Tennis

[Guest wonderbang]

LOL nice one dOotsiez.....i guess we're starting a shirtless tradition aren't we?

anyhow, what IS UP with the berlin event? now that ivanovic is out.....practically none of the top seeds/favorites are still around. i sincerely hope this isn't a prelude to roland garros or else i might check myself out of the grand slam entirely.....i like my top players sticking around :/

[Guest eternal_bliss]

LOL nice one dOotsiez.....i guess we're starting a shirtless tradition aren't we?

anyhow, what IS UP with the berlin event? now that ivanovic is out.....practically none of the top seeds/favorites are still around. i sincerely hope this isn't a prelude to roland garros or else i might check myself out of the grand slam entirely.....i like my top players sticking around :/

Favourites can always change, can't they? Yah, I don't know what's going on.

I personally like her. But that's pretty obvious. Elena and Dinara are still talented though.

Quickie;; So is Federer going to make it to Connors' record? He's good but he's really starting to bore me.

Alice

[Guest dOotsiez]

^ what's Connor's record? I know that Fed (or more so the fans) is looking to at least equal Sampras' record of 14 grandslams. i dunno if I could find Fed boring when he's still good. Predictable maybe, in terms of winning, but while you're watching, you just enjoy the moments of brilliance.

I know what you mean about having your fav players around, don't mind an occasional underdog - think Tsonga in the AO, but when you have a final of underdogs, it's so anti-climatic. And can't believe Djoko has had 2 retirements against him in a row, 9 retirements in Rome altogether. think he has a pretty good chance of beating Wawrinka.

Just saw the Hamburg draw. Nadal and Djokovic are in the same half for a change. And it looks like we're FINALLY in for a Tsonga v Federer match, provided that Tsonga wins the first round. Isn't it weird how Fed has such a good record in Hamburg when it's meant to be the slowest court around. wonder if he has the consistency to defend this year. The rest of the year's gonna be a richard simmons for him as he goes into almost all the tournies as the finalist or defending champ.

[Guest wonderbang]

I'm never bored of Federer. I think any tennis fan can always find some brilliance to appreciate from the guy....on and off the ccourt

And yes, nothing is worse than an anticlimatic final. It's supposed to be the most exciting round....that's why I like my top seeds to stick around till the end...at least one of them. Anyhow, congrats to Elena and Dinara though....they're top players themselves and having a good run.

[Guest dOotsiez]

grrr to Djokovic winning. Two titles this year, he's doing the best out of everyone isn't he. Well done to Wawrinka for taking a set off him. Looks like the Swiss will have a second player in the top 10. Fed's a little lonely all by himself if you ask me.

Safina's playing well too, wonder if she'll keep up this level until RG or will the top players rise to the occasion. I certainly hope so, more so on the men's side I guess. On to Hamburg, and hopefully...normalcy!

[Guest wonderbang]

congrats to the winners! let's just say this week was anything BUT normal. i'm so deprived since i don't get to watch any of the tennis going on right now...so sad. and anytime i find a clip, the resolution is so bad i can't even SEE the ball. french open needs to come quicker!

[Guest dOotsiez]

the FO is just around the corner! excited much (although if it's as weird as Rome, I'm not sure if I could be bothered staying up to watch it)

Thank god for pay TV. I find online videos okay most of the time, but not on clay, the colours just all blend into each other...

wonder how Nadal's going with his blisters. if he doesnt get into the finals for Hamburg, Djoko would take over as No 2 ..... didnt think this day would come so soon.

[Guest wonderbang]

yup, just heard about novak close to taking over the number 2 ranking.....even nadal admitted in an interview that he was going to lose the ranking because it's almost impossible to win everything like he did last year....

the women's event this week seems unusually strong....seems like all the top players are there with some exceptions (henin out with "fatigue" or more like no confidence...and safina with a back injury from winning last week i guess)

[Guest dOotsiez]

yeah whoever makes it out alive from the SFs (assuming Nadal and Djoker both get to the SFs) will be the No.2. isn't it ironic that after years of complaining about how stagnant the top two positions have become, im so not looking forward to Rafa losing his position. but maybe this is all just useless fear, Nadal was within 300 points of Fed at the start of the year, but look where they are now? if Nadal's foot is okay, Djokovic has no chance.

Maria sharapova's now the new no 2 on the WTA rankings. wonder whether Henin to continue her self-destruction. she can still play, just has consistency problems.

[Guest wonderbang]

oh maria moved up? didn't notice that.....i always thought it was weird she wasn't higher...then again, she doesn't play a lot like serena and venus. i really have no clue with henin....at times she's up and at times she's down....it's weird. it looks like she's gonna lose that ranking if she doesn't pick it up towards the latter half of the year....with all the points she's defending.

[Guest dOotsiez]

I think Maria paces herself well. These days players get injured so much that it's almost expected that they pull out of a few tournaments. Its more important to win/defend the big titles and that's what she's doing. Henin confuses me too. in berlin she was back playing great tennis at first, healthy, yet she then lost big time and narrowly avoided a bagel. she's either flying or crashing these days.

