John Dunbar
correct about everything
hasn't won monte carlo (nadal has won the last 8) or rome.
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Tennis - General Discussion
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hasn't won monte carlo (nadal has won the last 8) or rome.
Sax Russel
Banned
Ranking points are always fun to look at!
Since Djokovic won the US Open last year, he can't gain any there, only lose points if he doesn't win it. Federer could not play the USO and still be #1 even if Djokovic wins
. That said, Fed has a ton of points to defend after from Paris and the WTF. Wonder if either of them will play Shanghai this year.
Nadal will be down quite a bit of points after the USO, however, Murray lost a ton by bombing out of Cincy after winning it last year, so he'd have to at least make the USO final to overtake Nadal as #3.
Since Djokovic won the US Open last year, he can't gain any there, only lose points if he doesn't win it. Federer could not play the USO and still be #1 even if Djokovic wins
. That said, Fed has a ton of points to defend after from Paris and the WTF. Wonder if either of them will play Shanghai this year.Nadal will be down quite a bit of points after the USO, however, Murray lost a ton by bombing out of Cincy after winning it last year, so he'd have to at least make the USO final to overtake Nadal as #3.
I don't think his career is over. He can still win a lot of clay tournaments.
The problem is however his counter puncher play style. Unlike Federer or Djokovich he has no real wining move, he brings back everything, but he has not the arsenal to keep games short. His Topspin is very effective on clay, but on hard court or even fast clay like Madrid he is having problems. To win on hard court or grass he has to play harder than others which is destryoing his body.
After the clay season every year at the end his is really suffering, that's why he never ever won the ATP World Tour Finals. Federer however won six times, even Djokovich won once. He must make most of his point during the clay season and so he will still be in the top 10 for a long time, he will also win Paris a few times again.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Kerber has got to be my favorite WTA player to watch in terms of tennis skill.
And Bouchard my baby qualified for the Texas Tennis Open.
And Bouchard my baby qualified for the Texas Tennis Open.
Sax Russel
Banned
If you missed the men's final here are your two must see points
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe6Eb99-6K8&t=1m6s (wat)
And later in the same video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe6Eb99-6K8&t=4m23s
Thanks for that amazing resolution, btw, ATP! =D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe6Eb99-6K8&t=1m6s (wat)
And later in the same video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe6Eb99-6K8&t=4m23s
Thanks for that amazing resolution, btw, ATP! =D
Nadal has a career grand slam, he's not as useless as you seem to suggest. Besides, Djokovic, Murray and Ferrer are also counterpunchers/defensive minded players. Other than Federer, guys who play offensive tennis like Tsonga, Berdych, Delpo are all playing second fiddle to those counterpunchers.
Though if you want someone who has literally no finishing shots, look at Gilles Simon.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Or Roddick.
perfectchaos007
Member
At least Ernests qualified for Salem.
Against my better judgement, I'm going to seek out a highlight video of the match. ;_;
This feels like 2006-2008: now we're back to "upsetting" Federer in a tournament. Such a shame that Djokovic has followed-up his historic year with these kinds of performances. Wimbledon I can understand. To be honest, I'm still surprised that he won it even once. He got mighty lucky that he got Tsonga in the SF followed by his then-beeyoch in the final.
He SHOULD have won the French, however. He has been having these HORRIBLE starts to important matches, and only turning it up once his back is against the wall. That is SOOO aggravating. I guess that that is the one thing I admire about Federer: he is 100% in the zone from the very first point. Djokovic? "I'll break when it's 4-all". Nadal? "I'll let you beat yourself." Murray? "Ditto". lol
I think Novak felt that the hard work was over and that everything was just going to fall into place this year. His B-game is good enough to stay No. 2, but nothing short of an A-game will be good enough to reclaim the top spot and win more slams. And I don't think he realizes this....until, of course, he's down 2 sets to none. THEN he wakes up. And depending on his opponent, it's too late.
edit: that lob at 7-7 in the breaker. wtf
This feels like 2006-2008: now we're back to "upsetting" Federer in a tournament. Such a shame that Djokovic has followed-up his historic year with these kinds of performances. Wimbledon I can understand. To be honest, I'm still surprised that he won it even once. He got mighty lucky that he got Tsonga in the SF followed by his then-beeyoch in the final.
