Tivoed the match and watched it in while on break from shoveling snow…phew. Good match for Serena. Congrats.
After work on Friday at Beer O’clock we were discussing whether tennis is the most instantly changeable sport on earth. It seems to be a regular event that someone is getting beat up so badly that you wouldn’t back them with someone else’s money and then two games later they are well on top.
This was another example. Henin holds serve in the first game of the final set then gets 3 break points and 4 big serves later the tide has turned.
That was a very good match. Serena went away at the end of the second and beginning of the third, but she did a great job of recovering. Henin made too many errors and couldn’t keep Serena from threatening her serve at the end. Serena also deserves applause for winning three of the last five majors in singles and four of the last five in doubles. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Henin on the comeback trail. She’s only played two tournaments since coming back - you need three to get a ranking - but she has enough points from those two tournaments to be ranked around #38. That’s almost good enough for a seeding by itself, so when the French rolls around she should have a very good seeding.
I think Justine has the prettiest one handed bankhand.
An excellent first set in the men’s final with almost every game fought hard. Then Federer raised his game and won the set quite easily. It will be hard for Murray to come back.
Federer #16.
Straight sets, but a fantastic tiebreak in the 3rd. Fed proves once again he is the greatest of all time.
They saved the best for last tonight, which you had to enjoy. That was a hell of a tiebreak and Murray was tough at the end. For most of the night he was just too timid, which is unfortunate because he’s a very good and tenacious player. He had Federer uneasy at the beginning of the first set, but Federer coped and Murray couldn’t step it up until he was just too far behind.
So the totals keep adding up: 16 major titles, at least one slam win every years for eight years, a win on the old and new hardcourts in Australia, and more breathing room between Federer and his contemporary and historical peers. For all of that it’s not the stats that make Federer the best, it’s the game he plays. He wasn’t his absolute best against Murray but he neutralized Murray’s plans and kept him at arm’s length for most of the match.
I do feel bad for Murray. I didn’t expect him to be as emotional s he was in accepting his trophy- he didn’t break down and weep or anything but he teared up, couldn’t speak much, and was clearly very disappointed. He’s made two slam finals and hasn’t taken a set off Federer in either one. He has the talent to win these and I think he will. He has almost every shot you can come up with, but he needs to play a little more offense and be a little bolder in taking the initiative at key moments. I think he can do all that if he lets go of some of the obvious tension he feels during these matches.
I always like watching Roger win, but I think we are going to see a lot more of Murray in the future. What an amazing tiebreak!
I feel for Murray. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have to play Federer with the weight of Great Britain’s expectations on his shoulders. I definitely think the tears were more for feeling he had let his (adoptive) country down.
Adoptive? He was born here. In any case, I don’t think he’s too fussed about the “for the country” thing, and quite right, too. Even at Wimbledon he’s always played this down as much as possible.
Federer’s grand slam record in the last 5/6 years is one of the very greatest achievements in any major sport. 23 consecutive semi-finals and 18 out of the last 19 finals. No one in the history of tennis has even come close to these numbers.
Before him perhaps Sampras in 93-97 was the most dominant over a five year period and even if you remove the French he doesn’t come close to Federer in terms of consistency; he missed the semis four times in the 15 non-clay slams over that period.
But yes as Marley said it's his game that sets him apart from other champions. Also his mental reslience which is often underestimated. His two big defeats against Nadal would have crushed many other champions; each time he came back with a slam win.I read his quote as meaning that his adoptive country was Australia. I could be wrong.
:smack:
Actually, I meant he was born in Scotland, but England has claimed him as their own.
Amazing how things always sound so right in my head, but that’s where it ends!
Yet, your posting used the term “United Kingdom.” The UK is not equal to England. 
I don’t think the whole Fred Perry thing is related to Murray’s coming up short in slam finals. Sports writers love to make hay out of that kind of crap, but other than maybe at Wimbledon I don’t think it affects his game. He’s lost twice because he’s faced a great opponent and because of how his game is.
By the way, here are the current rankings. Nadal is down to four but he probably won’t go any lower as long as he gets back healthy in a month. Djokovic has never been ranked #2 before. Cilic is in the top ten for the first time and Soderling is still #8 (career high) even though he didn’t do too well here.
1 Roger Federer 11350
2 Novak Djokovic 8310
3 Andy Murray 7800
4 Rafael Nadal 7570
5 Juan Martín del Potro 6400
6 Nikolay Davydenko 5290
7 Andy Roddick 4150
8 Sweden Robin Söderling 3375
9 France Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3235
10 Croatia Marin Čilić 2970
Technically, I said “Great Britain”. 
Either way, I didn’t say what I meant to say.
That preview button is probably there to benefit people like me.
I really do know that the United Kingdom/Great Britain is not the same thing as England!! I swear I do.
Heh heh, we deliberately keep it confusing to outwit furriners.
Seriously, though, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard about England “claiming” Murray, I’d be a rich man. Well, I could probably buy a nice meal. By contrast, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve actually heard someone (from the UK) describe him as English, I’d have 10 cents. It’s one of those tropes that’s gained a life of its own. Seen on twitter, this made me laugh: