Halle R2 previews and picks: Nadal vs. Brown, Federer vs. Sousa

June 11, 2014 Ricky Match previews 192

Fed 3Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will kick off their Halle campaigns on Thursday. They are set for respective openers against Dustin Brown and Joao Sousa.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (WC) Dustin Brown

Nadal will be right back in action four days after winning his ninth French Open title when he takes the court on Thursday at the Gerry Weber Open. The top-ranked Spaniard generally struggles–understandably so–making the extremely quick transition from clay to grass without a week in between. He has a single match victory in two previous Halle appearances, having most recently lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the 2012 quarterfinals. Similarly, Nadal has made it past the Queen’s Club quarterfinals only once in five forays to that event (he won the title in 2008).

Up first for Nadal this week is Brown, whom the No. 1 seed has never faced. Brown did almost nothing on clay aside from a Houston upset of John Isner en route to the quarters, but his attacking style is always going to work better on grass. The 83rd-ranked German successfully qualified for Wimbledon each of the past two seasons and he reached the third round in 2013. This should be competitive in part because of Brown’s grass-court prowess, but mainly because of the fact that there is no way Nadal will be 100 percent physically or mentally. Still, the favorite should have enough left in the tank to get through at least one match this week.

Pick: Nadal in 2 losing more than 8 games

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Joao Sousa vs. (2) Roger Federer

Federer and Sousa will also be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Thursday. The 32-year-old Swiss is coming off a French Open quarterfinal loss to Ernests Gulbis, but he will be well-rested and obviously motivated to succeed at what is basically a home tournament for him. Federer is 43-5 lifetime in Halle with six titles and he has made it to the final in eight consecutive appearances.

Sousa broke onto the scene last season and he has a decent 10 ATP-level match victories this year, but he also has 18 losses. Although the world No. 47 is a solid all-court player, he would obviously much rather contest this one on clay as opposed to grass. He opened his week on Monday with an impressive 6-4, 6-2 beatdown of Jan-Lennard Struff. Sousa will make Federer work, but this should be one-way traffic from start to finish.

Pick: Federer in 2 losing 5-7 games

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192 Comments on Halle R2 previews and picks: Nadal vs. Brown, Federer vs. Sousa

  7. Federer lost in the fourth in the French.
    anyone watch the Hewitt match vs lopez? very disappointed in the result what happened?

    Reply

  12. What I want to know is: why is Karlovic allowed to play tennis? Hi serve alone brings the game into disrepute, no?

    Reply

  24. Super aggressive tennis from Brown. Almost exclusively serve and volley on his own serve and on Rafa’s serve, he just goes for broke on the ROS and if play continues, frequently comes into the net. Very few rallies. Brown takes the first set 6/4.

    Reply

  25. what kind of tennis is this?!! this Brown fellow is irritating me…he is not playing tennis…he is only hitting the ball as hard as he can and jumping from one place to another…looks like Bob Marley though…

    Reply

  27. Roig and Maymo in attendance………..

    My oh my, the commies are making it out like it would be a massive upset if Brown wins……please.

    Reply

    • looks like its over…. rafa aint putting much into it and there is not much he can do out there….brown is crazy at the moment…. so annoying

      Reply

  34. damn…go home and rest , rafa …. he’l take 2-3 days off in mallorca and then come back to london for training.. he deserves rest 🙂

    Reply

    • No one can tell from this performance whether rafa was injured. Even though he won, it was a stupid match from Brown :/

      I really hope rafa does not run into these crazy guys in wimbledon . Even if rafa were playing well here, he could have lost this match . He’ll regroup for Wimby though

      Reply

  37. Go home and relax Rafa, you need the rest……………….come back fresh for Wimby!!

    And what exactly did people expect? He is not a machine you know.

    And give credit to Dustin Brown, his “retard” tennis paid off for him today.

    Reply

  40. Amazing, the commies are discounting Rafa’s RG hangover, saying he was beaten by a better player. Tell you what, I will concede. Give it to Dustin Brown.

