Wimbledon

[seanraff07]

With it starting on Monday, how far do you think Murray will get?

I think he'll reach the semis.

[Pretty Boy]

His draw suggests he should reach the semis at least.

His form suggests otherwise.

[HibbyAndy]

Andy Murray will reach the semi final and lose a 5 setter to Nadal..You heard it here first.

[Ed De Gramo]

Quarters then he'll lose to Roddick

[hibee_girl]

Federer 2 sets down

[Sylar]

Federer will be lucky to get past the first round - he's currently 0-2 sets down!

[Hibbie_Cameron]

What about John Lloyd in the paper today saying Murray does not have the mentality to win Wimbledon. This coming from the man that tipped "Tiger" Tim Heman to win it every single year.

[H18sry]

Federer will be lucky to get past the first round - he's currently 0-2 sets down!

Wins 3-2 after being match point down then winning the fifth set 6-0 :wink:

[greenlex]

Murray cruises through.
I am sure the guy with the Saltire at the match is a Hibby and sits in the lower west near me.:agree::thumbsup:

[Westie1875]

Final, and he'll win :wink:

[Ally]

Isner and Mahut currently tied at 26-26 in the fifth!!

[HibbyAndy]

Isner and Mahut currently tied at 26-26 in the fifth!!

Now 32-32 :greengrin

[HibeeMG]

Now 32-32 :greengrin

Longest match in history. Over 6 1/2 hours!

Most amount of aces. Most amount of games.

There's only been one break point in the last set as far as I know.

[Houchy]

Longest match in history. Over 6 1/2 hours!

Most amount of aces. Most amount of games.

There's only been one break point in the last set as far as I know.

38-38 Bloody hell!!! Can they not just toss a coin:greengrin

[poolman]

38-38 Bloody hell!!! Can they not just toss a coin:greengrin


43-42 now :faint:

[lyonhibs]

43-43 now - unreal.

The Yank is practically dead on his feet, but with a serve like that, who needs movement??

I'm having difficulty seeing this ending anytime soon. :dizzy:

[Removed]

44-44 now

Better finish before the fitba starts






































on Sunday :greengrin

[Westie1875]

46-46

Can they not just flip a coin FFS? :greengrin

[Sylar]

47-47.

Good God! :greengrin

[H18sry]

48's:wink:

[Wembley67]

Stuff the fitbaw...bring on the tennis :greengrin

[H18sry]

49'ers

[Sylar]

49-49

Jesus, Mary and Joseph! :hyper:

[David_D]

50-50 this is insane.

[Removed]

2 break points :thumbsup:



saved :grr:

[BigKev]

Unbelievable.... 52 all :greengrin

Credit to both players though - they've been playing for over nine hours ffs... Some fitness!

[Sylar]

54-54 - 9 and a half hours, 6 and a half of which on the 5th set alone!

Awesome!

[Removed]

I hate tennis but canny turn it off now :grr:

54 all

9hours 20 mins :greengrin

[Westie1875]

Called off at 59-59 for bad light :faf:

[Removed]

That was a first for me. I missed a fitba match for tennis :faf:

[PapillonVert]

That was unbelievable. The level those guys were playing at was amazing. Just under 10 hours on court - over 6 hours today.

And our guys complain if they have to do a wee bit extra training to improve their fitness!

[HibbyAndy]

That was a first for me. I missed a fitba match for tennis :faf:

:agree:


Me tae, I watched aw that last set in the Tennis :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Hibbie_Cameron]

I was watching it before the football but turned it over for the first half. When i turned it over at h/t i saw on the sky schedule today at wimbledon so i thought it had finished, only to find it was still going. Kept flipping channels between the footie and tennis in the 2nd half.

The french guy has incredible fitness, you would not believe they had played for so long given he was running about like he was. Insler was spent but his serve made up for it.

Makes you wonder when you see footballers knackered after 70 minutes and cramping up when these guys kept on going

[Jim44]

I reckon this will be the biggest ever match fixing scandal in sport. Some punter in Bangkok's probably got grand on Mahut to win the last set 87 / 85 @ 10000000 /1.:greengrin

[greenlex]

FFS Sue Barker has grown a beard during this match.!!!!

[BigKev]

Anyone any idea what time Murray is due on court today?

[H18sry]

Anyone any idea what time Murray is due on court today?

After Nadal

[BigKev]

After Nadal

Cheers :Awright!:

[greenlex]

Murray cruises through in straight sets again.
Some of the tennis in that final set was fantastic from both players. There was one game where the commentators said all the best tennis so far this week was in that single game.
Well done my son. Fantastic form.:thumbsup:

[Sir David Gray]

Murray cruises through.
I am sure the guy with the Saltire at the match is a Hibby and sits in the lower west near me.:agree::thumbsup:

I didn't realise I sat near you but you guessed right! :thumbsup: I had loads of folk texting me right after that, telling me I've just been on the telly but nobody thought to record it. :boo hoo:

I had a great time at Wimbledon last week. I had three days on Centre Court and one day on Court One, which was the day that Murray was on there. I couldn't believe it when I read the order of play because I wasn't expecting any of the very top players to be on Court One.

I really thought Federer was going out on the opening day when he was two sets down to Alejandro Falla but it just shows the winning mentality that he has when he doesn't know when he's beaten. The Djokovic match on the Monday was great fun as well as that had to go to five sets too. That match didn't finish until 11pm, so it was a late one for me that night. :zzzzz!:

The Tuesday, as I've said, I was on Court One and saw Tsonga and then Murray. Tsonga looked impressive and he is now into the quarter finals and I think he could go quite far. I thought Murray started slowly against Hajek but I think it was the first time they had ever met so it obviously took Murray a little while to suss the guy out. Once he got the first set in the bag, the rest of the match was straightforward.

The Wednesday I saw Djokovic again and he was playing Taylor Dent, who was serving at around 145mph. :shocked:He didn't have much else, though, and Djokovic beat him quite easily. I also saw Andy Roddick and although he lost the first set to Michael Llodra, he progressed quite comfortably.

