TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
Sad Nadal lost, hopefully he can win one match against Novak later this year just to save face.
Looking forward to the Asian circuit, depending on Novak and Nadal just taking off, Fish could be in a good position to win a Masters tournament in Shanghai or Paris.
And Australia/Switzerland Davis Cup this week, look forward to a Hewitt/Federer rematch of the 2003 5 setter.
Djokovic is a dick like that, i swear he uses medical time to screw the other guy/ catch his breath.
Yeah man, fucking DJokovic. He was faking it so well that he decided to drop his first serve from 115 to 85-90.
Yeah, I'm mostly surprised that Nadal couldn't keep up the momentum from the third set once Djokovic was clearly injured. Nadal could have (and has) kicked it in to another gear and just mopped the floor with him in the fourth set. Even though Djokovic has become a lot fitter, I am hard pressed to think of anyone who can outlast Nadal in five sets (Ferrer, maybe?).
The women are currently playing the finals in Istanbul, and it's been pretty interesting.
Radwanska (my personal favorite) managed to make it in to the top 8 by winning Tokyo and Beijing, and she played damn well against Zvonareva yesterday. She, Wozniacki, and Zvonareva went 1-2 in the tournament, but Zvonareva is the only one of the three who will be moving on to the semis due to her win/loss percentage.
Sharapova went out with an ankle injury, something that has been affecting her for the last month or so.
Kvitova and Azarenka are the ones to beat this year, and Kvitova in particular has been kicking massive amounts of ass. I don't know what's gotten in to her, but she's showing some of the form that we saw at Wimbledon and could absolutely trounce the rest of the players next year if she can stay consistent. Her forehand is a marvel, and her backhand isn't bad either. She still makes that crazy squawking noise when she wins a point. Wish I could find a good video of it to post...
Stosur beat the stuffing out of Li Na today taking her 6-1, 6-0.
Anyway, not only are the women playing their finals in Istanbul this weekend, but the men are starting Basel next week, and there have been a lot of people entering the fray. In addition to the usual suspects, Murray is playing (as a fucking Wildcard...) and Roddick will be attempting to make a mark. The draw should have just come out, and it will be interesting to see where Murray is placed.
We also can't forget that the Paris Masters tournament is coming up in the first full week of November, followed eventually by the World Tour Finals in London.
How the fuck are we not talking about the Barclay's World Tour Finals?
Rafa took out Fish in a (very) close three set match, although he apparently threw up between sets and looked a bit flushed, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is sick or getting over some type of sickness.
Federer barely edged out Tsonga in three sets, which is surprising given that Fed dominated the first set.
Tomorrow gives us Murray vs. Ferrer and Djokovic vs. Berdych. I would love to see Ferrer take down Murray, but Murray has been playing insane tennis through the Asian swing and will, I believe, make it to the final. He is, however, known to flake big time when he's playing in the UK, so who knows with that guy.
We also need to remember that any of these guys can lose a match and still make it to the semifinals. I love the world tour finals. When else do you get to see the top 8 players playing each other over the course of a week?
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
The Murray/Ferrer match is decent so far. And at least Fish showed up to represent America this year, I don't expect him to win except maybe the last RR just because it's a dead match, but he gets to go and have some fun, and be the #1 American.
And I have to admit I paid no attention to the WTA since the US Open ended, and didn't realize they ended their season a lot earlier this year :oops:
The Murray/Ferrer match is decent so far. And at least Fish showed up to represent America this year, I don't expect him to win except maybe the last RR just because it's a dead match, but he gets to go and have some fun, and be the #1 American.
And I have to admit I paid no attention to the WTA since the US Open ended, and didn't realize they ended their season a lot earlier this year :oops:
I'm glad the Ferrer/Murray match is decent. I will watch it later, as I have it recorded.
