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Post by harry24 on Apr 26, 2014 23:33:36 GMT
Does anyone know WTF is going on with Rafa? I saw 10-15 minutes of last week's match against Ferrer and this week's match against Almagro, and he certainly was playing well below his usual level. From what I've read there doesn't seem to be an injury issue. Anyone hear anything helpful?
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on May 7, 2014 14:41:27 GMT
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Post by roseha on May 8, 2014 4:38:48 GMT
Terrible about that house fire. On a much happier note, congrats to Roger and Mirka on the twin boys Leo and Lenny! What are the odds after twin girls! (Yes I know twins run in families - Roger's sister Diana has twins also!) www.bbc.com/sport/0/tennis/27291534 |
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Post by acre on May 10, 2014 15:44:10 GMT
Indeed, congratulations to Fed and Mirka! Damn that's a complete family, 2 girls, 2 boys - that would be enough (maybe too much) for me. Of course they are totally in a position to handle that many kids, can get all the help they need, but still, traveling the circuit with 4 little ones is quite something. I'm glad the timing was such that he can still play the French, keeping up his unprecedented(?) unbroken string of Slams. Though when it was possible he might miss it that made total sense to me. I mean, first your wife is giving birth, your child(ren) is being born, that is obviously more important than anything else. But also, if he chose to miss a Slam, the French is the one to go for. He's not going to win it again, he's 32, if he wanted to conserve energy, go with an easier reduced schedule, the French would be the obvious one to skip. Not that I think he wanted to, but at this point I assume other life priorities (like kids, family) are assuming more importance. Well, there's no comparison that being childless and having children are different lives. And 4, gosh they're efficient, 2 sets of 2.
I see Nadal is getting back into his clay groove, not that I ever doubted he would. Anyone want to take bets that he won't win the French? Not me.
The fire/murder/suicide is just awful, and I hope for Blake's sake that this was just business, and not renting to friends.
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Post by falafaclese on May 11, 2014 17:28:16 GMT
Dinara Safina was at the Madrid trophy ceremony for the ladies' final today, and announced her official retirement. She has been going to university, and her tweets have seemed cheerful over the past couple of years since she has been off the tour. I hope she's happy.
That thing at James Blake's house sounds absolutely crazy. Really weird.
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Post by breezybee on May 13, 2014 15:15:19 GMT
Me. I won't be surprised at all if he doesn't win the French. I've not been impressed with his play on clay this year. The losses to Almagro and Frerrer. If not for Nishikori's injury I don't think Nadal would have walked away the victor in Madrid.
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Post by acre on May 13, 2014 18:56:36 GMT
All true breezy, and of course I don't actually bet anyway so it's easy for me to say. I just can't count him out till it happens, he's so dominant at the French.
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Post by falafaclese on May 17, 2014 14:50:26 GMT
An interesting article about the Foro Italico, which has been one of my favorite venues based purely on what I see of it on tv, even as I've wondered about those vaguely disquieting statues that surround the grounds. Also, I'm watching Raonic/Djokovic right now, and I don't know if Milos can win this (Djoker just won the second set to take it to a third) but he has really improved his ground strokes, and seems to be much more aggressive off both sides. He really looks good. Djoker, of course, still has the ability to beat him, but it has been an entertaining match. |
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Post by falafaclese on Jun 8, 2014 22:25:48 GMT
Andy Murray just hired Amelie Mauresmo as his coach. Andy is always full of surprises. I love Amelie, so anything to get her back onto my television is fine with me. It's interesting that his two most recent coaches are people who had a hard time breaking through as grand slam winners.
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Post by harry24 on Jun 12, 2014 21:08:17 GMT
So do we just assume Rafa tanked his Halle match? Why wouldn't he just withdraw?
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Post by mooncreek on Jun 13, 2014 22:48:29 GMT
Rafa withdrew from Halle last year and this was the last of a lucrative three year contract with the event. He didn't really have much choice but to play the match even though he was likely exhausted. I don't think he tanked because I don't think Rafa is capable but he never looked comfortable on the grass (though at least there doesn't appear to be a knee issue).
That said, Dustin Brown sure didn't help that cause. I've been a fan of his for a long time and I've never seen him that sharp from start to finish.
Next year, there's a week between the end of the French Open and the start of Halle/Queens (which will both be 500 level events). Rafa will be a clear beneficiary of that change.
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Post by falafaclese on Jun 15, 2014 12:03:45 GMT
In a way, I like that there is so little downtime between the French and Wimby. It makes this six weeks feel really interesting and full of tennis. I won't complain about the extra week though, it's definitely needed, and i hope it means more grass court tennis.
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Post by oopssorry on Jun 15, 2014 13:59:46 GMT
just dropping in quickly to note how much i love the tennisporn slowmos of the european feeds. and, go roger!
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Post by harry24 on Jun 16, 2014 1:29:07 GMT
Thanks so much for the factual info, mooncreek. Where do you learn stuff like this? You know ... facts?
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Post by harry24 on Jun 21, 2014 14:07:56 GMT
Way to go, Madison! Anyone else watching this? She's my favorite of the young American women. I love her smooth, big game. Now I have to go check out her Wimby draw. Lord knows she has the game to do well there. Whoo-hoo!
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