Tennis Thread

[MadDog]

Murray wasn't unlucky. He was well and truly beaten by an infinitely better player. Luck had nothing to do with it.

[Retro_Link]

Incredible achievement from Murray today!...

... he actually had me cheering on Federer!

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by Dog-amoto

Wonder how many Scottish people cheered on Tim Henman?

I don't know anyone who didn't support Tim Henman.

[Retro_Link]

Originally Posted by Charlie

I don't know anyone who didn't support Tim Henman.

I didn't. Hewitt FTW.

[Dog-amoto]

Originally Posted by Charlie

I don't know anyone who didn't support Tim Henman.

Yeah, yeah! You say that now!

[Mr-Paul]

Why is everyone so anti-Murray?

[Eddage]

I really don't get the whole not supporting Murray because he's Scottish thing. In Tennis we compete as Great Britain, it shouldn't matter where from Britain you come from.

Are people gonna be against Chris Hoy in the Olympics for the exact same reasons? Or not support the GB football team because it's captained by Ryan Giggs?

Makes no sense...

[Mr-Paul]

Eddage speaks a lot of sense.

It seems like lots of people were cheering on Murray until he lost.

Would you really have been disappointed if he won?

[Shorty]

You guys sometimes... honestly.

Murray played brilliantly. His serves in the first half were fantastic. I reckon he has it in him to win this one day, hope he gets to do it against Federer.

[Charlie]

Don't really know what to say about the final right now. I really thought he could do it today. He started so well and had chances in the 2nd set (twice he was 15-40 up on Federer's serve). If a couple points in that set had gone his way rather than Federer's it would've been a completely different story.

Federer, again, was sublime today. No one could have beaten him when he was playing like this. His forehand was incredible. He's definitely the greatest player of all time.

It was really emotional seeing Andy well up like that in his post match interview. You could see when he won the semi final against Tsonga what it meant to him even being in the final. He did well to get his words out after that taking a few deep breaths. I felt sorry for the guy having to stay on court for so long for the photo ops! The whole world could see he wanted to get off!

Oh, and to anyone who likes to say Murray is British when he wins and Scottish when he loses. That's utter shite. The terms are used interchangeably throughout the media all the time regardless of whether he's been winning or losing. So many people buy into it but if they even looked around they'd see it to be false.

[yesteryeargames]

Fair play to murray he played well but old Roger is just too good, you could argue that they made the roof call too soon as i was clear skies no too long after it went up? giving him 1 hell of an advantage.

It gave him such an advantage as he is near unbeatable indoors, its like stopping for rain and giving nadal a clay court to suddenly play on.
anyway ,

I dont get why scots are so anti english, Im Cornish by the way we were treated like shit by the english in the olden times but we dont hold petty grudges we are proud of are county and proud to part of england and britain.

I would support any home nation player or team, scotland and N I missed out big time not wanting to play in a 1 off olympic team thats how petty they can be :S

[Aneres11]

I thought it was a good final.

I enjoyed seeing Federer continue his Wimbledon dominance but I did want Murray to win if I had to pick somebody.

Murray started very well and when he plays aggressive tennis - he is capable of beating anyone as he has shown numerous times in his career.

I thought as the match went on he became a little predictable - particularly when pushed out wide on his forehand. There were so many rallies where he could have pulled the trigger and followed the shot into the net for a put away, but instead he was almost waiting for the error from Fed. But in fairness to Federer, he stepped it up big time and became solid as a rock for the last 2 sets.

I actually thought that it was good to see Murray so emotional at the end. Purely because most people don't like him because they say he comes across as miserable. It's nothing to do with this whole Scottish thing which I find pretty stupid tbh.

Although he didn't win today, Murray definitely showed that the will to win is definitely there. His emotional speech at the end underlined that fact and I think it would have definitely won a few of these people over who have a falsified interpretation of him.

Sad for Murray, but signs are good moving forward.

[JonSt]

Genuinely still gutted. It pains me as a nation to see some many people pleased by Murray getting beat. He's as British as anyone from England, Wales or Northern Ireland. You could see at the end how much he genuinely wanted to win it for the nation and it was interesting to hear how he doesn't think of the home support as pressure but as more as a tremendous privilege to play under. I'm from Scotland yet I loved Tim Henman too and always supported him, i'm more a fan of Murray though because I like his dead panned nature and the struggles he went through growing up, absolutely nothing to do with him being from Scotland. There are many people from my country I detest, it's not a prerequisite for me liking someone.


