Just finished watching FO men's final. Couldn't resist feeling bad for Federer. Out of all the recent 'dominant player of their era' , Fedex is the only one making a serious attempt to break through the clay jinx and Nadal is standing on the way for past 3 years. (I deliberately left Agassi because eventhough he achieved career slam of winning all four, he was not the dominant of his era; that distinction belonged to Sampras and Sampras could not even come to one final on parisian clay.
Fedex will soon be 26 and his hopes of achieving career slam are slim to none :-(
Tennis : Men/Women
Tennis : Men/Women
RaReSha3;28540... that distinction belonged to Sampras and Sampras could not even come to one final on parisian clay.
Fedex will soon be 26 and his hopes of achieving career slam are slim to none :-([/quote]
Personally, I'm glad it is that way...although I was a big fan of Sampras (both as a player and as an individual) back in those days and now, I like Federer. But it is nice that there are people like Agassi and Nadal who make cut down the disparity making the game more enjoyable. If not what's the fun of following any game???
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I like it better when it's a good match-up and cannot help but hate when it's a mis-match. -DJ :cool:
Tennis : Men/Women
I was dissappointed Federer lost. Does Nadal play in grass?
Tennis : Men/Women
Yes, Nadal plays well in grass too as he came to the finals at Wimbledon last year though some attribute it to the luck of the draw because he didn't have to play traditional grass courters(serve and volley) before the final.
Personally I like Roger's style of play with chess moves of anticipating and no special weapons like physically imposing like Nadal's muscles or Roddick's serve but he is a real tactician and makes it look so easy with no oohs and aahs and it's unfair that he has to go through the best clay courter of all generations in previous of his 3 serious digs at the FO title. Time will tell whether Nadal will keep up that promise of claiming that rare distinction and who knows he might become dominant on all other surfaces too.
Personally I like Roger's style of play with chess moves of anticipating and no special weapons like physically imposing like Nadal's muscles or Roddick's serve but he is a real tactician and makes it look so easy with no oohs and aahs and it's unfair that he has to go through the best clay courter of all generations in previous of his 3 serious digs at the FO title. Time will tell whether Nadal will keep up that promise of claiming that rare distinction and who knows he might become dominant on all other surfaces too.
Tennis : Men/Women
Federer played below par with Davydenko; I consider him lucky that he got thru to the finals.
He fell one step lower against Nadal; I am surprised it went to 4 sets.
ksheer3
He fell one step lower against Nadal; I am surprised it went to 4 sets.
ksheer3
Tennis : Men/Women
Somdev Devvarman just won the NCAA singles championships:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=ap-ncaatennischampionships&prov=ap&type=lgns
This is a stupendous achievement for an Indian. Most NCAA champions have been successful at the pro tour, the most famous being J Mcenroe. This means this guy has serious talent to be a top 100 player, but needs the support of the Indian tennis authorities, otherwise his talent will not be realized. It takes at least 50K a year to play on the pro tour with traveling, hotels, coaches, training etc. And mind you this lad is from Tripura of all places!! It is truly a fantastic achivement.
Unfortunately this news never made it in the indian media which regrettably, is so focused on Sania's skirts or feeling proud for ersatz Indians like Sunita Williams who have no connection to India and for whom India played no role.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=ap-ncaatennischampionships&prov=ap&type=lgns
This is a stupendous achievement for an Indian. Most NCAA champions have been successful at the pro tour, the most famous being J Mcenroe. This means this guy has serious talent to be a top 100 player, but needs the support of the Indian tennis authorities, otherwise his talent will not be realized. It takes at least 50K a year to play on the pro tour with traveling, hotels, coaches, training etc. And mind you this lad is from Tripura of all places!! It is truly a fantastic achivement.
Unfortunately this news never made it in the indian media which regrettably, is so focused on Sania's skirts or feeling proud for ersatz Indians like Sunita Williams who have no connection to India and for whom India played no role.
Tennis : Men/Women
nand;28638Unfortunately this news never made it in the indian media which regrettably, is so focused on Sania's skirts or feeling proud for ersatz Indians like Sunita Williams who have no connection to India and for whom India played no role.[/quote]
If only he were a girl...:p
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And, I wonder...what if I were white skinned... -DJ :cool:
Tennis : Men/Women
nand;28638Somdev Devvarman just won the NCAA singles championships:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=ap-ncaatennischampionships&prov=ap&type=lgns
This is a stupendous achievement for an Indian. Most NCAA champions have been successful at the pro tour, the most famous being J Mcenroe. This means this guy has serious talent to be a top 100 player, but needs the support of the Indian tennis authorities, otherwise his talent will not be realized. It takes at least 50K a year to play on the pro tour with traveling, hotels, coaches, training etc. And mind you this lad is from Tripura of all places!! It is truly a fantastic achivement.
