D Wil Posts -- FanHouse

Federer Beats Back Nadal and History for 5th Wimbledon Trophy

Posted: Jul 8th 2007 6:34 PM ET by D-Wil (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Tennis

Roger Federer beat a more potent competitor that Rafael Nadal today to win his fifth straight Wimbledon title. He defeated the crushing weight of history. With Bjorn Borg, the only other man to win five Wimbledon championships in a row in attendance, Federer held his nerve and beat Nadal, 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2.

With this win Federer, only 25, has now won 11 Grand slam titles, just three behind U.S. great. Pete Sampras. Nadal valiantly played the part of potential foil to Federer. But in the end, Nadal's lack of a consistently strong and varied serve, plus his inability to pressure Federer by attacking the Swiss player led to Raffa's ultimate demise.

After the match, each player complimented the other using the usual platitudes. However, Nadal must surely rue the fact that twice in the final set he had double-break point on Federer's serve and failed to convert any of the four break points. Federer must privately know that Nadal has shown an increasingly prevalent knack for coming up just short against the world's #1 on every other Grand Slam surface except clay. And even at the French Open, if Federer has Nadal in a pinch late in a match, Nadal's proclivity to hit his groundstrokes a little weaker, move his feet a little less, and serve a bit slower might even haunt him at the French Open.

While there are a slew of young players on the horizon who are unafraid of Nadal, all of them fear Federer. Look for Roger to end this Grand Slam season with a 12th trophy after the U.S. Open in September.

She's Our Venus, She's Our Fire, She's Our Desire

Posted: Jul 7th 2007 3:13 PM ET by D-Wil (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Tennis, Women's Sports

43 COMMENTS

Thirty-one, number one. Eighteen, number two. Ask 2007 Wimbledon champion, #31-seed Venus Williams; Just ask #18-seed and runner-up Marion Bartoli of .

Tennis is funny like that, then again, so is sports. When you want to win too much, you'll invariably lose. Just ask Roger Federer about that French Open final. After Wimbledon he tailored his season for the red clay of Roland Garros - and still lost to Rafael Nadal.

For Justine Henin, Wimbledon is the one Grand Slam tournament she hasn't won. Yesterday, after a 6-1 set against Marion Bartoli, Henin was but six games from a finals matchup against Venus Williams. The thought of "tomorrow" became an untenable weight in the world's #one's mind. After a second set struggle that she lost 7-5, the weight came in the form of a boulder that rolled right over Henin. Bartoli crushed Henin, 6-1 in the third and final set.

Today, the weight appeared not to be on Williams, but on Bartoli. After she absorbed a 6-4, 6-1 beating at the racket of the older Williams sister, Bartoli broke down and cried. That only happens when a player has a plan they feel is infallible if executed correctly. Either Bartoli's plan was wrong or her execution was weak.

Maybe Williams, today at least, proved she is just the better tennis player.

The first six games of the match see-sawed. Bartoli showed her nerves in losing the first three games. Williams showed she could take her foot off the gas, even in the finals of a Grand Slam, losing the next three games. However, Williams righted herself and played like the four-time Wimbledon champion she now is and won 12 of the next 14 games.

Though Bartoli played valiantly, her groundstrokes and her athletic ability were no match for Williams. In fact, the way Venus played after her first two Wimbledon matches - they were struggles - not even a healthy Serena could have beaten her older sister.

Thirty-one is number one - at least at Wimbledon.

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On the men's side of things, Roger Federer brushed aside Richard Gasquet (or "Dickie Gasket," as ex-pro, coach of Andy Murray, and announcer Brad Gilbert calls the Frenchman), 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. Club Fed will shoot for his fifth Wimbledon title in a row tomorrow against Rafael Nadal, who defeated an injured (back) Novak Djokovic, 3-6, 6-1, 4-1 (retired).

Wimbledon Update: Pfffft! Go U.S. Men, Maria Sharapova

Posted: Jul 4th 2007 12:36 PM ET by D-Wil (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Tennis

82 COMMENTS

Pfffft! That's the sound of American men's tennis going up in a final, feeble puff of smoke. It's also the sound of Maria Sharapova's relevance to tennis.

