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• Do you watch Winbledon ???

  2008-07-04 8:15AM / 標準BLOG / SPORTS / 會員可以看
  23個評論

  Do you watch Winbledon ???

  ALL the HOTTIES are OUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Ana Ivanovic (world no.1)

  Maria Sharapova (world no.2)

  Elena Dementieva (world no.5)

  BUT my BOY is IN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  GO~ Federer !!!!

  

  TODAY 4th July 2008

  Roger Federer took another huge step towards retaining his Wimbledon title when he defeated the unseeded Marat Safin 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 to reach Sunday's final.

  So after six matches in this year’s Championships, the five-time champion was able to celebrate 18 successive sets won and another brilliant performance that blew away an opponent who had moved through the draw with increasing menace. The Russian had beaten Federer in 2005 on the way to winning the Australian Open but there was little likelihood of that achievement being repeated here.

  However, once the Russian settled down after a nervous and wayward start his savvy ensured that Federer was stretched more than in any other match so far.

  Federer, who had dropped only 10 points on serve in his quarter-final win over Mario Ancic, came out of the starting stalls like the thoroughbred he is. He was 3-0 up after eight minutes, mainly thanks to some over-hitting from Safin, which led to angry bouncing of the racquet.

  Though he eventually settled, Safin was able to make no impact on the Federer serve. The five-time champion closed out the opening set in 24 minutes, having dropped a mere four points on serve.

  Safin, serving with more depth and accuracy in the second set, held serve regularly and began to make inroads on the Federer delivery. In the fourth game Safin engineered his first break points but Federer averted both with forehand winners of power and depth.

  With both men dominant on serve, a tie-break was the inevitable outcome of the second set, and here it was Safin who cracked when his backhand, the strong point of his game, let him down on three big points, permitting Federer to go two sets up with the match 68 minutes old.

  Still Safin plugged away determinedly and to such effect that for the first time in the Championships Federer was flat out to keep his nose in front in the third set.

  But the tension eventually proved too much for the suspect Safin temperament. At the 5-4 changeover, having bounced his racquet angrily, the Russian then smashed it as he made his way back to his chair, collecting a code of conduct violation from umpire Lars Graff.

  Safin’s concentration had been fatally fractured and he fell match point down in the next game after one hour 42 minutes. Federer immediately pounced, striking a gorgeous backhand cross-court winner off a net cord to seal his 65th consecutive victory on grass.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  THE WOMAN's CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

  WILLIAMS VS WILLIAMS

  5th July 2008

  

  Venus Williams says she and Serena often reminisce about their tennis careers. "We do sometimes talk about the things in the past, just some of the things that have happened have been so amazing and we definitely draw a lot of energy and inspiration from it," Venus said after her 7-5, 6-4 win over her sister.
  
  One day when Venus and Serena sit down to discuss the 2008 Wimbledon final, Venus will tell her younger sister what it meant to her to be a five-time champion that day.
  
  "[It] puts you in the stratosphere, just because of what this tournament means," Venus says. "I think had I had this achievement at any other tournament it would have been awesome but not nearly the same meaning at Wimbledon."
  
  Venus will ask Serena if she remembers their breakfast on the day of the match, "just choking it down" and "encouraging each other".
  
  Then they will talk about the windy conditions on Centre Court that day. "The wind kept blowing and swirling. The longer the match went on, it kept changing directions. At first, it was only windy on one side then it was windy on both. I could see the wind blowing on her side, but it wasn't windy on mine."
  
  When talk turns to the match itself, the back-to-back champion will tell Serena that her serve aimed at the body was a key weapon in victory. "I never felt very happy about my ground strokes here. But my serve, I felt like any time I needed it, it was pulling me out of any bind."
  
  In a moment of honesty, Venus may tell her sister that she thought she was not doing enough to stay competitive. "I felt like, I'm not running fast enough. I should be hitting more of an offensive shot. Why am I hitting this shot. You can do better. That's mostly what I'm thinking. The funny part is when I see the tape. I'm like, Wow, how did I do that? How did I cover that shot? So when I do see the film, then I do have to give myself a little credit. But when I'm out there I'm like, This is not good enough. It's funny."
  
  She and her sister will discuss the power inherent in their games and the quality of some of the exchanges in the final. "I think the level of play was really high. I think a lot of the times one of us was overpowering the other. So I hit a hard ball on the line, she can't get it back. Or I tried to go for too much because I'm anticipating that she's gonna run my shot down. Or I hit a huge serve, she hits one I can't return. So in between us overpowering each other we had, I think, some really competitive rallies and intense points, you know, where one player would come back and take the point, when it looked like the other player was gonna win."
  
  If it all gets too much for Serena, Venus will be magnanimous and point out that her sister is "the ultimate sportsperson" who had still won more Grand Slam titles and a better head-to-head record: "I wanted to try to improve that record and I didn't want the same trend to keep happening and then it be like 6-1 [Grand Slam finals in Serena’s favour].
  
  "So I climbed a tiny little notch up, so it's 2-5. Still behind, but I’m working on it."

  I'm so much respect for Venus William. Those words she said had projected so much love and care for her sister's emotion being the loser. Way to go Venus !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We 2R has so much to learn from these remarkable sisters

  

  DOUBLE VICTORY

  The Williams sisters parade their prizes after a straight sets victory in the ladies' doubles final against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur.

