So I'm sitting up to watch Federer /Verdasco Match and there I see the ugly mug of GimelSlob on TV.
What the Fudge!
Shame on BNP Paribas - you need not remind me that I should not do any business with this bank.
Very disappointing.
Showing posts with label Federer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Federer. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, August 4, 2008
Nadal does a Federer, Djokovic does a Nadal and Andy is the (not so) Surprising Winner
" More things change, the more they remain same".
Federer is a OK, hard courts will favor him - Ivo Karlovic proved that wrong
Nadal couldn't be defeated in his current form- Djokovic proved that wrong
Djokovic will make a strong return after Wimbledon- Andy Murray proved that wrong
So you say Andy is the best right now - not so fast my friend.
Tennis as seen from my point of view;
Lets start with Fedex ; Federer looks far from OK.
Iis he a great player - no doubt!
Is he in his best elements - NO,
Will he win Olympics and US - can't say though you can bet that he will make the Semis in both tournaments.
Just when I thought he was getting more realistic - he actually joked that he was on a "one game winning streak" after his first match win at Cincinnati, and then he comes up with this " The bigger picture is the Olympic Games and the U.S. Open. Those are the places where I want to win." WTF!!!
Really Roger!! I mean after you lose a tournament you talk about the next one as if nothing happened in the one that you lost! As one of your fans, I am getting concerned that at this rate, if you lost Olympics and US, you will say " This was a good year but my focus is on regrouping for 2009"
I think instead of focusing on anything else, he should only focus on his confidence level - both overconfidence as well as bouts of low confidence. This may sound absurd - but he needs to make sure that he's confident of closing - closing a point, a game, a set and the match.
He needs to play tight, even play safe like how every player does including Nadal & Co., when they know that a single point can tip the match one way or the other, but since Roger refuses to do it, my assessment is that he will remain in trouble. In my mind still the greatest but still the most obstinate in not making the badly needed adjustments during a match. He seems either overconfident or starts playing over anxiously and then seems surprised that he lost! Whew!
Nadal - the guy is so much improved in his determination, his game and knowing that other players get mentally fickle when he makes those unexpected results - he's truly unbelievable. You can say so many things about this guy - how he is winning on all surfaces, how focused he is on his pursuit of number one position and how he as taken his game to next level, but there is no need. Everyone can see it clearly, so;
Does he deserve # 1 ranking - Absolutely.
Is he self-effacing and humble - Yes
but here's my thought;
Is his game as complete as Roger - I don't think so.
C'mon. don't pretend to be shocked. Roger on a good day is still ahead of Nadal, Nadal surely is snapping at the heels of Roger, in fact, he has taken Roger's # 1 position but Roger is Roger.
Djokovic - He seems to be getting his groove back. Looks better prepared and determined to retain his number # 3 position after the stunning loss to Safin in Wimbledon but his stamina is not the same as others in the top 10.
He can win his matches on skill and talent but I'm gonna say that every time a match goes to four sets or more and his opponent retains the mental poise, Djokovic can be defeated, In fact, looking at the young and veteran players, he may have tougher time retaining his # 3 position for too long.
Andy Roddick - can you step it up and make a comeback! I know it looks impossible right now, but the guy has got game. He's in a bit of Roger situation! Over Anxious most of the time.
and now to the latest sensation - Andy Murray!
Man, isn't he showing glimpses of Nadal in his game! Unbelievable returns, great passing shots, speedy running all over the court!
If anyone can truly take the tag of MOST IMPROVED Player in top 10, it has to be this kid and what I like about him is the same humble streak as Nadal - realistic in what he says!
So Andy is a great winner but I'll repeat what I said at Wimbledon time - this kid is OK when he wins the first set but when he doesn't, Lord have mercy!
Not to take away anything from him but if you watched Cin. final - you know that Djokovic in second set was trying to lose and not playing to win. Couple of good shots from Novak and Andy's body language hit a down turn. In fact it looked more and more, that it would be tough for Andy to win if Djokovic could get his breath back. Again, I think Djokovic lost rather than Andy won but in the end I was happy for the result and for Andy.