Interesting politics in Hamburg. Not only will we potentially see an overthrow of 'the Establishment', well the Rafa half anyway, I just read that Hamburg is taking the ATP to court over its decision to downgrade the tournament from the Masters Series as of 2009. poor Hamburg. can't compete with Shanghai can it...

Love this quote from Feddy. it's nice to see he's got some fight in him

The hegemony of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in men's tennis is seriously under threat for the first time in three years, with Novak Djokovic closing in on the No. 2 ranking and confessing that he's looking to finish the year as No. 1. After early losses in Rome last week, they're focused on reasserting themselves at Hamburg. "The more you lose, the more they believe they can beat me," said Federer. "But believing is not enough, you still have to beat me."

Tennis.com

[Guest wonderbang]

well in a perfect world the top players would only have to play the big tournaments and be healthy for all of them......but with the wacko world of tennis...players are forced to play more tournaments than their bodies can handle because sponsorship money does all the talking.....then the tours complain about all the injuries and withdrawals and the players complain about all the fines......sigh, pretty idiotic if you ask me. there are just too many competing interests to satisfy everyone and no one is willing to compromise. the hamburg tournament is a great example of this..

[Guest dOotsiez]

talk about burnt out. rumours rampant that Henin's retiring! though I never really connected well with her as a player, I'd still love to have her around for a few more years for the great tennis. It's such a pity that she seems to be so burnt out and not engaging with the sport anymore.

yeah i feel like this year especially, because the schedule from IW, Miami, all the way through clay season has been so tight, all the players are in this vicious cycle of fatigue. Look at Richard Gasquet, another shocker today. looked like he didn't wanna be there. overall depressing clay season so far, 26 retirements so far and counting...

[Guest wonderbang]

yup, it's ridiculous. and just read about henin yesterday.....came as a shock but at the same time...understandable? i don't know.....i'm surprised more players AREN'T permanently retired considering how tough it is these days with all the injuries....

[Guest dOotsiez]

But she's still so young. Makes me think that it's not so much being burnt out than a lack of passion. That would leave the no.1 position very open wouldn't it, i think Sharapova and Ivanovic were within 100 points of each other, which should make a very interest french open.

Poor old Nadal seems to be struggling in his match yesterday, and to make things better, he plays Andy Murray. maybe he should have just skipped Hamburg. bad call imo.

[Guest wonderbang]

Talking about Nadal.....I saw (unfortunately) a picture of his foot during an injury timeout....and WOAH...that thing was NASTY. I felt really bad for him since there were so many blisters and calluses....makes me wonder how he's even able to use it!

As for Henin, I think a trend is starting where players are retiring younger and younger.....it's like 25 is the new 35! Your body just can't handle it anymore and if it doesn't allow you to win then anybody would get discouraged.....though I definitely don't rule out a comeback though don't you think? I mean...Hingis came back for awhile even though she's now permanently retired. I bet as Clijsters and Henin take a few good long off years they will probably feel a lot more rejuvenated and maybe will play again. If Davenport can come back after 30 and a child, then I don't see why others can't.

It is a little bizarre though how Henin left the game when she was at the TOP of the rankings...she was still number one and her favorite major was coming up.....not so sure about the timing of her retirement. Then again, she probably felt she was going to lose her ranking and the tournament and so that probably added to her decision. I heard that the WTA will remove her ranking immediately on Monday (talk about quick!) and so it seems Maria or Ana will move up to number one by default. Not the best way to earn it but I'm sure they'll take it nonetheless.

This also leaves the French Open wiiiiiiiide open on the women's side now that the three-time defending champion is out. There's really no clear favorite.....Maria, Serena, and even Safina maybe could take it as well as the ever dangerous Serbs....just have to wait and see. May sound weird but I'm a little excited to see how it unfolds in the following weeks.

[Guest GO!zilla]

Talking about Nadal.....I saw (unfortunately) a picture of his foot during an injury timeout....and WOAH...that thing was NASTY. I felt really bad for him since there were so many blisters and calluses....makes me wonder how he's even able to use it!

As for Henin, I think a trend is starting where players are retiring younger and younger.....it's like 25 is the new 35! Your body just can't handle it anymore and if it doesn't allow you to win then anybody would get discouraged.....though I definitely don't rule out a comeback though don't you think? I mean...Hingis came back for awhile even though she's now permanently retired. I bet as Clijsters and Henin take a few good long off years they will probably feel a lot more rejuvenated and maybe will play again. If Davenport can come back after 30 and a child, then I don't see why others can't.

It is a little bizarre though how Henin left the game when she was at the TOP of the rankings...she was still number one and her favorite major was coming up.....not so sure about the timing of her retirement. Then again, she probably felt she was going to lose her ranking and the tournament and so that probably added to her decision. I heard that the WTA will remove her ranking immediately on Monday (talk about quick!) and so it seems Maria or Ana will move up to number one by default. Not the best way to earn it but I'm sure they'll take it nonetheless.

