Wimbledon 2012

[Coolhand Texas]

murray has a tough draw, probably the toughest. might have an early upset.

speaking of the home country favorites. how about robson taking the first set off schiavone. I do believe she is one of the youngest in the draw right?

of course i spoke to soon about her

[Kono]

Nieminen!!

[PerfectAce]

Bellucci with a great start against Nadal. Eventually he will loose his head and give an easy win for Nadal, as he always do against everybody...

[Corbon]

Nike hasn't updated Nadal's shoes, it still says 10 on them.

[Corbon]

BBC’s reporter: "How did you manage so well to close out the match?"

Gulbis: "I’m well known for my mental strength, ask around."

He reminds me a bit of Marc Rosset, another big server and an even bigger choker.

[VMoe86]

The interview with Gulbis is entertaining, good character.

Q. Without being really, really like polite, what is the biggest thing which you enjoy in life? Music? Verdasco says it's food.

ERNESTS GULBIS: Okay, Verdasco, it's his hairstyle it looks like he enjoys the most. Put gel in his hair.

Me, I will keep it a secret what I enjoy. Think about it. I think you all know.



Full interview: HERE

[Coolhand Texas]

how about showtime dimitrov doing some damage today vs anderson?

he has baghdatis next round and if he can get past him then it might be murray, and I would love to see him take out the mutant!

[Moralspain]

Nike hasn't updated Nadal's shoes, it still says 10 on them.

I think that he has a 10 on the left side of the shoe and an 8 on the right side, the years when he won Wimbledon, i' m not sure though

[Moralspain]

how about showtime dimitrov doing some damage today vs anderson?

he has baghdatis next round and if he can get past him then it might be murray, and I would love to see him take out the mutant!

Dimitrov to win Wimbly

[Saarbrigga]

According to some players, Wimbledon is now slower than Roland Garros.

If so Nadal should win it.

[VillaJ100]

According to some players, Wimbledon is now slower than Roland Garros.

If so Nadal should win it.

The idea of 'speed' is subjective though. The courts do bounce higher, due to the rackets, grips used and most importantly the balls used are super heavy. But it's still grass so slices will stay low, and volleys and slice serves will still skid.

By the way does anyone else thing the courts look worn as hell already :s I know they have more traffic than queens and eastbourne but they looked in a lot better shape.

[Moralspain]

According to some players, Wimbledon is now slower than Roland Garros.

If so Nadal should win it.

hahaha, form your mouth to God's ears.

btw let me point something out, Nadal doesn't win RG year after year because the speed of the court he wins there because he is a specialist on clay, which has nothing to do with the speed. He has won the US Open, 2 Wimbledons and 1 Australian Open as well (plus the 7 RGs), people tend to forget that.
He won the US Open title serving almost like Isner hahaha, joking, but yep his serve was superb during that tournament.
Yep i know what you're gonna say, Wimbledon is slower nowadays that's why he got the 2 Wimbledons, but don't forget that Federer also has won many of his titles on this "slower" surface. (2 of them against Rafa in 2006 and 2007)

[Saarbrigga]

Pat Cash in the german "Tennis Magazin", Nr. 6 2012:

Q: What do you think about Tennis today?

A: Honestly, i feel like i Dino, players like me are dying out. It s sad...but could be avoid. The reason is because the courts and balls are too slow. Today s single shot (offensive) players can t earn anything by playing good shots, because good defenders can reach any ball, and offensive players get s countered to easy because of the conditions.
I don t see any sense if Nadal and Djokovic punishing the ball 30 times over the net, honestly it s just boring, looks like a video game.
Speed up balls and courts, don t allow to use racquet sites which are just made for spins, then the players must play much more controlled.

[Moralspain]

yep good article, it's an opinion, that's all, a respectable opinion. When Ivanisevic won in London i didn't even watch the final, that style, for me, was boring, but that's just my opinion

Besides, i think we forget that not only Nadal and Djokovic use that style on Wimbledon....., Federer, Murray, Berdych etc all of them play from the baseline the 90% of the plays

[Saarbrigga]

btw let me point something out, Nadal doesn't win RG year after year because the speed of the court he wins there because he is a specialist on clay, which has nothing to do with the speed.

Agree. I would never say something contrary. He won 7 times because he s simply the greatest clay couter ever.

He has won the US Open, 2 Wimbledons and 1 Australian Open as well (plus the 7 RGs), people tend to forget that.

Not forget he won 1 US and 1 AUS, but also not forget the changing conditions played in his cards. That blue plastic in Melbourne is slower or let s say the ball bounced higher then the green rebound-ace in the past.
Would he win it once on rebound-ace? Maybe...but maybe not.

The US Open were a very fast beton, listed by the ATP as "fast hard". Since 2005 it has become some deco turf, lited by the ATP as "medium fast", which also plays in his cards.

but don't forget that Federer also has won many of his titles on this "slower" surface. (2 of them against Rafa in 2006 and 2007)

Federer s wins are the most different if you compare them to Agassi or Nadal. He won:

AUS Open: 3 times on rebound-ace, 1 time on blue plastic
Wimbledon: 2 times (2003/2004 playing just S&V) on flat bouncing grass, 4 times on high bouncing grass.
US Open: 1 time on fast beton (2004), 4 times on medium fast.


The point is this: What you think would Fed do to Rafa and Nole on a grass court 15 years back (in the era of Sampras)? I guess he would beat both of them in 3 or 4 sets, any time. The way like Rafa beats him on 3 or 4 in RG any time.

If the conditions (ball bouncing and court speed) would be as different as 15 years ago, Fed would be almost unstoppable in Wimbledon (just Sampras was better there) and also VERY hard to beat in NY, while Rafa would as today unstopable in RG, and Melbourne rebound-ace would be a close thing between Fed, Rafa and Nole.

I am not a Federer or Sampras "Fan", but i am a fan of Tennis like it was, 4 different Grand Slams, 4 different court speeds (+ different bouncing).
Today it s a 1 motoric bom bom on any surface...maybe one exception at the Indoor Master end of the year (maybe a reason why Nole and Rafa never beat Fed there to this day).

Put it this way, scale 1-10 in terms of speed:

15 years ago:

AUS Open: 6
Roland Garros: 3
Wimbledon: 10
US Open: 8

today:

AUS Open: 5
RG: 4
WimbledoN: 6
US Open: 7

Just for the illustration.