Federer, Nadal Open ATP Finals Sunday

hope you are right sean. go fed

November 20th, 2011 at 8:04 am

here we go, where is everybody?

November 20th, 2011 at 9:19 am

Here we go! Tsonga had the broadest grin on his face as he entered. Clearly he’s loving it.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:21 am

Dreadful game by Tsonga gives Fed the break.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:36 am

Tsonga a little nervous? 1 of 8 first serve so far.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:37 am

Could be nerves but he seems to be unfocused. He needs to get it together. I want a competitive match.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:40 am

serves much better in this game. Now federer turn, he hasnt done anything special so far, just being steady.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:43 am

Tsonga is also way too far behind the baseline when receiving. And there’s the 1st set.

Dullsville so far.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:46 am

This is turning out like paris match. another break for federer.

Lets see what tsonga can do in the second set.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:47 am

I think Tsonga tanked that last game. I expect him to come out with a little more potency in the 2nd.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:49 am

the commentator says the surface is gritty at the moment, apparently it is giving tsonga problems.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:49 am

much better from tsonga to start the second set.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:51 am

There’s that liquid power. Game on.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:52 am

careful fed!!

November 20th, 2011 at 9:53 am

break point for tsonga..ooops

November 20th, 2011 at 9:54 am

two FH errors from federer to give the break. aaargh!

November 20th, 2011 at 9:54 am

There we go. It just got interesting. Tsonga breaks.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:55 am

That’s from the pressure of Tsonga’s easy hold – puts more pressure on Federer to hold, and suddenly he starts making errors.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:55 am

Stubborn Fed went for the same forehand and missed again, Break for Tsonga. Hum!!

Guys, yesterday I attended the Rio Champions, able to watch, Moya x Ivanisevic and Guga Kuerten x Corretja. Amazing, Ivanisevic is a character. Guga and Corretja played some amazing backhands, a thing of beauty. Corretja managed the shot of the day, a lobby twiner! Very cool atmosphere.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:57 am

federer FH leaking at the moment. Easy hold for tsonga..three straights easy holds.

November 20th, 2011 at 9:58 am

typical fed now i d say

November 20th, 2011 at 10:04 am

Federer is making too many errors, even on first set.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:05 am

someone has a link for espn en espanhol live streaming ,,,’?

November 20th, 2011 at 10:05 am

federer returns are awful in that last game. he needs to be careful here..tsonga is getting to his service games more.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:06 am

Federer magic with his wrist on the backhand!

November 20th, 2011 at 10:06 am

This match is the fastest match ever or what? 43 minutes and they already played 15 games?!?! Points don’t last more than 4 shots

November 20th, 2011 at 10:08 am

Federer serve is strange, he is only using kick serve, it’s a while since I saw a flat serve, not even aces.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:10 am

You are right daniel. very fast

November 20th, 2011 at 10:10 am

tsonga manage big service return winners. federer making more errors..

great from tsonga, second break!

C’mon federer, wake up!!

November 20th, 2011 at 10:12 am

Wow! Now Tsonga is on fire, breaks again and will serve for the 2nd set. Can it last?

November 20th, 2011 at 10:12 am

That’s why Tsonga is one of the most dangerous player out there. He always plays the suicide game, and when he start serving and the balls going in, as this last game, not many can handle him.

But Fed will find a way and Tsonga will eventually oscillate.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:13 am

typical fed..having 4 points not converting them and gotten broken on first break point of the game …

November 20th, 2011 at 10:14 am

I hope so daniel, not looking good for fed right now

November 20th, 2011 at 10:14 am

6-2 2-6, identical score! here we go, decider..

November 20th, 2011 at 10:16 am

6-2 2-6, identical score! here we go, decider..

November 20th, 2011 at 10:16 am

Hum, this changes things doesn’t it?! Now Fed can lose, what none thought after the first set, and even if he wins, form will be questionable, place him as equal with everybody else.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:17 am

not really daniel not really..give tsonga some credit..he plays great from time to time…

November 20th, 2011 at 10:19 am

OK, federer holds to starts decider. that was important.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:20 am

go rog go rog!!!!!!!

