CAMELOT FANTASIES

Oh well, it seems cuteness is not a significant factor in winning a major semifinal...

Spartan Stan Wawrinka beats Berdych in a rather tight and good quality 4 sets, 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 7-6(4).
In the first set, Stan was certainly the better player as Berdych didn't quite looked warmed up enough and was broken.
But in the other 3 sets, they both played well,  some amazing shot making by both players, and it was their performances in the tiebreakers that separated them.

In the first tiebreaker, behind a set, Berdych played very loose and calm, while Stan looked a bit nervous, and Berdych took it easily 7-1.
In the second and third tiebreakers, it was Berdych who looked more nervous, and he double faulted twice and once respectively, while Stan looked more calm and was more aggressive.  Fortune favors the brave.

Congratulations to Ironman Stan, his team, and his fans!  He was really, really, happy after the match, probably more emotional than even after Djokovic, as he realized he had broken new ground to arrive at his first Slam final.  Well done to him.

Commiserations for Tomas Berdych and his team and fans.  He did play very well in a losing effort, and lost with much grace and gave a big smile as he congratulated Stan at the net.  It was a very good tournament for him, just not quite his day as it turned out.

Nice one, Stan. Good luck!


I DID IT!


Respectfully,
masterclass

Ok, now the field is shortened...

Can Spartan Stan beat either Clay Warrior or the Swiss Assassin, or does he need to be happy with his first slam final?

Or maybe one can ask, who wins the whole thing? 

I have little use for polls... just post your thoughts here. 

Respectfully,
masterclass

And Nadal comes through!  He wins in straight sets, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3.

Congratulation to Mr. Nadal, his team, and his fans.
Condolences to Mr. Federer, his staff, and his supporters.

It was a very tight first set, but one had a sense that it was slightly easier for Rafa to hold his serve, and that the tiebreaker might go his way.
Federer attempted to play aggressively coming to the net when he could and had some success there, but I think backed off it too soon, and began not to use the best judgement on his approach shots.  His aggressive game almost totally disappeared in the final two sets, only making his way to the net when Rafa drew him in with a short ball, and even then Federer's net play was weak, missing many easy shots.  He made a couple of good drop shots, but those were too few and far between. 

Rafa was successful at passing Federer a few times, and this inhibited Federer.   It really shouldn't happen.  He needed to improve his approaches and judgement and continue to come in. Instead he retreated and began playing the game of attrition, which is always going to be in Rafa's favor.  Federer was only broken once in the second set, but that was all that was required, because Federer could make no headway on Rafa's service games.  Rafa served smartly, mixing it up, and backed it up with his ground game.   He made more errors in the first set, but settled down nicely in the second and third set and let Roger make all the errors, which he did frequently (I think around 50 UE's for the 3 sets).  Federer simply played more poorly as the match went on and he was obviously discouraged that not much of his strategy was working.

The key early in the match was Rafa's backhand crosscourt.  It was working very well, and was getting to the empty space Federer was leaving when running around his backhand.  This forced Roger to have to run hard to his forehand side and forced errors off Federer's forehand.  Then when Rafa's forehand finally kicked in during the second set, it was too much for Federer to handle.  Rafa's serve turned out to not be much of a factor either way.  He only needed to get it in the court for the most part on his first serve.   Roger was aggressive on some of Rafa's second serves, but not enough.  And Federer simply wasn't consistent enough today, playing more poorly than either against Tsonga or Murray.  For some of that, one has to give credit to Nadal for making Federer go for more, and some of that is probably due to Federer having enough of an off night to drop his confidence level. 

Federer's serve, both first and second, was very good  in the first set, but Rafa was getting a good read by the end of the set and getting into Roger's service game a bit more each time.   Roger's serve began to be a bit more inconsistent as the game wore on, not making as many first serves, and Rafa was returning better.  But it was really Roger's ineffectiveness in his ground game, which was inconsistent, both on the backhand and forehand side, and his approach/volleying was not quite on tonight that caused his demise.

