Nadal, Murray, Serena Advance Tuesday at Wimbledon

Fognini, What surprises will show us today?

June 27th, 2012 at 3:56 am

@steve 27
In the end it doesnot really matter, if the Roger from the first shows up. Then it is safe to say that the italian doesnt stand a chance.

June 27th, 2012 at 6:43 am

I heard people say….

Roger Federer is the Reincarnation of ‘Jesus Christ’….

June 27th, 2012 at 6:45 am

With all these guys in white it’s hard to tell who’s who. I was having trouble telling rafa and bellucci apart yesterday and today cost ruffling with roger fognini

June 27th, 2012 at 8:16 am

Lisa, oh lord…

I wonder how Gulbis will do today with no spotlight or tough challenge??

June 27th, 2012 at 9:31 am

Federer rolls over Fognini in straights. He’s +27 on the winners/UE differential for today and +23 for the first round. Great numbers so far from Federer.

Interestingly, he’s been to net 57 times through two matches, and he’s won about 81% of those points. Clearly, both Ramos and Fognini and going to be guys against whom he can try out that tactic, but in contrast to last year, Federer had come in only 41 times in two matches and won only 61% of those points.

June 27th, 2012 at 9:49 am

Nice to see Gulbis still playing with purpose.

June 27th, 2012 at 9:54 am

Federer is looking really impressive so far- man to beat kind of stuff.

BUT i think we all know deep down that there’s ONLY 2 players who could challenge him on grass, and he won’t meet the first one until the SF.

I don’t think we should read too much into what fed is doing at the moment, other than saying the most NATURALLY TALENTED grass courter out there is taking care of business. As he should.

Kind of wish, for his sake, that he had some tough players on his side. Maybe even del potro- someone who may not beat him, but will get him dialed in and challenge him to an extent.

I fear this easy street stuff may cost him later, as he may not be battle hardened enough for what may lie ahead…….

June 27th, 2012 at 10:01 am

True Brando. There is really no one there who can put up a challenge even. Maybe Simon?

May have spoken too soon about Gulbis…

June 27th, 2012 at 10:05 am

I think it will be the big four in the semi-finals as usual this year. Tsonga is always dangerous and I think young Belgian David Goffin has it in him to go far again. The Brits are doing well so far but I don’t expect any others apart from Murray to get past the third round.

http://jedidiahgore.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/britons-going-great-guns-at-wimbledon.html

June 27th, 2012 at 10:16 am

Brando,

You summed up pretty well. Roger is a master at dismissing minnows and since he makes it so elegant people tend to have too high hopes for him.

But Novak and Nadal are different animals. He gets so many of his best shots back, be is almost clueless how to play them.

I saw a very nice stat put up before today’s match. It showed the % time spent inside the baseline in 2003 final for Roger which was in 70’s. While in 2012 he is at 35%.

June 27th, 2012 at 10:16 am

Jane, what’s the update on Gulbis match. I do not see anything on the scoreboard.

June 27th, 2012 at 10:17 am

TMF is steamrolling everybody. He is even more impressive then Nadal on Garros 2012. This is vintage Federer.

He is rolling back the years. Witth every step he takes I feel more confident. Every move, every ball is played with intention en heart.

He is the ultimate tennis warrior, he is the ultimate player.

June 27th, 2012 at 10:24 am

Sienna I see Brainless (Steve 27) is still around. Wonder if he can hear the wind noise between his ears.

June 27th, 2012 at 10:33 am

Federer fans, just read some of the comments here about Fed coming onto the court. The BBC are just classic.

Start from the bottom upwards.

Brando, remember Federer has had a lot of practice coming into Wimbledon, plus he reached the SF of RG, so he IS battlehardened. Okay, different surface, but he played well in Halle to reach the F after the 6 matches he played at RG, against quality opponents. He only lost to Novak, what, is it only 2 weeks ago now? Seems longer.

Federer* 2-0 Fognini
Federer’s parents here watching too. Lovely rat-tat-tat exchange at the net, Roger popping away a backhand cross-courter to move to his first break point but losing it to a forehand that flies long. Fognini sporting a thin goatee/sideburn combo that’s a little like a more fastidious Jack Sparrow. Trouble again for the Italian, Federer gently squeezing the life out of him and snatching a break at the very first opportunity.
Federer 1-0 Fognini*
You want to know if these two have met before? Once, on the hard courts of Montreal, five years ago. Roger creamed it 6-1 6-1. Tiny gasps of astonishment around Centre as Federer flays a forehand long to go 0-30 down, but extra beef on the first serve and a crisp brace of volleys ease him home. Is that Stefan Edberg in the Royal Box? Talking of crisp volleys – ooh la-la…
1305:

Here come the two players – Roger gliding into this famous old arena as if on oiled castors, Fognini with a matching white headband as if hopeful some of that Fed class might magically attach to him too.
1303:

On Tuesday we had Grace Jones, today we have the Duchess of Cornwall. Only at Wimbledon. Seems to be wearing a beige/cream number, Camilla, and she receives a giddy-eyed round of applause from the royalists in the house. Charles in a a sober grey double-breasted suit. Straight to the front row of the Royal Box for those two.
Waqar from Birmingham via text on 81111: “The real Cinderella story at Wimbledon would be Federer beating Nole and Rafa on his way to a 17th grand slam, 7th Wimbledon title and becoming world number one.”
1258:

Warm at Wimbledon for this second round match between six-time champion Roger Federer and world number 68 Fabio Fognini. A little cloudy, but in this summer only the most churlish would complain. As Shakespeare would have written had he been around to see summer 2012: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day/ Grey and wet, unpleasantly windy, and liable to spoil outdoor sporting occasions…”
1254:

All well? What a day at Wimbledon – Prince Charles here for his first visit since 1970, Bruce Forsyth joining him in the Royal Box. Oh to be a fly on that polished balustrade..

