Wimbledon Day 4 - McHale to the chief. Might have to throw a Li-sicki.

First topic message reminder :

Order of play

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/22713811

First up on centre court, McHale vs Lisicki. No, seriously.

Murray wins 6-1 6-1 6-4. A better performance than Round 1 but still some way to go. Haase very disappointing - I was expecting much more from him.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Murray leads 6-1 6-1 after 50 minutes. Haase has been very disappointing whilst Murray has done enough and no more than that.

I think Andy's been superb when he's needed to be. Laid down a couple of markers right at the beginning, in the way that all Champions should do, as it then asks the opponent 'can you match this?'

And now when serving for the a place in the last 32, has asked Haase the same question again

Clearly Hasse hasn't been able to do so

CaledonianCraig wrote:Murray wins 6-1 6-1 6-4. A better performance than Round 1 but still some way to go. Haase very disappointing - I was expecting much more from him.

Sorry. But if this was one of the Big 3, I don't think you'd be saying that. I really do not know what more Andy could have done. It was as good any of his rivals performances so far

I think we sometimes need to give a player credit for not allowing his opponent to play or scaring his opponent into making crass errors

Methinks Mr. Murray was still smarting from been compared to Roger's time on court, in an unfavourable manner, by a daft reporter who's normally asking equally daft questions to F1 drivers

Very good for me. Even when Hasse was at his best, Murray was better. A vast improvement on the worrying R1 performance

banbrotam wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:Murray wins 6-1 6-1 6-4. A better performance than Round 1 but still some way to go. Haase very disappointing - I was expecting much more from him.

Sorry. But if this was one of the Big 3, I don't think you'd be saying that. I really do not know what more Andy could have done. It was as good any of his rivals performances so far

I think we sometimes need to give a player credit for not allowing his opponent to play or scaring his opponent into making crass errors

Let me clarify - he played better than he did in the First Round but I never saw him letting rip with crunching forehands and really crushing his opponent. That is what I come to expect of Andy - the aggression has to be there NOW. It cannot be switched on like a tap when he needs it. It may be that he is playing the smart game and implementing the right game plans to win with the minimum of fuss but he'll need a more aggressive game plan from the next round onwards. What you must remember is that Murray is the second favourite in many people's eyes to lift the title so a lot will be and is expected of him in each match.

Ward on the brink of a big win. He leads Vesely 6-2 6-4 3-6 5-2.

He's playing fine. You play your way in, we don't want kamikaze tennis from the off. Andy more than anyone understands when there's errors to extract

Agut looks set to complete the comeback against an injured Paire. About to serve for a win in five sets.

He's done it. Top 100 garunteed for ward now!!

Ward wins in four sets. Cracking win and he goes into the 3rd Round of the slam for the first time. Well done to him.

who does he play?

Fognini or Pospisil, Pospisil currently a set and a break up

temporary21 wrote:He's playing fine. You play your way in, we don't want kamikaze tennis from the off. Andy more than anyone understands when there's errors to extract

Is playing more aggressive really kamikaze though? Even during commentary _ may have been the last game of the match - Andy hit a very rare crunching forehand and John Llloyd said that he wanted to see more of that. As I said aggression is key to winning against the very best players so better bringing it onto court every time rather than keep it under wraps until needed as then you have not found your aggressive rhythm and when you need it you find it harder to roll out at the drop of a hat.

Well done Ward. And he might even have a chance in the next round.

Hassle is a player he can extract errors from, and did exactly that.  Murray is more concerned with just getting through these round unscathed. He has 2 more rounds to be aggressive if he needs it

temporary21 wrote:Hassle is a player he can extract errors from, and did exactly that.  Murray is more concerned with just getting through these round unscathed. He has 2 more rounds to be aggressive if he needs it

I understand that but Murray is second favourite for the title so I am pretty sure he could have won playing more aggressive as well and so gets into the habit of aggressive play and so gets in the groove he'll need later rather than hoping he can flick a switch and magically go from passive or counter attack to aggressive - that is something I have seen Andy pay for in the past and fear it could happen here again if he is not careful.

