Wimbledon 2013 June 24-July 7

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

He destroyed Nadal in the semis, Del Potro is the real deal just look at how he played today....he blew Ferrer off the court on one leg!

Djokovic is a class act and he may well beat Del Potro, but Del Potro is certainly a much bigger threat than that other guy Murray is playing.

Nadal was still unfit when he played Del Potro in the semi finals, he had tendonitis in his knee and he could barely move around court so of course someone with the same pace on the racquet as Del Potro was going to triumph.
And even if Del Potro might have gone on to challenge for big honours after his 2009 US Open win he was out for ages with that injury to his hand and has come no where near a grand slam challenge ever since. In fact i think this is his first semi final in four years.

[Rors]

Precisely which is why having these guys in the quarters is pointless, they never really stand a chance. Players in the quarters should be the real deal and should be able to beat a top guy on their day.

If everyone was fit we'd have the likes of Djokovic, Murray, Nadal, Berdych, Soderling, Del Potro, Tonsga all of which could beat each other in a big match.

But nowhere is it written that the first week of a Grand Slam should just be a tune-up for the big players and everyone should lie down for them, simply because if they do lose their conquerors will probably go out next round too. It is an "open" Championship after all. That's like saying because Hereford didn't go on to win the FA Cup in 1972 they shouldn't have bothered beating Newcastle...

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Maybe but it's a very different situation, there's more pressure and it means a lot more which usually means they totally bottle it.

Boris Becker won when he was 17, he didn't win everything but he was mentally strong enough to win big tournaments and beat big players...it's something you either have or don't have.

I always think it's a shame when the top players get knocked out early and thus we're denied a chance to see them pitting their wits against each other. Would have liked to have seen Murray against Nadal, would have made for a much better semi. Invariably when they do lose the guys that beat them get knocked out in the next round proving it was a total fluke and that the player they were up against just had an off day.

As it is it's probably a walkover for him (Murray).

I don't see the point in mentioning Becker. As great as an achievement as it was at 17, it loses context for this argument when you see the players he had to beat to win the title.

Perhaps it will be a walkover for Murray, perhaps it won't - him being given a five setter to combat doesn't really dissuade you from coming down on a player thus I don't see it as making much of a difference. It's Janowicz's first time at this level, everyone had to have their first time at some point, so calling him a 'nobody' seems overly harsh. Del Potro was annihilated by Federer when they first met in a Slam but it was much closer in the next meeting at the very next Slam and again in the US Open of that year, when he eventually won

It's possible Janowicz could become a mental flake like many others but to cast him aside because he has never been here before. As I say, harsh I reckon.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Precisely which is why having these guys in the quarters is pointless, they never really stand a chance. Players in the quarters should be the real deal and should be able to beat a top guy on their day.

If everyone was fit we'd have the likes of Djokovic, Murray, Nadal, Berdych, Soderling, Del Potro, Tonsga all of which could beat each other in a big match, it makes for less predictable results in the quarters.

If everyone was fit. That's an ideal scenario which is just not going to happen with how overtly physically demanding the game has become.

You can't say Verdasco bottled it and then say he never really stood a chance. Makes no sense!

[Özim]

Nadal was still unfit when he played Del Potro in the semi finals, he had tendonitis in his knee and he could barely move around court so of course someone with the same pace on the racquet as Del Potro was going to triumph.
And even if Del Potro might have gone on to challenge for big honours after his 2009 US Open win he was out for ages with that injury to his hand and has come no where near a grand slam challenge ever since. In fact i think this is his first semi final in four years.

Yes largely due to injuries, he's very injury prone sadly for him, if he hadn't been he'd have featured a lot more.

He's one of 5-6 players who are capable of winning a slam, Djokovic, Federer, Murray, Berdych and Soderling being the others (and Tsonga if he ever gets his head together).

The rest of them, I doubt they have a chance in hell.

He's got a huge server, huge groundstrokes and a nice touch at the net and can beat anyone on his day due to the nature of his game....the way he dismantled Ferrer today should show you that. Thrashing him with an injured leg in 3 sets, if that doesn't prove it I don't know what will.

[Özim]

If everyone was fit. That's an ideal scenario which is just not going to happen with how overtly physically demanding the game has become.

You can't say Verdasco bottled it and then say he never really stood a chance. Makes no sense!

He never stood a chance because he lacks the bottle once in a winning position, that's what these lesser guys do when it matters.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

He never stood a chance because he lacks the bottle once in a winning position, that's what these lesser guys do when it matters.

If he never stood a chance, then he didn't 'bottle' it', as it was never in his grasp. What was expected to happen, happened.

[Özim]

But nowhere is it written that the first week of a Grand Slam should just be a tune-up for the big players and everyone should lie down for them, simply because if they do lose their conquerors will probably go out next round too. It is an "open" Championship after all. That's like saying because Hereford didn't go on to win the FA Cup in 1972 they shouldn't have bothered beating Newcastle...

If you're going to beat one of the big guys then it's early on in the competition when they get caught cold, these guys need a bit of time to adapt to grass, that was all too evident with Nadal.

It's not an excuse really, it's just that the top players get better as they get further into the championship due to having more game time under their belts.

[Özim]

I don't see the point in mentioning Becker. As great as an achievement as it was at 17, it loses context for this argument when you see the players he had to beat to win the title.

Perhaps it will be a walkover for Murray, perhaps it won't - him being given a five setter to combat doesn't really dissuade you from coming down on a player thus I don't see it as making much of a difference. It's Janowicz's first time at this level, everyone had to have their first time at some point, so calling him a 'nobody' seems overly harsh. Del Potro was annihilated by Federer when they first met in a Slam but it was much closer in the next meeting at the very next Slam and again in the US Open of that year, when he eventually won

It's possible Janowicz could become a mental flake like many others but to cast him aside because he has never been here before. As I say, harsh I reckon.

He went on to win more in the following years, including beating Stefan Edberg a top top player and one of the best grass court players. The point was though the guy had qualified was unseeded but still upset some big players.

The players with a chance are usually those that are talked about in the game, we're talking about the likes of Dimitrov here, who might not have delivered but is talked about as a future number 1 (like Federer and Sampras were before they became top class), don't think this Polish guy has even been mentioned.

[Özim]

If he never stood a chance, then he didn't 'bottle' it', as it was never in his grasp. What was expected to happen, happened.

He never stood a chance because he has no bottle, he was 2 sets up and had he had any he'd have probably finished it off. He bottled it due to lack of bottle.

Too much bottle in that sentence to be fair....I saw Wenger on his way to the bottle bank....