Federer v Nadal -- Absolutely Amazing

[SirSaxa]

If ever there was a match both guys deserved to win, this was it.
Absolutely incredible tennis.
Two amazing champions.

While watching it, I kept thinking of Tiger's win on a bad knee at Torrey Pines in the US Open.
Something about super-human effort and mental toughness while performing at the absolute peak of athleticism.

WOW!

[SirSaxa]

By the way, Federer is still only 27, Nadal 22.
There will be lots more great Majors finals for these two!

[RDF]

This was great--and I'm pulling for Federer to beat Sampras record--so I wanted to him to win-especially after coming back--but I also like Rafa Nadal as well and couldn't be mad that he won this. With clowns like Roddick and the overrated James Blake taking up American "interest" in tennis--it's no reason that great players like this get ignored in states, but this is a rivalry I enjoy more then Sampras-Agassi already--just hope Federer maintains his level a few more years to give some more thrilling matches for Nadal, and Djokavic.

[SirSaxa]

I like Roddick. He has shown moments of brilliance.
But he has not managed to raise him game to the level of Nadal and Federer and probably never will.

The Williams sisters, on the other hand, are the most dominant players in women's tennis.

[SirSaxa]

I agree with you, RDF, that great tennis is great, regardless of which countries the players come from.
Better for the sport to have more countries represented.

And those two guys are very, very classy. Easy to respect and appreciate.

[sleepyjackson21]

We got two more years tops for this rivalry. Tennis players have shorter careers and many guys are on the decline once they hit 27. Borg burned out at 26. McEnroe never won a major after 25. Sampras won his last Wimbledon title at 28. Boris Becker's last major came at 26. Federer is big on fitness so i think he lasts a little longer but he's no shoo in to break Sampras' record. I still think he does it but he won't break it by much.

As far as the Williams sisters are concerned, i'm glad Venus won. When Venus loses she's very gracious, when Serena loses she pouts like a spoiled brat. Henin, the last few years, kicked Serena's butt all over the court. Take a cue from Venus and tip your cap to your opponent.

[RDF]

I was pulling for Venus too--who always behaves better when losing to Serena as well--and Serena acted like a ..... after the match. I understand it's an individual sport and you can be more self centered--but it's not like she lost a match like Federer did--with history at stake. He had to be devastated--yet still handled it like a man and like how he waited for Nadal to exit the court, and how he repeatedly applauded for him/exchanged words in the ceremony--but then again--Fed's dad seems like a cool customer as well--I thought he was going to hug Nadal for a minute--but he just applauded and smiled.

I think Federer's days of domination are over--but I think he can win 5-6 more titles in next 3-4 years simply due to his all around arsenal. I mean he's being criticized for losing to Nadal in French Open Finals--and yet he continues to make the Final--something Sampras never even sniffed. He continues to give his best when he's expected to never lose--and as he ages--it might be better for him for the focus to turns towards Nadal and Djokavic. He's most dominant player I've seen in my lifetime--and Nadal has a chance to make a run at Federer's number now as well--think this win will only make him tougher--he just gets the ball in play so many times and can get it back into play when it's a winner against most players.

There is nothing I like about Roddick--he acts like a RICHARD on the court, he has a serve...and a serve....and you get the picture, and he doesn't have mental toughness to ever produce something like we saw today. If Federer would've come from 2 sets down against Roddick--he'd have lost maybe a single game in the 5th--rain and all. That is why I respected the level of play today--guys had many times to just say "it's not going well" and they didn't fold under pressure--just kept making shot after shot and my respect for Federer actually grew after this loss--due to some of the shots and showing some toughness many doubted he had when he would be down.

[SirSaxa]

Just checked Federer's website.
His birthday is August 8, 1981
so he's still 26, won't be 27 for another month.

[SirSaxa]

Connors and Agassi each won majors at the age of 32.

OK, it's harder after the age of 27, 28 or so, but still reasonably possible.

[The Stig]

That was just magnificent. Quite possibly one of the best tennis matches ever played. Even at the very end they were playing at an incredibly high level, and each of them hit some absolutely HUGE shots on the most important points of the match. One of the guys I was watching it with said it was like watching Tiger Woods play Tiger Woods, and that's the best comparison I've heard.

It was really sad that one of those players had to lose that match, since they both played well enough to deserve that title. As others have said, they're also both extremely classy guys and models of sportsmanship. They both know how to win AND lose with class. They're both perfect examples of what tennis should be.

[FewFAC]

Isn't Federer coming off of an injury? Or at least the mono? I don't think his tennis has quite been the same, but one of the things I really appreciate it is how he doesn't use excuses. Unlike the rest of you, however, I'm not quite so sold on Rafa. For one, the amount of time he uses between points remains a very large negative for me.

[vcjack]

Jul 6, 2008 20:20:41 GMT -5 FewFAC said:

Isn't Federer coming off of an injury? Or at least the mono? I don't think his tennis has quite been the same, but one of the things I really appreciate it is how he doesn't use excuses. Unlike the rest of you, however, I'm not quite so sold on Rafa. For one, the amount of time he uses between points remains a very large negative for me.

I like Federer more than Nadal but Nadal has improved imensly as a player since he broke out a few years ago. His backhand today was nasty and it was only a couple of years ago that he would run around shots to avoid using a backhand (one of the reasons he is so good on clay but it didn't work on faster surfaces). But now not only is his backhand good, its Agassi-like.


