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Post by Adam on Jun 29, 2015 11:39:53 GMT -5
With Wimbledon starting today, what's your thoughts and predictions for this year's Championships? Can Djokovic retain his crown and ease the heartache of losing the Roland Garros final? Will Serena hold all 4 slams at the same time (again)? Can Federer make it 8 titles at the same slam? Will Nadal find his grass-feet again? Will Murray be champion again?
For me, I'm picking Murray to come through a tough draw to win his second title and I can't see anybody beating Serena.
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Post by Gin & Tonic on Jun 29, 2015 11:49:42 GMT -5
Murray to beat Djokovic in the men's, Serena to walk the ladies in 2nd gear.
Can't see Nadal winning another slam outside of the French, his body has caught up with him after the brutal punishment he gave it when he was in his prime.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2015 11:50:49 GMT -5
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Post by scott1 on Jun 29, 2015 12:06:17 GMT -5
As a tennis player myself it's hard not to idolise Roger, it amazes me how he can still be so good.
Djokovic is in his usual imperious form, it gets to the point where there's less excitement watching him just because of how robotically consistent he can be.
Nadal has been the victim of countless upsets of late, it's difficult to put much trust in him given how unreliable he's become.
But I'd really like to see Murray clinch it. He's been playing some great tennis recently and I think he definitely has another Wimbledon title in him somewhere.
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Post by Adam on Jun 29, 2015 13:12:11 GMT -5
As a tennis player myself it's hard not to idolise Roger, it amazes me how he can still be so good. Djokovic is in his usual imperious form, it gets to the point where there's less excitement watching him just because of how robotically consistent he can be. Nadal has been the victim of countless upsets of late, it's difficult to put much trust in him given how unreliable he's become. But I'd really like to see Murray clinch it. He's been playing some great tennis recently and I think he definitely has another Wimbledon title in him somewhere. Roger plays so efficiently he doesn't put much stress on his body... It's hard to imagine the modern tennis game without him. It seems like a lifetime ago when Novak would withdraw from matches due to injury. It's amazing what a change in diet has done to him. Being a Nadal fan, it's heartbreaking to watch his swift decline. It seems to be a confidence issue which I'm hoping he'll overcome. Although I can't see it being at any point this season. Murray has been playing himself into great form this last couple of months and he has a good record against Djokovic on grass. I'd love to see win more slams and have his numbers up with the rest of the Big 4
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Post by scott1 on Jun 30, 2015 3:18:26 GMT -5
Roger plays so efficiently he doesn't put much stress on his body... It's hard to imagine the modern tennis game without him. It seems like a lifetime ago when Novak would withdraw from matches due to injury. It's amazing what a change in diet has done to him. Being a Nadal fan, it's heartbreaking to watch his swift decline. It seems to be a confidence issue which I'm hoping he'll overcome. Although I can't see it being at any point this season. Murray has been playing himself into great form this last couple of months and he has a good record against Djokovic on grass. I'd love to see win more slams and have his numbers up with the rest of the Big 4 The biggest change I've noticed in Roger is how he's adapted his game so that he moves less. His groundstrokes more than make up for the slightly heavier movement but there's some shots that you see him leave where I think "A few years ago you'd have made the stretch for that." Nevertheless I'm always impressed at the standard he's maintained for so long. It's tough seeing some of Nadal's recent performances, especially when we know just what he's capable of. Go on YouTube and put on some highlights from the '08 Wimbledon final (favourite match of all time) the standard of tennis is insane, you wouldn't even think it was the same guy you see playing now. I hope he hits form again.
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Post by MG on Jun 30, 2015 10:35:13 GMT -5
Threw a tenner on Djokovic/Serena double at just under 5/1. If I had spare cash would of lumped on a special of 2/1 on Serena but don't have much money to burn.
Can see Murray hitting a high gear, whether he can win it again is another question and like most people always want to see Federer do well again, hope he can win another big one before retirement.