Wait until we get to the grass was all the American men could say after their 0-for performance on the terre batu of Paris at the French Open. Well, it's the second week of Wimbledon and only Andy Roddick is left to rep the world's #9 James Blake went down feebly to Juan

Carlos Ferrero in the 3^rd round. Mardy Fish was weak in his first round effort against Rafael Nadal. Robbie Ginepri folded against Fernando Gonzalez, and alleged rising star Sam Querry basically disappeared.

American men's tennis is on the decline and more trouble is on the winds as there are no young talented players appearing on the horizon. The powers that be in the United States Tennis Association hem and haw and hand-wring, but they seem comfortable with Roddick carrying the torch into the inevitable butt-kicking he faces against Roger Federer. And the sad thing is, beyond A-Rod, we don't even seem to care.

Now to Maria. The fist-pumping and "Vamos" screaming after routine points and the "oh my god, did I just win that match" fake surprise after 6-2, 6-4 second and third round wins has made her a near-pariah to her peers. The act plays nowhere but in the minds of fans that have no understanding of the game and a weak-willed, fawning television and print press.

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Is This Year Time for Wimbledon Upsets?

Posted: Jun 25th 2007 1:53 AM ET by D-Wil (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Tennis, Outdoor Sports

1 COMMENT

Wimbledon is upon us. As Roger Federer begins his quest for his fifth straight Wimbledon title, Justine Henin seeks her first.

Federer is an odds on favorite on the fast grass. Henin, on the other hand, must contend with women with powerful groundstrokes and big serves like Serena and Venus Williams, and Maria Sharapova.

Federer's first tough match will come in the third round against 6'4" Marat Safin. Though Safin has had an off year so far, he is always dangerous on the grass courts. Also down the road for Federer might be #13-ranked Tommy Haas or #9 James Blake.

World's #3 Andy Roddick is coming off a fourth straight victory at the Queen's Club, a warm up tournament for Wimbledon. Roddick's road to the quarterfinals appears easier than Federer's in that his main competition are player's whose games are more suited to clay than grass.

Rafael Nadal, #2-seed has an incredibly tough opening match against American Mardy Fish. Though Fish has been injured, this surface fits his serve-and-volley game to a tee. Should Fish return Nadal's serve and force his way to the net, an upset can happen. Should he get by Fish, in the third round Nadal is likely to face the huge-hitting Robin Soderling from Sweden. All-in-all I do not see Nadal reaching the final weekend this year.

On the women's side, Henin and Serena Williams appear to both have clear paths to a quarterfinal meeting. French Open finalist Jelena Jankovic must make her way through Israeli Shahar Peer or Martina Hingis, and possibly meet Anna Chakvetadze in the quarters. In Maria Sharapova's quarter of the draw it looks for all the world that she will face Venus Williams in a round-of-16 matchup worthy of the finals.

My predictions? It remains to be seen what the effect are of Federer losing to Nadal in the French Open finals. However, I feel Federer will pull through and win his fifth Winbledon. On the women's side I'm looking for Venus Williams to upset #2 Sharapova and Serena to defeat Henin in the quarterfinals. And I feel Serena takes the women's trophy.

Justine Henin and -------- Herpes?!

Posted: Jun 13th 2007 6:37 PM ET by D-Wil (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Tennis

8 COMMENTS

Justine Henin, in her French Open finals post-match press conference had this to say (question and answer):

Q. Weren't you afraid that the emotional side of things would have too much influence on that match?

JUSTINE HENIN: No, I didn't panic. I knew I was not starting that match well. I can tell you, I had a horrible night. My herpes came out again, and I said to my doctor, "Well, I see everything is fine, it's great."

So, really, I was a bit anxious. But also, I really wanted to do well. And very early in the match, the match turned over. And then I knew I was going to be able to keep it up until the end. (enphasis mine)

Henin is recently divorced. Is this part of the reason for the split with her husband?