November 20th, 2011 at 10:21 am

first easy miss in a long time by tsonga

November 20th, 2011 at 10:21 am

He plays great but he is the player who takes more risk on tour, way more than Federer, who is an aggressive attacker. Tsonga only have slim A margin game. Either he is in the zone AO versus rafa, Wimby versus Fed, even that Montreal match this year where I think was his best performance ever. It’s like he keeps pushing himself to see if he will find his inner tennis nirvana, which is beyond doubt unbeatable. But if his serve drops a bit, Fed will took his chance.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:22 am

Damm it, Tsonga went for a deep serve when Fed was ready to attack.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:24 am

feds returns are horrible …concentrate man

November 20th, 2011 at 10:24 am

federer BH returns have been very poor. maybe he should just chip it back. it is easy to attack but at least it goes in.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:25 am

thanks for missing tsonga …

November 20th, 2011 at 10:26 am

federer is just lucky in this game. tsonga missing so far

November 20th, 2011 at 10:26 am

what a BH smash. GREAT from tsonga

November 20th, 2011 at 10:27 am

no first serves when he needs them most

November 20th, 2011 at 10:27 am

Federer Missing now. this is ugly.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:28 am

fed totally giving tsonga the edge now…again 40:15 and again…

November 20th, 2011 at 10:28 am

This miss was awful, the point was his already, just go to the other end…

November 20th, 2011 at 10:28 am

Phew! that game became tricky, great hold fed

November 20th, 2011 at 10:28 am

Finally, Fed has to keep his lead serving first and wait his chances. DO his part

November 20th, 2011 at 10:28 am

puuuuuhhhhh breath in breath out…fed is killing again…his fans

November 20th, 2011 at 10:28 am

federer returns are very poor

November 20th, 2011 at 10:31 am

Well, Fed can’t allow Tsonga 40-0 games

November 20th, 2011 at 10:31 am

court doesnt look that fast does it ???

November 20th, 2011 at 10:33 am

federer looks still asleep to me. he is not sharp at all. he is still holding his serve, so that’s good but things could change very quickly here..

he needs a good return game. Tsonga has realized that fed BH is not good on returning, he goes there all the time on second serves.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:36 am

break point. c’mon fed!

November 20th, 2011 at 10:39 am

See, 3 first serves missed and Fed has break point.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:40 am

WWOW! wrong footing

November 20th, 2011 at 10:40 am

yeah and tsonga will break fed on his first bp that s the difference

November 20th, 2011 at 10:41 am

2 first serves and he holds! Damm, I thought that was Fed’s chance.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:41 am

oh well, close but not quite.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:41 am

If Tsonga doesn’t hold here it’s over (I think).

November 20th, 2011 at 10:44 am

tsonga looking def. sharper than fed!!!

November 20th, 2011 at 10:46 am

oh well.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:52 am

dont know how but 3 matchpoints now for fed…go go go

November 20th, 2011 at 10:52 am

Told ya that when Tsonga serve is gone Fed will take his chances. Let’s see if he cn close 0-40

November 20th, 2011 at 10:53 am

PHEW! just like that. tricky tricky match. Congrats federer.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:53 am

huf, 1 gone!

November 20th, 2011 at 10:53 am

ugly win by fed expect him to play better next match!!!!

November 20th, 2011 at 10:53 am

fed got some gifts in that last game, but i will take it.

first two points jo gave away, but the forehand on 0-30 was fantastic.

happy for these types of matches fed manages to get through.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:54 am

I have to say, that wasn’t a particularly good match from either play. It seems they both had a case of the nerves, Tsonga early on and at the end, Federer from the second set on. Let’s see how Nadal and Fish look.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:56 am

Not the highest quality those two have ever played, but it’s the opening match and they’re bound to be a little rusty.

The most important thing is the win for Federer, will have to play better in the next match.

November 20th, 2011 at 10:57 am

a wins a win,and you cant do anymore than that,an up and down performance from roger,still he got through and thats all that counts,im sure he will play much better in the next game.

November 20th, 2011 at 11:07 am

Federer gets a win under his belt. He likely only has to play .500 tennis in his remaining pool play to advance – I also am upgrading my blog – http://tennisabides.com is the new name. I will be adding some bells and whistles before the Aussie Open so stop by comment and do whatever

November 20th, 2011 at 11:22 am

I only started watching in the third set so I don’t have the context of the first two sets to use as an expectations bar but I thought the third set was pretty good. I didn’t see Federer make any unforced errors. Either Tsonga’s shots were outrageous or Federer was right there. Tsonga was serving bombs on first and second serves which is the reason Federer had trouble returning but he did good when he got good looks. Tsonga really messed up at the end but Federer capitalized well. I did notice Federer himself wasn’t going for huge serves but it certainly worked out. Big takeaways for me is that Federer’s backhand was holding up fine for the most part, he was strong off both sides. Tsonga, on the other hand, made outrageous mistakes on his backhand.

