Interesting numbers.

Here are the total number of sets, these jokers have played going into Paris, this year. Tournaments include the Davis Cup matches.

Federer appears to have expended a lot more energy, despite playing at the least number of events. He has played 2.6 more sets per tournament.

Djokovic has kept the number of sets under good control, considering he has played the most.

Look at Nadal’s numbers. He has played almost as many sets as Federer, with three additional events, @ 2 less sets per outing.

Will this have a bearing on what happens at TMC?

Player	Sets played	Tourn played	Avg sets per event	Titles
Federer	190	15	12.6	7
Nadal	193	18	10.7	6
Djokovic	224	22	10.1	5

Is this Hawk-Eye, asking for a black eye?

 

There have been at least a dozen, publicised cases of blotched calls, this year, with the one at the Wimbledon final, the most glaring and conspicuous.

With the technology at, where it is today, these jokers cannot determine for sure if the ball is on or not? And you can drive a mini car on the moon, remotely from earth?

It needs to be put to a test, once and for all. And I cannot think of a better suggestion, than what Nadal came up with, when he was screwed by Hawk-Eye, in his match against Youzhny, early in the year.

Turn it on clay, and then determine how bad it is. Either dump the whole system, lock, stock and barrel, or replace it with a fool proof system that has the confidence of players, umpires and fans alike.

How freaking tough is it, to determine if the ball is in and out, accurately, in this day and age? It would have been done yesterday, if all the revenue depended on it. It’s just not a priority for the organizers, and players are happy, embracing it as a lesser evil.

It probably will take couple more of those Wimbledon calls, for the uproar to start, to get these jokers to move.

If you are so confident, show us on clay.

Federer squeezes past Karlovic, but Karlovic wins his first set, without a tie-break, in five meetings.

  

Score: 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

To Federer’s credit, he was able to break Karlovic, what, three times? 

It appears Karlovic still deserves some credit for extending Federer, despite Federer’s rugged schedule. He has proved in the last month or so, that his game is not all about the serve anymore.

It was a good match for both. Karlovic ended the year, on a high note, and Federer taught Davydenko a lesson, on how to tank matches. You have to start a match prior.

Nalbadian is up next. Nalbandian should be encouraged to see this match. It should be an exciting match, with the backdrop of Nalbandian’s win at Madrid.

Santoro stuns Djokovic, 6-3, 6-2.

Santoro, who will be 35 this December, has now defeated two, top five players in the world, in a span of 10 days.

He dispatched Roddick earlier in the first round. At the US Open, this year, he took Blake to five sets, and essentially ended his run there, because of how much Blake had to put out, to get by him. 

That’s a lot of fire power to deal with for a 35 year old dude. It is refreshing to see, creativity and shot making, trump sheer power. Isn’t that what tennis is all about?

Hope more players add some of his guile in their arsenal. It would be a deadly combination of power and finesse. Maybe some one getting up in years, need to pay attention, on how to keep the winning streak going.

Djokovic, has clearly achieved more than he aimed at, this year. Having already played 20 tournaments, his body is just winding down, mentally and physically. Psychologically, he has already moved on to next year. Nadal is sailing in the same boat. With Federer, on the ‘tank’ mission, easy pickings for others.

Federer as King Arthur. From anna & Arbit. Thanks.

anna |

Have you guy seens these lovely shoots of Federer as King Arthur. There is a link on the site of a “video of back scene” filming.

http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2007news/federer_arthur.asp

Murray reminds you of Federer? From pommesdesuisse. Thanks.

 

pommesdesuisse | 

hey guys…
murray just came through against nieminen…

my question is: what do you think about murray, despite the fact many of you don’t seem to like him.

my bold statement is: he’s incredibly talented. the most talent guy since federer. he’s crazy and seems to almost lose sanity when he’s losing. so that’s a real problem…
he has to ‘grow’ out of that…

but his struggle to convert his enormous potential reminds me of federer at the beginning of his career…he’s still on his way to figure out his own game…

i think murray needs successes and then he probably will find his calm. if he’s not gonna find that he will always stand in his way himself…

probably his defense is not good enough, yet. but…i really think he’s gonna be a top dog once…

Who are these clowns?

