Wimbledon

[mauiguy90]

Its mid year and Federer is still #1 by more than a thousand points. Yet Nadal and Djokovic have beaten him in the French and Australian finals respectively. Fed has lost a number of other times this year and is no longer the dominant force he once was in tennis. There are a lot of questions about who is really the best player out there.

However Federer is the king of Wimbledon and grass is his home. No one has beaten him there for 5 years. Can Federer continue his domination of Wimbledon and win his "lucky" 13th major title?

Edited June 22, 2008 by mauiguy90

[sbk]

Federer is at the top of his game but Nadal is hoping to be the first to win the French and Wimbledon since Borg.

Too bad for whoever voted for Andy Roddick as he is out already!

A few hours later, the sun sank, and so did American hope Roddick, who was outplayed by 40th-ranked Serbian Janko Tipsarevic. Known for his tattoos, wraparound glasses and creative shotmaking, Tipsarevic outlasted Roddick 6-7 (7-5), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Roddick served 27 aces but he was 0 for 8 on break points and squandered three set points in the final set.

"Any chance I got, I pretty much choked it," Roddick said. "It's not an easy thing to say, but it's pretty much what happened. It's like you want something so bad you almost squeeze it too tight."

He then embarked on a brutally candid assessment of his career frustrations. His sole Grand Slam title was the 2003 U.S. Open, and he badly craves another.

"At this point, it's almost like win another Slam or what? You're disappointing? That's a tough thing to deal with. I could probably coast and be a top-10 player and have a cushy lifestyle and be set for as long as I need to be set for, but I don't know if that appeals to me. I don't know if I'm satisfied with that.

"It's like when you've seen the Rolling Stones from the front row, and then all of a sudden you're seven or eight rows back, and there's a really tall guy in front of you waving his hands and screaming, you can't see much, it's not going to be as good as the other show. I want to win another Slam. If I go win a regular tour event, what are you guys going to say? 'Who cares?' I'm aware of the situation I'm in."

Tipsarevic admitted he caught Roddick on a bad day.

"I could see he was tight," Tipsarevic said. "Professional tennis players feel the intensity and see when the other guy is choking. If you can read that, it's a great bonus and benefit for you.

Source: Seattle Times

[mauiguy90]

Federer is at the top of his game but Nadal is hoping to be the first to win the French and Wimbledon since Borg.

Too bad for whoever voted for Andy Roddick as he is out already!

Yep, that be me! Roddick was a bit of a long shot but he's beaten Nadal and DJ this year plus he had a good draw at Wimbledon finally. Problem is, he couldn't get past Tipsarevic, who is a tremendous "floater", who almost beat Fed in five (10-8 in the fifth) at the Aussie Open.

My next long shot pick is Andy Murray, who plays Gasquet next. His chances will be greatly improved if Youzhny can get past Nadal (6-4 head to head). Youzhny beat Nadal 6-0, 6-1 early in the year and has the net game to beat Nadal on grass. Murray has a winning record against Fed (2-1) including a win at Dubai.

Whatever happens, the next couple days should be great tennis. Hopefully Star Sports will come through with televising the competitive matches. Very disappointed with last week's telecasts, especially when they skipped over DJ's upset loss to Marat Safin and later showed 10 minutes of a huge upset.

Edited June 30, 2008 by mauiguy90

[sbk]

Well, it was a classic Wimbledon match--incredible on both sides but too bad I didn't bet on it since Nadal won!!!

Nadal beats Federer, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7

Nadal ends Federer reign at Wimbledon

5 hours ago

LONDON (AFP) — Rafael Nadal beat defending champion Roger Federer in five sets to win the Wimbledon men's singles title on Sunday.

The Spaniard won a classic final 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-7 (8/10), 9-7 to add a first title at the All England club to his four French Open victories.

Nadal's victory in what was the longest final in the tournament's history ended Federer's 65-match unbeaten run on grass and denied the Swiss the chance to become the first man since the 19th century to win six Wimbledon titles in a row.

For Nadal, it was a case of third time lucky as he turned the tables on his great rival after losing out to him in the 2006 and 2007 finals.

The 22-year-old, who demolished Federer in last month's French Open final, becomes the third man to win titles at Roland Garros and the All England club in the same year in the Open era, emulating the achievements of Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg.

He was the first Spaniard to win a Wimbledon title since Manolo Santana in 1966.

Nadal got his nose in front when he broke Federer's service in the third game of the opening set and went on to clinch it 6-4.

He came from a break down to claim the second by the same scoreline.

Federer kept the defence of his title alive by clinching the third set in a tiebreak after a rain break of more than an hour at the end of the ninth game.

He then saved two match points before clinching the fourth set tiebreak to force the match into the decisive fifth.

But Nadal was not be denied and finally claimed victory in the 16th game of the fifth set after four hours and 48 minutes on court.

Source: AFP

[LaoPo]

Congratulations to Nadal.

One of the most exciting matches I've ever seen.

What a great players, both of them...

LaoPo

[froggshw]

I agree...what a match...best I've seen for many years(and I been watching more than 20 )

Well done Nadal...well deserved

Froggs

[JetsetBkk]

Yep, one of the best finals ever. Federer had his chance in the last set - two points to serve for the championship but... but...

Nadal is so strong - unbelievable power - and fast. His backhand cross-court passes... wow! He could go on to break many records.