this is the best chance lopez will have in his whole life to trouble rafa..
he is playing a fatigued rafa on what is supposed to be his favourite surface..
so if he cannot do anything to rafa today, he can forget doing anything to rafa ever!!
anyway, vamos rafa!!

rafa in 2....one of them being close

VAMOS!!!

rafael is scheduled to play 2 doubles and a singles match today.....busy day for him!!!

I just checked ATP official website and I found a stat that was pretty surprising to me to say the least..
Rafa has the 2nd best % of service games won after karlovic!!
he has won 90% of his service games..
and as far as i remember, except for the FO final, he has lost his serve in nearly every match he played!!
its actually a mystery how he has managed to hold his serve so far!!
another example how stats do not tell the whole story!!

vrael: how come two doubles matches?

if rafa wins the 1st of his doubles match...he might have to play the second doubles match today to stay on schedule....check out his site for details......

i find it hard to believe that yesterdays match was nearly 4 hours long. the only way that could have been possible was if it included the rain delay i.e. the clock wasn't stopped when they were off-court

The doubles is crazy, if they win the 2nd round doubles, they have to play afterwards the 3rd round. whewww, meaning Rafa has to play 3 times for 1 day. The thought is killing me, he should withdraw from the doubles for he is seen a bit tired during his match with Istomin. Irritation is one of signs of fatigueness and he was irritated the whole match with Istomin yesterday.

Nadal shud retire from dbles... actually he might even retire from singles becoz he said that 'i am not thinking about withdrawing from the tournament but i should be very careful' ....so if the need arises rafa may retire like he did in queens 2006 qtr against hewitt.

He was so cross with himself he barely managed a smile after that win. Hard to believe he will not pull out of the doubles but he will hate having to let Marc down if he does.

looks like they will not going to finish the 1 game...

Get not the break Nadal.

Vamos

break...

gets broken himself........

get the break now Rafa

Vamos

clutch serving for Lopez so far to help him hold service...in just a little more grinding he will give in.

nadal playing well but lopez is serving really well.

9 aces from lopez and plenty of service winners too. 7-5 rafa or a tie break(more likely)

All of sudden, looks like nadal has forgot the lesson from last year injuries.. playing more and more is not good for his body!!

atleast he could skip doubles!

What the F! Rafa playing three matches today. Is he all smug about his knees after the FO. When will this guy ever stop loading those knees of his!

hey guys..
the 3rd match will be postponed in all probability!!

what now Rafans? he lost the first set.

Time to do the real job Rafa.

Vamos !!!

So Rafa loses the first set, shame.

Lopez is serving too well.

wow!!
he lost a set again..
lopez is really good on grass!!
but he should win the match!!

I think it will be a blessing in disguise if he loses in straights.

that was a POOR tiebreak from nadal...its was NOT abt lopez's serve ...nadal missed two easy forehands early in the set adn then he read 2 serves but cudnt put them in play ...even the set pnt was nt a good one to give away ...and worse of all was the smash at 4-5 ! he could have won that tie break easily 7-3 or 7-4 but poor pnts really....i still think he is gona win this one ..

Rafa missed his opportunities...making some unusual UEs...well, he is not at his best and seems out of focus...and Lopez reminds me of Karlovic...all about the serve...

it was destined .. supposed 2 be happen ..not suprised!!

Let's hope Lopez stops serving so well, he is getting a lot of cheap points.

Is the court too fast even by grass standards?
Nadal of all people is taking love games on serve!

If I didnt know better would almost be tempted to say he wouldn't mind losing to Lopes.

if he is serving well .. then y it will call as cheap point ?

rafa .... play upto ur level!

