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Old 2008-07-03, 05:58   Link #61
yezhanquan
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Safin's... temperamental? His form has fluctuated wildy through these few years.
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Old 2008-07-03, 05:59   Link #62
Kakashi
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yezhanquan View Post
Remind me if I'm wrong, but in the modern era, has any 2 players dominated 2 surfaces like the Nadal and the Federer Expresses? I remember Pete (Sampras) being good on grass...
Bjorn Borg dominated clay and grass for several years. Setting records for Nadal and Federer to match. Both have done so with Federer matching Borg's 5 straight Wimbledons and Nadal emulating his 4 straight Roland Garros titles. I think Sampras was good on all surfaces except clay. Which is a difference between him and Federer, apart from Federer being more beautiful to watch IMO. Sampras only managed to reach the quarter finals at the French, whereas Federer would have won it already if it weren't for Nadal being the best clay court player ever. I don't think you can say Nadal has dominated more then one surface. His second best surface is grass funnily enough, he seems to be getting as good on grass as he is on clay. On hard court he finds life difficult. Federer dominates every surface except for clay. No one has dominated quite like him for so long. His win to loss ratio is consistently around 95%, which is crazy.

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Originally Posted by Westlo View Post
Nadal nearly won last year and he looks to have improved his grass court game and be in much better form. Didn't Safin also knock Federer out of the semis in the Aus Open he won against Hewitt? I've always liked Safin, kinda reminds me of Goran a bit and he's also pretty awesome to watch live (seen a few of his matches at the AUS Open which I've been going to for the last 6 years.
True. This is Nadal's best chance to win. Safin can beat Federer if he plays his best but hasn't done so in a while. Federer beat him convincingly last year in the 3rd round. Safin didn't play too badly that time either. On top of that Federer would never underestimate Safin. He never underestimates anyone after his loss to Ancic way back, but least of all Safin.
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Old 2008-07-03, 06:54   Link #63
yezhanquan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kakashi-san View Post
Bjorn Borg dominated clay and grass for several years. Setting records for Nadal and Federer to match. Both have done so with Federer matching Borg's 5 straight Wimbledons and Nadal emulating his 4 straight Roland Garros titles. I think Sampras was good on all surfaces except clay. Which is a difference between him and Federer, apart from Federer being more beautiful to watch IMO. Sampras only managed to reach the quarter finals at the French, whereas Federer would have won it already if it weren't for Nadal being the best clay court player ever. I don't think you can say Nadal has dominated more then one surface. His second best surface is grass funnily enough, he seems to be getting as good on grass as he is on clay. On hard court he finds life difficult. Federer dominates every surface except for clay. No one has dominated quite like him for so long. His win to loss ratio is consistently around 95%, which is crazy.

Actually, I meant a different player dominating a different surface (Federer on grass, Nadal on clay). Thanks on Borg. Sounds like he was unstoppable.
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Old 2008-07-03, 07:34   Link #64
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yezhanquan View Post
Actually, I meant a different player dominating a different surface (Federer on grass, Nadal on clay). Thanks on Borg. Sounds like he was unstoppable.
I see, in that case you're right. No other players have dominated like Federer and Nadal on their respective 'best' surfaces.

As for Borg, he was considered the best player from 1977 through 1980. He's up there with 11 grand slams. The French Open-Wimbledon double he achieved three times consecutively, supposedly the hardest double to achieve in tennis due to how different they play. He retired early at 26, never having won the US or Australian Open once. I heard he suffered from a mental breakdown at some point towards the end of his career. Seems fine now though.

Even if Nadal were to win Wimbledon this year I wouldn't rank his achievement as highly as Borgs. The grass is much slower then when Borg played. Borg had to adapt his game much more.

Overall though it seems Federer has surpassed Borg. Some might disagree.
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Old 2008-07-03, 08:47   Link #65
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Nadal is young. Heck, he's my age. Federer also, though not quite as young.
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Old 2008-07-03, 12:51   Link #66
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It's no surprise Murray lost to Nadal, I'm not saying Murray isn't any good but Nadal is just such an incredible player to win so consistently.

Unfortunately Zheng is out of the Women's, iirc she was unranked so she did quite well to make it this far and she was equal with Serena, it could have gone either way at the end.

I'm not sure if it was the Queens tournament or the French Open last month but Nadal has already trounced Federer on grass in a finals match.

I would bet on Nadal, with a large degree of certainty, to win Wimbledon.
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Old 2008-07-03, 13:00   Link #67
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Originally Posted by Blizzer View Post
I'm not sure if it was the Queens tournament or the French Open last month but Nadal has already trounced Federer on grass in a finals match.
Nadal has never beat Federer on grass. Federer has a 60 win streak now on grass. He hasn't loss in 5 years on that surface. Last person to beat Federer on grass was Mario Ancic in 2002, who Federer just wiped ins traight sets yesterdya. I myself am not going to bet against the 5 time defending champion who hasn't even dropped a set the entire tournament and has only dropped his service game once.
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Old 2008-07-03, 13:07   Link #68
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Zheng was very unfortunate when she was so close in winning a set-point to take the match to a 3rd set, once Serena forced a tie-break, her powerful aces simply finished the match off. Though Zheng should be proud of herself for reaching this far. So we're gonna get another Williams sisters final.

