kidbourbon
Disgusting!
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2005
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(Why does everyone want their thread to be "official" anyway?)
I am very excited about this year's Wimbledon. I think that we could end up with -- and I very much hope that we do end up with -- another epic Federer/Nadal final (a la the 2008 final).
And with Nadal and Federer as the #1 and #2 seeds (not sure who will get which...and it doesn't matter...so long as they are on opposite sides of the draw), I think there is about an 85% chance that we do end up with these guys playing again in the final. Simply put, these guys are playing on a different level than anybody else on the tour*.
In one corner we've got Roger Federer, who (on grass) I'll put my money behind in a match against anybody in the world other than a healthy Rafael Nadal.
In the other corner, we've got a healthy Rafa Nadal in very good form. A form similar to what we saw in 2008 when Nadal comprehensively destroyed Federer** in Roland Garros and then beat him in Wimbledon in that classic match.
Everybody else is pretty much smoke and mirrors imho.
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*And you could argue that Nadal and Federer are on a different level historically. In other words, that we've never before seen two guys this good at the same time. I'm happy to elaborate on this subject. But essentially Nadal is very quietly working his way into the "best player ever" conversation. He's only 24 with 8 majors and a gold medal, which is more than Federer had at the same age. And if he can stay healthy (a big "if" to be fair), I don't see anything preventing him from reeling off several majors in a row. If you saw the French you're probably on board with the previous sentence. Nadal is playing out of his mind right now***.
**Had Nadal played Federer in the French final rather than Soderling, he would have thoroughly undressed him much like he did in '08
***If aliens landed on Earth and challenged an earthling to a tennis match for the fate of the earth (the aliens get to choose what surface the match is played on), with the added twist that you could take any tennis player from any era and bring them back in their prime for the match...I would eschew the time machine and select Rafael Nadal right now. If I really wanted to use the time machine so I could go back and place a couple wagers or something, I'd just go back to '08 and get that version of Nadal (it's the same version as the '10 version, it appears).
I am very excited about this year's Wimbledon. I think that we could end up with -- and I very much hope that we do end up with -- another epic Federer/Nadal final (a la the 2008 final).
And with Nadal and Federer as the #1 and #2 seeds (not sure who will get which...and it doesn't matter...so long as they are on opposite sides of the draw), I think there is about an 85% chance that we do end up with these guys playing again in the final. Simply put, these guys are playing on a different level than anybody else on the tour*.
In one corner we've got Roger Federer, who (on grass) I'll put my money behind in a match against anybody in the world other than a healthy Rafael Nadal.
In the other corner, we've got a healthy Rafa Nadal in very good form. A form similar to what we saw in 2008 when Nadal comprehensively destroyed Federer** in Roland Garros and then beat him in Wimbledon in that classic match.
Everybody else is pretty much smoke and mirrors imho.
- Djokovic appears to be getting worse.
- Murray is good, but can't get over the hump to greatness...and it may be that he never gets over that hump.
- Soderling is the one wild card. Maybe, just maybe, he can step it up on the grass and establish himself as an elite player and not simply an elite talent who can beat anybody. In my estimation, Soderling represents the other 15% (see above reference to 85%).
- Del Potro is out with an injury. Plus, he isn't that good on grass anyway.
- Roddick has run out of chances. After the '09 final, I think his window of opportunity at Wimbledon has officially closed.
_________________________________
*And you could argue that Nadal and Federer are on a different level historically. In other words, that we've never before seen two guys this good at the same time. I'm happy to elaborate on this subject. But essentially Nadal is very quietly working his way into the "best player ever" conversation. He's only 24 with 8 majors and a gold medal, which is more than Federer had at the same age. And if he can stay healthy (a big "if" to be fair), I don't see anything preventing him from reeling off several majors in a row. If you saw the French you're probably on board with the previous sentence. Nadal is playing out of his mind right now***.
**Had Nadal played Federer in the French final rather than Soderling, he would have thoroughly undressed him much like he did in '08
***If aliens landed on Earth and challenged an earthling to a tennis match for the fate of the earth (the aliens get to choose what surface the match is played on), with the added twist that you could take any tennis player from any era and bring them back in their prime for the match...I would eschew the time machine and select Rafael Nadal right now. If I really wanted to use the time machine so I could go back and place a couple wagers or something, I'd just go back to '08 and get that version of Nadal (it's the same version as the '10 version, it appears).
