Federer vs. Nadal on 1/2 grass, 1/2 clay court - Page 3

Yeah, at times it reminded me of that early 2000s malaise where it was serve, point, serve, point. And yet, that style of play was primarily coming from Federer!

Watched the loathsome Skip Bayless talking about why Federer isn't the best player ever . . . Look, Nadal is great, but bad knees are bad knees. Endurance and longevity are just as crucial when it comes to the GOAT talk. Federer has to be considered the best. Now, best match of all time . . . last year, easily.

Nadal is good, but no Federer yet.

The problem is longevity, as was mentioned up above. Nadal's style of play can really grind down a body over time, so for that reason I'm skeptical of him being able to eclipse Federer, regardless of his youth and talent.

Federer's style, meanwhile, is ridiculously fluid and economical--it's the reason he's been able to go through these last several years with no major injuries.

And yeah, I'd rank Federer/Roddick '09 third in all time Wimbledon finals, with Nadal/Federer '08 at the top and Borg/MacEnroe '80 in 2nd place.

You can pick out the people who don't know much about tennis when they say Federer has to beat Nadal on clay in order to be considered the greatest. Roger Federer is the greatest complete tennis player not only of this era, but possibly in the entire history of the sport. Nadal on the other hand is the greatest clay court player of this era (all time would be Bjorn Borg), but when stacked up against the other "legends" he's not there yet, and with these untimely injuries in his prime he may never be.

Sigh, it’s starting to feel like 2008 may never happen again. Nadal is just falling apart, and who knows how long Federer can maintain this level of excellence.

Anyone see this?

Wowzers!

Del Potro is playing a HELL of a game against Federer. I'm slightly hopeful he might make it.

And of course it's already up on youtube. Federer telling the chair umpire he doesn't give a shit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsIxPENjP4g

I sorta had a feeling about this, but then I lost it completely after Fed got up... but Federer is not actually supernatural, and del Potro has been playing well.

Amazing game. Good for Del Potro, has been really upping his game lately.

It's been a while, but I had to mention the longest match in history, currently underway at Wimbledon. 36-35 in the 5th set. Unreal.

This match is pretty phenomenal.

I can't tell if this is a great match or a match between two guys with big serves and no other skills. Still, 42-41? My God.

They're definitely not moving like they would, but they're still playing quality tennis. You'd think somebody would have mishit a couple shots in a row, lost their nerve, and dropped a service game. They're staying remarkably consistent.

Ok, so now we're guaranteed at least 100 games in the fifth set.

ESPN switched to World Cup; Is it playing on another channel?

I am watching it on ESPN 3 online.

BTW, triple digit number of games in this set. No match has ever had that many. (I think)

Still? I just checked at 37/37. seems the sets i watch is all 40-0 then a win. Seems like these guys are waiting for the other to make a mistake and resting when not serving.

Isner just fought off two break points to win his service game.

HOLY SCHNICKES!

On the match and on the fact that there is an ESPN3 where I can watch sports online.

Isner is really laboring, but finding a way to hit big serves every time he needs them. Amazing. Mahut feels like the guy who deserves this slightly more, though.

Being show on ESPNU now.

That last point was good but Isner has gotten a few shit calls since I began watching at 50-50.

The only really bad thing about this is that baseline tennis sucks absolute balls.

This shit wouldn't go down with a few serve and volleys. And if it did THAT would be an epic match.

My eight year has begun to show a knack for the game and I'll be damned if I am not up the ass of the pro giving him lessons telling him to round the kid out.

It's a Malawi referee.

They probably just went to the bathroom to measure dicks. Whoever was longer gets the next two games.

Mahut=SHOWOFF!

Awesome.

It's gotta end quick on day three when they are both rested and will take chances. Reminds me of The Iowa Baseball Confederacy.

I'm wondering how long they are going to give them to rest before shuttling the winner off to the second round.

That being said even if I won I would withdraw. Damn these guys. If I was them that on court interview shit that was going down at the play stoppage would have received a middle finger as I headed for the ice bath.

Amazing.

Has it been announced when they will start playing tomorrow? I can't find it at ESPN.

The match will not resume before 7:30am PST tomorrow.

Hopefully Big John got a deluxe massage and can drum up the energy to get aggressive in one of Mahut's early service games tomorrow.

With this marathon match, Novak's 5-setter, and Rog's two heart attack-inducing early matches, this year's Wimbledon is already shaping up to be a very memorable slam.

60-59
Mahut got it to deuce but Isner served up another ace when he needed to.