A set and a break up for Coric against Seppi - to face Murray in R3 (both could pose some problems certainly)

If he faces Coric then he will want to put right what happened earlier this season when he got thrashed in Dubai

CaledonianCraig wrote:

banbrotam wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:Murray wins 6-1 6-1 6-4. A better performance than Round 1 but still some way to go. Haase very disappointing - I was expecting much more from him.

Sorry. But if this was one of the Big 3, I don't think you'd be saying that. I really do not know what more Andy could have done. It was as good any of his rivals performances so far

I think we sometimes need to give a player credit for not allowing his opponent to play or scaring his opponent into making crass errors

Let me clarify - he played better than he did in the First Round but I never saw him letting rip with crunching forehands and really crushing his opponent. That is what I come to expect of Andy - the aggression has to be there NOW. It cannot be switched on like a tap when he needs it. It may be that he is playing the smart game and implementing the right game plans to win with the minimum of fuss but he'll need a more aggressive game plan from the next round onwards. What you must remember is that Murray is the second favourite in many people's eyes to lift the title so a lot will be and is expected of him in each match.

Craig, I am a Murray fan and I don't associate 'crunching forehand' with Andy. He's never had a zinger of a FH. He has one which does enough for his game.

The thing is most of the opponents of the top players in early rounds pretty much do a job in beating themslves. Can't say I have seen clutch tennis from the off all the way through to the title from anyone.

Andy is through without dropping a set. Not playing to his maximum. That's enough for me given the likelihood that the back end of the tournament for Murray looks like Nadal/Federer/Djokovic. The less energy spent in the first few rounds, the better as the real challenege lay ahead.

Embarrassing how little attention/credit was given to Sam Querrey on the Beeb during the warm-up.

Once lauded universally for its impartiality in matters of sport & politics, the BBC is little but a shadow of its former self.

legendkillarV2 wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:

banbrotam wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:Murray wins 6-1 6-1 6-4. A better performance than Round 1 but still some way to go. Haase very disappointing - I was expecting much more from him.

Sorry. But if this was one of the Big 3, I don't think you'd be saying that. I really do not know what more Andy could have done. It was as good any of his rivals performances so far

I think we sometimes need to give a player credit for not allowing his opponent to play or scaring his opponent into making crass errors

Let me clarify - he played better than he did in the First Round but I never saw him letting rip with crunching forehands and really crushing his opponent. That is what I come to expect of Andy - the aggression has to be there NOW. It cannot be switched on like a tap when he needs it. It may be that he is playing the smart game and implementing the right game plans to win with the minimum of fuss but he'll need a more aggressive game plan from the next round onwards. What you must remember is that Murray is the second favourite in many people's eyes to lift the title so a lot will be and is expected of him in each match.

Craig, I am a Murray fan and I don't associate 'crunching forehand' with Andy. He's never had a zinger of a FH. He has one which does enough for his game.

The thing is most of the opponents of the top players in early rounds pretty much do a job in beating themslves. Can't say I have seen clutch tennis from the off all the way through to the title from anyone.

Andy is through without dropping a set. Not playing to his maximum. That's enough for me given the likelihood that the back end of the tournament for Murray looks like Nadal/Federer/Djokovic. The less energy spent in the first few rounds, the better as the real challenege lay ahead.

Sorry if I am coming across as overly-critical but with a tad more aggression I'd say his first two matches would have been over even sooner so he'd be even fresher. True it is all about getting through with the minimum of fuss which he has done but I also look for other signs ie aggression levels which will be key if Murray is to put down a real challenge for the title.

Seppi broke Coric back - it could be another 5 setters, which Murray wishes!

Querrey-Federer just started and it's 2-2. Querrey has yet to lose a service point (7 first serves, 1 second, 100% win) and he had a break point in Fed's first game. Good start for him, fed needs to play seriously.

Querrey is on a mission here, and Fed struggling to find his range.

Sam can easily force TB's if the serve holds up as well as it has done so far. And of course TB's can soon turn matches into lotteries .......

