The (Unofficial) French Open Thread

#176
#176
Weezy said:
Nadal is being a *****, imo. Does he have a right to complain...sure, but he looks like a sore loser complaining now. Just as it should have been called an hour ago, he should have started *****ing then.
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He was ****ing then.
 
#177
#177
volfanbill said:
was stuck out in the field picking ticks off me (and other dudes) for an FTX during almost the entire French Open. I know I'm the only that ever posts anything about the women's game, but I'm a little hurt no mention of Maria becoming just the tenth woman to attain the career grand slam. Congrats to her. Her shoulder looks to be as good as ever. It's definitely hindered her since the injury back in '08. Those forehand and backhand winners down the line could give a lot of the guys fits.
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I'm happy for her. I just don't follow it that closely.
 
#178
#178
volfanbill said:
was stuck out in the field picking ticks off me (and other dudes) for an FTX during almost the entire French Open. I know I'm the only that ever posts anything about the women's game, but I'm a little hurt no mention of Maria becoming just the tenth woman to attain the career grand slam. Congrats to her. Her shoulder looks to be as good as ever. It's definitely hindered her since the injury back in '08. Those forehand and backhand winners down the line could give a lot of the guys fits.
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I was pulling for her. And I think she's in a position to win a few more GSs with the way she's playing and the field she's up against these days. Several years ago, she had to compete with Serena, Venus, Justine, Clijsters, and Davenport. All of her main competition now is so streaky and inconsistent - Azarenka, Kvitova, Wozniaki. If she can keep up her FO form, she'll have a real good shot at Wimbledon and in the US.
 
#179
#179
DyronNix said:
Governor just issued a last second pardon to Ralph. Djokovic was getting ready to execute him in front of the French crowd -- just like in the olden days.

Never seen the entire momentum shift so suddenly in a championship match. Too bad it all gets reset by the weather.

I believe there is a small chance Nadal will start out nervous tomorrow giving Djokovic an opening and even more breathing room. In the more likely scenario, Nadal will break back right away and close out the match 7-5 in the 4th.
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I'm for Nadal. Hoping he comes out today like he did yesterday.

But I'm not very confident. I'm worried Djokavic comes out and controls things.
 
#183
#183
kidbourbon said:
7 French Open titles for Nadal!

Djoker double faulted on match point.
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unfortunate that the doubles will get much of the blame for this outcome because Nadal is far superior on clay. Everything has to go absolutely right for Djoker and Nadal still has to play poorly for Djoke to win.
 
#185
#185
BigPapaVol said:
unfortunate that the doubles will get much of the blame for this outcome because Nadal is far superior on clay. Everything has to go absolutely right for Djoker and Nadal still has to play poorly for Djoke to win.
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I doubt history will remember the double fault. It's sort of silly to look at any of Rafa's FO wins from a "but what if" angle when the guy has won 7 out of the last 8 and has removed all doubt as to who is the best clay court player of all time.

This final will be remembered for the sloppy conditions and the consequent erratic play from both guys. But that in the end, the better player (on clay) took control of the match and won it.
 
#187
#187
sammyjoey said:
Over. I'd probably take the over just on the French Open.
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I don't know if he can win 10 French Opens. I"m thinking definitely one more, maybe two more. I think he has a decent chance of winning another Wimbledon and another Aussie. I'm not bullish on his chances of winning another US Open.
 
#188
#188
kidbourbon said:
I don't know if he can win 10 French Opens. I"m thinking definitely one more, maybe two more. I think he has a decent chance of winning another Wimbledon and another Aussie. I'm not bullish on his chances of winning another US Open.
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If they slow Wimbledon back down some, he can definitely win there. He needs the high bounce and slower courts to play with Djoker.
 
#189
#189
DyronNix said:
Governor just issued a last second pardon to Ralph. Djokovic was getting ready to execute him in front of the French crowd -- just like in the olden days.

Never seen the entire momentum shift so suddenly in a championship match. Too bad it all gets reset by the weather.

I believe there is a small chance Nadal will start out nervous tomorrow giving Djokovic an opening and even more breathing room. In the more likely scenario, Nadal will break back right away and close out the match 7-5 in the 4th.
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I tip my hat to you, sir. :hi:
 
#190
#190
kidbourbon said:
I don't know if he can win 10 French Opens. I"m thinking definitely one more, maybe two more. I think he has a decent chance of winning another Wimbledon and another Aussie. I'm not bullish on his chances of winning another US Open.
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I just don't see anyone beating him on clay in the next few years. Federer couldn't beat him on clay at his prime, and he's only going to continue aging. Nadal just took Djokavic's best shot in sloppy conditions and still handled him in 4. And he cruised in the semis like Ferrer was a qualifier.

But I agree with you that it'll be tougher at the other 3. No matter how many French Opens he wins, it's going to be tough to call him GOAT with another couple GSs on grass and hard surfaces.
 