The writing is on the wall now. Rafa must be suffering from mental fatigue.

haha, Rafa is down a break

Now, let's see if he can scape this match.

get a good grip Rafa Vamos !!!

now this is funny!!
ha ha..
he is down a set and a break!!

he gets broken ..match over i think...nadal is not even trying his best to win this match given his body language

Cmon no shame losing to a fellow spaniard. At least it will zip up the mouths of certain ppl who think spaniards roll over for you.

he breaks back.

wohooooo !!!

and he breaks back... lol :D

I like the way Rafa is hitting the ball.

THe Rafa brain absolutely refuses to process the words "give up"

And horror of horrors he holds his next game to love!

over my dead body!!
that's what he is saying i think!!

lol..it is his over-my-dead-body attitude that is keeping him alive...otherwise just luk at his face...brimming with anoyance and fatigue...anyway he is getting match practice so thats good...still he is the favorite from here.

This is it, Rafa is going out. He needs to rest before Wimbledon.

VAMOS!

Gosh he must have been at some "level" in 2008 to win pretty much everything from March to August

now there is it!!
i think he has satisfied the law of averages perfectly!!
wimbledon trophy that bears the inscription, "The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World." ...
it is going to rafa's cabinet!!
vamos rafa!!!!!!!!

P.S. VAMOSSSSSSSS ARMADA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

end of the road for Rafa at queens.

The fall of seeds indeed.

Not so bad loss !!!

Congrats Feliciano good play.

I am not concerned at all! This is a different rafa than 2008. He is no longer going to kill himself to win tournament 250. It's a practice tournament.
He is playing at 60% mentally and physically because he can and just like he played his beat match in the final at RG watch the difference in level of play you will see from him at Wimbledon.
If at RG up until the final he was playing at 70% and hitting more unforced errors than we are use to seeing from him than he is not about to try any harder at this tournament.

well played feliciano

VAMOS RAFAEL!!!

clayking,

How can you say that the trophy is going to rafa's cabinet ???

Nadal lost to a spanish player that is un believable!

Well done Lopez. I just hope this is not the sign of Nadal level in grass for Wimbledon. Because Nadal you have to win Wimby!! Just have to , just for another time this year again.

Just like you so much Nadallllllllll

Congrats to Feli ! Feliciano has a nice game for grass ... should give him some confidence for Wimbledon. Rafa, well he looks exhausted ... he should just have some fun and play doubles with Marc.

law of averages champ.. law of averages..
even fed has fallen prey to it, what is rafa??
the pact has been made..
2010 is rafa's year, and he will win wimby..
so, to satisfy law of averages, he lost this now..
simple champ, simple!!!

Feliciano served and played very well.

Three singles matches, the first one with perfection, pretty good practice. At this point I suppose he will not retire from the doubles.

Rafa definitely needs a good rest...have a nice time at home, Rafa and come back for Wimby! RG was both emotionally and physically exhausting...he should be back to his best at Wimby!

Vamos Rafa!

well done lopez
At last rafa's streak of 24 matches has come to an end
@clayking
How r u so sure dat nadal will win wimby???

I dont think RG was physically exhausting as he hardly played a 3 hour match and he had a very good first round match ..So we cant say he had a exhausting time in RG which caused him here.But he required some training for wimby which I think he has not got yet.

He should one or two doubles match for it.

Rafa is fatigued mentally and physically, he also doesn't want to overdo it before Wimbledon, so he won't be too sad about going out. Lopez deserved to win, he served very well, but I also think that Rafa was hitting the ball great.

VAMOS!

Oh Rafa, we're in it together, or out of it....I thought Lopez looked really good against Dimitrov, very sharp serve and volleying.

champ..
you are underestimating the power of doubles..
he will win with marc now..

sax,
because i believe in fed's capabilities..
fed should reach finals..
and if fed and rafa reaches finals, it will be rafa..

so all the top guns are out. not that im surprised. Djokovic and Cilic suck on grass,Roddick hasnt played much these last few months so he would be rusty,Gasquet is a mental midget,and Murray has had a post-Australian hangover. Nadal hadnt even played on the surface for 2 years,so he was obviously going to have trouble adjusting to it,so we can cut him some slack.