November 20th, 2011 at 11:22 am

@alison: The number of sets and games won/lost may come into play to determine who advances to the knockout round, in which case that dropped set could be costly. Even the fact that it was a double break and not a single break might make the difference.

I wasn’t surprised that Federer lost a set against Tsonga; one would expect him to be scratchy in the first match and a player of Tsonga’s caliber will take advantage of any gifts his opponent gives him.

Hopefully Federer will play better next round.

November 20th, 2011 at 11:24 am

I think unless Fish or Tsonga go 0-3 Federer and 3 players go 2-1 Federer is in a great spot to advance. I can’t see Rafa going 0-3 in pool play as he did in 2009.

November 20th, 2011 at 11:27 am

The expectations of the GOAT are so high when he struggles he seems wounded. Ahhh having that high a rep you get no satisfaction for some. Fed won, against a top tier player, on a big stage. He won. Go Fed. Next…

November 20th, 2011 at 11:32 am

Rafa going 0-3? If that happens, I will suspend myself from this blog until the Australian Open.

November 20th, 2011 at 11:37 am

Actually, skeezerweezer, you may have already seen it, but Dan Martin’s blog has a great piece on Federer’s results during his “decline” from 2008 – 2011, to your point about expectations for him.

November 20th, 2011 at 11:40 am

Tsonga seems to be ‘hoisted with his own petard’ sometimes. His bombs blow (him up), and it’s over. Or as Daniel put it, he plays “suicidal”.

Good start for Fed anyhow: a win is a win.

Daniel, sounds like a fun exhibition that you saw, yeah, Goran was quite a character back in the day. What was the surface?

November 20th, 2011 at 12:23 pm

MMT,
Thanks will take a look. Enjoy Dans stuff. Off to the 49er game for now, go Niners!!

November 20th, 2011 at 12:35 pm

sounds like an excellent event, Daniel.

I used to love both corretja and guga even when i was very little

November 20th, 2011 at 12:44 pm

On BBC commentary, Tim Henman made a silly mistake I’ve heard from others. He said a particular tactic by Federer “got the unforced error from Tsonga”. If he “got” it, then it wasn’t unforced, was it?
By the way, doesn’t Tsonga look just like his father?

November 20th, 2011 at 1:00 pm

Federer is a living legend who still happens to be in the game at age 30. Of course the expectations will be sky high for Federer and comparisons will drawn to his 2004-2007 prime years. El Flaco posted some interesting facts about where some of the players his age, former #1’s and GS winners, are in the rankings; or as Safin, retired. Federer is a special case, no doubt. But I stand by my opinion, Federer won’t be #1 again or win a slam. But he is the greatest of his era at this point. Nadal is still in with a shot to get closer.

Having an old fashioned knock down Fedal will be good news for the strongest in A group, of course. Or, bad news if one half of Fedal wipes the floor with the other.

I’m liking Murray’s chances.

November 20th, 2011 at 1:35 pm

I am very curious to see how healthy mardy is and in what palying condition rafa is in after some time off.
If mardy is in good shape, he has a chance on this court against rafa if he is a bit out of form.
Hope Mardy gets at least one win in his first WTF!

November 20th, 2011 at 2:32 pm

Carlo, I like to stay positive about these things, so I think Fed will win 2 more slams. In his mind he has 18 masters, and I reckon he would like to match that with slams.

He’ll also return to number 1 in the next 12 months.

I agree with you about the greatest of his era.

Turning to Tsonga, do you remember Fed’s interview after he won the Paris final? He was asked whether he ‘feared’ playing Jo-Wilfred; he said (words to this effect), I don’t fear him playing at this stage in the tournament (final), but I would be nervous if I was playing him in the first round!

Well, I think Federer was nervous, because by all accounts, this was the first round and usually he wouldn’t face this calibre of player until at least the QF’s if not the SF’s.

Hopefully from hereonin, Fed will be sharper.

That was a tough one.

