Wimbledon

[Nazman]

Tip my hat to a true champion, Roger Federer. He is a master on grass. But my heart is deeply in Rafa's court. Just love the guy, everything about him - his passion, his story, his smile, his tenacity, his family and his future. The country of Spain and the island of Manacor have much to be proud of and excited for. Rafa will be back, w/ a vengeance

 

[loopymitch]

Now I'm bummed but props to Rafa for getting as far as he did. Not many people, including me, even thought he'd get this far. He played well and now he knows he can play on this surface, it will give him more confidence for next year. Rog just played better, congrats. to him.

 

[Nazman]

Stop and remind yourself, Nadal is right handed. My goodness. He looks very disappointed to have let that fourth set and the match slip away. At the risk of overstating myself, just love this guy. He is good for tennis.

 

[Kajun]

Relieved to see Federer come through. What I don't understand is that he just stayed back so much, going into rallies with Nadal. That proved to be tough ordeal, even on grass.

Looks like Federer-Nadal will be a final for many, many tournaments.

 

[loopymitch]

Relieved to see Federer come through. What I don't understand is that he just stayed back so much, going into rallies with Nadal. That proved to be tough ordeal, even on grass.

Looks like Federer-Nadal will be a final for many, many tournaments.

I sure hope so, this is a great rivalry.

 

[hoopsfan]

My favorite rivalry was Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe back in the day.

 

[loopymitch]

I couldn't stand Lendl, I've always been a huge Mac fan. that was a good one though.

 

[hoopsfan]

I felt the same way. What was that???..we agree on something???

 

[loopymitch]

OMG That's twice now, this is getting scary.

 

[Kajun]

Well...the question is....did any American like Lendl at all at that time?

 

[Nazman]

Well to be honest, i loved Lendl. Loved his game. And his attitude. And i was born in Philadelphia. An American.

 

[VF21]

I liked Ivan.

 

[StevenHW]

Well...the question is....did any American like Lendl at all at that time?

I still remember that Sports Illustrated front cover in 1986 or 1987, which featured Ivan Lendl.

The caption read: "Ivan Lendl: the winner that nobody cares about".

 

[Kajun]

Lendl is still underrated by many. His results speak for themselves -- 8 Slams (17 finals in total), 5 masters (8 consecutive finals), 94 singles titles, 270 weeks #1. But he's always considered a tier below many others, including McEnroe, Connors. Even though his accomplishments are better.

The "talent" argument is used by many. Lendl is viewed as a hard worker, and relatively not as talented. McEnroe made it worse by saying he had more talent in his pinky than Lendl had in his whole body.

The other argument is his (lack of) personality. Always viewed as a robot. Didn't care much for press conferences. So many were accustomed to the superbrats in american tennis.

But they are lame excuses to play down his achievements. He may not be the best, but he definitely belongs up there, somewhere.

Good to hear Lendl is liked by some, at least

 

[hoopsfan]

The other argument is his (lack of) personality. Always viewed as a robot. Didn't care much for press conferences. So many were accustomed to the superbrats in american tennis.

Kinda like Pete Sampras?

 

[loopymitch]

Wow, we agree about Sampras too?
As far as Lendl is concerned, yes he was a talented tennis player but the way he always pulled his eyelashes out bugged me. He also said he was allergic to grass so he didn't play WImbleond (a disgrace in my book) but was seen a week later playing golf on GRASS. That gave me an instant dislike to begin with. There was also that epic French Open final where Mac came so close to winning but Ivan beat him. After that it was all downhill.

 

[Kajun]

Kinda like Pete Sampras?

Similar.

But Sampras was American, so at least most americans could respect his achievements. That wasn't the case with Lendl.

And there are some who confuse a "sparkling personality" with "being a better player", or at least let it cloud their judgement. There's no question that Agassi has given back more to the game than Sampras has. But at the same time, there should be no question that Sampras was the better player, and had the greater achievements.

 

[hoopsfan]

There was also that epic French Open final where Mac came so close to winning but Ivan beat him. After that it was all downhill.

My favorite Lendl French Open was in 89 when unseeded Michael Chang beat him. The look on his face was priceless!

 

[Kajun]

My favorite Lendl French Open was in 89 when unseeded Michael Chang beat him. The look on his face was priceless!

I think anybody would be stunned if your opponent tried a underhand serve on you.