Looks like it was...Quote:
Originally Posted by omega
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/tenni...tical-grunting
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Looks like it was...Quote:
Originally Posted by omega
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/tenni...tical-grunting
My grouse is not so much with him calling Djoko's shot lucky, but with proceeding to give a lecture on how players like him were 'taught' to work hard to win their points, blah blah. It was all very patronising and not in good taste given he was the one who had finished on the losing side. Djoko made it clear he took a chance because he HAD to...facing match point against a top player. I am not convinced, in spite of what Federer said then, that he himself would have done anything different had he been in Djoko's shoes. He was just too bitter about losing that day to understand that. Djoko was also by then at the business end of a tremendously successful season (most since McEnroe in 1984, I think) so it came off like Fed trying to pretend Djoke was just this fluke lucky shot player and not the overwhelming no.1 that he was at that time. Of course, later on Fed himself acknowledged Djoko's worthiness so I think it is more about losing (especially long hard fought matches) making him a whiny player.Quote:
Originally Posted by omega
:lol:.....So people did notice this....Quote:
Originally Posted by omega
Federer for his part has never been a very happy loser has he....I guess he had some words to say about the time taken by Nadal between points as well...I for one think that's a valid argument...Better have the same yardstick for everybody or scrap it all together...A great win for Nadal though...:clap:
I think his complaint about time violations is valid, not the one about 'tactical' grunting. I don't think Nadal indulges in tactical grunting any more than anybody else on the men's tour, that is, he doesn't. His grunt is a bit loud but it's nothing compared to Guga and don't even mention the ladies. As Nadal himself said, it's strange it should come up for questioning now because nobody has said anything about Nadal's grunts all these years.
Padma Bhushan Award for Leander Paes
http://www.thehindu.com/sport/paes-g...?homepage=true
குளோசப்பில் பிரசுரமாகும் நடாலின் ரத்தம் வழியும் இடது உள்ளங்கை மூலம் வாழ்க்கை, விதி ரேகைகளை பார்க்கையில் இந்த முறையும் ஆஸி அவருக்கே!
Whats happening there ... just tuned in and seen Nadal leaving all balls, not serving properly after medical timeout ... whats the problem ?
Wawrinka is so upset .. paavama irruku :(.
Suddenly from no where he is playing good in 3rd set ... wawrinka lost mentally and spraying balls :twisted:.
Nightmare first set, bad start in second set, medical time out, bongu aatam, metal torture to Stan and now he is winning easily ...Stan completely lost and digging grave for himself :notworthy:.
Congrats Stan. At last you won it. Get well soon Nadal.
# 3 in world :thumbsup: # 1 in Swiss :|.
Konja nera kadupula neraya eluthitaenn .. though I feel those were not bad at that moment ... Nadal's presentation speech slapped me :ashamed:.Quote:
Originally Posted by VinodKumar's
Congratulations to Stan Wawrinka!! :) Hope this is the first of many Grand Slams to come!
Congrats Wawrinka... Indeed u r deserved :)
By some coincidence or design, this is the second Aus Open final in three years that I missed (only partly this time) because of a film. In 2012, I had been called to watch Agneepath by college friends and couldn't refuse but deeply regretted watching the terrible film even as I found out what was going on in Melbourne. This time, I missed the meat - most of the first two sets - by the time I got back from a matinee show of The Wolf of Wall Street. But no regrets this time, had badly wanted to watch the film, really enjoyed it and was more worthwhile than a match that was sadly not a full on contest. Nice to see Wawrinka win, any non-big four player winning is a pleasant surprise. Hopefully he can also add either of Wimb or US Open this year in a hard fought contest instead of today. Nadal will have to wait a bit longer to equalise with Sampras.
P.S: The one that I didn't miss - 2013 - was strangely enough pretty boring and monotonous.
Wow...just wow....Never expected this. Gave this a miss and hit the bed early thinking the writing was on the wall. Now I have to watch the replay...:clap: Wawrinka....
+1. Congratulations Wawrinka! Excellent match and the way he used his weapons against Nadal was right on target.Quote:
Originally Posted by raagadevan
Very happy for Stan the Man!! You deserved it for the complete game you have. Way to go as he breaks into the top 3.
Didn't watch the match but as the media plays out it looks like the same old "No one beats a healthy Nadal"
Can't tell if his injury was genuine, but he had made it tough on himself doing it so many times in his career (taking MTO when down) that majority sees it just as a cheap tactic. Crowd booing was a bit too much which would have shattered Nadal for sure!! The mystery continues!!
