A fact often ignored by those who want to take the "at the same age" angle, often the same folks that would have us strike 2009 losses from the record books, is that at 24, Rafa has been on tour two years (8 majors) longer than Fed at that age. 8 more majors played and I think he's won 2 more at the same age. I doubt he'll have Fed's longevity because his style of play abuses his body, particularly his knees. As far as GS totals go, let's just wait and see, no?

I'm not disputing that Rafa has a winning H2H against Fed, that's a fact, as is his losing H2H against Hrbaty (the true GOAT).

"as is his losing H2H against Hrbaty (the true GOAT)"

Awesome, Kombo. :)

But that means that horrendous shirt with the holes in the back belonged to the GOAT?

Ladyjulia, simple math says.

5 USO titles > 1

6 USO finals > 1

14 > 7 I can accept this, because it's true. Your arguments attempt to put more value on the number 1 than 5 and 6. You can choose to delude yourself, but it's a quantifiable fact that Rafa was far from being #2 at the USO when Fed was at his peak, but Fed was a clear #2 on clay for several years running.

"You can choose to delude yourself, but it's a quantifiable fact that Rafa was far from being #2 at the USO when Fed was at his peak"

I'm starting to lose track of all these if's, and's, and but's. :)

So Rafa should have acted like the #2 at the USO because he was #2 in the overall rankings. Therefore, Roger was #1 in the rankings, so in Paris he should have won every year? Is that how it works? :)

I believe Rafa was 22 when he made his first USO semi, and his first title now at 24. I'm curious at what ages guys like Roger, Sampras, Lendl, Connors, Mac, Borg, etc., made their first big pushes at the USO? For a guy whose worst surface is the fast hardcourts in NY, I bet he's not far behind all those guys, aside from Sampras and his title at 19.

Hmmm I wish the camera would zoom in again on Pat Rafter

Thats one of the main reasons I am watching this tie

Apparetenly Pat was hitting up with juniors before the start of this tie

What a Guy!!!

Sherlock Do you have to bring up Borg at the USO

You know I will Never get over it

At 22, Roger lost in the 4th round. At 23, he won his first USO title.

At 22 & 23, Rafa lost in the semis. At 24, he won his first USO title.

In summary, every argument I've ever heard on this Fedal stuff is complete crappola. We all just manipulate numbers to suit our purposes. Both are great, Roger certainly greater as of now. And I have no idea why I keep talking about this stuff. :)

*FAINTS*

Pat!!!!!!!

Sorry, AM. :) Didn't mean to send you into the pits.

A little cherry humor there for you to lift your spirits. :)

Sherlock Either do I you are bodering on you know what?

Looks around for Samatha Elin to get you side tracked

After what happened on the other post?

Like move on

You're wishing Samantha on me? That puts my Borg mention to shame. You're a cruel woman, AM. :)

As a Rafa fan I am over the moon.To think Rafa has completed a career slam at age 24

Like Yahoooooooooooooooooooooo

I also can give stats etc at the end of the day does it really matter.I think not

Roger is the greatest player of this era his records are testament to that fact.

Hmmm at least I know I have Samantha Elin up my sleeve for further use

I am not just drop dead beautiful with a amazing personality and body to die for

I also have a Brain

Lol. And modest too, AM. :)

Though I'm not sure which one of those is most important. :)

On that note, time to hit the hay. Good night, AM, and all lurking TWibers.

Come on Carsten losing the 1st set 6-4 to Rochus

Your 1st set percentages are too low

Sherlock Modesty is my middle name

Night Sherlock

Matt Z @ 06:48 PM,

NOT SO FAST!!!!!

Sampras also faced...

- Korda in 4R, which went the distance with Pete winning in 5 hard-fought sets. BTW this is one of the most underrated gems of the '90s, better than their more famous rematch at the USO which took place just two months later (and no, I don't say that just because Pete was the victor in the earlier match).

- And Becker in QF. Yah, yah, I know Becker was washed up by then, but he was good enough to take the 2nd set in a TB. Also I doubt even a prime Becker would've had that big a chance anyway, 'cause Pete was playing close to his best tennis. (Plus Sampras is simply a bad matchup for Becker--Pete was basically a better Boris). I still remember JMac gushing, "If Pete's not in the zone right now I don't know what the zone is." Actually I was more impressed by the Becker match than by the famous '99 final against Agassi!