Clayking- I agree! All the big boys are out of this tournament now... Murray, djokovic, roddick and now rafa...hmm it's rest time! And I assure you non of them are crying.
I am glad that they are all out, gives someone else a chance to win something.

All the people these guys were beaten by although good in their own right need these tournaments to make their money as they are unlikely to win masters or grandslams, so it's all evening out. Also they have played less tennis than the big boys and would have had more time on the grass, but anyway congrats to lopez!
Don't be suprized if Roger loses next in the other tournament but then again he seems to be immune from average. We will see.

@clayking
nadal has to make it to the finals as well. And mean no disrespect,but the chances of Federer reaching the finals of Wimby are more than Nadal's imo.

looking at the stats Rafa won essentially the same number of points and had better overal serving and receiving percentages, and 7 breakpoint chances to Feliciano's 3. So it was down mostly to Feliciano's serve and Rafa ue's.

Exhausted or not, Rafa played ridiculously bad, esp that smash during the tie-break. This is not the first time he missed such a smash. He simply can't deal with the S & V players. Do you all realize that his ROS has not been up to standard lately? He can't survive like that on grass, where there are many big servers, and it seems many players are now playing the S & V game.

In this queen's tournament, Roddick went out to a big server despite himself being one; Murray and Cilic went out to S & V players like Fish and Llodra, and now Rafa went out to Lopez who also S & V his way to a victory today. It seems that this time round, the S & V players are ruling this Queen's tournament. Maybe they'll do some damages at Wimbledon this year?

Not looking good for Rafa this year, with limited play on grass. If he loses in the doubles as well, then he really cut short his practice/play on grass. I would expect him to use his passing shots against Lopez's S & V but he was missing too many of his forehand shots, and his ROS left much to be desired. Hopefully his poor play is not due to any physical injuries and please people don't mention exhaustion or whatever as a reason for his loss, if not Rafa will be labeled as a sore loser again by his detractors!

luckystar,
in absence of atr, nivce to see a harsh view(of course nowhere near atr's league)

tj,
ofcourse fed has much better chance than rafa to reach finals..
but you do accept that rafa is the 2nd fav to be in final..
and once in the final, once it is fed vs rafa, you know who has the edge!!

RG WAS physically exhausting since Rafa attempted to chase down all the balls and he played long points...it does not matter if it was only a three setter, Rafa had difficult work to do with Hewitt and than that third set with Melzer...and he did such a brilliant work of Sod...that had got to be demanding on his body and mind...he has to rest and enjoy some time off before he hits the Wimby...all other seeds had more time to rest as they left RG earlier than Rafa and look what they have experienced in Queens...Rafa will have plenty of time to practice to sharpen his shots on grass...I also think he was better than Feli today, but he just made some unusual UEs at crucial points simply because he was tired...Vamos Rafa!!!

@clayking
not so sure. Federer has no pressure on him now,and this is grass. When nadal beat him,it was 9-7 in the fifth. IF the match is tight,the edge goes to nadal,but fed is more likely to win in 3 or 4 sets. Also,from what I have seen from these two,I would pick Federer if the two were to meet now(form might change tho)

Luckystar- Can you please believe me when I tell you that this tournament wears no barring to what will go down at Wimbledon.
For example if Lopez were to win this tournament, no offence to him, but do you honestly think he has a chance at Winning Wimbledon, he'll no.

tj,is it any surprise that you will pick fed??
and is it any surprise that i will pick nadal??
we can just wait n watch!!..
one thing i'm 80% certain is it will be a fedal final (20% chance for roddick, murray or a new giant killer spoiling the party!!)

