*Official* Tennis Thread

[Johnners]

Roddick vs. Fish today. Both have been playing great Tennis, although i expect Roddick to win again, he's improved with each match he's played, and beating Safin & Ancic in consecutive matches isn't something to be sneezed at. That said, Fish will have the fresher legs...

Carn Roddick

 

[Jono]

How cool was that footage of Fish pouring two bottles of champagne on Roddick during one of the press conferences at the Masters Cup a few years ago. They're obviously close mates, will be intereting to see if Fish rises to the occasion like he did against Ivan Ljubicic.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Can't wait for the Fish/Roddick game. Should be a cracker.

 

[Jono]

How good is this Serena vs. Peer match. Both keep coming back from the dead, amazing stuff to watch.

 

[Johnners]

Williams has won... Go the Russian Girl in the semi's

Roddick to win in 4

 

[Jono]

If you're talking about Vaidisova, she's Czech. But nah Serena is the only one that will have any chance of beating Clijsters or Sharapova (or even Hingis, whoever goes through to the final) so she has to go make the final, plus I don't know how one couldn't admire the way she plays her tennis. Always fights back when she's down and out, particularly at the Aus Open where she saves her best for here.

No one is better at winning the clutch points in women's tennis, and Federer is only better in tennis overall.

 

[Johnners]

If you're talking about Vaidisova, she's Czech. But nah Serena is the only one that will have any chance of beating Clijsters or Sharapova (or even Hingis, whoever goes through to the final) so she has to go make the final, plus I don't know how one couldn't admire the way she plays her tennis. Always fights back when she's down and out, particularly at the Aus Open where she saves her best for here.

No one is better at winning the clutch points in women's tennis, and Federer is only better in tennis overall.

Yeah i admit she's a top tennis player...i just don't like her, it was she & Venus that signalled the end of Hingis' reign (injuries didn't help, but for the main part it was the Williams sisters) who at the time was easily my favourite player

Vaidisova, yeah thats her, she looked impressive in her match, i seriously hope she does well, although i expect that whoever makes it through to the final out of Hingis, Clijsters & Sharapova will romp it in.

EDIT: Fair start from Roddick, breaking Fish's serve straight up

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

I hate Serena a lot too. I don't have a reason though.

 

[Anil]

Yeah i admit she's a top tennis player...i just don't like her, it was she & Venus that signalled the end of Hingis' reign (injuries didn't help, but for the main part it was the Williams sisters) who at the time was easily my favourite player

same reason why i don't like her as well....plus i just see so little subtlety, so little finesse in her game, she just whacks the ball as hard as she can, and with a blood-curdling war-cry when she is really energized....was mainly responsible for spawning a whole generation of power-hitters, she and her sister....although a lot of people dislike her attitude and all, i really admire henin-hardenne for holding her own and even dominating amongst these power players....

 

[pasag]

Looks like the Roddick Fish game has become abit of a let-down.

Pity Peer couldn't go through, but I quite like Serena for some reason and I'd like to see her winnning the whole thing at this point.

 

[Jono]

same reason why i don't like her as well....plus i just see so little subtlety, so little finesse in her game, she just whacks the ball as hard as she can, and with a blood-curdling war-cry when she is really energized....was mainly responsible for spawning a whole generation of power-hitters, she and her sister....although a lot of people dislike her attitude and all, i really admire henin-hardenne for holding her own and even dominating amongst these power players....

That was Monica Seles, way before Serena's time.

And when the push comes to shove, Henin-Hardenne has only really dominated against the Williams sisters when they're not at 100%, which is all well and good, but when the push comes to shove she doesn't get the job done on hard courts.

 

[Anil]

That was Monica Seles, way before Serena's time.

i don't think so...she dominated the sport before her injury but there was at least one player who could give her a fight(graf) at the very least on grass....when the williams sisters dominated, it was either one sister or the other in every single slam....and the newer generation naturally developed the muscle power to stay on the same court with the sisters...you could see it unfolding....and in terms of power, both the sisters took it to another level from where seles played it....

 

[Anil]

And when the push comes to shove, Henin-Hardenne has only really dominated against the Williams sisters when they're not at 100%, which is all well and good, but when the push comes to shove she doesn't get the job done on hard courts.

maybe but she has played well against other power players as well....and it's not really her fault that the sisters have not stayed fit or dedicated themselves to playing full tours over the years....

 

[Jono]

maybe but she has played well against other power players as well....and it's not really her fault that the sisters have not stayed fit or dedicated themselves to playing full tours over the years....