I wasn't there for the Queen's visit last Thursday and, in a way, I was quite glad about that as the security must have been mental.

My next, and last, visit was on Saturday when I finally got to see Rafael Nadal. I hadn't seen him play live before as he was injured for last year's Wimbledon, so I was quite pleased about that. He struggled as well against the German Philipp Petzschner and he was two sets to one down and struggling with injury, before he turned things around and came through in five sets.

The last match I saw was Andy Murray against Gilles Simon and Murray hammered him. The first set was over in just over 20 minutes and although Simon put up a bit more of a fight in the second and third sets, Murray got safely through to the last 16.

As for THAT match between Mahut and Isner, I didn't actually see any of it but the score kept coming up on the big screens on centre court and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Once play had stopped on the Centre Court on the Wednesday, I tried to get into Court 18 to see some of it but there was no chance of that as the place was mobbed. I then went to Henman Hill to watch it on the big screen but just as I arrived, the umpire suspended play for the night. A lot of people are saying that what happened in that match will encourage Wimbledon officials to introduce a tie-break in the final set but I would personally say that what happened was so rare that I don't think there's any need to do that.

To have 137 consecutive games without a break of serve is amazing and will almost certainly never be beaten. The final set was, in itself, longer than any other match in history.

Unfortunately for the winner, John Isner, that match signalled the end of his tournament as he just had nothing left when he played his next match.

As for today's play, Roger Federer eased through against Jurgen Melzer to take his place in the last eight. Novak Djokovic had a slightly tougher time against former champion, Lleyton Hewitt but he came through in four sets.

Murray is currently two sets up against Sam Querrey. Murray wasted three set points at 5-3 in the first set but eventually won it 7-5. A little while ago, Murray extended his lead by taking the second set 6-3. It is currently on serve in the third set, with things all square at 4-4.

Murray is now the only man this year, who is yet to drop a set. Assuming that he goes on to win, he will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday in the Quarter-Finals.

Andy Roddick is in trouble against Lu Yen-Tsun as he is 2-1 down after winning the first set.

Rafael Nadal is just starting against Paul-Henri Mathieu and he has an early break and is leading 3-1 in the opening set.

[BigKev]

Murray was excellent there and looks in promising form with plenty left in the tank.

Playing like that he should see off Tsonga although he's pretty capable.

Hopefully Nadal can be taken into a couple of five setters prior to a meeting with Andy in the semi :greengrin

Roddick looks like he's having a mare. Shame, quite like him.

[greenlex]

I didn't realise I sat near you but you guessed right! :thumbsup: I had loads of folk texting me right after that, telling me I've just been on the telly but nobody thought to record it. :boo hoo:

I had a great time at Wimbledon last week. I had three days on Centre Court and one day on Court One, which was the day that Murray was on there. I couldn't believe it when I read the order of play because I wasn't expecting any of the very top players to be on Court One.

I really thought Federer was going out on the opening day when he was two sets down to Alejandro Falla but it just shows the winning mentality that he has when he doesn't know when he's beaten. The Djokovic match on the Monday was great fun as well as that had to go to five sets too. That match didn't finish until 11pm, so it was a late one for me that night. :zzzzz!:

The Tuesday, as I've said, I was on Court One and saw Tsonga and then Murray. Tsonga looked impressive and he is now into the quarter finals and I think he could go quite far. I thought Murray started slowly against Hajek but I think it was the first time they had ever met so it obviously took Murray a little while to suss the guy out. Once he got the first set in the bag, the rest of the match was straightforward.

The Wednesday I saw Djokovic again and he was playing Taylor Dent, who was serving at around 145mph. :shocked:He didn't have much else, though, and Djokovic beat him quite easily. I also saw Andy Roddick and although he lost the first set to Michael Llodra, he progressed quite comfortably.

I wasn't there for the Queen's visit last Thursday and, in a way, I was quite glad about that as the security must have been mental.

My next, and last, visit was on Saturday when I finally got to see Rafael Nadal. I hadn't seen him play live before as he was injured for last year's Wimbledon, so I was quite pleased about that. He struggled as well against the German Philipp Petzschner and he was two sets to one down and struggling with injury, before he turned things around and came through in five sets.

The last match I saw was Andy Murray against Gilles Simon and Murray hammered him. The first set was over in just over 20 minutes and although Simon put up a bit more of a fight in the second and third sets, Murray got safely through to the last 16.

As for THAT match between Mahut and Isner, I didn't actually see any of it but the score kept coming up on the big screens on centre court and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Once play had stopped on the Centre Court on the Wednesday, I tried to get into Court 18 to see some of it but there was no chance of that as the place was mobbed. I then went to Henman Hill to watch it on the big screen but just as I arrived, the umpire suspended play for the night. A lot of people are saying that what happened in that match will encourage Wimbledon officials to introduce a tie-break in the final set but I would personally say that what happened was so rare that I don't think there's any need to do that.

To have 137 consecutive games without a break of serve is amazing and will almost certainly never be beaten. The final set was, in itself, longer than any other match in history.

Unfortunately for the winner, John Isner, that match signalled the end of his tournament as he just had nothing left when he played his next match.

As for today's play, Roger Federer eased through against Jurgen Melzer to take his place in the last eight. Novak Djokovic had a slightly tougher time against former champion, Lleyton Hewitt but he came through in four sets.

Murray is currently two sets up against Sam Querrey. Murray wasted three set points at 5-3 in the first set but eventually won it 7-5. A little while ago, Murray extended his lead by taking the second set 6-3. It is currently on serve in the third set, with things all square at 4-4.

Murray is now the only man this year, who is yet to drop a set. Assuming that he goes on to win, he will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday in the Quarter-Finals.

Andy Roddick is in trouble against Lu Yen-Tsun as he is 2-1 down after winning the first set.

Rafael Nadal is just starting against Paul-Henri Mathieu and he has an early break and is leading 3-1 in the opening set.
I would introduce myself at the next home game but I guess you will be being rehoused over in the East.

[Sir David Gray]

I would introduce myself at the next home game but I guess you will be being rehoused over in the East.

I will be, yeah.

