Darth Federer? [J. Mark English]

Just how good is Roger Federer, whom won his 12th grand slam yesterday? Sean Randall of the Tennis X Blog breaks down just what a phenomenal athlete this man has become:

Roger Federer has never lost a match in his career in the all black Darth Vader look. After the US Open final today that will still be fact.

Novak Djokovic has enjoyed a great US Open, with great wins over Radek Stepanek and David Ferrer, he’s also shown us his personal side with a pair of memorable impersonations Thursday evening. But today’s going to be too much for the 20-year-old Serb.

While Federer will be comfortable in playing in front of 23,000 plus and in his 10th straight Slam final, this will be Novak’s first go round in a major title bout.

The lack of a day off also hurts Novak. Fed’s used to it, not Novak. The heat could also play a role. Djokovic has had problems with conditions and injuries in the past, and even yesterday he looked somewhat sluggish at times in the heat and had to summon the trainer.

By wearing the black outfit Fed will send a message to Novak that he’s just fine playing tennis in warm, humid conditions.

Federer and Djokovic match-up pretty well. But I think Federer right now is better than Novak in just about every department, even backhand. I think Novak is a more consistent ball striker, but in the pressure of a final he’s likely to make a few more errors than normal.

Fed will also have revenge on his mind after losing to Djokovic in the Canadian final.

I also don’t think Novak will be completely overwhelmed by the occasion. That win over Federer last month showed the kid’s poise, which is quite remarkable for a 20-year-old. And Novak looked a lot better than Fed did yesterday in the semifinals. After jittery starts by both players they each managed to win in straight sets. But I’m not going to put much stock in either of those wins.

Federer’s never lost a Sunday Slam final not played on clay. That said I’ll bet on black again, in straight sets.

Federer Shows Why He is World's #1 [David Stefanini]

This from ESPN.com:

Six years ago, a 19-year-old Swiss prodigy beat Pete Sampras in the fourth round here at Wimbledon. The five-set defeat prevented Sampras from winning his fifth consecutive title at the All England Club and, in retrospect, announced a challenge to his supremacy in men's tennis.

That prodigy was named Roger Federer.

On Sunday, a 21-year-old Spanish prodigy pushed Federer into another contentious five-set match -- his first in a Grand Slam final. Rafael Nadal was attempting to stop Federer from joining Bjorn Borg as the only man to win five straight Wimbledon titles and, not insignificantly, equaling Borg's and Rod Laver's achievement of 11 Grand Slam singles titles.


Comments:
What else is there to say about Roger Federer. He is clearly the best tennis player in the world, and the most dominant athlete in any sport. Nobody has been this dominant since Michael Jordan. The difference here is Jordan had a team around him, Federer is one man. Every time Federer steps out on the court, he has to play better than the person opposing him. Jordan could have an off night and the Bulls still won, if Federer doesn't play good, he loses. This is what makes him so special. We should be grateful to be witnesses, because domination like this comes around once a lifetime.

Thinking Thoughts...in English [J. Mark English]

Talk about sudden role reversals in the New York area when it comes to baseball. The Mets lost again today, making them losers of 6 of their last 7 games. They were blown out today by the Tigers 15-7. Now they will continue to embark on a stretch of their season which may be the toughest any baseball team has ever had to face. Starting with Detroit, they Mets are playing six teams in a row whom all made the playoffs the year before. That would be the Tigers, the Dodgers, the Twins, the Athletics, and finally a rematch of last years NLCS withthe Cardinals. Man, oh man what a schedule. No team in the history of baseball has ever had to do such a thing. This is what awaits the Mets, just as they are deepening their June swoon. This club better turn this around soon, or they could be looking at a world of pain.

Meanwhile, things are looking skyward in Yankee land. Pride can be found again in the Bronx. The Bombers notched a series sweep today against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now they're only a game behind the elusive .500 mark. They are only five games behind in the wild card. And they still have a lot of baseball left to play. I'm really beginning to regret writing off the Yankees a few weeks ago. They've been the hottest team in baseball since I wrote them off.