June 27th, 2012 at 10:47 am

@Nirmal – But Novak and Nadal are different animals. He gets so many of his best shots back, be is almost clueless how to play them
—————————————————-
Yes Nirmal – Nole and Nadal are different animals, that’s the reason they hold most of the records in the sport.
Fed with his 6 Grand Slams and 23 weeks at no 1 is not worth comparing with these two all time greats.

June 27th, 2012 at 10:48 am

Nirmal, Gulbis is on court 17.

Too bad play is suspended. I hope they use the roof if need be.

June 27th, 2012 at 10:50 am

@dc: unless you accidentally left some key digits off of your stats (sixTEEN rather than six, etc…), I’m not sure I follow…

June 27th, 2012 at 10:51 am

Why is play suspended on centre court?

June 27th, 2012 at 10:52 am

Nick Bollettieri hoping for an upset: My boy Ryan Harrison has fighting attitude to take on Novak Djokovic. On that court he will go toe-to-toe with anyone, fight tooth and nail
http://tinyurl.com/7qaqlnd

June 27th, 2012 at 11:02 am

“13.45: While Federer goes about dismantling Fognini, over on the practice courts Rafael Nadal is hitting some balls to the obvious joy of the huge female contingent in the crowd there to watch him. There’s some swooning going on out there.” [British newspaper Daily Mail]

Wimbledon Wedgie watch: why Rafael Nadal’s underwear must be pants
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon-wedgie-watch-why-rafael-nadals-underwear-must-be-pants-7888909.html

June 27th, 2012 at 11:04 am

Indeed, Nole has another challenging opponent second round. A former world number 1 and two time quarter finalist in round one, and now a young whipper snapper in round 2. Nole will have to be sharp. Rafa, too, had a difficult first round with Bellucci, who has a tricky lefty serve; however, it should be smoother sailing versus Rosol. Murray’s first rounder could have been difficult, but he raised his game yesterday, and Davy’s worst surface is grass. Next round it’ll probably be Karlovic, so a tricky one. And then third round it could be Dimitrov, if he beats Baggy.

June 27th, 2012 at 11:32 am

@jane: I think rafa, novak and andy will BENEFIT from their draws. It’ll iron out their game for the later stages at wimby. Espcially andy m. Because of his tough draw, people are giving him next to no chance in winning the thing. Perfect scenario- it match by match for him now. No looking further than what’s in front of him. I didn’t do a second bracket, but if I could bow I would pick andy m for the win. Just a gut feeling about him and things finally shaping up nicely for him…..

June 27th, 2012 at 11:39 am

Hope you’re right Brando; I can see the logic, for sure. I did a second bracket and picked Andy M winning in it. :)

June 27th, 2012 at 11:45 am

Dave. You stupid stupid little man. Always looking for articles to berate Nadal, your Choc Boy’s nemesis. Here’s hoping they meet in the final and Nadal gives your MR SHUT UP another whipping!!!

June 27th, 2012 at 11:50 am

@jane: yes I saw that. Smiled at the time. Glad to see people still believing that andy could pull it off at a slam. I’ll b very happy for him when it does ;-)

June 27th, 2012 at 11:53 am

Hope Woz gets this done in two.

June 27th, 2012 at 12:18 pm

Fed with his 6 Grand Slams and 23 weeks at no 1 is not worth comparing with these two all time greats.

I’m sure there is a typo here with the numbers. Ofcourse Roger’s career accomplishments are great without doubt. But for GS, I see that Novak has beaten Roger some 5-1 in their last 6 meetings.. I can’t remember exactly when Roger beat Rafa in a GS. So not sure if those career records are going to help Roger win his matches against Rafa and Nole. I’m confused how they are relevant.

June 27th, 2012 at 12:29 pm

Nope Woz choked 2 match points away, and this is going to a third. There is another ladies match before Nole/Harrison can even start, which means he’ll likely get carried over unless they play until 11:00 under the roof/lights. Dang weather.

June 27th, 2012 at 12:34 pm

Mark,

Dave doesn’t write the artcle, don’t blame the messenger. It’s actually a very funny article. There are some that have actually tried to suggest Rafa wear a jockstrap, it could help, but you don’t know what that is, do you? My guess is it doesn’t matter what he wears, its a habit, for all to enjoy.

June 27th, 2012 at 12:49 pm

The key to the match is what happened when Federer lost the first two points of the match on his serve. Had Fognini broken Federer’s serve at the start of the match, Roger would have mentally crumbled and lost the match :)

Federer had 35 winners to 8 unforced errors, won over 63% of the total points, won 80% of all his service points and won 49% of receiving points. And yet my sense is that he was not even at 100% especially in the second set. Federer is probably pleased with his game, and he may shift down a gear and work on a few things in his next match, probably against Benneteau (I hope).

