Wimbledon Day 3

Oh I agree, it looks dead slow. The rallies are really long.

Meanwhile, everyone seems to talk about the slow conditions. Why have they done it, WHY?

DY is a pusher. No weapons.

Emancipator wrote:DY is a pusher. No weapons.

Not quite, He has a james blake'ish FH. But not big enough serve and a weak BH.
This 'll be another easy win for Nadal.

Emancipator wrote:Ok, time for OTF's second favourite player to watch.

Get the voodoo dolls out.

Nah.
Miss Ostapenko, any time.

Nadal only under duress.
Young has zero chance and I am not a masochist.

gallery play wrote:

Emancipator wrote:DY is a pusher. No weapons.

Not quite, He has a james blake'ish FH. But not big enough serve and a weak BH.
This 'll be another easy win for Nadal.

REally? it looks soft and spinny with too much wrist.

Blake was flat and fast (and eyes closed most of the time)

Jelena needs to move a step back on grass asap.
However painful it may be in her head.

Daniel wrote:

Tenez wrote:Forget about Khacha stopping Nadal...won't happen...not close. 3 sets...if he gets past Monteiro!!!!. On this courts it's going to be between Nadal and Fed or Djoko. More inclined to go for Djoko actually.

You think every single surface is exactly the same speed and bounce - and they aren't.

No I think this wimby is slower than the FO actually. Nadal will march through as easily, until he meets Djoko or federer.

Daniel wrote:If Nadal had either Rosol or Brown again he'd lose again.  Luckily, he's escaped them.  I just hope Young can bring something.

And you think cause they did it once they can do it again? You can't see that this Nadal and the conds are quite different from those last matches you are referring.

Typical. Cause Zverev beat Federer in Halle once you thought he 'd do it again. You can't see the variation in a player's form.

Young doing some S&V, great athlete, 0 brain.

not as boring a match as i thought it would be
some great moments..
interesting to see how much nadal is coming into the net and how successful he has been too

Ok Donald now just on attack, might as well loosen up now and just hit on Rafa.

I think Nadal will go far this year thanks to the conditions but had he played against Federer today, he would have been demolished. Young had some patches (very few though) in which he hit the ball well, NAdal immediately looked rushed. Young gave NAdal way too many free points.

Meanwhile Young finally breaks as Nadal served for the match..

nadal getting really tight!!
thats why donald young wont win anything significant,break point second serve..blows it

Young should take this set, been the better player, and just tire Nadal a little.

And a DF...young is just not ready for matches like these

Nadal has looked very beatable to me today, but then again he probably hasn't felt threatened by DY.

Nadal plays more aggressive than he can handle. My hope is he'll pay the price  at some point for not having a well balanced game/tactic.  His hope is on the further drying of the courts so he can go back to his comfort zone

Hopefully the 3rd round against Khachanov is a bit more testing, though he's not shone.

I'd be happy with Katch winning first set in a TB.

Then Nadal starts moonballing in the 2nd and Katch blows him off the court somehow.

Then Nadal gets nervous but so does Katch and Nadal somehow scrambles the third.

Finally, Katch starts swinging in the fourth realising David Beckahm, his childhood hero, is watching him (I invented this bit)

And that's it.

That moron McEnroe is running out of superlatives on Nadal.  

I miss Mats. He's also playing the mandatory media show but you can "read" between the lines how he really sees it.

gallery play wrote:That moron McEnroe is running out of superlatives on Nadal.  

I miss Mats. He's also playing the mandatory media show but you can "read" between the lines how he really sees it.

i know!! pass me the bucket!!

McEnroe should ask how someone he has called the greatest before loses to rank 100s at Wimbledon 4 years on the trot in his prime.

John has the memory of a goldfish.

bogbrush wrote:Hopefully the 3rd round against Khachanov is a bit more testing, though he's not shone.

It won't be. Khacha was appalling today.

Tenez wrote:

bogbrush wrote:Hopefully the 3rd round against Khachanov is a bit more testing, though he's not shone.

It won't be. Khacha was appalling today.

It's going to be very reminiscent of the Nadal v Soderling matches...except for the famous one nadal lost of course.

gallery play wrote:That moron McEnroe is running out of superlatives on Nadal.  

I miss Mats. He's also playing the mandatory media show but you can "read" between the lines how he really sees it.

I was such a mcEnroe fan (after Borg retired). Now everything about him irritates me.

bogbrush wrote:John has the memory of a goldfish.

He is just a sales rep.

Tenez wrote:

Tenez wrote:

bogbrush wrote:Hopefully the 3rd round against Khachanov is a bit more testing, though he's not shone.

It won't be. Khacha was appalling today.

