FEDERER IN 4.........ALLEZ ROGER!!!!!

i'm gonna go with federer in 4. no way is murray beating him the way he played today, but i think he could well snatch a set either 7-6 or 7-5

***closest score prediction--you have to predict the exact score--gets to be the first GUEST PICKER for whenever our next blog is...either finals day of a weekend in February, or Indian Wells***

Murray in 3. 6-3 7-5 6-4. Anything Fed hits at him Murray will run down and send back around the post for a winner. The Saltire will be flying high for Murray on Sunday. Go Murray!

Murray in 5. He may have lost at the US open, but that semi-final was very different from the one he played here. 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2.

exact score? federer in 4: 6-2 6-7 7-5 6-4

possibly :P

LOL @kelli ..so good to have you back here. and once again the nicks are so funny, and thank God cheryl picked muzza,i hope muzza wins so that we have a tie between three competitors ! VAMOS cheryl lol...

Prediction? Pain.

^^^^ didn't you say that yesterday, SP? :D

Thanks, vamosrafa. I feel like you're my own private cheerleader.

Federer will win of course :)))))))))))))))) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hahahaha...i have been supporting the underdogs in this competition,having a t.b b/w 3 of you will be fun and I wud luv to make those calculations needed.

@ricky ,cherly,kelli may i have your emails? if its possible otherwise np :)

"^^^^ didn't you say that yesterday, SP? :D"

Yup. That's my standard prediction regardless of the situation!

And somewhere Clubber Lang is smiling.

(I should also point out that in the case of Fed-Tsonga yesterday, it also happened to be correct. ;-) )

ricky.dimon@tennistalk.com

i asked for yours and am still waiting for it!

*I* need a private cheerleader. I was bounced out of the quarterfinals AND my Golden Racquet was pilfered!

It seems like everyone is split down the middle with the Fed/Muzza result. Every hour I change my mind. Imo, Muzza has more to "lose" here. I feel exponentially better though, after that line from Rocky III.

vamosrafa- contact me directly here: kelli@tennistalk.com for assorted questions, gripes, rants, gossip, random observations, Argentinaphilia and the like. :)

That's true, SP. In fact, if your prediction were part of the official contest, you might have earned the golden racquet for it.

D'OH!

@kelli, i have always been on your side and I still am :P :D and thnx for the ID
@ricky, i have many and one of them is abc1_abc@hotmail.com :)

yep Fed in 5, jumping on a bandwagon this time.

Fed in 3: 7-6(6) 7-5 6-3

Btw Ricky, Cheryl: Do I get a a reward for winning the prediction challenge at tourneytopia?

Murray in 4
6-4 6(5)-7 7-5 7-6(3)

Wow. They're all 5 setters. Another heartattack match with Federer. Here's hoping Fed can prevail with a boring match!
Although, Muzz comes in playing the best, his only tough match was Cilic...

10sfan, "heartattack" matches are the most exciting to watch. I'm hoping for a 5 set thriller. I think Fed will take it out this one, he's got nothing to lose. His semi-final streak is intact, his current streak in GS finals still going, has trophies from all 4 GS, and is the all time leader for GS singles titles. Muzz on the other hand is trying to break his GS duck and have the weight of the British expectations to end their title drought.

Federer will get the same score as the US open 08 final but will hand one set to murray, Federer in 4: 6-2 3-6 7-5 6-2
COME ON!

federer 6-0 6-0 6-0

cheryl i'm backing you. you better not be wrong!!!!

Federer to win!
C'mon Roger
The spirit of a Champion!

Federer in 4.
6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3

murray in 5: 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2! Come on!

Too scared to predict. I like them both. Both are superb shotmakers. Both are tactical masters.

Maybe Muzza have the edge becoz he's young. I dont think i'll watch the full match 2morrow. Just gonna tune in 2-3 times.

torres! stay calm and be patient. just the match. fairplay and respect to both players, but roger to win!

C'moon Roger!

Please be right deuce.

Move over fed, it's time for change.

good luck to all roger fans (there are so many so cant name them all ) and GOOD LUCK all devoted muzza fans (ALEX ,DEUECE and all others :) )
Good luck to our competitors as well ,we are guaranteed to have a tie-break atleast b/w ricky and vincent :)

my prediction : muzza in 5 : 4-6 6-4 7-6 3-6 6-3

alex: I feel shivery, I feel excited, I feel there's a wind of change coming. Go to Guardian and be calmed, like Andy actually!

Hmm I like these editor's picks, its makes it exciting when even the experts dont agree exactly :)

I say murray in four
5-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-4

deuce, you should feel calm, excited and shivery. 100% of all UK newspapers book murray to win.