He has put in hard work and it was paid. I still think though that Andy has a long way to go - the good news is he can.
Federer is a OK, hard courts will favor him - Ivo Karlovic proved that wrong
Nadal couldn't be defeated in his current form- Djokovic proved that wrong
Djokovic will make a strong return after Wimbledon- Andy Murray proved that wrong
So you say Andy is the best right now - not so fast my friend.
Tennis as seen from my point of view;
Lets start with Fedex ; Federer looks far from OK.
Iis he a great player - no doubt!
Is he in his best elements - NO,
Will he win Olympics and US - can't say though you can bet that he will make the Semis in both tournaments.
Just when I thought he was getting more realistic - he actually joked that he was on a "one game winning streak" after his first match win at Cincinnati, and then he comes up with this " The bigger picture is the Olympic Games and the U.S. Open. Those are the places where I want to win." WTF!!!
Really Roger!! I mean after you lose a tournament you talk about the next one as if nothing happened in the one that you lost! As one of your fans, I am getting concerned that at this rate, if you lost Olympics and US, you will say " This was a good year but my focus is on regrouping for 2009"
I think instead of focusing on anything else, he should only focus on his confidence level - both overconfidence as well as bouts of low confidence. This may sound absurd - but he needs to make sure that he's confident of closing - closing a point, a game, a set and the match.
He needs to play tight, even play safe like how every player does including Nadal & Co., when they know that a single point can tip the match one way or the other, but since Roger refuses to do it, my assessment is that he will remain in trouble. In my mind still the greatest but still the most obstinate in not making the badly needed adjustments during a match. He seems either overconfident or starts playing over anxiously and then seems surprised that he lost! Whew!
Nadal - the guy is so much improved in his determination, his game and knowing that other players get mentally fickle when he makes those unexpected results - he's truly unbelievable. You can say so many things about this guy - how he is winning on all surfaces, how focused he is on his pursuit of number one position and how he as taken his game to next level, but there is no need. Everyone can see it clearly, so;
Does he deserve # 1 ranking - Absolutely.
Is he self-effacing and humble - Yes
but here's my thought;
Is his game as complete as Roger - I don't think so.
C'mon. don't pretend to be shocked. Roger on a good day is still ahead of Nadal, Nadal surely is snapping at the heels of Roger, in fact, he has taken Roger's # 1 position but Roger is Roger.
Djokovic - He seems to be getting his groove back. Looks better prepared and determined to retain his number # 3 position after the stunning loss to Safin in Wimbledon but his stamina is not the same as others in the top 10.
He can win his matches on skill and talent but I'm gonna say that every time a match goes to four sets or more and his opponent retains the mental poise, Djokovic can be defeated, In fact, looking at the young and veteran players, he may have tougher time retaining his # 3 position for too long.
Andy Roddick - can you step it up and make a comeback! I know it looks impossible right now, but the guy has got game. He's in a bit of Roger situation! Over Anxious most of the time.
and now to the latest sensation - Andy Murray!
Man, isn't he showing glimpses of Nadal in his game! Unbelievable returns, great passing shots, speedy running all over the court!
If anyone can truly take the tag of MOST IMPROVED Player in top 10, it has to be this kid and what I like about him is the same humble streak as Nadal - realistic in what he says!
So Andy is a great winner but I'll repeat what I said at Wimbledon time - this kid is OK when he wins the first set but when he doesn't, Lord have mercy!
Not to take away anything from him but if you watched Cin. final - you know that Djokovic in second set was trying to lose and not playing to win. Couple of good shots from Novak and Andy's body language hit a down turn. In fact it looked more and more, that it would be tough for Andy to win if Djokovic could get his breath back. Again, I think Djokovic lost rather than Andy won but in the end I was happy for the result and for Andy.
He has put in hard work and it was paid. I still think though that Andy has a long way to go - the good news is he can.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Spain wins after 44 yrs. Now China looms! Tennis World
Ok I admit, the title may be little confusing there! Of course I refer to Euro Cup when I say that Spain won after 44 yrs.