Rafa played quite consistently and better after he took the first set. The forehand improved and his passing shots were on target for the most part. I don't think the turning point was winning the 1st set tiebreaker. It was the break of serve in the second set that did Federer in, as up to that time, I think Federer still believed he could level the match. And the key point in that break was definitely the unbelievable passing shot Rafa practically from behind himself, off an excellent deep low approach to Rafa's forehand side. Nothing wrong with Roger's shot, Nadal's shot was simply unbelievable. I think Roger pretty much gave up on the aggressive game after that. After getting broken, it got much more difficult for him. It was disappointing that Federer essentially gave up on his aggressive volleying game so soon. One has to be very patient with this game, even if a few passing shots get by you, you must have the mindset to continue going forward and make sure the approach shots are more sound, which in Federer's case they were not on the whole, especially in the second and third sets.

Again well done to Rafa.  Good luck to him against the new Swiss #1 - Spartan Stan Wawrinka in the final on Sunday. Rafa's 12-0 against Stan and has never dropped a set, so it looks like it could be easy pickings for Nadal, but Ironman Stan has great confidence coming into his first ever major final.  We will see if that matters at all.  I think if Nadal plays well, even a good Stan doesn't have much chance.  I think he'll have to hope Rafa is off just a bit, so good luck to Stan as well.



Respectfully,
masterclass

Nothing to add here.

It is just as you said.

I agree that Federer abandoned his strategies too quickly.

When his shots weren't having the same effect as they had had on Tsonga and Murray, he seemed to get a little disheartened.

You could almost sense when he began to lose confidence, and if we as spectators can see it, then of course Rafa can.

Still, we have to remember that Federer is still getting used to the racket and the more he plays with it, especially in big matches, the more comfortable he'll become. So it was an excellent start to the new year.

Congrats to him for getting so far in the draw and I hope Rafa can win one more match.

from what i am reading, this may have been his best match of the tournament.


congrats to rafa and his fans at Camelot.

all the worry and fears about the terrible blood blister on the left hand are over.


i think he will ready go really hard in the final now. stan is serving amazing and playing the best tennis of his career.


i think it is going to be an amazing battle between the two.

that is a great post and pretty much spot on.

wawrinka is playing well.


rafa is going to have to play a clean match: 15-18 unforced errors is a somewhat clean match on a quicker hard court with lighter balls.

stan is not going to attack as much as roger so nadal has to get into his rhythm off the ground and take it from there. solid ground game is key for nadal.

force stan to go for more while you play your high percentage tennis.


wawrinka could steal a set. I say rafa takes the final in 4.



there is the decisive mental edge for nadal that is going to come into play: nadal is 12-0 against him. I believe stan is going to think about that going into this match.

it is also stan's very first slam final. he could be slightly overwhelmed by the occasion.

And Nadal comes through!  He wins in straight sets, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3.

Congratulation to Mr. Nadal, his team, and his fans.
Condolences to Mr. Federer, his staff, and his supporters.

It was a very tight first set, but one had a sense that it was slightly easier for Rafa to hold his serve, and that the tiebreaker might go his way.
Federer attempted to play aggressively coming to the net when he could and had some success there, but I think backed off it too soon, and began not to use the best judgement on his approach shots.  His aggressive game almost totally disappeared in the final two sets, only making his way to the net when Rafa drew him in with a short ball, and even then Federer's net play was weak, missing many easy shots.  He made a couple of good drop shots, but those were too few and far between. 

Rafa was successful at passing Federer a few times, and this inhibited Federer.   It really shouldn't happen.  He needed to improve his approaches and judgement and continue to come in. Instead he retreated and began playing the game of attrition, which is always going to be in Rafa's favor.  Federer was only broken once in the second set, but that was all that was required, because Federer could make no headway on Rafa's service games.  Rafa served smartly, mixing it up, and backed it up with his ground game.   He made more errors in the first set, but settled down nicely in the second and third set and let Roger make all the errors, which he did frequently (I think around 50 UE's for the 3 sets).  Federer simply played more poorly as the match went on and he was obviously discouraged that not much of his strategy was working.