    Rafa goes home to rest, much needed rest. I am not worried at all by this, AT ALL.

    Go fishing Rafa!

    Reply

    • I dont think there is a need to mention RG hangover…its implicit…and well rafa could have easily lost this match even if he were not tired. He had no rhythm. He needs practice sessions to build momentum..

      Rafa’s ROS will ke key…needs to beef it up

      Reply

    • rafaisthebest ( at 4:46 pm)
      —the commies are discounting Rafa’s RG hangover, saying he was beaten by a better player.—
      The commies are paid for what they are saying.

      Reply

  43. *groan*

    Now Dustin Brown has a positive H2H against Rafa…………..THAT I am not happy about. I don’t mind Rafa losing…………..the H2H thingy, I mind…..

    Reply

    • Dustin played lights out. Full credit to him.

      Rafa himself said in more than one presser more than one time between RG and Halle that he was “dangerous” and a “tough draw”. Credit where credit is due.

      That said, it takes the man a minute to warm up & get his rhythm at the start of any tournament, and that challenge is exacerbated when you’re talking about transitioning between surfaces.

      (Ask Andy Murray – or the Bryans – who also got upset today.)

      Especially if you go so deep that you’ve won the tournament.

      All that said —

      Dear Tennis Gods,

      There are three quarters other than Rafa’s at Wimbledon. Please put the thunderous, hard-striking Dustin Brown in one of those.

      Unlike some who are not giving Dustin enough credit for his lights-out play today, some of us had already suspected how good he is (including Rafa himself).

      So Rafa has had his turn; someone else should have to duel with him now.

      Thank you.

      Your friend,
      M

      Reply

      • ^^I join you in that prayer, @M. Yes, Rafa was tired, obviously. And Yes, Dustin took advantage, executed his game plan to perfection, well done to him.

        Reply

  46. Had a hunch that Rafa would be out by tomorrow. He more or less told us in advance: He said yesterday, it’s very possible to lose here in the first round and Dustin Brown is no slouch on gras. Last Wimby he eliminated Hewitt.
    That said, I’m slightly worried that his back acted up again. Gras can do that to you, if you suddenly have to reach deep, and Rafa was hardly moving. Also, it’s not good for his self confidence to have won so few gras matches in the last 3 years.
    Let’s wait and see, what comes next. Hope for a kind draw at Wimby…

    Reply

    • Aww, sorry @littlefoot! You were hoping to see Rafa tomorrow, no?

      I am not surprised Rafa lost at all. Actually, I am sorry he lost, but glad he gets to go home and recover. Honestly, he needs to recover from the rigours of the clay swing! Let the Dustin Browns have their 15 minutes of fame. Rafa will be ready for Wimby as long as his body is okay.

      It is not norman have such an emotional day as he did on Sunday and toady he is expected to turn it on like that. No, not normal.

      Vamos Rafa!

      Reply

      • Enjoy your day at the tourney @littlefoot! Now that Rafa’s out, I will be rooting for Rastaman today, but I do not think Kohly will give him a look in……………

        Reply

    • Yes. We don’t want any Dustin Browns in his path. I was rooting for Kuznestov in Rnd 1, because I knew Rafa wouldn’t enjoy playing Dustin.

      I’m sure Rafa is happy to go home. Too much is asked of players. Rafa is not a machine. Considering how exhausted he was at RG, to expect him to just turn round and play another tournament on a different surface couple of days later is cruel.

      Reply

  49. Dustin Brown has an interesting background. I’m happy for him. If Rafa had to go so early, it’s nice that a true journey man (he used to travel to challengers in a camping van) had the experience of his life in front of a home audience. Because he’s German. 🙂
    His father is from Jamaica if I remember correctly and his mother is from the North of Germany.