Unfortunately this news never made it in the indian media which regrettably, is so focused on Sania's skirts or feeling proud for ersatz Indians like Sunita Williams who have no connection to India and for whom India played no role.[/quote]
Or he might complete his studies with a 3.5+ gpa and get into medicine or do an MBA. :) ... Alternatively, he will change citizenship to USC down the line as US tennis is at its worst in history, he can grab a DAvis cup spot on the US roster.
Tennis : Men/Women
Nand,
It's indeed an achievement and the lad should be applauded and given encouragement/sponsorship but I have been following Tennis for quite some time, so I can say with some authority that NCAA and professional (ATP/WTA) levels are different ball game altogether with too wide gap to close.
John McEnroe was the last NCAA champion to make a crack in men's top rankings and that was in 1978. Previous NCAA winners like Alex Kim,Benjamin Becker and finalists like Paul Goldstein have progressed beyond 1st or 2nd round in Grandslams or few top tier tournaments but make their living mainly in challenger circuits and to earn ranking points so they are in top-100 to get automatic qualifications in Grandslams because even early round losers in grand slams get more money than tier3/challenger circuit winners and they are never a threat in any of the tournaments top players enter.
Tennis is one sport where age plays a significant role in how soon they climb up the ranking and if they wait till they graduate from college, their professional career is almost doomed. That's why James Blake had to drop out of Harvard to enter the professional circuit.
Baseball/NFL athletes are in their prime in their late 20's and early 30's but for tennis , that window is between 18-27 and players start playing ATP/WTA when they 15-16. That's why I said, Federer is close to 26 and he is being chased by Nadal, Djokovik who are 21,20 and may never get a chance to play for another FO final. There are couple of exceptions who can extend their prime due to excellent body conditioning but they are exceptions. Most of the great tennis players are reduced to mere mortals in their late 20s/early 30s even with decades of experience; their bodies give up.
Mel,
I know you said in jest but making a Davis Cup team is no joke either as they are handsomely rewarded even for losing efforts. One Davis cup singles/Doubles apperance is close to $100,000. That's a pocket change for the Roddicks or Blakes but that's living for the alike s of Goldstein :-).
It's indeed an achievement and the lad should be applauded and given encouragement/sponsorship but I have been following Tennis for quite some time, so I can say with some authority that NCAA and professional (ATP/WTA) levels are different ball game altogether with too wide gap to close.
John McEnroe was the last NCAA champion to make a crack in men's top rankings and that was in 1978. Previous NCAA winners like Alex Kim,Benjamin Becker and finalists like Paul Goldstein have progressed beyond 1st or 2nd round in Grandslams or few top tier tournaments but make their living mainly in challenger circuits and to earn ranking points so they are in top-100 to get automatic qualifications in Grandslams because even early round losers in grand slams get more money than tier3/challenger circuit winners and they are never a threat in any of the tournaments top players enter.
Tennis is one sport where age plays a significant role in how soon they climb up the ranking and if they wait till they graduate from college, their professional career is almost doomed. That's why James Blake had to drop out of Harvard to enter the professional circuit.
Baseball/NFL athletes are in their prime in their late 20's and early 30's but for tennis , that window is between 18-27 and players start playing ATP/WTA when they 15-16. That's why I said, Federer is close to 26 and he is being chased by Nadal, Djokovik who are 21,20 and may never get a chance to play for another FO final. There are couple of exceptions who can extend their prime due to excellent body conditioning but they are exceptions. Most of the great tennis players are reduced to mere mortals in their late 20s/early 30s even with decades of experience; their bodies give up.
Mel,
I know you said in jest but making a Davis Cup team is no joke either as they are handsomely rewarded even for losing efforts. One Davis cup singles/Doubles apperance is close to $100,000. That's a pocket change for the Roddicks or Blakes but that's living for the alike s of Goldstein :-).
Tennis : Men/Women
Rrashe you are right about players making the move from NCAA to pro. However you need to look at the Somdevs achievements for what they are. I assumed he was US born of Indian parents. http://virginiasports.cstv.com/sports/m-tennis/mtt/devvarman_somdev00.html
he lists chennai as his hometown. So more than likely he is here on an F1 studying on some kind of a Tennis Scholarship. Turning Pro is not an option for him as getting his degree is probably the main priority.
Nonetheless to balance acedemics while getting a NCAA crown is a stupendous achievement.
he lists chennai as his hometown. So more than likely he is here on an F1 studying on some kind of a Tennis Scholarship. Turning Pro is not an option for him as getting his degree is probably the main priority.
Nonetheless to balance acedemics while getting a NCAA crown is a stupendous achievement.