Decide, once and for all, if you want to be old or young, for crying out loud.

What are you trying to freaking achieve, by dying just your eye brows and the moustaches, and leaving your hair grey or is it white?

Can’t you freaking decide? No wonder, you got sent to South Africa as a salesman.

Is this that big a decision? How dysfunction-ally conflicted do you have to be, to not be able to settle on one side?

If you think, you are making yourself stand out in the crowd, by these unique antics, you may have achieved your goal. Not even lunatics do that. So there you have it.

Have you ever seen this? This is sick.

What’s my name? What’s my name?

Is the notion, that Federer is a great human being, overrated?

 

If you are not a lunatic crackhead, like McEnroe, would your behavior be any different, if you were in Federer’s shoes?

Isn’t it easy to be all pretty, nice, gracious, majestic etc. when everything is so beautiful and going your way? He is a great player, and that is where his personality emanates from. Not vice versa.

If you doubt it, just observe what happens to his ‘model’ personality, every freaking time he looses. He called Nadal ‘one dimensional’ player, after he broke his invincibility shield. If you have been following the drama, you know there are scores of such instances, after his losses.

Contrast that to Nadal’s demeanor, when he looses, even to Djokovic, who has done enough to rile a turtle. Nadal’s personality has no such mood swings, signifying, what we see is unadulterated. He is neither delirious in win, or vindictive in defeat. Isn’t that the model person?

Maybe Nadal does not have that much to defend, or not as much at stake as Federer, but is that a pass to berate your competitor publicly, at worst, or make long mean faces at award ceremonies, at best?

That can mean only one thing: When he is winning, he is a model citizen, but when he looses, he dips below even the regulars on the tour. His tennis dictates what kind of person we will see in public, whereas Nadal’s personality governs how he behaves, whether it is a win or a loss.

Any even that ‘great’ player status, is not without a long shadow of doubt, from none other than the previous greats of the game. ‘Current competition lacks depth’ is the greatest knock on his stellar career. Except Nadal, there is no other worthy contender for the ’Hall of Fame’ spot, during his reign.

Former greats from Emerson to Sampras have openly voiced the miserable lack of depth in today’s field.

So what we are left to conclude is this: We will see this ideal person in Federer, only if he wins. There is more than enough evidence now, to substantiate that claim. He is just a loss away from turning into a whiny, ungracious and poor loser.

Although he appears to have cleaned up his act, lately, but that track record, makes the current behavior even more fake and rehearsed.

What’s truly inside you, will find a way out, in many ways. Human eye can detect it, instantly.

Like I always say ‘You can fool all the people, some of the time, or you can fool all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time’. Truth will find a way, sooner or later.

Some Halloween posters for motorrow.

The 13 Characteristics of Successful People.

 

Do you have any?

Click here.

For lunatics, just rolling out their carcasses, from under that rock, this is how the tennis schedule works. From Gracie. Thanks.

Gracie |
The four Grand Slam events and the nine Masters Cup tournaments are essentially mandatory for all players, unless they are injured. Backing out for other reasons will usually draw a big fine. As Jenny said, all the tournaments are worth points to the players, and the overall ranking points are pulled from the results of these 13 tournaments plus 5 other International Series events, which the players can select from a list of many. The ranking points are calculated on a rolling 52 week cycle. So as of today, Federer’s Basel result from 2006 would be dropped and the new result added in.

The Nine Masters events are held on hard and clay courts, but the surfaces aren’t always exactly the same, and conditions vary from place to place, so basically, it comes down to a test of skill, will and endurance.

The Masters Cup is the year end championship event, in which the eight guys with the most points get to compete in a round robin format. They’re split into two groups, and each player in a given group has to play all the other ones in their group at least once. That’s the easy part… Calculating who wins in a group is done by percent of matches won, sets won, and even games figure in, I think…. I can follow it when I’m actually watching, but I’m not sure if I can explain that part exactly (Anand_101…anyone, can you?). It boils down to who gets to play the semifinals and final, though. And it’s a big deal to win the year end championship.

