Men's qf predictions

AceofDeath wrote:

summerblues wrote:All who were disappointed that Kevin could not cross the finish line vs Novak in 2015 must be pleased that he has made up for it this year.

He had his chance to prove himself in the USO final and failed miserably. No one is pleased except Nadal fans.

I see.

I don't believe the uncertain bounce (supposedly) on Court 1 is the reason Federer lost. He is vastly experienced, is an excellent wind player and coasted through to the title last year when you'll remember CC was shredded after just a couple of days. Not to mention the fact that Anderson plays a higher risk game with finer margins than Federer.

He didn't look sharp to me except for the second rd.

He looked God awful in Halle.

And at W he looked a little... fat.  That's right - fat. Or more precisely the pot belly looked more pot bellied than usual. It was noticeable to me that he was grunting loudly from the second set onwards. Maybe he wasn't as physically well conditioned as he could have been. The week in Halle suggests that too. He seemed to drag himself to the final. 

I have a sneaky suspicion that Roger is finally losing the desire. Either this loss acts as a serious wake up call and he puts the miles in to get himself into top shape to compete or we continue to see these underwhelming losses until he retires. I hope it's the former because if Nadal closes the year just 2 behind, you can be sure that he, Nadal, will work like crazy to close the gap. Roger's entire legacy is at risk. For a guy who was anointed GOAT nearly 10 years ago, to end his career in second place to his career rival, would be bitter pill.

summerblues wrote:
I just do not see Rafa winning until he is 36-37.  Once a player gets older, the success can evaporate very quickly, and I do not think he can last as long as Fed has.

But we shall see.

He doesn't need to. If he finishes the year just 2 behind then he only needs to play a couple more years of top level tennis to do it. 

Federer didn't win a slam for 4.5 yrs between 30 and 35.

is an excellent wind player and coasted through to the title last year when you'll remember CC was shredded after just a couple of days.

A. Federer obviously hates to play under windy conditions
b. after the middle sunday the court was fine, in fact it was even fast and low bouncing again. The grass was longer, the sand under it was softer.

I thought both points were common knowledge..probably not by those who consider Federer to be fat..

gallery play wrote:

is an excellent wind player and coasted through to the title last year when you'll remember CC was shredded after just a couple of days.

A. Federer obviously hates to play under windy conditions
b. after the middle sunday the court was fine, in fact it was even fast and low bouncing again. The grass was longer, the sand under it was softer.

I thought both points were common knowledge..probably not by those who consider Federer to be fat..

No one likes to play in the Wind. Federer is still an excellent wind player. Did the grass miraculously grow back on middle Sunday? I suggest you take a look at the recording from the final.

Ye I think it is just because he plays with finer margins, so the wind bothers his game, maybe more than Rafa's, for instance.

When I was saying that I did not see Rafa playing until 36-37, that was in response to bitf's suggestion that Fed needed 4-5 more slams to put it away.  I do not see Rafa reaching 24.

I agree 20 could be in serious danger.

Rafa could be just one short after this year, if he has a great summer.

Fed is the best wind player I have seen. Rafa is good too, but not as good as Fed. One of their IW matches was played in wind - it was obvious there.

Final set tie break please

Emancipator wrote:

gallery play wrote:

is an excellent wind player and coasted through to the title last year when you'll remember CC was shredded after just a couple of days.

A. Federer obviously hates to play under windy conditions
b. after the middle sunday the court was fine, in fact it was even fast and low bouncing again. The grass was longer, the sand under it was softer.

I thought both points were common knowledge..probably not by those who consider Federer to be fat..

No one likes to play in the Wind. Federer is still an excellent wind player. Did the grass miraculously grow back on middle Sunday? I suggest you take a look at the recording from the final.

Federer's level drops in the wind, it's a consequence for early hitters and SHBD'ers.

The grass is cut every other day, so yes it does make a difference it they don't cut it on middle sunday. Ask Nadal.

Maybe you should stick to the "minions" talk, suits you better

So let me get this straight. Because they didn't cut the grass on middle Sunday that remedied all the divets and uneven bounces from the thoroughly worn out court. I must have imagined all those close ups of the baseline where they were deliberately highlighting how cut up the court was in comparison to previous years.

Everyone's level drops in the wind - Federer is still an excellent wind player. Which part of that do you disagree with?

The level of play of a early hitter and shbh'er suffer more in the wind. Nadal for one has a big advantage in the wind, he won't complain about his level dropping in the wind.

Divets...yeah right. Take your pitchfork with you next time you play tennis

summerblues wrote:When I was saying that I did not see Rafa playing until 36-37, that was in response to bitf's suggestion that Fed needed 4-5 more slams to put it away.  I do not see Rafa reaching 24.

I agree 20 could be in serious danger.

Rafa could be just one short after this year, if he has a great summer.

And - as keeps getting mentioned by me - it doesn't matter a hoot.  He is behind in 3 of the 4 slams,. 2 of the 3 surfaces, and hasnt won an ATP final.

Yeah.  I do not see it that way though.  It is as much rubbish as Rafa fans' H2H talk.  If Rafa finishes with more slams than Fed, he is home and dry.

