So who does everyone think will win this year?

Federer! His pride has been hurt - and he owns the courts there!

Smart money is probably on Nadal - of the three big threats, he gets to reach the final while the other two beat each other up in the semi. And he has been getting closer and closer to Federer on grass...

Smart money is probably on Nadal - of the three big threats, he gets to reach the final while the other two beat each other up in the semi. And he has been getting closer and closer to Federer on grass...

yeah i agree with you but i would like to see Fed win again, a true legend! in my lifetime

I bet it rains up north all the way through wimbledon ,it always does,hope i'm wrong ,as I cannot stand to hear those whinging southerners crying over a few drops of rain that stops play,good luck the andy (mint) murray.

oooooooo my favourite time of the year, I booked the whole 2 weeks off work.

For me, no one can touch Federer on grass, he makes it so easy, and I know they talk about Nadal, and yes he is good, but we are talking grass = Federer.

Novak Djokovic is one to watch.

Federer is going for his 6th straight win in a row, and I hope he does it.

The womens is not easy one to call now Henin has retired.

Britain will hype up Andy murray and he will fail as usual to even get past 3rd round.. but would be nice to see him go a little further.

My money is on nadal this year.

I also think Djokovic is one to watch this time round. It wouldnt suprise me if Nadal and Feds were drawn together again in the final and Nadal beat him. Close run last year and Nadal is just on fire this year.

Smart money is probably on Nadal - of the three big threats, he gets to reach the final while the other two beat each other up in the semi.

Well, the smart money wasn't on Djokovic getting knocked out in the second round. :o

I would now quite confidently predict a Federer-Nadal final, but I wouldn't like to call who'd win it. It could end up being a classic in the Borg-McEnroe mould.

Well, the smart money wasn't on Djokovic getting knocked out in the second round. :o

I would now quite confidently predict a Federer-Nadal final, but I wouldn't like to call who'd win it. It could end up being a classic in the Borg-McEnroe mould.

Yes a shock Djokovic going out so early, but Safin not easy to beat.

Federer and Nadal final now.

I am amazed at how easy Murray is playing today, winning very well so far.

He's looking very good, isn't he? Three matches against people who, though he ought to beat, should put up a decent fight against him - and he's cruising.

Nadal in the quarter-final is probably going to be a brick wall, though.

As soon as I said that, he lost his serve, lol :(

Yes Nadal is in his way and I doubt he will beat him.

Well done to Andy Murray he played really well & it was good to see a british lad (scot) beat a german ,he should beat the french guy & be in the qtr finals against Nadal.

Anyone watching the Murray match, wow what a game, I though Murray was dead and buried, but he pulled the 3rd set out of the bag in a brilliant tie-break.

Amazing game.

20:36 - well what a 4th set, he looks likely to win that, amazin stuff

The boy done great. :thumbsup:

Very gutsy stuff, and he deserved that. Nadal will be a bit of a different matter (ahem), but let him bask in it. Particularly impressive 4th set too!

Well what a game, Murray the magician, that was a houdini performance, 2 sets down, and 5-4 down with Gasquet serving for the match, and he had not lost his serve ........... then the comback, amazing game.

He is so much fitter than a few years ago, and gutsy fighting display, I thought he had blown it.

Bring on Nadal now, after that performance, anything is possible.

Murray v's Gasquet.. reminded me of the golden days of McEnroe & Becker. Players flinging themselves from one side of the court to the other and making shots from crazy angles (including the photographers courtside pit!).

Best game I've seen in a long time. Well done Gasquet at the end.. showed commendable poise as he walked off, having thrown the game away in front of a partisan crowd.

Murray's coming of age?

Murray's coming of age?


Quite possibly so, but there's still two guys called Federer and Nadal milling about. He's winning nothing yet.

Quite possibly so, but there's still two guys called Federer and Nadal milling about. He's winning nothing yet.

I fear a pedestal ducking too. Then again, 'twas ever thus. He did have his serve well in after he'd got a set back, and that surely will be the key to get past Nadal, but I can't see him doing it.

I still wouldn't take him on for £50 and the court fee though :hihi:

Is it true the the British mens tennis team is sponsored by Viagra because none of them can get past a semi

Murray v's Gasquet.. reminded me of the golden days of McEnroe & Becker. Players flinging themselves from one side of the court to the other and making shots from crazy angles (including the photographers courtside pit!).

Best game I've seen in a long time. Well done Gasquet at the end.. showed commendable poise as he walked off, having thrown the game away in front of a partisan crowd.

