Wimbledon 2005

hewitt better pull this one off, he's the only one in the final four i can stand....even if he is from the oz. going to be quite a match tomorrow though, im probs going to go in to work late. the wonders of being a caddy.
 
Nobody will force me to watch women´s final. :(
 
amolbhatia100 said:
I actually find the french open the most boring.. long long endless rallies, and the top players rarely get far. I wouldnt give a feck about tennis if it was all about corias and nadals running all day from side to side knocking it back and forth. Wimbledons for me is just right.
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The top players rarely get far because Roland Garros takes the most skill and stamina. Long rallies is what makes tennis rather interesting.....I much prefer them to fast serve and volley dominated games at Wimbledon (though they're going out of fashion.) It's the long rallies and the five setters at Roland Garros that make it the most interesting Grand Slam tournament, in my eyes. It takes different types of players to do well at French Open, compared to Wimbledon and to hard-court, because it's a different style of play. Ground strokes and intelligence are more important than power and a good service at Roland Garros. It's also a more stringent test of the mental strength because matches tend to go on for long and personally, I quite prefer close competitions to the one sided encounters that tend to dominate Wimbledon.

Not saying, of course that I dislike watching Wimbledon, of course....it has it's own charm about it, but the French is certainly the hardest to win for most players.
amolbhatia100 said:
The relation i was making was that here in india, cricket is the only sport thats popular.. football here is shite, and we havent had a good singles tennis player for decades.. With sania looking like she has the talent, and the media here going crazy over her, her every move will be scrutinised.. and i think that willl only spur her on. The whole country will be behind her. Its not like russia or america where you have tons of tennis stars. Almost everyone watched sanias 2nd round game, and almost everyone had suggestions to make. Im pretty confident of her breaking the top 20 or 30. And after that as i said, ranking is unimportant.. just get as far as you can in grandslams.
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But don't you feel that carrying the expectations of a billion people on her shoulders might be too much pressure for her? I suppose it depends on how she handles it. There are some players who perform better under pressure and there are some who simply don't. Let's hope it won't get to her head, but I would strongly recommend that people look at her future with no more than cautious optimism.
 
alonso767 said:
i know this post is a bit late, i just got back from england where i didnt have internet access.

but was anyone else gutted when ferrero lost to federer?

wouldve loved to see ferrero go on to win it out of everyone else that was left in the tornament at that stage. dont like federer much either. hoping hewitt goes on to win it, even if he is a bit of a punk.
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GG was probably upset, but surely you couldn't have been surprised? Federer's by far the best of the best when it comes to the grass court and it would take a great performance from a player like Roddick or Safin (who have a fairly all court game, Safin in particular) on a bad day for Federer, for him to actually lose on grass. He has tremendous consistency - something I haven't seen in a long time in a player. Ferrero on the other hand is a top class clay courter.....he's brilliant on clay and I'd be torn between supporting him and Federer if they met on clay, but on grass, there's really little comparison.
 
alonso767 said:
hewitt better pull this one off, he's the only one in the final four i can stand....even if he is from the oz. going to be quite a match tomorrow though, im probs going to go in to work late. the wonders of being a caddy.
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Anything in particular you have against the others?
 
GiggsysGirl said:
looks like an all american final.

the Federer / Hewit match up tomorrow is going to be class...taking the day off work methinks!
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From the official site:
The other semi-final features the only two former Wimbledon champions to embark on the first day of this tournament, Federer and Hewitt. Old adversaries, these two. This will be their 18th collision and though Federer holds a narrow 9-8 lead, he has won the last seven, conceding just two sets. If this is the sign of someone who has his opponent's number, you won't find Hewitt or his camp acknowledging such signs. Lleyton operates on the principle that there has to be a turning in the road sometime and the fighting Aussie figures now could be the time, mate.

Over in Switzerland, however, they tend to set their watches by Federer's ability to win these days, especially on grass. Roger's grass court streak is now up to 34, only seven short of matching Bjorn Borg's mark of 41 which looked as if it would last till eternity. He tends to have Australians for supper when it comes to Grand Slams. Since losing to Pat Rafter at the 1999 Roland Garros, the Swiss has won all seven subsequent clashes against opposition from Down Under.

After falling to Federer's finesse in last year's quarter-finals, Hewitt was a straight-sets victim to him in the final of the US Open. Nor did he manage to collect a set in either the round robin stage or the final of the Masters Cup in Houston at the end of last season. However, an enforced rest because of injury has left Hewitt fresh for the grass court segment of the year, and the ring rust has been shaken off over the last few days at The Championships. The defending champion can expect an all-out assault on his rule.
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I think Federer's by far a better player on grass. Hewitt began his winning ways early and did seem like he was capable of dominating tennis for a long time. But since then, Federer has taken that mantle and rightly so, for he is a more talented player. Hewitt, I admire, for the effort and the heart he plays with....as most Australians do. But Federer's record on grass is by far the best among any of the current players, while Hewitt, despite having won the Wimbledon in the past, is more of a baseliner. Had it been the Australian or US Opens, there might have been more of a contest. But for tomorrow, I don't see Roger Federer having to put up too much of a struggle in his semi-final clash with Hewitt. A straight sets victory is what I expect from him, though a four set victory wouldn't be entirely surprising.
 
