Tennis Forever

Caught the highlights of the Fed-Monfils match. Very entertaining. Fed's netgame this year is close to its absolute best. Maybe in 2001 up to 2003 it might have been that good. He was always good at the net but this year he is also being aggressive, going for really sharp volleys and smashes and not doing anything unduly cute. The moments he has chosen to get in have also been more high risk. Often I thought he wouldn't make it and then he pulled out an unbelievable volley. Monfils himself is incredible at the net so the very fact that on a few net exchanges Fed got the better of him speaks volumes. Irrespective of whether he wins titles, he is entertaining old school tennis fans with his approach this year.

Wawrinka lost to Benneteau ...

Fed, in his own words, stole the second set from under Murray's nose. Whattaplayer! With Stan also knocked out, suddenly the first ATP 1000 title since, incidentally, Cincinnati 2012 is looking like a distinct possibility. I hope he doesn't blow it. He may not get a better chance in a long time.

That was awful from Murray to be honest. Federer's ground strokes were pretty good today and his BH was also holding up pretty fine. Murray tried his best to rattle that side of Federers much to no avail. His net play however looks dicey with the number of unforced errors he's committting on that front, but it is good to see him get to position early.

ATP hasn't put up the detailed statistical analysis yet. As long as the percentage on net approach points works out in his favour, a few errors are fine.

His net play has been exceptional the past couple of weeks. Problem is, while making some real difficult ones he is missing out on easy put aways.
May be thats were Nadal scores to get "The greatest volleyer" title from JMac's mouth... Offcourse to JMac 3/3 looks better than 24/30 right....What a bandwagoner!!

CK, Roger was 17/27 @ net yesterday.

^ +1...

17/27 is a good percentage, around 63%. At that percentage, it's worth taking the risk of coming in. But yeah, agree that he should put away the put aways too if he can convert tough volleys.

Yamma, Sharapova, serving for the match, makes double double faults to hand the break back to Ivanovic. What a disgrace!

Federer to meet Ferrer in the finals!

Raonic just didnt show up in the first set. Even in the second, the paltry first serve percentage added to the inability to win rallies costed him dear. In the end it was just a matter of when rather than if. Federer was peerless. Great chance to get his first masters title in two years. Has never lost to Ferrer in all his fifteen outings against him. Lets see if he can add another one to that.

Ditto. Pretty much a repeat of Wimb semis. Raonic's shot selection lacks judgment. He needs to know when to get in and when not to. His net approach conversion was not bad 10/17 but Fed's was a whopping 14/16 and Fed owned the groundstroke rallies so Raonic needed to win more at the net. First serve percentage was just not up to par. And unfortunately for Raonic, Fed's backhand returns worked really well today. The way he dealt with the high kicker to the backhand out wide to break Raonic was incredible.

The king is really shaping up well in the twilight of the season. As I said yesterday too, this is a great chance to win a Masters title again...against a player whom he has never lost to and on a surface that suits him. Hopefully he can sew it up. Even the commentators are beginning to discuss his US Open prospects now, which have suddenly begun to look very bright.

^ Wish he goes deep at the US open. Thinking of getting to NY for the semis or finals. Might be my only chance to watch him play a big match in a premier tournament. May leave the country for good later this year.

Raonic's greatest weapon is his serve; the next one being power. On a day when his serves fail him, he is just another "average" player! Every Tom, Dick and Harry of the "new" generation of players has power. Hopefully, these youngsters would try to master other aspects of the wonderful game of tennis!

^ True. But the problem today was how uni dimensional his serve was. Federer was reading it like a book.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arvind Srinivasan

Thinking of getting to NY for the semis or finals. Might be my only chance to watch him play a big match in a premier tournament. May leave the country for good later this year.

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Good luck, Arvind (and of course, Roger)! :)

^ Thanks. Not giving it too much importance though. Lets see...

All the best Arvind. And yeah, agreed that Raonic didn't use much variety on his serve. Pace doesn't bother Fed much, variety is what makes it harder for him to return. Or maybe a Djoko/Nadal-like focused attack on his backhand to wear him down. Raonic did neither and when he did attack his backhand, Fed gave as good as he got.

Yo!! yen ya?

I mean other than that I am glad that you're going to USO. I went there in 2010. It was a pretty good experience. Get closer seats if you can.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arvind Srinivasan

^ Wish he goes deep at the US open. Thinking of getting to NY for the semis or finals. Might be my only chance to watch him play a big match in a premier tournament. May leave the country for good later this year.

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Arvind,

Miss panneraathinga. Naa innum feel pannitu irukkaen. Appuram yedhukku India varinga ??? Mudinja angayae irundhurunga :).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VinodKumar's

Arvind,

Miss panneraathinga. Naa innum feel pannitu irukkaen. Appuram yedhukku India varinga ??? Mudinja angayae irundhurunga :).

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Ditto. In fact I am preparing for US CPA. There's a long 'gestation' period before I can even hope to get there (no sooner than 2016-end at the most optimistic) but I am gonna try real hard. I hope you are coming back because of a not so great experience, professional or personal, in US, or unavoidable family exigencies. Else, please don't fall for Babaji ka thulla aka Modi sarkar.