November 20th, 2011 at 2:35 pm

I did not remember what Federer said about playing Tsonga, thanks, Madmax. I like his candor admitting first round nerves.

From what I caught of the match, midway through 2nd set, I did think Federer showed nerves/wasn’t sharp. Tsonga likely nervous too in the end. It will be interesting to see how Federer is the next match. My guess is that Federer does not have the powers of recovery that he used to – not a dramatic difference that will have him dropping out of the top 10 in 2012 but something much more subtle. He still is capable of giving stunning performances but it’s at the semi-final point in a GS where there is evidence. That’s where you know he wants it bad but in 3 of 4 GS in 2011 he didn’t get to the final. However, in 2010 he got to one GS final and won. So he does have a chance if he can get to a final but in my mind, it depends on who he plays in the final. Think about what it would actually take to reach #1 again. Much depends not on what or how Federer does but what Nadal and Djokovic do and to a lesser extent, Murray and perhaps, del Potro. All imo.

It is the recovery after a difficult match Madmax, that is telling, and why I doubt him getting to #1 and winning another GS. But don’t you think he has achieved enough? As a fan, you must be (mostly) satisfied.

Come On Mardy! make this good!

November 20th, 2011 at 3:24 pm

break! hmmm, poor volleys from mardy. not looking good.

November 20th, 2011 at 3:39 pm

Both playing very nervous and not got the timing at all.

November 20th, 2011 at 3:48 pm

Mardy, gets a game. My stream is too bad to tell what’s going on. Whatever happens to Fish in London, this has been one hell of a good year!

November 20th, 2011 at 3:49 pm

First winner for rafa

November 20th, 2011 at 3:50 pm

fish needs to sort himself out. too many balls to the net. rafa is not doing match..just steady.

November 20th, 2011 at 3:53 pm

“match”..should be “much”

November 20th, 2011 at 3:54 pm

i think rafas a bit rusty,hes had 5 weeks off,bound to be after that long i suppose,not doing much but mardy not making him,the match has yet to get going.

November 20th, 2011 at 3:59 pm

rafa with the fh..wow!

November 20th, 2011 at 3:59 pm

rafa fh is starting to dangerous

November 20th, 2011 at 4:01 pm

That’s better Rafa

November 20th, 2011 at 4:06 pm

double break! great return from rafa. a walk in the park so far. lets hope fish can play better next set.

November 20th, 2011 at 4:06 pm

Jane,

Super fast indoor, I think it was carpet, even Goran complained that the courts were too fast!:)

Nadal is playing himself into form in this match.

The thing about Fed and another Slam. My gut tells me RG is not going to be his last Slam final and any other Slam he has a great shot at winning, regardless of who he play, so, if he reaches one more final outside RG, he can get another win, and if it is not Djoko, Murray or Nadal, he will win it. No way he will let another Slam final slip by as DelPo US Open 2009.

November 20th, 2011 at 4:06 pm

The court seems very slow…

November 20th, 2011 at 4:07 pm

Damm it, Fish forehand is awful today. 15 unforced errors in 9 games?!

November 20th, 2011 at 4:08 pm

fish 15 ue
rara 3 ue

November 20th, 2011 at 4:09 pm

I think Rafa is fit, no shoulder probs evident. But not the best set from Fish either.

Lol, Daniel: if Goran said the courts were to fast, they must’ve been SUPER fast. Anyhow, great you got to see them live.

November 20th, 2011 at 4:16 pm

Daniel- I would prefer for another slam win for rafa to be against one of those three guys you named, but I will take a slam however it may come!

The tennis is lacking this Sunday at the O2 kickoff day, hope fish and rafa can step it up or else will hope for better from groups A tomorrow. Rafa is warming up at least…

November 20th, 2011 at 4:16 pm

BIG WHOOPS
I meant for the slam win for ROGER

November 20th, 2011 at 4:17 pm

What a forehand

November 20th, 2011 at 4:21 pm

wow, what a fh from rafa. fish is attacking now.

November 20th, 2011 at 4:21 pm

break! fish breaks

November 20th, 2011 at 4:23 pm

Fish coming around???

November 20th, 2011 at 4:36 pm

nadal will break back next service game

November 20th, 2011 at 4:42 pm

rafa saving break points pretty good

November 20th, 2011 at 4:42 pm

I agree with the commentators, fish net play is much better than roddick.

