Take that haters! roflmao

Can you believe it, into the Wimbledon final, yes, he'll be beaten comprehensively, but that is an effort that deserves a lot of credit, he has now won 4 matches in a row without dropping serve :o

I always knew he'd do well here, as I said before on the Beeb, his ambition to do well on grass will rise above his technical deficiencies on the surface, if you want something bad enough, you get it, and he's put in a lot of hard work, I'm surprised it happened so soon though!

He also deserves credit for being one of the few clay-courters that actually gives a damn about Wimbledon, good luck on Sunday Rafa, at least try and get a set ;)

i wouldn't be so quick to right rafa off, Dav. he's practically bulletproof right now. hasn't dropped serve since round 2.

I know Flame, trust me, I would love Rafa to win, but Fed is looking supreme, and he's hardly dropped serve either!

All credit to him, he has certainly tried his best. :ok: As someone was saying on he BBC though, he has had a great draw to ease him in the tournie and has not played a high ranked player before the final. l think Baghi was his best opponent, but he made a few too many mistakes. I am pleased to see him coming to the net more but I don't ever see him developing great hands like Fed or Henman for touch volleys, drop shots etc. I have to say that I feel there are peoplel who have played better than him on grass and not made it to the final like Ancic, Djokovic etc. I really do think one of those two woudl have bothered him greatly if he had met them. I mean look how great Ancic played and still lost to Fed in straight sets. His toughest opponent was going to be Hewitt I suppose, bu the bowed out to Baghi. And Hewitt was nto at his best this year I felt despite the Queens win.

It's all a bit deja vu for the finals isn't it? :D MoMo v JHH, Fed v Nadal! Well I hope l the matches are better than the last two finals this year.

So what are the predictions for the final then?

You know Dav, when I read the first line of the OP, I thought: 'What do people who hate Take That' have to do with tennis?? :wacko: Oops!!

Yes, good point about Rafa showing the tournament some respect and making things work out for him. You're right, there have been several players who excel on other surfaces who turn up for SW19 as if it's contractually obliged. Well, they turn up, but they have often left their game at home <whistle> So certrainly Rafa deserves a great deal of credit on that front, fair play to him :)

SB, good point about soft hands.. And I agree with your thoughts about Hewitt not being at his best at SW19 in pite of Queen's and Baggy making a few mistakes. You know my thoughts on the outcome of the final from postings on the beeb site! Certainly backing Fed, and in either 3 sets or possibly 4 if he tightens up at some stage in the match, or/ and allows Rafa to get on top of him (though not literally of course..)

Let's hope not literally, that would be some sight! roflmao

I think Nadal deserves a lot of credit. Sure he had the easier draw, but he can only play whats in front of him and he has done so superbly well. I think the key to nadal success on grass this year is his high percentage serving and more controlled agression on both sides, really dispensing with the passive play he exhibits at the French. Much more assertive especially with his almost Connors-esque forehand approach shot, followed by some deadly smashes.

Its true SB, Nadal isnt a natural volleyer, but he's trying and always learning to try and get an all-court game. He's also moving superbly well. Sure other players may have played well in the other rounds, but Nadal is through and they're not.

Well done nadal, you do have a shot in the final, just believe in yourself :ok:

At the end of the day the pressure will be on Fed on Sunday, it's his title to lose! Best of luck Rafa, would laugh my socks off if he wins it - one in the eye to those who doubted him :bow: I have enjoyed Wimbledon immensely this year and this would be the icing on the cake - no disrespect to Roger. Lets hope for a great final :ok:

Yes I notice the smashes have improved. I would not compare him to the great man just yet though as in Connors - beign ahuge fan and remebering him in action (being so old :D ) I feel that is a bit OTT but I guess he has the fighting spirit of Jimmy, and a certain Mr Hewiitt who muct have inspired his attitude somewhat.

I knwo what youmena botu playing what is in front of you, but I think if he had had fed's draw it woudl eb a different story. Gasquet and henman to start when you are rusty on grass coudl be an upset, Mahut was hardly shabby although I would have give Nadal the edge mentally, Berdych I woudl say would be a close one as he is yougn and hungry and ore suited to grass, Ancic - sorry bye bye to Nadal.

Well if they develop a proper all surface rivalry it would be great for tennis as I do miss the rivalries, my fave being Borg, Mac, Connors as they were all rivals really. I think federer could be the Borg, sublime and cool on court, we could have Nadal as the Connors type and who is the Mac? Well Murray is comign up so you never know :D I think fed has elements of Mac already, the genius in shot making breakign all the rules and using touch and feel to create unorthodox and audacious winners. Well for the final, I can't say great luck Nadal as I want Fed to win it, but I will say you go boy and provide a great final and prove yourself on grass. After those short lived semis we needsome excitment, but nto too much or poor Scolios will get far too stressed out, she is plannign to chain smoke throughout and hide under the table, and I woudl hate her to set her house on fire cos rafa wins a set roflmao

I want a great final too. I dont; think you can say one in the eye to his doubters though, he was doubted for good reasons, based on a reasoned and logical analysis of his skills and performance on grass to date and that of other players in the tournie. In fact I recall many of his fans saying he would last until third round/fourth, before the draw was announced. After the draw, it became apparent that he could go further especially if seeds fell out as Hewiit did, and when is became known that hsi biggest threat in roudn three was a 36 year old with movement issues. So I don't think people have been unfair in their assessments and his making the final is a minor surprise in the scheme of things rather than a major one.

"yes, he'll be beaten comprehensively"

I don't see it as one sided, not by a long chalk!

I thought Baggy would be his undoing, but although he made a fight of the 2nd set it wasn't to be!

I feel Rog will have to fight hard for this one, and i'm not sure he'll win even then.

:o

Yeah Dav, I don't think he'll be beaten comprehensively either. Why do you think so? Nadal is like Jennifer. While the Serena-Jennifer head to head is in Serena's favour, Jennifer is the only player Serena actually fears playing even when's she's at her best. Jennifer knows how to play Serena, and can get inside Serena's head and frustrate her, just as Nadal does to Federer.

Bring back the Serena vs Jennifer rivalry, come back Jenand Serena!