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Miner Willy

By Miner Willy
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garuneku

garuneku

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Got a photo of him trying to get the crowd behind him, best i can do. Didn't get any big fist action on my side of the court.

henmaneo9.jpg

That was a great moment, the atmosphere was unbelievable. Although the "Come on Tim!" cries were 10 times more annoying in real life. Hope you weren't too upset that you couldn't boo him off afterwards ;)

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Sir DangerM

Sir DangerM

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Was funny yesterday during the henman game when a lone person shouted "c'mon moya!" and the whole crowd immedediately tried to drown them out with henman cheers.

Was also funny hours later during the nadal game when someone randomly shouted "c'mon henman!". Says a lot about the crowd there really...only give a shit about one thing.

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Rorsach

Rorsach

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Is anyone enjoying the tennis at Roland Garros? No matter how little there is of it anyway, due to rain. Been watching a few matches at work via SopCast now and i think there's gonna be a chance of a classic final: Federer vs Nadal.

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Miner Willy

Miner Willy

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If the clay season so far is anything to go by, it's going to be a hell of a tournament. Nadal Vs Djokovic at Hamburg is one of the best matches I've ever seen. Assuming Djoko gets there, the lower half semi will be brilliant.

Rather predictable, but I can't see past Nadal beating Federer in the final again. I've got money on Fed to finally grab the title this time, but that's more hope than expectation. I justified it on the grounds that Djoko will tire Nadal in the semi, and perhaps rain will mean the final has to be played the next day, but realistically it's just impossible to see anyone taking three sets off Nadal on clay. The guy's a monster.

Pity Nalbandian went out yesterday: I felt that he was one of the very few players with the game to trouble the big three on this surface.

Anyway... hope we can keep this thread going right through to Wimbledon. We don't get enough tennis talk on Rllmuk.

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Miner Willy

Miner Willy

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Almagro will be a tricky opponent for Nadal. I dont expect him to beat Nadal but he will at least take a set I feel.

Yeah, I think it'll be a game for Nadal at least (unlike the Verdasco 'match'). Realistically I think Nadal in three or four tight sets, but I'm tempted to whack a tenner on Almagro; he's got as good a chance as anyone of beating Nadal on clay, and I reckon the odds will still be pretty good.

POST-MATCH EDIT: 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. Whoops. Nadal's a fucking monster! He'll not even drop a set at this rate. ^_^

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Miner Willy

Miner Willy

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Nadal Vs Djokovic next then, which if the Hamburg meeting is anything to go by, could be an amazing match. If Djoko's going to win he'll have to do it quickly (three, maybe four sets). He was exhausted after just three (admittedly epic) sets in Hamburg, so if it goes to five he has next to no chance. I reckon Djokovic will come out on fire, going for everything, but even then Nadal's likely to prove too good.

Federer Vs Monfils could be an interesting one. After playing superbly Vs Ancic at the weekend, Fed has gone off the boil a little in his last two matches. Still wouldn't bet against a Federer Vs Nadal final though.

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ICECOLD

ICECOLD

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Typical slow start from Federer yesterday against Gonzalez, but as usual his class told.

Djokovic has an excellent chance with the form he's in, but Nadal's playing as well as I've ever seen him at Roland Garros. :o

It strikes me that Federer approaches Roland Garros with a definite gameplan in mind for how he's going to play Nadal, and spends the two weeks leading up to the final employing it against other players to try and hone it.

He lost last year's final despite all-but eliminating the errors on the backhand that had plagued him in previous years against Nadal, but ironically found his forehand of all shots- easily the best shot in tennis over the last five years - misfiring badly.

On a tactical level, if Roger plays on his backhand side like he did last year and gets his forehand right as well, I can see him winning it. But in terms of current form, Federer's level has dipped in general from the last couple of years, with more losses coming into Roland Garros than in recent memory, while Nadal is looking imperious on clay.

Kind of hoping Djokovic upsets the odds in the semis. Really want to see Federer win the French and I can't realistically see that happening against Nadal.

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Miner Willy

Miner Willy

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Typical slow start from Federer yesterday against Gonzalez, but as usual his class told.