Dig- Just finished my masters this May. Searching for a job. Onnum amayala. Got another three months before the end of my grace period to land one. Inga music classes eduthukittu ottikittu irukaen. Else I will have to return. Athu poga, got concerts lined up this December in Chennai. So I cannot be missing that. Balancing this and music has been a challenge albeit enjoyable. But guess somewhere I have to draw a line. Personally speaking, I would like to work here considering the experience it offers. I am hopeful. Paapoam. End Dig

OK, fair enough. Continuing the dig for just a bit, what do you do in music? Does December mean Carnatic season basically? Are you a vocalist or do you play any instrument?

^ I am a carnatic vocalist, CK. Taken part in the Madras Music Festival for the last four years.

Great. Good to know. Either way, I wish you all the very best. And hope you will catch Fed lift his 18th slam at The Open! ;)

^ Thank you...Kind off optimistic that he will go the distance . Hasn't done well here at all in the last two years. Hopefully he turns the tide this time around.

It is just a hope, pa. Athanaikum aasaipadungal. ;) Was just going with the flow. Yes, last two years have been pretty dismal.

Masters 1000 Titles - Winning Record
(Prior to today's Cincinnati Open finals)

Rafael Nadal (ESP) 27
Roger Federer (SUI) 21
Novak Djokovic (SRB) 19
Andy Murray (GBR) 9
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 3
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 2
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 2
David Ferrer (ESP) 1

(Source: ATP News)

BAgel??

Bagel denied.. He played like champ in first set and rookie like in second set

Break point conversion is pathetic

He gets it

Well, well, well... whatever! Good comeback win for Roger!

Idhukku ninga vaazhthamale irukkalam :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by raagadevan

Well, well, well... whatever! Good comeback win for Roger!

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Extremely well done roger. Winning with 4 kids and @ 33 years on the fastest court is a great accomplishment. As always proud to be your fan.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ajithfederer

Extremely well done roger. Winning with 4 kids and @ 33 years on the fastest court is a great accomplishment. As always proud to be your fan.

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Exactly. At this stage, just that he is still playing is itself a great thing. That he can still win titles is just incredible. Let's not forget that, apart from being 33 and a father, he also has nothing left to prove. He could have walked away a long time back, maybe 2009 and he hasn't.

Good win for Federer. Hope he takes this form into the US Open. His inexplicable lapses of concentration in the second set as seen in the last two weeks should be avoided though. And Rafa's out. The news was just confirmed

At the moment, Fed and, in spite of his poor form last two weeks, Djoko look the most likely to win USO. But things can change pretty fast in tennis. If either of these two fall early, it could really open up the tournament. Something that people who want rivalries dislike but which I would personally love (no, not Fed , though :P) as it makes things more unpredictable.

FEDERER TO RETURN TO BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS FOR RECORD 13TH STRAIGHT YEAR
London, England
by Press Release | 18.08.2014


Roger Federer has punched his ticket to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for a record 13th year in a row after clinching a sixth title at the Western & Southern Open on Sunday. Federer joins Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the elite eight-man field at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 9-16 November, where he will be looking to win his seventh crown.

Buy Your Tickets

The 33-year-old Swiss is the most successful player to compete at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, compiling a 44-11 record and claiming a record six titles in 2003-04, 2006-07 and 2010-11. He breaks the record of consecutive years qualifying for the championship, a mark he previously shared with Ivan Lendl (1980-91).

“It’s always one of the big goals I set myself at the beginning of the season,” said Federer. “It’s always an absolute honour being part of the best eight. Getting a chance to win an extra trophy at the end of the season – which is so prestigious, one of the biggest ones we have in the game and one I’ve done so well at – is a great feeling. Returning to the season finale is something I’ve been a part of since 2002, so to do it again is a privilege and I will try to play my very best there. I hope I can save some of my best for last.”

Federer opened his 2014 campaign by finishing runner-up to rival Lleyton Hewitt at the Brisbane International and reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open. He enjoyed a 10-match win streak from late-February to mid-March, hoisting a sixth trophy at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and reaching his 35th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The Swiss finished runner-up to countryman Stan Wawrinka at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and advanced to four consecutive finals, beginning with a seventh Gerry Weber Open crown on the grass of Halle in early June. He reached a ninth title match at Wimbledon, followed by a run to the final at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. En route to clinching a sixth championship in Cincinnati, he became the first player to achieve 300 match wins at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level and the third to claim 80 tour-level titles.



http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Ten...Qualifies.aspx

US open R16, QF, SF showdowns-

R16:
Djokovic-Isner
Tsonga-Murray
Wawrinka-Robredo
Nishikori-Raonic
Berdych-Gulbis
Cilic-Ferrer
Dimitrov-Gasquet
Fognini-Federer

QF

Djokovic- Murray/Tsonga
Wawrinka- Raonic/Nishikori
Berdych-Ferrer
Dimitrov-Federer

SF

Djokovic-Wawrinka
Federer-Ferrer