The WTA finals were damn decent, and it just further solidifies something we all knew: Kvitova has one hell of a game and could be ruling the tour if she could just stay consistent. I'm not sure if she can or not, but that forehand is a thing to behold when it's on. I wish some of the harder hitters on the tour would play a bit more consistently. Stosur, Sharapova, Kvitova, and Li Na are all very, very scary when they're playing well.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
That was an interesting way to round out the seminfinals.
Djokovic is out, having lost to Ferrer and Tipsaravich (subbing for Murray), so that's a really disappointing end to one of the more dominant single seasons in tennis.
So it's now Berdych vs. Tsonga, and Federer vs. Ferrer. Would really like to see a Berdych Federer final, if the Bird can finish Tsonga off quickly tomorrow.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
Australian Open started up this week, and both Fish and Roddick are out now, as Hewitt beat Roddick after he retired in the third set. It seems like this is the common trend at the AO, retiring instead of just losing.
Australian Open started up this week, and both Fish and Roddick are out now, as Hewitt beat Roddick after he retired in the third set. It seems like this is the common trend at the AO, retiring instead of just losing.
It almost seems like a number of the slightly older players just don't really want to be playing tennis in these tournaments.
Perhaps this isn't uncommon or anything. I've just finally gotten to the point where the people who were in their prime and I followed actively when I really got into tennis seven or eight years ago are in their decline and this is what players past their peak do.
It almost seems like a number of the slightly older players aren't that good at the game anymore.
Well sure, Roddick has fallen off pretty precipitously. But, I get the vibe from Federer, Nadal, Serena, Sharapova, and a number of others that may be past their peak but still are the top of the sport, that they just don't want to be there. And, as a spectator, being able to see that detracts dramatically from my abliity to enjoy a match.
It almost seems like a number of the slightly older players aren't that good at the game anymore.
Well sure, Roddick has fallen off pretty precipitously. But, I get the vibe from Federer, Nadal, Serena, Sharapova, and a number of others that may be past their peak but still are the top of the sport, that they just don't want to be there. And, as a spectator, being able to see that detracts dramatically from my abliity to enjoy a match.
No clue where are you projecting that lack of desire from.
It almost seems like a number of the slightly older players aren't that good at the game anymore.
Well sure, Roddick has fallen off pretty precipitously. But, I get the vibe from Federer, Nadal, Serena, Sharapova, and a number of others that may be past their peak but still are the top of the sport, that they just don't want to be there. And, as a spectator, being able to see that detracts dramatically from my abliity to enjoy a match.
No clue where are you projecting that lack of desire from.
It's just a vibe I'm getting. The game hasn't looked as elegant these past few weeks compared to last year. I think it's been a lot more brutish and rough. Players just seem angry and frustrated and annoyed to be playing.
Maybe its leftovers from the sour attitude a lot of players had about the US open rainouts or lingering pains and injuries a number of players have.
It almost seems like a number of the slightly older players aren't that good at the game anymore.
Well sure, Roddick has fallen off pretty precipitously. But, I get the vibe from Federer, Nadal, Serena, Sharapova, and a number of others that may be past their peak but still are the top of the sport, that they just don't want to be there. And, as a spectator, being able to see that detracts dramatically from my abliity to enjoy a match.
No clue where are you projecting that lack of desire from.
It's just a vibe I'm getting. The game hasn't looked as elegant these past few weeks compared to last year. I think it's been a lot more brutish and rough. Players just seem angry and frustrated and annoyed to be playing.
Maybe its leftovers from the sour attitude a lot of players had about the US open rainouts or lingering pains and injuries a number of players have.
The world of tennis is not just the slams. Nobody remembers or cares about the US open at this point. There is discontent because of the dumb "% of funds for players @ slams vs tier events" thing. It's the start of another long season, most players are not at their physical top and most went from cold weather to the aussie heat, but I have not noticed the lack of motivation you are describing.
It almost seems like a number of the slightly older players aren't that good at the game anymore.