He SHOULD have won the French, however. He has been having these HORRIBLE starts to important matches, and only turning it up once his back is against the wall. That is SOOO aggravating. I guess that that is the one thing I admire about Federer: he is 100% in the zone from the very first point. Djokovic? "I'll break when it's 4-all". Nadal? "I'll let you beat yourself." Murray? "Ditto". lol
I think Novak felt that the hard work was over and that everything was just going to fall into place this year. His B-game is good enough to stay No. 2, but nothing short of an A-game will be good enough to reclaim the top spot and win more slams. And I don't think he realizes this....until, of course, he's down 2 sets to none. THEN he wakes up. And depending on his opponent, it's too late.
edit: that lob at 7-7 in the breaker. wtf
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Federer is the most ruthless and brutal champion that ever played the game. Anyone who doesn't think he is GOAT is lying to themselves. You can slow the courts down but you can't slow down the genius.
Djokovic is having the shots to end a game. Last year he proved that and even against Federer he showed it a few times. Nadal is able to make pressure, but not nearly as much as Djokovic. That is also why he lost last year so often against him. Funny enough as soon as Murray started playing more aggressively, he was getting better. If he continues playing like in the olympics final he has a good chance to win grand slam titles.
Nadal is a very good player, but he was also, more than any other player maybe, winner of the slower courts that are now played on. Grass is now 20% slower compared to the time Federer won the first time Wimbledon. They are so afraid of players like Karlovic or Isner, that they are slowing down the courts. Nadal is the big winner of this. For example the olympics in China were played during a time with very high humidity, so it was slower. Funny enough that's also why Federer and Wawrinka won the doubles final. But as soon the courts are getting faster, like during the indoor season, Nadal ist having huge problems. Strangely, if it is getting too slow is also not good for his game either. During the Paris final it started raining, the balls were getting heavier and his Top Spin was not as effective anymore and Djokovic won the set.
And of course Nadal starts having a history of losing against lower ranked players. If you are a wildcard and you are playing against Federer you know, he has not lost before the quarter finals of a grand slam tornament for a very long time. But if you are playing against Nadal, there is always a chance that he may have one of this bad days, so if the continue playing like Rosol or Söderling against Nadal he will have much harder matches, maybe not on clay, but everywhere else for sure.
perfectchaos007
Member
Dolan Young won a match today! The streak is over!
perfectchaos007
Member
Because Donald=Dolan, and with his recent struggles on the court I kinda fell Dolan is more appropriate. If he improves his game and gets back into the top 40, he'll earn back his Donald status. I still don't know why Rafa=Fedkilla calls Nadal "Mowgli", I would like to know his explanation on that.
is Dolan to Donald Duck as Sanic is to Sonic?
I always thought there was something Cro Magnon about Nadal, whether it's his low eyebrow ridge or sloping forehead. I dunno.
I always thought there was something Cro Magnon about Nadal, whether it's his low eyebrow ridge or sloping forehead. I dunno.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
No doubt brah, check out the Jungle Book perfectchaos.
Finally
Wow, 6-0, congrats federer
edit, nvm thanks Sax! Those are certainly nice. People can do those shots if you just place you racket there without any stroke, but Federer always has that flick to it which isn't easy to pull off
Good HD highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y84dUk4VEzI
damn, Fed looked lethal as hell. Almost felt like watching a 90s court match
Any vids of these half volleys?
edit, nvm thanks Sax! Those are certainly nice. People can do those shots if you just place you racket there without any stroke, but Federer always has that flick to it which isn't easy to pull off
Good HD highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y84dUk4VEzI
damn, Fed looked lethal as hell. Almost felt like watching a 90s court match
When is the draw? Hopefully Fed draws Ferrer and not Murray. At Feds age, I don't think he has a shot at the title if he has to play Murray and Novak back to back because of the US Open Saturday-Sunday format. He just can't recover as fast now which I think is his biggest factor with age.
John Dunbar
correct about everything
the draw is on thursday, i think.
I largely agree with you, only that Nadal is still a great player overall. He reached all five major finals from RG11 to RG12 (obviously Djokovic edged him out in the non-RG ones). Though I looked at career winning percentages of the big 4 and the look like this:
Hard: Federer .833 > Djokovic .802 > Murray .777 > Nadal .765
Grass: Federer .873 > Murray .813 > Nadal .806 > Djokovic .770
Indoors: Federer .807 > Murray .781 > Djokovic .718 > Nadal .642
Clay: Nadal .930 > Federer .769 > Djokovic .767 > Murray .610
It's fair to say Nadal's utter dominance on clay helped him a lot in comparison to other great players of his era, still he has a slam on all surfaces while Murray has on none, so at his best Nadal is better than Murray at his best on any surface outdoors, just not as consistent. You also have to wonder what would Fed's career stats look like if he wasn't such an inconsistent scrub before he hit 20 or 21 yo. Nadal, Djoker and Murray were all much more successful as teens.