Ern said:
The top players rarely get far because Roland Garros takes the most skill and stamina. Long rallies is what makes tennis rather interesting.....I much prefer them to fast serve and volley dominated games at Wimbledon (though they're going out of fashion.) It's the long rallies and the five setters at Roland Garros that make it the most interesting Grand Slam tournament, in my eyes. It takes different types of players to do well at French Open, compared to Wimbledon and to hard-court, because it's a different style of play. Ground strokes and intelligence are more important than power and a good service at Roland Garros. It's also a more stringent test of the mental strength because matches tend to go on for long and personally, I quite prefer close competitions to the one sided encounters that tend to dominate Wimbledon.

Not saying, of course that I dislike watching Wimbledon, of course....it has it's own charm about it, but the French is certainly the hardest to win for most players.

But don't you feel that carrying the expectations of a billion people on her shoulders might be too much pressure for her? I suppose it depends on how she handles it. There are some players who perform better under pressure and there are some who simply don't. Let's hope it won't get to her head, but I would strongly recommend that people look at her future with no more than cautious optimism.
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Mahesh bhupati actually takes care of the commercial side of her tennis.. So hes sort of taken her under his wing.. He was in the studio during the rain delay to talk about her and the plans for her future.. and he said that the aim is for her to be a top 20 player in abt 4 or 5 years, which is what im hoping for.
 
Ern said:
The top players rarely get far because Roland Garros takes the most skill and stamina. Long rallies is what makes tennis rather interesting.....I much prefer them to fast serve and volley dominated games at Wimbledon (though they're going out of fashion.) It's the long rallies and the five setters at Roland Garros that make it the most interesting Grand Slam tournament, in my eyes. It takes different types of players to do well at French Open, compared to Wimbledon and to hard-court, because it's a different style of play. Ground strokes and intelligence are more important than power and a good service at Roland Garros. It's also a more stringent test of the mental strength because matches tend to go on for long and personally, I quite prefer close competitions to the one sided encounters that tend to dominate Wimbledon.

Not saying, of course that I dislike watching Wimbledon, of course....it has it's own charm about it, but the French is certainly the hardest to win for most players.

But don't you feel that carrying the expectations of a billion people on her shoulders might be too much pressure for her? I suppose it depends on how she handles it. There are some players who perform better under pressure and there are some who simply don't. Let's hope it won't get to her head, but I would strongly recommend that people look at her future with no more than cautious optimism.
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See.. it depends on what kind of pressure.. it isnt like sharapova in the semis of wimbledon against a williams.. for sania, getting to the third round of a grandslam would be a great achievement ATM.. which she did at the aussie open i think. So the pressure in those situations is different. Its different when your the underdog with less to lose.
 
Ern said:
Anything in particular you have against the others?
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agreed about what you said about federer-ferrero. i certainly wasnt expecting ferrero to win, but he played incredibly well that match and really raised his game to make federer fight for every point. which was why i was gutted. im also a massive JCF fan, so it hurt to see him go out, even though the odds were against him progressing any farther.

and there isnt really anything in particular i have against the others. i dont like roddicks style of play, the power serve. i like player who typically play well on clay, a la ferrero. federer is the best player i can remember seeing, and this is probably why i dont like him. ;). the other guy in the top four (svensson?) i dont think ive seen, so i guess i wouldnt mind if he won, ill be hoping its him against hewitt in the final.


about the hewitt match, however:

although i like hewitt, he hasnt been consistent enough for me so far this tornament. he's looked ordinary during an entire volley and then with a fantastic shot here and there, he's won alot of points. i think federer will punish him with some of his power play and im predicting a straight sets win for federer. but here's to hoping im wrong.
 
alonso767 said:
agreed about what you said about federer-ferrero. i certainly wasnt expecting ferrero to win, but he played incredibly well that match and really raised his game to make federer fight for every point. which was why i was gutted. im also a massive JCF fan, so it hurt to see him go out, even though the odds were against him progressing any farther.

