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Post by speedysteve on Nov 14, 2014 5:48:26 GMT
I live in hope that more will join in and yes, I am on other fora, so a quick cut and paste here is no trouble:)
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 14, 2014 6:10:57 GMT
Match stats don't make good reading...  Fed's points won 1st serve 100%. Points won on 2nd serve would not look like that against Nadal or Djoko (on form) - we shall see I think... Today's shedule Centre Court 1 Jean-Julien Rojer/ Horia Tecau v Lukasz Kubot/ Robert Lindstedt 12:00 local ATP | Round Robin: Group A | Centre Court Centre Court 2 Novak Djokovic v Tomas Berdych Not Before 14:00 local ATP | Round Robin: Group A | Centre Court Centre Court 3 Bob Bryan/ Mike Bryan v Alexander Peya/ Bruno Soares Not Before 18:00 local ATP | Round Robin: Group A | Centre Court Centre Court 4 Stan Wawrinka v Marin Cilic Not Before 20:00 local ATP | Round Robin: Group A Wawrinka vs Cilic could be a tight match - we live in hope... Me: I restrung my over tight Head 660 racq cutting out just the crosses (mains were fine - Prince Premier Softflex) and replacing them with lower tensioned Dunlop S-gut (the red one) - Looks cool:) Will get to hit with it later today, weather permitting... |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 14, 2014 6:53:35 GMT
Well, I like reading Steve's summaries!
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 14, 2014 17:49:51 GMT
Thanks Martin - Here to please This afternoon's round up Djokovic like a hot knife through Butterdych, I mean Berdych. Tim Henman called it absolutely right, Berdych is too monosyllabic in his play. Not enough variation or inventiveness. No plan B... Berdych is looking for a new coach - Henman should so it!  Can't be easy to play Djokovic and Federer right now - they are on another level at the moment. Nadal is hopefully sharpening his pencil and tensioning his strings and itching to get at them... I hope so and not just on boring old clay:) Loving the BBC round up with Henman, Wilander and McEnroe all giving us their insight... Also a short interview with Stefan Edberg. I sat next to him and Annette on a plane from Stockholm to London once - must have been 88 or 89. Nice people. The ATP No1 year end presentation was ok. Nice to see 4 former year end No1's there, congratulating Djokovic. So, Djokovic VS Nishikori tomorrow. Nishikori beat Djokovic at the US open - Best of 3 and outdoors - quite a lot of wind at that tournament. Djokovic beat Nishikori in Paris, best of 3. It's 3-2 head to head to Djokovic. Federer will play either, Wawrinka / Cilic / Berdych - depends on set and game score between Cilic and Wawrinka this evening - tune in again for all the insight and gossip:) Me, I tried the hybrid, Prince softflex mains / Dunlop S-gut crosses. Found it a bit vague. Switched racquets to the all Head rip control (I have two identical racquets to run head to head), This is the racquet I played with on Monday evening's match - winning 6-1, 6-2. It was instantly a yes this is the best racquet / string combo I have tried to date. I won against my hitting partner out lunch time one setter in the most emphatic way yet against him - 6-0. Slicing to his backhand and attacking the net - ala Henman really is working for me. Next up is to try the Head Rip Control as mains and the Dunlop S-Gut as crosses. The Dunlop is nice and slick and does allow the mains to slide and snap back across them on top spin forehands and slice backhands for in theory more spin and control... Will it outshine the all Head Rip Control - We shall see. That will be next weeks experiment. |
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 14, 2014 20:35:16 GMT
Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic playing now. Stan already has the 3 games he needed to qualify - so it's Stan VS Roger in the other all Swiss semi.
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 14, 2014 21:25:55 GMT
Hurrah - Cilic gets the 2nd set! 69% 1st serves in! What a difference. Stan doing well at the net. If you haven't seen this vid - it's well worth a watch - quite touching in parts... Fire and Ice |
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 14, 2014 22:13:53 GMT
Good that Stan beat Cilic. Not good to go to the semis on the back of a loss but having won more games.
Cilic goes home to lick his wounds, after getting thoroughly beaten up!
BTW the coin toss ceremony with an umpire all of 5ft tall and 6'6" Cilic was rather comical. Would have been more so if Isner at 6'10" had been there.
Me, I'm 6'3
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 15, 2014 15:33:39 GMT
Wow, well played Nishikori against Djokovic (who monstered the first)
1-6, 6-3.
Deciding set...
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 15, 2014 15:43:15 GMT
Then 6-0 in the 3rd set to Djokovic. Nushikori had double break point in the first game too. My how momentum changes!
Still, good match with great play and winners.
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 15, 2014 20:54:29 GMT
The 2nd semi
Great set of tennis - Well done Wawrinka, 6-3 now keep the concentration or Federer will be right back in there!
