d hailed as God, he’d get much more credit than is actually due to him (thanks to his supposed injury). It’d be like how heroic of Nadal to win in spite of injury! At the same time the guy at whose expense Rafa’d have won the title would be scorchingly criticised for his supposed inability to beat Rafa despite him not being at his supposed best. On the other hand, if Rafa loses to somebody here, the victory would be, as expected, attributed to Rafa’s injury rather than the opponent’s game and the opponent’d simply be denied the much-deserved credit for his effort! A win-win situation for Rafa and a lose-lose situation for his opponents as always. What a shame!


Kimmi Says:

simon is fighting in this set


Daniel Says:

More variety than this point impossible! Murray sure came to play, his movement is excelent.


Eric Says:

I hope Simon at least picks up a set. He used to be one of my favorite guys a while ago before his injury and crippling bouts of sucking.


Kimmi Says:

great rally and defence frm muzza..c’mon break.

hi margot


Dan Martin Says:

Let’s get Ben and Sean in the booth. I have a baby due today (my wife has more of the work ahead of her) so I can’t be off to England for TV work.


Eskay Says:

Muzza and Simon are playing the same type of game, only Muzza is playing a bit better. If he is a class player, Simon will play with nothing to lose mentality and take a set off Muzza. If not, expectations will sky rocket for Muzza, since he will look somewhat invincible to die hard fans. And that would be real pressure.


Kimmi Says:

best of luck dan martin


margot Says:

Wow Wow did u guys SEE game 5? Sensational tennis!


Kimmi Says:

on wold cup ghana have scored first. can usa come back?


Kimmi Says:

muzza practise those impossible gets. what a shot!


aleish17 Says:

Why is it that people make a big deal when Nadal calls for a MTO? Others act like calling a MTO is prohibited. It’s always okay to call for a medical timeout as long as it is within the rules. It becomes a big issue only when Nadal is the one calling for MTO. Shame :-(


Eric Says:

Did Simon just throw his racquet at the ball while he was falling, trying to hit it?


Eskay Says:

Yes, it appeared so. But Simon’s racquet throwing was not the same as that of Kiefer a few years ago at A.O against Grosjean.


aleish17 Says:

My celebration for Nadal’s hard-fought win today was spoiled because some people crucify Nadal for taking the MTO. Don’t worry, he’s fine, not injured, maybe just tired for playing two 5 set matches consecutively but I believe he still has chances to dig even deeper in this tournament.


Eric Says:

Eskay, do tell – I don’t remember (/may not have seen) that incident. What happened?


Mg Mg Says:

GOAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Kimmi Says:

eventually murray breaks. wow great rallies.


Dave Says:

Sean: “But again it was only Clement”. Clement a former top 10 player, now still No. 86.

I presume if Federer had played Philipp Petzschner (Nadal’s opponent today), Sean would have also written “But again it was only Petzschner.” After all, Roger beat him in two tough straight sets at Halle. Nadal playing a 105 ranked Japanese player in his opener gets more respect.

The way Alejandro Falla played in the first three sets he might have also embarrassingly extended or beaten Nadal and other top ten players that day.

Federer gets these comments because — relative to other top players, even Nadal — Roger has beaten and owned most of the field of competitors. It is a measure of Federer’s greatness that he tends to start as the automatic favorite in all matchups, except against one person on clay.

But even past greats such as Rod Laver have won grand slam championships where they struggled in five setters in early rounds to unheralded players.

Meanwhile today we got two glimpses of why Nadal has never been even nominated by his peers for the ATP Sportsmanship award.
– One, while Nadal is losing to a superior player, he is likely to call for a medical time out to disrupt his opponents rhythm and generate sympathy and excuses if he loses. Even NBC commentator McEnroe noted that Nadal was running and hitting fine before the timeout. And Nadal certainly was okay after the time out, making great running passes.
– Two, Nadal appears to get coaching from his coach Uncle Tony during matches. It was hilarious to hear Nadal tell the umpire that Uncle Tony was talking to his manager Carlos Costa. This vindicates Federer who, in 2006, told Uncle Tony to stop coaching Nadal during one of his matches.

Petzschner had a good chance of winning the match in the fourth set had Nadal not called for the medical timeout. The German was in a zone before the time out threw him off. Funny how Nadal sems to take these MTOs when he is losing, almost never when he is winning.

Makes the neutrals among us appreciate the few players like Federer who are able to win their matches in a fair and sportsmanship-like manner.


Eskay Says:

@ Eric: On a crucial point, Kiefer rushed to the net and scooped the ball as he fell to the ground, Grosjean was at the net and he managed to play the ball back and Kiefer being down threw his racquet. Grosjean ball went out and he protested to claim the point since Kiefer had thrown the racquet is some peculiar manner. Referee ruled against Grosjean. There was too much heat in that match. BTW Muzza wins in straight.


Kimmi Says:

great serving by murray, needs to keep that up. Next up is the winner of a slug fest between mallise and Querrey. Querrey up a break in 5th though


Kimmi Says:

querrey was so tentative to serve out that match. malisse back on the match


Dave Says:

Here are some fan comments from the Wimbledon website about Nadal’s apparent unsportsmanship behaviour:

I was never ever so angry watching a match as I was today. I really would like, ONE SINGLE DAY, the journalists begin to criticeze Mr. Nadal for his behavior. He clearly disrupted PP’s rhythm and momentum, asking unnecessary MTOs. We could see him running as a rabbit after the second, supposedly for a knee problem. Nadal is a shame for the game, and a shame as nr. 1. A disgrace. Mrcia F, Brazil , 26 June 15:27

I used to respect Rafa, but today he clearly cheated. One thing is to be in pain, but to take a MTO for his arm, then for his leg, despite serving well and running around the court is ridiculous. And to do it before his opponent was about to serve is even worse. He used gamemanship to win, and for a number 1 to do that is a shema for the sport. If it had been an another player, there would have been harsh articles I think…Rafa is pitied. I’m really disappointed for tennis today. A, Spain, 26 June 15:26

Rafa getting official warning for illegal coaching — way to go umpire. Somebody had the guts to call it out on him. There are many millions of tennis and Rafa fans out there and this sort of behaviour from world #1 is unacceptable for a sport that is aptly called gentleman’s sport. Marianna K, United States, 26 June 15:24

Chris from the USA, it is precisely because he ALWAYS does this that people are so fed up! For years he has done this, when things are going downhill he pauses play. He then comes out and at his pace runs around like a rabbit. If things swing against him, he does it again. I can name a dozen matches of the top of my head in the past two years. Even the commentators today called it as it was: Tactic. Poor by him no way around it. LL L, Austria , 26 June 15:22

I totally agree with the 1st post,Nadal is a really unfair player.Every time when he is down in the score,he calls the training.I think today he directly pretended his ailments,because before after the medical istance he was hitting and running well,nobody realized he was injured.And after the treatment he continued hitting and running well too.It seems he doesn’t accept that any player can surp him in a match.We don’t expect the same behaviour from Federer or another guys,only from him. Diana B, Argentina, 26 June 15:15

Here we go again, and Nadal calls the trainer when he is in a hurry. Anybody remembers Nadal doing this in a winning situations?? NEVER. That’s not honest at all, and Philipp P. lost his mind due to this. Not an elegant way to win a match… Phil B, Argentina, 26 June 15:14

What a disgrace! The World Number One resorting to gamesmanship to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm, making sure that the match would go to a 5th set. (First a dodgy arm, then suddenly a knee and a leg.) And the illegal coaching, which has been going on for years. Finally, an Umpire who called him out. Still, he’ll get away with it, once again. The headlines tomorrow will all be about yet another HEROIC win by Rafa the FIGHTER. The tennis media are cowards. I feel so sorry for Philipp Petzschner. Betty F, Hong Kong, 26 June 15:07

Nadal is unworthy of his rank. He won today thanks to gamemanship. Poor Petzschner…Nadal’s behaviour was unacceptable and lacked respect for his opponent, the tournement, the fans and the sport. Shame on him. C, France , 26 June 15:02

I’m really angry with what Nadal did. He took medical time out twice in this match and this really broke Petzschner’s rhythm. Also on-court coaching, he received coaching warning twice from the umpire. What do all those things mean? This is not the first time he won using gamesmanship and illegal coaching. Is this the behaviour of the World Number One, the ambador for this sport? Kim Khnh N, Vietnam, 26 June 15:02

Nadal is an unworthy number 1. He clearly took a MTO when nothing was worng with him. And he was coached during this match, like during all the others. I’m sorry Petzschner lost because of Nadal’s cheating. Nadal’s behaviour is unacceptable. He showed no respect for his opponent, the fans, the tournement and the sport. Shame on him. Claire T, France , 26 June 15:00

Poor form Rafael Nadal. Yet again you call a medical timeout when momentum is going against you, only to run around with more energy and flexibility than ever. Not to mention the constant illegal coaching going on. Any respect I had is gone for you now. You are a poor ambador for the sport. Anything to win, eh? KR, Australia, 26 June 14:56


margot Says:

Dan Martin: re Carillo So funny, guess she’s just a fabulously, fickle female!
re babe: hope all goes well.
Querry v. Andy will be interesting, he serves so much better than Simon but his all court game is far inferior. Come on!
Commentators, AAAHHH! Ours are still referencing that match, AAAHHHH. Am sure they will be for ever after.


margot Says:

Hello? Did I call that wrong? Malisse won??


Kimmi Says:

they are still playing margot. querrey up a break again. serving for the match for the second time


NELTA Says:

Querrey is serving for the match for the 2nd time, but is down 15-30 at the moment.


NELTA Says:

30-30 now 40-30. Match point


Eskay Says:

Sam wins. Can he take out Muzza? Come on Sam, you can do it.


NELTA Says:

Querrey takes it!


Kimmi Says:

querrey won now. next up muzza.

to lose these long matches can be really painful..unfortnately one has to lose..too bad for malisse


grendel Says:

but this throwing the racket at the ball whilst falling is only a gesture of frustration, I think. Fot, I don’t agree that Simon is a good match up for Murray. He’s just a bit out of practice at the moment, but he’s really a quite similar player to Murray. Some of the rallies in the middle of the third set were wonderful and Simon, if anything, looked just that little bit more in control. However, he was always struggling to hold his serve – and that’s the moral; Murray’s game is, in the end, bigger than Simon’s. Hmm, looks like I might have argued myself into agreeing with you, Fot. But on the basis of today, I predict Simon will figure in a big way in the coming American hard court scene.


Huh Says:

I would have liked to give my opinion on the MTO, but I would not do so as I am well and truly sticking to the saying:

Discretion is the better part of valour.


Eric Says:

Taking a medical timeout is well within the rules and it is not Nadal’s fault if Petzschner let it disrupt his play. This is true whether you think Nadal really needed a medical timeout, took it to break the rhythm of play, or somewhere in between (where I personally fall). It was a close, hard-fought match which Petzschner should and could have won, but doing so was his responsibility, not that of the trainer or umpire.


guy Says:

hey dave, ever watch the 2007 wimbledon final, where federer was almost in tears on court, complaining to the umpire that hawkeye was losing him the match. HAWKEYE?
that’s what i call good sportsmanship alright.

toni coaching, don’t make me laugh. what was he saying, ‘serve well! don’t make mistakes! vamos!’
toni is no tactical genius. he’s the one that made nadal play with the wrong arm, ruining his serve.

nadal gamesmanship? if you watched the match you’d have seen nadal called the trainer before the 3rd set tiebreak, when the match was even.
after petz won the tiebreak, nadal waved the trainer away. get your facts straight.

and when petz called the trainer after nadal got on top in the 4th set, was that gamesmanship? guess not.

btw, it’s possible to have treatment on an injury and still play well. people play in pain all the time. it’s part of being a pro athlete.


Sazzy Falak Says:

Someone has commented this in ATP’s facebook:

“He (Rafael Nadal) didn’t fake an injury. DO NOT FORGET that he has had a nasty injury which sidelined him for almsot 7 months. And it is extremely painful to be away from tennis when you are at its pinnacle. So it is quite obvious that now, when he has slowly been able to put the pieces back where he had left them, he is EXTRA-CAUTIOUS. Any little … See Moretweak, crack, pain makes him a lil tense and he just wants to be sure that things are fine.

And he knows as much as you and me, that he CANNOT AFFORD ANOTHER INJURY NOW.” -Seemita Pooja Das

——
Hmmm, make sense though!


guy Says:

early in the 4th set, nadal had the momentum, with break point chances on petz. he had a timeout AFTER that, when petz was already going down. if it was nothing, why would nadal disrupt his own momentum? he was clearly getting on top of petz.
the logic behind the accusations is flawed.


guy Says:

basically, anyone who watched the match could see petz’s level dropped BEFORE nadal’s 2nd timeout in the 4th. in other words, the timeout wasn’t the cause of it, as the anti-nadal crew are making out.


Fot Says:

grendel, I wasn’t saying Simon was a good match up for Murray because of the style he plays, but because he hasn’t PLAYED a lot of matches this year and is clearly rusty. Plus, he got a walkover the last round so while all these other players had gotten into Wimbledon, playing all these sets, Simon – who missed almost all last year and earlier this year – didn’t even have another match to play since Round 1. So going by that, I figured it would be an easy match for Murray.

Same with Clement for Roger but vice versa. Clement has been on court a lot because he’s playing doubles with Mahut. In fact, one of their matches carried over to the day before Roger’s match so in addition to him playing a lot in single’s, he also had a lot in doubles – and he’s what – 32 years old? Not really a big hitter, so I felt Roger could get by this match pretty good if Roger played his game.

So now who does Murray have? Querrey? The good thing about having the Sunday off is that all of them will get at least a day of rest.


Huh Says:

Well, I don’t have to speak on others’ behalf, neither am I interested in doing that nor do am I entitled to so. But the only thing that I want to say is, whether Rafa needed the time-out or not, whether playing back-2-back 5 setters took it toll on him or not and most importantly whether Rafa’s incurred or is having an injury or nor, is not the matter for me. Only I know what I think of that and I’d give my views on that if very much needed. But my concern lies in the things being blown out of proportion by (read) the commentators and the media. All that it takes for the crazy media/commentators to start the buzz about the supposed injury is funnily just a simple MTO. Bringing up the injury thing as soon as Rafa’s challenged, or when he is seemingly on the verge of loss, is a matter of concern to me. The reason for it is that there’s no subtler way to discredit the wins of Rafa’s opponents or to humiliate them on loss to Rafa than by stating that Rafa’s playing under or may have sustained some injury in the case of either win/loss. Hopefully people’d understand it.


guy Says:

from the eurosport live matchfeed
4th set BEFORE the timeout:

‘1-2 – Despite the German having the advantage in sets, the momentum looks to be with Nadal. He didn’t take the break point chances in the last game, but he sends down a hold to love to keep the pressure on his opponent.’

nadal would have to be a fool to take a timeout at this point, unless it was legit.


Dave Says:

Guy: “hey dave, ever watch the 2007 wimbledon final, where federer was almost in tears on court, complaining to the umpire that hawkeye was losing him the match. HAWKEYE? that’s what i call good sportsmanship alright.”

