Wimbledon Preview Talk

[Carol]

Clay season is over

A sign of modern times. Rafa fans are happy that the clay season is over. :snicker

2nd or 3rd round of Wimbledon. Grass season is over

We'll see who is going out first but at least I have more than one fav and not like you who seems to have just one

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Grigor Dimitrov and Feliciano Lopez are behind Rafa in rankings. But, they both are likely to get ahead of Rafa due to their performance on grass. Grigor was a semifinalist last year and also won
a grass tourney in the warm-ups. Feliciano reached R!6 last year and also won Queens in the warm-ups last year.

That would drop Rafa from 10 to 12 in seedings. If he drops one more spot, it is danger zone
leading to facing Novak/Fed/Andy/Stan in the people's Monday (R16 round) at Wimbledon.
So, Rafa really needs to perform well in the warm-up events..

 

[Front242]

A sign of modern times. Rafa fans are happy that the clay season is over. :snicker

2nd or 3rd round of Wimbledon. Grass season is over

We'll see who is going out first but at least I have more than one fav and not like you who seems to have just one

Not at all. I like many others but I know no one of them will ever win Wimbledon.

 

[nehmeth]

One of Roger's last legit chances, no question about that. I think he will be fine on grass, hoping he doesn't have to go through both Murray and Djokovic. As it stands now I'd have Murray as the slight favorite for this title with Nole and Fed just behind. The bookies will undoubtedly have Nole well ahead of the rest but I don't see it that way.

I actually agree with you. Optimal for Novak would be Roger to take out Murray in a tough semi.

And at his level presently, unless the gods bestow an elixir from heaven, Rafa does not make it past the first week again.

Dimitrov is having a poor year... I'd like to see how he does in the lead up to Wimbledon. Maybe he can find his game on the greens.

 

[BIG3]

i think Wimbledon will be a make or break moment for each one of our old Four individually (as i've said in the other thread i don't believe they'll make it back as a group).

the pressure on Rafa maybe the least, actually: if he falls early, it won't be a surprise anymore. if he gets deep, he'll re-enter the conversation, but only gradually. of course, a triumph or final would be something, but that seems like a long shot. i think for Rafa, the real moment of truth will be the USO. he has to show up strong there, or else he'll be in serious trouble (ranking wise as well, for next year).

Roger has a bunch of points to defend. he could do well, but if he doesn't, it's probably bye-bye #2 ranking.

Andy is growing stronger again, but he has yet to back it up with a decisive W some time soon. is wimbledon the place for it? i actually think it could be, but we'll see.

as for Novak - digesting the RG loss will be hard, but i have a feeling it'll strengthen his resolve, and make him more dangerous for SW19. because basically, that is what it's about for him: wanting it, and refusing to lose. game-wise, i've always had my doubts about Novak on grass. he definitely shouldn't be the best player there imo; but over the course of two weeks and so many sets, it comes down to other qualities as well. so he might do it. and if he does, it'll be a big one, making him a true dominator of 2015. if he doesn't, though, it might spell trouble (or at least, it'll mean that he's more like the #1s we had around 98-02, not a Fed/Rafa/Nole-dominator #1)

however, as Stan has shown, it's not entirely up to Novak anymore - and not Fed, Murray and of course Nadal either. we've got a lot of young and not-so-young players with the potential to beat anyone at a Slam, especially on grass. and as we've seen with Cilic, sometimes ousting ONE of the formerly big ones is enough to hoist up the trophy. so yeah, this one could be up for grabs for anyone.


also, does anyone have weighted wimbledon seeding scenarios already? of course, Stuttgart and even more so Halle/Queens will be important in deciding that, but i wonder if any overtakers in the relevant positions (#s 2, 4, 8) would be possible/likely.

Nole regrouped nicely after RG heartbreaking loss. Beating both of Fedal in final is really spotlight of his career. With his improved serve, I put him as co-favorite along with Murray, slightly ahead Fed.

 

[Carol]

One of Roger's last legit chances, no question about that. I think he will be fine on grass, hoping he doesn't have to go through both Murray and Djokovic. As it stands now I'd have Murray as the slight favorite for this title with Nole and Fed just behind. The bookies will undoubtedly have Nole well ahead of the rest but I don't see it that way.

I actually agree with you. Optimal for Novak would be Roger to take out Murray in a tough semi.

And at his level presently, unless the gods bestow an elixir from heaven, Rafa does not make it past the first week again.

Dimitrov is having a poor year... I'd like to see how he does in the lead up to Wimbledon. Maybe he can find his game on the greens.

Rafa doesn't need any elixir to pass the first week, he just need to recovery his strong mind, game and and focus and I hope he will, it's about time, the good tennis followers need him

 

[Puppet Master]

This 3 week break before Wimbo might be perfect for some players, namely Fedal, but it will be a total drag to wait those extra 7 days.

 

[Kieran]

He made the second week last year. He's on the up and up on grass...

 

[Carol]

He made the second week last year. He's on the up and up on grass...

That was a good one

 

[DarthFed]

One of Roger's last legit chances, no question about that. I think he will be fine on grass, hoping he doesn't have to go through both Murray and Djokovic. As it stands now I'd have Murray as the slight favorite for this title with Nole and Fed just behind. The bookies will undoubtedly have Nole well ahead of the rest but I don't see it that way.