I mean I'm just sayin'. And will this be an excuse for future losses? I can hear it now:

Q: Justine, in the second set your forehand just seemed to fail you, and you seemed to tire as the match went on. Is that true?

Henin: Well, my herpes began to act up and I wanted to get off the court before my sore began to show.

I'll be looking out for all of Henin's post-match interviews from here on out.

Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer at the French Open: Set 3 to Nadal, 6-3

Posted: Jun 10th 2007 11:40 AM ET by D-Wil (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Tennis

1 COMMENT

It's set three and I get the feeling that both players are still feeling a lot of pressure at a time in the match when the pressure of playing the match normally has wilted away. There are no yells of "Vamos!" from Nadal; not many fist pumps from Federer.

Federer came to net 17 times in the second set compared with six in the first. As far back as Nadal stands to return Federer;s serve, Roger could stand to come in even more. A Nadal forehend winner gives him double-break point at 15-40.

Nadal gets the break as Federer plays his worst service game. While Nadal is content to stand eight to 10 feet behind the baseline and play defense until he gets a relatively short shot, Federer must force the action. And when he does, Federer must hit deep approach shots or he gives Nadal time to hit passing shots.

At 3-0 Nadal, it appears that Raffa allows Federer to hold his serve, which may not be the best thing to do. Any lapse in concentration in a match like this can swing the momentum in favor of the opponent in a flash. However, it appears that Federer is the player who has the more difficult time keeping it together as he misses toe easy returns. Just as quickly, though, he comes back with a nice forehand winner to even the game at 30-all. Nadal crushes a forehand to get the game to 40-30.

Again, at 4-1 Nadal plays a loose game on Federer's serve. Additionally Nadal's first serve percentage is dipping rapidly. But Roger dumps two forehands in the net to allow Raffa to get to 30-15 on his serve. A third missed forehand give Nadal two game points. Federer screams at himself, then promptly hits another wild forehand to give Nadal the game; 5-2 Nadal. I wouldn't put it past Nadal to really concentrate this game and try to break Federer's serve - which might just break the world number one's spirit.

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Roger Federer Wins French Open Set Two, 6-4

Posted: Jun 10th 2007 10:58 AM ET by D-Wil (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Tennis

0 COMMENTS

Federer faced down Nadal to even the second set a 2-all. The question is: will Roger loosen up and just play tennis and forget about all the "best ever" hype? Nadal has actually played rather poorly, but Federer has done nothing to pressure Nadal.

After winning an amazing point, Federer sprays a short forehand and instead of being up 15-40, he's down 40-30 with Nadal serving. McEnroe pointed out aptly that Federer has hit no drop shots, no slices off his backhand. Nor has he used it to lure Nadal to the net where Raffa's game is weakest. If Fed continues on this path, the match will be over within an hour.

What is interesting about Federer's performance is that he is nearly emotionless; the only expression he is showing is one of quiet angst.

Finally! Federer breaks through.... he breaks Nadal's serve on a nice inside-out forehand and Nadal dumps the reply into the net. And Roger ---- gives a fist pump! Maybe this will get him into the match. Will he now be able to hold?

No sooner than I write this, it's 0-30, but Nadal misses an easy forehand return, 15-30.... Federer misses an easy forehand and it's double-break point. Fed squeezes out of one break as Nadal misses a return. And a beautiful kick second serve wins Fed the next breaker: it's deuce. At deuce Federer hit an incredible dipping forehand for a winner, and then misses almost the same shot: deuce again.

Roger then mishits a backhand and Nadal makes him pay with a forehand winner up the line.... break point again. WHAT! Another missed call, by the replay or the line judge? Nadal's lob appeared to be on the line... But Federer saves the break point anyway. On ad-Federer, Roger serves out wide and finally slices a backhand into the open court for a 5-3 lead.

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Raffa Takes First Set, 6-3

Posted: Jun 10th 2007 10:03 AM ET by D-Wil (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Tennis

1 COMMENT

Federer hits a beautiful pass, albeit a mis-hit and Nadal is down 0-30 on his serve.... Fed is a little off-balance and misses an easy backhand (easy for me to say!).....