    Reply

  51. I swear I saw him tank matches to Mahut, Lopez and Tsonga at Queens. In fact when he was playing Mahut, I was thinking, why can’t he just do this or that. That’s because he wanted to go home. He didn’t want to put himself out to win.

    In 2007 when he lost to Mahut, Mahut was immediately given a WC for Wimbledon, Rafa made the final and Mahut went out in the 2nd round.

    Reply

    • @nadline, you know, that the t-word is a no-no at most sites. If you suggest it, you get trashed by fans and foes alike. Yet Rafa DOES tank occasionally, as probably every player has done during his career.
      Today I don’t think Rafa was consciously tanking. But his body language displayed a deep unwillingness to pull it together. Yet, when he played his last service game and avoided to get bagelled, I swear I saw him straighten up and doing his thing one more time. And he served very well, winning that game with relative ease. It was almost as if he wanted to prove to himself that he can do it. And you have to give it to Brown, he didn’t fold. He maintained his level of crazy good serving and closed the match out.

      Reply

  52. littlefoot..what makes u say his back acted up again? Is he injured? Oh no my dream of French, Wimby double in jeopardy?

    Reply

    • Two things, Sanju. Apparently Rafa said yesterday something like ‘I’m in no condition to play here, but I’m going to try anyway’ . The other thing was an interview with Nicolas Kiefer, who stressed, how hard the transition from clay to gras is on the back, and that many a player complains about back aches during the early gras days.
      Rafa is probably not seriously injured or he wouldn’t have played at all. But I don’t think the back problems are a thing of the past. He might have to manage them somehow. That could mean not to try too hard in a 250 p. warm up tourney.
      We can always dream of a RG/Wimby double, but we have to realize that it gets harder and harder for Rafa to pull it off. And without perfect health the chances are slim.
      Let’s just cross our fingers and let’s continue to enjoy his 9th.

      Reply

  53. Brown’s so called ‘retard’ play gave him the win so kuddos to him. As to Rafa, for sure he tried to win the 1st win and since I didn’t see the match I can’ say what happened in the 2nd, whether he gave up or something else, it’s not like Rafa to just give up like that unless something isn’t totally right….

    Reply

    • Yes, he definitely tried to win the first set and had a few openings. When the first set was gone, he was either not able or he was deeply unwilling to pull himself together and win that set. Maybe because winning the set would’ve meant a decider, and he was just not willing to go into a deep tussle against a crazy good serving ‘n volleying opponent so soon after Sunday’s final. Hopefully it was just that and nothing more serious. Who knows? But I swear he made a conscious effort to win his last service game.

      Reply

      • littlefoot,

        Rafa said in Halle that at Roland Garros he had some cramping and that made him feel a little bit tired. I am sure he is still TIRED. There was less than 24 hours between the FO final and his first practice in Halle on Monday. He couldn’t rest properly after the final – he celebrated his victory on Sunday evening and had a photo shoot on Monday in Paris.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdgp7q-p5MQ

        Reply

      • @augusta, I saw that interview. But I had the tv on today and German commies for a change, who did extensive backgound reporting. Apparently Rafa had hinted to them that there might be more than just tiredness and the cramps, but that he simply wouldn’t pull out twice in a row. There might be more than tiredness and exhaustion. Or the German reporters losf slmsthing in translation. But they all speak English very well. We simply have to wait and see and cross our fingers.

        Reply

      • Nope, augusta. I’ve known some of the journos for quite some time. Why should they create rumors? Not everybody is engaged in a dark plot against Rafa. Besides, who would benefit from such rumors? Either Rafa plays well at Wimby or he doesn’t. Rumors don’t influence his level of play or his chances at Wimby. Besides, it would hurt their fantastic narrative about Dustin Brown from a German perspective.
        Misunderstandings are more likely.
        And in the end it doesn’t matter. Only Rafa’s first Wimby match will tell us more.

