*Official* Tennis Thread

[ajdude]

newcombe with the telling conclusion that a "good attitude" is a requirement of a wimbledon champion

 

[Spikey]

newcombe with the telling conclusion that a "good attitude" is a requirement of a wimbledon champion

some of these players had a bad attitude, skip

 

[sledger]

Not a huge fan of Murray, but fair play to him, got the job done when it mattered. Can only beat what's in front of you. I did enjoy that.

 

[Swingpanzee]

And so ends the hype. Thank Goodness. As for the final, it was three hours of boring grinding tennis. Utter crap. #zzzzzzzzzz

 

[Scaly piscine]

The second set from 4-1 down was the key passage of play I think. Murray actually showed some aggression, mixed it up a little bit - came to the net occasionally, went after the serve and tried for return winners, did it enough to surprise Djokovic and break the monotony. It also put the pressure on and possibly resulted in the double fault at break point. Why Murray doesn't do that sort of thing generally I don't know. He has it in him to dominate Wimbledon for 3-4 years.

 

[Furball]

Lol at Barker calling it "Henman Hill".

Stay classy Sue.

It's a fitting name as it's for all the losers who couldn't get into centre court for the final.

What a transformation he's made in the last 2 years. He'd have disintegrated from 4-1 down 2 years ago.

Bet he's gutted Lisicki didn't win as he has to share the opening dance with Bartoli at the after party.

 

[grecian]

It's a fitting name as it's for all the losers who couldn't get into centre court for the final.

What a transformation he's made in the last 2 years. He'd have disintegrated from 4-1 down 2 years ago.

Bet he's gutted Lisicki didn't win as he has to share the opening dance with Bartoli at the after party.

Invers is that you?

 

[Cabinet96]

Nah bull**** Djokovic is class.

Indeed. Always gracious in defeat, something the likes of Federer could learn.

 

[Burgey]

Great result for Murray and well deserved. The change in his mentality since Lendl started coaching him is amazing.

 

[Jono]

Bet he's gutted Lisicki didn't win as he has to share the opening dance with Bartoli at the after party.

Men prefer beautiful champions

 

[Jono]

Almost as pleased Djokovic lost too. Hard man to warm to.

I remember your reaction when Roger cried at the 2009 Aus Open after losing despite you being a Roger man. You weren't impressed. Murray has joined him with waterworks post-loss (multiple times). No crying for Djokovic in any of his grand slam losses.

Add that with not making excuses for losses, and he's the best of the bunch. He let Murray have his moment, and didn't steal any of the spotlight.

I actually didn't have any issue with Murray last year (emotions are emotions, what can you do?) but I think Novak handles losses better than any of the big 4.

 

[Jono]

The second set from 4-1 down was the key passage of play I think. Murray actually showed some aggression, mixed it up a little bit - came to the net occasionally, went after the serve and tried for return winners, did it enough to surprise Djokovic and break the monotony. It also put the pressure on and possibly resulted in the double fault at break point. Why Murray doesn't do that sort of thing generally I don't know. He has it in him to dominate Wimbledon for 3-4 years.

I agree with a lot of what you say here, but how come you only ever concentrate on Murray not playing well? Whenever Murray loses you put it down to his passiveness, but how about the fact that Djokovic was hitting way more UEs than he usually does, and his shot selection was piss poor.

That's obviously caused by Murray being awesome on the other side of the net. But the point is you never acknowledge when its the reverse, and Murray is not playing as well because of the other bloke on the other side.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

What reason would Djokovic have to cry? It's not like he's never won a major before, he's not going to lose his number one ranking or fail to make a piece of history. I don't see the comparison with what either Federer or Murray were going through or Roddick for that matter when he lost in '09. Besides, he said he was tired from the semi. All players give their feelings on why they didn't play well. They're asked to do it and in a sport like tennis where you're out there alone the losses are harder. Djokovic is much more likeable than the player of a few years ago who'd jaw with the crowd. He's matured a lot. But there was no reason for him to cry.

 

[Anil]

two great players and it looks like they will dominate tennis for the next few years but baseline slugfests really wear on you, however exceptional the players are...too bad federer is completely on the decline and no one knows how much nadal has left in the tank or how he will do outside of clay going forward...hope del potro can stay fit, he should be able to inject a sense of excitement into the game every now and then...

 

[Jono]

What reason would Djokovic have to cry? It's not like he's never won a major before, he's not going to lose his number one ranking or fail to make a piece of history. I don't see the comparison with what either Federer or Murray were going through or Roddick for that matter when he lost in '09. Besides, he said he was tired from the semi. All players give their feelings on why they didn't play well. They're asked to do it and in a sport like tennis where you're out there alone the losses are harder. Djokovic is much more likeable than the player of a few years ago who'd jaw with the crowd. He's matured a lot. But there was no reason for him to cry.

He easily could have cried at the French final in 2012. Perhaps even more so the semi against Rafa in 2013, that would have been gut wrenching to lose after a break up against Rafa in the 5th - he would have made history. Both times denied the chance for a career grand slam.

How on Earth was Fed crying at the 2009 Australian Open a place where had had more reasons to cry? A tournament he had won plenty of times before. Your point that Novak didn't cry because he had less reason to cry in his Grand Slam losses is quite clearly not correct.

In any case, my point was directed at Brumby specifically. He (not you) specifically didn't like Fed crying in 2009. I said, well Novak has never come close to doing it whereas Murray and Fed have. That is all. If your point is "who cares if they cry?" - yeah fair enough. I didn't mind and in fact really felt for Murray last year when he broke down. Just saying if crying after losing is not your cuppa tea, Nole is your man. Takes losing like a man.

 

[Spikey]

Great result for Murray and well deserved. The change in his mentality since Lendl started coaching him is amazing.

It was a great effort on debut

 

[ajdude]

It was a great effort on debut

murray is magic like stars

 

[wpdavid]

I remember your reaction when Roger cried at the 2009 Aus Open after losing despite you being a Roger man. You weren't impressed. Murray has joined him with waterworks post-loss (multiple times). No crying for Djokovic in any of his grand slam losses.

Add that with not making excuses for losses, and he's the best of the bunch. He let Murray have his moment, and didn't steal any of the spotlight.

I actually didn't have any issue with Murray last year (emotions are emotions, what can you do?) but I think Novak handles losses better than any of the big 4.

I thought he did pretty well yesterday. His honest answer would have been to wonder out loud how he managed so many unforced errors, but he had the grace to simply praise Murray's performance. Obviously a smart move in the circumstances, but still a gracious response.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Federer cried in 2009 because he wasn't sure whether he'd ever break Sampras' record and he'd just lost a five set match to his biggest rival, the same guy who had beaten him at Wimbledon, taken his number one ranking and was the biggest obstacle to him achieving the tennis history he so desperately craved. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was the Australian open. Far stranger was when he cried in '07 because he passed Laver's record. That was odd.

But Djokovic... the guy's not going to feel he's at the end of his Grand Slam run. Even the French he still has an opportunity to win. Besides, Djokovic tends to save his crying for the Davis Cup.

 

[_Ed_]

Sharapova chases 'sweet' name change - Tennis News | TVNZ
Seriously?