Turn Off Ads?
Page 12 of 70 FirstFirst ... 289101112131415162262 ... LastLast
Results 166 to 180 of 1038

Thread: Tennis Thread

  1. #166
    Pre-tty, pre-tty good!! MWM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Posts
    12,334

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Man, Wawrinka is SO good. There's no one I enjoy watching play more than him right now. If he had the head of Djokovic, Federer, or Nadal, he'd be the best player in he world. He's got more in his arsenal than any of those guys. He had some bad stretches today, which will always happen in a long match against a great player, but when he's playing like he did the last 2 matches, the people that can beat him are Djokovic, Nadal, and maybe Federer. That's it.

    The semi today was about as razor thin a margin as you can get. A couple of mental lapses cost Wawrinka the match. They're the things the elite players rarely do. He was down 5-4 in the 3rd set and was up 40-15 in his service game and had a couple of bad errors to lose the game, which lost the set. He was having his way with Novak the end of the 4th set, then almost broke him the first game of the 5th. He then double faulted twice to lose his first service game. I think it was pretty much over at that point. He's a mental lapse here and there away from winning multiple slams. I'm afraid he's found this new level of his game a little too late in his career.
    Last edited by MWM; 01-30-2015 at 03:55 PM.
    Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David


  2. Turn Off Ads?
  3. #167
    Member Redsfaithful's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Bexley, OH
    Posts
    8,600

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Wawrinka is a lot of fun to watch, I agree.

    Djokovic and Murray is a final that leaves me a little cold. Both finals actually feel like foregone conclusions, but hopefully we get two good matches.
    Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

  4. #168
    Pre-tty, pre-tty good!! MWM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Posts
    12,334

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Wawrinka looked awesome today against Federer. His ground strokes are so powerful that when he's not making a lot of errors, it's going to be tough for anyone to beat him.
    Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David

  5. #169
    Posting in Dynarama M2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    45,727

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by MWM View Post
    Wawrinka looked awesome today against Federer. His ground strokes are so powerful that when he's not making a lot of errors, it's going to be tough for anyone to beat him.
    He got a sweet draw too. Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and Ferrer are in the other bracket.
    I'm not a system player. I am a system.

  6. #170
    Pre-tty, pre-tty good!! MWM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Posts
    12,334

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by M2 View Post
    He got a sweet draw too. Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and Ferrer are in the other bracket.
    Yep. I think the assumption was Federer would glide into the final. Wawrkina is my favorite player (since Del Potro's career is pretty much over), but unfortunately, he can implode at any time. When he's on, he's so much fun to watch and can beat anyone. But you never know where his head is going to be.

    Nishikori could give him some serious problems. He frustrates people like Djokovic does getting to balls they think are clear winners and making them hit one more shot. He made easy work of him at the Aussie, but lost in last year's US Open quarter in 5 sets. I watched that match and couldn't believe it was even close. Wawrinka had something like 72 unforced errors. I like Nishikori and would like to see that semi.
    Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David

  7. #171
    Posting in Dynarama M2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    45,727

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by MWM View Post
    Yep. I think the assumption was Federer would glide into the final. Wawrkina is my favorite player (since Del Potro's career is pretty much over), but unfortunately, he can implode at any time. When he's on, he's so much fun to watch and can beat anyone. But you never know where his head is going to be.

    Nishikori could give him some serious problems. He frustrates people like Djokovic does getting to balls they think are clear winners and making them hit one more shot. He made easy work of him at the Aussie, but lost in last year's US Open quarter in 5 sets. I watched that match and couldn't believe it was even close. Wawrinka had something like 72 unforced errors. I like Nishikori and would like to see that semi.
    Looking like Tsonga's going through. That will be an interesting match. Both guys can rip it, but run hot and cold. FWIW, I thought Stan would beat Roger. It's a firepower battle between them and Stan's got more.
    I'm not a system player. I am a system.

  8. #172
    Pre-tty, pre-tty good!! MWM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Posts
    12,334

    Re: Tennis Thread

    I thought Tsonga was toast after he blew the 3rd set and Nishikori took the 4th pretty easily. He showed something in that 5th set.

    Wawrinka will likely be favored in the semi, but I think it's anyone's match. Both guys are very powerful, but prone to errors and mental lapses. I wonder how Stan will respond to playing against the home town favorite.
    Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David

  9. #173
    Probably not Patrick Bateman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Calgary, AB
    Posts
    8,824

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Tsonga's my favourite player and the reason I'm a tennis fan.

    Today was indeed a roller coaster ride.

