Wimbledon Draw

[SF Nadalite]

Bodo, Tignor and McGrogan just picked Rafa to win...that seems like a bit of a surprise to me.

 

[Denis]

^ If Rafa can barely beat No1e on clay, he will have even more difficulty beating him on any other surface. And facing Roger in the quarters is not as good for him as the finals. Plus, after that he will have to face Tsonga/Murray. Bookies favour Djokovic (5/4) over Murray (10/3) over Nadal (9/2).

If Nole can barely beat Rafa on hardcourts, he will have even a more difficulty beating him on any other surface.

Could care less about bookies, if Rafa makes the quarters...he is going to town and it will be sweeter if Novak happens to be in the final which is not a given.

The last time Nadal beat Djokovic outside clay was in 2010. I'm not worried should they meet in the final. I think Federer or Murray are more challenging opponents for a Wimbledon final.

Billy was right, this is a Fedal forum.

 

[Front242]

Bodo, Tignor and McGrogan just picked Rafa to win...that seems like a bit of a surprise to me.

Bodo's a two-faced clown. A few days ago he picked Rafa as the most likely to lose in the first week now he's picking him to win so wouldn't pay much attention to any of their picks, especially his.

 

[Iona16]

Iona16, looks you are right again about Rafa/Andy potential match-up.

A tennis journalist posted this on twitter today.

Murray & Nadal in same half at every Wimbledon they have both played. Same half in 17 of last 19 slams & 21 of the 26 they have both played.

It looks as though I'm destined never to get a Murray v Nadal final at a slam.

 

[Moxie]

^THAT is some crazy stat, Iona. And I can't imagine that the tournament organizers are excited about the way the draw has shaken out.

 

[Front242]

Yeah very unbalanced for the fans of the top players but it's clearly very random and puts to rest the rigged draw conspiracies.

 

[Srini]

Tough draw for roger and Rafa. I agree only Rafa can pull off the feat of beating the top 3 on this surface but has it been done before? Though Rafa is the favorite to win, the match with Roger will be no walk in the park. Murray might test him hard too. Though its possible, I don't see Rafa as a clear favorite. It's still a little open.

 

[Iona16]

^THAT is some crazy stat, Iona. And I can't imagine that the tournament organizers are excited about the way the draw has shaken out.

It's an annoying stat as a Murray and Nadal fan. I agree that the organisers would have liked a more balanced draw. I'm sure Djokovic is pretty pleased though.

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Tough draw for roger and Rafa. I agree only Rafa can pull off the feat of beating the top 3 on this surface but has it been done before? Though Rafa is the favorite to win, the match with Roger will be no walk in the park. Murray might test him hard too. Though its possible, I don't see Rafa as a clear favorite. It's still a little open.

I doubt any player has ever beaten the top 3 seeds to win a slam. I'm sure somebody knows for sure.

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I see we have a potential match of Andy Murray v James Ward in round 2. The Scot v the Englishman at the All England club. Should be interesting.

 

[britbox]

^THAT is some crazy stat, Iona. And I can't imagine that the tournament organizers are excited about the way the draw has shaken out.

It's an annoying stat as a Murray and Nadal fan. I agree that the organisers would have liked a more balanced draw. I'm sure Djokovic is pretty pleased though.

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Tough draw for roger and Rafa. I agree only Rafa can pull off the feat of beating the top 3 on this surface but has it been done before? Though Rafa is the favorite to win, the match with Roger will be no walk in the park. Murray might test him hard too. Though its possible, I don't see Rafa as a clear favorite. It's still a little open.

I doubt any player has ever beaten the top 3 seeds to win a slam. I'm sure somebody knows for sure.

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I see we have a potential match of Andy Murray v James Ward in round 2. The Scot v the Englishman at the All England club. Should be interesting.

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Steffi Graf did it on the WTA tour, winning the 98 French Open, going through the top 3 seeds.

Not sure if it's been done on the ATP tour. Wilander went through #5,#4,#3,#2 when he won the FO 1982.

 

[Moxie]

Billy was right, this is a Fedal forum.

