Wimbledon Day 11, Friday 12th July

Guys, just got to Wales having gone over the dodgy route to Bala and, unbelievably, pulled in as my son phoned to celebrate.
I couldn’t trust myself with the radio!

What a relief!! I’m do, so pleased, a legacy win.

noleisthebest wrote:

DEC1M8 wrote:Nadal fought really well, and some of his shots to save match points were unbelievable. Fed in 4 I'd say was the fair result.

I must say I expected more from him. Esp in these playing conditions. Fed did play well but Rafa was not up to his finest.
He simply disappeared after the third set, very unlike him.

Yes I agree, Nadal was below par. As I pointed out his FH DTL was not firing at all. He was also not dealing well with the low bounce of the court (court reminded me of o2 arena, slow low bouncing), and lost balance a few times when the ball was low to his BH side.

noleisthebest wrote:
Did he carry any injuries?

Nope.

Jahu wrote:

DEC1M8 wrote:Someone tell Bogbrush the result before he starts speeding on this dangerous drive to get home quickly!

What you talking about? He has a chauffeur. Never mind his middle class talk here to blend with us 

The Hell I have!!

I’m a man if the people. My daughters tell me I look like a Chav in my crap trainers, scruffy tee shirt and Cotton Trader shorts.

bogbrush wrote:

Jahu wrote:

DEC1M8 wrote:Someone tell Bogbrush the result before he starts speeding on this dangerous drive to get home quickly!

What you talking about? He has a chauffeur. Never mind his middle class talk here to blend with us 

The Hell I have!!

I’m a man if the people. My daughters tell me I look like a Chav in my crap trainers, scruffy tee shirt and Cotton Trader shorts.

Hahaha still classier than Geroge from Asda 

Vajda, Ivanisevic, Ancic plotting now hahaha

Nadal seemed to have blisters maybe on the foot. Anyways, his shots were also getting shorter as he was getting more tired, he's not that young anymore either, lots of mileage.

Already bet on Djoker for the F. Will I be 3 out of 3 in bets lost? Will Djoker be 3 out of 3 in Finals won over Fed at WB?... Only thing we can say for sure, both answers cannot be yes 

Ok guys (and girls),  just tell me what I need to hear.

Could this Federer win on Sunday?

bogbrush wrote:Ok guys (and girls),  just tell me what I need to hear.

Could this Federer win on Sunday?

No. Not because he was not good, but because Nole is better.

If todays Djoko shows up, Fed will in 3.

If todays Fed shows up from last 2 sets, he can beat Djoko in any form.

If not tired.

sphairistike wrote:Nadal seemed to have blisters maybe on the foot.

All tennis players probably have all sorts of minor stuff like that, it's not really a reason or excuse for his display. He looked nervous from the start, and didn't settle in.

I think Djokovic will win in 4 sets in the final.

After he beat nicely Fed at RG, why would Rafa be nervous? 

Grass is playing like clay anyway, or Nadal scared of grass.

bogbrush wrote:Ok guys (and girls),  just tell me what I need to hear.

Could this Federer win on Sunday?

Needs to serve a clinic. Djokovic will eat up anything below 120mph. That's the last 2 matches whereby Federer has started slowly.

Wow, the Nole corwd love is carrying over even into Today At Wimbledon, and it's THE VERY FIRST QUESTION the lezo commentator asks.

Hehe.

nitb...federer is37/ 38. let us all know where djok is at that age. djok hasn't a prayer of beating most of feds records. so get used to it. djok has lucked his way to this final. second easiest draw behind nadals last US open win. glad thw cheating CUNT nadal is out. good riddance to him and his fans again. I'll be watching highlights later (im playing in tennis tournament) and laugh over a few beers

Daniel2 wrote:nitb...federer is37/ 38. let us all know where djok is at that age. djok hasn't a prayer of beating most of feds records. so get used to it.  djok has lucked his way to this final. second easiest draw behind nadals last US open win. glad thw cheating CUNT nadal is out. good riddance to him and his fans again. I'll be watching highlights later (im playing in tennis tournament) and laugh over a few beers

Federer was dismissed as old and ripe for retirement back in 2012 by everyone on this forum ```9and v2) except Tenez and myself.
Back then, Federer was 30-31, and that is a 1-2 years younger than current Nole who is 32.