Wawrinka :clap:. Well done deserved. Beating No 2 & No 1 deserves a grandslam. It's going to be an exciting year in the Men's Circuit in 2014.
And oh yeah the new Swiss Number ONE
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...82664559_n.jpg
:D
Ha ha ha, as I said before. I don't buy that favourite Nadal-boy argument anymore. Staying fit enough for the battle through the full two weeks is part of the deal. I sympathise with Nadal that he was not able to fight it out at full strength in the last 2 1/2 sets of the match (that is, I will give him full benefit of doubt as he looked genuinely in pain when I did get to watch the match). But I am not going to suffer Nadal-boys trying to extrapolate what could have beens anymore. A loss is a loss and Wawrinka won fair and square. Ask Nadal not to run around so much and play less physical tennis so that he doesn't have to give injury excuse every time he loses. Wawrinka's backhand is a thing of beauty!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by omega
Even when Fed won Wimbledon 2012, Nadal boys talked it down. Nadal was injured, so Rosol got lucky to beat him and Fed in turn not having to face him. Yeah sure but Fed also beat Djoko and Murray back to back to win. Why so much disdain for other players' efforts, I cannot fathom. As if Fed or any other player is just 'lucky' to remain fit unlike Nadal.
+ 100. Such a powerful, elegant one!Quote:
Originally Posted by crimson king
2014 would be a fantastic year for Tennis fans. Wawrinka, Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Murray, Berdych, Ferrer, Del Porto, Tsonga, Nishi.. Just thinking about how Wawrinka from nowhere now found a place in this ladder.. is simply superb.
Wawrinka has been knocking hard right from the start of 2013. It is not from nowhere. Since Nadal & Djokovic holds to the major chunk of points, its literally a close one between 3-8. It will be very exciting how it plays around for the rest of the year. Nadal is obviously very safe until Indian Wells (March) from which point he would have to defend a hell a lot!! He can even it out a bit by going deeper in Wimbledon though!! Hope the AO Final curse doesn't follow him in 2014!!Quote:
Originally Posted by venkkiram
Stanislas Wawrinka steps out of fellow Swiss Roger Federer's shadow
http://sports.ndtv.com/australian-op...ederers-shadow
The thing about Wawrinka is he is timing the ball so sweetly. Was doing that in 2013 as well, unlucky not to break out last year itself as omega pointed out. Fed used to time it like that all the time in his peak, occasionally produces that magic but the others in the big four are more about power and court coverage. Wawrinka is like Fed with a much sweeter backhand or maybe a one handed backhand version of Agassi. Baseline, but attacking and with great timing.
Like how Venki put it , 2014's gonna be a great year for tennis. The big two have a good number of points to defend and with the other six breathing down each other's neck, I wouldn't be surprised if the rankings go for a toss in the next few months.
I think Gasquet also has the potential to be a good challenger to the top four, if he overcomes what seems to be fragility under pressure. There are a bunch of players who could really bother the big four this year. Nadal has had his ups and downs with injuries but Nole also seems to be tiring.
We are seeing some upheaval in WTA too. As Amritraj said, Bouchard is the player for the future. Ivanovic is also hitting some good form. We might see Sugarpova slide a bit. For Serena, much depends on her fitness.
It is very very bad of Nadal to always be in such a position. I hope it is genuine otherwise it is very annoying tactics by Nadal. Already the Grunting and the lot of Time Taken is not at all good and is very very annoying. The mystery will ever be a mystery. We will never get to know what was he upto. But to me it looked like to take the rhythm of Stan who was in good touch. I felt Stan must have won in 3 straight sets but that lone set by Nadal is a surprise to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by omega
And yes Stan Wowrinka deserved every bit of this victory. What a superb game to defeat Nadal and emerge victorious. Congratulations to Stan :thumbsup:
It would be better for Nadal to concentrate on his game and come back stronger later.
Wish Magnus Norman was the coach of Federer.
