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| my typing went to pot but hey I'm entitled for it to go more than ever with than glorious win | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| idin't get that bagel but a tie breaker is gOh how sweet.. Ok we doood so he still remains King of the Clay for another round and still will be #2 and has dethroned the Princess and upset he Virus. Bet we don't hear from him unless Roger looses..that is the next one up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a bagel would be nice and serves with two more borken rackets form the Princess | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| and a beautiful forehand down the line to close out set 2 I am in hog heaven!!!! A bagel for the 3rd set would finish it all off nicely... |
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| a pair of love games ech to close out the second set 6/2. Oh how sweet it all is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| skip we should all be watching together and not miles apart. Trouble with the Princess is that she has become less regal and showing her true colours and let that Tiara slip around this shoulders | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| no you won't Geoff - Rafa is on a roll, Djerk is losing confidence visibly (but probably still feels 'in control of the match') Rafa should win in 3? Borg is even there too... |
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| Rafa teh King 6/4 3/1...I will stop or else I might jinx things | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| well Rafa got the first set and a time violation while Novak cracked his racquet having a tanty plus got a warning for ball abuse! oooh its just too good.... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| what a day Anna is #1 and Rafa is 3/1 with a break. Can't watch it is nerve wracking to say the least.a Go Rafa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Didn't do enough reading from your link Kraavitz. The match report told the whole story. http://2007.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/match_repo rts/2007-06-10/200706101181494866812.html I hope they both make the final again as it will be very interesting to see the tactics they both play to this year. It might be the same tennis players on each side of the net, but it will be a different match for sure. They are both too smart for a repeat display. Thanks for the link. |
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| Thanks for that Kraavitz. It showed just what I was looking for. Fed didn't have the best of matches in the final. He had 2 big areas which need changing. 60 unforced errors 1 of 17 break point conversions. Rafa is great when its comes to under pressure on break point but Fed can do better than that. And the unforced errors. That was surprising. I didn't watch the final but it seems like he went for way too much when he played Nadal in the final. Maybe it was the patience that got the better of him especially since he had just beaten Nadal at Hamburg. The longer the rallies the more interesting it would be. Nadal doesn't go for outright winners anywhere near as much as the others. Fed wouldn't have forgiven himself after that match. They are the fittest two players on the circuit. Although I do remember Roger was a little fatigued for some reason. Maybe that's why he went for so many winners. |
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| And weekend, as you weren't sure about the last Frenchman in a RG final, it was Henri Leconte back in 1988. He got pasted by Wilander in straight sets. As for the last French winner, indeedy it was Noah in 1983 when he beat defending champ Wilander. |
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| Weekend - very quick one for now...did a bit of searching around and found stats from last years men's RG final. Surprisingly RF hit 5 more winners than Rafa: http://2007.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/stats/da y20/1127ms.html I cannot find the 2006 stats at this point and will try searching more later. Same with 05 for the semi - will be interested to see that. More later... |
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| This one is a bit unrelated to RG but found it on at Tennisweek about Nalbandian - might explain his up and down game lately. Don't forget it was Nalbandian that was supposed to be the biggest threat in Nadals quarter at RG this year but as we know it wasn't to be... http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fullstory.sps?inews id=6611057 |
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| Interesting read - thanks weekend. Shame we can't nick over to Paris and add some vocals to the crowd tonight - I think Benito Perez won't be dining on paella after the match. I have to drink about 5000 more coffees today if I am to stay awake for both matches tonight...ugh |
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| Here's something to back you up Nye. It got it from the ESPN website. The link is: - The info. is at the bottom of the page http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/notebook?p age=notebook/tennis06052008 Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic Quite simply, Nadal has looked invincible the past 10 days. His past two opponents, Fernando Verdasco and Nicolas Almagro, appeared to be psyched out before their matches even started, perhaps because of the fraternal pecking order in Spains tennis. Djokovic won't bring that disadvantage into the match, and he gave Nadal a real tussle in Hamburg, but the softer surface there (and the fact that they played under cover on a wet day) may have acted as a leveler. The only possible downside for Nadal is that he hasn't been pushed yet, an oddity in a Slam. Nadal in four. Roger Federer vs. Gael Monfils Federer said the other day that he enjoys playing top players in their backyard. Had he been asked which Frenchman he'd most likely face in a semifinal, chances are Monfils would have been way down on the list. On paper, the world No. 1 should handle Monfils with relative ease, but he has much more to lose in this match. Monfils can play with abandon and the assurance that he'll emerge as an overachieving hero either way. Could the crowd -- or Monfils' demonstrativeness -- get under Federer's skin? Possibly, but he'll soldier through it. Federer in four. Let's see how you go. :) I hope your right. |
