*** Official Tennis Thread ****

[Tuga88]

French Open done....Wimbledon is in 2 weeks, who you guys got?

I would love to see Federer make a deep run but Djokovic is my favourite for the tournament.

[Dominik]

Subscribed.

[wow strong misc]

gonna go out on a limb and predict cilic to the quarters in wimbledown

[anibani]

one of my absolute fav tennis matches and wins



the feels when he won… was probably crying

[Dominik]

One of my favorite Federer matches. A night where he was in the zone and couldn't miss.

[oe7Leo]

my fav final matches

Federer Nadal Wimbledon 2008 (GOAT match)

Federer Nadal AO 2009

Federer Roddick Wimby 2009 (poor Roddick, so close...)

Nadal Djoker AO 2012

Nadal Djoker French 2013 (this one's a semi, but what a semi)

Nadal Djoker US 2013

let the rivalries continue

[sammy21]

THOROUGHLY enjoyed watching this a few years ago...Rosol went completely ham that 5th set. Just about as perfect of a set you'll ever see.

[Tuga88]

The coaches of Novak & Rafa give their thoughts on the match:

Toni Nadal (Rafael Nadal’s coach):
"We’re delighted and very emotional about this victory. This is the first time that we came to Roland Garros having lost so many matches on clay this year. We lost at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome and even though we won in Madrid, I can’t forget that Nishikori had to retire in the final. So we were short on confidence. Djokovic played very well here in the first set. Rafael wasn’t playing badly but he made a few errors and when you’re playing Novak, there’s no room for manoeuvre.

The match turned on its head at the end of the second set because Djokovic’s level dropped a little. We all felt it, and Rafa stepped up then. This match wasn’t at the same level of the 2012 final or last year’s semi-final, but it was a very, very intense final. At the end of the fourth set, Rafa was cramping up everywhere and he almost couldn’t go on. We really had to fire him up because we knew that if he didn’t win the fourth, he’d lose the fifth because Novak was stronger than him physically. At the end of the match, when he came up to me in the stands, he told me that we needed to get the doctor to come and see to him because he was really, really exhausted."



Marian Vajda (Novak Djokovic’s coach):
"It was a strange match. It was disappointing but you have to admit that Rafa was simply better than he was today. Novak started off the match very well and had a really good first set but he didn’t manage to maintain his level of play because Rafa just got better and better. In the second set, Rafa was playing quicker, his top-spin was more and more difficult to play and the rallies were incredibly tough because the two players were stuck in the corners. I don’t know if the spectators realised or not but it was really, really intense. Novak started to have a few doubts, he was also having a few stomach problems and when you’re playing Rafa, any time your game slips a little, there’s no way back. In the fourth set, Novak got back to 4-4 but Rafa didn’t give an inch, he gave it his all and he ended up winning the match. It’s tough to lose a Grand Slam final but that’s the way sport is."



Interesting though because it's not like Nadal to get that exhausted in matches even under tough conditions; his body seems to be getting worse with each year.

[Willrey]

in



Fed is the GOAT crew

Nadal IS the Clay GOAT crew

Dimitrov is the best young player crew

Tim Henman is the best volleyer the world has ever seen crew

[nvrstopworking]

What do you guys think about the guys OUTSIDE of the top 4? The next ones who may be able to make that push to challenge a Novak or Rafa?

Stan? Raonic? Nishikori? Dmitrov?

I'm curious to see what the latter 2 can do given a bit more time.... I've enjoyed the way that they played against Rafa and haven't been afraid of him.

I also think that Raonic is getting very close to a breakthrough. Could see him winning a US Open much like Del-Po did a few years back.

[Dangled]

in on Tennis thread. Would watch or attend any tennis match over the World Cup or any soccer match in general.

[shawty321]

in



Fed is the GOAT crew

Nadal IS the Clay GOAT crew

Roanic and Bouchard are the best young players crew

Fixed.