The key early in the match was Rafa's backhand crosscourt.  It was working very well, and was getting to the empty space Federer was leaving when running around his backhand.  This forced Roger to have to run hard to his forehand side and forced errors off Federer's forehand.  Then when Rafa's forehand finally kicked in during the second set, it was too much for Federer to handle.  Rafa's serve turned out to not be much of a factor either way.  He only needed to get it in the court for the most part on his first serve.   Roger was aggressive on some of Rafa's second serves, but not enough.  And Federer simply wasn't consistent enough today, playing more poorly than either against Tsonga or Murray.  For some of that, one has to give credit to Nadal for making Federer go for more, and some of that is probably due to Federer having enough of an off night to drop his confidence level. 

Federer's serve, both first and second, was very good  in the first set, but Rafa was getting a good read by the end of the set and getting into Roger's service game a bit more each time.   Roger's serve began to be a bit more inconsistent as the game wore on, not making as many first serves, and Rafa was returning better.  But it was really Roger's ineffectiveness in his ground game, which was inconsistent, both on the backhand and forehand side, and his approach/volleying was not quite on tonight that caused his demise.

Rafa played quite consistently and better after he took the first set. The forehand improved and his passing shots were on target for the most part. I don't think the turning point was winning the 1st set tiebreaker. It was the break of serve in the second set that did Federer in, as up to that time, I think Federer still believed he could level the match. And the key point in that break was definitely the unbelievable passing shot Rafa practically from behind himself, off an excellent deep low approach to Rafa's forehand side. Nothing wrong with Roger's shot, Nadal's shot was simply unbelievable. I think Roger pretty much gave up on the aggressive game after that. After getting broken, it got much more difficult for him. It was disappointing that Federer essentially gave up on his aggressive volleying game so soon. One has to be very patient with this game, even if a few passing shots get by you, you must have the mindset to continue going forward and make sure the approach shots are more sound, which in Federer's case they were not on the whole, especially in the second and third sets.

Again well done to Rafa.  Good luck to him against the new Swiss #1 - Spartan Stan Wawrinka in the final on Sunday. Rafa's 12-0 against Stan and has never dropped a set, so it looks like it could be easy pickings for Nadal, but Ironman Stan has great confidence coming into his first ever major final.  We will see if that matters at all.  I think if Nadal plays well, even a good Stan doesn't have much chance.  I think he'll have to hope Rafa is off just a bit, so good luck to Stan as well.



Respectfully,
masterclass

that is an awesome post general masterclass.



I must congratulate roger for a great tournament. you saw that the bookies did not give him much of a chance here but he was just one step removed from the final


well done to both champions.

from what i am reading, this may have been his best match of the tournament.


congrats to rafa and his fans at Camelot.

all the worry and fears about the terrible blood blister on the left hand are over.


i think he will ready go really hard in the final now. stan is serving amazing and playing the best tennis of his career.


i think it is going to be an amazing battle between the two.

Actually blistergate isn't over. Rafa was fortunate to tough that match out. During the telecast they said the blister had gone from a blister to  a wound. There was also an article before the semifinal reporting on the actual state of the injury. So, hopefully the wound will heal sufficiently to allow him to play his best game in the final.

Stan is playing well and we don't know how his confidence may help or hinder him. I hope it will be a good fina, (and that Rafa will prevail).

Why Federer might have upper hand
The 17-time Grand Slam champ renews an old rivalry with his archnemesis

Updated: January 23, 2014, 8:51 AM ET
By Matt Wilansky | ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/tennis/aus14/story/_/id/10337676/australian-open-why-roger-federer-upper-hand-rafael-nadal

If Roger Federer has an ounce of gratitude, he might want to think about sending Rafael Nadal's racket one of those ironic but heartfelt thank-you notes that Jimmy Fallon has made famous.

What began as an innocuous callus on his left hand turned into a gaping wound for Nadal against Grigor Dimitrov in the Australian Open quarterfinals. It eventually produced a pool of blood and, in some minds, represented a potential field-leveler. It remains a painful, performance-impeding blister, all because of the repeated rubbing between Nadal's palm and his Babolat AeroPro Drive.

It was a grisly scene actually, at least in the relatively modest terms of tennis lacerations. Nadal, who is famously focused, was visibly bothered by the discomfort. It didn't help that he was on the court for 3 hours and 37 minutes, during which his gash was re-taped multiple times.