leftys_rock
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Australlian Openwe can talk about the womens side of the AO here....
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dav6789
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Ok. I think the best match set-up is serena v sharapova.
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leftys_rock
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it all depends on s. williams fitness....cuz she has a tough first round opener....and faces hantuchova in the third round....so we'll see how she deals with it....davenport vs. JHH or v. williams should be a good one too...
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dav6789
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This is a very serious time in Serena's career. If she goes out , her ranking will drop very far. Venus v Justine would be a good match. I think Clijsters has a good draw. All of the big names are on Davenport's side, unfortuantely.
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leftys_rock
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yes clijsters has a kind draw....this is a big one for s. williams....how far will she drop in the rankings if she loses in the first round??
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dav6789
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Im not exactly sure how far she will drop , but maybe to 30/40 . She has to defend her points that she won last year.
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leftys_rock
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wow.........big fall if she loses........but she has a really tough draw if she wants to defend her title....
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dav6789
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Yeah, its realy bad. Venus is in better form than her and I think she could get far. For Serena, a player like Hantuchova can be very dangerous, and will beat her if Serena is not on top of her game.
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leftys_rock
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yeah....we'll see if s. williams is back in form or not....but isnt her fitness worse than last year when she was playing??
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x.doublea
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| dav6789 wrote: | | Yeah, its realy bad. Venus is in better form than her and I think she could get far. For Serena, a player like Hantuchova can be very dangerous, and will beat her if Serena is not on top of her game. |
True, Venus is definitely in better shape than Serena, but Venus is coming off an injury in Hong Kong (I think). We'll see how well both respond.
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leftys_rock
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how do u think s. williams will fare in her first rounder against na li??
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x.doublea
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It depends which Serena Williams shows up. If the focused and prepared one does, it should be an easy straight setter. If it is the unprepared and unfit one, it could turn into a huge fight, possibly an upset for Na Li.
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leftys_rock
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true........cuz s. williams got upset in china by a chinese player......and a lot of times chinese players do unexpected things.......so it should be a nice match.......
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x.doublea
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Definitely....China's really emerging in China, and (unlike the William Sisters) China really wants it.
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leftys_rock
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we'll see if her "fine" really is fine.......cuz she hasnt played much even with the exhibition.....
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dav6789
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It would be a bad result for the tournament if Serena went out in the first round. I wouldnt like that either. I think Serena and Venus can dominate tennis like they did. They havent both been at their best together for a long time, its been to patchy.
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leftys_rock
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yeah...its just as time goes on, their chances of coming back strong get dimmer...
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dav6789
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They have been on and of for a few years. They need to string matches and titles together and get a streak going, playing consistently.
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leftys_rock
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yeah...like davenport is very consistent in her playing....the williams sisters have ups and downs....
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J-man
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| leftys_rock wrote: | | how do u think s. williams will fare in her first rounder against na li?? |
it depends on two factors.
1. how serena is playing and if she's physically fit (not husky)
2. how na li is playing. she a qualifer but is pretty good. i think she could upset serena
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leftys_rock
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yeah s. williams gets upset a lot.....so if na li is having a good day, its probably an upset....
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dav6789
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I think Serena will win in 3 sets.
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x.doublea
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| dav6789 wrote: | | I think Serena will win in 3 sets. |
That would be the safest bet.
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leftys_rock
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yes that would be my prediction too....or an upset in two sets if s. williams is having a bad day....
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dav6789
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Even if Serena is not playing well, she may still win. I think if Na Li is playing well and comes close to winning, she may get tight. Serena nearly always makes you pay if you get tight.
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leftys_rock
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yeah.........if the match gets tight, she pushes and is determined to win....
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J-man
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if na li gets ahead serena might become alittle fustrated. but i'll have to go with the under dog na li in that match in three sets (and it won't be easy)
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Ruiz
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In the first round, my eyes are on the match Hingis-Zvonareva.
Directly a serious test for Hingis to see if she's ready for the real work. I hope so!
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leftys_rock
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the draw is nice this year.....lots of good matches.....
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dav6789
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Yeah, especially with the amount of players pulling out this year. Im a bit disappointed that there arent more top players in Clijsters' half. Davenport has a tough route.
