[cecilia]

wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
i'm like hyperventilatingggggggggggggggg
at the beg of the first set, i was like, gosh he's strugglingn a bit to hold serve already
i thought maybe i should have gone to sleep
even after the break in the 1st set i was still saying to myself, no expectations
only when it got to the last few games in the 2nd set did i start getting excited and nervous
and when he finally took the match i screamed like crazyyyyyyyyyyyyy
wahahahahaha
GO ROGER!!!!
cant believe he did it in straight sets on clay with no break of serve on his side
AMAZING

Alrighty! this is going to show those haters something!!

ps had a crappy quality connection, couldnt see the ball half the time
damn lol

[dOotsiez]

cecilia! *high fives*

YAYYYY! now i am so friggin exhausted. Us poor aussies had to say up til 2am to finish the match, but it was well worth it... Well done Mr Federer! He is now responsible for 2 out of the 3 losses Nadal suffered in the last 4 years on clay. That's pretty amazing for both players, esp Nadal to have only lost thrice.

The Federer serve is finally back after that back injury screwed it up. YAY!

[Volts]

Good game by Roger ! Nadal looked a bit tired from his match but beating him on clay is quite an achievement. Hopefully we'll see a Federer-Nadal final at the French Open

[cecilia]

so tired... i've been sleep deprived lately so i was really tossing up whether to stay up to watch that match last night
i'm glad i did
although rafa wasnt playing his best, at least could see that roger wasnt as reserved in going for shots and stuff
hope this is the beginning of a winning streak huh
ROLAND GARROS HERE WE COME!

[loveprint]

I WAS AWAKE AT 2AM BUT I DIDN'T WATCH IT? *slaps self*
A:OJKGOJEGOJGS but really, proud proud proud. :D

Pics?

[dOotsiez]

Yes yes, Rafa was a little sub-par, but nor did he hand the match over to Fed on a silver plate. Fed had to go out there and win it. Serve, forehands, backhands all doing nicely. And DROPSHOTS as a surprise tactic, WOO. HOO. *proud mama moment*

Watching people eat crow is slightly fun.

Perfect Federer Takes Down Nadal in Madrid Final

by Sean Randall

Not so fast, says Roger Federer. The King is not dead. No, not after Federer stunned Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 moments ago in the final of the Tennis Masters in Madrid.

Question asked. Question now answered. The crow I’m eating needs salt if you must know. (I guess Rafa won’t be eating any trophies today!)

Full credit to Federer who overcame the demons, the circumstances and above all, Nadal, to send a crystal clear statement that he remains a title contender at all events, on all surfaces. Given the number of arm chair critics out there and the talk of his decline, this has to be one his most satisfying wins ever, period.

Sure, Nadal may have been feeling some fatigue following his Saturday thriller over Novak Djokovic, and some people will still give this win an “asterisk”, but I won’t. He looked flat but I think a lot of that had to do with just how well Federer was striking the ball and executing his gameplan.

Federer really played two sets of near perfect, flawless tennis, mixing things up and taking chances when presented. It was his best clay match in years. Federer kept points shorter, attacked Rafa’s serve, ran around his backhand with urgency and really dialed-up his forehand and serve.

Wow.

Who would have thought Andy Roddick would get more sets off Federer on clay than Nadal?

And we’ve seen Federer fall apart so much this season when he gets late in the second set against the top players.

Serving 6-4, 4-3, 0-30 with a break, there again was that “uh oh” moment. But he survived. Again serving for the match 6-4, 15-40, there it was again and again Federer got out of the trap, recovered, then hammered down an ace ending Nadal’s 33-match win streak.

This victory will be an absolutely massive confidence booster for the Swiss entering the French Open, and should shut the critics up (me included) for the time being. And It’s also his first ATP triumph since Basel last year, his first Tennis Masters crown since 2007 Cincinnati and most importantly he gets in the win column on Rafa on his surface and in his backyard.

The Fed’s not dead.
tennis-x.com

[souslesun]

Ok, I was not too happy with some of the comments the commentators made. I mean, talk about being biased! I don't buy all that "Rafa's SO INCREDIBLY tired," crap. I don't. Everyone's always downplaying Roger's wins against Rafa. ALWAYS. I'm so sick and tired of it.

I was watching the match today(I haven't kept up with the clay season AT ALL and got a nice surprise today!) and the comms made a note about how Roger won Hamburg(?) a couple seasons ago. Apparently, Rafa had a gruesome semi then as well and went on to lose to Roger in the final, therefore his streak got broken because he was tired and not because Roger was that much the better player. And today, of course, if Roger wins(which he did), it's because Rafa was complaining about the surface and its odd bounce and of course he's so freaking tired. No, it's not because Roger actually did well today, getting in those down-the-line forehands that's been going berserk lately. Roger ONLY beat a tired Rafa.

I hate how if Roger beats Rafa, it's because Rafa is tired/injured. If Roger loses to Rafa, he loses to a tired/injured Rafa. Whatever the outcome, Roger's achievements are downplayed. Like it's nothing at all. Ugh, ugh, ugh. lol Sorry for complaining. It's like a mixture of what the comms/tennis fans saying that's getting to me. And me seeming to be the only American fan of Roger's... Everyone around me is in love with Rafa. lol. I need to find me some good ol' Roger fans! So here I am on soompi XD

Oh, and I found it hilarious how the crowd was silent for that split second when Roger won the first set. lol. XD His serving was pretty awesome today!