Nadal misses yet another forehand and it's break point. The fans sense the urgency of the moment. Nadal is shaky. A fantastic serve to Federer's forehand gets him out of one breaker. Why Federer didn't chip his backhand return at 30-40 is beyond me. Federer loses a long point: ad-Nadal.

Fed blasts a backhand cross court swinging Nadal out wide and finishes Nadal off with a forehend - deuce..... this is a key game. Roger ends the deuce point at the net - ad-Fed. Second serve. Federer blows an easy inside-out forehand: deuce.

Nadal gets pushed around again and its advantage Federer yet again.... A key second serve and Federer pushes a forehand into the net on an 85-mph serve.... Kind of a choke.

Federer then misses yet another backhand and is about to let Nadal off the hook..... But then Fed plays a fantastic point to bring things back to deuce. The same backhand that let Federer down last point allows Roger to win this one. Then another clean winner. Is Fed getting in the groove?

Nadal needs a good serve on break point here.... Second serve.... Nadal hits an amazinf forehand hooking it in the court down the line - that's strength.... Deuce. Federer misses a forehand return.... It's soon to be 3-3 first set. Sure enough a good Nadal serve wins the game... Federer has a let down it's 0-30. If Roger loses this match he can point to the 3-2 game when he failed to break Nadal's serve. Now it's 0-40. A missed backhand by Fed and it's 4-3 Nadal..... dare I say, the first set is over?

NO! just as quickly Nadal gets nervous and it's 0-40. Whoops Fed misses an easy backhand return. Nadal has only missed one first serve on break point - he just missed his second.... Federer chokes another forehand: 30-40.... and another. It's deuce.

Dude!!!! Get to net! The chair gets down and misses the call on Nadal's first serve - wonderful. Federer misses yet again. This is a little sad. All he had to do this game was to be aggressive - and he blew it.... 5-3 Nadal. It looks like Federer is giving up - is it the set or the match?

It's set point. This one's for the match. One Nadal Forehand and it's over, 6-3 Nadal. And with it, perhaps Roger's chance at winning the French.

Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal - Open Thread(s)

Posted: Jun 10th 2007 9:32 AM ET by D-Wil (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Tennis

0 COMMENTS

The excuse for Nadal losing in Rome is his being mentally tired. Federer spanks a forehand off Nadal's second serve for a winner, 15-all. Fed backs Nadal up on another serve and Nadal pushes a backhand out . This is a crucial point. Roger takes advantage of another weak Nadal serve for 15-40, double-break point.

Nadal gets out of the first breaker as Federer cannot hit any groundstroke deep, 30-40.....

Raffa hit a wide slice on his first serve, the lefty's's winning stroke to open up the court. and wipe away the second breaker. Nadal then gets serious and pushes Federer around the court. It appears the break points woke up Nadal.

An interesting note: Federer must feel like there's a conspiracy against him here at Roland Garros. For 13 days the courts have played faster than normal. Yet, when he needs it most, Federer walks out and the court is slower than it ever has been.....

Nadal blows an easy forehand and Federer is up 40-0 on his serve. Roger blasts in a first serve, Nadal pushes a forehand long.....

Who's looking like what? Can you tell?

Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal Open Thread

Posted: Jun 10th 2007 9:21 AM ET by D-Wil (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Tennis

0 COMMENTS

It's 40-30 in the first game Club Fed serving. Johnny Mac says the ball is bouncing high, favoring Nadal.

Federer just held serve.... Raffa's turn. NBC's Mary Carillo points out that Roger has beaten Nadal 3 of 4 of their last head-to-head matches...

Nadal serving. Novak Djokavic says Nadal is the physically strongest player in the world; Federer says he's the fittest. NBC cameras focus on Nadal's biceps (tennis is so weird). Focusing on a player's biceps is a ridiculous notion in other sports, but tennis players aren't known for strength.

Nadal holds easily. It's obvious that he's trying to get a quicker start than last year when he dropped the first set to Federer, 6-1. It's apparent that both players are nervous as Nadal sprays some shots over the baseline. It's now 2-1 Federer.... time to make a post. Early on? No advantage...