The Tennis Thread

[Paulos G]

Pretty easy win for Federer. Murray v Nadal just about to start.

[Anpanman]

Murray gets blown away, given a lesson in tennis and how to behave on court.

[Malc]

What day is the men's final on? Sunday?

[Anpanman]

Yep Sunday, womens is Saturday.

[funkydan]

Yeah Murray got his ass handed to him - needs to work on his stamina and temperment. Will be interesting to see what he can do next year though.

Nadal is awesome - a real sportsman - I say good luck to him

[Paulos G]

I didn't think Murray did too badly. He's clearly getting better. Just not up to Nadal's standard.

[Rossco]

Was working so missed the match unfortunately, I was still following the scores and watching on TV but too busy to pay attention so couldn't comment on how he played, etc.

Nadal is such a machine anyway so I never expected Murray would beat him. And I now cheer Nadal on to win this as he's my fave player really! Always liked him and never Federer.

[funkydan]

I didn't think Murray did too badly. He's clearly getting better. Just not up to Nadal's standard.

Didn't do too badly? He didn't win a single game that he wasn't serving on! Nadal is in another league to him for now, but I hope Murray will improve in future

[Number45]

Federer and Nadal, at anything close to their best, are an absolute country mile ahead of the rest of the mens game. I didn't see too much of the game, but I'm not surprised he didn't do so well.

I don't want to make excuses, but the game on Monday must have taken a lot out of him. He's young and he'll improve in that area (Though I don't ever think he'll have the stamina of the very best - like Nadal).

To have any chance at all he needed to get ahead today. As soon as you allow Nadal to dictate the pace and power of a game you're done - even Federer is well aware of that.

Really looking forward to the final. Will be rooting for Federer personally - nothing against Nadal but I've been brought up on serve and volley and that's where my allegiances will always lie.

[Kal_El]

Really looking forward to the final. Will be rooting for Federer personally - nothing against Nadal but I've been brought up on serve and volley and that's where my allegiances will always lie.

That's a laugh, Federer is not even close to being a serve and volleyer, you do realise that although most think of him as a simply a baseliner Nadal frequently volleys more than Federer in his matches...

[Nu-Eclipse]

Federer and Nadal, at anything close to their best, are an absolute country mile ahead of the rest of the mens game. I didn't see too much of the game, but I'm not surprised he didn't do so well.

I don't want to make excuses, but the game on Monday must have taken a lot out of him. He's young and he'll improve in that area (Though I don't ever think he'll have the stamina of the very best - like Nadal).

To have any chance at all he needed to get ahead today. As soon as you allow Nadal to dictate the pace and power of a game you're done - even Federer is well aware of that.

Really looking forward to the final. Will be rooting for Federer personally - nothing against Nadal but I've been brought up on serve and volley and that's where my allegiances will always lie.

I would also include Novak Djokovic in the same company as Federer and Nadal, even though he was beaten by Safin in the 3rd Round at Wimbledon this year - he won the Australian Open this year and is as good as Federer and Nadal on his day. The men's game today is widely considered to be Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in a league of their own from everybody else.

Murray has come a long way in terms of his game, fitness and mental strength, but the Nadal match obviously showed him how much further he has to go if he wants to be up with the very best in the men's game. Monday's match against Gasquet clearly took it out of him, hence the reason that he looked so flat and subdued.

That's a laugh, Federer is not even close to being a serve and volleyer, you do realise that although most think of him as a simply a baseliner Nadal frequently volleys more than Federer in his matches...

Federer did emerge in the game as a serve and volley-type player, but admittedly he doesn't do it all that much these days. Many would consider him to be a player with the all-round game, a la Bjorn Borg when he was in his prime.

[Shoju]

Safin at his best can also compete with Federer and the others. The last time Safin was in the semis of a grand slam (2005) he beat Federer in one of the best matches of all time. Federer played much better in that match than in the two finals he played against Djokovic and still lost. On his day I'd put Safin ahead of Djokovic. He's been in bad form for the last couple of years though and he'll need to be at his very best to stand a chance against Federer, especially on grass. I still wouldn't count him out as he's got tremendous talent and is finally on a good run again.

The last 2 serve volley players left were Ancic and Lopez and they both went out in the quarters.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Safin at his best can also compete with Federer and the others. The last time Safin was in the semis of a grand slam (2005) he beat Federer in one of the best matches of all time. Federer played much better in that match than in the two finals he played against Djokovic and still lost. On his day I'd put Safin ahead of Djokovic. He's been in bad form for the last couple of years though and he'll need to be at his very best to stand a chance against Federer, especially on grass. I still wouldn't count him out as he's got tremendous talent and is finally on a good run again.

The last 2 serve volley players left were Ancic and Lopez and they both went out in the quarters.

Agreed about Safin. His performance in the 2005 Aussie Open Semi-Final against Federer was incredible. That said, Safin hasn't been at that level for years because of injuries, poor-form and many off-court distractions: Safin is a notorious playboy! That said, I do think that Djokovic just had a bad day at the office against Safin. These days, you would normally take him to beat Safin on most surfaces. Oh, and Djokovic has only played Federer in one grand-slam final, last year's US Open.

That said, I'd have to take Federer to beat Safin on grass. Any other surface would be 50-50 for me, but Federer is looking imperious right now.

Feliciano Lopez is a natural clay-court baseliner. He's been playing serve and volley at Wimbledon this year (and looked good with it, thanks to his huge serve) but that isn't his natural game at all. Ancic was the last natural serve and volley player left in tournament, but the truth is that serve and volley is redundant at Wimbledon today because the courts play MUCH slower than they did 5-10 years ago.

[Number45]

That's a laugh, Federer is not even close to being a serve and volleyer, you do realise that although most think of him as a simply a baseliner Nadal frequently volleys more than Federer in his matches...

Federer has had to adapt his game recently due to the opposition, but when he emerged he was very much a classic serve and volley player. You could argue Sampras wasn't a classic serve and volley style because he was capable of dominating from the baseline - each player had/has a very strong all round game and use what is necessary.

I'm not quite convinced on Djokovic yet. Undoubtedly an awesome player who is always getting better, but I still feel he falls short of the other two at the height of their game.

[Brats]

Didn't do too badly? He didn't win a single game that he wasn't serving on!

That's hardly an indication of a crap player. Do you know how hard it is to break the serve of someone like Nadal? That's like saying Spurs played crap against an on form Man U because the game ended 0-0.

Lot's of other players have difficulty holding their own serve against Nadal. By his own admission, it was the best Nadal has played so far this tournament and Murray was clearly knackered from the epic five setter the other day.

The moody Scot did alright. He improved in the third set and he got as far in the tounament as any British player has for years. And he's only 21.