On a Serbian website of a TV station, he answered some fan questions that were sent in to said station. The most interesting question was with who does he have the best releationship on the tour (other than Tipsarevic and Troicki), he said Murray, Ljubicic and Nadal. I'm just mentioning that because there was a debate the other day on here how is his relationship with Rafa. Thought people wanted to know.

Thanks for that nemanja it is not unknown news that he isn't close to Federer, I wonder why? because Nadal is closer to fed and Murray than most.... strange, These are pro atheletes and i8t is natural for them to have a little tension between them sometimes, the pressure is huge after all.

This is Johan Lindahllast article. Can you do an article about the claims Noah made about Rafa? He seems to have made some comments about Rafa and he (it is rumoured) has evidence to go with it.
It is not allowed for us to touch the subject but when other former slamwinners are talking about the issue well it is news and we should know about them.

Sienna, What are you talking about? Claims about what?

He made comments about Spanish sport in general not just Rafa - and if he has the evidence, why doesn't he bring it out? I'm surprised that references to magic potion are always deliberately aligned with Nadal. He's not the only one who's MISSED A TEST.

This is not to say Noah's accusations are completely out of line, because Spain has had a history of farcical anti-doping regulations, and the scandals are plenty. But the ITF and ATP have a system in place to combat doping. As per information from that system that has reached the public, it is not just Nadal who has abused the system by missing a test. If I started naming names on that list, people would be surprised.

he was not talking about missing a test. Missing a test has been on this site before we know who have missed test the last fe year up to 2009 or 2010, Fed missed 1 or 2 test I believe in that peirod. You are allowed to miss up to 3 or 4 in the space of 2 years.
Tennis players are being pampered because other sports are more stricked withthe rules and regulations.
But NOAH made some serious acqusations)also towards Rafa '. I will not touch them but maybe Johan can do an article about it. He is the only one who can fully be without prejudice on the matter I feel.

No he didn't single out Rafa, he mentioned Spanish athletes in general. Also what does Noah know? He's not close to them, nor was he involved in any testing, so why should people believe him. Anyone can say anything, what about the other top guy, for years he's been taking long breaks and there's no report as to where he disappeared to, and whatever he did nobody knew. And he's not getting younger yet his stamina and fitness is still right up there with the other top guys, how do we explain that? Who can be sure of what he has done during the long breaks when nobody knows his whereabouts?

See, anybody can be suspicous of anyone, no proof, best to keep the mouth shut!!

Yes, well, the only recorded proof you have of a possibility of wrongdoing is a missed test. If Nadal or anyone is cheating while actuallly being tested, then you have a far greater problem on your hands, and the possibilities cannot simply be limited to Nadal. There are a fair amount of players who have reached his level in terms of performance and they should all be considered rather suspicious too.

Wow i really think luckystar loses the plot completey. I just informed if Johan could do an article about the issue. I was not assuming anything. look at his reply stone cold llegations on Federer!
Is this allowed? Are we now sat the place you guys want this site to become where it is allowed to accuse Federer of doping and banning all the fedfans 1 by 1.
Luckystar should be banned for the next week because of his allegations towards Fed. What goes for the fedfans goes for luckystar. Or has he got some priviliges that he can accuse Fed of using doping?

sienna, stop pointing fingers. You're the one who want to start all these controversies. Stop hidding behind Johan, wanting him to be the bad guy here, so that you can have your allegations against Rafa. We know you too well here, and knowing that the subject about doping is banned here, why do you want Johan to commit the 'crime'? Clearly you're not up to any good here! Stop all your nonsense about all these allegation talks against anyone. You're behaving far worst than anyone here and you are the one who should be banned instead.

There seems, in fact, to exist discriminatory actions towards federer fans when it comes to bans.

On topic, hope djokovic is healthy. Would like to Federer to have a chance to beat the season's best player.

Simple bleck, just see who are the ones who instigate and you know why.

Well, Johan can write an article about what Noah said, and what Rafa said and all that - but what is the point of it all if there is no concrete undeniable evidence to back it up. If you speculate that Nadal is cheating, there are enough and more reasons for all of us to speculate about a lot of other players too. Personally, I don't see how a top player could be cheating and getting away with it unless:

1. The rules in place aren't enforced properly
2. The top players, the ATP, the ITF and WADA are working together to make us all muppets

In today's world, both scenarios are very plausible. But in either situation, responsible bodies are either being negligent or dishonest. An accusation by Yannick Noah is not fact, just well-warranted speculation. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do with it.

And for the record, he accused Spanish athletes in general.

If only federer fans did such things and nadal fans didn't then it wouldn't be discriminatory it would be just.

But there are a lot of people who post here and aren't federer fans that aren't banned when they have behaviours that have led to federer fans being banned.

