Tennis - Aussie Open

[Arrian]

Anyone else been watching the Open? Probably not.

I didn't see the match (because it was on at some ungoldly hour of the morning, my time), but Federer apparently utterly destroyed Roddick in the semis. I expected him to win, but Roddick has really improved of late. It didn't matter. He got slaughtered. Federer is amazing... it looks so damn easy for him.

I've never heard of the guy he'll play in the final - Gonzalez, from Chile (?). He's kicked the hell out of a bunch of guys on his way through the draw, so hopefully he'll give Federer a match. Probably not, though.

The women's matches... I dunno, but I think the women's side is a little weak right now. Serena Williams can come back from injury, play a few matches and *boom* she's in the final. Don't get me wrong - Serena's a really good player... really, really good, but the way she was able to come back and make a GS final despite being a little rusty and perhaps not 100% in match shape says something about women's tennis.

I think Sharapova will beat her, but it really could go either way.

-Arrian

[Zopperoni]

I only watch Wimbledon and bits of the US Open, but Federer has been magic the last few years. It's a pity that no one can really rival him. This is one of the reasons why I stopped watching most of the tennis, it has become so unexciting in terms of top-level competitiveness.

[Arrian]

A true rival for him would be nice, yeah. It's hard to decide whether the lack of one is due to Federer's brilliance, the weakness of the field, or a bit of both.

The matches that are the most fun to watch are often ones with lesser players that are more evenly matched (Roddick v. Safin in the fourth round, for instance, was a really good match). Watching Federer... I wouldn't necessarily say it's boring, per se. It's often an awesome display of near-perfection. But the outcome isn't often in doubt, and there's the rub.

-Arrian

[Joe Kick Ass]

To be fair, Nadal is 6-3 against Federer, so that should count for some sort of rivalry.

Not so good for Gonzalez though...

Roger Federer 9 - 0 Fernando Gonzalez

[Cort Haus]

I never get bored watching Federer - when time & timezone permits me to watch him. He is, in my view, the best sportsman of this era. As tennis is the sport I've played most myself, it is the one I can appreciate the most, and what he does is magical at times.

[Arrian]

He makes it look so easy. You almost never see him rushed. He's there in plenty of time... it's casual, like. So smooth.

JKA: Am I correct in thinking that many of those Nadal wins are on clay? Not that they don't count, but it seems to me that his advantage is on that one surface... and that only matters in one of the four majors.

-Arrian

[LordShiva]

Federer is a beast.

[Maquiladora]

Sharapova is a ****ing cheat. I cant believe they never mention her annoying scream after each shot. Perhaps someone made mention of it at Wimbledon last year, but its about time this crap was banned.

[Arrian]

Cheat? Players have been grunting/screeching after shots for quite some time. I don't see how her doing it is more of a problem than, say, Monica Seles.

Further, what's "cheating" about it? It might be annoying (I've gotten used to it, but it can be irritating), but since when is it cheating?

What rule are they going to enact? "The player may not make noise after during play." Bah.

-Arrian

[Joe Kick Ass]

Originally posted by Arrian
JKA: Am I correct in thinking that many of those Nadal wins are on clay?

Yeah. Only 4 of those matches were on hard, but the hard court matchup currently stands at 2-2.

[Arrian]

Gotta get those guys on the same court more often!

The problem seems to be (lately) that Nadal doesn't always make it through. Federer, on the other hand... it seems like he's there at the end every time.

-Arrian

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Arrian
A true rival for him would be nice, yeah. It's hard to decide whether the lack of one is due to Federer's brilliance, the weakness of the field, or a bit of both.

I'd say it's almost all Federer. The field isn't the strongest right now to be sure, but I've never seen anyone as good as him, period. I have no qualms calling him the best ever, and he still has alot left.

[-Jrabbit]

Im no longer a big tennis fan, but gotta say, Federer just effing rocks. He pwns the field.

I saw about half of the Roddick match and it was a slaughter.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Arrian
Federer, on the other hand... it seems like he's there at the end every time.

-Arrian

He was 92-5 last year. No, that's not a typo.

[Arrian]

I read match reports that seriously say things like "Roger spent the 2nd set tinkering with his serve & volley game."

During a match in one of the majors. !! It's unreal. I've seen him do stuff like that... he knows he's gonna win, so he tries stuff out. Mindboggling.

-Arrian