So, although Fed is brilliant at 37-38 and the first one to be doing so, it doesn't mean Nole won't.
If he is healthy and motivated (like Fed), you can bet he'll be chasing all Fed's records.

bogbrush wrote:Ok guys (and girls),  just tell me what I need to hear.

Could this Federer win on Sunday?

I give him virtually no chance. He can still defend like a wall and his return will put Fed under pressure immediately. Rafa's returning today was atrocious. Screech also serves better than Nadal. Just cannot see how Federer can hurt him at this age on this slow surface. He doesn't have the legs to rally from the baseline. 

The only hope is a gale force wind.

Interesting comments from Nadal in his press conference. Stated he felt uncomfortable on the BH side and couldn't get his movement right. Wasn't happy with his returning either. Didn't comment on his energy levels.

Federer has a decent chance but serve is key. shame grass isnow more like clay

Nadal was really the whole match absolutely stressed out. He is not used to have much less crowd support than his opponent and it was the key in this match. With French frenetic crowd he would be a different player. 
His forehand balls was ending behind the servis line, lost his belief at the net, couple of poor volleys and lobs, just one.
Fed saw it pretty well and was rushing him even more with his a half step inside the court. But he can really thank the crowds which supported him well in the third set.

Sweet.

Our boss turned the TV on for the match today so - unexpectedly - our afternoon became less productive and more entertaining.

I only saw bits and pieces (1st set TB, none of 2nd set, bits of 3rd and 4th, and the last few games in the 4th).  But from what I saw my impression was a little different than what I am seeing here.

Reading this here, I would think the match was quite low quality, but that was not my feeling at all.  I thought they both played at decent enough level.

I thought the difference compared to the past was, once again, that Fed is now able to hit the balls off BH and does not allow Rafa to force him on defensive.

I was quite impressed with how well Fed seemed to be holding his own in the rallies.

If Fed can recover well enough for the final - and I hope he can as this match was not excessively long - I think he is in with a very good chance.

Unlike Rafa, Nole does not have a match-up advantage vs Fed.  My impression in the past always was almost the other way around - that Fed can do better vs Nole than what just plain form would suggest.

The last two times they played here, and also in their 2015 USO, Fed's groundies were worse than now - especially off BH, and yet he kept it relatively close.

noleisthebest wrote:but he did..because he is simply that good. It took me awhile to get it, but I'm glad I did.

Oh my goodness.  Someone stole your account.  Where is the crazy nitb we have learnt to love?

Today Fed/Rafa SF = 70 years old together and $230m playing on the court.

Many contrats to Federer and his fans. Great champion. Nadal did a good tournament, bit he is not as good as Roger or Novak on grass

A few days ago I saw this:

https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Roger_Federer/73625/roger-federer-wimbledon-court-speed-is-like-wine-/

Here Federer is quoted to say that Wimbledon may be slower this year but also that:

The ball bounces five centimetres less than the past year. That's a big difference.

I do not know how reliable that site is and I have not seen this quote anywhere else but I was reminded of it again today while watching Fed vs Rafa.

I do not think I remember Rafa ever struggling here with Fed's slices as much as today.  There were a number of occasions where he found it very difficult to hit the ball from that far low - which never used to be the case in the past.

What do you think, could that quote be real and true?  If so, that could also play into Fed's hands vs Nole who has been notoriously poor dealing with low slices (though much better now than in the past).

noleisthebest wrote:IDEMO MAJSTOREEEEE!!!

I am done with this

That’s good enough to give me hope for now.

If he won this one then I’d put this at the top of the list.

Fed managed to play to his seeding.

Shame about the draw though.  If he only had to play one of Rafa/Nole, it would have been so much easier.

So Fed wins this Wimbledon and Olympic Gold next year and quits tennis at Basel 2020.

I'm fine with it.

summerblues wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:but he did..because he is simply that good. It took me awhile to get it, but I'm glad I did.

Oh my goodness.  Someone stole your account.  Where is the crazy nitb we have learnt to love?

