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Roland Garros 2009 French Open

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Federer hasn't really looked all that sharp. He's just lucky he's playing against a lemon, all the big boys are dropping like flies. If he had met a quality player today it would have been a different story.
 
Manics said:
Federer hasn't really looked all that sharp. He's just lucky he's playing against a lemon, all the big boys are dropping like flies. If he had met a quality player today it would have been a different story.
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Well, that's the problem of the big boys that are dropping, not Federer one.
 
Manics said:
Federer hasn't really looked all that sharp. He's just lucky he's playing against a lemon, all the big boys are dropping like flies. If he had met a quality player today it would have been a different story.
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You don't really get sports, do you?
 
It's pretty disappointing that Monfils pretty much gave up in the 2nd set. I guess he was just bummed to have lost the 1st when he should have won and then just stopped playing.

Oh well. Could be possibly looking at another Fed/Del Potro matchup. Maybe Del Potro won't give up this time.
 
Nihilism said:
It's pretty disappointing that Monfils pretty much gave up in the 2nd set. I guess he was just bummed to have lost the 1st when he should have won and then just stopped playing.

Oh well. Could be possibly looking at another Fed/Del Potro matchup. Maybe Del Potro won't give up this time.
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That's why Nadal can consistently spank Federer, he doesn't get discouraged and handles the mental aspect of the game far better.
 
Good for Federer.

Monfils was incredibly deflated after that 1st set. Federer was too big of a weight for him. But like I said, make or miss, Federer was going for his shots and that proved too much to handle for Monfils.

So I think it's safe to say that Federer is in the finals now (I don't have too much faith in Del Potro, but then again, no one did at Miami either when he beat Nadal). I wonder if Soderling can keep his level of play up and make his way into the finals. I still can't believe that he beat Davydenko so thoroughly. If he makes it to the finals, Federer will have to deal with Nadal Slayer and that's gonna be a great match. Soderling is playing the tennis of his life right now.
 
Yay, Fed won ! :D

Looks like he'll be playing Del Porto cuz Robredo ain't playing shit, so far...

that must be a record
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25th consecutive, I believe. Yeah, if not a record, it definitely shows how amazingly consistent he has been over the years.
 
I caught the last set, Fed seemed so confident and sure of himself. He seemed so relaxed. Monfils on the other hand was playing like he already knew the outcome...that he lost.
 
Soderling and Gonzalez are going to kill each other with their cannon forehand, I'm looking forward to that match, gonna be a good one if the swede keeps his level.
 
IIRC, 20 consecutive semi-final appearances is the record (man or woman). I checked Graf and she only has 13. I don't know who could possibly do better than her.
 
I seriously wonder if Federer cares that he can't play Nadal in the finals. If he wins, he's not exactly going to give the trophy back but Federer always prides himself with beating the players at the top. All of his rivals had to go through him to win their Grand Slams (Djokovic & Nadal) so I wonder how Federer will reflect upon this. Kinda like how Djokovic won the year-end championship: he didn't beat Federer, Nadal or Murray on his way to the title, but the W is all that mattered. And I'm sure Novak didn't care.

But rivalries are what makes sports interesting. This reminds me of how OSU got to play in the championship game 2 years ago: they (we :lol) did nothing while all of the top teams bottomed out.
 
MIMIC said:
I seriously wonder if Federer cares that he can't play Nadal in the finals. If he wins, he's not exactly going to give the trophy back but Federer always prides himself with beating the players at the top. All of his rivals had to go through him to win their Grand Slams (Djokovic & Nadal) so I wonder how Federer will reflect upon this. Kinda like how Djokovic won the year-end championship: he didn't beat Federer, Nadal or Murray on his way to the title, but the W is all that mattered. And I'm sure Novak didn't care.

