Tennis Talk 2009

[Mpol]

Dam it Nadal lost...

[chestylarue]

vallegirl- sorry if my views on Arias are bad/delusional/hard to believe. I am an idiot at times. I still think he needs to do some research and or watch the blanket statements. I do agree that Rafa should play flat more and work on making it more of a weapon- and if he said that I would be fine. A very valid piece of advice. But to say essentially that he has never been able to play flat- I don't agree with that. Granted- he doesn't do it as much as he should but he has done it before. I think we will have to agree to disagree regarding Arias. But I will try to cut down being an over-senstive idiot looking for bias where there is none and try to be more open minded regarding his commentary.

I epxected Rafa to lose as Koyla's game matches up well to him and he is not exactly brimming with confidence. The first set was horrible for Rafa but at least he fought in the second and showed some more agression. Davy was sublime for much of the match with the exception of a few wtf moments in the second.

Rafa's footwork seems a bit off nowadays.

This turkey is gonna get ready for Turkey Day. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate.

[harry24]

What did Arias say about Murray's and Verdasco's serves? I believe they are showing Eurosport here in Canada so he's not commentation when I watch.

Breezy, Arias said that Murray is overly in love with the radar gun and his ability to hit a serve 135, particularly since his second serve is prone to being attacked. He thinks Murray should cut back on the amps on the first serve and learn to hit his spots better with it.

As to Verdasco he thinks almost the opposite. That FV has gotten so spooked by his own second serve that he only rolls in the first serve to the backhand (of righties), whereas he has the capacity to hit a really big first serve on a consistent basis. JA thinks FV needs the big serve to compete consistently with the top five players. IIRC, FV was serving huge at the Aussie Open, right? Although he also had some double faults at the end of his incredible semi with Rafa, IIRC.

Remembering JA's comments about FV during the Murray match, I can see how some of them could possibly sound derogatory. He said something sort of bald, like "Ferdasco won't be able to compete with the top guys without that big first serve," or something like that. But then he was openly rooting for FV to pound a big one to Murray's forehand on a big point. He literally went, "Come on, Fernando!!" Anyway, I could see that "he won't be able to do something unless he does what I think" could sound bad, but it didn't sound that way to my ears.

But what is WRONG with Rafa? Has anyone read anything on the Spanish boards that give any clue as to his real condition? I can imagine that having anything get in the way of his regular routine must be doubly difficult for dear OCD Rafa. I would think his parents' divorce and his own injury could fall into that category and be extra hard for him.

It's just so upsetting to see such an effervescent, never-say-die spirit look so enervated. The thing that really scares me is if he has a physical condition that won't improve dramatically. As long as he can recover to something near his 100 percent physical condition, I feel confident that he can adjust his game to whatever his state-of-the-art condition is and find that indomitable spirit again. He has shown himself to be extraordinarily able to adapt and improve in his short career.

Oh, and I have to give props to Arias again for spotting so early that Djerkovitch was disastrously out of sorts against Soderling. He could tell early in the first set that not only was ND acting like someone who was burned out but that he wasn't going to be able to recover from it, at least in the match with RS. At one point he said ND reminded him of the young kids at Bollitteri's when he was throwing up his arms and pouting about this or that. That said, he thought ND could recover in a day or two to play well against Rafa.

Random thought: the umpires look disturbingly hot in their suits.

[francienolan]

LT I don't feel like going back to pull your exact quote but the ball girls seemed like they were centimeters away from careening into the players on every other point. They need to get the USO ball team there stat

Davydenko's wife continues to appall & intrigue me with her choice in fashion & accessories. Today it was with a sparkly ring that was blinding but not in a good way

[falafaclese]

Nov 25, 2009 19:06:14 GMT breezybee said:

What did Arias say about Murray's and Verdasco's serves? I believe they are showing Eurosport here in Canada so he's not commentation when I watch.

I didn't hear what Arias said about Murray, but he said that Verdasco did not have confidence in his second serve and that was affecting his first serve. He said that Verdasco has a really good first serve when he goes after it, but lately he just spins it in and goes out wide rather than mixing it up and hitting some big ones down the middle, because he's worried that if he misses, he'll get a double fault.

ETA: Oops, didn't notice that harry24 had already answered the question (and much more thoroughly than I did, I might add).

[breezybee]

FV was serving huge at the Aussie Open, right? Although he also had some double faults at the end of his incredible semi with Rafa, IIRC.

Verdasco actually double faulted on match point for Nadal. I wonder if it stems from that or if he had that issue before. I have noted that he tends to double fault at the worst possible times.

Davydenko's wife continues to appall & intrigue me with her choice in fashion & accessories. Today it was with a sparkly ring that was blinding but not in a good way

I don't know why but I adore this woman, tacky clothing and all. She was the only wife/girlfriend I saw out at every practice session when I was in Montreal. She just seems so positive and encouraging about and to Nikolay.

[lt]

Now to an UO, but I think Arias is excellent

And I have to apologize to Jimmy Arias. When I got home and turned on TTC (Wow! Are they just airing the tournament on a permanent loop? I was thrilled [and then appalled] that I got to see the Max/Andy match last night on repeat) I realized it wasn't JA that offended me, it was the other guy--Leif Shiras. I haven't seen JA commentate enough to comment--I'm just used to him as the star of the senior's tour at the Open. He always engages the crowd and draws the people in who just come to the matches because they are waiting to go to a bigger match elsewhere.

