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Post by Brinyi on Jan 18, 2008 14:08:22 GMT -5
I really don't hate him either. That's not true. I hate him.
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Post by DBBN on Jan 18, 2008 14:15:47 GMT -5
I don't hate him either. But the combination of Andrew's assholeness, and more so the USian media, makes it fun to watch him lose. I can see how it would be fun to hate him, a la Hewitt at the Aussie or Murray at Wimbledon. But I'm a fan 4 lyfe. So gross, I know. But remember when he beat Sampras?! That was Also, it looks like his ranking won't drop AT ALL. Which is...sad for a number of reasons.
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Post by Self-Love, Baby! on Jan 18, 2008 14:54:12 GMT -5
Oh, but Andrew is still the the "real #3 or #4" or whatever. Dellacqua in the 4R, with serious discussion of her making the QF is really really not good for women's tennis. I think it's actually nice. It's like a one-time thing. A journeywoman who put in the work and now she's finally making a big run at her home Grand Slam. I watched the end of the match on tape and it gave me the chills to see her family so excited and both her mom and grandma crying (such a resemblance in the family). Definitely one of the feel-good stories of the tournament.
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Post by sasha on Jan 18, 2008 15:48:40 GMT -5
Andrew will lose a lot of points, though... he'll at least be out of touch of Kolya and Ferrer for a while. Which means very little chance of getting past QFs in any big tournament.
And Fat Dave should pass him if he can avoid laziness for a few months.
I'm all for cheering for journeywomen... but, Dellacqua has not played well enough to get this far. And she's still kinda fat. That Schnyder match... I don't know. I know how Patty can be sometimes, but if there was ever a match where fixing could have went on..
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Post by Brinyi on Jan 18, 2008 15:50:47 GMT -5
I'm enjoying the Kohlschreiber match as we speak. He played great!
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Post by DBBN on Jan 18, 2008 15:58:25 GMT -5
You're right that Andrew will be well removed from the Top Five, but that small digit next to his name will make his camp/the media/him think there is not much to improve, when in reality there is SO MUCH to improve that it's gross. That is part of the sadness of the whole situation.
Seriously, I used to defend him, but he really is a one-shot pony these days. Where did his forehand go?
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Post by Brinyi on Jan 18, 2008 16:22:42 GMT -5
Not only was Roddick an idiot, but his argument about losing the point on the overrule was baseless, as even his DC captain recognized.
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Post by Brinyi on Jan 18, 2008 16:24:21 GMT -5
I was just thinking that Roddick used to hit winners. Could it be Roddick's forehand problems are partly a function of where his his hitting shots from these days?
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Post by DBBN on Jan 18, 2008 16:33:03 GMT -5
Do you mean Nadal Land? It doesn't work for Rafa, so there is no way it will work for Andy. You're right.
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Post by Self-Love, Baby! on Jan 18, 2008 16:39:44 GMT -5
Absolutely, his court positioning consistently sucks against players with better baseline games. And it's not like his serve is worse. When he was young, he had more guts and panache to go for his forehand.
Now he's consistently losing matches with many many many less winners than his opponents. Think Baghdatis '06 AO, Gasquet '07 W, last night, all his Federer matches. Even when he wins, he usually has less winners than his opponents. Like Youzhny '06 USO, and lots of other matches. I think Dlouhy even had more winners for a while than Roddick in the first round of this event... I'm too lazy to check the stats, but wtf Roddick???
Hurley, I don't think Roddick or Jimmy Connors will be fooled by a number of 6. They know that there is a lot to be improved, but that's been said for years. His backhand has improved, his volleys have improved slightly, but his forehand is very rarely a weapon. Even in 2003 it didn't compare to forehands like Ferrero's, Federer's, Moya's, but he at least went for it more. The truth is that he has fulfilled his tennis potential, just not the (over)hype from US media and tennis analysts. If not for Federer, I could see him with a 4 Slam career, all Wimbledon and US Open. But sadly for him, he had to play during Federer's era.
PMac picked JCF for the win over Nalby. Ugh, jinx.
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Post by Self-Love, Baby! on Jan 18, 2008 16:43:45 GMT -5
Andrew will lose a lot of points, though... he'll at least be out of touch of Kolya and Ferrer for a while. Which means very little chance of getting past QFs in any big tournament. And Fat Dave should pass him if he can avoid laziness for a few months. I'm all for cheering for journeywomen... but, Dellacqua has not played well enough to get this far. And she's still kinda fat. That Schnyder match... I don't know. I know how Patty can be sometimes, but if there was ever a match where fixing could have went on.. Well she's not a great player and she hasn't been like WOW in this tournament, but that's because she's a journeywoman and not a future Top 20 player. I like that she gutted out three matches in three sets when before she had never won a main draw AO match, and she did it even with some flabs. And I don't think Patty is the fixing type at all. I think she sucks these days, is lacking motivation, and tends to get intimidated when the crowd is boisterously behind her opponent. She was overwhelmed by the Casey Train.
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Post by Self-Love, Baby! on Jan 18, 2008 17:03:30 GMT -5
I'm loving the black Adidas shoes. And even kind of the neon green shirt.
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Post by sasha on Jan 18, 2008 17:07:26 GMT -5
How much can you improve with Andrew though? He's a limited player.