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| Just found something on ESPN. Here's the link if you would like to read the whole story. Its worth going to the site. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/french08/c olumns/story?columnist=ford_bonnie_d&id=3426378 Tells the story of one of the reasons Djokovic hasn't met the standards of Nadal or Federer yet. We may see him do it over the next couple of days. The words spoken come from an interview on Tuesday so it's not all "cool" inside him yet. Tonight we'll have exactly what he doesn't want. The crowd fully behind Nadal. And likewise for the final. Even if its not Fed, it will be the first French man since Yannick Noah, 1985 I think although don't quote me on that, to make it to the final at Roland Garros and every single person at the stadium bar Djokovic's family will be screaming for him to win. Here's the quote. He'll have to forget about that crowd. Big time. "It's really important if you can get the crowd behind you to support you," he said. "You know, you get motivated, you get a lot of positive energy, and you kind of play easier, you know. Novak Djokovic has had a strong supporting cast through the years. "If you have a crowd against you, it's a totally different situation. Then you're fighting against the crowd and your opponent. This can put you in a really tricky position." Reminds me of the US Open between Federer and Agassi. The whole crowd at the stadium were cheering for one playing to win and it wasn't Fed. He only needed 4 sets to take the title and never looked like going down. The crowd mean nothing to Federer in regards to his performance and likewise Nadal. They have to deal with it all the time. Let's see how Djokovic goes. |
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| I'm tipping 4 set wins in both semis to the usual pair. Will be watching both games for sure. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| One thing I like about Federer Kraavitz is the way he dictates the game. Take Gonzalez for example. He attacks his opponents strong points which few are game to do because they can't handle the consequences of the blistering forehand from Gonz down the line. Fed plays to the centre of the court but keeps pushing the opponent further into the corner of his backhand point after point forcing them to run around their backhand. Once they start to hit their backhand, the opponent will have a better court position but his return to Fed is rarely good enough to stop Roger taking over the point by coming in and taking his pick on which side of the court to play to. Even if he plays to the forehand and the opponent gets it back, Roger is in such a good position that a winner will follow as he keeps the opponent out of position with each point. The opponent has to pull off a winner to win the point. Very few do so, all but for Rafa. I don't know if you could say Fed has a weekness. A lot say his backhand but he pulls so many winners off on it I don't know how it can be described as a "weakness". Would love to see the amount winners Nadal put down to beat Federer in each of the finals in 2007 and 2006. He usually doesn't go for a lot compared to other players but that may have needed to be raised against Fed. |
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| As for the other matches: Great to see Monfils in the SF. Expected? heck no. Can you believe he was playing a challenger event a few weeks ago to get some matches and form in!!! Good on him. That said, I would love RF to do a number on him. Gael has time still. Rafa vs The Princess - enough said here. Am very much wishing for a Rafa win, however if not and it ends up a RF vs Princess final - at least RF would have a better chance to collect the title, and send that little bi.tch into submission - hopefully permanently! If it is Monfils vs Princess - here's to retribution for the US Open first round in 2006. Thanks to weekend or skip? for posting that story link. Fantastic reading. For the womens: Gosh, Dinara Safina has been a treat to watch. 4th Rnd and QF she is down a set, 2-5 in the 2nd and also a match point. She wins both matches (6-0 in the third of the QF). Today downs Kuznetsova in straight sets with some fantastic, fearless play. I would love to see her come up trumps on Saturday. Don't really care much for the SF on right now. Ivanovic is up 5-4 with a break in the first. Just can't stand to watch Jelena play - soooooo slooooooow, boring and a right old "I learned at the school of Princesses" style. She should really just focus on playing tennis and cutting out the BS that she brings to her matches. She ain't that great. Doubles: not keeping up with it, but great to see Casey there in the ladies final. Juniors: Yeah, have been across the progress of Tomic for a few years now since he started getting attention in Aus. Will be interesting to see if his junior success translates to the seniors. |
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| Folks, a cameo appearance - I blame work ;-) I am surprised that not a single comment has been posted on the RF vs Gonzo match last night. I watched from set 2 onwards when Fox started coverage. Brilliant. Again a slow start by Roger the loss of a set kicked him up a few gears. After getting pasted in set 1 and almost losing serve at the start of the 2nd, he clicked. He attacked Gonzo's forehand weapon time and time again, shot after shot. Some great points were when he had Gonzo serving and immediately moving to the left to cover the backhand - and Roger would go right to the stronger side...RF did this so often, toward the end of the third, Gonzo served, went right and the ball was- hit at the last second by RF to his backhand side. RF sent Gonzo stir crazy. He smashed his racket, and for further measure, stomped on it. Didn't help him like it did two matches ago. A great match and really hope some of you saw or recorded it. Blistering. Now wonder why RF isn't starting this fast out of the blocks? |
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| Hi Skip annd weekend. I might just get to watch the men's SF before I ehad to the airport. At least I will be home for the finals if I can keep myself awake. Today should see Jancobit.ch hit the dust..how I wish. G |
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| SF results? - Rafa in 5, Roger in straight. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I know very well what I'm missing out on. Not happy with it but I can't do anything about it. At least I get to watch the Australian Open and Wimbledon. They are both on free to air. If I had the austar I'd be up nearly all night watching the tennis. I don't have enough time on my hands though to make use of the pay tv. |
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