Hey Guy, see this clip. Have you ever watched Nadal losing a Hawkeye challenge… then blowing his top, shouting at the umpire, throwing away a ball in disgust and slamming his racquet? Even Youzhny agreed later that he thought Hawkeye was wrong. This happened at the 2007 Dubai just a few months BEFORE Wimbledon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak8GRRFBN54

Yup, that’s Nadal’s sportsmanship recorded on tape.

At 2007 Wimbledon, Federer was not in tears as you claim, I have the tape. Nothing Federer said to the umpire compares to Nadal’s behaviour. The umpire and linesman both agreed with Federer’s assessment that Nadal’s ball was out.

Nadal knew that Hawkeye was inaccurate and knew what he was doing. Nadal was using gamesmanship at times when he kept challenging close calls. Once Nadal challenged so late (when he had already walked to the other side of the court for the next point) that it annoyed even Federer.


mem Says:

dave, dave, dave, well look who nadal brought out of the woodwork, none other than mr. condemnation himself! sweetheart, what you are reporting is not surprising! john mcenroe and mary carillo put the ideas in the minds of the fans. so,what’s new!
don’t you know what the tactic is by now with commentators. they throw the bone to fans like you because they know you are going to catch it and run with it!

anyway dave, since you have made your much anticipated visit, may i ask you a question. was roger federer a disgrace to tennis or a worthy #1 when he cursed out the chair umpire at the usopen while apparently losing to del potro? oh, i see, that was different! nadal is the only player that is damaging this sport. i get it! i used roger as example to prove what hypocrites you people are.

as far as i’m concerned who cares about what you and these other fedfans on the wimbledon web think, you can rest assure that the ones who are making the comments are mostly federer supporters, lying in wait for something to diminish rafa nadal’s reputation. all i can say is i hope you guys feel better because i really don’t think rafa nadal givea a “rip.” and i don’t blame him.

btw, if nadal is in poor form why are you and others so worried. if he is going to lose any minute, what brought you from under your carpet tonight? if it bothers you so much why are you telling us, why don’t you speak with atp officials. apparently, you are not going to rest until nadal is suspended from this sport! how in the world do you perform any other duties in your life or do you even have any other duties besides thinking about how to convince others that nadal deserves to be banned from this sport for gamemanship.

you shouldnt expend all your energy on your usual whining because nadal constantly sit back and watch players taking timeouts to get massages and whatever they want time and time and time again when they get tired while playing him and nobody says a word. he doesn’t know if it’s legitmate or not, but he takes their word for it and never complains. as soon as nadal calls for a trainer it’s poor sportmanship; it’s a disgrace. save your energy, nadal can’t lose what he’s never had. you people have been saying for years now, he’s a poor sportman that’s why he doesn’t get the award; so, now you want nadal tried in court and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for taking a timeout and alledgedly interrupting the rhythm of his opponent.

that said, i do understand why you are always so disturbed, so angry; primarily because you know that nadal is the most feared player in the history of tennis and the biggest threat to roger’s legacy that’s the main reason why everything he does is a big deal and put under a microscope. but, i love his attitude, move on, let people think what they want and write what they want. he will never be able to satisfy you people because first of all, you are trying to come up with reasons why he is as successful as he is..and it won’t work, nothing you can say about rafa hasn’t been said every year since he came on this tour and showed that he is force to be reckoned with.

do yourself a favor and get some rest because as far as i’m concerned as long as nadal is a champion he will be picked on, criticize, talked about, demeaned, and everything else no matter what he does. it does not matter to me or his true fans one bit! i just hope you feel better once you release these obsessive feelings you have toward nadal! try to enjoy the rest of the tournment!


Huh Says:

Well, for those interested, below are some of the more recent comments about Nadal by fans in WIM.ORG:

————————————————–

What horrible suspicious correspondents you have. No one is more honest in his play than Rafa and so if he says that he has muscle strain then I believe him. Apart from being a great tennis player, he is a true gentleman and a wonderful role model. Fred R, Great Britain, 27 June 2:27

And what do all you Nadal supporters have to say about his blatant cheating? Even if he did require a medical time-out which is doubtful, what about the coaching, and what about all of the time violations between points? This is no true champion. Would any of the greats of tennis have done this? Doubtful… Why do you support and encourage such bad behaviour in tennis? Cesar P, Canada , 27 June 2:26

Rafa, take some rest and cut down the unforced errors; you will be in cruise control in your next match. Best of luck for the rest of the tournament. Tomas, Norway , 27 June 2:25

You didn’t deserve to win this match!!! Ioana, Romania, 27 June 1:52

Congrats on today’s hard fight win!!! I am always rooting for you, every time you play. I was not able to watch the entire game on TV. Later ready some comments about the game. Rafa please concentrate to keep improve your game and WIN. I will alway support you! You are the most inspiring tennis player to watch. Wish you all the success in the world!!! Keep It Up! Go Rafa! Meng Z, China , 27 June 1:48

Rafa, you were slightly out of sort today. But as always, a true champion plays well at crucial points. Hope your knees are ok. Will look forward to your next match on Monday. Vamos Rafa! April, United States, 27 June 1:48

Of course he would came playing much better after the medical time out. THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT! He said his muscle was tight and then a mage released. So yeah, some very intelligence challenged people won’t ever get things as simple as that. If someone asks a doc and comes playing the same, it could be a fake or something that couldn’t be fixed. But too much info for some people to process. VAMOS RAFA!!!! Barbara S, Brazil , 27 June 1:19

You are beautiful no matter what they say. Words can’t bring you down. You are beautiful in every single way. Yes, words can’t bring you down_ / Rafa, we hope you will have enough time to rest your knees and re-charge your batteries for the next match on Monday. Vamos! Nat&Co, Thailand, 27 June 1:09

I don’t know why people have to make comments about a person who gives everything in a match,people who probably hve no idea what it means to play two 5 sets games one after the other and to feel sometimes that your body does not respond to you as you are used to.And to play 3 hours under such a pressure and in not the perfect conditions is not that easy. Yes sitting in front of the Tv is easy.I love you style and the player you are Rafa keep go on. I’ll watch your Wimbledon final with my heart lady e, Romania, 27 June 0:54
Vamos Rafa, vamos!!! Alberto A, Spain, 27 June 0:52

Rafa, you scared me today but i was so glad you won I was really scared when you had to have medical treatment I really hope you get to the finals you deserve it!! i have a lot of faith in you!!_ YOUR A TRUE CHAMPION!!!!! Alena M, United States, 27 June 0:36

rafaaaaaa my great champion.I love you very very much.although today you lost two sets but I was sure your victory.I trust you forever.you like spanish football team.now spanish players dont see their real power.and I think nadal hide his real berformance following matches.vamossssssss rafa s, Turkey , 27 June 0:07

cmon rafa i dont know what happened to u but u arent playing good for long time u dont deserve to be first not even 2 maybe 3______roger federer u are the best tennis player but u have lots of things to take care of like family and the fact u are getting older u might not win another grandslam agian in your life robin p, Austria , 26 June 23:37

Vamooooosss Rafa!!! U r the best!!! and you people who think that Nadal’s treatment wasn’t necceserlly be ashamed!!! VAMOSSS CAMPEON!!! marin l, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 26 June 23:28

He always call for medical time every time his back is against the wall. A true world # 1 will play through any adversity or difficulty. They should put a chair near Nadal side so Uncle Tony can sit near him and give instructions at the side. Mar, Philippines, 26 June 23:20

Nadal would never have asked for the medical timeout if he had not needed it. GO ON RAFA! Chessca, Great Britain, 26 June 23:06

What terrible sportsmanship Rafael Nadal has displayed in this match. He took the medical time out when he really didn’t need one and then he is being coached by his uncle. This is just terrible. Are we seriously considering him to be one of the greatest players of all time? Christine P, Canada , 26 June 22:39

Nadal should never have been allowed to have a break for treatment, and the way he came back it worked. His oppenant was playing superb until then and the break definite upset him. Shame on Nadal and also for the umpire to allow it. I was a fan of Nadal but not now now. florence c, Great Britain, 26 June 22:36

I don’t think Nadal should have had the treatment in the middle of a game, especially as he came back much stronger than before. I beleive it was a ploy to distract his oppenant which worked. Shame on Nadal florence c, United States, 26 June 22:31


Huh Says:

guy:

Fed in tears in WIM 07 final???????
No kidding please!!!


Fot Says:

OK, that match is over. Can we talk about the matches on Monday?


Dave Says:

More comments about Nadal’s unsportsmanship behaviour taken from the Wimbledon.org website pertaining to his match with the German:

Shame for Petzschner! He deserved to win this match much more than the cheater Nadal who called a MTO to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm and was coached (not for the first time!) on the court. What an unworthy #1 and a role model… He showed his full repertoire in this match. Disgusting and a disgrace to this beautiful sport! Melissa D, Australia, 26 June 16:16

Why do you ume every comment against Nadal is from ‘Federer fans’. I am a general tennis fan, as are many friends of mine. We are not ‘Federer fans’ and we all think what Nadal did and has done in the past was pathetic. Your random arguments about Federer crying and being seeded one have nothing to do with anything and you are not helping yourselves or defending Nadal by lashing out with nonsensical ramblings. Ali, Australia, 26 June 16:12

Nadal took a MTO in Queens too, then said he was perfect in Wimbledon, and then suddenly has two mysterious injuries. I don’t have anything particular against him. If Roger respects him, I do too. But today it was so clear that the MTO was not because he was in pain but because he wanted to stop Petzschner’s momentum that even commentators mentionned it. And they love Rafa. V, France , 26 June 16:09

Rafa reputation spotless? Are you kidding?The guy is the worst. He constantly takes timeouts, pulls out of matchs when he is losing, gets on court coaching, takes forever & gets constant warnings for taking too long b/w points. The guy is the worst tennis player on the planet for gamemanship & everyone knows it but doesn’t want to admit because he is a top player. I rather watch paint peel off a wall than to watch him. Also if he is so loved why hasn’t he ever won a player award among his peers? Dianne K, United States, 26 June 16:06

Plainly speaking, Nadal is cheating. It is not a good morale for tennis. He is not fit to be number one in tennis. I had seen him many matches, when he was losing, he asked for medical time out. The tennis department has to look into this. It is not a good sportmanship to be cheating in this way. Apple L, Canada , 26 June 15:56

Interesting that Nadal supporters have so far been silent on the issue of illegal coaching. The tennis media is the same. Maria Sharapova got a lot of flak at USO 2006 for illegal in-game coaching. Justin Henin gets called out every now then. (Headline of a Jan ’10 Tennis.com piece: ‘Henin too reliant on illegal in-game coaching’.) Today, the Umpire finally gave Nadal a warning. Will other Umpires have the guts to do that? Will the tennis media call Nadal out now for illegal in-game coaching? Betty F, Hong Kong, 26 June 15:47

Finally, an umpire with the guts to stand up to Nadal’s gamesmanship and enforce the rules. Way to go, ump! __I remember at Hamburg when Fed was serving for the set at 5-1 and Nadal took an 8-minute time out to have his thigh massaged. Same thing all over again. By the time the match re-started Fed was so tight he could barely get a server over the net — and lost. __It’s time to put a 20 second clock on the court and enforce the rule to dock Nadal a point every time he doesn’t get a serve off. Jim F, United States, 26 June 15:45

It’s the timing of the medical timeouts that was suspicious and he’s done that before. The cameras clearly picked up the communication he had with his coach before that, he’s done that before too; it’s illegal. Sarah, United States, 26 June 15:44

I am surprised that Nadal called medical timeouts when he is losing. After he was treated he started to run around and jumping. If you got serious knee injury you cant do those things. Are you Nadal fans blind to see it?____I wish the ATP and Wimbledon authorities investigate Nadal gamemanship and illiegal coaching that he recieves everytime. Something got to be done about this. This is not good role model for young people coming into the sport. T, Great Britain, 26 June 15:44

I’m a Rafa fan, but I have to admit I don’t think he was injured today. Last year or earlier this year, it was clear he wasn’t moving well or serving well because of injuries. But today he looked fine, and I’m sorry to say I think the 2nd MTO was unecessary and allowed him to regroup. I was also disappointed about the coaching. The same happened in RG. Maybe it’s his uncle’s fault, but I don’t agree with it. As a Rafa fan, I think I’m even more disappointed than the ‘haters’. J, Germany, 26 June 15:39

Judging from the comments, americans are all Nadal fans.The facts are that Nadal has a big history of doing things like that._Roger is the true hero, a really really good person.He’s an example to all of us._GO ROGER!!!!! matt, Ireland , 26 June 15:38

I am really sad for tennis today, where has the sportsmanship gone, especially from the number 1 player Rafael Nadal. I have never been so disgusted by the behaviour of a player ever. It is cheating, no other way to describe it and his coach should be embarred also. Polly B, Australia, 26 June 14:46

i think nadal is a very unfair player. he always get problems with knees and takes timeouts, if is in trouble to lose. the same last week in queens. i never see such a behaviour from a man like roger federer. he accepts also the other sportsmen, if he would lose and do not need such tactical maneuvers. , Philippines, 26 June 14:39


Huh Says:

If someone really thinks that in WIM 07, Fed saying ‘the hawkeye is killing me’ is badsportsmanship, then I rest my case.


Dave Says:

mem, mem, mem. No time to read your comments darling, since your last one to me did not make sense.

But here watch your hero Nadal in this clip, if you have not
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak8GRRFBN54


montecarlo Says:

Q. Was it fair to be warned about coaching? You looked very angry.

RAFAEL NADAL: Sometimes, yes. Not today, in my opinion. But, yes, sometimes in the past Toni talk maybe too much. And when it happened, and the referee or the umpire give me an advice, and if it is continuing, later a warning.

But not today, in my opinion. Yeah, no.

Q. After your incredible clay court season, now 13 sets in one week in Wimbledon, how are you feeling right now emotionally and physically?

RAFAEL NADAL: Emotionally perfect. I fighted a lot last two matches. I think I played very good tennis. But I told before the tournament, the draw gonna be difficult. That’s what happen when you play against these player that they have very good serve. So all decide in a few points and everything is very difficult, no?

Physical, I have a little bit problem on the right knee. But, you know, I have one day and a half to get recovered. I happy to be in the fourth round. For me it very good news, having very tough matches and in the end winning. So that’s a very positive thing mentally.

Q. Do you think it’s taken you longer to settle in because it’s been two years since you’ve been on grass?

RAFAEL NADAL: No.

Q. You were saying something from the baseline to the umpire, shouting at him, gesturing at him. What were you saying to him?

RAFAEL NADAL: I was saying, We gonna talk with the supervisor later.

Q. And did you?

RAFAEL NADAL: Not yet.

Q. Will you?

RAFAEL NADAL: I will, yeah. I will because today for me wasn’t ‑‑ Toni wasn’t give me any tip. He was only supporting me. When he put me warning, he said positive, you know.

Q. How much are you worried about your knee? Is there a risk you should skip the Davis Cup tie after Wimbledon?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah. Well, sure, I am a little bit scared about the knee. But, you know, it happen. I had a treatment after Monte‑Carlo. So I had the problem. I didn’t say nothing before, but you know, guys, how is everything. I had the problem against Roddick in the semifinals of Miami.

I don’t like to say nothing in that moment because when you lose, always looks like an excuse. But I can say now I had the problem after I played in Monte‑Carlo with a little bit of pain on the knee, on the left knee, because that’s what happened there.

