Wimbledon Day 6

Two great matches on the cards on CC!


http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/schedule/pdf/schedulePDF13.pdf

It pains me to see players like Stan and Delpo out and guys like Donaldson and Ofner still in.

Who are they!!!?

Even Ferrer has made it....

I suppose everyone wants to see Nole out tomorrow, just like Nadal today.

I don't think Ernie has the head for it.
He was choking a bit even against Delpo yesterday being two sets and a break up.

But Nole is still not cemented in his confidence, so there is a tiny hypothetical window for Ernie.

Zverev v Federer will be decent, though the court just depresses me. Not long now for Federer t raise his level.

Gulbis is a talented airhead, Djokovic in 3.

I think Fed will raise his level when he needs to, as he did in Halle.

bogbrush wrote:Zverev v Federer will be decent, though the court just depresses me. Not long now for Federer t raise his level.

Gulbis is a talented airhead, Djokovic in 3.

On the plus side, the court will depress Misha Zverev even more.

BTW, have we seen great BHs from Federer yet on this surface? I have not watch much of him yet.

Tenez wrote:BTW, have we seen great BHs from Federer yet on this surface? I have not watch much of him yet.

He hits mostly slices. The bounce is too uneven for him to go for it. Like i said: there is no neo BH on "grass"

Yep....Nadal can whack teh ball on the BH though but he has 2 firm hands on the grip and twice as big a sweat spot as a result.

Tenez wrote:BTW, have we seen great BHs from Federer yet on this surface? I have not watch much of him yet.

From what I saw Federer looks his 2015/16 self. No great backhands.

Today is a good chance for practising some dtl as Zverev will be s&v-ing lots I guess.

Fed looked unsure of himself. There is no freshness and joy in his face. More bewilderment.

Wimbledon is not AO.

The more time passes by, the more I realise that Aussies sped up conditions to give Fed a chance.

Good on them!

They haven't sold themselves like everyone else.


I like their tennis tradition. The old school is still running the show there.

Would be good to see Manna in week 2. I saw him play the other day, still has that beautiful, silent timing.

Monfils had his chances in the past.

Not sure speed is the issue. Indian Wells and Miami weren't fast but they were true surfaces.

Wimbledon has really damaged its reputation here. It's really the "Primus inter pares" of Slams but this isn't acceptable for a 250 event. It's no good them whining about the weather when play is for 7/8 hours a day, the length if the grass is their decision.

I understand they're desperately drenching the Courts overnight to keep the grass alive, fearing a collapse. It's not unthinkable that the grass dies off catastrophically and the courts become dust bowls. This wouldn't turn it into clay but into a densely compacted form that would dangerous as well as Nadals wet dream.

Dimitrov looking pretty sharp so far today.

Zverev is not the player Federer wants if he wants to be in a groove before the match against Dimitrov.

Won't get any rhythm against Zverev.

He's gonna have to find his form against Dimitrov because the match against Raonic/Zverev Jr also won't give him much rhythm due to lots of short points.

And if he's not in his baseline groove against Novak he'll be going out.

Perhaps, though Federer isn't going to win this event from the back. My worry is that he needs to be ultra aggressive but for that he needs to have confidence in the bounce.

Agree that Federer needs to shorten points and that means plenty of forays to the net. However the nature of the game today means that he will still spend most of his time on the baseline constructing points and if his timing is off he'll be out of the points before he can even get to the net.

Hoping Gulbis can pull of the upset but he's usually the kind of guy that can look like a world beater against lowly opposition but can't bring it against the best.

Of course Screech may still be fragile so if Erny can put the pressure on him...

Nice return game

Just started watching, what a pass from Nole!

Emancipator wrote:Of course Screech may still be fragile so if Erny can put the pressure on him...

He does not look fragile at all.

He is back and hungry.

Emancipator wrote:Of course Screech may still be fragile so if Erny can put the pressure on him...

He does not look fragile at all.