Federer fined for ‘lack of effort’. From cms. Thanks.

 

cms | 

Here’s an interesting bit on the subject…

http://www.sportinglife.com/fanzine/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=tennis/07/10/30/TENNIS_Column.html

“However, whilst investigations are still ongoing, for now Davydenko ought to console himself that the stigma of a “not trying” barb need not necessarily hamper the remainder of his career.

After all, the same thing happened to a young and hot-headed Roger Federer after he blew a match against the Swiss number 11 Armando Brunold in a satellite tournament in Kublis.

Federer lost 7-6 6-2 and tournament referee Claudio Grether recalled in the book, ‘The Roger Federer Story’: “He simply stood unmotivated and nonchalantly on the court and double faulted twice each game.”

Federer was fined the mandatory USD100 for the offence, meaning that with prize money from the tournament of a mere USD87, he actually exited with USD13 less than he had actually arrived.

Federer took some time to get over his embarrassment. That was not the case for Marat Safin, who became the first player fined for the offence in a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open in 2000

Sampras at ESPN.

Whose ass is this?

‘The Hungry’ and ‘The Complacent’ players at year end.

Complacent

 

Nadal: Last glimmer of hope, for the year-end ranking, snuffed out at Basel, he may not be the most motivated player on the tour right now. With his body letting him down for the second straight year, he must already be thinking of next year.

He has his work cut out for him next season. Forget about getting to No. 1, his No. 2 rank is in serious jeopardy. Djokovic will probably finish him off by March, if not earlier. Unless of course, Nadal not only mends his body in a hurry, but also learns to win on surfaces not called clay. Not likely to happen, on current track record.

Nadal would have liked to have seen the season end right after the US Open. Anything after that is only adding to his misery. He is not so bad physically, to officially skip the events, on the one hand, while his mind wants to compete and wrest back what he has lost, on the other.

Djokovic: He has five titles. Reached the semifinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, with a final at USO. Beat the top three players back to back, including Federer – for the first time. Maybe the big stage at USO, got to him, to lose in straight sets. Reached career high No. 3 rank in the world.

That is a massive year, by most standards. Having played 20 tournaments already, he is not in the best of shape, physically and mentally. With his history of physical exhaustion well documented, this is not going to be his favorite time of the year.

It appears he has achieved more than he set out for, already. With a lot fresher players in the hunt, Djokovic may have resigned himself to feast on what he has on the table.

Roddick: He has got to be feeling it. As if the rest of the season was not enough torture for him, Santoro may have hammered the last nail in his coffin, by taking him out in the first round at Lyon, France, just a week ago.

With just two insignificant titles this year, this has got to be one of his most disappointed years, considering the circumstances. Connors probably got him closer to winning a major title, as much as he could, this year. But Roddick failed to execute, and he has to take full responsibility for it.

He is not winning at TMC. He is out of Paris already. That leaves him groping for answers to what he is up against next year, when the weather is only going to get rough for Andy. This could be the last year of his being considered ‘in the mix’. It’s all downhill for him now.

Hungry.

Murray: He can still salvage a lost season to injuries, by putting up a good show at Paris and the TMC. He is motivated to prove to himself, and the fans, that he is worthy of the top 10, and maybe the top 5 rank in the world.

Fresh from his title at Russia, he should be just rearing to go. Besides, he has fresh legs. Everyone else is at the end of the long season. He is just starting out. What he may lack in ‘match-play’, he can more than compensate for it with his strong and rested legs.

That injury time out, may prove to be a blessing in disguise for him, if he can generate valuable momentum, with these two year-end events, and carry it over next year, with another break, before the next season starts.

Ferrer: His game revolves around his tight defense. If he can muster enough fuel in his tank to run around this late in the year, he can be trouble for the big guns. That’s the last thing anyone wants, at this time: a defensive nightmare.

He has had a great year, with three titles, already. He reached the semifinals at the USO, and quarterfinals at four Masters Series events. He has great momentum, and should be looking to further add to his basket, considering the big dogs may not be in the best of shape right now.

