Tennis

[mazdamazda]

Was only able to watch tennis the other day after a long time.

I was just surprised at how GOOD this Federer guy was...

[nicolodeon]

Federer is damn good. Buti nga, naging stable na ang game nya. When he was starting out, erratic ang mga service nya at forehand returns. Pero, nag-mature yung bata kaya hayun, champion. Ang sayan si Marat Safin. Up to now, erratic yung game nya. Ang nami-miss ko na panoorin eh si Steffi Graf at si Martina Hingis.

[conzky]

Was only able to watch tennis the other day after a long time.

I was just surprised at how GOOD this Federer guy was...

Yeah! at the rate he is playing right now, i think nobody can beat him, and for sure he'll stay at the no. 1 spot for a long time.

Sir mazda, are you into tennis? Ive been playing tennis for the last fifteen years, im a weekend player though. i play maximum of 2 sets every saturday and sunday.

[mantoy]

on a different level na si federer. imagine, maski yung mga closest rivals nya like hewitt and roddick ay dino-dominate nya. he has a 9-1 head-to-head record vs roddick. against hewitt he has won their last 8 matches. don't know their head-to-head standings though.

[nicolodeon]

* conzky, weekend player din ako. Pero mas late akong nag-simulang maglaro compared sa 'yo. 5-6 years pa lang ako nag-lalaro. It was my wife who convinced me to try the game out. She has been playing tennis since high school.

Pero for the past 8-12 months, dehins na ako gaano nakapaglaro due to work and other committments.

As for Hewitt, big serve, inconsistent overall game.

[toyboxph]

tama ka dyan mazdamazda, if you watch a men's game 10 years ago compared to today's ladies' game, di mananalo ang lalaki noon sa babaeng tennis players ngayon. such speed and power!

[creepy]

I have to agree that Federer is really phenomenal.

The only problem is that he's becoming cocky (medyo naging mayabang na siya sa pananalita). I just hope he pulls his head back down from the clouds before it affects his game.

[rlp1099]

federrer has an all court game which suits 3 out of the 4 grand slams

at that level its those who can win points because they have a net game backed up by backcourt game who has the advantage

at any time federrer can rely on his strokes to create an opening to come to the net to finish the point or put pressure on his opponents (he wins just as much points hitting winners from the baseline and from the net)

look at the breakdown of unforced erros in most of his matches and winners he makes,
just the thought you're against someone who can hit outright winners, will put pressure on you to make better shot selection , ergo you're often reacting to his shots rather than dictating the pace so you can win points

then there's his serve
anyone who's ever carried a racket will tell you that having a very good 1st serve you can use to come into the net or force the oponent to have an exceptional return of serve, has a very good chance of winning the point

skills wise at the moment he has no equal

the other thing that's often not mentioned is the mental part of his game

tennis is a game where you continously play 3-4 points to win one game
you play a lot of battles to win the war
momentums shifts on a single point and the level of concentration needed to play that one point and only that one point requires zen like mastery

Borg in his prime had a very low pulse rate, hence the tag "ice borg"- in the most pressured packed moments and during one interview commented that after games
he would lie still in his hotel room just trying to recover from the mental battle

ultimately like any other one on one combat you're against the guy on the other side of the net and yourself

federrer has complete mastery of himself
anyone across the net see that and feels that will just have to pray federrer has a very bad day or bumps into the umpires chair

[ozcity]

i think safin is the only one who can beat federer, i dont even like hewitt..masyado mayabang..

[stinkaboy]

i thought nga roddick will dominate tennis this year.

I enjoyed watching SAMPRAS, remember when he played the US OPEN, he was vomitting at the court and it was in the 5th set, he won pa the title.

[squala]

i thought nga roddick will dominate tennis this year.

I enjoyed watching SAMPRAS, remember when he played the US OPEN, he was vomitting at the court and it was in the 5th set, he won pa the title.

Now that was plain stupid on the part of Sampras' opponent when he had a stomach ache. That other guy could have slowed things down a bit, as a part of strategy, in order to win that particular match. Sampras could have gotten weaker and weaker and gave up. It's not that I'm condemning him, but if you have one of those lifetime chances to beat him, take advantage of the situation.

