Sir Thursday Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 DAAAAAAAAMN! Nadal loses? I never thought I'd see the day. Nice job Soderling!Sir Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumer Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Yes! Nadal Loses! If Federed wins I might actually tolerate a Lakers championship this year :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niphredil Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Both defending champions are eliminated before the quarterfinals! Shame, I was looking forward to Safina vs. Ivanovic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Thursday Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Safina is on a tear, isn't she? Dropping 5 games in 4 matches is pretty damn impressive! I guess she'll be getting on to the tougher opponents now, but on form right now you'd have to pick her as favourite, I'd have thought.And now the Men's draw is wide open...top half is Murray, Gonzales, Davydenko and Soderling. I hear Gonzales was on fire in his match today, but I still fancy Murray to get through that. If Soderling can keep up the level of play he had today, he's in with a shot against Davydenko, but I expect a comedown of sorts if I'm honest. Murray - Davydenko is going to be an interesting one, as Davydenko has had some success against Murray IIRC. I'll pick Murray, but it's tentative.Bottom half, I imagine Federer is licking his lips about the possibility of a final without that pesky Rafa to beat - this is probably going to be his best chance to win here for a long time if not ever. He hasn't got the toughest road to get there either - Haas, Roddick/Monfils (who might be tough with the home crowd, I suppose), and then probably either Tsonga or Del Potro in the semis...Del Potro playing at the top of his game might cause him a challenge, but Tsonga doesn't like the clay all that much and even with the home crowd, I don't think he'd pose Federer too much of a challenge.So, Murray v Federer final, is my call. Should be fun!Sir Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Yep, massive surprise to see Nadal lose, and to Soderling even, hardly a noted clay lover. Sure, Soderling did defeat Ferrer in the last round as well but Kiefer had almost done the same in round 2.Nadal was clearly not up to his best play, and I don't want to diminish Soderling's sublime performance. Match of a lifetime for him. But he's normally more for the faster courts. I expect him to lose against Davydenko. Very impressed with how Davydenko is performing sofar, beating Verdasco so confidently has been a real surprise. I don't see Soderling pass him by.Murray vs Gonzalez is very hard to predict. Murray just beat Cilic in 3 sets and Cilic had been very good sofar. Great performance from Murray. I caught Gonzalez vs Hanescu live and Gonzalez absolutely tore him apart. This is going to be a very hard match for Murray.Major clash tomorrow as well between Del Potro and Tsonga. Tsonga is a superb player and has acquitted himself well sofar, but obviously a player who flourishes more on a faster surface. Still, he'll have the French crowd with him in a big way. On the other hand, Del Potro, the man is a cannon. 6'6, massive baseline strokes, rock solid. This is going to be very tight.Roddick-Monfils. Hard to call. On any other surface I'd give a slight edge to A-Rod. On clay I should give that edge to Monfils, last year's semi finalist. I suspect he will win.Federer, I suspect his adrenaline will be so high after the Nadal defeat that he literally cannot wait to get to that final, and he will pulverize Haas.P.S.Is Gonzalez' forehand the best forehand ever? The man is spectacular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJDonegal Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 This is it. This is Federer's chance to get his name on all 4 major trophies. Everyone knows it, he knows it. The pressure will be immense, but nothing (I think) compared to the pressure he feels when the prospect of playing Nadal still exists. He has that constant reminder that even if he makes the final, he's probably just going to get blown away by (arguably) the greatest clay player ever.But with Nadal out, I expect a lot of pressure to come off Federer's shoulders, rather than on. He knows he's a 13 time Grand Slam winner. He's been there, done that. This is the only one left. The French, Roland Garros, and a place in history, not only as one of the few men to win a Career Slam, but to join Sampras as the biggest slam winner of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I just caught that Nadal lost. I'm in shock. But I'm happy as I want to see Fed get the opportunity to win the French Open which he couldn't do with Nadal still in the draw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lessthanluke Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Federer is 2 sets down against Haas. Lets see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor85 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Tennis is the manliest of sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiddly Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 awesome match Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sckma Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 What a win. So emphatic, the last two sets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Thursday Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Soderling absolutely crushed Davydenko, maybe I underestimated him before. And now Murray is 2 sets to 1 down against Gonzales, and really looks like he's just hanging on for dear life most of the time. Federer v Gonzales final should be interesting...