In 4 games, Federer took just 2 points off Sam!

Regarding Murray in the early rounds, I think for a player of his ilk the 1st week is all about getting through with a minimum of fuss and conserving (both physical and mental) energy for the later rounds. How often have we seen players storming through, demolishing their opponents in early rounds, only to fail to perform in the big quarter-final/semi-final?

For Murray this tournament so far, job done. From 4th round onwards I'd be expecting him to step things up (especially as he's due to meet Nadal in quarters).

Great win for Ward - Vesely is a decent opponent. Ward really is a big match player - look at his Davis Cup results, just needs more consistency for the bread and butter matches throughout the year.

And Querrey saves 3 BP in a row at 4-4 (worst moment to get broken)

He couldn't save the BP #4 though - tough one... Fed serving for the set, after winning point in barely 1 return game

Federer looking so-so the first eight games but he stepped it up in the ninth game. Hopefully he can hold now.

No.15 seed Feliciano Lopez trails the world No.153 Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia by two sets to one.

Federer takes the first set 6-4 against Sam Querrey.

Ok first set from Fed. He played one really good game and that was enough.

6-4 for Federer - Sam must be gutted though: got a BP on first game, Roger scored 2 points in his 4 first service games, and then 6 in the #5 (failing to convert 3 BP) to take the set right after.
Will Sam get up again?

I'm tempted to post on the "serve to win" thread: Fed winning 1st set against a big server serving well, himself serving around 50%. Can you win playing so-so and serving so-so: yes

Seppi and comic are one set all.

Lola like ward will be facing posposil I'm the third round. That's a big opportunity for a fourth round for them both

Looking forward to Dustin Brown v Nadal later - I personally don't think that Brown will defeat Nadal today but it should be an entertaining match - great contrast in styles.

Yep, if Brown brings his best could be a cracker.

Fed serving for set 2

Haven't seen brown in a long time. Is he still only a purple patch player?

Ah, some Fed showboat stuff for the highlights reel.

And Re: Temporary21 about Querrey folding: his first DF on this BP point, handing the set away to Roger

lags72 wrote:Oh dear .....summerblues .......look what you've started !

My question did not come totally out of tennis nowhere. I was thinking how Bedene was now an Englishman, and then I caught myself realizing that for all I know he is now a Scotsman.

Hence the question. Or is he neither because he is an arrival? Would his children then qualify? Grandchildren?

In the US and Canada it is fairly straightforward as there is no historical connection between being an American (or Canadian) and ethnicity.

Cannot believe Lopez is being taken into 5th set. I am tempted to switch to that one and just keep an eye on Fed's score in case something goes awry there.

And Federer on cruise mode to win in straights: broke Querrey on game 1 set 3: 6-4 6-2 2-0

Tsonga is up. However he's a break down immediately.  Betdych and maut too, some s and v for people thrte

Why are you removing my posts Temp?

Just because someone writes something you don't like it does not give you the right to arbitrarily remove posts. Or did I break a house rule?

I've removed the whole lot mate. This is for tennis discussion of the players, the original querrey quote by me and the argument that followed are gone. Back to the tennis, no need for personal swipes

Lopez holds from 15-40.

I am not sure I ever heard of Basilashvili, certainly never saw him play.

I think I see now why hardly anyone is posting on this forum. It's Wimbledon and the forum is as quiet as one would expect at the end of the year.

Yours were not the only ones removed Animalfan.

A development that gives cause for some concern.

Cori  a break down in the third now. Seppi firmly in control

temporary21 wrote:I've removed the whole lot mate. This is for tennis discussion of the players, the original querrey quote by me and the argument that followed are gone. Back to the tennis, no need for personal swipes

Sorry mate, it's not up to you to remove a whole series of posts just because you don't like the way a conversation went. That's far too much meddling. This is not a personal fiefdom of anyone. Sometimes a conversation may have an edge to it but as long no house rules are broken they should stand.

I find it incredible that you can pick and choose and delete as you please WHEN NO HOUSE RULES WERE BROKEN.