@clayking
the giant killer you are talking about could be Gulbis,if he is fit,or Jo-Wilfired Tsonga,again if he is fit. Tsonga has the perfect game for grass:big serve,big forehand,solid backhand,wonderful athletecism(which is important on grass) and he is the best volleyor in the mens game imo. Gulbis' drop shot will be quite effective on grass,as the bounce is uneven. He is also good at changing pace,has a venomous forehand and is a very good mover around the court(all effective on grass). This Wimbledon is going to be interesting.

it is the first time ever that im happY that rafa lost.....wat a strange feeling

VAMOS!!!

Luckystar, 2008 was the only year Rafa went deep into Queens when he won it, he retired in 2006 with fatigue and was beaten in 2007 by Nicolas Mahut, but that didn't stop him reaching the final at Wimbledon. I think he wasn't really committed to give his all against Lopez, especially with the hamstring scare yesterday, he revved it up when he was down but was not really going full blast all the time.

I have a feeling that Federer will not even make the final at Wimbledon this year, he has been losing form for a while, so he might make it to the qtrs or SF, but he won't win it.

clayking, I don't mean to be harsh, I'm just speaking the truth. Tell me, this tournament, how many S & V players left in the draw now?

Rafa has the opportunities to win, because he did break Lopez's serve. However, it has become a bad habit now that IF HE IS NOT CAREFUL, he'll lose his serve, just like he did in the RG SF, and against Bellucci at RG. How many times he lost his serve this tournament?

After watching his matches these two days, I'm not as optimistic as you are about Rafa's chances at Wimbledon. You can't compare him now against his past glorious years of 2007/2008. He is two/three years older now and with knee injuries. He has missed playing on grass for almost two years now. He has to work very hard to get back his game on grass, and I don't know why some here are so eager to see him lost and ask him to go home to rest. You can see from his face that he is not happy about the loss, more so now that he is the no.1 player in the world. A win here will give him some confidence going into Wimbledon.

I hope I'm being too pessimistic and Rafa goes into Wimbledon all guns blazing and goes far into the tournament. I'll keep my fingers crossed this time. Let's see how his main rival perform in Germany!

I wasn't surprised at this loss. IT MUST happen. That's ENOUGH practice for him. That injury "scare" yesterday was really alarming! Rafa still got to play doubles... and since all the big boys are gone it's better to give "chance" to a fellow Spaniard like Feli who's playing well!
AS THE GOAT Federer said..... their performances on diff. surfaces are measured by the slams!!!

@clayking
u r wrong
if fed and rafa reach finals
it will be fedex

luckystar, Rafa's main rival in Germany is on a stroll, there is no competition there, I'll be surprised if he doesn't win it.

One thing I would like to say before I head off-
Rafa is holding many cards close to his chest, many!!! No one has any true idea of his form on grass. This has been a year in the making!

Answer me thus question, why is it that rafa at RG in all matches other than the final, he couldn't find depth in his shots, his serve was off, he was making uncharateristic unforced errors, missing drop shots etc and then all of a sudden he reaches the final and he serves crazy good, finds length and his unforced errors may as well been non existant, against the one person who just by his play does not allow u to find rhythm.
Rafa flicked a switch come final day,that took from mere mortal to clay king! Up until that day he did just enough.

I think it's called foxing!

pessimistic u are luckystar atm...

rafa's game is better suited to excel on grass at the moment......he is a better volleyer than wat he was at 07/08....better returner too........and the reason some rafans are OK with his loss is that he clearly is fatigued....7-8 days of rest will do him more good....the champ needs rest b4 wimby.....

VAMOS!!!

sax..
happy time daydreaming!!! :-)

luckystar,
its fine.. we have our ways of taking losses of our fav player..
i have been much harsher than this on my juanqui!!
and yet, i have always been about juanqui!!
oh and a stat for you..
this year, rafa has won 90% of his service games (excluding this match)
that's the 2nd highest % after karlovic(equal to roddick, who has played lesser matches)..
how does that sound for a stat?? :)

tj,
ya tsonga should do well..
but by giant killer i mean someone like gulbis (tho, i think he will not play)
i believe in patterns..
in 1992, the defending champ was beaten by pete sampras..
9 years later, in 2001, the defending champ was beaten by roger federer..
we can watch what will happen 9 years later in 2010!! :P

After the experience at Queens, it appears any prediction about wimby is a mere talk in the air at this stage. All the top players were losing to lowly ranked players. Lets see if Federer falls or cruises through.