Seriously, I do acknowledge that Pete had a relatively kind draw at '97 Wimby. But the draw wouldn't have mattered in the slightest. :)

friends..stop the killer nadal...his sadic screaming is a sign of barbarism it has nothing to do with sports...tennis is a spoert for man and if you are a man like roger you must enough force to hit the ball enough storng...killer nadal is unable is weak to hit the ball with enough force and he needs to scream like crazzy inducing fear..this is very bad...even in wars the atakers didnt sream so loud and sadic...this screaming must be forbidden by the federation of tennis
shane nadal..you are a crazzy beast...who distroyed the human and technical tennis
-you are hungry pittbull ...thirsty to win with any methods..and referees are with you ...you are the devil..the fanatic satana ...you are the personification of evil and horror..if you can play without screaming...no problem..but, can you win?.anyway go away

Carsten you had b/point

Your ROS needs to lift

Some of the 2nd serves were quite returnable

Morning, everyone. :)

LOL sekel. You make Rafa sound like a demonically-possessed Genghis Khan. :)

Good Morning Jewell

Well Genghis Khan did have some fire power which is another way to look at things

dear guys ,it is very sad that a lot of you dontknow that real tennis has nothing to do with the killer nadal and other like him...tennis in competition has to be played trying to find a easy and tehnic way to hit the ball,witout replica...its crazzy and stupid to play a ball so log till one makes a mistake..this has nothing to do with tehnic..and plus the players will be dog tired..they should have not force for other years, to be fit..they will be distroyed..so at least dont encourage this boring styl
-federer and a few other players.almagro ,wawrinka,gasquest are playing tehnical, other in top with nadal are pitbulls, unfortunately

Blah Australia looks to go down in his match against Rochus

Rochus is a very solid player in all areas.

Rochus will serve for the 2nd set 5-4

lovely 1h/b/hand Rochus has as well.Ripped that down for a winner

Carsten your ROS on Rochus 2nd serve has been woeful today

LOL AM. :) So Rafter was watching the matches? Sad I missed that!

Geellis - perhaps I've misunderstood, but Rafa did face one of his most dangerous HC opponents in Djokovic, and while Youzhny and Rafa are both different players from 2006, Youzhny had given him trouble on HCs before, too.

B.point Carste flatting out that ball from the back of the court

Jewell The tie is still going on.2nd singles tie is on

Carsten Ball V O.Rochus

Carsten did have a break point and stuffed it

Deuce

Set point now for Belgium

Belgium take a 2 sets to love lead

Rochus 64,64 in sets 1 and 2.

Good morning,

Nalby is really focused on DC. "I want to win this tie. I cannot think about anything else. France is a very difficult opponent but we must win those three points come what may." http://bucket.ak.lanacion.com.ar/anexos/fotos/06/1263306w600.JPG

Specially for Gauloises: http://bucket.ak.lanacion.com.ar/anexos/fotos/26/1262826.jpg

No news on Delpo at all.

zenggi where have you been I have missed your afternoon chats (my time) for the past two weeks.

I have been on Pico and Nalby's websites all week and the photos are fantastic. There is one photo of Pico and he is shirtless and his hair is just a mass of curls. I want an Argie tracksuit.

Jewell Pat might become our next DC captain by next year.

Hey Angel,
I've been away last week. And very busy at work this week because I'm going again for 3 weeks. How are you? Do you have your computer back?

I've been following David and Pico on twitter. This is a difficult tie for me because I like both sets of players.

4 games all 2nd set

Carsten Ball has 2 b/points against him

Rochus has been returning his serve well

Carsten you need your 1st serves in like Now

I've been very busy at work so haven't had much time to post or read a lot of posts which I am not too worried about as their seems to be a lot of ill feelings here and there. No I haven' got my computer back which I am bit peeved about but they have offered to loan me one for four to six weeks until I get mine back but that one hasn't turned up yet. I am a bit disappointed as I would of loved to watch some DC action.

Hell the 2nd serve was close ot being out

Deuce Come on Carsten your moving today like a lump of lard

Add to Austalia thats the way with a shorter approach shot

Carsten holds serve 5-4 3rd set

Woohoo I am going to pick up my loan computer tomorrow. Will be able to stream some tennis.

5 games all

Carsten serving at deuce

Add to Carsten good 2nd serve at least this time Rochus could not return

Pfft idoit went and d/faulted

Deuce

Carsten get your first serve going Now

Add again lets get this right

Colour me Surprise he held

Carsten 6-5 3rd set.Rochus to serve to force a t/breaker in the 3rd set

AA Good News

Pfft in a t/break to decide the 3rd set

IC you kids have been fighting over the Fedal H2H issue again. I've pointed out the same old fallacies before (no, the H2H doesn't mean Rafa's a better player, and yes, context does matter re the surfaces), but this one seems fairly new:

It ain't Fed's fault that Rafa couldn't make the finals on surfaces other than clay.

No, of course not. And that does seem to favor Fed... until you look at the facts.

I dunno if it's selective memory, willful favoritism (read: spin) or just plain ignorance, but for some reason people don't seem to know that only one of Fedal's 4 initial meetings were on clay, and Rafa won 3 of 'em. Even the sole match Fed won, the '05 Miami final, was a hard-earned victory for him as he came back from 2 sets down. This was before Rafa had yet to hit his prime on HCs while Fed was smack in the middle of his.

