First of all many wishes for federer for winning the all england championship for the fifth time in a row.he equalled brog record by winning for the fifth time.i feel sorry for rafa who played a fablous tennis the other day.the way he came to the match after being one set down.especially his back hand winners were amazing.rafa has come a long way since the last wimbledon.every one expected federer to win the match easier than it was.rafa proved every one he is not only a king of clay but also very good player on grass.for federer breaking records has became a habit.he is still to grand slam to win to beat one of the all time great sampras.i have no doubt in my mind that he will break sampras because he has age in his side.and more important it seems other than rafa no one on the current circuit to chanllenge federer.it good to see rivarly between federer and rafa though each of them have respect for each other.congraulations federer for ur magnificent achivement and few more to break.
RE:Important Question now??????
by abhishek gorlawar on Jul 09, 2007 05:40 PM
well federer has already defeated nadal on clay court, but not in french open.
lets see when does federer defeat nadal in french and viceversa in wimbledon
RE:Important Question now??????
by shiv kumar on Jul 09, 2007 06:25 PM
Grass courts have changed quite a lot. They are slowly becoming like clay courts. A clay court specialist is slowly feeling at home on grass courts. So, it seems as if Federer is getting more and more clay court practice. He would beat Nadal in French open next time.
RE:Important Question now??????
by Truth on Jul 10, 2007 10:11 AM
Shiv, You do look like a hardcore fan of Fed.
A small change in your comment. It will be Rafa who will beat Fed in wimbeldon. The reign of Red is over. Itz time for Rafa to takeover. Itz all visible to everyone now.
RE:Is it only a two way traffic??????
by Shiva MS on Jul 09, 2007 08:25 PM
murray and novak djokovic are the only contenders... Even Marcos Baghdatis is excellent... Federer was always up there, unreacheable, head and shoulders above the rest *at least after 2003 wimbledon)... Rafa is closing in on... Novak and marcos are catching up... Andy murray is a great talent, so is gasquet.. but gasquet is not a strong contender unless he improves by leaps and bounds...
RE:Is it only a two way traffic??????
by hari rao on Jul 09, 2007 04:51 PM
Judas,
Unfortunately it is. All the players you have mentioned above are past their prime. The average shelf life of a tennis professional is about 7-9 years. All the people you have mentioned above except for GAsquet, Djokovic and Any Murray have been around for quite some time. About these three, I am not sure how special they can get. In Federer we have a genius who is unparalled. His shot making, finnesse and grace has left all the legends gasping for breath. In Nadal, we have a great fighter who can hit shots with pinpoint accuracy. But looking beyond Federer and nadal I dont see anybody coming near their level except for Djokovic and Gasquet. BTW Ferrero is too old and he will be hanging his boots in a few years.
Great champions are at their peak from 18-25. Fedex won his first grand slam at 21. So if these 3 guys dont win a grand slam title in the next couple of years, they will become a spent force
its waz a rival match between two monster. ppl used to njoy the match wit awesum.Federer proved once again tat he s the best sport men in the world...hard luck to nadal..
Rafael Nadal will attain greatness in a couple of years.He is only 21 and won 3 slams.No reason why he will not win on the hard courts of US and Australian Opens.Looking at his Wembledon marathon it could have been only Federer at his very best who could keep him at bay in the final set. He is just coming into his own on hard surfaces and can very well emulate Agassi
RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by Shiva MS on Jul 09, 2007 08:34 PM
Borg was a great.. Is great no doubt... but he retired early... but fed will play into his late 20s or early 30s... In 3 years fed has won as many grand slams as borg... Borg never faced quality opposition on grass... 5 different players played in finals in the 6 french open titles he won.. Also fitness levels and infra structure are getting better and better... Fed won 10 outta 16 slams since 2003 wimbledon... No one will ever do that again... not in a few hundred years... and think abt the packed tennis season all round the year... players keep playing so many matches than what legends played those years... Rafa is still FAR behind in terms of achievements... He will have to win more slams, certainly other than french opens... That is simply not possible on a consistent basis.. Say it will be a great achievement if he wins 8 slams overall... Not more... but less is possible, ans probable too :) Due respects to rafa though... His fitness will eventually be challenged, by opponents and age alike... he is still young.. but if he doesnt win anything other than french till 2008 end, he wont be even a great player... hope he makes a great player.. he sure deserves it... but he cant catch up with fed fa sure... certainly not in terms of achievements...
RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by Truth on Jul 10, 2007 10:25 AM
Shiv, you are too much obsessed with Fed.
Wake up! I am telling again, Rafa will be all over Fed from this point onwards.
YOu are conveniently forgeting the fact that Rafa is 4 years younger than Fed. At the most, Fed may win another grand slam. You have to digest this fact. Rafa is going to rip off Fed.
RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by Lucas on Jul 09, 2007 11:55 AM
One of the best-ever Wimbledon finals! And what a way for Federer to equal Borg's record! I hope he adds French Open too to his collection and join the select few to have won all the Grand Slams. But then, Federer is already the greatest ever tennis player!
It's very surprising Nadal still hasn't progressed beyond the quarter-finals of Aussie and US opens. I think the emerging youngsters such as Murray, Djokovic and Baghdatis will pose a strong challenge to Rafa in hard-courts.
RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by Rajeev Ranade on Jul 09, 2007 01:52 PM
Dear Friends,
Look when Federer was born, August 1981 after the great B Borg lost in the Wimbledon finals. Teh all might thought of giving the skills and temarament so as to acheive and better the feat 25 years down the line!!!!
RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by rahul prasad on Jul 09, 2007 01:54 PM
Federer is NOT the greatest tennis player ever. He's certainly dominating the Mens but then who are his competitors?? Have you seen his opponents in the Finals? Combined how many Championships have they won?? Sampras is King of Wimbledon. He played some truly great players and still won. Just check out the statistics and you'll know for yourself
RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by Lucas on Jul 09, 2007 02:15 PM
Feferer has been so dominant in the past few years that he has left his competitors way behind...let me give u proof why he is the best ever... 1. He has an all-round game and is considered the most naturally talented player of all time by legends and his peers alike. 2. He has won at least 2 grandslams in every year for the past 4 years...no other player in history achieved this. 3. He has reached 9 consecutive grandslam finals and won 7 of them. 4. He has lost in the French Open final twice to Nadal. He is second-best on clay, only next to Nadal. On the other hand, Sampras was poor on clay and reached the semis just once in his entire career. 5. Agassi was the only true great player in Sampras' time. Similarly, Federer has his nemesis in Nadal. Federer hasn't played too many grandslam winners because he won most of them! 6. Grass is the favorite surface of Sampras and Federer. In Sampras' time, grass was much faster and suited his game. Now, grass is so slow that even clay court specialists can do well on grass. So, more challenge for Federer! 7. Federer has beaten Sampras on grass!
RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by hari rao on Jul 09, 2007 04:57 PM
Rahul,
That is because Fedex is way ahead of others as pointed out by McEnroe, Connors and Pete Sampras himself. The only guy who has come very close to him is Nadal. Also consider the fact that men's tennis has become much more competitive (vastly improved infrastructure like better coaching facilities, physical trainers, lighter racquets and high quality strings) and in such a competitive era which is dominated by power tennis, Federer has revived the art of sublime tennis. Hats off to Fedex!
RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by naveen dhanerwal on Jul 09, 2007 02:54 PM
Hello Rahul, So what you wana say that federer is not a great palyer. Is yes that think again. He's been at no. -1 position for a long period and still continue on his track. You say about his compititors, then what you wana say again that nadal is also not a good player. huh!!! I don't say that Sampras was not a good player. With no doubts he was a treffic player in tenis but you can not denied to federer's gretness.
RE:RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by Shiva MS on Jul 09, 2007 07:21 PM
have u won a slam? at least played tennis... lets keep our amateurish stupid views to ourselves... Can u run half a marathon? are u athletic or even fit?? most of us are NOT... unless we have been there and played at the level they are playing, we cant be even close to experts views in terms of accuracy and authenticity... McEnroe, Agassi and Sampras say he will eventually be the best of ALLTIME... So u can keep ur views to urself.. Fed beats anyone atleast a set 6-0... agassi, safin, NADAL, roddick, hewitt, nalbandian and the list goes on... no one s done that ever before.. to lose a set 6-0 is a nightmare for ANY quality player... Fed sure is greater than most and the next superlative is in line... Rafa, with ALL due respect for his talent, WILL NEVER EVER WIN 10 slams... NEVER NEVER NEVER... u know it... rafa knows it and the world knows it.. He is where he should be... No 2... for the time being... And djokovic and murray and many others are all catching up...
RE:RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by Vivek Singh on Jul 09, 2007 09:36 PM
Shiva MS: Sampras lost to Federer in a five setter only when he was past him prime and injured in the previous Grand Slam of the year, still which he won. Federer was defeated by a stupid Tim Henman (not to mention in a 3/4 setter)... Sampras has won 7 Wimbledon Titles. He never liked clay...because of the smaller balls being used those days. He never competed for records like we have Federer doing. Rafa WILL AND WILL AND WILL BE the best ever tennis player. Because he has clearly challenged and defeated the best ever so early his career and age. This loss will be his asset to WIN EVERY OTHER GRAND SLAM he plays. Federer lacks competition (apart from Nadal) because others are not as great as the two. Sampras in his time had Agassi, Jim Courier etc. - the biggies to play with! Rafa WILL have his own share of records, and Federer will have his own. But Rafa will be the NO.1 EVER with the record number of Titles etc. Federer came into Tennis at a time when quality tennis players had retired or lost their primes. So his initial years at Wimbledon etc. were quite lucky. Now he will face the emergence of new quality players. If I know future, just I say knew it for Sampras (who announced retirement and still won the US Open 2002), RAFA will be the BEST EVER EVER EVER! and NEVER NEVER NEVER Federer!