Vrael- I too am THRILLED that Rafa lost! Thrilled! Best possible timing and it's confirming my thoughts regarding what will go down in Wimbledon!

luckystar, EVERYBODY has had limited play on grass to date - this is Week One of the season and My Guy has travelled further than the remaining top five seeds here.

tennislover, quick history lesson: USO 2007 (Ferrer), Rome 2008 (Ferrero) - they don't all lie down for their fellow-countryman, you know.

It is perhaps a little worrying that Rafa has lost more sets in the past 24hrs than in the previous two months, and that this is his first grass defeat since 2007. But I say this chiefly because it means we can't be absolutely certain how he rates against other players in the Top 8 off the clay unless and until he bumps into one of them at the later stages of Wimbledon itself.

But don't write him off just yet. Rafa knows how to play best-of-five and has been to the finals at SW19 each of the last three times he has played. As far as I am concerned, there are two defending champions in the men's draw this year.

VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@clayking
but all patterns are made to be broken. :P

oh well,
that's why i said..
let's wait and watch!!
ow i'm going..
the WC match is going on..
i'll be back after an hour! :)

luckystar - should Rafa show "happiness" for a loss? Where's our common sense here?........... a win at a 250 event will give Rafa confidence????... and what about that "clay slam",,, if that's not enough to give you some gargantuan confidence, I don't know what will?......... I think Federer NEEDS to win in Halle to "gain" confidence rather than Rafa winning at Queens!

Tj600- so I guess if federer wins in Halle than that won't mean anything in regards to true form at Wimbledon.
Glad I sorted that out!

@clayking
This 9 years pattern u r telling is totally rubbish

You see, i have high hopes of Rafa winning the Wimbledon this year. Yes, I'm sure come Wimbledon he'll do his best and up his level, and most probably beat everyone, even Murray, Roddick or any S & V players and reach the final. Do you know what is my worry now? Not all those players, but Fed in the final! Fed is so smooth on grass, he hardly shank on grass and he serves so well on grass. He also has the advantage of playing on grass more years than Rafa, worst, Rafa has missed the last year playing on this surface. Unless Rafa can produce his 2008 level of play on grass, anything less, we'll all have heart attacks come the final if the two of them meets there.

Federer will not make the final at Wimbledon this year.

@isabeau
you are absolutely right. Just coz feds in good form at halle,doesnt mean he will be in good form at wimby.(altho he would have time to find his best form like nadal and all the other top guns) However,even if Fed loses today,I wouldnt be surprised to see him winning wimbledon. All the Halle title would do for Federer is give him some confidence. You could say the draw is weak,but who the top players losing to at Queens? So in conclusion,the Halle title wont mean anything about his form going into wimbly,but if would increase his confidence and thats just as important.

if fed wins halle, he will be back to No.1...........looks like sampras record will be gone.............

Sorry, but Fed will not be back at No1 if he wins Halle, he will still be 310 points behind Rafa, and Fed can't earn any points at Wimbledon.

after he won RG last year, Fed skipped Halle and had a good time rest...he said he was still emotional about wining RG and wanted some time off...and yet he won Wimby...we also discussed here how Rafa should have skipped Queens and all agreed it was useful for practice purposes...I don't think this loss matters much to Rafa and I am sure it tells nothing of his current form on grass...as for the confidence, Rafa has it all now and he does not need 250 tournament to raise his confidence level...

In clayking's telling of the 9 year cycle he did show us his tongue planted firmly in the cheek.