Fed did go on to win his 4 subsequent matches against Rafa outside of clay until the '08 Wimbledon final, but two of 'em were on indoor HCs where Rafa has had by far his worst records, and we all know how he gave Fed all he could handle in the '07 Wimby final. And I repeat that this was all before Rafa's prime, when 130-mph serves were still aspirations rather than real-life actions for him.

The thing is, if we're to put any stock in the stats, the most reasonable conclusion is that Rafa is simply a bad matchup for Fed. Contrary to the wishful thinking of some Fed KADs, even if they played each other an equal number of times on different surfaces, it's Rafa who'd be more likely leading the H2H, not Fed.

Fed fans would be much better off making the reasonable argument that the H2H is a minor blemish rather than no blemish at all. I for one don't think it's that big a deal, and personally consider his lack of (and indifference to) a DC a bigger blemish (relatively speaking) than the unfavorable H2H against his main rival. Your guy has won all the majors and is considered the GOAT by many. That's more than fans of other players could ask for. So try not to get so defensive when someone suggests his resume may not be perfect. The H2H is what it is. Let it go.

I csnt believe bloody channel 7 have gone to normal program in the middle of a t/break

Typical.They dont deserve to have any rights to tennis at all.Blah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Personally I think that H2H is more complicated than "Rafa won lots!" and "well, he was never there on HCs!"

Looking at the first four matches they played, three were on hard courts, one on clay. Rafa won two of the HC matches and the clay match. That goes up to Dubai in 2006.

Then there's another "stage" in the H2H - between 2006 and 2007, when Rafa's wins were all on clay and Roger won on grass, the few HC matches they played, and once on clay. I guess these years were Roger's absolute prime years and the years where Roger reached most finals off clay, and Rafa did not.

(I think Rafa made a couple of HC finals during this time, where Roger did not, too.)

I feel like there is a third stage, in 2008, where Rafa came into *his* prime, and for whatever reason (mono!) Roger was not. I think Rafa started reaching more finals on all surfaces around here, whereas Roger reached fewer. In the last couple of years it's been Roger missing chances, as well as Rafa.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the future - I'd like to see them play more often, it's only been, what, twice in practically two years, in Madrid? And it'll be interesting to see what the dynamic is if they meet in SFs as well as Fs.

I don't think that H2H says much about Roger's greatness or supposed lack of it. As Rafa said himself, it's not just about one H2H but a whole host of other things. It says more about Rafa's career really, to me - great on clay, not quite so great on a HC; and I think it says that Rafa is generally a troublesome match-up for Roger - more so on clay, relatively less so on a HC.

Really, Angel? - Rafter would make a fabulous DC captain!

Angel,
At last! Why did the offer you a loan one if they couldn't deliver it on time? It's always better to have your own computer, anyway.

I read that it's been a terrible storm in New York last night with victims.
http://www.nytimes.com/

And in El Pais today the news that the 6 best tennis players (WTA) María José Martínez, Anabel Medina, Arancha Parra, Carla Suárez, Nuria Llagostera and Lourdes Domínguez will not play the Federation Cup in protest with the lack of attention they get from the Spanish Tennis Federation. Tennis Strike!!

http://tinyurl.com/3y8ysot

Oh goodness, I have turned into NP! *shock*

And now that jewell has completely cheapened my last post by shameless plagiarism, I shall take my leave and do my best fighting off nightmares.

Later.

NP,
Federer has no blemishes! OTOH Sampras....
Off to do something useful.

Just went online to get the final score in the 3rd set

Rochus won 7-6

Rochus d Carsten 64,64,76

The tie is now 1 all

Doubles will be played tomorrow.Saturday 18th September

jewell,
My turn to say it! You have.....

OMG good on the ladies for standing their ground.

AM with the tennis just walked into the work kitchen and saw the that. I just smiled and thought of you.

Oh and in other fantastic news I had this week. I have a date for my reconstruction it will be in January and I will be off for six weeks so I will prolly be able to watch the whole summer of tennis. Though that does not mean much if Ch 7 is telecasting.

Jewell Thats a scary thought

2 NP's on the board

Angel,
That's really good news! I hope everything goes fine with your operation. It'll be wonderful for you. And watching tennis as a recovery therapy! :)

LOL, zenggi. :)

My nightmares after that are going to be worse than yours, NP. :)

I'm now late for work. See you all later. :)

AA It seems channel 7 are back to their old ways

Like who in the hell wants to watch that stupid game with those silly cases anyway

Good news for your surgery you have waited sometime I hope all goes well

I will be praying as usual for you

I Hate Channel 7 period.

PS. Good luck for it, Angel, hope all goes perfectly!

Gauloises You were soo right with Carsten in your predication

Till now he had a 6-0 in DC matches

His serve a feature of his game was soo off and his abilty to return serve was woeful

Ironic that its was Rochus who knocked us out of the DC world cup level in 2007

Will the same thing happen again to the Aussies in 2010.Trying to get back to the top level in DC

Rafa news,16th September,2010.