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Post by Adam on Jun 30, 2015 10:59:17 GMT -5
Roger plays so efficiently he doesn't put much stress on his body... It's hard to imagine the modern tennis game without him. It seems like a lifetime ago when Novak would withdraw from matches due to injury. It's amazing what a change in diet has done to him. Being a Nadal fan, it's heartbreaking to watch his swift decline. It seems to be a confidence issue which I'm hoping he'll overcome. Although I can't see it being at any point this season. Murray has been playing himself into great form this last couple of months and he has a good record against Djokovic on grass. I'd love to see win more slams and have his numbers up with the rest of the Big 4 The biggest change I've noticed in Roger is how he's adapted his game so that he moves less. His groundstrokes more than make up for the slightly heavier movement but there's some shots that you see him leave where I think "A few years ago you'd have made the stretch for that." Nevertheless I'm always impressed at the standard he's maintained for so long. It's tough seeing some of Nadal's recent performances, especially when we know just what he's capable of. Go on YouTube and put on some highlights from the '08 Wimbledon final (favourite match of all time) the standard of tennis is insane, you wouldn't even think it was the same guy you see playing now. I hope he hits form again. I remember watching the 2008 final and it's hard to believe seven years has passed. They both where relentless and it was an epic match. Nadal was only 22 at the time and it seems that all of his subsequent injuries have finally impacted his mentality. I do believe that he'll eventually overcome this lapse in form, but whether he'll be a Grand Slam contender remains to be seen. In 2013, Federer's form dipped (although due to a back injury) and I remember feeling like his decline had started... Two years later and he's the World No.2 and hard to write off in any tournament. I guess time will tell if Nadal can follow suit.
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Post by Adam on Jul 2, 2015 12:57:52 GMT -5
Nadal's in trouble and could be making another early exit!
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Post by Gin & Tonic on Jul 2, 2015 13:43:27 GMT -5
Nadal's a goner.
Great play from Brown, thought he might have blown it when he left that volley then doubled on the first point of his serve but he kept his head and played 4 great points in a row.
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Post by scott1 on Jul 2, 2015 15:15:41 GMT -5
Sad to see Nadal bow out so early again, but I was impressed all round with Dustin Brown - the variety of his shots was superb.
James Ward also played a blinder today, first time he's reached the third round I believe, he thoroughly deserved that.
Federer put on another stunning display today, Querrey had no answers for him. Excited to see what he can produce this year.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2015 16:21:36 GMT -5
I just wrote a long post which was deleted when my ipad froze about how Nadal's aura of power has gone completely, people believe they can beat him and he's a target people that people are starting to hit....suffice to say - remember when Rafa Nadal losing in the second round of a major was worldwide sporting news?
Good performance from the maestro again, looking sharp.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2015 8:53:45 GMT -5
"Serving 101 with Nick Krygios" on court 2 right now.
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Post by matt on Jul 3, 2015 10:34:54 GMT -5
Being brutally honest, I was never a fan of Nadal - his style is so one dimensional and all he ever relied on was sheer brute force. Despite 08 being the greatest final ever, I'm still gutted Federer lost to him. It was inevitable that his overly physical style of playing was going to catch up on him as he approached his latter 20s, so yet another early exit isn't a surprise. And being brutally honest, I don't see much Federer like grace or elegance from Djokovic or Murray either. Mind you, it was great to see some serve and volley again from Dustin Brown - seems like years since I last watched a player succeed with that style, or even play with that style. It was all the rage back in the 90s with Sampras, Henman and co - very attacking style (I'm sure Henman would have actually won Grand Slams with a more powerful serve though).
Fingers crossed Federer wins - one last gasp of genius would be great to see. Though am I right in thinking he hasn't won a grand slam since Wimbledon 3 years ago? Surely he has at least one more grand slam left in him.
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Post by scott1 on Jul 3, 2015 11:03:20 GMT -5
Nadal certainly has very little influence now compared to 2008.
