So who else watched this amazing tennis match?! BEST tennis match I’ve ever seen! Nadal is a beast, Roger had his chances, but did not come thru. Was hoping Federer would beat the great Borg’s record, but it wasn’t meant to be!
I beleive Roger ran around his backhand way too much. Nadal’s awesome shot making/angles had Roger busting his ass to all that open court. Was too much to handle.
And we might have a new #1 by the end of this yr. But Rafa hasn’t been that good on the hard crts. Will be interesting for sure!
AND, I’m wondering if this loss will take the wind out of Roger’s sail, or, will he come back better than ever? To me, Federer needs to get stonger, especially in his upper body. Take Nadal for instance, he’s thick in the upper body, he’s hitting the wts. for sure. Anyways, it’s one hell of a match!!
Nadal is not nearly as “thick” as you think he is. He’s probably 6’1", mid 170s - low 180s. Tennis players do not lift heavy, and a big upper body is not normally one associates with the tennis greats. Raffa is a great athlete, no doubt.
ESPN Classic is showing the replay of the match at 7pm EDT tonight.
[quote]BRUCELEEWANNABE wrote:
So who else watched this amazing tennis match?! BEST tennis match I’ve ever seen! Nadal is a beast, Roger had his chances, but did not come thru. Was hoping Federer would beat the great Borg’s record, but it wasn’t meant to be!
I beleive Roger ran around his backhand way too much. Nadal’s awesome shot making/angles had Roger busting his ass to all that open court. Was too much to handle.
And we might have a new #1 by the end of this yr. But Rafa hasn’t been that good on the hard crts. Will be interesting for sure!
AND, I’m wondering if this loss will take the wind out of Roger’s sail, or, will he come back better than ever? To me, Federer needs to get stonger, especially in his upper body. Take Nadal for instance, he’s thick in the upper body, he’s hitting the wts. for sure. Anyways, it’s one hell of a match!![/quote]
[quote]TJN713 wrote:
Nadal is not nearly as “thick” as you think he is. He’s probably 6’1", mid 170s - low 180s. Tennis players do not lift heavy, and a big upper body is not normally one associates with the tennis greats. Raffa is a great athlete, no doubt.
ESPN Classic is showing the replay of the match at 7pm EDT tonight.
BRUCELEEWANNABE wrote:
So who else watched this amazing tennis match?! BEST tennis match I’ve ever seen! Nadal is a beast, Roger had his chances, but did not come thru. Was hoping Federer would beat the great Borg’s record, but it wasn’t meant to be!
I beleive Roger ran around his backhand way too much. Nadal’s awesome shot making/angles had Roger busting his ass to all that open court. Was too much to handle.
And we might have a new #1 by the end of this yr. But Rafa hasn’t been that good on the hard crts. Will be interesting for sure!
AND, I’m wondering if this loss will take the wind out of Roger’s sail, or, will he come back better than ever? To me, Federer needs to get stonger, especially in his upper body. Take Nadal for instance, he’s thick in the upper body, he’s hitting the wts. for sure. Anyways, it’s one hell of a match!!
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Right! When I say thick, I meant to say bigger/stronger than most of the other players. David Nalbadian is another with a powerful upper body. For tennis that is! Tennis is finally catching up with the S&C.
BL has inspired many bb’s.
And that tattoo is what’s gay. Tennis is awesome. I beleive TC is a big tennis fan.
That was a great match. The rain delays take away - a bit - from the overall atmosphere of the match, but the tennis the 2 played was outstanding.
Don’t know if it’s at the level of McEnroe-Borg, which for my money was the best tennis match of all-time. But it was pretty damn good. Now, let’s just hope Federer can stay at a top level for the next 3-5 years. A Federer-Nadal rivalry would be great for the men’s game.
[quote]BRUCELEEWANNABE wrote:
So who else watched this amazing tennis match?! BEST tennis match I’ve ever seen! Nadal is a beast, Roger had his chances, but did not come thru. Was hoping Federer would beat the great Borg’s record, but it wasn’t meant to be!
