Miami Draw: Hot Federer Could Collide With Djokovic in SFs, Nadal Seeded To Meet Murray

Agreed with sean:

Fed is fav, then nole (still takes a BIG performance to beat him), then i would have rafa/ murray at equal terms.

March 19th, 2012 at 3:02 pm

Last year, Murray lost in his first match at both Indian Wells and Miami. He has already lost early at Indian Wells in 2012 and now will he lose early again? He has done well at recent slams, but it is hard to say he truly belongs in the “big 4” if he continues to do so poorly at his beloved best of 3 hard court tournaments.

March 19th, 2012 at 3:12 pm

Your Humble Highness picks Mr. Lady Forehand to beat Mr. Lady Forehand.

Uncle Toni says “Don’t let someone do to you what you can do yourself”. Master Choker understands this better than anyone else.

March 19th, 2012 at 3:16 pm

“I’ll have a pick later in the week but right now after seeing the draw it’s hard not to make Federer the favorite.”

Sorry but the courts at Miami are ultra slow. Also, the air is heavy with humidity meaning that the balls move that much slower. You gotta be a grinder to win Miami nowadays and I’ll take the Djoker here easily. Hes due for one.

If not the Djoker, I think Murray has an excellent chance to go all the way.

Federer’s next best shot is Madrid (thin air) followed by RG (new, faster balls).

March 19th, 2012 at 3:28 pm

Hmm, I’ll pick a Federer – Nadal final (the semis on this half of the draw should very exciting, but Fed is looking very strong). I’m tempted to pick Roger over Rafa, but Rafa will be hungry. I’m not going to put any money on that one.

March 19th, 2012 at 3:55 pm

Oh, if it’s a Djokovic – Nadal final I’m gonna have to go with Nole. He seems to have gotten into Rafa head.

March 19th, 2012 at 3:57 pm

@ Humble Rafa :

humble rafa has already choked 7 times in a row … I bet azarenka would be a better competitor than him ..LMAO .. RIP Rafa

March 19th, 2012 at 4:51 pm

Bathroom breaks – It is possible there was some gamesmanship by Nadal with the bathroom breaks. He took one against Fed and he took 2 in the doubles final. My theory, based on growing up playing tennis in the Northeast is if you drink water at the changeovers and don’t sweat much because it is cold out then you will have to go to the bathroom during the match.

March 19th, 2012 at 5:46 pm

u r damn rite with federer… But fed plays djokovic in semifinals,even if he cud get 2 or 3 match points,i doubt whether he cud make it.nole’s return s becomin a pwrful weapon.. Nadal hasnt won here even in his best periods,nw i doubt it.for murray,i feel sad to have the toughest draw.

My picks
djokovic vs federer
nadal/isner vs murray/berdych

federer or nole

federer l move up in rankings if he win, so i think he l have an eagle eye on dat!!
Nadal nd murray no chance!!!

March 19th, 2012 at 5:55 pm

if miami is so slow, how has nadal not win it???

March 19th, 2012 at 6:18 pm

Ajet, was just wondering something similar, trying to figure out if who to pick for my bracket :D

Nadal made the final twice: 2005, 2011 – looks like each time he ran into a better player.

I’m leaning toward Nadal aiming to storm euro clay courts and not knock himself out in Miami. But who knows…

March 19th, 2012 at 6:40 pm

^Nadal lost to Davydenko in the final in 2008

March 19th, 2012 at 6:49 pm

“Federer, to me, has the easiest route to the semifinals. Nadal’s looks great to the quarterfinals” – agree with Sean here.

carlo, do you know when we need to make Miami picks by? When’s the deadline?

March 19th, 2012 at 6:54 pm

OMG, jc. I forgot about Davydenko.

Something about Nadal and the timing of Miami makes me think it’s a bit like he has one eye on getting back home to the clay.

March 19th, 2012 at 6:55 pm

jane, i was just checking the qualifying results. I have not gone into the bracket yet. But I think we have until early morning *my time* Wednesday. Qualifying takes 2 days.

March 19th, 2012 at 6:58 pm

Interestingly, in 2004, No.32 seed Nadal defeated world No.1 Federer in the third round 6-3 6-3

March 19th, 2012 at 7:09 pm

Fascinating that Roger gets a virtual BYE to the semis, while everyone else has to play super tough opponents before then! I smell a conspiracy by the ATP!

March 19th, 2012 at 7:16 pm

of course I remember that, jc!

I’m not feeling Federer winning Miami but I didn’t pick him for Indian Wells, either.

Really have no clue again. My IW bracket got a solid ‘D’ grade thanks to Isner and Federer.

March 19th, 2012 at 7:20 pm

6 titles since October and he is still going. For all those people who think that Federer should retire, Indian Wells was again a good reminder that he can still beat players who are 5-10 years younger than him easily!

Action speaks louder than Words and that’s what Federer has done by redefining the meaning of age 30 in tennis!

Roger Federer: The Power of Belief ! http://bit.ly/GzzjYI

March 19th, 2012 at 7:21 pm

It’s fun that Federer is suddenly the favourite for almost everybody. :)

March 19th, 2012 at 7:40 pm

federer had a very tough draw in IW i thought, so the easy route in miami is deserving, although i don’t see roddick as easy, didn’t he just beat fed in Madison square?

March 19th, 2012 at 7:41 pm

Kimmmi – LOL are you seriously talking about that exo which Roger handed to Andy out of the kindness of his heart? Roger owns Andy 21-2.

March 19th, 2012 at 7:50 pm

Epislon,

Echoing here. Yes Fed is hot, and he can win here. But the surface negates it. Nole and Rafa have been super at Miami. Rafa crushed Fed last year. You all thought IW was slow, wait till you see this, haha. And ya;ll think it is easy for Fed early? in 10 Roddick beat Rafa in the Semi’s, Rafa’s beast year.

Geez Nole had a super year and just won the AO, while Rafa is most always in finals ( although he wasn’t won a title in 10 months ). I think Fed loses here, and gets fired up for the Clay season, he’s done enough already. This from a Fed fan….

Favorite hopeful match: Isner vs Rafa in the Qtrs. Bring it!!!!!

March 19th, 2012 at 7:51 pm

ryan harrison first match for fed, ryan plays well in the USA. this wont be a walk in the park for sure.

March 19th, 2012 at 7:51 pm

Kimmi – Ryan is a hothead who will implode against Roger within 3-4 games.

March 19th, 2012 at 7:55 pm

Rafa’s “beast” year losing to Roddick. I’m guessing Rafa is going for a similar “beast” year, hence the full focus not on Miami.

yup. makes sense. so who knocks out Rafa? and is that guy the final pick?

ahh Murray. go Murray! my sleeper pick.

March 19th, 2012 at 8:04 pm

nalbandian in nadal’s half of the draw as well…interesting. otherwise, draw feels like a complete flip flop from inidan wells.

anything has to be better from fed than the uninspired, painful performace from him in the semis last year! lets see if he makes it that far.

March 19th, 2012 at 8:18 pm

final will be Djokovic/Nadal or Murray
federer has no chance in the ultra slow Miami

March 19th, 2012 at 8:19 pm

smoledman – fed draw might look easy on paper for you, every match has to be played point by point. so lets wait and see how it goes.

March 19th, 2012 at 8:20 pm

challenge.atpworldtour.com for the miami bracket challenge.

Join group tennisx fans for the miami draw challenge.

Ajet—everyone is requesting your presence at our draw challenge. Would you please consider joining.

Everyone else welcome and wanted as well. Even the people I don’t get along with!

And Skeezer, I don’t know where you were for IW but you better get back on it!

March 19th, 2012 at 9:06 pm

carlo, i took murray out early, maybe a mistake but i took him out in the finals last year and in indian wells and got punished.

I have a similar feeling to you Carlo about Rafa but I always pick him. So I did. But i picked a lot of wilder picks than usual for the sake of variety in our group. I’m taking one for the team!

March 19th, 2012 at 9:08 pm

for roger, i think it is probably best to be tested in the early rounds before he meet top players. he was more sharper in IW when he met top guys, this could be because he was tested earlier in the tournament.

I could be wrong, but If you look at last year IW and miami for example, he was winning in straight sets before the semi and then when he got there he collapse against rafa and nole..you could also argue that rafa and nole were playing brilliant then while fed was not.

March 19th, 2012 at 9:12 pm

maybe i should pick roger this time, i know i could get burnt but what the heck.

Blank – lets pick roger all the way.

March 19th, 2012 at 9:14 pm

I am confused whether to pick Murray or Nole. If Murray reaches SFs, he will defeat Nadal. Nole should be able to win this one if he is playing at 90% of his best.

Federer I doubt can overcome the SFs owing to the ultra-slow conditions here in Miami. But to me, Federer has done his job in the first part of the year and we can look forward to the clay season from Federer’s perspective.

Conditions favor Murray, Nadal but my gut feeling is that Murray will defeat Nadal in a best-of-3 hard court tournament.

I somehow tend to think in the same lines as Kimmi on Federer’s draw. If he is being tested in the earlier rounds, he will get that ‘grip’ going in to the SFs.I thought Roddick loves faster courts but its surprising that he could defeat Nadal in ’10. So he MAY be able to test Federer if lady luck smiles on Roddick.

Taking into account Murray’s inconsistency, I would pick Nole to win this tournament.

March 19th, 2012 at 9:37 pm

contemperory – did you play IW challenge on ATP site?

March 19th, 2012 at 9:41 pm

Nole has got the worst draw by far.

March 19th, 2012 at 9:41 pm

Kimmi – No, I didn’t. However, I have done it for Miami.

March 19th, 2012 at 10:00 pm

I think Nole and Fed are obvious favorites with Rafa as a long shot. Murray, in light of his current draw, I feel won’t see the 4th round. Istomin is playing very well – having beaten Ferrer last week – and Raonic took a set off Federer. I call Raonic to get through that part of the draw.

March 19th, 2012 at 10:40 pm

Nice contemperory, i hope you joined tennis-x group.

March 19th, 2012 at 10:43 pm

ajet: “if miami is so slow, how has nadal not win it???”

