*Official* Tennis Thread

[BoyBrumby]

Love Federer tbh.

I used to, but since Nadal had his number he's been something of a ****, IMHO. Easy to be a gent when you're winning everything. Was rooting for Roddick so much in the final.

 

[PhoenixFire]

Dunno whether it is just a wrong public perception, but I thought that the general concensus on Federer was that there was nothing to dislike about him, bar being really, really good. Might be wrong however, but I seem to remember interviewing a few of the top players and none of them had a bad word to say about him.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Dunno whether it is just a wrong public perception, but I thought that the general concensus on Federer was that there was nothing to dislike about him, bar being really, really good. Might be wrong however, but I seem to remember interviewing a few of the top players and none of them had a bad word to say about him.

Of late he's got very mardy with marginal line calls and his hissy fit when Nadal beat him at the Oz Open was unbecoming of a sportsman of his stature. You were beaten by the better man on the day, don't piss on his parade by crying like a girl.

 

[Adamc]

Yeah, have no major problem with him but he gets way too much credit for being a gracious winner. Surely isn't that difficult to resist the temptation to go around saying 'I'm awesome, **** yeah' all the time. As BB mentioned, his histrionics whenever Nadal beats him are pretty tiresome too.

Had to laugh at his attempt to empathise with Roddick by saying he knew what it felt like to lose a Wimbledon final, to which Roddick pointed out that he'd won already won it five times by then.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Had to laugh at his attempt to empathise with Roddick by saying he knew what it felt like to lose a Wimbledon final, to which Roddick pointed out that he'd won already won it five times by then.

Haha yeah, you could see Roddick wanted to crack him over the head with his plate-trophy thing at that point. Figured he could get far enough with the winners trophy to be happy I reckon.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Federer's reaction was about as subdued as it gets for a guy who just won a record-breaking 15th major.

I didn't like the way he reacted at the Aussie Open, but he was trying to offer some consolation to Roddick the same way that Nadal did in Melbourne. He probably shouldn't have related Roddick's loss to his own personal experiences, since it's impossible for a guy who's won 15 Grand Slams to know how a guy like Roddick feels, but Roddick's comment was poor. We all sympathise with him, but he can be a dick at times. A competitive dick, but a dick nonetheless.

 

[Anil]

Roddick was spent. If they'd played a tiebreak, both guys would've had a fairer shot at winning it. I don't like watching tennis matches were a guy loses because he's drained and has nothing left. Federer couldn't do anything with the Roddick serve until Andy began to tire.

and that quality of hanging in there even when things are not going your way and outlasting your opponent in terms of mental toughness is a quality/skill/talent that great champions have(it was not just roddick, both players were physically drained and was going purely on adrenaline at that point), the incredible fact was that federer was gunning for a title he had won 5 times before but was still hungrier for it than roddick trying for his first, that's how he was able to produce that little extra adrenaline-rush at the end...not belittling roddick here, he put on quite a show, the match of his life but that is one of the reasons he is 2-19 against federer...

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Federer didn't have any rush of extra adrenaline. Roddick started failing on his first serve and Federer was able to return serve, but he wasn't hitting winners. Up until the last couple of games, Roddick's ground strokes were better than Federer's. Federer served well, no doubt, but there was nothing spectacular about the way he broke Roddick.

 

[Anil]

Federer didn't have any rush of extra adrenaline. Roddick started failing on his first serve and Federer was able to return serve, but he wasn't hitting winners. Up until the last couple of games, Roddick's ground strokes were better than Federer's. Federer served well, no doubt, but there was nothing spectacular about the way he broke Roddick.

did i say the finish was spectacular..? i said that even though he was physically spent, he still found that extra adrenaline to hang on while roddick probably exhausted his supply at the end so to speak...

 

[ohtani's jacket]

So why not have a tiebreaker?

There's not much more I can say about this. I just think a tiebreaker would've been better than what we saw. An even playing field is better than one guy dropping serve because he's exhausted.

 

[duffer]

Only bought the game Saturday, and considering how epic a weekend of sport it was, have only played multiplayer sparingly in between watching footy/tennis and friends' birthdays.