November 20th, 2011 at 4:56 pm

rafa better on those break point.

November 20th, 2011 at 4:57 pm

important game for fish.

November 20th, 2011 at 5:00 pm

concentrate fish..aaargh!

November 20th, 2011 at 5:01 pm

rafa to break here and maybe win in two sets.

November 20th, 2011 at 5:03 pm

WOW! impressed with fish volleys. great volley to finish the set.

November 20th, 2011 at 5:05 pm

Fish holds to force a decider. Hmmm.

November 20th, 2011 at 5:05 pm

great shot from rafa..2 break points now

November 20th, 2011 at 5:13 pm

break!

bathroom break!! that is strange, it is not a change of ends, i guess rafa has a problem or something..

November 20th, 2011 at 5:16 pm

Wow….

November 20th, 2011 at 5:21 pm

fish breaks right back..do we have a match??

November 20th, 2011 at 5:23 pm

that was great BH from rafa. uncle toni approves. that is the BH he needs to beat djokovic.

November 20th, 2011 at 5:26 pm

Nadal looks to be out of breath strangely…

November 20th, 2011 at 5:27 pm

Kimmi Says:
break!

bathroom break!! that is strange, it is not a change of ends, i guess rafa has a problem or something..
———————————————
I think Rafa ate some bad gambas. First it was the bathroom break now he has been hunching over with his hands on his legs before returning serve.

November 20th, 2011 at 5:28 pm

fish errors sometimes they are waaaaaay out

November 20th, 2011 at 5:29 pm

the BH is working..2 great BH winners.

November 20th, 2011 at 5:30 pm

wow! what a volley from fish! and he breaks..AGAIN!!

November 20th, 2011 at 5:36 pm

Wow…can he old though?

November 20th, 2011 at 5:37 pm

Wow…can he hold though?

November 20th, 2011 at 5:38 pm

fish has the adv now. can he capitalize..rafa couldn’t capitalize on his.

November 20th, 2011 at 5:38 pm

OK, he is giving it back..poor errors from fish.

November 20th, 2011 at 5:41 pm

game on, match on!!

November 20th, 2011 at 5:42 pm

bad miss!

November 20th, 2011 at 5:47 pm

i think rafa is tired and his shoulder hurts..and his blisters are bothering him too and the noah interview really pissed him off

November 20th, 2011 at 5:51 pm

blisters foe what van oerten, he hasnt played for a month.

fish needs to hold here

November 20th, 2011 at 5:54 pm

ooops, fish did not challenge, ball was out.

November 20th, 2011 at 5:58 pm

this is where federer broke tsonga to win the match..

November 20th, 2011 at 6:04 pm

kimmi hopefully rafa will do the same.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:05 pm

Kimmi, you are right to raise the comparison; the matches seem rather similar.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:05 pm

aaaah, what a miss. rafa knows

November 20th, 2011 at 6:07 pm

what a rally! match point!

November 20th, 2011 at 6:08 pm

Valiant effort by Mardy to hang on and fight off a couple of match points. It was looking like Rafa had it wrapped up in that game…

November 20th, 2011 at 6:13 pm

fish saves matchpoints. 2 of them.

rafa would be thinking about that FH miss at 15-30

November 20th, 2011 at 6:13 pm

are we going for the tie break? fish misses to the net a lot.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:17 pm

What is wrong with Rafa?

November 20th, 2011 at 6:18 pm

tie break!

November 20th, 2011 at 6:21 pm

Ooooooo, 3rd set TB. Glad we get a dramatic finish.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:21 pm

Nadal’s not tired. Fish is tired, and he’s getting sloppy, and each point he plays is taking more out of him. Each heroic fightback drains his energy and makes it harder to play at the level he needs.

In the tiebreak, he’ll make a few easy mistakes, and that will probably be that.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:21 pm

What’d I tell ya? Nadal leads 2-0.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:22 pm

fish continues to miss to the net. I guess he must be hitting too flat.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:23 pm

oh man! steve-o, i can see the EASY mistakes. he needs to wake up quickly.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:25 pm

3 match points. too many errors mardy.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:28 pm

rafa jumps! he is very happy. congrats to rafa and to fish for making this a competitive match.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Pah, one-sided tiebreak. Kind of an anticlimax after the lead up… Oh well, congrats to Rafa. Predictable winners today, went with seeds, I mean.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:30 pm

fish with 35 winners 50 UE
Rafa with 18 winners 27 UE

November 20th, 2011 at 6:32 pm

PHEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!