Good question. To be honest, I was never into this “slow” “quick” “medium quick” “medium slow” kind of stuff… WTF? Just go on the court and play! The conditions are the same for both players, so why to bissect it & dissect it ad nauseam? Ball flies through the air quicker in Indian Wells or Madrid, whereas in Miami it is slow because there’s humidity over 87,572868347 %, not to mention that the furthermost floodlight on the southwest side of the stadium is positioned 2 cm higher than the furthermost floodlight on the northeast side, which makes it harder for Federer to attack Nadal’s serve because the return flies slower under unevenly distributed floodlight as opposed to when it is hit under an even one, not to mention when it is hit during the day, where it flies quicker than during the evening (provided of course the humidity doesn’t exceed 87,4499999, otherwise it is vice versa), and blah blah blah blah…

The surface in Miami is so “slow” because when Nadal beats Fed there and Frank John from Upper Lowlands says it’s “slow” because of that, then John Frank from Lower Uplands will also consider it “slow”… Isn’t it fascinating how everyone automatically considers the surface as “slow” whenever Federer loses a match to Nadal on it? First, Miami was considered quick. Then Federer lost to Nadal there in 2004, survived a tight 5 set final in 2005 and lost yet again in 2011 – it’s suddenly “slow”. Wimbledon was considered quick, now that Federer lost to Nadal in 2008 it’s also “ultra slow”. These people would not even hesitate to name USO open as “ultra slow” (the same USO which these same people now consider to be “quick”, because Fed’s yet to lose a match against Nadal there), had Federer lost to Nadal there… Who knows, maybe it’s indeed slow or quick, but this logic of automatically applying the surface this or that attribute just because my neighbour saw a Fedal match yesterday and said it was on a slow surface because Federer lost or on a quick surface because Federer won is simply hilarious…

March 19th, 2012 at 10:45 pm

Skorocel,

Even though I got your point of people going with the flow and you being funny in your first paragraph, but you got to be blind or don’t understand a thing of tennis if you think London WTF finals is the same hard court as Miami.

If you have ever played in different surfaces you would know.
I play in 5 different hard courts in my berth city in Brazil (clubs, squares, public and etc) and they are all different, specially bounce wise. Serves are different, everything.

The clay, if you play on “poor” clay, with not good maintenance or after rainy days, it is different. If they don’t add the extra layer of clay, it is different. The time of the day you play it is different.

And people started noticing this variations and slowing down the game, because grinders and clay court specialists didn’t have success outside clay, until recent years where, racquet technology, strings, more physical game and slowing down the courts make all if this.

As much as Nadal is an all time great and a phenomenon we’ll never see again, he as somebody mention before, was extremely lucky to have all those things in place .

US Open is fats, and always will be. Same as Cincinnati, which is the ultra fast outdoor court in the circuit. No wonder Nadal never made it to a final there?!

March 19th, 2012 at 11:03 pm

Skorocel, I think you’re starting to get affected by the fact that in the last 10 months your beloved 25 years old Rafa has won 0 singles tournaments and the so much hated for you 30 years old Federer has already won 6 titles. You can deny it all you want but it’s evident with your stupid non sense comments at this blog. I’m so sorry for your pain, but don’t worry Montecarlo and Barcelona are nearby and probably Nadal will only win those two in the whole season for your little delight. Take care.

March 19th, 2012 at 11:35 pm

@K.

Thanks and I o’bayed :-)

March 19th, 2012 at 11:42 pm

Why is that Murray is always having the toughest draw in every tournament ??

March 20th, 2012 at 12:05 am

To add on the court thingy…it is really the ball bounce action/height that makes a difference for players. Does it bite and create a high bounce? Does it also slow down because of humidity and the balls getting fluffed up during the match? Or is it dry, cold and very hard surface with little sand in the paint or a varied type of cushion material underneath?

(Wimbledon changed it wether knowingly or not when they changed the underneath material, compacted tightly with a heartier grass back in the early 2000’s)

Fed likes the ball ideally at waist or below level….he will kill you at that level. Fed obviously struggles if he has to take the ball ( especially on his BH side ) above his waist and beyond( But being Fed, he has improved in this area as of late ). Rafa knows this and relishes to get Fed ( and most everyone else ) on Clay or a slow sticky HC where the action on his FH ( Because he has the highest RPM’s of anyone on topspin ) creates a very extreme high bounce that creates havoc on a singles handed BH( especially ).

Whereas Rafa has a hard time with a low bouncing surface for 2 reasons. His extreme “under” grip which is difficult to really get under the ball and do something offensive with AND the faster court with a low bounce takes away his ability to to wind up and hit the shot he wants. He is at his best when he has ally he time in the world to prepare for the shot. Take away that time, and he gets confused.

Now here comes Nole…who’s game now seems tailor made for the modern surface. And once Fed is gone, he imo will dominate ( unless he goes mental, and hey, don’t go there, both Rafa and Fed have gone mental at times…..its tough maintaining #1 ya know ). Why? The bounce and speed imho as the least impact on him. He can handle both fast and hard courts. Why? His fundamentals are a thing of beauty from the backcourt. Weakness? We all know..transition, volley, serve…..BUT…..you want to battle him just from the backcourt? Good luck with that. He showed is all last year…….

March 20th, 2012 at 12:08 am

Jeeper skeezer “unless he goes mental” – I hope he doesn’t go mental! :)

March 20th, 2012 at 12:10 am

@Daniel: I get your point. As I’ve said, I’m just sick of all this drivel about the quickness or slowness of this or that particular surface – especially if it’s the same one (i.e. slower clay or quicker clay, medium hard or quick hard), etc.

P.S. Which part of Brazil do you live in?

March 20th, 2012 at 12:19 am

This Miami will be very crucial for Novak. He cannot afford to lose this one if he has aspirations to remain No.1. The draw seems tailor made for him except that he will have Roger in the semis which must be his only obstacle. Despite Roger winning Indian Wells, I do not see him winning Miami because of the slowness of the court. The winner has to be either Novak or Nadal in my opinion.

March 20th, 2012 at 12:25 am

Skorocel @ 10.45 pm,

Good point. Even Nadal was frustrated when Roger tipped him as a favourite for Indian Wells due to the slowness of the court. But, can’t you feel the difference of the court in Dubai and Indian Wells ?? From what I saw in Dubai, the court was very fast whereas in Indian Wells I would say that the speed was medium and not slow.

March 20th, 2012 at 12:29 am

Contemporary,

I agree with you. Novak should be the favourite to win Miami in my opinion. I do not think Roger can beat him in this Court even if he plays his best Tennis.

March 20th, 2012 at 12:31 am

@jane….lol..just sayin…..the odds are with all great players they will have a slump( I call it “mental” ) at some point…lets hope for your fav when it comes it will be short lived ;)

March 20th, 2012 at 12:36 am

Skeezer,

From your write-up it appears that both Roger and Nadal have weakness in different courts and only Novak is the complete player. Hmmmmm.

March 20th, 2012 at 12:38 am

Scorocel,

Good question. To be honest, I was never into this “slow” “quick” “medium quick” “medium slow” kind of stuff… WTF? Just go on the court and play! The conditions are the same for both players, so why to bissect it & dissect it ad nauseam?

If all the Courts are same, then Sampras should have gone on to win the French ? Why he couldn’t do it ?????

March 20th, 2012 at 12:40 am

From the list of Miami Masters champs you wouldn’t think it was as slow of a surface as is often mentioned – Sampras won it thrice, Fed twice, Nole twice, Lendl twice, Roddick twice, Agassi six (!), Murray once.

Rafa? Never. Though thrice runner up, including last year.

—————————–
skeezer, okay slump I can handle, but not mental! ;)

—————————–
Michael I really don’t think Nole’s draw is as good as you imply. He always has tough matches versus Baggy – he could lose right out of the gates if he’s not careful! Also Delpo in the QFs, Fed in the Semis, and then Rafa or Murray?!!

This is not tailor-made at all, at least if I were the tailor I’d made some serious alterations. :)

March 20th, 2012 at 12:49 am

Jane,

I think the present Novak can handle Bagdhatis and Del Potro very easily. His only obstacle should be Roger in the semis and probably Murray in the finals. If it is Nadal in the finals, then he will be very confident and only a resurgent Nadal can pose a challenge to him.

March 20th, 2012 at 12:52 am

How both Roger and Nadal can play Isner as quoted by Sean ??? Is Isner in both sides of the draw ?? I am confused ? Somebody clarify.

March 20th, 2012 at 12:55 am

@Michael

You didn’t note when I said “when Fed is gone?” hehe……

March 20th, 2012 at 12:58 am

Skeezer,

From what you said, both Roger and Nadal have problems in the ball bounce. Roger will find it uncomfortable if the ball bounces high and Nadal if it is low. On the other hand, you say Novak has fully adapted to the modern conditions and he is the complete player. The bounce and speed have little impact on him. I did not say this, your write-up says this. Request you to read it again.

March 20th, 2012 at 1:07 am

Michael,

For that part I stand by that. Novak’s issues are in the transition game ( which fed exposes more than anyone ), front and back , not side to side. Isner exposed this also imho. But from what I have seen and Nole has proven…you want to play back court tennis? Bring it. My imo…you may differ…respect.

“His fundamentals are a thing of beauty from the backcourt. Weakness? We all know..transition, volley, serve…..BUT…..you want to battle him just from the backcourt? “

March 20th, 2012 at 1:24 am

Kimberley:

How to join Bracket Challenge???

March 20th, 2012 at 1:36 am

Michael@12:55 AM, where did you read that Isner is playing both Fed and Nadal? – Are you referring to the below statements?

“For Nadal, like Indian Wells, ……. So it should be a breeze up to the quarters where he could face his first challenge against either the surging John Isner or JW Tsonga.”

“I’d really like to see Federer, after beating Isner, play two more Americans in Harrison then Roddick – seeded down to No. 31 it could be Andy’s final Miami tournament”

If you are referring to these, it just means that Federer beat Isner in IW and, then Sean would like to play two more Americans..

March 20th, 2012 at 1:45 am

@Epislon, you mentioned “how suddenly fed has become a favourite?”
for the last 9 years he is the one to win fan’s favourite award. he is not from big country like china or even spain..this basel native has defined the term tennis to many. there has always been an hunger from his fans to see him once again in no.1 spot atleast one more week for that unbelievable record of 287 weeks of no.1… as the olympics is approaching and he wining 6 of his last 8(actually 9) tours, it is him the favourite atleast for his fans……….

