Tennis

[tar]

On this Special Edition of Open Access, we delve into the life of one of the best players ever, Roger Federer. Roger invites us into his life on the road and shares with us the secrets to his success and how he enjoys life off the court. Just days before Roger embarked on his title run at the 2006 Australian Open, he invited Open Access into his private suite at the Crowne Casino Hotel in Melbourne. We now bring you that interview Uncut, in its entirety.

i see we have an event over here on the way.
may the best man win.
paz

[tar]

i caught some of the game yesterday
on the Boob tube as they call it in the states
Rabbit ears and all
Black & White set
1983
i think
at that Ha!
doing a bunch of work here at the house
might move across
town today or tomorrow
gonna pack my luggage
already got me rent paid
for a month
thank goodness
tired of the almost nonstop work 'round here
gotta stay sober too.
later
tar
---------------------------------------------------
to get away fer a while
/ Feder vs. that German dude
.The germam man was on fire wasn't he?
who won?
-----------------------------------------------------

[diabolik]

---------------------------------------------------
to get away fer a while
/ Feder vs. that German dude
.The germam man was on fire wasn't he?
who won?
-----------------------------------------------------

You mean Rafael Nadal? He is Spanish and won the tournament. Not a big surprise there. Although I'm always rooting against Nadal (well unless he is playing against Lleyton Hewitt.). I don't like his behavior.

[The TJT]

You mean Rafael Nadal? He is Spanish and won the tournament. Not a big surprise there. Although I'm always rooting against Nadal (well unless he is playing against Lleyton Hewitt.). I don't like his behavior.

*What* behaviour?!?!

He's like the most sportsmanship-like great champion there ever was...Always gives credit to opponents, never says a bad word. Doesn't act on(or off) court. And he's most modest as a person, atleast according to interviews...almost excessive modesty. I read an interview by uncle Toni, Rafa is brought up that way, respecting others and family oriented easygoing Mallorcan stuff.
Only edge I can think of is after a good point he might show his guns and shout "si" or "vamos" (which he does less nowadays anyways, perhaps the age)
...That is because he is a 100% competitor and goes through emotions during the game. Even Borg and Federer were hotheads at their youth, they just opted not to show it at some point.

Perhaps you have been reading Finnish trash tabloid "Iltalehti". It had an article just before French open, which claimed for example that Nadal can not stand Federer and doesn't have practice partners because he's not liked with the other pros(well I'm sure fellow pros don't love him during clay season, lol) -These statements couldn't be further from the truth.

...In fact it's almost annoying sometimes how Federer and Nadal compliment each other in interviews...He's so great/we are friends/nice stuff.

[spinal tap mode]
How about some rock star attitude there! Stop being "nice".
Rafa, you just need to speak what you really think about Federer, goddammit you beat the guy all the time! You have already that elusive "it"-factor...little more vamos and fistpumping would not do harm, do it when your opponent misses, not when you hit a good shot!

Roger stop acting like a dead codfish on the court...I know you have not forgotten your true self, crashing racquets like a madman as you did few years ago. You already have that healthy "I am the greatest" -attitude, you just try to hide it too much. We know that every great champion is arrogant as h*ll, some just hide it better. Be Ali!

Bring back some bloody gory balls to the game guys! Are you guys anyway?

Bring back the bloody battles of Connors-McEnroe-Lendl.
Ah the good old times, the good old times that we never forget:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xAPwx3z950
[/spinal tap mode]

I can assure you they will fight for the last drop of blood in the Wimbledon final if they both get there. No more mister nice guy there. Friends off court, enemies on court. As it should be.

[tar]

nice try man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EQCOshGwPI

[The TJT]

nice try man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EQCOshGwPI

Dare I ask what Neneh Cherry has to do with tennis?

[diabolik]

Did I hit a nerve, Mr Nadal fanboy? OK. I'll try to give you some reasons why I don't like him.

1. He keeps picking his ass. Just watch it.
2. I hate his loud grunts.
3. Sometimes he takes too much time between points.
4. I think he looks cocky and obnoxius on the court.
5. He needs to dress less cheesier.
6. Lose that hair.
7. He is too good.

Just little things, but all those combined...Ugh.

I agree that his interviews are really nice and I'm sure he is a good guy, but I'll keep cheering against him.

---

What the hell tar!? I don't know either what it has to do with tennis, but that song has been playing in my head all day. That's freaky.

[The TJT]

Did I hit a nerve, Mr Nadal fanboy?

Right on the money. How did you figure that out...

OK. I'll try to give you some reasons why I don't like him.
-I like your reasons. Usually people pretend they don't like player's game, while in reality it's the personality...

