Paella For Everyone!

Da Realist: [7/3/08]

These next two matches will tell you all you need to know about Roger Federer's heart. Is he truly a champion for the ages? Or is he just a supremely talented player that doesn't have the fortitude to fight. We are about to find out this weekend for sure. Nadal is coming and Roger's moment of truth is here. If Nadal beats Roger here, on grass at Wimbledon, after destroying him the last 3 seasons at Roland Garros, I will never say he's a better tennis player than Pete Sampras again. I may say he's more talented, but I'll never say he's a better player.

In fact, I will never put him at no 1, even if he wins more titles than Sampras. To me, heart means just as much as skill.

Gangsta D:

I'm not worried about Fed on grass. He's not gonna let Raffa come into his house and take a dump on his kitchen floor. Not gonna happen.

Waldini: [7/6/08]

Ya'll were saying, lol

You still questioning about TMF's fortitude? Yes, he lost but he came back from 2 sets down and took Nadal to the limits in the final set. Great match. Actually both the ladies and men's finals were good or better.

Gangsta D: [7/7/08]

I have to admit, I had this pegged wrong. I didn't think there was a chance that Raffa could beat him on grass. I thought it was a wrap. Is this the end for TMF? He showed heart, coming back from down 2 sets. Can he show the same and rebound at the US Open? Raffa is definitely the best in the world at this moment. It's his world. This dude is banging the best groupies right now. Damn him:)

Da Realist:

nah... somewhere deep inside, i knew. roger is a different player when rafa is on the other side of the court no matter what the surface is. rafa has beaten him on clay, grass and hardcourts. rafa is in his head. roger quit at the french open the last two years. he almost lost to him last year at wimbledon. i was not surprised at all. even when it was extended to the fifth set, i knew roger would find a way to lose.

he doesn't like to fight. no, that's not quite right. maybe i should say, he doesn't like to fight to the death. there is a point where Rafa is willing to go that Roger isn't. Even on a court better suited to roger's game.

Gangsta D:

I didn't see the match live, but from the highlights it looked like Rog was sure nuff fighting to the death. Especially in the 4th set. Maybe he's just lost his fastball.

Da Realist:

He showed heart, but...

Roger is a different player when he plays Nadal. The big points become BIG points. He loses concentration and shanks a lot of balls into the net or hits long or wide. Look at the unforced errors in his matches against Nadal and look at them against everyone else. The dude does not like to fight.

In terms of skill, no one is better. But now a weakness is surfacing that players are starting to realize. "If you can somehow get Roger into a dogfight, he'll fold." The question is, how many are talented enough and hungry enough to push him there? Nadal is the only one that can consistently do it right now, but Roger better start looking out for Djokovic on hardcourts.