After Monte‑Carlo, I didn’t play Barcelona because I had to do a treatment, new treatment. You know, I tried to play the clay season perfect because in that moment the right knee was better than the left. But at the same time I know the knees are not hundred percent recovered. But playing on clay and maybe on grass, if is not very long matches, can work well.

But the last treatments I did between Monte‑Carlo and Rome was perfect. I didn’t have no one more problem on the left knee. But just I did one time, and I need to do three times.

I didn’t have time to do it at the right knee before because I had to play. The clay season was my main goal of the season. After here I gonna do it another time, no? My goals for me is a big disappointment not be in the Davis Cup on France, you know. Some confrontations, if you play at home against some country, maybe you cannot play this one. But playing in France for me is a very special confrontation and a very big motivation for me.

But I talked with the captain, I talked with the president of the Federation a few days ago, and I said, Guys, I never arrive to the US Open with my hundred percent of conditions. I had last year broken abdominal, two years ago playing crazy here. After Olympics, I did arrive very tired. And I really want to try to go there with my best chances, no, to play, to play my hundred percent.

So I need to do this treatment after here. If I play Davis Cup, I don’t have enough time to recover and play tournaments, Cincinnati. Everything was perfect for me last few months, and I need to be ready to finish the season well. My goal is try to keep having the chance to be No. 1 for the rest of the season. That’s gonna be difficult. But if you are not in hundred percent of condition, is going to be impossible.

Q. Philipp said you were running exactly the same before and after the timeout. He said you could have played another two or three sets. He said it was a clever timeout because it broke his concentration. What do you think about that?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, everything is fair to think what they want. I never call a treatment ‑‑ I never call the physio when I don’t have nothing, not one time in my career. If I call the physio today, it was because it was bothering me a lot, the knee, no?

The last day, it starts a little bit, and I didn’t call the physio because I can’t resist that. But today I needed to take little bit time. I have the quadriceps muscle very tight and I need to relax it a little bit. Maybe with this relaxation, the knee works a little bit better.

That’s why I called the physio.

Q. How bad is your knee right now? You said you’re scared. What are you scared of?

RAFAEL NADAL: My knee is like this. I don’t know how bad is my knee. My knee, I can finish the match. We will see how is going the next day. But, you know, I am here to try my best and to try to keep in the tournament and playing well, no? I am not thinking about scared or retired or something like this. That’s not going to happen.

Q. You did say a little while ago you were scared. What does scare you about the knee, maybe long term if not for this moment?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, no, I not scared, because I know what I have on the knee, is not something new, is something from the past. I know what I have to do to recover the knee. I didn’t have time to do it before here. But after, I have the new treatment.

With the new treatment, the left knee works perfect. So when I going to do that to the right, hopefully that’s going to be the same.

Q. What special treatment?

RAFAEL NADAL: For me I can’t explain now, especially in English. Sorry.

Q. Can you finish the tournament? Do you feel physically strong enough you can really mount a challenge and beat Roger if the occasion comes?

RAFAEL NADAL: I play against Mathieu. Roger in the other part of the draw. I am focused on my part. I won a very important match for me today and I am focused on the next match against Mathieu and playing well. But Mathieu going to be very difficult match.

Q. Was there something with your arm as well that the trainer was looking at?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yes. I called the physio because after one serve I felt something here. But I told the physio I don’t want to take out the medical treatment. So Petzschner must know that, too.

I didn’t want to have the treatment because I feel it a little bit better after the game. I feel something after one serve. I said to the umpire, Please call the trainer for the next changeover. I can finish the game playing well. When I finish the game, I feel it well, so I don’t need the trainer.

Q. Even the best players are involved in tough battles early on. Is this because it’s very hot and it’s hard to break serve? Is there any other reason the best players are having trouble?

RAFAEL NADAL: It’s because we are playing in a very difficult tournament. We’re playing in a Grand Slam, the fastest Grand Slam of the world.

If you play against players when they have very good serve, is very difficult to break, break the serve of these players. After that, if you have two bad points with your serve, the match will be very difficult.

Q. We know you’re a big football fan, looking forward to Spain and Portugal. What do you think about England and Germany tomorrow?

RAFAEL NADAL: Close. Going to be close. Going to be very nice match, I think. Disappointing for the World Cup have these very strong teams at the Round of 16. But that’s the sport. We will see what’s happen. But I going to be in front of the TV.

Q. With all the ways your game depends on your legs, the power you get from your legs, with all these problems with your knees, does that affect you at all on court? Do you think about it?

RAFAEL NADAL: No. I was perfect mentally for all the year, no? I think that doesn’t affect to my mind. Sometimes in the past, yes, when I don’t know exactly what happen. I know right now exactly what happen and what I have to do to pull out this pain.

So I gonna do it after this tournament and try my best on this tournament. I definitely going to have a break to change that I hope for a long time.

Q. The player you played today said there are a lot of players coming up here better than they used to be. They give you a good chase at the moment. Is that what you feel? Are the players that challenge you now at the moment, are they better than they used to be?

RAFAEL NADAL: No. Philipp has very good potential, very good serve, very good forehand, very good slice backhand. He served well all the time, and especially in the difficult moments.

So, no, I think the players are playing similar like always. But on grass, especially everything is more difficult.

Q. Can you clarify about how your arm feels now?

RAFAEL NADAL: The arm is perfect. Work perfect. Perfect. Perfect is perfect.


montecarlo Says:

Good decision to pull out from Davis Cup. Looks like all the focus this year is on winning USO.

As big a Spartan Rafa is I hope he doesn’t worsen his knees during this Wimbledon.

I already called the knee problem early in the match when Rafa tried to chase an easy drop shot and his feet was stuck awkwardly and pain was clearly visible on his face.


Kimmi Says:

“So I had the problem. I didn’t say nothing before, but you know, guys, how is everything. I had the problem against Roddick in the semifinals of Miami.’

i am afraid Roddick win in Miami is VOID. nadal was injured.


skeezerweezer Says:

Agreed. Drama returns. Rafa won. Another tough 5 setter. In the end, the draw shows only his score and his advancement to the 4th round. I am sure to Rafa fans and Rafa that is all that matters.

Until he gets penalized for “alleged” infractions, got to let it go. If he was breaking any rules, it’s the ump you guys should be mad at. Not Rafa. He is not the only guy on tour who is going to use whatever resources are available to win a match. He did get a coaching warning. What else is new?

Have the say though the pressers are having a field day with this if you google around…..

Did he really turn down a invitation by the Queen?

Sorry missed the match…playing tennis with the Guys…


Huh Says:

Oh sure Rafa, we all know about the problem you were having while facing Roddick in Miami. ;)


mem Says:

dave, if that makes you feel better, go for it! don’t assume everybody is naive because you are. i know how this sport works when it comes to rafa nadal. i’ve known for a long time. rafa and his uncle know exactly how it works also, but they know just how to ignore this criticism and move right along to the next round and keep their eyes on the prize, because anybody who knows anything about anything in tennis know that there are those who have been slandering rafa’s reputation for the longest of time. it’s what they do. believe me, this is nothing new. to them, if rafa looks dirty, then, that makes roger federer look like the perfect angel. i know what the strategy is, you are just not capable of understanding how it works. i don’t blame you you just don’t have the insight! you mostly rely on what commentators and others tell you to think! you’ll be alright! have a good night!


montecarlo Says:

Yep. It was pretty much known. Rafa was so much frustrated with recurrence of this knee problem at that time, he was shouting and hitting his knees at the changeover.

http://www.gototennisblog.com/2010/04/03/video-is-it-rafael-nadals-knees-again/


Huh Says:

“Q. Philipp said you were running exactly the same before and after the timeout. He said you could have played another two or three sets. He said it was a clever timeout because it broke his concentration. ”

God, it’s a BIG accusation against Rafa! REAL BIG!!!
At least Philipp though it was a “clever timeout to break his concentration”. It’s nothing when Fed fans accuse or criticise Rafa, but it’s really really has to considered significant if the accusation comes from a fellow player.


Huh Says:

The most recent comments from WIM.ORG about the Rafa-Petz match are given below, but only for those interested. I myself have not read them though, just pasting below. ;)

“Nadal asked for the trainer before the 4th set went into a tie-break. How could he foresee himself losing the tie-break so as to distract Petzschner’s momentum? It did not make sense! CK L, Hong Kong, 27 June 2:30

Petzschner was dead tired at the time Nadal requested a MTO. The commentators mentioned that as well saying something like …I am not sure who would the MTO benefit most. As for wether Nadal had a real problem with the knee, there is no doubt about it. He did not go after balls, he normally would. Evan G, Greece , 27 June 2:30

Why so much dislike for Rafa… he is a wonderful person and very humble… If he did what everyone is saying.. and I am not saying it is right… it is nothing new with other players… I just think people dislike him because he has achieved so much at such a young age and you haters of Rafa cannot accept it…. Chill and enjoy the game….. Eli O, Canada , 27 June 2:25

Who are we to judge whether Nadal needed a MTO or not? He clearly does not do this at other times when he is facing a loss. Last year he withdrew rather than compete with injury … perhaps the simple reason for today’s MTOs is that he needed to prevent or manage his body. He certainly does not strike me as being a cheater … he is way more modest that Federer, too. I like Federer, but Nadal is refreshing. Jane H, United States, 27 June 2:24

I want to see also Rafa fans comments, not only Roger’s thank you! Constantin D, Romania, 27 June 2:22

I am sick of you people. Accusing Rafa of bad morals, who are thou to throw the stone? What coaching has he done? was he chatting with uncle Tony? get serious, of course he needed his support, his vamos! or his confident look. what coaching can you get from one word? why don’t you accuse Phillip of cheating for calling the doctor later in the match?he did it when he was losing too! Shame on all Roger fans who attack Rafa, you have no idea what sport is all about. Vamos Rafa, you are the best. Constantin D, Romania, 27 June 2:21

Big deal if Nadal is getting advice from his coach.How much good advice can a coach give you sitting up in the stands 100 feet away from you.And as far as him taking all those medical timeouts,its in the rules that you can take them,why not use them.Anybody can take those timeouts.Plus every other sport allows coaching even tennis in Davis Cup,I think it would make matches more interresting if the players coaches could help thier players during a match,adds a new twist.Bravo Nadal take those TO. Paul O, United States, 27 June 2:13

I just could not believe some comments, especially those by some Aussie fans .I am not a huge fan of Rafa but I have noticed him as a very fair player,never runs down any opponents and is a good role model. Some of the comments about faking an injury? Come on, this is man who had to miss a major part of the tour last year due to injuries. Surely at this level, how much of benefit can you get by on court coaching at this level. Comments on Roger is also unfair. Both of them are good role models Ara, New Zealand, 27 June 2:09

And yeah winners dont quit, quitters dont win. Theres a saying ‘ The one who wins, raise a toast to him’Rafa won todaya and lets applaud him. He was not handed the match, he won it by fighting for it.And frankly people-I dont understand this medical timeout arresting momentum etc. Its a 3 minute timeout for Gods sake. I mean a rain break can running into few hrs can, not a 3 min gap.The court condition is the same, no talking to coaches inside locker room who will give you more tips etc etc. Sanju I, India , 27 June 2:07

Great!Rafa won.Another 5 setter.Rafa these 5 setters are not good.Ull be tired for upcmng rounds and Soderling,Muuray will maul you if you not fit physically.Guys-Regarding mdcal timeout,lets be mature,lets not cast aspersions on anyones sportsmanship without knowing real facts. We have not gone inside his body to know how his elbow or knee feels. If you see any behaviour on the outside,lets comment on that (like wat Serena did during her foot fault in US open),else lets give benifit of doubt Sanju I, India , 27 June 2:07

Good to see haters out in full force tonight. Do you think that Rafa’s the only player who looks at his box for some inspiration? Novak does it after every point, Soderling did it during RG final, Murray does it when he loses a point as well. Roger also took a break in AO when Davydenko was on fire. I don’t remember people complaining about these. And if you also follow Rafa’s career, you can clearly see he’s very sensitive about his knees and he has the right about this. cs, Turkey , 27 June 2:04

Nadal cheats?! What a nonsense. He is THE BEST Athlete/Man in the ATP Tour. Full stop! Live with it__IDEMO RAFA! Ana R, Serbia , 27 June 2:04

Rafa, please concentrate and get better physically. I didn’t watch later half of the game. I read some comments. Rafa, please keep improve you game and find a way to WIN! You total dedication to your profession is a shining example to today’s young people. ____Best Wishes!!!____Go Rafa!!! Meng Z, United States, 27 June 2:02

Nadal just announced that he will not play Davis Cup for Spain on the weekend after Wimbledon.____Nadal loves the Davis Cup and might be more devoted to it than any other top-10 player.____I guarantee you he would not have pulled out of Davis Cup if his knee pain today had not been real. Cynthia, United States, 27 June 1:54

Injury time out, bathroom break, etc., etc. They’re all part of the game. One may feign to take a leak just to stem the onslaught of defeat. Don’t we all employ some kind of tactics in our lives? Get over it peeps. Ho-hum. jules v, United States, 27 June 1:54

This discussion is WAY, WAY out of proporsion. Relax, sit down and enjoy tennis. The best man/woman will win this year too, be it Nadal, Federer, Soderling, Djokovic…just enjoy the play. Iri R, Sweden, 27 June 1:53

There are obviously a lot of paranormal gifted Ferdere fans in the world, who can feel what Nadal feels……These unfounded alligations are a disgrace. gebe b, Netherlands, 27 June 1:50
Nadal has to get through Soderling and then Murray to get to the final. Federer only has to get through one of Roddick, Djokavic, or Hewitt. Nadal won’t make it to the Final. Federer will. Federer will beat Murray in straight sets, a repeat of the Australian Open. Erynion R, United States, 27 June 1:50

So Rafa broke Petzschner’s rhythm by taking a medical break? What about breaking his own rhythm by doing that? And I hardly think he needs coaching from Uncle Tony! He can see what he needs to do as he’s playing an opponent—he’s been in the business long enough! He’s a tough cookie and nobody really knows if he’s in pain while playing and he’s had knee problems for a long time. He doesn’t call for medical istance that much so leave him alone! Jane F, United States, 27 June 1:49

Federer took a long bathroom break at AO this year during his match with Davydenko when he was trailing. How many Federer fans have called this gamesmanship? John McEnroe mentioned this today. So if Nadal’s MTO is gamesmanship then so is Federer bathroom break. Jagdish, India , 27 June 1:48

Roger was broken after coming back from the bathroom break in Australia. It didn’t change the momentum. If you don’t believe this, go and watch the match again. And despite that, there were 100 articles calling him a cheat or something close to that. On the other hand, Nadal is not even questionned about on-court coaching. I’m not even talking about the bizarre MTO. The media is so biased it’s disgusting. They don’t deserve Roger’s time and patience during interviews and pressers. A, France , 27 June 1:47

Shame for Petzschner! He deserved to win this match much more than the cheater Nadal who called a MTO to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm and was coached (not for the first time!) on the court. What an unworthy #1 and a role model… He showed his full repertoire in this match. Disgusting and a disgrace to this beautiful sport! Melissa D, Australia, 27 June 1:46

