................. for all who missed the match
Thaks a lot!
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ESPN 2 at noon ET
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Posted on 01/28/2007 3:40:48 AM PST by beyond the sea
Top-seeded Roger Federer defended his title at the Australian Open, beating 10th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's final.
Australian Open Scoreboard Every match, both men's and women's, throughout the Australian Open. Complete Scores
It was Federer's 10th Grand Slam title, and his third in the last four years in Melbourne. The win also extended his win streak to 36 matches, the longest of his career and fifth best in the Open era.
Federer also became the first player since Bjorn Borg at the French Open in 1980 to win a Grand Slam title without dropping a set.
Gonzalez, who was appearing in his first Grand Slam final, was trying to become the third player to win the Australian Open by beating the top two seeds. Gonzalez defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.
Federer is now 10-0 against Gonzalez and is the first player to win back-to-back Australian Open titles since Andre Agassi in 2000-01.
Federer has won the last three Grand Slam events, the second time in his career he has won three consecutive majors. The French Open is the only Grand Slam he has yet to win.
I don't know if they are. But no matter how you have to find it, if you love excellent tennis and excellent art, please find a way to see it. It was a real wonder!
Gonzalez barely lost just two of his service games in the entire match yet lost three straight sets.
I have never seen a match with such quality play........ and I've been watching it for over 50 years..............
old fart here.......
;-)
Federer as Religious Experience
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html?ei=5090&en=716968175e36505e&ex=1313726400&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
(snip) —
Almost anyone who loves tennis and follows the men’s tour on television has, over the last few years, had what might be termed Federer Moments. These are times, as you watch the young Swiss play, when the jaw drops and eyes protrude and sounds are made that bring spouses in from other rooms to see if you’re O.K.
The Moments are more intense if you’ve played enough tennis to understand the impossibility of what you just saw him do.
I would certainly agree with that.
In sports, it seems that the top dog of the day is always better than anyone in the past. I look at Tiger and think, "Some day a better golfer than Tiger will come along".
Hard to imagine, but probably true. So, I'm busy grooming my 4 year old grandson :)
I'll probably be able to catch a lot of it online. (hoping)
Thanks for the tennis pings, btw.
Even though most of the threads are heavy on the Sharapova pictures! :)
LOL.......... I hope you are. Has he had a little golf club in his hands yet?
Did you ever see the old Johnny Carson shows when Tiger was on there and he was just about three years old?
Amazing.
Golf is a great game in which to get kids interested. A person can have a long and comfortable career, even if you they end up being a club pro or something like that.
LOL ....... did you see post # 15?
I couldn't help myself.
;-)
ESPN 2 at noon ET.
There's a lot of talk about "unbreakable records" in sports, and while I'm tempted to dismiss the idea, I have to pause. There's always better equipment, better conditioning, better technique -- each generation begins where the last left off.
Any single-even, single-season record is forever vulnerable. But career records are a different story. Pro athletes make so much more money now than they did in the past that they don't have the incentive to continue struggling through pain year after year.
There's also a difference between team and individual sports. Emmit Smith took down Walter Payton, Bonds will likely overtake Aaron, and someone might even overtake Pete Rose, because expansion of the league thins out the talent pool, leaving more weak defenses for the exceptional few to feast on. Whom has Bonds hit his dingers off of? I've got a crisp $20 that says Clemens, Schilling and Maddux are at or near the bottom of the list.
In individual sports like golf and tennis, there's also an element of luck in who comes along at the same time. If any of Bjorg, Macenroe and Connors hadn't had the other two to contend with, he'd be the most dominant player in history. Everyone else who played in those years is a footnote. Tiger is a genius, but he doesn't dominate the sport the way Nicklaus or Palmer did, because he has a stronger field of competitors.
No one around right now can touch him - Nadal is a very tough player but is rather one dimensional and doesn't have the range of shots that Federer has. Roddick is improving but similarly, when you nullify the big serve, doesn't have any answer to Federer's all-round game.
I hope he keeps it going for another four or five years. If he does, he will end up winning another ten grand slams, taking the record out of sight.
................. for all who missed the match
Thaks a lot!
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ESPN 2 at noon ET
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****
I don't think you can call Ivan Lendl a footnote. He won more tournaments than any of those guys, except Connors. But I agree Federer hasn't got the tough level of competition they had.
Also, back in their day, the Aussie Open wasn't considered as big a deal as Wimbledon or the US Open so a lot of players didn't even bother to enter it and would have achieved more Grand Slams if they had.
Thanks for the info.
Man, jj, you are so right. It's a complete tool chest. He is nearly unbeatable, and one thing may I add, it looks like his fine relatively thin body will not betray him any time in the near future -- because his mechanics are so great and because he is in perfect shape.
He is a joy to watch. And by the way, Gonzalez was great also.
The guy just lost two of his own service games, yet lost three straight sets.
Yoi!
p.s. Did you see post # 12........ young Roger playing ping pong? They say he still plays it a lot now. It figures. Ping pong is a great game too.
Roger is simply the G.O.A.T. of tennis, the Greatest Of All Time. I could watch him play every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Alas, I will only get to watch him once today. :(
Oh, and this thread is useless without pictures...of ROGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's on at noon.
I totally agree. He is the greatest artist and athlete I have ever seen....... and a really good guy.
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Wimbledon/2005
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ESPN 2 at noon ET
Start at the beginning of the thread. I posted a FEW of them!
Stefan Edberg and Ivan Lendl, hello!?!?
7, 12, and 14
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