Wimbledon Day 12 - Men's Semi

I felt more confident for the final before this win..

Still, Cilic is only a few percent better than Berdych.

Asked Becker who believed Federer was more nervous: Becker "He was more nervous today. He challenged more often. He got agitated more often.. shouting in German. So I think we see how much it means to him."

I see your random Italian, Tenez... and raise you Becker.

Come on Tenez, I'm the big pessimist and even I know thats absolutely miles wide of the mark.

Well, it wasn't the flying tennis (except at the very start), but it did the job.

And in the numbers game that's all that matter, isn't it?

Daniel wrote:Asked Becker who believed Federer was more nervous: Becker "He was more nervous today. He challenged more often. He got agitated more often.. shouting in German. So I think we see how much it means to him."

I see your random Italian, Tenez... and raise you Becker.

This is true.

I thought no hes nervous as Hell. It only speaks even louder about his brilliant clutch play in tie breaks.

He definitely was.  And it's that type of nervousness that cost him dearly against Djokovic twice.  You don't see it often, and this is the first time I've seen it this year. He will be under immense pressure in the final - which is the only thing I can see derailing him.  He has to maintain composure and play clutch tennis like today.  His serve, as always, is key.  V Djok it went walkies.

bogbrush wrote:Come on Tenez, I'm the big pessimist and even I know thats absolutely miles wide of the mark.

I always feel cautious about Federer cause i know his complex game is fragile....though he has lots of weapons to make up for his problems.

Tenez wrote:

bogbrush wrote:Come on Tenez, I'm the big pessimist and even I know thats absolutely miles wide of the mark.

I always feel cautious about Federer cause i know his complex game is fragile....though he has lots of weapons to make up for his problems.

I know, I feel it too. I'm hypersensitive to any reasons this could now go wrong.

I suspect this is the most pressure he's felt since FO 2009.

What? So AO Final was no pressure with Nadal?

Give it a rest peeps, you're all hyperventilating here.

Fed in 3 on Sunday, same as today, and probably nicely rested till then 

Yes but I have absolutely 0 doubt about his mental strength.....its the physical ones which concern me.

Bit weird that cold 2 weeks going, who gets cold for 2 weeks? 5-7 days and you're all normal, guess playing every 2 days etc does prolong it, but blowing the nose still by the end of the W is no good sign.

Cilic is no Nadal, and he got crushed 2 sets up by Fed, thats not easy to forget.

The cold is not one virus.  There are hundreds of them and they are all different. All people react differently to different ones too.

You really will be needing that bog brush, Bogbrush    You're shitting it already.  I am too to a lesser extent.

Freely confessed Daniel!

Jahu wrote:Bit weird that cold 2 weeks going, who gets cold for 2 weeks? 5-7 days and you're all normal, guess playing every 2 days etc does prolong it, but blowing the nose still by the end of the W is no good sign.

Cilic is no Nadal, and he got crushed 2 sets up by Fed, thats not easy to forget.

You can get the very a cold a blowing out the after effects for a week. Y'know the really thick green stuff?

Doesn't mean you're still ill, just the clean up job.

Lets hope he sweats it out by Sunday and kicks the shit out of Cilic for USO.

Where is Vee btw? Has he been arrested and questioned by FBI for Russian ties? 

I know LK is mowing the grass at in-laws, as usual 

bogbrush wrote:

Tenez wrote:

bogbrush wrote:Come on Tenez, I'm the big pessimist and even I know thats absolutely miles wide of the mark.

I always feel cautious about Federer cause i know his complex game is fragile....though he has lots of weapons to make up for his problems.

I know, I feel it too. I'm hypersensitive to any reasons this could now go wrong.

I suspect this is the most pressure he's felt since FO 2009.

I'm not nervous like you. Before the tournament i said the only thing that makes me nervous is a slam final against Nadal.
But i'm not at ease with what i saw today. He almost collapsed from halfway the first set on. He did step up in the tie break but against Cilic he can't let his FH break down like that.
Playing so well against Raonic,  start so well today and then mishit -completely out of the blue- so often  tells me there was something wrong physically.

Jahu wrote:.....Where is Vee btw? Has he been arrested and questioned by FBI for Russian ties? 

I know LK is mowing the grass at in-laws, as usual 

LOL...Vee c'mon arrete de bouder!

Yey!  Fed won yet again (even though - judging from some of the histrionics here - not entirely without problems).  Still, it is a staright sets win.  I will try to watch some of it later today or tomorrow, and then the final as it happens.

One more match, baby!

Jahu wrote:Where is Vee btw?

Maybe BB's gentle treatment was too much.  Or maybe he accepted a job with Trump's administration, and does not have time for us anymore.

Also, it looks like Amri must have gotten busy at school since about Monday, as he stopped posting also.

I may have to plead guilty to the first but I've not had an argument with Amri for 5 years.

I'm watching it again now on TSN, after the idiots wasted 15 minutes in some crap women's golf. 

The match was a high standard summerblues.

Good, looking forward to catching at least some of it.