Surely it is not certain that Rafa will make it to the final at Wimby but I think it's very likely. He may not have the same unbroken confidence as in 2008 but he has: an improved game, a very strong desire, a many times proven ability to surprise all of us, and strong performances at Wimby.

Remember also that when people did not give him any chances to make it far at Wimby, when his game was not yet adapted to it in 2006 he made it to the finals. In 2007 he played that ridiculous 5 day match with rain delays and then had to play another 2 (3?) matches cramped in a couple of days prior to the final, while Fed has been lucky enough to have almost the entire week of as it turned out. In the final Rafa came within seeing distance of a win despite all of this. Then in 2008 his grasscourt play was much improved again and he almost won Wimby in 3 sets in the tiebraker, and almost in 4 sets. In those first 4 sets he played better than Federer. In the fifth set they continued to play superb tennis game by game. Even my wife who rarely watches them play could not take her eyes of the screen and was thrilled at the level of play and the drama.

In short, I would not be surprised at all if Rafa makes it to the finals again. And if he does and meets Roger there we will finally have a balanced match between them again where imo it will be hard to call the results.

Looks like Rafa and Marc are out of doubles.

rafa has dropped out of doubles. I expect he's on his way back home to chill out and do some fishing. He sure has earned it1

nadline - fed didnt play anything btw RG and wimby last year so if he wins halle he shud add 500 pts to his tally and that shud take him to No.1.............

halle is 250 tournament, not 500...

guys,
i'm back..
And south africa was just inches away from pulling off a stunner in WC!!

saxenalin..
the 9 year cycle is rubbish??
well, it is the truth!!

sathish,
you didn't tell me that!!
when did you upgrade halle to a 500 pointer??
or is there some magic wand with roger using which he doubles the value of whatever he touches??
come on, tell me more about that!!

deuce,
he skipped doubles??
that's sad for marc..
the guy was improving a lot in doubles..
but he should move up a ranking anyway!!

sathisht, Halle is a 250 tournament not 500 so Rafa will still be 105 points ahead of Roger even if Roger wins Halle.

well nadline,
rafa will be 195 points ahead if roger wins halle..

didnt realise it is 250...............donno why I was thinking that as 500pts..........

@clayking
kk
lets see whether it's rubbish or not
in a few days time

chlorostoma..........of all the post i have read so far you make the most sense! I agree with you when you say its hard to call the results. I remember how many predicitions there were during RG. So many thought that Fed would succesfully defend his title, including himself, at look at what happened............he didnt even make it to the semis!!!

Then so many thought that Fed would wipe Sod off the court...........again look what happened.............instead Fed was wiped off the court!!!

Then so many thought that Sod would wipe Rafa off the court.........look what happened.......Sod was not only wiped out............its like he was almost not even there!!!!!!

After all this i have learnt not to waste my time making predicitions, particularly concerning Rafa..........ill just prefer to sit back and wiat till Wimby and hope at least Rafa makes it to the final.............and if he does, I hope that he wins.

As far as I am concerned, based on the current form of the players, including Roger who seems to be steamrolling his way through Halle, and what happened at RG, there is NO prediction that anyone could possibly make at this point that would bear any credibility!!!...........period!!!

clayking, how do you get to 195?

Rafa - 8700 + 45 = 8745

Roger - 8390 +250 = 8640

Diff ...........................105.

sax,
ok, you are ready to wait, huh??
then i will tell you one more thing..
1974, 1983, 1992, 2001 (9 year cycle)
all these year the defending champion has lost in either 4th round or QF..
and all the conquerors have reached the finals of wimbledon in future!!
it is no co incidence..
and the cycle will continue, in all probability....

@clayking
It's difficult to beat fed on grass
this cycle will finish this tym only

clayking, it would be nothing short of amazing if your 9 year cycle prediction comes to pass.

nadline..
250 points will be added to fed's tally..
but 90 points that he earned at doha will go to the non countable category!!
so there will be an increase of only 160 points..
and hence the 195 point gap..