March 20th, 2012 at 1:57 am

Skeezer,

I cannot compare Novak with Roger because his game dynamics are quite different. If Roger is on song, no player can bother him much. However, we can definitely compare Novak to Nadal.Novak is quite formidable in the back end of the court and he can slog like Nadal. I am not too sure about his excellence on the ball bounce issues – high and low. But he plays those very well. However, to beat Nadal seven times in a row means Novak has something special. According to me, the difference is the superior return of serve which kills Nadal. Novak reads Nadal’s serve so well. Even the first serve of Nadal looks quite ordinary against Novak and the second serve he literally murders it. All said and done, Novak is not a complete player say like Roger but he plays to his strength.

March 20th, 2012 at 2:54 am

Contemporary,

Thanks for clarifying it. The statement was just not complete and I misunderstood it.

March 20th, 2012 at 2:56 am

wait for monte carlo…….rafa will kill roger and nole there. last year nole beat rafa at rome and madrid. but montecarlo is a different deal. its the slowest clay court of them all and we all know rafa completely owns roger on his beloved clay

March 20th, 2012 at 3:44 am

Nice post Sean, But I don’t really agree about Roger, having an easy draw.

Ryan Harrison, is a dangerous player. Even though he’s young and unseeded, I expect we are going to see great things from him. Roddick, is no joke either. Fed, may have a huge winning head to head against him but these are still tough players to take on in the early stages of the draw.

Fed, will need to come prepared for the first few matches.

March 20th, 2012 at 4:31 am

Hi Ajet, Here is the link http://challenge.atpworldtour.com/

Join the tennis-x group after creating your membership …

March 20th, 2012 at 6:33 am

Why is that Murray is always having the toughest draw in every tournament ??
—
Mr. Lady Forehand has a tough draw, loses to big players. Mr. Lady Forehand has an easy draw and he chokes. Does it really matter what type of draw he has. One has to concentrate on the results, not the draw.

Your HH

March 20th, 2012 at 8:51 am

Sameer,
I dont disagree that Roger has no change against Nadal on Monte Carlo.Im guessing thats the reason he is not going to play there this year.

March 20th, 2012 at 9:12 am

If Roger has problems with bounce, then how can he be a complete player?

March 20th, 2012 at 9:18 am

I don’t think Roger has the easiest draw. Possibly Harrison, Roddick, Monfils and Almagro? Harrison played well in IW and is a relatively tough first match. Everyone knows Monfils can be tough. Almagro IMO is getting better on hard courts and he should be tough in Miami because it is one of, if not the slowest court conditions of the hard court tournaments. I doubt Fish will be a factor.

Rafa’s draw looks the easiest. He doesn’t have anything to worry about until the quarters. Rafa and Novak have to be the favorites on this humid, slow hard surface.

March 20th, 2012 at 9:40 am

its the slowest clay court of them all and we all know rafa completely owns roger on his beloved clay
—
and grass court and hard court. The Arrogant One can beat me on a indoor court. My record speaks for itself. Great record against a presumed GOAT.

March 20th, 2012 at 10:50 am

Rafael NADAL
Now Federer is in his head? Didn’t look much like he wanted to be there in IW SF loss. Rafa needs a break from tennis.
—
Fed in my head. In your f**ing dreams.

All I need right now is a bathroom break. Not a break from tennis.

Anand

March 20th, 2012 at 11:02 am

Roger still plays exquisite tennis. He has gained cnfidence so will be in finals

March 20th, 2012 at 11:10 am

“Rafa needs a break from tennis.”

Another break? Didn’t you just have one?

March 20th, 2012 at 11:41 am

If anything Rafa needs a break from Chocolate boy’s whining. Oh by the way today is Lindt Kids’ Day in Miami – wonder if Choc Boy will attend!!!

March 20th, 2012 at 12:15 pm

For Wog Boy, Nina, mat4, other Nole fans

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/20/2702844/novak-djokovics-2007-sony-ericsson.html

March 20th, 2012 at 12:24 pm

Humble Rafa – it only took you 1 day to return to being as a$$hole again. Nice.

March 20th, 2012 at 12:38 pm

Sorry, that’s AN a$$hole again.

March 20th, 2012 at 12:39 pm

I believe Miami is going to show about Novak’s form. If he goes down early or has loss like the one in IW, it does not going to sound good for him, as he is more of a HC player. I’m not sure how many clay masters Novak has won before winning couple last year.

But having a good Miami would be bonus for Rafa. If he does not do well, it won’t be as alarming as it is for Novak.

More Novak loses his confidence going to clay, it would be a huge boost for Nadal. It would be difficult for Novak to go against Nadal with the same no nonsense approach as last year, since he is under pressure to defend points there.

Miami is critical for Novak more than other Top 3.

March 20th, 2012 at 2:04 pm

thanks vinod2vin for showing exact link! kimberley, i’ve played it already! djoker wins in bracket game, let’s see

March 20th, 2012 at 3:01 pm

can anyone help me out with the bracket challenge?everytime i go to the website and put in all of my details,im struggling as ,when it comes to user nickname,it wont accept anything i type in,what is it im doing wrong,please help someone as id love to have a go?

March 20th, 2012 at 3:06 pm

watched the highlights in FULL of the fedal IW, would just say: WHAT A FEDERER MATCH!!!

All those saying nadal played very bad are fully wrong, yes, he wasn’t at his absolute best, but he still woulda beaten everybody playing that way except may be fed and djoker! rafa was playing ok, but federer played out of the world!
His best match in 5 years in old TMF mode!
And as we all know, nobody beats the ”TMF”!!!

And speaking of djoker-isner, i felt really sorry for djoker, the level at which djoker was playing was still incredible, but it was just that isner was getting undue advantage of his height in kepping djoker at the backfoot! djoker didn’t lose it, but isner won, partly by playing th kind of tennis, I was scared just to see, let alone play as opponent like djoker was doing!!!
but the height of isner is huge undue advantage and am glad he lost the final. it’d be sad to see a mammoth beating two vastly superior talents like fed and djoker just basing on the ridiculous brute strength and height!

March 20th, 2012 at 3:08 pm

Ajet just seen your post,straight after typing mine,tell me where im going wrong with this bracket challenge thing please.

March 20th, 2012 at 3:10 pm

alison, did you put the username of your e-mail address thorugh which you operate??? it must accept your data input i guess. haven’t you registered there??? and if yes, just login with the exact username, password and e-mail id of your e-mail, whatever you have…

March 20th, 2012 at 3:10 pm

alison,

just go to the DRAWS at the page, then it’ll show automaticaly IW and miami, click to miami, and then comes the game showing all the players from whom you’ll pick up round by round…

March 20th, 2012 at 3:13 pm

ok, i am going to the atp page n checking out whats happening. catch u up there.

March 20th, 2012 at 3:14 pm

Alison

U have to put in your email address to log in, not a user name

March 20th, 2012 at 3:18 pm

Jane,
Thanks, very very much.
It was very nice and very warm article.
Beautifull way to start a day, it is 6am here:)
Keep your feet on the ground Nole and keep that boy from 2007 Miami alive.
Good luck in Miami, young man.

March 20th, 2012 at 3:24 pm

thanks for telling her skeezer

alison:

if you’ve already registered giving ur e-mail id, username of that id and password twice, then just enter your e-mail id and then password, then you should be able to login and your username would appear saying Hi alison or whatever you’d have signed up there as username(like mine shows Hi Ajet, my username being Ajet). after logging in just you need to go to groups and then 1000s of groups will appear out of which you’d be able to see a group called tennisxfans, just click there and it’ll show the group of 24 members. there you’d see on left side a space called MY DRAW next to home from extreme left side. just go to MY DRAW and it’ll further show IW and Miami, just click on miami, the game’ll automatically come

March 20th, 2012 at 3:25 pm

Wog Boy, glad you liked it. :)

Nirmal Kumar: “If he goes down early or has loss like the one in IW,” I’d agree that going down early would be worrisome; however to me his loss at IW isn’t worrisome at all. Firsly, he should’ve won in two sets, but he gagged serving out the first set (he was up a break – Isner did hit two good shots, but Nole could’ve still held had he played better). Secondly, Isner’s serving in the semi was out of this world: not only was it in the 70% range of first serves (as it was in the final) but he hit 20 aces! (versus 4 in final). That’s basically 5 games where Nole could do nothing. And still it went to the very end, 3rd set tiebreak. So that loss isn’t concerning with regards to Nole’s form in my mind (well, except that he didn’t close out the first set), but if he loses early at Miami, I will worry. And if he faces Baggy first match, it won’t be easy.

March 20th, 2012 at 3:36 pm

It is nice that the draw flipped from the last 2 big events. Still, I think one of the big four takes the title (going out on a limb I know).

March 20th, 2012 at 3:36 pm

alison, I’ll throw in my help too. :)

http://challenge.atpworldtour.com/

it asks for:
email
username (pick anything)
password
confirm password
country (pull down list)
play now

then pick Miami and fill out the bracket!

when you fill out a bracket, go to ‘groups’, scroll down to where there are groups with 24 or so members and you will find ‘tennisxfans’

good luck and welcome to the game !

March 20th, 2012 at 3:38 pm

AJET,SKEEZER,CARLO thanks guys ill keep trying.

March 20th, 2012 at 3:42 pm

Nirmal Kumar: “I’m not sure how many clay masters Novak has won before winning couple last year.”

Djokovic won Rome in 2008, but otherwise he didn’t win any claycourt Masters 1000 until last year, however he was runner-up in Monte Carlo and Rome in 2009, although he didn’t reach any Masters 1000 finals in 2010.

I do think that Djokovic is a great claycourt player, just not as good as Nadal has been over the last 7 years (with the exception of last year).

March 20th, 2012 at 3:46 pm

carlo i keep getting,username must be dashes and underscores,whatever that means?

March 20th, 2012 at 3:49 pm

alison:

just ask someone near you to help you out.

March 20th, 2012 at 4:00 pm

hmm not sure what you mean.

my username is ‘zoncoland’ – i’ve never used dashes or underscores. maybe if you are using ‘alison’ there are a lot of ‘alison”s?

try a strange username .

March 20th, 2012 at 4:01 pm

Ajet i will ask my significant other when he gets in from work,until then ill keep trying,its bloody frustrating,and its begining to give me a headache,i dont like anything getting the better of me.

March 20th, 2012 at 4:09 pm

Now i am living in Rio, in Ipanema, 1 block from Arpoador beach, can’t complain:)

But my berth city is an Island, 300 miles north of Rio, Vitória in Espírito Santo State, which is as beautfull as Rio but 10 times smaller. Way better quality of life. Those of tou who plan to come to Brazil an want to runawayf fron the big cities as Rio, Salvador and São Paulo, Vitória and Florianopolis (another island on the south) are the perfct spots.