[Willrey]

What do you guys think about the guys OUTSIDE of the top 4? The next ones who may be able to make that push to challenge a Novak or Rafa?

Stan? Raonic? Nishikori? Dmitrov?

I'm curious to see what the latter 2 can do given a bit more time.... I've enjoyed the way that they played against Rafa and haven't been afraid of him.

I also think that Raonic is getting very close to a breakthrough. Could see him winning a US Open much like Del-Po did a few years back.

Stan and Dimitrov for me are the best you listed, also the best to watch, however Nishikori is really putting it together recently and should have beaten Nadal the other week, unlucky he got injured just as he was putting it together.

Whilst I think Raonic is good, I think he will always get exposed by the top 4 because of his movement, whereas Del Potro is a deceptively good mover for his size and could overwhelm players. Then again he is only young and could just bowl everyone over with dat dere serve forehand combo

[anibani]

What do you guys think about the guys OUTSIDE of the top 4? The next ones who may be able to make that push to challenge a Novak or Rafa?

Stan? Raonic? Nishikori? Dmitrov?

I'm curious to see what the latter 2 can do given a bit more time.... I've enjoyed the way that they played against Rafa and haven't been afraid of him.

I also think that Raonic is getting very close to a breakthrough. Could see him winning a US Open much like Del-Po did a few years back.

I really don't know about Stan... somehow I fear his Aus Open win will be his only grand slam. obviously I hope he will be around long after fed retired... guess wimbledon and Us open will tell me more about his future.

[nvrstopworking]

I really don't know about Stan... somehow I fear his Aus Open win will be his only grand slam. obviously I hope he will be around long after fed retired... guess wimbledon and Us open will tell me more about his future.

True. Although the list of guys who have beaten BOTH Novak and Rafa in a Grand Slam is pretty small... you'd have to think that that would bolster his confidence and let him know that he has the talent to succeed.

in on Tennis thread. Would watch or attend any tennis match over the World Cup or any soccer match in general.

Interesting that you mention this. A friend was just telling me that the World Cup is probably going to wreak havoc on Wimbledon coverage this year.

I will be pizzed as fuk if I end up missing any of the matches from the Q-finals on.

[SompletelyCober]

Fixed.

[perrierAX]

Think Djokovic will win Wimbledon.

Though I am a big Nadal fan, I would really love Federer to give it one more go and teach both Djokovic and Nadal a lesson lol, though that is just not going to happen. He is still the best player I've seen. His range of shots, his precision, guile, elegance, he had it all. Nadal is just a beast physically and he doesn't let anything go.

Can't remember off the top of my head, but did he lose to Federer twice at Wimbledon before eventually beating him? That Nadal victory was memorable. Remember like it was yesterday, but still Federer played some absolutely outrageous shots when he had his back against the wall. He has some huge balls. Loved the dynamics of that rivalry and their match at the Australian Open 2009 was a great match too. Think Federer knew he had hit a brick wall in Nadal after that loss.

[deltbrah]

its going to be great when nadal chases down federers record

3 more GS's

[alial30]

What do you guys think of Murray's coaching selection?

[nvrstopworking]

What do you guys think of Murray's coaching selection?

I'm still shocked that he dropped Llendl TBH. Guy gets you to 2 majors and an Olympic gold and you turf him?

notsureifsrs...

[Dominik]

I'm still shocked that he dropped Llendl TBH. Guy gets you to 2 majors and an Olympic gold and you turf him?

notsureifsrs...

He didn't drop Lendl. Lendl dropped him. That's why he said he was "gutted."

Lendl never won Wimbledon and Murray obviously had a lot of pressure on him from the public and media every year to win it so he came on board to help him achieve that.

I guess he felt like Murray had jumped the shark after 2012-2013, winning 2 slams and an Olympic gold medal. After a poor start to 2014 Lendl probably felt his job was done and it was the right time to move on.