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leftys_rock
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yeah thats just too bad for davenport.........clijsters has an easy run to the final except for mauresmo, but clijsters can beat her....
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dav6789
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I expect Clijsters to get through the bottom half . The top half will be closer.
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leftys_rock
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yeah the top half matches are gonna be really good...like JHH vs v. williams and sharapova vs. s. williams and davenport vs. kunetzova in the round of 16.......
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J-man
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| Ruiz wrote: | In the first round, my eyes are on the match Hingis-Zvonareva.
Directly a serious test for Hingis to see if she's ready for the real work. I hope so! |
i will put my money on hingis in an upset.
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leftys_rock
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yes that is going to be a nice match....is it going to be televised??
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Ruiz
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| leftys_rock wrote: | | yes that is going to be a nice match....is it going to be televised?? |
i dunno for the USA, but here in Belgium there's a post in French where the show tennis all night, so i guess also the interesting matches.
In holland also i think, but i'm not sure of that.
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leftys_rock
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i dont think so in the US...cuz they only show the matches on the rod laver arena and the other big court....
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J-man
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| Ruiz wrote: | | leftys_rock wrote: | | yes that is going to be a nice match....is it going to be televised?? |
i dunno for the USA, but here in Belgium there's a post in French where the show tennis all night, so i guess also the interesting matches.
In holland also i think, but i'm not sure of that. |
not only will you watch the match but improve on your french 
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Ruiz
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| J-man wrote: | | Ruiz wrote: | | leftys_rock wrote: | | yes that is going to be a nice match....is it going to be televised?? |
i dunno for the USA, but here in Belgium there's a post in French where the show tennis all night, so i guess also the interesting matches.
In holland also i think, but i'm not sure of that. |
not only will you watch the match but improve on your french |
yes indeed
and here i'm practising my Englisch 
important, because i'm not good at langauges, it's more science (so is my education) that i prefer 
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leftys_rock
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i have to improve my spanish, but even if i watch the french broadcasting, i wouldnt learn anything cuz i wouldnt have been able to follow the conversation in the first place lol.....
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Ruiz
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| leftys_rock wrote: | | i have to improve my spanish, but even if i watch the french broadcasting, i wouldnt learn anything cuz i wouldnt have been able to follow the conversation in the first place lol..... |
French is the most beautiful language in the world
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leftys_rock
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i dont even know french, so i dont know how beautiful a language it is...lol...
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x.doublea
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| Ruiz wrote: | | leftys_rock wrote: | | i have to improve my spanish, but even if i watch the french broadcasting, i wouldnt learn anything cuz i wouldnt have been able to follow the conversation in the first place lol..... |
French is the most beautiful language in the world |
Every word seems to be in perfect harmony in French.
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leftys_rock
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lol.....since i live in california, spanish will be more useful to me here....but do a lot of tennis players know french??
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Ruiz
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| leftys_rock wrote: | | lol.....since i live in california, spanish will be more useful to me here....but do a lot of tennis players know french?? |
It's the first language of Justine HH, Amelie Mauresmo, Nathalie Dechy, Tatiana Golovin, i guess also Schnyder (but that i'm not sure because they also speak german or italian in Switserland)
By the men whe got Monfils, Gasquet, Rochus, Clement, Grosjean, ...
and there will be also a lot of players who speak French as second or third language.
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leftys_rock
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yeah most european players know how to speak french.....but at least they all know some english so that i can understand them
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Ruiz
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| leftys_rock wrote: | | yeah most european players know how to speak french.....but at least they all know some english so that i can understand them |
Yeah, English is in fact the language of the world.
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leftys_rock
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yeah the most popular language...followed by chinese(cuz china has so many ppl), spanish(cuz mexico has a lot of people too), and french....i think spanish and french are tied....
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Ruiz
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| leftys_rock wrote: | | yeah the most popular language...followed by chinese(cuz china has so many ppl), spanish(cuz mexico has a lot of people too), and french....i think spanish and french are tied.... |
Yeah, probably
In Europe it's more French then Spanish. Spanish only speaken in Spain. And French is speaken in France, Belgium, Switserland and Luxembourg.
In the whole world you got Latin-America for spanish and Africa & Canada (Quebec) where they speak a lot of French.