But rivalries are what makes sports interesting. This reminds me of how OSU got to play in the championship game 2 years ago: they (we :lol) did nothing while all of the top teams bottomed out.
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Tennis is an individual sport where each player is responsible for his head to head performance. Just to put it in perspective imagine if NBA players had to play one on one instead of as a team. In team games not everyone has to bring their best every single time, in tennis if you don't play you're best you can lose to nearly anyone in the field. The true test for any tennis player is can you win when you're not at your best? Federer has proven he can, not only that but he's lost a 1/2 step of foot speed over the last 6 months or so, his balance and spacing isn't what it once was on the forehand side which is due to his poor positioning/footwork. He will probably never be again what he once was, tennis players typically peak around or before the age of 25, but he's still beating most of the field and contending for slams at a reduced level.
 
Del Potro is through. He's so placcid and calm, yet has brilliant strength, I love watching him play.

How can anybody possibly be trying to demean Fed's possible title here?
 
yeah, he's really great. he's going to kick federer's ass.

again, he's only twenty years old! i thought he was in his late twenties. :lol
 
liquid_gears said:
Del Potro is through. He's so placcid and calm, yet has brilliant strength, I love watching him play.

How can anybody possibly be trying to demean Fed's possible title here?
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I can see the point of view that people take on it, but it's not his fault that Murray, Nadal, and Djokovic couldn't hold up their end of the deal. If anything it shows how damn good he is that nobody has been able to beat him before the last 4 players at any slam in over 5 years! Slam draws start with 128 players, he's made the final 4 at every slam for the last 5 years without an early loss. That's fucking crazy, and I may be wrong on this but at the slams where he lost in the semis and didn't make the finals he lost to the guy who ended up winning the tournament each time. Djokovic at the 2008 Aussie, Safin at the 2005 Aussie, and Nadal at the 2005 French. That may need a fact check, but I'm pretty sure that's the case.
 
MIMIC said:
IIRC, 20 consecutive semi-final appearances is the record (man or woman). I checked Graf and she only has 13. I don't know who could possibly do better than her.
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I think you may be wrong about this - Graf reached 13 straight *finals* (between '87 French and '90 French), though maybe that was her longest streak of SF runs as well?

Ah, just looked it up: Graf was in 16 straight semis from '86 US Open to '90 US Open, and during that time played in 13 straight finals :)
 
Manics said:
Federer hasn't really looked all that sharp. He's just lucky he's playing against a lemon, all the big boys are dropping like flies. If he had met a quality player today it would have been a different story.
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GIANT ASTERISK
 
To be honest, I want Federer to lose because he bores me and I think the men's game is more interesting when he's struggling, but if he wins this, he wins it, regardless of whether he has to beat Nadal or Novak or Del Potro or whoever to win. It's not his fault everyone chokes when they get him in their sights (I'm looking at you, Haas, and you too, Monfils).

I think the only chance is if Soderling can continue his high level of play into the final, though I doubt very much that will happen (I have a feeling he'll choke, too, if he gets into that situation).

The women's final is going to be similarly strange/underwhelming, I think. I expect Safina to go all the way, but she has such a history of choking in these situations that Svetlana could pull it off, or one of the hot up-and-comers.

What a strange tennis season this has been so far...
 
perfectchaos007 said:
I look forward to Pete Sampras damage control. You could tell he had other things on his mind at the EA press conference.
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What did he say? Something about Federer or Nadal, I'm guessing??
 
:lol Serena's so pathetic.

Has she ever admitted to being outplayed?

"In the third set I had an opportunity and I got really tight, and I pretty much gave it to her," Williams said. "It was like, 'Here, do you want to go to the semis? Because I don't.' She was like, 'OK.'"

"I don't know," Williams said. "I haven't gotten tight since 2007 in Australia. Maybe I put some expectations on myself that I didn't put on myself initially."

"Honestly, I think I lost because of me, and not because of anything she did," Williams said.
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Cibulkova playing some good tennis, even got a break up, but Safina just proves too strong. I think the final between Safina and Kuznetsova should be a good, tight affair.
 
Serena lost? Yipppeee!

Here's hoping for a Safina (she's going to steamroll it) v Stosur (yay) final.

Ashhong said:
im not sure if Sharapova making it to the quarter finals in her first big Open in what, 9+ months, is a fail
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In hindsight maybe not.
 
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