        Reply

  54. Guys, Rafa was cramping in the 3rd and 4th sets of the RG final. He was cramping so bad (a) he couldn’t hold the trophy at the end (b) he needed an IV medical transfusion after the match for the cramps. He had no business being in Halle and he knew it. The only reason he came to Halle was he could not pass twice in a row and he said that. It is absolute murder to expect him to turnaround after that grueling RG final to play the likes of Dustin who have absolutely nothing to lose.

    After RG, he should have gone straight back to Mallorca for some hydro-therapy and rest.

    I am glad he gets to go back home! I don’t think there is anything seriously wrong with Rafa apart from the usual niggles. I have a feeling we will see him at one of the pre-Wimby exhos next week.

    Vamos Rafa!

    Reply

    • When Nicolas Kiefer stressed how hard the clay/gras transition is on the players’ backs – he wasn’t even talking about Rafa, but about his own experiences – the thought crossed my mind, that Rafa wasn’t going to risk anything here. If he had been able to pull off an easy win – fine, but he wasn’t going to kill himself over a few points in a warm-up tourney. And Dustin Brown did well. Kudos to him.
      I have a hunch though, that Rafa will try hard this season to do reasonably well at Wimby. He would hate to go out early three years in a row. If his body permits it, a warm-up exo might indeed be a good idea.

      Reply

    • Yes, I saw him almost wanting to sit down with the cup before the photo session. Thank goodness the match did not go into a 5th set.

      Reply

  55. Rafa’s next match would not have been any easier against Khols. I hope he hasn’t signed on for years because he would be better off not playing any warm-ups before Wimbledon. Even U. Toni is taking a rest.

    Reply

  57. I came on to see that Rafa lost his match to Brown. I had a feeling it could go this way. Without having seen the match I can’t speak to how either guy played. But I just feel that Rafa wasn’t up to it after that tough final. I don’t think he was ready or willing to kill himself to win a match at this event.

    I am not going to engage in any speculation about his back. For now I am just chalking this up to the physical fatigue from RG. I think Rafa did feel an obligation not to pull out again and maybe get some time on the grass. Hopefully he will show up at an exho event before Wimbledon.

    I am certainly not reading anything more into this loss than what it was – Rafa’s tired and needs a break.

    Reply

  58. http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/11070600/rafael-nadal-falls-halle-1st-match-french

    “Rafael Nadal was knocked out in the second round of the grass-court Gerry Weber Open on Thursday, losing 6-4, 6-1 to German wild card Dustin Brown.

    “I didn’t play,” Nadal said. “That can happen when you play an opponent like this. But I don’t want to talk about the opponent.”

    Brown, the world No. 85, broke Nadal’s serve at the fifth attempt to win the first set, and he pulled off two audacious lobs in succession to break the Spaniard again early in the second.

    Nothing Nadal tried seem to work in his first match since winning his ninth French Open title. He had a first-round bye at Halle, where he was the top seed.

    “The only way I could have tried to do more was resisting with my serve, something I hadn’t practiced a lot these days,” said Nadal, who was unnerved by Brown’s unpredictability.

    “For the first four games he didn’t put any returns on the court and then suddenly he was playing winners from the return, so it’s difficult to analyze these kinds of matches. The only thing I can do is keep working the way that I did the last three days, because I came here, I tried hard, I tried my best.”

    Reply

  59. @nadline10, do you know which exhos are played the week before Wimby? I know there’s Boodles or something like that but Djoker likes to go there so I don’t think Rafa should go there and give away his secrets! Muzza also lost early at Queens so I expect he will also be looking around for an exho to play before the big ‘un…………

    Reply

  60. Last year Rafa played at Hurlingham club in Fulham, along the Thames, against Nishikori, he may do the same again this year.

    Reply

    • Every pundit and his dog is saying Rafa losing to Dustin Brown is hardly good preparation for Wimbledon. Fine. I wonder what they make of Djokovic’s preparations then? He is in Ibiza frolicking, I guess THAT is good preparation. Ok, got it…………favourites can do what they want I guess and it would still be good enough.