So you may question, why mix Football/Soccer with Tennis. The reason is kind of weirdly obvious to me, at least as far as the Ladies Singles go. Can China do an encore of Spain and win their first ever Grand Slam title!!!
As for as Men's title; The question in the mind of fans in the tennis world is; can Nadal do the same in the Tennis World!! on Grass!
Would he be able to say Your Ass is Grass to Federer or would Andy Murray bring back some long last glory to British tennis and end up meeting Federer for the top honors, eventually.
Would Federer be even in the Final!
Either way, it is a yummy set up on the Wimbledon stage right now. Federer, Safn, Nadal, Murray, Ancic, Lopez, Schueletter, & Clement - could there be more variety here! I guess you could say that a Baghdatis or a Youzny may have been not bad either but, it is what it is.
However, before we delve deeper into Men's side, let say three Cheers for Zheng Jie of China. The first wild card to reach a grand slam semi-final of the ladies' singles and the first Chinese woman in the last four of a Grand Slam semi-final. Wow! And I believe that if anyone can defeat Serena ( besides Serena herself) Zheng is the one!
As for the other semi between Venus and Dementieva, the question is who will fold up first mentally and I think so far, Russians have shown a tendency to be highly fickle in that department. Would it be a Zheng Vs. Venus, Serena Vs. Dementivea, Venus Vs. Serena or the highly improbable though not entirely impossible; Zheng Vs. Dementiva!
Ooh! the possibilities and potentials! I'm ready to watch some action now.
Circling back to Men's corner now, lets look at the quarterfinal line-up and evaluate;
Fedex Vs. Ancic - would Ancic's marathon match with Verdasco take its toll or would he show the same grit as he showed in that match! I think Fedex may be little too much for Ancic.
Winnner - Fedex
Marat Vs. Lopez - Before I comment on the upcoming quarters match, I must vent a bit on Safin. I have to admit, I was surprised, no - was stunned by Safin's demeanor against Dojokovic in their match - I was expecting almost all through the match that Safin will explode in anger, frustration or both whenever he lost an easy point but boy, was I in for a big surprise. He kept his cool and got under the head of Dojokovic. Yes, I do believe that Dojokovic didn't play too bad except maybe in the third set but I think what got his goat was the fact that like me he expected Safin to implode and that never happened.
Anyways, coming to the quarters - Lopez has couple of good victories under belt specially the last one with Baghdatis but I think Safin is capable of taking care of business.
Winner - Safin in a tight finish
Schuettler Vs. Clement - Schuettler defeated Tipsarevic and Blake on his way while Clement won over Cilic and Bjrokman - I would like to think that Schuettler will win over Clement but given the fact that Germany lost to Spain in Euro - an absurd comparison but a kind of sign!!
Winner - Clement ( because Germany lost Euro cup)
and now Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps the most anticipated quarterfinal match-up
Nadal Vs. Murray - Murray has kep his head with wins over Gasquet, Haas and that old fox Santoro ( God, I love that guy, he makes the best players look ordinary with his game) while in my opinion Nadal has not really been battle tested so far, really speaking and where ever he was tested, he came up with mental toughness to win. He looks to be the fittest player on the circuit and his reputation alone gives him a one set lead over opponents but you know what, I like Andy's chances here. I'm not sure if Andy can keep his head and the focus but if he can, he has a decent chance. I know, I'm being a little ambiguous here but you know this is amongst the toughest to call. In my mind, whoever wins the first set will take the match and the honors.
Winner: the winner of first set
So there, this is how I read the matches and hopefully I'll be correct in predicting All of them - yes, modesty is my middle name.
If that doesn't happen, I'll cry in my towel till I go to sleep.
Lets meet again after the Men's quarters and Woman's Semis are done and see how I fared.
So you may question, why mix Football/Soccer with Tennis. The reason is kind of weirdly obvious to me, at least as far as the Ladies Singles go. Can China do an encore of Spain and win their first ever Grand Slam title!!!
As for as Men's title; The question in the mind of fans in the tennis world is; can Nadal do the same in the Tennis World!! on Grass!
