Gerry Weber Open (Halle) 9-15 June 2014

[kskate2]

Poor Kohls. Just cannot put Falla away. :nono Instead of winning this match in straights, we're heading to a decider.

 

[Front242]

Falla's great on grass. It wasn't Fed's poor play that resulted in being taken to 5 sets against him at Wimbledon as he repeated with another great performance taking Fed to 3 sets at the Olympics.

 

[kskate2]

I know how good Falla is. It doesn't take away from all the chances Kohls had today. Was just up a break 3-1 in the decider and now back on serve 3-3. Kohls has trouble closing out sets and matches.

 

[kskate2]

And Falla climbs all the way back to break and take the match 6-4 in the decider. Bye bye Kohls. Great job Falla!

 

[Front242]

I know how good Falla is. It doesn't take away from all the chances Kohls had today. Was just up a break 3-1 in the decider and now back on serve 3-3. Kohls has trouble closing out sets and matches.

One break isn't much btw Sure it can be very decisive against a big server on grass but neither of those two is a big server so it's not the end of the day losing serve. Hope Federer makes it to the final now to play Falla. Would be a good one. Never confident these days though when Fed plays Nishikori. As much as I like like watching Nishikori, Fed shouldn't have a losing h2h against him and better even it up today.

 

[Moxie]

Too bad for Kohlscreiber. Good job Falla. Roger and Kei coming up next.

 

[El Dude]

My 1st and 3rd favorite players coming up - I feel a bit torn. I want Roger to win, but am also rooting for Kei to rise further and win some more tournaments.

 

[Moxie]

My 1st and 3rd favorite players coming up - I feel a bit torn. I want Roger to win, but am also rooting for Kei to rise further and win some more tournaments.

Who's #2?

 

[Kieran]

My 1st and 3rd favorite players coming up - I feel a bit torn. I want Roger to win, but am also rooting for Kei to rise further and win some more tournaments.

Who's #2?

 

[El Dude]

My 1st and 3rd favorite players coming up - I feel a bit torn. I want Roger to win, but am also rooting for Kei to rise further and win some more tournaments.

Who's #2?

Grigor Dimitrov.

Funny, Kieran. I like Rafa (and Novak), but more as a fan of the game and without the gut fan-response that I have for Roger and, to a lesser extent, for Grigor and Kei. Maybe Rafa is #4, but I also have a soft spot for Alexandr Dolgopolov (who knows why).

 

[El Dude]

Watching Roger vs. Kei reminds me of the good old days of attacking tennis, like Sampras vs. Edberg.

 

[kskate2]

^ This is a pretty match for sure. Great shotmaking.

 

[Front242]

Was thinking about this yesterday and I think it makes a lot of sense. Federer has played on the faster grass of Halle for years more than Nadal so it's prepared him better for the first week of Wimbledon when the grass is fresher and a lot faster. Besides last year he's never bombed out in the first week. Nadal playing Queens most of his time on tour means he's really only been getting grass prep for the kind of grass in the 2nd week of Wimbledon and hence no real preparation for the bombs being hurled towards him in week 1.

 

[Kieran]

Was thinking about this yesterday and I think it makes a lot of sense. Federer has played on the faster grass of Halle for years more than Nadal so it's prepared him better for the first week of Wimbledon when the grass is fresher and a lot faster. Besides last year he's never bombed out in the first week. Nadal playing Queens most of his time on tour means he's really only been getting grass prep for the kind of grass in the 2nd week of Wimbledon and hence no real preparation for the bombs being hurled towards him in week 1.

Except that since he started playing Halle, Rafa has been rubbish at Wimbo.

I think he should pay the extra taxes and go back to playing Queens...

 

[El Dude]

It will be interesting to see what happens if Rafa faces a heavy hitter like Ivo in the first round or two.

Not to derail this thread, but Wimbledon could be very interesting with no clear favorite. If Rafa makes it to the second week then I think he becomes the favorite, but he has to get there. Novak could be the favorite going in, but we all know about his "Slam jitters." Andy doesn't seem like the same player since his injury, more like pre-Slam Andy. Roger is always dangerous but I have a hard time seeing him beat one or both of Nadal or Djokovic.

Anyhow, it seems like the draw is more important in this Slam than it has been for sometime. A difficult draw for Roger or Rafa could see them out in the first week, Andy too. Who knows, maybe this is the year that someone like Berdych or even Raonic sneaks out the title. I don't see it, but it is more likely to happen this year than it has been for, what, a decade?

 

[Front242]

Was thinking about this yesterday and I think it makes a lot of sense. Federer has played on the faster grass of Halle for years more than Nadal so it's prepared him better for the first week of Wimbledon when the grass is fresher and a lot faster. Besides last year he's never bombed out in the first week. Nadal playing Queens most of his time on tour means he's really only been getting grass prep for the kind of grass in the 2nd week of Wimbledon and hence no real preparation for the bombs being hurled towards him in week 1.

Except that since he started playing Halle, Rafa has been rubbish at Wimbo.

I think he should pay the extra taxes and go back to playing Queens...

Sorry to disappoint but he's looked rubbish the first week of Wimbledon most of his career. If he makes it to week 2 he's joint favourite with Murray these days but he's almost always had a lot of struggles at the first week even before playing Halle. He started playing there too late imo.

 

[Kieran]

Was thinking about this yesterday and I think it makes a lot of sense. Federer has played on the faster grass of Halle for years more than Nadal so it's prepared him better for the first week of Wimbledon when the grass is fresher and a lot faster. Besides last year he's never bombed out in the first week. Nadal playing Queens most of his time on tour means he's really only been getting grass prep for the kind of grass in the 2nd week of Wimbledon and hence no real preparation for the bombs being hurled towards him in week 1.

Except that since he started playing Halle, Rafa has been rubbish at Wimbo.

I think he should pay the extra taxes and go back to playing Queens...

Sorry to disappoint but he's looked rubbish the first week of Wimbledon most of his career. If he makes it to week 2 he's joint favourite with Murray these days but he's almost always had a lot of struggles at the first week even before playing Halle. He started playing there too late imo.

He never lost until he start playing Halle. By the way, I don't blame Halle, but it isn't more beneficial for him to be there than to be at Queens. It might be that Rafa would be better served with a slower grass court so he can get up to speed a little, than going straight onto a fast grass court...

 

[Front242]

^ Well if he meets a big server in his first or second round at Wimbledon he won't play any more matches whereas a couple more years than he's had at practicing on fast grass would've helped him imo. Playing slower grass matches won't help unless he makes it to week two of Wimbledon. That's my point.

 

[El Dude]

I think going into the tournament, without draws, the favorites are:

1. Djokovic
2. Nadal
3. Murray
4. Federer
5. Berdych
6. Raonic
7. maybe Tsonga? Gulbis?

Or something like that. If all make the second week and ignoring match-ups, I think Rafa jumps to the favorite. If Andy is playing well he becomes #2.

 

[Front242]

For me, it's Murray, Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Berdych, Gulbis, maybe Dimitrov and dunno after that. I still consider Murray the favourite. Queens match loss means nothing.