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Lets hear it for the girls fellas! Great to see Rags to Riches win the Derby. What an appropriate name for a filly that jolted out of the gate with a stumble. But she came through at the end, taking away first place from Curlin by a nose. If you recall it was Curlin's nose that defeated Street Sense by a nose in the . Which means Rags to Riches might have won the Kentucky Derby by two noses...

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Rafael Nadal wins again on clay at the French Open. Can he please beat Roger Federer on another surface now besides clay? Federer is still the best tennis player in the world. Nadal can't hold that title until he wins on something other then clay.

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Tough TV choice tonight as to what to watch. The NBA Finals or the Sopranos finale? If you have any self respect you'll tivo the Finals (you can always just check out the blog for updates) and you'll see how it all ends for Tony. My bet is that Tony winds up in witness protection. Either that or David Chase makes a cameo appearance, shoots Tony and then blows his own head off just to assure that there can be no more episodes of the Sopranos after tonight. Anyway, enjoy the finale. There will still be more basketball after tonight no matter what happens.

Rafael Nadal Topples Roger Federer [David Stefanini]

Rafael Nadal proves once again he is the only person who stands in the way of Roger Federer and complete domination.

Nadal defeated Federer in today's French Open. It is the third straight year Nadal has won the French Open, and the second year in a row he stopped Federer from completing a career Grand Slam. These two are quickly becoming legends in the sport of tennis. They are far superior to anyone else in the sport.

Rafael Nadal remains the only person who is capable of beating Federer. The problem I find is this: Nadal doesn't play his own game, he plays the game of his competition. What I mean by that is Nadal can beat the top rated player in the world most of the time (he has a 8-4 head to head record again Federer) but vs the rest of the world he is just good. Whereas Federer has struggled against Nadal, but against the rest of the world he is far superior.

Whatever the story may be these two are the best in their sport. Nadal has come out on top this time, but Federer will remain the top player in the world. The on;y possible way Federer will lose his number 1 ranking is if Nadal puts together a winning streak that Federer did in 2005, winning 35 straight matches. If he can do that then we will see a changing of the guard at number one. But I wouldn't hold my breathe for that to happen.

The Golden Age of Sports is Now [David Stefanini]

Ladies and gentlemen we are in the middle of one of the greatest sports era in history. Let me go through all the sports and prove my point:

When it is all said and done A-Rod is going to go down as the greatest statistical hitter in MLB history. I did not say he is the best, I am pointing out the fact that statistically he will be considered the best. In basketball we have Kobe Bryant who is playing as well as anybody has every played the game. In hockey we have Sidney Crosby who as a teenager is drawing comparisons to the great Wayne Gretzky. Of course we have the Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning, and regular season MVP LaDainian Tomlinson; both of who could go down in history as two of the best to ever play at their respected positions. Moving onto the world of Golf we have Tiger Woods who is simply amazing. And, Finally we come across Tennis where Roger Federer; he is on one of the best runs in the history of sports.

I don't know if it is the supplements that are now available to players or just the amazing amount of talent being produced in the world of sports. We should all be very thankful and appreciate what we are in the middle of right now. It's great to watch and it's nice to know no matter what sport you wish to follow and put your heart into, you are allowed to see one of the very best playing it each and every night.

Federer Wins 10th Grand Slam Title [J. Mark English]

From Tennis.com:

Roger Federer captured his 10th Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set at the Australian Open, beating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's championship match.

Federer improved his winning streak to a career-best 36 matches and advanced through a major without dropping a set for the first time

It was the first time since Bjorn Borg won the 1980 French Open title that a champion went through a major without dropping a set, and the first time at the Australian Open since Ken Rosewall in 1971.

Federer became the first man in the Open era to twice win three straight majors and has won six of the last seven Grand Slam titles -- his only loss was in the French Open final to Rafael Nadal.

By reaching the final, Federer tied Jack Crawford's record of playing in seven consecutive finals at the majors, set in 1934.