Then they’re ignorant. Of course they won’t know why he’s passing Nadal if they don’t know what happens for most of the season. What are we supposed to do about that, and how much do we need to accomodate a fan who watches the sport maybe eight weeks a year and has a complaint about the 52-week rankings? Djokovic didn’t get to the top by winning “the Qatar Open,” although he did win one in Dubai. He won the Australian and he’s been winning other big tournaments like Miami and Indian Wells and Rome.
Nadal is now serving to send the first set to a tiebreak. And Murray breaks to win the set!
Nadal just won a point with a volley at an incredible angle. He won the second set 6-2, and it looked like Murray strained something in his leg or his hip a few games ago. It would make sense for him to get some treatment here if he’s that uncomfortable.
Yeah, this is bad news. Beating Nadal is hard enough; doing it when you’re injured is a huge undertaking. I’m surprised he didn’t call the trainer to take a look at his hip before he went out to serve again. He’s already fought off two break points and now he just missed a forehand to give Nadal a third. And there’s the break for Nadal.
I really want to root for Murray, but he does this crap Slam after Slam, whether in the Semi or if he makes it the Final. He faces a little pressure* and he just gives up the offense (if he ever starts) and goes pure defense. Defense will not win you a GS title (Wozniacki, I’m looking at you here too).
That and Murray’s defeatist attitude once he lost the 2nd set - Dude! It’s one set - all it did was just tie it up, but you already have yourself back in the locker room giving your post-match rationalization of why you lost.
*Yes, I realize that Nadal has like a 13th gear that he can turn on when he’s got his back against the wall, but that’s no reason for Murray to just give up.
Kvitova looks great so far. She won the first set 6-3 and is up a break at 2-1 in the second. I’m seeing very few nerves from her and all she needs to do now is hold serve a few times.
I still don’t know what happened to Murray yesterday. I thought the hip was bothering him for a while, but after the first few games he was moving fine. He just seemed demoralized even before he’d lost the second set. I don’t get it at all.
After a long series of breaks, Kvitova finally holds serve. Looks like she’ll be serving for the match at 5-4.
He’s made three major finals and lost all three in straight sets, which does indicate a mental problem. But I thought that was different. In all three of those matches, he started off tight and didn’t play his own game - or didn’t start doing it until he was far behind. This time he was ahead and just seemed to lose it when it looked like Nadal was going to tie the match. I’m having trouble understanding it.
Some sloppy tennis in the 2nd set from both players, but Kvitova made enough good shots to win the Championship. Congratz to Petra Kvitova, 2011 Wimbledon Ladies Champion.
I’m glad that Kvitova won. I do have some difficulty with that grunting of Sharapovas. She is easy on the eye though.
Question for you folks who have far more knowledge and have seen a lot more tennis than I have.
Federer- is he now finished? It seems only 12 months ago we were discussing whether he was the best of all time, and (I believe it was Marley) mentioned that it was difficult to say as he may not even be the best of the present time.
It’s hard to say a guy is finished when he’s #3 in the world. He’s not the best player right now, but he’s my pick for best ever. He could still compete for major titles and if you can make a final, I think you can win. And I do think he’s playing well now. But it’s true that he hasn’t won one since the 2010 Australian.
Even if Nadal wins tomorrow he wlll need another 6 slams to get more than Federer. That equates to another 2 or 3 years at current ability and intensity and to be honest I think he is likely to encounter a wider spread of opposition than previously.
Anyhow,who cares? Both Nadal and Federer will end their careers being recognised as potentially the best ever. Nadal is certainly the most brutal power hitter I’ve ever seen, and Federer without doubt the most beautiful striker of a tennis ball I’ve ever seen.
Federer is my pick for best ever. IMO, The only reason why his record against Nadal is poor is because he was so good on clay, and Nadal was nearly unbeatable. But until recently, Nadal always lost before he played Fed at Grass, Hard Courts and Carpet. If Nadal had been better on those surfaces (earlier in his career), I am sure that Federer’s record against Nadal would have been better.
Nadal is better as far as the record is concerned. Nadal has won two Wimbledon when Federar was playing and could well add a third. Fed’s only French Open came after Nadal was injured.
Its telling. When Nadal reached the Wimbledon Final in 2006, it was clearly due to good form and good luck and Federar was the winner easily. In 2007, I remember thinking that Nasal had improved much and Fed was still at the same level and that Nadal was the better player. Fed even said so in his speech afterwards.
Nadal has improved beyond all recognition. Fed has not gotten better after 2005-2006, though to be fair its hard to get any better,