Tennis!

[IAceI]

No one cared until Hewitt got this far. It's like here, no one cares till Tim does well.

Quite annoying really.

[naiwf]

No one cared until Hewitt got this far. It's like here, no one cares till Tim does well.

Quite annoying really.

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[IAceI]

I agree, Hewitt does really deserve to win the Aussie open. But Safin is the better player, and in my eyes will win.

Hewitt has had a very tough road and over come alot of obstacles but if you ask me, Safin is a hurdle too high.

[Mongrel]

I don't know. I think Lleyton has more of a chance of beating Safin then he would have against Federer.

You don't know which Safin you play. The solid hard serving Safin. Or the angry, inconsistant Safin.

And the hype on Hewitt has always been on him in Australia. He is seeded Number 3, so why wouldn't it?

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

FUCK!!!

I so would have put anything on Roddick winning. Certainly was far from his best today but I'm not going to knock Hewitt at all. It'll be an interesting final, one that I'm not entirely bothered about now.

Roddick must have had a bad arm yesterday that's for sure

[IAceI]

Ladies And Gentleman Your Australian Open Womens Champion.

That is just bad.

2-6, 6-3, 6-0

Talk about inconsistant. I think its safe to say; there is no strength and depth in womens tennis.

Edited January 29, 2005 by IAceI

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Then it could be because the William's sister's are the best women in tennis, or maybe that's just me who thinks that. Cant be too bad if they're winning trophies here and there.

[IAceI]

Maria Sharapova is better than both Williams sisters. They will never rediscover that form they once had because there more interested in other things such as poetry and guitar - at least Venus is.

[kaya]

And, I hope Davenport kills the ape.

Edited January 29, 2005 by kaya

[IAceI]

Maria Sharapova has alot more time on her side and alot more committment than Serena. Serena won a championship, and she done it well. She was a dark horse so to speak (that isn't meant to be racist) but she came through without much recognition and has done well.

To say Sharapova "choked" is an understatement, i suggest you go watch Roland Garros 2004 and then and only then will you see what choking really is. Sharapova is what, 17 years old, younger than most people on this board and she is a millionaire, a fantastic tennis player with so much dedication. You expect her to go away and wilt? Wimbledon champion, she won the WTA Conclusion tournament in Los Angeles for Christs sake. Sure, Serena was the better player this tournament but this year - she won't. Sharapova will be back, and stronger. She will win at least one Grand Slam this year.

The whole strength and depth comment is sort of an inside joke that I don't expect anyone to get here. I say it all the time with my coach, and he agrees. Just because there was some young women coming in doesn't mean there all going to develop into world champions. Oh and your wrong, mens tennis has alot of depth. Names escape me but I know countries like Serbia & Montenegro and other countries in that area have alot of strength. Perhaps you've had a memory lapse but Lleyton Hewitt is 24 as is Roger Federer. Roddick is 23. Nadal is just the tender age of 18. Guillermo Coria is just 23 too. Hell, even Joachim Johansson is 23! You think they're old? They're going to be around for years to come friend. Women's tennis cannot gloat talent like that - and I don't think they ever will.

Right, I'm done. Come on kaya, entertain yourself in a debate.

[kaya]

Maria Sharapova has alot more time on her side and alot more committment than Serena.

Edited January 30, 2005 by kaya

[naiwf]

I think you both bring up good points, but women's tennis has lack of "top flight" depth outside of the top 8-10. Serena and/or Sharapova will likely win the 3 other majors, Davenport and Mauresmo will find ways to choke when they have a chance to win, and at least one of the Russian starlets will bomb out early in each big tournament. Henin-Hardenne could be a wild card in all this, but I'd put money on her being the only person other than Serena or Sharapova to win a major this year or next.

