A famous and cocky Gladiator once said ":What we do in life echoes in eternity" and the way Russell Crowe said it on that horse undoubtedly got me pumped and motivated, for what I ask? Ok, thats another story and right now Eternity is loud and clear, Roger Federer is almost done writing the history books as the greatest player to ever grace a tennis court...it is oh so close and we know he is almost there or is it 'their', shit I dont know anymore!
What i do know is that this was for me the most satisfying of his Grand Slams for many reasons the least being that 'his time was over' and the Fed Express was coming to an abrupt end...a defiance and statement to the naysayers...who the hell writes this shit anyway??? Lets forget about a Slam semi's in Australia, finals in the French and Wimbledon and the continuing pressure of being number 1 in the world-and mono-it was a successful year...right? But to hand the whipping to Djokovic and Murray in consecutive matches made up for the whole year in my opinion and restored the balance of power- Djokovic was the heir apparent, on the hard courts at least and in his own mind, and was supposed to dump Federer, but for the Fed to win in such convincing fashion begs the question "is he better than last year?? I expected a dismantling of Murray but Roger showed me that even the greatest can eventually change their games and tactics to keep the dominance running - he whipped Djokovic with a better gameplan then i have seen in ages...this was satisfying, very satisfying. Murray, well thanks for coming but this wasnt about the youngster, Britian, the world rankings or even a changing of the guard, this was about Destiny and that loud echo in Eternity. This was about Roger Federer, the ultimate Gladiator, the ultimate leader and the assurance that history will at least be exciting for a time longer in the world of tennis!
Showing posts with label Tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tennis. Show all posts
Friday, September 26, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
"FINALLY, I CAN SPEAK GERMAN"!!!
It took me a while to warm up to Rafael Nadal and although I am a Federer fan right to the core Rafa has really highlighted his tenacity this week. Facing the prospect of losing his number 2 ranking in the world to Novak Djokovic, and more importantly not 'flying' into the French Open, Nadal dug deep and finally won the Hamburg Open over Roger Federer.
Watching him play against Djokovic and Federer leaves me with a smile for many reasons. Yes, i watched great tennis but for the first time I have been convinced that Nadal's time as the 'King of Clay' is coming to an end. Sure, he won, but Djokovic pushed him hard and for my money is guilty of letting it slip away in the semi-finals especially when he was up 4-0 in the first set; Federer is also guilty being up 5-2 in the first set yesterday with only needing to hold his serve. This leaves me with only one thought: Federer has the talent and is more than capable of beating Nadal on clay but his biggest opponent is his own mind. On more than one occasion he has been up on Nadal and looked like he would run away with it and than 'bang', he collapses. Also having won in Hamburg 4 times means he certainly can win with the best of them on clay. In the end Federer is losing the 'mental' game with Nadal taking full advantage, but once he can beat this demon in his mind then he will win the French - and boy he is so very close!
I often hear about Nadal's record vs Federer but that is a bit of a double-edged sword because Federer can make all the clay finals and then lose to Nadal; if Rafa were to live up to his end of the bargain and make more hard court and grass finals believe me that record would be different. Nonetheless, Roland Garros is 2 weeks away and although Nadal will go in as the favorite I think Federer will be facing someone else in the final!
Could this be the greatest rivalry in the history of the sport? I think so.
We are witnessing the greatest player in the history of the game - Nifty hey!
Watching him play against Djokovic and Federer leaves me with a smile for many reasons. Yes, i watched great tennis but for the first time I have been convinced that Nadal's time as the 'King of Clay' is coming to an end. Sure, he won, but Djokovic pushed him hard and for my money is guilty of letting it slip away in the semi-finals especially when he was up 4-0 in the first set; Federer is also guilty being up 5-2 in the first set yesterday with only needing to hold his serve. This leaves me with only one thought: Federer has the talent and is more than capable of beating Nadal on clay but his biggest opponent is his own mind. On more than one occasion he has been up on Nadal and looked like he would run away with it and than 'bang', he collapses. Also having won in Hamburg 4 times means he certainly can win with the best of them on clay. In the end Federer is losing the 'mental' game with Nadal taking full advantage, but once he can beat this demon in his mind then he will win the French - and boy he is so very close!
I often hear about Nadal's record vs Federer but that is a bit of a double-edged sword because Federer can make all the clay finals and then lose to Nadal; if Rafa were to live up to his end of the bargain and make more hard court and grass finals believe me that record would be different. Nonetheless, Roland Garros is 2 weeks away and although Nadal will go in as the favorite I think Federer will be facing someone else in the final!