Connors has tried, specifically with getting him to net more... but we know the problem there.
I have to question how coachable Andy is. His positioning everywhere is just awful. Standing far behind the baseline. Not recognizing simple things like covering the line at net. Not committing to anything at net. Basic stuff that Andy can't do...
If you tell Andy to stand at the baseline and crack forehands wherever, that may have a negative impact. He can give away a few more serve games, which could kill his career. We already know he's a top 10 player by relying on his serve, and playing defensive/charging the net which puts the pressure on the opponent. And if he plays someone in form, oh well.
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Post by Grarliner on Jan 19, 2008 2:01:46 GMT -5
Philipp played well, but it was the same old story for Andy - not enough offense against a baseliner who had a hot day.
What I was wondering is whether this signals the end of the Connors era. Andy's been with him a year and a half now, and he's changed his game completely to Connors' tailoring and with some success. Just not as much success as they were hoping for. But they're going backwards not forwards now.
Andy will need to be more aggressive at least SOMETIMES if he's going to improve.
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Post by corswandt on Jan 19, 2008 20:05:24 GMT -5
I watched the first two sets of Roddick and I don't think I saw him hit a single winner from the baseline. His ground "game" is an embarrassment for the ATP.
Henin d. Schiavone was highly entertaining on occasion. Schiavone is so resourceful and moves the ball around so well you have to wonder what her career would have been like if she had a kill shot.
I only watched a few points of Nudd-Ahl def. Simon, but what I did see seemed a laugh riot. Simon is the Camille Pin of the ATP - combine that with Nudd-Ahl's moonballing and the rallies I saw looked slo-mo.
I blame Knapp for Dellacqua's run. Knapp is a good player, and has no business losing to the likes of her. From then on, Dellacque merely took advantage of being in the "undead" section of the draw.
ES showed large chunks of Dementieva d. Peer. Lena D.'s FH was fully on, and when that happens she can blow just about anyone off the court. Peer's FH by contrast was in one of those days of teh suck (e.g. like vs Srebotnik at RG last year). It also seems Lena has both improved her 1st serve and learned how to hit a proper 2nd - but I suspect it will fall apart under pressure.
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Post by sasha on Jan 19, 2008 20:09:02 GMT -5
I watched that shitty Knapp-Casey match... Knapp choked, too.
It does appear Demented has fixed her serve. The 2nd is technically fine now. If her serve stays good, the sky is the limit for her. But, it won't last...
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Post by corswandt on Jan 19, 2008 20:11:46 GMT -5
I do think Ivanovic is hot, and cute at the same time. Her figure is gorgeous. Ivanovic's figure makes Safina look svelte. Her torso is thick, she has no curves, each one of her tighs probably weighs as much as the whole of Chakvetadze. If she didn't have that baby face, people would say she was hulking. Hot bodz - Myskina, Jankovic, Lena D. Not Ivanovic.
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Post by corswandt on Jan 19, 2008 20:15:21 GMT -5
It does appear Demented has fixed her serve. The 2nd is technically fine now. If her serve stays good, the sky is the limit for her. But, it won't last... I did see her hit what seemed like decent kickers. But the motion looks pretty much the same, so as you say it's likely to fall apart at any moment.
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Post by Self-Love, Baby! on Jan 19, 2008 23:14:01 GMT -5
I do think Ivanovic is hot, and cute at the same time. Her figure is gorgeous. Ivanovic's figure makes Safina look svelte. Her torso is thick, she has no curves, each one of her tighs probably weighs as much as the whole of Chakvetadze. If she didn't have that baby face, people would say she was hulking. Hot bodz - Myskina, Jankovic, Lena D. Not Ivanovic. That's absolute bullshit. Safina with a nicer body? Please, that's laughable. Ana has really slimmed, her breasts are a nice size, her thighs are not too thick, she doesn't have grossly wide hips or masculine broad shoulders like others. Jankovic has a nice body, but it's awkward. Her posture is awkward too. Myskina and Dementieva are two of the most beautiful women to ever grace a tennis court, and I'll never forget getting to watch them back-to-back on Court 11 at the USO in 2005. Also, Simon is no Pin. You saw the end of the match when Gilles was exhausted. If you saw the beginning at all, you'd know that he has weapons. His forehand can be lethal. Aso, while Dementieva's serve technique has improved, her ground game is so much worse than it used to be! Remember how she hit in RG and USO '04? She's not even remotely close to the player she used to be. She just misses everything, and doesn't have enough power anymore.
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Post by sasha on Jan 19, 2008 23:50:34 GMT -5
Myskina was a bit too thin. She probably did a disservice by showing her tatters.
Dementieva is perfection without the chicken face. If you like the scary athletic types like I do. Good God, her legs.
Oh, and Demented is a lot worse off the ground. I don't know what's happened there. Take back my previous comment. I just haven't watched her in quite a while.
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Post by corswandt on Jan 20, 2008 14:40:37 GMT -5
Oh, and Demented is a lot worse off the ground. I don't know what's happened there. Take back my previous comment. I just haven't watched her in quite a while. Her ground game has steadily deteriorated since its peak in late 2005. Nowadays it works only about 20% of the time. When it's on, she's still top 5. When it isn't, she loses 2 and 0 to anyone, since her ground game is all she's got.
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