Holy shit @ Nadal's Clay percentage.
It is insane, on average he has a streak of 17 wins between each loss.
perfectchaos007
Member
Gulbis into the third round at Salem. There ya go MIMIC
w00t! (he lost to Granollers though, so boo that). Gulbis is an enigma. He's gonna win the U.S. Open one day.
Also, I'm convinced that if my parents had me playing tennis instead of t-ball/karate/basketball/pee-wee football as a kid, I would have at least 3 slams already (and I'm serious). It's SOO fun and it comes so naturally to me.
I was at the tennis court today playing these guys who clearly have been playing longer than me and it's amazing what I can do. I have a 1-handed BH and I remember playing my friend a few years ago in college (he has a 1-handed BH, too) and I would always see him slicing his BH....and I was jealous because I couldn't do it; I would always just "hit" it. So naturally, whenever a shot was too far too my left, I would never get it back because I couldn't slice.
Fast-forward a few years later and I developed a BH slice out of no where. Now nothing gets by me. And I can hit it so well that it deeply troubles whoever I play. Everyone always tells me of the "crazy spin" I have on my BH (which I never intend to do, lol). And whenever just hit a hard, flat BH (because I get tired of slicing), 80% of the time it never comes back. Either my opponent shanks the crap out of it or I hit a clean winner. And the thing is that I barely hit it: it just comes out so hard and fast. "Easy power" as they would say.
And it's hilarious because I never aim....EVER. Either I'm miraculously pinning my opponent to one one spot (wrong-footing the crap out of them) or I'm running them back and forth around the baseline. So whenever I'm playing seriously, I look like a genius. Whenever I'm just hitting around with someone, I look like I'm trying to embarrass them. lol
The other day, I hit a BH-smash winner (which was 70% slice) that barely cleared the net and I celebrated so loudly because I actually meant to do it. It looked so pretty from my perspective. lol
Plus I'm quick. I was MVP of my track team in high school so I have no trouble sprinting for a ball.
Invest some money into me and I'm the defending Wimbledon champion =p
Also: word is that Novak literally sawed his rackets in half after the Olympics. Now THAT'S angry...to do something so meticulous and thought-out like that. Crazy, but hilarious.
perfectchaos007
Member
Yeah I started tennis at age 12, which is actually kinda old. 90% of the guys on tour started getting coaching between ages 4-7. Unfortunately I finally came to the conclusion that I reached my ceiling ability wise at age 18. Past age 18 I continued to practice 3 to 4 times a week, but it never translated into better results in tournaments and stuff. The backhand slice is fun aint it? It's my favorite shot, but I feel like I overuse it at times ( I probably use it as often as Roddick ). If a ball is just slightly out of my range to set my feet for a solid flat/topspin backhand, I'll slice it about every time. I can get it back with consistency and most importantly it saves energy for my lazy ass.
When I was younger I did have a coach who made me run suicides if he caught me slicing back a ball that I clearly could have hit into, but he was too much of a drill sargent for me. He was by far the best talented coach I had ( played in 4 US Opens, 2 Wimbledon's, 1 Aussie ) but he was coaching me as if he was preparing me for the ATP, and I didn't have the necessary physical tools to dream of playing at that level. Oh well, tennis is a great sport and I'll for sure introduce my future kids to it at an early age.
When I was younger I did have a coach who made me run suicides if he caught me slicing back a ball that I clearly could have hit into, but he was too much of a drill sargent for me. He was by far the best talented coach I had ( played in 4 US Opens, 2 Wimbledon's, 1 Aussie ) but he was coaching me as if he was preparing me for the ATP, and I didn't have the necessary physical tools to dream of playing at that level. Oh well, tennis is a great sport and I'll for sure introduce my future kids to it at an early age.
