Rome Masters semi: Rafa v Grigor

[Riotbeard]

Shall we do the same for the people here who voted for Dimitrov? :snigger

My bad... I voted Ralf in 3.

Yeah, same here. Given Rafa's week, not an unrealistic choice. We voted for what we thought might actually happen, not for what we wanted to have happen. It's not like we voted for Dimitrov in straights.

I voted for Rafa in 3, but people are acting like Rafa didn't stagger through this tournament until set 2 yesterday. It's not insane to pick the other guy...

Let me put it this way: Would you have bet everything you own on a straight-set victory for Dimitrov?

No because I said rafa would win, and he did. But a lesser player than dimitrov beat rafa in barcelona. Kei was mopping the floor with him a week ago. And he was taken to a decider by much lesser players throughout this tournament. It's reasonable to think grigor might win.

 

[nehmeth]

ha ha. Annacone just called them out for picking Dimi

Shall we do the same for the people here who voted for Dimitrov? :snigger

My bad... I voted Ralf in 3.

Yeah, same here. Given Rafa's week, not an unrealistic choice. We voted for what we thought might actually happen, not for what we wanted to have happen. It's not like we voted for Dimitrov in straights.

:s

Wow... I just saw that there were 4 votes for Greg to win in two.

I expected Rafa would play better from the start, but I did not expect Dimitrov to come out spraying shots either. Just like I didn't expect Raonic to play as tough a match as he did today.

 

[tented]

My bad... I voted Ralf in 3.

Yeah, same here. Given Rafa's week, not an unrealistic choice. We voted for what we thought might actually happen, not for what we wanted to have happen. It's not like we voted for Dimitrov in straights.

I voted for Rafa in 3, but people are acting like Rafa didn't stagger through this tournament until set 2 yesterday. It's not insane to pick the other guy...

Let me put it this way: Would you have bet everything you own on a straight-set victory for Dimitrov?

No because I said rafa would win, and he did. But a lesser player than dimitrov beat rafa in barcelona. Kei was mopping the floor with him a week ago. And he was taken to a decider by much lesser players throughout this tournament. It's reasonable to think grigor might win.

But not so much that you voted for him.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Still at work and saw no part of this. Is it fair to say this was one of the best clay performances of the year from Rafa, judging by the scoreline? Or Grigor just was not up to it at all?

 

[nehmeth]

Still at work and saw no part of this. Is it fair to say this was one of the best clay performances of the year from Rafa, judging by the scoreline? Or Grigor just was not up to it at all?

Ralf came out of the gate quick, hitting well, serving well... Murray helped get him grooved yesterday. Grigor came out spraying shots, long, wide and into the net.

 

[tented]

Still at work and saw no part of this. Is it fair to say this was one of the best clay performances of the year from Rafa, judging by the scoreline? Or Grigor just was not up to it at all?

About 80-85% on the latter.

 

[Kieran]

I didn't see it, but I'm impressed by the score! Tough match for Grigor in his first MS semi...

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e45dzPMsqWM[/video]

 

[Riotbeard]

Yeah, same here. Given Rafa's week, not an unrealistic choice. We voted for what we thought might actually happen, not for what we wanted to have happen. It's not like we voted for Dimitrov in straights.

I voted for Rafa in 3, but people are acting like Rafa didn't stagger through this tournament until set 2 yesterday. It's not insane to pick the other guy...

Let me put it this way: Would you have bet everything you own on a straight-set victory for Dimitrov?

No because I said rafa would win, and he did. But a lesser player than dimitrov beat rafa in barcelona. Kei was mopping the floor with him a week ago. And he was taken to a decider by much lesser players throughout this tournament. It's reasonable to think grigor might win.

But not so much that you voted for him.

I did not say it was the right choice or one I agreed with, but it's a reasonable subjective opinion.

 

[Tennis Miller]

Tracy Austin just picked Dimitrov to win; Annacone picks Rafa.

Tracy Austin is SO clueless. (Not for picking Dimi -- I think they try to pick differently). But for her comment about what she'd say to Dimitrov: "I'd tell him that Rafa played 3 three-setters in a row and should be tired".

Does she watch Rafa at all? Did she see the 2009 AO final? Does she know he could play a 3 setter THAT SAME morning and still kick ass in the afternoon?

Cheers
TM

 

[Rose]

I'm ashamed the Forum had more faith in Rafa than I did :blush: :cover I couldn't even bring myself to watch the Match! In fact it took all my nerve to look at a scoring site to see the score! But I'm sure going to have fun watching the repeat

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

sir grigor was slapping routine fh shots over the back of the baseline..:huh:

who thinks maybe grigor had some burfdayy booze behind the scenes with his strawberry tart..and he was too drunk to hit the ball properly. :snigger:s

good news, the final should be a corker, giving us a sneak preview ofa future FO Final clash. sir grigor will be prob upto no12 in the world rank charts on Monday.

 

[TsarMatt]

No way did I expect such an easy victory. This'll give Nadal some good confidence heading into the final, that's for sure.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

No way did I expect such an easy victory. This'll give Nadal some good confidence heading into the final, that's for sure.

This is what happens when a series of people do not complete the task of taking him out.
Each ugly win adds to confidence, no matter how ugly it is and lets him see another day
for more practice. Now, it almost looks like he may be rounding up to form just when
RG is about to begin. Talk about not peeking early.

Well, let us hope that Novak can complete the task tomorrow.

