2012 Wimbledon Championships...London, England

[don_budge]

Any thoughts regarding the upcoming Championships? Predictions? Traditions?

[stotty]

Day 3

I'll be at Wimbledon on the first Wednesday. I have tickets for court 3.

It's now or never for Murray...though he has a testing draw.

Federer is a spent force...sadly.

Nadal is playing well but Djokovic can play even better and is the favourite for me.

I am no fan of Djokovic but I'm beginning to think he might emerge to be the greatest of the three. Last season he played at a level hitherto unseen in tennis. He seems to be able to hit spots and spaces on the court that no one else has...weird, almost.

Tennis at the top has never been more interesting. Just when we thought Federer was the greatest player ever to play tennis...along came Nadal...then just when we thought Nadal might upstage the Swiss maestro in the grand slam tally, Djokovic upped his game to quash any such thoughts. Djokovic now looks likely to emerge as the greatest of the trio...phew.

Djokovic will win Wimbledon 2012...Nadal his likely victim in the final.

[don_budge]

Who's Next...The Who

Tennis at the top has never been more interesting. Just when we thought Federer was the greatest player ever to play tennis...along came Nadal...then just when we thought Nadal might upstage the Swiss maestro in the grand slam tally, Djokovic upped his game to quash any such thoughts. Djokovic now looks likely to emerge as the greatest of the trio...phew.

Djokovic will win Wimbledon 2012...Nadal his likely victim in the final.

Tennis has always been that way. Someone new always comes along to unseat the reigning king. Come to think of it...life is sort of like that too. It's always "Long live the King" until someone comes along and slays him. It is simply a question of when and who.

I think that today the competitive aspect of tennis is a little too predictable. The same players on all different surfaces dominate. It wasn't always like this.

Whatever...the stage at Wimbledon usually is set for some compelling drama. Drama that is unique from all other sports.

[don_budge]

First round...Wimbledon Championships

Somehow the drama at Wimbledon in the first round doesn't seem to be an entire vacuum like it did at the French clear through to the quarterfinals. There always seems to be something of interest to contemplate at Wimbledon. Why is that? It is sort of mysterious to me. The All England Tennis Club. The birthplace of tennis tradition. They still must wear all white to compete there.

Djokovic and Federer through to the second round. Both matches yawners. But just scroll down a bit...Isner loses to Columbian Falla, on grass no less. Big serving American goes down to clay court specialist. Hmmm. All kinds of interesting matches. Mike Russell...a Michigan native wins a round. I know that his father George is proud of his son once again. Quirky Florian Mayer wins in straight sets. Long live the quirk! Ryan Sweeting...tennis_chiro's cyber serving project wins. Why not? He has the tools. Here is my favorite. Inigo Cervantes of Spain wins. What are the chances of his being a distant relative to Miguel...the author of "Don Quixote". Doesn't matter...how can you not pull for him? And David Nalbandian...he with the hair pin trigger. Gone courtesy of Janko Tipsarevic from the land of nikae on the forum. No more drop kicking on the linesman. See you. Handsome Fabio Fognini defeats one the last remaining volleyer in mens tennis Michael Llodra from the backcourt...the scowling Italian is Federer's next round fodder.

That is only the top half of the draw with the second half to play today. Already there is much more to talk about in one day at the grass court championships than there was during the first week in gay Paris. The wear patterns on the grass are distinctively behind the baseline. Very interesting.

[bottle]

Go Cervantes.

[don_budge]

The bottom half...of the draw

Ok...this just in from Wimbledon. Forgive me if I am not as lucid as usual...I just had a beer. Celebrating.

Nadal in straight sets...no surprise. Murray impressive over Davydenko in straight sets also...the Russian doesn't seem to be nearly as imposing as in past years. J. del Potro over some no name from the Netherlands and Mardy Fish through also. Nicolas Almagro over Oliver Rochus after losing the first two sets. The Japanese hopeful Nishikori advances in straight sets. Dolgopolov over Bogomolov three straight sets...that is a lot of o's isn't it. The amazing Brian Baker advances...go Brian go. And bla, bla, bla.

Each of these matches means a lot to somebody but taken as a whole we are just counting out time...getting to the heart of the matter. Snooze....ZZZZZzzzzzzzz. Just like what's his name eh bottle...narbrug. Whatever.

You know what...this thing is going to heat up. Just you wait and see.

[don_budge]

Rain, rain...go away. Come again another day.

A rainy day in London. What's new? How can you live like that? The big city turns into a vision of gloom as everyone heads for shelter. Out here in the Swedish wilderness, it is the afternoon sun playing on the summer fields of gold and it is Frankie and I laying on the patio couch out on the porch...lazily taking it all in. He is an American chocolate labrador living in the Swedish countryside. He is happy just to sniff the air...the cleanest, purest air in all of the world. He is happy just to lay here with me. Man's best friend.