Thats what annoyed me. Stan was confused and got irritated when NAdal did not attempt to reach the balls but served well and hit hard fore hands at break points. He could have retired from the match.Quote:
Originally Posted by leosimha
Was this strategy :huh: ?Quote:
Originally Posted by venkkiram
Nope.. what would have thought about prediction if Nadal won the title? Like the majority, I also predicted Nadal would be defeating Wawrinka.Quote:
Originally Posted by VinodKumar's
Sample this Hindu Headline
Wawrinka stops injured Nadal to claim maiden Grand Slam title http://www.thehindu.com/sport/tennis...cle5620226.ece
Quote:
Originally Posted by omega
Saw the match till two and a half sets. Lost interest and slept through the middle of 3rd and opening of 4th and woke up again to see Wawrinka serving for the match. The 1st and opening of the 2nd set was amazing as Stan pummeled away with all the points. The interesting thing happened when Nadal went out for a medical timeout as the idiotic chair umpire said to the repeatedly questioning Stan that he didn't know what the reason for his timeout was. Crowd booing Nadal was the final touch. Nadal was all and out when he served for the previous service game itself as he couldn't move like he always did in the court. And the rest is as they say history.
(Now onto something that i always wanted to write here for sometime)
Roger-Rafa rivalry might have been great but in hindsight i think it might have just killed the sport already. It is the same thing over and over with the expected results. Hit 2 his backhand-make him run around- win the pt with an error/winner. Sure, the rallies might seem interesting but it is (pardon my lack of a better example)like watching a Rajnikanth film. I can understand how seasoned tennis viewers may dislike this. You know what to expect and how it will play out at the end. IT IS BORING. The top 4 (excluding Murray may be) and the ATP are complicit in this disaster. I don't see powerful servers( pete/Goran) wrestling the initiative away from the opponent, no 1-2 service pt winners, serve/volley, no drawing opponents to the net, no lobs. no slices, no dropshots, no variety at all. Even yesterday's match is a replica of the above. Serve was a powerful and a potent weapon which I always loved to see on the court. Nowadays it all boils to who can slug it out more on the court. The result is what you see in terms of Nadal's/other player's injuries!!!!!> What's the friggin point, ATP??? :huh:. I for some reason don't want to blame Nadal, even though its his own downfall playing such physical tennis all the time.
New Rankings-
1) Nadal- 14330
2) Djokovic- 10620
3) Wawrinka- 5710
4) Del Potro- 5370
5) Ferrer- 5280
6) Murray- 4720
7) Berdych-4540
8) Federer- 4355
Stan Wawrinka:
"It's an amazing feeling. I saw Roger winning so many Grand Slams in the past, so now it's my turn to win one". "I will need time to realise what I did in these two weeks. Because at the end, even if Rafa was injured, I think I deserve that Grand Slam because I won against Djokovic, the number two, and I won against Rafa". "I had an amazing two weeks, and I was playing my best tennis ever."
Rafa Nadal:
"It's Stan's day, not my day". "As I said before, I try my best and it was not possible for me today. I'm obviously disappointed and very sad about what happened. But that's life, that's sport. I really had a lot of great moments in my career. That's a tough one. I'll just accept it and try to keep working hard for what's coming".
ajithfederer: On the other hand, Nadal and some of the other top players should take some part of the blame. During Bercy 2012, commentators openly hinted that the players had asked for the surface to be slowed down. As I said earlier in this thread, if you want to play brutal tennis on slow courts, then don't complain about too many matches leading to injuries. This style of play is also a factor in injuries. Even though women's tennis is pretty boring (imo) after the retirements of Henin, Clistjers, Hingis, etc, they don't have such long relentless rallies. Even their baseline rallies are more attacking, 'first strike' in nature. Either the players on ATP should play more attacking or they should stop pressurising tournament organisers to slow down the courts even further. Faster courts (and, importantly, lighter balls) will lead to more outright winners and shorter rallies. Even yesterday, Wawrinka was depending more on excellent shotmaking than on matching Nadal toe to toe in athleticism. How was it that he could generate such pace on one handed backhands on the same court, so much that Nadal couldn't even get to some of those winners. Maybe because he wasn't putting so much topspin to slow the f down? :P
Anyway, I think the Federer-Nadal rivalry by itself was fine because Federer never had the patience to go down the brutal route the whole hog. He always tried to finish off the point (albeit unsuccessfully). The problem started when Djoko finally decided he was ready to match, in fact outdo, Nadal for stamina and endurance. From that point on, tennis became a lot more physical.
P.S: But there are actually plenty of volleys, lobs, smashes, drops, slices, etc in contemporary tennis. They probably just get sandwiched between the uber brutal groundstrokes. There are three Wawrinka serve and volley winners in just the highlights package (i.e. probably more instances of serve and volley in the entire match). Even Nadal does an occasional S&V these days, maybe coaxed by Toni to attack and spare his knees a bit.