Am incredibly pleased that that federer has made - yet another final. Just incredible run.breathtaking run. As a fan, (and that goes out to all the sporting fans out there for federer too), we are just privileged to have such a champion who continues to play exceptional tennis, continues to stay at the top and is still the one to beat.

He will do his very best (am sure) to maintain that crazy statistic (at least) and whatever anyone says about federer, he was laughing and relaxed yesterday after tsonga match, defended andy murray by saying to british media, give the guy a break. He will have done his game plan with his team, as will andy. they match up well. yumma,yumma deuce. match cannot come soon enough.

so, so special to be having such a final. (miss rafa of course), but murray is a great opponent, but federer can mix it aup t world class level and consistently perform at this stage of the game - so i think in many ways federer will not disappoint. Just get the serve "on" and then the confidence will flow.

@ RICKY,sorry for being late but I have replied to the email ,please see if anything can be done for now :) cheers

Federer in 4: 6-3,3-6,7-5,6-2!!!:)

Murray in four: 6-4, 5-7, 7-6, 7-5.

THANKK YOUUU SOO MUCHH RICKY and TT :D:D i feel so good abt it :)

everyone welcome and take note of our first guest handicapper, who has been added to this blog....

Ricky and other experts ,its my first ever in-depth analysis so briefly rate how i did ,it wil be appreciated ,thnx :D

and all fellow users its not bad rite ?? LOL

VR - well of course it's A+ material now that I have edited it! :-)

just kidding. It's great. And glad you joined the 5-set brigade.

hahaha..i know minor editing has been and done and its looking better ! you are great,thnx :D

vamosrafa: welcome and I looovvvve you btw!

haha..thanks alot dude :)

vamosrafa - excellent piece, I'm WELL impressed! (And not just because of your prediction, which I am too nervous to make!)

vamosrafa... brilliant piece. and am very jealous of you right now, haha :P

well done vamosrafa! I'm glad I have company in my Murray choice!.....

But does this mean that I'm disqualified for the Golden Racquet? :(

the GR is not up for grabs with this match

picking Murray over Federer is like picking Tails over Heads

just continue bowing down to me for "Tsonga in 5"

i'll consider putting my GR up for grabs sometime in February or March. REGARDS.

vamosrafa in 5 !!!

Of course Roger will win... what are you all thinking????? No doubt in my mind... Oh and I am very one eyed!

Won't mind n e one winning till Rafa is not...... :P

Roger in 3... 6-2 6-4..... 6-3 !!!! :D

Aleeeeerrrrrr Roger........... :)

Murray is just being interviewed on the BBC, and he says he is going to use the tactics Rafa uses against Roger, so Murray really looks up to Rafa.

@alex and @sib.. haha..thanks you so much ,i feel really good
@cheryl, lol... i think it is very tough to snatch the GR from Ricky because muzza winning is not going to be a big surprise ,i think the only way you could perhaps win GR is if muzza comes back from 2-0 sets down and win it ! lol and thanks for your appreciation.

ABOUT TO START in a minute !! good luck everyone

ORION wins not only the score prediction, but also at Tourneytopia

he/she/it will be our next guest handicapper!

After 2 weeks of fierce competition,unlimited fun and the suspense about who would win the TT predicting competition and who will be the OZ open 2010 competition.The great Roger Federer elongated his legacy today and now I have the results for our first ever predicting competition among our experts.

-Cheryl was edged out by ricky and vincent who jointly share the top spot at 28 points apiece so I held a tie breaker. Each correct prediction (in terms of sets ) scores a point ,for e.g tsonga in '5' earned ricky a point.

-And our WINNERRRR for the 2010 TT first ever predicting competition is................................. .... RIC........... VINCENT GLENNNNNNN!!!!!!
The silent but efficient,sagacious forecaster outshined ricky dimon in the tie breaker 13-7 ! Vincent got off to a flyer and after a dominant first week he just kept on extending his ascendancy ! GREAT JOB VINCENT and CONGRATULATIONS :):):):)

-HOWEVER,The great fighter Ricky Dimon who had 2 marvellous weeks of predicting ends up winning the prestigious GOLDEN RACQUET when he picked tsonga in 5 over djokovic.WOW !

-It was a pleasure announcing the results and we hope to have many more competitions lke these,one word : AWESOME !

Nice job vamosrafa. Hope u'll be able to do this for all tournament.

Cheers :)

thanks buddy, with pleasure :) nd congrats roger won :)

congrats to ORION aswell :)

carrie, too bad for Murray. Not everyone can apply Rafa's tactics against Fed that effectively. If not, we'll be seeing more players beating Fed at a slam. Currently, only the young guns of Rafa, Nole and Delpo are able to do so. Murray is yet to join this elite group.