Again bleck, it all boils down to who are the ones who instigate in the first place. You have to be objective enough and see why in the first place those that are being banned are banned.

Agree with samprallica. All these allegations stuff had being discussed till death on other websites. Still there aren't any solid proof, so what's the point of even discussing it? We are no PIs here, just concentrate on the tennis matches at hand. I'll rather worry about my own stuff than worry about something that will lead me to nowhere.

I'm eager to see Nole vs Berdych, but it'll be 4AM my time, really tough for me, and Fedal match tomorrow will be another 4AM match for me again!

I'll have to skip football tomorrow to watch Federer which I'll gladly do.
The only problem is the sports channel that broadcasts the WTF didn't show the fish-nadal match live so I'm guessing they'll do the same with federer's tuesday match.
I'll end up having to watch in a crappy livestream. CRAP :S

http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=15162&zon eid=4

Rafa is not happy the peppy. But maybe Luckystar can explaine why you cannot forbid anybody to write anything in a free world where we live in. So pay attentione if you do not live in a free world with freedom of press and word.

sienna, I seriously doubt your comprehension ability. I don't forbid anything unless it's against the rule here. Are we not against writing about doping here? If not then why are you making a fuss about what I posted above, and in fact you're the one who wants someone to write an article about it. Why are you pointing fingers at me then? You're being such a hypocrite, when you're happy pointing out what some people are accusing the Spaniards of doing, yet when the same is said about your idol, you turned bitter. Why are you applying different rules to your idol, when we have every right to view him with suspicions, just like others are being viewed with suspicions. Your idol is not above it all and he too is subjected to scrutiny whether you like it or not.

Federer missed his test at the same time that Nadal missed his, for those who don't know.

lucky,

Don't even bother letting it get to you. You are trying to be reasonable, but it's not going to work. It's a losing battle.

It's true that we are not supposed to be discussing doping of any kind, by any player. But some break the rules and then wonder why they are called out.

We don't have to defend Rafa. If you get into a discussion, then it's like validating this ridiculous nonsense.

Rafa spoke about it in his press conference, although he said that he didn't know the right words in English to fully express his feelings. I think he is very rightly outraged at all of it.

Luckystar
If you hgad openend the link I gave you . In tthe article clearly shows Rafa stating that Noah shoudl not be allowed to be writing about tennis in futere.

So maybe you can tell Rafa where that freedom is found and based on .....

Guess what! There's tennis on right now. Nole and Berdy have just started the match. So let's talk tennis!

Are you liking what you see in Djoker, NNY? LOL

He is not loking sharp at all and Berdy is hitting free and clean balls. The sweetspot it is called in tennis. These modern rackets have a very big sweetspot so no biggie. Feds racket on the other hand is almost oldschole.

But Djoker is not hitting them....,

Ok Djoker breaks back 1-4 and he is awake.

good hold to 5-2 if he hadlost the second break he was mentally gone.

I think Berdy did well to right the ship and serve it out for the first set. He can play some great tennis, but against Djoker you have to be consistent. I don't think Djoker's serve is quite right, but at least he is in this thing.

NNY: Nole has raised his level and now has a 90% first serve and 78% points from lst serve.
Berdy's level is dropping. Now at 38%. He needs to do something about that and quickly. Pity because he is playing some lovely tennis otherwise.

Well I must say that it is great to see all the parenst out there.

Dad Berdych my goodness his son looks like him and yesterday with Tsonga´s dad- Nice pictures of their parents.

ed,

Yes, they posted the serving stats during the second set and Nole was up to 81% at that time, with Berdy dropping down to about 41%. You must have the latest updated info on the serving stats.

I think maybe Nole needed to work out some kinks and now has gotten into a rhythm with his serve. He seems to be okay, no sign of any shoulder problem.

I agree that there is no way Berdy wins serving below 50%. I do think he has been striking the ball well and hitting some terrific groundstrokes. He can hang with Nole from the baseline and that's not easy. I like this fluid power he can unleash and how he takes the ball early and hits those flat shots. Nice to see.

Berdy just played an outstanding point to make it 40-30 at 2-2!

Berdy played some of his best tennis to get the break, now up 4-2. Good stuff!

Sigh. There's a reason why Berdych is no.7 and Nole is no.1! There's a reason too why Berdych's nickname is called Bird brain.

Well done to Nole, clearly a bit rusty but still manages to scrap past Berdych. So the top four guys are all tested and all except one come through but not without a fight. Also, nobody gives Ferrer a chance but after one match, he's leading his group. Well done. Commies to Murray, hopefully his injury is not too serious.

lucky,

Now that was some serious choking by Berdy in that tiebreak! That was a match that he should have won. All Djoker has to do these days is wait for his opponents to self-destruct. When it counted most, yes Berdy was a Bird brain! He played some quality tennis in this match, but as you said about Tsonga and Fish, you have to be able to handle the pressure and close out the match strong and then collapse.

