Australian Open 2012

If Rafa plays like that, he'll beat Novak
 
Peasplease said:
What happened with the white suit?
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I think he means Fed turning up in the Number 15 white suit at Wimbledon? There were a lot of people who weren't happy with that saying it's a bit arrogant and disrespectful to Roddick..
 
JezChan said:
I used to be indifferent towards Rafa/Federer, but ever since that whole thing with the RF white suit, my mind's been made up. Vamos Rafa!
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Wow, I didn't think that had been an issue, but for the very same reason I back Nadal when they play.
 
Djoko is a far better player than Murray but then Djokovic hasn't been up to his usual best in this tournament in the last two rounds but on the other hand Murray is yet to play one half decent opponent so you don't how he'll react to playing someone so good after all the rubbish he's been playing. The lack of good opposition could prove to be bad for Murray imo.

Djokovic in 4 for me. Hopefully Murray can win though.
 
Are there any highlights of the Federer vs. Nadal game from earlier being shown on uk tv tonight? A quick google only yields little 3 minute videos, and I was hoping for something a little bit more comprehensive given that I heard it was a cracker.
 
wr8_utd said:
Djoko is a far better player than Murray but then Djokovic hasn't been up to his usual best in this tournament in the last two rounds but on the other hand Murray is yet to play one half decent opponent so you don't how he'll react to playing someone so good after all the rubbish he's been playing. The lack of good opposition could prove to be bad for Murray imo.

Djokovic in 4 for me. Hopefully Murray can win though.
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Murray generally raises his game for special occasions

Besides he has Lendl by his side who provides a psychological boost

Djokovic in 3 regardless
 
I don't know what the BBC are fecking playing at. Hardly any coverage of this and wall to wall Snooker and Bowls the last two weeks. Utter wank sticks.
 
Nani Nana said:
Murray generally raises his game for special occasions

Besides he has Lendl by his side who provides a psychological boost

Djokovic in 3 regardless
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He's not really had great success in Slams vs the Top 4 though..However Djokovic hasn't been in thebest of form a huge upset is still a possibility.
 
2 new pages for only the Nadal vs Federer match..........you feckin glory-hunters :mad:

Women's
Review
Azarenka vs Clijsters 6-4 1-6 6-3 :)
All in all it was a very good performance from Azarenka (The whole Rod Laver Arena was against her) and i'm happy Ms Party-time player is out.

Sharapova vs Kvitova 6-2 3-6 6-4 :)
The quality of the match wasn't great and it was only entertaining because of the drama.......14 DF and 71 UE of both players for a Grand Slam semi-final says everything.

A great fight and some amazing shots in tough moments have won Sharpova the match.

The type of loss could haunt Kvitova for a while considering how many opportunities she had in the third set to break.
I can't believe why Kvitova is so far up in the world rankings because her game is only based on power........her game has no balance, she is a poor athlete, she's mentally weak and her attitude is a shame.

After Sharapova's 1st round loss against Kirilenko in 2010..........


You know it will happen when Maria Sharapova says it :D

Preview
Sharapova vs Azarenka.............oh yeah finally i can test my new dolby surround sound system on the TV :)

I want a Sharapova win because i'm a fan of her and i want a Azarenka win because i've money on her.
 
Wasn't a classic Nadal-Fed match, both seemed somewhat below par, Federer more so, probably because his year has been so easy so far, just a breeze, but it was a good watch. Think Nadal-Berdych was better though.
 
Agree with that. Nadal Berdych was probably match of the tournament so far.
 
All of the best women players are part timers....why do you think Woz never wins a slam but is ranked #1...or for that matter, even worse players like Jankovic and Brother Safin were able to be number 1, and Ivanovic only won a slam because the others were all on a Hawaiian Vacation together(the Belgians and Williams)
 
VP said:
If Rafa plays like that, he'll beat Novak
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Nah. Nadal's game is tailor made to annoy Federer (left hander, high top spin balls to his singlehanded backhand). Rafa won't have it so easy against Djokovic (just like Djokovic won't have it so easy against Federer as he enjoys playing Nadal) and who plays a different game and can trade him shot for shot from the baseline... whereas with Federer, you feel the longer the rally goes on, the sooner he makes yet another unforced error.

Rafa won't have the opportunity to play like 'that' against Djokovic, as his six consecutive losses indicate. Djokovic is an even better mover around the court than Federer and himself maybe, Nadal's been given a taste of his own medicine in his previous matches against him by making an unforced error because Novak's made him hit that extra shot or two.
Plus Djokovic has no obvious weak side when it comes to trading groundstrokes, whereas Nadal knows how to dominate Federer and pressure him into making mistakes by attacking his backhand.

If Djokovic wins, he's going to be the favorite to win the tournament yet again.
 
Ole's_toe_poke said:
Something about the Nadal matchup. Brings out the worst in Federer.

Came in this match playing great tennis. So many unforced errors.
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That something is, amongst which, the extra ten shots he has to make to win a point. That's why everyone seems to talk about his bad form compared to his previous matches everytime he loses against Nadal. They think it's he's playing worse because he's hit more unforced errors... while they should actually look at it from a different point of view: it is to Nadal's credit he's making those errors.
Nadal is one of the few players who can continue a rally and usually turn it around after Federer pounds another one of his deep forehands in the corner... Roger's used to winning a point right there and then, instead of seeing the rally continue and make him take those extra risks to finish it off. He also knows he has to play quite a few perfect points to win a point off Nadal and is all the time under this pressure. This pressure is more evident when Federer fails to be so convincing and making those great winners the longer the match goes on. He starts succumbing it and you all have seen and felt this happen when every rally made you feel it's going to end up with Federer making the error or Nadal hitting a great winner.

The Swiss is not the type of baseliner who can keep up hitting deep high risk shots, his forehand is hit quite flat (no spin to make it dip) and a singlehanded backhand will always have the problem of being less precise and consistent than a doublehanded one. It is inherent to the technique.
The combination of the above naturally translates into more 'unforced' errors.

Rafael Nadal is a champion and these moments where the cliched "he's making the opponent hit that extra shot" happen most often during the most important of points. See that breakpoint Federer had at 5-4 down in the fourth set... we all thought Federer had him when he hit that deep groundstroke moving into the net, waiting for that high shot from Nadal to fly out of the stadium... instead it hits the line and forces Federer making a difficult shot which goes out.

We have all seen Nadal having to warm up before really hitting his stride against Federer and go into this impossible shotmaking mood whilst making very few unforced errors whilst Federer crumbles (usually after winning the first set and having started well, also usually thanks to Nadal's slow starts), against this sort of relentless tennis, especially on important points.

I knew there was nothing to worry about for Nadal when Federer won that first set. He's made Roger into his bitch. Djokovic is an entire different ballgame for him though and we might argue he in turn is owned by the Serb.
 
Pat Cash:

"It's going to be a huge surprise to me to see Andy holding this trophy in a few days' time. He fills me with no belief that he can do it. He notoriously collapses under pressure. I hate to say that as I want Murray to win as much as anybody. Even if he gets through, Nadal will have had an extra day to prepare."
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I'm currently in Phase 3 of my Murray Match Mode.

1. Start watching the match.
2. Get distracted by something else, today it was the moth flying in Andy's face.
3. He starts losing, turn off.
4. Check BBC later, he lost.
 
Looks better this set, he was 2 points away from being 2 breaks down and now leads 3-2 in the set.
 
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