The Grass is always Greener - 2021

[tennisville]

Nadal out of Wimbledon and Olympics

Not gonna lie, this sucks

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

I would say a smart move. He doesn’t need to go to Tokyo. He already has gold medals. He stands a better shot at the US Open than Wimbledon, so I think he is making a smart move here.

 

[roberto]

I would say a smart move. He doesn’t need to go to Tokyo. He already has gold medals. He stands a better shot at the US Open than Wimbledon, so I think he is making a smart move here.

I agree--he doesn't have a great shot at either one and is saving himself to make a big push at US OPEN

 

[Carol]

Delta variant was first detected in India (and not in UK). It is a double mutant variation.

Currently 90% of all new covid infections in UK are from delta variant.

In USA, they are afraid this will become the case soon and so have labelled delta, as a "variant of concern".

Murray has no chance against Berrettini.

I know "smart" guy but I was referring about Europe where Delta variant was detected. And I know Murray unfortunately is not the same players he was, same about Federer or maybe you are thinking that he has chance to win WB? I doubt it

 

[the AntiPusher]

It may be a smart move but not a good move.. This Summer for Rafa fans has ended before the official beginning date of Summer in the US. Life goes on.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Couldn't find any info on the current status of Ivo Karlovic aka Dr. Ivo. At 42, he's definitely nearing the end but Wimbledon would be the one place no one would like to play him. They should give him a WC over some donkey instead of making him qualify just to spice things up a bit.

Karlovic is currently ranked #190 and was at around #150 at the beginning of this year. Anyway, this gives him a direct entry into the qualifying tourney of Wimbledon. Hope he makes it into MD.

 

[Moxie]

I only saw some of it, too, but in fairness to FAA, and as I understand it was their first meeting, Felix did what he had to do, which was hold his nerve. He did play some great shots that I saw, to be fair to him. And according to Annacone, besides the UFEs, Roger's serve pct. was way down, on first and 2nd, so he wasn't finding his spots after the first set. They were wondering if he'd take a WC for next week, too.

TC did a recap of the match this morning, with highlights, and commentary. Jason Goodall said that it was one of the better matches he's seen FAA play, so there is that. Everyone agrees that Roger looked terrific in the first set. But then it started to go sideways, and he started to get very frustrated. In uncharacteristic ways. They played Roger's presser from after, and even he said that he rather gave up on the match, which is unlike him. He said that he was frustrated that the comeback wasn't going as well as he'd have liked. He said that he needed to be in point-to-point, and he wasn't finding that motivation. If you can find that press conference, it's very interesting. But it definitely seems to be more mind than body, with some timing and game issues mixed in.

 

[Moxie]

I agree--he doesn't have a great shot at either one and is saving himself to make a big push at US OPEN

That's not necessarily true. Rafa actually made the SFs of the last Wimbledon, I guess you've forgotten, when Roger was more of a factor than he is likely to be there, this year. And Novak may suffer the same sink that he did the last time he won RG, and go out early. Could be a missed opportunity. As to Olympic Games, we Rafa fans have pretty much agreed we don't care and prefer he keep his powder dry for the USO swing. Presumably Novak will still give it one more go in Tokyo. Let him.

 

[Jelenafan]

That's not necessarily true. Rafa actually made the SFs of the last Wimbledon, I guess you've forgotten, when Roger was more of a factor than he is likely to be there, this year. And Novak may suffer the same sink that he did the last time he won RG, and go out early. Could be a missed opportunity. As to Olympic Games, we Rafa fans have pretty much agreed we don't care and prefer he keep his powder dry for the USO swing. Presumably Novak will still give it one more go in Tokyo. Let him.

Rafa made Wimbledon SF's the last two times he's played there, 2018, and 2019. However at this point in his career I'm through second guessing his scheduling, Raf's knows what his body is telling him and will adjust per that. I'm sort of leaning that Rafa is planning on playing a few more years and has no definite plans for retirement as long has his body can hold up.

 

[Moxie]

Rafa made Wimbledon SF's the last two times he's played there, 2018, and 2019. However at this point in his career I'm through second guessing his scheduling, Raf's knows what his body is telling him and will adjust per that. I'm sort of leaning that Rafa is planning on playing a few more years and has no definite plans for retirement as long has his body can hold up.

I don't think anyone gets to second-guess him, or Roger, for that matter, what they feel they need to do to keep it going. I know Roger caught a lot of crap for bailing on RG, but I'm down with whatever keeps them playing well, and for longer.

