clean the lines

Order was restored today on the Hamburg clay. The Nadal-Djokovic semi was more riveting, and occasionally gutting, than one could have hoped for. Classy tennis and great hitting from both.

Djokovic fought hard, even when he was way down in the third, which should improve his reputation among fans. In particular his tenacity in trying to break Rafa in the long final game was impressive. But did anyone else think his persistent drop-shots in the last 15 minutes was a sort of surrender? Particularly that weak last effort, with Rafa inside the court already, was a plea for the match to end.

I expect Roger to hit a few drop shots of his own tomorrow, but they will be for the kill, and not to surrender.

breathing problems

Tomorrow's semi between Djokovic and Nadal might be the match of the year so far. Were Nadal to lose he would drop to #3 behind Novak. But Nadal has always responded very well to pressure in the past. Djokovic, on the other hand, is prone to breathing problems, wasted set points, and dizziness.

Still, Novak's incredible ability to hug the baseline on clay, and his powerful backhand (less vulnerable than Roger's to Rafa's high kicking lefty forhands) should put Nadal under a lot of pressure. I just hope the boys play well and remember to breath. Should be a good one.

steadfast

Federer fans have really been indulging their impending sense of doom lately -- especially with Djokovic possibly days away from a #2 ranking. They should not worry. The next 7 months will produce the sort of exciting and competitive tennis we have not seen in years, and Roger will remain on top.

As he put it after Rome:

"The more I lose, the more they believe they can beat me. But believing is not enough, you still have to beat me."

And a few days later:

"I have the feeling that I still have so much ahead of me and so many possibilities in tennis. I just love the sport. It would break my heart if I had to stop."

new tricks on clay

Anyone who would like to see Federer win at Roland Garros has briefly wished that Roger had a two-handed backhand. Then he might, even just once, take one of Nadal's high-kicking shots early and on the rise and use all of Rafa's pace against him. Based on this footage Roger has had the same idea.

Or Roger could run this little car into Rafa's bad foot.

the greatest?

Now that Rafa has won 99 point-somthing percent of his matches on clay in the last four years, it is time to consider whether he is the greatest ever on crushed tile. If he is, the man he would replace is Borg, who won the French Open six times.

Rafa is better. But in the meantime, Borg is considered bold to have predicted that Nadal will win his first Wimbledon this year. Borg won five Wimbledons to go with his six at Roland Garros. During the years that Borg dominated the European grand slams he did not even bother to travel to Australia for the open.

This means that Borg essentially won two-thirds of the grand slams for a remarkable five years. It is a record that makes Sampras's efficiency in the slams look mediocre. It makes you think that Borg's name does not come up enough in the debate over who (Federer, Sampras, et cetera) is the greatest of all time.