CAMELOT FANTASIES

And thanks for your kind words, General Hercules.  I see great things about you that some others do not.  You've been gang attacked at other places and tried to defend yourself and others, and it's understandable that you occasionally were over the top.  I think some were undoubtedly out to get you kicked out and some of their so called rules and rule decisions were simply indefensible.   

Look, nobody's perfect.  People are bound to differ, as you said, it's natural.  But with good communication, one can hopefully eventually overcome the differences as long as you have people that are forgiving and willing to move on. 

I think this place is a natural niche for you, and wish you all the success and happiness in the world in whatever you do. 

Respectfully,
masterclass

Thanks general.  Thanks for the idea.  Let me think on it just a bit, and I'll drop you a PM.  Ok?

Respectfully,
masterclass

Definitely general.  And now, I'm probably not making much sense, probably making typos everywhere, as I'm very tired, almost 3 am here, and I want to try and watch the matches today.  Don't know how I'm going to do it.  Maybe I'll watch after in the vids section.

Good night all and take care!

Respectfully,
masterclass

Thanks general.  Thanks for the idea.  Let me think on it just a bit, and I'll drop you a PM.  Ok?

Respectfully,
masterclass

no worries general. take your time.




 

Roger Federer defeats Andy Murray, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3.    Federer had a chance to close it out in 3 on his own serve, both at 5-4 and in the tiebreaker with match points, but Murray took full advantage of Federer's inability to put a first serve at the crucial moments, played very aggressively as he obviously had nothing to lose at that point, and bravely succeeded in extending the match. 

Murray was obviously tired  in the 4th set, and perhaps had strained his back or hip a bit.  He clearly was not able to make a good turn on the ball has he had done earlier in the match, and Federer changed his aggressive tactics from the first 3 sets to make it a much more physical match and that eventually paid dividends as Federer was able to break Murray in the 8th game after Murray had saved two previous very long games on serve, one close to 20 minutes.  This time Federer served it out.  Federer was probably a bit unhappy that the match went an hour longer, but was still obviously happy to get to his 11th consecutive semifinal at the Australian Open after a mediocre season last year.

Congrats to Roger Federer, his team, and his fans.
Andy Murray, OBE, did so well to hang in the match for as long as he did, and kudos to the Highlander, his team and his fans.

Now it's on to the Australian Open semifinals on Friday.   

Berdych vs. Wawrinka and
Nadal vs. Federer. 

Should be a treat! Good luck and I hope all players are rested, well, and ready!


Respectfully,
masterclass

general masterclass needs to keep getting more exposure for his work.


one way that i have suggested is to set up a "masterclass desk" here.

very much like the "mertov desk" at tennis4you.


you simply keep increasing your exposure and one day you are discovered. it can happen quickly.


the readership and viewership here is going up.

anyway at the "desk" you simply post some of your analysis like the one yesterday.


and once in a while people will stop by and may have a tennis related question for general masterclass.


and you start gain a small following that way.

it will also help with the growth a little bit. the most important thing is that he will be increasing his exposure to the world.


I think the trick is to be right on the opening page of as many forums as possible.

opening page of main tennis discussion page, that is.


sooner or later some tennis magazine will grab general masterclass but maximum exposure is key for that to happen.

Tough call for me general.  Rafa almost always shows up at a fairly high level against Roger.  Roger's level varies more, especially in the last few years.  He can be sublime on occasion, good level more often, and sometimes in self destruct mode.  It's not clay, so Rafa doesn't have a big advantage.  We don't know if it will be played indoors or not, but there is rain and cool weather forecast for Friday. 

I think the courts are about the same, but the balls are different, lighter and go through the court faster, which might favor Federer in that it is easier for him to generate winners without as much risk.

