Aus Tennis Open 2014

Will Fed accept that being no. 6 in the world is enough? As well as he seemed to play in this tournament, at going-on-33 (grandfatherly for a male singles tennis player), he seems incapable of knocking over the likes of Rafa and the Joker anymore, and it will shirley only get worse from here.

He drops to number 8 after this apparently, despite making the semis, and loses the Swiss number one spot after 13 years. Murray seemingly falling to number 6 as well.

skully wrote:Will Fed accept that being no. 6 in the world is enough? As well as he seemed to play in this tournament, at going-on-33 (grandfatherly for a male singles tennis player), he seems incapable of knocking over the likes of Rafa and the Joker anymore, and it will shirley only get worse from here.

Rankings don't tell you everything. Fed still has a lot greater chance to win a grand slam than higher ranked players like Ferrer and Del Potro.

You are right about Nole and Rafa, but it is possible he may not have to face them. Grass is not the greatest surface for Nole, Rafa got knocked out there in first round last time, so anything can happen at Wimbledon, the place where he reigned for so long. I do not think he is going to quit anytime soon.

Del Boy's won one before hasn't he? Fair enough, Ferrer's only chance is if Nadal slips up or gets injured at Roland Garros.

Yes DelPotro won US Open a few years ago.

Federer just loves tennis. It's not a team so he is not bringing down any team or others. It is just him, his racket and the ball.

I think he played better here than in long time.

Yeah, can't really imagine him trailing around the tour ranked 16 but he's proved he can still compete with the best for the time being.

Stan has improved a lot, and is playing the best tennis of his life. His serve is very good, he is solid, consistent. More than anything, his better fitness has played a big part in his improvement as a player. This is his once in a lifetime chance to win a grand slam, and he won't be rolling over. He is mentally tougher than a lot of them out there.

Rafa is the favorite of course, but strange things do happen

I think the occasion might be a bit much for Stan. Rafa in straight sets.

Fitness permitting (and that's obviously a big question mark), could he have a shot at the Grand Slam this year? Djokovic has dropped off from his peak form a bit over the last 12 months, Murray has been injured and is finding his way back, Federer just doesn't have the weapons to beat him these days. And the next generation are still nowhere.

He could win the French with a badminton racquet, which just leaves Wimbledon and the US...

Calendar year grand slam - just about impossible not just for Nadal but for anybody else as well. Even when Djokovic was playing like a non-human in 2011, he couldn't do it. And it is just about impossible for anyone to play at the level he did, and for as long as he did.

The measure of how difficult it is for any one guy to win everything can be gauged by the fact that no player in the open era has ever won all four slams twice. Something Nadal would, IF he beats Stan.

In recent times, only Agassi, Fed and Nadal have managed all four once. Fed got lucky he didn't have to face Nadal in that FO.

When one of them's a given as Roland Garros is for Nadal though, it reduces the odds significantly... Wimbledon is perhaps the toughest as you can make a case for any of the big four to win that one.

For Nadal, I think the US Open is the toughest and it is a measure of his resilience that he has won it twice. The hard court is tough on his knee condition. Makes his last hard court season all the more amazing. He is really one of the most remarkable sportsmen ever in the history of all sports.

WTF? Stan giving Rafa a bit of a towelling!!! 6-3 and 5-2 in the 2nd.   

Rafa can barely walk. His back is farked.

If it was Tomic he would have pulled the plug half and hour ago.

Not happy though - I had a bit on him to win when he was at 3s.

JGK wrote:Rafa can barely walk.  His back is farked.

If it was Tomic he would have pulled the plug half and hour ago.

Not happy though - I had a bit on him to win when he was at 3s.

Cheers MrK. Yeah, just saw him "serving" - clearly his spine has spasmed on him.

But Stan has taken the foot off the pedal to the point where now he can barely hit a ball into the court.

Rafa 3-0 in the 3rd. Would be an incredible win from here but you'd think Stan will stop playing like a girl at some stage.

Fark me. Rafa is 2 sets down, can't serve and still is only paying 4.1 on Betfair.

That first Slam is a very difficult thing to close out, even against an injured opponent... especially for someone who is slightly older than Nadal, Djokovic and Murray and will know this opportunity might not come along again for him.

Well congrats to Stan on his 1st Slam title.

Initially I thought here we go a bit of sportsmanship from Nadal.

But clearly he was injured.

Nonetheless had the injury not occurred I think Wawrinka would have won in straight sets.

For some reason Stan had a meltdown and tried his best to throw the match away. Simply the most bizarre match I have seen.

So Rafa is getting a pasting, then gets "injured" causing the other player to lose their focus, then makes a miraculous recovery and wins the 3rd set.

HMMM!!! HAVEN'T SEEN THAT ONE BEFORE RAFA, MATE!!!

At least the despicable Spanish c*nt lost. He'll have to wait until at least next year to overtake Fed now.

This is why, in my humble opinion, there is no sport like tennis, and its professional equivalent.

Elegant, tough, unpredictable - many had already declared Rafa as the champion, but you can never know. If you get injured, there is nowhere to hide. There is such depth now that any top player can be beaten in any round. Rafa may have won if he did not get injured, but then again, he may have not.

Would have been nice if Rafa had won, but this showcases the strength and competitive nature of tennis. So it is good.

In no way Rafa's injury should put an asterisk next to Stan's grand slam win. People go on about injuries in both team and individual sports as if that is the reason someone lost. But injuries are as much part of the sport as talent is.

Poor Rappa. He tried so hard. And maybe he was actually injured.

vilkrang wrote:So Rafa is getting a pasting, then gets "injured" causing the other player to lose their focus, then makes a miraculous recovery and wins the 3rd set.

HMMM!!! HAVEN'T SEEN THAT ONE BEFORE RAFA, MATE!!!

Precisely.