Murray's coming of age?
Best game I've seen in ages too,does remind you of the excellent tennis we watched in our youth:hihi:

Quite possibly so, but there's still two guys called Federer and Nadal milling about. He's winning nothing yet.
Yeah, I guess I meant more from the point of view of him showing he's capable of fighting back from an almost hopeless position against a respectable oppo; capable of refraining from the tuppy lip outbursts that have dogged his career so far; capable of going 5 sets in a tense, strenuous game (he didn't looked troubled by stamina at all).

Don't worry, I'm not getting carried away and suggesting he's gonna win the tournament.

Is it true the the British mens tennis team is sponsored by Viagra because none of them can get past a semi
Barring a few notable exceptions, I guess that would be a multi-sport, national contract that Pfizer have then?

Murray did well, but Nadal (or Federer for that matter) will destroy him.

Come on Nadal send him home xx

Andy Murray is getting slaughtered and isnt so cocky today... Come on gorgeous Nadal !!... What do you guys think??


heres an even bigger laugh... Murray just complined coz someone called out as he was taking his shot! (like Murray did against Gasquet in his last match!


Andy Murray can dish it.. but cant take getting beat by a class player..

Andy Murray is getting slaughtered and isnt so cocky today... Come on gorgeous Nadal !!... What do you guys think??


heres an even bigger laugh... Murray just complined coz someone called out as he was taking his shot! (like Murray did against Gasquet in his last match!


Andy Murray can dish it.. but cant take getting beat by a class player..Nice to see people getting behind a Brit.

Nice to see people getting behind a Brit.

Nice to see Murray supporting Portugal when they played against England in the World Cup. :suspect: :rolleyes:

It's all academic really as the Sweaty is about to get beat. :hihi:

Nice to see people getting behind a Brit.

Correction... a Scotsman lololol

Correction... a Scotsman lololol

Scots are British.

Correction... a Scotsman lolololBlonde by any chance? :hihi:

Nadal is an empty sort of character with the charisma of a used tampon, I hope Federer nails the greaser.

Henmen Hill, Murray Mound, Failure Fell

Av seen Nadal play extremely wll before, but against Murray, some of his shots were awesome. What I and Murray thought were hard returns, were in fact, only Nadal at 90%. Every so often, he hit one at 100% and Murray just stood back in amazement. Different planet at the moment I'm afraid! Nadal's played Federer 3 times I think this season, and has won all 3.
I think Wimbledon will make it 4.... but I hope not... COME ON ROG!

Blonde by any chance? :hihi:

ooops lol...............................................

Nadal is an empty sort of character with the charisma of a used tampon, I hope Federer nails the greaser.


yeah but Federer is from the snooty spoilt brat genre... and hes a poor loser hehe

yeah but Federer is from the snooty spoilt brat genre... and hes a poor loser heheHe's won $41m, won 12 grand slams, world no.1 for 231 consecutive weeks. Many consider him to be the greatest player ever.

He's neither poor nor a loser. :hihi:

He's won $41m, won 12 grand slams, world no.1 for 231 consecutive weeks. Many consider him to be the greatest player ever.

He's neither poor nor a loser. :hihi:

Exactly, he is the greatest player ever.

1 game away from having a British winner in the girls singles!

And now we have one :clap::clap:

And now we have one :clap::clap:

she was very impressive apart from a bit of a wobble in 2nd set, got a great forehand

Is nobody else watching this? It's a fantastic final!

And into the fifth set! What a match!

And into the fifth set! What a match!

Amazing isn`t it, who would have thought it would go to 5 sets.

Best final ever IMO.

Its brilliant. I thought Federer had blown it in that tie break.....phew!

I fancy Nadal to nick it though, because Federer just doesn't seem to be able to break Nadal's serve. With the final set tiebreak* being normal games, I fear for Roger (if it gets that far).

Nadal can break Federer though, even though he hasn't done for two sets!

*or should I say, no tiebreak, I suppose really!

I don't know how much more my poor old nerves can take! I've been rooting for Federer all along, but doubted he could pull it off after losing the first 2 sets!!

Every time I think it's over - back he comes. Am now rapidly defrosting some bread rolls so I can have summat to eat - just hope play starts again tonight.

Well we've been back for a bit, and both holding serve.

its best final ever i want nadel to win though come on nadel

I honestly wish there could be no loser. It's a brilliant match.

You can sense nadal is going to break Federer`s serve, but when

Go Federer (sorry Laughalot!)

I honestly wish there could be no loser. It's a brilliant match.