      Reply

  61. I did see this coming…not this early though since I thought Rafa would lose to Kohly…however, this loss means nothing…I think Rafa was not playing tennis today…we could clearly see from his body language that he was there to try to do it fast…and when this crazy-tennis guy started hitting returns from nowhere Rafa just could not reorganize the whole game and did not bother after all…he wasn’t practicing his serve lately so he really could not get any free points and chasing those fast balls from Mr. Wild Card was simply not feasible at this point since Rafa was afraid not to get injured…and on top of it Rafa must be tired…he needs to rest…

    You know, it must be so difficult for players to switch from clay to grass in such short time…even for us fans it looks weird all of the sudden to watch big serving and 3-4 hits at most…and I still have vivid memories of those long rallies and beautiful points from the RG final…

    I somehow think Rafa will do much better this year in Wimby…I am starting to dream the same dream as Sanju… 🙂

    Vamos Rafa!

    Reply

  62. He is probably sitting with a glass of some kind of cool drink in his hand watching the WC. He deserves some down time. Too much is expected of players, they are only human and can’t keep going for months on end without a break.

    Reply

  64. Rafa says he will go to Mallorca and rest for the next 3 days, no tennis and then he will head to Wimby on Wednesday.

    Vamos Rafa!!

    Reply

  65. The bottom line is the schedule is brutal for the top players and having these two Majors involving the transition from clay to grass so close together is the most brutal of all. In the current era only Rafa and Roger have managed to pull off the Channel Slam: in Rafa’s he has done it twice.

    Reply

  66. I would love to hear from anyone watching Halle (Queens is geo-blocked where I am) on the ATP Livestream. It has changed since the last time I used it and I am in 2 minds whether to renew my subscription. I used to enjoy the experience, now it’s crap. Tennis Channel TV is doing the streaming now and it’s God-awful service. I never had cause to complain before but already I streamed Halle twice and had cause to complain on both occasions. And when I complained they put through to a live-chat where someone was supposed to assist me, and by the names of the “help” it was clear this was some call centre in Asia, and they knew bugger-all about what I was talking about!

    I have sent a formal complaint to the ATP but don’t expect any change to be honest………bureaucrats.

    Reply

    • ritb, I used to have problems as well then I started logging in through FB. Just click Sign In on the ATP WEBSITE, put in your email address and click the FB or Twitter icon and you’re in. Viewing goes on swimmingly now. .

      Reply

      • Thank you for the feedback, @nadline10. *groan*, so I have to log in through Facebook? I suspended my Facebook account after it was hacked and really do not want to re-activate it, tbh. But I will take your advice on board and make a decision either way in the next couple of weeks.

        Thanks.

        Reply

    • rafaisthebest (at 7:19 am),

      I watched only Rafa’s match on TennisTV.com. I didn’t have any problems.

      I always Sign In on TennisTV.com site. There has been something wrong with ‘Sign In & Sign Out’ for a long time: I have to click ‘Sign Out’ before signing in.

      Actually, I don’t understand what your problem is.

      Reply

  67. RT @pmouratoglou : “I love soccer but hate that almost one match out of 2 there is a major mistake from the referee that finally decides who is the winner.”

    Isn’t this what the ATP is trying to do with the Time Violation Rule?

    Reply

    • re: ATP streaming. I have the same problem. I think the BBC is behind it. They are obsessed with stopping people downloading their material from another country via the internet. If ATP are streaming the BBC transmission that would explain why neither of us can receive it but can access Halle. I don’t get this problem with Eurosport Player which I originally invested in to watch the TdF with English commentary. It’s hard enough to follow what’s happening in English, let alone at 200 wpm in French 🙂

      Reply

  68. Croatia was better organised and played better in the 2nd half, the referee was god awful giving that penalty away to Brazil .. shameful..