I know you are innocent in Amri's case.  I think Mr. Muller has a lot to answer for there.

summerblues wrote:

Jahu wrote:Where is Vee btw?

Maybe BB's gentle treatment was too much.  Or maybe he accepted a job with Trump's administration, and does not have time for us anymore.

Also, it looks like Amri must have gotten busy at school since about Monday, as he stopped posting also.

I don't think it was BB, as Vee didn't care much for what BB thought of him.

It was a line from one of Tenez's posts, I think, where he says sometimes he also feels like calling him names.

Best is not to care what anyone thinks, like me.

If it is my fault I sincerely apologise...I feel calling names many people, including my close family at times.....but that does not mean I don;t enjoy the arguments and discussions at large and I expect it to be reciprocal anyway.

No, no. That conversation got quite bitter - by no means limited to me I should say - but I can't imagine Vee got terminal huff for any other reason than me.

Hopefully emotions will cool.

I agree with nitb that the final straw must have come from someone else.  I don't think veejay was enjoying the debate but the two of you got to the point where nothing either one would say would make the other one any more agitated. I think we should blame it on eman

Anyway, it is up to him to decide if or when he wants to return.  I hope he does, but it is his call.

We should just enjoy the fact that Fed is in the final.  And moan about how horrible it is that he of the divine talent should suffer from a bad back while we merrily pocket Nole's elbow induced withdrawal.

The bad back, if true, is not of seismic proportions and he has been far worse before yet won the event.

There's a good day off now as well, and he's not been extended for time on Court.

I managed to watch the whole match last night and agree, I did not see any signs of problems.  Fed played quite well, he was always going for all his shots and was in general executing well.  As you said on the other thread, that second TB was quite spectacular.

Tenez and GP have a better eye for things like that than I do so I do not want to say I am 100% certain there were no issues, but I have also seen GP and Tenez do their fair share of jinxing over the years, so I am not going to take their word for it either.

In any event.  It is what it is.  Fed has had back problems all his career (he even used his back issues to avoid Swiss military service), so it is all part of the package anyway.

I only read bits of that conversation but from what I saw, it was BB that was being called a xenophobe and other stuff. I'm really not a fan of calling people stuff like that as they should only be reserved for certain people.

Yeah, VJ called BB worse things than the other way around. But somehow I do not think BB got into it entirely unawares. He knew how to get under VJ's skin.

I forgot those names calling...I suppose you've got to be able to take if you like to give!

Which one are you? Giver or taker? Or Equal? 

bogbrush wrote:

summerblues wrote:

Jahu wrote:Where is Vee btw?

Maybe BB's gentle treatment was too much.  Or maybe he accepted a job with Trump's administration, and does not have time for us anymore.

Also, it looks like Amri must have gotten busy at school since about Monday, as he stopped posting also.

I may have to plead guilty to the first but I've not had an argument with Amri for 5 years.

I'm watching it again now on TSN, after the idiots wasted 15 minutes in some crap women's golf. 

The match was a high standard summerblues.

Ah fuck had completely forgotten my password since Tuesday, only just worked it out now after many tries, sorry about that.

Hey Amrit! You forgot your password?  You must have a proper one.

What do you reckon for tomorrow? I suppose you're fairly relaxed, some of us aren't.

bogbrush wrote:Hey Amrit! You forgot your password?  You must have a proper one.

Erm..  

bogbrush wrote:
What do you reckon for tomorrow? I suppose you're fairly relaxed, some of us aren't.

Was just in the middle of a quick preview of that with some analysis of the potential match patterns, hopefully will be accurate as I've seen quite a bit of Cilic this week cos I thought he would face Rafa in QF. Last time I did tactical analysis though was for Cilic Nadal QF and that went to waste

Look forward to it.

I'm increasingly pessimistic myself, though I tend to think that way at this stage.

Some proof that Federer was struggling with his lower back and maybe shoulder from 1mn30....

But that's nothing new.
All player struggle with stg.

... wrote:But that's nothing new.
All player struggle with stg.

I never said it was something new I said it was visisble in patches this year, including in that semi final.

AND...saying "all players struggle with something" is not going to make it even for all. Maybe Murray and Novak struggle with something for years....but this year this struggle has a much bigger impact on their success.

The question is how much is it affecting them?

GP and I coudl see Fed struggled in that semi.

My point is why bring it up?

You were probably right, I watched on and off.

It would be strange of he didn't have tweaks of that kind in his 36th year having played so many matches.

I am glad he won this Wimbledon and all in straight sets.

That's pretty special.

As for how much injuries are affecting Murray and Nole, obviously quite a bit.
We know how they play when fully fit.

I don't even know what Murray's injury is, they said it was his hip, but I reckon it's something else, probably back again.

Nole's got tennis elbow...too much spinning, or trying to change stg with his serve.

Active recovery is best for that, after the initial rest.
He is rightly upset he didn't get to play on second Monday and have a day of rest like everyone else.

I wanted to see the semi vs Federer. It would've been a good match.

Anyway...

Give it up, Tenez.  You were wrong - and Federer won.  You were just getting excuses in early.