I've watched quite a bit of both players this year, and I've been saying all tournament that I don't see how either player can possibly be beaten.

Perhaps we'll be back here tomorrow evening at twenty-eight all...

It is the best final I remember seeing. The only problem is that I'm supporting both, it'd be about 1% better if I had a favourite to win!

Two Championship points ....

Just one now .....

It is the best final I remember seeing. The only problem is that I'm supporting both, it'd be about 1% better if I had a favourite to win!

Couldn't agree more mate!

No, no, no, no, no

And there's the break of serve .....

Championship Point .... unbelievable return!

Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger.

Brilliant match, though.

Nadal's finally won at Wimbledon.

Game, set, match, and the Championship!

What a fantastic match and final!

Nadal's finally won at Wimbledon.

I somehow doubt it will be for the last time!

Federer looks like he is going to cry.

2008 has been well and truly Spain's year, hasn't it?

Raffa ! you did it! hahahhhh Well done Raphael Nadal ... xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Did you guys see fererererererrers face lol? they knew it was over when Raffa broke feds serve in the climax!

well, I am exhausted, and I wasn`t playing lol.

We all could see the Federer vs Nadal final from day one, and we were not dissapointed in what is arguably the best final ever, we had everything, amazing ground strokes, they threw everything at each other, shot that no ordinary person would have got, these 2 are no ordinary people though.

Both super human and super fit.

I didn`t care who won at the end, it was just amazing to watch.

God, I don't know about Federer and Nadal, but I'm wrecked after that match! Felt like I was there with Federer for every shot, and am gutted! I suppose I can grudgingly concede that Nadal deserved to win, I suppose.... Impressive!

It was brilliant and I'm glad Nadal won.

well, I am exhausted, and I wasn`t playing lol.

We all could see the Federer vs Nadal final from day one, and we were not dissapointed in what is arguably the best final ever, we had everything, amazing ground strokes, they threw everything at each other, shot that no ordinary person would have got, these 2 are no ordinary people though.

Both super human and super fit.

I didn`t care who won at the end, it was just amazing to watch.

Yes, I have to agree. Those two are miles in front of the pack, and it was a real shame someone had to lose. One of the finest matches I've ever seen.

When you consider that there are just NINE players in the rankings between Murray and Nadal, it shows how superior the finalists are.

Anyway, never mind that, what a bloody match!

It was brilliant and I'm glad Nadal won.

probably best match ive seen gutted for federer really but neither of em deserved to lose

I'm glad Nadal won because he deserved it. Glad Federer didn't roll over in the 3rd set and fought to the bitter end...

What a game and what sportsmanship and great character from the two of them. Federer paid tribute to Nadal and Nadal also added that Ferderer was No1 still and 5 time champion, whilst he was winning just his first.

I also liked the way Nadal, when asked if he would be having a party, he just said, "No party, just happy the Prince and Princess were here" (Spain royalty). I hear he is planning to go fishing to relax with his father- if you compare this to a British winner, e.g. the cricket (ashes) or any individual win, it is normally a **** up and that too for a few days...

Well done Nadal, absolutely brilliant match!
However, am I the only one who thinks that Federer lost it, rather than Nadal winning it? I've not seen the stats, but I'd like to guess that Roger made 40 odd unforced errors. Some of his shots at times, were poor choices, and quite often, just bad shots not befitting the great player he is.
I reckon that Federer had numerous good chances to break Nadal, but when the crunch came, he played some really poor shots.
After saying that, they both fought like tigers, and put on a fantastic contest, which kept everybody well entertained for nearly 5 hours.
Same finalists again next year you reckon?

Well done Nadal, absolutely brilliant match!
However, am I the only one who thinks that Federer lost it, rather than Nadal winning it? I've not seen the stats, but I'd like to guess that Roger made 40 odd unforced errors. Some of his shots at times, were poor choices, and quite often, just bad shots not befitting the great player he is.
I reckon that Federer had numerous good chances to break Nadal, but when the crunch came, he played some really poor shots.
After saying that, they both fought like tigers, and put on a fantastic contest, which kept everybody well entertained for nearly 5 hours.
Same finalists again next year you reckon?

Yes Federer did loose it, he was 4-1 up in the 2nd set, and lost that, and he had alot of break points which he did not convert, and alot of unforced errors.

Well done Nadal, absolutely brilliant match!
However, am I the only one who thinks that Federer lost it, rather than Nadal winning it?

Great match, but I disagree that Federer lost it rather than Rafa winning it.