March 20th, 2012 at 4:15 pm

okay, i checked and there are quite a number of “alison’s”

so it might want you to use ‘alison_hodge’ or some other derivative of alison, like:
‘alisonwins’ ‘alisonvamosrafa’ ‘alison_h’

March 20th, 2012 at 4:16 pm

it’s typical hogwash of people to say that the draw of fed is easiest. i’m sure if almagro/roddick were on djoker’s side or fish/roddick/monfils/delpo were on rafa’s side, we’d have heard non-stop the concerns being expressed as to how tough it is for their guys by their fans.

and looking at djoker’s draw, its also an absolute cakewalk with nobody having any chance to stop him until quarters where he’ll meet either delpo/ferrer; first in case of delpo, he seems to be playing quite ordinary at the moment by his standards and not to mention, the poor record of him aganst djoker and the match-up problem that he has vs djoker, and about ferrer, i would not consider him good for taking a set from djoker now, looking at how djoker is playing right now. i won’t be surprised to djoker toying with everybody until semi, where he may have his first test, if at all, in the case of fed meeting him.

then looking at extremely tough guys like andujar, nishikori, non-factoring stepanek, and the recently gone-off-boil tsonga and isner(who has never beaten rafa), i don’t see a reason why to worry show much by his fans, considering that rafa still is playing at his prime!

thus, of the top-4, only murray has challenge in front, others have more or less equally easy draws!

so stop portraying federer as if he is being favoured by or has bribed the organisers for being given a soft draw or something!

March 20th, 2012 at 4:19 pm

Ajet,Skeezer,Carlo,yippee done it,kept persavering,and got there in the end,its given me a bloody migraine though now,thanks fellas.

March 20th, 2012 at 5:00 pm

wow. an actual curse written in full on the front page of tennis-x. that’s ballsy. but then the french always get under the skin of americans. “freedom fries” anyone?

March 20th, 2012 at 5:17 pm

Alysa Kleybanova is in her first match now since recovering from H. lymphoma

amazing fighting spirit, fantastic story. wish her the best in health and in tennis!

March 20th, 2012 at 5:18 pm

Ajet “the match-up problem that he has vs djoker” – what do you think it is? I am curious. E.G. If the Fedal match up issue is Fed’s one-handed backhand + Nadal’s topspin forehand, what “match-up problem” is it with Nole/Delpo.

I still maintain Baggy’s a tough first rounder – Nole has a great record vs him, for sure, but their matches are usually tight.

March 20th, 2012 at 5:18 pm

O man… This is easy. Iám already ranked 4. Pff you guys pick Rafa even when he has 1 leg. It is over with the matador. He lost his mojo and will not defend Garros or reclaim his master titles. MC + Barcelona will be Murray’s.

March 20th, 2012 at 5:32 pm

sienna if thats the case then why keep stressing about him?

March 20th, 2012 at 5:43 pm

Alison? You must see the decline with youre own eyes.

He is slower, he is standing way back behind the service line. unforced errors creap in every match.
The only thing he has been working on is his net play. He tries to become a serv volley player?
His serv is bigger…. He really tries to become that what he detest the most. A big server. He realy loads the era of Sampras.

March 20th, 2012 at 6:09 pm

sienna if you say so after all you know best,my opinion matters very little to you,and after all im not the one stressing about it either you are,if your right then you have nothing to worry about have you?

March 20th, 2012 at 6:21 pm

Super Dan re; 3:36 post

Am happy its flipped also. There suppose to be doing a blind draw to decide where # 3 goes every time, which by odds would make it more random where #3 shows up(TBD is they go on the top half or bottom half )….. 4 will go opposite naturally……but the rule must have changed or something is rotten in the cupboard. But then again I always lose at coin flipping…..why is that? :(

March 20th, 2012 at 7:00 pm

@Daniel: Isn’t Florianopolis the birthplace of Gustavo Kuerten? I suppose it is. Anyway, I just asked you this question about your residence since I’m interested in one particular (and lovely ;-)) creature which you can find mostly in Brazil (and perhaps in other neighboring countries like Peru or Venezuela), and which from what I know can be found in Rio as well. It’s called “aranha armadeira” by the locals… I suppose you as a Brazilian know what I’m talking about ;-) Have you had the chance to see this spider, and if so, is it really that aggressive as the legend says?

March 20th, 2012 at 7:30 pm

jane, really sweet Miami Herald article. Thanks.

And it’s tempting to go in and switch my final pick. Have to go in anyway and fix qualifier picks. Andy or Nole for me.

March 20th, 2012 at 7:44 pm

Glad you liked it carlo. :) I still haven’t made any picks – ack, will try to get in there when I get home from work. I know time is running out.

March 20th, 2012 at 7:58 pm

Humble Rafa, I think you’re starting to get affected by the fact that in the last 10 months your beloved 25 years old Rafa has won 0 singles tournaments and the so much hated for you 30 years old Federer has already won 6 titles. You can deny it all you want but it’s evident with your stupid non sense comments at this blog. I’m so sorry for your pain, but don’t worry Montecarlo and Barcelona are nearby and probably Nadal will only win those two in the whole season for your little delight. Take care.

March 20th, 2012 at 8:38 pm

Daniel,

Thanks for sharing your new home area. Would love to be down there and visit that part of the world. Idolize you for that, seriously sounds cool!

BTW….Do I have to walk on the beach with out my top on…or can I just watch..??

March 20th, 2012 at 8:41 pm

Alison,

Yea!!

March 20th, 2012 at 8:42 pm

I can see Nadal as number 3 really soon. How exciting it would be a semifinal match against Novak at Roland Garros? Well not the outcome because right now we all know that Nadal can’t beat Novak anywhere. Maybe in an exhibition.

March 20th, 2012 at 8:44 pm

Skorocel, the one I know, big as grown up
Hand (sometimes bigger) is “caranqueijeira”, kind of crabs spider, translating. It is agressive and can kill a venom snake 10 times her size. It usually is close to the rocks or woods.

Skeeze, actually here no girls do top less. Se wear speedos and the bikinis are just to cover hair. But no top less.

March 20th, 2012 at 9:59 pm

smoledman says federer has bye all the way to semis & that their is a conspiracy in favor of federer. ru serious, federers draw at indian wells was the most difficult: raonic, delpo, nadal & isner. who did nadal have? now nadal once again has a pretty easy draw & yes, federers draw is not as difficult as indian wells how do u figure this 2b favortism towards federer. if u want 2get into that bs, then nadal is the one being favored

March 20th, 2012 at 10:30 pm

Federer prefer the gold medal than more grand slam or more weeks as number 1, and the fed fans understimate the gold medal from Nadal in 2008.

March 20th, 2012 at 11:03 pm

Steve 27: when asked before, Roger confirmed that his priority is to win FO, more than Olympics. But now his preference would be Olympic gold, only because he has all the other titles, not because Olympics is bigger than Slams.

March 20th, 2012 at 11:14 pm

Steve 27,

Underestimate? Not true. Fed has a Gold Medal also from the Olympics!

March 20th, 2012 at 11:15 pm

Jane : Yes, losing in IW is not a big problem. But losing Miami would be, but we never know. But looking at how guys like Novak (and Top players) thrives on confidence, it could turn out to be a difficult clay season for him if he goes without any good results in the masters.

But he has a huge monkey off his back by winning the first slam. That may still help him to sail thru to FO.

March 20th, 2012 at 11:16 pm

One of this days something occur to me: Will Nadal be the last teenager man to win a Grand Slam?! By the looks of tennis this days, and how tough this guys are mentally and physically, he may very well be the last.

March 20th, 2012 at 11:18 pm

Gold medal
Since 1988, formalized the participation of professionals again to compete for medals, only the names of Agassi and Nadal stand in the list of winners, but each time it is given due importance to this competition, they play 6 games to achieve medals, apart from the majors, IW and Maimi only played that many games to win the title, but what stands out is that the final is played best of 5 sets, not best of 3 sets as the other matches competition, matching the final of the Olympics as more of a grand slam . Neither the Master 1000 and WTF, the final are played best of 5 sets since 2006, the first and the second in 2007, which highlighted. This being 2012 the most exciting Olympic game in history and played at Wimbledon the Cathedral, makes this tournament, a small 5 grand slam, much more important than others. Neither the master WTF 1000 and can be compared. Every 4 years, the most complete draw history and left in the grass, this is definitely the fifth largest.

March 20th, 2012 at 11:34 pm

Brad Gilbert tweeted that miami courts are playing faster this year. Too bad for rafa, the tournaments seem to listen to Roger, too much!

I think they realised they slowed down courts/conditions too much in fear of the rock-fests sampras/ivanisevic “served” us. Now, we see the other extreme – rafa and nole slugfest from the back-courts with almost minute use of the front courts. the good thing is, the more aggressive player – djokovic is being rewarded. 7-0. and counting!!!!

March 21st, 2012 at 1:28 am

Olympics/like davis cup is a concept that does not gel with tennis which is an “individual” game. The unique thing about tennis is the individual is alone by himself on the court. obviously, some players are sissies and have to look up to their box time and again for some assurance and maybe even some on-court coaching.

regardless, the core point of tennis is “it is about the player on the court”

trying to introduce nationalism/team tennis, which is what olympics/davis cup is about will result only in mediocre/weird results. very much like club football being mediocre to the World Cup. in case of football, it lends itself to nationalism/team concept. unfortunately tennis does not. that is the reason why most tennis players have p!$$ed/p00ped on olympics/davis cup.

the 2 greatest players of the last 20years have given more importance to slams/year end championships.

March 21st, 2012 at 1:39 am

Miamo fast, good notice for fed fan until Nadal maybe could won this time
Oh are no so fast!
hahhaa

March 21st, 2012 at 1:41 am

Hi all – being a tennis fan myself, i’ve been reading Sean’s writeups and your posts for a while; my first post here, though. I have joined the draw challenge as well. All the best!

March 21st, 2012 at 2:17 am

Just because Nadal has not been able to in WTF, the second most important tournament, it doesn’t make it lesser than olympic. Just like just because fed has not won olympic singles gold doesn’t mean that’s lesser than a MS title.

GS>WTF>OLYMPIC SINGLE>MS

March 21st, 2012 at 2:25 am

Just because Nadal has not been able to win WTF, the second most important tournament, it doesn’t make it lesser than olympic. Just like just because fed has not won olympic singles gold doesn’t mean that’s lesser than a MS title.

