We’re in a hectic part of the tennis season right now. After two intense week of clay court action we’re thrown right into Queens and Halle where players need to adjust their clay-infested shoes to the green surface. It seems a little quick this change after the slow and interesting build-up of the clay court season. Why couldn’t they make the grass season one month long and at least have on Masters tournament in there as well? It’s a bit crazy that Wimbledon starts two weeks after the French Open! What do you think? Should we extend the grass court …
Wimbledon
Julien Benneteau has been a threat to Federer in the past. He has beaten him twice, and as recently as Rotterdam earlier this year. He was also up two sets to none in Wimbledon last year before Federer stormed back and managed to win the match and later on the tournament. Benneteau simply seems to shine when playing the Fed Express. But yesterday Federer was simply too good and powered through the slightly tired Frenchman 6-3 6-4 7-5. It’s nice to see Federer back in his good old Grand Slam form again after a “hesitant” Spring where people again started …
Yes, he is the guy who beat Rafa Nadal in Wimbledon 2012 after blasting winners left, right and center. People were raving about him then, but as soon as he lost the next match without much of a fight, he was rather quickly forgotten. But in ATP Bucharest he showed he is more than a one match wonder. He ended up winning the whole tournament (his first) after beating Seppi, Troicki, Simon and Garcia-Lopez. An impressive feat for the 48-ranked Czech. So what happens next? Who knows? Rosol is not exactly young for a tennis player at 28, but we …
The first week of Wimbledon has passed and on the tennis free Sunday I will try to summarize some of the highlights or insights I’ve gathered in the first week with a dash of humor –  the Tennisnerd way. Rosol who? We who follow tennis knows how hard it is to play the match of your life, upset a better player and come back for the next round with your A-game. Lukas Rosol who managed the biggest Wimbledon upset in a long time by beating Rafael Nadal in round two, became another example of this in his straight set loss to “Coalwriter” Philipp …
Tennis can be such a beautiful sport and show such grace and humility and sportsmanship even after a long and consuming match. Just watch this clip for some fantastic rallies and a nice end that shows that after all, it’s just a sport. I hope both Tsonga and Dimitrov goes on to do well in this year’s Wimbledon.
Choosing the “right” tennis racket is the eternal question, isn’t it? Because we are never quite happy with racket we play with, there’s always a new model or a thought at the back of our heads that maybe, only maybe that racket might be what I’m looking for to change my game for the better, get that shot of extra power or spin you need. Here is a good infographic from Tennis Express about choosing the right racquet. I wrote a post earlier about the racket not making all the difference, but the footwork, the mindset and your technique, but …
I think everybody talked a lot about the physicality of the Nadal vs Djokovic final, but I think the lesson is really how MENTAL (and by that I don’t mean crazy!) the sport of tennis is. The guys sure pushed the boundaries of the human body, clocking in the hard-fought affair at almost six hours of running, hitting, stretching and grunting. Fitness was a big part of the match, but what made Djokovic win was his confidence in this particular match-up right now. If this final had taken place a year ago, before Djokovic had beaten Nadal in those six …
It’s hard to believe. Federer lost a 2-0 set lead to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 7-6 4-6 4-6 4-6 and the last three sets he wasn’t even close of breaking the Frenchman. It was a magical effort by Tsonga, but a sad situation for us Fed fans who had looked forward to a 7th Wimbledon title. Now Federer hasn’t won a slam in six tries and it’s becoming apparent that he might “only” have one (if that) more title in him. He’s still a contender for every slam, but never again the favorite. Tennisnerd mourns.
Here are the amazing matches to look forward to today: Murray vs Gasquet – I think Murray is too good and Gasquet will surely get a flashback from being 2-0 sets up and serving for the match a few years ago. Gasquet has improved, but Murray looks determined to go far this Wimbledon. Nadal vs Del Potro – Match-up of the day. Can Del Potro’s ball-busting strokes knock Nadal off balance or his the defending champion too strong? If this was hard court I would place a bet on Delpo, but considering his Bambi-like movement on grass, I don’t see …