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Jan-28-12
 | | shivasuri4: <Jim Bartle>, have you read any of Dale Carnegie's books?I have so much to learn from the way you speak! |
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| Jan-28-12 | | Jim Bartle: I just try to be organized and present my ideas in a coherent manner, nothing more. But thanks. |
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Jan-28-12
 | | HeMateMe: Maria went down grunting. The girl's a fighter, despite the one sided result. Reminds me of the first time I saw Bjorn Borg play a Wimbledon final. I thought: The Terminator has arrived. |
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Jan-28-12
 | | OhioChessFan: <JB: One of the break points that Nadal saved in the last game was absolutely incredible. Federer slammed a ball deep into Nadal's forehand corner, clearly a winner to get back to 5-5. Somhow Nadal flipped up a desperate lob which somehow landed on the baseline, and Federer, probably flustered, missed the next shot.> I was watching that point, and my jaw just hit the floor. Fantastic point by both sides, sports at its best. |
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Jan-28-12
| | OhioChessFan: I can't bring myself to watch a Sharapova match. The grunting is beyond ridiculous. |
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Jan-28-12
| | HeMateMe: Heck, Jimmy Connors and 'moanin Monica Seles were veritable church mice, by comparison. |
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Jan-28-12
 | | achieve: <Jim> Here's a direct link -- http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU... Nadal:
<Yesterday he [Murray] lost another very good opportunity, in my opinion. Because winning two sets to one, winning the third set, probably losing a lot chances, and then winning with 7-6; to win a tournament like this and to play against player like Djokovic, you cannot start the fourth set like this. It's the moment to play with more intensity than ever, not start with 3-Love down and two breaks in five minutes. That way you lose the match. You want to win the tournament, you cannot start-- you can lose-- the other can beat you, but you cannot lose in the beginning. But he's playing well. He's playing fantastic. He deserve to win a Grand Slam. He was unlucky at the end, but the only negative thing for me in his match is the beginning of the fourth. When the other have more doubts, is in really trouble, you make for the opponent easier than what should be, no? That's my feeling.> What a warrior, and he's right. Competitive drive and ambition personified = Nadal. |
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Jan-28-12
| | achieve: part 2 of Nadal on Murray:
<For the rest, he can be No. 1 at the end of the season. I don't have any doubt on that. The level is there. When you are able to play how many, five Grand Slams in a row playing semifinals or final, it's only a mental thing.> Remarkably open and candid interview/press conference, on one of his rivals. Now it's 4.5 hours to go before the Big One starts, for the marbles and the glory. |
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Jan-29-12
 | | Shams: Patrick McEnroe is fine, but I'd much rather hear Johnny. |
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Jan-29-12
| | achieve: Five games played, Novak takes of his shirt already, tosses it into the boarding, his racquet follows swiftly... Remarkable, haven't ever before seen this from Djoko... He clearly is up and spirited to "get it right" ... Understandible, after 10 unforced errors in a handful of games. Nadal taking the first set has been a <long> time ago against Djokovic; but as I type it's 4-2, Novak very "edgy" |
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Jan-29-12
 | | kellmano: The first set seemed a bit flat to me, but they are certainly playing well in the second. |
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Jan-29-12
| | achieve: High intensity, but many misses due to tension... <80 minutes> for one set is brutal though -- I haven't myself felt this tense even, watching it, in a very long time-- reminds me of the Borg-McEnroe epics as a kid when I went outside because I couldn't bare watching it continually, and my mom would yell from the balcony who had won the set, hehe, gulp |
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| Jan-29-12 | | Jim Bartle: Yes, there are lots of misses when I've been watching, but with this quality of play and the speed of these guys, most points are bound to end in some sort of error. An hour and ten minutes for the first set. This is going to be a long match. I did read that part of the Nadal interview, and that was revealing of his competitive attitude. He's saying if you've got somebody down (himself in this case) you simply cannot take a break or let your level or intensity drop for a little while. That's the time to step on other guy's neck (again, his own in this case). |
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| Jan-29-12 | | Jim Bartle: I finally saw something in this match I'd wondered whether was permitted for years. Nadal hit a first serve which wsa called good, Djokovic hit a clean winner, and Nadal challenged that his own shot had really been out. (He was wrong.) But the challenge was allowed, which surprised me. |
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Jan-29-12
| | achieve: <Jim> Nadal commented on Murray-Djokovic, as Nadal was enjoying his "extra" free day, but the Nadal's point stands firm, though I doubt he'd worded it like that if he himself was "let out of jail" ;) Good call on the controversial challenges, and Nadal also investigates the "marks" first before he challenges, or decides not to, each time breaking the rhythm for well over the time-limit. Djokovic very rightly went up to the Ref to complain; John Lloyd commenting for BBC confirmed that this is not how the Hawkeye challenges are to be used, and the Challenge needs to be called quickly, not after examination and deliberation. But the incident you mention shows that Nadal is squirming as well, ready to do anything to break Novak's return rhythm (by far the dangerous shots sofar) and play it dirty, that's how much tension is riding on this match, as Nadal was pummeled all year long in 2011, six in a row... This is no ordinary Slam Final, if there ever is any, as this one feels to count for <two>! And it counts for two slams, when you take the head-to-head: After this match it will be either 10-5, or 11-4. (5 or 7 the difference.) |
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Jan-29-12
| | achieve: Respect to Nadal, he has been hitting the ball like his life depends on it for three hours, but it's like punching a trampoline, or pillow, and finding out that no matter how hard you hit it, it's to little effect... Incredible character, shown by both men btw, but Nadal is something else having just lost 2 sets. Unique specimen. He and Hewitt are two of the best I have seen in my lifetime. It's not over this one, and energy reserves are decreasing. (3-3 in the fourth.) |
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| Jan-29-12 | | Jim Bartle: So now they've had to suspend the match to close the roof. I wonder who that will benefit. Nice recovery from 0-40 in that last game, otherwise Djokovic would be serving for the match. And with his excellent play, not Djokovic errors. |
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Jan-29-12
| | achieve: Tiebreak to stay in the Championship for Nadal, WHAT A MATCH! Scary tennis now, I'm out of superlatives. |
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Jan-29-12
| | achieve: Nadal would bite all his spare racquets in two if that was what it would take... However, winning the fifth set is another option... Shaking my head in perplexion and admiration. |
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| Jan-29-12 | | Jim Bartle: He djoked a little in that tiebreak, having the lead and then losing several points in a row. Now Nadal gets the chance to show how to do what he was saying about Murray in that interview. |
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| Jan-29-12 | | Jim Bartle: From the Sports Illustrated commentary:
"This is incredible stuff. Nadal won that set not with forehands or backhands or tactics. He won on sheer will." http://tennis.si.com/2012/01/28/raf... |
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| Jan-29-12 | | Jim Bartle: They're playing these incredible rallies at 4-4 in the fifth, in the sixth hour of play? Unreal. |
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Jan-29-12
| | achieve: Djokovic now doing some of his "old man" imitations, to which Nadal <also> referred in the interview... He'll take him out now... Nadal npw standing on the baseline upping the pace like he is Andy Murray, and does it perfectly!! This is the best I've seen, will, guts, and insane, smart, adaptation by Nadal, inspired tennis. |
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| Jan-29-12 | | swissfed: ΆΧΆφΆμΆνΆνΆμ΅I΅@inspired tennis by Nadal !! |
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| Jan-29-12 | | Jim Bartle: OK, I guess he has a right to act like an idiot after winning a match like that. I'm a Grade A Federer fan, but now I'm glad Nadal beat him. Otherwise we wouldn't have had this. |
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