At work today so no could watch any tennis. I don’t have the Wimbledon package like T.G.
Ladies results
Both of the Williams’ sister won in straight sets and don’t appear to have had a tough time.
And all Williams final? Blech.
I do have to give the Williams' a little love. After their singles matches today they played doubles together and steam rolled over a couple of Spaniards.
All four of the top women are out. Can #5 Elena Dementieva beat Venus if they meet in the semis?
On the gentlemen’s side both Federer and man-crush I mean Nadal cruised through to the quarters.
And TG's dark-horse. Marat Safin, keeps making her look like The Tennis Genius of All Time, by beating Stanislas Wawrinka.
Late note. Andy Murray beat Richard Gasquet in 5 sets and gets to play Nadal for his troubles.
And Mario Ancic's reward for beating Fernado Verdasco is to aaly Federer in the next round.
TG - please correct any assumptions I've made.
6 comments:
I'm not sure I'm really a Tennis Genius, but I'm still TG (tennis geek)!
Yes, Dementieva can beat Venus if she plays smart. Venus has a FAR superior serve, but beyond that, they're pretty even. The way to beat Venus is to NOT make her run. Most balls need to be deep to her feet or into the body. The serve, particularly for Elena, whose serve is legendary (for being weak), needs to be into the body--denying Venus the angle and the ability to use her wingspan. I sure wouldn't bet on Elena, but she does have the strokes to beat Venus if she keeps her head and has a good game plan.
Although I don't think it's terribly likely, I wouldn't count Radwanska out of any match. She is one nasty little pit bull on the court. Vaidisova, Petrova, who knows? Very talented head cases. I'm afraid Tamarine and Zheng have gone as far as they can, barring a major melt down from their opponents.
On the men's side, I am a big fan of Marat's, but I just don't know about this match. Lopez is a lefty, with some good slice shots that could give Marat trouble. Luckily, he is also a player who does have mental breakdowns (much like Safin). If Safin is on--he will win, no question. If he brings less than his A/B-game (which we really haven't seen yet) I don't know. I know I want him to win--even though I think it's unlikely that he can beat Federer on grass. But it would be sweet to see him do it again in a grand slam semi, wouldn't it? I would bet you any amount that Fed would rather play Lopez. The things that Marat has (if he's playing well) that bug Federer is the tremendous backhand and the big, bouncing second serve to Fed's backhand (by far Federer's weaker side).
Ancic has the game to beat Fed on grass, but we haven't seen it in a long time. After the five set marathon, I'd be surprised if he takes a set. Murray has a good style for grass, but Nadal is not likely to wait around for you to hit that great shot. Basically, get it done in the first two or three shots of the point, or you'll likely lose the point. Murray can't play with Nadal from the baseline, IMO, so he needs to get to the net, but the approach shot better be good, because Nadal has tremendous passing shots. I don't think Murray has the mental toughness to stick with Nadal if he (Murray) gets behind. Conversely, Nadal is seriously mentally tough--he plays every point full out, and is unlikely to have a problem with the crowd. Nadal in 3 or 4 sets, I think.
Did they pay the british referees to give a new breath to British tennis and help a little Murray? you said? to beat Gasquet. Was it a good 5 sets match? How I would like to have seen it. Can we write : 'Fucking paying channel!!' without being too much impolite?
TG - i'm like vaidisova and petrova...i very un-talented head case
Catherine - from an American it would be impolite...from someone who English is not a first language it's kinda funny sounding
No, Catherine, I'm afraid Gasquet just lost it mentally--not terribly unusual for him. I haven't seen the match, but I've heard that it was a very exciting five-setter with some great shot-making. Gasquet was up 2 sets to love before Murray won the last 3. (I think I predicted that this would be the match of the day--yay, right again!)
Wow, Serena whomped Radwanska today. Guess she's not as far along in her development as I thought whe was. I didn't expect her to win, but I thought she'd fight harder and get more than 4 games.
Marie Margaret, I haven't watched the match,but indeed, if Gasquet has lost after having won 2 first sets,he has lost mentally, here.
I think that Mc Enroe did it once against Lendl or maybe Connors. He had lost the 2 first and then win every point, to, finally, won the match. That was a champion's mental attitude! It was a great time!
Good memories of that time when I had time to watch many tournaments!
Catherine,
Marie Margaret, I love it! Especially with the lovely French rrrrrrrr!
McEnroe was mentally tough. Yeah, I know he had the worst temper (go irish!), but he had a great feel for the ball and he never believed that he would lose. Would that Gasquet had that quality, because his game is sublime! I'm afraid he let the crowd get into his head, which was a shame. I do wish that I thought he would learn from this, but I don't. That attitude has come from within--the very best tennis players have monster egos! Yes, Federer and Rafa have it just as much as Nole, they just talk nice, but they always think they are better than the opposition.
Best of luck with Clement (I don't think he'll have head issues in his quarterfinal finish). If he loses, it will just be because Rainer outplays him. No shame in that.
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