Metropol

I've never been his biggest fan, and he's not stranger to a grand slam or two but I really felt for him in the final of the Australian Open today. Let's face it - Nadal appears to be superhuman and is now making tennis interesting by consistently challenging Federer and succeeding.

Still though:



Awwwwwwww

Piers Newbery, one of the most respected (imo) BBC Tennis Text commentators for the BBC Sport Website has written a well thoughtout article for the 606 pages today....

Why Roger needs Rafa

If Roger Federer does go on to become the greatest player of all time, he will have a lot to thank Rafael Nadal for.

"God, it's killing me," admitted the emotional world number two after his dramatic five-set defeat in Sunday's Australian Open final.

But while the losses are painful, victories in what is already one of sport's greatest rivalries are priceless.

Nadal has certainly slowed Federer's seemingly unstoppable progress towards Pete Sampras's mark of 14 Grand Slam titles, but he has made the value of any future major wins so much greater.

complete article ....



I fear he's got a phenomenal task to return now, his only real chance is for someone to come through and then challenge Nadal and then let them both knock each other out. Federer coming through the wreckage. It's clear that Djokovic doesn't have the stamina yet, and Murray isn't consistent either. There's a real prospect of Nadal doing the Grand Slam in 2009.

Aww?? He's won double the amount of Grand Slams as Nadal, is the all-time career prize money leader, and had been world number 1 for 237 consecutive weeks. If all that wasn't good enough, well he's a bit of a spoilt brat really.

It's not as if he's Jimmy White (6 times world-runner-up) or the Boston Red Sox pre 2004.

PS... I don't like tennis. Most boring game on the planet.

Compared to BASEBALL? That's just cricket for people with no attention spans!

Sput wrote:Compared to BASEBALL? That's just cricket for people with no attention spans!

And so it begins.....

Let's try and salvage this: can we at least agree that cricket is the dullest game of all?

Sput wrote:Let's try and salvage this: can we at least agree that cricket is the dullest game of all?

After tennis, yes.

Sput wrote:Let's try and salvage this: can we at least agree that cricket is the dullest game of all?

Oh I am sorry but I must take this one up. Cricket might not set the world alight and you may indeed find it dull but that doesn't make it a dull game. I don't like football, and if I were to start calling this a dull game then this would be factually incorrect as well as being shouted down for daring to insult one of the world's greatest inventions after oxygen and electric lightbulb.

Are you calling yourself Brekkie now?

Interesting sidebar, seeing as the Super Bowl is on now: from Jennifer Hudson's Wikipedia profile:

"Hudson is scheduled to sing the National Anthem at Super Bowl XLIII.[25], and she's singing it right now. Sweet!"

Sput wrote:can we at least agree that cricket is the dullest game of all?

Errrrrrrrrrr, no.

I nearly started an obit thread for Bill Frindall, but then thought better of it.