It’s more important for Federer that he gets a few rounds of baseliners to reinforce his ground game (without taxing his serve) and set him up for baseliners like Simon/Verdasco, Tipsarevic/Youzhny, Djokovic/Gulbis/Gasquet/Mayer and Delpo/Tsonga/Nadal (worse thing is for Fed to play players who might disrupt his rhythm such as Karlovc, Raonic, Tsonga, Stepanek, Florian Mayer). Thus, it is the perfect start for Federer. I said during Halle that his loss to Haas was situational and nothing to be worried about… because his basic game for Wimbledon was already there at Halle.

It really does not matter if Federer had played Bellucci or Ferrero or Harrison or Davydenko. In this kind of form, when Federer is on, his game is so fast an dominant and stifling and creative on grass that it destroys his opponent’s confidence, breaks down their game and removes their ability to resist him. Nadal’s and Djokovic’s more physical and attritional games do not win in the same way, though the end result is still a win. Because of the way Federer wins, some pundits feel that players like Ramos and Fognini are easy players whose games are weak. Fognini beat Tomic and stretched Roddick to 7-5 in the third set at Eastbourne — and I had predicted in bracket entry that he would beat Llodra on grass, which he did. And Ramos was the highest ranked player of all the top four players in terms of 52-week ranking and year-to-date ranking. Both Fognini and/or Ramos could easily have pushed Nadal and Djokovic for a few more games, possibly even a set — because they would have had a fraction more more time to breathe and play their games during the match against Rafa and Novak.

Richard Krajicek , BBC Radio 5 live: “Roger has made Fognini look less than he is to be honest. Watching the top four, the way they can accelerate sets them apart from the others. Roger is probably the one they copied it all from, to be honest, with that huge acceleration.”

British newspaper: Fair warning to the rest of the men’s draw: Roger Federer wants his trophy back. Novak Djokovic, the reigning champion, and Rafael Nadal will no doubt have something to say about that, but if Federer maintains this sort of form, good luck to anyone who dares stand in his way.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jun/27/wimbledon-roger-federer-fabio-fognini?newsfeed=true

British newspaper Guardian live commentary: “Roger Federer strolls to the net with the bored elegance of a retired colonel about to open the French doors to the veranda and then proceeds to swat an imperious backhand into the open court…. With a bored, lordly air, Roger Federer gets out of his chair to mop the remains of Fabio Fognini off Centre Court. He wanders cross court to scoop up a drop volley, forces a few more errors from the Italian’s racket and eases through to round three, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. Thus far, the six-time former champion appears in immaculate good form.”

Former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, who ousted Sampras en route to his title in 1996, believes it is premature to suggest the Federer is facing his last opportunity to secure a record-equalling seventh title at SW19. “Don’t be too negative about Roger, that this might be his last chance. I think he has a few more chances and he’s played so well over the last eight months that if he wins Wimbledon then he’s world number one. “It’s not like he’s ranked like number 12 and he’s only got a few for Grand Slams in him, he’s ranked number three and if Rafa hadn’t won the French Open he’d be number two already. “He can win here. Maybe on grass this is his biggest chance because the other guys are so physically strong and here Roger can serve the aces and the slice will be more effective.”It is very weird to talk about somebody who is so close to being world number one again that this is his last chance of winning Wimbledon, I don’t agree with that.”

*****

Mark: Clearly you should be with the “huge female contingent” swooning over Nadal. If you’re not happy, complain to the award-winning British newspaper that article came from… or complai to Uncle Toni about Nadal’s butt picking. And surely there must be a site rule here against swooners who make abusive comments like “you stupid stupid little man”.

June 27th, 2012 at 1:05 pm

@Squeeeeezer. You are darn right “it’s a habit for all to enjoy” – even Centre Court applaud him! And BTW why are you fighting Dave’s corner? I am sure he is capable of dishing out a 5000 line response if he so wishes.

June 27th, 2012 at 1:05 pm

Nirmal I am sure the typos are therevto ridicule any commenys wjich downgrades the obvious strenhth of Fed
Even a fake Fesfan like you must admit his form is evident amd worrying even for # 1 and 2 (stil) in the world. We are witnessing hisyoey in the making.

June 27th, 2012 at 1:06 pm

and i am sorry for the typo’s

June 27th, 2012 at 1:07 pm

Even a fake Fesfan like you must admit his form is evident amd worrying even for # 1 and 2

Yeah, his form is definitely great. But I do not see it to be greater than his form in AO 12 and USO 11. He played fantastic tennis, as good as the one he is playing now. But when he met the Top2 in the semis, I saw what happened there.

Roger is not in a position to take 3 sets from the Top 2. He can sure take 2 sets, but that’s not enough to win a GS match.

June 27th, 2012 at 1:14 pm

wow. what a winner from paszek to take the match!!!!

June 27th, 2012 at 1:17 pm

Seventeen,

Not sure how to qualify a true fan? Is it like you should not understand tennis and just believe Roger will even every tournament?