While attending the Real Madrid v Ajax match last night,Rafa was welcomed by hundreds of fans who paid special tribute to the new USO champion.

Rafa received a standing ovation from his home crowd.His main goal now is to keep improving and hopefully win the Masters Cup which is another event he has never won.

He will travel to Manacor today and take a couple of days rest before he beginds training for the last part of the season in Asia.

In my opinion, Novak was never out (that's in regard of him being considered "back").
He's always had the same hunger for the very top, for the less keen observer, he may have appeared an entertainer etc.... but that was just a very thin facade covering the burning desire he's never lost.
The fluctuating trend of his results was just an indicator of the way he coped with some bad losses, the times when he kept continually hitting the glass ceiling called: Nadal & Federer.
Now, he's realised his time is coming, his 5 minutes are almost here. I'm glad he's had to wait for it and allow his body do mature and develop, his passion to ferment into vintage bubbly!
NOLE IS THE BEST!

kombo,

"Your arguments attempt to put more value on the number 1 than 5 and 6. You can choose to delude yourself, but it's a quantifiable fact that Rafa was far from being #2 at the USO when Fed was at his peak, but Fed was a clear #2 on clay for several years running."

Kombo, my arguments were only for the H2H..the 5 USO titles don't figure in the 14-7,no? For the reason, that they don't contribute to the 14-7,no?

The 3 clay finals do, because that's where some of the 14 came from....if Roger didn't make those 3 clay finals, we wouldn't count them, would we? We wouldn't hold it against him, would we?

Sure, if you want to judge over all, among all the 32 seeds...yes, Nadal never lived up to his seeding in the past five years at the USO.

But there is no factor in the H2H that gives extra brownie points to a player for living up to their seeding,no? Does it become 8-14 just because Roger lived up to his seeding? No. Does it become 7-13 because Rafa didn't live up to his seeding? Nope.

Sometimes, a stat is just a stat. My argument is that the stat hurts Roger, no matter how you justify for the 14 losses or for the supposedly 5 wins that never happened, and he ALONE is to blame for that stat.

Ladyjulia I swas the post you left for all Rafa fans on the other post

Thank You.

I mean that stat does hurt Roger a bit...its not like it takes away everything from his legacy.

AM..great!

no worries,no?

Ladyjulia No worries of course

I have always admired your posts.

I think we were all caught up in "the moment"

AM, same here..

me too..always admired your posts and how you stand up for all players, past or present.

Enjoy the DC action everyone today!

Davis Cup Weekend Matches(* - number 1 players on team)

World Group Semifinal Lineups:

France vs Argentina (should start shortly - 9 AM - 7 AM)
Michael Llodra vs Juan Monaco*
Gael Monfils* vs David Nalbandian
Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra vs Eduardo Schwank/Horacio Zeballos

Serbia vs Czech Republic (9 AM - 9 AM - 8 AM)
Novak Djokovic* vs Radek Stepanek
Janko Tipsarevic vs Tomas Berdych*
Viktor Troicki/Nenad Zimonjic vs Jan Hajek/Ivo Minar

World Group Playoff Matches

Israel leads Austria 2-1 (7:30 AM Sunday)
Sela* defeated Haider-Maurer 6-4,6-1,6-3
Melzer* defeated Levy 6-4,6-3,6-3
Erlich/Ram defeated Melzer/Peya 7-6(2),6-4,6-4
Sela vs Melzer
Levy vs Haider- Maurer

Colombia vs United States (11 AM - Noon - 11 AM)
Falla vs Fish*
Giraldo* vs Querrey
Farah/Salamanca vs Harrison/Isner

Germany leads South Africa 1-0 (9 AM - 5 AM)
Kohlschreiber* defeated DeVoest 6-4,6-4,6-4
Mayer vs Van Der Merwe*
Beck/Kas vs Coetzee/Moodie

Sweden vs Italy (9 AM - 8 AM - 7 AM)
Vinciguerra vs Starace*
Soderling* vs Fognini
Aspelin/Lindstedt vs Bolelli/Bracciali

Brazil leads India (5:30 AM - 2 AM)
Bellucci* defeated Bopanna 6-7(2),7-6(7),7-5,4-6,10-8
Devvarman* leads Mello 4-3
Bhupathi/Paes vs Melo/Soares

Australia tied with Belgium 1-all (11 PM Friday - 9 PM Saturday)
Hewitt* defeated Bemelmans 7-6(4),7-5,2-6,6-4
O Rochus* defeated Ball 6-4,6-4,7-5
Hanley/Hewitt vs Bemelmans/O Rochus
Hewitt vs O Rochus
Ball vs Bemelmans

Kazakhstan leads Switzerland 1-0 (4 AM - 2 AM)
Golubev* defeated Chiudinelli 6-4,6-4,6-4
Wawrinka* leads Kukushkin 6-3,0-3
Korolev/Schukin vs Allegro/Lammer