Well sure, Roddick has fallen off pretty precipitously. But, I get the vibe from Federer, Nadal, Serena, Sharapova, and a number of others that may be past their peak but still are the top of the sport, that they just don't want to be there. And, as a spectator, being able to see that detracts dramatically from my abliity to enjoy a match.
No clue where are you projecting that lack of desire from.
It's just a vibe I'm getting. The game hasn't looked as elegant these past few weeks compared to last year. I think it's been a lot more brutish and rough. Players just seem angry and frustrated and annoyed to be playing.
Maybe its leftovers from the sour attitude a lot of players had about the US open rainouts or lingering pains and injuries a number of players have.
The world of tennis is not just the slams. Nobody remembers or cares about the US open at this point. There is discontent because of the dumb "% of funds for players @ slams vs tier events" thing. It's the start of another long season, most players are not at their physical top and most went from cold weather to the aussie heat, but I have not noticed the lack of motivation you are describing.
Well, I was speaking to Brisbane earlier in the month as well. And I do think that some of the players (particularly Roddick) are still irritated by the mishandling of the rainouts in the US open.
But, maybe it is just me. I just hope the second week brings me tennis that is a bit more pleasant to watch.
There's a lot of (mostly) behind the scenes political shit taking place with a lot of players pissed off about the length of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of the players are less than good at hiding the fact that they're disgruntled.
Also, Ryan Sweeting took Ferrer to five sets last night. It was weird.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
It is a hella long schedule, especially when the better you are, the more you play over the year.
I think we are simply seeing a transition period at the moment in terms of what the game is, on top of the old guard getting older.
For instance, in the men's game from 1999-2004 it was mostly a power game, where everyone was bulking up for strength, to blast and serve the ball and win points quickly. It was a way to beat serve and volley tennis. But Federer then introduced, and Nadal exemplified a speed/endurance game that benefited from new string technology and even lighter (yet still strong) racquets. New strings then blunted the big blasts, and helped make counter punching/pushing a more viable strategy beyond just euro clay courters. That's been the case since 2005-2011. And now with Djokovic's big year we're seeing....something, I don't know what to call it. It's an all around game that seems to be the in thing now, as a lot of the new players (Nishikori, Dolgopolov) seem to be in this kind of area.
Women's tennis is still bash bash bash baseline Bollitteiri teaching junk.
Nishikori is making a damn fine showing this year. I watched his match against Tsonga last night, and he was on fire in all of the sets that he won. I'm pretty sure he's about to have his ass handed to him in the Quarters, however.
Speaking of which, here are the Quarterfinal matchups we have to look forward to:
Andy Murray vs. Kei Nishikori
Novak Djokovic vs. David Ferrer
Rafael Nadal vs. Tomas Berdych
Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin del Potro
These are some awesome matches, and I'm especially looking forward to seeing Federer play Delpo. I would also like to see Ferrer at least take a set off of Djokovic, as he is just rolling through the tournament.
Unsurprisingly, Berdych is kind of acting like a dick again and wouldn't shake Almagro's hand after their 4th round matchup, as Almagro hit Berdych with the ball and didn't see Almagro apologizing profusely. (Sorry, dick, that's the way the game's played, not that it hurts that much to get hit in the arm with a tennis ball you big baby.)
The big surprise in the WTA (aside from Stosur going out super early) is Serena going out last night to Makarova.
Here are the Quarterfinal matchups for the WTA
Caroline Wozniacki vs. Kim Clijsters
Victoria Azarenka vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
Ekaterina Makarova vs. Maria Sharapova
Sara Errani vs. Petra Kvitova
Not that I think it's likely, but I'd like to see Aga take out Vika and make it to her first semifinal. She's been playing super well the last four or five months, so it's not outside the realm of possibility, but I'm pretty certain she's going to get hit off the court by Vika and her incredibly annoying grunting.
Errani hits the ball hard and with a lot of spin, and I'm looking forward to seeing her and Kvitova brutalize a tennis ball for a couple of hours.
