Roger wins Wimbledon; in straight sets.
Title no 8, Grand Slam No 19.
Did not drop a set all tournament.
Greatest of all time.
After those brutal defeats to Djokovic a few years back, I didn’t think Federer had another slam in him and now he has two, this one without losing a set. His late career has been truly astonishing, in its own away as impressive as his peak period. His ability to hang in there, absorb those defeats, consistently reach the semis and finals and then take the opportunity when it presents itself.
With due respect to Cilic, I don’t really think he was a worthy opponent for Roger. It would have been more of a contest if Roger had played a fit, on-form Murray or Djokovic, but there ya go! Anyway, an eighth Wimbledon title and an indelible mark in sporting history. Roger has to be one of the greats of all time. Pity Nadal had to be knocked out so early but grass isn’t his best surface.
It’s definite now. I hope I live long enough to see another like him. I’m glad I’m old enough to remember watching him play.
Heh. Consider this: even Federer would admit he can’t do now what he did back when, since that’s why he took time off before winning the Australian Open, and then skipped the French Open before winning Wimbledon now, right? That’s smart of him; it’s sensible of him; these championships are the result, or why else is he doing it?
So what if he’d started the get-rest-and-skip-clay plan maybe five years ago?
:eek:
I don’t know, but I don’t think he’ll be playing clay for the rest of his pro career. It isn’t worth it.
Good points, although I would have thought #3 ought to argue in favour of more US talent being available, either due to players taking that route and becoming naturalised US citizens (a la Navratilova) or simply increasing the level of domestic competition. Then again, maybe these days there is much less of a need to take on the nationality of your adopted country - you can have your cake and eat it, as it were.
Federer did have it relatively easy this year, but of course he makes it look easier than it is, and a big reason for his success and longevity (as opposed to Nadal and, it seems, Djokovic) is his style of play and approach to the game. That’s one of the reasons he is the GOAT, instead of Nadal.
Well, I was half right :):
During the Olympics, they were running clips about the difference between American sports and other countries, especially former Iron Curtain countries. Here in the US, our top athletes are often kids from well-to-do homes whose parents bear the exorbitant cost of training, often while living at home. We also have the benefit of a well-organized and expansive collegiate programs, which is quite unlike other countries.
For tennis, collegiate programs serve as quasi-minor league, but also inevitably blocks many potential “stars” from going pro because it’s much “safer” to accept a full scholarship and come out with a 4-year degree than to risk going pro and hoping to be successful enough to make a career of it.
Contrast this to other countries, where athletes are hand-selected at a very young age based on their physical attributes and pedigree (e.g. dad was a pro player), and they are most often taken from their homes and rigorously trained in state-paid academies. The state-sponsored programs also support their top athletes by bearing the expenses associated with entering regional ATP tournaments, etc.
It’s really a different mindset, one which Americans were slow to embrace. In the 70s and 80s, the USTA’s mission was been primarily to get more people to play tennis; it didn’t really get involved with the development of top players, perhaps because private academies (e.g. Evert, Bolletieri, Saviano, SaddleBrook) were filling that niche.
However, as US men’s tennis talent started falling, and women’s tennis began rising, I think we had a mind shift. The USTA recently opened an academy in Florida that will focus exclusively on developing American talent. So we shall see what comes of that.
It feels like flop after flop with American men lately. I feel bad for these guys because some of them are actually great players, but none have been able to be consistent top 5 or top 10 players. We’ve watched the following* not* make it to the level we hoped they would.
Donald Young
John Isner
Sam Querrey
Jack Sock
Some actual levity at snobby ole Wimbledon as some retired women players played a exhibition round robin, between Kim Cljisters, Renee Stubbs, Conchita Martinez and Andrea Jaeger.
Portly guy told Kim to serve into Conchita body and Kim and Conchita got him to come out and receive Kim’s serve. Put a white skirt and white jacket on him
Here is long clip, skip to the ~13 minute mark for the incident
Djokovic might not play the U.S. Open. Elbow injury.
Wawinka out for the season…Andy Murray iffy.
This run that Shapovalov is on is pretty fun. He could’ve lost any of the matches, so I’m not sure how meaningful it is in terms of how he’ll do in the future, but it’s great entertainment.
Forgot to mention it earlier, but I watched Alexander Zverev win the Citi Open last weekend – he’s only 20 but he looked terrific, at least by my judgment, and he might be one of the next big things in tennis.
It has been a good year for teenagers or recent teenagers with Russian last names from Germany and Canada. And now they get to play each other! I am giving a slight edge to Zverev this time. I bet it won’t be their last meeting.
I really had hopes for some Americans this year, specifically Querrey and Sock, but these guys are almost making up for my disappointments.
And he just defeated Federer to win the Rogers Cup.
Melanie Oudin, who had that great run to the 2009 Quarterfinals of the US Open, has retired.
Injuries, health problems. She did not have the career she hoped for.
Sharapova beats Halep in round 1.
Seems a little unfair to a #2 seed to face a quality player like Sharapova in Round 1.
Murray WDs after the seeds are announced but before his first round match, The top 2 seeds are scheduled to meet in the semis instead of the finals.
There ought to be a way to rectify this situation.
I really felt for Halep in that match. That should have been at least a quarterfinal, but what are you gonna do? Sharapova came in unseeded, so those things happen.
And I don’t know what you’re gonna do about the top two seeds meeting in the semis, but really, a lot of times the semis have more quality tennis than the final.