As for the match, it came down to very fine margins. First 2 sets almost every Federer service game was going to deuce every time, Andy was putting so much pressure on him. The game where he had forehand on breakpoint, if he makes that he probably wins the championship. Unlike last year against Nadal though, he didn't fall apart. Federer upped his game and showed why he's the greatest. He was barely missing anything and Murray was doing well to hold on. If he wins that 20 minute game he may have got that surge of adrenaline and kicked on but that's Tennis, that's the beauty of 5 set matches.

I'm glad Wimbledon is over, the bandwagon jumpers who only know about 4 players can retire back to their armchairs and leave it to the people who genuinely enjoy and follow the sport.

[yesteryeargames]

Originally Posted by Charlie

I don't know anyone who didn't support Tim Henman.

The BBC should be ashamed, they are trying to loose the Henman Hill name, by just calling it the hill

for shame on them

[JonSt]

Originally Posted by yesteryeargames

Fair play to murray he played well but old Roger is just too good, you could argue that they made the roof call too soon as i was clear skies no too long after it went up? giving him 1 hell of an advantage.

It gave him such an advantage as he is near unbeatable indoors, its like stopping for rain and giving nadal a clay court to suddenly play on.
anyway ,

I dont get why scots are so anti english, Im Cornish by the way we were treated like shit by the english in the olden times but we dont hold petty grudges we are proud of are county and proud to part of england and britain.

I would support any home nation player or team, scotland and N I missed out big time not wanting to play in a 1 off olympic team thats how petty they can be :S

Scot's aren't anti-English, the majority of us aren't. In fact the argument seems to be the other way round, most English people don't like Murray because he's Scottish. Many of us are also proud to be British, the narrow minded viewpoint of some idiots doesn't speak for all of us.

No Scottish or Northern Irish players were called up, they didn't pull out from being selected, there were plenty who wanted to play. Stuart Pearce decided to go with Welsh and English players because he wanted the best squad.

[Ganepark32]

Expected the outcome but do feel for Murray. He was playing much better than Federer in that first set and kept to that standard for pretty much the whole of the second when Federer got himself in gear.

The second set was definitely the turning point for the match as Murray had chances there to take it and go 2 up but by the end of that set, Federer had cut out most of the errors. Can't quite understand what happened with Murray and his first serve. Was it the 3rd set where he only managed to get about 40-something % of his first serves in? Think so. Against Federer that really isn't good enough, though, as he'll just pounce on that 2nd serve. Similarly when Murray got into the long rallies with Federer, hitting across court. Murray needed to send the shot up the line earlier as he lost out on most of these to Federer.

Saying that, though, Murray should be very proud of what he managed. He had the hardest route to the final (Davydenko, Cilic, Baghdatis, etc.) and played extremely well throughout those matches (once he settled himself in some cases). He's come a long way and I think just a bit more work on the mentality in his gameplay (by that I mean learning to not get as frustrated or too deep in his head which he's doing a lot less now anyway) will set him up for that as yet elusive Grand Slam. If he builds on this performance, then he should have that title he's looking for within the next 12 months.

Federer saying at the end that he played some of his best tennis in that final was a bit off as he was making some poor shots at times (although sublime at others). But it can't be questioned: he really is the best player, possibly ever, and some of his performances over the last two weeks have proved that.

[JonSt]

Originally Posted by Ganepark32

Expected the outcome but do feel for Murray. He was playing much better than Federer in that first set and kept to that standard for pretty much the whole of the second when Federer got himself in gear.

The second set was definitely the turning point for the match as Murray had chances there to take it and go 2 up but by the end of that set, Federer had cut out most of the errors. Can't quite understand what happened with Murray and his first serve. Was it the 3rd set where he only managed to get about 40-something % of his first serves in? Think so. Against Federer that really isn't good enough, though, as he'll just pounce on that 2nd serve. Similarly when Murray got into the long rallies with Federer, hitting across court. Murray needed to send the shot up the line earlier as he lost out on most of these to Federer.

Saying that, though, Murray should be very proud of what he managed. He had the hardest route to the final (Davydenko, Cilic, Baghdatis, etc.) and played extremely well throughout those matches (once he settled himself in some cases). He's come a long way and I think just a bit more work on the mentality in his gameplay (by that I mean learning to not get as frustrated or too deep in his head which he's doing a lot less now anyway) will set him up for that as yet elusive Grand Slam. If he builds on this performance, then he should have that title he's looking for within the next 12 months.