I finally saw some video of Murray receiving treatment on court for his injury. That was hard to watch. I hope he will somehow be able to continue. I feel for his fans. They deserved to see him play his best at this tournament.

.

Sorry, in my last post I meant to say that you have to handle the pressue and close out the match strong and NOT collapse!

Ferrer is the only one from no.5-8 to be able to hold his nerves and finished the job. What's with these guys, don't have the self belief that they can beat the top four?

While watching Nole/Berdych, I was thinking to myself that maybe, just maybe, Berdych is the one who will replace Fed in the top four in the coming years, instead of Delpo. Delpo is so injury prone that he can't last a full season and he's not as good as Rafa, who despite his injury prone career, still managed to be in the top two all these years. But then, after watching the end of the match, I'm not too convinced again. Tsonga is another guy like Berdych; both have the fire power but not the tennis brain to match. So Delpo is still better than these two, IMO.

lucky,

Isn't it something that Ferrer, who has less natural talent than either Tsonga or Berdy, was the one who managed to get the win? I couldn't believe what I was seeing as Berdy just fell apart in that third set tb. He overhit shots that were gimmes. He had his chances a few times, but he missed and it wasn't even close. He played some great tennis and took it to Djoker throughout the match. He tested him with his flat, powerful groundstrokes. Then it comes to crunch time and he gives it away.

I didn't see the Fed/Tsonga match, or the replay. So I can't comment on that one. But I have seen Tsonga just blow matches too many times. Berdy isn't consistent enough or tough enough mentally to replace one of the top four. Not at this time. Same for Tsonga was has been blessed with so much talent but doesn't have the tennis mind to go with it.

Delpo has all the qualities necessary to challenge for a spot in the top four, but he can't seem to stay healthy. I think he is another player who will always battle injuries throughout his career.

luckystar, To compare the berdych-djokovic, tsonga-federer and fish-nadal matches is disingenuous.

Berdych held a match point, fish was up a break in the 3rd set, tsonga didn't even have a single BP in the 3rd set. These are totally different situations.


Tsonga was nowhere near winning the match, fish had a chance (tiebreak is a gamble) and berdych wasted a MP so he was very close.

No bleck, Tsonga had every chance in the final set, don't forget Fed was the one who served first in the final set. They were both holding serves till the last game. Tsonga was nervous and choked away the game and the match.

Fish did lead in the third set at 3-2 but was subseequently broken back by Rafa right away. Rafa had match points against Fish, at 6-5 and then he was leading in the tie break all the way till he won the match. If you think Fish had chances like that, then Tsonga also had his chances! It's not like Fish was having MP against Rafa and did not capitalize, so I don't see your logic!

Nole vs Berdych - Berdych did even the match in the third set and the match was decided by the tie break. Berdych, like Tsonga, made some boneheaded shot selections at crucial juncture and lost the match. I don't remember Nole having any MP against Berdych until in the tie break.

To me all three matches were close, and the nervous party went on to lose the match. In terms of having more chances to win, from the perspective of the underdogs, I think Berdych had the best chance, Tsonga and Fish both had lesser chances than Berdych( to me Berdych played better than Tsonga and Fish). IMO, even if Fed/Tsonga went to a tie break, Fed would still win in the end. It seems the top few guys are all so good in tie breakers that they rarely lose.

This is why one dreads a tie-break when the following players are involved.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Reliability-Zone/Reliability-Ti e-Breakers-Career-List.aspx

I don't think it's surprising that three of the four matches played so far have gone to 3 sets. That's what is to be expected in a competition pitching the top 8 in the world against each other. What would be surprising are easy straight set victories by the top four.

To try and make out that Roger's win is better than those of Rafa and Nole when Roger lost a set to 2 is really clutching at straws just to put Roger on a pedestal.

The WTF is billed as a contest amongst the 8 best players in the world, they are depicted in a fighting mood on the bill boards so why do we expect easily won matches.

The audience would feel short changed if there was no contest just a whitewash of one player over another. With so much being paid for the tickets and so many miles travelled, pwople want to see players battle not the win handed to them on a plate.

I noticed how even handed the crowd have been - lifting each player in turn when they fell behind - and guessed they were egging on both players for it to go to three sets and a tie-breaker.

luckystar @ 11/22/11 11:51 AM...................................Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

luckystar, "To me all three matches were close..." Yes

"In terms of having more chances to win, from the perspective of the underdogs, I think Berdych had the best chance, Tsonga and Fish both had lesser chances than Berdych" Yes Tsonga and fish had lesser chances than berdych and tsonga had lesser chances than fish.