I beleive Roger ran around his backhand way too much. Nadal’s awesome shot making/angles had Roger busting his ass to all that open court. Was too much to handle.
And we might have a new #1 by the end of this yr. But Rafa hasn’t been that good on the hard crts. Will be interesting for sure!
AND, I’m wondering if this loss will take the wind out of Roger’s sail, or, will he come back better than ever? To me, Federer needs to get stonger, especially in his upper body. Take Nadal for instance, he’s thick in the upper body, he’s hitting the wts. for sure. Anyways, it’s one hell of a match!![/quote]
I thin k that was the plan, although Nadal is stronger and quicker overall, Federer’s forehand is to fast for Nadal. Most forehand hits by Federer were winning shots.
I thought it was interesting that Nadal’s average serve was 116mph whereas as Federers was 119mph so it seems that Nadal’s arm mass didn’t seem to make the a difference when it comes to the serve.
I will readily admit that some of the ground strokes were absolutely fantastic however at the by the end of the fourth set it was just a case who was going to make a mistake rather than who had the killer shot. I suppose when you get to the Nadal/Federer level that’s what happens.
Not sure how much arm mass matters in relation to serve speed. Andy Roddick regularly clocks in at 140+ and his arms are nothing special. I’m guessing the hips and back ply a much bigger role.
[quote]echelon101 wrote:
I thought it was interesting that Nadal’s average serve was 116mph whereas as Federers was 119mph so it seems that Nadal’s arm mass didn’t seem to make the a difference when it comes to the serve.
I will readily admit that some of the ground strokes were absolutely fantastic however at the by the end of the fourth set it was just a case who was going to make a mistake rather than who had the killer shot. I suppose when you get to the Nadal/Federer level that’s what happens.[/quote]
I’m not exactly sure what separates Roddick’s serve from Federer’s, but in general, big serving comes from great timing and taller people generally hit bigger serves, regardless of muscle mass.
As far as that match was concerned, it was definitely the best match I have ever seen (though I’m only 18). The only thing that I wish would’ve gone differently is the final point. I was really hoping that Nadal would win the point and really claim his reign over Federer rather than just winning off an unforced error.
It’s basically Ping Pong played while on top of the table.
I didn’t even think that joke was funny when George Carlin said it…
Federer does not have a backhand or speed. He relies on his amazing forehand and serves. In my opinion Nadal still is not better than Federer.
Before Sampras retired he would have destroyed Federer. Sampras beat him last year in an exhibition match and I believe he had been retired 5 years.
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His backhand is very good! But, against Nadal’s heavy topspin it not as usable. That why he would slice it more, and was running around it to hit his killer forehand. Roger DOES have speed and amazing agility/footwork.
Last yr. Sampras vs Federer, I believe they played 3 times, Federer won twice. Pete was the man, no doubt, but Federer has the edge as to who was better.
[quote]Kreal7 wrote:
Before Sampras retired he would have destroyed Federer. Sampras beat him last year in an exhibition match and I believe he had been retired 5 years.
[/quote]
They played a series of EXHIBITION matches. They charged $1000 per seat for the match at MSG in New York. I was there, and even though it went the full 3 sets, Roger was playing at perhaps 70% of his normal speed. They are businessmen, and wanted to entertain the sold out crowd and sell tickets for next year’s match.
If you believe Sampras could beat Federer today in a real match I have a bridge to sell you. And to say Federer would be destroyed by Pete when both are in their primes basically contradicts the opinion of every guy who played against both. Pete was the best, no doubt. Roger is better.
Bruceleewannabe- I don’t understand why you think Federer’s backhand is good…
“Roger DOES have speed and amazing agility/footwork”
This statement is just not true.
TJN -
“If you believe Sampras could beat Federer today in a real match I have a bridge to sell you.”
I never said that anywhere I just heard that he beat him in an exhibition match which would make it a fact… I just do not think Federer would let Sampras win.
