Running Aussie Open Thread...

The thing is, I don't see how Gonzalez breaks Federer at this point. He's playing very well on his serve, but doesn't seem to have an answer when returning.

 

Interesting analysis from Carrillo.

On break point at 3-3, she said, "The way Federer's been holding his serve, this is effectively match point. ... And the crowd senses that, too."

She's been on top of her game this whole tournament. Excellent.

 

This has been the best commentated event I've watched in a long time. Pitch perfect by Enberg and Carillo at all times.

 

Game over. Just too good. He could end up with 20-25 at the rate he's going.

 

I have to agree.


And that's all, folks. 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-3.

Federer didn't lose a set. First to do so since Borg in 1980 (French), sixth time ever in the Open era.

Men's singles, Grand Slam titles
Sampras 14
Emerson 12
Borg 11
Laver 11
Tilden 10
Federer 10

Hell of a list there.

 

Damn, he already has 10! I thought this was 9! How old is he?

If he wins a French, which Pete never did, he'll definitely be #1 all-time barring an injury or burnout. Go Roger!

 

Well ... maybe. He's in the discussion already, of course. We'll see where he ends up, though.

The biggest argument against him so far is that he doesn't have a ton of heavy rivals. Nadal is up-and-coming, and already has two majors. But Rafa's got major, major flaws, and he's still young.

I don't think the lack of a French diminishes Pete's legacy (although it does give Andre at least some kind of a one-up on his greatest rival.)

But Roger's got a long way to go yet. Give him two more years, and then we'll see where he's at. If he breaks the Slam record in 2008, then there's not much else left ...

 

Well said, BW. He still has a long way to go. I'm just tired of Sampras, and his defenders (like Loopy). To me, Pete was above all a server, and I like guys with more of a complete game like Federer. Pete benefitted as much as anyone from the improved tech with the rackets. Not his fault, just my own little gripe.

 

Point well taken, but I disagree. Pete's serving was his strongest point, of course. But you don't win 14 Slams being "above all a server".

I will grant you this: in another era, Pete doesn't win 14. But I'd give him 10, easy. He's on the very, very short list of greatest ever.

I do think, though, that Borg was probably the greatest of all. Sampras is No. 2, Federer ... even at 25 ... is No. 3. Laver and Tilden round 'em out for me.

 

All good points, BW. Pete could serve and volley, that's true. I agree with Borg as #1. He was unstoppable in his prime. I believe your tennis knowledge likely far exceeds my own.

 

Ahh, my tennis is limited, especially among this crowd.

I think Federer's very, very close to moving up to my No. 2 soon. If he wins French, that'll do it for me. ... He's doing things now that I've never seen before, taking his game to a higher level, and the only guy who can even compare to that is Borg, who flat-out dominated some great, great competition in his day.

Roger doesn't have that level of top competition now, but that's not his fault. Although in his favor, the depth of the fields he plays against is better than Borg's ...

I never saw Borg -- but Roger plays the most beautiful tennis I've ever seen. He's getting there.

 

I remember some Borg matches when I was pretty young. I don't think anyone could beat him, ever, if they both used wooden rackets. Which leads me to some of my distaste for Sampras, etc. But it's the Yankees argument, right? They didn't make the salary cap rules, etc.

Roger makes the game look so easy, so effortless. I've never seen that before from anybody, Borg included. Borg was just so tough, mentally and physically, so athletic and fleet. He was a mensch.

Roger just systematically destroys his opponents with his unbelievable shotmaking. He looks like he's playing tennis 2.0 while everyone else is stuck in 1.0. He's done things I've never seen before in my life, and he makes it look so damn easy.

That's why I like Nadal challenging him, especially on clay. Nadal's super athletic and tall, and he can really make Roger work, which is an accompishment in itself.