Rafa has the past.
Federer has the future.
Nole has the present.
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Sounds good but is it true? Federer..., future...? I wish you were right...

No doubt this is the moment. If Nole wins here all of a sudden his season will look brilliant - he will have both slams, plus a Masters 1000 and final in two more. It will look just like what you would expect of a champion who is sure of himself and knows where his priorities lie.

If he does not win and if Rafa (or, however unlikely, Roger) wins then a totally different picture will be painted. He will be a man who barely scraped through to win the AO but whose wheels have been starting to come off since then. He will no longer look like the best player on the planet - certainly not for 2012.

Should make for a great fortnight.

I am keeping fingers crossed to at least see Djokovic lose in semis to Federer and then Nadal winning his 7th Roland Garros title.That would be great.

"Sounds good but is it true? Federer..., future...? I wish you were right..."

the future reference is for the glory he holds: 16 slams, he holds it as I don't see it being broken for a while.

"
No doubt this is the moment. If Nole wins here all of a sudden his season will look brilliant - he will have both slams, plus a Masters 1000 and final in two more. It will look just like what you would expect of a champion who is sure of himself and knows where his priorities lie.

If he does not win and if Rafa (or, however unlikely, Roger) wins then a totally different picture will be painted. He will be a man who barely scraped through to win the AO but whose wheels have been starting to come off since then. He will no longer look like the best player on the planet - certainly not for 2012"

And that's exactly how it is! Terrible, isn't it?

There surely is loads and loads of pressure on at the moment, but that's where you really see what one is made of, I believe Nole is made of the right stuff - TITANIUM

"I am keeping fingers crossed to at least see Djokovic lose in semis to Federer and then Nadal winning his 7th Roland Garros title.That would be great."
Fair enough, I'd be the same

And Nole downs Potato in three decrescendo sets
Next!

Nole is the Best, just looking on Betfair and they rate Nadal at a 58% chance to win the title, with Djokovic at 23%, so Nadal with between double and treble Djokovic's chance. You may not be a fan of betting, but it's an interesting illustrate as to how the average pundit perceives the chances. Personally, I see it as closer than that. There has to be a great chance for Djokovic to reach the final, and once there, a reasonable chance against Nadal. Yes Federer would be a formidable obstacle again for Djokovic, but I think Djokovic can beat him as well. So, for a bit of fun, I have £3 on Djokovic and will join you in support of him.

As long as he doesn't play Federer of course!

(For a bit of fun I also bet £2 on Del Potro.)

HB wrote:

As long as he doesn't play Federer of course!
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Huh? I have read you for years and to this day I had no clue who you were supporting, or indeed if you were even supporting anyone. Federer then? Do I read it correctly? Or is it just to appease the (unbiased) majority of the inhabitants of this forum?

Summer Blues, I support Federer. After Tim Henman retired I was completely neutral until the Wimbledon 2008 final when I started leaning towards Federer, although I hardly realised why. By the Australian 2009 final I was totally in the Federer camp, but more as a supporter of a rivalry I wanted to see kept alive, rather than one sided, and still didn't care if Federer won or lost against other players. But after watching him play more and more, I eventually came to support him whole heartedly, in every match. He is the most aggressive, most elegant player, a joy to watch. I am still not really what you would call a die hard fan though but I particularly support him against the other top players.

However I try to offer a balanced analysis..

You balanced "fans" make me laugh!

But I don't blame you. I was once "balanced".
Oh, what boooooring times those were

Did I just walk into a trap?

Of course I did ....

Ah, interesting how you came to support him.

I have to say you are unbelievably good at keeping your preferences apart from your analysis on these forums.

I have to say you are unbelievably good at keeping your preferences apart from your analysis on these forums.
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nitb: this was not for you, just in case you were wondering

SB,

you are all an open book to me

NITB, never been in as deep as you but I know what's it's like.
Maybe Wimbledon 2nd round. First set. Maybe fourth game 1-2, goes to serve, "need a first serve here..please get the first point..." Edge of the seat.
In those days (Henman era) it was a bit more tense, because the "big point" meant much more than it did now as well, and one break could be a killer. ALso unlike Djokovic who is on cruise control for the early rounds, it wasn't the case with Henman. It was nail biting pretty much from the first ball. Even though he never lost in the early rounds from about 96-2004 at Wimbledon, that was rather a miracle.

But as an adult now I wonder whether obsessive support as a fan is mature or even healthy? Especially if you end up feeling stronger emotions on that then you do on family issues or work issues, is that right?