[4thdimension]

What do you guys think of Murray's coaching selection?

Really surprised.. Not going to lie, the fact that he chose a female coach makes me more skeptical even though I know nothing about her as a coach. Not sure what she can offer besides the mental aspect?

[gswarrior510]

Nadal GOAT crew

[nvrstopworking]

He didn't drop Lendl. Lendl dropped him. That's why he said he was "gutted."

Lendl never won Wimbledon and Murray obviously had a lot of pressure on him from the public and media every year to win it so he came on board to help him achieve that.

I guess he felt like Murray had jumped the shark after 2012-2013, winning 2 slams and an Olympic gold medal. After a poor start to 2014 Lendl probably felt his job was done and it was the right time to move on.

Ahhh... that makes more sense then. Still odd though that Lendl would move on given the fact that Murray had back surgery and wasn't going to be back at his best right away.

Guess he just got burned out coaching?

[Dominik]

Ahhh... that makes more sense then. Still odd though that Lendl would move on given the fact that Murray had back surgery and wasn't going to be back at his best right away.

Guess he just got burned out coaching?

I think he should have stayed on for at least a few more months to help him defend his Wimbledon title. The timing was terrible.

It also makes you realize how much of a boss Federer was in his prime: 2004-2006 he didn't have a coach. Try and imagine someone as OCD as Nadal without Uncle Toni who has influenced a lot of matches by coaching from the stands.

Lendl completely transformed Murray by making him believe he could beat the top guys in slams. That kind of influence will be tough to replace.

[VictorJustice]

Dimitrov, Raonic, lol.

If you're looking for a young guy who is the real deal, look at Thiem. Future world number one and will win at least five Grand Slams.

[BDPfit]

FINALLY this thread was made. Gj OP


Clearly, as my sig indicates, I'm a Rafa fan all the way. The sig isn't accurate of my true belief though, I'm just a fanboy lol. I think he needs to get 15 to be compared to Fed for GOAT. If he gets 16+, Nadal is the undisputed GOAT, hands down.


I'm a Federer fan as well though, so I feel that I'm pretty realistic with my views. Sucks to see Fed declining to basically irrelevancy in major tournaments. I guess this is why I'm a huge Dimitrov fan though... Can't wait to see home revive that beautiful Federer stroke and compete for some major titles!

[BDPfit]

I think he should have stayed on for at least a few more months to help him defend his Wimbledon title. The timing was terrible.

It also makes you realize how much of a boss Federer was in his prime: 2004-2006 he didn't have a coach. Try and imagine someone as OCD as Nadal without Uncle Toni who has influenced a lot of matches by coaching from the stands.

Lendl completely transformed Murray by making him believe he could beat the top guys in slams. That kind of influence will be tough to replace.

Toni and Nadal are practically the same person lol. We all know about Nadal's extreme OCD tendencies with his butt picking, nose touching, brushing his hair back, and the water bottle obsession... Then you see uncle toni wearing the same exact hat for 10+ years to EVERY one of Rafa's matches, without fail.

Part of the reason I love Rafa tbh lol. I was always the same way in sports. Wouldn't call it superstition, I just need to do things a certain way to feel 100% comfortable. For instance I ALWAYS hit the ball with the same face of the racquet because I don't like how the grip spiral varies slightly if I flip the racquet face around. Simply feeling that oddity in my hand will drive me crazy lol

[MCrow]

The only thing I like about tennis is the hot chicks in short skirts screaming like there getting pipelayed.

[Tuga88]

Honestly, Nadal's OCD routines have never bothered me. If he wants to pick his bum before every point then that's his business....as long as he continues to play well I don't care what he does.

Queen's has started today brahs....always a good warm up tournament before Wimbledon. I'm expecting some great matches this year with Wawrinka, Berdych, Murray, Tsonga, Dimitrov, Gulbis and Cilic all taking part.

Also...