Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Grigor was actually attacking. What a breath of fresh air after the Roger Rasheed era.
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Tennis - General Discussion
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
Berdych is moving really, really fast this tournament - he looks a lot more gaunt than last season, I think he's actually focused on shedding weight to get better movement? It's definitely paying off, he's made some really good gets and had excellent flexibility in all the matches I've seen, really covered some of his old weaknesses.
All that will be meaningless once he'll switch into his usual Birdbrain mode when facing Djokovic or Nadal
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
All that will be meaningless once he'll switch into his usual Birdbrain mode when facing Djokovic or Nadal
I mean, yes, he's a gutless choker on big points, but last year he was even worse than normal and I think lots of that was because he lost a little speed of step.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Birdshit just double faulted on break point....
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
Annoying as well, he's actually playing pretty well right now, low first serve aside. Just chokes on anything critical.
Sometimes I think with the right coach Berdych could be the next Wawrinka in terms of "gutless choker overcomes mental block to win slam".
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
Spoke too soon, he's falling apart now.
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
Berdych seems angry more than gutless this match. It's weird, I don't think I've seen him look so mad in a while. Not that it's helping him, mind.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
How could he not take a set of that Djokovic who was standing five meters behind the baseline and doing nothing with the ball?
Berdych has one "big" win a year. He's just pacing himself.
Kotetsu534
Member
Djokovic was playing like an off Murray in the latter part of the Berdych match, way behind the baseline and moaning about his opponent's winners. Even threw in his patented backhand drop shot from behind the baseline and pushed forehand into the net. Not that it mattered.
Stephens playing better than I've seen from her against Wozniacki. Every time I can remember watching her previously she had a propensity to self-destruct in a barrage of errors and overhitting, but today she's constructing the points confidently with her forehand. If she can play like this every match she will get well inside the top 20.
Stephens playing better than I've seen from her against Wozniacki. Every time I can remember watching her previously she had a propensity to self-destruct in a barrage of errors and overhitting, but today she's constructing the points confidently with her forehand. If she can play like this every match she will get well inside the top 20.
Not gonna happen now that Wozniacki lost. Good thing though, Sloane's forehand was massive, her backhand is more solid than ever before, also massive 80% 1st serves in. Only a couple of hours to rest before the final against Goerges, a completely different opponent.
perfectchaos007
Member
Sam Crawford was wrecked by Azarenka last night. Azarenka is in 2012 form right now. She'll be in a slam final or two this year I believe.
Looking really solid this week at least. We'll see how she holds up during the year though. If she can stay healthy, definitely think she'll be contending on the final weekends at least.
perfectchaos007
Member
Sloane Stephens wins Auckland. Beating Woz and Goerges in straight sets in the same day...not a bad tournament for her
BigJonsson
Member
Raonic into the finals............and it looks like Federer will be joining him shortly
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
I have to admit, I am also rooting for Nadal, which is unusual for me, especially because I quite like Djokovic. I just want the outcome to be less mundane and introduce a little spice into the proceedings, 2015 was unbearably dull.
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
One of the things that have been hurting Nadal I think is not even his own level of play, but what everyone else has been doing. I was just looking at the Doha stats and in terms of max spin, Kyle Edmund was only marginally behind Nadal on the forehand side. That's true of the whole tour - compare the topspin rate of the top 100 in 2015 to 2009 even and there's been a huge increase across all players. Barely anyone hits a particularly flat forehand these days. Instead of being a unique playstyle that most players had very little exposure to, players face aspects of Nadal's play quite regularly and are better equipped for it when they play him. Mind you, that's quite an accomplishment for Nadal - I feel like he singlehandedly changed the way the game was played, more or less, in a way that Djokovic and Federer, for all their titles, never did.
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
Goodness me this is dull. Nadal's forehand is inside the court three-quarter for 87% of his shots, that's an appalling lack of depth.
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
When Nadal's backhand has more depth than his forehand, things are just wrong. :/ He was playing pretty well in Abu Dhabi, this is just sad.
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
I feel so sorry for Nadal. He looked like a broken man after losing that point. Absolutely brutal, he was tearing himself apart to chase down those two or three shots just for Djokovic to absolutely belt them.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Just another human rights violation to add to Qatar's list.