I keep telling ya but nobody seems to listen:
Nole and I don’t need the crowd’s live any more.

noleisthebest wrote:I dunno about you guys, but this match-up is looking old to me.
No buzz yet. At all.

Looks like it's a matter of time before Fed gets broken and Rafa romps on.

And you claim to have faith?

legendkillar wrote:

Jahu wrote:Have a feeling if Nadal did break for 5:5, he would of gotten the set and totally trash Fed on 5th.

Yep I had that feeling.

This kind of coulda woulda shoulda is much happier than the kind I remember after Fed-Rafa matches from 10+ years ago.

noleisthebest wrote:Strange to see Nadal dispirited.

Not so strange anymore.  He looked dispirited about two games into his AO final vs Nole this year.  Also in most of his matches vs Fed in 2017.

barrystar wrote:Important errors are creeping in - is it mental tiredness?

Someone not having the guts to say simply tiredness...and has to add "mental" not to look to bad for excuses!

Jahu wrote:Tenez can come back too from the closet, its over Sir!! 

I was setting up a marquee and table for a 80 people paella tomorrow .......unfortunately....I only watched the end of the first set.

sphairistike wrote:Nadal seemed to have blisters maybe on the foot. Anyways, his shots were also getting shorter as he was getting more tired, he's not that young anymore either, lots of mileage

That is true. But to be fair, even when young he lost that 5 setter versus Federer on this same court. He looked very tired back then, losing 5 games in a row. The problem is not so much his age, but his style. I have said it many times, Nadal is bluffing his form, Djoko and Federer know this....except that Fed is very tired too.

DEC1M8 wrote:You predicted Fed to win, fine.
But be brave and own it, don't come up with beyond the pale excuses to rely on in case you don't get your prediction right.

I know Fed won...but still I d like to give him a couple of excuses. I noticed he was particularly stiff as he stood up as long as possible on returns when usually he sets himself bending while receiving and again I could see he was particularly tired, missing a few  FHs, which often is a sign of stifness frm him.

Now imagine. What would be the score if Federer were 33 and Nadal 38? Next year Wimbeldon will provide footballs to give him a better chance.

summerblues wrote:

legendkillar wrote:

Jahu wrote:Have a feeling if Nadal did break for 5:5, he would of gotten the set and totally trash Fed on 5th.

Yep I had that feeling.

This kind of coulda woulda shoulda is much happier than the kind I remember after Fed-Rafa matches from 10+ years ago.

Indeed. It was the BP whereby Nadal got the ball in play and was rallying and with memories of the past and expectation I thought he would take it (as he has done previously) and when he missed that BH up line and dumped it in the net. You could see the pain etched on Nadal's face as he knew that was the chance and almost symbolic from previous encounters when Fed has had similar chances. IMO I think if Nadal had taken it, he would've ridden a wave of momentum shift and that horrible OH that Federer missed, would've compounded it more for Federer. 

After that missed BP for Nadal, I knew (feeling of course) that Federer had the match. 

It was by all accounts thrilling because after that horror show second set, I just didn't see how Federer could turn around as convincingly as he did. It was Nadal who lost all self-belief.

legendkillar wrote:

summerblues wrote:

legendkillar wrote:

Jahu wrote:Have a feeling if Nadal did break for 5:5, he would of gotten the set and totally trash Fed on 5th.

Yep I had that feeling.

This kind of coulda woulda shoulda is much happier than the kind I remember after Fed-Rafa matches from 10+ years ago.

Indeed. It was the BP whereby Nadal got the ball in play and was rallying and with memories of the past and expectation I thought he would take it (as he has done previously) and when he missed that BH up line and dumped it in the net. You could see the pain etched on Nadal's face as he knew that was the chance and almost symbolic from previous encounters when Fed has had similar chances. IMO I think if Nadal had taken it, he would've ridden a wave of momentum shift and that horrible OH that Federer missed, would've compounded it more for Federer. 

After that missed BP for Nadal, I knew (feeling of course) that Federer had the match. 

It was by all accounts thrilling because after that horror show second set, I just didn't see how Federer could turn around as convincingly as he did. It was Nadal who lost all self-belief.

Exactly as I saw it as well.  Nadal was visibly nervous as hell and Fed stepped more into the court and did not give him any chance to play in his comfort zone.