#191
#191
BigPapaVol said:
If they slow Wimbledon back down some, he can definitely win there. He needs the high bounce and slower courts to play with Djoker.
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They changed the type of grass at Wimbledon in 2001. It used to be a rye/fescue mix. And they changed it to 100% rye. This slowed down the courts. I assume the courts have been constant since 2001, but I'm just guessing. I imagine they could make minor tweaks to the courts from year to year and keep those tweaks under wraps. Also, they could be faster/slow from year to year simply based on the weather.

Until last year when Djoker just whupped dat azz in the final, you would have had to call Nadal the best grass court player in the world.

2006 - runner up
2007 - runner up
2008 - winner
2009 - DNP
2010 - winner
2011 - runner up

So you don't think Rafa is likely to beat Djoker if the court conditions were the same as last year?
 
#192
#192
sammyjoey said:
I just don't see anyone beating him on clay in the next few years. Federer couldn't beat him on clay at his prime, and he's only going to continue aging. Nadal just took Djokavic's best shot in sloppy conditions and still handled him in 4. And he cruised in the semis like Ferrer was a qualifier.

But I agree with you that it'll be tougher at the other 3. No matter how many French Opens he wins, it's going to be tough to call him GOAT with another couple GSs on grass and hard surfaces.
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Did you mean to write "without another couple..."?
 
#194
#194
Even though history will only remember it as 11 (total slam count) and 7 (FO titles), Ralph Nadal will always understand how lucky he was to win the title today. He knows how close he came to suffering the most humiliating defeat of his iconic career yesterday. He would've felt pain not felt since Federer at W in 2008 or AO in 2009.

Uncle Toni spoke to this after the match today and said Ralph was a beaten man and lucked out with the rain.
 
#195
#195
BigPapaVol said:
If they slow Wimbledon back down some, he can definitely win there. He needs the high bounce and slower courts to play with Djoker.
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Wimbledon's never been slower and the balls have never bounced higher. It's a travesty and it's Wimbeldon in name only.
 
#196
#196
kidbourbon said:
Rafa has 11 now. How many y'all think he will get?

I'll set the ovr/und at 13.5.
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I think another FO is a given. I'll throw in one more perhaps from AO or even W if the draw favors Rafa (as it seems to do).

When is the average career over for the men? 28? You would think that the years won't be kind to Rafa more so than the average player because of his style of play and tendency to injure. But Rafa is a special player so it's hard to decide.
 
#197
#197
kidbourbon said:
Yeah, nice prediction, Dyron. You hit that nail on the head.
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I watch too much tennis on tv and the internet. These matches follow similar patterns and have familiar outcomes based on the storyline and drama level. Pro tennis is akin to pro wrestling that way.
 
#199
#199
DyronNix said:
Wimbledon's never been slower and the balls have never bounced higher. It's a travesty and it's Wimbeldon in name only.
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Do you have any evidence that it's changed since 2001?

And why is it a travesty? Should tennis players who can serve really really hard, but do nothing else well on a tennis court be winning majors? Really...were Goran Ivanisevic* and Richard Krajicek any good at tennis? Was it really that awesome that Mark Phillipoussis -- an abject scrub by all accounts -- made it to the finals? Do you enjoy each point ending after one or two shots? Do you think there is something noble about a match where half the sets go to a tiebreak?

I think Wimbledon needed some slowing down. At the end of the day, it's shortly cut grass on hard pressed dirt. It's always going to be a fast, low-bouncing surface. it isn't like the surfaces are conspiring to join together at a standardized speed. The US Open are fast hard courts. The Aussie are slower hard courts. Roland Garros is clay, which is obviously really slow. And Wimbledon is going to be the fastest, because it is going to be the lowest bouncing**


*Ivanisevic's serve was a thing of beauty. I'd pay to watch him serve. Sampras' serve was better because it was more dependable...it was always there for him. But when Ivanisevic had that serve going, I don't know that I've seen one better.

**The "speed" of a court is dictated by how much pace the ball loses when it bounces and also, how high up it bounces. Wimbledon might be "slower" than the US Open in that the surface absorb's more of the ball's energy when it bounces. But that isn't as significant as the fact that ti bounces lower. That's what makes the court seem fast to the players.
 
#200
#200
DyronNix said:
Even though history will only remember it as 11 (total slam count) and 7 (FO titles), Ralph Nadal will always understand how lucky he was to win the title today. He knows how close he came to suffering the most humiliating defeat of his iconic career yesterday. He would've felt pain not felt since Federer at W in 2008 or AO in 2009.

Uncle Toni spoke to this after the match today and said Ralph was a beaten man and lucked out with the rain.
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History will remember Fedsmug as having 16 GS titles.
Fedsmug knows how lucky he is that the tendons in Nadal knees betrayed him in 2009. Fedsmug knows that he is only two sturdy knees removed from finishing his career with one fewer major than pistol pete.

Sometimes people catch breaks.
 
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