 

[Kieran]

This is what happens when a series of people do not complete the task of taking him out.
Each ugly win adds to confidence, no matter how ugly it is and lets him see another day
for more practice. Now, it almost looks like he may be rounding up to form just when
RG is about to begin. Talk about not peeking early.

Well, let us hope that Novak can complete the task tomorrow.

You're so long looking for other people than Federer to beat him, you've forgotten how good he looks...

 

[Moxie]

No way did I expect such an easy victory. This'll give Nadal some good confidence heading into the final, that's for sure.

This is what happens when a series of people do not complete the task of taking him out.
Each ugly win adds to confidence, no matter how ugly it is and lets him see another day
for more practice. Now, it almost looks like he may be rounding up to form just when
RG is about to begin. Talk about not peeking early.

Well, let us hope that Novak can complete the task tomorrow.

Rather uncharacteristically bitter-sounding from you, GSM. While there have been some surprise upsets this season against Nadal on clay, it wasn't like the cast of characters he has faced in Rome were likely to do it. Don't be too hard on them.

There gets to be so much "anyone-but-Rafa" energy going around this time of year. Some folks lose the ability to acknowledge that he does actually have good chops on clay.

 

[brokenshoelace]

No way did I expect such an easy victory. This'll give Nadal some good confidence heading into the final, that's for sure.

This is what happens when a series of people do not complete the task of taking him out.
Each ugly win adds to confidence, no matter how ugly it is and lets him see another day
for more practice. Now, it almost looks like he may be rounding up to form just when
RG is about to begin. Talk about not peeking early.

Well, let us hope that Novak can complete the task tomorrow.

Rather uncharacteristically bitter-sounding from you, GSM. While there have been some surprise upsets this season against Nadal on clay, it wasn't like the cast of characters he has faced in Rome were likely to do it. Don't be too hard on them.

There gets to be so much "anyone-but-Rafa" energy going around this time of year. Some folks lose the ability to acknowledge that he does actually have good chops on clay.

"Ugly" wins sounds like a fitting way to describe some of Rafa's victories this clay season to me.

 

[Fiero425]

No way did I expect such an easy victory. This'll give Nadal some good confidence heading into the final, that's for sure.

This is what happens when a series of people do not complete the task of taking him out.
Each ugly win adds to confidence, no matter how ugly it is and lets him see another day
for more practice. Now, it almost looks like he may be rounding up to form just when
RG is about to begin. Talk about not peeking early.

Well, let us hope that Novak can complete the task tomorrow.

Rather uncharacteristically bitter-sounding from you, GSM. While there have been some surprise upsets this season against Nadal on clay, it wasn't like the cast of characters he has faced in Rome were likely to do it. Don't be too hard on them.

There gets to be so much "anyone-but-Rafa" energy going around this time of year. Some folks lose the ability to acknowledge that he does actually have good chops on clay.

"Ugly" wins sounds like a fitting way to describe some of Rafa's victories this clay season to me.

"Preach!" I went on a rant a while back about the state of the ATP, allowing 4 players to own most of the major titles; slams and Masters! Finally Wawrinka came into his own! I just hope it didn't occur too late like Haas and a few other old fogies! It does get sickening to watch players allow Rafa to escape again and again; even if it is on clay! Thank goodness for Ferrer and Almagro completing the task in the last few weeks! I truly hope Nole can finish him off for good in Paris! If it means an easy win next month, Rafa can have this title if it gives him a false sense of confidence! :angel: :idea:

 

[brokenshoelace]

No way did I expect such an easy victory. This'll give Nadal some good confidence heading into the final, that's for sure.

This is what happens when a series of people do not complete the task of taking him out.
Each ugly win adds to confidence, no matter how ugly it is and lets him see another day
for more practice. Now, it almost looks like he may be rounding up to form just when
RG is about to begin. Talk about not peeking early.

Well, let us hope that Novak can complete the task tomorrow.

Rather uncharacteristically bitter-sounding from you, GSM. While there have been some surprise upsets this season against Nadal on clay, it wasn't like the cast of characters he has faced in Rome were likely to do it. Don't be too hard on them.

There gets to be so much "anyone-but-Rafa" energy going around this time of year. Some folks lose the ability to acknowledge that he does actually have good chops on clay.

"Ugly" wins sounds like a fitting way to describe some of Rafa's victories this clay season to me.

"Preach!" I went on a rant a while back about the state of the ATP, allowing 4 players to own most of the major titles; slams and Masters! Finally Wawrinka came into his own! I just hope it didn't occur too late like Haas and a few other old fogies! It does get sickening to watch players allow Rafa to escape again and again; even if it is on clay! Thank goodness for Ferrer and Almagro completing the task in the last few weeks! I truly hope Nole can finish him off for good in Paris! If it means an easy win next month, Rafa can have this title if it gives him a false sense of confidence! :angel: :idea:

Jesus Christ...

 

[TsarMatt]

No way did I expect such an easy victory. This'll give Nadal some good confidence heading into the final, that's for sure.

This is what happens when a series of people do not complete the task of taking him out.
Each ugly win adds to confidence, no matter how ugly it is and lets him see another day
for more practice. Now, it almost looks like he may be rounding up to form just when
RG is about to begin. Talk about not peeking early.

Well, let us hope that Novak can complete the task tomorrow.

Seem a bit worried there mate.

Don't worry, I would be too.