GS>WTF>OLYMPIC SINGLE>MS

March 21st, 2012 at 2:26 am

raf@tard number 27:

are you just having a verbal diarrhea like your friend skorocel or do you actually have a coherent argument to make?

Unless you are a stupid r@f@tard, you would know Cincinnati/USopen is a faster court than miami/indian wells.

March 21st, 2012 at 2:33 am

Olympics in tennis is only for mediocre nations like spain or abysmal nations [strictly in a sporting sense] like chile [see nicolas massu]. Tennis is not even in the top 20 popular sports @ olympic games, for crying out loud.

USA wins gold medals by the bucketful and they couldn’t care a damn about olympics gold in tennis.

Even roddick, who would barely make it in the top 20 Greatest american tennis players of all times p00ped on olympics.

It is highly debatable if the olympics is bigger than a masters shield. surely the ATP doesn’t think so. [it gives only 800 points to olympics winner but 1000 for MS, 1500 for year ending masters, and 2000 for GS]

I would say GS>MS>olympics>500

March 21st, 2012 at 2:40 am

Ajet — atp seems to award fewer points for an olympics singles win (750) than it does for a masters win (1000): http://bit.ly/lzyQ6I

March 21st, 2012 at 2:40 am

“Olympics in tennis is only for mediocre nations like spain or abysmal nations [strictly in a sporting sense] like chile [see nicolas massu”

1 correction, i meant to say jingoistic/nationalistic countries like spain.

March 21st, 2012 at 2:46 am

King Federer:

i put olympic above MS just coz the players like fed, rafa, djoker seem to prize it really more, they keep saying that it is one of their chief targets during olympic years, otherwise yeah, you’re correct that even MS are given more points than olympic singles by the atp body.

i mean sometimes points may not show you the whole truth though. as imo it’s nice for a multiple slam winner holding multiple MS to win a olympic gold in place of a MS coz he’s already have many MS in pocket, thus it might be a nice thing to have a olympic gold added to his feat, to give the sense of uniqueness to him.

that’s why for a guy like fed/rafa/djoker who’ve many MS, olympic gold win is a unique achievement instead of just adding another MS. Otherwise, for a guy who may not have won a MS in his life, to him winning MS has to be more imortant than winning an olympic coz after all, tennis has always been about winning slams, year end championships and MS titles as that’s how they’re most rememberered for.

That’s why I say, for fed and co. who have won multiple slams and MS etc.
GS>WTF>OLYMPIC>MS

Otherwise it’s not wrong at all to say that for a player aspiring to become great GS, WTF and MS has to be the far bigger priority than winning olymoic gold…

March 21st, 2012 at 3:07 am

Ajet :

Fair enough. I guess, in future, it might become a huge thing – Olympics singles Gold.

As you say, Fed, Rafa and nole give it importance. The generation before them didn’t care much – most probably because when sampras/agassi was growing up, tennis was not an olympic sport. For a kid growing up though, olympic singles might be a goal, because his heroes fed/rafa/nole talk about it.

I still think the once in a 4year event as part of a bigger amateur sports event goes against the dog-eat-dog professional tour that the ATP is. Tennis players play for purely selfish reasons – for themselves – for their own fame and money. To have them occasionally play for country/nationalistic reason goes against the very fabric of the game. An analogy would be a football player not passing the ball because he is chasing X number of goals in a game. It is just against the ethos of a team game.

to me davis cup/olympics are like abudhabi exhibition, personally speaking.

March 21st, 2012 at 3:52 am

Fed’s CV will be incomplete unless and until he wins an Olympic gold for singles and also the Davis Cup. Why do u think he played Davis Cup this year? He is desperate to win Gold as the next Olympics he may be on a zimmer frame!!

March 21st, 2012 at 4:33 am

Mark:

I don’t mind fed’s cv being incomplete so long as nadal’s remains even more incomplete! to tell you the truth, nadal sucks at WTF! he can’t do a thing at indoors! but fed has it all, the king of all surfaces, even reigned as FO champ during nadal’s FO era! now live with it!

and oh, fed has an olympic gold already! if he wins one more, he’d have his second!
but nadal doesn’t have even one wtf! hehe!

so who’s incomplete???

fed actually has slams, wtfs, MS as well as olympic gold! thus, fed lacks only davis cup, not bad when thinking that nadal lacks a far bigger thing than davis cup, i.e. wtf!

wtf>>>>>>>>>davis cup

March 21st, 2012 at 5:15 am

moreover who cares what nadal wins! so long as fed has those slams and wtfs,

FEDERER>NADAL

March 21st, 2012 at 5:17 am

FED FANS DON’T NEED TO CRY OVER OLYMPIC GOLD, THEIR GUY ALREADY HAS IT!
NO PROBLEM IF THE GOLD IS NOT IN SINGLES, BUT DOUBLES GOLD TOO IS GOLD!!! :D

March 21st, 2012 at 5:19 am

For some nadal fans who keep utterly whining about fed not having singles gold,

Let’s face it:

your guy sucks at the WTF!!! He’s federer’s pup at indoors!!! nadal’s fortunate that there aren’t 5 set matches at wtf or nadal might have had some best-of-5 beatdowns there and you’d be hiding in your holes! hahahahaha

March 21st, 2012 at 5:29 am

@Ajet. “even reigned as FO champ during Nadal’s FO era”. You forget Nadal was knocked out by Soderling so Fed had a nice easy run. Let’s see if he will ever win the FO with Rafa still in the tournament. I don’t think so. WTF that is exactly what it means. Rafa even pulled out of the WTF in 2008 – that’s how much it means to him!!!! Just ask Fed how much he yearns to win the Olympic Gold in singles!!!!!

March 21st, 2012 at 5:30 am

and you thank fed for beating djoker at FO last year or nadal would be sitting with single digits slam still…

and federer can yearn for winning olymic singles coz he sees realistic chance of his doing so! federer wants to separate himself more and more from the pack, that’s all! good to see him ambitious.

but from nadal’s talks, it seems to many that he has given up the hope of ever winning wtf so long as fed’s playing, hehehe!

and rafa pulled out from wtf coz he had to do so in order to prevent injury due to his physical style! he might not have had to do that if he could play effortlessly great tennis as federer!

March 21st, 2012 at 5:39 am

olympic is nothing before wtf, suck it up!

March 21st, 2012 at 5:40 am

a guy with a slam and a wtf would always be placed higher than a guy with a slam and a olympic gold!

March 21st, 2012 at 5:42 am

@Ajet “Olympic is nothing before WTF”. You really r delusional!! Great sportsmen compete in the Olympics which happens every 4 years. They play for their country and themselves. WTF – 8 players!!! Incomparable!

March 21st, 2012 at 5:51 am

davis cup moreover is a team game like olympic doubles.

nadal has davis cup in team tennis playedcagainst other conutries; so what, fed also has olympic doubles gold beating the best doubles teams of the world!

March 21st, 2012 at 5:54 am

@Ajet BUT he still does not have a Gold for singles. Maybe he will b lucky this year and if not he will have blown his chances of ever owning one.

March 21st, 2012 at 6:04 am

mark:

the only ones delusional are you and your likes who think olympic single as higher than wtf.

the very thing why fed/djoker keep saying that they wanna win olympic is coz both of them’ve already won wtf at least one or more times, unlike ndal who’s failed to win it even once!

fed has already 6 wtfs, so why he would like to put a wtf this year over olympic! that’s enough! that’s why fed wouldn’t mind trading a wtf with olympic! it’s always cool to try different things, ain’t it so? ;)
believe me, fed has so many wtfs that he may even lend nadal one out of mercy! ;)

and nadal or federer can even exchange their olympic golds, both being of same weight & quality in the market! ;)

March 21st, 2012 at 6:05 am

@Ajet ask a y knowledgeable person what is more coveted – WTF or Olympic gold!!!

March 21st, 2012 at 6:09 am

Mark is stupid even by r@fat@rd levels.

an olympic gold is bigger than an year ending championship where the top 8 players in the world compete?

what next? that rafa is greater than rod laver?

go back to your caves, raf@tards!

March 21st, 2012 at 6:34 am

Mark

In the Tennis world, ask the top 8 who can only qualify to play in WTF, its a special, major event. Only the ebst get to play, and have to play each other right away. No cakewalk draw until a semi. This is a very pretigious event for the players. Olympics has been important only in the last few years.

Americans, only would allow there amatuer players to complete, not the professionals. That has changed over time however. I think you are right however wrt the top players think it is important, so it is. There both important titles to hold. And remember, talk to anyone who has competed in the Olympics, getting a gold metal for anything is a very special.

March 21st, 2012 at 6:48 am

Babji:

I was talking about critics more than fans. And then some fans too. And you don’t need to tell me why I should like him to win. I was talking about the likelihood of it and it’s not as great as they make it sound. Possible, but he has obstacles to overcome. (Although there are rumours about court changes).

Babji and Skeezerweezer:
It’s Epsilon not Epislon.

March 21st, 2012 at 6:49 am

Take away all of the records, tournaments and court varieties – at the end of the day federer at his absolute peak form is the most unstoppable force tennis has ever seen. The only weakness he ever has had – his kryptonite (if he didn’t have a weakness then the universe would explode from his awesomeness) is Rafa nadals forehand to his backhand. Against every other player in history I’d put my life on 06 fed winning even with a tennis racquet that’s so old school it’s like bringing a pistol to a bazooka fight

March 21st, 2012 at 6:52 am

Calm down, people…………….calm down.

March 21st, 2012 at 7:03 am

Hey look!! They have made the courts faster for Choc Boy! Poor guy doesn’t have enough stamina for the slow courts!!

March 21st, 2012 at 7:24 am

All that whini g paid off!!

March 21st, 2012 at 7:24 am

Yeah, chill it out guys, :D. You have shown everyone the passion you have for your favs – with kudos.

But I question the point in going further than giving your point of view, if not to blast the fellow blogger to kingdom come of course :D!

As all above the point you make for an event is just blowing in the wind, the point you make actually adds up to the value fans give it – which I truly believe is not indefferent on the players.
After all, we pay their check.

Nadalista, I believe you might have cause for celebration in less than a fortnight, The Master of the Universe will probably cool it down and save his old bones. This time the joker will not fit in the matadors shoes, and MacScot is out frying tomatoes.

Overcaffeined cynic out.

March 21st, 2012 at 7:42 am

i’m gonna change my forum name officialy to choc boy – because I love him

He dont need antother gold medal – he is gold!!!