Could this be the greatest rivalry in the history of the sport? I think so.
We are witnessing the greatest player in the history of the game - Nifty hey!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
WHO OWNS THE FUZZY GREEN BALLS?
Me being Faramarz Khaze and being not only true to myself and to the nature of this blog, I write my first of many interesting and 'say-it-as-it-is' blogs in the world of professional sports. I wont hide my feelings or ever worry what I say and when I say it but i will remain as topical as possible and as unbiased as is humanly possible in my very passionate and biased persona!
Today I tackle tennis and the age old question of who is the greatest of all time and who should quite frankly shut their mouth and show a little respect!!! That brings me to 3 interesting and talented characters: Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and the up and coming big mouth from Serbia, Novak Djokovic!
No doubt when discussing the greatest tennis players of all time the 2 names in the mens game that come right to mind are Pete Sampras and Roger Federer! For me personally this is a no-brainer, Roger Federer is the greatest player of all time without a question. Besides the fact that he is widely acknowledged as the most complete and elegant player the game has ever seen, his numbers speak for themselves. Pete Sampras armed with an amazing serve amassed 14 grand slams over a 14 year period whereas the Fed Express has 12 Grand Slams in only 4 years and can beat you from anywhere in the court - you do the math! If your math is as shit as mine then let Rafeal Nadal sum it up perfectly, after losing at Wimbledon last year he said "Roger is the best player ever, whether he has 12 or 16 grand slams, his level is by far the highest". Well said Rafa. So for me their is no doubt about who the king is, would you agree?
The thing with kings though is they never stay on their throne forever and someone always wants to knock them off their perch, some 'prince ass mo-fo' or 'jackass'. In 2008 this man is Novak Djokovic. A talented and up and coming talent for sure, but a mouth faster then Mariah Carey. Does this man really believe he will be Number 1 this year? The thought of losing to Federer is again unbearable for the world number 3 as evidenced by his bullshit 'sore throat' withdrawal in Monte Carlo when he was down a set and a break. Personally I always predicted he would pass Nadal this year but for him to be talking about number 1, show some damn respect. One can never get lucky in winning an Australian Open but his poor showing in Shanghai last year and Federer's early year illness for me has tainted his achievements thus far - winning in Rome this week against a poor field that was created through all the other player's efforts hardly impresses me. I will leave it at this but say for now, Novak show some damn respect and cut that hair, Federer is number one until Proven Guilty!
This is Faf K!
Stay Classy San Diego!
Today I tackle tennis and the age old question of who is the greatest of all time and who should quite frankly shut their mouth and show a little respect!!! That brings me to 3 interesting and talented characters: Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and the up and coming big mouth from Serbia, Novak Djokovic!
No doubt when discussing the greatest tennis players of all time the 2 names in the mens game that come right to mind are Pete Sampras and Roger Federer! For me personally this is a no-brainer, Roger Federer is the greatest player of all time without a question. Besides the fact that he is widely acknowledged as the most complete and elegant player the game has ever seen, his numbers speak for themselves. Pete Sampras armed with an amazing serve amassed 14 grand slams over a 14 year period whereas the Fed Express has 12 Grand Slams in only 4 years and can beat you from anywhere in the court - you do the math! If your math is as shit as mine then let Rafeal Nadal sum it up perfectly, after losing at Wimbledon last year he said "Roger is the best player ever, whether he has 12 or 16 grand slams, his level is by far the highest". Well said Rafa. So for me their is no doubt about who the king is, would you agree?
The thing with kings though is they never stay on their throne forever and someone always wants to knock them off their perch, some 'prince ass mo-fo' or 'jackass'. In 2008 this man is Novak Djokovic. A talented and up and coming talent for sure, but a mouth faster then Mariah Carey. Does this man really believe he will be Number 1 this year? The thought of losing to Federer is again unbearable for the world number 3 as evidenced by his bullshit 'sore throat' withdrawal in Monte Carlo when he was down a set and a break. Personally I always predicted he would pass Nadal this year but for him to be talking about number 1, show some damn respect. One can never get lucky in winning an Australian Open but his poor showing in Shanghai last year and Federer's early year illness for me has tainted his achievements thus far - winning in Rome this week against a poor field that was created through all the other player's efforts hardly impresses me. I will leave it at this but say for now, Novak show some damn respect and cut that hair, Federer is number one until Proven Guilty!
This is Faf K!
Stay Classy San Diego!
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