On the men's side Federer is almost a constant, but Roddick, Safin and Hewitt vary from inconsistent to brilliant, and no one is a lock to make the Semis before a tourney starts. It wouldn't come as a shock for example to see Hewitt or Safin lose in the 1st round at the French, or for the French Open champ to lose to a qualifier at Wimbledon. You'll never see that in women's tennis, which may be good or bad depending on your point of view.

I personally prefer to watch the women play because they develop the points instead of smashing their way to victory or defeat on the strength of their serves. At the end of the day though you don't even have to watch 95% of the first week matches for the women since none of the favorites to win the title ever lose because the surfaces don't really matter, while with the men it can make all the difference in the world.

[Bonz]

The final has just started, Leyton is looking very intense as is Safin and its set to be an awesome game

[IAceI]

Bwahahaha. Sophie Ferguson, shined in a tournament in her own country, what of it?

She has an insane grip too - you'd think she was Argentinian or Spanish with that sort of grip. What is it, complete Western?

EDIT: Oh and naiwf, the whole good at French bad at Wimbledon is most likely because there is alot more variation in men's tennis. You'll see people like Coria who, because of the clay, have the ball bounce nice and high so they can take it at around shoulder height, but when the ball bounces on grass, if comes to waist at the highest really and generally just sits like a brick, meaning they can't get their wrist around the ball to generate the topspin they like.

Hope I helped

Edited January 30, 2005 by IAceI

[Malenko]

Bwahahaha. Sophie Ferguson, shined in a tournament in her own country, what of it?

She has an insane grip too - you'd think she was Argentinian or Spanish with that sort of grip. What is it, complete Western?

EDIT: Oh and naiwf, the whole good at French bad at Wimbledon is most likely because there is alot more variation in men's tennis. You'll see people like Coria who, because of the clay, have the ball bounce nice and high so they can take it at around shoulder height, but when the ball bounces on grass, if comes to waist at the highest really and generally just sits like a brick, meaning they can't get their wrist around the ball to generate the topspin they like.

Hope I helped

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[Mongrel]

Fuck...Fuck...Fuck.

Congrats Marat, really dominated the last three sets, his speech was good aswell.

[Guest U.s_Champ_Mysterio]

Lol Marat dominated the match Hewitt had it lost after he argued with an official.Congrats Marat

[IAceI]

After Hewitt's outburst he actually begun to play sensational tennis.

Unless we're talking about a different one. I didn't watch it all.

[naiwf]

I'm glad to see Safin won after knocking off Federer. I just hope he follows this up with a strong year because he can be one of the most dominant players in the game if he's got his head on straight. All in all, it was a great tournament with the exception of Serena winning since I've never liked her

As far as the surfaces go, I knew about the differences I was just trying to say that when it comes to the women's game the best players dominate on every surface, where the men's game sees so much more variety. Every so often the women's game will seem incredibly stagnant because it's usually the same 4 or 5 players playing in the Semis at all the big events, and the lower ranked players hardly ever threaten any of them in the early rounds. How many times do you see someone like Serena make it to the second week of a slam with 4 wins in under 4 hours total, while one of the top men might play a 4 hour 5 setter against a relative no name? That's what I was trying to say earlier, but hopefully it's clearer now.

[Malenko]

I'm glad to see Safin won after knocking off Federer. I just hope he follows this up with a strong year because he can be one of the most dominant players in the game if he's got his head on straight. All in all, it was a great tournament with the exception of Serena winning since I've never liked her

As far as the surfaces go, I knew about the differences I was just trying to say that when it comes to the women's game the best players dominate on every surface, where the men's game sees so much more variety. Every so often the women's game will seem incredibly stagnant because it's usually the same 4 or 5 players playing in the Semis at all the big events, and the lower ranked players hardly ever threaten any of them in the early rounds. How many times do you see someone like Serena make it to the second week of a slam with 4 wins in under 4 hours total, while one of the top men might play a 4 hour 5 setter against a relative no name? That's what I was trying to say earlier, but hopefully it's clearer now.

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