Tag Archives: “tennis”
Federer Wins 16th Slam
Federer wins Australian Open 2010. Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images
Federer won the the 2010 Australian Open over Andy Murray in straight sets last night (or early morning). That’s his 16th slam and he doesn’t show any signs of letting up at 28 years old. I love how 2/3 weeks ago people were saying it’s wide open and that there are 5-8 guys who could win. Actually that’s true, which just makes it so much more amazing that at the end, it’s still Roger. At 28, he’s still beating the young guns and winning slams. It’s just amazing, this guy is the most dominant athlete of the last decade.
Australian Open 2010
The AO is killing me. Some of the best matches are played at night at the AO which means they start at 3:30 AM here. It’s crazy, I am not getting a lot of sleep these days. Last night I wanted to watch the Murray/Nadal match but barely made it through the first set. So I went to bed but boy what a shocker this morning.
Del Potro – 2009 US Open Champ
Well Roger, you can’t win them all. Del Potro was the better player tonight and deserves his first grand slam title. Roger went away in that 5th set, similar to what happened in Australia. I get the feeling he was slowing down and getting tired. I guess you just can’t fight time no matter how hard you try. But never fear, even at 28, Roger is at the top of the men’s game and it still takes an incredible performance to beat him. He’s won every major in the last 5-6 years or lost to the champion. I have no doubt he’ll hit 20 majors. You heard that here. Yes, twenty. 2009 has been a great year for him and this takes nothing away. Congratulations to Juan Martin Del Potro.
P.S. I see something in JMDP – this guy could have a very bright future in tennis. It’s amazing how much more consistent he’s become in the last couple of months. That 100+ mph forehand is just absolutely ridiculous. And the guy is so humble and respects Roger and his accomplishments. I don’t feel bad that Roger lost to him instead of one of those young, arrogant punks like Murray (only guy in the top 6 without a slam, btw).
P.P.S. You know what ticked me off? Del Potro wanted to say something in Spanish to his family and friends and they wouldn’t let him! Unbelievable. Dick Enberg said they didn’t have time and they immediately went on to do their product placement for Lexus. You see the look on Del Potro’s face? He doesn’t give a damn about winning the car. You’re not going to let him say a few words but you have all this time to promote Lexus? Good for him that he later insisted on speaking and then did. But even then it was rushed. The guy just won the US Open, he earned the right to speak. Way to f*cking sell out, USTA.
I Present… Roger Federer
His amazing between-the-legs (tweener) shot to set up match point against Novak Djokovic in the 2009 US Open semis. It’s one thing to even get this trick shot over the net, it’s a whole other thing to hit a passing shot winner against someone at net. I jumped off my couch when I saw this. Unbelievable.
Djokovic hits a very nice lob, and Roger Federer runs back for it…
I want to impress upon non-tennis fans, this shot is incredibly difficult and players practically never pull it off. But to hit it for a clean winner… just WOW. This is the shot of the year. Roger called it the shot of his life.
Also to kind of explain, if someone hits a good lob (based on speed, spin, and height), it can be near impossible to get back and get a good hit on it no matter how fast you run back. So sometimes the only option left is try the tweener but people always dump it into the net or it’s so weak, the opponent can easily put it away at net. To make this shot at this point late in a match, late in a major, to set up match point… that’s just how Roger Federer rolls.
CBS commentator Dick Enberg’s comment cracked me up: “And for my next act, I’m going to hit a winner while in a box while they saw me in half!”
The WTA Tour Sucks
Seriously, women’s tennis is in a poor state right now. Everyone’s pretty much on an even keel. On any given day, anyone can win. That’s why you got retired players coming back or thinking about coming back. And you have teens like Melanie Oudin taking out top seeds. And geezus, don’t get me started on Ivanonic. Girl went out 1st round, worst than last year’s 2nd round exit. She was ranked #1 before! And the other day, the current #1 seed (without a slam), Dinara Safina, was competing with her no name opponent to see who could suck more, who could hit more errors. It’s ridiculous. And when the women play, breaking serve is a normal, frequent occurence.
You know, it’s a shame Sharapova had to have surgery on her shoulder because I think she would’ve dominated during the time she was out, even with the Williams sisters playing. The Williams simply took advantage of a weak field. Sharapova can hold her own against both.
Federer Wins Cincy, Destroys Young Guns
Roger Federer won the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati on Sunday, beating Novak Djokovic in convincing fashion, 6-1 and 7-5. A day before, he also beat Andy Murray in straight sets, 6-2 and 7-6. These are 2 of the top 4 whose best surface is hard courts and many expected them to beat Roger. In fact, the odds-makers pegged Murray for the win in the semifinal. But what we saw was vintage Federer or TMF, The Mighty Fed, back in action. He dominated the young guns, the very people contending for his US Open title in a week.
Tennis Season Back in Motion
All the top players, most notably Federer and Nadal, are back in action this week at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. This is part of the US Open Series that leads up to the US Open. Federer’s coming off a hot streak, winning Madrid, the French Open, and Wimbledon; regaining no.1 ranking; and having twin girls. Nadal’s coming back from his knee injury.
Federer Wins Record 15th Major, 6th Wimbledon
TMF now has the most grand slam victories in history. Wow, that was an unbelievable match. Another Wimby EPIC.
Federer d. Roddick
5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14
Check out this amazing ATP tribute:
Andy vs. Andy
Andy Roddick and Andy Murray are playing their 3rd set tiebreak in their semi right now. Crowd’s crazy for Murray. I’m rooting for Roddick. Murray is annoying – yelling and fist-pumping after every single point, like he just won the set or something.
UPDATE: Yesterday I voted on tennis.com that the final would be Federer vs Roddick. Well, Roddick has just won in 4 sets over Murray. TMF vs Andy Roddick for the Wimby final! Yes, The Mighty Fed is definitely back. Andy’s playing better but it’s still a tough matchup for him. Fed’s just always had his number. 18-2 record doesn’t lie. But you never know. I’m hoping Fed gets #15 on Sunday.
Karlovic Can Only Serve
Tennis fans already know this about Dr. Ivo but if Karlovic didn’t have that powerful serve, I’m pretty sure Federer could have bageled him 3 times. Breaking Karlovic in each of the first 2 sets was impressive, especially the way Federer was returning in the games he broke. Karlovic volleyed poorly but I think that has more to do with how Roger hits/returns the ball and his ability to come up with amazing passing shots.
P.S. Once again, NBC proves they are incompetent, stupid, ignorant, or all of the above. They are airing a tape delay of this match later in the day. NBC apparently has the rights to this match so it wasn’t on ESPN360.com either. I ended up watching another live stream online that was actually good quality and had decent commentary (not sure if it was BBC or what, but Boris Becker was commentating). So suck it NBC, I ain’t watching your tape delay. The ESPN2 commentator even said “we can’t tell you the score for the Federer/Karlovic match because NBC will air it later today.” Well, screw that. Is NBC not aware of something called the Internet? No wonder they’re in last place among the networks – NBC is just plain dumb.