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facetiousa wit so dryit shits sandRegistered Userregular
I have a feeling del Potro takes that match. I dunno.
But how great is Djokovic playing? Goddamn.
"I am not young enough to know everything." - Oscar Wilde
Yeah, honestly, all of the guys in the top four are playing insanely well. Murray is just killing it with his backhand as per the usual. Djokovic seems every bit as untouchable as he did last year. Fed makes winning look effortless. Rafa has been serving well in addition to the shit that he usually does well. I've been really entertained watching all of the top guys play.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
If Nishikori can beat anyone in the QF it's Murray, because watching the match vs Tsonga he did the same sneaky headgame tricks Murray used to do. He had this really nice fake movement to make Tsonga hit where he wanted him to go, then sped up and returned the ball with a wicked fast forehand/backhand down the line. Purposely giving the opponent the idea that he has to hit to the open area because you aren't running back to the middle of the baseline is a smart move.
Nadal is being quiet this tournament, which makes me think he has something he's not showing yet, maybe something he learned to beat Djokovic. Maybe he'll just take the Hewitt gameplan from this morning and use it, only he's got much younger legs to carry it out. It was very much a grinding plan based around focusing all your stamina on one game to get a break for the set. Djokovic was just a lot more stable mentally to fight through it (that's his biggest change this past year or two, screw the gluten free stuff).
If Nishikori can beat anyone in the QF it's Murray, because watching the match vs Tsonga he did the same sneaky headgame tricks Murray used to do. He had this really nice fake movement to make Tsonga hit where he wanted him to go, then sped up and returned the ball with a wicked fast forehand/backhand down the line. Purposely giving the opponent the idea that he has to hit to the open area because you aren't running back to the middle of the baseline is a smart move.
Nadal is being quiet this tournament, which makes me think he has something he's not showing yet, maybe something he learned to beat Djokovic. Maybe he'll just take the Hewitt gameplan from this morning and use it, only he's got much younger legs to carry it out. It was very much a grinding plan based around focusing all your stamina on one game to get a break for the set. Djokovic was just a lot more stable mentally to fight through it (that's his biggest change this past year or two, screw the gluten free stuff).
Yeah, I feel like this is the gospel truth. He's definitely in better shape than he was a few years ago, but now he believes he can beat anyone, which seems to be a much bigger advantage.
I would love to see Nadal take down Djokovic here. I have no doubt that it will happen this year, but it would be nice to have Rafa do it early so he doesn't have last year looming over his head anymore.
As a Belgian (and a general fan of NICE people who do well) I'm once again delighted that Clijsters pulled a great game out of the bag against the current WTA number 1. Seems like for her final hurrah she's going all out, even with all the injuries. Damn, I'll miss her ... will be weird not seeing any Belgians near the top again (still not convinced Wickmayer is going to make it to the bigtimes in the end).
Now, on to Azarenka. I hope Clijsters keeps hold of the form she's got so far, and shows us some great tennis.
What's with Clijsters and retiring? It didn't make any sense when she did it in 2007. Now she's back and still seems to be a great player. Is it just injuries or something? If she retires, I don't want to see her coming back in two or three years. Tired of this shit.
She's an epic mom. Biological clock and all that stuff. So she had a kid, unexpectedly came back, and will retire to have the second one (I assume). I think she'll be too old to get back on the tour a second time, and probably won't be interested in putting her body through all that again (as well as the completely unreasonable schedule you HAVE to keep just to be a participant at the highest level).
A handful have done the same thing (Davenport comes to mind) but very few at the level she's pulled out of the bag.
She's always been the epitome of "there's more to life than tennis". And good for her. Just sad for us.
Yeah, but usual careers don't end around thirty, and don't involve the level of time commitment , physical fitness or impact on family life that a pro sports career does. There's pretty much been no high profile WTA moms (last mother to win a major before Clijsters did at the US Open was Evonne Goolagong in 1980).