    I had no expectations for him coming into today… between injuries, his age, and poor performance so far this year, I was just happy to see he finally received a favourable schedule and could get to the round of 16. He's played at a high level against Berdych and Nishi (and today's game wasn't as close as it looked… Tsonga squandered a lot of break opportunities). I'm excited to see him face Wawrinka, historically has been a very even match-up. Guys who have very different strengths but can both do some amazing things. The first set is going to be huge to see who gets the mental edge early. It seems like Tsonga's new coaches have been big for him in that regard, especially showed through when he somehow managed to win the Roger's Cup in a very difficult schedule.

    I'd all but given hope of Tsonga winning a slam, and never dreamed he would win one on clay. I thought Nishi would have his way with him today being a strong clay player, but Tsonga definitely showed me something. I don't think it's plausible he wins the final if he gets to it, but I am excited at least for the rest of the season… if he can do this on clay, who knows what he can do on grass or the hard courts. For now, I'm excited to have a chance to see him play for a spot in the final (the one final he had was in 2008 before I was a fan).

  10. #174
    Member Redsfaithful's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Bexley, OH
    Posts
    8,600

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Brutal to have a Djokovic - Nadal match so early.
    Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

  11. Likes:

    Kingspoint (06-03-2015)

  12. #175
    Probably not Patrick Bateman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Calgary, AB
    Posts
    8,824

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Ya they should have re seeded nadal higher.


    "I'm not mad, I just type aggressively"
    -Rdirtypirates (Sep 6, 2023)

  13. #176
    Pre-tty, pre-tty good!! MWM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Posts
    12,334

    Re: Tennis Thread

    It's been kinda sad watching Rafa this year. I know he's been battling injuries over the past 18 months or so, but was hoping we'd see him round back into form. He's 29, which is getting up there in tennis years, but he's got a lot of miles on that body and the way he plays just meant that much more wear over the years.

    I watched the Monte Carlo final against Djokovic and I had the impression during the match that Rafa's career as a great player is over. He looked like a completely different guy. I can't ever remember watching him and thinking he had no chance. But it was obvious he was over-matched. I remember feeling really sad.

    This was just confirmed in the Madrid final against Murray, who had never beaten Nadal on clay and had only won 2 sets against him. Murray pretty much dominated him, and it was once again sad to watch.

    Watching him in this match against Djokovic is like watching an all-time great power pitcher struggle to hit 88 MPH on the gun. His forehand looks to be about 75% what it used to be and he covers less ground as well. He's not hitting any shots that make you go "wow" like he would do almost every game it seemed in the past. He's staying in the match on sheer tennis IQ and determination. But this is not the guy we're used to seeing. If he was 90% that guy, I'd still give him a punchers chance. But he looks closer 60% of that guy.

    I hope I'm wrong and he has a real resurgence. But if this is really the beginning of the end for Rafa, I'm really going to miss him.
    Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David

  14. #177
    Probably not Patrick Bateman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Calgary, AB
    Posts
    8,824

    Re: Tennis Thread

    I think you're right... I mean this is a guy who's basically never lost in this tournament... for a guy to dominate him like this really isn't possible assuming he's playing at his normal standards. Might be better off taking time off and seeing if he can regain his former standard. He relies on his speed and power so much it seems reasonable he might be in for an earlier decline than say a Federer, especially with the mileage on his body.

  15. #178
    Pre-tty, pre-tty good!! MWM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Posts
    12,334

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Watching Rafa is like watching Junior his last couple of years in Cincinnati. It was painful to to watch.

    Pedro with the Mets may be the better analogy.
    Last edited by MWM; 06-03-2015 at 12:30 PM.
    Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David

  16. #179
    Pre-tty, pre-tty good!! MWM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Posts
    12,334

    Re: Tennis Thread

    I think Djokovic wins all 4 this year. The timing is perfect. Federer is the 2nd best player right now and he's 34 years old. Nasal is a shell of his former self and Murray really never deserved to be lumped in with that group. He doesn't have the game to beat Djokovic in a slam. The only guy capable of beating him in a big match right now is Wawrinks but he's also capable of imoding at any point.

    If anyone is going to do it, now is the time. Fed would likely have done it a few times were it not for playing the same time as the best clay court player ever. Now that Nadal in France is out of the way, a slam is possible.
    Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David

  17. #180
    Member Redsfaithful's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Bexley, OH
    Posts
    8,600

    Re: Tennis Thread

    Yeah, I just can't see Djokovic losing unless he comes into a match ill or gets hurt. You never know, but he's just doing it all so easily right now.
    Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;


Turn Off Ads?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.

Thank you, and most importantly, enjoy yourselves!


RedsZone.com is a privately owned website and is not affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds or Major League Baseball


Contact us: Boss | Gallen5862 | Plus Plus | Powel Crosley | RedlegJake | The Operator