Rafa has just lost the first set to Youzhny :yikes:

and hewitt and djoko are in a first set tiebreak. :unsure:

Berdych has just won the first set agaist Bjorkman :)

and davydenko and baggy are in a first set tiebreak (come on baggy!!!!!)

Baghdatis took the first set tiebreak. :clap: Relying on him to take out No Weapons today.

Hewitt had a set point on his own serve at 6-4, but Djoko got the minibreak back and eventually won 10-8 after a couple of unforced errors from the Aussie.

Youzhny now a break up in the second on Rafa - gotta make him heavy favourite now. Berdych is also a break up in the second.

I wouldn't mind knowing the BBC's excuse for showing the scream-fest between Venus and Kuznetsova on BOTH f*cking channels. :angry:

i'm not watching it, but Nadal seems to be really struggling against Youzhny - any match reports from anyone?

That was a mental lapse from Nadal. He was cruising until 4-all, Youzhny held for 5-4 and the Spaniard promptly crumbled at the classic low-confidence point of having to hold serve to stay in a set. He gets into trouble on his first service game in the second and now he's all but going to be bundled out by his least convincing 'nemesis' of the lot. A loss to Berdych would have been vastly preferable to see; worse is that the Czech has lost three straight times to Youzhny this year so that we may be saddled with having the odious Russian in the semis. Bloody four-day matches.

The Hewitt v Djokovic tiebreaker was some high quality, including a 40-shot (!) rally which turned it around for the Serb.

and if by magic, manzikert appears :D

do you think tiredness is the problem for rafa then?

Heh. Well I'm splitting time with other matches but it's not really physical fatigue, as they have both engaged in some quality rallies and Youzhny fully deserved that service break given his play during that game. I think it's just mental fatigue (very Hamburg) where Nadal just can't cope with constant pressure being applied and having to watch yet another character trying to get in his face and ostentatiously celebrate virtually every point. That's really the way to beat Nadal - get under his skin - which the Russian doesn't need to be told.

Nadal appears to have woken up somewhat - he's a break up on Youzhny is the 3rd set. I have to admit i'm quite a fan of the Russian - i think he's got a great fighting spirit, and I think Nadal will have a hard time here. Did Youzhny have a third rounf match delayed by rain as well??? i really can't remember.....

The Djokovic vs. Hewitt match looks like it's going to be close - 5-5 in the second set.

Baggy won the second set against Davydenko in a tiebreak and is now a break up in the third :yahoo:

And Bjorkman appears to have also woken up after a complete drubbing in the 2nd set - they look to be going to a tie-break in the third

Wayaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay CMON Nadal. 3-1 in the final set. :clap: :clap: :clap:

I admit my distaste for Youzhny is mostly tongue-in-cheek. He's unquestionably talented and of course he is on the short list of excellent one-handed backhands in the game. I'm just sceptical about how so many put him in the world-beater column because of his USO win over Nadal, although to his credit he's since built upon that to reach the Top 20 where he will likely remain a fixture. Not crazy about his swagger and pomp either but he has the game to back it up at least.

Unfortunately for the Russian his back seems to have acted up on him a bit (it's what led to his withdrawal from Halle) even as Nadal's game and confidence meanwhile have come roaring back. The Spaniard has levelled things 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, and is up a break in the decider 3-1. What a comeback if he manages to close things out! Two five-setters in a row however on top of already tough scheduling will be a considerable hurdle to climb in that case against what was already a difficult match-up against Berdych, who recovered from a poor third-set tiebreaker to close out Bjorkman.

Wow... I really thought Youzhny would win today..
i even predicted it at the start in MrI's Quarter line up...

Excuse me? And this is coming from a Nadal fan? That's the least credible thing you ever posted, Manzi :yikes:

Yes but he also has the game to back it up. :P And he's really toned it down this year I think. Nothing like a prolonged slump to make one humble again. Heh.

