Nadal is fun to watch. A number of those shots I had to laugh. Razzle Nadazzel 360!
LeopoldStotch
Nadal took that match by storm after he got broken early in the 1st set. I was pretty shocked when Verdasco broke him. After that happened, Nadal never looked back.
As for the Saints, yeah things were a bit sloppy, but the defense held ground, and made some key 2nd half adjustments to contain Shaincoe. Happy for a Saints win to start off the season.
:p
now back to tennis talk.
RapidFire
djokovic ftw
chimera66
listened to the verdasco interview and wow he was completely dejected, can't believe he put his money on federer winning though.
now onto the ladies, both semis (har har) should be pretty good. wonder what venus will wear, my guess is whatever it is she attacked with a bedazzler again.
igottaknow
In Federer prime it wouldn't be a competition. But since he isn't, thats what makes it interesting. Federer game is naturally suited for the faster hard court surface. If he is serving well and holds it will put a lot of pressure on Nadal. That being said Nadal has improved his serve this year, adding 20 mph to it. Its going to come down to pressure tennis, and who can capitalize on those few pivotal points. In the mental department, Nadal isn't afraid of Federer. If anything Nadal is the one who intimidates opponents. On paper its the match of the year, lets hope it lives up to the hype.
for those of you who missed this
LeopoldStotch
sure we can talk about federer and nadal, but we should discount youzhny and djokovic.
djokovic hasn't dropped a set since that scare he got in the 1st round when he had to win the last 2 sets to beat triocki. he's handled blake, fish, and monfils pretty handily. djokovic's record against federer isn't that great, but i give him a slight chance. wouldn't be surprised if the match goes 5 sets.
as for youzhny, he's just taken the tournament by storm. he took advantage of a weak bracket with murray ousted early, beat roberdo convincingly, and crawled out of a 2 sets to 1 down to warwinka to win that match. he's going to give nadal a fight i have to say. i love his backhand.
LeopoldStotch
zvonareva up a set on wozniacki. expected something like this since wozniacki is an unproven #1 seed. i expect the winner of clijsters-venus to win the tournament.
chimera66
my sentiments exactly, caroline is good but i don't think she can beat venus or kim if they are playing well. honestly more excited to see the next semi-final because i think it'll be more exciting than the final.
Ian
quote:
Originally posted by chimera66
my sentiments exactly, caroline is good but i don't think she can beat venus or kim if they are playing well. honestly more excited to see the next semi-final because i think it'll be more exciting than the final.
I'd just rather see tennis without the williams sisters in general. We got tired of them very quickly in the UK press of them moaning and whining and their general attitude, and their matches are just not interesting to watch imo.
igottaknow
quote:
Originally posted by Ian
I'd just rather see tennis without the williams sisters in general. We got tired of them very quickly in the UK press of them moaning and whining and their general attitude, and their matches are just not interesting to watch imo.
I hold a similar sentiment about the Williams. I do like Venus more than Serena.
I'm a little shocked about Woz. I thought an extra year of experience would have brought her closer to a win. I'm not sure if it was the wind, the pressure of being the favorite, or just a bad day. Didn't look like she made any adjustments during the match. I give Zvonareva credit for not lowering her level of play. Often a lower ranked player does fine until they find themselves in the lead and choke. She didn't let Woz back in the match and Woz aided her by not changing tactics.
This year's women's tennis has been like this with no true dominate player. If Serena was healthy she would have walked away with this tournament. This is now Venus's open.
chimera66
quote:
Originally posted by Ian
I'd just rather see tennis without the williams sisters in general. We got tired of them very quickly in the UK press of them moaning and whining and their general attitude, and their matches are just not interesting to watch imo.
i've never understood people not liking them to the point of not wanting to see them play. i've never felt they moaned, whined or exuded bad attitudes; if anything they are somewhat blah especially venus. serena last year was unprofessional but what else in particular are you referring to?
i'll agree with most that when they play each other it's typically boring but i don't think serena stomping on people is bad for the game. the era of the williams sisters will be an important part of tennis history and i think we should enjoy seeing such good athletes while we can, similar to us enjoying watching federer and nadal.
igottaknow
quote:
Originally posted by chimera66
i've never understood people not liking them to the point of not wanting to see them play. i've never felt they moaned, whined or exuded bad attitudes; if anything they are somewhat blah especially venus. serena last year was unprofessional but what else in particular are you referring to?
i'll agree with most that when they play each other it's typically boring but i don't think serena stomping on people is bad for the game. the era of the williams sisters will be an important part of tennis history and i think we should enjoy seeing such good athletes while we can, similar to us enjoying watching federer and nadal.
The number of incidents are too many to list and most of them I've forgotten the details but the negative impression still remain. It's not a race or gender thing because I don't like other players who are white and/or are men. Needless to say their off court attitude and things they have said just rub me the wrong way.
On the court. It started off with their father, them not wanting to play each other in finals or to be put in the same side of a tournament, not playing hard etc. I don't like watching their style of play, over power your opponent. Hit it hard it goes in I win, hit it hard it goes out and I beat myself. With very little in between. I don't fault them for their style because it works for the most part but it still doesn't mean its entertaining to watch. I'm simplifying but you get the gist.
That whole incident last year with Serena is the Williams sisters in a nutshell. Act really bad on the court then act arrogant and make no apology in the press conference.
I leave you with an excerpt from a Venus interview:
Venus: It's really great to break the color barrier in tennis.
Host: What about Arthur Ashe?
Venus: Well, I mean women's tennis.
Host: Althea Gibson?
Venus: Well, you know what I mean.
Host: [Awkward pause and segue to another topic]