Glad rafa got the win. At least there won’t be a 2009 repeat, and he’s ended his 2 match lsoing streak:-)

He’s rusty, and i agree with kimmi re BH, but i did not see anything from rafa to suggest he shall win this.

I expect similar from nole tomorrow.

Nothing from today’s 2 matches has changed my mind. it should be a federer v murray final- provided the draw allows it to be- with murray winning i feel.

Cannot see federer winning 3 tourny’s in a row, and murray not having something to show for his improvements.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:33 pm

No upsets today. Not the best level of tennis from what I saw. Congratulations to Fedal.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:33 pm

federer sits on top of group B, rafa second, fish third and tsonga last.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:34 pm

Yes, congrats to mardy also, great fight from him.

Genuine top 8, no doubt about it.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:34 pm

Kimmi, not the cleanest match. But Rafa was the more controlled player, and he also is mentally stronger methinks. Just like with Fed and Tsonga. Fed and Rafa don’t crack much. Maybe Fed can lose focus but in big moments he still plays big, same with Rafa and the tiebreak. He was just better!

November 20th, 2011 at 6:36 pm

just glad rafa managed to get through,i agree kimmi it was great to see a competitive match,roger and rafa both won all going to plan,well so far anyway fingers crossed both will improve from here on in,both looked vulnerable today though,it will be interesting to see how nole and muzza perform tomorrow.

November 20th, 2011 at 6:44 pm

I was at the Dolphins game (we actually won and I had a blast) and missed the match.

I think every Rafa fan will never forget 2009 and will be extremely grateful for at least this win! Those of you who have not had their fav fail to win even a set at this event simply cannot know! Especially in a year where every other match was a vicious three setter. Oh the shame still stings. I like Fish but very very glad Rafa won. I was definitely fearful of a repeat after the Mayer loss in Shaing Hai and no play.

November 20th, 2011 at 7:03 pm

@Brando Rafa didn’t have a 2 match losing streak. He did win his second round in shanghai vs Garcia Lopez I think.

November 20th, 2011 at 7:05 pm

@Marrisv:

Thanks- thought rafa had lost 2 on the bounce.

He’s naturally rusty, playing on his weakest surface and against the most elite possible competition.

With this in mind, i think its only natural for rafa to struggle a bit. I cannot see him winning the tourny, but hope he makes the SF. Anything after that would a major, and surprise, bonus i feel.

But still, long way to go- both federer and tsonga indoor will be tough for rafa.

November 20th, 2011 at 7:27 pm

I’m glad Fish pushed it. Nice to see he’s making a statement.

But the result wasn’t surprising. Is there a reason everyone’s kick serves are bouncing up ridiculously high?

Sorry, tangent. Based on form, I think Federer should have an edge, the slightest possible, on Tuesday? Wednesday? Whenever he plays Nadal, anyway.

November 20th, 2011 at 7:33 pm

2 pm Tuesday Tsonga v Fish

8 pm Tuesday Fedal

November 20th, 2011 at 7:39 pm

I heard the commentator saying that federer said the courts are bouncing higher than last year.

November 20th, 2011 at 7:39 pm

too bad for fish…our coverage crapped at near the end of the second set, but sounds like it was a hard fought third. nadal looking a tad rusty, but entertaining match for what we saw.

November 20th, 2011 at 8:31 pm

Ben, Agree regarding serve bouncing. Some of Fish forehands to open the court, was way high with the sins as well, Nadal was hitting some balls, head high. It is still fast, but the bounce is higher. Maybe the balls?!

November 20th, 2011 at 9:24 pm

The higher it bounces the greater the advantage for Nadal against Federer.

November 20th, 2011 at 11:08 pm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/atptour/8902968/David-Ferrer-and-others-pour-scorn-over-Yannick-Noahs-zany-magic-potion-doping-claims.html

November 21st, 2011 at 12:41 am

The higher bounce is Nadal’s only hope against Federer on this court. Nadal is a one-trick pony, especially against Federer – just keep hitting moonballs to the backhand. Well, the one-handed backhand is now gone from tennis, pretty much. So Nadal is having trouble – hard to find another player 5 years older with a one-hander to beat up on on clay!