I do not really watch all the interviews or anything or follow tennis closely at all. Which players have said that Federer would beat Sampras in both of their primes? It seems like you are pretty into tennis. What, in your opinion, does Federer have that Sampras does not possess?
Lol at “basically contradicts the opinion of every guy who played against both. Pete was the best, no doubt. Roger is better.”
It’s very well known in the tennis world that Federer has some of the best footwork, agility AND is one of the quickest players on the tour. And yes, his backhand is very good, BUT, like I said, against Nadal’s heavy, high bouncing topspin it not very effective. And that is why he was hitting so many run around forehands in that awesome match.
He was hitting some amazing forehands, but with Nadal’s quickness & crazy shot making ability/angles it didn’t pan out so well. Nadal is just freakin’ really good. ( too much open court, put Roger on the defensive )
Over the next few yrs. though, Federer will have the upper hand. Nadal’s style is to hunt everything down, not as many easy points like Federer get off his serve & killer flat forehand. Nadal’s body is ALREADY breaking down. And you just can’t last that long with his style.
Will be interesting to see if he keeps working on that aspect of his game. Getting the bigger serve & flattening out his ground strokes when needed.
Roger vs Sampras. That’s a tuff one. I would give the edge to Federer. Much better footwork, agility, in better condition. I would say he even has a better net game. It’s very close though!
As far as that match was concerned, it was definitely the best match I have ever seen (though I’m only 18). The only thing that I wish would’ve gone differently is the final point. I was really hoping that Nadal would win the point and really claim his reign over Federer rather than just winning off an unforced error.[/quote]
Definitely a crazy match. On each set that Federer lost, it actually ended with an unforced error into the net on his part. That really makes me wonder if he just wasn’t mentally there or if he’s slipping. It seems to me he’s been off for a while now, so I really hope it’s something temporary and he gets back to form. Watching him play is incredible, and I’d love to see more matches like this in the future. Of course, it’s possible that Nadal’s athleticism just frustrated the hell out of him, and ended up affecting him mentally.
Kudos to Rafael either way.
[quote]TJN713 wrote:
Not sure how much arm mass matters in relation to serve speed. Andy Roddick regularly clocks in at 140+ and his arms are nothing special. I’m guessing the hips and back ply a much bigger role.[/quote]
Indeed. Also timing and wrist strength/control. Anyone can hit the ball really hard and fast if they don’t worry about putting it in. Basically, the faster you can serve in control, the faster you will serve.
As far as that match was concerned, it was definitely the best match I have ever seen (though I’m only 18). The only thing that I wish would’ve gone differently is the final point. I was really hoping that Nadal would win the point and really claim his reign over Federer rather than just winning off an unforced error.
Definitely a crazy match. On each set that Federer lost, it actually ended with an unforced error into the net on his part. That really makes me wonder if he just wasn’t mentally there or if he’s slipping. It seems to me he’s been off for a while now, so I really hope it’s something temporary and he gets back to form. Watching him play is incredible, and I’d love to see more matches like this in the future. Of course, it’s possible that Nadal’s athleticism just frustrated the hell out of him, and ended up affecting him mentally.
Kudos to Rafael either way.
TJN713 wrote:
Not sure how much arm mass matters in relation to serve speed. Andy Roddick regularly clocks in at 140+ and his arms are nothing special. I’m guessing the hips and back ply a much bigger role.
Indeed. Also timing and wrist strength/control. Anyone can hit the ball really hard and fast if they don’t worry about putting it in. Basically, the faster you can serve in control, the faster you will serve.
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Yah, I think he just got flustered as hell on what to do against Rafa. It’s crazy the awesome shots that Federer hit that Nadal got back. ALSO, since Roger had the mono earlier in the yr. he hasn’t been the same. I bet my $ that Roger will do very well at the Open & the yr. end tourney to end the season maybe, maybe in the #1 spot. I don’t see Nadal doing so well @ the US Open. He’s going to party his ass off for awhile, his body is breaking down and he hasn’t been all that great during the hard crt. season. Will be interesting! And I can’t wait to see how it all goes down!!