Daniel wrote:Give it up, Tenez.  You were wrong - and Federer won.  You were just getting excuses in early.

Your game of "I am right, you wrong" is getting a bit tedious.

Some here are observing the game with a bit more insight than you. It's as simple as that. If you can't tell when a player is not 100%, and as obvious as it was for Murray, then there is nothing I can do for you!

Tenez wrote:The question is how much is it affecting them?

But why does it even matter?  Player's health is part of the package - just like their hand-eye coordination or their height.  I can sort of make an exception in cases like Muster or Seles, but not otherwise.  If you are not healthy enough to win the titles, that ultimately makes you a lesser player.

On top of that, you are overprotective specifically wrt Fed.  Djokovic withdraws through injury and you happily take it without much fuss, but with Fed you and GP were acting like hysterical hormonal teenage girls.

summerblues wrote:

Tenez wrote:The question is how much is it affecting them?

But why does it even matter?  Player's health is part of the package - just like their hand-eye coordination or their height.  I can sort of make an exception in cases like Muster or Seles, but not otherwise.  If you are not healthy enough to win the titles, that ultimately makes you a lesser player.

On top of that, you are overprotective specifically wrt Fed.  Djokovic withdraws through injury and you happily take it without much fuss, but with Fed you and GP were acting like hysterical hormonal teenage girls.

That's a bit overdone SB. And easy to say afterwards.
The point of a live thread is to respond to what you see. I got worried based with what i saw and i still think he was not 100%. His level dropped too much for in my view and started to hit "wooden" FH's, while he was ahead and that's unusual.
He was never tested in the final so we never know.
Anyway, it all worked out well. Nevermind.

... wrote:As for how much injuries are affecting Murray and Nole, obviously quite a bit.
We know how they play when fully fit.

I don't even know what Murray's injury is, they said it was his hip, but I reckon it's something else, probably back again.

Nole's got tennis elbow...too much spinning, or trying to change stg with his serve.

Active recovery is best for that, after the initial rest.
He is rightly upset he didn't get to play on second Monday and have a day of rest like everyone else.

I wanted to see the semi vs Federer. It would've been a good match.

Anyway...

Pretty sure Murray himself has said it's his hip. Certainly looked like that - he was struggling to rotate. I would hope he will be out for a bit now. No sense rushing back when he's been struggling with various problems most of the year. 

Not so sure how long Novak needs out. Tennis elbow is a pain to get rid of and it sounds like he's been struggling for a while. 

Hope they are both back for the US Open. Wonderfully well though Fed played the last couple of rounds were a little dull in the end.

gallery play wrote:

summerblues wrote:

Tenez wrote:The question is how much is it affecting them?

But why does it even matter?  Player's health is part of the package - just like their hand-eye coordination or their height.  I can sort of make an exception in cases like Muster or Seles, but not otherwise.  If you are not healthy enough to win the titles, that ultimately makes you a lesser player.

On top of that, you are overprotective specifically wrt Fed.  Djokovic withdraws through injury and you happily take it without much fuss, but with Fed you and GP were acting like hysterical hormonal teenage girls.

That's a bit overdone SB. And easy to say afterwards.
The point of a live thread is to respond to what you see. I got worried based with what i saw and i still think he was not 100%. His level dropped too much for in my view and started to hit "wooden" FH's, while he was ahead and that's unusual.
He was never tested in the final so we never know.
Anyway, it all worked out well. Nevermind.

one of the clear clue for me is the DFs in succession..2 in 2 games....when he can go matches without one and more importantly even is how wide that dble faut was when he is so precise usually. It was obvious smthing bothered him in his serve....and yes the FH shanking confirms it.

Federers back matters a lot. I know all players suffer but backs are lethal, and it's fair to be extra sensitive because he's getting on, there's a limited time left to enjoy this late peak, and as I say bad backs are terrible.

He is very practiced at managing it within limits. 2012 was miraculous, he could hardly walk against Malisse. This one wasn't much of an issue but I bet it leads to Canada being scrubbed.

Federer's musculature looks so sculpted, defined and honed, it's almost unimaginable there's anything wrong "in there'.

But only he knows how creaky he must feel getting out of bed a day after a five setter, or even an intense three setter.

And probably all over 30s...

Tennis is so demanding now even all the medicines and treatments can't help that much.

That egg chamber that Nole was using, excuse my ignorance, but why don't they make it legal if it helps with recovery.

Better to rest muscles in that than to swallow million brufens every day.

Slippy wrote:
Pretty sure Murray himself has said it's his hip. Certainly looked like that - he was struggling to rotate. I would hope he will be out for a bit now. No sense rushing back when he's been struggling with various problems most of the year. 

Not so sure how long Novak needs out. Tennis elbow is a pain to get rid of and it sounds like he's been struggling for a while. 

Hope they are both back for the US Open. Wonderfully well though Fed played the last couple of rounds were a little dull in the end.

Murray moved like a rocket in all directions, so it didn't look like hip to me.

He flogged himself to death to grab number one last year, so probably carries more than one injury.