My old seat, along with the rest of the front row of the West Stand, is no more.

It was well spotted, though, that you recognised me! :thumbsup:

I thought I might have been in the papers the next day as well as there were photographers courtside who were getting me to hold my saltire up above my head and taking my picture but I couldn't see anything. :boo hoo:

I knew I would probably be on the TV though as I was the only person at Murray's match with a Scotland flag, I was quite surprised by that.

[Greentinted]

I didn't realise I sat near you but you guessed right! :thumbsup: I had loads of folk texting me right after that, telling me I've just been on the telly but nobody thought to record it. :boo hoo:

I had a great time at Wimbledon last week. I had three days on Centre Court and one day on Court One, which was the day that Murray was on there. I couldn't believe it when I read the order of play because I wasn't expecting any of the very top players to be on Court One.

I really thought Federer was going out on the opening day when he was two sets down to Alejandro Falla but it just shows the winning mentality that he has when he doesn't know when he's beaten. The Djokovic match on the Monday was great fun as well as that had to go to five sets too. That match didn't finish until 11pm, so it was a late one for me that night. :zzzzz!:

The Tuesday, as I've said, I was on Court One and saw Tsonga and then Murray. Tsonga looked impressive and he is now into the quarter finals and I think he could go quite far. I thought Murray started slowly against Hajek but I think it was the first time they had ever met so it obviously took Murray a little while to suss the guy out. Once he got the first set in the bag, the rest of the match was straightforward.

The Wednesday I saw Djokovic again and he was playing Taylor Dent, who was serving at around 145mph. :shocked:He didn't have much else, though, and Djokovic beat him quite easily. I also saw Andy Roddick and although he lost the first set to Michael Llodra, he progressed quite comfortably.

I wasn't there for the Queen's visit last Thursday and, in a way, I was quite glad about that as the security must have been mental.

My next, and last, visit was on Saturday when I finally got to see Rafael Nadal. I hadn't seen him play live before as he was injured for last year's Wimbledon, so I was quite pleased about that. He struggled as well against the German Philipp Petzschner and he was two sets to one down and struggling with injury, before he turned things around and came through in five sets.

The last match I saw was Andy Murray against Gilles Simon and Murray hammered him. The first set was over in just over 20 minutes and although Simon put up a bit more of a fight in the second and third sets, Murray got safely through to the last 16.

As for THAT match between Mahut and Isner, I didn't actually see any of it but the score kept coming up on the big screens on centre court and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Once play had stopped on the Centre Court on the Wednesday, I tried to get into Court 18 to see some of it but there was no chance of that as the place was mobbed. I then went to Henman Hill to watch it on the big screen but just as I arrived, the umpire suspended play for the night. A lot of people are saying that what happened in that match will encourage Wimbledon officials to introduce a tie-break in the final set but I would personally say that what happened was so rare that I don't think there's any need to do that.

To have 137 consecutive games without a break of serve is amazing and will almost certainly never be beaten. The final set was, in itself, longer than any other match in history.

Unfortunately for the winner, John Isner, that match signalled the end of his tournament as he just had nothing left when he played his next match.

As for today's play, Roger Federer eased through against Jurgen Melzer to take his place in the last eight. Novak Djokovic had a slightly tougher time against former champion, Lleyton Hewitt but he came through in four sets.

Murray is currently two sets up against Sam Querrey. Murray wasted three set points at 5-3 in the first set but eventually won it 7-5. A little while ago, Murray extended his lead by taking the second set 6-3. It is currently on serve in the third set, with things all square at 4-4.

Murray is now the only man this year, who is yet to drop a set. Assuming that he goes on to win, he will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday in the Quarter-Finals.

Andy Roddick is in trouble against Lu Yen-Tsun as he is 2-1 down after winning the first set.

Rafael Nadal is just starting against Paul-Henri Mathieu and he has an early break and is leading 3-1 in the opening set.

I truly enjoy your tennis reports. Who needs Sue, John, Tim, Boris, Andrew, etc when you're on this site.

Good work fellah! :top marks

[Sir David Gray]

I truly enjoy your tennis reports. Who needs Sue, John, Tim, Boris, Andrew, etc when you're on this site.

Good work fellah! :top marks

Cheers! :thumbsup:

There's been a couple of shocks in the women's quarter finals today as Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters were knocked out. Williams was hammered 6-2 6-3 by the virtually unknown Tsvetana Pironkova. The Bulgarian had never been past the second round of any Grand Slam before this year's Wimbledon and she hasn't had too much success on grass in her career but Venus was well beaten.

Clijsters lost to Vera Zvonareva in three sets. The Belgian won the first set but fell away in the next two sets and the Russian will now play Pironkova on Thursday, for a place in Saturday's final.

It's not all bad news for the Williams household, though, as Serena has just beaten China's Li Na 7-5 6-3. In the other quarter final, qualifier Kaia Kanepi won the first set against Petra Kvitova but the unseeded Czech levelled things up by taking the second set tie-break. The winner of that match will take on Serena Williams in the last four.

[sammy7]

how do you think the games will go tomorrow, we in for any shocks?

lu played well against roddick :agree:

[Sir David Gray]

how do you think the games will go tomorrow, we in for any shocks?

lu played well against roddick :agree:

I hope I'm wrong but I think Tsonga is capable of beating Murray. I certainly see that going to four, maybe even five, sets. I was at Tsonga's first round match and he was very impressive. He has a very big serve, which is quite reliable and also plays in quite an aggressive, attacking way that can hurt Murray as he normally stands at the back of the court and tries to outlast his opponent. Murray has played well so far, although I did think he looked a bit vulnerable at times against Querrey, particularly in relation to his serve.