RE:RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by sibgatullah syed on Jul 09, 2007 02:43 PM
With the impact that Nadal seems to have on Federer, it seems debatable whether Fedex is really the greatest player in history? Sampras faced a variety of players in his days ranging from slid serve-volleyers like Goran, Henman and Rafter to baseline bashers like Agassi and Chang. Where as Federer is playing only baseliners these days. He needs to be tested against good server & volleyers which looks to be an extinct breed in tennis these days.
RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by Munish Guleria on Jul 09, 2007 07:30 PM
Did Sampras Really faced Serve/Volleyers & have good record?? Please check Sampras's Record against another Krajicek (4-6)& M. Stich (4-5). He really did not face many greats in WIMBLEDON and against Agassi he always had edgeover Agassi coz of serve.
RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by Lucas on Jul 09, 2007 02:55 PM
Federer is a great serve and volley player...u would know this if u had watched Fed play Sampras in 2001. Fed cant serve and volley just because no other player does it these days and the grass courts are so slow...blame Wimbledon for making the courts slow!
RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Nadal poised for greatness !
by Shiva MS on Jul 09, 2007 08:27 PM
the impact doesnt matter... winning grandslams does... Rafa has won only 3 french opens... no doubt a great great achievement.. And no denying that he is pushing fed around... But Fed has won 11.... nadal will never win 8 or so...
RE:RE:federer vs nadal
by Tarun Arora on Jul 09, 2007 12:59 PM
Becker/Edberg were true grass court champions... these guys are good but still not playing the beautiful serve n volley game. Roger does that at times but not very regularly. I would prefer watching a Becker/Edberg duel anytime to these two epecially at Wimbledon!
RE:federer vs nadal
by Lucas on Jul 09, 2007 02:30 PM
Reason why there is no serve and volley these days is the grass has been made slower...if u watched the sampras-federer match in 2001, u would have seen both players served and volleyed throughout...federer doesnt do that much these days because of the slower surface. The officials are to be blamed for this!
RE:federer vs nadal
by ssbmat on Jul 16, 2007 02:12 AM
'Becker/Edberg were true grass court champions... these guys are good but still not playing the beautiful serve n volley game. Roger does that at times but not very regularly. I would prefer watching a Becker/Edberg duel anytime to these two epecially at Wimbledon!' ARE U NUTS???? I was a Ed-head (Edberg fan) for many years. I often watch Edberg and Federer matches (side-by-side comparison). There is no doubt that Federer and his pack (Nadal,Djokovic and co) are FITTER, FASTER than any of the past players. Just the sheer speed of court coverage and shotmaking is AWESOME. I dont think Edberg or Becker would have withstood this at all.Even with his superb volley skills, Edberg/Becker's serve would have been mercilessly murdered even by the likes of Baghdatis or Gasquet or Blake, let alone Federer or Nadal. People dont appreciate the power and majesty of the current players. WTF do u mean by saying Edberg/Becker were true grasscourt champions? Federer has won 5 Wimbledons which = 2 Edberg 3 Becker, BESIDES 6 other GS. Wake up!!!
RE:federer vs nadal
by Rajeev Ranade on Jul 09, 2007 01:34 PM
Yes Tarun. The way gdberg / Becker used to charge at the net, even at points when the other person was already at the net was remarkable. they never knew anything else than be at the net. i thought Roger used to be a couple of fet behind than he had to be to tackle Rafel passing shots. He (Roger) did look a bit tentative.
Alternatively I am not sure if the volleyers would have sustain the speed and depth and angle of the base liners, especially because of the double handed style it becomes difficult to judge which way the ball is going to come!!
RE:federer vs nadal
by Rahul Bawdekar on Jul 09, 2007 11:36 AM
very true, it was definately close to the becker-edberg rivalary, but theirs was a more of a serve and volley game while federer and nadal is all court game. i am fortunate to witness one of the finest matches of wimbledon
RE:federer vs nadal
by jayesh kini on Jul 09, 2007 03:25 PM
The way Wimbledon grass courts are slowing down it wont be long before the Serve and volleyers with the single handed backhands become extinct and tennis becomes dominated by the double handed baseliners. Wimbledon organisers need to look into this urgently or the next generation will never get to see the beautiful side of tennis. and there wont be any difference between French open and wimbledon.