[cecilia]

that's a nice article there~
hoho it's a nice feeling reading something like this
i wonder what mr bodo is going to have to say (not that i care much about what he thinks anyway)

yeah i understand taht feeling from listening to the bias from commentators
i watched with english commentary last night but luckily they were quite neutral
giving roger lots of credit for executing his game plan
it was a bit amusing tho...coz they were like... at a point like this, u expect rafa to come up with something
but eh... he hasnt yet....
and since my stream quality wasnt great, half the time i couldnt see the ball, but i could tell who won the point just from listening to the crowd
haha

i actually felt that after so many recent losses to rafa, roger would have felt less pressure yesterday because rafa would have been the clear favourite
perhaps that helped him a bit?
but then again if roger had lost, then the press would be on his back again just like after the AO
*sigh* cant win can we?

[dOotsiez]

^ Hamburg 2007? That was fun. Rafa and Federer both had fairly gruelsome semis from memory, but Federer was just brilliant that match towards the end, hitting winners left right and centre. Rafa may or may not have been sub-par that day, but it was just a bit of Fed magic towards the end. and some PDA with Mirka too when he won

Youtube highlights of madrid, not mine since I did none.
http://twurl.nl/czzxug
and to download
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AI55IUVR

and commentators range from really fabulous (JMac, PMac, Courrier ain't bad either) to absolutely terrible - Newk among the Aussies for example. John Alexander too. Gross. What I usually do when I'm watching on the laptop is to either find a non-english stream - that way I don't get distracted from too much talking between points, or turn up the volume, plug my headsets in, but without putting them on, that way I can still hear the faint "ballpop" without really being bothered by the commentary.

[debbii]

Yay for the Fedmeister!!! There's almost no chance in me watching the French Open.. it's on during whacked up hours.. gah!

[wonderbang]

woohoo can this be the catalyst for the french open? let's hope so!

and safina with another title. seems to be pulling it in well leading up to the french. can the top seed win? answer: who the hell knows! that's the state of the wta.

[dOotsiez]

^ Safina could easily pull an Ivanovic = French Open finalist --> Australian Open finalist ---> French Open champ.

The Williams sisters haven't been all that convince of late, but I'm still hoping that they have an extra gear somewhere. I know they do, at least for the slams.

[loveprint]

Doesn't look like any networks are broadcasting RG in Aus. D: Boo.
Anyway, Tomic's up against Kohlschreiber in R1. xD /random. I didn't take a look at the draws until today.

[wonderbang]

draws are ouuuuuutt.....let the games begin!!

(and do i see a possible sharapova vs. petrova in the second round?!)

[dOotsiez]

^ I don't see Sharapova getting past Nadia unfortunately. She was very rusty in Warsaw. Would love to be proven wrong as it actually gets easier for her should she get past that hurdle.

why-oh-why did Fed get Djokovic on his side of the draw? As if Nadal isn't big enough a favourite to win, now he gets to win without going through the double hurdle of Federer and Djokovic. Great. Just great.

picks anyone? I'm thinking: Dinara Safina and Rafael Nadal. I'm hoping: Venus and Roger!

Yes Tomic against Kohlwhatshisfaceshcreiber first round. Hewitt v Karlovic for the Aussies. I miss the good old day when free to air tv gave a damn about clay court tennis.

[loveprint]

Can't watch the matches cause I'm capped. Again. *cough*

I thought Hewitt was out, after losing the first two sets. I guess I was wrong. xD
Not too many upsets, I think? Though Mauresmo is out. D:

edit;
Bagels for Safina. Good start? xD

[dOotsiez]

Safina u meeeanie! 60 60!

Rafa through in a bit of a weird match, exchanging service breaks like candy. Roger and Maria on now, YAYY!

[loveprint]

I feel so.. *squee* I haven't watched Roger play in a while.
Those drop shots are really working. O_O

edit;
Okay, that ended sooner than I expected. I was half-watching and the next thing I know the match is over. o_o

[dOotsiez]

^ dropshots were damn good alright. he started doing them big time in Madrid. new strategy

safe and sound is the way i like early rounds to be played. now if maria wants to pull through too and make my ... midnight!

new outfit!



trying to find a pic of the psychedelic pink/yellow horror that Rafa was wearing. decided i shall spare this thread the trauma

[souslesun]

^ LOL I love Rafa's outfit XD I still think it's weird that he's wearing these neon shades in every tourny nowadays, but I'm just now getting used to his short-sleeves! haha.

And look at Roger's kicks! It doesn't even seem like he's been playing on clay with how clean they are! Or was that a pic in the beginning stages of that match? XD Ooh, and I think Roger got a haircut?? He should keep it at that length! Makes him look younger! ^___^;;

AND MARIA!!!!!!!! I was so happy to see her play! I mean, it can't get any better than watching BOTH Roger and Maria play at the same time. I was going from one channel to the next. I was kind of sad while watching the first set of her match because she seemed so... timid? Don't know... I'm so used to seeing Maria being very fierce and tough during matches, and when I saw her for the first couple of games, I was sad for her! BUT she pulled through the next two sets! ^___^ I didn't realize how much I missed her in action on the courts until today! And I love her outfit!

As for Roger, what can I say? I think his serves weren't too troubling for him? OH! Totally random, but once I tuned into RG today, I was so happy to hear John McEnroe and co.! lol I missed hearing their commentary! I love it! I was like, "Johnny Mac. Music to my ears!" I can't stand pretty much anyone else XD

I saw a little bit of Andy Murray yesterday. He pretty much steamrolled his opponent! I can't tell if he's good on clay yet or not though. I felt like his opponent pretty much gave up, really, so it's too early to say? Anyone know much about his game on clay? Is he on Rafa's side of the draw?

And yeah, pretty tough for Roger to have Novak on his side, but hey, who knows? The GS tournaments are different from Masters, right?

Totally missed Dinara's match XD I couldn't get up at 5 in the morning. haha But glad to know she went through in straight bagels! If the neither of the Williams wins, I hope she does! Anybody rooting for Ana Ivanavic? Wasn't she the winner last year?