I actually agree with you. Optimal for Novak would be Roger to take out Murray in a tough semi.

And at his level presently, unless the gods bestow an elixir from heaven, Rafa does not make it past the first week again.

Dimitrov is having a poor year... I'd like to see how he does in the lead up to Wimbledon. Maybe he can find his game on the greens.

Rafa doesn't need any elixir to pass the first week, he just need to recovery his strong mind, game and and focus and I hope he will, it's about time, the good tennis followers need him

The good tennis followers are doing just fine with him in the cellar

 

[Carol]

I actually agree with you. Optimal for Novak would be Roger to take out Murray in a tough semi.

And at his level presently, unless the gods bestow an elixir from heaven, Rafa does not make it past the first week again.

Dimitrov is having a poor year... I'd like to see how he does in the lead up to Wimbledon. Maybe he can find his game on the greens.

Rafa doesn't need any elixir to pass the first week, he just need to recovery his strong mind, game and and focus and I hope he will, it's about time, the good tennis followers need him

The good tennis followers are doing just fine with him in the cellar

Like you are when he beats your fav? :ras:

 

[Kieran]

Don't worry Carol, we'll have our day...

 

[Carol]

This is what Rafa thinks about Wawrinka's game and win and about himself and his next step

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/08/tennis/rafael-nadal-highest-level/

 

[Carol]

Don't worry Carol, we'll have our day...

Yep, I'm sure of that

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I would say Murray is the favorite #1, Djokovic is #2 and Fed is #3. All the rest are quite a distance behind them (including Stan).

The optimal draw for Fed would have both Novak and Andy in the other half with Andy defeating Novak in the semifinals, only to be crushed by Fed in the finals.

 

[Kieran]

I'm still not getting all the Murray-love. Yeah, he should reach the semis if he doesn't go AWOL like he did last year against Grigor - "Five ****ing minutes before the match!" - but then he wouldn't be favourite if Novak is still in it. He's gaining a habit of fading away in matches with Novak, just at the moment he needs to come on strong.

I would be happy for him, but surprised if he won Wimbledon...

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I'm still not getting all the Murray-love. Yeah, he should reach the semis if he doesn't go AWOL like he did last year against Grigor - "Five ****ing minutes before the match!" - but then he wouldn't be favourite if Novak is still in it. He's gaining a habit of fading away in matches with Novak, just at the moment he needs to come on strong.

I would be happy for him, but surprised if he won Wimbledon...

No, there is no love here. May be you misunderstood my favorite comment. He is certainly not my favorite. I would rather have him lose. I meant he is the favorite to win the tourney.

There is some love because he would be easier for Fed to beat than Novak, in the finals.

 

[El Dude]

Don't worry Carol, we've had our day...

Corrected.

 

[Kieran]

I'm still not getting all the Murray-love. Yeah, he should reach the semis if he doesn't go AWOL like he did last year against Grigor - "Five ****ing minutes before the match!" - but then he wouldn't be favourite if Novak is still in it. He's gaining a habit of fading away in matches with Novak, just at the moment he needs to come on strong.

I would be happy for him, but surprised if he won Wimbledon...

No, there is no love here. May be you misunderstood my favorite comment. He is certainly not my favorite. I would rather have him lose. I meant he is the favorite to win the tourney.

There is some love because he would be easier for Fed to beat than Novak, in the finals.

Oh I know what you meant, and Darth also installed Andy as his favourite to win it, and while I can see some logic in it, I can't see much. I certainly don't know what you're basing it on...

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I'm still not getting all the Murray-love. Yeah, he should reach the semis if he doesn't go AWOL like he did last year against Grigor - "Five ****ing minutes before the match!" - but then he wouldn't be favourite if Novak is still in it. He's gaining a habit of fading away in matches with Novak, just at the moment he needs to come on strong.

I would be happy for him, but surprised if he won Wimbledon...

No, there is no love here. May be you misunderstood my favorite comment. He is certainly not my favorite. I would rather have him lose. I meant he is the favorite to win the tourney.

There is some love because he would be easier for Fed to beat than Novak, in the finals.

Oh I know what you meant, and Darth also installed Andy as his favourite to win it, and while I can see some logic in it, I can't see much. I certainly don't know what you're basing it on...

The logic is fairly simple. Murray had his back op in fall 2013, he needed time to recover and produce results again. Until the end of USO of last year, he sucked. But, he started producing results after USO of last year since his month long camp in China in the fall. He had been quite consistent in Slams over the last three years. He reached QF or better of every slam he played for the last 3 years. After getting married, he seems more content and have added titles on Clay as well. His main problem is fading away when playing with Novak. Even in that area he has shown improvement as evidenced by his 5 set affair at RG. Finally, even though Novak has 2 Wimby titles and Andy has only one, I think Andy is a better grass court player than Novak (based on what I have seen from both of them over the years). Finally, there will not be too much pressure on Andy as Perry's Ghost has already been slain.

Rafa has not done well for about 4/5 years there now. Fed has not won a GS for almost 3 years now. Raonic would be too angry or not at all angry to win. I actually think Cilic would have a good showing here. Stan's lack of athleticism/movement would be exposed in the lawns. Grigor is not ready for big stage yet. So, who do we have left.

ANDY MURRAY.