Why do you ume every comment against Nadal is from ‘Federer fans’. I am a general tennis fan, as are many friends of mine. We are not ‘Federer fans’ and we all think what Nadal did and has done in the past was pathetic. Your random arguments about Federer crying and being seeded one have nothing to do with anything and you are not helping yourselves or defending Nadal by lashing out with nonsensical ramblings. Ali, Australia, 27 June 1:42

oh for crying out load, PP also took a medical time out!!!! why??????So he was cheating as well…In all the matches that RAFA has played, nothing like this every happened. Only times he called for the trainer when he actually needed one, and today was the same as well!!! so stop criticizing him!!! Rafeah A, Great Britain, 27 June 1:42

I just have to laugh at people bringing Roger at the AO…He was broken despite taking a bathroom break you know. Nadal took a MTO in Queens too, then said he was perfect in Wimbledon, and then suddenly has two mysterious injuries. I don’t have anything particular against him. If Roger respects him, I do too. But today it was so clear that the MTO was not because he was in pain but because he wanted to stop Petzschner’s momentum that even commentators mentionned it. And they love Rafa. V, France , 27 June 1:39

It is really unbelievable the harsh words towards Nadal for taking MTO- they are available for a reason- not to mention his opponent took MTO as well- as far a coaching from the box- give me a break! Nadal is an exceptional player, if cheating was his style he would have pulled that card during his match to Soderling last year at the FO. Cynthia, United States, 27 June 1:38

Nadal plays every year a lot matches,long matches, and spends much time than any other player on the courts.This is due to his stile. He doesn’t have a powerful service. His strategy is to have the fewer number of unforced errors and to move his rival .No wonder he is prone to have problems with your Knees and elbows.In the fith set both players were tired and pained and take advantage of extra-time sitting,this not broke anyone’s rhythm. Sorry.. But I cant see any cheating or unfair play Juan, Spain, 27 June 1:38

Rafa reputation spotless? Are you kidding?The guy is the worst. He constantly takes timeouts, pulls out of matchs when he is losing, gets on court coaching, takes forever & gets constant warnings for taking too long b/w points. The guy is the worst tennis player on the planet for gamemanship & everyone knows it but doesn’t want to admit because he is a top player. I rather watch paint peel off a wall than to watch him. Also if he is so loved why hasn’t he ever won a player award among his peers? Dianne K, United States, 27 June 1:36

It’s sad to see so many people commenting Nadal’s injuries as cheating, he’s one of the most fair players on the tour, and because he’s there in the top, he gets unfair critisism by Federer fans. What a shame. I can’t exactly say that I’m surprised though – it’s hardly the first time people are being pricks without a reason. Chrille T, Sweden, 27 June 1:29

Those who like to say bad things about or find every opportunity to lash out at Nadal obviously don_t want to see Nadal win or be more successful or more popular than their favorite players. It_s sad to witness such behaviors from tennis fans. Natcha N, Thailand, 27 June 1:28

Nadal is always calling for a trainer when in a tight situation, look at all the times when fed has been on the verge in pervious meetings and he has called for a trainer not legit. glen l, Belgium , 27 June 1:27

Plainly speaking, Nadal is cheating. It is not a good morale for tennis. He is not fit to be number one in tennis. I had seen him many matches, when he was losing, he asked for medical time out. The tennis department has to look into this. It is not a good sportmanship to be cheating in this way. Apple L, Canada , 27 June 1:26

This is so funny……………this reminds me of the time when Roger Federer took a bathroom break, changed his shirt when he was losing to Davydenko at the AOpen this year!!!…..remember that folks?!!____You people are blowing this ALL out of proportion….just rediculous!!!!! Monalysa, Saint Lucia , 27 June 1:23

Federer took a toilet break at a pivotal moment in the game with Davydenko last year at Australian Open. Even he admitted he did it to get the sun out of his eyes. Come on they all do it! Even the great Federer. Rachelle D, New Zealand, 27 June 1:19

Interesting that Nadal supporters have so far been silent on the issue of illegal coaching. The tennis media is the same. Maria Sharapova got a lot of flak at USO 2006 for illegal in-game coaching. Justin Henin gets called out every now then. (Headline of a Jan ‘10 Tennis.com piece: ‘Henin too reliant on illegal in-game coaching’.) Today, the Umpire finally gave Nadal a warning. Will other Umpires have the guts to do that? Will the tennis media call Nadal out now for illegal in-game coaching? Betty F, Hong Kong, 27 June 1:17

Finally, an umpire with the guts to stand up to Nadal’s gamesmanship and enforce the rules. Way to go, ump! __I remember at Hamburg when Fed was serving for the set at 5-1 and Nadal took an 8-minute time out to have his thigh maged. Same thing all over again. By the time the match re-started Fed was so tight he could barely get a server over the net — and lost. __It’s time to put a 20 second clock on the court and enforce the rule to dock Nadal a point every time he doesn’t get a serve off. Jim F, United States, 27 June 1:15

It’s the timing of the medical timeouts that was suspicious and he’s done that before. The cameras clearly picked up the communication he had with his coach before that, he’s done that before too; it’s illegal. By the way, Roger crying has got nothing to do with any of this! Sarah, United States, 27 June 1:14

I am surprised that Nadal called medical timeouts when he is losing. After he was treated he started to run around and jumping. If you got serious knee injury you cant do those things. Are you Nadal fans blind to see it?____I wish the ATP and Wimbledon authorities investigate Nadal gamemanship and illiegal coaching that he recieves everytime. Something got to be done about this. This is not good role model for young people coming into the sport. T, Great Britain, 27 June 1:14

why is so much criticism for a medical timeout.If the other guy was that good,it shlould nt have affected him.& how come all you guys know that he was well n was actin.He knows when hes nt feeling well.Everyplayer has right to take a MTO…& regarding…fairplay…Rafa is one of the most unfair player in the tour..u guys can go on commenting such bad things about such a great player..because u guys jus cant swallow the fact that rafa is world number 1….cmon rafa…win back the wimbledon.. Neerocks, India , 27 June 1:12
It is true that Nadal had called for MTO. But ‘illegal coaching… for years’? This is more ‘illusion’ than Venuse FO dress. CK L, Hong Kong, 27 June 1:10

I’m a Rafa fan, but I have to admit I don’t think he was injured today. Last year or earlier this year, it was clear he wasn’t moving well or serving well because of injuries. But today he looked fine, and I’m sorry to say I think the 2nd MTO was unecessary and allowed him to regroup. I was also disappointed about the coaching. The same happened in RG. Maybe it’s his uncle’s fault, but I don’t agree with it. As a Rafa fan, I think I’m even more disappointed than the ‘haters’. J, Germany, 27 June 1:09

Judging from the comments, americans are all Nadal fans.The facts are that Nadal has a big history of doing things like that._Roger is the true hero, a really really good person.He’s an example to all of us._GO ROGER!!!!! matt, Ireland , 27 June 1:08

Most of the people writing negative comments about Nadal have already made up their mind about him. They always find a fault. The truth is, Rafa is as fair as anyone out there. If he calls the trainer, he’s in pain. And to all of you saying Rafa always calls the trainer when he’s in trouble – why didn’t he call the trainer against Haase? And honestly, Petzschner wasn’t exactly dying either when calling the trainer…but I don’t question he had his reasons for getting treatment. Vamos Rafa! L, Sweden, 27 June 1:06

LL L, be kind!! _I agree with Chris 100%. Go home and watch other games of Rafa. How about Roger getting #1 seed in Wimbledon, even though he is not one now. That’s life. What’s wrong in calling a trainer, even opposite player called for one. I agree with Shika. Rafa’s uncle is a great inspiration to him, so he looks at him when he is in trouble. Others could also do tha provided they have one such source. It’s not Rafa’s mistake. Don’t be angry and hate a person so much!! Be kind!:-) Aparna M, United States, 27 June 1:05

How come nobody complains about Petzschners medical time outs? If this is a strategy to disrupt your opponents game why the german didnt win the fifth set after calling de trainer twice? Ruben C, Spain, 27 June 1:05
<<<<<<<<Chris C, Sweden, 27 June 1:02

Well, well. Federer fans smelling blood? Picking on a man in trouble. Onbelievable. You just proof them all wrong Rafa, like you did so may times before. If you have been injured as much as Rafa last year, no wonder you are being very carefull. This has nothing to to with gamesmanship. ge b, Netherlands, 27 June 1:01

Rafa’s reputation is spotless, so I don’t believe he would lie about needing a trainer–especially since the media is going to bug him about it now the rest of the tournament. The game was too close for comfort for this Rafa fan, so I hope he works on reducing his number of unforced errors. On a positive note, it was good to see him throwing down aces and more comfortable at the net. Vamos, Rafa! Seneca J, Denmark, 27 June 1:00
I don’t see anything wrong in players taking medical timeout. Prior to Wimbledon also had mentioned that there is some problem with his knee. I could understand why he would have taken medical timeout.Rafa is great player.He works really hard to improve every aspect of his game.Many Federer worshippers don’t want nadal to win any Grandslam.People would continue to call medical timeouts as cheating.Comments like this are normal. Arun p, India , 27 June 0:57

I was never ever so angry watching a match as I was today. I really would like, ONE SINGLE DAY, the journalists begin to criticeze Mr. Nadal for his behavior. He clearly disrupted PP’s rhythm and momentum, asking unnecessary MTOs. We could see him running as a rabbit after the second, supposedly for a knee problem. Nadal is a shame for the game, and a shame as nr. 1. A disgrace. Mrcia F, Brazil , 27 June 0:57

I used to respect Rafa, but today he clearly cheated. One thing is to be in pain, but to take a MTO for his arm, then for his leg, despite serving well and running around the court is ridiculous. And to do it before his opponent was about to serve is even worse. He used gamemanship to win, and for a number 1 to do that is a shema for the sport. If it had been an another player, there would have been harsh articles I think…Rafa is pitied. I’m really disappointed for tennis today. A, Spain, 27 June 0:56

VAMOS RAFA!!!I dont understand how anyone can question rafa’s sportsmanship. He has 7 grand slams because he is a warrior and a great competitor.He has the utmost respect for all his opponents and he deserves more credit than that. Please people! maria g, Canada , 27 June 0:55

Nadal has taken random medical timeouts before when he was trailing in a match. I can’t recall the exact venue, but it was on clay against Roger Federer. It doesn’t surprise me in the least. Taking timeouts to disrupt your opponent’s rhythm and momentum is an age old tactic. A cheap one, but a tactic nonetheless._ Y, United States, 27 June 0:54

Rafa getting official warning for illegal coaching — way to go umpire. Somebody had the guts to call it out on him. There are many millions of tennis and Rafa fans out there and this sort of behaviour from world #1 is unacceptable for a sport that is aptly called gentleman’s sport. Marianna K, United States, 27 June 0:54

Philipp also took a medical timeout at the start of the 5th set, when it was Nadal’s turn to serve. Yet Nadal could win that game.__When Philipp does it, no one says anything. But when Nadal does it, so many people here complain about poor gamemanship, tactics, etc.__Did he take a medical timeout in his previous 5-setter match when he was down 2 sets to 1? I don’t think he did.__So all the allegations here are baseless. Nadal takes timeouts when he feels there is something wrong, not to cheat. Peter W, Brunei , 27 June 0:53

Quite a match today…and a lot of criticism when something goes wrong…what is wrong with you people …tennis fans that are all happy watching Nadal master game most of the time on cort….and now…i see that you’re not loving this sport just watching for an embarring moment. VAMOS RAFA Camelia G, Romania, 27 June 0:53

Chris from the USA, it is precisely because he ALWAYS does this that people are so fed up! For years he has done this, when things are going downhill he pauses play. He then comes out and at his pace runs around like a rabbit. If things swing against him, he does it again. I can name a dozen matches of the top of my head in the past two years. Even the commentators today called it as it was: Tactic. Poor by him no way around it. LL L, Austria , 27 June 0:52

I think clearly none of the people commetning about rafa calling the trainer was a strategy know much about rafa. Previous mathces have shown that he has some problems with his knee, so he actually required the trainer. So I suggest you guys go and look at his previous matches. rafeah a, Great Britain, 27 June 0:50

Why is everybody overreacting? How is getting a medical timeout a display of bad sportsmanship? In fact Petzschener got 2 medical timeouts as well. Rafa is one of the most gracious players that doesn’t trash talk other.That is why there is a trainer…to help when you have problems! The bottom line is…both players got medical attention, and nadal was just the better player. And only he knows when something is wrong with him or not. Who is to say he wasn’t in pain? Vamos Rafa!! shika, United States, 27 June 0:49

I don’t understand your critics about the trainer Petzschner also asked for a trainer after Nadal, so why nobody critics him? just because he lost? his tennis was poor he has only a good serve besides that nothing to be impressed. _ Rachel, Israel , 27 June 0:49

I have to laught :-), you have to hate Rafa too much (I think that thats because hes No. 1 and not Roger)… So many comments on his todays behaviour, he is playing for 6 years already, isnt he? I really dont understand, do you know other players, do you watch other matches? I think not, otherwise you could never write like this… Andrea S, Czech Republic , 27 June 0:48

Sympathize with a guy who has been through a lot during the past year, it doesn’t matter if Rafa called for a trainer, everyone knows his knees aren’t as healthy as they should be!! Be kind!! Remember how Roger was frustrated when he couldn’t break Sampras’s record because Nadal was a big threat to him then!! So, be kind!!_Rafa got the toughest draw after all. Also, Roger in fact is not the current #1. The draw should be reversed. Rafa in the Top draw and Roger in the bottom draw. Aparna M, United States, 27 June 0:46

I totally agree with the 1st post,Nadal is a really unfair player.Every time when he is down in the score,he calls the training.I think today he directly pretended his ailments,because before after the medical istance he was hitting and running well,nobody realized he was injured.And after the treatment he continued hitting and running well too.It seems he doesn’t accept that any player can surp him in a match.We don’t expect the same behaviour from Federer or another guys,only from him. Diana B, Argentina, 27 June 0:45

Here we go again, and Nadal calls the trainer when he is in a hurry. Anybody remembers Nadal doing this in a winning situations?? NEVER. That’s not honest at all, and Philipp P. lost his mind due to this. Not an elegant way to win a match… Phil B, Argentina, 27 June 0:44
Nadal doesn’t need any coaching and looks to his box for inspiration. He is the best ambador for tennis on court and off. His ‘never give up’ attitude and kindness to others(Federer crying at Austrailia)plus his humbleness illustrate his great character. Linda S, United States, 27 June 0:43

Please, gosh I can’t believe some of you think this is Rafa’s ’strategy’! If you think that, then you must not have followed his career! He never does that! He has had problems with his knees for a awhile now, and continues to play hard. That’s why he is catching such grief, because of his strength.. He plays hurt so much and doesn’t show pain, so everyone thinks he is ok. He wouldn’t call a medical timeout unless he was hurt – that’s all there is to it! He is a true champion! chris, United States, 27 June 0:42

What a disgrace! The World Number One resorting to gamesmanship to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm, making sure that the match would go to a 5th set. (First a dodgy arm, then suddenly a knee and a leg.) And the illegal coaching, which has been going on for years. Finally, an Umpire who called him out. Still, he’ll get away with it, once again. The headlines tomorrow will all be about yet another HEROIC win by Rafa the FIGHTER. The tennis media are cowards. I feel so sorry for Philipp Petzschner. Betty F, Hong Kong, 27 June 0:37