June 27th, 2012 at 1:27 pm

Glad I did not have work today, saw fed clean up (hope leg/knee is okay) against fognini and then that EXCELLENT match with woz and tamira paszek. They both played well, but i love the way Wimbledon allows those big hitters and aggressive players just SHINE. bummer for woz, it was about as tough a first round you could get

June 27th, 2012 at 1:28 pm

Nirmal
Now I really doubt your tennis knowledge and you being a fedfan. Every Fedfan will see the digference between rhis Fed and Us 2011. forget about AU 2010 or 2009. This is atleast Fed of 2007 and this is probably TMF. No one touches TMF at Wimbledon.

June 27th, 2012 at 1:29 pm

“(hope leg/knee is okay)”

Fed has a leg/knee injury? I thought it was his hip/back?

June 27th, 2012 at 1:34 pm

Andy murray Q and A:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/18603900

LOVE the prank rafa pulled on him! lol, could have got andy in some trouble:-)

June 27th, 2012 at 1:35 pm

@Dave. Am I the only poster on this forum you definitely do not impress with your 10 page posts!! You obviously have nothing better to do other than swoon over your OLD MAN! Won’t be long now before he rids the tennis world of his presence. Retire now Choc Boy before your H2H grows even wider against Nadal the seven time French Open champion!!

June 27th, 2012 at 1:35 pm

@Mark

Don’t insult Federer fans and don’t call Federer old. Why don’t you go and pick Nadal butt. You seem to love your Nadal who is yuck and cheats. Who did Nadal have in the draw at RG. No-one. He has the most easiest draw going and plus RG was basically given to him.

Nadal is the King of Clay and that is all really.

June 27th, 2012 at 1:40 pm

Wish they would play some Gulbis on ESPN. fat chance

June 27th, 2012 at 1:47 pm

He just slipped in the fog match, Jane.
After match he said you don’t know until you cool down, but aince he didn’t have any pain right after he thinks he will be fine.
Just don’t want any surprises once he cools down or later in the week. It really should be fine

June 27th, 2012 at 1:49 pm

Big congrats again to our girl Heather Watson,on her win over Jamie Hampton,im delighted for her what a story for us Brits,a star in the making,Murray played fantastic yesterday,but its annoying how this has had hardly a mention.

June 27th, 2012 at 2:15 pm

Tennis Fan Says:
@Mark

Don’t insult Federer fans and don’t call Federer old. Why don’t you go and pick Nadal butt. You seem to love your Nadal who is yuck and cheats. Who did Nadal have in the draw at RG. No-one. He has the most easiest draw going and plus RG was basically given to him.

OMG IT IS YOU AGAIN! SERIOUSLY DO YOU EVER STOP TALKING/THINKING ABOUT THIS FED NADAL STUFF? DO YOU HAVE ANY LIFE? I DOUBT IT. SHUT UP!!

June 27th, 2012 at 2:19 pm

dari, gotcha. I missed the Fog match, only just started watching ESPN as have been on computer only, following scores and streaming Gulbis. Sport lemon has some links to his match if you want to watch it.

June 27th, 2012 at 2:21 pm

Great to see Jamie Baker really pushing A.Rod,although hes winning two sets to love the sets have been very tight,come on Jamie.

June 27th, 2012 at 2:22 pm

butt of the joke! LOL @ that article. i hope someone at armani teaches nadal how to wear an underwear!

if you think things are tough for rafa now, wait and watch as he keeps losing more and more. the jokes and criticisms are going to be scathing and vicious.

June 27th, 2012 at 2:30 pm

if lendl really knocked some sense into murray, he might very well put rafa in his place. with his talent, murray should definitely achieve more than what rafa has achieved on hard/grass.

June 27th, 2012 at 2:31 pm

Ray if or when that happens to Rafa,i very much doubt it will be worth been on this forum,even the sensible ones are begining to get fed up having to stomach such negativity all the time,i suppose then it will be happy fluffy Fed/Nole talk all day long then,but you know what variety is the spice of life.

June 27th, 2012 at 2:38 pm

Gulbis is kind of choking in this 4th set tiebreak. 4-0 to Janowiz.

June 27th, 2012 at 2:43 pm

Gulbis going to the fifth set despite serving like a cannon in the fourth. He played a poor breaker.

June 27th, 2012 at 2:46 pm

I am sorry alison, but there will always be clay where nadal is the GOAT.

I am not sure murray WILL overtake rafa’s achievements outside clay, but I hope he does. He’s a more talented player than nadal when you think about just grass/hard court. it is always special to see a talent fulfilled.

of the last decade, who is the 2nd greatest hardcourt player?

answer: novak djokovic, with 4 hardcourt slams in 5 finals. federer ofcourse is 1st with 9slams on hardcourt out of 11 finals!

June 27th, 2012 at 2:55 pm

the mind reels, are you on the draw challenge? You should play. You seem to like all sorts of matches and watch a lot of players, plus you follow stats etc. You’d probably do well.

June 27th, 2012 at 2:55 pm

Ray, “novak djokovic, with 4 hardcourt slams in 5 finals” Slight correction. Nole has 4 hard court slams plus 2 finals, 1 USO against Fed in 07, one against Rafa in 10, before he won last year.

June 27th, 2012 at 2:58 pm

@jane: I’m actually in the Tennis-X pool on TourneyTopia (gompthis13), though my draw is pretty abysmal thanks mostly to Berdych crashing out!

