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Post by jenhatter06 on Jul 5, 2008 22:56:43 GMT 3
 Wimbledon organisers are set to extend the tournament into a third week because torrential rain is expected to fall on SW19 tomorrow. Met Office forecasters believe that there is a 90 to 100 per cent chance of heavy downpours, which would force the men's final to be postponed until Monday and leave tournament officials with a bill for £1million in ticket refunds. Stephen Holman, a Met Office forecaster, said: “Predictions for Sunday are bad. It will almost definitely be wet, with showers that could last throughout the afternoon.” www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/article4272528.ece |
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Post by sabz on Jul 6, 2008 0:51:49 GMT 3
Found some interesting stuff on the ATP website: 1. Marat is the 4th lowest ranked player to ever reach the semi finals (or better) of Wimbledon in this decade (after Voltchkov(237) Ivanisevic(125) Schuettler(94) ) 2. He is now the 17th player in the Open Era to reach the semis or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments in his career. He is also the fourth active player to accomplish the feat (listed in bold). Here is the list of players to advance to the semifinals (or better) in alphabetical order: Andre Agassi -- Won all four Grand Slam titles Boris Becker Jimmy Connors Jim Courier -- Reached all four Grand Slam finals Novak DjokovicStefan Edberg -- Reached all four Grand Slam finals Roger Federer -- Reached all four Grand Slam finalsVitas Gerulaitis Rod Laver -- Won all four Grand Slam titles Ivan Lendl -- Reached all four Grand Slam finals John McEnroe David NalbandianPatrick Rafter Ken Rosewall -- Reached all four Grand Slam finals Marat Safin ;D Pete Sampras Michael Stich www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/sharkbites2.asp |
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Post by ignacita on Jul 6, 2008 2:12:18 GMT 3
Los Angeles Times Marat Safin's unique perspective Veteran has had his ups and downs, but his rise at Wimbledon was refreshing. By Chuck Culpepper, Special to The Times July 5, 2008 WIMBLEDON, England -- There went Marat Safin, whose name seems to have taken up permanent residency next to the adjective "enigmatic," out of the semifinals of a Wimbledon he helped define with his abrupt rebirth. Everybody always figured him for one whose interest in pursuing his own genius waxed and waned, evidenced by his ranking that crested at No. 1 in 2000 and has dipped to No. 75 by 2008 (with a rise into the top 40 coming Monday). But here he came at 28, sounding like all Brett Favre. The same guy who screamed hauntingly and wrecked a racket utterly while losing to Roger Federer came to say, "But we just love the game. We love to go on the court. We love to play great matches. We love to suffer and we love to win. That makes a huge difference, because after tennis you're gonna miss that adrenaline." We love to suffer . . . "Every time you go on the court, every time you are nervous," he said (and who knew?). "Doesn't matter against who you play, anybody, Federer, Nadal, is also nervous against any player. This is the first feeling that you can lose, you can win, just beginning of the match . . . And I think, what you call that, adrenaline, I guess. That's what it's called. It's too strong." He came to Wimbledon in a slump that lasted epochs. He booked his flight home to Moscow after the second round, then beat the outstanding Novak Djokovic. He built on that, becoming that rare unseeded player to upend four seeded players in one tournament. And so, may his re-rise persist. May he employ the very appreciation he described up above to make a full renaissance in the late 20s. Heck, may he even barge back into the top 10 as a crazily talented threat because, for one thing, he's funny in a third language and, for another, he's that rare elite athlete who's not afraid of candor. Besides, it's beautiful when they suffer. www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-wimby5-2008jul05,0,5416358.story |
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Post by annie on Jul 6, 2008 4:47:53 GMT 3
Jen that was a really cute story about Laura Robson...made me smile...Marat's so sweet to at least pass a note...
Justsafin thanks for the article and pictures...
Sabz and Ignacita, thanks for your finds as well!!
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Post by maryb on Jul 6, 2008 16:00:32 GMT 3
Damn British weather. They think it may change and that play may start by about 3ish. I'm sending Maestro the fairy dust this time ...