    Reply

      • One of the British Commies said they need Brazil in the competition for as long as possible for the atmosphere. He said that to justify the penalty. This just proves that all sport is prone to some kind of fixing.

        Reply

  69. RT @NickBollettieri : “WOW, @RafaelNadal out of Halle and @andy_murray out of Queens. Will we we see the same at Wimbledon?”

    No.

    Reply

  71. Well, well……………..it’s only gossip, but, I had to laugh……………..

    RT @KYevgeni : “Latest gossip. Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg betted Mansour Bahrami,that Rafa Nadal will win NO more grand slam! Wager unknown.”

    Reply

    • Makes one appreciate the efforts Rafa has put in to remain at #1 and win a 9th RG in spite of that bad back. Look how a bad back wrecked Fed’s 2013.

      Reply

      • So my dream and hope of another Channel slam flushed down the drain? (:- Oh noo

        Another early exit in Wimby..noo noo..Rafa you have to win it

        Reply

    • Remember how “down” he also sounded after his match against Lajovic at RG? He then came out and smoked Ferru……………..

      Let’s wait and see………….

      Reply

      • @augusta08, my problem was more to do with the new site layout which took me a while to get used to. I just liked the old one better, didn’t have to search for information like one has to with this new one. But I’ll get used to it I suppose………………

        Reply

      • @augusta08, I am logged in right now. The live match right now is Nishikori vs Johnson, I know because I can see the live scores on the ATP page! However, the TennisTV stream is saying: live NOW Falla vs Gojo and Nishikori vs Johnson “coming up” and the screen is showing Falla/Gojo!

        I am not paying subs to watch recordings, I am paying to watch live matches! What do I do to watch a live match without having to ask for it first?

        Reply

      • Now I am watching the Nishikori/Johnson match LIVE and you wanna how I got there: by going to the TennisTV website, clicking on the schedule of matches, clicking on Nishikori/Johnson! This is rubbish. Why do I have go through hoops to watch a match I want? I never had to do this on the old ATP site. This sucks!

        Reply

      • rafaisthebest (at 3:16 pm),

        My streaming shows the match Nishikori vs Johnson.

        I had this kind of problems a long time ago. I wrote to LIVE SUPPORT and each time they sent me a link to the live match I wanted to see.

        Reply

      • @augusta08 at 3:28pm

        THIS is the problem I have been talking about! The last 2 days I had to livechat for support and they then sent me the link to the match I wanted to see. I never ever had this problem pre-RG. I never used to ask for links to matches I wanted to see, the site used to have ALL matches taking place clearly outlined on the page and all you had to do was click on the match you wanted. Now you have to ask for a link? Rubbish service!

        Reply

      • Wise man. Gosh, I can think of a thousand things I would rather “waste” my brain matter thinking about than “how do I get the link to today’s live match?”

        Tossers.

        Reply

      • RITB, is that with the new iPad app or the web site. I’d heard nothing but positives about the new app.

        Might just be a short term problem. tennisTV have been tweeting several apologies for technical problems this week.

        #Fail

        Reply

      • rafaisthebest (at 3:37 pm),

        I have had a lot of problems during 3.5 years. But, I have preferred TennisTV.com to free sites.

        Once upon a time, I had freezing problems. I got rid of them after I started to use Google Chrome instead of Internet Explorer (& a faster internet connection).

        Reply

      • @hawkeye63, I use my desk-top for streaming.

        @augusta08, I never had problems till now streaming Halle. I have streamed using internet explorer without any problems. In fact, I remember praising the ATP streaming service before RG 2014. I never use free streaming sites. I suspect the ATP has handed over all streaming to Tennis Channel TV and this is the result: drop in service. Before my experience, I had seen nothing but bad reviews about Tennis Channel service. Now I know why……..

        Reply

  77. Brown showed amazing consistency and variety. But no other nr.1 and winner of wimbledon would ever loose to Brown.. Nadal is so one dimensional running only from left to right.
    In Iater stages of tournament he is different player ofcourse, he is the best of building and improving his game.