And she really was intending to quit the first time out. She just got back into it due to a combination of random factors. And glad she did!
I think Clijsters has said that she wanted to play the Olympics this year (which are held at mother fucking Wimbledon this year) and that she intends to retire for good either after the Olympics or after this year.
I think Clijsters has said that she wanted to play the Olympics this year (which are held at mother fucking Wimbledon this year) and that she intends to retire for good either after the Olympics or after this year.
I don't know how I feel about watching Wimbledon... Then watching Wimbledon again three weeks later.
I wonder what they're going to do about the grass.
That's true.
The olympics will be on dirt so it won't even be that similar.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
I've heard of the possibility of spreading out matches on the outer courts much more as opposed to pushing them to Centre and No. 1. This would probably be shown more in how they handle the juniors tournaments, just keep them relegated outside just to save some extra blades.
As for the matches last night, Nishikori just wasn't up to it physically (hopefully the higher up in rankings he goes will allow him to not have so many longer early round matches), and Del Potro didn't have the US Open power to scare off Federer.
Watching the Sharapova vs Kvitova match right now. One thing I've always noticed but never really understood is that the ballboys/girls always seem to give three tennis balls to the player who's serving. However, the player always just keeps two and throws the third ball away. Well, why give them three balls then? I understand why players won't keep all three, probably because their pockets can only hold so many, but you don't need to supply them with three balls if they're just going to throw the third one away. Is the third ball defective in some way? Aren't all these tennis balls supposed to be identical? It just seems like a waste of energy giving them three when they only need two.
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TexiKenDammit!That fish really got me!Registered Userregular
They show three because some balls will have more felt after a longer rally, which means less aerodynamic for serves. When you're serving you want the cleanest ball with the least amount of surface area. And when you get new balls every 9 games (I think that's still the rule) it really makes a difference on non-clay courts. There's also players like Ivanisevic who always wanted the same ball if they got a point off of the previous play, be it ace or winner.
As for the big match last night, go Nadal, there was a running off court forehand Nadal did that was top notch. If Murray can beat Djokovic tonight, I can't see him beating Rafa.
With the women, Azarenka is going to choke, Sharapova will be screaming, the WTA will be shamed.
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Looking forward to the Asian circuit, depending on Novak and Nadal just taking off, Fish could be in a good position to win a Masters tournament in Shanghai or Paris.
And Australia/Switzerland Davis Cup this week, look forward to a Hewitt/Federer rematch of the 2003 5 setter.
Yeah, I'm mostly surprised that Nadal couldn't keep up the momentum from the third set once Djokovic was clearly injured. Nadal could have (and has) kicked it in to another gear and just mopped the floor with him in the fourth set. Even though Djokovic has become a lot fitter, I am hard pressed to think of anyone who can outlast Nadal in five sets (Ferrer, maybe?).
Radwanska (my personal favorite) managed to make it in to the top 8 by winning Tokyo and Beijing, and she played damn well against Zvonareva yesterday. She, Wozniacki, and Zvonareva went 1-2 in the tournament, but Zvonareva is the only one of the three who will be moving on to the semis due to her win/loss percentage.
Sharapova went out with an ankle injury, something that has been affecting her for the last month or so.
Kvitova and Azarenka are the ones to beat this year, and Kvitova in particular has been kicking massive amounts of ass. I don't know what's gotten in to her, but she's showing some of the form that we saw at Wimbledon and could absolutely trounce the rest of the players next year if she can stay consistent. Her forehand is a marvel, and her backhand isn't bad either. She still makes that crazy squawking noise when she wins a point. Wish I could find a good video of it to post...
Stosur beat the stuffing out of Li Na today taking her 6-1, 6-0.
Anyway, not only are the women playing their finals in Istanbul this weekend, but the men are starting Basel next week, and there have been a lot of people entering the fray. In addition to the usual suspects, Murray is playing (as a fucking Wildcard...) and Roddick will be attempting to make a mark. The draw should have just come out, and it will be interesting to see where Murray is placed.