Previous aces record- 78

So far this match- Isner 101, Mahut- 99

70-68.

Feel really bad for Mahut.

Wimbledon is going special award for the players. Classy.

I had a chance to watch the last game and walked away from it. Shit.

Weird that I couldn't get ESPN Tres to work on my home computer. Apparently my home ISP isn't a contracted entity that allows streaming sports. My work ISP however is.

Hell of a match tonight. Reminded me of that US Open final between Fed and Roddick where the score seemed lopsided but the level was so close to even.

Because of Nadal's success against Federer, it appears people are ready to crown him as the best of all time, but I think he needs to at least approach whatever the record ends up being to stake that claim. I would say he needs at least 14. Barring injury I don't see any way he doesn't get at least 4 more. And that's if he falls off a cliff after his peak runs out.

The concern on Nadal has always been that because of his style of play the wear on his knees might cut his career short. And that still might happen. Regardless, I'll be very surprised if he can age as comfortably as Federer has...I would imagine that, even at 24, he's closer to the end than the beginning. But it's been a hell of a five years so far, so who knows?

Still, I agree that he can get close or surpass Federer's tally in the end. Also depends on if Djokovic, Murray, etc can press any harder.

His peak could conceivably be over at 26, it's happened before. But he has eased back his schedule a bit, and that would be the earliest I could see him losing anything. If he has to take significant time off due to injury, and that injury is not catastrophic, it could actually help recharge his batteries and extend his prime years, (if not the number of slams he contends in.)

Incredible first 3 sets, but Nadal was too much in the end. My heart says Fed's the greatest ever, but Nadal states his case louder and louder with each Grand Slam.

Nadal and Djokovic have a doozy going down under. About to hit the five hour mark. 

Djokovic's girlfriend has to be the best at her craft.  She is so great at looking both incredibly hot and super worried.

 

I know the outcome, obviously, but I am still gonna watch this to completion.  Hell of a match.  I just hope that Rafa uses it as motivation for the French.  (Of course, at the end of the US Open Rafa made the comment that it would be almost impossible for Djoker to repeat his year again this year.  He may eat those words.)

I'm gonna say Nadal takes the French. That's his tournament. If it's Djokovic then he's a good bet to Grand Slam this year.

 

Thought Nadal had it for sure when he was up 4-2 in the 5th. Djokovic was starting to wobble. To overcome that was unreal. Classic match.

In 2011, after beating him in the semis in Paris, Federer had Djokovic on the ropes again in the semis at the US Open.  I can't help but wonder how the state of the men's game would be viewed differently had Fed been able to put Djokovic away.  It seems to go in cycles where, although there are good rivalries, it's really just one dominant guy, as opposed to a back and forth. Fed, then Rafa, now Djoker.  Had Nadal faced Roger in that 2011 final, and won, it'd feel a little more like there wasn't as big a margin between 1 and 2.

 

Paris is going to be huge for Nadal this year.  If he loses his foothold on that tournament, who knows what effect that will have on him?

I was going to watch some of the match, but it was on too late for me. I woke up the next morning, turned on the TV, and the match had literally just ended. Pretty amazing.

 

Djokovic has been astonishing the last 2-3 years. I'm still pulling for Fed to win another Slam, but I don't think it's going to happen. I never thought Djokovic's heart would match his talent. I stand corrected.

The dude really does have the capacity to take the big four this year, he's proven himself on every surface now, and he's starting the year with one helluva tough and focused attitude, it's almost scary.

 

What a fuckin time in mens tennis - it's like we're living in an age of three Sampras' or Rod Lavers. Amazing.

Questions about Djokovic's heart and ability to withstand long grueling matches were answered last year when he was so dominant.  But with every player who begins to dominate, especially in men's tennis, it seems like the commentators go overboard in their assessments.  I sense they're trying to reel in the hype on Novak a bit, because although he does look to be playing at as high a level as we've ever seen, we also said that about Nadal in 2009-2010, and Federer in the four years previous to that.  It would be very surprising to me if he went on a Federer like run, simply because the more slams he wins, the bigger star he's going to become, and he doesn't seem to have Roger's all-business approach.  But even one more year like last year would solidify his place amongst the game's greats... and I could easily see him getting to double digits slams.

 

I wonder what role, if any, the Olympics will play in this season.  Nadal already has a singles gold... none of the other top men do.  One thing is for sure, if Murray walks away from Wimbledon without a title and the London Olympics without a medal, they might kick him out of the country.

Aah the curse of being a british tennis player - do even slightly well in your career and you have the crushing weight of a century of national expectations crashdown on your shoulders.