Your man did a good job out there today - I really thought it was curtains for Nadal. I ran off at the mouth a bit out of frustration that Nadal was at a disadvantage from the delays when Youzhny had three days off. But that's how it works sometimes.

Djokovic is having his own back issues springing from a nasty slip and fall in the middle of the third and Hewitt (who probably has the best from-two-sets-down record) is threatening to mount his own comeback, taking the third 6-4.

Well, from the beginning of the third set till the end, i don't think Rafa didn't pump and swagger after every single point he won.
But ok, i'm in a pretty bad mood now that 1 of my favs is out so don't expect me to be too objective :angry1:

What a dogfight out there. Djokovic v Hewitt is just a couple of minutes shy of four hours, and there may still yet be a fifth set looming as the fourth has just gone to a tiebreaker, the third of the match. Both men have combined for around 100 winners and momentum keeps shifting back and forth with breaks of serve and breaks back and missed opportunities (Hewitt actually served for the fourth at 5-4).

Nadal got me in a vendetta kind of mood. I'm in for Fed doing some cruel things. 3-0, 4 aces, it's looking good

ON gugger, Djoko won! :angry:

I like Djoko wanted to see Hewitt win that one though. And we were deprived of a 5th set :angry: Great match, hate it when a player loses only on tie breaks though. It's like a mugging. Also I wanted to see players like those two in beyond round 4. That was worthy of a semi. Great match :clap: :clap: :clap: Well done Novak, bad luck anf gutting for Llleyton :(

Things looked perilous for Djokovic as his 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker became 5-3, and 6-3 became 6-5, but he holds his nerve to take his third match point and will face Baghdatis in his third Slam QF and second in a row. Well done. And good on Hewitt, who no matter what shows so much fight and spirit - he made Djokovic earn that one. What a cracking match, a strong candidate for the best one on the men's side thus far - though others have had more drama, this one was solid, top-flight tennis all the way.

So the bottom half QFs have finally been decided, and they look to be good ones:

Baghdatis v Djokovic
Berdych v Nadal

The 'B'-surnamed players seem to have the edge I'd think. It will take a while for Djokovic to bounce back from that one, with several hard knocks taken on the way and more than four hours spent on a (grass!) court.

The Federer drubbing of JCF is well under way. I can't believe there were a few analysts trying to suggest the long layoff might actually hurt his match readiness. Unlikely to say the least. Still the No 1 is broken to love trying to serve it out at 5-3. Odd's bodkins.

COME ON FERRERO!!!!!!!

:yahoo:

5-5 deuce,, play suspended...

He was just giving as good as he got. :P My sympathies though. And if one of your remaining favourites happens to be a four-time defending champion somehow I don't think you'll face any disappointment on that front! B)

Still what a terrible time for the rain to come. We seemed headed for what could've been an entertaining tiebreaker but now both players will have lost their rhythm possibly. Very nice to see some fight from JCF (who played some classy points in that purple patch of his) but more resistance will serve Federer in good stead I'd think in finding top form.

Know how you feel. Im watching Berdych, he has just the game to beat Nadal . :pray:

..I like Doko, but would probably have preferred Leyton to win, and play Nadal :D

Ferrero is doing alright isn't he. :clap: Maybe all that 'rest' Fed has had has left him a tad rusty on grass. :shrug:

roflmao roflmao

The way Federer was playing, it seemed like a dejavu of IW or Miami. Lack of feet movement and a bunch of unforced errors. He better pull up his socks or JCF is more than capable of pulling off an upset.

Chet...Is it too much asking for some sort of coherence from one day to the next..yesterday you wrote the following:

1. Federer does have an east draw compared to Nadal's. And the prospect of playing 5 matches in 5 days makes it even harder for Nadal. Federer is right now enjoying a vacation right in the middle of a slam with 5 days off. This is biased advantage given to Federer. :angry3:

Now you are telling us that he is rusty..something I said yesterday to you but you denied with the help of your (idiot) friend W_anal...I mean: I agree that each of us is entitle to have all sort of opinions but being consistent on time is a basic property in order to develop a decent ( rational) discussion..But I guess this is asking to much to a Wind up people like you Chet...sad...

