dissappointed...i think RD should explain why he picked söderling to beat nadal in a qf...

croc, I think Ricky did explain in the Wimbledon picks thread, that in 2007 Sod ran Rafa close in five sets; and that Sod then was still a nobody. So right now Sod is a better player and Ricky thinks that Sod can beat Rafa.

i'm not making picks here. I made picks in the blog. That's where it's being discussed.

Ricky thinks Rafa beating Sod at Wimbledon in 2007 - 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(7), 4-6, 7-5 means that Sod nearly beat Rafa, but he doesn't think that Federer beating Roddick - 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14 last year, means that Roddick nearly beat Federer!!!!!!!!!

ok, thanks. well... the current article is close to a pick for how nadal and söderling will reach the quarters...i'd love to be wrong but i think söderling and grass is not such an ideal match. he has lots to prove here. more than nadal. söderling has done one good tournament on grass in his life, losing to federer in the round of 16 last year. the erratic ball bounce on grass should make it difficult for söderling to blast his rockets. and the lawn will hamper his movement too...
Petzschner would be a serious threat to Nadal if it wasn't a grand slam.

Can somebody explain to me why Isner is being mentioned as a possible threat. Sure he has a killer serve but on grass that's about it. OK so he won Queen's but I saw both the SF when he only just squeezed past Schuettler and the Final which he would have lost if Mardy hadn't choked when he had the chance to take the match.

ed251137 - that was Sam Querrey

Isner has not played since the French Open

Thanks Ricky for pointing out that stupid mistake. What's more not only was I confusing Querry with Isner but also the Queens SF with the Final. The old brain has been addled by watching too much footie.

Any chance the comment can be deleted to spare me any more embarrassment?

ed251137...it shall remain, as many mistakes are made on these threads, especially from fans eager to debate the greatness of Nadal and Federer, people get too emotional and know very little about tennis...therefore run their mouths and get called out. Not saying you are one of those though, yours was a simply mistake, writing quicker than you were thinking, happens to the best of us.

Soderling owns Rafa on hard courts, was taught lesson on clay, lets see what the verdict is on grass should they both meet, will be interesting.

My last comment ses it all really, one spelling mistake, one grammatically incorrect sentence, haha, I type super fast.

eelesino,

From you exalted perch from which you look down on the rest of us mere mortals, pray tell us all how you have come to know so much and be possessed of all the wisdom of the ages, to presume to categorize others on this site who participate by giving their own opinions, to which they are completely entitled.

calm down, bitter much? where are all the healthy dicussions?

NNY- hahaha brilliant!!!!!!

isabeau,

Thanks! There is one slight correction - it should read - From YOUR exalted perch!

Just remember to be sure not to get too emotional and run your mouth off! You might get called out by the self-appointed thought police! :)

NNY- I didnt even notice the error..I read it as YOUR.

But hey I think faster than I type, so I always have a bunch of errors in what I write, particularly when I am writing through my Iphone...but I don't care...:)

Oh and I will try my hardest to control my "emotions"...:P NOT! hahaha...or should that read 'opinions'...:)

isabeau,

I know you and believe that you will always say exactly what you think! That's the way it should be! We can't let some of these bizarre people who pop up now and then and presume to order everyone around and pretend that they are superior to all, dictate what we should or should not say.

It's called giving an opinion and everyone has one. Also, feelings are never right or wrong, they just ARE! :)

NNY- Exactly and no matter what peoples opinions are, one fact remains, nothing is certain.
This is why worrying about a draw and what may or may not happen is a waste of emotional energy, all anyone can do, which ever player they support, is take each match, one at a time.

I mean I currently have this feeling about the end result that I cant shake. I will not say if its good or bad but I dont want to get that ahead of myself and I have refused to look a it, so all I can do is ignore the feeling that is eating at me and let the matches play out.

My prediction, however about Soderling still stand...:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0BZChbNHQY&feature=player_embedded#!

the sexiest tennis player EVER.....VAMOS RAFA!!!!

eelesino: I pride myself on not getting over emotional - well at least not not in print. Still dont know how I managed to make quite such a hash of a comment.

I get it, every tournament there has to be a Ricky thread talking Rafa down from the first round onwards, it's a must, even if there are no facts to go with the story.

Hey isabeau77, assuming your are a 'she' and NNY a 'he', do you live close to NY? You seem to have a lot of things in common; who knows? romance might germinate out of this blog, hehehe :)
Well 'eelesino' is not completely wrong in saying that some threaders here don't seem to know a lot about tennis.. not that I'm any expert either, mind you - so give credit where it's due I say.
It's true that Sod isn't the same player as in that memorable and neverending 2007 battle but neither is Rafa and .... Ricky... Rafa is Nr.1 now... that has to count for something, right? ;)

nadline and everybody: only three hours to go and we can all start debating facts and stats rather than all the endless hypothosising!

Shireling, NNY is a 'she'.

http://goo.gl/5kbg

rafael answering some questions here!!!

thx for the info nadline - and thx for the link Vrael - funny the question about Bionze at the end :)

off topic , for VRAEl.clayking and any other indian... congrats on india beating paki yesterday in that nerve-wracking match :)

@vamosrafa
you are right,that was a hell good match. Of course,i was going for india as its closer to my country :P

btw,do u speak urdu?

soderling isnt a threat to rafa. He sucks on grass..

We've had this conversation before. Soderling is no slouch on grass.

@ed
dw,I wasnt being that serious :P. I know hes a peripheral threat at this slam. If rafa hasnt found his form by the 1/4 finals(big if tho) then i think soderling can pull of the upset. But soderling has to get there first.

@tj,lol...and yes urdu is my first language :)

@vamosrafa
nice. my first language is sinhalese.

@vamosrafa...hehehe..thnx

actually iv stopped watching indo-pak cricket matches....too nerve wrecking for me...i was out playing soccer with my frnds that day...and did not see it after i returned home....i watched the BIG BANG THEORY that day...hilarious series!!!!

Shireling,

Yes, as nadline said I am a "she", so no romance I am afraid. Thanks for the thought!

Let me state that I am proud to be emotional at times in my posts, but also well grounded in a knowledge of the sport of tennis that has been cultivated by watching it for my entire adult life. I don't see anything at all wrong with passion and emotion. That's how Rafa plays tennis and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I don't have any problem with people saying what they think, as long as they don't give themselves delusions of grandeur, as though they know more than anyone else here. Everyone, I repeat, everyone, should feel free to give their opinions, run off at the mouth if they choose, without someone becoming the forum monitor and deciding whether or not they know what they are talking about. A forum is a place where we get to share our opinions, feelings ideas and can have some decent, lively disagreements. I object to anyone here presuming that they know more than anyone else. That is my issue with eelesino's comments. Patronizing and condescending to other forum members is rude.

@tj, good :)