At that point, it was noticeable in some of the competitions I was playing that more people had started wearing vests and playing with a similar yellow Babolat. He really captured people's imagination but after a fair few losses now, younger players have realised they have nothing to lose against him and simply outplay him.
Just watched Djokovic's win a moment ago. It's frustrating how robotically consistent he is. His serving today was fantastic and he had an answer for anything Tomic could throw at him.
Kyrgios earlier in the day proved how much of an entertainer he can be. Many Wimbledon purists haven't warmed to his erratic displays of delight/anger but he's a great player to watch and certainly someone to keep an eye on. The game needs more characters like him.
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Post by scott1 on Jul 3, 2015 13:04:48 GMT -5
The more Heather Watson can trouble Serena Williams the better. Really hope Heather can pull off something special and give Serena more than she bargained for.
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Post by scott1 on Jul 3, 2015 13:13:53 GMT -5
Some fantastic points here, Watson's recoveries are admirable.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2015 13:37:31 GMT -5
Get in!
Nothing against Watson, but made up all those Murray mint sucking, flag waving, patriotic rhymes with bunts who were booing Serena are going home disappointed.
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Post by Gin & Tonic on Jul 3, 2015 14:04:35 GMT -5
Gutted for Watson, just a shame her serve wasn't consistent enough because everything else she did was excellent.
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Post by scott1 on Jul 4, 2015 5:21:53 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2015 11:47:11 GMT -5
So its Federer vs Murray....C'mon the maestro!!
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Post by thomaslivesforever on Jul 8, 2015 12:27:07 GMT -5
Kyrgios is talented but behaves like a child. Characters we want, people tanking in games we don't.
Agree with Matt on Nadal, I like and respect him but he was a baseline bully really. Never had the grace and finesse of someone like Federer.
Hoping Stan gives Novak a good old bumming in the semi's, I don't want to see more phantom injuries in a final. I want Murray to win but I like Federer too the only problem being that I couldn't see Fed beating both of them one after the other these days.
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Post by scott1 on Jul 8, 2015 13:12:37 GMT -5
I do think Federer will be a huge challenge for Murray.
Murray has the mental agility and physical prowess to overcome the big-servers but now with Federer, he's coming up against someone with a game just as clever as his. He proved in the Olympics Final that he could beat Federer so I'm hoping the same can be achieved this year.
I'd like to see Murray continue mixing up his serve as well as his groundstrokes. The further he can keep Federer back beyond the baseline the better. As well as playing a few big kick serves to put Federer on the back foot, this also just means he needs to keep his first serve as consistent as possible - his second serve is very vulnerable to attack, which Federer will do to keep the point as short as possible in line with his need to move ever more efficiently at 34 years old.
I really rooted for Kevin Anderson when he went 2 sets up, just to spice things up a bit. Djokovic pulled off a truly remarkable feat to come back from that, fair play to him.
It'll also be interesting to see how far Wawrinka can go after his French Open win.
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Post by thomaslivesforever on Jul 8, 2015 13:31:44 GMT -5
I don't think I've ever felt less tension in a 5 set match than Djokovic/Anderson. Its weird to say that a Djokovic win was inevitable from two sets down but as soon as Anderson's serve faltered that's how it felt.
If this quarter final goes on much longer Novak getting to the final will be a formality, it may well ensure he wins the tournament if Fed/Murr goes on a long time.
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Post by scott1 on Jul 8, 2015 13:41:59 GMT -5
I don't think I've ever felt less tension in a 5 set match than Djokovic/Anderson. Its weird to say that a Djokovic win was inevitable from two sets down but as soon as Anderson's serve faltered that's how it felt. If this quarter final goes on much longer Novak getting to the final will be a formality, it may well ensure he wins the tournament if Fed/Murr goes on a long time. I'd still say it was quite tense, even in that deciding 5th set Novak had to reel him in after going 3-1 down.
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