Any open conversation about men's tennis is going to look a bit "fedal." That's just a question of time at the top and fan-base. If Djokovic fans want to make more of a presence here, then they have to show up, and not fade away. Invite your friends. Suggest people come here from Djokovic fan-sites. We'd LOVE it if more Djokovic fans came and participated. I feel bad that our Nole fan base has diminished. It would be more interesting if the conversation were more balanced. (That said, I will also call out to Murray fans. Iona can't do it alone!)

 

[fedfan]

Obviously not the draw I had hoped for

Like the FO, give me the qtrs. streak intact, and the rest is a bonus

My Pick....Murray sets off a party for the ages

 

[Denis]

Billy was right, this is a Fedal forum.

Any open conversation about men's tennis is going to look a bit "fedal." That's just a question of time at the top and fan-base. If Djokovic fans want to make more of a presence here, then they have to show up, and not fade away. Invite your friends. Suggest people come here from Djokovic fan-sites. We'd LOVE it if more Djokovic fans came and participated. I feel bad that our Nole fan base has diminished. It would be more interesting if the conversation were more balanced. (That said, I will also call out to Murray fans. Iona can't do it alone!)

Yes, it would be nice to see some more Djokovic fans around here. Where is nehmeth by the way? And kudos to Iona for supporting her guy.

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Iona16, looks you are right again about Rafa/Andy potential match-up.

A tennis journalist posted this on twitter today.

Murray & Nadal in same half at every Wimbledon they have both played. Same half in 17 of last 19 slams & 21 of the 26 they have both played.

It looks as though I'm destined never to get a Murray v Nadal final at a slam.

It's a crazy stat. I know it all too well, because there was a time that it drove me crazy they always put Federer in Djokovic half. Since they are the big 4, that is the opposite side of the coin. I almost started to believe the Nike Fedal final conspiracy theory.

 

[kskate2]

Rafa's 7 month abscence is to blame for all of this draw imbalance. His ranking dropped and Ferrer sneaked in. Hopefully Nadal will get to the later rounds to earn enough points to avoid this fiasco at the USO.

 

[reddy]

Rafa's 7 month abscence is to blame for all of this draw imbalance. His ranking dropped and Ferrer sneaked in. Hopefully Nadal will get to the later rounds to earn enough points to avoid this fiasco at the USO.

The roles (seedings) will be reversed but quite possible that this "fiasco" will be repeated at USO. Federer could be (and most likely will be no better than) the #5 seed resulting in similar scenario with the draw.

 

[Kieran]

Bodo, Tignor and McGrogan just picked Rafa to win...that seems like a bit of a surprise to me.

Bit of a jinx, more like...

 

[Srini]

Bodo, Tignor and McGrogan just picked Rafa to win...that seems like a bit of a surprise to me.

Bit of a jinx, more like...

Funny that Bodo just last week wrote an article saying Rafa is the most likely (among the big 4) to go down early. Now he is picking Rafa to win the whole thing???? If anything, the draw actually made it a little tougher, there is a reason why most people dont like Bodo

 

[Front242]

Yup, said the same thing about Bodo. He got so much grief about saying Nadal is most likely to bomb out early that he probably picked him as a winner to save face from all the abuse.

 

[tented]

Yeah very unbalanced for the fans of the top players but it's clearly very random and puts to rest the rigged draw conspiracies.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[DarthFed]

Roger was bound to get a tough QF this time, one in which I wouldn't consider him the favorite unless he got DP instead of Nadal, Berd or Tsonga. Roger is at the point where he has to make a stand. Another bad slam performance here with another early exit and you have to wonder if we are already at the end of the line. If he has any prayer against Rafa we know it would have to be a QF or SF. Let's see if Roger still has some game left...

 

[tented]

Rafa's 7 month abscence is to blame for all of this draw imbalance. His ranking dropped and Ferrer sneaked in. Hopefully Nadal will get to the later rounds to earn enough points to avoid this fiasco at the USO.

The roles (seedings) will be reversed but quite possible that this "fiasco" will be repeated at USO. Federer could be (and most likely will be no better than) the #5 seed resulting in similar scenario with the draw.

In other words, this is the new state of things, and we need to get used to it. The Top 4 could not have stayed the Top 4 forever.