I missed out on most of the season’s draw challenges so far (just didn’t have time), though my one great achievement was winning the overall TourneyTopia Australian Open challenge in 2010. I picked a few key upsets and ended up beating out some 60,000 competitors. The best part was the tons of free Wilson stuff, including a racquet I don’t use and scores of clothes that didn’t fit :)

June 27th, 2012 at 3:02 pm

you are right @jane! definitely the 2nd best hardcourter of this era.

June 27th, 2012 at 3:02 pm

Meanwhile, Gulbis is really having a hard time getting anything going against Janowicz. I’ve never seen/heard of Janowicz before — what’s his deal? The guy is serving bombs and crushing balls from the baseline…

June 27th, 2012 at 3:03 pm

Mark: “@Dave. Am I the only poster on this forum you definitely do not impress with your 10 page posts!!”

I guarantee you ARE the only poster here who hallucinates that my posts are 10 pages long. I guarantee that none of my posts here have ever exceeded one page — actually it’s only a fraction of one page, lol. I am definitely not impressed with your inability to count.

June 27th, 2012 at 3:04 pm

Dave:

your posts are very welcome. dont listen to rafa fans who, except for a few, cannot argue/debate coherently. it is sad that rafa attracts such shallow people who have neither logic nor statistics to support them.

mark is a clown who is not even smart enough to realise he is making a fool out of himself. he deserves our sympathy!

June 27th, 2012 at 3:11 pm

Wow the mind reels, that’s impressive. I’ve managed to win in the TX pools once or twice, but the whole thing!? Prizes!? Good for you. :) Now I am going to watch your bracket like a hawk. ;)

June 27th, 2012 at 3:14 pm

raonic won 50/53 points on 1st serve. welcome to grass court tennis!

June 27th, 2012 at 3:15 pm

jane,

how is playing so far? What’s your opinion?

June 27th, 2012 at 3:21 pm

Nole, of course…

June 27th, 2012 at 3:26 pm

novak’s looking razor sharp! it is going to be a tough ask for anyone to get that wimbledon trophy out of his hands.

i think it will have to be either federer/murray. rafa does not match-up well with novak outside clay.

he is what? 7-12 against novak outside clay, right?

June 27th, 2012 at 3:27 pm

Gulbis drops serve…

June 27th, 2012 at 3:28 pm

Thanks, Ray!

June 27th, 2012 at 3:29 pm

Any official statement on why they are using the roof today and would not use it yesterday?

Dave, your posts are most appreciated. In fact if you had your own website that ran like this I’d switch.

June 27th, 2012 at 3:29 pm

and loses.

June 27th, 2012 at 3:32 pm

mat4, the serving has been remarkable. He looks to be playing cleanly and sharply. Harrison has some good serves too! Nole’s better on the return, so that should help considerably.

Gulbis crashing out. What the hell? Beats Berd in straight sets and crashes out 9-7 in the 5th versus Janowicz. He doesn’t respect his other opponents? Cannot be bothered on court 17? Very disappointing from him. conty predicted it. She knows.

June 27th, 2012 at 3:32 pm

add another adjective for novak – clinical! i hope harrison learns something from the otherside of the net. it might help him a lot in the future to see novak play efficient and effective tennis.

with gulbis out, you can pencil in djokovic-federer semi-final. (malisse/simon might play spoil sport but i am fairly certain fed will handle either)

June 27th, 2012 at 3:37 pm

too bad for Russell. it would have been nice to see the journeyman get to the 3rd rd at the big W

June 27th, 2012 at 3:49 pm

Harrison needs to win a few more points on Novak’s second serve if he wants to have any chance here. Novak is winning 87% of those points.

June 27th, 2012 at 3:50 pm

Jane from what i saw Janowicz was a very good grass player. nice serve and big hitting. plus the psychology is always different when you are expected to win vs when yoy are the underdog

June 27th, 2012 at 3:50 pm

I’d never once heard of Janowicz before this week, but it looks like he might actually be someone to watch — ballsy and great serve. Runner-up at two junior slams (2007 and 2008). He’s 21 now. Only the world no… 139, haha, but he actually somehow has a 59-23 record on tour? (According to Wikipedia.) Might be interesting to see if he can pull off another upset vs. Mayer.

June 27th, 2012 at 3:54 pm

I saw that Janowicz had a good serve, etc., watched a lot of that match and Gulbis could not break him.

But yes, tfs76, I think the psychology is a big factor.

June 27th, 2012 at 3:58 pm

Ray you completely missed the point of my post,its not the win loss stats of Nadal on clay or otherwise,or the GOAT topic,its the player bashing from one lot of fans to anothers which just this last few days is getting rather unpleasant and beyond a joke,it used to be a forum with people having constructive conversation about tennis,both sets of fans are getting as bad as each others.

June 27th, 2012 at 4:03 pm

mat4, Nole’s serving percentage has dropped and he is making some silly mistakes. Things are dicier right now.

There’s a weird sound with the roof closed, an echo. I am curious what the players think of it.

June 27th, 2012 at 4:04 pm

Lets face it. We want Roger to go through #1 and 2 to become undisputed #1 in the world. I hope Djoker doesnot get sucked into a match by Harrisson. Has he lost his babyfat yet? If he has he can become a real danger on tour just like Milos.

June 27th, 2012 at 4:16 pm

TMR- Wow! It musta been a super AO for you, winning the bracket and fed winning #16! (You’re a fed fan, right?!)

