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| Sure skip. It would be great if you could post it here. I can't access any of the videos on there either. Its a pain in the neck. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weekend - won't the article come up at all? Do you want me to paste it here? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thanks for the post skip. I'm at work though and for some reason everytime I go to a post on Tennis Planet, I get left at "1 Item remaining". And at home the sound won't work on the computer so this is the only place I can hear the plays. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Well Maria didn't last long at #1 - here's how the women's race should pan out.... http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/tennis/speci als/french_open/2008/06/03/sharapova.rankings.ap/i ndex.html |
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| Weekend, I'm going to be predictable and nominate Roger and Ferrer for the last semi-final. I know Ferrer has had some long matches but I can't see Monfils winning (if I'm wrong that's ok, more power to Monfils) - will Monfils's nerves hold up for this SF? Roger seems to have found his form again so should so should take out Gonzo (hard to believe Gonzo was at Shanghai just a few months back). For the other side, I would be surprise if Nadal doesn't beat Djokovic - he seems to be on a rampage. Did you catch any of his QF against Almagro? I only saw the 3rd set but I don't know what Almagro was doing - he didn't seem to be trying too hard, I was disappointed with his level of play. So I'll lock in finalists picks of (no surprises here): Roger and Rafa with Rafa winning a 4th time.... I'm not convinced Roger can beat Rafa here - he might have the 'mental yips'..... Here's a link about one of my favourite rants about u know who... http://tennisplanet.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/djoko vics-dilemma/ |
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| Federer v Ferrer. The final will be yet another Fedex/Rafa epic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Is anyone willing to put their nominations in for the last 2 semi finalists. And perhaps the finalists and winner? There are only 4 going for the remaining 2 semi final places. We only have 6 possible winners now out of the 128 we started with as well. No surprises Nadal is still there. All 6 grew up on clay courts. Including Federer. The only thing he hasn't won is virtually The French Open. (Apart from Monte Carlo and Rome although he was the runner-up in 06, 07, and 08 in Monte Carlo and runner-up at Rome in 03, and 06) |
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| Essentially, Roger has to win the last 3 slams OR hope Rafa exits early at Wimbledon and Novak fails miserably at the US Open. On current form, there is no doubt Roger can finish this year as he did in 2007. But it won't be easy. |
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| If Novak goes up to No. 2, I can't see him holding it for too long. He's holding onto 700 points for runner up at the U.S. Open and at least 500 more points for a Masters. Nadal only has 680 points to protect going into and including the the U.S. Open. Rafa and Novak are about equal with points til the last big tournament. Djokovic's big bonus from last year is he has 0 points for Shanghai. The only loser out of all this after we finish Roland Garros really is Federer if he doesn't match or better his finish to the year. |
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| Yes, it does seem inevitable that there will be a change around in the top 3 rankings this year - end of an era I suppose. But it hasn't happened yet and I think that when it does, we might be in for a period of constant change with alot of jostling at the top. Roger still has to get back to peak fitness as mono takes a while to get over (yet he still plays well, a testament to his fitness and talent). When he does, maybe there will be no stopping him again (for a while) Rafa is improving his game on non-clay surfaces all the time although needs to be careful of the physical demands he places on himself because of his very physical game - seems noone likes a good long rally more than him... He needs to shorten points and it wouldn't be a bad thing if he could improve his serve and score a few free points now and then. Novak is really on fire this year but I question his ability to keep it up for an extended period of time i.e. to hold the #1 position for any great length of time. He (and his family) are also getting some bad press lately - nobody was talking about these issues last year as they were too busy laughing at his impersonations. This could have some affect on his game. As for #4 et al, well there is 1800pts between #3 and #4 so can't see any of them making a run for the top 3 (barring injuries to top 3 of course) |
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| My pleasure rtesta. The info wasn't brought out until about a month after the Australian Open that he had it I think. He then went through his "lean" stretch where he was struggling to win a lot of matches. What it all came down to was his lack of match fitness and lack of match practice. I'm not sure whether he is back to fully fit but if you look at his ranking points breakdown, since around mid march, he's been able to make it to at least the quarter final in all the Masters cup tournaments as well as at Estoril where he won. Before Roland Garros, he looked at his best this year at the Masters in Hamburg. The link below is his profile. If you have a close look at it and see all the points he has there from season 2007, because they haven't played the tournaments yet, you'll see just how hard it is going to be for him to maintain his world no. 1 ranking. http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/players/playerprofil es/pointsbreakdown.asp?player=F324&ss=y |
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| hey weekendatbernies, my friend, i thank you for that information regarding Federer's fitness. But that didn't come to light immediately following his defeat did it? You are quite right! It is a tribute to his fighting heart that he was able to reach the semi's. It is also a tribute to his sportmanship that he did not make any excuses (including his state of health) after losing to Novak. That says a lot about him. You can count me in as another one who would love to see Roger win at R.G. |