Well said Monalysa. We shall keep our fingers crossed and not predict anything. In 2008, Fed won Halle without losing his serves or without losing any sets, I think, and yet he lost in the Wimbledon final to Rafa. I hope, as a Rafa fan, the same results as 2008 Wimbledon will happen again, starting in 2010!

I've just watched the repeat telecast of the RG final. Rafa really played very well in that final. A change of surface really can make some differences to one's performance, more so if you already have some mileage on your feet so far. Hope Rafa can rest well, practice well and improve on those areas that need improvement. I hope to see a Rafa at his best at the Wimbledon and biting the trophy again. Vamos!!

@clayking
u r from which country?????

clayking, you are right, that's good, and Federer has 3000 points to defend by the end of August.

@sax
india i think

Fed takes the first set aginst kohli 7-5

well saxena,
i'm from India..

nadline,
i'll be honest..
even i would be amazed if the cycle continues..
but i'm of the belief that such cycles do have something in them..
i mean 9 years ago, who would have thought this cycle would continue and sampras would be defeated by roger??
so, we don't know!!
I hope the cycle breaks so that rafa can defeat fed in the finals..
but you won't hear me complaining if the cycle continues..

well I'm also from india

oh really ?
so, is your name nalin saxena??
just guess work!! :P
from which part of India..

@clayking
as you are indian,do u believe in astrology?:P

tj,
well sorta!!
not much you know..

@clayking
well guessed dude
my name is nalin saxena from new delhi
ya I believe in astrology...........but why r u asking??
by the way wat's ur name and u r from which part of india????????

actually it was me that asked it saxenanalin.

i did not ask about astrology..
tj asjed me..
my name is shantanu..
i'm living in noida..
but i prefer the name clayking here!! :P
tennis forum you know!!

BTW, Federer in to the semi final

well clayking
noida is 15 minutes from my home

@saxenanalin

1974, 1983, 1992, 2001 (9 year cycle).................yeah?

If THAT happens, all this tells me is that tennis might be FIXED!!!!!!!!!!!

monalysa,
thank you

clayking,
it seems that your tongue was not entirely planted in your cheeck re the 9 year cycle... as for me I am not superstitious about these things ( I think ) ...


I think that we would be lucky to see another Rafger final at Wimby - certainly the best venue to see them balanced, although AO 2009 was a revelation - as it is no longer a given they both will be in the finals, and it might be less likely with each coming year.



nerdy PS:
btw as an engineer you should understand easily that the reason the number 9 has been attributed so many special qualities is because in arithmetic it has many intriguing patterns (a whole beatiful book on this was written: the Sigma code) ... but all that just stems simply from the fact that 9 is one less than the base of our number system, 10, that we inherited from India, and 10 is not a special number... it happens to be how many fingers we are born with. Had we been born with 8 or 12 fingers, then we might be find intriguing patterns based on the number 7 or the number 11.

Rafa is also a defending champion at thsi year Wimby. So the 9 year curse may be upon him too.....

@monalysa
Don't worry
Tennis is not fixed
this 9 year cycle is just rubbish........

Rafa a defending champion at this year's Wimby? Sorry don't get you srs. Rafa has lost the right to be the defending champion by not playing last year and allowing someone else to win. That someone else is now the defending champion!

Curse or no curse, somebody good enough to win may break the so-called curse. Remember we talk about whoever wants to win a slam has to beat Fed along the way? This year at RG, Rafa has so-called stopped or broken that trend by not having to beat Fed for the title.

There are also things happening that seem so co-incidental - like Rafa winning RG and Wim in 08, and AO in 09, becoming No.1 after winning Wim 08. Then Fed took over from Rafa, winning RG and Wim 09, and AO 10, regain No.1 after winning Wim 09. Will Rafa be able to win RG and Wim this time round and then AO 11? Or can he break free from this trend and goes on to win Wim, USO, or even the AO after regaining his RG title?