Hardenne has never beaten the Williams sisters on anything but clay. She has a 5-3 record against Serena, and a 7-1 record against Venus, she's not really in their league on anything but clay, let's be honest.

Its all well and good saying "Yeah all they do is hit the ball hard", but they win the clutch points, they don't choke like a Clijsters in a semi-final when the match is there to be won. When they are match point down or two breaks down in the 3rd set, you can never guarantee that you'll beat them, particularly Serna. See Clijsters vs Serena SF 2003 Aus Open, Sharapova vs. Serena SF 2005 Aus Open, and countless matches this tournament Serena has been in. That's totally different than Hardenne dominating against an Ivanovic or Kuznetsova or *insert female power player here*.

Mental toughness, I don't see it in Hardenne, Mauresmo and definitely not Clijsters. That being said I reckon Clijsters could take the Australian Open out this year, with many gun players out already and Serena Williams still not completely at her best.

 

[Jono]

i don't think so...she dominated the sport before her injury but there was at least one player who could give her a fight(graf) at the very least on grass....when the williams sisters dominated, it was either one sister or the other in every single slam....and the newer generation naturally developed the muscle power to stay on the same court with the sisters...you could see it unfolding....and in terms of power, both the sisters took it to another level from where seles played it....

Yeah but Monica Seles was the one that showed power tennis can win you women's grand slams, and on a consistent basis. She was the one that had the loudest grunt (possibly louder than Sharapova) and the reason more women tennis players are stronger and can hit the ball so hard today has a lot to do with greater knowledge of fitness regimes and of course raquet technology.

Why not hit the ball hard down the line if your opponent can't return it? Just because they have breasts doesn't mean they can't launch a devastating forehand does it?

 

[Jono]

LOL @ Roddick interviewing Courier instead of the other way around, he's such a champ.

 

[Johnners]

That was Monica Seles, way before Serena's time.

And when the push comes to shove, Henin-Hardenne has only really dominated against the Williams sisters when they're not at 100%, which is all well and good, but when the push comes to shove she doesn't get the job done on hard courts.

I don't know how you can say she doesn't get the job done on Hard-Courts. She's managed to win both the Aust. Open & US Open (and serveral trips to the Final & Semi's), and in the process beat power players such as Clijsters, Capriati, Seles, Mauresmo & Davenport is no mean feat.

Overall (all court types) Of all the above mentioned players, only Seles leads her 4-3 in head-to-head clashes. Serena Williams only leads her by 2 (3-5) whilst admittedly she has a horrible record (1-6) against Venus. All in all, a fantastic effort for a player of such small stature

 

[Jono]

I don't know how you can say she doesn't get the job done on Hard-Courts. She's managed to win both the Aust. Open & US Open (and serveral trips to the Final & Semi's), and in the process beat power players such as Clijsters, Capriati, Seles, Mauresmo & Davenport is no mean feat.

I meant in direct competition with the Williams sisters. I should have made that clearer.

 

[Johnners]

Hardenne has never beaten the Williams sisters on anything but clay. She has a 5-3 record against Serena, and a 7-1 record against Venus, she's not really in their league on anything but clay, let's be honest.

Its all well and good saying "Yeah all they do is hit the ball hard", but they win the clutch points, they don't choke like a Clijsters in a semi-final when the match is there to be won. When they are match point down or two breaks down in the 3rd set, you can never guarantee that you'll beat them, particularly Serna. See Clijsters vs Serena SF 2003 Aus Open, Sharapova vs. Serena SF 2005 Aus Open, and countless matches this tournament Serena has been in. That's totally different than Hardenne dominating against an Ivanovic or Kuznetsova or *insert female power player here*.

Mental toughness, I don't see it in Hardenne, Mauresmo and definitely not Clijsters. That being said I reckon Clijsters could take the Australian Open out this year, with many gun players out already and Serena Williams still not completely at her best.

It's harsh to say that Henin doesn't have mental Toughness imo. You don't win 5 Grand Slams if your mentally fragile.

 

[Johnners]

LOL @ Roddick interviewing Courier instead of the other way around, he's such a champ.

Haha, saw that, Roddick & Courier always make for an interesting interview.

TBH i hope Roddick can go on and win it from here. He's a vastly improved player from last year, and he's due for another win against Federer (should he win tonight that is) and then he'd have to be favourite over any of the remaining players on the opposite side of the draw imo.