Gulbis looked amazing in his first match and was so pumped about his efforts in his press conference. Hope this is not too much of a setback.

June 27th, 2012 at 4:17 pm

I am listening radio Wimbledon and working. Weird at times, since I listen only intermittently.

Result looks good. Hope Nole’s play looked good too.

June 27th, 2012 at 4:56 pm

Glad Nole is through in straights – tight sets but I don’t think Nole was playing his absolute best. He experimented a bit, sometimes to his own peril. Against Ferrero, he won only 11 of 22 net points, but today he persistently came in to the net (I guess to practice his volleying). He ended up with success of 25/40 approaches for 62%. Not great, but better than the first match, and it’s good to see him come in so often, not against an easy opponent either: suggests he is confident enough to try it out. Most impressive were his overall service stats, though: first serve 73%, winning on first serve 76%, and winning on second serve 78%. Really solid serving numbers.

Harrison has a strong serve, but he needs a better return. Like that other taller American. :)

June 27th, 2012 at 4:58 pm

Nole couldn’t ask for better two oponents in the first two matches.

Gulbis….well I said what I said, Michael and conty elaborated it better and his result is….;( ;( ;(
I still remember his interview from few months ago, what has he done since…….nothing!

June 27th, 2012 at 5:24 pm

Brando, if you are there, Portugal and England can go and practice penalty shootout together. Somebody stop the Spain:)

June 27th, 2012 at 5:31 pm

Here’s an article that kind of backs up what Brando said earlier today: “Why Roger Federer needs to be tested before the semi-finals”

http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/story/157712.html

June 27th, 2012 at 5:32 pm

@dari: yep, it was a pretty sweet tournament for me — gotta say. A Fed fan indeed, though also more generally just a big fan of the game. Been playing since I was a little kid and now run a competitive team in NYC. Good fun.

I’ve also been pretty delinquent about updating my blog, but I’m hoping to have some new stuff up in the next few days:

thirtyforty.wordpress.com

June 27th, 2012 at 5:42 pm

Wog Boy, you’re probably right. He has dealt with a grand slam winner, so experience, and a tenacious up-and-comer, in Harrison. Both tricky for different reasons. But he’s come through fine, and other than his serving he’s not playing his best yet, wouldn’t you say?

June 27th, 2012 at 5:42 pm

jane,

Yes, they are both good players and different players more importantly. Nole is playing in himself nicely and he has to be at his best if he is to beat very hot (meaninig of hot is different from jamie’s meaning) Federer.

Btw, I watched Tipsy and Sweeting, I like that American dude, he is good material and not scared to play, he took it to Tipsy. I wasn’t big fan of Harrison, Roddick , Fish so so, but Isner, Sweeting yes i like them.

June 27th, 2012 at 6:00 pm

Wog Boy, I didn’t watch any of Tipsy’s match but I was following the scores, and yeah it looked like a tussle. I think I’ve seen Sweeting play good matches in the past though. Maybe at the USO?

June 27th, 2012 at 6:13 pm

Assuming both Kohlschreiber and Dolgopolov make it that far, it will be interesting to see how Nadal fares against each of them. Kohlschreiber can take a small-ish amount of confidence out of his latest win over Nadal in Halle, and Dolgopolov is just the kind of player who can thrive on a quick court if he’s not spraying balls all over the place. Should Nadal play and beat both of those guys, those matches would certainly be confidence boosters for him.

June 27th, 2012 at 6:24 pm

I’d love to see Rafa and Dolgo. Dolgopolov is such a funny one – utterly unpredictable. He gave Nole headaches in the first set at the USO last year!

I don’t know if he and Rafa have ever played and something is up with the ATP H2H thing as I can’t get it to show me what’s what. Maybe Brando or Kimberly can fill me in?

June 27th, 2012 at 6:27 pm

Tignor’s take:

http://blogs.tennis.com/thewrap/2012/06/turning-the-page.html

June 27th, 2012 at 6:55 pm

Awesome mat4! :D

June 27th, 2012 at 7:11 pm

mat4 did you know that Nole has played under that roof before? I completely forgot but was just reading the report from the Telegraph. They pointed out that he played under the roof in a 5 setter versus Rochus. I guess I blocked that one out of my memory.

June 27th, 2012 at 7:26 pm

No, in fact. I remember that he played a tough match against Olivier Rochus a few years ago (he always has problems against Belgians, even lost against Xavier Malisse), but I didn’t recall it was under the roof.

June 27th, 2012 at 7:37 pm

I guess when he played so bad that spring I didn’t bother to watch the first rounds of Wimbledon. It was a time of big deception after a great end of season in 2009, when I thought he was finally back on the tracks.

Thinking of that, I am more and more convinced that Andy made a bad decision hiring Lendl (not to mention that I hate Lendl). Novak then made a similar decision: he tried a man with “experience” as a player when he needed a good coach, and in fact, he had one, and the so-called “experience”, the character strength, he had to find it in himself.

And then, the situation with Murray and Lendl is very different. I think that Lendl choked in three of his first four GS finals, and that he was basically a choker (but that could be a false impression) when Murray is faced with real tennistic problems.