Sure Federer made a lot of errors in the game that he probably wouldn't have against other opponents, but that can equally be said of Rafa, quite a few times Rafa would play a safe shot across the net that allowed Federer to easily put the ball away for a winner, against other players Nadal would have really attacked the ball putting it beyond the reach of his opponent.
I think it was each other's mutual respect for each other's abilities that created the "unforced errors" on both sides.

Yes Federer let the second set slip from him after being in control of it, but then again you could also argue the Rafa let the potentially match sealing 3rd and certainly the 4th set slip by him after being 5-2 up with 2 match points.
So both players had their chances in the first 4 sets.
It was really the fifth set when both men needed to "win" the match.
After saving 3 match points Federer was certainly not going to give the match to Rafa.... Nadal had to win it.

Rafa had to really dig deep to see his 2-0 sets lead slip by and 3 match points go begging, to still believe that he could beat the best grass court player in the world.
Had he been at his best, Rafa would have sealed the match in the 4th set at 5-2 up in the tie break.
Rafa did "win" the match, and fully deserved to win,
Just imagine how shattered Rafa would be if he had lost, having had 4 match points!

Yes Federer did loose it, he was 4-1 up in the 2nd set, and lost that, and he had alot of break points which he did not convert, and alot of unforced errors.

Yes Federer made many more errors than normal, but usually occurs when you face an opponent that forces you to play a better shot than normal.
In Nadal, Federer knows he needs to to do this, and that in itself creates more unforced errors.
Nadal was not on his best form either, making errors and playing less aggressively than he usually plays, and he certainly struggled with his first serve throughout the match.
In my eyes uncommon errors on both sides probably cancelled each other out and someone had to "win" the match and that person turned out to be Nadal.

Yes Federer did loose it, he was 4-1 up in the 2nd set, and lost that, and he had alot of break points which he did not convert, and alot of unforced errors.

The unconverted break points were the thing for me, especially as Federer's only break of serve was in that set. Nadal was like a wall. Had Federer converted a couple of breaks, then some of his wild shots may not have happened.

Yes Federer made many more errors than normal, but usually occurs when you face an opponent that forces you to play a better shot than normal.
In Nadal, Federer knows he needs to to do this, and that in itself creates more unforced errors.
Nadal was not on his best form either, making errors and playing less aggressively than he usually plays, and he certainly struggled with his first serve throughout the match.
In my eyes uncommon errors on both sides probably cancelled each other out and someone had to "win" the match and that person turned out to be Nadal.

Federer's first serve also seemed to be poor, especially later on. It was another reason why I couldn't see Federer breaking serve.

We'll agree to disagree Kingmaker2.
I still maintain that if Federer had played even slightly better than he did, he would have won the match. He was certainly capable of playing better on the day than he actually did play. He doesn't usually clock up so many unforced errors. His total for this match was shocking.
He missed some shots... easy shots, that were akin to a junior, or amateur player. They were THAT bad! I would suggest that Federer is still the best player of the two, but the next couple of months will determine whether he can reassert himself as the world's no 1.
Nadal is obviously his biggest threat, but I don't think Nadal is quite there yet.

We'll agree to disagree Kingmaker2.
I still maintain that if Federer had played even slightly better than he did, he would have won the match. He was certainly capable of playing better on the day than he actually did play. He doesn't usually clock up so many unforced errors. His total for this match was shocking.


So what exactly are you disagreeing on?


We know Federer is normally better than that. We also know the reason he was trying so desperately hard - which was the cause of most of his errors - was the threat posed by Nadal. Murray had the same problem - he knows his normal game isn't good enough to beat Nadal, so he takes risks, and most of them don't pay off.

C'mon Heyesey, you're better than this!
Kingmaker2 throughout calls Federer, Federer and Nadal? ..... Rafa.
This shows a blatant preference for one player over the other. Agree?
Now, what I'm saying is, is that Federer didn't badly miss the court because of Nadal, but because at times, his concentration collapsed.
He missed open court shots on numerous occasions, when he (and everyone else) knows that he could have made that shot with his backside.
Surely you must have seen it?
If Federer was 'in fear' of Nadal, or 'in awe' of him, then he wouldn't have played some of the fantastic back hand winners that he did play when well under pressure. Nadal didn't fear Federer either. Federer just played very,very, poorly at critical times. If he'd kept his usual standards up, then I still maintain he would have won.
Credit Nadal on the way he played, I'm not knocking him, and I don't dislike him, but on a normal Federer day, Federer would have won.
Next year, with more experience, I reckon Nadal could maybe be the World's number 1, but discount Federer at your peril!