It's going to be very reminiscent of the Nadal v  Soderling matches...except for the famous one nadal lost of course.

Maybe it's a big ask to expect a 20 yo to play his best of attacking tennis on CC for a min of three sets.

He does not look talented enough to do it (in the consistent sense)

Nadal's next opponent is his first true test. It's not M Zverev, but it is someone capable of beating him on grass. Cilic will demolish Nadal anyway if they meet.

Exactly. he has power but can he handle Nadal's power? he struggled v Monteiro who has a 1/3 of nadal's power.

Yeah but Nadal is also hitting a load of balls short and he hates taller players on grass.  Look at his track record there. Players who can crunch balls back flat on grass he doesn't have an answer for.

Pretty good v Soderling, Berdych, Delpo, who can all crush the ball too.

Cilic will wreck Nadal if they meet. Daniel right

Main reason will be Nadal's serve is not good enough, Cilic will destroy Nadal's serve with huge returns. And Cilic himself is serving huge, served tonnes of aces today in 3 sets.
In rallies Nadal will still have the edge but it won't get to that with the ace and return ace bonanza.
I understand tennis

Tenez wrote:Pretty good v Soderling, Berdych, Delpo, who can all crush the ball too.

You mean Soderling, one of only two people to beat Nadal at RG?  And Delpo who blew him away at US? And this was in his prime / peak.  Nadal doesn't have no chance - but it's slim.

@Tenez.  You see, Decima can actually look at this objectively, despite the fact Nadal is their N1 player.  You can't.  When it came to RG, I was happy Fed pulled out and I knew his chances on clay were next to zero and said so. But you and a few others here ratted on about Federer making a mistake - and about how he had a great chance.  That's the difference here.  There's no shame in admitting that Federer's chances ar RG are slim - any more than there is admitting Nadal's Wimbledon chances are slim. It's their weakest surfaces.  Federer's serve and shot making is severely hampered on clay and Nadal's high bounce top spin to the backhand is more effective.  And on grass it's the other way around. Not as much as it should be given homogenization... but still significant.

Yes you right i mean those 3 players who have beaten Nadal on clay but could not register a single win on what you call "grass".
This is not the flushing green grass of the 90s. It is cactus land, played with birthday balloons. Nadal is a favourite here.

H2H is 4-1 for Nadal anyway, and Cilic never passed through QF

for sure, should they meet, it will be a test for Nadal, but I wouldnt be so sure about cilic beating him

naxroy wrote:H2H is 4-1 for Nadal anyway, and Cilic never passed through QF

for sure, should they meet, it will be a test for Nadal, but I wouldnt be so sure about cilic beating him

Yes, but was always stopped by red hot players - Djokovic and Federer in the last two years and by the skin of their teeth.
Cilic plays very well in Wimbledon, and I think he's matured as a competitor.

I think he'd relish taking Nadal on this time.

well, I wish they meet, that would mean Nadal made it to second week which is good considering last 5 years

... wrote:

naxroy wrote:H2H is 4-1 for Nadal anyway, and Cilic never passed through QF

for sure, should they meet, it will be a test for Nadal, but I wouldnt be so sure about cilic beating him

Yes, but was always stopped by red hot players - Djokovic and Federer in the last two years and by the skin of their teeth.
Cilic plays very well in Wimbledon, and I think he's matured as a competitor.

I think he'd relish taking Nadal on this time.

Federer was very average last year - Cilic threw it away. He's the toughest possible opponent for Rafa but it would still be a big surprise if Cilic beat him.

Slippy wrote:

... wrote:

naxroy wrote:H2H is 4-1 for Nadal anyway, and Cilic never passed through QF

for sure, should they meet, it will be a test for Nadal, but I wouldnt be so sure about cilic beating him

Yes, but was always stopped by red hot players - Djokovic and Federer in the last two years and by the skin of their teeth.
Cilic plays very well in Wimbledon, and I think he's matured as a competitor.

I think he'd relish taking Nadal on this time.

Federer was very average last year - Cilic threw it away. He's the toughest possible opponent for Rafa but it would still be a big surprise if Cilic beat him.

Exactly. At that stage in the tournament Nadal would be a firm favourite.

It's ironic that Daniel, despite pointing the finger at others, has no objectivity when it comes to Nadal.

Decima is just doing his usual playing down of expectations/reverse jinxing.

naxroy wrote:well, I wish they meet, that would mean Nadal made it to second week which is good considering last 5 years

Yes that's very true, a large disclaimer to my Cilic Nadal prediction is seeing if Nadal gets to the second week first.

naxroy wrote:H2H is 4-1 for Nadal anyway, and Cilic never passed through QF

for sure, should they meet, it will be a test for Nadal, but I wouldnt be so sure about cilic beating him

I've watched both Nadal and Cilic R1&2 so far this year and I can see what will happen if they meet in QF, the past is the past.
Cilic and Raonic were the two toughest QF opponents, but as a match up Cilic is the worst for Nadal due to his return of serve. To beat Cilic, as Djokovic and Federer did in 5 sets in the last 2 years respectively, you need a relatively good serve to give yourself a shot. Nadal doesn't have that.