Wawrinka's black strings - Babolat RPM blast, glistening in the lights!
Federer uses nat gut for mains and luxilon co-polyester crosses - 55lbs or so.
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 16, 2014 0:04:40 GMT
Wow, very close match.
Stan was so close and of course had 5 match points. At least 2 controversial calls by the umpire against Federer - the 1st one rattled him and put him 0-15 and on to 0-40 down, before he realised...
That's 13 wins to Federer, 2 to Wawrinka. Stan has never beaten Federer on hard court!
Still great all court tennis with stan coming to the net a lot. No always the right execution at net in the last set.
So, all set for the final we thought we have... Federer just 19 hours to recover.
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 16, 2014 16:09:22 GMT
Djoko VS Fed tonight I tried another hybrid today - Head Rip Control mains at 55lb and Dunlop S-gut (red) crosses at 53lb. It was club doubles so didn't really get a chance for prolonged hitting, but it felt nice. The Dunlop S-gut are very slippery to the mains slide straight back - the theory is they deflect and snap back at the ball leave - imparting more of those vital RPM Here they are  |
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 16, 2014 18:15:55 GMT
Roger F pulls out of tonights ATP final! Back went last night against Wawrinka
Novak and Andy will do an exhibition set
and
Murray / McEnroe VS Henman / Pat Cash on the red button. Will be interesting to see.
Davies cup? Wawrinka has hurt his Swiss Davies cup team mate. French must be more hopeful now...
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 16, 2014 22:29:06 GMT
And to cap it all here are some interesting rumours / reports doing the rounds... McEnroe claimsI did see Stan getting animated at someone in the near crowd... |
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 17, 2014 14:46:12 GMT
Here's a Babolat Team Storm racquet I restrung this morning for a mate at our club. He popped a cross string yesterday. We are playing again this evening so he gets his racquet back pronto... He's a pretty big hitter, both forehand and backhand top spin - fortunately for us who play him, he make a lots of unforced errors and doesn't like low slice, or I be toast... Nice feeling to this racquet. I took it's vital stats and calculated swing weight from it - weight is 340g (with overgrip (5g) and vibration damper (5g) and swing weight of 338, which is perfect IMO.  Strings are Mains at 55lb: Pro Supex Blue Gear Ultra Spin - a long lasting Co-poly with a long name! Some say the best spin potential of any string. Crosses at 53lb: trusty Dunlop S-Gut. Lets see how he likes that combo / how long they last... Watching the Kub / Lin vs Dod / Mel doubles semi final now. |
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 18, 2014 20:37:43 GMT
Good close doubles match semi-final. I didn't think Dodig and Lelo would win after dropping the first set.
There was no 3rd set - just a first to 8 but two clear point ahead tiebreak.
Apparently the doubles round robin matches were all close (unlike the singles).
On to the 2nd semi (Benneteau/Vasselin vs Bryan/Bryan) and then the final in due course...
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 19, 2014 23:54:18 GMT
I remembered my daughters not so old racquet, a Prince titanium with the same string pattern as the above Babolat. 16 mains and 20 crosses, compared to my Head racquets that all have 18 mains and 19 crosses.
I restrung it with Dunlop Hexy fibre mains, and Dunlop S-gut crosses, and weighted it as I like em - will have a little hit with it tomorrow.
The other ATP semi doubles match was a bit one sided - 6-0 6-2 to the Bryan twins - they are on another planet most of the time in doubles, so fast at the net it's incredible - at 36yes old they seem to be getting better and better.
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 20, 2014 21:59:04 GMT
Dodig and Melo grab the first set in the ATP tour finals doubles final, against the Bryan bros. On the tie break.
Excellent set of dynamic all over the court / angles doubles.
Can the Bryans fight back?
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 20, 2014 22:03:50 GMT
Yes they could!
Taking the second set by a break of serve and winning the deciding super tie break.
The most successful doubles pair ever!
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Post by speedysteve on Nov 21, 2014 17:14:31 GMT
Davis cup going on now. Swiss vs French. Wawrinka pretty much monstered Tsonga in the first set. Dropped the 2nd. Close 3rd and less problematic 4th. So 3-1 and first match to the Swiss. Federer is having a much harder time of it against Monfils - a set and 2-4 down... Back looks ok though  I played singles yesterday. Nice dry court too! I played with the Prince racket but found it harder work than the Head 660 Genesis... Could not generate the same racquet head speed / weight of shot somehow... I should have switched back but played on. It was close - this was a guy I beat 6-0 last time out (admittedly the first time I've ever bageled him in many many sets), but he knuckled under this time and played more consistently, and I was perhaps a bit jaded. Lots of DIY on hands and knees fitting a fireplace, hearth / surround / mantelpiece, is taking it's toll, still 6-4 to me |
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