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Post by jenhatter06 on Jul 6, 2008 18:25:32 GMT 3
wind's been something else today ... you can see it scoop the ball and push it out
and why does the chair have some awful timing to give Rafa a time warning?
and Rafa may be having a little more trouble with the one knee ... but still staying in control ...
... and dark clouds seems to be on the horizon ...
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Post by jenhatter06 on Jul 6, 2008 21:50:58 GMT 3
no no no no no no no no no ......... locked in a 5th set (2-all, Deuce) and it chooses to rain AGAIN!!!!!  but WOWZA what a match so far  the tension, the pressure - of just watching - is almost too freakin' much to handle ..... |
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Post by justsafin on Jul 6, 2008 22:00:34 GMT 3
Rafa almost won........
Geez, very nail biting match.........
Wonder who would win at the end.
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Post by sonya on Jul 6, 2008 22:21:54 GMT 3
This finale is way too long - I started to watch it cheering up Nadal, now I'm confused... lol Beautiful, amazing and so nerve-wrecking!  |
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Post by jenhatter06 on Jul 6, 2008 23:13:20 GMT 3
OMFG -- What. A. Match!!!! as nightfall creeps in ... Rafa dethrones the King (!)64 64 67 67 97 (heart was racing in the back end of that 3rd set, and I don't think I took a breath during the TB -- 4th set almost too much tension to handle (although I can't imagine being family - Rafa's poor father on the edge of his seat) -- and the 5th, the rain delays ... I'm just glad I can breathe again) *shakes head* can't believe it ... they both played one hell of a match - just when you think they can't top what they've already done, they kick it up another gear -- well-fought, and credit to both men ... they definitely showed why they have reigned the top two spots for so long. BRAVO!!  ;D .... and Rafa's climbing over everything to get to family ;D .... and I gotta say, the trophy ceremony with the camera flashbulbs at nighttime gives it a cool effect |
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Post by sonya on Jul 6, 2008 23:38:22 GMT 3
Absolutely agree to everything you said jenhatter. ;D
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Post by arvind13 on Jul 6, 2008 23:41:52 GMT 3
Does Roger lose his 1 ranking after this. or is he still the no 1 in the rankings?
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Post by maryb on Jul 7, 2008 0:08:09 GMT 3
The changing of the guard is nigh ... and I have to say, it's pretty upsetting. I really hate when you get to points like this in the game's history. Much as I have a soft spot for Rafa, I wanted Maestro to win. At the start of the tournament my heart sank when I saw that my Big Pixie was in that half of the draw. (Didn't even give Noel a second thought). I didn't want Maestro to beat the Big Yin AND break Bjorn's record ... but my love of Maestro's artistry took over again after the semi and I really wanted him to win this final so much.
Tears of sadness mixed with tears of joy from me tonight. Well done to Rafa, it was a wonderful final - and a very, very big hug to Maestro. I cannot bear to think of Sampras going down in history with the record of Slam wins. He turned me off tennis for years. Nice guy I'm sure, but a disaster at the time for the game with his overpowering style of play.
Hopefully Maestro bounces back and breaks the records.
Bless you Rog, you're still the King in my eyes.
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Post by arvind13 on Jul 7, 2008 0:14:46 GMT 3
agree with every word you said maryb. along with that I hope safin also makes a comeback
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Post by justsafin on Jul 7, 2008 0:31:57 GMT 3
Wow, what a match. The scores remind me of Marat and Roger's AO 2005 semis.
I didn't know who to cheer for. It's too nerve wrecking. Then there's rain in the 5th set. So I went out with my two nieces to play tennis and just came home.......and what happened...9-7 in the 5th set......
What a fight for Rafa. And maestro is still great. Another epic match that people will keep talking about for years.
Well done, Marat, Roger and RAFA!
CONGRATS TO RAFA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND LOOKING FORWARD TO MARAT'S FUTURE PERFORMANCE IN THE UPCOMING HARD COURT SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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;D