June 27th, 2012 at 8:03 pm

mat4,

You have to have a go at Lendl, don’t you:)

You csnnot stand the bloke, can you:)

Let us see what Andy is going to do this northen summer, if he fails Lendl is going to walk away and wouldn’t care less, but for Andy that is most likely going to end of a dream called GS, and he will be hurt, badly and I wouldn’t like to see that because I like him, he is a good man.

June 27th, 2012 at 8:19 pm

WB:

Oh, I’ve got nothing against Lendl, except that I hate the man. But not much, indeed, especially when the camera doesn’t show him and nobody mentions his name.

June 27th, 2012 at 8:25 pm

mat4,

:-)

June 27th, 2012 at 8:32 pm

What is your beef with Lendl mat4? Why do you hate him so much? Was it something in particular?

June 27th, 2012 at 8:34 pm

Jane, Rafa played him a few times, once in Miami, the two matches i remember were not competitive.

June 27th, 2012 at 9:01 pm

Did somebody just say “Rafa in Miami” sorry, I couldn’t help my laughing!

June 27th, 2012 at 9:20 pm

The psychic has been busy but said that the SF of Wimbledon will be Nadal-Murray/Delpo and Djokovic-Federer. The only unknown is who of Murray or Delpo will reach the sf.

When the winner is predicted I will post it here.

June 27th, 2012 at 9:30 pm

BTW, Spain will win Euro2012.

June 27th, 2012 at 9:35 pm

jamie,

OK, OK I know, Portugal is out:(

June 27th, 2012 at 10:00 pm

didn’t realise kohls beat haas till now. that was a very long match. these guys will be very tired by the time they reach third round.

Enjoyed pazsek and wozniacki. great match from both. enjoyed watching pazsek in eastbourne too. she played great matches over there. great win for her today. hope she gets far here. she must be tired with all matches she has played from last week and today. they were all very tough matches.

June 27th, 2012 at 10:12 pm

Kimmi,

Agree about Paszek, I love the way she plays and going after her shots, she is gutsy girl. She impressed me against Kerber. I was curious about her background and it is very coluorfull indeed. Tanzanian born father of Indian origin, Chilean mother, they lived in Canada (Canada missed it) and moved to Austria where she was born.

June 27th, 2012 at 10:28 pm

Looks like Novak is shaping his game more for Grass compared to other surfaces. It’s nice to see someone at the top try different approach depending on the surface, like Roger does.

His serve remains a great weapon now. He is not going to loose his skills on returning. It’s a deadly combination, along with it, he is trying to play all court game. This is a deadly combination, which made Roger invincible from 04-07. Not sure if Novak can do it as successfully as Roger did, but it would make for some interesting tennis if he adopts this style, and will give him a nice advantage over Nadal.

June 27th, 2012 at 11:59 pm

I saw this comment above

He’s a more talented player than nadal when you think about just grass/hard court. it is always special to see a talent fulfilled.

I do not know which part of skill Murray is better than Nadal. Nadal beats him consistently on big matches, and Murray is not playing badly. His best is simply does not match Nadal’s best.

June 28th, 2012 at 12:08 am

” Busted_RacquetBusted Racquet
Roger Federer was probably confused and insulted when Prince Charles didn’t bow back.
10 hrs ago
Reply Retweet Favorite ”

LOL! This was quite funny!

June 28th, 2012 at 12:22 am

” I do not know which part of skill Murray is better than Nadal. Nadal beats him consistently on big matches, ”

Murray is more creative and has more variety and is a better mover than nadal on HC/grass.

Safin was the 2nd greatest talent after fed/mac that i have seen. Yet he got beaten by a lot of less talented players. You can even take the example of ferrer/gasquet. ferrer might have achieved more but you would be stupid to say he is more talented than gasquet!

murray has lots of talent. nadal is a much better competitor than murray. and ofcourse on clay, nadal is WAY better than murray – both talent/competitive edge.

on grass/hard court however murray is certainly more natural than nadal.

June 28th, 2012 at 12:29 am

Dave,

“female contingent”…. Yes mark is an alias, alas, he is a she…”Marcy”…it is obvious…hehe

June 28th, 2012 at 1:07 am

Murray is more creative and has more variety and is a better mover than nadal on HC/grass.

LOL. I understand you are trying to be sarcastic.

June 28th, 2012 at 2:03 am

Thanks @ jamie, my money for spain.

Rafa match will be 1 am here, urgh!!

June 28th, 2012 at 2:05 am

i dont try to be sarcastic with morons, NK! i know they would never get it.

June 28th, 2012 at 2:53 am

@squeeeeeezer. Keep you guessing! Hehehe.

June 28th, 2012 at 3:01 am

Ray@12.29. Completely agree with all that. But of course Rafa is supreme competitor/ match winner with iron will. Alas, Andy is not…yet ;)
Hoping, in spite of what mat4 thinks, ITT can inject some of that iron into his veins.

June 28th, 2012 at 3:16 am

i dont try to be sarcastic with morons, NK! i know they would never get it.

You seem to understand yourself pretty well.

