GrandSlamFantasyTennis.com Forum
Where Tennis Fans Discuss All Things Grand Slam!
You are not logged in. Please login or register.
You must sign in (above) or create an account to post a reply
Plus the fact that Aga's break point chances occurred in two games only, while Cibulkova's came with great regularity. Also, she would have had more break point chances had she needed them, since she broke at love and 15. But let's not let reality get in the way of your point, Arvis, erroneous though it is.
LOL DON
UPDATED
Rafa said he thought he played his best match of the tournament. The stats say he definitely did. There was no sign of the serving troubles he had against Prince Kei and Dimitrov, serving only 1 DF, winning 73% of first AND second serve points, and facing only two break points the entire match.
Truly unbelievable stuff. Anyone who says Rafa is not the best, toughest, most fearsome tennis player of all time is kidding themselves.
-Arvis
Now you've gone & done it, Arvis!!! You said something I TOTALLY 100% AGREE WITH!!!
Rafa wore the tape for protection until he ran into somebody he felt could actually beat him & then decided to suffer to insure the win. Pretty much everybody I ever knew (certainly including me) would have retired from the tourney no later than the Kei match, had they (or I) been in his shoes. But Rafa has no problem with suffering, if that's what it takes.
The tape was making the racquet slip in his hand on the serve and made grip changes (& Rafa has radical ones) difficult on the groundies. Fine against players like Nishikori & Dimitrov. Not OK against the great Federer. So off came the tape. Anyone who saw that wound where the blister used to be KNOWS how painful it was to play with that, but Rafa in the post-match interview with Courier actually denied that it hurt. Sure, Rafa. It felt great.
Well, I'm sure it felt great to play like that anyway, no matter how much it hurt, because it was magnificent play and it was truly unbelievable stuff, especially given the condition of his hand. Utterly amazing.
That is why I went with the Fed pick as I even imagined Raf retiring with the blister. NOT!
*************VAMOS RAFA********************
How does Stan beat him if he comes out playing like that again? Hard to imagine it.
-Arvis
What do the Power Rankings tell us Arvis?
They're really just an attempt to boil down all the relevant stats from a tennis match into one number to get glimpse of how well a player is doing.
Then I compare those numbers and factor in head-to-head when making predictions.
Except the current Rafa/Stan prediction, which I didn't even bother calculating.
-Arvis
UPDATED
Rafa said he thought he played his best match of the tournament. The stats say he definitely did. There was no sign of the serving troubles he had against Prince Kei and Dimitrov, serving only 1 DF, winning 73% of first AND second serve points, and facing only two break points the entire match.
Truly unbelievable stuff. Anyone who says Rafa is not the best, toughest, most fearsome tennis player of all time is kidding themselves.
-Arvis
I was ready to pass the mantle from Federer to Rafa when he held the trophy at the end of this year's AO... but now I'm a little more hesitant... I do think he is playing the smartest tennis ever and probably the best of all time...
I hear ya Dcharles. I am a big Rafa fan but this final left a funny after taste and that is too bad.
I was ready to pass the mantle from Federer to Rafa when he held the trophy at the end of this year's AO... but now I'm a little more hesitant...
Agreed. It's a double-edged sword, his playing style. Always has been: dominates other players and gets him lots of wins, but it destroys his body. Could end up being the only thing holding him back from being the GOAT.
-Arvis
Well, it looks like the rumors of this being Wawrinka's breakthrough year may materialize. He was the better player for the 1st set and beginning of the 2nd set before Rafa's injury. And now he is #3. How do you guys imagine the rest of his year to go? How far can he go and will he sustain the level he has shown at the Australian Open?
Wow it's got to give Stan confidence going forward... typically it takes a while to get GS #2... but an older player like Stan, often never gets to slam #2. I think that's the most likely scenario. This AO2014 was probably his magnum opus. It's pretty much unheard of (on the men's tour... Li Na notwithstanding) to win a second after the first at 28 (at least in the open era).
I suppose a question is: will he experience a huge letdown or maintain a high level for a while at other events?
It's pretty common to experience a letdown for 6-9 months, it seems (sometimes longer), eg: Murray, Federer, Djokovic, Lendl, Sampras, Agassi... but every once in awhile you get an exception like Connors.
Overall it might be reasonable to expect Stan to be rounding into form around the US Open at the earliest...
Of course I could be entirely wrong! :-)
Last edited by dwightcharles (Jan. 28, 2014 10:48pm)
Well the fact he's in the top10 for almost a year now proves his consistency. With Magnus Norman around, I think he will be able to capitalize on it and have a "usual" good season which would mean reaching Masters 1000's QF, SF, GS R16 or GS QF. Like a real top10 player. But to see him winning Masters 1000 is maybe a bit too much.. but who the hell knows, he's a Grand Slam Champion now!
He is in a great place with his ball striking and as long as he can run like the wind and strike like this, he has a shot against anyone. But those two skills must be at their peak.
Posts [ 26 to 40 of 40 ]
You must sign in (above) or create an account to post a reply