Tsonga's stats in his match against Benneteau were quite impressive, and compare favourably to Murray's stats against Querrey;

1st serve %

Murray-45%
Tsonga-61%

Aces

Murray-10
Tsonga-14

Double faults

Murray-3
Tsonga-2

Unforced errors

Murray-16
Tsonga-20

Winning % on 1st serve

Murray-84%
Tsonga-84%

Winning % on 2nd serve

Murray-63%
Tsonga-50%

Winners

Murray-39
Tsonga-39

Receiving points won

Murray-44%
Tsonga-46%

Break point conversions

Murray-33%
Tsonga-67%

Net approaches

Murray-68%
Tsonga-80%

Fastest serve speed

Murray-130mph
Tsonga-135mph

Average 1st serve speed

Murray-116mph
Tsonga-120mph

Average 2nd serve speed

Murray-91mph
Tsonga-101mph

There are two stats there that stand out for me. The first one is the 1st serve percentage of the two players. Murray was getting less than 50% of his first serves in against Querrey and although he only double-faulted three times, that is a worrying figure.

The other thing that is quite worrying from Murray's point of view is the average speed of his second serve. Murray was barely serving at 90mph for his second serve in his last match and any half decent returner will murder that kind of serve.

Having said all that, I would still back Murray to get through this match and if he plays as well as he can, I think he will have too much skill and guile for Tsonga.

The other potential shock I can possibly see happening is Soderling beating Nadal. Obviously Soderling beat Nadal at last year's French Open (and remains the only man to beat Nadal at Roland Garros). However, Nadal crushed Soderling at the same tournament only a few weeks ago, in the final.

But Nadal has had a few injury concerns during the tournament and came close to going out in the third round and has played two five-setters. Soderling is another guy who has a huge game and if his serve is in peak condition and his groundstrokes are as reliable as they have been over the past 18 months or so, he could give Nadal a run for his money.

However, I do think Nadal will be too much for Soderling and I am backing him to come through in four sets.

I believe Federer will beat Berdych without too many problems and I think that will be a straight sets job.

Lu had a brilliant result yesterday as Roddick was tipped as one of the pre-tournament favourites and has a great record at Wimbledon but I think that's as far as he will go. I think Djokovic will beat him, probably in straight sets.

Murray in four/five sets.
Nadal in four sets.
Federer in three sets.
Djokovic in three sets.

Semi-final line-up

Federer v Djokovic
Murray v Nadal

That really would be a dream semi-final draw with the best four players in the world making the last four.

If that was the semi-final draw, I would absolutely love to go back down there and have centre court tickets for Friday.

[Ryan91]

I feel that if Murray does go through, then he may have it in him to beat Nadal if he goes through as well, as Nadal has played 2 five-setters and Murray still hasn't dropped a single set and has only been broken 3 times, I think. With Federer, he's getting to the later years of his career, so I'm thinking that after this season is finished, we may see a drop in form for him next year.

I can't see a straight sets win for Murray against Tsonga but 4 sets seems the most likely outcome, a Nadal 4 setter would be nice as well, but regardless of that, I think Murray can beat Nadal on grass, if he gets to the final, he'll most likely face Federer, who I can see being taken to 5 sets by Djokovic if he gets through to the semis as well. If that does happen, I can see Murray winning Wimbledon, some of the tennis he has produced has been spectacular. Murray FTW!

[Hibbie_Cameron]

Roger is right up against it here

[Hibbie_Cameron]

Federer is OUT!!!

COME ANDY!!!

[MacBean]

nadal getting beat 5-1 in first set too

[Sir David Gray]

I certainly didn't see the Federer result coming! Fair play to Berdych, though, he played really well and deserved his win. It's not been a great couple of Grand Slams for Federer at the French Open and now Wimbledon as he has failed to defend both titles and, not only that, he hasn't even got past the 1/4 finals in either tournament. For anyone else, that wouldn't be too much of a disappointment but for a man who had been to 23 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals, prior to this year's French Open, it must be quite frustrating for Federer.

I got the Djokovic result spot on and with Nadal winning in four sets, I've got two out of the three results bang on today.

As for Murray, I think he's been doing well so far, even although he lost the first set in a tie-break. It was a big mistake by Tsonga that led to Murray having a chance to win the second set as Tsonga left a Murray shot at 5-5 in the tie-break that caught the line. Murray then served it out to level things up.

It's currently 4-1 to Murray in the third set and he has just gone two breaks up.

It does look as if Tsonga is struggling a bit with a blister on his hand so that may help Murray's cause.

My prediction for Murray to win it in four or five sets is still on. :thumbsup:

[lyonhibs]

Tsonga's goose is cooked now, surely!!!!

[lyonhibs]

Tsonga's goose is cooked now, surely!!!!

Yup. Murray through 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Sadly I was work for most of the match, but from what I saw of it, Murray's 1st serve percentage in the last set must have been pretty damn good, with 5 aces and 1 unreturnable serve at one point near the beginning of the final set.

I still fear Nadal, even on grass, will be a step too far, and certainly won't just give up the ghost as Tsonga clearly had in that final set.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray wins it in four sets. Tsonga started well, could have been two sets up as both went to tie-breaks. After Murray levelled things up, Tsonga's level dropped and there was only one winner after that.

As for my predictions, three out of four is pretty good. :thumbsup:

I said Djokovic would win in straight sets-CORRECT
I said Nadal would win in four sets-CORRECT
I said Murray would win in four or five sets-CORRECT

We'll forget about the Federer match. :wink:

So the semi finals on Friday will be;

Berdych v Djokovic
Murray v Nadal

Nadal should have the edge in that one but Murray has been playing well and it should be a cracking match.

The other match really could go either way and although Djokovic will go into it as the slight favourite, if Berdych played like he did today then he has a chance. Anyone who knocks Roger Federer out of Wimbledon has to be taken seriously.

By my calculations, I think Roger Federer will now drop to number three in the world next week and Novak Djokovic will be the new number two. It's the first time that Federer will be out of the top two in the world rankings since November 2003.

[seanraff07]

Cheers for another cracking update FalkirkHibee.:aok:

[greenlex]

Well done Andy Murray. This is the year.:agree::thumbsup:

[Hibbie_Cameron]

I just have a sneeky feeling that Andy is going to get to the final. I wont go as far to say he will win it though

[lyonhibs]

Well done Andy Murray. This is the year.:agree::thumbsup:

Here's hoping.