I can actually get quite involved in the matches myself to be honest, punching the air and shouting out, but once the match is over the emotions only last minutes, hours at most for something really big.

Also, it is quite possible to be desperate for player x to win, but at the same time offer a balanced article about why player y was the better player on the day. In fact, you seem to be quite good at that part.

Nole on the same topic (of this thread)

"
One of those younger players, Novak Djokovic, did not always play his best in his 7-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Italian Potito Starace, but like Federer he is almost impossible to knock off early at a tournament as he is tireless, steady, fast and offensive. He is very aware that he is hoping to join the legendary Rod Laver and Don Budge as the last two men to win four consecutive majors while also trying to revel in the moment.
"Pressure is always present, and the way I look at it, it’s a privilege and it's a challenge," Djokovic said. "So you need to try to understand and learn how to deal with it, and if you feel pressure, that means that you're doing something that is right. So I'm happy - I'm happy to be where I am at this moment."

"But as an adult now I wonder whether obsessive support as a fan is mature or even healthy? Especially if you end up feeling stronger emotions on that then you do on family issues or work issues, is that right?"

No offence HB, but I simply could not care less. I am loving every second of it

But that's just me, I'm like that with everything I do. It can be a bit exhausting at the end of a long day, but I've always expected a lot from myself and others.

Some people find it hard to walk on edge. I don't.

Oh this "balanced" argument once again. It makes me laugh. We are only discussing tennis here. The unbalanced ones are those who simply can't take a criticism of their player (idol should I say). NITB, Me and most posters here will never lose their temper if our preferred player was criticised. We never asked anyone to be chased off cause Nole or Roger was being criticised. That's what I call "balanced posters". We just want to talk about tennis. And we don;t take ourselves too seriously!

"That's what I call "balanced posters". We just want to talk about tennis. And we don;t take ourselves too seriously!"

But it's true. Especially since I read so many absurdities by so called balanced posters and likewise read much common sense written in a wumming way.

You read someone like Jon Weirtem and think this guys knows a lot....but whether he does or not he comes up with the most stupid comments at times...so imagine some of our posters here or in other forums like V2.

"You read someone like Jon Weirtem and think this guys knows a lot..."

Absolutely. Some people read what other paid journalists say and then form their opinions purely on others' rather than just use their own eyes and brains to see the obvious.
Also the masses have the sheep mentality, so it's normal that they don't want to stick their neck out and be different, that's requires effort and courage.
It's easy to say that all the guys are great and have worked hard and who are we to say anything about "Them", that kind of adolescent thinking.

The very fact that anybody is saying anything on any sports forum brands them as a "fanatic".
It's just that some have strong opinions and are prepared to defend them and others don't.

It's just that some have strong opinions and are prepared to defend them and others don't.
---------------------------

I woudl say more than strong it's about right or wrong in most cases. And what makes it interesting is that it's only right or wrong in relative terms.

If you hear someone like Jon Weirtem or Stuart Miller of the ITF say "tennis is not a sport which woudl benefit from doping". They are wrong but do they believe what they say? or are they just trying to promote their stars?

They certainly sound very balanced and any person new to teh sport woudl tend to believe they are right....even though they are plain wrong.

You can only call someone balanced if you consider yourself balanced and that requires "believing" knowing right from wrong. So a very subjective matter in fact. However I agree there is a way to communicate that certainly sounds more balanced than others ...but it doesn't make them right!

I have no time for that kind of journos, at the end of the day they are just trying to keep their job going and have to write about something.
The only guy I like reading is Steve Tignor as he's got the arty streak in him plus he used to play at a decent level himself so has a properly balanced perspective, but even he makes some funny observations I often disagree with. He is also very astute and intelligent.

I like to have uncluttered mind when I watch a match so often turn the sound off as the commentators talk pure trash. The less knowledgeable they are the more they talk I just don't know how on Earth they get those jobs...
I suppose the smart people do better paid ones.

So, that side of tennis doen't bother me much as I kind of chose not to have much to do with.
The thing that does worry me is that she same sort of half-qualified and able people get the scary amount of power in decision making.
Most of them couldn't care less about tennis and are just the career ladder climbing "execs" who move from one job to the next not caring what mess they leave behind them.
Tennis should be run by tennis lovers combined with good financial advisers.

Not that impressed to see Inverdale on ITV. He is a presenter on tennis, but doesn't really know about tennis and you keenly get the sense he only loosely follows the results year round. He was the presenter on the BBC, but he is hardly a tennis expert that ITV need to get in the act too.

I still remember him messing up the end of the Isner-Mahut match.

He can be good when he wants to