Saturday, July 01, 2006
Agassi
Wimbeldon 2006 is shaping up to be a bit more interesting than the French, where the central, really the only drama was, 'Can Federer beat Nadal?' The answer appeared to be no, and lo and behold, Nadal took the Fed out convincingly. At Wimbeldon there's a lot more going on, and that has a lot to do with the upcoming retirement of Andre Agassi.
Everyone wants Agassi to win another slam before he walks away, but there is more than just the Fed standing in his way. In the first two rounds he hit the ball with his old power, but his once dangerous speed is gone. Andre move creakily around the court, and every time he sprints for a ball I have an awful fear his ankles are about to crack. He dropped the first set of the first round to Boris Pashenski, a man who has never won a slam match. Patrick McEnroe intoned ominously: "Agassi is vulnerable to anyone right now." Agassi turned that match around quickly, and today he takes on Nadal, his first real test.
And what of Federer? The fascinating thing about the Nadal-Federer rivalry is that Nadal is only one who can beat the best player in the world with any consistency, and he doesn't just beat Fed on clay. He took him out in straight sets on the hardcourts in Dubai. Nadal is pretty much unbeatable on clay, but on hard courts he'll lose to players like Hewitt and Blake--- great players both, but Blake has never beaten the Fed, and Hewitt hasn't since 2002. Why then should the Fed lose to Nadal? It's not psychological. The Fed is too tough for such nonsense. Nadal is a lefty, and he figured out that if he just hits crosscourt shots loaded with topspin to Fed's backhand, he'll get a lot of erorrs from Federer. Nadal also plays AMAZING defense and serves consistently. With these weapons, he proved the Fed is mortal, something he appeared for a while not to be. He lost only two hardcourt matches in 2005, one a 5 set loss he played with a back injury. He basically cannot be stopped. He hasn't lost on grass since 2002. It's depressing-- for other players, and people, who, like me, want to see Agassi, Roddick, or Blake win a title. Anyone really. Anyone but the Fed again.
Can anyone emulate Nadal's success? (Watch the tapes of the French Open final people!)
Can Agassi get past Nadal? (I say yes)
Can anyone please beat the Fed?? (I say no. Chance of Fed victory at least 90%).
Everyone wants Agassi to win another slam before he walks away, but there is more than just the Fed standing in his way. In the first two rounds he hit the ball with his old power, but his once dangerous speed is gone. Andre move creakily around the court, and every time he sprints for a ball I have an awful fear his ankles are about to crack. He dropped the first set of the first round to Boris Pashenski, a man who has never won a slam match. Patrick McEnroe intoned ominously: "Agassi is vulnerable to anyone right now." Agassi turned that match around quickly, and today he takes on Nadal, his first real test.
And what of Federer? The fascinating thing about the Nadal-Federer rivalry is that Nadal is only one who can beat the best player in the world with any consistency, and he doesn't just beat Fed on clay. He took him out in straight sets on the hardcourts in Dubai. Nadal is pretty much unbeatable on clay, but on hard courts he'll lose to players like Hewitt and Blake--- great players both, but Blake has never beaten the Fed, and Hewitt hasn't since 2002. Why then should the Fed lose to Nadal? It's not psychological. The Fed is too tough for such nonsense. Nadal is a lefty, and he figured out that if he just hits crosscourt shots loaded with topspin to Fed's backhand, he'll get a lot of erorrs from Federer. Nadal also plays AMAZING defense and serves consistently. With these weapons, he proved the Fed is mortal, something he appeared for a while not to be. He lost only two hardcourt matches in 2005, one a 5 set loss he played with a back injury. He basically cannot be stopped. He hasn't lost on grass since 2002. It's depressing-- for other players, and people, who, like me, want to see Agassi, Roddick, or Blake win a title. Anyone really. Anyone but the Fed again.
Can anyone emulate Nadal's success? (Watch the tapes of the French Open final people!)
Can Agassi get past Nadal? (I say yes)
Can anyone please beat the Fed?? (I say no. Chance of Fed victory at least 90%).
# posted by Dan @ 7:05 AM 