It's clearly stating the obvious, but if he can get past Nadal, his - IMO - main opponent will have been disposed of, and it would be his to win then.

I just have the impression that Nadal will be a bit too strong for him this year, unless his possibly injured knee flares up and Murray has the game of his life.

[heretoday]

It would be just like it if he beats Nadal and loses in the final!

[Dashing Bob S]

Enjoying the reports FH, keep them coming. I'm a big tennis fan myself but I haven't been able to get to Wimbledon for two years now.

I notice Federer has attributed his defeat to injury. You always wonder though, whether it could be the begining of the end of remarkable period of dominance in the sport. What do you think?

[Sir David Gray]

I think Murray has the game to beat Nadal. They both like slogging it out from the back of the court and trying to outlast their opponent and grinding them down. There is likely to be a lot of long rallies which I think will suit Murray and it will possibly be a test for Nadal to see how his knees and other joints are going to hold up.

It really has the potential to be a classic match and I'm really looking forward to watching it.

I hope Murray can go one step further than last year and get to his first Wimbledon final. In fact, Murray has played in four Wimbledons prior to this year and each year he has gone one stage further than before. In 2005 he reached the third round, in 2006 it was the last 16, he was injured in 2007, he got to the quarter finals in 2008 and last year he got to the semis.

Nadal will be seeing it as a great opportunity to regain his title that he won in 2008, with the early exit of Federer. He was unable to defend his title last year due to injury so he will be looking to become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1979 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year twice.

I really hope Murray can go all the way this year and although he didn't go into Wimbledon in good form, he has played pretty well so far at the tournament and is looking pretty confident.

[Sir David Gray]

Enjoying the reports FH, keep them coming. I'm a big tennis fan myself but I haven't been able to get to Wimbledon for two years now.

I notice Federer has attributed his defeat to injury. You always wonder though, whether it could be the begining of the end of remarkable period of dominance in the sport. What do you think?

I think it's only natural, whenever Federer starts to lose a few matches, to start questioning whether or not it's the beginning of the end for him. However, I would never like to say that Roger Federer is over the hill and coming to the end.

When Nadal beat him two years ago at Wimbledon, people were saying that that was the beginning of the so called "changing of the guard" and the crowning of a new king of tennis. However since that defeat, he has won four Grand Slams and got to the final of another two.

Even this year, although by his high standards it has been poor so far, he has still managed to win one Grand Slam, with another still to go later this year at the US Open. Most ordinary people would give their right arm to win one Grand Slam in their entire career but it's just because we have come to expect so much of Federer and take it for granted that he's just going to win everything, it comes as a shock when he only wins one Grand Slam and only gets to the quarter finals of the other two.

If he goes on to win the US Open, which is quite possible since his record there is almost as good as his record at Wimbledon, then he'll have won two out of the four Grand Slams for the year, which is still an unbelievable achievement.

It must be difficult to maintain the same kind of focus, drive and motivation when you've done what he's done in the game. Roger Federer holds just about every single record in tennis that you can possibly imagine, he doesn't really have anything else left to prove. He has other commitments now including a marriage and is a father to two one year old girls. Tennis is a very individual sport and the best tennis players need to have a one-track mind and be quite selfish. So when you have family commitments and have responsibilities for young children then you can't really afford to be as single-minded as you once were.

That might not be the reason for Federer's recent decline, it might just be something as simple as a sudden loss of form or confidence or maybe it really is the first signs that Roger Federer's reign at the top of men's tennis is coming to an end.

However, he will only be 29 years old in August. Although it's probably fair to say that his best years are now behind him, he could quite possibly continue winning Grand Slams and be at the top of the rankings for another three or four years. He only has to look at Andre Agassi to see that it is possible to continue winning major tournaments into your 30's.

The biggest thing that should be in his favour is that he has been really fortunate with injury throughout his career and the way that he plays the game means that his body is not punished as much as it could be, at least not in the way that Rafael Nadal is starting to suffer as a result of his style of play.

What I will say is, if it is the beginning of the end for Roger Federer, it has been an absolute privilege to watch such a great champion over the past six or seven years. No matter what happens from now on, people will look back in twenty or thirty years' time and recall watching someone who many, including his current peers and tennis legends of the past, believe is the greatest tennis player in the history of the sport.

When all is said and done, you really cannot receive a higher accolade than that.

[Dashing Bob S]

Gpod points well made. I find it hard to think of one person who has dominated any sport to the extent he has.

[Steve-O]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3036778/Hurray-for-Andy-Murray-from-Surrey.html

'Home Counties tennis maestro..."? WTF? :confused:

Maybe I've missed something...

[sammy7]

anyone been following the womens tennis? womens semi finals today!

[lyonhibs]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3036778/Hurray-for-Andy-Murray-from-Surrey.html

'Home Counties tennis maestro..."? WTF? :confused:

Maybe I've missed something...

The reasons to not buy the Sun or look at it online grow to be - as if this was even possible - longer and longer and longer :grr: :grr:

Fuds.

[HibeeMG]

Gpod points well made. I find it hard to think of one person who has dominated any sport to the extent he has.

I think we've been incredibly lucky to be able to see an era where we have had Federer and Nadal in tennis, Tiger Woods in golf, Schumacher (pre comeback) in F1 and Phil Taylor in darts.

I can't think of an era where we've had the best ever sportsmen competing in such a range of sports.

[Sir David Gray]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3036778/Hurray-for-Andy-Murray-from-Surrey.html

'Home Counties tennis maestro..."? WTF? :confused:

Maybe I've missed something...

The story's about to be on Reporting Scotland.

It just shows how desperate they are to have some sporting success this year after their footballers' pathetic showing at the World Cup.

They can claim Andy Murray is British, because he plays tennis under the banner of Great Britain, but to try and somehow claim that he is English is not only desperate, it's just factually incorrect.

I hope Murray goes on to win Wimbledon on Sunday and that someone throws him a Saltire and he drapes himself in it whilst he parades the trophy. :thumbsup:

[Westie1875]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3036778/Hurray-for-Andy-Murray-from-Surrey.html

'Home Counties tennis maestro..."? WTF? :confused:

Maybe I've missed something...

