|
|
Post by justsafin on Oct 17, 2008 22:43:26 GMT 3
Some cute photos from the players' party: Ernests and his - sister!  Tennis-wise, the first highlight yesterday was the match Gulbis-Nadal. Wonderful tennis, especially by Ernests!  Lack of experience and nerves prevented him from pulling a huge upset, Rafa must've been really relieved afterwards. Complete results: [1] R Nadal (ESP) d E Gulbis (LAT) 75 36 63 Thanks for the piccies. Wow, Earnie is such a cutie with an angel smile. By looking at the scores and Annette's comments, I gather it must have been an exciting match! Unfortunately I couldn't watch any of the matches at Madrid.  Come on, Earnie boy! Hope he will have a major break through and bring the best out of his talents. |
|
|
|
Post by justsafin on Oct 17, 2008 22:48:22 GMT 3
www.sportsline.com/tennis/story/11043477/rssDjokovic says he needs more physical strength Oct. 17, 2008 CBSSports.com wire reports MADRID, Spain -- Novak Djokovic believes the main obstacle standing between him and the No. 1 ranking is physical strength. Advertisement While Rafael Nadal has been grinding down opponents on every surface this year with superior stamina, the third-ranked Djokovic said his own body has some catching up to do. "Physical strength is something I've been trying to focus on lately," the 21-year-old Serb told the Associated Press in an interview at the Madrid Masters. "I'm aware that this has been one of my issues in that I haven't been recovering well from long matches and long tournaments." Djokovic won his first Grand Slam this year at the Australian Open. But he said his tall, lanky frame uses up a lot of energy when running on the court and puts him at a disadvantage against players like the muscular Nadal and the smooth Roger Federer. "My game is based on the base line, so I'm running all over the court, stretching, with quick moves, putting a lot of pressure on the body," he said. With Federer, in contrast, "it's just beautiful to watch the way he plays, the way everything goes with ease." Djokovic, who was eliminated from the Madrid tournament by Ivo Karlovic on Thursday, said his energy-draining style is one of the reasons he has struggled with injuries lately. "I don't like how I have got a reputation as a guy who asked for medical timeouts to intimidate opponents," he said. "It's not me trying to provoke my opponent. It's me trying to win." That issue came to the fore at this year's U.S. Open. He took offense when Andy Roddick joked about the series of medical issues that afflicted Djokovic earlier in the tournament. Djokovic's reaction did not sit well with the crowd at Flushing Meadows, where he had earlier been a fan favorite because of his impressions of players like Nadal and Maria Sharapova. "One of the worst moments of my career was when I gave an interview after the Roddick match on the center court and 20,000 people whistled at me," he said. But while his physical abilities may be lacking, Djokovic said he has developed the mental strength to deal with such setbacks. "The mental ability that I have at the moment is one of my advantages," he said. "What divides top players from the rest is mental calmness and an ability to cope with pressure in certain moments. That's why you see Rafa, Roger, myself and a couple of other guys at the top. ... If you are mentally able to play the right shots at the right time, then your place is at the top. That's the key of this game." Djokovic attributed some of his toughness to having grown up during trying times in Serbia. Along with Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, he has helped make tennis one of the most popular sports in his country and is now trying to bring an ATP Tour event to Belgrade. That could happen as early as next year, after his family bought the license to the ABM Amro Open. "We had two wars and lots of economic problems; the image of Serbia was not good. Coming from there made it difficult for me but it made me stronger," Djokovic said. "It will be good to see top level tennis there after so much unrest."
|
|
|
|
Post by Natasha on Oct 18, 2008 0:29:03 GMT 3
Murray v Federer should be great to watch, i cant wait.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mrs. Fabregas on Oct 18, 2008 16:43:09 GMT 3
|
|
|
|
Post by Mrs. Fabregas on Oct 18, 2008 20:48:38 GMT 3
|
|
|
|
Post by Dina on Oct 18, 2008 20:58:50 GMT 3
HOLLY S£%§!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All of these happened in a 3 days time? Rafa! Rog'!Nole! Bloody Andy?! Simon?!!
good job Andy hope he'll win!
|
|
|
|
Post by SAFINNO1 on Oct 18, 2008 21:16:32 GMT 3
Okay i can gleefully say todays SF has made up for the shocker that this tournament has been
Murray fighting back against the maestro to win in 3 hard fought sets was top class tennis could it be topped .......... YES
Giles Simon who shouldve lost to Andreev in a titanic match lasting over 3 hours beating Nadal in a nail biter!
Amazing day of tennis
Does Simon have enough energy in the locker to take on Murray i dont know but we will see
COME ON ANDY I HAVE TO SAY THOUGH!
|
|
|
|
Post by justsafin on Oct 18, 2008 21:38:23 GMT 3
|
|
|
|
Post by jenhatter06 on Oct 19, 2008 0:07:20 GMT 3
I'll emulate everyone else when I say: Oh. My. God.  Watched Andy-Roger before work ... just checking the score for Rafa-Gilles -- I most definitely thought that there would be no way Gilles would have enough gas left after how much he had to work all week. *whistle* Wow. You hope he has gas left for tomorrow - he proved me wrong today, so who knows what could happen tomorrow  Definitely watching the match replay tonight ... ;D |
|
|
|
Post by maryb on Oct 19, 2008 1:03:03 GMT 3
Just watched Andy v Maestro ... had family over for the day. Had to spend the whole day avoiding the news. Andy!!! Another Masters possibly in the bag ... good luck boy tomorrow. Well deserved win. ;D |
|
|
|
Post by justsafin on Oct 19, 2008 21:49:37 GMT 3
Didn't watch the final. Congrats to ANDY!!
Well, credit to Simon as well. The scores looked pretty close despite a straight-sets win for Andy.
What a year for Andy!! Two masters titles under belt already!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Mrs. Fabregas on Oct 19, 2008 23:35:01 GMT 3
The scores looked pretty close despite a straight-sets win for Andy. Score may look like it was a tight one, in reality, it wasn't at all . Andy dominated from first to last minute, giving Gilles not 1 chance at all, Andy had the breakpoint, Gilles none  . So, congrats to Andy, deserved win and i'd like to make one more BOWDOWN to Gilles, who is very close of stealing my heart ;D (and yeah, unlike some other players i like, AT LEAST he's above the overall-adult age of 21  ) but the guy was too dead tired and out of steam to give a bit of a hard time to Andy |
|
|
|
Post by jenhatter06 on Oct 20, 2008 0:13:26 GMT 3
Gilles fought as hard as he could with how little gas he had left in the tank (all 5 of his previous matches this week were 3-setters, 4 being 7-6 in the 3rd, saved MPs in 2, and was on court 11+ hours - he has well deserved some rest ) ... Congrats to Andy -- It's more and more becoming the Top Quad Other stats to note this week: Rafa clinched the year-end #1 ... Simon will now be French #1  |
|
Lack of experience and nerves prevented him from pulling a huge upset, Rafa must've been really relieved afterwards. 
;D
, defeated Roger 36 63 75 
?? ??
Rafa and me going totally insane on my own on the couch 