June 28th, 2012 at 3:34 am

margot @ 316 :

unfortunately so! i keep losing faith and cursing andy now and then, but it is a really tough thing, what he is trying. 75-year old expectation of a nation @ the biggest prize in tennis! at my optimistic best, i think murray will win a uso/ao for sure before all is said and done. wimbledon? it is definitely going to be tougher, but like a lot of experts i feel murray either wins multiple wimbledons or none at all.

the olympics might be a blessing for andy :

it means the pressure is a little lesser @ wimbledon because he knows there’s a 2nd shot straight away should things go wrong.

also, the best of 3 format @ olympics should make the field even. he did win 2 queens titles, so…

oh no! i am becoming a sucker for the murray punch :D

June 28th, 2012 at 4:08 am

nims :

haha! how witty! now STFU!

i know when to stop talking to a moron. bye bye to you and NK!

here’s something for you fanboys/girls/blanks :

rafa is the greatest Grass Courter and Hard Courter of all time? helps you guys sleep better?

June 28th, 2012 at 4:19 am

Ray,

I thought you would give some information on Murray’s strength against Nadal. But looks like you are good only at name calling and getting emotional. Just grow up and say something meaningful to discuss.

June 28th, 2012 at 4:32 am

i already mentioned that. if you are blind, get some help! or i can suggest some apps that will read out posts. maybe you are deaf too.

the name calling was started by your fellow rafa fan!

June 28th, 2012 at 4:45 am

Good luck to Muzza and all our other Brits for today,hoping Baltacha can put up a good fight against Kvitova,Keothavong against the very talented Errani,Ward has a fighting chance against Fish although Mardy should still come through,Andy will have a tough match against Karlovic,alot of booming serves to deal with,but i expect him to come through in possibly 4 tight sets,come on the Brits.

June 28th, 2012 at 5:47 am

i already mentioned that. if you are blind, get some help! or i can suggest some apps that will read out posts. maybe you are deaf too.

I think someone stuck something too hard at ur A$$. Looks like you are just shouting in pain over here.

June 28th, 2012 at 5:48 am

Could i please ask the staff for some better moderation,ATM the name calling of players and fellow posters has reached an all time low,it used to be a pleasant forum with people giving constructive critisism about tennis,just lately all thats gone right out the window?

June 28th, 2012 at 5:55 am

Ray, just dusting myself off and brushing myself down after RG and a disastrous start to the green stuff….then Andy teases us and shows us what he can REALLY do….just putting my gum shield in and waiting for the next blow.
alison, I so agree, but fear you are spitting in the wind. I have seen so many racist and sexist comments on here, passing as “humour” etc. that mere name calling and plain old insulting doesn’t get a chance at being moderated.
Worse during slams anyway, with so much at stake.

June 28th, 2012 at 6:06 am

lol @margot! i will get myself some protective gear too!

back on the andy wagon till he punches me off ;)

June 28th, 2012 at 6:30 am

Margot dont get me wrong i dont mind objective criisism, the comments on the bracket challenges are all much better tennis talk and nothing else,its so refreshing to here,just curious but was that the reason you didnt post on here for a while?

June 28th, 2012 at 6:42 am

There is no real consistency from the womens tennis players in the top 20. They can win and lose against a weak opponent, which will not happen in Mens tennis.

Former Number ones and grand slam winners out in second round?? This is ridiculous.

Seriously not the best era to watch womens tennis.

June 28th, 2012 at 7:24 am

Not many interesting matches in today schedule except Murray and Nadal matches.

The other half of the draw looks exciting with some good match ups.

June 28th, 2012 at 7:30 am

alison, yes. Was getting stupidly upset by some of the nastiness directed at Andy, and other players tbh. Some posters on here seem to suffer from repetitive strain injury.
New leaf: ignore, ignore is my new motto :)

June 28th, 2012 at 9:34 am

Margot, I had guessed that was why you had stayed away a while. I do as well when the bile gets too much to stomach. Pity.

June 28th, 2012 at 10:11 am

I hear you margot. This Dr. Ivo match is a real behind the couch one.

June 28th, 2012 at 10:14 am

Murray continues to play exceedingly well, at least as far as the stats are concerned. He’s hit only 3 unforced errors today and hadn’t hit a single one through the first two sets of his match with Davydenko on Tuesday.

I think Murray gets through Karlovic in 3 or 4, but it’s certainly not proving to be an easy task.

June 28th, 2012 at 11:07 am

@Margot and The DA,i will try to do the same focus on the positive comments about my favourites new leaf ignore,ignore lol,theres alot of good stuff hear too.
Meanwhile our Andys got quite a match on his hands,hope he can do this in 4 sets.

June 28th, 2012 at 12:36 pm

Nadal and Rosol on court now. 2-all in the first set. Nadal is serving uncharacteristically big so far. A handful of aces, and two at 126 mph and 127 mph.

June 28th, 2012 at 1:14 pm

Nadal’s serve is incredible, right now! Rosol is putting up a hell of a fight and Rafa’s far from playing comfortably, but his serve is truly impeccable at the moment. Except for a quirk or two at the start of set 2 which led to a break, but it’s hard to imagine Rosol holding until the end of the set. But who knows?

June 28th, 2012 at 2:32 pm

Ray & Matt: Thanks a million. Ray, I will try to be more sympathy to him :) Matt, if I had my own website, I think Sean will be there to give me hell, hehe

Skeezer, yeah, Mark does seem driven by pheromones, hehe

Meanwhile, I’m scared to check my bracket. Must be bleeding profusely by now. Kimberly has added more stress to my life, bad girl :)

June 28th, 2012 at 11:14 pm