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| Sorry - just saw it was also on your link - apologies, my fault for not reading properly.. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Found this comment about Roger's shot at Tennis Planet "But this (ball) was smacked at full pelt and the poor ball should have been retired hurt." |
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| Weekend - just watched your link re RF v Ancic - bloody brilliant, Fed at his best! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Roger Federer was carrying what is known as "Mononucleosis" which has symptons described as "A feeling of fatigue or tiredness which may persist for months following the acute phase of the illness." It is recommended that patients with mono avoid participation in any contact sports during the first six to eight weeks following the onset. The disease can also stay with the patient for up to 12 months. The doctor hadn't picked up on the fact that Federer had contracted the disease before he went into the Australian Open. The fatigue you encounter drops your fitness level down quite a lot and to have won the 5 set match against Novak's fellow compatriot was a tribute to Roger's fighting ability. After it was diagnosed, it was revealed the doctor would have prevented him playing in the tournament at all. To make it all the way to semi finals just shows how fit he actually is. 5 matches for probably a total court time of over 12 - 13 hrs before he played the semi against Djokovic. If you watch the semi-final you can see the signs of fatigue he is starting to show. Not many other players would have made it that far. |
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| my friend, and how do you know Roger was carrying an injury during the 2008 Australian Open? There was no mention of an injury by the press that i can recall, following his semifinal defeat. Unless you know for certain, your comments are meaningless!? |
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| That shot from Federer was amazing! He is a freak, I can't believe anyone would write him off after an injury/illness plagued Aussie open (where he STILL made the semis!). It would be a tragedy if he never wins the French. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Here's a good link for everyone who wants to find out a bit more about the tennis. Its from the BBC website and there are threads available as well as plenty of articles and videos. Enjoy. :) http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/ArticleSearchPhrase?p hrase=Tennis&contenttype=-1&articlesortby=DateUplo aded&show=20 |
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| I've got another link for you from Roland Garros. Its been labelled the best shot of the tournament so far. I haven't seen every shot played but it would be hard to beat this one. No prizes for guessing who plays it. You should be able to see the whole rally when you go to the link. You find yourself just waiting for him to pull off the shot. It's worth the wait. I don't think anyone else could have hit it like that. Make sure you read the "blog" before clicking on "the most amazing, hardest shot I think I've ever seen hit." http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A36724115 |
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| Got some bad new nye. He probably will make it to number 1. We are all praying he doesn't but it's the numbers are on his side when it comes to a change in position in the top 3. For Djokovic to make it to number 3, all that needs to happen is for him to make it to one more level at one of the following 3 tournaments than Nadal, including Roland Garros, especially looking at the 2 Grand Slams. Novak only has semi-final points to protect whereas Federer and Nadal have 1700 points each for the 2 Grand Slams. Novak only has 900. We're hoping for an upset early in one of the Grand Slams but.... Federer needs to keep his consistency going for the rest of the year to keep hold of the No. 1 position. 700 points at Roland Garros, 1000 points at Wimbledon and 1000 at the US Open. Also 750 at the final Shanghai Masters where Novak got no points last year at Shanghai. If Federer can keep his No. 1 ranking though until the new year, its Novak who will have everything to lose with his great start to this year. And after Wimbledon, Nadal is on an even keel with Djokovic for points so we're all cheering for the current No. 1 and No. 2. Wouldn't it be nice to see Novak go for a nosedive in the rankings early next year. Its quite possible as he will have over 2500 points to protect before we get to Roland Garros. |
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| Wow, thanks for that link. I always knew he was a 'dubious' player ethically, but to do that to his 'best friend' is dispicable! I like Monfries and wish him all the best, but I'd hate it if Novak beats out the 'gentlemen' champions in Federer and Nadal to win this title. I NEVER want to see him as number 1 - ever |
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| Thanks for that skip. It was not pretty. My respect for Djokovic went downhill even further. I do remember Federer having something to say about Djokovic and his "lack of sportmanship" a couple of years ago. He picked up on it pretty quickly. I can't remember the last time Federer even called for a trainer. Nadal has had no choice with the blisters on his feet. Take the shoes off and see the evidence. But he still rarely calls for the trainer. With Federer and Nadal both gunning for positions on the ATP players panel, I hope they can do something about this. No one likes a bad sport but this takes the cake. Against your own best mate. |
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| This is a bit of a longish article but it starts to get interesting about halfway down. I'd never heard this story before but it really makes you wonder how Novak gets away with it - I know he is a good player, there is absolutely no denying this and I am hoping he gets knocked out before he meets Rafa in the semi (please Rafa, make it to the semi) BUT where is the sportsmanship? Don't they have any in Serbia? Yeah, yeah, he makes the odd gesture but that is not true sportsmanship - that's just PR! After reading this article, I wish Monfils was on Djokovic's side of the draw and karma could come knocking. Well, there is always Wimbledon. http://sportsonmymind.com/2008/05/31/gael-monfils- novak-djokovic-and-the-point-of-divergence/ |
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