08 Sunday May 2011
Blows dust off mic *tap tap*
Is this thing on?
Been a while, eh?
Anyway, anyone who watches tennis even on a casual basis knows that if Novak Djokovic was in the draw, he won the tournament. Yes, that means he is undefeated in the year of 2011. Today was the day that he finally bested Rafael Nadal in a clay match and final. Let’s call it revenge for losing World War III back in the Madrid 09 semifinal.
So now he’s a commanding 1-9 against Rafa on clay.
01 Tuesday Dec 2009
Posted in Fun, General, Tennis, Uncategorized
Tags
australian open, del potro, dementieva, djokovic, dokic, federer, indian wells, kleybanova, madrid, nadal, nalbandian, serena, Tennis, us open, wimbledon, wozniacki
What will I be doing during tennis’ off-season?
Well, after the Davis Cup final that takes place this Friday-Sunday (that’s Dec. 4-Dec. 6) in Barcelona, there’s no tennis left. No competitive tennis. None. Nada. Zilch. Cero.
Not true, if you’re me. I have collected all my favorite matches from this year and such and will be watching them. I will not be bored these three weeks. However, it will still be a long three weeks. I will be happy when the break is over. But, until then, it’s re-runs for me. Trust me; the matches I chose are the golden ones; the pick of the litter, AFAIC.
Nadal-Federer Oz final
Nadal-Nalbandian IW 4th round
Dokic-Wozniacki Oz 3rd round
Dokic-Kleybanova Oz 4th round
S. Williams-Dementieva Wimbledon semi
Nadal-Djokovic Madrid semi
Del Potro-Federer US Open final
and the granddaddy of all matches this year: THE SEMI featuring Rafa and Nando at Oz.
So cheers and Happy Holidays!
22 Friday May 2009
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No less than four people have come to me about the Madrid final. These four people (who shall remain nameless) keep trying to persuade my cynical mind of one thing: this might be Shanx’s year.
Oh, I beg to differ…
Sure. I’ll give Shanx his credit for Sunday’s final. He played great. He didn’t catch a case of the 2nd Set Blues that have belied him. Everything seemed to be working quite well for Shankapotomus that day. The general consensus for this so-called comprehensive win over Rafa is that Shanx may have finally figured out how to play him on clay; solved the puzzle, if you will.
Sure, Shanx did things differently, people. But in the grand scheme of things, this win means diddly-shit to me. Why? Had Shanx beaten Rafa, in this manner, in Rome, then I’d be prepared to discuss a decent final in Paris. However, Nole took him out there. Why Rome, though? Rome is the most similar to Paris.
Shanx beat Rafa on a hardcourt covered in red sand in Madrid. It will be very different in Paris. Clearly…
17 Sunday May 2009
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That’s what Shanx should be saying to Novak Djokovic right now. That’s who he should be including in his “thank you” speech. Shankstar’s first title of the year comes at the expense of a spent Rafa Nadal. It was Hamburg all over again…
What do I mean by that? In Hamburg 2007, Rafa had clearly over-played up until that point. By the time he reached the final, he was spent; courtesy of a 3hr+ semi with Lleyton Hewitt. Roger had smooth-sailing with… can’t even remember the match was that forgettable. So what was the final like?
Rafa managed to win the first set because he’s just better than Shanx on the red stuff anyway, but then fatigue finally showed up and by the third set, it was pretty obvious to all.
And that’s what happened here in Madrid. After 4hrs of nerve-wracking, edge-of-your-seat tennis, we get stuck with a fatigued, error-prone Rafa that is a shadow of himself. It was a huge anticlimax, whether he won or lost.
Ugh! The hype for Roland Garros will be unbearable…
16 Saturday May 2009
Once again, I’m left amazed at some of the things I witnessed in the Rafa-Nole semifinal in Madrid. The match stands as probably the second best match on the men’s side for one reason: the final set tiebreaker. Those last 20 points of the match were the most tense and electrifying moments. Other than that, the match was just “good.”
The quality of play from both players was suspect through the whole match; neither played well at the same time. Rafa suffered some sort of injury during the first half of the match. Near the finish, Nole was in discomfort as well. The atmosphere in Madrid was quite appreciative of both players. The length of this match surpasses Rafa’s previous record of 3hrs 59min. This behemoth was a whopping 4hrs and 2min, the longest 3-setter in history.
What does one have to do to beat Rafa? He was playing on a bad knee, came from a set down, a break down, a mini break down, 3 mps down, and won.
Totally demoralizing…
The final will probably be soooo anticlimactic…