March 21st, 2012 at 7:50 am

brad gilbert bull$hitting all of us again…they are not slower..he is a huge rafa fan ..wants to load some must-win pressure on fed now…i am certain fed will tell on his first presser that the courts are very very slow…

March 21st, 2012 at 7:52 am

Choc Boy = goleden GOAT!

March 21st, 2012 at 7:52 am

Mark, why do you insist on sounding like a fifth-grader?

Some of what you say does make sense, e.g., an olympic medal is very prestigious. But you say it like a child (my toy is better than your toy) and you whine, ironically, about your perceived Federer’s whining.

No hard feelings but this is for you own (and the conversation’s) good.

March 21st, 2012 at 9:31 am

van orten,

Feel ya on BG, he has BSed before when it comes to Rafa.

Facts are Miami is built with the Laykold system, cushion plus I believe which has an ITF rating of 2( 1 being the slowest surface there is, 5 being the fastest. ). Its on the Tourney website and Laykold is a sponsor.

BG is just startin sh!t because he can…doesn’t mean its true.

The courts can feel slightly different from day to day on any court (excluding indoors) because of humidity conditions, wind, etc…but this is normal on all courts.

March 21st, 2012 at 10:10 am

go to wiki and see for yourself how a great tennis player is identified…

1st: no of slams

2nd: no. of WTFs

then only comes olympic/Masters 1000s/whatever. ;)

March 21st, 2012 at 12:23 pm

only an unrealistic fellow/fool will disagree with the fact that first come slams, then WTFs and then only the rest.

March 21st, 2012 at 12:28 pm

nole for miami and french.

March 21st, 2012 at 12:53 pm

Confidence can do wonders for a player. Who better than Djokovic to know this (2011)? This year, Federer is somewhat in a similar form (although he has lost 2 matches) but then his performance is by far the best amongst all his peers. Djokovic on the other hand has lost in his last 2 tournaments. 39-2 is a great run and Confidence will be a major difference between Djokovic & Federer if they meet in the SF!

In case of Nadal, i think he will easily reach the SF. Just one loss cannot reflect on the form he is in.

Roger Federer: The Power of Belief ! http://bit.ly/GzzjYI

March 21st, 2012 at 1:21 pm

Commonsense says that importance of the tournaments are decided by the points awarded for the winner. As per the point system GS > WTF > Olympics.

If that is not the case, what’s the purpose of point system?

March 21st, 2012 at 1:49 pm

of course an ordinairy Masters title would be bigger then Olympic if you follow that theory/

There are some other meassures to determin if a tennis player is Great in the eyes of tennis history/ weeks #1/ atp titles/ match wins/and of course it all shoeuld even or somewhat evenly spread among the different surfaces. So a player stinking indoors would have a hard time becomming a true great.

March 21st, 2012 at 1:59 pm

You can of course set other standards if you do not pass the test at every court.

Weeks #1 Slamtotal…..

It os all so easy…. Any way you look and Nadal is a very very good player.

March 21st, 2012 at 2:01 pm

fed rules!!

March 21st, 2012 at 2:13 pm

weeks at slam total theory falls flat in case of nadal coz he had to deal with the greatest ever player reigning as no.1 before he finally dethroned him! remainng no.2 for 3 years to the truly greatest player ever is as good as no.1 during that period; especially when you see how easily sometimes the no.1 position may go to a far lesser player if he’s playing in a weak era!

moreover nadal isn’t the greatest #2 player in history as told by you sienna, coz the very meaning of the greatest #2 player in history means a guy who has never risen to no.1 and just remained at no.2 for the longest time. but nadal is already no.1 for 50+ weeks in fed’s time, so he’s a former no.1 and he may regain no.1 again, who knows! so no, nadal is not the greatest no.2 player, he’s a former number one, lol! ;)

March 21st, 2012 at 4:32 pm

”i meant to say weeks at no.1 theory” in the first line of my previos post of course! ;)

March 21st, 2012 at 4:34 pm

I know Ajet. and a very good former #1 he was.

Why do you keep bringing it up. The converstaion is already closed. I acknowledge the fact that Rafa was a very very good player? I mean he is.

I am not taking anything away from him.

March 21st, 2012 at 6:00 pm

King stupid
are you just having a verbal diarrhea like your friend skorocel or do you actually have a coherent argument to make?

Unless you are a stupid r@f@tard, you would know Cincinnati/USopen is a faster court than miami/indian wells.

hahaha this only you can write. you don’t know refuse an argument, you do not know and you can only write nonsense with your language pubescent teenager. I guess you should have no more than 13 years and can not spin meaningful sentences. I feel sorry, kid. challenge to you is a complete waste of time. Go to the Psychologist to review your trauma and can solve your personal problems.

March 21st, 2012 at 11:23 pm

By the way, Hewitt would have played Wimbledon, Olympics and Us Opens as his final tournaments, right? Before his retirement this year.

March 21st, 2012 at 11:33 pm

Look forwar to the clash between Fed and Djok!

Fed must want Djok badly. HAHAHAHAHA

With the way Fed is serving, returning, hitting and moving right now, Djok will be owned……

Mu Ha hahahahahahahahahahaha

March 22nd, 2012 at 12:22 am

i gotta say that if fed plays near his best, he’ll beat djoker surely. but what’re the chances of fed playing his near best, only remains to be seen.

March 22nd, 2012 at 12:59 am

For all Nadalites:

Nadals match records:

231-18 on clay
326-101 outside of clay

32 titles on clay
16 titles outside of clay

6 slams on clay
4 slams outside of clay

Its really clear. He has largely built up his record through consistent victories on clay. He is no slouch on other surfaces – except indoors, where he is 52-29 – but he is not a “great” player on any other surface. he is a GREAT player on clay, perhaps the greatest ever.

He is not like Borg, the other greatest player on clay. Borg had 5 consecutive wimbledons, never (actually just once) played the australian (which was on grass then, so could have won many), and had 4 USO finals which he lost to the best hard court players then (Connors and Mcenroe at THEIR peak)

Nadal’s record is definitely a bit lop-sided.

In contrast, Federer is 163-51 on his weakest surface, clay, with 9 titles on clay (out of 73) including one slam and 5 masters titles. Plus 4 other french finals, all of whom were lost to Nadal only.

if you want to only look at slams…

AO; Fed is 63-9, Nadal is 35-7
FO; Fed is 49-12, Nadal is 45-1 (Fed could actually retire with more FO wins than Nadal!!)
Wimby; Fed is 59-7, Nadal is 35-5
USO; Fed is 61-7, Nadal is 34-8.

Fed would most likely become the only player ever to have 50+ wins in each of the slams this year.

Nadal is again lopsided – 45-1 on clay, 104-20 outside of clay (in slams).

Even in their H2H:

on clay, Nadal leads 12-2
outside of clay, Nadal lags 6-8

These are facts. Now let the spin begin….

March 22nd, 2012 at 11:31 am

trufan

You built a solid argument, for Fed :). But here is my spin….

But if you pull Feds stats out of your post, and let Rafa’s stand on its own against of the rest of the Field as of today, he is still quite awesome. Who else on tour can match up with a 326-101 record outside of clay??

March 22nd, 2012 at 12:37 pm

skeezerweezer Says:
trufan

You built a solid argument, for Fed :). But here is my spin….

But if you pull Feds stats out of your post, and let Rafa’s stand on its own against of the rest of the Field as of today, he is still quite awesome. Who else on tour can match up with a 326-101 record outside of clay??

Skeezerweezer its not like trufan said Rafa sucks at other surfaces. He just explained why he is not great! Your showing exacty why he should be considered a very good player.
Also have to consider that off all important tournements only 20 to 25 % of the tournements are played on clay, 5% on grass and 70% on HC. So youre winnings should resemble something like that.

I have not done the math but I bet Fed is just around covering all courts quit evenly spread.

March 22nd, 2012 at 1:30 pm

With evenly spread I mean according to the numbers I’ve given 70 / 25/ 5 a litle sub for clay and above for grass for obvious reasons…

March 22nd, 2012 at 1:42 pm

well said skeezer great post.

March 22nd, 2012 at 1:54 pm

Hmmm, so do i nedd to again remind you people why nadal is GREAT!

Ok let”s start:

1. Nadal is the Greatest Clay Courter along with Borg

2. Nadal is a Champion grass courter of his time, next only to his peer federer, as not only has he won wimby twice, but has also reached all the wimby finals consecutively that he has played since his hs 2005 second round loss(that makes it 5 consecutive wimby finals).
ANd two of nadal’s three losses in those wimby finals have come only against the greatest ever player federer(who’s also the 2nd greatest grass courter ever and just below the wimbledon king pete) at his peak in 2006 and 2007! and the guy to whom nadal lost in 2011 wimby final himself has proved that he’s a great player (by winning 5 slams)!

3.Now coming to HC, nadal has not only won two HC slams (one of which was being regarded, until nadal won it in 2010, as completely disadvantageous to his playing style; but nadal won that in style by playing the cannon-ball serving tennis ideally suited to the fastest surfaces!), but nadal actually has also beaten the greatest ever hard courter both the times they’ve met at the HC slams! and nadal also has some HC masters to his credit!

further nadal has beaten a 4 times HC slam holder in their fist ever HC slam meeting on the fastest slam surface of their generation!

and nadal even heads federer: the greatest HC player ever 5-2 in h2h and leads 2-0 in slams; that shows how great nadal is, even on HC!
it’s impossible that any ordinary hardcourter can keep that record against federer on HC when it matters most, unless he himself is at least a great HC player!

So all things considered Nadal is one of the greatest ever champions!

———–

Last but not the least, people have no right to judge tennis greatness on their own personal whimsical fanciful and idiotic terms, they’ve to consider greatness from every perspective, then only they’ll understand that nadal is not just the greatest clay courter, but also a great wimbledon champion considering that he, when very young, had to deal with federer at his peak at wimby! and considering that nadal has won slams against the greatest hardcourter ever in federer and again against another great hardcourter in djoker, hasn’t let fed beat him even once in their only 2 meetings, that says something about nadal’s greatness on HC too!

The thing is peoplen continuously change the standards for federer and nadal due to their hypocrisy, they just don’t want to accept the reality about the greaness of fed and rafa! for example, when fed has not won RG, how can he be greatest when he has never won RG, byut when fed won it, some people again were like how could that be counted as legitimate as he has not beaten nadal! it’s something similar going on here as well with some people desperate to adopt any means to make their point about nadal not being great look realistic and meaningful!