Nadal is unworthy of his rank. He won today thanks to gamemanship. Poor Petzschner…Nadal’s behaviour was unacceptable and lacked respect for his opponent, the tournement, the fans and the sport. Shame on him. C, France , 27 June 0:32

I’m really angry with what Nadal did. He took medical time out twice in this match and this really broke Petzschner’s rhythm. Also on-court coaching, he received coaching warning twice from the umpire. What do all those things mean? This is not the first time he won using gamesmanship and illegal coaching. Is this the behaviour of the World Number One, the ambador for this sport? Kim Khnh N, Vietnam, 27 June 0:32

You exaggerate :-), you wanna say that nobody has ever taken that medical time? And say that especially about Rafael Nadal which has always been considered as one of the most fair players… it is not objective at all. Andrea S, Czech Republic , 27 June 0:31

Vamos Rafa … you are best on or off court … There is no question about your character … Take good care of your knees and arms … we need them to lift another Wimbledon trophy … Let’s go … K R, United States, 27 June 0:30

Nadal is an unworthy number 1. He clearly took a MTO when nothing was worng with him. And he was coached during this match, like during all the others. I’m sorry Petzschner lost because of Nadal’s cheating. Nadal’s behaviour is unacceptable. He showed no respect for his opponent, the fans, the tournement and the sport. Shame on him. Claire T, France , 27 June 0:30

Poor form Rafael Nadal. Yet again you call a medical timeout when momentum is going against you, only to run around with more energy and flexibility than ever. Not to mention the constant illegal coaching going on. Any respect I had is gone for you now. You are a poor ambador for the sport. Anything to win, eh? KR, Australia, 27 June 0:26

I disagree, of course Nadal a trainer. What’s one talking about sportsmanship.. how about Roger Federer crying crying crying and crying … non-stop when Rafa won Aus Open in 2009. Roger was uncontrollably crying and sobbing. It happens for every player, it’s natural!! stop criticizing one player!! aparna m, United States, 27 June 0:24

I am really sad for tennis today, where has the sportsmanship gone, especially from the number 1 player Rafael Nadal. I have never been so disgusted by the behaviour of a player ever. It is cheating, no other way to describe it and his coach should be embarred also. Polly B, Australia, 27 June 0:16

i think nadal is a very unfair player. he always get problems with knees and takes timeouts, if is in trouble to lose. the same last week in queens. i never see such a behaviour from a man like roger federer. he accepts also the other sportsmen, if he would lose and do not need such tactical maneuvers.

, Philippines, 27 June 0:09″


NELTA Says:

Good stuff guys. Got my popcorn out.


skeezerweezer Says:

@NELTA

Popcorn…Nice! Butter, salt, neither or both? IMO? BUTTER!


DH Says:

With all the extensive injuries that Rafa has had….and the missed tournaments (including defending his Wimbledon crown last year), I would do exactly as he did. If you feel something is off, take an injury time out and get it evaluated/treated. IT IS COMPLETELY WITHIN THE RULES. A tight muscle that is massaged is going to work better for the next few minutes at least. There is no way that anyone can prove otherwise, so move on Nadal-haters.


Fot Says:

Wow, they have Soderling’s match on court 12 on Monday! Along with Ferrer’s match.

Interesting.


mem Says:

kimmi, lighten up! don’t read so much into everything nadal says, last time i checked he is only an imperfect being like all of us. imperfect people don’t always say things exactly the way we want them to. you guys put too much stock into trivial stuff. there is nothing rafa can say to diminish roddick’s win. whether he was injured or not roddick won fair and square. there’s nothing void about that! end of story!


Fot Says:

DH, I don’t think everyone that has commented on Nadal’s time out is a “Nadal hater”. Some folks were just discussing it on a tennis discussion board as were the announcers at the match.

But like you said – the match is over – let’s move on. Gosh! lol!

I think a lot of the matches on Monday will be tight. I’m really looking forward to the Justine/Kimmy match and the Serena/Maria match. (Of course I’ll be sweating it out when Roger plays another lefty!!!! How many of these guys is it!!!! *smacks head*) lol!

Hewitt/Djokovic could be intersting going on the fact that Hewitt has been one of the ‘informed’ players.

I don’t think Roddick, Nadal, or Soderling will have too much trouble. Actually, I don’t think Murray will either.


skeezerweezer Says:

@Fot

Yeah I am looking forward to the same matches, Huey/Nole & Fed/Melzner. Thanks for bringin up the ladies. Wasn’t following so closely on the woman’s side. Looks like some good matchups like you mentioned.


Eric Says:

I imagine the only close matches will be Djoko/Hewitt and Soderling/Ferrer… although they will all be interesting!


Kimmi Says:

mem – I said that comment as a murray fan. i have been very dissapointed because apparently all three murray wins against rafa don’t count to some rafafans. I have read it hear and read it in other tennis blogs.

2008 USO, nadal had a huge fatigue after his fantastic year winning back to back tournaments.
2009 Rotterdam, nadal had a knee injury
2010 AO, nadal had another knee injury.

You see! poor murray. he never got credit for his wins. So is soderling at FO 09.

thats why i brought up that comment about Roddick win in miami. I am sure now nadal has admitted it, that win might create a lot of stories.


Kimmi Says:

Its crazy the way they get to play everyone on monday. Too many matches. which one to watch? for example, federer match is at the same as clijsters vs henin and I want to watch both matches withought missing a point. :(

Still don’t like this middle sunday idea.


Huh Says:

Middle Sunday is totally useless!


mem Says:

kimmi, don’t get bogged down and upset over every little thing. if people want to make something out of what nadal just said, can you stop them? personally, i think you have a really hard time learning that you can’t control what others say or think. if i wanted to put a negative spin on everything about roger, i could write a book and dig up dates, or whatever about distasteful comments that roger have made about players after losing and sometimes even after beating them, but that’s not where my interest lies. i don’t dwell on those kinds of things; they are simply not important to me, unless some hypocrite start mouthing off about rafa nadal and then i’ll have to enlighten them on few things.

my point is, ask yourself if you can stop people from drawing certain conclusions about murray or any player. if the answer is yes, then do share with me how i can stop people from saying things i don’t like to hear! it’s normal, it’s life!


Kimmi Says:

you are right mem, i can’t stop them. Thats the reason I brought that point up to make my point. as no one can stop me either :)


mem Says:

kimmi, that’s my point!


dave Says:

PHILIPP PETZSCHNER: “Yeah, tough to analyze right now. I’m pretty sad a little bit pissed off of myself that I couldn’t hold the focus after he had the injury timeout. I don’t know what happened there.

his timeout. Yeah, it was pretty clever, I think. Right now I’m not happy. This will maybe come tomorrow or in two days.

Right now I’m just pissed off and sad that I lost the match…

I didn’t feel any difference afterwards or before.

So he was I thought he was moving great. I only could say if I would be injured like this once I would be happy. No, but I don’t know. Maybe he had something. Maybe it was just a clever part to take a timeout there. ..

I just can tell you how it felt, and it felt like he was still running the same for five sets. And I think he could run another two or three sets, and I couldn’t. So that’s how it felt on the court and that’s how it is.

If he’s injured, okay. If not, I don’t know. Ask him. He’s the fittest player on tour. He’s moving great around on the court. Yeah. So I have no idea.”


dave Says:

PHILIPP PETZSCHNER: “Yeah, tough to analyze right now. I’m pretty sad a little bit pissed off of myself that I couldn’t hold the focus after he had the injury timeout. I don’t know what happened there…

his timeout. Yeah, it was pretty clever, I think. Right now I’m not happy. This will maybe come tomorrow or in two days.

Right now I’m just pissed off and sad that I lost the match…

I didn’t feel any difference afterwards or before.

So he was I thought he was moving great. I only could say if I would be injured like this once I would be happy. No, but I don’t know. Maybe he had something. Maybe it was just a clever part to take a timeout there. ..

I just can tell you how it felt, and it felt like he was still running the same for five sets. And I think he could run another two or three sets, and I couldn’t. So that’s how it felt on the court and that’s how it is.

If he’s injured, okay. If not, I don’t know. Ask him. He’s the fittest player on tour. He’s moving great around on the court. Yeah. So I have no idea.”


grendel Says:

Kimmi, you’re exactly right, some really irritating clashes on Monday. Centre Court: Fed/Melz – unknown, intriguing; S.Will/Sharap – will Sharap be able to exact revenge, or will Serena again wipe the floor with her; I hope Sharap at least puts up a battle; Querrey/Murray -It’s not so much will Murray win, but how well will he win,shld then have better idea of his prospects.

Court 1 the Belgians – fascinating; cld go either way, but feel only Cleijsters has power on grass to challenge the sisters; Djoko/Hewitt – wonderful looking scrap; Nadal/Matthieu, at last one to miss – Nadal owns Matthieu, he claims it will be “very difficult” – only trouble is,that provides no info, ’cause he says that about ev’rybody.

Court 12: Zvonereva /Janko – 2 very clever tacticians, nice match;Tsonga/Benn – have always found the latter irritating, dunno why, so can miss that;Sod/Ferrer – again, good scrap.

It’s not as if you can “tape” matches, either, when you have red button choice – don’t work. So one tries this switching business, tricky, cld get the worst of both worlds instead of best. Only answer, buy a couple more tellies, stick ’em in the living room and watch 3 matches at once. ‘Course, then you have the problem of sound, 6 commentators blazing away is a bit much, but nor does turning on the mute work,’cause you gotta hear the sound of racket on ball, doesn’t seem real otherwise.

It’s a difficult life.


mem Says:

dave, did you expect petzscher to say something differently! the interview is understandable. i’m sure this is not the first time that a player felt the opponent cheated him out of win and it won’t be the last. the way i see it, this has been happening since tennis was declared a professional sport; players take medical time outs, they retire, the opponent sometimes get upset; the way it is.

petzscher did not start playing tennis yesterday, he knows what can happen in a tennis match; therefore, players have to expect the unexpected, whether they like it or not. it’s the nature of tennis. his job was to focus on himself and to keep his concentration. he was also treated for injury but i didn’t observed him playing like he was injured. so,the same can be said of him. he played great and of course he wants to find an excuse for coming so close and losing, but it’s not nadal fault if he couldn’t keep his focus. funny thing is, i never hear players complain about nadal when they beat him. petszcher played well and it could have gone either way, but he can’t blame someone else because it didn’t go his way and that goes for any player! simple as that! move on!


skeezerweezer Says:

I think sometimes we are such die hard Fed or Rafa fans we hang on every word. Remember when Fed said the season is determined by the FO? Although there is SOME truth to that, at the same time it seemed like he was ditzin’ Rafa’s Clay court season accomplishments already. Then Rafa comes out and says the injury thing takin away Roddick’s win in Miami.

So they are human. If we going making judgements about every word then I vote for Roddick. GOAT of interviews…now there is something to talk about…LOL. Awesome stuff.

Let me just add to this, these guys are no Serena ( IMO Serena is a GREAT player…just sayin..). They talk about how they could have played better BUT they overall give props to there opponents win or lose, . I can’t stand a player who loses and says it was all about themselves, and if they did this or that they would have won. Like, it didn’t matter who was on the other side? C’mon. Both guys have given countless interviews and said mostly the right things, so I vote lets give them some slack. There play speaks for itself. Sometimes I think there are too many interviews of these two guys, like every round of every tourney!…They are bound to make “quote mistakes” or more likely “misinterpretations”. I am sure I would…give me a beer and I will say very match I played and won I had a Hangover. Not doggin anyone hear just sayin……….On to watch some real quotes from Roddick on Youtube….until Mammoth Monday!!

out


Eric Says:

mem, i agree this is not a big deal and it’s time to move on, but petzschner (unlike nadal) was clearly hampered by discomfort. That’s why his level of play dipped in the final two sets. also, he served about 20 aces in the first two or three sets and about 5 in the last two. but nadal was playing better. i’m not accusing nadal of anything, but it doesn’t cut it to say that petzschner (who took medical attention during set changeovers, not in the middle of a set before his opponent was due to serve) and nadal’s MTOs were comparable when one’s play was affected by injury and the other’s wasn’t.

and as for stuff in interviews, it’s a bunch of crap. tennis players have to sit through hundreds of hours of questions ranging from the purely idiotic to the inane to the repetitive and boring in their careers. of course they’re going to say some stuff that comes out wrong.


zola Says:

Federer is definitely having easier matches.Now perhaps Grendel will see my point about the easy draw!

Today Rafa was pushed again for the second time and his matches are going to be harder. I hope the knee holds up. It is frustrating even as a fan to deal with all these injury issues. I don’t know how the athletes deal with them.

Glad that Rafa pulled out from the Davis Cup. Perhaps even one of the master series on the hard courts can be cut out.

Petzschner played great tennis. Excellent serve and going for broke on all his shots. I think he had studied Soderling before getting on the court.

well, at least Rafa is through to the second week. Hopefully the knees will hold.

——–

well, the US is out of the world cup. It was not easy to see all those sad faces but the US team were always behind. Really never had a good chance. Still, round of 16 is great and hopefully they will improve on it in 2014.


Anna Says:

Honestly, what an amazing feat it would be for a coach to actually be able to turn the tide of a match from the stands with just a few 1-3 word utterances. Vamos, be more aggressive, move up, move back etc. Just how thin is that line from encourageing to coaching. While I’ve seen some matches where coaching is blatant it often goes overlooked, but Rafa was nabbed at the FO and W today. As a matter fact the only two times I’ve seen it called all year, and I watch alot of tennis.

Kimmi – A win is a win. People play hurt hoping to overcome, or are hurt during a match and have to retire, but that’s a win for the last man standing and only a fool would argue differently. I’ve never heard Rafa argue that he won any match in which he had to pull out due to injury and though I don’t read everything written on this sight I read alot and I’ve never heard a Nadal fan try to make that arguement either.


zola Says:

About injury time outs,

remeber in AO, Rafa immediately retired after the discomfort in his knee and had to sit out for two months.

Rafa has had problems with his knees for a long time. He said he needed the time out to ease the pressure on his right knee. Can you imagine playing with the fear that something permanent can happen? He needs to take care of a discomfort before it gets worse and that is why they have the injury time out.

Petzschner had also a time out. Was that to break Rafa’s rythm? No! he had a problem too. These players are not machines. They are humans.

I agree that some questions are plain mean or stupid. I really would like to see the name of the reporters next to the questions. Like the World cup referees, I think the tennis media is getting away with some very provocative and mean questions.


mem Says:

Right Eric, i agree with you in part. i’m not saying that petzscher was not discomforted; i’m saying it didn’t appear to me that he was struggling enough to keep him from fighting to win, but that’s my opinion. obviously, you saw something differently, it looks more to me like he was discouraged. sorry, but i didnt think that injury caused his level of play to dip, i’m sure it probably contributed a bit, but i thought the real reason was he let up for whatever reason or start becoming discouraged because nadal was hanging in the match so forcefully as he always does. my point is, if petzscher played without taking a medical timeout then he must have thought he could win without taking an injury timeout. i didn’t expect him to continue to serve aces like he did in the first two sets; so, the drop wasn’t at all surprising to me. it’s normal not to be able to consistently serve aces over 5 sets. that’s difficult! anyway, they both had opportunities to do what was necessary if they so chose. it is what it is, i’ll move on!