TV.
Maybe I should have added that the extended vacation would make him rusty when he gets back. We are witnessing it first hand right now. Dont rule out JCF just yet.

I hope the rain goes away as I've been waiting for Roddick-Gasquet all day.

Well, very pleased to see Djokovic crush the Hewitt challenge; I see him seeing off Baghdatis too. I think Rafa vs. Berdych will be an interesting one, but I'd say write Nadal off at your peril...still, I think it will be a good match up.

Well, I am just still waiting to see Federer!! This weather is utter, total :bs:

Without doubt, Fed would have preferred not to have such a long break, it's less than ideal during a GS!

Doesn't look as though it will be shifting anytime soon :moody:

The wimbledon website says that it'll go away in an hour

http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/articl...3627348562.html

Let me join you in sorrow! I find Nadal, despite all his rain delays, pretty lucky to be still in the game. A fit Youzhny would have sort him off.

You are from Boston Right??? Your mother tongue is English Right?? So how can that you are not able to read my post: yesterday I pointed out two points (who you denied with Your friend Anal-aka Doctor-): A. FED will be rusty/B. Ferrero is far from being a easy fish to catch, because he has past good results on GS and even on fast surfaces...anyway..You want to wind up myself and others, i.e. behave like a troll..Your choice man..I simply point out that this is sad.. :angry3:

I agree. Youhzny had the upper hand, the momentum switched a bit as it does but then he was clearly injured. Shame, he played some great tennis in the bits I saw and woudl nto give up till the bitter end. Bad luck Mikhail, but well played indeed. :bow:

i didn't watch the match but was djokovic trying it on with the back injury today?

i really don't know if he was hurt or not but i've seen a regrettable tendency towards cyncism in his attitude towards the rules (esp re injury timeouts) in the past.

I hope not, but he did seem to recover pretty quickly and hardly looked in pain when he got his kit off at the end! roflmao

I'm a big Djoko fan, but I wanted llleyton to make a comeback. I used to hate him, but I love him now. He's got what a lot of players lack - guts, belief, tenacity, determination and he always makes a match of it. I can;t understand why a lot fo Nadal fans dislike him - if you ask me, Llleyton was the prototype for Nadal, and Connors before that. Courier was quite a fighter too. I like Connors and Courier a lot, I have never warmed to Nadal though. His machoistic displays when he wins points are too much for me, a bit boxer like as has been said. I find Hewitt's rousing gestures much more real.

I like the documentaries on the beeb but why have there been ones about MacEnroe and Connors but not Borg when he's better (IMO) than those two?????

Lets all hope for a Ferrero vs Roddick semi shall we :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:


:hide:

quote of the day definitely goes to jonas bjorkman.

after explaining to the umpire that he was wrong to overule on break point with a 130+ mph serve to the far service line, he calmly stated to the official:

"you see... that's why you suck."

i'd like to think that i would have had his presence of mind to come up with that remark in similar circumstances. :)

yes ...that would make watching rain fall a tad less boring.

;)

There was one SG - on Saturday, Wimbledon Greats - Bjorn Borg. I taped it, was excellent. I love all 3 of that lot - they were the golden era of tennis - Borg started ti all though. he made tennis more rock and roll and less snooty, got more fans involved. great man. I love him :bow:

They really were weren't they!!!! Sadly it was decade before I was even born ( :yikes: ) so I only get to see repeats.


Gutted I missed the Borg one though.... :(

Watching Gasquet choke againsr Fed would be worse though, plues they're 2 of my 3 fave players so I want them to win.......I won't mind Fed going through but don't really want to see Richard through.....