Regardless of Nadal's injury histrionics, I still expect him to win; however, I haven't seen Fed play at all, although it seems like he really hasn't had too very much so far this tournament (the simon retirement was a bummer, but then again he is french after all). Injured or not, Nadal is nothing if not tenaciously consistent, and given Federer's recent tendency to lapse in form at various times in matches, I just don't see him taking out Nadal. The form Fed showed at the World Tour Finals where he beat Nadal in straights is unfortunately the exception now. But then again, I'm usually wrong with all my predictions. Regardless of who wins, I don't see anyone beating Djokovic in the final.
it's gotta suck so badly to play nadal like this... some fucking wild shots from federer and he runs it all down. as much as I admire what he does, he still wins matches by forcing errors on others and it's slightly annoying
David Foster Wallace wrote:Of course, in men’s sports no one ever talks about beauty or grace or the body. Men may profess their “love” of sports, but that love must always be cast and enacted in the symbology of war: elimination vs. advance, hierarchy of rank and standing, obsessive statistics, technical analysis, tribal and/or nationalist fervor, uniforms, mass noise, banners, chest-thumping, face-painting, etc. For reasons that are not well understood, war’s codes are safer for most of us than love’s. You too may find them so, in which case Spain’s mesomorphic and totally martial Rafael Nadal is the man’s man for you — he of the unsleeved biceps and Kabuki self-exhortations.
i don't think it's premature to say that monfils will never win a major. he's tremendously athletic and a versatile player, but he lacks consistency. his flare for showmanship can be an asset but it also shows a lack of discipline and focus that simply isn't a problem for anyone with staying power in the top 10. i can see him making a final, maybe, but in the next couple years people are going to stop talking about potential and start talking about wasted talent with him.
glumble wrote:quilty, post some Jim Troeltsch tennis commentary on all the different ways you can describe the act of defeat
unfortunately my copy is at home but i see no reason why the dfw cult shouldn't colonize this thread as well.
this is an exciting match. i genuinely don't know who will win.
He doesn't listen to his coaches. He has so much natural athletic ability that if he just adapted a certain style of play, he'd be winning majors. Instead he does shit like
haha when they went back to the booth after that happened patrick mcenroe was just shaking his head for like 10 straight seconds.
monfils is probably my favorite guy to watch. i get what's wrong/right with him and all. just mainly wondering if there's anything out there re: him actually turning it around. his twitter feed reads like a 15 y/o's
1440 The other game is looking pretty intense - Frederico Gil has taken the first set against Gael Monfils in a tie-break after a gruelling hour of hitting. Sky aired a replay of the best point, a brutal 36-shot rally which saw at least three skied recovereries from behind the baseline falling miraculously in play. That went on so long I'm pretty sure you could see the shadow of the floodlights inching around the court.
Nadal lost only two sets over the course of the entire clay season last year. Murray has been knocked out during the first round at every tournament since the Australian; this could be a career changing win for him.