 

[roberto]

That's not necessarily true. Rafa actually made the SFs of the last Wimbledon, I guess you've forgotten, when Roger was more of a factor than he is likely to be there, this year. And Novak may suffer the same sink that he did the last time he won RG, and go out early. Could be a missed opportunity. As to Olympic Games, we Rafa fans have pretty much agreed we don't care and prefer he keep his powder dry for the USO swing. Presumably Novak will still give it one more go in Tokyo. Let him.

Of course it's not "necessarily true". But since Rafa last won Wimbledon in 2010, I'd put my $$ on him NOT winning vs. winning. And the main point of my post was that he is saving himself for the US hard courts, particularly the US OPEN, where he has a FAR greater chance to win than Wimbledon. Not sure many--even you Moxie--- would disagree with that.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I know Roger caught a lot of crap for bailing on RG, but I'm down with whatever keeps them playing well, and for longer.

Flogging an old man for trying to preserve his body and maximizing his chances is ridiculous, (same applies to Ralph also).

It is perfectly legitimate to criticize Fed if he has exited RG (without losing) to play in Stuttgart grass tournament which was held during the second week of RG. That shows an intentional disrespect for a GS. But, he did not do that.

As per Ralph, I have no issues with him choosing to skip Wimbledon (where his chances are not that good) and skip Olympics (where he has already won Gold in singles and doubles and had been flag bearer; Olympics is about crossing it off from your list and not about counting how many medals you have at least in Tennis) especially considering the pandemic situation in Japan. The only issue I will have is if any Nadalite ever uses (now or later as part of rewriting history) Ralph's skipping these two tourneys as a way to put an asterisk to his loss to Novak @RG.

 

[Moxie]

Of course it's not "necessarily true". But since Rafa last won Wimbledon in 2010, I'd put my $$ on him NOT winning vs. winning. And the main point of my post was that he is saving himself for the US hard courts, particularly the US OPEN, where he has a FAR greater chance to win than Wimbledon. Not sure many--even you Moxie--- would disagree with that.

I do not disagree with you that Rafa has a greater chance of winning the USO than he would have had of winning Wimbledon, since you put that as the comparison. He's done much better in recent years at the USO. However, I stand by my points about this year and Wimbledon, had he chosen to play it. 4 active men have won Wimbledon, and 2 are not looking like they have a good shot: Murray, for sure, and Roger much less so than hoped or expected. But as a 2x W champion and multi-slam winner, he would have had a better shot than he has in ages, IMO. I think you can see my point. But it's water under the bridge, anyway.

 

[Moxie]

Flogging an old man for trying to preserve his body and maximizing his chances is ridiculous, (same applies to Ralph also).

It is perfectly legitimate to criticize Fed if he has exited RG (without losing) to play in Stuttgart grass tournament which was held during the second week of RG. That shows an intentional disrespect for a GS. But, he did not do that.

As per Ralph, I have no issues with him choosing to skip Wimbledon (where his chances are not that good) and skip Olympics (where he has already won Gold in singles and doubles and had been flag bearer; Olympics is about crossing it off from your list and not about counting how many medals you have at least in Tennis) especially considering the pandemic situation in Japan. The only issue I will have is if any Nadalite ever uses (now or later as part of rewriting history) Ralph's skipping these two tourneys as a way to put an asterisk to his loss to Novak @RG.

Roger bailing on RG is controversial, and folks fall on different sides of that. And it isn't the same as Rafa bailing before the tournament and the draw, but I've said that I give Fed a break on that. Not all do, including ex-players/commentators. Surely Koepfer has a right to feel hard done by. But anyway....

As to your last paragraph, I addressed Roberto above about the rather cliched notion that his chances were not good at Wimbledon, particularly this year. I think his chances might have been especially good this year, and I made my case for it. As to your very last point, you are the only one who is mentioning asterisk on that. And you've brought it up twice. I think a couple of us Nadal fans have told you why we think he's skipping Wimbledon this year, so maybe you can read those comments and absorb them, and stop putting words in peoples' mouths.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Roger bailing on RG is controversial, and folks fall on different sides of that. And it isn't the same as Rafa bailing before the tournament and the draw, but I've said that I give Fed a break on that. Not all do, including ex-players/commentators. Surely Koepfer has a right to feel hard done by. But anyway....

As to your last paragraph, I addressed Roberto above about the rather cliched notion that his chances were not good at Wimbledon, particularly this year. I think his chances might have been especially good this year, and I made my case for it. As to your very last point, you are the only one who is mentioning asterisk on that. And you've brought it up twice. I think a couple of us Nadal fans have told you why we think he's skipping Wimbledon this year, so maybe you can read those comments and absorb them, and stop putting words in peoples' mouths.