    Reply

    • Well, maybe Djokovic needs to become more “one dimensional” then. Might win him the Slam he covets so much. I wonder who he will enlist next in his quest for the holy grail, Soderling?

      9, and counting…….

      Reply

    • Just like no other winner of wimbledon would ever “loose” to Stakhovsky.

      Rafa plays as good as required and saves his best to kick Nole’s ar$e in “later stages” of last four slam matches.

      Let Federer have his 250 points and Nole have No. 2.

      Nole wins a few battles but Rafa wins the wars.

      #YoureWelcome
      #RafaGOAT

      Reply

  78. Maybe Borg and BB thought they were betting on Djoker who has been trying to prove that he can win another slam since Jan 2013.

    Reply

  79. comments like anatoliijs’ – June 13, 2014 at 12:21 pm – are so ever present against Rafa but all he says to back it up is ‘running from let to right’… doesn’t really provide any other reasoning .. what is 1 dimensional exactly? does Rafa only run from left to right? what about the multiple titles he has on all surfaces, is this also part of the on 1 dimension?… and then he says that he’s the best player at improving his game, so this is more than one dimension? ….. sorry anatolijs but … no sense at all

    Reply

  80. So Kolhs beat Dustin 18-16 in the 3rd set TB. I am glad Dustin was no push-over, proves he really was on fire yesterday.

    Reply

  84. Well…Roger advances to the SF with another Walk Over as Lu withdraws. How Many Times!?!?!? I don’t know of any other player who benefits from W/Os as much as Roger. Happy to see Feli won in Queens.

    Reply

  86. RT @SI_BTBaseline: “It will be Kei Nishikori vs. Roger Federer in the Halle semifinals on Saturday. Nishikori d. Johnson 61 76. #atp”

    Kei to beat Fed……………

    Reply

  87. This is the kind of loss of Rafa that does not affect me at all (no nightmare) 🙂 because it’s undertandable (for Rafa) to get beaten at the next tournament he played right after a gruelling RG finals.

    Strange but when I learned Rafa got defeated by DB, I hurriedly check Tennis forums and guess what, a lot of swarming fedfans come to full life haha. I enjoyed reading all their posts really. Also a Novak’s fan in particular, noleisthebest is really a madnolefan hahaha.

    I am so sedate as Rafa successfully buried all the intruders underneath the dust :-). Wimbledon is a bonus and I am truly hopeful for him to get another bite on that gold plated trophy one more time.

    Reply

  89. but, it’s sad that Wimby has become a bonus for Rafa when it used to be one of the possibles …wish he makes it to the 2nd week this year at the possible expense of what’s to come… tennis has to have the most gruelling calendar of all sports..

    Reply

    • Shireling ( at 3:36 pm),

      Wimby officials use their formula since 2002!

      From the Internet:
      ¤¤ In 2002 the ATP and Wimbledon made an agreement to enable the Wimbledon seeding committee to alter the usual seeding procedure to permit a grass court seeding system to reflect each individual player’s grass court achievements.¤¤

      ¤¤ The Wimbledon formula.
      The Gentlemen’s singles seeds is arranged on a surface-based system to reflect more accurately the individual player’s grass court achievement as per the following formula, which applies to the top 32 players, according to ATP Ranking on 16 June 2014:
      ¤ take ATP ranking points at 16 June 2014,
      ¤ add 100% points earned for all grass court tournaments in the past 12 months (16.06.2013 – 15.06.2014),
      ¤ add 75% points earned for best grass court tournament in the 12 months before that (12.06.2012 – 15.06.2013). ¤¤

      Reply

  91. Thx for the facts Augusta, I knew Wimby is quite pernickety about their seeds but I guess it makes sense, unlike RG’s whims

    Reply

  92. well, my dear Spanish football (soccer) team did crap in the World Cup.. I hope Rafito doesn’t follow suit in Wimby

    Reply

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