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Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
With respect, I disagree. Nadal *let* Djokovic play that way. Look at the stats for how far inside the baseline Nadal's shots were landing. You just can't do that. Honest to goodness his shots looked like small lobs at points rather than actual forehands; literally anyone who takes the ball high can bash shots like that. Berdych would also have beaten this Nadal, I am absolutely confident of that.
I agree. Nadal is playing better than most of last year but it's still not the same player as before. He had a monstruous ball placement/consistency before, now he makes either too much errors or short balls. Plus his mental edge over the rest of the field is gone after last year, most top 50 players think the have a chance (look at Kuznetsov the other day). I still believe he can win some major titles, but it'll be hard.
Also nice 5 posts combo !
I'm curious of where is this topspin rate stat you're talking about.perfectchaos007
Member
Lion Heart
Banned
I took the plunge on the HEAD Graphene XT Speed Pro Tennis Racquet, wish me luck boys
Also sad to see Nadal suck, his top form is unrivaled and I miss it.
Also sad to see Nadal suck, his top form is unrivaled and I miss it.
I took the plunge on the HEAD Graphene XT Speed Pro Tennis Racquet, wish me luck boys
Have fun, I'm curious to hear your feedback on it.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Nope. He won't get even close. The game has passed him by, beating and old and sick Fed doesn't change that.
Kotetsu534
Member
Federer would have had him today if he could hit a backhand pass to save his life. Raonic kept on suicide chip-charging into Fed's backhand and he continued to miss wide, into the net, or straight into Raonic's zone. Fed even threw his racquet away in disbelief. If Raonic thinks he will get past Djokovic or Murray with those tactics he's likely in for a rude awakening. That said, his backhand was very effective and his volleys were superb. If he can serve out of his mind he'll have a chance against anyone, but I don't foresee a Slam title on the current surfaces.
Well said, I noticed during the Rafa-Djoko match Rafa was basically hitting hard, hitting big, with really not even close to Djokovic's precision and focus, second set Rafa was just hitting through the pain at some point.
Then I started to wonder why Djoko was hitting so pure, clean, precise and even harder than Nadal (seriously some of those were straight up rockets). First I figured well Rafa is hitting big so as long as Djoko is there in time he could just benefit from those hard balls but even when he had to generate his own power almost completely (high bouncing slow balls) dude just finished it off with another rocket forehand. I dunno how to explain it but Novak's so damn in sync with his body and mind now he probably is going to perfect the game as much as it can be perfected
Either that or he has a significant power up in his gear, but I doubt that.
BigJonsson
Member
I don't expect anyone other than Djokovic, Federer and maybe Nadal to win a slam unless they are all hurt or have an off week
Lion Heart
Banned
Haven't had a chance to use it yet since I don't play much during the winter but just hitting it around the garage and doing some bounces with it, man its stiff as a board. Its like a Ping pong paddle! I'm worried :O
I think its caused by the 18x20 string pattern.
It's not because of the string pattern (that's for more control) but you may not like the feel of a stiffer racquet when coming from a more flexible one. Playing with a stiff racquet may cause arm injuries, if it's really annoying and not something you get used to quickly you can try lowering the tension of the strings, that will help the most in the feel of it all
I've played around with it a few times from a kid I teach every now and then (he switched from a Radical MP). It's not really as stiff as say a Wilson 6.1 Tour 90 but you definitely need a stable swing to keep it in check
perfectchaos007
Member
Steve Johnson is so trash. How can you lose to a wildcard ranked #299 and still call yourself a good player? Johnson, Isner, Sock, and every top ranked American have huge backhand liabilities. Hope the USTA recognizes this
Lion Heart
Banned
I see, well the tension is only 53 lbs, in between the recommended. I originally wanted 52 but 1 pound probably isn't a big deal.
I'm going to see if I can audition a few racquets along with this, I know you are supposed to do it before you buy but what the hell.
perfectchaos007
Member
So this week some top pro players are playing the "Fast 4" matches in Australia. I remember watching it last year but that format hasn't seemed to take off yet. I guess they're still trying to push it.
Kotetsu534
Member
I suspect Aga's injury is about as serious as Halep's and Sharapova's. They'll all be fine come the Slam.
Can't recall anyone asking for it offhand. I'd say go for it, unless somebody else can dig up a post claiming it.
perfectchaos007
Member
Damn near every woman in the top 10 has an injury/illness right now.
I haven't created an OT in ages (or so it seems lol) but from what I recall it should be made as soon as the draw is out right?