Utterly pathetic, I'd be willing to bet that Murray himself will be very unhappy about that headline.

And they wonder why we don't support them. :bitchy:

[greenlex]

anyone been following the womens tennis? womens semi finals today!
Naw but I have watched Womens tennis with a semi on occaision.:agree:

[sammy7]

very clever! :greengrin

i watched both matches today, they were surprisingly quite good!

[Sir David Gray]

anyone been following the womens tennis? womens semi finals today!

I've seen a bit of the women's matches but it doesn't interest me as much as the men's. You get some good women's matches but I don't believe it comes close to the quality of the men's game.

Serena Williams will absolutely walk the final and when she is on top form, she is streets ahead of any other female player. No other woman, apart from her sister, can touch her in terms of her power and athleticism.

When I was down at Wimbledon last week, one of the women's matches that I saw was Caroline Wozniacki v Tathiana Garbin. Wozniacki is ranked number four in the world, whilst Garbin is ranked 53. Wozniacki won the match 6-1 6-1 and it took the grand total of 47 minutes to complete. I actually felt sorry for Garbin because the match was on Court 1 and it was just embarrassing for her.

If you take the men's equivalent, i.e. Andy Murray (ranked four) v Leonardo Mayer (ranked 52), they met last year, Murray beat him in three sets (6-4 3-6 6-3) and the match lasted for almost two and a half hours.

Serena Williams has reached the final without dropping a single set and has been on court for a combined total of about 7 and a half hours.

By comparison, Andy Murray has reached the semi finals by dropping one set and has been on court for a combined total of just over 10 hours.

I would say that the tournament organisers need to seriously think about reducing the size of the main draw in the women's Grand Slams. There is currently 128 women in the main draw of the women's Grand Slam events (the same as the men) and I just think that's too much. A lot of the early rounds in the women's draw are effectively a waste of time.

Where do you ever see Serena Williams (world number one) almost knocked out of a Grand Slam in the first round by someone ranked about 60 in the world, in the way that Roger Federer (world number two) was almost knocked out by Alejandro Falla (world number 60) in the opening round of Wimbledon this year? The answer is you don't. When Serena Williams plays someone ranked 60 in the world, the opponent is fortunate if she wins four or five games.

Finally, I know this argument has been raised before but it's something that really annoys me.

There is absolutely no way that the women should receive equal prize money in the Grand Slams. Basically Tathiana Garbin, who I spoke about earlier, received the same amount of prize money for being knocked out of the first round in 47 minutes as Olivier Rochus and Alejandro Falla, who both took Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to five sets and were on court for about three hours longer than Garbin. The women's champion will also receive the same amount of money as the men's champion (£1 million) despite the fact that the women are potentially playing three fewer sets per match than the men. Serena got to the final by playing 12 sets of tennis, if Rafael Nadal gets there, he will have played at least 23 sets.

I'm all for equality between the sexes, but if the women aren't willing to play best of five set matches in the Grand Slam events, they should not expect to be awarded the same prize money as the men. Just suppose that Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams win their respective competitions, Serena is effectively being given the same salary for doing roughly half as much work as Nadal over the past two weeks.

If the women were to turn round and say that they were prepared to play best of five sets in the Majors then I would have no problem whatsoever with them receiving equal prize money, even if the standard still wouldn't be as high as the men. I have no problem at all with them receiving the same money as the men at the normal tournaments, where everyone plays best of three sets, but whilst the women continue to play less tennis at the four Majors, that should be reflected in the prize money that they receive.

[sammy7]

I've seen a bit of the women's matches but it doesn't interest me as much as the men's. You get some good women's matches but I don't believe it comes close to the quality of the men's game.

Serena Williams will absolutely walk the final and when she is on top form, she is streets ahead of any other female player. No other woman, apart from her sister, can touch her in terms of her power and athleticism.

When I was down at Wimbledon last week, one of the women's matches that I saw was Caroline Wozniacki v Tathiana Garbin. Wozniacki is ranked number four in the world, whilst Garbin is ranked 53. Wozniacki won the match 6-1 6-1 and it took the grand total of 47 minutes to complete. I actually felt sorry for Garbin because the match was on Court 1 and it was just embarrassing for her.

If you take the men's equivalent, i.e. Andy Murray (ranked four) v Leonardo Mayer (ranked 52), they met last year, Murray beat him in three sets (6-4 3-6 6-3) and the match lasted for almost two and a half hours.

Serena Williams has reached the final without dropping a single set and has been on court for a combined total of about 7 and a half hours.

By comparison, Andy Murray has reached the semi finals by dropping one set and has been on court for a combined total of just over 10 hours.

I would say that the tournament organisers need to seriously think about reducing the size of the main draw in the women's Grand Slams. There is currently 128 women in the main draw of the women's Grand Slam events (the same as the men) and I just think that's too much. A lot of the early rounds in the women's draw are effectively a waste of time.

Where do you ever see Serena Williams (world number one) almost knocked out of a Grand Slam in the first round by someone ranked about 60 in the world, in the way that Roger Federer (world number two) was almost knocked out by Alejandro Falla (world number 60) in the opening round of Wimbledon this year? The answer is you don't. When Serena Williams plays someone ranked 60 in the world, the opponent is fortunate if she wins four or five games.

Finally, I know this argument has been raised before but it's something that really annoys me.

There is absolutely no way that the women should receive equal prize money in the Grand Slams. Basically Tathiana Garbin, who I spoke about earlier, received the same amount of prize money for being knocked out of the first round in 47 minutes as Olivier Rochus and Alejandro Falla, who both took Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to five sets and were on court for about three hours longer than Garbin. The women's champion will also receive the same amount of money as the men's champion (£1 million) despite the fact that the women are potentially playing three fewer sets per match than the men. Serena got to the final by playing 12 sets of tennis, if Rafael Nadal gets there, he will have played at least 23 sets.