He's playing pretty solidly this tournament, especially on serve, only broken twice, losing only one set. The backhand looks good, he's more aggressive, but controlled, sneaking in when he has hit the proper approach shot.  However,  I was a bit surprised he didn't close it out in 3 sets today vs. Murray as it was on his racquet and he served well the entire match previous to the 5-4 game and the tiebreaker.  Seems like he got a bit tight for some reason.  And Murray was good enough to seize the opportunity and snatch the set.  That won't do against Nadal.  Federer can't play a 40 error game vs. Nadal.  I would say he needs to hit no more than 5-7 per set, and 10-15 winners/set to do well against Nadal.  But that's easier said than done.  Nadal forces his opponents to attempt riskier shots and make  more errors with his court coverage and defense.  Today against Andy, Roger ventured to the net 66 times and won 47 points (74%), quite good vs. someone who returns and hits passing shots like Murray.  He won 147 total points vs. 121 (+26) for Murray, and his 2nd serve win percentage was excellent, winning 64% vs. Murray's 49%.   Against Tsonga, he was 34 for 41 (84%) at the net, won 69% of his second serves, and won 100 points vs 72 for Tsonga (+28).  So Federer was pretty consistent in the 2 matches.  If he can play similarly or slightly better, I think he will have a very good chance against Nadal.

Nadal has played well enough to win, but nothing special in the last two matches.  Though his draw started out looking tough, it opened up a bit, when Tomic retired and Del Potro lost early.  He's faced 3 higher seeded players - #25 Monfils who didn't play well, #22 Dimitrov who played pretty well, and #16 Nishikori who also played well, but no top 10 player.  In those latter two matches, I don't think Nadal played all that well, and maybe the hand blister is bothering him, but still managed to win.   I think he definitely needs to play better against Federer.

So one question for me, is did Nadal get enough from those matches against those players.  He might have trouble raising his level if Federer plays well.  But it is best of 5, so he has time to get into the match.  I didn't like his forehand today against Dimitrov.  He was very inconsistent with it.  He's also slicing a lot.  Maybe that's due to the hand.  The slice won't bother Federer.  He needs to be able to get his forehand extreme topspin going to Federer's backhand and the down the line drive shot accurately placed.  He also needs to be in the court more and get more depth.  If he hits short against this Federer, I think he'll get roasted.  Federer  is looking to come in on anything short and put it away.   But we know Rafa.  If he can get that forehand working, Federer will have trouble if the ball gets high and deep to his backhand.

So as in any match, it depends on what game they bring to the table.  Federer hasn't beaten Nadal in 2 attempts at the AO, but like they say, each match is different.   In general, if both men are pretty much on their game, if the conditions are such that the ball is staying lower, then it favors Federer, otherwise Nadal.   

Motivation?  Nadal is looking to tie Sampras, complete a second career slam, and get closer to Federer.  Federer, well, he's looking for good results following last year's mediocre season.  He already has good results by making it to the semifinal beating both Tsonga and Murray.  Tough draw? maybe, but what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, unless you are too exhausted.  He's 32 going on 33.  Can he recover from an hour longer match against Murray then it had to be?  I don't know.  I'm sure the Swiss Maestro would like that 5th AO and 18th slam to try and pull a little more away from Clay Warrior.

You have to figure that the winner of this match has a great chance to win the Final, probably Rafa a bit more than Roger due to Berdych being fairly competitive with Federer the past few years.   On the other hand, if Wawrinka makes it through unscathed his confidence would have to be sky high, and he could pull off another big upset.  One thing at a time.  Let's see who makes it to the Final.

At this moment, if I were playing it safe and had to choose, I'd probably choose Rafa and Stan based on the recent H2H.  But H2H isn't everything, and these matches have been won by the other guys enough to know that their matches are not a given.

I'll probably wait till near game time to attempt a final prediction Nadal - Federer.   I'll take Stan in the other one as of now.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Tough call for me general.  Rafa almost always shows up at a fairly high level against Roger.  Roger's level varies more, especially in the last few years.  He can be sublime on occasion, good level more often, and sometimes in self destruct mode.  It's not clay, so Rafa doesn't have a big advantage.  We don't know if it will be played indoors or not, but there is rain and cool weather forecast for Friday. 

I think the courts are about the same, but the balls are different, lighter and go through the court faster, which might favor Federer in that it is easier for him to generate winners without as much risk.