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Originally Posted by Reckoner View Post
Nadal has never beat Federer on grass. Federer has a 60 win streak now on grass. He hasn't loss in 5 years on that surface. Last person to beat Federer on grass was Mario Ancic in 2002, who Federer just wiped ins traight sets yesterdya. I myself am not going to bet against the 5 time defending champion who hasn't even dropped a set the entire tournament and has only dropped his service game once.
With due respect, so what?

So what if Nadal has never beaten Federer on Wimbledon before? That was all in the past. Even Federer's beaten Nadal on clay, and judging from last year's Wimbledon final and this year's Roland Garros final, Nadal is closer to beating Federer on Wimbledon than Federer is in beating Nadal on Roland Garros. I'd like to see Nadal emulate Borg and win Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back and beat Federer for once.
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Old 2008-07-03, 14:29   Link #69
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Closer? Federer seemed closer to winning Roland Garros over the last 3 years until he got battered in this years final. No one can beat Federer on grass with his serve. At least if he maitains his first serve percentage. Combine his serve with his anticipation and volleys, Nadal won't be able to play him around like he did to Murray that's for sure.

Federer is usually the aggresor, Nadal just has to hope Federer isn't too good on the day. Lets face it, Federer can batter Nadal if plays as well as he can. Even on clay he can beat Nadal 6-0. Not to say Nadal hasn't got a good shot of course. He's playing unbelievably. Federer also has a tough match with Safin which he has to get through. Nadal on the other hand should breeze through the semis. Borg predicted Nadal to win this years Wimbledon (although he thought Djokovic had a better chance then Federer), McEnroe predicted Federer. I wonder who will be right...

And yes I would rather Federer win 6 Wimbledons in a row, than Nadal win the back to back, because Federer just deserves it. He's been fantastic all these years.
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Old 2008-07-03, 18:52   Link #70
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Nadal won against Federer on grass (might have been clay can't remember) in the French Open last month.


Nadal vs Federer


Nadal dominated the match, I can't see anyone, not even Federer beating him, even if Federer brings his best game Nadal has stepped up his game so much it will still be in his favour.
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Old 2008-07-03, 20:17   Link #71
Reckoner
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blizzer View Post
Nadal won against Federer on grass (might have been clay can't remember) in the French Open last month.


Nadal vs Federer


Nadal dominated the match, I can't see anyone, not even Federer beating him, even if Federer brings his best game Nadal has stepped up his game so much it will still be in his favour.
French Open is clay. It inherently suits Nadal's play style far better due to its slowness, high bounces, and large court space with sliding. The matches become far more physical and serves practically get neutralized. Topple that with Federer's mental weakness against Nadal and you get a very one sided match. Although in previous years he got sets so it wasn't like he was completely out of it.

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Originally Posted by kakashi-san View Post
Borg predicted Nadal to win this years Wimbledon (although he thought Djokovic had a better chance then Federer), McEnroe predicted Federer. I wonder who will be right...
Borg also predicted Federer for the French. Plus Federer stands to break Borg's great record of five straight Wimbledons, I sense a tinge of bias there. Boris Becker and Pete Sampras picked Federer to win also by the way.

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Originally Posted by Kinny Riddle View Post

With due respect, so what?

So what if Nadal has never beaten Federer on Wimbledon before? That was all in the past. Even Federer's beaten Nadal on clay, and judging from last year's Wimbledon final and this year's Roland Garros final, Nadal is closer to beating Federer on Wimbledon than Federer is in beating Nadal on Roland Garros. I'd like to see Nadal emulate Borg and win Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back and beat Federer for once.
Federer played almost one of his crappiest grass court performances ever in the last five years in that Wimbledon. When he tossed the 4th set just because of an egregious hawk eye call that was clearly out I almost face palmed. I don't think Federer is going to slip mentally this year, he has too much to prove.

...And the reason Federer beat Nadal on clay was because at Hamburg the clay is low bounce and that happens to suit Federer's style of play far better than Roland Garros clay where the balls bounce at his head. Even this year Feder took him to 3 sets at Hamburg even though he should've won as he tossed away the first set with a 5-1 lead (Again proving Federer's mental weakness against Nadal).

Unlike the French Federer is going to get a lot more aces with his out wide and down the line serves as Nadal can't stand as back as he usually does on clay.

