[Widge]

Murray down a set against Ferrer and it seems the season has caught up with him. Not playing fluently and clearly injured, but fair play to Ferrer, he isnt slacking off.

[T_S_A_R]

daniel koeller is appealing his life ban for match fixing.

exactly what matches he fixed and how he fixed them are unknown however. apparently that has to be kept confidential.

Quote

Austrian tennis player Daniel Koellerer has been banned from the sport for life and fined US$100,000 after being found guilty of offenses under the Uniform Tennis
Anti-Corruption Program.
Mr Koellerer was found guilty of three charges under Article D of the 2010 Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program, namely:
• Contriving or attempting to contrive the outcome of an Event;
• Soliciting or facilitating a Player not to use his or her best efforts in an Event; and;
• Soliciting, offering or providing money, benefit or Consideration to any other covered person with the intention of negatively influencing a Player’s best efforts in any Event
The three violations of the Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program for which he has been disciplined occurred between October 2009 and July 2010.
The case against him was based on the findings of a Tennis Integrity Unit investigation and considered by an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer at a two-day Hearing held in London on 27-28 April.
Consistent with the confidentiality of the Anti-Corruption Hearing process, no details of the Hearing or Decision will be made public.

i doubt any other sport could get away with this shit.

[T_S_A_R]

an amazing performance in the davis cup from the spanish.

credit to nadal and ferrer for overcoming the tiredness they have been moaning about for months

[McKee]

Davis Cup is a load of w**k.

[T_S_A_R]

McKee, on 06 December 2011 - 20:54, said:

Davis Cup is a load of w**k.

there were some good matches.

despite playing valencia, paris and the tour finals ad complaining of fatigue 30 year old david ferrer beat del potro in 4 hours 42 mins.

likewise nadal outlasted del potro in an epic less than a fortnight after his poor showing in london. either he wasn't trying in london or he did some remarkable fitness training over a short period of time.

[blue4578]

H_B, on 20 November 2011 - 14:45, said:

Not sure I've seen Federer play better than he is just now.

Really hope he can keep this form ticking over into 2012.

Indeed, would make for an interesting year.

Someone I know that gambles on tennis for a living was writing Federer off when I was with him at the French Open in 2008. I would enjoy more chances to remind him how wrong he has been (even though he bizarrely still claims he was right).

T_S_A_R, on 30 November 2011 - 16:02, said:

daniel koeller is appealing his life ban for match fixing.

exactly what matches he fixed and how he fixed them are unknown however. apparently that has to be kept confidential.



i doubt any other sport could get away with this shit.

He is blatantly guilty of all sorts of things. As usual with tennis though, they throw the book at some minor player, with very little publicity associated, while the main culprits continue to get away with murder. The world number four (for example, and not the current one) being convicted of being a disgraceful cheat wouldn't look good.

[T_S_A_R]

rafa has already announced his post oz open injury.

Quote

Rafael Nadal plans to take several weeks off after the Australian Open to recover from a nagging shoulder injury.
The second-ranked Nadal said Thursday the injury surfaced before the ATP World Tour Finals in November and that he was still "not 100 percent." He only decided three days ago to defend his title at the World Tennis Championships, a two-day exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi."I had a problem before London with my shoulder and I had to stop for about 10 days before the (ATP) finals," Nadal said Thursday in Abu Dhabi. "It felt better but again it resurfaced. In December, I did not have enough time to practice because of that."

[drs]

Ivan Lendl appointed Murrays new coach.

[#Gary]

drs, on 31 December 2011 - 15:05, said:

Ivan Lendl appointed Murrays new coach.

That's excellent news. Can't doubt Lendl's influence.

Stuck 20 quid on Murray to win the Australian (6/1) a few months ago. Even if it's not the Australian, I reckon this is the year Murray wins his first major.

[Loki]

The fact that Nadal will be looking to rest immediately after the Australian Open suggests to me that Nadal isn't 100% fit. Murray has had problems in the past when weaknesses in his game have been pointed out to him by his coaches, and he hasn't listened to them. The appointment of Lendl is a great appointment, however t really won't matter that much if he doesn't learn anything from his teachings.