Haven't seen a great deal of results today but I just saw Andy Roddick finish off Britain's Baker. Federer had Fognini for lunch and long live the quirk...Florian Mayer down two sets to love comes back to surprise Petzschner in an all German duel. Lots of interesting action...the infamous Wayne Odesnik, he who was banned for possession of some banned substances was banned himself from the grounds of Wimbledon today at the hands of Phau, another German. Some players were afraid that Odesnik was going to spill the beans when the tennis establishment made an example out of him. Many of the players were giving him the serious cold shoulder...this is what happens when they make you out to be a snitch. Just a little behind the scenes gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Ryan Sweeting still in need of tennis_chiro's figure eight motion in his service delivery is once again...history. At the hands of Tipsarevic.

The tall lanky Canadian Raonic is thru but bottle's backhand poster boy, the Swiss Stanley Wawrinka took an early departure to his European neighbor in Austria Jurgen Melzer. It looks like they got a considerable amount of play in between the raindrops...maybe our man on the spot licensedcoach can give us an update on things. Hey Stotty...how are the strawberries and cream this year? Lots of other interesting matches going on...but the big question and I know bottle is with me on this one...will Cervantes stand a chance against the Russian Youzhny. Conventional wisdom says no...but in the world of Don Quixote anything is possible. Come on Inigo! To dream the impossible dream! To beat the unbeatable foe! To seduce the untouchable enchantress! (???) It makes me cry every time I read that he passed away. Don Quixote that is. What a sap I am!

[stotty]

Day 3 on Court 3

Day 3 was a funny day at Wimbledon. They stopped play for just a few drops of rain...pointless. They do that these days. Back in the 70's and 80's players would have played thru drops (and I mean drops!) of rain...but these days they stop play just like that...Two hours later we finally got more play. I had tickets for court 3 and saw two good games.

Almagro and Rufin were a treat. The Frenchman fought hard but Almagro was clean and clinical and dispatched him in four sets. Almagro isn't so entertaining to watch on TV but watching live is so much more of an eye-opener. He hits the ball so cleanly, and he served very well...96% of first serves in in the 4th set...not bad.

Monaco and Chardy were less of a spectacle, but Monaco is great to watch...a lovely, clean striker of the ball. Monaco won in four, though should have won in three.

I know nothing about Cervantes, don_budge, but any friend of yours is a friend of mine. I wish him all the best.

The strawberries and cream are always overpriced and naff at Wimbledon so I took my own...and yes my strawberries were great. English strawberries are the best.

The grass courts are very slow at Wimbledon and have been for some years now. It's killed the serve and volley game, and that's sad. In the knock-up players literally spend 30 seconds at the net almost as a gesture...knowing full well they will never venture there during the match...very sad

Over there in the US you can have no impression just how much the courts have been slowed down over the past decade...it's almost like green clay...the thicker turf "grabs" the ball rather than letting it shoot thru like it used to in the 70's and 80's.

[don_budge]

Slow and slower...it's a pity.

The grass courts are very slow at Wimbledon and have been for some years now. It's killed the serve and volley game, and that's sad. In the knock-up players literally spend 30 seconds at the net almost as a gesture...knowing full well they will never venture there during the match...very sad

Over there in the US you can have no impression just how much the courts have been slowed down over the past decade...it's almost like green clay...the thicker turf "grabs" the ball rather than letting it shoot thru like it used to in the 70's and 80's.

These are some poignant comments Stotty and few in the tennis world are willing to have this discussion. Your reference to the 70's and 80's is a big reason why...it's too long ago for people to remember. They will never know what they were missing. When you say "the thicker turf "grabs" the ball rather than letting it shoot thru like it used to in the 70's and 80's" it makes it sound as if the game is being played on velcro. The current thirty second gesture in warmup knocking a couple of volleys around is almost done as a traditional gesture to the old game I might add. Very little volleying in the game today...afterall it is a bit difficult to volley speeding, dipping bullets. The grass today has a tendency for approach shots to sit up instead of laying down. Factor in that the players do not understand that approaching the net behind topspin shots instead of the traditional underspin is suicide, then the extinction of the net game is complete.

Historically the grass was probably more or less the same until the mid or late 1980's. By 1984 most of the tennis players had all switched to mid or oversized racquets and the average point at Wimbledon on the "slick" grass was lasting an average of two strokes or less. In other words your typical point was a serve and maybe a return of serve in play. Contrast that with the Borg vs. McEnroe titanic struggles where it was not unusual for points to last for ten or more shots and you understand what the change in the racquet technology did to the game. Check out the wear patterns on the grass as well...the old videos had that traditional path to the net, where the game was won or lost back in the days of classic tennis.

