# Federer/Nadal Wimbledon Final



## mjschijf (Oct 1, 2007)

Are there any tennis fans out there? Well, maybe not...but as a former college tennis player let me tell you that Sunday's Wimbledon final was one of the greatest matches of all time. I really wish more people gave some respect to tennis. The combination of mental toughness, physical conditioning, and hard work required to be great is emphasized more in tennis than any other sport, in my opinion.

Did anyone else see Sunday's match?


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## rapalahunter (Oct 13, 2007)

I did. It was awesome. I was really pulling for Roger, but Nadal was amazing.


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## mjschijf (Oct 1, 2007)

rapalahunter said:


> I did. It was awesome. I was really pulling for Roger, but Nadal was amazing.


Yeah I was pulling for Roger too. I really wanted him to beat Borg's record of 5 straight Wimbledons. You have to hand it to Nadal though for being able to keep his composure in the 5th set after not being able to convert on those match points in the 4th set tiebreaker. I'm excited to see what happens at the U.S. Open. Nadal has never played great there, and Federer will be going for his 5th in a row. Some people are already saying the so-called "torch" has been passed to Nadal, but I want to see how he does on the hardcourts before I make that claim.


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## rapalahunter (Oct 13, 2007)

I can see how some would make that claim. Nadal's transformation into a grass court player has been rapid. Really something to behold. I agree that if does well on hardcourts this year too then **** - There may be a new sheriff in town. O*--

Time will tell, but we are pretty lucky to watch these guys compete in their prime.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

It was a great match, even though I watch tennis about once a year. My main question is what was with McEnroe crying and wanting to hug Federer, did anyone else find that weird and uncomfortable?


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## mjschijf (Oct 1, 2007)

jahan said:


> It was a great match, even though I watch tennis about once a year. My main question is what was with McEnroe crying and wanting to hug Federer, did anyone else find that weird and uncomfortable?


Haha I didn't see that but I heard about it. McEnroe was just overwhelmed by the moment. Even he said it was the greatest match he's ever seen, and he has seen and played in many great matches. He's extremely passionate about his sport, so I'm going to cut him some slack about crying. Being a tennis player myself, hell, I might have even cried if I watched that match first hand.


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

My wife an daughter watched it in the back room, and when I asked my wife a question and accidentally watched 2 minutes of the 'match' while getting a long winded answer, I about cried from watching a Swiss and a Spaniard playing with balls and picking their shorty shorts out of their butt crack.  _/O That is two minutes I'll never get back, that is almost as bad as watching soccer. :shock: :wink:


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## mjschijf (Oct 1, 2007)

proutdoors said:


> My wife an daughter watched it in the back room, and when I asked my wife a question and accidentally watched 2 minutes of the 'match' while getting a long winded answer, I about cried from watching a Swiss and a Spaniard playing with balls and picking their shorty shorts out of their butt crack.  _/O That is two minutes I'll never get back, that is almost as bad as watching soccer. :shock: :wink:


Well...I guess not everybody can appreciate a great sport and an incredible match when they see one. :roll: 
Your dislike of tennis is simply a result of ignorance. If only you knew what it takes to achieve greatness in that sport, I promise you would be holding your tongue.


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

mjschijf said:


> proutdoors said:
> 
> 
> > My wife an daughter watched it in the back room, and when I asked my wife a question and accidentally watched 2 minutes of the 'match' while getting a long winded answer, I about cried from watching a Swiss and a Spaniard playing with balls and picking their shorty shorts out of their butt crack.  _/O That is two minutes I'll never get back, that is almost as bad as watching soccer. :shock: :wink:
> ...


I can't type when I hold my tongue.  Can't the same be said for achieving 'greatness' in most sports? :? Think about it! It is not ignorance, it is complete BOREDOM while watching. _(O)_


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

proutdoors said:


> can't type when I hold my tongue.  Can't the same be said for achieving 'greatness' in most sports? :? Think about it! It is not ignorance, it is complete BOREDOM while watching. _(O)_


Not only that, how could you hold your tongue and go like this... *(u)*


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

.45 said:


> proutdoors said:
> 
> 
> > can't type when I hold my tongue.  Can't the same be said for achieving 'greatness' in most sports? :? Think about it! It is not ignorance, it is complete BOREDOM while watching. _(O)_
> ...


Exactly!


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Mens tennis is sooooo boring...... :roll: 

But, it's okay to watch women's tennis once in a while.... a little culture never hurt anybody !!


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## mjschijf (Oct 1, 2007)

proutdoors said:


> mjschijf said:
> 
> 
> > proutdoors said:
> ...


Haven't you heard of typing with one hand? Just kidding. I think you know what I meant though.

Look, I'm not going to sit here and say tennis is the greatest sport of them all because that is a matter of personal opinion. There are a lot of sports that require extreme athleticism, hard work, and motivation in order to achieve the highest of high levels. Professional tennis, however has a component that is emphasized unlike any other sport: *mental toughness. * I'm not saying that that other sports don't require you to be mentally tough, but tennis is different because it is just you and your opponent out there. You have no coach drawing up or calling plays periodically during a match, you have no teammates to pick up the slack of you aren't playing well, you have no caddy to seek advice from. All you have is yourself. Trust me, having played tennis competitively in high school and college, as well as college tournaments, there is nothing more frustrating than when you aren't on top of your game and you are having a difficult time figuring out your opponent in your own mind. Professional tennis players *must* be able to figure out very quickly what is working and what isn't working. This is crucial because they obviously don't want to get down early and be in a position where they are forced to battle back, or worse, lose very quickly if they are never able to make the necessary adjustment. 
This is why Federer and Nadal are so good. Sure, they are blessed with amazing talent but also their mental games are unbelievable.