He gives away too many cheap points on serve. Although his direction and power when the first serve goes in are excellent. His aces from first serves in is higher than the others in the top four. He is the best returner in the game. But it doesn't really matter though, as at the end of the day he has to believe he can go and beat Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. Hopefully Lendl can give him that belief and improve focus immediately after he breaks his opponent or loses a big point.

This post has been edited by Loki: 31 December 2011 - 16:05

[blue4578]

This appointment was rumoured last summer, I wonder why it took so long. I haven't come across anyone who thinks it's a bad idea for Murray, so let's see if it makes any difference. I don't think he'll win the Australian Open, but given Nadal's news I'm sure Murray will be hoping to be in his half of the draw rather than Djokovic's.

[nessies long lost ghost]

http://news.bbc.co.u...is/16391778. stm


Murray wins his first match in 2012 against Kukushkiin in 3 sets.

[T_S_A_R]

Loki, on 31 December 2011 - 16:05, said:

The fact that Nadal will be looking to rest immediately after the Australian Open suggests to me that Nadal isn't 100% fit.

injuries don't affect rafa the way they do normal humans. his exploits at wimbledon, the us open series rollercoaster and his lazarusesque davis cup revival were good examples of that last year.

djokovic had rafa's number in 2011. he has to change something and it looks like he's going serena.

[#Gary]

Pulled out of the Davis Cup due to injury worries.

[blue4578]

Rudy, on 31 January 2012 - 17:10, said:

Pulled out of the Davis Cup due to injury worries.

About as surprising as Anne Keothavong failing to win the Australian Open. Murray only played the two Davis Cup ties last year as that was the minimum requirement to be eligible for the Olympics. Had been nearly two years since his previous appearance.

[T_S_A_R]

Quote

The Spanish tennis federation (RFET) plan to sue French TV broadcaster Canal+ over a sketch which appeared to imply world number two Rafa Nadal and his fellow Spanish athletes are drug cheats.

The sketch from the show "Les Guignols," or "The Puppets," shows a life-size likeness of Nadal filling up his car's gas tank from his own bladder before being pulled over by traffic police for speeding.

"Spanish athletes. They do not win by chance," is flashed on the screen surrounded by the logo of the RFET and several other Spanish federations, including soccer and cycling.

In a statement published on Wednesday, the RFET said it planned to sue Canal+ France for "publishing a video in which, as well as containing unacceptable and damaging insinuations, the federation's emblem and anagram were used."

The federation would be demanding that the video is withdrawn, the logo is not used again and that Canal+ pays damages for its unauthorized use, the statement added.

Canal+ officials did not immediately respond to telephone calls seeking comment.

"On this occasion intolerable limits have been exceeded and we at the RFET cannot ignore such discredit and slander towards our athletes," federation president Jose Luis Escanuela said.

Canal+ broadcast the Nadal sketch after Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador was banned for two years on Monday for failing a doping test during the 2010 Tour de France.

It was the latest French attack on Spanish athletes following comments from former French Open tennis champion Yannick Noah in November in which he accused them of using "magic potions."

[H_B]

Davis Cup was absolutely magic yesterday....

Different class from Dan Evans. Superb.

Roll on Belgium.

[#Gary]

Currently beating Djokovic 6-2 3-0 in Dubai. Seems to be playing a bit further behind the baseline than he did in their match at the Australian.

This post has been edited by Rudy: 02 March 2012 - 13:58

[lichtie23]

Come on Andy.....see this c**t off

[lichtie23]

Murray wins 6-2, 7-5

[GingerSaint]

Murray's serve was good. Djokovic below par but Murray still played well.

[Nightmare]

Djokovic gave him a lot of points today, but still a really good win.

[Widge]

Murray had a serving percentage up where it should be today and he won something like 80% of his 1st serve points.

Something he needs to do a hell of a lot more often.

[GingerSaint]

Widge, on 02 March 2012 - 14:43, said:

Murray had a serving percentage up where it should be today and he won something like 80% of his 1st serve points.

Something he needs to do a hell of a lot more often.

94% First Serve Points Won in the first set, IIRC.

[Mr Parstastic]

Murray did play well today on serve and dictated a lot of points. However, Djokovic was below par and gave Murray cheap points. However, I am not taking anything away from Murray he played good but if he loses the Final then it's the same old story.