We also can't forget that the Paris Masters tournament is coming up in the first full week of November, followed eventually by the World Tour Finals in London.
Rafa took out Fish in a (very) close three set match, although he apparently threw up between sets and looked a bit flushed, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is sick or getting over some type of sickness.
Federer barely edged out Tsonga in three sets, which is surprising given that Fed dominated the first set.
Tomorrow gives us Murray vs. Ferrer and Djokovic vs. Berdych. I would love to see Ferrer take down Murray, but Murray has been playing insane tennis through the Asian swing and will, I believe, make it to the final. He is, however, known to flake big time when he's playing in the UK, so who knows with that guy.
We also need to remember that any of these guys can lose a match and still make it to the semifinals. I love the world tour finals. When else do you get to see the top 8 players playing each other over the course of a week?
And I have to admit I paid no attention to the WTA since the US Open ended, and didn't realize they ended their season a lot earlier this year :oops:
I'm glad the Ferrer/Murray match is decent. I will watch it later, as I have it recorded.
The WTA finals were damn decent, and it just further solidifies something we all knew: Kvitova has one hell of a game and could be ruling the tour if she could just stay consistent. I'm not sure if she can or not, but that forehand is a thing to behold when it's on. I wish some of the harder hitters on the tour would play a bit more consistently. Stosur, Sharapova, Kvitova, and Li Na are all very, very scary when they're playing well.
Djokovic is out, having lost to Ferrer and Tipsaravich (subbing for Murray), so that's a really disappointing end to one of the more dominant single seasons in tennis.
So it's now Berdych vs. Tsonga, and Federer vs. Ferrer. Would really like to see a Berdych Federer final, if the Bird can finish Tsonga off quickly tomorrow.
It almost seems like a number of the slightly older players just don't really want to be playing tennis in these tournaments.
Perhaps this isn't uncommon or anything. I've just finally gotten to the point where the people who were in their prime and I followed actively when I really got into tennis seven or eight years ago are in their decline and this is what players past their peak do.
Well sure, Roddick has fallen off pretty precipitously. But, I get the vibe from Federer, Nadal, Serena, Sharapova, and a number of others that may be past their peak but still are the top of the sport, that they just don't want to be there. And, as a spectator, being able to see that detracts dramatically from my abliity to enjoy a match.
No clue where are you projecting that lack of desire from.
It's just a vibe I'm getting. The game hasn't looked as elegant these past few weeks compared to last year. I think it's been a lot more brutish and rough. Players just seem angry and frustrated and annoyed to be playing.
Maybe its leftovers from the sour attitude a lot of players had about the US open rainouts or lingering pains and injuries a number of players have.
Check it out.
The world of tennis is not just the slams. Nobody remembers or cares about the US open at this point. There is discontent because of the dumb "% of funds for players @ slams vs tier events" thing. It's the start of another long season, most players are not at their physical top and most went from cold weather to the aussie heat, but I have not noticed the lack of motivation you are describing.
Well, I was speaking to Brisbane earlier in the month as well. And I do think that some of the players (particularly Roddick) are still irritated by the mishandling of the rainouts in the US open.
But, maybe it is just me. I just hope the second week brings me tennis that is a bit more pleasant to watch.
Also, Ryan Sweeting took Ferrer to five sets last night. It was weird.
I think we are simply seeing a transition period at the moment in terms of what the game is, on top of the old guard getting older.
For instance, in the men's game from 1999-2004 it was mostly a power game, where everyone was bulking up for strength, to blast and serve the ball and win points quickly. It was a way to beat serve and volley tennis. But Federer then introduced, and Nadal exemplified a speed/endurance game that benefited from new string technology and even lighter (yet still strong) racquets. New strings then blunted the big blasts, and helped make counter punching/pushing a more viable strategy beyond just euro clay courters. That's been the case since 2005-2011. And now with Djokovic's big year we're seeing....something, I don't know what to call it. It's an all around game that seems to be the in thing now, as a lot of the new players (Nishikori, Dolgopolov) seem to be in this kind of area.
