Aussieguy's Blog

Wimbledon and Rafa Nadal

By Aussieguy | View all Posts
Posted Tuesday, June 17, 2008 06:06 PM   13 comments
I got inspired to write this after watching a re-run of Rafa's match making minced meat of The Joker in the Queen's Club Final in London a few days ago.
 
That was a real warning to Fedexpress and the rest of the field that The Bull is very close, very willing and very able to end Roger's Nr.1 reign as Wimbledon king. I mean we all know how good Rafa is on mud, but honestly he looked so so bloody comfortable on grass too! Crikey - I was shocked to be honest! To me it looked as though he's made up his mind and wants to prove to Roger and the whole of the tennis world, past and present, that he isn't a one trick pony. He just won his first grasscourt title, leaving everyone thinking that there's alot more to come...
 
We all know how brilliant Rafa is on the red dirt, just like we all do agree how awesome Federer is on grass. Winning the Halle Open in Germany was his 59th consecutive grass victory for Fedex. However, receving the news that the Bull had just won In London must not have been the best news Federer had received either!
 
Nadal said "For sure Roger will have noticed my success here at Queens. For sure I think he's happy for me and I am happy for him"  You can almost audibly hear Nadal saying these words with his strong Spanish accent! But do you think Federer is rapt with Nadal getting so close to him, especially on Fedex favourite surface?!
 
"You never know what's going on in Wimbledon", Rafa said, "I think I'm playing well and if I continue like this I have good chances for a good result there".
 
"Right now is very easy for everyone to say I am one of the favourites. But the second Sunday of Wimbledon we'll all know who's going to be the favourite" Rafa continued.
 
Federer had only nice words to say about Rafa's victory "I don't think he has to prove himself much more to show that he's a good grass court player", Federer said in his press conference.
 
Rafa became the first player ever to win RG and Queen's in the same year.
 
Do you think he should be that much of a dog on grass next week? I guess this is following from my last write-up about Fedex, and whether he's days as the king of the castle are being numbered.  Awesome as he is and has been for many years now, this latest Nadal display at Queen's Club tormenting the Joker, showed to me that Nadal has Roger's number in sight ...very closely...
 
Should be a great tournament next week, game wise as well as from a wagering perspective. 
 
Cheers everyone, AUSSIE
 
 
13 comments
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claycourtlesson says:
06/17/08 07:18PM
Yep.

Only thing stopping him right now is injury. Plays such a percussive game with so much torque on the entire left side---he can't last the rest of the year playing like that----no way.

Hope he or Roddick takes W..........both deserve it.

AChigurh says:
06/17/08 07:25PM
If The final is anything like last years, i will be satisifed. That could have went either way last year. Just wondering who was going to break who. Since then it seems as tho Fedex has "stayed the same" and Rafa has deffinatly improved.
claycourtlesson says:
06/17/08 07:50PM
Rafa is +270 over at 5 Dimes.

 

I think I'm going to take 200 rocks and just roll it in to his moneylines each match until he wins it all or loses.

 

That way will beat the future price so long as he wins and plays Djoko in semi and Fed in final.

 

The guy is unstoppable right now.  Injury is the only thing that could screw him.

HeadOverHeart says:
06/17/08 10:00PM
I'm taking Nishikori to win Wimbledon.



















esplanade says:
06/17/08 10:23PM
Look for better Nadal value. +270 is pretty crappy. I still see +400, but that's poor compared to what I grabbed just a few days ago and I'm loathe to take that. Bodog has Nadal over Fed in the final +600 which is fairly likely if you're set with RN.
esplanade says:
06/17/08 10:26PM
I'm also surprised that tennis fans would be shocked by RN's recent success on the turf. Hasn't he been 2 back2back Wimby finals and didn't he give Fed all he wanted last year?
Aussieguy says:
06/18/08 04:43AM
esplanade, I guess I am surprised because he never held a trophy aloft on this turf. But obviously that changed last week at Queen's. You're right though, we shouldn't be so "shocked" that he's so good even on this somehow alien surface to him.

The game has changed so so much that the surfaces really make no difference these days. It's not like Nadal is going to face Edberg, Sampras, or Rafter, or Krajicek or any other serve and volley-ier at Wimbledon this year. He pretty much will face the same field of players who'll throw bricks from the back of the court, and the one whose brick is heavier and more consistent will end up winning this.

I guess Federer has the edge because he has that slight versatility of coming to the net from time to time and punching that volley away, whereas Nadal and the rest of em, rely heavily on the brick throwing part of it ....

Aussieguy says:
06/18/08 04:44AM
esplanade, I guess I am surprised because he never held a trophy aloft on this turf. But obviously that changed last week at Queen's. You're right though, we shouldn't be so "shocked" that he's so good even on this somehow alien surface to him.

The game has changed so so much that the surfaces really make no difference these days. It's not like Nadal is going to face Edberg, Sampras, or Rafter, or Krajicek or any other serve and volley-ier at Wimbledon this year. He pretty much will face the same field of players who'll throw bricks from the back of the court, and the one whose brick is heavier and more consistent will end up winning this.

I guess Federer has the edge because he has that slight versatility of coming to the net from time to time and punching that volley away, whereas Nadal and the rest of em, rely heavily on the brick throwing part of it ....

esplanade says:
06/18/08 05:08AM
Aussie, nice write-ups and knowledge. Thanks for the insights.
Jon_Campbell says:
06/18/08 08:41AM
Great blog, Aussie. That was another solid match between Rafa and the Djoker on the weekend. It is truly great tennis every time those two get together lately.

Rafa has been getting stronger and stronger on grass and hard court over the past two seasons and he's looking great so far this year. Still not convinced he will beat Fed - or Djokovic at Wimbly - but I won't be shocked to see a classic five-setter between Rafa and Fed at Wimbledon if they both reach the finals.

Always enjoy your thoughts and opinions.

Cheers

Coondawg71 says:
06/19/08 12:44PM
Thanks Aussie!
tmpeus78 says:
06/19/08 11:07PM
great writeup Aussie! 
frippar22 says:
06/20/08 08:33AM
Rafa has about 60-70% chance to win Wimbledon this year(IMO he could beat Federer on grass this year). About women it's really hard to say. Certainly not Ivanovic, she is not that good on grass
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