Golf is barely a Sport Says:

I think the basic case against Nadal is the whole shopping cart of offenses. He has powers of concentration on par with Bjorn Borg’s. What does he do? Play slowly to test the opposition’s level of concentration more. He has an uncle who he even admits “says too much sometimes.” He takes an injury timeout at an odd time. One of these things might be explained away. Two may be tolerated. All three? To quote Lleyton Com’on?


Ben Pronin Says:

Federer has never liked hawk eye. He’s always been very upfront about his dislike of it’s use. And when a computer system is glitchy and costs you a match, wouldn’t you be upset too?

Nonetheless, Federer never argued with the ump about hawk eye in order to disrupt Nadal’s rhythm. I’ve never seen Nadal call for a trainer during a winning match. Djokovic gets criticized for the same crap. But Djokovic also retires, so he’s criticized more. But Nadal manages to screw with his opponents just enough to actually pull out the victory. It’s a little ridiculous.

And you can’t defend Toni’s coaching in any way. It’s illegal to say anything to the player. And it was pretty obvious he was saying something since they showed a replay of Nadal telling Toni to stop giving him advice and Toni giving him a nod and agreeing to stop. Let’s get real here, Nadal isn’t a saint when it comes to sportsmanlike conduct.


Dan Martin Says:

I do remember reading in Open that Agassi asked for a match to be suspended at the French vs. either Hrbaty in 99 or Ferrero in 02 after looking to the box and seeing Brad make a motion that it was too dark. Steffi joked about getting hand signals wrong in the first set during her 1988 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 Wimbledon victory. I think coaching should be reserved for Davis Cup, college and high school tennis. I am not sure Rafa is the first or the worst. Still, the rules are the rules and on the coaching front as well as the time between points are pretty clear. What steps should the ITF and/or ATP take?


Ben Pronin Says:

Pay more attention. Dish out point penalties, game penalties, defaults, fines if it comes to it. When a player breaks misbehaves they get penalties. Why is this rule so overlooked?


skeezerweezer Says:

@Ben

I did not want to be the first to bring this up as I am sure it is interpreted as an “Mars Attack” by some Rafa fans, TG not all on this site. But rules ARE rules, both ways, all ways. And Rafa and Coach aren’t the only ones I am sure.

I have researched that Rafa was in fact quoted in 2006 that he wanted coaching allowed on the ATP tour. He needed and still needs Unc it seems or he wants. There was a 3 month “trial” period of coaching allowed during a match on the ATP circuit but after the trial period got unanimously voted “denied” by the ATP players. From another site, someone brings up an excellent point IMO is worthy mentioning ( Remember, Davis Cup is a different animal, as Dan mentioned, of course );

“One of the greatest appeals of tennis is that it demands from players the ability to think quickly when under pressure. Relying on someone else to do that thinking flies right in the face of what an individual sport demands, or should demand, from every player.

Tennis on-court coaching strikes at the heart of what tennis is all about. While it may be a very popular idea with coaches, as it presents all sorts of profile-lifting opportunities for them, I cannot imagine any intelligent player supporting a move like tennis on-court coaching that negates, to any extent whatsoever, a superior ability to out-think an opponent.

That is exactly the point — the beauty of the game is that you are completely alone out on court, facing a player who is equally alone (which is why it is called “singles”).

In order to preserve the appeal that tennis has to independent thinkers and to the very integrity of the game, that aspect of the game should remain sacrosanct. “


Anna Says:

Ben – I think in this case it’s overlooked because it really is hard to call and what’s ok for one umpire, isn’t ok for another. They need to be more clear about what exactly can take place between a coach and a player and then be consistant when enforcing penalties. Last year when Serena was called for a foot fault at the USO the commentators were in an uproar that the line umpire called the fault in the last game of a semi-final match. So, ok, certain faults can only be called at certain times, in certain places on certain players????? Rules have to be fair for everyone and consistant. So better define “coaching” and then call it everytime for everyone.


Ben Pronin Says:

Anna, let’s not go by what the commentators say. McEnroe was the one who said the foot fault shouldn’t have been called and that’s just plain stupid. Let’s stopping calling balls out all together while we’re at it.

I agree, the rules should be consistent. Particularly with something like on court coaching. The ump seemed pretty certain Toni was giving Nadal tips and whatnot and Nadal came up with the excuse that Toni was talking to someone near him. What can be gathered from this is that Toni was doing a significant amount of talking, whether it was directed at Nadal or not.


skeezerweezer Says:

@Anna

Agreed :)

IMO

A) Allow coaching or

B) Don’t allow coaches to be in a position that is visible or in a position where said player can see or hear their coach.

In other words, all in or all out.

IMO that is more definitive than what we have. It’s almost like Baseball if anyone knows what a third base coach does. It’s just not always what you say either. Messages can be coded, hand singles and gestures as well……..so how can an Ump deal with that? He is watching so many other things to keep the match in order…..along with the occasional line call…

I really like the idea of getting coached all you want before and after a match, but your on your own talents and skills buddy during a match. I mean, you are the only person out there that can stroke the ball, not your coach. Is it a needed crutch or an advantage? I will leave that for someone else to opinion-ate….


Eric Says:

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to both expect coaches and players to not interact during a match while also giving coaches good seats. It would be ridiculous to force coaches to watch their own proteges tennis matches from halfway up the stands. Coaching during a match should be an offense umpires actually punish just like any other.


mem Says:

Ben Pronin, i respect that you are entitled to your opinion, but you are in the wrong profession my friend, you will never be able to see straight when it comes to nadal. first of all, you are not capable of being objective and more importantly, you have some personal issues that you need to deal with; it’s something about nadal that has always stuck in your belly. it didn’t start today; today’s match gives you another opportunity to take a shot at him. nothing you say surprises me.

someone mentioned that nadal is not a saint. that’s probably why he hasn’t receive the sportmanship award. the only saint on the men’s side is roger federer. that’s why he is the only one that is worthy of receiving the sportmanship award year after year. justine coach has been coaching her forever during matches. does that concern any of you? probably not! toni nadal can’t move his mouth without being accused of coaching. we all know why! i believe rules should be followed as much as anyone, but the difference is i believe that the same rules should apply for all players, no matter what their status. can you honestly say that currently the rules apply to all players.

you and Dan are said to be sportwriters, so why don’t you and Dan Martin voice your concerns about toni nadal and the rules to his face or to the atp and stop whining and whining about the same old stuff year after year. stop talking behind the back to fans and step up and talk to the ones who are in charge; who can actually do something about it. maybe it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise and then we can all see whether nadal is the only one breaking every rule. we might just be surprised!


Wimbledon Champ Says:

Nadal’s interview is funny. I guess he is not as mentally tough as people make him out to be. I never understood why people have to keep getting encouragement or approval from people in their box. When the women do that, i can understand, considering the mental toughness of WTA tour is the worst among all athletes from any sport.

This seems to have spread to the ATP too now. Come on guys, grow some balls!


Ben Pronin Says:

Mem, Justine has been cheating for years and it’s beyond ridiculous. She doesn’t even try to hide it, and I’m pretty sure I’ve read interviews where she doesn’t even try to deny it. But I don’t care enough about the WTA to care, they have plenty of other problems. But I’m not gonna praise Henin’s bs.

The rules should be consistent for everyone, I agree 100%. Maybe don’t punish the player and punish the coach is actually a good idea. No penalties, but maybe ask the coach to leave? Be it Toni or Carlos Rodriguez.

I agree, something about Nadal has always irked me. But I can view his game objectively, at least. I thought he was playing amazingly well throughout most of the match, even though he had to rally to win. That’s what really bothered me about his injury time out, he didn’t look injured at all. And to be consistent, Petzshner’s injury time out was flat out comical. I said it before, he got himself a quick fully body massage before the 5th set. If it wasn’t to disrupt Nadal’s rhythm, then it was definitely at least to give himself a breather. But at least you could see PP getting tired, I didn’t see that from Nadal. I think Nadal is perfectly fit and it’s amazing to see how not tired he is after 2 5-setters.

But this coaching thing is still an issue and Nadal is one of those at fault.


jane Says:

At least I don’t miss any tennis tomorrow! margot, Kimmi, huh – what an AWESOME first week for Murray, not a set dropped. Good for him! Hope he can keep it going.

Congrats to Rafa and his fans; he’s quite a fighter, coming through back-to-back 5 setters. I saw he was down 2 sets to 1 when I left this morning and thought, can he do it again? Of course, and he did. But I wonder about the Soda match up on grass. Might be a cracker.

Luckily I don’t miss any matches tomorrow – woot!


jane Says:

Oops repeating myself … but it’s tough missing all these Wimbledon matches : /

Cheers all.


Golf is barely a Sport Says:

Martin and Pronin are good writers, but they have less hand with the ATP and ITF than George Costanza.


skeezerweezer Says:

@Ben

Shamoon!

” you are in the wrong profession “…”you are not capable of being objective”…”you have some personal issues”

Did someone just get out of Therapy? Uh, Tennis talk anyone?

Great job in answering the ongoing drama of the “Typical Bitter Scorned attack of my fav Rafa and NO ONE ELSE IS RELEVANT”. You didn’t bite the hook, but I have to defend, sorry :(

I am so glad we have mostly objective, fair minded ladies on this site ( you know who you are! ), who rave there fav but have the respect and admiration for the game to talk about other players for the overall progressin of the game!

You guys create that environment. Encourage it. Thank you!

Out


skeezerweezer Says:

BTW,

as of 2008, WTA ruled that coaching is allowed. I don’t know if this ruling has been reversed, can’t find it( Help?)

http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-09-04/sports/17157535_1_wta-tour-women-s-tennis-players-medical-breaks


didi Says:

I ask all the Federer bashers out there. How many times do you see Federer take a timeout? How many times has Federer retired from a match? How many times has Federer been warned about coaching from his coach in the stands? How many times has Federer been warned for taking too long between points?
Everyone even Rod Laver understands why Roger cried at the AO, everyone agrees that the challenge at the USO last year was not done in a timely fashion- walking to the baseline and then challenge was way too long.
If Nadal can’t play a match without taking a timeout when he is losing then quit tennis. I am sick of his gamemanship and sneers and stares.
Also how many times has his fellow players awarded him a sportsman award. BIG FAT ZERO!
FEDERER 6.


mem Says:

Ben,

at least you can admit it, but nonetheless, it’s always sad to hear a writer actually admit that he writes about a player who he has personal issues with and claims that he can be write with objectivity, but yet, his writings do not attest to his fair judgment of that player. very few writers are actually able to accomplish that goal, but you are not one of them; your vision is definitely distorted when it comes to nadal. i’ve always known that about you. your negative feelings toward nadal resonates in your writings; therefore, you will never be an effective writer mainly because you lack balance and neutrality.

however, i am curious, do you even know why you dislike nadal; i have a pretty good idea why, but i’ll like to hear your reasons. a lot of people are unable to separate the player’s tennis from the player’s person. i think you are one of those people. i hope you have some specific reason why; i hope you are not one those people who says, i don’t know why, i just don’t like him. i don’t have problem with it either way. people despise people they don’t know all the time.

this is what i think about the statement that i hear often, “nadal is the fittest guy on the tour.” nadal invest hours upon hours in fitness, it’s not a given, he wasn’t born with it; there’s no magic trick; he’s not a machine. it’s hard work. being fit does not mean that a player can play week in and week out, win three masters clay tournament, and then, win a slam competing with the best players in the world, best of five sets over two weeks, win the tournament, go to queens, play two matches, leave there take a couple days to relax, probably do some sponorships obligations, practice a little bit and onward to another major tournament to compete with the best players in the world, and you expect him to play perfect tennis without having to potentially deal with some kind of niggling injury. the problem with many of you is that you think being called the fittest guy on the tour exempts rafa from tireness and exhaustion or exempts him from having to take time outs. it’s absurb! yet, a player like andy murray is said to be very fit too, but no one expect that of him. how unfair and irrational is that! you might as well admit nadal is held to a different standard than any other player. it’s a fact! there are other pretty fit guys on tour, but you don’t expect the same from them as you do nadal. nobody does!

seems to me you don’t understand that a player can suddenly have some kind of injury scare and look perfectly find at the same time. it happens all the time! anyway, if it’s not one thing about nadal, it will always be another. i’m use to it and i’m sure he is too.


mem Says:

skeezer, matter of fact someone did just get out of therapy, YOU!


Ben Pronin Says:

Before, it was his victories over Federer. But now, there is a very serious reason why I dislike Nadal and a number of other players. And it’s not the tennis, it’s the person.

I enjoy Nadal’s game nowadays. Like I said, I thought he was playing great against PP. Anything short from the German and Nadal hit a winner. It was great to watch from a tennis standpoint.

I completely get niggling injuries, everyone has them. I don’t believe Nadal is the most fit player on tour, all I said was that he seems incredibly fit because he played 2 consecutive 5 setters and he looks to still be fairly freshed. I can’t see him tiring like his last 2 opponents did. But I’ve never seen Nadal take an injury time out while winning. Niggling injuries don’t care what the score is, they’re there when they’re there. But for Nadal, it’s like they’re only there when he’s losing. Rather, he only addresses them when he’s losing. There seem to be a number of other fans who feel like no one is calling Nadal out on this crap. Well I, as a writer, am. I’m going to question nonsense when I see it.


Anna Says:

Questioning nonsense is one thing, but pretending like it’s the end of the world is something else. As guy posted, “let’s punish Nadal for Toni yelling vamos”. Toni said he was talking to Carlos. Is there anyone who can actually prove otherwise. In Petschner’s interview he was asked if he could hear Toni Nadal coaching Rafa from the stands and he said “NO”, their is so much background noise that you can’t make out anything from the stands on the court. He also said he did not think Rafa was “faking” an injury. So let’s just not be more offended than the guy whom Rafa was playing. It’s just more credible when you keep things in perspective.


Skeezerweezer Says:

Ben

Great post :). Bring it. Check your posts and/or writing by googling Rafa’s match today. You are not alone ….In fact you’ll find Many like minds… Start with ESPN


Ben Pronin Says:

I don’t think I’m acting like it’s the end of the world, but this is getting ridiculous. Whatever happened to Nadal’s tendinitis? He skips Barcelona, one small clay event, and all of the sudden that’s enough to completely rid him of his knee issues? But no, they’re still around when he’s losing. Yet for the most part, they’re vanished? It’s just unbelievable.


mem Says:

Ben,

“things are not always what they seem.” remember that!

there is nothing wrong with calling things out, but you are calling things out to the wrong people. fans can’t change a thing. don’t you think you should call it out to the people who can actually do something, since you feel so strongly about it. i guarantee you’re probably feel better.

so let me get this straight nadal should be punished for working on his fitness when other players are doing other things. so when other players get tired during a match against nadal, it doesn’t count against them. it understandable that they should take a time out to rest. in other words, petzscher was allowed to get tired, but nadal is too fit to get tired or check what might turn out to be an injury; therefore, when he does he is faking. is that how it works? i understand your thinking perfectly; say no more!

i see you didn’t share the very serious reason why you don’t like nadal; be honest, do you even know why? my guess is, you didn’t share because your reason is probably just what you said, nadal’s victories over roger suppose to be a reason to dislike him. well, what can i say?

you dislike nadal for victories over federer, that speak volumes. do you realize a sport is a competition and the goal is to win every chance you get, doesn’t matter who the opponent is. how do you think roger got 16 slams and a host of other titles? he didn’t get them by giving matches away to his friends. in fact, he got them bcause he doesn’t care about any opponent; a player is not a friend of his on court; his goal is to win no matter who the opponent is and rightly so. i’m not a fan of roger, but i certainly don’t blame him for having no friends when it comes to winning. if other players don’t step up and challenge him that’s their fault, not his.

there are a lot of people who feel the way you do and not all of them are fans either. they blame nadal for doing the same thing that roger does, put the work in and strive to be the best and win as much as possible over whoever is on the other side of the net!