This also leaves the French Open wiiiiiiiide open on the women's side now that the three-time defending champion is out. There's really no clear favorite.....Maria, Serena, and even Safina maybe could take it as well as the ever dangerous Serbs....just have to wait and see. May sound weird but I'm a little excited to see how it unfolds in the following weeks.

Henin did say she wanted to start her life as a woman... which probably means she wants to have a baby. Her body can handle playing more years, but for her maybe having a baby is what she dreamed of more than the success of her tennis career. (btw shes hot!)

[Guest dOotsiez]

Her retirement is certainly an interesting turn of events. Just checked the rankings, seems like Sharapova will be the new no 1 by something like 80 points Not to mention Jankovic and Kuneztova are within 300 points of the top 2, so the FO and Wimby will be the deciders. Ivanovic has had an unimpressive clay season, down already in Rome. And Sharapova isn't known for her clay court abilities, so someone lower in the rankings, like Safina, could easily cause an upset at the FO. And we have the other William sister back too. Certainly looking forward to the next few weeks of tennis for women's.

And I wouldn't rule out Henin coming back. Maybe it's a trend for women to retire, start a family, and then realise that they want a career afterall...>_>

On the men's side, Nadal's blister certainly looks pretty nasty alright. And he has about 1 week after Hamburg to make sure he's back in shape for the FO, which is why I think he shouldn't have played Hamburg in the first place. Of course if he didn't play, he would certainly lose his no.2 spot, but imo even if Djokovic gets the no2, he will have trouble holding on to it, Nadal's getting good on hard courts, and Djoker had quite a good run towards the end of last year, so plenty of points to defend there. So far, Novak Djokovic hasn't defended a single title yet, so I'm not sure about his consistency. The hard part isn't getting there, it's staying there.

Implications for Feddy is that now that Djokovic looks set to become no 2 after Hamburg, it means that Fed will probably get Nadal for the semis in the FO. Imagine playing Nadal for the semis and Djokovic for the final... but I'm assuming too much. Maybe none of them will even get to the semis :P wouldn't that turn me off the grand slam....

[Guest wonderbang]

Her retirement is certainly an interesting turn of events. Just checked the rankings, seems like Sharapova will be the new no 1 by something like 80 points Not to mention Jankovic and Kuneztova are within 300 points of the top 2, so the FO and Wimby will be the deciders. Ivanovic has had an unimpressive clay season, down already in Rome. And Sharapova isn't known for her clay court abilities, so someone lower in the rankings, like Safina, could easily cause an upset at the FO. And we have the other William sister back too. Certainly looking forward to the next few weeks of tennis for women's.

And I wouldn't rule out Henin coming back. Maybe it's a trend for women to retire, start a family, and then realise that they want a career afterall...>_>

On the men's side, Nadal's blister certainly looks pretty nasty alright. And he has about 1 week after Hamburg to make sure he's back in shape for the FO, which is why I think he shouldn't have played Hamburg in the first place. Of course if he didn't play, he would certainly lose his no.2 spot, but imo even if Djokovic gets the no2, he will have trouble holding on to it, Nadal's getting good on hard courts, and Djoker had quite a good run towards the end of last year, so plenty of points to defend there. So far, Novak Djokovic hasn't defended a single title yet, so I'm not sure about his consistency. The hard part isn't getting there, it's staying there.

Implications for Feddy is that now that Djokovic looks set to become no 2 after Hamburg, it means that Fed will probably get Nadal for the semis in the FO. Imagine playing Nadal for the semis and Djokovic for the final... but I'm assuming too much. Maybe none of them will even get to the semis :P wouldn't that turn me off the grand slam....

I forgot what the cut off date for the French Open rankings was...it could've happened already and Nadal could've been seeded number 2 regardless of future results leading up to the French. But it is jarring to see someone else break up the 1-2 monopoly of Federer and Nadal. I agree with you that Novak will still have to prove his consistency....we all know he can win major events but the question now is can he continue doing that on a weekly basis.

Thanks for the update on the rankings too. I didn't realize it was so close at the top! I guess that accurately reflects the current status of the women's games....no one is truly dominating and so it makes sense to see a small disparity between the top players. Like I said earlier, it's really up for grabs this year at Roland Garros. I can't deny that that makes me excited to see it.....I mean we already have a dominant player on one tour....it's ok to mix it up on the other tour right?

[Guest dOotsiez]

Definitely a very exciting time for women's tennis. Although I think Sharapova, provided that she remains healthy and uninjured, will consolidate her lead, Ivanovic has come out looking second best so far this year, Jankovic hasn't managed a title yet, and Serena Williams is a fair bit behind even though she seems to be on fire too.

All of the top 3 through to the quarters in Hamburg. we're getting closer and closer to the anticipated SF. Good thing that Nadal is looking impressive again, he played very well against Andy Murray. Shall be an interesting tournament.

edit: 65 pages! here's a tribute to Henin. look out little she is

and her coach looking a lot more distraught than she did.