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leftys_rock
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and in asia, its basically all the asiatic languages....im learning spanish, but i really dont want to go to mexico and south america cuz my friends had bad experiences there.....and then theres also the group of russian players that speak russian(duh...)....
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J-man
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| Ruiz wrote: | | leftys_rock wrote: | | yeah the most popular language...followed by chinese(cuz china has so many ppl), spanish(cuz mexico has a lot of people too), and french....i think spanish and french are tied.... |
Yeah, probably
In Europe it's more French then Spanish. Spanish only speaken in Spain. And French is speaken in France, Belgium, Switserland and Luxembourg.
In the whole world you got Latin-America for spanish and Africa & Canada (Quebec) where they speak a lot of French. |
and don't forget switzerland
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leftys_rock
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yeah....like fed knows four languages.....
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Ruiz
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| J-man wrote: | | Ruiz wrote: | | leftys_rock wrote: | | yeah the most popular language...followed by chinese(cuz china has so many ppl), spanish(cuz mexico has a lot of people too), and french....i think spanish and french are tied.... |
Yeah, probably
In Europe it's more French then Spanish. Spanish only speaken in Spain. And French is speaken in France, Belgium, Switserland and Luxembourg.
In the whole world you got Latin-America for spanish and Africa & Canada (Quebec) where they speak a lot of French. |
and don't forget switzerland |
I didn't forget it
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leftys_rock
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in the tennis world, its nice to know lots of languages.....
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x.doublea
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| leftys_rock wrote: | | in the tennis world, its nice to know lots of languages..... |
Yes....Wasn't Hewitt complaining that there are to little "English speaking" players in tennis? I think he said something like: "There's only me, James Blake, Tim (Henman), and a few other American guys."
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leftys_rock
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yeah....but most people speak english, its just they have an accent.....but theyre understandable....
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dav6789
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Most tournaments have english-speaking umpires.
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J-man
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| x.doublea wrote: | | leftys_rock wrote: | | in the tennis world, its nice to know lots of languages..... |
Yes....Wasn't Hewitt complaining that there are to little "English speaking" players in tennis? I think he said something like: "There's only me, James Blake, Tim (Henman), and a few other American guys." |
well i he isn't thinking there are alot of players that speak english, maybe not the best but do (i am also surprised that he didn't automatcally say federer)
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dav6789
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Most of the players have to understand a little of every language, especially English, to understand what the umpires are saying, and other people are saying.
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Babzzzzz
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| dav6789 wrote: | | Most tournaments have english-speaking umpires. |
Except at Roland Garros where the umpires announce the scores in French. Also at a couple of German tournaments, the umpires announce the scores in German. But indeed, the rest speaks English.
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J-man
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well i mean there small german tournments. i wouldn't expect them to all speak english. so i guess if you don't speak german then don't agure line calls
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Babzzzzz
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| J-man wrote: | | well i mean there small german tournments. i wouldn't expect them to all speak english. so i guess if you don't speak german then don't agure line calls |
LOL .
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leftys_rock
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well the thing is that three of the four GS's countries speak english, so i would expect most to speak english anyway....
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x.doublea
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I guess the players can look at the scoreboards at Roland Garros if they can't understand French.
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dav6789
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Players still have to give speeches that the crowd may not understand. Pierce gave her runner-up speech in Paris , in English
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Babzzzzz
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| dav6789 wrote: | | Players still have to give speeches that the crowd may not understand. Pierce gave her runner-up speech in Paris , in English |
But she is French, right? I thought she first played under de Canadian flag (double passport, father is Canadian, mother French) and changed it at a certain point. I can't remember...
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Babzzzzz
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I think I'm wrong. She always had the French nationality but lived most of her life in the US and not in France. I can recall something about the French media complaining about her French, which she didn't speak well for a French was their opinion at the time.
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dav6789
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Oh sorry i forgot to add that she said some of her speech in English , and some in french. Yes, she is french.
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Babzzzzz
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Oh, ok. And didn't Nadal do his speech in Spanish at Roland Garros?
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dav6789
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Yeah i think so, but that's a bit easier for the French crowd to understand since its the same origin.
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Ruiz
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| dav6789 wrote: | | Yeah i think so, but that's a bit easier for the French crowd to understand since its the same origin. |
But it's totally different,
Dutch and English are also related, and i don't think the crowd in The US Open would have understand something if Clijsters had done here speech in Dutch
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J-man
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| dav6789 wrote: | | Oh sorry i forgot to add that she said some of her speech in English , and some in french. Yes, she is french. |
i'm surprised that the french don't get all bent out of sorts about mary pierce being mostly american and playing under france. then again mary is like one of their best players. wouldn't want to give her up
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dav6789
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Well the french crowd have had alot of problems in the past with Pierce, and they turn against her quite easily
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x.doublea
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It's amazing how demanding Roland Garros fans are. There are many articles all over the place explaining it. Roland Garros must be the most 'personal' of all the Grand Slams.
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leftys_rock
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true.....didnt they use to boo her in her matches when she started playing??
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J-man
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| x.doublea wrote: | | It's amazing how demanding Roland Garros fans are. There are many articles all over the place explaining it. Roland Garros must be the most 'personal' of all the Grand Slams. |
it can be a rough place to play
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leftys_rock
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yup, france is a tough crowd....but they can be very supportive too....
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J-man
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i think any crowd can be supportive for that matter
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leftys_rock
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yeah true....like the british crowd when murray won his first rounder at wimby....but at the USO, u cant really tell cuz were all so international, so everybody gets roughly the same amount of crowd support there....
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dav6789
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At the A.Open, the biggest international crowd are the swedes, there are so many of them.
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x.doublea
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| dav6789 wrote: | | At the A.Open, the biggest international crowd are the swedes, there are so many of them. |
There's also the Hewitt-Fanatics; they follow Hewitt on many of his tournaments. They create some much noise; there have been players who have mentioned about how they cause them to lose matches.
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dav6789
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There were loads of fanatics last year, they were quite annoying to the other players. I didnt notice as many fanatics this year though.
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x.doublea
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The fanatics who did show up this year didn't have much to cheer about.
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J-man
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yeah hewitt has been alittle off key
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dav6789
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Yeah, maybe they were waiting for hewitt to reach the final lol
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x.doublea
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He wasn't showing much enthusiasm or energy on the court, either. I hope he didn't tank the match.
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dav6789
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Yeah, he seem tired
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leftys_rock
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well the crowd wont have anybody to cheer for now, hewitt got upset by chela.....
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J-man
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chela is a dangerous player. he's a up and down player. never know what he's going to dish out
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leftys_rock
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yeah...we'll see what he comes up with in his third rounder...
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x.doublea
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It was interesting that the commentators were saying that Chela plays a similar style to Hewitt. I guess Chela changed his game up and stunned Hewitt, because I don't think Hewitt would have the same style or strengths as someone about a foot taller than him .
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J-man
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Robin vik plays just like hewitt. both have htat straight elbow backhand. forehand is also similar
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x.doublea
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| J-man wrote: | | Robin vik plays just like hewitt. both have htat straight elbow backhand. forehand is also similar |
Yes, the straight elbow backhand gives more consistancy than a bent elbow backhand, but of course, the strait elbow backhand sacrifises power and spin.
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leftys_rock
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lol i just realized that i spelled australian open wrong.....yeah hewitt has a similar game to vik....its just hewitt is more consistent and crafty...
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J-man
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yes exactly. vik is one of those players who is very talented at the furture/challenger level. but at the top pro level he struggles
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leftys_rock
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yeah....but hewitt just doesnt have the power in his game to beat fed and the bigger guys....
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J-man
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he can play nadal pretty good. but federer is different. you've got to go back or don't go at all.
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leftys_rock
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yeah....fed just has perfection with his game that nobody else can match..
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x.doublea
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| J-man wrote: | | he can play nadal pretty good. but federer is different. you've got to go back or don't go at all. |
Hewitt doesn't have enough firepower. A list of the top player's strengths that have beaten Federer or threatened Federer in the past year: Nadal- heavy forehand spin to Federer's backhand; Agassi- experience, power to the Federer backhand; Safin- all-court power; Gasquet- powerful backhand; Hewitt- Federer's lack of concentration.
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leftys_rock
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yeah....it probably would take a combination of all the players strengths to place a challenge for fed....
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