Would he be able to say Your Ass is Grass to Federer or would Andy Murray bring back some long last glory to British tennis and end up meeting Federer for the top honors, eventually.
Would Federer be even in the Final!
Either way, it is a yummy set up on the Wimbledon stage right now. Federer, Safn, Nadal, Murray, Ancic, Lopez, Schueletter, & Clement - could there be more variety here! I guess you could say that a Baghdatis or a Youzny may have been not bad either but, it is what it is.
However, before we delve deeper into Men's side, let say three Cheers for Zheng Jie of China. The first wild card to reach a grand slam semi-final of the ladies' singles and the first Chinese woman in the last four of a Grand Slam semi-final. Wow! And I believe that if anyone can defeat Serena ( besides Serena herself) Zheng is the one!
As for the other semi between Venus and Dementieva, the question is who will fold up first mentally and I think so far, Russians have shown a tendency to be highly fickle in that department. Would it be a Zheng Vs. Venus, Serena Vs. Dementivea, Venus Vs. Serena or the highly improbable though not entirely impossible; Zheng Vs. Dementiva!
Ooh! the possibilities and potentials! I'm ready to watch some action now.
Circling back to Men's corner now, lets look at the quarterfinal line-up and evaluate;
Fedex Vs. Ancic - would Ancic's marathon match with Verdasco take its toll or would he show the same grit as he showed in that match! I think Fedex may be little too much for Ancic.
Winnner - Fedex
Marat Vs. Lopez - Before I comment on the upcoming quarters match, I must vent a bit on Safin. I have to admit, I was surprised, no - was stunned by Safin's demeanor against Dojokovic in their match - I was expecting almost all through the match that Safin will explode in anger, frustration or both whenever he lost an easy point but boy, was I in for a big surprise. He kept his cool and got under the head of Dojokovic. Yes, I do believe that Dojokovic didn't play too bad except maybe in the third set but I think what got his goat was the fact that like me he expected Safin to implode and that never happened.
Anyways, coming to the quarters - Lopez has couple of good victories under belt specially the last one with Baghdatis but I think Safin is capable of taking care of business.
Winner - Safin in a tight finish
Schuettler Vs. Clement - Schuettler defeated Tipsarevic and Blake on his way while Clement won over Cilic and Bjrokman - I would like to think that Schuettler will win over Clement but given the fact that Germany lost to Spain in Euro - an absurd comparison but a kind of sign!!
Winner - Clement ( because Germany lost Euro cup)
and now Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps the most anticipated quarterfinal match-up
Nadal Vs. Murray - Murray has kep his head with wins over Gasquet, Haas and that old fox Santoro ( God, I love that guy, he makes the best players look ordinary with his game) while in my opinion Nadal has not really been battle tested so far, really speaking and where ever he was tested, he came up with mental toughness to win. He looks to be the fittest player on the circuit and his reputation alone gives him a one set lead over opponents but you know what, I like Andy's chances here. I'm not sure if Andy can keep his head and the focus but if he can, he has a decent chance. I know, I'm being a little ambiguous here but you know this is amongst the toughest to call. In my mind, whoever wins the first set will take the match and the honors.
Winner: the winner of first set
So there, this is how I read the matches and hopefully I'll be correct in predicting All of them - yes, modesty is my middle name.
If that doesn't happen, I'll cry in my towel till I go to sleep.
Lets meet again after the Men's quarters and Woman's Semis are done and see how I fared.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Federer, Henin's departure from the Tennis World - So Sad...
So I like Federer and Henin both and hence this shock on departure of both from the Tennis world.
Ok Ok Federer has not announced his retirement or anything but for all practical purposes every match that he plays makes it look like that he is getting ready to give away his games, his matches and eventually his crown.
Now, I have been watching him for last several years and to me, the moment of truth was in the 2006 US Open semis and the final. I just couldn't believe that he was hitting some shots with casual abundance at critical times in the match. I just couldn't. Till date I believe he won 2006 US open not because he played great but because his opponents folded up - after all, Its not easy to play center court in front of a huge crowd and world number 1 looking at you from the other side of the court.