March 22nd, 2012 at 3:36 pm

Great post Ajet. You make a strong case for Nadal’s greatness in light of Fed’s greatness too while not undermining either guy for where they are at in terms of their achievements. You show there is no need to belittle one champ to prop up another because their accomplishments speak volumes.

March 22nd, 2012 at 3:59 pm

thanks for your compliments jane.

March 22nd, 2012 at 4:06 pm

Of course Nadal is a great player…..

However, if you look at ANY player in the open era that has won 6+ slams, and there are only about 10, Nadal’s record seems most dependent on a single surface.

Federer has 5+ finals in EACH of the 4 slams – nobody else is even close to that. That kind of performance regardless of surface is unprecendented.

And remember, the ONLY reason Federer doesn’t have 5 french titles is because he had to face the BEST clay courter ever, and a lefty! Had it been Borg, Fed would have won a few more. Or Lendl, or Guga…

March 22nd, 2012 at 4:08 pm

trufan:

If nobody is even close to fed, then why’re you comparing nadal to him, but compare nadal to others and you’ll see where nadal stands!

nobody’s forcing anyone here to call nadal as equal to or better thn fed, he needn’t have to be so, even then he’ll be a great!

and btw, nadal’s record though seems already impressive on grass, would have become legendary if he hadn’t fed to deal with in his first two finals! keep things in perspective!

and btw, you can say that winning many titles on clay isn’t impressive, but looking at it the other way you can see why almost never losing on clay is so much more ridiculously impressive! i personally don’t at all care about FO, wimby, ao and uso have been my fave as pete has won them, and i love pete second only to federer! but that doesn’t mean nadal’s 10 slams are ordinary!

and as you’ve already brought the ‘if’ scenario, think of what would have happened if federer wasn’t there in 2006 and 2007 wimby and what would have been the result if djoker didn’t handle rafa so well for three slams combined in last year and this year!

March 22nd, 2012 at 4:36 pm

however, trufan, the very fact tha you admit that naal is a great player is in itself enough to show that yuou’re sensible and i won’t argue with you more about this as we both are in agreement seemingly on the topic of nadal’s greatness. but you know, some people just can’t stop desperately trying to deny nadal’s greatness! as you’re not one of those, no need for me to tell you anything more as you are uite capable of seing who’s great and what’s ok! it’s cool now between you and me. :D

March 22nd, 2012 at 4:43 pm

however, trufan

the very fact that you admit that nadal is a great player is in itself enough to show that you’re sensible and i won’t argue with you more about this as we both are in agreement seemingly on the topic of nadal’s greatness. but you know, some people just can’t stop desperately trying to deny nadal’s greatness! as you’re not one of those, no need for me to tell you anything more as you are quite capable of seing who’s great and what’s ok! it’s cool now between you and me. :D

March 22nd, 2012 at 4:44 pm

of seing who’s great and what’s ok

Wrong again…. Not ok. But a very very good tennis player and a great claycourter.Which is also tennis.

So no real stuff going on we are all in agreement that Nadal is great on clay.
As far as his place in history at the moment. He is amongst very good tennis players just were he belongs.

March 22nd, 2012 at 5:32 pm

O and to put it bluntly.

Nadal belongs just inside the top 10 of all time.
SO that is why I do not call him great. Because greatness is behold for 3, 4 players maybe 5. Nadal is just not 1 of them. That is a fact.

March 22nd, 2012 at 5:35 pm

sienna you dont see him as a great player,then thats fine,you are entitled to your opinion,just like when many people say he is a great player,they are also entitled to there opinion,it does not mean they are wrong,but just wrong in your opinion.

March 22nd, 2012 at 5:44 pm

Of course, Nadal is a great player. ow can you not call a player who has won 10 slams great, regardless of how he won them?

The point, however, is that just because he holds a 12-2 H2H against Federer on clay (including 5-0 in slams on clay), there are mindless people who say he is greater than Federer. That is utterly foolish.

If Sampras had met Nadal 14 times on clay, it would have been 14-0 (remember how miserable Sampras was on clay – 24-13 at the French, only one semi in 13 attempts…).

You have look at statistics with a little more sense, and look at ALL stats. Federer is greater than any other tennis player, EVER, if you consider all stats. And Nadal is not in that league.

Becker, Edberg, Agassi were also great players. So were Connors and Mcenroe. I would put Nadal in that group. I think Lendl, Borg, and Sampras were greater (Lendl faced the hardest competition, ever, of any tennis player). Federer stands at the top on his own.

This clay H2H bullshit is what diverts attention from everything else.

And Nadal doesn’t have a single YEC, and is unlikely will get one. That is a big hole in his resume. Lendl and Sampras had 5 each. Heck, even Guga won one YEC. Federer has 6 already…..

Ya – 18 out of 19 slam finals in a row, 23 consecutive slam semi, some 32 consecutive slam quarters and counting, 237 consecutive weeks at No 1, 3 times winning 3 slams in a year, twice reaching all 4 finals in a year, 24 consecutive finals wins, 11 slams in 4 years, 92-5 match record in a single year, 247-15 over three consecutive years, least sets lost in winning his first 5 wimbledons (fewer than Borg or Sampras), one can go on and on and on.

Nobody has such extensive accomplishments.

And he still continues. 73 titles won, 829-188 match record already – 593-78 since 2004. 16 slams, 23 slam finals, 19 masters titles, 6 YEC.

And he is not all done yet.

Sampras failed to win a SINGLE title after his 2000 wimby, until he won the 2002 USO.

If you compare age wise, federer has been constantly winning titles even since the 2010 wimby (they are born exactly 10 years apart). 6 titles in the last 6 months, past 30!! including 2 masters and 1 YEC!! By this age, Sampras had dropped out of the top 10. Federer is threatening to get to No 2, with a real shot at No 1 this year!!

Nadal doesn’t even come close…

March 22nd, 2012 at 8:10 pm

If you compile Nadal’s accomplishments – almost all of them are on clay. Except perhaps 5 wimbledon finals with two wins – that is certainly creditable. Of course, part of the reason is the slow grass and balls, different from the Sampras era. Had the courts been as fast as then, Nadal wouldn’t have done that well on grass.

Again, evidence of that is how his game crumbles on fast indoor courts.

On clay, certainly, Nadal has done wonders. Can anyone point out wonders from him outside of clay?

Of course, he certainly holds the record for losing the maximum finals to the same player consecutively (7 and counting), and the maximum slam finals to the same player consecutively (3 and counting).

Anyone, anyone?

March 22nd, 2012 at 8:15 pm

trufan,

That was a solid post @ 8:10, great stuff ;)

Worth repeating…

“This clay H2H bullshit is what diverts attention from everything else.

And Nadal doesn’t have a single YEC, and is unlikely will get one. That is a big hole in his resume. Lendl and Sampras had 5 each. Heck, even Guga won one YEC. Federer has 6 already…..

Ya – 18 out of 19 slam finals in a row, 23 consecutive slam semi, some 32 consecutive slam quarters and counting, 237 consecutive weeks at No 1, 3 times winning 3 slams in a year, twice reaching all 4 finals in a year, 24 consecutive finals wins, 11 slams in 4 years, 92-5 match record in a single year, 247-15 over three consecutive years, least sets lost in winning his first 5 wimbledons (fewer than Borg or Sampras), one can go on and on and on.

Nobody has such extensive accomplishments.”

NO ONE.

RE; 8:15 post..well Rafa has done wonders outside of Clay. Because he started out has a Clay court specialist, and won Wimby and USO. That was a pretty darn good feat for a guy who’s game we all know shouldn’t transcend to any other surface besides Clay…but then there is the slowdown of the court issue that imo helped, especially at Wimby……..

This is where I part ways with Rafa = Borg. For those of us who were there to see Borg ( showing my age….darn ) Borg played, and won on the slick surface of WImby…….5 TIMES! WHen he came up the ranks he was known very well as a Clay court specialist but he developed a big serve, a great two handed to one handed slice, to compliment his Topspin game. In my book Rafa has a ways to go to start placing him in the shelf with Borg, who played in a time where the surfaces were drastically different, not mostly playing the same…..

March 22nd, 2012 at 9:33 pm

‘If you compile Nadal’s accomplishments – almost all of them are on clay. Except perhaps 5 wimbledon finals with two win’

yeah 5 wimbledon finals is okay i suppose. more than anybody else on tour outside of federer, who’s 5 years older, but yeah it’s okay. + 2 hard court slams and 2 more finals, that’s not too bad.

makes semis of tour finals almost every time and a final, with his game crumbling on indoor courts unlike murray, or roddick with all their tour final finals, and djoker with his spectacular performance last year.

‘Can anyone point out wonders from him outside of clay?’

do you follow the tour?

it’s so sad all the conditions are so unbelievably slow now, just incredibly slow to the point where you can even return serve and play points. god i wish we could make the balls smaller and the surfaces quicker so instead of raonic and isner and querrey and the like winning 80% of first serve points, they win 90%+ and nobody can put the ball in play and in fact every match between players +6’1 becomes a serving contest.
that would be an amazing spectacle.

you’re fools.

when players get to point where they consistently serve 130+mph and hit 100mph forehands, you modify
conditions.

and keep believing grass is slow.
god it’s pathetic.
just can’t handle the idea nadal can play on all surfaces.

i guess it’s just like how they sped up the clay though! that’s how isner beat federer, right? it must have been. it was just way too fast now and totally sabotaged federer. please slow down the clay! so our hero can win! except against nadal. then please speed it up again!
why do we even have to play on clay! i know it’s more authentic than hardcourts being the second oldest surface. but come on, it doesn’t really count as a real surface!
because our hero only won 1 slam on it! how could it be a real surface!
it’s just for specialists!

and if you make a roland garros final, you can’t wear a custom blazer and trousers like the biggest poser to ever play the game!

March 22nd, 2012 at 10:36 pm

skeezerweezer-

Off topic here but i responded to your post on the bracket comments. but the posts there disappear as more posts accumulate… so it might be gone by morning.

Next year, Indian Wells! ;)

March 23rd, 2012 at 12:00 am

Ajet. excellent post 3/22 3:36 pm

very fair and balanced, imo.