When the authorities realized that they had ruined their beloved sport when they sold the game down the river to the equipment manufacturers they tried to rescue it by slowing down the grass and today you witness the result. The players play the same game on grass as they do on clay. When you realize this...but you wouldn't unless you are old enough...you realize that one of the most interesting aspects of the sport is now null and void. Essentially dead. It used to be that one of the real challenges in the sport was adapting your game to different surfaces and different conditions. Not anymore...all of the surfaces encourage the current play of "modern tennis"...shock and awe!

I see that Cervantes lost. So much for the impossible dream.

[don_budge]

Time is on my side...yes it is. Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones)

Time certainly marches on doesn't it. In the post above I was writing about some days that have gone by. Here we are again...the Lawn Tennis Championships. Round and round we go...where we end up nobody knows. One thing is for certain. There will always be a Wimbledon.

Speaking of marching on, this tournament is marching on. Nothing of much notice has transpired yet...no surprises, no shocks, no net play. But now there is a match or two or three within the marching draw where things begin to get a little dicey...sometimes a little quirky. There could be a surprise or two in store for us. Wouldn't that be nice for a change?

Take for example Ferrer vs. Roddick. Does anyone give Roddick a chance here? I know Andy does. Right below them is a match that I like...the Japanese Nishikori vs. Juan Del Potro. Nishikori anyone? David vs. Goliath. Run Kei, run! Scrolling down we come to the Amazing Brian Baker. This guy is someone to watch...watch him advance right into the scything path of the "Grim Reaper" Nadal. Baker put a spanking on my Finnish neighbor Jarkko Nieminen 6-0, 6-2, 6-4. That is a pretty good hurt on a seasoned pro like Jarkko. It's Baker vs. a French guy named Paire who defeated Dolgopolov, who is no slouch himself on the grass.

In the top half of the draw there is one match in particular that has my attention...other than Roger Federer's who always has my attention. Guess Who? The Quirky Florian Mayer. I love this guy. Take a look at his technique Dr. Brian Gordon and hook this German lad up to all of the gizmos's in the world. Can you kindly explain how this technique works on the modern tennis circuit of today? It works alright and now he is in the third round against a Polish qualifier. That is about as safe as it gets in the third round at Wimbledon...although this kid can pound it. Jerzy Janowicz. I saw him practicing with the now extinct Robin Söderling down in Båstad a couple of years ago.

Well other than that...the tournament is marching on. To it's inevitable conclusion. The Big Four in the semis...then the next heavyweight championship bout for the title...Djokovic and Nadal. The rest of this is only foreplay.

[stotty]

Rosol

Just finished watching Rosol beat Nadal...bloody hell!...ever seen anyone hit he ball that hard for so long and miss that little? I haven't! That was one freak match.

[bottle]

I was ready to dislike Nadal for sullenness at the net, but then Chris Fowler reported that Nadal retrieved Rosol's racket for him. I still don't think Rafa should have been so sullen, though. Okay to be sullen while he's playing, since that's his effective manner, but he should have been able to transform and lighten up and recognize that something extraordinary just happened even though he himself wasn't the hero. Has anybody ever been so zoned out as this Rosol fellow? And ranked what-- hundredth in the world?

I guess I'll forgive Nadal's sullenness, though. I guess it wouldn't have happened if he weren't making the full effort. I don't think I was too jolly a camper either when my eight-oared crew got knocked out of the 1960 Olympic Trials by a crew we'd (Brown) beaten in the national college race (Penn).

Sports is sports, I figure, and one ought to at least try to put a good face on a win or loss even if one has the taste of ashes in one's mouth. Don't Kipling's words on the Wimbledon wall say something along that line?

[stotty]

Hypnotized

Hypnotized...Rosol must have been brilliantly hypnotized...didn't have a nerve in his body...took the last game by the balls in a way that isn't human...looked like he wanted to slice Nadal's head off.

No wonder Nadal looked so sullen.

I thought the roof would be a problem for Nadal. The conditions become so much heavier once the roof is on. Grass is a "living" court don't forget and the conditions become similar to a greenhouse once that roof is closed. I know because I have sat there and watched matches played under the roof. It really suits a player who spanks the ball hard and flat like Rosol. Nadal's forehand became impotent while Rosol's became even more lethal. The match was won for Rosol and it was just a question of holding his nerve, and boy did he do that.

Yes, Nadal ought to take defeat more cheerfully...after all, once you've lost you may as well put on a brave face....sulking won't retrieve the result, will it?

[bottle]

I enjoyed this match so much, especially the last game: three clean aces and a forehand winner. But I think Djoker and Fed enjoyed it, too.

[stroke]

This Nadal loss really paves the way for Roger, the master of the type 3 forehand, to win the tournament and regain the number 1 ranking at age 30.