The battle that was on display between Nadal and Djokovic yesterday and which ended in the fifth hour with: 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-7 9-7 in the favor of Nadal – is hard to put into words. The match had everything. Fantastic points, high drama, nerves, comebacks, and brute physicality. It was another classic in their rivalry. In the end, Nadal had the edge of being (almost) unbeatable at Roland Garros …
Being spoiled with the era of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray – I’m worried that the coming generation won’t be up to the same standard. I know it’s almost impossible to reach the drama of the last 8-9 years, but I want to keep watching tennis and I want to enjoy it to the max. Federer drew me back to the game after a stint of disenchantment and I would …
It’s hard not to be mesmerised by this clip of a Nadal practice session. Look at Nadal’s shots and how the ball loops into the air and then the rotations start and it lands in. For a guy who hits a pretty flat shot, this get me very jealous. I find practice videos the best to study top player techniques and this video really gets you close to the action of …
I had high hopes for the Rome final. Federer had looked good all tournament and not dropped a set and was about to commence batte for his first Rome title ever and Nadal had had some problems, especially with Gulbis. It should be a pretty even match, I thought. In my stupidity. In a one-sided affair similar of the Roland Garros final in 2008, Nadal washed over Federer’s backhand like …
It was never in doubt was it? (Okay, maybe at 15-30 against Ferrer). Rafa was going to take his fifth title of the year in seven tries (two finals) since his injury time-out. The king of clay was simply too good against a slightly nervous or tired Stan “the Man” Wavrinka today in the Madrid Open final and rolled over the Swiss by 6-2 6-4. Going into Rome and then …
Two spectacular quarter-finals took place today, and they were spectacular in very different ways. Federer‘s trashing of Del Potro was masterclass in efficient and brilliant tennis. Whatever Del Potro threw at the great Swiss, the tennis maestro had an answer to which shows in the final score 6-4 6-3 6-2. Del Potro didn’t play bad at all, but today he was still a class below Federer who looks really eager …
I’m 30 pages in and I’m loving it! Highly recommended already, but a full-blown review to come… Check Rafa out! Merry Xmas!
Been too busy to blog, but still some activity on Twitter! (Check it out and follow). To summarize my thoughts of the day so far: Have a hard time seeing Murray go very far in Cincinnati. He looks a bit uninterested. Maybe 2012 will be the year he gets it all together. Most improved player in 2011? @mardyfish – no question about it. Taking your physique and your game seriously …
It was close. It was awfully close. But in the end #1 (still!) Rafael Nadal managed to beat Italian #148 Paolo Lorenzi 6-7 6-4 6-0. Kudos to Lorenzi and the Italian crowd for making this match truly exciting. Lorenzi fought like a madman and played extremely well at times. Normally this wouldn’t have been enough but on a day like this Nadal looked tired. Andy Murray’s mother Judy even said …