I'm now watching Fer struggle in his first couple of games against Murray. I NEED him to win in straight sets so he can have a chance at the semis. It's been fun watching the background stuff at the O2 that I had no clue was going on. I didn't realize that the end of court on the 2nd/3rd/4th levels was a massive player's lounge. I thought it was just a fancy schmancy restaurant for the elite. It's a brilliant thought to have the lounge there--they can watch the matches and really relax. However, the people in the lounge don't always realize that because they are not in a closed room that everyone can hear them in the arena. There was a group in there during the Murray/Fed match that were really laughing it up. Quite odd to hear during a game.

And the locker rooms! WOW! No wonder the players are really enjoying the venue. Only problem with the locker rooms that I saw was that the chairs didn't have arms. Cannot exactly sit back and relax on those chairs-that-I-cannot-remember-the-name of.

eta: Oh, and on a different note--I cannot believe I'm going to miss The Davis Cup finals next weekend. I'm visiting my dad for my Christmas trip and I booked the trip before I got TTC. He has DirecTV so I might ask him if he can get TTC for just the month so I can watch while I'm there.

[oopssorry]

It is so great to read your first-hand accounts, lt. Enjoy!! I wish I were there... and will hope for a chance in the future.

If you see admin, tell her we miss our facilitator.

I hope you enjoy the matches!

[breezybee]

Odd match between del Potro and Federer. If Federer had lost 4-6 instead of 3-6 in the last set I believe that would have put Murray through with him instead of del Potro. Do you think he did it on purpose?

[roseha]

I really doubt Roger knew all the ins and outs of the scoring that would get people in or out of the semis, especially as he was playing the match - I was reading Piers Newbury's twitter page on my cell and apparently the British journalists had no idea who was going through even after the matches ended. It took an announcement from the ATP to figure it out. And I am sure he would rather have beaten JMDP than lose to him for a second time.

That said, this is what has always annoyed me about round robin. Once you lose you should go home. That's what tennis is all about.

lt, thanks so much for all the great reporting!

[breezybee]

You are probably right that he didn't roseha but I knew the scenarios going in so I wouldn't put it past Roger to know. I can't really picture him doing that but I also know he's not too fond of Murray.

[chestylarue]

I don't think there was anything dirty involved. I don't think Roger would want to give Delpo any more confidence and I would hope that he has enough respect for the game and his opponent to not tank out of spite towards another player. He may not have had as much pressure once he got the second set but I think Delpo won fair and square and not because it was gifted to him to hurt another player.

Delpo wasn't even sure if he was going through until several minutes after the match. During his match with Nando- Murray was asking Gerry Armstrong (I think that was the ump) what the scenerios were.

Yes- there was one game differential but Roger has played wtf games before....so this was nothing so crazy to me to say it dirty.

I don't think this will make them get rid of the round robin...just because they have had several finalists who have lost one of the first two matches of RR. If I recall correctly (and I may not be) I think Nalbandian lost his first or second match when he won the title in 2005. This is though perhaps the first time ever that they had 3 in a RR group go 2-1 and had to bring it all the way down to games. I kind of like the idea of RR for the year end championships (and only that) because they are the top dudes and you can then get matches like the fantastic Safin/Roger RR match in 2003 or 2004 but I can see why folks don't like it and want a one and done.

This will be grist for the Murray/Fed rumor mill though. I remember last year how there were some murmurings when Murray tried really hard in his round robin match even though he was safe to kick Roger out- and then paid the price in the semis. I think he just wanted to win the match. And I don't think Roger or Delpo were dirty.

Hope everyone had a good holiday. We have a big group tennis outing tomorrow to help burn off the Turkey Day calories.

[lt]

I don't want Round Robin during the year but I love it for the YEC. It's great for all these guys to have to go through everyone in their group before they go forward/are eliminated.

I don't think it would be dirty for Roger to want someone specific to make it to the next round--but it was down to % of games won, not simple addition so I don't think he was thinking "one more game and it is Murray and not Delpo". Also, it would probably come down more to what he needed to do to get through and less who he was bringing with him. I found it interesting that Murray needed to know right in the thick of the match with Fer what the scenarios were. It shows how much the players need to be aware of when they are playing.

Speaking of gamesmanship--or the lack thereof--what's the thought on Murray's new racquet smack against the court? Jimmy and Leif were trying to figure out if it was just a new little tick in his game or whether he does it to distract his opponent.

I didn't realize that London has the YEC for 5 years.

Oh, and my very last comment on the London crowd--I think everyone in London has the swine flu. I have never heard so much coughing. Listen carefully and you'll see what I mean. I did like that since England doesn't have to worry about an ongoing cover-up they are still able to call it the swine flu.

[Mpol]

Finally it seems the YEC have found a home where they will be loved.

[francienolan]

I'm among those that really loves RR play during the YEC and am glad that its in a venue that makes it special.

I didn't see Murray questioning Armstrong about the scenarios for him to qualify during his match, that seems to belie the athletes PR mantra of one opponent, one match at a time