Speaking of one-trick ponies – Murray’s gotto be pissed off. After all the mouthing he did against Federer about form, he gets beat straight sets by Ferrer!! He might not even qualify now, since Djoke would probably beat him too. And it was straight sets!! ye ye…. So much for the foul mouthed Scot.

I hope Fed beats Nadal tomorrow.. that would be sweet…

November 21st, 2011 at 11:35 am

The YEC REALLY separates the men from the boys…. On a true surface, no weather or lighting issues to affect ones play, no wind, no heat, no sun, no shade – just plain tennis.

Go Fed – get the YEC record too, like the slams record.

November 21st, 2011 at 11:38 am

@Skeezer:

I am not quite sure, but it seems that you’re the first to notice Noah’s statements on this site.

Has he got some inner informations?

I read the statements of Llodra and Tsonga, p.e. Why do they have to apologise for something Noah said? Basically, although Yannick hasn’t any proof, Spanish handling of the Fuentes case, the Contador affair, WADA concerns about testing in Spain, all of this is a matter to worry.

November 21st, 2011 at 12:02 pm

Anyway, there are some comments: tennishasasteroidproblem.blogspot.com

Some good points.

November 21st, 2011 at 12:07 pm

“Murray said afterwards that he had been troubled by a stiff groin in the last week after pulling it during practice following the Paris Masters, and that he was not sure if he would play his next match.”

All these guys – Murray, Nadal, Djoke – their bodies are breaking up. Not going to last till 30. Would be strange if they retire before Federer!!! It certainly is remotely possible. Federer might still be playing 3 years from now, or even 5…. As long as he doesn’t drop out of the top 8 (for which he really doesn’t need to do much – heck, Fish made it this year…), he will always have a good chance to go deep in slams….

November 21st, 2011 at 1:30 pm

trufan, “so much for the foul mouthed Scot”.

Heh. And Fed is an angel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koTTY3QuLcQ

At least Murray has never talked to an umpire like that.
:)

November 21st, 2011 at 2:07 pm

Well, two can play at that game Racquet. And it’s a pity you want to bring up the ONE incident where Federer swore. I guess the problem with Andy is that there are so many to choose from that it’s impossible to find one that will suit. But I guess we could always start with this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NhZbgx1vOg. I think you will find that Murray DID talk to an umpire like that :)

Who said Federer was an angel? I don’t remember anyone saying that, merely that Murray’s manners do leave a lot to be desired and even Murray fans can’t argue with that. So this is just silly.

Accept that Andy needs to work on the manners (and I think he is improving), but it’s a shame that for the most part, when he does play and get angry, commentators have to apologise for his ‘blue’ language. It’s a good job that they give it the ‘silent’ treatment or bleep it out with an apology, don’t you think?

Thanks for the youtube link though Racquet. I remember that as it was so iconic for Federer to say anything which remotely resembles how Murray speaks and if I recall, Fed was right to argue as Del potro did take too long.

November 21st, 2011 at 3:03 pm

Nice try madmax. Murray didn’t swear. Losing your temper is one thing but using f-bomb and sh*t towards an umpire is another.

Lighten up. Don’t take things so seriously.

November 21st, 2011 at 4:26 pm

That’s such a badass video of Federer. He was right, too, damn umpires and their inconsistencies with rule enforcement.

November 21st, 2011 at 4:30 pm

haha Ben.

I’m light racquet. Just don’t know why you won’t accept Murray’s on court manners, that’s all. Most others do (apologise on TV), so I don’t understand the denial.

Thanks for taking the trouble though to find the link – it was pretty badass for Federer. Great that his sportsmanship award, (9th time isn’t it?), hasn’t been affected by that one incident.
It wil certainly go down as a ‘moment’, that’s for sure.

And I do hope that Murray recovers from any groin injury. I do really mean that. He has earned his place there, so to go out early would not feel right.

November 21st, 2011 at 5:27 pm

Nothing wrong with what Federer said in that video!!

Djoke seems to be in trouble against Berdych…

November 21st, 2011 at 5:49 pm

trufan, haha….of course. Nothing wrong, just depends whose mouth it comes out of.

madmax, who is denying anything? Murray’s body language and temper need working on & it’s a work in progress. And he doesn’t swear half as much as commentators assume. They often apologize when all he says is “focus”, thinking it’s the f-bomb. Laughable.

November 21st, 2011 at 6:45 pm