Yes Moxie you did give Federer a break at RG,I am one of those who did not,along with many others.I am not anti Federer,still I agree 100% Koepfer did have a right to feel done by.I also remarked if Rafa did a similar thing like Federer I would be very disappointed in him.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Yes Moxie you did give Federer a break at RG,I am one of those who did not,along with many others.I am not anti Federer,still I agree 100% Koepfer did have a right to feel done by.I also remarked if Rafa did a similar thing like Federer I would be very disappointed in him.

Koepfer does not have any right to feel done by.

In a single elimination tournament, you advance to the next round only by winning the previous round, period.

If at all somebody should be upset, it should be Novak as his opponent in QF Berretteni got to reach there without exerting energy.

Actually, even that is not a valid complaint as it works both ways. i.e., sometimes it helps a player to get a walkover and move on to the next round without actually playing and sometimes it actually hurts the player as they are sitting idle for multiple days and kind of taken off the rhythm of regular match play.

 

[Front242]

Roger bailing on RG is controversial, and folks fall on different sides of that. And it isn't the same as Rafa bailing before the tournament and the draw, but I've said that I give Fed a break on that. Not all do, including ex-players/commentators. Surely Koepfer has a right to feel hard done by. But anyway....

As to your last paragraph, I addressed Roberto above about the rather cliched notion that his chances were not good at Wimbledon, particularly this year. I think his chances might have been especially good this year, and I made my case for it. As to your very last point, you are the only one who is mentioning asterisk on that. And you've brought it up twice. I think a couple of us Nadal fans have told you why we think he's skipping Wimbledon this year, so maybe you can read those comments and absorb them, and stop putting words in peoples' mouths.

Can't see how Koepfer has any right to feel hard done by since he LOST.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Roger bailing on RG is controversial, and folks fall on different sides of that. And it isn't the same as Rafa bailing before the tournament and the draw, but I've said that I give Fed a break on that. Not all do, including ex-players/commentators. Surely Koepfer has a right to feel hard done by. But anyway....

Just because there are people on both sides of argument does not mean that there is some element of truth to both sides. If that be the case, you must be thinking that there is some element of truth that on 6th Jan tourists went to Capitol as a reasonable sized group hold that idea.

Nobody is required to play the next round if they feel it is not in their interest.

Sometimes people tank a set to conserve energy as winning the match is a larger goal. Similarly in order to help the larger goal of prolonging his career and maximizing his chances, he did what he did. There is nothing shameful about it.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Koepfer does not have any right to feel done by.

In a single elimination tournament, you advance to the next round only by winning the previous round, period.

If at all somebody should be upset, it should be Novak as his opponent in QF Berretteni got to reach there without exerting energy.

Actually, even that is not a valid complaint as it works both ways. i.e., sometimes it helps a player to get a walkover and move on to the next round without actually playing and sometimes it actually hurts the player as they are sitting idle for multiple days and kind of taken off the rhythm of regular match play.

Oh please,Roger withdrew after his match against Koepfer,he was only using RG for match practice,in my opinion he should not have played RG on clay,which is taxing on your body.,knees, he should have waited and got match practice on grass instead,playing a few tournaments.I still stand by my opinion,you can spin it anyway you like.Roger's main focus is the grass,fair enough he is a great grass player.I made my comments clear before when this subject was brought up and I am not discussing any more,lets focus on the grass and hopefully Roger gets a favorable draw at Wimbledon.

 

[Jelenafan]

I don't think anyone gets to second-guess him, or Roger, for that matter, what they feel they need to do to keep it going. I know Roger caught a lot of crap for bailing on RG, but I'm down with whatever keeps them playing well, and for longer.

Again, you keep on trying to make this false equivalency on what they've done. It's one thing, due to health and body concerns to skip tournaments at their age, compare with Federer skipping the French Open in 2017. I can't fault him for that.

And Rafa deciding not to play Wimbledon or Olympics or playing the USO last year, is again, a thought out scheduling plan.

That is NOT what Federer did this year. It's clear he, as the #8 seed, used the French Open as practice , and from even his vaguely worded statement why he was withdrawing from his 4th round match, one cannot assume it was an injury. IMO he had NO intention of playing the French Open all the way through. THAT is why he received criticism.

IF Nadal, had, say entered Wimbledon as the 3rd seed and used it as practice to get ready for the Olympics, he would receive similar criticism. That is not what is happening. When Rafa enters a tournament, it's clear it's because he's going to try to go all the way , if not, he doesn't enter it.

Fans did not second guess Roger's scheduling, they criticized his actions once he entered a Major. If Roger opted not to play W or the Olympic for health reason, I would give him the same benefit of the doubt I give Rafa. Heck, Shapovalov is young and I give him the BOD for skipping the French Open this year. Yet the double standard is that when 34 year old Novak lost a tournament and opted out of entering another clay court tournament, he got reamed by you and others.