Steve,
T-minus 26 minutes for the Manchester United-Liverpool kickoff. No novellas in store today; time is short. On with the list:
The Fed: His motivation is quite simple, actually. He's out there to end the Greatest of All Time debate. And for that particular objective, he still has quite a lot of things to achieve: he's 5 Slams short, one French Open short, four Masters Series shields (Madrid--for a few more hours, Paris, Monte Carlo and Rome) and 6 overall, three more years as the year-end no.1, a year more to break Connors' record of consecutive weeks at no.1, etc, etc, etc. I think before the Wimby final he had some doubts about his ability to achieve all this, but after the U.S Open, there is none: somehow, he seems more confident than before. Scary.
The way the Fed deals with guys who beat him often during their first matches is quite scary. Yesterday's bagel was some scary demonstration. No mercy whatsoever, and it's not like Nalbo was making UFE after UFE. He just destroyed him; took his game apart, and made him look like a NCAA guy. Will this happen to Nadal? Since there's a definite game plan available to hurt the Spaniard, and judging by the Fed's record, I think it's bound to happen. Of course, The Rivalry will then become a "rivalry".
About the hot topic, the Nadal Antics, I think everything that had to be said was articulately put forward by everyone who took part in yesterday's evening thread. I'll only add this:
- I side with Hank/Dunlop Maxply in saying that every little detail in that on-court demeanor is carefully constructed. The bricked overhead was one unfortunate moment, but just a point earlier, Berdych sent a forehand long in a rally that hadn't shaped itself yet, and a loud Vamos! was heard from the other side as soon as the ball bounced out. I mean, that's not instinctive, and that's definitely not some some sort of autism: the guy knows exactly what he's doing, and when to do it.
- In the post-match press conference, Nadal said of himself that he didn't do anything wrong. This reminded me of the typical scenario when a kid gets disciplined at school for something he's perfectly allowed to do at home: the look on his face is of genuine disbelief, since he can't possibly understand the double standard. However, that's OK when dealing with a young boy, but really, should the same standard apply to a 20-year old Tennis Pro? When he's a two-time Grand Slam winner and no.2 in the world? I know everyone would like to see in him this naive hyper competitive BOY (especially the press and most of his fans), but really, with each passing day, this will become more of a stretch. I mean, it will really take some strong delusion to look at him at when he's 24 and think of him in the terms the tennis community thinks of him now.
- The type of antics Nadal displays on court will always be great polarizers among the tennis world, which includes media, fans and the tennis pros themselves. Some will think it's cute, and some won't buy them at all. And time only makes things worse. Madrid was sadly the first time it happened; it certainly won't be the last.
T-minus 6 minutes. I'm not getting anxious.
The Madrid Final: It's pretty hard to predict an upset when González has never beaten Federer (0-7 H2H), the surface in question is one where the Fed has lost 4 matches in two years, and said final is a five-setter. Again, most of the good points about this match were already made in last night's thread, so I'll only add that the tennis will be great, at least during stretches. That depends on how steady Gonzo's backhand is, and how many points it will afford him, easing the load on the cannon he has for a forehand. He can't afford to give the Fed open spaces by running around his backhand if things aren't working.
About Stefanki, I agree with the "confidence" factor, but I say that the biggest strides have come on the backhand side. I think these guys, and especially someone like González, who's already 26, can't really learn a new stroke. They can, however, employ the weaponry they already have with more sense and patience, and I think we're being witnesses to this kind of phenomenon with Gonzo. And even though Stefanki may seem like a tangential figure here, this couldn't have been done without him.
My pick? Fed in straights. His performance yesterday was scary, and today's foe is way too familiar. Most of the match should be close, though. The over/under for sick shots is 7.
The feed from Old Trafford is on. What a beautiful stadium. I'm getting goosebumps. Be back in 45 minutes.
Man U up 1-0 at the break. Fantastic.
Thanks for the music recommendations. I'll definetely look into them. Of recent albums, I really liked Bloc Party's "Silent Alarm". Fun record, especially when listened to at high volume. It's always tricky to come up with new things in their line of music, but somehow they managed to pull it off.
Second half underway. Back to you, Steve.
Juan José