The Championships, Wimbledon

#177
#177
This one's likely over, but Fed doesn't have the nerve or confidence any more to dominate side to side.
 
#183
#183
BigPapaVol said:
Fed doesn't have it any more. Dude's ground game has become average. That nasty forehand has become conservative.
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I think it all comes back to the movement. Losing even a half step doesn't just affect a tennis player in that he can get to fewer dropshots. It affects the player's balance on lots and lots of shots hit on the run.

I've surely said this before, but losing a half step really really hurts Fed's game because running around the backhand to hit his forehand has always been an integral part of his game.

Agassi aged nicely as a player because Agassi's game was to set up shop about three feet inside the baseline and get you on the run before you could get him on the run. Plus, his backhand was just as good as his forehand, and so he had no need to constantly run around one wing.

Nadal will not age well. Once he loses that half step, you'll see his play drop off significantly and all of a sudden.

Djokovic will age pretty well. This is true even though court coverage is a huge part of his game. His court coverage owes as much to his great ability to lunge/slide into shots (on all surfaces), which reduces the number of steps he is taking between shots. Also, he is getting better and better at using court positioning to his advantage to win points. If I had to point to one area where Djoker is better than Nadal, it's that Djoker has definitely gone to the Andre Agassi School of Point Dictation by way of Court Positioning. Rafa still hasn't quite figured out this concept. It may be harder for Rafa to pick up on this concept since he is such a dirtballer at his very core.
 
#186
#186
Strange how Nicole Vaidesova gave up her career for being the wife of Radek Stepanek. She probably could have been the big bread winner in that family. I was just reminded of that seeing her as a spectator in his box.
 
#187
#187
kidbourbon said:
I have a confession: had Federer lost that match, it would have set me back $2,500.

That match was not a pleasant experience for me. Until the end.
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With all due respect, you're insane! I worship at the altar of Federer but there is no way I'd put bank on a Federer match at this stage of his career. Today is why.
 
#188
#188
DyronNix said:
With all due respect, you're insane! I worship at the altar of Federer but there is no way I'd put bank on a Federer match at this stage of his career. Today is why.
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But what Federer does is he crushes everybody in the first four or so rounds; gets analysts and fans alike thinking the old Fed is back and might win the tournament; and then gets exposed by Djoker or Rafa.

I've seen this scenario play out for two years now. His game is still money, and the only guys that can expose his drop in agility are the two guys that are simply just better athletes than him (again, Rafa and Djoke).

And so when I was down 25 or 30 bucks on my early morning plays, I decided I'd go ahead and toss 25 on Fed at -10000....bring me back to even on the day.

And then, I swear to all things sacred, this was the first time I've seen a guy outside the top ten give Fed problems. Of course it happened the one instance where I loosely risked to 2,500 to win 25. That. Sucked.

Thank God he won. When he was serving at 4-5 in the 4th, he would get up an ad -- I'm watching all of this unfold on espn courtcast -- and then I'd see it come back down to deuce, and I'm sure he's gonna choke. I had to close out courtcast.

My brother called me like 45 minutes later and I was sure he was calling me to tell me that Fed lost. Why was I sure of this? My brother made a $500 bet with his buddy during the trophy ceremony of the 2009 Aussie Open (the one where Fed was crying). If Fed got to 17 majors my brother would lose the bet. Anyway, so as you can imagine my brother has been sweating out every major for the last two years and in-between analyzing the situation with me and saying things like "[Tournament X] is really Fed's last good shot at a major". Except that Tournament X keeps moving forward in time.

Anyway, I figured my bro was calling me because Fed lost and he was relieved because he couldn't foresee Fed winning any future majors if he couldn't win this one.

I didn't pick up.

I waited 30 more minutes, typed "tennis live scores" into my google search box, clicked the first link, and braced myself for the sight of the name Benneteau appearing in bold type.

Alas, the name "Federer" appeared in bold type. All was right with the world again.
 
#193
#193
Rosol out after beating Nadal. There's something wrong with your head if you can beat Nadal but lose to Kohlschreiber.
 
#195
#195
I know one thing. In a match like that, when neither player cramps or shows signs of cramps, the players are very fit. They also have to have a healthy amount of sodium in their systems. The muscles require it.
 
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