I'm all for equality between the sexes, but if the women aren't willing to play best of five set matches in the Grand Slam events, they should not expect to be awarded the same prize money as the men. Just suppose that Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams win their respective competitions, Serena is effectively being given the same salary for doing roughly half as much work as Nadal over the past two weeks.

If the women were to turn round and say that they were prepared to play best of five sets in the Majors then I would have no problem whatsoever with them receiving equal prize money, even if the standard still wouldn't be as high as the men. I have no problem at all with them receiving the same money as the men at the normal tournaments, where everyone plays best of three sets, but whilst the women continue to play less tennis at the four Majors, that should be reflected in the prize money that they receive.

im a woman and i totally agree :agree:

[Jim44]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3036778/Hurray-for-Andy-Murray-from-Surrey.html

'Home Counties tennis maestro..."? WTF? :confused:

Maybe I've missed something...
It's pathetic to try to adopt him as 'English' in the first place but the insult is compounded by claiming he is a 'Home Counties' player, as if that was even more 'English' than, say, Yorkshire. :bitchy:

[lyonhibs]

I've seen a bit of the women's matches but it doesn't interest me as much as the men's. You get some good women's matches but I don't believe it comes close to the quality of the men's game.

Serena Williams will absolutely walk the final and when she is on top form, she is streets ahead of any other female player. No other woman, apart from her sister, can touch her in terms of her power and athleticism.

When I was down at Wimbledon last week, one of the women's matches that I saw was Caroline Wozniacki v Tathiana Garbin. Wozniacki is ranked number four in the world, whilst Garbin is ranked 53. Wozniacki won the match 6-1 6-1 and it took the grand total of 47 minutes to complete. I actually felt sorry for Garbin because the match was on Court 1 and it was just embarrassing for her.

If you take the men's equivalent, i.e. Andy Murray (ranked four) v Leonardo Mayer (ranked 52), they met last year, Murray beat him in three sets (6-4 3-6 6-3) and the match lasted for almost two and a half hours.

Serena Williams has reached the final without dropping a single set and has been on court for a combined total of about 7 and a half hours.

By comparison, Andy Murray has reached the semi finals by dropping one set and has been on court for a combined total of just over 10 hours.

I would say that the tournament organisers need to seriously think about reducing the size of the main draw in the women's Grand Slams. There is currently 128 women in the main draw of the women's Grand Slam events (the same as the men) and I just think that's too much. A lot of the early rounds in the women's draw are effectively a waste of time.

Where do you ever see Serena Williams (world number one) almost knocked out of a Grand Slam in the first round by someone ranked about 60 in the world, in the way that Roger Federer (world number two) was almost knocked out by Alejandro Falla (world number 60) in the opening round of Wimbledon this year? The answer is you don't. When Serena Williams plays someone ranked 60 in the world, the opponent is fortunate if she wins four or five games.

Finally, I know this argument has been raised before but it's something that really annoys me.

There is absolutely no way that the women should receive equal prize money in the Grand Slams. Basically Tathiana Garbin, who I spoke about earlier, received the same amount of prize money for being knocked out of the first round in 47 minutes as Olivier Rochus and Alejandro Falla, who both took Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to five sets and were on court for about three hours longer than Garbin. The women's champion will also receive the same amount of money as the men's champion (£1 million) despite the fact that the women are potentially playing three fewer sets per match than the men. Serena got to the final by playing 12 sets of tennis, if Rafael Nadal gets there, he will have played at least 23 sets.

I'm all for equality between the sexes, but if the women aren't willing to play best of five set matches in the Grand Slam events, they should not expect to be awarded the same prize money as the men. Just suppose that Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams win their respective competitions, Serena is effectively being given the same salary for doing roughly half as much work as Nadal over the past two weeks.

If the women were to turn round and say that they were prepared to play best of five sets in the Majors then I would have no problem whatsoever with them receiving equal prize money, even if the standard still wouldn't be as high as the men. I have no problem at all with them receiving the same money as the men at the normal tournaments, where everyone plays best of three sets, but whilst the women continue to play less tennis at the four Majors, that should be reflected in the prize money that they receive.

:agree: :agree:

I've got plenty of female friends that agree with that as well. It just doesn't make any sense.

They don't play as many games, don't play for as long and it's just a farce that they are given the same proze money.

Without broaching the point that - and the same female friends agree on this - women's tennis is an absolute borefest (who'll win this time? - Oh look, a Williams sister. In how many sets? oh look TWO. In a match lasting how long? - 2 hours at an absolute, absolute maximum) compared to the men's game.

[sammy7]

the first semi today will be quite good, i cant predict a winner for this one, think it will be quite close

[PeeJay]

Utterly pathetic, I'd be willing to bet that Murray himself will be very unhappy about that headline.

And they wonder why we don't support them. :bitchy:

Why would he be unhappy - surely that's where he lives - somewhere in Surrey in the Home Counties? Or has he moved back to Scotland recently? It's stretching the imagination of course and clutching at straws on the part of the SUN, but it's sort of almost true surely, if one accepts that that's where his home is? In a way it's almost funny - a poke at the Scots - seems some can dish it out but not take it. Anyway if you're reading the SUN then the least of your worries is what they write about AM.:wink:

[H18sry]

Murray gubbed again :boo hoo: I dont think he believes that he can beat Nadal :bitchy:

[mickki40]

OH well, another year of Wimbledon over well done Andy, Good luck Nadal for the final well played

[greenlex]

All the shots he was producing all week desserted him. So many wasted chances in that match. It's in his head. It must be.

[Betty Boop]

How disappointing was that ! Murray needs to be more aggressive, if he wants to win a grand slam, especially against Nadal.

[Hainan Hibs]

I think he was capable of beating him today but it feels like he didn't believe it himself. In the end he was out classed.

[H18sry]

All the shots he was producing all week desserted him. So many wasted chances in that match. It's in his head. It must be.

:agree: Thats what I think mate :wink:

[Hibbie_Cameron]

His shot selection today was rank rotten, its usually the part of his game that serves him well imo. His drop shots were terrible today

[bingo70]

His shot selection today was rank rotten, its usually the part of his game that serves him well imo. His drop shots were terrible today

thats because he had a lot less room for error though, drop shots that would work fine against 'normal' players Rafa would get to and put away.