He's playing pretty solidly this tournament, especially on serve, only broken twice, losing only one set. The backhand looks good, he's more aggressive, but controlled, sneaking in when he has hit the proper approach shot.  However,  I was a bit surprised he didn't close it out in 3 sets today vs. Murray as it was on his racquet and he served well the entire match previous to the 5-4 game and the tiebreaker.  Seems like he got a bit tight for some reason.  And Murray was good enough to seize the opportunity and snatch the set.  That won't do against Nadal.  Federer can't play a 40 error game vs. Nadal.  I would say he needs to hit no more than 5-7 per set, and 10-15 winners/set to do well against Nadal.  But that's easier said than done.  Nadal forces his opponents to attempt riskier shots and make  more errors with his court coverage and defense.  Today against Andy, Roger ventured to the net 66 times and won 47 points (74%), quite good vs. someone who returns and hits passing shots like Murray.  He won 147 total points vs. 121 (+26) for Murray, and his 2nd serve win percentage was excellent, winning 64% vs. Murray's 49%.   Against Tsonga, he was 34 for 41 (84%) at the net, won 69% of his second serves, and won 100 points vs 72 for Tsonga (+28).  So Federer was pretty consistent in the 2 matches.  If he can play similarly or slightly better, I think he will have a very good chance against Nadal.

Nadal has played well enough to win, but nothing special in the last two matches.  Though his draw started out looking tough, it opened up a bit, when Tomic retired and Del Potro lost early.  He's faced 3 higher seeded players - #25 Monfils who didn't play well, #22 Dimitrov who played pretty well, and #16 Nishikori who also played well, but no top 10 player.  In those latter two matches, I don't think Nadal played all that well, and maybe the hand blister is bothering him, but still managed to win.   I think he definitely needs to play better against Federer.

So one question for me, is did Nadal get enough from those matches against those players.  He might have trouble raising his level if Federer plays well.  But it is best of 5, so he has time to get into the match.  I didn't like his forehand today against Dimitrov.  He was very inconsistent with it.  He's also slicing a lot.  Maybe that's due to the hand.  The slice won't bother Federer.  He needs to be able to get his forehand extreme topspin going to Federer's backhand and the down the line drive shot accurately placed.  He also needs to be in the court more and get more depth.  If he hits short against this Federer, I think he'll get roasted.  Federer  is looking to come in on anything short and put it away.   But we know Rafa.  If he can get that forehand working, Federer will have trouble if the ball gets high and deep to his backhand.

So as in any match, it depends on what game they bring to the table.  Federer hasn't beaten Nadal in 2 attempts at the AO, but like they say, each match is different.   In general, if both men are pretty much on their game, if the conditions are such that the ball is staying lower, then it favors Federer, otherwise Nadal.   

Motivation?  Nadal is looking to tie Sampras, complete a second career slam, and get closer to Federer.  Federer, well, he's looking for good results following last year's mediocre season.  He already has good results by making it to the semifinal beating both Tsonga and Murray.  Tough draw? maybe, but what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, unless you are too exhausted.  He's 32 going on 33.  Can he recover from an hour longer match against Murray then it had to be?  I don't know.  I'm sure the Swiss Maestro would like that 5th AO and 18th slam to try and pull a little more away from Clay Warrior.

You have to figure that the winner of this match has a great chance to win the Final, probably Rafa a bit more than Roger due to Berdych being fairly competitive with Federer the past few years.   On the other hand, if Wawrinka makes it through unscathed his confidence would have to be sky high, and he could pull off another big upset.  One thing at a time.  Let's see who makes it to the Final.

At this moment, if I were playing it safe and had to choose, I'd probably choose Rafa and Stan based on the recent H2H.  But H2H isn't everything, and these matches have been won by the other guys enough to know that their matches are not a given.

I'll probably wait till near game time to attempt a final prediction Nadal - Federer.   I'll take Stan in the other one as of now.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Tough call for me general.  Rafa almost always shows up at a fairly high level against Roger.  Roger's level varies more, especially in the last few years.  He can be sublime on occasion, good level more often, and sometimes in self destruct mode.  It's not clay, so Rafa doesn't have a big advantage.  We don't know if it will be played indoors or not, but there is rain and cool weather forecast for Friday. 

I think the courts are about the same, but the balls are different, lighter and go through the court faster, which might favor Federer in that it is easier for him to generate winners without as much risk.