March 23rd, 2012 at 12:04 am

carlo,

sorry I missed it if I did. I met a very dear friend last year who doesn’t post here anymore and we hooked up and watched some tennis together. It was hecka fun. IW is a great venue for tennis fans as you pay the general admission and you can walk in and out of matches and see a lot of players. Practice course are the best, you can see your fav up close. Stay in touch there is some posters up here who are going of sure next year ( including yours truly ). Planning on some tennis x partying during the stay…if you play bring your racket ;)

March 23rd, 2012 at 1:09 am

my point stands anyway. nadal doesn’t have to be greatest ever, but he’s surely great!

and so far as losing consecutive slam finals/slam matches go, federer really seems to be holding the record right now by losing FO 08, WIM 08, AO 09, FO 11 finals to rafa. and he has also lost 5 slam meetings consecutively(the aforesaid 4 plus AO 12 semi) to rafa! and counting! ;)

and all credit to fed for winning so many titles an having so many records, but nadal also has records like

1.winning most matches consecutively on a surface

2.the only player apart from lendl and federer to have regained his no.1 ranking after losing it(not even sampras did it)

3.the youngest player by far to complete career grand slam+olympics

4.the only player in history to win three consecutive slams on clay, grass and hard!(amazing achievement considering clay is slowest, grass is medium/medium fast and USO is fast)

no ordinary feats the above, quite outstandingly unique in their own place!

and btw as much as i prefer HC to clay, it’s a good point made out by roy that clay is indeed the second oldest surface in tennis and is very very prestigious from old timers’/conventional point of view, FO was far more important than AO until late! so you cannot dismiss clay records at your own sweet will.

and btw I am of the firm opinion that if the FO-WIM would be as different as in pre-2001 period, then it’s not that only nadal may not have done so well at wimbledon, but federer too would not have done this well at RG!n similarity of surfaces at RG and WIm is the reason I believe why fedn and arafa were able to reach so many finals on them consecutively otherwise it’d have been closed for them! federer is above pete and borg by only a very slender margin! and talent-wise jmac is not far from federr either, but none were able to so many back-to-back wimby-fo final in their times coz the drastic difference in nature didn’t allow them to do so! no wonder, these days evry player alsmost who does well at wimby does well at fo too and vice versa whereas in old times, it was impossible almost to do, so much so that nothing less than the GREAT ROD LAVER and GREAT BJORN BORG could only do it in open era until the recent slowing down of surfaces!

in fact borg’s 3 consecutive back-to-back fo-wim is the most amazing and difficult achievement EVER imo, none comes even close to his versatility apart from laver!

Now coming back to our own discussion, there’s no doubt that federer has many titles by now, good for him! But nadal’s not done too shabby either by the age of 25! Nadal may not have all the amazing records of his own like fed, but at least he’s some unique records that reflect pure greatness.
Thus nadal is great in his own place, and is just below the greater ones like fed, borg, pete and laver!

And again a perspective of ‘if’ from nadal’s angle(just like you guys keep pointing out time and again as to the what if Wimbledon would be fast like it formerly was, w.r.t. rafa): what if there weren’t those hard courts and the slams would be as it were in the old times: 2 on clay and 2 on grass! Imagine what nadal would have done if he was born at those times, how many slams he would be sitting with!

thus, i don’t need to point out anymore as to why it is futile to compare nadal to federer all the time, as one can be great without being the greatest ever.

and to be honest though, i didn’t start watching federer coz of his slam wins, i started watching it even before he wn his 1st slam, because to me federer appeared the most invincible in tennis history when he’s at his absolute best and talent is what i value most and i found nobody more talented ever than federer! that’s why i am fed fan! Otherwise, if I were more an admirer of hardwork, enthusiasm and determination than talent, then i would be a nadal fan by now!

March 23rd, 2012 at 2:47 am

Sienna:

i am now convinced that your understanding is nil and your analytical skills pathetic and overall you’re a joke of a poster! you’re so brainless thst you don’t even understand the meaning of what you’re saying!

in any category, be it in academics or competeive exams or sports or or music or whatever stream one considers, if one is kept within the top-10, that simply means he’s great1 I think it’s only you who’ll say a football player/tennis player finding a place within the top-10 is anything shoer ot great! heck, let’s consider some simple analogies: if there’s a competitive exam for recruitment to any civil service n any country or if there’s the class 10/12 exam, there the toppers are generally the top-10 students, and anybody with a human brain can understand that the top-10 are just outstanding! or just take the case of determining the all-time top ten singers/ rich persons/sportsman, then anybody who figures in that list is undisputably greats in that regards, only a super-idiot or luantic will not get this simpale fact!

March 23rd, 2012 at 3:16 am

Sienna:

i am now convinced that your understanding is nil and your analytical skills pathetic and overall you’re a joke of a poster! you’re so brainless thst you don’t even understand the meaning of what you’re saying!

in any category, be it in academics or competitive exams or sports or or music or whatever stream one considers, if one is kept within the top-10, that simply means he’s great! I think it’s only you who’ll say a football player/tennis player finding a place within the top-10 is anything short of great! heck, let’s consider some simple analogies: if there’s a competitive exam for recruitment to any civil service n any country or if there’s the class 10/12 exam, there the toppers are generally the top-10 students, and anybody with a human brain can understand that the top-10 are just outstanding! or just take the case of determining the all-time top ten singers/ rich persons/sportsman, then anybody who figures in that list is undisputably greats in that regards, only a super-idiot or lunatic will not get this simple fact!

March 23rd, 2012 at 3:19 am

It’s a pity that even great players look much smaller when compared to Roger’s accomplishments. But is it correct to keep Roger as a benchmark to define greatness? I believe he is more of an exception.

March 23rd, 2012 at 5:35 am

Ajet : You have chosen a wrong person to educate. Sienna may have brain, but definitely it’s not in her head.

March 23rd, 2012 at 5:39 am

Nirmal:

may be she needs a brain transplant as her brain has lost its functionality completely!

and well said nirmal @5.35 am post!

March 23rd, 2012 at 6:20 am

Ajet bloody brilliant post 2.47am,nice to here as a fan ,rafa has broke a few records of his own,people give him critisism for what he hasnt done,and forget to give him credit for what he has done,so its refreshing to here,and also one the reasons i love your posts so much,even as a fed fan,you always give rafa,nole,murray and all the other players the credit they deserve,maybe some other posters can learn a thing or two from you.

March 23rd, 2012 at 7:07 am

looking at the challenge draw and your multiple posts seem even more stupid then they already are.

You are such a low person. Afraid that someone else has a different oppinion so you start to attack that person. Is that normal behaviour in India or is that the product of youre upbringing?

Look at Nadals record for HC and he is a good player because 70% of all tennis is played on those courts it ways for 70%. Nadal is a great claycourtplayer but only 25 – 30% is played on clay. So all in all we can agree that Nadal is a very good player.
You dont have to keep responding the same nonsens because I already agreed with you that he is great on clay and good on HC. So we are totally in agreement.

Bless you and take care.

March 23rd, 2012 at 8:59 am

it weighs …

March 23rd, 2012 at 9:00 am

http://blogs.tennis.com/tennisworld/2012/03/tk-6.html

Poor Rafa poor soul. The magic potion is to ditch the uncle.

March 23rd, 2012 at 9:41 am

i think its one thing to have a difference of opinion,but quite another when a persons culture and upbringing are insulted,i think some moderation should be brought in here.

March 23rd, 2012 at 9:55 am

ooh sienna you sound soo bitter.

March 23rd, 2012 at 9:58 am

Why because I make joke about the uncle?Losen up will you.

Just FYI Pete Bodo is actually stating many of the thing I have said and he is supposed to be his fan!

March 23rd, 2012 at 10:10 am

alison hodge Says:
i think its one thing to have a difference of opinion,but quite another when a persons culture and upbringing are insulted,i think some moderation should be brought in here.

Listen Alison dearest. Have you not read the foul comments he made towards me. I was just asking the good soul why he is doing that? It could be culturele or upbringing there is nothing wrong in asking a question like that.

March 23rd, 2012 at 10:12 am

i was not reffering to the article,just your posts in general,and with all due respect,i think your the one who needs to loosen up.

March 23rd, 2012 at 10:19 am

Alison it was wrong in the first place of Ajet to get personal. This is a blog where all opinions matter, regardless of who u support. Maybe Sienna is right. Maybe it is a cultural or educational deficiency. Even religious I might add

March 23rd, 2012 at 10:28 am

Alison…?? Have I ever said anything about you or a poster? I just state my thing and thats it. And if I have done so I will try not to in future. Just because you do not like what you read doesnt mean I am not allowed or I should losen up. For Christ sake it is just an opinion.

March 23rd, 2012 at 10:36 am

An I feel stron about calling tennis legends great/. The greatest or one of the greats.

I already explained to the rafanino’s that he is a great clay court player. Perhaps the greatest although there are some others who can still nip it from him. That is a matter of taste and OPINION.

As tennis legends goes we consider the whole package. Not only clay. With that we can all agree that he is not among the greatest players ever.
We agree about that. I stated he might be just around the top 10 and Ajet agreed with me. But he feels that being #10 all time is supposed to be Great. Well I do agree with that. # 10 is a very very good player but can never be 1 of the greats….
Especially if you do not dominate youre own era.

March 23rd, 2012 at 10:45 am

Sienna:

gotta learn a thing or two from you about lying and appearing nice! you’ve also called me joke of a poster and everything else, but now that i suddenly called you out on your idiocy, i am suddenly bad and my upbrininging is wrong and everything! well, all i can say is that’s in your upbringing, to tell wrong, to spread lies and to pretend innocence! i don’t blame you for that!

and speaking of indian culture/religion, who cares a damn about it anyway! waste your time pondering over other’s culture! am hardly chauvinistic! dunno why people so obsessed with so-called cultures!

March 23rd, 2012 at 1:13 pm

i admire british, americans, aussies and other english people the most, including europeans for being so wise, so intelligent, so scientific, so innovative and philosophical, that’s all!

i love european culture most, that’s all i can say!

March 23rd, 2012 at 1:25 pm

Ajet you are right. We are what we are true the knowledge we get on the blogs and the internet.

Its got nothing to do with culture at all. I see it know. I’m sorry I have doubted you. You are a wise person. Youre knowledge about life and tennis is gigantio. it only is matched trough the knowledge and wisdom of Nirmal.
I see it know everything you two claim and state is so deep and well thought.
I could I have wandered so far away when all I had to do is read those humble and respected posts you two make.

March 23rd, 2012 at 1:41 pm

sienna:

looks like you’re having some lovely cultural medicine for a change! wisdom and kindness has suddenly started overflowing from you!

March 23rd, 2012 at 1:54 pm