Qualification at the TMC should be a big boost to pump his adrenaline to reach even higher before the year ends.

Karlovic: He should be feeling impatient and encouraged, both at the same time. He has been able to take the best of them to the limit: Tie-break. If only he can get past that one hurdle, he could be in elite company.

He is at career high 24 ATP rank. He has won three career titles, all this year, in his seven years as a pro. He is going to get very close to the all-time aces record, before the season is over. He is already at No. 2 all-time. You think, that would motivate someone?

He is not going to TMC. This is his final shot, and Federer is next. Is that good or bad?

Federer tricked.

Federer predicts the rankings.

Sharapova can.

Players likely to shine at Paris Masters.

 

1. Murray: That ‘absent from the tour’ syndrome is doing Andy good. He just won the second title of the year at St. Petersburg, Russia. He has had a pretty decent October so far, reaching the finals at Metz, France, and losing to Nadal in a close match at Madrid. He has moved up four ranks to No. 12 in the world.

This is proof, how much, or what, you do, is dictated by what your neighbor does, in any freaking country around the world, that has humans. Translate that to, what your classmates do, and you will understand why Murray will put everything on the line, here.

You see, Djokovic, Gasquet, Murray and Baghdatis were lumped together in one class: Future of tennis. The pride and ego gets a beating, if you are left behind in the dust. How bad it hurts you, will determine how serious you will be, to ‘catch up’.

So far, Murray appears to be hurting a lot more than Baghdatis. With that ‘absent’ syndrome adding fuel to fire, he has nowhere to go but north.

But he has a tough draw, with Djokovic in the second match of the event. Djokovic has humiliated him twice this year, in straight sets, one with a bagel. But this is a new and renewed Murray, and it is unlikely Djokovic will have that easy this time.

If he gets past Djokovic, he may go all the way, with Federer resting with his ‘tank’ early.

2. Mario Brother Ancic: Another joker with that ‘absent syndrome’ roaming like a wounded tiger. He reached the quarterfinals at Madrid, losing to Djokovic. Having been out of commission for a longer time and with lesser talent, he may not match Murray, but he can inflict some serious damage, after Federer tanks. Dangerous clown.

3. Del Potro: If he gets by Davydenko in the next round, he can create havoc in his half of the draw. He is at a career high rank, and was eliminated by Federer and Nalbandian, the eventual winners of the last two events.

4. Karlovic: He tasted some blood against Federer at Basel. If he is able to pull off an upset against Federer, watch out. He is like a volcano, ready to erupt. He has been tantalizingly close so many times, that he is so fed up with just missing it by a whisker, that he may take all that frustratin out right here.

If he gets past Federer, for whatever reason (wink, wink), and if he keeps up his recent form, no one can stop him until the semis. He has full support of two other freaks of nature, like Isner and Querrey, who are just waiting for the road to be paved by Karlovic, before they start their own destruction of these mortals and midgets.

5. Wawrinka: His ‘stay’ with Federer is now starting to pay off. Something more than just the body, has rubbed off on him. Although in Nadal’s half, he can move up higher than he has ever been in a Masters Series this time. All he needs is some alone time with Federer – for advice. WHAT? What were you thinking? You perverts.

So, there you have it!!!!!!!!!!!

Federer cannot control his laughter. Can you guess what exactly tickled him? From Gracie. Thanks.

Gracie |

This is a link to an interview during the Swiss Indoors, after Federer’s match with DelPotro. I didn’t see it originally, but I’d read about this exchange. The video has a caption translation, though I don’t know how accurate it is. Can anyone help? Pommedesuisse? Whether you fully understand it or not, it will still have you chuckling.

Will Federer tank at Paris? Duh!!!!!!!!

 

What do you think, you would do? If you were given a choice between tanking, an injury or a ‘lack of integrity crap’ fine. Do you need brain cells for this?

He is just sitting down with Davydenko, right about now, to avoid the mistakes he committed to give away that ‘lack of effort’ effort, couple of days ago.