I feel that what Murray lacks is the instinct to know when to be aggressive and attack at the right time; we see that instinct in Rafa. Rafa is able to switch from defense to offense so quickly once he feels the time is right for an attack. I do not know whether that can be learned or is it instinctive. Delpo, another player that beats Fed in a slam final, is the 'attacking' kind of player and his attacking is very effective as he has one of the most powerful forehand in the game. His serve and his backhand are very good too!

I feel sad for Murray, I'm sure he is very disappointed that he fails once again. I hope the aggressiveness that we see in him during the Rafa match will be something he continues to work on so that one day he'll get the defense/offense right.

Thanks very much for all the work you?ve put in over the last couple of weeks vamosrafa, you've done a brilliant job with the calculations.

I think I've been more than a little lucky to come on out on top! For example, I said Cilic would lose to Wawrinka, but I then completely changed tack and correctly backed him to win his next two matches in five-sets. He wouldn't have even been in the tournament after the third round if I'd got my original prediction correct! So I've certainly been a little fortunate!

luckystar, Rafa last Slam final was 1 year ago. Why dont we talk abt the current Rafa. Can he beat the Fed of today if he was in the final?

No way.

So Muzza does not to join the 'elite group' whatever. He's in a better position now then Djoker, Rafa or Delpo. I am sure Muzza will keep on improving and in the end get a Grand Slam.

thank you Vincent . LOL..u always need a bit of luck to get your predictions right but I think my favorite quote 'fortune favors the brave' does justice to your victory :D
Now you wil be the defending champion come AO 2011 LOL

torres9, yes Muzza is in a better position now, but things may change come the clay and then grass court season. Also when the US hard court season starts, who knows Delpo may come alive again! You simply can't afford to write off these young players, can you? I'm sure Fed wouldn't too.

Guest pick yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :D For entire tiebreak I went back and forth between "would be fun to pick for blog" and "Murray should take a set". I will brag as much as I can to ricky until then :D and vamosrafa- from now you have at least one more person to count score and make funny comments about. More work for you :D

I just love these predictions! Hopefully will see this one back at more tournemants.

The tennis landscape has changed in the last 12 months.

Irony has it... the number 1 of the world (who broke down in tears a year ago) now has the same numbers as the number 1 last year.

Last year Nadal held the AO, RG and the Wimbledon at the same moment and now Roger does.

So I ask of our experts... how will the landscape look like over a year?

Will Roger be #1 in 12 months?
Who will hold which Slam?

My prediction is that Roger will hold 2 slams before the AO next year and still be #1.

RG will go to Nadal.
Wimbledon is Fed's domain.
US Open will go to Murray.

it will be my pleasure ORION..make sure you beat our experts :D :D you have earned the right to become the guest picker :) btw are you a he or she?

I hope RICKY is not very upset about the results,havent seen him comment :D LOL kidding

Im a 'he'... or an 'it' Im not certain :D Ricky passed Cheryl and also holds the golden racquet so I think he is happy

So you all missed out on the correct prediction this time , I think Vincent had the more accurate prediction although he also predicted a Federer win in 5 sets the 3 sets he assumed Federer would win had the exact scoreline 6-4 6-3 7-6.

Lol looks like all the Nadal fans had predicted a Murray win some even said Murray in 4 sets. of course the Nadal Fans dont want Federer to win thats understandable but you have to be a bit more realistic in your opinion, this is a grand-slam final when was the last time Federer lost a non-clay court grand-slam final in 4 or less sets?
Talk about Murray using the tactics Nadal uses also makes no sense Murray is neither a left-hander nor does he hit the ball with as much topspin. Murray played well at times but Federer is still by far the best most complete and most consistent player especially at the majors.

tennis2010... i'm a rafa fan and i said federer would win, although i thought it would be in 4. i wanted federer to win. i'm more than happy to admit that federer is the best player in the world. hands down. he really is. i just like rafa that little bit more

Sib69, opps sorrry i didnt knew that you are also A rafa fan so i change it to "most of the rafa fans wanted Murray to win"

i didnt pick murray in the blog because i am a rafa fan ! i had a feeling murray is now good enough to push fed to 5 sets and if that happens fed has proved to be a bit vulnerable against these yungsters in the 5th set.and honestly another reason ,altho very insignificant was that i wanted to be a bit diff from the editors to add spice LOl... anyone who doesnt respect the champion in federer and his INSURMOUNTABLE achievements is like a 'blind' tennis fan .like sib69 said, we just love rafa so much and now we are praying he gets back on track ASAP :)

yea @ orion, ricky is a tough guy "MENTALLY" he wil get over it LOL .,he also holds the GR so cheers , now i am banking on you to snatch it from him ! LOL

Congrats to all the winners. This was a welcome addition to the start of the season. :)