(or even Federer v Soderling?)Sir Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I'd wait and see if Fed actually gets past the quarter final against Monfils. Did anyone catch last match between Monfiols and Roddick? Roddick was tremendously irritated. But Monfils, once again, played very well on clay. Federer is going to have his hands more than full against Monfils who normally looks like his best opponent yet. Plus Federer this tournament sofar has been everything but impressive. Where back in the day he wouldn't drop a set until the final, now he's dropping sets in every singel game he plays.And if he beats Monfiols, I suspect he'll play Del Potro, player on the rise, who dealt mightily well with Tsonga. Del Potro seems to have a habit of losing against Fed though.Murray against Gonzalez-Murray played well but Gonzalez was just too good for him. The Chilean is in such massive form.That's going to be a super semi against similarly in form Soderling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJDonegal Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share Posted June 2, 2009 I caught the Federer-Haas match. I was in the pub, and I was supposed to be drinking and dancing, but instead I couldn't take my eyes off the match. Good thing it finally ended so I didn't have to stand there all night instead of enjoying myself! :PBut it was a great match. And I was unashamedly cheering Federer on the whole match. The first two sets were just too close that I knew he could come back from it. I think I remember a stat popping up in the third set showing that Federer had won 100% of his first serve points up to then? Or maybe it was just for the 3rd set? I was quite far back... But that would show how crucial Federer's serve is to his game.Before the Federer-Haas match I called Del Potro to go on from here, and I still call that. Soderling and Gonzalez are both in great form, but that could end up in them wearing each other out in the semi-final while Del Potro wipes out Robredo and Federer with ease.But really - I very badly want Federer to win the French. Head says Del Potro, heart says Federer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faceless Man of Braavos Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Enjoyable tournament so far... biggest jerk in tennis, Roddick is out, the classiest player, Federer, is still alive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser_not_appearing_yet Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I caught the Federer-Haas match. I was in the pub, and I was supposed to be drinking and dancing, but instead I couldn't take my eyes off the match. Good thing it finally ended so I didn't have to stand there all night instead of enjoying myself! :PBut it was a great match. And I was unashamedly cheering Federer on the whole match. The first two sets were just too close that I knew he could come back from it. I think I remember a stat popping up in the third set showing that Federer had won 100% of his first serve points up to then? Or maybe it was just for the 3rd set? I was quite far back... But that would show how crucial Federer's serve is to his game.Before the Federer-Haas match I called Del Potro to go on from here, and I still call that. Soderling and Gonzalez are both in great form, but that could end up in them wearing each other out in the semi-final while Del Potro wipes out Robredo and Federer with ease.But really - I very badly want Federer to win the French. Head says Del Potro, heart says Federer.This is a joke right? Man, Del potro has no chance against Federer. Tennis is all about match ups, and Del potro's game fails miserably when he plays Federer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJDonegal Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Del Potro is rising, Federer is undoubtedly falling. They're playing on clay - Federer's worst surface, Del Potro's (arguable)best. It's where he won his first 2 ATP titles. But I'm willing to listen to an argument that says it's not (seeing how he has won 3 hard court titles).Federer has a head to head lead of 5-0, sure. But only one on Clay, and at the Madrid Masters, which is the fastest of the clay courts, and so was always going to be Federer's best chance of a clay tournament victory. Del Potro is going to beat Federer at some point, why not in a Grand Slam Semi-Final? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser_not_appearing_yet Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Del Potro is rising, Federer is undoubtedly falling. They're playing on clay - Federer's worst surface, Del Potro's (arguable)best. It's where he won his first 2 ATP titles. But I'm willing to listen to an argument that says it's not (seeing how he has won 3 hard court titles).Federer has a head to head lead of 5-0, sure. But only one on Clay, and at the Madrid Masters, which is the fastest of the clay courts, and so was always going to be Federer's best chance of a clay tournament victory. Del Potro is going to beat Federer at some point, why not in a Grand Slam Semi-Final?Several things wrong with this statement. Yes, Federer is on the way down, but he's been playing very well in lately, which is the most important thing. Also, clay may be his least favourite surface, but he's been without doubt the 2nd best clay player (after nadal, who is arguably the greatest of all time) for years. He is by no means bad on that surface. Del Potro is probably about even on clay and hardcourts imo. But why is Federer favourite? Because tennis is all about match ups. Del Potro's game is very one dimensional, he just hits heavy groundstrokes without aiming for the lines very consistently. Little variety. Federer can do this as well, plus he has a vast array of slices and different spins at his disposal, not to mention a great net game. Federer is only really susceptable to defensive retriever players (like Nadal and murray). If you take a look at the head to head between Federer and Del Potro, you will see that Federer not only beat him but CRUSHED him (6 3, 6 0, 6 0 or something :P). The problem is Del potro has no real way of hurting Roger Federer's game. Not to mention, this is something like the 20th grandslam semi in a row for Federer, and Del Potro's first. Del Potro has openly said how much he admires Federer. The French crowd loves Federer, and will try to get under Del Potro's skin.Obviously, anything can happen on any given day, i'm just explaining why imo Federer is the overwhelming favourite in that match. ;) Oh, and i'd advise against betting on Del Potro to any young gamblers out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJDonegal Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 A five setter against Haas is not my idea of Federer playing well. Dropping a set against Paul Mathieu and Jose Acasuso is not my idea of Federer playing well. In fact, the Monfils match was the first glimpse that he's getting his act together in this tournament. Could be brilliant timing, formwise. You always want to peak in the final - not before.I did notice that Del Potro tends to get crushed by Federer. Which made me almost not make a post to respond to you at all, but my pride got the better of me. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser_not_appearing_yet Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Heh, well you brought out my inner tennis geek by responding, so congrats. :thumbsup:Del Potro will now probably win, and make me look like a complete retard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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