I would suggest that you discuss this in advance: All balls to your backhand. Stand towards the right of the court, to ensure even the ones on your forehand, end up on the backhand. And then just spray the freaking court, to your heart’s content.

No one will be able to tell. Everyone will get what they want. Isn’t that, what this is all about? Making everyone happy.

Maybe Nadal could chime in too. He actually should get the ‘acting’ award for that fifth set at Wimbledon. Besides, you can call on your own experience, from the FO final and 17 break points. That was superb.

It’s always the innocent guy that gets caught. Poor Davy. But that was just a learning experience for him and everyone else.

That’s the reason, people choose individual sports. No boss. No coach. No crap about supporting your team etc. Don’t let it die. Just disguise it, and everyone will return to their crappy life happy.

Grosjean’s first trophy in five years. How did all that hard work, work out for you?

 

Or is this how you hint at retirement, these days?

Who is this kid? Don’t read the BS on the poster, just look at the face. Yeah, you lazy freaks are going to do that!!!

Weak desires will bring weak results.

 

History is replete with instances, where a human reached the pinnacle of his chosen profession, without seemingly possessing the typical traits of a winner.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a perfect example. If you heard him say, that he wanted to be Hollywood hero, you would have laughed, if you knew anything about him. He had a heavy accent, still does, and was a champion body builder.

That’s not a typical profile of a successful Hollywood hero. In fact, each one of his qualifications, went against the standard mould of an acclaimed actor. Many bodybuilders in the past, had tried their luck at acting, but were relegated to side roles.

There was so much working against him, that it was impossible to see him getting anything other than some side roles of a tough guy in the background. So what was it, that turned everything that was negative, into positive, to create one of the most memorable Hollywood action figures of all time.

And then he did it again, the second time, to turn cold turkey and become the governor of California. Is it just luck? Maybe, some of it sprinkled here and there, but that cannot get you the success he has had in three totally isolated professions, he has chosen and succeeded at.

How about Lance Armstrong? Perfect profile of a champion cyclist? Far from it. Larry Bird? Jesse Owens? Joe Louis? Jackie Robinson? Rod Laver? The list is endless.

When desire becomes a burning obsession, it not only removes every obstacle from the path, it converts those obstacles into props, to move you up the ladder of success.

That’s what happened to Sampras after he lost to Edberg, to Federer after he beat Sampras etc. etc. That’s the switch, when turned on, leads the individual to a glorious journey. That’s what a Safin and a Baghdatis will never understand.

Without that burning desire, you are trying to navigate a ocean with a small boat. Sooner or later, it is destined to crash. Strong desire will bring strong results, and vice versa.

You don’t believe it? Just look around your own life, and notice the people who are succeeding in your family or neighborhood. They are possessed with this gift, that is driving them upward.

Talent is just a small part of the rubric. Strong desire can overcome huge hurdles, including lack of talent, within reason. You think, Lendl was one of the most talented tennis players. Not even close. Maybe McEnroe was, but he was missing the main ingredient.

Or was Sampras the most talented of the whole bunch? Not at all. If you have followed Federer’s game closely, you know it is not true. Despite the wooden rackets, and all the other crap of the ‘shut’ era, you think Laver had a better profile on paper than Emerson, as a potential winner of two calendar Grand Slams? He was 5’8″, with six footers all around him.

The freaking point is this: Federer is not winning, so consistently, mainly because of this dazzling and dynamic talent. That cannot sustain this long a run alone. It’s his strong desire, from which emanates everything, including talent, physical fitness, mental toughness, smarts to take breaks when required, you name it. That’s the root, which brings the whole package together, like an orchestra coming together to produce a masterpiece. Just talent cannot achieve that. McEnroe, Safin, Agassi, etc. are glaring examples, as ample testament.

This is the stage, when your desire becomes so intense, that it starts to burn into heat. Not just any heat – white heat. An absolute obsession. If you have never experienced that ever in your life, you have not lived.

You think, Tiger Woods possesses it? You bet. There has never been a golfer who has achieved so much so early in life. Does he fit a typical profile of a successful golfer? You’ve got to be freaking kidding me!!!!!!!!