Women's tennis is still bash bash bash baseline Bollitteiri teaching junk.
Speaking of which, here are the Quarterfinal matchups we have to look forward to:
Andy Murray vs. Kei Nishikori
Novak Djokovic vs. David Ferrer
Rafael Nadal vs. Tomas Berdych
Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin del Potro
These are some awesome matches, and I'm especially looking forward to seeing Federer play Delpo. I would also like to see Ferrer at least take a set off of Djokovic, as he is just rolling through the tournament.
Unsurprisingly, Berdych is kind of acting like a dick again and wouldn't shake Almagro's hand after their 4th round matchup, as Almagro hit Berdych with the ball and didn't see Almagro apologizing profusely. (Sorry, dick, that's the way the game's played, not that it hurts that much to get hit in the arm with a tennis ball you big baby.)
The big surprise in the WTA (aside from Stosur going out super early) is Serena going out last night to Makarova.
Here are the Quarterfinal matchups for the WTA
Caroline Wozniacki vs. Kim Clijsters
Victoria Azarenka vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
Ekaterina Makarova vs. Maria Sharapova
Sara Errani vs. Petra Kvitova
Not that I think it's likely, but I'd like to see Aga take out Vika and make it to her first semifinal. She's been playing super well the last four or five months, so it's not outside the realm of possibility, but I'm pretty certain she's going to get hit off the court by Vika and her incredibly annoying grunting.
Errani hits the ball hard and with a lot of spin, and I'm looking forward to seeing her and Kvitova brutalize a tennis ball for a couple of hours.
But how great is Djokovic playing? Goddamn.
Steam: Chagrin LoL: Bonhomie
Nadal is being quiet this tournament, which makes me think he has something he's not showing yet, maybe something he learned to beat Djokovic. Maybe he'll just take the Hewitt gameplan from this morning and use it, only he's got much younger legs to carry it out. It was very much a grinding plan based around focusing all your stamina on one game to get a break for the set. Djokovic was just a lot more stable mentally to fight through it (that's his biggest change this past year or two, screw the gluten free stuff).
Yeah, I feel like this is the gospel truth. He's definitely in better shape than he was a few years ago, but now he believes he can beat anyone, which seems to be a much bigger advantage.
I would love to see Nadal take down Djokovic here. I have no doubt that it will happen this year, but it would be nice to have Rafa do it early so he doesn't have last year looming over his head anymore.
Now, on to Azarenka. I hope Clijsters keeps hold of the form she's got so far, and shows us some great tennis.
A handful have done the same thing (Davenport comes to mind) but very few at the level she's pulled out of the bag.
She's always been the epitome of "there's more to life than tennis". And good for her. Just sad for us.
I mean, I don't believe all women need to play like Martina Navratilova, but Clijsters doesn't seem to be over the hill just yet.
And she really was intending to quit the first time out. She just got back into it due to a combination of random factors. And glad she did!
I don't know how I feel about watching Wimbledon... Then watching Wimbledon again three weeks later.
That's true.
The olympics will be on dirt so it won't even be that similar.
As for the matches last night, Nishikori just wasn't up to it physically (hopefully the higher up in rankings he goes will allow him to not have so many longer early round matches), and Del Potro didn't have the US Open power to scare off Federer.
As for the big match last night, go Nadal, there was a running off court forehand Nadal did that was top notch. If Murray can beat Djokovic tonight, I can't see him beating Rafa.
With the women, Azarenka is going to choke, Sharapova will be screaming, the WTA will be shamed.
It really makes the matches unpleasant to sit through.
I personally find the game extremely relaxing to watch on tv and the commentary is a big part of that, so I can't just mute it and be content.
Steam: Chagrin LoL: Bonhomie