Wimbledon 2014: MOTD Day 4 Thu 26/06/2014

Here is the menu for Thursday:

Lukas Rosol  (CZE) [33]
v
Rafael Nadal  (ESP) [2]


Gilles Muller  (LUX) [33]
v
Roger Federer  (SUI) [4]


Stan Wawrinka  (SUI) [5]
v
Yen-Hsun Lu  (TPE) [33]


Richard Gasquet  (FRA) [13]
v
Nick Kyrgios  (AUS) [33]


Jerzy Janowicz  (POL) [15]
v
Lleyton Hewitt  (AUS) [33]


Adrian Mannarino  (FRA) [33]
v
Tommy Robredo  (ESP) [23]


Marcel Granollers  (ESP) [30]
v
Santiago Giraldo  (COL) [33]

everyone

My picks:

Rosol
Federer
Wawrinka
Gasquet
Hewitt
Mannarino
Giraldo

Rosol
Federer
Lu
Gasquet
JJ
Mannerino
Giraldo

I really want Rosol to win, given how much Nadal has shouted his mouth off about being "injured" in their last encounter and it not counting.  I am sick of that idiot.  COME ON ROSOL!

Nadal (no way is Rosol going to win again)
Federer
Wawrinka
Gasquet
Hewitt
Mannarino
Granollers

Lets relive this moment from 2 years ago: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9SeKOokG9M

Rosol, Federer, Lu, Kyrgios, Granollers, Hewitt, Robredo

https://ourtennisforum.forumotion.co.uk/t124-lest-we-forget-lukas-rosol-appreciation-thread?highlight=

May the Legend of Sir Rosol The Great continue to live its Centre Court glory!  

Vesely-Monfils is going to be a very interesting match, curious to see how the Cheerful/Happy plays on grass.
Also whether Sock can upset Raonic. After seeing him at Boodles, I don't think it's that far-fetched at all, the guy looks very natural on grass.
Also, the SBH pride of Serbia, Nobody-Bagels-Lajovic taking on Kubot. 
Go Duci !

Here we go...

1. Rosol - don't believe, he will really win unfortunately, but the odds for Nadal are way too bad, only two points , so anyway go Lukas, prove me wrong!!!
2. Federer - Muller is a tricky opponent though, please be careful Fed
3. Lu - Wawrinka always good for an upset on grass
4. Gasquet- Kyrgios will be good, but not quite there yet
5. Hewitt - Janowicz is not in last year's shape
6. Mannarino hopefully
7. Giraldo - surprised, Granollers made it to second round

Only watched 10 minutes of the coverage so far and already some hilarious things.

Ha! Just listening to an interview with Toni. The BBC referring to him "Let's hear from Uncle Toni"

I find Toni's 'plural pronouns' hilarious. "For us, the match was difficult." "We play always with pain." "We will try."

Also, Toni said "When Rafa was young, my dream was to win Wimbledon."   

Sue just said Rafa and Bjorn are the only one to do the French/Wimbledon double in the Open era. What about Federer!

Toni is a bit of a legend, though!

https://ourtennisforum.forumotion.co.uk/t296-toni-nadal?highlight=

My predictions:

1. Rosol
2. Roger Federer
3. Stan Wawrinka 
4. Richard Gasquet 
5. Lleyton Hewitt 
6. Robredo
7. Giraldo

C'mon Rosol!!!

Can't watch dammit!

What's happening? scoreboard looks good. Rosol up with a set and a break

Just got back from playing. 
4:4, 2nd set
Nadal just won a point with all the pathetic fat, screaming, middle-aged women fiercely behind him...
Rosol just blasts two return winners, 40:30

Rosol serving 4:5.
GO ROSSY!!!!!!!!

Brilliant hold, 5 all. Rosol looking and playing the same as 2012.

The ball doesn't stand the chance when Rosol lines it up on his FH.
6:5

TIE BREAK!

Rosol serving well
Awesome point for 2:1 
GO ROSSSSSYYYYY!!!!!  

One set all.

Haha Rosol just knocked Nadal's bottle over.

Did he really?
Wow!
My respect for Rosol The Legend has now hit stratospheric levels!
What a guy....   

Yeah, he just casually flicked it over with his racquet as he was walking by after change of ends at 4-3. Commentators didn't notice.

I only watched early into the 3rd set, but once again Nadal looks so ordinary. How does the guy continue to win?   Rosol was okay- certainly showed no fear and served well, but also easy mistakes....   Nadal did nothing special -  that tiebreak was all on Rosol screwing up.  Yet, the comms lather the praise onto Nadal. Rosol misses a routine volley, then double fauts- and the comms "no one competes like Nadal, he loves the fight, you just saw that competitor come out!!"    What?  He hits routine short balls that his oppoinent flubs and that's Nadals greatness... smh.

Looks like the seeds that would have faced him in the fourth round are gone too.. of course.  Some decent young players there, but once again, Nadal getting the breaks.  It's up to Nish or Raonic now.. If not, I fear Nadal is going all the way.

He continues to win because that style of play won't go away on a slower surface. Which grass now is.  Any faster, and he's dust.  It's like how Selby beat Ronnie in Snooker world final, despite being ridiculously crap for the first 10 frames (and average thereafter).  The game of snooker also favours slow tedious grinders.  They bog the game down, they take the faster and better players out of their comfort zone, and they slowly dismantle them by boring and pathetic percentage play.

It only goes wrong for them if:

a. They get older
b. The conditions change and suit the attacker instead
c. To some degree, they don't get the luck

I just had a look at the draw, and assuming Nadal beats Kukushkin on Saturday (does anyone remember Kuku's stunned face in Rosol's box in 2012?), I really look forward to either Vesely or Kyrgios taking him on, should be a great match as both are very talented and great servers!
Kyrgi's got plenty of belief and charisma, so all is not lost...yet!

I'm really dissapointed Nadal made it. I couldn't watch but the score suggested he should have taken the second set.
Nadal will be hard to beat now, but Djoko should do it.

Yes, shame Rosol let Nadal off the hook in that TB, he was 5:4 up and serving.
I don't know whether it was the nerves or stg else (his left shoulder was heavily taped), but it was just a few missed 1st serves that made the difference.
Nadal was again a joke to watch on grass with that ugly, moonball FH.

Vesely/Kyrgios could definitely knock him out. Kyrgios is a bit like Monfils minus the swings and lapses, better serve, too.

On a different note, a surprise exit for Kholi def.by Bolleli.

Nice serving from Fed today. Nothing much else to say really...just enjoying watching him.  

holy moly that guy Federer can serve!  Save it for the semis Fed.

Another disappointing performance from Nadal here.  Rosol just gifted the all-important second set to Nadal with a series of UFEs. Don't know whether his shoulders bothered him or whether the pressure of having to win the second set got to him. After Rosol lost the second set, I knew it was over and time for another heartbreak.

Good on Kyrgios for sending Gasquet home after saving 9 (!) match points. He or Vesely will be more able to give a match to Nadal. Kyrgios is incredibly strong for a 19 year old, I'd have thought, he was older. Not really an upset here... Upset of the day for me Kholschreiber vs. Bolelli, though I don't know what happened there.

Incredible serving day for Fed. Muller was only able to return 31% of his serves into the field. Also rather strong returning and it's important that none of his matches were taxing physically so far. That might be important later on. Loved his little dig at Nadal and McEnroe in the post-match interview.    ("I don't see any point in taking more than 10 secs between serves" - paraphrased; bet , he does see the point though which is extending rallies)