There may come a few Djokovics here, and few Nadals there, but unless anyone of them is armed with that intangible gift, of white heat burning desire, these Federer records are not going anywhere.

Talent, hard work, practice, blah, blah, blah, will get you a Grand Slam here and there, make you some decent money, but the big prize demands that streak of fierce heat, before it will give in.

Any takers?

Check out this related post also, ‘What is that number in Federer’s mind on the no. of GS/titles? 

Describe the tennis freak on this site, part II: Gracie.

 

-What does she do for a living?

-Where does she live? Country, state, county?

-What are her interests?

-Any children.

-Married?

-What you like most about her?

-Her favorite tennis player, other than Federer?

-Her age?

-Her favorite sport, after tennis.

-Has she attended a Grand Slam event? If yes, which one?

-Has she attended any ATP tennis event in person?

-Does she have pets? If yes, which ones?

-What kind of car she drives?

-Is she in a house, condo or apartment.

-Does she have a crush on any tennis player? If yes, which one?

-Which countries has she been to?

-What’s her Zodaic sign?

Analysing the Paris draw.

 

Federer, just put your tail between your legs, and skip this freaking event. You just righted the ship at Basel, after taking a step back at Madrid, right after two forward steps at Cincy and the USO.

You have the freaking year-end ranking, you have the three Grand Slams, you have the season high seven titles, and with a historic season next year, this is the last time of the year, to be running up your title numbers. The draw at Paris is not too inviting either.

With Karlovic in the opening round, followed by Nalbandian, this has just two words written all over it: Loss (step back, after a step forward at Basel) or injury. Oh wait, it gets even better, with Berdych or Ancic in the next round, followed by Djokovic and Nadal.

The only consolation, is that the players who are most likely to beat him here, in the latter rounds, have their own problems of being lumped together, in the bottom half of the draw: Djokovic, Murray and Gasquet. So the semifinal clash will most likely be against a beat up, spent and an exhausted clown.

In fact, the draw is so good, that the easiest match appears to be the finals. No joker from the opposite draw, has even a remote chance of beating Federer, even on his bad day, including Canas, if he gets that far.

So it is a front loaded brutal draw, with you just coming off a full emotional event, at Basel.

In my view, even TMC is not worth it, if you step back and look at the big picture, with whatever has happened this year, as a backdrop.

Nadal has a much easier draw, but won’t really matter. With his current conditioning, he is not going anywhere, anytime soon.

Davydenko has a great opportunity to make the finals, and possibly win the whole thing, after all the infighting across the fence, leaves the survivor, half dead, for the finals.

Draw – Paris Masters 2007.

Click here.

Results and live scores – Paris Masters.

Click here.

Schedule of play – Paris Masters 2007.

Click here.

Federer secures the year-end No. 1 ranking, for the fourth straight year, by winning the title at Basel.

  

M&M had no chance and lost 6-3, 6-4.

Federer must have felt a huge load coming off his shoulder, after he won the last point. Fresh from his defeat against Nalbandian in the finals, and having a spotty record at Basel, it must have felt good to close out a ‘must win’ scenario.

In the process, he sealed the year-end No. 1 ranking for the fourth consecutive year. Other players who have had four or more year-end No. 1 ranking are: Sampras, Connors, McEnroe and Lendl.

“It’s always emotional at the end,” Federer said. “I remember being here as a ball boy myself. I know 50 percent of the people working at the tournament.

“It’s nice to win again and go into the next year as No. 1 again,” said Federer.

“Securing the number one ranking for the year and doing it here is particularly special.” he said.

He now holds the most titles for the year at seven. Nadal has six and Djokovic has captured five. With just Paris and the TMC left for the year, the title race is still on. Nadal must be kicking himself, somewhere, right about now, for not closing, on probably his only shot at the No. 1 ranking.

From next year, the battle shifts from Nadal, to Djokovic and Murray. He will be lucky if he can hold on to the No. 2 spot any longer.

Now that he has the No. 1 ranking, Federer should skip Paris, where the draw seems brutal for him.

Agassi teases Federer on his hair.

Life after tennis, still involves balls.