Ben Pronin Says:

I’m not saying Nadal did something wrong by beating Federer, I’m just not particularly ecstatic about it. But since last year, their lopsided “rivalry” doesn’t bother me as much as it used to. Fed did won the French and broke the slam record.

The reasons are beyond his rivalry with any one player. And it doesn’t just pertain to him. Not by a long shot. And the reason I don’t lay them out is because I’m not entirely sure I’m allowed to, plus it could make a lot of Rafa fans blow up in their seats.

Medical time outs are for medical reasons, not for being tired. Nadal didn’t claim he was tired, there was supposed to be something wrong with his bicep and his knee. PP was tired and that’s why he took the time out. That’s ridiculous. It’s within the rules, but it’s gamesmanship. I’m not saying Nadal isn’t allowed to get tired, but I just don’t see it. I’ve seen him tired before, don’t get me wrong, but not today. He looks fine. He looks fit. If he goes 5 sets on monday and loses because he’s tired, I wouldn’t blame him. He’s played a few taxing matches, particularly today. But as of right now, he looks fine. PP was playing his 3rd consecutive 5 setter by the way, so I wasn’t surprised he was tired. But I’m not praising PP’s time out. It’s almost funny because he got a longer time out than Nadal did and it was pretty clear the only problem with him was fatigue, not an actual injury.

You keep avoiding the point that Nadal never does this when he’s winning.


Eric Says:

Ben, the more I think about it the less I sympathize with criticizing Nadal for the MTO. Rafael Nadal and no one else is the sole judge of whether he thought it was necessary to call a MTO.

It’s not a crime to play through an injury or fear of an injury when feeling confident in the match, but to take a timeout at some other times.

Is it unfortunate for Petzschner and others? Sure, but it’s their fault if the delay affected their play.


montecarlo Says:

Its so funny to see all the whoopla about Nadal’s MTO and no mention of Federer’s bathroom break when he was under the gun against Davydenko at the Australian open. Infact Federer even admitted that Sun was causing bit of trouble and bathroom break helped to avoid that.


margot Says:

grendel: of course if you have 3 tellies you must also have 3 eyes….have you…?


Mindy Says:

I must say that it has been quite enlightening reading the comments. I actually decided to skip over the gratuitous posts from those who thoughtfully cut and pasted comments from other sites. I was kind of surprised and am not sure as to precisely why these comments attacking Rafa were posted ad nauseum, since none of them are “facts” or “substance”! I assume it was irresistible for posters here to spread the venom and hatespeak.

I find myself wondering why Rafa didn’t “fake” an injury in his match with Haase. As I recall, he was losing two sets to one! Any takers? That’s just one off the top of my head.

Now, on to the facts! Yes, indeed, there are facts to be obtained if anyone actually watched the match again, looking closely at Rafa. In the fourth set, 1-0 in Rafa’s favor, Petz serving at 30-30, Rafa was waiting for the serve with his back to the camera. I noticed that he started to bend his leg to try to stretch it. Then in the same game, after deuce# 3, Petz serving at his advantage, Rafa was bending over to await serve with his racket in both hands. Then he took his right hand and grabbed his knee and tried to push it or extend and stretch it. Petz held serve and then Rafa also held to make it 2-1 for Rafa.

When Rafa went to the sidelines after that hold of serve, anyone with eyes could see that he was grimacing and wincing in pain. I guess to Fed fans that would be a smile. That is when he asked for the trainer again. I already knew something was wrong long before this happened. Mental telepathy, some might ask? No, just knowing my player after watching tons of his matches.

When I saw the trainer checking out Rafa’s knee, my first thought was that this was the AO all over again. Then he started working on Rafa’s thigh and that seemed to help. My thought was that Rafa might retire. However, now having come on here to be enlightened, I see that it was all a scheme on Rafa’s part to come back after that MTO and break Petz. No matter that Rafa had a few break chances against Petz in the first game. Mere coincidence! After all, there has to be some devious, malicious intent if it’s Rafa, right Fed fans?

Petz had the shot at break point, but he hit it wide! Of course, Rafa’s fault! The grand plan worked like magic! Rafa did it again! Oh, the unfairness of it all!

More facts – in the fifth set at 2-1 with Petz serving at 30-0, Rafa clearly pulled up short limping slightly after he lost the point. MacEnroe even pointed it out. Rafa stood there pulling his leg back repeatedly to try to stretch it out.

I just don’t know how to express my feelings in polite language. That’s why I waited so long to post. Rafa had pain in the exact same spot as last year. Yes, it’s called tendinitis I believe. I also recall many here writing Rafa off after the AO and even recently charmingly reminding us that Rafa’s knees could blow at any time. So which is it, folks? Is Rafa a faker or is he the guy with the terminally bad knees that many of you never failed to bring up repeatedly?

The guy is dealing with a chronic, progressive condition that is career threatening. The only reason many of you are so mad is that Rafa won the match and is still in the tournament! Every match Rafa wins means points gained and we all know that Fed has to win to defend his points! That’s what is really bothering a lot of you. I cannot say what I really think about what I read on here today. That language would not be appropriate! I tried to convey my outrage with a good bit of sarcasm.

To see a great champion who fights his heart out, trashed so ruthlessly and callously here, has made me realize the true intensity of the hatred that is so inbred here. It’s a sorry thing to see.


Mg Mg Says:

Well said Mindy. I am quite shocked to see the reaction of people who badly want to see Rafa lose just because Rafa is the biggest threat to Roger. I am just a tennis fan. I think that was a great match. Rafa played really well and Petz served amazingly. I don’t believe there was any gamesmanship in that match. I hope we can see more great tennis at this year Wimbledon. It doesn’t matter who win or lose.


grendel Says:

Zola says:”Federer is definitely having easier matches.Now perhaps Grendel will see my point about the easy draw! ..Today Rafa was pushed again for the second time and his matches are going to be harder.”

Actually, Zola, the exact reverse is the case. Nadal had two very difficult matches with Haase and Petzschner which NOBODY predicted. Federer had two very difficult matches with Falla and Bozoljac which NOBODY predicted. Nadal had an easy first round match against a youngster coming back from a long injury, Federer had an easy 3rd round match against someone who has troubled him before.

Next, Federer faces Melzer; nobody quite knows how that will go, but people are finally cottoning on to the fact that Melzer, whilst unpredictable and temperamental, is dangerous. Personally, for what it’s worth, I’ve always rated Melzer, and found it frustrating the way he tends to fade. Maybe his recent success will give him confidence. Meanwhile, Nadal has Matthieu, who crumbles every time against Nadal.

After that, Nadal presumably faces Soderling, Federer presumably faces Berdych. There is a good case for saying Sod is stronger than Berdych at the moment, but there’s not such a great deal in it. Berdych is certainly dangerous to Federer. And if Nadal and Fed get through to the semis, they will both face worthy opponents.

One of the main points I had been trying to make is that there is so much which is unforseeable, by ANYONE, that going on and on about the draw is just not sensible. Look, it’s human nature to have a good whine about these things, I’ve done so myself. But there’s always been a little small voice whispering in my ear “come off it, chum!”.


grendel Says:

“of course if you have 3 tellies you must also have 3 eyes….have you…?”

Am working on it, Margot. Have you heard of the third eye?

b.t.w., I wanted to ask: do you have any idea why Sensational Safin is no longer posting? Did he say anything?


Huh Says:

Grendel!

I can’t believe it that you dunno it!
‘Sensational Safin’ in reality is ‘Ben Pronin’.
Yes, he’s the article writer on tennis-x right now.


Huh Says:

Mindy:

Hope you understand why I posted all the comments from WIM.ORG on here.
Look, first of all, I got surprised reading some views brought to here from WIM site, I never thought Rafa’d be criticised to that extent all the way over there at WIM official site. I went to WIM site to ind out the truth for myself, read about the match and read a couple of comments to find out that I was right. It wasn’t at all negative comments about Rafa. That’s why I posted many comments to show that Rafa’s not admonished the way it actually is made out to be here by posting certain anti-Nadal comments, the pro-Rafa comments posted on WIM site far exceed the anti-Rafa comments. That’s why I copy pasted. But still, if you think I have done anything wrong, then feel free to tell me. I respect you and would welcome anything that you have to say to me as I know I’m also far from perfect.


grendel Says:

Huh

Well, strike me pink! I didn’t know that. I have enjoyed Ben Pronin’s comments without having had the least idea of who he was. When did the transition take place? And why? When I stalked off rather melodramatically last October, I never looked in on the site again until, on an impulse, I resumed posting. So I have not been au fait with what’s going on.


Wimbledon Champ Says:

I think a fair rule would be to allow MTOs only at the end of a set. I find it ridiculous that players who really are injured can win a set after taking a MTO. Please spare me the lectures on nadal’s heart and determination. All that did squat to help him when he was beaten and thrashed for most of the past one year.

No way players can run like rafa did, if they are really injured.

The on-court coaching, that is just embarrassing for a player who many think is mentally the toughest. Nadal’s dependence on uncle toni is creepy. He has to realise he is 24 and not 15 anymore.

This just makes Federer’s non-dependence on MTOs or a coach so much more impressive.

I think these rafa tactics will be of no help against mentally tougher players like soderling or murray. It will be near to impossible for mathieu to compete with a sly rafa pushing the envelope of rules like he is. God knows mathieu has enough mental frailties he does not need any more thrown at him.

Finally good on the referee for cracking up on nadal’s illegal on-court coaching. I think every player should also remind the umpire to keep an eye on nadal’s time delaying tactics too.


Huh Says:

Grendel:

The transition from ‘sensationalsafin(read SS)’ to Ben Pronin was the culmination of the sequence of events involving choice as also coincidence. It was just a matter of choice for SS when he first changed his name from SS to ‘devastatingdjokovic(read DD)’, this took place after the retirement of his favourite Marat Safin. But after that it was just coincidence that the metamorphosis from DD to the article writer Ben Pronin. Of course it had lot to do with the great writing skills of Ben that we all encouraged him, particularly after he dished out one after another fantastic and analytical posts on tennis-X, we all were so impressed by his interest-evoking writing that we encouraged him to try to become an article writer on some tennis site! SS aka DD aka Ben posted some so really unbelievable great posts (the standout of which was of course the one he wrote for us to checkout before applying as a writer, it was on the Fed-Safin AO 05 match!) that we (this included many persons like Jane, madmax, I etc.)just thought he must decide to try his luck at writing tennis articles for some tennis site/es, which might fetch him praise and also $$, and he just went for that and applied in tennis-x and he’s what he’s now, the article writer Ben Pronin!


margot Says:

grendel: 4got 2 say that after you “stalked off” I suggested that you and I would recognise each other at O2 because we’d have blankets over out knees and be supping horlicks. Some of our American friends had to google “horlicks” in order to get the joke! Separated by a common language etc.
Which reminds me of “i am it” still must be trapped in some dark dungeon of work. Hope you are njoying Wimbles wherever u r.
g: didn’t your namesake have kind of third eye?


Huh Says:

Wim Champ:

Presently Murray is and previously Federer was able to run about as fast as Nadal. These three guys have great court coverage. Even though Fed’s slowed down significantly since 2007, still at times, he makes amazing gets.

And to me, yesterday Rafa appeared to be running a bit slower than his usual best, needless to say though that still Rafa’s court coverage was impressive yesterday.


Huh Says:

But I again repeat before anyone interprets anything. That Rafa appeared slower to me, is only my view. But then again, may be Petz had something to do with not allowing Rafa to be able to run after every ball or something, I can only speculate.


Wimbledon Champ Says:

Huh:

Nadal’s movement hardly looked hindered to me – before or after the MTO. Petz on the other hand definitely looked tired and slower in the 4th and 5th sets. surely the last 2 5setters caught up to him. still, the german played a wonderful match and if his fitness was better, who knows.

wimbledon, so far has been super exciting on the men’s side and the women’s side has great matches coming up tomorrow.


mem Says:

Ben,

you are the one evading the issue because you have no defense for your kind of immature mentality. how can you actually write about sports in an unbiased manner when you believe that certain players should step back and allow another certain player to succeed just because that player is said to be arguably the “best ever.”
anyone, not to mention a writer should never stoop to the level of disliking a competitor for doing what he is suppose to do in a sport and that is work hard to compete to the best of his/her ability and to ultimately win as much as possible.

your way of thinking as a writer is detrimental to fairness! writers have an influence on their audiences/readers and your mentality is definitely a bad influence on those who read this blog. you sound more like one of the fans. i think anyone should be able to distinguish a writer’s comments from those of a fan by the very nature of his comments, but that’s not true in your case.


Ben Pronin Says:

So I shouldn’t be a fan?

You’re putting words in my mouth. I never said Nadal should step aside. He put in the work to dethrone the most dominant number 1 ever, twice. As a bigger fan of Federer’s than Nadal, obviously I’d root for Federer in THEIR matches. I don’t root for Nadal to lose to other players because he’s a threat to Federer. I’d rather the 2 played so that Federer could improve his h2h, particularly on grass.

But that doesn’t mean I have to like Nadal. I enjoy his game, I do. I think he’s been playing some phenomenal tennis in 2010. Much better than Federer and anyone else. I don’t have to like him as a person to enjoy his tennis. Some people don’t like Andy Roddick’s personality. I love it, but I don’t enjoy his tennis as much as others might. I was a fan before I became a writer. I try to be fair in my articles, but I don’t have to be objective in my comments.


skeezerweezer Says:

“immature mentality.”. and so the story goes….

Ben has always laid out his fan fav. Guess what? It was Safin before he retired. Not Fed. Can’t anyone talk and criticize your fav without retaliation? No problem disagreeing but using choice words like “immature mentality” to a person continues to discredit your credibility when YOU write. We all know you love Rafa and would defend him no matter what. We got it.

Why don’t you look at i this way?

His story was talked about because he IS newsworthy, and the subject was. His injury issues are well known. He is one of the two most talked about players on the tour. So yes you are going to continue to have him talked about, GOOD and BAD, and that is the way things are. Ben writes with objectivity more than you appear to think, however he also does have a right to his opinion. Take a journalism class. He is NOT a news reporter. Quit taking out on Ben already. Go back to bashin me if you want…

out


madmax Says:

For tomorrow’s match – interesting insight into Fed v Melzer from the telegraph –

Wimbledon 2010: a quickie with Jürgen Melzer

Jürgen Melzer faces Roger Federer in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Monday. Here he talks to Telegraph Sport on his ambition of breaking into the world top 10, why he won’t be on the tour at the age of 42 and Germany winning the World Cup.

