Hewitt Blisters del Potro; Fish vs. Djokovic Friday at Wimbledon

Kohl showed some skills in the 4th game of the 3rd set, putting a lot of pressure on Fed and threatening to take the break back. Some may attribute this to Fed’s momentary lapse of concentration, but he kept his composure at the end and held.

June 26th, 2009 at 9:44 am

That was some good tennis Kohl played to level the 3rd set at 4-4.

June 26th, 2009 at 9:51 am

Fed is under pressure to up his level (or lose the set?). He serves well to level at 5-5, with a love game.

June 26th, 2009 at 9:58 am

Kohl has come up with his best tennis and been very impressive in the last few games. Pressure mounts on the Swiss.
We have a tie breaker now.

June 26th, 2009 at 10:05 am

Well it’s nice, Tennis Freak, that you’re not calling Kohls a “pathetic loser.” He’s a perfect example of how history is not set in stone. He had never before taken a set off Federer, and had taken him to a tiebreak only once. He’s ranked 32nd in the world. And yet today, he won a set. It just shows you the depth of men’s tennis. Fed may very well win the championships – he’s certainly the top favorite to do so – however, he has lost one set and he may lose “some” more sets.

As Pete Sampras once said, “if you can win one set, you can win two; if you can win two, you can win three.”

Maybe some of the “pathetic losers” were listening? ; )

June 26th, 2009 at 11:39 am

Jane,
(To start frivolously in parenthesis: Is not a person who loses is a loser, leaving aside the newly evolved meaning? Would the euphemistic term “vanquished” change the outcome or on-court performance? I am not thinking about 5th set tie-breaker here, in which case both win, tennis wins.)

It has never been a zero depth, in which case the losing player would not even earn a point in the entire match. I’d celebrate a strong depth with a number of players better than or as good as Fed’s skills on grass: meaning more than one, say 5, Federer, would be strong depth, if his name could be used as an abbreviation for a set of complex skills.

For sure one set is better than nothing, but it still does not prove that the field (of grass courters) is deep enough to celebrate, to be excited about every match. To be sort of destined to be content with 1 set, which also comes rarely, and having to remain consoled with that and limit the celebration to that…and if were to continue to call this field deep, then we would probably never get a strong field of depth.

June 26th, 2009 at 12:23 pm

Tennis Freak, I guess loser has truth, but pathetic is the adjective with which I (and others) took issue.

One step at a time: we’ll see what happens during the rest of the tournament. Will history repeat or not? That’s what I am watching to find out. Also, there are plenty of excellent matches being played regardless of who wins the championship.

June 26th, 2009 at 12:32 pm

One more thing. When you picked on my “exhibition” yesterday, I responded to you. I felt bad (don’t ask me why).
Let me connect that with my response above. Maybe, by crediting Kohl, I was only trying to heighten Fed’s performance. Maybe, Kohl was just a pawn, like Gulbis was for you yesterday, both in your defense and in my offense. Maybe, you were not defending him, and I was not discrediting him. Maybe, you were not praising Gulbis, and I was not doing the same with Kohl. Maybe, the subtext Fed-Murray was the main text.
It feels weird to argue with you…we have one thing in common…tennis (Am I repeating you?).

June 26th, 2009 at 12:37 pm

Maybe Tennis Freak; it could be all about the subtext. Very astute of you. And yes, we will always have tennis. : )

June 26th, 2009 at 12:44 pm

Hewitt is a great example of what commitment and determination can do. He clearly is not the most gifted in terms of natural talent, but he works, works and works on and off the court. He hates losing and loves winning and is willing to focus on achieving these goals. Well done.

June 27th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

Woohoo! Germany, AUS and USA lookin good! And i’m kinda happy to see these David(a)’s taking down a few Goliaths in the women’s ranks! Having said that, i’m pretty sure i wud start throwing stuff at my tv if i saw a 19 something knock Fed out of the park so apologies to any fans of the ladies that got knocked out. Hewitt v Rod looking good?

June 27th, 2009 at 1:31 pm

Pro B:

“Woohoo! Germany, AUS and USA lookin good! And i’m kinda happy to see these David(a)’s taking down a few Goliaths in the women’s ranks!”

I’ve been celebrating big-time today. the only dark spot was Levine getting knocked out by Wawrinka, but I’m watching Jesse and hoping he’s going to do well at the USO.

“Hewitt v Rod looking good?” I like both guys and was very happy when Hewitt beat his ‘Goliath’, but I’m not sure of a roddick v. Hewitt match, considering roddick has to get past a hot Berdych. roddick becomes nervous and his arm tightens when he faces another huge server. it’s almost like he mentally freezes due to his thinking that his biggest weapon is being neutralized. Maybe this is where his improved fitness can be helpful. In Tokyo he was up a set and 2 breaks in the third and let Berdych back into the match = Roddick lost.

June 27th, 2009 at 9:57 pm

Von:
Thanks for the insight! :) I hope Roddick can hold his own this time around v Berdych. We shall see.
As for the promising new kids on the block in the women’s, just hope they don’t turn out to be one slam wonders and the potential actually comes good in the future. I guess with these kid’s a lot of it is going to be about temperament and the kind of support system they have around. But personally, as far as this Wimby goes, i’m kinda hoping Safina comes good although on current form seems like a loooong shot against either of the William’s.

June 28th, 2009 at 5:57 am