and there isnt really anything in particular i have against the others. i dont like roddicks style of play, the power serve. i like player who typically play well on clay, a la ferrero. federer is the best player i can remember seeing, and this is probably why i dont like him. ;). the other guy in the top four (svensson?) i dont think ive seen, so i guess i wouldnt mind if he won, ill be hoping its him against hewitt in the final.
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You're obviously a man who appreciates good tennis. Hewitt was the best player around a few years back, which is why I didn't like him...plus his attitude. Federer's the best around by far, now and I have no problems with him, personally, so I can't help but like him....he's top class to watch. J-C on clay is fantastic, though, I must agree.
alonso767 said:
about the hewitt match, however:

although i like hewitt, he hasnt been consistent enough for me so far this tornament. he's looked ordinary during an entire volley and then with a fantastic shot here and there, he's won alot of points. i think federer will punish him with some of his power play and im predicting a straight sets win for federer. but here's to hoping im wrong.
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Here's hoping to your prophecy being accurate.:D
 
amolbhatia100 said:
See.. it depends on what kind of pressure.. it isnt like sharapova in the semis of wimbledon against a williams.. for sania, getting to the third round of a grandslam would be a great achievement ATM.. which she did at the aussie open i think. So the pressure in those situations is different. Its different when your the underdog with less to lose.
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It's media hype and expectations. Bound to hurt players that are mentally immature. Classic example being Jelena Dokic. But I hope Sania is above that.
 
amolbhatia100 said:
Mahesh bhupati actually takes care of the commercial side of her tennis.. So hes sort of taken her under his wing.. He was in the studio during the rain delay to talk about her and the plans for her future.. and he said that the aim is for her to be a top 20 player in abt 4 or 5 years, which is what im hoping for.
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I'm sure every player aims for that, but aiming doesn't mean she'll necessarily get there. You're missing my point. What I'm trying to say is that media-hype rarely has a positive correlation on the players improvement. It could have an adverse effect, but if she's going to improve, she'll improve, no matter what people expect of her.
 
Ern said:
You're obviously a man who appreciates good tennis. Hewitt was the best player around a few years back, which is why I didn't like him...plus his attitude. Federer's the best around by far, now and I have no problems with him, personally, so I can't help but like him....he's top class to watch. J-C on clay is fantastic, though, I must agree.

Here's hoping to your prophecy being accurate.:D
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yeah i think the hewitt-federer series is 9-8 or something along those lines, with federer winning the last seven or something like that. its pretty remarkable the turnaround in both of their games. federer's a force now, and i dont think hewitt will be consistent enough to beat him, its going to be interesting to see if hewitt can raise his game enough.


i kind of like hewitt's attitude, he's got a little punk edge to him and adds his personality to his match, makes it quite interesting.

although i think roddick will give federer a serious game, power vs. power in the final. although ill be supporting federer against roddick then.
 
nealn said:
Hewitt .v. Federer is currently 7-9 with Federer having won the last 7...
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yeah thats it! cheers mate.

i read it in the paper and could only reallly remember that federer had amazingly won the last seven.
 
alonso767 said:
yeah thats it! cheers mate.

i read it in the paper and could only reallly remember that federer had amazingly won the last seven.
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It is a pretty amazing stat... The last time Hewitt won was in The Davis Cup in what many believe to be a real classic... Hewitt came back from two sets to love and a break down in the third to win in five. Here's hoping for another classic today!
 
Ern said:
I'm sure every player aims for that, but aiming doesn't mean she'll necessarily get there. You're missing my point. What I'm trying to say is that media-hype rarely has a positive correlation on the players improvement. It could have an adverse effect, but if she's going to improve, she'll improve, no matter what people expect of her.
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i get your point, but i feel its different with sania.. we arent expecting her win wimbledon titles. Its just such a big deal for her to be out there that the pressure is alot less. For her to be the top 30 or 40 would be great. After that who knows.

In the end hopefully the most important this sania can do is, act as an instrument to attract more singles players from india towards the game. Its already begun.
 
alonso767 said:
i kind of like hewitt's attitude, he's got a little punk edge to him and adds his personality to his match, makes it quite interesting.

although i think roddick will give federer a serious game, power vs. power in the final. although ill be supporting federer against roddick then.
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I didn't like Hewitt's attitude at the time...but he seems to have grown up a bit. But I like him because of the way he plays with so much heart....he's a fighter.

Don't think Roddick will last in the final, if he makes it till then. I'm with Roger too.
 
I think Venus Williams will win the women's final..

Federer will easily win the mens final.
 
feckin roddick beating johannson. he really makes for watching lame tennis.

oh and Ern: damn you and federer, knocking out hewitt, and with it, my hopes and dreams. he was simply outclassed though, i cant complain. hewitt played well, but the gulf between the two players showed. hopefully more of the same on sunday against roddick, certainly will be pulling for federer next time.
 
feel bad for johansson.. had a genuine chance of beating roddick.. the point which led to the match point was just plain criminal.
 
you cant fault roddick,his serve was phenomenal in the last one and a half sets
best serve in the world i reckon but i think roger will win easily too much firepower
 
Roddick only has his serve.. Federer is a much better all-round player.

Come on Federer.!!
 
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