Emancipator wrote:
It's ironic that Daniel, despite pointing the finger at others, has no objectivity when it comes to Nadal.

Daniel has admitted he dislikes Nadal, but in terms of his analysis of how others are overrating Nadal's chances at Wimbledon this year he is spot on, unfortunately for me.

Emancipator wrote:
Decima is just doing his usual playing down of expectations/reverse jinxing.

Not at all, I am simply doing an analysis of a potential match. If Cilic loses early so Nadal can get to SF, I think he will have some chances to win against Murray if he plays his best tennis.

Daniel does not know that you are taking the piss when it comes to Nadal. The rest of us know that deep down you are certain of Nadal's victory.

Tenez wrote:Daniel does not know that you are taking the piss when it comes to Nadal. The rest of us know that deep down you are certain of Nadal's victory.

I very much doubt that.  Now you're telling people what THEIR opinions are.  Holy hell. And, yes, I am objective.  I made Djok favourite before the draw at RG and Nadal second favourite for RG. But then with the draw he got, it was his to lose.  I made Federer favourite for this (just about) before the draw, but his draw has made things very tough and I now see it being anyone's between Murray, Djok, Federer and A Zverev. With a few dark horses like Raonic and Cilic capable of winning it.  Nadal, I put further down - but he has a chance of course. if Cilic can blow Federer off court in a non clay Slam, he can do it to anyone - especially against someone who doesn't have a serve like Fed's.

My dislike of Nadal doesn't stop me from seeing the reality.  Nadal is not a top 4 contender for Wimbledon this year - despite his easier draw relative to Fed and Murray.  But he always has a chance. My dislike for Nadal didn't stop me seeing Djok as the only person capable of beating Nadal at RG this year - which proved to be the case, while TMF was running around bigging Fed up as a potential RG winner!

Tenez wrote:Daniel does not know that you are taking the piss when it comes to Nadal. The rest of us know that deep down you are certain of Nadal's victory.

You predicted Nadal getting to the final which I thought was great comedy.
Honestly you berated me for bringing up your old quotes where you claimed Ryan Harrison is going to soon overtake Nadal, and Tomic will soon be a better defender than Djokovic; but you should actually be grateful to me because 2012 was the peak of your non-delusion.

And in case there is any confusion - despite me wanting Fed to win, I have placed A Zverev as the favourite to win Wimbledon this year.  Narrowly.  Federer had a much better chance before he got that draw. I have to be honest and say that it's going to be a bigger mountain than the Aussie Open was.... He'll have to face Dimitrov R4, Raonic/A Zverev QF, Possibly Djok SF

For some reason, most of you guys can't see why that's a problem for a near 36 year old on grass.

You've seen "h2h" and concluded that this is just a game of tic tac toe and stats.  It isn't.  Having one hard match after another, at 36 years of age, is not good. What he did at the Aussie Open was a near miracle - and that wasn't as tough as this is going to be.

Daniel wrote:

Tenez wrote:Daniel does not know that you are taking the piss when it comes to Nadal. The rest of us know that deep down you are certain of Nadal's victory.

I very much doubt that.  Now you're telling people what THEIR opinions are.  Holy hell. And, yes, I am objective.  I made Djok favourite before the draw at RG and Nadal second favourite for RG. But then with the draw he got, it was his to lose.  I made Federer favourite for this (just about) before the draw, but his draw has made things very tough and I now see it being anyone's between Murray, Djok, Federer and A Zverev. With a few dark horses like Raonic and Cilic capable of winning it.  Nadal, I put further down - but he has a chance of course. if Cilic can blow Federer off court in a non clay Slam, he can do it to anyone - especially against someone who doesn't have a serve like Fed's.

My dislike of Nadal doesn't stop me from seeing the reality.  Nadal is not a top 4 contender for Wimbledon this year - despite his easier draw relative to Fed and Murray.  But he always has a chance. My dislike for Nadal didn't stop me seeing Djok as the only person capable of beating Nadal at RG this year - which proved to be the case, while TMF was running around bigging Fed up as a potential RG winner!

You must have me mixed up with someone else - Tenez perhaps?

Looking at the draw though... Djok has got a rather deadly match v Gulbis.  He is no push over at all.  I can't believe the bookies are giving him 9-1 odds!