Djokovic has an excellent chance with the form he's in, but Nadal's playing as well as I've ever seen him at Roland Garros. :lol:

It strikes me that Federer approaches Roland Garros with a definite gameplan in mind for how he's going to play Nadal, and spends the two weeks leading up to the final employing it against other players to try and hone it.

He lost last year's final despite all-but eliminating the errors on the backhand that had plagued him in previous years against Nadal, but ironically found his forehand of all shots- easily the best shot in tennis over the last five years - misfiring badly.

On a tactical level, if Roger plays on his backhand side like he did last year and gets his forehand right as well, I can see him winning it. But in terms of current form, Federer's level has dipped in general from the last couple of years, with more losses coming into Roland Garros than in recent memory, while Nadal is looking imperious on clay.

Kind of hoping Djokovic upsets the odds in the semis. Really want to see Federer win the French and I can't realistically see that happening against Nadal.

I agree with most of that, apart from the bit in bold. I didn't really feel like he got the backhand side sorted in last year's final; I felt he was too defensive, and should either have been really aggressive and stepped up to hit it early, or tried slicing it more on the higher balls. The problem is that on the really high kicking top spin into his backhand he was trying to go over the top, but leaving the ball mid-court too often, leaving himself on the defensive in too many rallies. Admittedly his forehand did misfire (he served poorly too as I recall; if you're going to beat Nadal on clay, you need a very high 1st serve %), but I just felt the forehand was under too much pressure, due to the dominance of the Nadal forehand in comparison with Ferderer's backhand.

Obviously he can't slice everything, so he needs to get forwards when he can, and when he's pushed back high to the backhand I think he needs to use the slice to find a deep position in Nadal's backhand corner, and then basically start the rally again.

Of course it's a lot easier said than done. I think this was pretty much Federer's plan last year; it's just that he has trouble carrying it out against Nadal. I don't think much has changed in terms of his tactical approach, apart from the increased number of drop shots aimed at reducing Nadal's defensive skills by keeping him a little closer to the net.

We shall see. I too would love to see Federer finally win the French, but I'm not confident. Still, if they both get there it will be absolutely awesome viewing. Can't wait.

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Miner Willy

Miner Willy

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Fuck me, what a great match between Federer and Monfils - even if it was quite painful to watch, due to Fed doing his best Henman roller coaster ride impression for most of the match. Monfils played superbly, and his ability to run down balls is just obscene. I thought Fed was strangely subdued - especially on the forehand - but he showed incredible mental strength in the tough moments.

So we have the dream final. I can't see beyond Nadal, but I actually think today might help Federer: he's probably never been more of an underdog in his life, so hopefully he'll come out swinging freely, and see what happens.

Can't wait for the final.

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Beitel

Beitel

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Did anyone follow the female tennis this Roland Garros? Dinara Safina won unexpectedly from Maria Sjarapova and Elena Dementieva, both higher ranked. She even survived a few match points and proved to be quite a comeback kid. She's now (as in: RIGHT NOW) playing against Ivanovic in the finals.

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pinholestar

pinholestar

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Jesus, Federer was humbled. I can't recall ever seeing him so comprehensively beaten.

I got the distinct impression that once he'd failed to get off to the start he was seeking he just gave up the ghost.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to see how he can ever best Nadal on clay..... :wub:

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Miner Willy

Miner Willy

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Wow. Nadal was immense... when tested, which wasn't all that often unfortunately. I've never seen Federer so completely outclassed and bereft of form and ideas. It was sad to see, especially as it now seems pretty clear that he'll never conquer the French.

I think the priority for Federer now isn't so much winning the French to prove he's undoubtedly the best ever, as trying to scrape the necessary wins at the other three Grand Slams in order to overcome Sampras's record. He's not a spent force of course, but it's only going to get harder in terms of Nadal, Djokovic et al's development, and today's beating will further the feeling on the tour that he's there for the taking (probably moreso even than his indifferent form over the course of this year).

Wimbledon and the US Open are going to be very interesting indeed. The positioning of the third seed is going to be massively important at the forthcoming GSs: having Djokovic in the opposite half gives either Federer or Nadal a huge advantage.

Anyway, well played to Nadal. The guy's nigh-on unbeatable on clay, and could conceivably dominate the French for the next six or seven years, if his body holds up. Amazing. :wub:

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