Romania leads Ecuador 1-0 (5 AM - 4:30 AM)
Hanescu* defeated Endara 6-2,6-2,6-2
Ungur on serve with G Lapentti* 3-4
Hanescu/Tecau vs G Lapentti/N Lapentti

Davis Cup Weekend Matches(* - number 1 players on team)

World Group Semifinal Lineups:

France vs Argentina (should start shortly - 9 AM - 7 AM)
Michael Llodra vs Juan Monaco*
Gael Monfils* vs David Nalbandian
Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra vs Eduardo Schwank/Horacio Zeballos

Serbia vs Czech Republic (9 AM - 9 AM - 8 AM)
Novak Djokovic* vs Radek Stepanek
Janko Tipsarevic vs Tomas Berdych*
Viktor Troicki/Nenad Zimonjic vs Jan Hajek/Ivo Minar

World Group Playoff Matches

Israel leads Austria 2-1 (7:30 AM Sunday)
Sela* defeated Haider-Maurer 6-4,6-1,6-3
Melzer* defeated Levy 6-4,6-3,6-3
Erlich/Ram defeated Melzer/Peya 7-6(2),6-4,6-4
Sela vs Melzer
Levy vs Haider- Maurer

Colombia vs United States (11 AM - Noon - 11 AM)
Falla vs Fish*
Giraldo* vs Querrey
Farah/Salamanca vs Harrison/Isner

Germany leads South Africa 1-0 (9 AM - 5 AM)
Kohlschreiber* defeated DeVoest 6-4,6-4,6-4
Mayer on serve with Van Der Merwe* 0-1
Beck/Kas vs Coetzee/Moodie

Sweden vs Italy (9 AM - 8 AM - 7 AM)
Vinciguerra vs Starace*
Soderling* vs Fognini
Aspelin/Lindstedt vs Bolelli/Bracciali

Brazil leads India (5:30 AM - 2 AM)
Bellucci* defeated Bopanna 6-7(2),7-6(7),7-5,4-6,10-8
Devvarman* leads Mello 4-3
Bhupathi/Paes vs Melo/Soares

Australia tied with Belgium 1-all (11 PM Friday - 9 PM Saturday)
Hewitt* defeated Bemelmans 7-6(4),7-5,2-6,6-4
O Rochus* defeated Ball 6-4,6-4,7-6(5)
Hanley/Hewitt vs Bemelmans/O Rochus
Hewitt vs O Rochus
Ball vs Bemelmans

Kazakhstan leads Switzerland 1-0 (4 AM - 2 AM)
Golubev* defeated Chiudinelli 6-4,6-4,6-4
Wawrinka* leads Kukushkin 6-3,0-4
Korolev/Schukin vs Allegro/Lammer

Romania leads Ecuador 1-0 (5 AM - 4:30 AM)
Hanescu* defeated Endara 6-2,6-2,6-2
Ungur on serve with G Lapentti* 4-5
Hanescu/Tecau vs G Lapentti/N Lapentti

Interesting read about Donald Young:

http://tennis.fanhouse.com/2010/09/16/donald-youngs-career-hindered-by-tug-of-war-with-usta-parents/

Novak Djokovic has stomach flu and will be replaced by Viktor Troicki:

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=5582975

Yes, MA, interesting and sad re Young. Hope things get well.

Djoker in tight undies in the locker room being interviewed by one of the Bryan brothers after his win over Fed in the semis......HEE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fufzwBrotFc

Davis Cup Weekend Matches(* - number 1 players on team)

World Group Semifinal Lineups:

France vs Argentina (should start shortly - 9 AM - 7 AM)
Michael Llodra leads Juan Monaco* 7-5,1-0
Gael Monfils* vs David Nalbandian
Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra vs Eduardo Schwank/Horacio Zeballos

Serbia vs Czech Republic (9 AM - 9 AM - 8 AM)
Viktor Troicki* vs Radek Stepanek
Janko Tipsarevic vs Tomas Berdych*
Viktor Troicki/Nenad Zimonjic vs Jan Hajek/Ivo Minar

World Group Playoff Matches

Israel leads Austria 2-1 (7:30 AM Sunday)
Sela* defeated Haider-Maurer 6-4,6-1,6-3
Melzer* defeated Levy 6-4,6-3,6-3
Erlich/Ram defeated Melzer/Peya 7-6(2),6-4,6-4
Sela vs Melzer
Levy vs Haider- Maurer

Colombia vs United States (11 AM - Noon - 11 AM)
Falla vs Fish*
Giraldo* vs Querrey
Farah/Salamanca vs Harrison/Isner

Germany leads South Africa 1-0 (9 AM - 5 AM)
Kohlschreiber* defeated DeVoest 6-4,6-4,6-4
Mayer leads Van Der Merwe* 6-3,2-1
Beck/Kas vs Coetzee/Moodie

