The Tennis Thread 2013

[polak]

I like it. It's like raising Pokemon.

[Machiavelli]

Azarenka totally sketching out in the second set. 3 double faults in that last game.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Pretty good match so far. Serena seems on the cusp of a meltdown.

[Machiavelli]

Azarenka really gave Serena a good scare, but alas, wasn't quite enough.

[Inglewood Jack]

boy, this place sure was crackling with excitement for that womens' final...so weird since we're normally so fired up about watching Serena collect another piece of hardware. good effort though Machiavelli, at least it wasn't a double bagel final (something that I wouldn't have even been surprised at given the state of the WTA in general).

but now at last, on to the main event. hopefully it will be epic, and then we can finally get on with our lives and give our full attention back to the Flames...at least until mid-January when they're languishing in 30th and the Aussie Open starts up.

[GirlySports]

There's a lot of tennis left.
There's Davis Cup on Friday!
And there's the race for 8th to get into the World Championships.

[Mango]

Looking forward to this one...I'm picking Nadal in four.

[Senator Clay Davis]

This coud be a 3 set beat down. Nadal dominant in that first set

[Mango]

54 shot rally. wow!

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

This coud be a 3 set beat down. Nadal dominant in that first set

I stupidly thought the USTA would start this final at 5PM, so missed the first two sets, but given how the third set has gone this could still be a three-set beat down. Just sets 2-4. Even on points Nadal is winning right now, he's having to play crazy defence just to stay alive.

[Mango]

I love how these two can switch their tactics at the drop of a hat. Impressive tennis thus far.

[Resolute 14]

Course, as soon as I typed that post out, Nadal went out and stole the third set.

This is going to be another 4-hour marathon.

[Machiavelli]

Can't the chair ump do a better job of controlling the crowd? Way too much yelling/jeering during the players' serves.

[Resolute 14]

Jeebus, Djokovic is choking hard. He's practically handed Nadal both 4th set breaks on a platter.

[Mango]

Good for Nadal. A year ago, many were wondering if he could ever return to his top form due to his knee injuries.

[Inglewood Jack]

could have been another mega-classic, level of play was up there with the all-time best matches...until Djokovic's soul mysteriously floated away at the end of that 3rd set. maybe he was tired from more sets this tournament, but he needs to have a long hard look at the way he handles big points, cause his clutchness was nowhere to be found at any point this year after the AO...not befitting of the #1 ranked player.

that being said, Rafa has surprised everyone and I never figured he'd reach a level higher than what I thought was his peak in 2010. I still won't declare him greatest yet but...another season or so like this and I might have to concede what every Federer fan's been dreading.

[Resolute 14]

Federer fans are in denial on that point already. You can't claim to be the best all-time when you are only 10-21 against your greatest rival.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Nadal is virtually assured of getting the record unless a supreme clay court player comes along. Nadal has probably 2-4 more French Opens he'll win, so he basically has to win 2 majors beyond that to get the record. But unlike Federer, you cannot count on Nadal getting there because of health. What Federer fans will come back to even if Nadal gets the record is the 36 straight QFs and 23 straight SFs. Nadal may be greater at his peak, but he simply cannot match the consistent greatness of Federer. 6 straight years of semi's guaranteed and 9 straight of quarters guaranteed is absurd. I mean Nadal is 1-2 in the last two years at Wimbledon. Federer's worst run since becoming #1 is this year and last, which puts him at 8-1. Incredible.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Federer fans are in denial on that point already. You can't claim to be the best all-time when you are only 10-21 against your greatest rival.

Nadal fans place too much emphasis on the H2H. it looks terrible and will continue to get worse as it's always been a bad matchup of game styles. when Fed was at his peak, Rafa wasn't there often enough to meet him in finals...not that it would have tilted the whole thing in his favor, but the fact that they're 2 different generations is important.

so if you had some journeyman ranked #50 that had losing records against everyone else, but for some reason just had Fed's number and sported a winning H2H record, is that guy in contention for greatest? in the end, pure numbers (trophies won) are all that matter.

that being said, Rafa already has a lot of insurmountable streaks and records, and is quickly catching up on the ones Roger owns. the more of those he accumulates, those will make him the greatest in my eyes, not the H2H.

[polak]

You can't compare h2h unless the two players are the same age. Ever. It's stupid.

Federer is the greatest because of the sheer dominance he displayed at his peak.