Also it is ironical that with all the effort that Fed puts in to regain the no.1 ranking last year, he came just short of one week of equaling Sampras record of 286 weeks at no.1, what an irony. One more interesting thing that I noticed, if (and a big IF) in the unlikely event that Rafa is to dominate and remain the no.1 player from now on until, say end of 2014(plus may be 3 days or so to round up to a week), he'll be holding the no.1 ranking for a total of 285 weeks (inclusive of that 46 weeks he had before his injury last year), exactly the same no. of weeks as Fed!! By then Rafa will be 28 years old and should he retire at that point, his record will stand at 285 weeks. Of course all these are nothing serious, just some curiosity on my part, or may be I'm having too much time on hand while waiting for Wimbledon to start!

Should there be a spoiler this time round at Wimbledon, I think it may be the Sod. The Sod is good on grass and Fed beats him narrowly last year at Wim and USO. After RG, Sod may be gaining confidence against Fed and I think he is one fella that does not fear Fed (and Rafa for that matter). Or can it be Berdych or Baghdatis, both had beaten Fed this year, though on a hard court.

Soderling can't beat fed on grass

@saxenanalin
soderling isnt going to make it far at wimbledon. he isnt particularly fond of the low bounce,and if he manages to make it to the 2nd weeek,the court bounce will be very uneven and due to the fact that he isnt very balanced,he will struggle. My darkhorses for the title are gulbis n tsonga.

I'll take Berdych n Baghdatis as the dark horses on grass, as both had being to semis at Wimbledon before. Throw in Cilic too. Gulbis n Tsonga may be affected by their injuries n may not perform up to their potential, though when on both are dangerous opponents. I still think Sod can play well on grass, he bumped into Fed last year in the fourth round, may be doing better this time round.

Is Gasquet playing Wimbledon? He injured
his back in Queen's, wonder will he be ok for Wim. Both he and Hewitt are also good on grass. Hewitt seems to be playing well at Halle. Who knows he may be he dark horse this Wimbledon!

I still think the top four guys on grass are Fed,Rafa, Roddick and Murray. Murray can really move well on grass, it's only his form now that is in question. I hope Roddick end up in Nole's quarter. Would like to see Nole/Roddick on grass as we miss that in Queen's.

Oh please stop predicting Soderling doing well! I'm in danger of falling asleep b4 its all started....

Ha ha ha, deuce, so funny about Sod!

I am not convinced that Gulbis is for real yet. He has been so inconsistent and hasn't put in the time and hard work required to play well consistently. He will have to prove it to me before I will pick him as a dark horse.

Berdych has to be feeling confident with his result at RG. He always had the talent, but now he is much stronger mentally. My concern with Tsonga is the injuries and always the inconsistency. You never know from one match to the next which Tsonga will turn up - the one who can hit brilliant shots or the one who is more the clown.

Sod has to be feeling good about getting to the final again at RG. He has been kind of up and down during the clay court season, but if he can manage to play well, he could be a surprise. I don't count this guy out, because when he is on his game he can be very dangerous, even if the grass courts don't suit his game.

I agree with luckystar that the top four about Fed, Rafa, Roddick and Murray. However, there are some question marks. Roddick seems to have lost that great form he was in when he won Miami. He didn't play nearly enough during the clay court season and lost early at Queens. If he can get through the early rounds and get back into the groove, then of course he has a good shot. Murray hasn't been playing nearly as well as he was last year when he came into Wimbledon. He wasn't going to find his form during the clay court season and now he has lost early at Queens, where he was the defending champion. He is another one who will need to try to get through those early rounds and try to get some confidence. If he gets it together, then of course he has a real chance to win.

The only question mark I have about Rafa is, will he be ready to play on grass? Did he get enough match play at Queens? He is a three time finalist and always has to considered as one of the favorites. Fed seems to be getting into good form, so I expect him to try to overcome the disappointment of his quarterfinal result at RG.