He is back and hungry.

Earnie looks stupid with this bushy beard, same as Paire.

Should keep it shorter.

Interesting to listen to Becker now commentating on Nole's match.

Gulbis unravelling.

... wrote:Interesting to listen to Becker now commentating on Nole's match.

He said he loves him.

Dimitrov is looking deadly as I expected and Fed's in trouble if he doesn't bring his best.  Gulbis is another mental midget it seems... None of these guys can hold a break and most can't even get one. He threw that set away.

So good to see a pleasant face like Ancic's in Nole's box.
Brilliant choice!

Even Andre looks peacefull and chilled.
What a contrast to last year.

Daniel wrote:Dimitrov is looking deadly as I expected and Fed's in trouble if he doesn't bring his best.  Gulbis is another mental midget it seems... None of these guys can hold a break and most can't even get one. He threw that set away.

He is looking deadly because he is playing Dudi Sela.

When will you understand that vital element of the game: The Opponent....

Gulbis is same as Fognini, can't defend.

... wrote:

Daniel wrote:Dimitrov is looking deadly as I expected and Fed's in trouble if he doesn't bring his best.  Gulbis is another mental midget it seems... None of these guys can hold a break and most can't even get one. He threw that set away.

He is looking deadly because he is playing Dudi Sela.

When will you understand that vital element of the game: The Opponent....

You said the same about Raonic ... then look what happened.  You think this is 2006. I am well aware what a match up is and how much an opponent matters because I actually play tennis.   Dimitrov is the hardest 4th round opponent Fed could have faced and he could easily go out.  I've been saying that from the start.  Even M Zverev isn't a gimme.  Cause, you know, Fed is 36 now.  Not 26.

this is turning out to be a complete white wash
thought that gulbis would at least make this a competitive match when he was a break up

Veejay wrote:this is turning out to be a complete white wash
thought that gulbis would at least make this a competitive match when he was a break up

Well, he should have....  it wasn't lacking fitness or ability or Djokovic that did it.  It was just a complete meltdown. He threw the set away and now he's playing shite. Looks like 9-1 at the bookies was right after all haha.

No love lost between Nole and Earnie.

Shut up Djoko!

Tenez wrote:Shut up Djoko!

I think that's his reply to Gulbis' thrash-talk before the match.

Those courts give no chance to attackers. In spite of a great serve Gulbis loses in 3.

... wrote:

Tenez wrote:Shut up Djoko!

I think that's his reply to Gulbis' thrash-talk before the match.

Well he had those same growls at the FO. More to do with him trying to get out of his pit.

Tenez wrote:

... wrote:

Tenez wrote:Shut up Djoko!

I think that's his reply to Gulbis' thrash-talk before the match.

Well he had those same growls at the FO. More to do with him trying to get out of his pit.

Just the words I was going to type.

Tenez wrote:Those courts give no chance to attackers. In spite of a great serve Gulbis loses in 3.

But incosistent.
Cilic is a much better version, he can move well and is not scared of moving inside the court.

Anyway, look forward to some proper grass tennis now.

Bring it on!

Does Fed really need this bandana!

On a second thought, if Fed does lose today or on Monday, I may yet have to root for Nole's form to come back

Federer looking a bit nervous early on

Federer will be fine.  One of the reasons he looks so-so is because he is confident enough to stay in the second gear.  Unlike in say 2014-15 when he needed to play closer to full speed from early on.

Or so I believe.

And that will calm the nerves

he does seem quite nervous 
he is clearly having to deal with a load of expectation,some of it placed on himself by skipping the clay season and by everyone else because of the start to his season

... wrote:

Tenez wrote:Those courts give no chance to attackers. In spite of a great serve Gulbis loses in 3.

But incosistent.
Cilic is a much better version, he can move well and is not scared of moving inside the court.

Sure, inconsistent but typically his shots should not come back so easily, hence his inconsistency shoudl be less exposed.