PRO, trust me...there is no sport that requires as much mental toughness as tennis. Talk to anyone who has played tennis competetively and I'm sure they will tell you the same thing. And again, I'm not trying to take anything away from football, basketball, baseball, etc, but mental toughness is the unique aspect of tennis that isn't quite as critical in most other sports.



.45 said:


> Mens tennis is sooooo boring...... :roll:
> But, it's okay to watch women's tennis once in a while.... a little culture never hurt anybody !!


That's your opinion and that's fine. For me, women's tennis is 10 times more boring than men's tennis. After watching the ment bomb 130+ MPH serves, hit huge forehand winners, amazing passing shots, and chase almost every shot down, the women just aren't as exciting. Sure, there are a couple of cute ones that I'll gladly watch (Ivanovic, Sharapova) but as far as the actual tennis, the women's game is really no comparison to the men's. It's like comparing the NBA to the WNBA.


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## SingleShot man (Dec 24, 2007)

PRO, please quiet yourself. NOW.

That match was friggin' sick! I dunno 'bout the 'torch passing'. We'll have to see... :shock: 

Have y'all watched the gymnasts? My girl was an Olympic alternate...



(life passed by) she's a judge now. Dude... try that Sh*t in the deer woods! Those guys are friggin' TOUGH! 
"Screw boning, let's just drag the forker out!"
Hey, if you can hoist 180 pounds and carry it for 13 miles, maybe you deserve it!


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

mjschijf said:


> PRO, trust me...there is no sport that requires as much mental toughness as tennis. Talk to anyone who has played tennis competetively and I'm sure they will tell you the same thing. And again, I'm not trying to take anything away from football, basketball, baseball, etc, but mental toughness is the unique aspect of tennis that isn't quite as critical in most other sports.
> 
> That's your opinion and that's fine. For me, women's tennis is 10 times more boring than men's tennis. After watching the ment bomb 130+ MPH serves, hit huge forehand winners, amazing passing shots, and chase almost every shot down, the women just aren't as exciting. Sure, there are a couple of cute ones that I'll gladly watch (Ivanovic, Sharapova) but as far as the actual tennis, the women's game is really no comparison to the men's. It's like comparing the NBA to the WNBA.


Having wrestled at a fairly high level, I disagree STRONGLY on tennis requiring "more mental toughness than all other sports". You ever try it? Didn't think so. Look, my wife in a tennis fan big time, I just see no appeal to watching/playing it. You do fine, enjoy .

I think you missed *.45*'s wit/wisdom on liking to watch women's tennis, it is because they wearing skimpy clothes and do lots of moaning. Of course so does Nadal, which may explain............why my 15 year old daughter is 'in love' with the famed butt picker.


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## mjschijf (Oct 1, 2007)

proutdoors said:


> mjschijf said:
> 
> 
> > PRO, trust me...there is no sport that requires as much mental toughness as tennis. Talk to anyone who has played tennis competetively and I'm sure they will tell you the same thing. And again, I'm not trying to take anything away from football, basketball, baseball, etc, but mental toughness is the unique aspect of tennis that isn't quite as critical in most other sports.
> ...


Alright PRO, I think we can both agree to each their own. I am sure wrestling is another sport that requires you to be extremely mentally tough. Personally, I don't see the appeal of two men wearing skin tight outfits rubbing all against each other. But that is only because I have never wrestled and can't appreciate the strategy and conditioning that is required to be good at it. Don't take my skin tight outfits comment too seriously. I'm just saying that maybe neither of us has a great impression of each other's respected sport simply because we are used to something very different. Tennis isn't "better" than wrestling. Wrestling isn't "better" than tennis. They are just too different to adequately compare, especially if you aren't familiar with each aspect of both.

And yeah, Nadal is kind of a weirdo and sometimes he does bug me with his "butt picking". But watched him play so much now that I've come to appreciate how good he is so I can focus on the actual tennis instead of being distracted so much with the butt picking. I think he's just made a weird habit out of it and doesn't even realize he does it anymore.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

I will be the first to say that I was always the one making fun of the wrestlers, until I tried it myself. I gained a lot of respect for them, it wasn't for me, but at least I seen what it takes. I can see how both sports could be tough. That tennis match went over 6 hours, in the heat. You would have to be in great shape. Wrestling is very physically demanding. I ran track and played football and I didn't know what running was until I started wrestling. Wrestlers are in excellent shape. Personally I don't know how the two could be compared because they are so different.


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## dockrot (Apr 14, 2008)

I played a lot of tennis when I was younger...now that I'm fifty I choose golf. My favorite player was always Jimmy Connors but I doubt he could have played with either of them. Five hours is a long time to do anything...you got to appreciate the ability to do it


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