Haha, the weekend inspired me to go out and get Top Spin 3 for 360 as well.

 

[honestbharani]

Yeah, have no major problem with him but he gets way too much credit for being a gracious winner. Surely isn't that difficult to resist the temptation to go around saying 'I'm awesome, **** yeah' all the time. As BB mentioned, his histrionics whenever Nadal beats him are pretty tiresome too.

Had to laugh at his attempt to empathise with Roddick by saying he knew what it felt like to lose a Wimbledon final, to which Roddick pointed out that he'd won already won it five times by then.

It was not Roddick though.. It was some jerk from the other end. The camera was focussed on Roddick and it was clear it was someone else.


And honestly, I thought Federer was all class in whatever he had to say about Roddick and everything he said did make sense... Obviously tough when you play the match of your life and still lose, but honestly, what else could Federer tell?


Some people juz need to loosen the hell up about Federer. He hates losing and it did come through pretty bad at the Aussie Open but everyone is entitled to bad days and it was the same with Fed... I have seen Nadal throw worse fits at other players during different situations.. Federer is an awesome guy not because he doesn't have a single bad or inappropriate thought/opinion but because he almost always knows when and how to control them and say the proper stuff...


What else do you seriously expect from a man whose every defeat is spoken off as his Waterloo????

 

[honestbharani]

So why not have a tiebreaker?

There's not much more I can say about this. I just think a tiebreaker would've been better than what we saw. An even playing field is better than one guy dropping serve because he's exhausted.

If you think stamina should not play such a big part in deciding tennis results, why not abolish clay courts altogether?

 

[Adamc]

It was not Roddick though.. It was some jerk from the other end. The camera was focussed on Roddick and it was clear it was someone else.

Er what? It was clearly Roddick, you could see his mouth move saying 'five times' etc and Federer turned around and addressed him directly.

You should probably take your own advice and 'loosen the hell up about Federer'. I wasn't suggesting he's a complete arsehole, just that he gets far too much gushing praise for being gracious in victory, which isn't at all difficult. The fact that some others aren't isn't really relevant.

 

[Jono]

Some people juz need to loosen the hell up about Federer. He hates losing and it did come through pretty bad at the Aussie Open but everyone is entitled to bad days and it was the same with Fed... I have seen Nadal throw worse fits at other players during different situations.. Federer is an awesome guy not because he doesn't have a single bad or inappropriate thought/opinion but because he almost always knows when and how to control them and say the proper stuff...

I'm not a Federer-hater by any stretch of the imagination, but Nadal is so much more modest than Federer, its ridiculous to compare the two to be honest.

Federer being humble (Sampras said it like 3 times) is the biggest fallacy of all time. The purity of his tennis (one-hand backhand, lovely strokes, no grunting, classy attire) make people think he's some gentleman. He's just a champion tennis player, who cracks it when Hawkeye doesn't give him what he wants, and cries when he wins or loses.

Oh and for one thing, Nadal didn't cry and ruin Federer's parade at Wimbledon 2007. He waited till he got in the rooms and he cried for hours from what I have read. Bit different to Federer.

 

[pasag]

Roddick clearly said it, thought the whole thing was great entertainment yet slightly awkward.

Fed's not that humble just like Bradman wasn't. They don't go around shouting their achievements to anyone who will listen and they don't act like jerks and let the fame get to their heads, but at the same time they're aware of how good they are and don't play it down too much when asked.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

TENNIS.com - Concrete Elbow by Steve Tignor

Superb article, very much worth a read.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

TENNIS.com - Concrete Elbow by Steve Tignor

Superb article, very much worth a read.

Yup, sums up a lot - very well written.

Disagree with him on aces and Roddick being the better player on the day, though.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

The Associated Press: French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt dies at 24

Sad story

Rather draconian fine, too. Takes a fair while for a No. 119 to earn $12,000. Would be rash to blame it for the death at this stage, though.

 

[Jono]

TENNIS.com - Concrete Elbow by Steve Tignor

Superb article, very much worth a read.

Cheers for that.