Federer saying at the end that he played some of his best tennis in that final was a bit off as he was making some poor shots at times (although sublime at others). But it can't be questioned: he really is the best player, possibly ever.

Yeah his 3rd set serve percentage dipped in the 40's and that was a major factor. It was really good to see him keeping his cool, i've never seen him keep his composure so well especially with so much on the line. His best shot is coming up next with the US Open and on the basis of his two weeks here, no reason why he can't win that. It'll be important for Lendl to keep his head up though, not go into any funk. He shouldn't though, he played very well today.

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by JonSt

I'm glad Wimbledon is over, the bandwagon jumpers who only know about 4 players can retire back to their armchairs and leave it to the people who genuinely enjoy and follow the sport.

QFT.

Originally Posted by JonSt

His best shot is coming up next with the US Open and on the basis of his two weeks here, no reason why he can't win that. It'll be important for Lendl to keep his head up though, not go into any funk. He shouldn't though, he played very well today.

I think this is a big point. After his Australian Open final losses he went into a decline, although the 2nd time was less than the first. I think the Olympics will really help him as he will want to perform there and it means he has to get his head back in the game sooner than he would in a non-Olympic year.

Murray will definitely win a Grand Slam at some point in his career and I can still see it happening at the US Open this year.

[Ganepark32]

Originally Posted by JonSt

Yeah his 3rd set serve percentage dipped in the 40's and that was a major factor. It was really good to see him keeping his cool, i've never seen him keep his composure so well especially with so much on the line. His best shot is coming up next with the US Open and on the basis of his two weeks here, no reason why he can't win that. It'll be important for Lendl to keep his head up though, not go into any funk. He shouldn't though, he played very well today.

This is where I feel Lendl has been good for Murray. Wasn't sure what he'd do for him but Lendl is very much a no nonsense kind of guy (you only needed to look at him during Wimbledon up in the supporting area and his demeanour) and has helped Murray with his focus and I'm sure he'll maintain that post-Wimbledon and ensure that Andy keeps up this form.

Do agree with you and @Charlie in that he has a very good chance at the US Open if he plays like he did at Wimbledon as he has, previously, played some of his best tennis on hard courts at the US and Australian opens. With regards to the Olympics, Andy is doing the doubles with his brother as well as the singles tennis right? That could prove a good pairing in terms of medal prospects. And even for the singles, Andy is well placed to bring back a medal.

[MadDog]

Just to clarify, I'm half Scottish, and i don't dislike Murray because he's Scottish. I don't even dislike him. I don't really have an interest in tennis, unless it's Federer playing. I love Federer, and Murray is my 2nd favourite i suppose.

I like Del Potro aswell, his style is pretty awesome.

[JonSt]

I've no problem with people hating Murray, everyone is entitled to like/dislike who they want. It's just boring when people trot out the stupid remarks about his nationality.

[yesteryeargames]

Will Murray go up in rank ? or stay at 4

Dont fancy his chances against Djokevic in the semi finals of the us open ,

I can see him beating 1 of the top 3 on his day but not 2 in a row so he needs a bit of luck to knock one of them out ie rosol.

[Iun]

There's no shame in being beaten by someone better than you, the only shame is in not giving it your all.

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by Iun

There's no shame in being beaten by someone better than you, the only shame is in not giving it your all.

Not really sure what your point is there. Are you saying that Murray didn't give it his all?


-------

I just posted this on Facebook and thought I'd share it with you guys too.

Andy Murray did the country, and more importantly, himself, proud yesterday. He can rest easy knowing that he gave it his absolute all and was beaten at the final hurdle by the greatest player in the history of the sport.

I really hope that he has no won over his critics and the electric atmosphere with the crowd chanting "Andy! Andy! Andy!" before Federer's final service game shows how much the crowd cared about him.

Now is the time that Ivan Lendl needs to do his job and make sure Murray can bounce back in time for the Olympics and then very soon afterwards the US Open, the tournament where Murray himself has said is his best opportunity to win a Grand Slam.

Originally Posted by Ganepark32

With regards to the Olympics, Andy is doing the doubles with his brother as well as the singles tennis right? That could prove a good pairing in terms of medal prospects. And even for the singles, Andy is well placed to bring back a medal.

They will be playing doubles together however I think we have a better medal prospect for doubles in Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins. Year to date they are 14th in the World for doubles and one of them has just been out injured for 2 months.

However, take out all the mixed nationality couples they're 7th. Playing at home they might be in good stead to get a medal.

[Jimbob]

Sheesh, he got there as well.