BTW Murray is not on the same planet as these players, or one or two of the others for that matter. Murray's got loads to learn. let's hope he learns it quick. We need him to out do anything Henman did, to progress in world terms.
He's certainly got the guts.

C'mon Heyesey, you're better than this!
Kingmaker2 throughout calls Federer, Federer and Nadal? ..... Rafa.
This shows a blatant preference for one player over the other. Agree?


Errr not quite Earwiggo,
Note my post 81.....everytime I refer to Rafael Nadal I call him Nadal!

It's more to do with the distinctive name of Rafael Nadal where both Christian name and surname can be used to distinquish who I am describing.
With Roger Federer only the Federer part is distinctive.
I suspect if you listen to the majority of tv commentary very rarely will they refer to Roger Federer as just "Roger".
On the other hand quite a few will refer to Rafael Nadal as both "Rafael or Nadal" or both.
There is no bias preference in my comment at all.
If anything your comment seems to be biased towards Federer, saying that if only Roger had played a little better he would have beaten Nadal.
Hmmm.... If only Nadal served better or, If only Nadal had played better he would have won the 4th set and the match when he was serving with a 5-2 lead in the tie break!
Nadal missed plenty of shots that normally he would have scored with and at times Nadal seem to play the wrong shot.

If's and but's are all useless.... what happened happened Rafael won it...Federer didn't give it to him.
To suggest otherwise is to be disingenuous to Nadal's achievement!:suspect:

Federer's first serve also seemed to be poor, especially later on. It was another reason why I couldn't see Federer breaking serve.

That maybe but Federer time and time again served well enough to get him out of trouble.
Nadal really couldn't really on his serve to dig him out of trouble.

Now, what I'm saying is, is that Federer didn't badly miss the court because of Nadal, but because at times, his concentration collapsed.
He missed open court shots on numerous occasions, when he (and everyone else) knows that he could have made that shot with his backside.
Surely you must have seen it?

And why do you suspect that Federer's concentration collapsed?
Federer has not lost on grass for over 5 years, and at this years Wimbledon hadn't dropped a set before reaching the final.
I don't think this man is prone to concentration collapses in tennis matches,
a pure coincidence then that he happens to have a concentration collapse when Nadal is the man on the other side of the net!:huh:

We'll agree to disagree Kingmaker2.

We can't (or won't) agree that 'Roger' played below par for him.
I'm convinced he played very poorly at times, and wasn't 'made' to play poorly.
You don't agree with this. Fine.
IMO some of 'Roger's' volleys and returns were so easy, he took it for granted that he'd won the point, took his eye of the ball and netted it, or overhit simple returns 'out'. That's just not him at all.

Your man was 'Rafa' 8 times on message #80;)

We'll agree to disagree Kingmaker2.

We can't (or won't) agree that 'Roger' played below par for him.
I'm convinced he played very poorly at times, and wasn't 'made' to play poorly.
You don't agree with this. Fine.
IMO some of 'Roger's' volleys and returns were so easy, he took it for granted that he'd won the point, took his eye of the ball and netted it, or overhit simple returns 'out'. That's just not him at all.

Your man was 'Rafa' 8 times on message #80;)

Yep we'll have to disagree on this one, but once again I ask why was it that "Roger" took his eye off the ball in this particular match out of all his previous 55 or so grass court matches?
Perhaps he has done similar in other matches, only those mistakes didn't do much harm, because he wasn't taken to the edge by "Nadal".
Either way to suggest that Nadal had nothing to do with making "Roger" play badly, or make mistakes is to fly in the face of logic!:huh:
To put it simply, do you think "Roger" would have suffered a "concentration collapse "and netted those same balls, had his opponent been your good self rather than Nadal;)?

Me!!!!!
You're havin a laugh!
1/ I couldn't get the ball o'er the net on serve.
2/ I wouldn't get within 10 feet of ANYBODY'S serve.

We disagree.
Finally (from me), I don't know why Rog couldn't hit a barn door on those simple shots. I can't see how Rog had owt to do with Rafa's' poor shots, and vice-versa. I did see great shots from both players that no person on earth would have got to. I thought this was why they were called 'unforced errors'. It's another term for bad shots. I don't reckon the BBC could call them 'poor shots' in their match analysis!
I don't know how many Rafa made, I do know Rog made well over 20.
That's poor play from a quality player.
The main thing is, it was a fantastic match!;)