Things we learned from the Australian Open...
Stop with the "Fed is dead" stuff, etc...
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/federer...ry?id=22198983
MUST READ:
BRAIN GAME ANALYSIS
Brain Game: Stan's Tactics Revealed
Melbourne, Australia
by Craig O'Shannessy
|
27.01.2014
Stanislas Wawrinka played the best set of tennis of his life to set up a stunning victory over Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Wawrinka had to overcome nerves and an injured Nadal to close out the match but a smart game plan and outstanding execution early on set up the victory.
Wawrinka described his opening set as the “perfect start” for good reason. He won 11/11 first serve points including 3/3 serve and volley points and was 5/5 at the net. “I was moving well, feeling really aggressive, and I played my best set for sure by far,” he said.
Wawrinka’s domination over the World No. 1 to lead 6-3, 2-0 was built around strategic primary patterns (used 7 or 8 times out of 10) when the score was close and then employ secondary patterns (2 or 3 times out of 10) when he was ahead and the scoreboard didn’t apply extra pressure to the riskier tactic. The key was making Nadal unsure what was coming by getting the mix right to disguise the master plan.
Primary - Attack the Forehand
Wawrinka built his set-and-a-break lead with the clever tactic of going after Nadal’s forehand wide in the Ad court. Nadal is always looking to gravitate to his right to turn a backhand into a forehand in the deuce court, so Wawrinka often went wide in the Ad court early in the point to take advantage of this subtle movement. Nadal committed five forehand errors during this period, all in the Ad court, and four of them were sliding defensively as wide as the alley. Wawrinka wasted no time attacking this area, winning the opening point of the match by twice pressuring Nadal deep and wide, forcing a forehand error long down the line.
Primary - The Backhand Cage
Wawrinka constantly put Nadal on defense by hitting to his backhand out wide behind the alley in deuce court exchanges, which had three main benefits for Wawrinka: Nadal had no backhand winners in the first 11 games, it made it tough to hit his favorite run-around forehand in the deuce court and it created a lower percentage, wider angle to go down the line to neutralize the point to Wawrinka’s backhand. Wawrinka’s curling, cross-court forehand essentially put Nadal’s backhand in a cage. Wawrinka broke Nadal for the first time at 1-1, 15/40 with one of these excessively wide rally balls that Nadal could only manage to slice back, bouncing before the net.
Secondary - Backhand Down-The-Line
This was a masterful tactic from Wawrinka that was a crushing blow to Nadal every time it landed. Wawrinka hit the down-the-line backhand winner for the first time at 1-1, 40/15 off a low backhand slice down the line from Nadal. It won Wawrinka the game with a huge exclamation point. He hit it like a rocket as a passing shot in the following game. Nadal could not handle it, leading to the first break of serve of the match. The next time The Swiss used it was with Nadal serving at 1-4, 30/15. Wawrinka crushed three consecutive backhands cross court then pulled the trigger down the line for a spectacular winner. Just the threat of having such a huge weapon without always using it creates doubt and uncertainty in Nadal’s baseline movement and shot selection.
Secondary - Serve and Volley
The scoreboard dictated this clever surprise tactic as Wawrinka did it six times in building his set-and-a-break lead – never when he was behind in the point score; once with the point score tied and five times when he was ahead in the point score, including twice at 40/0 where the pressure was minimised. Wawrinka won five of six and what was interesting was the way he went about it – a sprint to the net with no split step, which enabled him to get well inside the service line when he had to hit a volley.
Nadal’s back injury early in the second set ended Wawrinka’s spectacular play as he now encountered a new opponent who served softer, took more risks and used less patterns. While it seems logical that an injured opponent should be easier to play, quite often it’s the complete opposite as Wawrinka’s brilliant tactics no longer applied. Clarity was replaced with nerves, and as is often the case, Wawrinka hoped Nadal would miss.
Wawrinka battled himself during the third set, which he lost, and for most of the fourth until he got the final break of serve to go ahead 5-3 and then served it out for an incredible, rollercoaster victory. The best set of his life laid the perfect foundation for the best win of his life and the fulfillment of a dream to become a Grand Slam champion.
Craig O'Shannessy uses extensive tagging, metrics and formulas to uncover the patterns and percentages behind the game. Read more at www.braingametennis.com.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Ten...-Wawrinka.aspx