The official Wimbledon Thread....
Discussion
king nightmare for any opponent on his day.Victor McDade said:
It seems Nadal is going down the Lleyton Hewitt route - lots of success at a relatively young age however his style of play means he'll never have the longevity of a Federer or Sampras.
The difference is Lleyton has been enjoying life in the Bahamas and building a family, Rafa has been spending his time talking to doctors. Lleyton is out there, money in the bank, slam titles on the mantle, a family man and just enjoying the sport once more in good health. He's able to sneak up on these guys now, very dangerous player to have floating around the draw.Baron Greenback said:
Wow 1st round again but the guy played out of his skin and deserved to win! Not totally one sided he still had to play to win and Nadal wasn't playing top for but a great match!
pedant alert, last year against Rosol was second round, last time he lost in 1st round of gs was 2006 without question he was hobbling around and not running etc in the 3rd set, whether that is a genuine injury or doing it so he can excuse himself at a later date...?
I am surprised and not surprised, it took a lot to win the French after such a long silent ban and the first week of Wimbledon he is always vulnerable on the green green grass
Justices said:
Nadal in a very deep hole now. His body is finished, far too much punishment with his game style which gave him this correct seeding. Held up for the clay but I was highly doubtful he'd make it to the end of this season, or even play beyond it.
I'm not sure Nadal going out yesterday confirmed his seeding was correct; his record over recent weeks suggested he should have been seeded higher so really the organisers have to some extent got out of jail as a result of yesterday. I certainly didn't see that performance coming and I can't imagine too many others did either; I know you like a flutter so how much did you have on Darcis winning before the match started?!Edited by Justices on Tuesday 25th June 01:13
Given the way Rafa was charging around in Paris a couple of weeks ago I was genuinely surprised to see him in so much trouble with the knee yesterday. I do appreciate that you can't slide on grass the way you can on clay but if he's struggling like this at Wimbledon it makes you wonder how - or even if - he'll cope with the hard court season in North America later in the summer....
chippy17 said:
it took a lot to win the French after such a long silent ban
WTF Nadal & drugs, is this a cock-eyed conspiracy linked to the Spanish judge who ordered all that evidence to be destroyed, and rationale for being absent other than injury, kind of adds up (as conspiracy theories go).Yeah Rosol was 2nd round and played 5 sets of "Russian roulette" tennis at an unbelievable level and beat a Nadal who was below par and hampered, but not by much. I seem to remember some kind of stat like Rosol only lost 1 point on his 1st serve in the first 3 sets.
Yesterday Nadal didn't turn up at all, he obviously has some very serious physical and (or mental issues playing at Wimbledon), I seem to recall he took a while to get to grips with Wimbledon at the beginning of his career, perhaps he just plain can't stand playing on grass and has no appetite for it, especially after Rosol last year. Won't be the first clay court specialist to do so.
OneDs said:
chippy17 said:
it took a lot to win the French after such a long silent ban
WTF Nadal & drugs, is this a cock-eyed conspiracy linked to the Spanish judge who ordered all that evidence to be destroyed, and rationale for being absent other than injury, kind of adds up (as conspiracy theories go).Yeah Rosol was 2nd round and played 5 sets of "Russian roulette" tennis at an unbelievable level and beat a Nadal who was below par and hampered, but not by much. I seem to remember some kind of stat like Rosol only lost 1 point on his 1st serve in the first 3 sets.
Yesterday Nadal didn't turn up at all, he obviously has some very serious physical and (or mental issues playing at Wimbledon), I seem to recall he took a while to get to grips with Wimbledon at the beginning of his career, perhaps he just plain can't stand playing on grass and has no appetite for it, especially after Rosol last year. Won't be the first clay court specialist to do so.
In all honesty, Rosol would have beaten anyone on that day. It says a lot for Nadal's level of play that he played THAT well and yet it was still 5 sets.
I know Nadal was charging around the courts, but they were predominantly clay courts. The painkillers and medical attention going on behind the scenes (just like Agassi did) did a lot to get him through. That punishing work he puts in takes its toll and no grass court event before Wimbledon was a bit of a giveaway IMO. RG means more than Wimbledon to him so he will have sacrificed a lot of his body to set that insane record. He'd rather 8 RG titles and put it out of any reach than a Wimbledon I think.
Didn't bet on Darcis or the match, unfortunately. I don't think Darcis or any family members bet on Darcis for that matter
I have money on Andy, Roger and Tommy.
I know Nadal was charging around the courts, but they were predominantly clay courts. The painkillers and medical attention going on behind the scenes (just like Agassi did) did a lot to get him through. That punishing work he puts in takes its toll and no grass court event before Wimbledon was a bit of a giveaway IMO. RG means more than Wimbledon to him so he will have sacrificed a lot of his body to set that insane record. He'd rather 8 RG titles and put it out of any reach than a Wimbledon I think.
Didn't bet on Darcis or the match, unfortunately. I don't think Darcis or any family members bet on Darcis for that matter
I have money on Andy, Roger and Tommy.
Justices said:
In all honesty, Rosol would have beaten anyone on that day. It says a lot for Nadal's level of play that he played THAT well and yet it was still 5 sets.
I know Nadal was charging around the courts, but it's the painkillers and medical attention going on behind the scenes (just like Agassi did) that get him through. That punishing work takes its toll and no grass court event before Wimbledon was a bit of a giveaway. RG means more than Wimbledon to him so he will have sacrificed a lot of his body to set that insane record.
Didn't bet on Darcis or the matc, unfortunately. I don't think Darcis or any family members bet on Darcis for that matter
I have money on Andy, Roger and Tommy.
having seen Andy play up close at Queens he is a tennis beast at the moment, he is hitting the ball so cleanly and with so much power (he is peaking this year and next) I can really see him winning it this year, Djokovic is a bit of an unknown at present and Fed looking at homeI know Nadal was charging around the courts, but it's the painkillers and medical attention going on behind the scenes (just like Agassi did) that get him through. That punishing work takes its toll and no grass court event before Wimbledon was a bit of a giveaway. RG means more than Wimbledon to him so he will have sacrificed a lot of his body to set that insane record.
Didn't bet on Darcis or the matc, unfortunately. I don't think Darcis or any family members bet on Darcis for that matter
I have money on Andy, Roger and Tommy.
Tommy you say, Haas I presume you are talking about?
Justices said:
Tennis is a very tough sport as an individual sport and it requires a serious amount of cash. Not motorsport cash, but you have to travel the world weekly (ideally with a coach) and that isn't cheap. Lots of player stop simply because of lack of funding and people get VERY tight on tour when money is running out and their performance suffers accordingly. Besides, lots of the British players will be coming from a comfy lifestyle (compared to some of the guys from Eastern Europe), have a soft background (unlike the guys from Eastern Europe), have something else to do other than tennis (unlike the guys from Eastern Europe) and have countrymen/media that don't support them and push them to succeed on their journey (unlike any other country).
I hear what you say but don't follow the logic. If kids are 'comfy' then I assume you mean monied. So it would follow that The Bank of Mum & Dad have the funds to pay for little Johhny to be coached, travelling expenses etc. If you come from Eastern Europe who is funding your coaches and travel ? If you have the talent but not the money then the LTA should step in with their vast resources and help. This, however, also fails because the raw talent coming through is so mediocre that it has to back plucky losers. It just only re-iterates my point that there is so little raw talent because tennis is a minor sport in this country, is played by people who aspire to belong to clubs (I not knocking that) and has always been thus back to the days of Fred Perry. Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff