Wimbledon 2022

Chivito550

There always seems to be a bit of Murray hate.

Remember one thing... If Murray was Irish, he'd arguably be the greatest Irish sportsperson of all time. Arguably greater than Sonia O'Sullivan, Sean Kelly, Katie Taylor, and Paul O'Donovan, among others.

The man is an absolute legend.

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305759#Comment_119305759

Hardly hate to think the other three were that bit better..

personally I always cheered for Murray v the big 3.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305759#Comment_119305759

Murray had a good career but nobody has ever seriously (until now) argued that he bears any serious comparison to the Big 3 ("at his peak" or whatever that means).

The poster who purposes this thesis likes to think of himself as some sort of quantum wave tennis contrarian, taking similar lines with other players also.

And your bit about him hypothetically being Irish changes nothing and doesn't make much sense.

whiterebel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305759#Comment_119305759

And if he had balls.......

The Golden Miller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305759#Comment_119305759

Exactly. There always seems to be the fact he was British in the way. He was Scottish, self declared, nothing more, nothing less. A nationalist, should of been loved in Ireland.

What you have on this site is fanboys, bigging up their man. Murray, before injury, bested them all. Hard pill to swallow for them. He did a number on them. Before injuries he was number 1. That's the long and short of it

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305759#Comment_119305759

Alot of modernism with your choices of greatest Irish sportsperson.

None of those 3 would be in the top 10 bar Sonia.

What about Harrington , he has 3 Majors , the same as Murray .

Willie John Mc Bride, John Giles, George Best , Brian O Driscoll, loads more.

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305849#Comment_119305849

He got to number 1. We know this.

facts are the other three beat him in every year for the past 14-15 years. Yes, he won some, but they won more..

no idea what point you’re trying to prove here. Murray at his best was brilliant. The other three at their best were a bit better. Plus, their best lasted a lot longer.

slice and dice it whatever way you want, I know of nobody who thinks Murray is equal to the other three, even when he reached number 1..

bringing up his nationality here: What on earth has this to do with anything?

The Golden Miller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305869#Comment_119305869

As you say slice and dice, between late 12-13 he had them. Injuries beat him, not the big 3. If your a tennis fan you should remember how he discarded Djokovic on more than one occasion.

Injury beat him, not the big 3. He toppled them. Made a fool of Djokovic tbh, on more than one occasion.

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305878#Comment_119305878

Hold on

2012 4-3 Nole

2013 1-1

Of the 16 calendar years or so, Murray leads Nole in maybe 2 of them…

made a fool of Nole? By beating him in a tennis match? Same apply in reverse, does it?

remember how he discarded Nole?

v Fed 2012: 3-2 Fed. In 2013 1-0 Murray

v Nadal in 2012 1-0 Murray. A walkover. They did not meet in 2013. 2011 it’s 4-1 Nadal and in 2014 it’s 2-0 Nadal. In the 4 calendar years 2011-2014 it is 6-1 Nadal in tennis matches played.

In 2016, when Murray reached number 1, he played Nadal twice and it is 1-1. Played Nole 5 times and 3-2 Nole, and did not play Fed in 2016

no idea where you want to go with this..

dominatinMC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305702#Comment_119305702

Must have. That could be the only possible explanation

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305856#Comment_119305856

This is mad stuff. You'd feel for Fritz - he had to play a chap who could only continue when injected with painkillers, who had the crowd massively behind him and who beats him. Then he pulls out and Fritz denied a chance. Reflects very poorly on Nadal and the game overall. Something smells a bit off in the House of Denmark.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/tennis/2022/0707/1309040-injury-hampered-nadal-withdraws-from-wimbledon/

"The Spaniard revealed he has been struggling with the issue for the last week but it became significantly worse against Fritz......."

He knew about it before the game. He knew that would stop another lesser successful player if he won. I don't know what to say, some ********

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305985#Comment_119305985

He’s injured. Nothing more. If Fritz was good enough he would have beaten the “old” injured man.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306012#Comment_119306012

It seems that he knew of the injury, his coaching team were advising him to pull out during the match. And still he went on, taking injections and denied the other chap a place further on. That's very poor behaviour to put it mildly.

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306029#Comment_119306029

I don't agree at all. If Fritz can't beat an injured Nadal he in no way deserves to get through!

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306029#Comment_119306029

He was supposedly injured during French Open as well. Should he have quit that as well?

He’s a career monster competitor. Bit harsh to criticise him when he’s on the court trying to win another slam match to progress on for more greatness. Maybe he felt he could fight through and win? And he did just that. Unfortunately it now has now cost him, but unfair to claim, afterwards, that he should have given up.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306036#Comment_119306036

Nadal took painkillers to mask the pain from his injury and that allowed him to compete vigorously. I'd agree with you if Rafa chose to carry on as an injured athlete with no treatment. And the crowd were clearly largely behind Nadal, driving him on and dispiriting Fritz.

A level playing field, it was not!

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306050#Comment_119306050

I can only think of parallel with a certain politician in the news - "career monster, (anything) to progress on for more greatness"

It is professional sport but there are lines I think. We'll agree to differ!

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305985#Comment_119305985

Utter tripe, imo. The onus is on Fritz to win, if he can't beat an injured opponent then that's on him.

Even Fritz himself disagrees with you!

https://twitter.com/FiorinoLuca/status/1545132169894526981?t=qqIAMaBz4KX2knSKnykTvw&s=19

Dr. Bre

Why can’t Fritz play Krygios ? Rather than not having a semi final match at all . Bit of a farce

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306111#Comment_119306111

I was thinking same!!!

Royale with Cheese

Shít situation but if Fritz can't beat a 36 year old with an abdomen tear then he has no business being in the semis. He choked big time yesterday, should never have dropped that second set and should have gone through 3-0.

Nick Kyrgios in a Wimbledon final. A lot of weird shít like Trump and the Brexit circus has happened over the past 5-6 years but this is up there for me.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306090#Comment_119306090

The injured opponent could not have carried on and/or Fritz would have beaten him easily, except the injured opponent was dosed with painkillers. Which presumably masked the injury to the extent, that said injured opponent did worse damage to himself.

Do you not see the problem?

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306053#Comment_119306053

Absolute nonsense.

He beat him fair and square you are allowed to treat an injury and take pain killers if needed, he could have recovered enough to play the semi but unfortunately not in this case. It happens in pretty much every sport.

Fritz couldn't beat him....he lost...not good enough on the day.

Its extremely common.

Errr and Fritz did exactly the same in the past...in match against...you guessed it Nadal..lol

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/columns/vantagepoint-paul-fein/indian-wells-taylor-fritz-nadal-alcaraz-korda-paul-fein/article38476382.ece

Furze99

I give up so, whatever about conditions & treatments existing prior to a match - I think the authorities need to look more closely at what can be treated and with what, in the course of a match.

So a farce now with a walkover to a final. Crowd/ TV robbed of one match tomorrow, Krygios gets extra rest days whilst the other two lads have to battle it out. Logically more sense to have them just flip a coin!! :)

walshb

Nadal played by the rules… simple as.

yerwanthere123

Don't think there'll be much battling tomorrow tbh, would be surprised if Norrie won more than 9 games.

Royale with Cheese

Djokovic could turn up with an abdomen tear tomorrow and still probably win in straight sets. Norrie has no hope.

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306210#Comment_119306210

Maybe for the best....you just keep moving those goalposts....

You do know Kyrgios took painkillers during his match against Garin for his shoulder...as well...right?....lol

it's a waste of an ATP Slam Semi-final which is a real shame

Worse again that vile angry child-brain Kyrgios gets a walkover into a grand slam final, with 4 days rest to boot.

Fritz thought that he felt bad yesterday,

I'm sure that he feels worse now.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306255#Comment_119306255

Djokovic won the Australian Open in 2021 playing from the third round (against Fritz actually) to the final with a tear that went up to 25 mm / 2.5 cm as it worsened as he played through another 4 rounds to win the title

And he was accused of faking it of course but MRI's proved the extent of it

https://www.tennisnet.com/en/news/25mm-tear-novak-djokovic-s-injury-has-worsened

Novak Djokovic suffered an abdominal muscle tear during his third-round match against Taylor Fritz at the Australian Open. The tear, which was initially determined to be 1.7 cm long, expanded to 2.5 cm by the end of the tournament as Djokovic kept playing with his injury.

Nadal - it's 0.7 cm / 7mm apparently

https://www.eurosport.co.uk/tennis/wimbledon/2022/wimbledon-2022-rafael-nadal-has-7mm-abdominal-tear-ahead-of-nick-kyrgios-clash-reports_sto9023728/story.shtml

fryup

why not have Boris Johnson play Kyrgios tomorrow? I mean he has time on his hands 🙃

Chivito550

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305868#Comment_119305868

I said "among others". They were 4 who came into mind to illustrate a point. That's all.

And of course Sean Kelly would be right up there. World Number 1 for 5 years, 9 monuments, a Grand Tour, among countless other achievements. And Paul O'Donovan is an Olympic gold and silver medallist, and the best lightweight sculler in the world for several years.

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305849#Comment_119305849

You do realise that every sentence where you mention he was no. 1 also includes the word 'injury'. Joinda.

BorneTobyWilde

Fritz should play Kyrgios . These rules seem pretty dam obvious to me.

If a player is forced out with an injury, the previous opponent steps in. No semi final, what a joke.

Boxers pull out of fights all the time, the other fighter doesn't do 12 rounds of shadow boxing, he fights someone else.!

whiterebel

Same for tennis competitions all over the world. The only way around it is to shake hands at the net and concede. That is the rules. Once the match is over that's it.

dominatinMC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305985#Comment_119305985

One of the most ridiculous posts I've seen on Boards in quite some time. And, with all the rubbish on the Covid threads at present, that's saying something.

Girly Gal

If Fritz couldn't beat a crooked Nadal, he doesn't deserve to play in the semi final, also the idea of Fritz playing the semi final in place of Nadal is ludicrous, you could have a situation where Fritz could then go on to win the tournament despite losing in a previous round, how is that fair!

It's Djokovic's to lose now, he probably couldn't have dreamed of a better situation, only Norrie (a limited grinder) & Kyrgios (a loose cannon) in his way.

Also regarding Murray, he became No 1 in late 2016, then got injured, while it could be argued he was the best player in the latter half of 2016, it also needs to be taken into account that Djokovic had just won all 4 slams in the previous 12 months, so a dip in form would be expected, also, both Nadal & Federer missed the latter half of 2016, all combining to gave Murray the opportunity to overtake the big 3 for a brief period. Ultimately Murray's body couldn't sustain that level. He was a great player, but, just a bit short of the other 3, there's absolutely no shame in that at all

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306842#Comment_119306842

Happens in GAA and other double elimination competitions where teams/ individuals that are beaten, go onto win.. As regards Murray and his decline, keep an open mind, perhaps he wasn’t taking or able to take the right level of medications to facilitate a competitive edge. There are unsettling questions about ethics and morality, when medications are being routinely taken to facilitate continued competitive participation in high level sport. I’m genuinely surprised that more people here don’t seem to see a problem with this. I’ll leave it at that😀

gmisk

I fear Norrie will get hammered today...he didn't play that well against Goffin. Plus I think Djokovic hammered him pretty recently.

Kyrgios with a few extra days rest might have a chance against Djokovic he is definitely capable of giving him a match.

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119307292#Comment_119307292

If the rules apply to all there is no problem. It's never a perfect world as regards sports. Sometimes people need help and assistance etc.

Nadal, like others is using the rules to try maximize his chances of success. There really is nothing more to it.

Augme

The advantage of the extra days rest is an interesting one. If novak wins in three sets I would say it actually puts him in a more advantageous position.

Going from very intense play to three days off to then playing in final is a very strange one. I could see a player starting out very flat in that situation. It must be very difficult to keep focus and the mental intensity at a high level when all you are doing is waiting around for three days.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119307295#Comment_119307295

Don't underestimate the effect of the crowd though, Norrie will have huge patriotic support in the way they do it over in London. Djokovic will be prepared for and used to this. But can still get under his skin, when he's in a bad patch.

fryup

Nadal v Kyrgios not to be what a shame 😕

it would have been an all-time classic

HeidiHeidi

The feckers have put in a doubles match at 1.30pm instead of moving Norrie/Djoko forward 😡

yerwanthere123

I don't think strong crowd support for Norrie will get to Djokovic that much tbh. If he can get through the 2015 US Open final then he can get through anything.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119307912#Comment_119307912

Djokovic - Norrie has effectively been pushed back

They were to be up first ahead of Nadal - Kyrgios

Djokovic - Norrie was to start at 1330

Unhappy are the punters who paid a fortune (into the thousands) for a ticket on the debenture resell market

https://www.nationalworld.com/sport/tennis/when-is-rafael-nadals-next-match-at-wimbledon-how-old-how-many-grand-slam-won-3749558

When is Rafael Nadal playing next?

Nadal is due to play his semi-final match in the men’s singles at Wimbledon 2022 tomorrow - Friday 8th July.

As Nadal is second playing on Centre Court, the time his match starts will be dictated by how long the preceding match, Novak Djokovic vs Cameron Norrie.

The action on Centre Court gets underway at 1:30pm (BST)

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119307912#Comment_119307912

You'd be raging if you were norrie and novak. Even less time to recover now.

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119308359#Comment_119308359

I hadn't even thought of that.

I'm just raging as I'll miss it - because I have a tennis match! 🤣

HeidiHeidi

I haven't seen any of the Rybakina/Halep match yet, but I assume it was the usual pounding power play that we're used to these days?

I have to say I absolutely loved watching the Jabeur/Maria game - it was proper old-school tennis that brought me back to my teenage days. Slicing, dropping, lobs - finesse and skills that you just don't see that much any more in the game of topspin hammer-tennis that's so common now.

I'm fascinated to see how the two games will match up against each other - although Jabeur is well able to turn up the power I think - she seemed to play a different game against Maria's old-school style.

I wonder what game she'll bring on Saturday??

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119308403#Comment_119308403

Totally agree on the Jabeur/Maria match it was terrific fun...it would take you back to the era of wooden rackets (in a good way) it wasn't all based around power.