Now don't go thinking that I don't like the guy. I am probably his biggest fan, in my home I am his ONLY fan because my wife and kids only like Nadal. I don't question Roger's skills, he's the best there is, I question his shot selection and his stubbornness. Stubborn because he refuses to change his game plans to match the changing situations during a game. I guess many of his opponents have started realizing this, so now he's tasting defeat so frequently. He, of course, is a player with great skills, talent and knowledge but if he doesn't take corrective action NOW, he may only be one amongst the top few instead of THE man in command in the Tennis World.
Justine Henin - I guess most of the tennis world is shocked beyond belief, I know I am and given my size, I'm at least half the tennis world, so its a certified stunner for the world.
DO you know any other women in sports who had so much grit, mental toughness and determination! What a loss! I hope she will just take a hiatus and come back in a year or less.
On the other hand, if you look at her roller coaster ride of last few years - estrangement from the family, divorce from the husband, reuniting with family- it must not have been easy even for a woman of so much courage.
May she get what she desires and may god fulfill her wishes As Well As wishes of everyone who reads this blog.
Non-readers, I can't guarantee your future though. Sorry. Wait a minute, if you are a non-reader you are not reading this blog... Right!!!
Peace.
P.S. - Damn the Spurs - I can't believe they lost to NO last night. They are messing up my predictions from the previous blog. *%#@ them.
I can't believe that so much bad decision making can be done by such an experienced team. I hold Manu specially responsible for taking a few perimeter shots that should have been in the paint hoops. Only consolation is that the loss is to Byron Scott's team - a man I feel was unfairly fired by Nets due to that smart ass Jason Kidd! What a sweet deal - Kidd sits out and Byron is still in there. JUSTICE.
Ok Ok Federer has not announced his retirement or anything but for all practical purposes every match that he plays makes it look like that he is getting ready to give away his games, his matches and eventually his crown.
Now, I have been watching him for last several years and to me, the moment of truth was in the 2006 US Open semis and the final. I just couldn't believe that he was hitting some shots with casual abundance at critical times in the match. I just couldn't. Till date I believe he won 2006 US open not because he played great but because his opponents folded up - after all, Its not easy to play center court in front of a huge crowd and world number 1 looking at you from the other side of the court.
Now don't go thinking that I don't like the guy. I am probably his biggest fan, in my home I am his ONLY fan because my wife and kids only like Nadal. I don't question Roger's skills, he's the best there is, I question his shot selection and his stubbornness. Stubborn because he refuses to change his game plans to match the changing situations during a game. I guess many of his opponents have started realizing this, so now he's tasting defeat so frequently. He, of course, is a player with great skills, talent and knowledge but if he doesn't take corrective action NOW, he may only be one amongst the top few instead of THE man in command in the Tennis World.
Justine Henin - I guess most of the tennis world is shocked beyond belief, I know I am and given my size, I'm at least half the tennis world, so its a certified stunner for the world.
DO you know any other women in sports who had so much grit, mental toughness and determination! What a loss! I hope she will just take a hiatus and come back in a year or less.
On the other hand, if you look at her roller coaster ride of last few years - estrangement from the family, divorce from the husband, reuniting with family- it must not have been easy even for a woman of so much courage.
May she get what she desires and may god fulfill her wishes As Well As wishes of everyone who reads this blog.
Non-readers, I can't guarantee your future though. Sorry. Wait a minute, if you are a non-reader you are not reading this blog... Right!!!
Peace.
P.S. - Damn the Spurs - I can't believe they lost to NO last night. They are messing up my predictions from the previous blog. *%#@ them.
I can't believe that so much bad decision making can be done by such an experienced team. I hold Manu specially responsible for taking a few perimeter shots that should have been in the paint hoops. Only consolation is that the loss is to Byron Scott's team - a man I feel was unfairly fired by Nets due to that smart ass Jason Kidd! What a sweet deal - Kidd sits out and Byron is still in there. JUSTICE.
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