So basically the finalist of this match cant win.  I think it's time they had normal tiebreakers when it isnt the final.  All masters and slams should be clear by 2 in finals... but not up to it.

summerblues wrote:Yeah.  I do not see it that way though.  It is as much rubbish as Rafa fans' H2H talk.  If Rafa finishes with more slams than Fed, he is home and dry.

No, he isn't.  He'll be behind in almost every stat off clay. That doesn't make him a rounded player.  If a player wins 30 french opens and nothing else, that doesn't make them better than federer or borg or sampras.  The way you are thinking is clueless.

Why won't Anderson just BLOCK the serve of Isner, it's much safer than whacking it out like he so often does.

Why won't any player just do short serves v Nadal.  The answer is they are largely brainless.  Federer stands out as someone who actually has a high IQ.

summerblues wrote:Yeah.  I do not see it that way though.  It is as much rubbish as Rafa fans' H2H talk.  If Rafa finishes with more slams than Fed, he is home and dry.

I have to concur - ultimately in the fast food Trumpist world the final number is all that the world at large will remember. If Rafa gets beyond Federer the world will see him as GOAT.

gallery play wrote:The level of play of a early hitter and shbh'er suffer more in the wind. Nadal for one has a big advantage in the wind, he won't complain about his level dropping in the wind.

Divets...yeah right. Take your pitchfork with you next time you play tennis

Thanks.

I maintain, Federer is an excellent wind player. That renders the rest of your above statement guff.

Daniel wrote:Why won't any player just do short serves v Nadal.  The answer is they are largely brainless.  Federer stands out as someone who actually has a high IQ.

Nadal can be beaten two ways - by being outhit or outralied.

Underhand serves, short serves, they could only win a point or two...maybe rattle him a little...but 5 sets is a long time...and a player does need to hit all those FHs and BHs in between...

Nadal was great today. I really didn't expect him to play so well.

Nole's lighter racquet made a big difference in Nadal's favour...yet Nole won, totally impressed.

We had this discussion before and I disagree.

As for Nadal being "great"  - the ground was worn and played like clay due to the conditions already being dumbed down on top of one of the hottest 2 weeks in UK ever.

noleisthebest wrote:

Daniel wrote:Why won't any player just do short serves v Nadal.  The answer is they are largely brainless.  Federer stands out as someone who actually has a high IQ.

Nadal can be beaten two ways - by being outhit or outralied.

Underhand serves, short serves, they could only win a point or two...maybe rattle him a little...but 5 sets is a long time...and a player does need to hit all those FHs and BHs in between...

Nadal was great today. I really didn't expect him to play so well.

Nole's lighter racquet made a big difference in Nadal's favour...yet Nole won, totally impressed.

Thank you, very true.

Daniel, Nadal hit 73 winners against arguably the best defensive player on the men's tour. If the court is slow, one could argue that hitting so many winners is even more impressive.
Fact is both played incredible tennis, match came down to a few points here and there.

By the way, Nadal won 191 points during the match, and won 37/50 points at the net. Unreasonable to claim he wasn't trying to be the aggressor.

Emancipator wrote:

gallery play wrote:The level of play of a early hitter and shbh'er suffer more in the wind. Nadal for one has a big advantage in the wind, he won't complain about his level dropping in the wind.

Divets...yeah right. Take your pitchfork with you next time you play tennis

Thanks.

I maintain, Federer is an excellent wind player. That renders the rest of your above statement guff.

Eman is right.  Fed is a fantastic wind player, better than Rafa.  The talk about early hitter suffering more - while reasonable sounding - is not borne out by reality here.

summerblues wrote:

Emancipator wrote:

gallery play wrote:The level of play of a early hitter and shbh'er suffer more in the wind. Nadal for one has a big advantage in the wind, he won't complain about his level dropping in the wind.

Divets...yeah right. Take your pitchfork with you next time you play tennis

Thanks.

I maintain, Federer is an excellent wind player. That renders the rest of your above statement guff.

Eman is right.  Fed is a fantastic wind player, better than Rafa.  The talk about early hitter suffering more - while reasonable sounding - is not borne out by reality here.

You really think Fed wants it to be windy next time he plays outdoors against Nadal? And your argument for that is that Federer beat Nadal once under windy conditions? Come on now, that's ridiculous. The truer conditions get, the better it is for Federer, and actually vice versa for Nadal.

End of discussion.

Federer is a better wind player than Nadal... but it aids Nadal more than Federer over their matchup.  Because it means Federer can't take Nadal's time away as easily - which plays into Nadal's hands.

In fact, ANY player that gets winners through taking time away and playing the margins more (instead of gutless tennis like Nadal) - will be hampered by the wind V Nadal.  It's that obvious.

Well said, Daniel
That's about my point.

gallery play wrote:End of discussion.

If you say so.

Wind is a killer of tennis.

The fact Fed can play in the wind is a testament to his hand skills and footwork.
No tennis player enjoys playing in the wind.

Wind only gives advantage to those who play with high margin.

I thought everyone knew that...

There's a reason why Nadal is whinging about the tour end being indoor.  ANd whinging about his match v Djok being indoor. 

It's because he knows it favours him to be outdoors - There is more random element about it and favours him over an attacker, since he plays defensive keep-the-ball in tennis AND NOT FINE MARGIN tennis (cause he can't do it).

@gallery play    You are welcome.  Too much arguing with the obvious here.