Sweden vs Italy (9 AM - 8 AM - 7 AM)
Vinciguerra vs Starace*
Soderling* vs Fognini
Aspelin/Lindstedt vs Bolelli/Bracciali

Brazil leads India (5:30 AM - 2 AM)
Bellucci* defeated Bopanna 6-7(2),7-6(7),7-5,4-6,10-8
Devvarman* leads Mello 6-4,2-6,1-0
Bhupathi/Paes vs Melo/Soares

Australia tied with Belgium 1-all (11 PM Friday - 9 PM Saturday)
Hewitt* defeated Bemelmans 7-6(4),7-5,2-6,6-4
O Rochus* defeated Ball 6-4,6-4,7-6(5)
Hanley/Hewitt vs Bemelmans/O Rochus
Hewitt vs O Rochus
Ball vs Bemelmans

Kazakhstan leads Switzerland 1-0 (4 AM - 2 AM)
Golubev* defeated Chiudinelli 6-4,6-4,6-4
Kukushkin leads Wawrinka* 3-6,6-1,5-4
Korolev/Schukin vs Allegro/Lammer

Romania leads Ecuador 1-0 (5 AM - 4:30 AM)
Hanescu* defeated Endara 6-2,6-2,6-2
G Lapentti* leads Ungur 7-6(2),4-3
Hanescu/Tecau vs G Lapentti/N Lapentti

Is this the thread for DC?

Novak has stomach flu and can't play? That sucks for Serbia.

hi all...

nice presentation in serbia...

Ladyjulia -"Kombo, my arguments were only for the H2H..the 5 USO titles don't figure in the 14-7,no? For the reason, that they don't contribute to the 14-7,no? The 3 clay finals do, because that's where some of the 14 came from....if Roger didn't make those 3 clay finals, we wouldn't count them, would we? We wouldn't hold it against him, would we?"

You think reaching the FO final and losing to Rafa is to be "held against" Fed, meanwhile Rafa failing to even reach the USO, WTF and AO finals several years running is to his benefit? Do you think H2H is more important than overall performance?

Ajde, Viktor!

Ha! I said a few days here that Serbia will have a hard time as Djoker will not likely recover in time for the Friday match. Some here disagreed with me, but see? This davis cup schedule is quite ridiculous for US open SFists. Now that both old man Fed and Djoker are out, happy, Davis cup organization people?? Man, these people never ever learn!! It grinds my gears!! Maybe Victor still has a slight chance again the worms since the worms has been no factor this year. Serbia will be super lucky to finish 1-1 today...

Get Well Nole and I'm so proud of you!! I Love your game and your personality and can't wait to see what happens moving ahead! :)

Master Ace- Thank you for the link on Donald Young. I'm from Chicago so I remember hearing hype about him when he was 10 and my first thought about it was that they are expecting too much from him. John McEnroe is a big part of it, just like he said. So many people judge him and say he's a failure but I watched him almost beat Davydenko. He has game and if he could get mentally stronger and not get so down on himself, he would rise in the ranking. We can't judge because we don't know the whole story.

AND looks like Swiss will likely lose to Kazakhstan at the play-off. They are down 0-1 now. old man Fed only has himself to kick for totally ruining his chances for the Davis cup glory next year. Then again Fed doesn't give a poop for Davis cup anymore... bah!!

I think even though Rafa is said to have turned pro in 2001, we can't say that he really played the T-O-U-R until 2003.

Consider this info on Rafa's early playing activity.
Year 2001- Age 15 - 2 events in a 2-week span in September in Spain - a future and a challenger

Spain F10, Madrid; 10.09.2001; FU; Outdoor: Hard; Draw: 32
Seville, Spain; 17.09.2001; CH; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32

Year 2002- Age 16 - 12 events in Spain, all futures and challengers except 1 WS in Mallorca
Mallorca, Spain; 29.04.2002; WS; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Spain F5, Alicante, Spain; 08.07.2002; FU; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Spain F7, Gandia, Spain; 22.07.2002; FU; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Spain F10, Vigo; 12.08.2002; FU; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Spain F11, Irun; 19.08.2002; FU; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Spain F12, Santander; 26.08.2002; FU; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Spain F15, Barcelona; 16.09.2002; FU; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Spain F16, Barcelona; 23.09.2002; FU; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Seville, Spain; 30.09.2002; CH; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Barcelona, Spain; 07.10.2002; CH; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Spain F19, Gran Canaria; 18.11.2002; FU; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Spain F20, Gran Canaria; 25.11.2002; FU; Outdoor: Carpet; Draw: 32