Without wanting to sound like a prick, i used to play tennis at a decent level as a youngster and against the best players you'd always make more 'unforced errors', it's probably nothing to do with poor shot choice or inability to hit the shot but more to do with having less margin for error against the best.

FWIW i don't think Murray will ever win a major, the standard of mens tennis just now is outrageous and there seems to be more players coming through all the time, hope he does i just can't see it.

[Hibbie_Cameron]

thats because he had a lot less room for error though, drop shots that would work fine against 'normal' players Rafa would get to and put away.

Without wanting to sound like a prick, i used to play tennis at a decent level as a youngster and against the best players you'd always make more 'unforced errors', it's probably nothing to do with poor shot choice or inability to hit the shot but more to do with having less margin for error against the best.

FWIW i don't think Murray will ever win a major, the standard of mens tennis just now is outrageous and there seems to be more players coming through all the time, hope he does i just can't see it.

I agree with you there. I posted the exact same thing on here over a year ago

[Sir David Gray]

The men's final has just started, in case anyone has forgot.

Tomas Berdych served first and held his serve and Nadal has just done likewise, so it's 1-1 in the opening set.

[seanraff07]

Really hope Nadal wins.

Berdych is like the new Roddick but worse, he's got an unbelievable serve and not much else, can be pretty boring to watch.

Glad it's 1-0 Nadal now though.:agree:

[Sir David Gray]

Game, set and match-Nadal.

The result was never in doubt to be honest. I think the moment was too big for Berdych and he just froze.

Well done to Rafa, though, he is a deserving champion. That's his 8th Grand Slam and I wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to win as many, if not more, than Roger Federer.

[Betty Boop]

Not one of the classic Wimbledon finals.

[Sir David Gray]

If stats are anything to go by, everything is pointing towards Rafael Nadal possibly going on to break the record for the number of Grand Slam titles.

As I said earlier, that was Nadal's 8th Grand Slam title today and he is the second youngest player to reach that milestone.

Bjorn Borg won his eighth when he had just turned 23 and Nadal only turned 24 last month. Although Borg only went on to win another three Majors, he retired when he was 27. If he had continued playing into his 30's, he would surely have at least managed to match Federer's record.

Federer (who has now won 16), won his eighth when he was a month short of his 25th birthday and Sampras (who won 14) had to wait until just after his 25th birthday before he got to eight Majors.

If Nadal manages to stay on top of the game for another seven or eight years, I don't see any reason why he can't get another ten Grand Slams. He could easily win the French Open for at least the next five or six years and he's undefeated at Wimbledon since 2007. In fact he hasn't lost to anyone at Wimbledon, apart from Roger Federer, since 2005.

I wrote a great tribute to Roger Federer on here the other day but I think Nadal is just as deserving of the same praise. It is scary how good the guy is and it is even more scary to think that he is only 24 years old and is nowhere near his peak.

You can only stand and admire the way in which Nadal plays the game. The intensity in which he plays every point, regardless of whether he's miles in the lead or desperately needing a point to get back into the match, is amazing and his competitive nature is second to none.

He is one of the greatest athletes that I have ever seen in any sport and you really have to take your hat off to him. He deserves everything that he gets from the sport.

[patlowe]

FWIW i don't think Murray will ever win a major, the standard of mens tennis just now is outrageous and there seems to be more players coming through all the time, hope he does i just can't see it.

I disagree. Murray has outclassed Nadal at two other major tournaments in the past, it's just a shame that Wimbledon muddies the view of tennis in the UK (despite the other majors being just as important within the tennis world). It's also a shame that he has come up against Federer at his best in the subsequent finals. OK, Murray's not quite as good as the top 2 (2 of the greatest players that ever lived btw) but there's every chance he'll win majors in the future IMO.

[seanraff07]

My worry is that it's not as if Nadal is old.

Murray may be young but he's going to be stuck with Nadal the rest of his career and if he doesn't keep improving and Nadal does then Murray could very well struggle to win a major, a few at least.

[Sir David Gray]

I disagree. Murray has outclassed Nadal at two other major tournaments in the past, it's just a shame that Wimbledon muddies the view of tennis in the UK (despite the other majors being just as important within the tennis world). It's also a shame that he has come up against Federer at his best in the subsequent finals. OK, Murray's not quite as good as the top 2 (2 of the greatest players that ever lived btw) but there's every chance he'll win majors in the future IMO.

:agree: Andy Murray can definitely win a Grand Slam in his career. He's only just turned 23 so he has maybe got another 3 or 4 years to realistically aim for winning a Major.

Whilst history would suggest that Murray won't go on to dominate and become known as one of the all-time greats of the sport (most of the "greats" had won their first Grand Slam before Murray's current age of 23), there's a lot of men who have won their first Slam in their mid-late twenties or even early thirties and have even gone on to win two, so I wouldn't discount Murray just yet.

He definitely has the talent to do it, I just hope he has the temperament and the belief to go all the way. It's unfortunate that he has come along at the same time as Nadal and Federer, who you have quite rightly said are two of the greatest tennis players of all time. If Federer doesn't beat him, there's always Nadal to spoil the dream and vice versa. Hopefully, for Murray's sake, Federer is starting to go on the way out and he'll only have Nadal to worry about.

The point you make about Wimbledon being the only Major that really grabs the attention of the UK media and the wider general population. I think there's perhaps too much pressure on Murray to win Wimbledon because people are desperate for a British champion.

Two semi-final appearances would suggest that Murray has a good chance of winning Wimbledon but his best shot is at the two hard court Grand Slams - the US and Australian Open. He has spoken frequently about how much he loves to play in America, he feels so relaxed out there and he enjoys the atmosphere that is generated at the US Open.

I think every tennis correspondent will accept that Murray has next to no chance of ever winning the French Open, which is as much to do with Nadal's extraordinary record at Roland Garros as it has Murray's patchy record on clay, but if he can grab one at Flushing Meadows or in Melbourne, I think he can look back on his career with great pride.