Heh, I noticed how often people use the BH slice so they don't have to move (whenever I'm hitting around with an older person). They literally don't move at all and just hit slices at me all day. =p
And I shouldn't say that I have a BH slice per se; it's more like punch (because I still can't naturally hit a drop shot--really never tried hitting one). I swing my arm from left to right which makes it LOOK like a regular backhand instead of up and down, which looks like a typical slice stroke I suppose. But I keep my hand & forearm closer to my body, whereas with a regular BH, my arm would be stretched out in front of me. If I'm actually timing it, it stays super low and has a lot of pace....so I would say it's in between a regular BH and a slice. A "punch", I guess.
Sounds fun =p
This.
Also, I think tennis-ability may have been in my family's genes. I used to play with my brother 3 or 4 years ago and he hit some of the most ridiculous volleys....and he only started playing after a couple of days. I would always have to lob him when he came to the net because he never missed. But my brother NEVER ran for balls (or he barely got to it) so if it was slightly out of reach, it was a free point for me
perfectchaos007
Member
Okay I know exactly what you're describing. I've played opponents with that form before, and it looks awkward as hell when they strike the ball, but it's really effective. Generally I find out these players started playing tennis at a late age or whatever, which makes since because any kids coach would have fixed that in the early going. However, they are able to use their raw athletic ability to make it work. Just imagine if you had a more traditional fluid form, how good you might be today?
Also, I think tennis-ability may have been in my family's genes. I used to play with my brother 3 or 4 years ago and he hit some of the most ridiculous volleys....and he only started playing after a couple of days. I would always have to lob him when he came to the net because he never missed. But my brother NEVER ran for balls (or he barely got to it) so if it was slightly out of reach, it was a free point for me
Haha, during my highschool tennis days I was just a 5'5" 120lb speedy backboard which sounds completely opposite of your brother. I was able to win a lot of matches playing this way ( since most highschool players use more power, but are inconsistent ) however, whenever I ran into an opponent who was just as consistent as I was, but had the power to boot....I usually lost.
Now I'm 5'7", but a much heavier 165lbs so I changed my game up to be more powerful, but I can't run all day on the court like I used to. Like if a rally lasts longer than 10 shots, I'll hit an offensive shot to come into the net behind, then hope my opponent sends me back something to put away. Being 5'7", that usually doesn't turn out too well. lol
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
No matter what you think about him, it is utterly remarkable how strong Federer is capable of positioning himself in two different eras. The utter domination in Safin-Roddick-Hewitt-Nalbandian era and now he is the number one, again against all odds, in the Djokovic-Nadal-Tsonga era.
How does his seemingly lithe body handles all the pressure? Goddamn he is so amazing.
How does his seemingly lithe body handles all the pressure? Goddamn he is so amazing.
Djokovic-Ferrer, Murray-Federer. No where seems to have the full draw up yet, but those are the important ones.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/08/Features/US-Open-Draw-Announced.aspx
Djokovic gets Del potro in the quarter finals.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/08/Features/US-Open-Draw-Announced.aspx
Djokovic gets Del potro in the quarter finals.
milanbaros
Member?
Is there any reason you would say Tsonga with 1 grand slam final and the winner of 1 ATP 1000 series and not Murray who has been in 4 grand slam finals, has won 8 ATP 1000 series and an Olympics gold. Murray also has a 5-1 head to head with Tsonga and is always ranked higher.
It just seems so random haha.
Thats great news for Federer.
John Dunbar
correct about everything
congrats to novak for his 2nd us open.
perfectchaos007
Member
fify. He has an easy path to the finals, but the finals will be a coin flip vs. Fed or Murray
perfectchaos007
Member
There are no bye's. The holes in the draw will be filled by winners of the ongoing US Open qualifiers tournament
Not really... isn't Delpo injured right now?
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
I *honestly* forgot about him O_O
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Holy shit, 2 dollars 30 cents? That's amazing!
I have a guy that strings full poly (very good quality) for a tenner, but even that is considered cheap. Normally people ask for 20 at least, and the shops and clubs can easily go to 50. Not cool when you have to restring every week during tournament season :s
Which one you got? I just switched from a tour 90 to a radical mp, was getting tired of the tour, it doesn't really allow slacking off
perfectchaos007
Member
I have been fortunate enough to have always known someone with a stringer. Most charge $10 for labor. Academy and country clubs charge $20-$30 for labor
Oh yeah, knowing friends who string is a great advantage. I've been looking into getting my own machine, but would have to invest at least 500 for it. I could probably make it back in a few months stringing for others, but eh I'm lazy
perfectchaos007
Member
The qualifying tournament for both men and women have concluded, so the draws are now 100% filled. Who's making a thread?