As for taking time between shots, its annoying but common, especially in the younger and amerature circuts. Its not like he's pulling a Serena/Paul Pierce and taking large lockeroom injury breaks

[thornski]

Absolutely unbelievable match. Definitely the best tennis match I can remember watching. What more can you ask for? 2 sets to love comeback to tie it at 2-2. No blow-out sets. And 5th set going to 9-7. And obviously some unreal points.

[MEGAFAN]

What a classic match! Ever since my all-time favorite player Andre Agassi retired, the game has never been quite the same for me, but watching this match live (until 5:15am in Tokyo) was really special.

While Pete-Andre will always have a sacred place in my heart, this rivalry really does compare, and even though I admire Federer like I did Sampras, I've grown to become a Nadal fan over the last few years.

I will admit that I was rooting hard for James Blake a few years back at the U.S. Open (when he beat Nadal), and while I love my American tennis players, these two are the class of the sport and this rivalry will go down in history.

It's too bad I only was able to sleep 2 hours before having to head to work on a Monday morning, but it was well worth it, and I'm so happy I didn't crash after the second rain delay!

And oh yeah, LET'S GO HOYAS!!!

[FewFAC]

Jul 6, 2008 21:37:29 GMT -5 vcjack said:

Jul 6, 2008 20:20:41 GMT -5 FewFAC said:

Isn't Federer coming off of an injury? Or at least the mono? I don't think his tennis has quite been the same, but one of the things I really appreciate it is how he doesn't use excuses. Unlike the rest of you, however, I'm not quite so sold on Rafa. For one, the amount of time he uses between points remains a very large negative for me.

I like Federer more than Nadal but Nadal has improved imensly as a player since he broke out a few years ago. His backhand today was nasty and it was only a couple of years ago that he would run around shots to avoid using a backhand (one of the reasons he is so good on clay but it didn't work on faster surfaces). But now not only is his backhand good, its Agassi-like.


As for taking time between shots, its annoying but common, especially in the younger and amerature circuts. Its not like he's pulling a Serena/Paul Pierce and taking large lockeroom injury breaks

I don't know, maybe it's just my old age showing, maybe it's the capri pants (or the crack-digging...iick), but rooting for Nadal kind of reminds me of rooting for Lendl. And you're right, Nadal isn't quite as annoying as, say, Djokovic, for example, but it seems like an intentional violation of the rules/spirit of the rules. That just doesn't sit well with me.

He is, without a doubt, however, an extremely talented and well-grounded player with a tremendous amount of skill, but I don't draw much pleasure from watching him perform.

[tal1286]

I was happy to see that Nadal won.

Unfortunately because of the stupid rain delays my DVR didn't get the whole match. It cut off during the last rain delay. Does anyone know where I could watch the entire 5th set? Does anyone have a video of it? I would really appreciate it.

[vcjack]

Jul 7, 2008 21:25:03 GMT -5 tal1286 said:

I was happy to see that Nadal won.

Unfortunately because of the stupid rain delays my DVR didn't get the whole match. It cut off during the last rain delay. Does anyone know where I could watch the entire 5th set? Does anyone have a video of it? I would really appreciate it.

Its immediately gone to ESPN Classic, so you might have a chance to see it fully sometime this week, or if that doesn't work maybe right before the US Open to get people back into the tennis mood

[hifigator]

Watching the men's finals from Wimbledon was always something special growing up. Both of my grandparents really enjoyed tennis. At that point it was primarily the Borg era at Wimbledon but I still remember some classic moments. There was a match with Roscoe Tanner, and of course the classic against McEnroe. As they do now, they called it "Breakfast at Wimbledon." Since it was always during the summer, we would almost always be at the lake. There was something special about waking up to watch the finals with my grandparents. My grandma passed last November, so this was the first Wimbledon without either of them. So it was a might bittersweet, but what a classic match. Everything that can be said about the match already has, but it was something special.

As for the players themselves, Federer was about as dominant a player for 3 or 4 years as any that I ever remember. I know he had his achilles heal on the clay courst or Roland Garros, but during that period you still got the idea that he was the best player, and that it wasn't really that close. He just happened to run into a clay court specialist that was also nearing his prime. When Nadal almost won on the grass last year, I thought I saw a little glimpse of the torch being passed. With Nadal finally winning at the All-England tourney, I think that maybe we have. Not that Federer is remotely over the hill, but I think he is now no longer the obvious favorite that he has been for years. Still, I think we can expect another couple of years of fabulous matchups between these two champions.

[SirSaxa]

Considering how close that match was... 5 sets, the last one 9-7.. could not have been any closer... I think it is a tad premature to say the "torch has passed". I think it is more like "the torch is up for grabs"!

[hifigator]

Jul 8, 2008 19:15:55 GMT -5 SirSaxa said:

Considering how close that match was... 5 sets, the last one 9-7.. could not have been any closer... I think it is a tad premature to say the "torch has passed". I think it is more like "the torch is up for grabs"!

Good point and looking back at my post, I think I made a stronger statement than I really meant to. My point was that while Nadal has been the clay court master, on any other surface, Federer was the dominant favorite and almost always won. Last year looked to be a good shot for Nadal to win on grass but Roger pulled it out. Even in that match there was still the feeling that Federer was clearly the better player. I think that it is clear that that is no longer the case. So you are correct. The torch has been passed from Roger to a torch bearer. All we know for sure is that there isn't a torch bearer anymore.