By Vicki Hodges
Published: 10:50AM BST 27 Jun 2010

Ambitious: Jurgen Melzer is hoping to enter the world’s top 10 before hanging up his racket

You reached semi-finals of French Open and now into second week of Wimbledon, what’s behind your upturn in form?

Confidence has been the biggest factor. I’m a lot more mature too. I’m 29 now, I’ve learned from the mistakes I’ve made in the past.

I took a lot of confidence from beating Ferrer, who was on a good run in straight sets. And then coming back to beat Djokovic was a real boost. Confidence is such an important thing.

You’re up to a world ranking best of No 16, how does that feel?

People may say that rankings don’t matter but they do. It’s a measure of how well you are performing. I’m proud of reaching world No 16, I’m also the second best Austrian behind Thomas Muster to play the game.

Muster announced he was coming out of retirement at the age of 42, something that appeals to you?

At 42 I won’t be on the tour, I can say that. I might play a few exhibition matches but that’s it. I respect Muster wants to come back as he misses the competitive edge. He feels he can compete against some of the younger generation but that’s not for me.

So any plans for when you may retire?

If I’m still performing at a good level, injury free and enjoying my tennis then I think I’ve got another six or seven years. I’m only 29 – that’s not old just yet.

What do you hope to achieve in those remaining years?

To go far in the grand slams. I’m now six spots off the top 10. Every player wants to break into the top 10. I’ve now got a chance and I want to take it.

Greatest Wimbledon memory?

Winning boys’ championship in ’99. I’ll always have fond memories of that day. Also playing Roddick on centre court last year.

Is the balance in men’s tennis changing?

Federer and Nadal have both been taken to five sets at SW19 this year, are the chasing pack closing the gap on the main men? Well I don’t know that the balance has shifted but I think there are five or six contenders for the title.

So who will win Wimbledon….obviously if you don’t?

Roger Federer

Who is your hero?

Stefan Edberg

What is your tennis nightmare?

Being disqualified

Film, book or Nintendo?

Movie

Best and worst thing about Wimbledon?

The history of the tournament is the best. The weather has to be the worst.

Who will win the World Cup?

Germany


mem Says:

skeezer, mind your business, if and when i have a strong urge to address you, i will!

Ben,

who is asking you to like nadal? i could care less who like and don’t like.

face it, you are an immature writer who interjects personal feelings into your writing especially when referring to nadal and it blinds you.

you seems to always think that nadal takes injury timeouts or retires when he is losing. but, if i recall correctly 2007 wimbledon final, roger and rafa were dead even, 2 sets each, rafa took an injury time out. in fact, i think nadal had won the fourth set; he was not losing the match, but he took a time out. did that look legitmate to you? since you are the expert and the mindreader, you tell me, was rafa trying to pull a stunt and get some rest or regroup so that he could win the fifth set or was he really, truly experiencing a problem? roger went on to win the final. does this qualify as a contradiction in your eyes?

2006 queens, hewitt vs. nadal. nadal retires in the match after one-set all. in fact, i think hewitt won the first set and nadal the second. nadal had equal chances to win the match, just as petzscher had equal chances to win yesterday. so, i don’t know if you just don’t understand what you are talking or if you just has so much contempt for rafa nadal that you can;t distinguish fact from fastasy!

in any case, i feel sorry that you have no understanding of what’s really going on!


Wimbledon Champ Says:

nice try convincing people that nadal had equal chances in his match against hewitt in queens 2006. nadal won the 1st set and lost the 2nd. he was 1-3 H2H with hewitt at that time. rafa was an inferior player on grass during that time.

distinguish fact from fantasy? i think we should.

no problem with nadal and his sly tactics. but please stop projecting him as a paragon of fair play. anyone who is not a blind rafa fan can see him push the limits of fair-play. up to the officials and his peers to put a cap on that.

you can sense a soderling 2007 wimbledon moment coming any time now. this much is certain, nadal will not be getting a sportsmanship award/ fan favorite award anytime soon.


Huh Says:

Well, I have nothing against anybody in particular, but an article writer must resist from claiming what it’s the fans’ job to do, i.e. opining as to whether a MTO by a certain player was genuine or fake. One article writer may or may not like the personality of a player, there’s no problem in it as the article writer is also a human being and lives with his/her own belief/bias about people/players. But the problem’s sure gonna arise when he/she’d openly talk about ‘not liking’ the personality of a certain player. I myself have failed to understand upto now how one can love the game of a player while not loving his personality! It certainly raises some doubt in the mind of some about the credibility. An article writer may post comments as a fan, but he also needs to remain responsible and not give an opinion as if it is a fact, particularly when he lacks the evidence to back it up. If the intention of a player is in question, no matter who he is, people would definitely like to think the way they base their like/dislike about that certain player. But unless and until certain facts against the player has been established, nobody has the right to say the player was committing certain avoidable act, mostly to merely extract some unfair advantage, e.g. clever MTO to disrupt rhythm or bringing up injury excuse always in case of loss etc. Of course even without the fact having been established against the player, one can surely in most cases argue in favour of his innocence, there’s no bar to presuming innocence of such a guy; but on the contrary, in the majority of the cases, the guilt of any player must not and cannot be presumed from the very beginning. A player or a person can only be acclaimed guilty when his guilt is proved beyond all the reasonable doubts, but not otherwise. So it’d be better for an article writer cum fan to claim any player doing any unjustified act only if it becomes obvious to one and to all and gets backed up by solid proof, but not otherwise.


Wimbledon Champ Says:

how stupid and naive is it to expect writers to not have a favorite of their own? how old are you? 10? get real and grow up. stop watching those dr.phil and oprah shows, while you are at it.


Huh Says:

Whom’re you talking to?


skeezerweezer Says:

Mind my own business? Homey, you ARE my business now. Who in the BLANK are you to tell me what to do? This is an open blog and ANYONE can address any situation to anyone. Reading your posts is like long nails scratching on the chalkboard.

No more posts from me on this article. It’s at the babbling stage rehashin stuff that has been driven in the ground already.


aleish17 Says:

Give the sportsmanship award / fan favorite award to Federer. He deserves it. No one is arguing the fact that Rafa does not have any of that award. We already moved on. If it helps lessen your disappointment, feel free to award it to Federer. As a huge Nadal fan, I do think Federer deserves it so no shame if Federer have always bagged it for years.


skeezerweezer Says:

He’s not talkin to you Huh…..


skeezerweezer Says:

@Aleish

Thanks as a Rafa fan bringing some sanity back to the conversation :). As you say, let’s move on. The current and only facts that matter now are Rafa and Fed are still in and we having some exciting matches coming up! Bring it!


Huh Says:

“skeezerweezer Says:

@Aleish

Thanks as a Rafa fan bringing some sanity back to the conversation :). As you say, let’s move on. The current and only facts that matter now are Rafa and Fed are still in and we having some exciting matches coming up! Bring it!”

Very well said Skeeze! :)


mem Says:

skeezer, what part of “mind your business” don’t you understand? do i need to break it down on your level? if so, i will!

winbledon champion,

so i suppose you know who would have won the match between hewitt vs. a match that was on an equal playing field. do tell!

you are the perfect description of a “know-nothing” fan who want to engage a discussion that’s beyond your capability range. somebody should have told you if you are going to follow tennis that you should understand that just because a h2h is 1-3 doesn’t mean that the next match can’t be won, especially when players have equal chances.

if you need some examples check out:

davydenko previous h2h against roger before he beat roger doha.

check out soderling h2h against roger before he beat roger in an exhibition in abu dhabi and later in roland garros.

check out berdych h2h against roger before he beat roger in miami and there are others.

were you able to foretell those results too?

i suggest before you jump tail first into a discussion at least know what you are talking about and please don’t tell anybody that you know something about tennis. they would laugh you out of town!


aleish17 Says:

Skeeze

Yep! It gives me the chill thinking that the top players are still in the tourny. Im so excited for tommorrow’s matches bcoz we are in for a treat! Like I’ve said in the recent article, “here is hoping that we get good results from our respective favs!”

Go Fed!
Go A-Rod!
Go Murray!
Go Djokovic!
and …… of course

VAMOS RAFA!!!


Huh Says:

“Go Fed!
Go A-Rod!
Go Murray!
Go Djokovic!
and …… of course

VAMOS RAFA!!!”

Hey Aleish, I didn’t know you like Rod and Muzza! That’s great! :D


Wimbledon Champ Says:

mem, your stupidity would be funny, if it was not so sad. you tried to take us into your fantasy land where nadal won the 2nd set and retired. Oh what a saintly act. I point out that was not the case and you have the gall to question my tennis knowledge.

are we getting proof of nadal’s time-outs when he is winning or is it just going to be you judging who has tennis knowledge and who has not? by the way, you cannot twist facts and hope no one finds it. Please talk FACTS. we know you would like to convince us that nadal is the best thing since sliced bread, but please, facts only.

This is the problem when blind fans come away from their altar of worship and see the real world. They try to drag you to the altar they worship at rather than seeing what is happening in the real world.


skeezerweezer Says:

Aleish,

Thanks :)

I am excited also!!


skeezerweezer Says:

‘what part of “mind your business” don’t you understand?”

Uh…the “m” part.

I will let others do battle with you however as I have found you insult posters intelligence and person. You can’t seem to post to someone without name calling. WTF? Sometimes looking in the mirror can do wonders, as long as it doesn’t crack.

Post on but everyone here knows what your about, and sadly, IMO Rafa would be not a happy camper if he read your posts. You demean him everytime you post with your “superfluous” stuff. He is NOT that kind of guy.


mem Says:

wimbledon champ,

don’t blame me because you are commenting on a sport that you know nothing about. any fan who thinks a h2h can never improve tells me all i need to know about his tennis knowledge.

sounds to me like you’re the one with the proof! why don’t you tell me how you knew for a fact that nadal would have lost against hewitt in 2006. after all, you’re the one who said you knew nadal would have lost because of 1-3 h2h.

i’m just trying to keep up with you “we know you would like to convinuce us that federer is the best thing since sliced bread, but please, facts only.”

so where are your facts that nadal would have lost against hewitt. i’ll let you decide who sound stupid!


mem Says:

skeezer, if you are referring to me,

i’m sorry you are unable to recognize name-calling when you see it. maybe you have me confused with someone else. i don’t stoop to name-calling unless you think name-calling is pointing out a poster’s lack of tennis knowledge or being able to defend my position. if so, i see your point!

maybe you post to impress roger federer but i don’t post here for rafa nadal. rafa nadal is my favorite player just as roger federer is yours. i defend him just like you defend roger. is that a crime?

this may shock you but i could care less about what everybody here thinks of me, i’m not trying to win a popularity contest! anytime, someone defends rafa nadal without being bullied they are called crazy, trouble makers. on the other hand, you and other posters do the same thing when it comes to federer but you are have done it so long until you think its right and you are too blind to see that you do the same thing you accuse me of doing. so am i the only one who needs to look in a mirror!


Von Says:

“so am i the only one who needs to look in a mirror!” mem

I feel that we all need to take a look in the mirror periodically, be it in our personal lives, or posting comments on a blog.

I’ve had to take a look in the mirror several times throughout the time I’ve been posting, and each time I’ve done so, I’ve made adjustments to my stance on some players MO and posters also.

Initially, I got angry and defensive when I read the cruel comments directed at Roddick which IMO were uncalled for, and surprisingly, those comments emanated from some Fed fans, and one in particular, coupled with those from a few Nadal fans as well. As a result of that, I also retaliated in some ways that I’m not proud of, against Fed and Nadal, but it was due to pure frustration from their unjust remarks. Let’s face it, there’s a majority of Fed fans on this site, followed by Nadal fans, hence the majority of insults came from the Fed fans, and it still continues, but to a lesser degree.

Initially, I responded to the unfair criticisms of Roddick (and to reiterate, they were indeed very cruel and uncalled for IMO) by showing comparisons of Fed’s behaviour and Nadal’s also. However, on retrospection, and introspection (looking in the mirror) I realized that the players are not to be blamed for their fans’ stupid behaviour, and that’s when I resolved that I’d just comment on the players’ match play/tennis and dispense with the semantics. That made blogging easier for me, as I’m now at a point where I don’t look at Fed/Nadal’s on-court behaviours/histrionics but just watch and enjoy their tennis. That’s my contribution to *looking in the mirror* as it were, and I must say that I enjoy this aspect of posting and feel a certain amount of freedom that I find to be very refreshing indeed.

Unfortunately, there are still those haters who still continue their bashing, and the ones who just post for the sole intention to provoke, by sneaking little hints hoping that someone else will latch onto it, and start something huge, but I’ve found it very easy to deal with those criticisms as I’ve learnt to consider the source, ignore and/olr walk away. My advice to those who feel their player is unjustly criticized would be to consider the source — it makes things a lot easier.

One advantage of blogging for a considerable period of time on a blog site is that you get to learn about the different bloggers and are able analyze their motives, which makes it easier to just walk away and leave them to enjoy their little digs and whatever it is that amuses them and/or tickles their fancy. And, if I must add, there are a few of those who indulge freely in that sort of behaviour, but we can’t stop them, that’s the job for the powers that be.

If I might add, Tennis-x’s mission as cited on their home page is stated as: “Dysfunctional Tennis Blogging at its Finest”. To me that translates to, *almost* every person’s opinion has some merit as long as we remain on the topic and the parameters of the code of civil conduct toward each other, but who said life was fair, as some is tolerated and some isn’t.

Considering the mission of this blog site, I’d like to ask, why is it that some bloggers are crucified for stating their opinions, and further, why the ganging up, by those who disagree?? Is the mission a *one for all and all for one* mentality. I think everyone is entitled to have their say.

I think some of us need to ask ourselves why we blog, and I list below a few reasons I’ve culled from some articles written on the topic. The most pertinent ones and/or consensus of opinion, with which I can identify. The following expresses my opinion on blogging on this or any site:

Some blogging missions might include:
► I blog to make a living’
► I blog for recreational purposes – to help me relax’
► I blog as part of my plan for world domination’
► I blog to keep a record of the life and times of me’
► I blog because I want to help others’
► I blog because I’m lonely and want to connect with others’
► I blog because it’s fun’ to be a part of a community of those who are of like mind on a chosen sport and/or occupation;
► I blog because I want to build profile – I want to be known’ to excel and make an impression on my fellow bloggers;
► I blog because I’m angry most of the time and I want to let off steam by using blogging as a conduit to do so when I’m mad at the world;
► I blog because I like to seek attention and am a people pleaser. Blogging helps me to gain recognition which I find lacking in other things I do.

Each person’s blogging mission will be different from another’s – and, behind each blogger there is some sort of mission, whether it’s deep, shallow, silly, smart, selfish or altruistic.
I think it would be helpful to some if they would review their reasons for blogging, and ascertain why is it they blog.


aleish17 Says:

Hi Huh!

I just read your above post about Rod and Muzza. When I was still in college, I was always rooting for Andy R. However, I just lost track of tennis for years and years. My love for the game was revived when I began watching Nadal’s game. Believe me, at first I really don’t like him. He doesn’t have the beauty of Fed’s strokes. But seeing his never-say-die attitude on court and witnessing him chase every ball that comes his way converted my dislike into a great admiration.

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