I'm not going to say that Nadal can't beat him, but Federer should be the obvious favorite.
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Old 2008-07-04, 09:29   Link #72
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federer just beat safin in 3 sets...

so its gonna be another nadal vs federer in the finals again. geez, aside from djokovic cant they give the other players some spotlight? no that im complaining, im all in for these epic rivalries
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Old 2008-07-04, 09:54   Link #73
Kinny Riddle
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kakashi-san View Post
Closer? Federer seemed closer to winning Roland Garros over the last 3 years until he got battered in this years final.
That doesn't disprove anything. This year simply showed that Nadal got even better in clay, furthering their distance on that surface for at least one more year. And with Nadal still only 22, he's yet to become better.

Quote:
No one can beat Federer on grass with his serve. At least if he maitains his first serve percentage. Combine his serve with his anticipation and volleys, Nadal won't be able to play him around like he did to Murray that's for sure.

Federer is usually the aggresor, Nadal just has to hope Federer isn't too good on the day. Lets face it, Federer can batter Nadal if plays as well as he can. Even on clay he can beat Nadal 6-0. Not to say Nadal hasn't got a good shot of course. He's playing unbelievably. Federer also has a tough match with Safin which he has to get through. Nadal on the other hand should breeze through the semis. Borg predicted Nadal to win this years Wimbledon (although he thought Djokovic had a better chance then Federer), McEnroe predicted Federer. I wonder who will be right...
We'll just have to wait till Sunday to see who comes up top then, no?

At the moment, Federer's cruised past Safin and Nadal seems to be doing the same to Schuettler.

Quote:
And yes I would rather Federer win 6 Wimbledons in a row, than Nadal win the back to back, because Federer just deserves it. He's been fantastic all these years.
That's just your preference. Nadal deserves just as much as he does if he wins back to back on clay and grass, which no man has done since Borg himself.

I will admit I am biased towards Nadal ever since he first won Roland Garros in 2005, and it's been a very long time since a clay player adapt to grass and play so well in such a short time. Though I would be the first to applaud Federer with admiration if he goes through a gruelling match like last year and win to make it 6 in a row.

That's the sort of rivalry I like, genuine admiration and respect for your opponent yet you're still confident your man can beat him.

Unlike the sometimes vulgar and ugly tribal rivalry in football, where people just slack off the other side for fun's sake, whether they're winning (they're just lucky), or losing (serves them right), and I don't know which is worse.

Whoever wins, they'll be making tennis history.
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Old 2008-07-04, 12:03   Link #74
Kakashi
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I agree. I'm vouching for Federer because we'll probably never see someone win 6 in a row. Nadal on the other hand will have plenty of chances to win the double, and most definatly will. If not this year. Federer has an enourmous amount of pressure to win, for a number of obvious reasons. Really it's just a question of who plays best on the day. Having watched both of the semifinals, Roger looked more comfortable than Rafa today, but who knows what will happen.

Possibly the hardest final to predict ever.
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Old 2008-07-04, 12:17   Link #75
Kinny Riddle
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Once again, for the 3rd year running, it will be a Federer vs Nadal Wimbledon final after a Federer vs Nadal Roland Garros final.

I'm hoping the rain doesn't delay the match like it did the past few days, or I'll have to stay up very late in order to watch the whole match this side of the world. Already I'm trying to regain lost sleep after many nights of Euro 2008.
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Old 2008-07-04, 14:01   Link #76
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With Nadal vs Schuettler, Nadal wasn't playing his best game, having seen a few of his other impressive wins it was probably down to his knee and his footwear,
it's a shame Schuettler's return shot between the legs was out and his frequent German profanities were entertaining at the least.

I can't understand how people think Federer can win this, he's certainly got an impressive record and he is definitely a pro tennis player but anyone who has seen Nadal storm through the competition this year has to admit he's the favourite this time, as he has improved greatly.
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Old 2008-07-04, 15:25   Link #77
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Pro tennis player? Understatement of the century...
He's arguably the greatest tennis player ever to have lived. I've seen both Federer and Nadal play on grass, I know which one is better. Nadal can win but Federer is the favourite and always will be the favourite to win Wimbledon. Also Federer has blitzed through the draw without losing a set, Nadal quite frankly had an easy draw and stuggled more then Federer. The main reason why people think Federer will win however, is because he is simply better than Nadal on grass.

That doesn't mean he will win, but the logical bet is with the 5 time defending Champion. Despite Nadal playing the tennis of his life.
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Old 2008-07-04, 18:20   Link #78
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Well if Im not mistaken Nadal vs Federer is this Sunday, there's certainly going to be a lot of hype.

There has been some surprises, but it's a shame there wasn't more dark horses, from the very start people predicted Nadal and Federer to make it to the end.

As for the womens, the William's sisters were also a slightly obvious prediction, I don't see them letting up on each other with their fierce competitiveness with each other.

I predict Nadal to win the mens and Venus to win the womens.
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Old 2008-07-04, 18:50   Link #79
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I'm a fan of upsets, but in mens tennis I'm good with both Federer and Nadal reaching the finals again. Their rivalry I think made tennis popular again.
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Old 2008-07-04, 18:53   Link #80
Westlo
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It's Nadal's time, step aside Federer!
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