Anyway, Rafael Nadal could have gone for the Wimbledon title if only he served better. Federer had almost twice as much aces and unreturned serves, and this is where the outcome was determined. No one, including Nadal himself, expected him to do so well on grass just yet. I really love this Spaniard. He's about to take everything away from Federer, but the Swiss was still lucky to defend his crown on grass. However, this is a sign that there could be a new #1 player soon.

Lleyton Hewitt could have also been among the top today had he been not cursed with numerous injuries. In 2001 and 2002, he played perfect tennis, beating just about every great player, including Sampras. What Federer is now is what he was that time. And speaking of Roger, this Aussie was an equal before, if not even better. It's quite unfortunate for him to incur all those physical troubles that made him slip down the rankings, and having to lose to 2nd, even 3rd-rate players at that.

Factoring in wheels, Andy Roddick can be best described as a big V8 American muscle car. Lots of power, lots of torque and speed, it can outrun just about any car. But if it's disturbed with poor reliability, it gets completely destroyed. Andy is all about power, especially his serve, but if the pressure is put on him, he can easily be beaten.

[swordsman]

Federer again captured the Wimbledon this year. Pero medyo nahirapan sya kay Nadal, who captured the French Open title a month ago - against Federer. Galing nitong si Nadal sa clay.

[Gumusut_Amige]

[size=2]Most tennis greats are all praise to Federer's ability and accomplishments thus far. Similarly, i'm very impressed with Nadal’s determination though... his learning curve with grass is very steep but shows not much trouble with this last wimbledon row. IMO, give Nadal a year or two and he'll beat Federer in any given surface.[/size]

[bavent]

Nadal is leading against Federer sa head to head. i think its 6 games to 2 kasi he won wimbledon.5 sa clay and 1 sa hard surface i think it was in dubai. The last 4 loses of federer was against nadal.Ok manood sa wimbledon sa 1st and 2nd day kasi dami mo makikitang players.pati yong mga nagprapractice.

[roninblade]

i followed wimbledon this year from round 1 to the finals (may advantages talaga working from home).

yeah, im rooting for nadal din. lets give him a year or two.
pero si federer is really good. he only lost one set sa buong tournament, and that was against nadal sa finals.

sa women's naman, i was rooting for justine henin-hardenne. na-out kasi agad si hingis. kaso di ata kinaya ni justine yung mental stress... andami nya error sa finals.

[Gumusut_Amige]

Rooted Sharapova in women, she's very pretty and good but too much shrieks... also believe that she's disturbed by her own grunting. This reminds me of Monica Seles in her younger years... but those times opposing players do complain much.

[Boy Torotot]

Rooted Sharapova in women, she's very pretty and good but too much shrieks... also believe that she's disturbed by her own grunting. This reminds me of Monica Seles in her younger years... but those times opposing players do complain much.

Kala ko humahalinghing sya e...tennis pa lang yon a..ahihi.

[artpogi]

i didn't read the whole thread and I used to play tennis for a good number of years, but with regards to Federer, he's what they call in tennis language as the complete player, can serve and volley and can hit it out at the baseline too, also a decent service game. He reminds me of Boris Becker when Boris was in his prime.

Federer is not a power player like Roddick or Nadal. Roddick will beat you with his booming serves while Nadal will beat you with his powerful ground strokes or heavy top spins. Federer is more of a control/placement player, he'll beat you with his consistency.

Roger is difficult to beat, but if Roddick can keep his head together during games like Sampras did during his heydays, Roddick will be a good match for Federer and Nadal.

Damn I miss playing tennis

[kimpOy]

achilles heel ni federer ang clay, just like sampras...

[swordsman]

O yeah, power player si Nadal sobra. He overwhelms Federer most of the time, kaya makikita mo takbo ng takbo si Federer from each side of the court. Probably the reason kung bakit nanalo sya sa clay court. But then, napaka-fluid ng movements ni Federer at sobrang consistent ang laro.

Pero muntik ng di makarating si Nadal sa semis dahil kay Kendrick. Muntik na ma-upset, buti na lang malakas resistensya ni Nadal :D

Roddick is another power player. I think he owns the fastest ace yata (146 mph ba?). Kaya lang, konting practice pa.