Here are my opinions:

1. He keeps picking his ass. Just watch it.
-So do I! Umm...let's call it adjusting clothing accessories, as they did in Wimbledon radio.
He is aware of the habit now, thanks to post-match interviews.

2. I hate his loud grunts.
-I don't really pay attention. He seems to be more silent when not powering all the way those topspins. In Wimbledon he hits more flat. (Showing adaptability and variety)

3. Sometimes he takes too much time between points.
-Agreed. I don't think that's intentional though. If he would manage time between points tactically, it should be other way around, as Agassi did...because of the fitness. That's hard to unlearn. Like trying to play snooker couple times faster than usually. I bet you're a Sullivan fan.

4. I think he looks cocky and obnoxius on the court.
-wow.

5. He needs to dress less cheesier.
-Maybe. Nike suggested that kind of clothing for him though...atleast capri pants. Maybe he got sleeveless shirt from Moya? At Wimbledon his clothing is less cheesy/cool.

6. Lose that hair.
-But he's a rock star! (yes, short hair would be better)

7. He is too good.
-yeah!

8. A federite must hate Nadal
-I made that up.

I agree that his interviews are really nice and I'm sure he is a good guy, but I'll keep cheering against him.
-Could you make an exception this Wimby only, please?

[Phil Lamat]

I join the debate : I entirely agree with Diabolik on point 3, I take time with my watch at Roland-Garros, he's sometimes above 40s, I think umpires are too smooth with him. Rules are rules.
Plus I don't like his game, I prefer Federer's one which is more complete.
Plus I can't avoid to be suspicious : concerning clay, when a guy is much more better physically than all the others, it's suspect (remember Lance Armstrong).

I hope Roger will equal the 5 in a row at Wimbledon by Borg

[The TJT]

Here we go again, it's either Nadal or Federer - never both. Applies to myself too, unfortunately.
Yes, Roger's game is claimed to be most complete. Since you give your criticism for Nadal, here's mine for Federer, just for keeping the balance in the force undisturbed:
I don't find Roger's personality interesting. But mainly, I think, I find irritating the claim that he is considered to be the GOAT(greatest of all time) candidate. Imo he makes too many unforced errors for such status, and more importantly to me, I think he doesn't have a heart of a great champion.
Well, it's academic anyway, since it doesn't look like he will win French as long as Nadal is there.

Also that complete player gets his ass whipped by certain "one dimensional" player a lot
Imagine a situation when 3/4 grand slam tournaments would be played on clay(instead of fast surface)...how many gs titles would fed have and how many would Rafa...

I have never seen anyone play the game like Nadal, and he has a heart of a champion. I don't pay much attention to his personal quirks, they mostly make me laugh. Imo it's his game and mentality what matters, not irrelevant stuff as adjusting clothing.

I do kinda enjoy watching Roger play at Wimbledon, he truly is great on grass, no doubt about that. His game fits grass perfectly, just as Rafa's for clay. I believe Nadal can defeat Roger in Wimbledon. IMO it's just a matter of time when Nadal takes over. Hopefully this Wimbledon.
I will be watching Federer-Safin today soon. It should be a classic, atleast in the racket breaking department. (Now *there* is bad behaviour for you).

If you can not see it in your country, Wimbledon has pay streaming. But you can see on many p2p tv's too.
Or one of these Norwegian tv links(can't find espn stream right now):
mms://straumV.nrk.no/nrk_tv_webvid03_h
mms://straumV.nrk.no/nrk_tv_webvid04_h
mms://straumV.nrk.no/nrk_tv_webvid05_h

[The TJT]

They should move Wimbledon to Arizona, maybe the weather would be better.

[Phil Lamat]

They should move Wimbledon to Arizona, maybe the weather would be better.

That shows how Federer is better than Nadal : he managed to qualify for 1/4 final even while it's raining

[The TJT]

Today's play was a farce. Nadal had 4 rain delays, still continuing the match tomorrow, serving at 2-0, 30-30 in the fifth set.
Play was suspended earlier Nadal leading 2-0 and 7-7 in the third set tiebreak.
I guess if Nadal wins the match against Söderling, he will play Youzhny later tomorrow...And next match the day after, that is if it doesn't rain more.
Very tough schedule mentally and physically, especially today being mentally draining.

Federer is lucky to be in the top half and getting a wo to the quarters...Or, on the other hand he might be out of match practice in his next match.

They should have played on Sunday, not keeping it as a traditional day off.

[The TJT]

Play suspended for the day. Nadal-Söderling at 4-4 in 5th set. They made two short visits to the court today. It's a 3 day match!

Lucky Roger.

[The TJT]

Here's some controversy from Nadal-Söderling match, early 5th set yesterday:

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=ch5rOC42dW0