2016 Wimbledon

[Hs0022]

Murray has been reading the Raonic serve brilliantly all day. It seems to be just sheer luck that there has only been one break. Milos isn't getting anywhere near the number of free points that he usually gets.

That is what happens to your regular game when you are really feeling the pressure. He will lose in straights. Milos didn't beat Fed, Fed beat himself really.

 

[bksballer89]

Andy saved 2 break points

 

[nuraman00]

@Hs0022, what major is your avatar from? I can't remember when FED wore a red shirt.

 

[nuraman00]

Hs0022, what major is your avatar from? I can't remember when FED wore a red shirt.

My first guess would be the 2004 AO. Whatever year it's from, it seems like it's from the AO.

 

[Hs0022]

I got it from a meme, not sure if it was from a slam or a non slam event. Murray would have a lot more jitters if he faced Fed instead of Milos in the finals having lost to him before in that stage. It could have gone either way.

 

[nuraman00]

I got it from a meme, not sure if it was from a slam or a non slam event. Murray would have a lot more jitters if he faced Fed instead of Milos in the finals having lost to him before in that stage. It could have gone either way.

Agree.

 

[Smart]

Andy played the big points in the two breakers really well. Based on the breakers, you would have thought it was a complete mismatch. It really wasn't. Raonic won had 1 more point in the second set before the tiebreak and they were even in the third.

Murray's as good mentally as he has ever been. I think he's lost a step or so since 2012-13, but for now his mental toughness has made up for it. With Federer and Nadal at their end based on aging and health issues, Murray is in perfect position to be the solid #2 for the last 2-3 years of the Big Four era.

 

[Hs0022]

Neither Tiebreaks were close. The writing was up on the wall a long time ago. Beating Fed takes so much out of you mentally this was a no brainer.

 

[nuraman00]

I also thought Raonic played better on hard courts, during the AO, than he did in Wimbledon.

He was able to move around the court at the AO better, and win at the net with greater efficiency.

However, it's possible that was an aberration. Maybe he will always have a bad matchup against Murray and Djokovic that other big players have (Tsonga, Cilic, Berdych).

 

[Hs0022]

My first guess would be the 2004 AO. Whatever year it's from, it seems like it's from the AO.

Definitely not from 2004 cause he looks older.

 

[Hs0022]

I also thought Raonic played better on hard courts, during the AO, than he did in Wimbledon.

He was able to move around the court at the AO better, and win at the net with greater efficiency.

However, it's possible that was an aberration. Maybe he will always have a bad matchup against Murray and Djokovic that other big players have (Tsonga, Cilic, Berdych).

Raonic does not strike me as a naturally gifted player. He is better suited to hard courts I think also.

 

[Old Lion]

How would you compare it to the AO Finals? That was at a 3 setter, so it had that going for it.

Looking at the last few 3 setters in GS Finals:

* 2015 FO Finals, Serena vs. Safarova
* 2013 US Open Finals, Serena vs. Azarenka
* 2013 Australian Open Finals, Azarenka vs. Li.

I will say the best among these 3-setters was the 2013 AO. 29 games played.

The 2013 USO had 32 games played, but the last set was 6 - 1. And Azarenka just seemed to play from behind most of the match.

The 2015 FO had 30 games played, but also had a 6 - 3, and 6 - 2 set, so 2 sets that weren't extremely competitive.

Lol, I guess number of games played isn't always the best indicator, as I picked the one with the fewest games played, but set for set, was the most competitive, IMO.

Yes, 2 setters can be competitive too. As I thought this 2016 Wimbledon Finals was. I was just trying to see if we could have a quick discussion of what past GS Womens Finals also might have been good, and this was one way I tried to look at past results.

The AO finals was decent but still a lot of mistakes. I cant remember anything that good since back in the mid to late 00s. The old Henin, Serena, and Clijsters days.

 

[Hs0022]

Those that are not naturally gifted always play better on hard courts the only surface with a true bounce.

 

[Hs0022]

Roderick is an anomaly. He was not naturally talented but still won titles on all surfaces with 21 hard court, 5 clay (one outside US soil), and 5 grass court.
The clay titles he won were low profile ones where Nadal or Fed didn't play, and grass courts were top notch ones, at queens mostly avoiding Fed but with Nadal in the mix.

I guess he had one of the most fearsome serves that really carried him on different surfaces.

 

[nuraman00]

Andy played the big points in the two breakers really well. Based on the breakers, you would have thought it was a complete mismatch. It really wasn't. Raonic won had 1 more point in the second set before the tiebreak and they were even in the third.

Murray's as good mentally as he has ever been. I think he's lost a step or so since 2012-13, but for now his mental toughness has made up for it. With Federer and Nadal at their end based on aging and health issues, Murray is in perfect position to be the solid #2 for the last 2-3 years of the Big Four era.

I think he just hit more winners during that time period. More aces, more opportunistic forehand.

On the other hand, 3 GS Finals in a year is his best ever, and also his best result on clay too.

I'm not sure if he's better mentally (at least during this Wimbledon run) because he didn't face anyone with great mental grit.

Closest would be the Tsonga match.

He faced more adversity during the AO (from Raonic himself) and during the FO (a few 5 setters, and playing against Wawrinka).

 

[nuraman00]

Definitely not from 2004 cause he looks older.

You're right. The expression on his face reminds me of the 2008 FO Finals, lol.

I had someone photoshop this from the 2008 FO Finals, so the trophies were switched:



Hmm, even comparing it to that pic, your avatar looks older than that too.

I'll have to come back to this. I do want to figure out what tourney that shirt was from, at least if it was from a major.

 

[cezero]

I don't think Raonic can return or get his movement any better. He'll need a lot of help in a draw to win a major.

 

[cezero]

What a great win for Murray. One of the most complete games in tennis history. He just happened to be in an era with 3 guys who won 43 major titles.

Impossible to be a tennis fan and not love this amazing era we've witnessed.

 

[Hs0022]

So Pete won two clay titles and has the distinction of winning Rome that Fed never won. Also his year end no.1 six straight times is untouched. I believe Fed was close and maybe a few matches away from getting it so he could tie Pete.

 

[Old Lion]

Like a previous poster stated, Murray was reading the serve. Milos also looked a bit tight. Pulled up on some shots and even an overhead. Murray was hot the whole tourney and looked like he would take this title early on. He blew away everyone he faced except for 1 match. Well done.