Federer on the other hand, played WS events from his 1st half-year in 1998, and in 1999 is full-blown playing Grand Slam and real T-O-U-R events
Federer
Year 1998- Age 17: 4 events in 4 months: 3 WS, 1 CH He played against opponents ranked 8, 20, 88, 124
Gstaad, Switzerland; 06.07.1998; WS; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Geneva, Switzerland; 24.08.1998; CH; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Toulouse, France; 28.09.1998; WS; Indoor: Hard; Draw: 32
Basel, Switzerland; 05.10.1998; WS; Indoor: Hard; Draw: 32

Year 1999- Age 18: 23 events: 2 GS, 2 SU, 3 CS, 7 WS, 2 DC, 7 CH
Heilbronn, Germany; 25.01.1999; CH; Indoor: Carpet; Draw: 32
Marseille, France; 01.02.1999; WS; Indoor: Hard; Draw: 32
Rotterdam, The Netherlands; 15.02.1999; CS; Indoor: Carpet; Draw: 32
Grenoble, France; 01.03.1999; CH; Indoor: Hard; Draw: 32
ATP Masters Series Miami, FL, U.S.A; 15.03.1999; SU; Outdoor: Hard; Draw: 96
ITA V SUI 1RD, Switzerland; 02.04.1999; DC; Indoor: Carpet; Draw: 4
ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo, Monaco; 19.04.1999; SU; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 56
Espinho, Portugal; 26.04.1999; CH; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Ljubljana, Slovenia, Ljubljana; 03.05.1999; CH; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
Roland Garros, France; 24.05.1999; GS; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 128
Surbiton, England; 31.05.1999; CH; Outdoor: Grass; Draw: 32
London / Queen's Club, England; 07.06.1999; WS; Outdoor: Grass; Draw: 56
Wimbledon, England; 21.06.1999; GS; Outdoor: Grass; Draw: 128
Gstaad, Switzerland; 05.07.1999; WS; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 32
SUI V BEL QF, Brussels, Belgium; 16.07.1999; DC; Outdoor: Clay; Draw: 6
Segovia, Spain; 02.08.1999; CH; Outdoor: Hard; Draw: 32
Washington, DC, U.S.A.; 16.08.1999; CS; Outdoor: Hard; Draw: 56
Tashkent, Uzbekistan; 13.09.1999; WS; Outdoor: Hard; Draw: 32
Toulouse, France; 27.09.1999; WS; Indoor: Hard; Draw: 32
Basel, Switzerland; 04.10.1999; WS; Indoor: Carpet; Draw: 32
Vienna, Austria; 11.10.1999; CS; Indoor: Hard; Draw: 32
Lyon, France; 18.10.1999; WS; Indoor: Carpet; Draw: 48
Brest, France; 25.10.1999; CH; Indoor: Hard; Draw: 32

"You think reaching the FO final and losing to Rafa is to be "held against" Fed, meanwhile Rafa failing to even reach the USO, WTF and AO finals several years running is to his benefit?"

This is always brought up to try and put the head to head in a better light for Fed but don't forget that Rafa has 5 hard court masters on his worst surface and none of them were against Federer in the finals so where was he? Federer didn't reach the finals at Roland Garros until he was 24 in his prime just like Rafa at the USO. I think saying that Rafa failed to reach the USO, WTF and AO finals is just unfair let's see what he goes on to do now in his prime.

It was really nice to hear the Serbian anthem without the constant booing in Split two months ago.

Terrible news that Novak has withdrawn; ajde, Viki!

Am a huge fan of Rafa, but I think Djokovic's really back with the way he's handling stuff on-court. coming up with such a mind buggling semi with Roger and a thrilling final with Rafa; Go Novak!!!

Novak withdrew from today's singles because of stomach problems.

Well, I was in the DC match between Israel and Austria today, neither team played great, but Israel got the work done.

Ack! What on earth is going on with Team Swiss?! I don't see them coming back from 2:0 down after day one!

Davis Cup Weekend Matches(* - number 1 players on team)

World Group Semifinal Lineups:

France vs Argentina (9 AM - 7 AM)
Michael Llodra on serve with Juan Monaco* 7-5,4-6,3-2
Gael Monfils* vs David Nalbandian
Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra vs Eduardo Schwank/Horacio Zeballos

Serbia vs Czech Republic (9 AM - 8 AM)
Viktor Troicki* leads Radek Stepanek 4-3
Janko Tipsarevic vs Tomas Berdych*
Viktor Troicki/Nenad Zimonjic vs Jan Hajek/Ivo Minar

World Group Playoff Matches

Israel leads Austria 2-1 (7:30 AM Sunday)
Sela* defeated Haider-Maurer 6-4,6-1,6-3
Melzer* defeated Levy 6-4,6-3,6-3
Erlich/Ram defeated Melzer/Peya 7-6(2),6-4,6-4
Sela vs Melzer
Levy vs Haider- Maurer

Colombia vs United States (11 AM - Noon - 11 AM)
Falla vs Fish*
Giraldo* vs Querrey
Farah/Salamanca vs Harrison/Isner