He's playing pretty solidly this tournament, especially on serve, only broken twice, losing only one set. The backhand looks good, he's more aggressive, but controlled, sneaking in when he has hit the proper approach shot.  However,  I was a bit surprised he didn't close it out in 3 sets today vs. Murray as it was on his racquet and he served well the entire match previous to the 5-4 game and the tiebreaker.  Seems like he got a bit tight for some reason.  And Murray was good enough to seize the opportunity and snatch the set.  That won't do against Nadal.  Federer can't play a 40 error game vs. Nadal.  I would say he needs to hit no more than 5-7 per set, and 10-15 winners/set to do well against Nadal.  But that's easier said than done.  Nadal forces his opponents to attempt riskier shots and make  more errors with his court coverage and defense.  Today against Andy, Roger ventured to the net 66 times and won 47 points (74%), quite good vs. someone who returns and hits passing shots like Murray.  He won 147 total points vs. 121 (+26) for Murray, and his 2nd serve win percentage was excellent, winning 64% vs. Murray's 49%.   Against Tsonga, he was 34 for 41 (84%) at the net, won 69% of his second serves, and won 100 points vs 72 for Tsonga (+28).  So Federer was pretty consistent in the 2 matches.  If he can play similarly or slightly better, I think he will have a very good chance against Nadal.

Nadal has played well enough to win, but nothing special in the last two matches.  Though his draw started out looking tough, it opened up a bit, when Tomic retired and Del Potro lost early.  He's faced 3 higher seeded players - #25 Monfils who didn't play well, #22 Dimitrov who played pretty well, and #16 Nishikori who also played well, but no top 10 player.  In those latter two matches, I don't think Nadal played all that well, and maybe the hand blister is bothering him, but still managed to win.   I think he definitely needs to play better against Federer.

So one question for me, is did Nadal get enough from those matches against those players.  He might have trouble raising his level if Federer plays well.  But it is best of 5, so he has time to get into the match.  I didn't like his forehand today against Dimitrov.  He was very inconsistent with it.  He's also slicing a lot.  Maybe that's due to the hand.  The slice won't bother Federer.  He needs to be able to get his forehand extreme topspin going to Federer's backhand and the down the line drive shot accurately placed.  He also needs to be in the court more and get more depth.  If he hits short against this Federer, I think he'll get roasted.  Federer  is looking to come in on anything short and put it away.   But we know Rafa.  If he can get that forehand working, Federer will have trouble if the ball gets high and deep to his backhand.

So as in any match, it depends on what game they bring to the table.  Federer hasn't beaten Nadal in 2 attempts at the AO, but like they say, each match is different.   In general, if both men are pretty much on their game, if the conditions are such that the ball is staying lower, then it favors Federer, otherwise Nadal.   

Motivation?  Nadal is looking to tie Sampras, complete a second career slam, and get closer to Federer.  Federer, well, he's looking for good results following last year's mediocre season.  He already has good results by making it to the semifinal beating both Tsonga and Murray.  Tough draw? maybe, but what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, unless you are too exhausted.  He's 32 going on 33.  Can he recover from an hour longer match against Murray then it had to be?  I don't know.  I'm sure the Swiss Maestro would like that 5th AO and 18th slam to try and pull a little more away from Clay Warrior.

You have to figure that the winner of this match has a great chance to win the Final, probably Rafa a bit more than Roger due to Berdych being fairly competitive with Federer the past few years.   On the other hand, if Wawrinka makes it through unscathed his confidence would have to be sky high, and he could pull off another big upset.  One thing at a time.  Let's see who makes it to the Final.

At this moment, if I were playing it safe and had to choose, I'd probably choose Rafa and Stan based on the recent H2H.  But H2H isn't everything, and these matches have been won by the other guys enough to know that their matches are not a given.

I'll probably wait till near game time to attempt a final prediction Nadal - Federer.   I'll take Stan in the other one as of now.

Respectfully,
masterclass

I was hoping you did an analysis on this match.

I'm going for Berdych though, (not because I think he'll win, but because he's so cute). This is why I could never be a sports writer.