Tennis

[zanela]

Yeah, if he catches grass-loving players like Dustin Brown in the first week at Wimbledon he will probably fail miserably there too.

Why should he go back to Queens? Halle is very nice. Each way, both will be ATP 500 from next year.

Not that he'd fare any better. But the last 2 times he won Wimby, he was coming off having played queens.

 

[BarcaGirl]

I'm not even mad, that he lost today. I'm still enjoying his RG win over Nole Rafa already has 2 Wimbledon Slams. IMHO he should just skip the whole tournament and enjoy a long vacation and watch the World Cup.

 

[PaulFCB]

That's not recommendable, it's by far the most famous tennis tournament in the world and also possibly the most important non-team trophy in the world.

Can't really shet on it, he can be lucky and not play grass players till the terrain modifies after the first week, he always had problems in the first rounds more than starting in the QF...except for 2011.

 

[zanela]

Rafa's done on grass. I don't know why I even bother.

 

[DonAK]

Rafa through to the next round. His 700th career win.

 

[PaulFCB]

Rosol Nadal in the 2nd Round .

 

[zanela]

Yep. That warrants another

Only a miracle will see Rafa thru to the sec week. He's been drawn in to a tough half.

 

[PaulFCB]

Though half? He has the easier half face to Djokovic for who he has to play with, Haase possible 3rd, Tsonga possible 4th round, Berdych QF, Murray and even Dimitrov in the SF.
Gasquet can be a problem but he's not like Jo for the 4th round, till then he has no names, Raonic and Nisikori aren't that great on grass, maybe Kohl can be a problem for the QF but he is bad to play in the first rounds rather while Wawrinka and Federer should face themselves before they can face Nadal. Waw is less dangerous on grass than on other surfaces, Fed would be a problem 2 years ago still, but not now, Murray is still favorite to win.
His half is a total joke compared to the other for grass standards.

 

[zanela]

For Rafa's grass standards, its a tough group. But seriously, he's vulnerable against the big hitters- Raonic, Kubot, Veselý?. Both Gasquet and Kohli can pose problems. Besides, its usually the no names that trouble him the most, esp on a surface that doesn't play to his strengths. I'm expecting an early loss to Rosol or F Dancevic.

Compare that to Federer. Llorenzi followed by a qualifier. Its like the further he falls down in the rankings, the easier opponents he gets.

 

[PaulFCB]

For Rafa's grass standards, its a tough group.

If you take it that way, anything is hard because of his "grass standards" so the conclusion is that any opponent is hard.

But seriously, he's vulnerable against the big hitters- Raonic, Kubot, Veselý?

Grass is different when it comes to big hitters, this is a fast surface with a low bounce, no time to give it the atomic bomb, at least until the terrain becomes balder, that's when Rafa gets its advantage back anyway.

I'm expecting an early loss to Rosol or F Dancevic.

Rosol can beat him simply because the common perception is that anybody can, but he isn't any special grass, he the match of his life in 2012 in a similar characteristic to Soderling's style of "all or nothing" but overall, just like any continental European player, his philosophy is linked to clay, slow surfaces, he ain't gonna achieve much on grass.

Compare that to Federer. Llorenzi followed by a qualifier. Its like the further he falls down in the rankings, the easier opponents he gets.

Paolo Lorenzi is a 100% clay courter, remember when he had 1-0 with Rafa in Rome, overall he's modest but on grass he's nobody, don't know if he ever won a grass match in his life.
Gilles Muller, the qualifier, is def. a harder opponents than the italian, he had some good games on grass, one against Nadal he lost 7-6 7-6 6-0 in '11 ( remember, Rafa's most dominant year all the way to the finals lost to Novak on a roll ) and likes fast courts but he's old, oh wait, so is FedEx, at an age I don't see Nadal stepping on a court unless it's a game with Bahrami having some fun. On the other hand he has clay courters for the 3rd round, but that's because Mahut lost in the 1st to Pujol, surprising.

Anyway, I don't care who wins this one, I generally like Wimbledon but since it's a World Cup year, will mostly wait for the QF. I would like Stan to confirm his good year and that single handed backhand on his that is one of the best in history.
Can't say I wouldn't like FedEx to snatch another, though, hard, this isn't football, top player were out by 28 or 29, he wants to be there in Rio for the Gold Medal FFS! Never was his biggest fan but nobody can really hate him and no appreciate he is still here to entertain.

 

[Jägermeister]

Not available in german Free tv

 

[DonAK]

Not available in german Free tv

Same here in Norway.....

 

[BarcaGirl]

Revenge is sweet.
I’m so happy that Rafa is finally coming to life on grass court. Last year was tough, but things are looking up.

 

[zanela]

Don't jinx him, BG. He has bigger challenges ahead. I don't see him get past the Qtrs. Another difficult game coming up.

 

[BarcaGirl]

Don't jinx him, BG. He has bigger challenges ahead. I don't see him get past the Qtrs. Another difficult game coming up.

Nah, no jinxing. I just loved how happy Rafa was. I'm sure that Rosol loss from last year haunted him like few others. I'm going to enjoy this while it lasts Vamos Rafa!