Germany leads South Africa 1-0 (9 AM - 5 AM)
Kohlschreiber* defeated DeVoest 6-4,6-4,6-4
Mayer leads Van Der Merwe* 6-3,3-6,6-1,2-1
Beck/Kas vs Coetzee/Moodie

Sweden vs Italy (8 AM - 7 AM)
Starace* leads Vinciguerra 6-2
Soderling* vs Fognini
Aspelin/Lindstedt vs Bolelli/Bracciali

Brazil leads India (5:30 AM - 2 AM)
Bellucci* defeated Bopanna 6-7(2),7-6(7),7-5,4-6,10-8
Devvarman* leads Mello 6-4,2-6,7-6(3)
Bhupathi/Paes vs Melo/Soares

Australia tied with Belgium 1-all (11 PM Friday - 9 PM Saturday)
Hewitt* defeated Bemelmans 7-6(4),7-5,2-6,6-4
O Rochus* defeated Ball 6-4,6-4,7-6(5)
Hanley/Hewitt vs Bemelmans/O Rochus
Hewitt vs O Rochus
Ball vs Bemelmans

Kazakhstan leads Switzerland 1-0 (4 AM - 2 AM)
Golubev* defeated Chiudinelli 6-4,6-4,6-4
Kukushkin leads Wawrinka* 3-6,6-1,6-4,1-6,2-0
Korolev/Schukin vs Allegro/Lammer

Romania leads Ecuador 1-0 (5 AM - 4:30 AM)
Hanescu* defeated Endara 6-2,6-2,6-2
G Lapentti* leads Ungur 7-6(2),6-4,3-5
Hanescu/Tecau vs G Lapentti/N Lapentti

thanks for updates, MA

Rafa! Roger! Rafa! Roger! Goat! H2H! Nole! What about Nole?! Roger! Rafa! Slams! H2H! Slams! H2H! Slams! H2H! Slams! Del Potro (sob)! FOOP! LOL LOL LOL Roger! Rafa! WhatisupwithMurraythistime? Snark! Snarl! Attack! Caro! Don't forget Caro! No, what I said was... Yes, but then I said... Roger! Rafa! Nole! I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. Com sa, Caro! Don't forget, Caro! Asterisk? Goat! LOL!

I love this place over the last few days.

Good morning, you wonderful people.

LOL@Kate!!! Well Said! hehe =)

Neveah,

I thank you. But I left out Serena and Venus. Bother.

Sorry Kate, I just got to thinking about posts by others like Kombo's post, so here is more. What can I say about Novak, now, except, hope that he's right in the head and in the physical aspects after what was a hard-fought, almost won USO.

Now, this one is some stats in about major wins and age

Rafa: 9 wins out of 26 slams played since age 17 in 2003, winning percent: 35%, No. of years: 8 years
Roger: 16 wins out of 46 GS played since age 18 in 2009, winning percent: 35%, No. of years: 12 years

Fed's not coming through for Switzerland in Davis Cup is another reason I've never been keen on him. Now, don't jump on me with the ties he actually *has* played - if Switzerland produced the erstwhile GOAT, it would be sad to lose against Kazakhstan.

I mean, the US might very well go down against Colombia this weekend, but at least everyone there is excited about participating.

Hi everybody

These are the best pictures than I've seen in the last days
And he is only 24 years old

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1009/tennis.rafael.nadal.grand.slam.titles/content.1.html

"Roger: 16 wins out of 46 GS played since age 18 in 2009"

do you mean 1999?

Troicki is a break down in the second set after taking the first.

Ajde, Viktor, get the break back!

Kate- Oh you can't leave them out! ;) and you're welcome!

should be : "Roger: 16 wins out of 46 GS played since age 18 in 1999"

thanks, Sokol

Hi everyone amazing atmosphere in Lyon. The argentine fans are numerous and very local, David Nalbandian was quite emotional when they were singning the argie national anthem I guess the team did not expect so many argie fans. The match has been close so far between pico and llodra I missed almost the whole third set but could watch at home before arriving to the office the 2 first ones. A pity that Pico lost the break in his favour in the first set.

But, Vie, no one can *argue* about matching numbers!

Seriously, a fascinating stat.

I am going to be an old lady by the time both these men have retired (well, retired-ish, a la Borg and McEnroe) and will have and share their own perspectives on this time. Hoping for longevity, so I can hear what they have to say.

Wondering how Djokovic will end out his year (and begin the next). I find myself thinking of Verdasco after the AO 09, when he was (theoretically) breaking out of himself and coming into his own. He seems now to have lost his way again (though he is far less terrified of his own second serve, which is nice).

I'd like good things for Djokovic, as he was about the most gracious loser I have ever seen. Set the bar high, he did.

Watching this third set Monaco is not a good big point player. He has the skills but not the mentality it seems. He already fought 2 set points in the former game. But now has to save 2 more in this game after going 040 with his serve.