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  THE EXPECTED BUT MUCH ANTICIPATED MAN'S CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

  Roger Federer (world no.1)

  VS

  Rafael Nadal (world no.2)

   
  OH MY GOD I'm so lucky to witness such dramatic tennis match in this century !!!!!!!!!!
  The match was mind-blowing and breathtaking !!!!!!!!!!!!!
  There is no other game like this in history !!!
  These TWO admirable, world class players who played with passion, grace, great tenacity and great determination !!
  They are both truly CREAM OF THE CREAM !!!!
  However there is ONLY one winner in any competition.
  CONGRATULATIONS TO
  RAFAEL NADAL ~ the deserving CHAMPION
  AND ROGER FEDERER !!!!!!!!!!
   
  Destiny awaits
  Fed star jump
  Rafa lets rip
  Fed on fire
  
  Rafa determined
  
  Fed pushed to the limited
  Fed roars
   
  Rafa is high
  Rafa down
  It's RAFAEL
  Fed up~
  
  Trophies presented
   
  Wimbledon has a new king. Rafael Nadal dethroned Roger Federer after a five-year reign by winning the longest-ever Wimbledon men's final.

  The consistently heartstopping 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), 9-7 classic began at 2.35pm and thanks to a couple of breaks for rain (surely necessary for the spectators to catch their breath), it ended at 9.15pm with the 22-year-old from Mallorca dropping to the ground with his arms outstretched in celebration.

  Watching the four hours and 48 minutes on-court action, from the vantage point of the royal box, was Centre Court legend Bjorn Borg. Nadal had matched the Swede's fantastic feat of winning the Grand Slams of Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back and had also prevented Federer surpassing the five titles in a row he collected between 1976 and 1980.
  
  Conditions for the latest duel between tennis's two finest players could not have been more demanding. The rain, which delayed the start for 27 minutes, eventually cleared but the chill, gusting wind which accompanied it persisted throughout the match, blowing winning shots off course and making life even more difficult for the two competitors. That they coped so well spoke volumes for their skill and adaptability.
  
  With the five-time champion looking less than his authoritative best, it was Nadal who struck the first heavy blow, capitalising on successive Federer errors to break for a 2-1 lead.
  
  From the start Nadal concentrated his battering-ram attack on the Federer backhand, aiming every serve and looping forehand in that direction and it kept the champion in an unaccustomed position - on the back foot. Federer prospered more when he switched to net-rushing but he could not block Nadal's inexorable advance towards the first set.
  
  The Spaniard managed to fight off a break point to stay 3-1 ahead and he needed to avert two more as he served for the set, which he clinched on his third set point after 48 minutes, courtesy of another brace of ground stroke errors from Federer.
  
  It was the first set Federer had dropped since the final of the French Open, when he was routed by the same Nadal.
  
  Federer's counter-attack was immediate and it rushed him into a three-game lead which he extended to an apparently commanding 4-1 with his sixth and seventh aces, only for the irrepressible Nadal to bounce back with some thrilling, all-action stuff.
  
  To Federer's visible anger, his serve was broken as a stretched volley flew out of play and Nadal pulled level at 4-4 as Federer squandered yet another break point.
  
  Now Nadal was in full, thrilling flow, breaking Federer again to lead 5-4 with another huge forehand and celebrating with pumped fists. As he was serving for the second set, Nadal received a warning from umpire Pascal Maria of France for taking too long between serves.
  
  Clearly unsettled by the timing of that censure, the Spaniard permitted Federer another break point on a wind-caused error, but in typical fashion dug deep and clinched the set when Federer once more mistimed a backhand into the netting. So, having swept five games, Nadal was in the driving set, two sets ahead.
  
  Nadal's authority suffered a scare in the third game of the third set when he slipped in making a sudden change of direction and called in the trainer to check on his right knee. No time-out was requested by Nadal, though his speed around court appeared to be affected for a while.

  He was at full stretch in the next game, fighting off two Federer break points and, as dark clouds began to mass over Centre Court, the champion went flat out to recover a set and get back into the match. But four more break points went begging as Nadal held for 3-3 before wasting three break points of his own which would have put him 4-3 ahead and perfectly positioned to win.
  
  Instead, with Federer leading 5-4, the expected downpour set in and play was held up for one hour 20 minutes. On the resumption it was Federer who dominated when a tie-break was needed to resolve the set, hammering four aces to take it by seven points to five.
  
  The fourth set did not contain a single break point for either man and when the second tie-break of the match arrived it was a sensation, with Nadal first leading by five points to two and then reaching, and missing, two Championship points before Federer levelled at two sets all when a Nadal backhand error left him the winner by 10 points to eight.
  
  Another downpour drove the players off court for half an hour with the score at 2-2 in the final set and when they returned the light was fading. But the spirit of both finalists burned bright as they hammered the ball at each other just as eagerly as they had done when this marathon first began.
  
  At 3-4 Nadal saved a break point which would have left Federer serving for the title. At 6-6 Federer saved a couple of break points. Finally, in the gloom, the Spaniard broke to lead 8-7 when Federer struck a forehand too long.
  
  So Nadal served for the match again, getting to his third Championship point only for Federer to hit an incredible backhand service return. Deuce once again, but Nadal moved to his fourth match point with a big serve and, with the crowd going wild, Federer finally cracked, dumping a forehand in the net.

  It was late, very late, but not too late for the coronation of a new king to begin.
  

  Centre Count - Men's SIngles Final Score

  Roger  Federer SUI (1) 4 4 77 7 10 7   Rafael Nada ESP (2) 6 6 65 68 9

  See you Champions next year