I second the emotion for the AO Final. I got up at WHAT TIME to watch this?

Make a list of the best matches and make sure Fed's beatdown of Rafa at WTF is no. 1.

Two matches missing from this list Nadal d. Verdasco, Cincinnati and Isner-Mahut II.

Agreed with these but some others to consider:

Serena giving Caroline 'Wo is me' Wozniacki a beatdown in the US Open semis

Federer ripping Nadal a new youknowwhat at the WTFs 6-3, 6-0

Serena getting destroyed by Stosur in the Us Open Final

and THE WORST MATCH OF ALL: Roddick getting completely obliterated by Nadal in the US Open QF's

For me AO final was great! ;) Ok, not quite great, but quite good. Give some credit to Novak and do not disrespect Andy, please! Andy has it enough from Brits!
And for Andy fans Tokyo final was great. As well as Miamy SF for Rafa fans.

There were other maches that were awfull where both players were simply awfull. (Nadal-Verdasco...)

Hmmm. I loved the Tokyo final. And Federer v Nadal at the WTFs too. Sometimes a match can still be a great pleasure to watch if it's really one-sided, because the victor is just putting on a show and you can but watch in awe.

Agree with all the others though.

Oh yeah, you can count me in as voting for Nadal-Verdasco in Cincy and Wozniacki-Williams at the US Open as well.

One player in each case may have lost, but the rest of us lost the will to live.

and nadal-verdasco in cincinnati, lol.

Will you be doing WTA worst matches tomorrow, Pete?

I vote for Rafa-Ljubicic at the FO...that was *dire*.

Nadal had fever in Doha (when he lost to Davydenko).

Jewell,
I hope so 'cuz I am interested to see the worst WTA matches.

Pete

Thanks....I agree with most

Seeing I was "live" at this years AO final......I walked out early in the 2nd set to get some fresh air and hoped Murray who at that stage was looking at getting "bagled"...coming back in I bumped into Paul MacNamee and he said to me it was one of the "worst performances" he had seen in that 2nd set in a GS for some time.

"Nadal had fever in Doha (when he lost to Davydenko)"

That goes without saying...

I don't know about putting the Murray-Nadal match as one of the worst. Shocking? Yes but that's being rather dismissive what Murray did to lead to the bagel.

Totally agree about the AO final (I was so happy that I woke up, set the VCR and went to sleep because that was bad), the Cilic/Tomic match, and the Miami Nadal/Federer showdown.

The matches you have listed were all lopsided affairs but "worst" can also be close matches. As proof, see: Nadal/Verdasco in Canada and Murray/Haase at US Open. That was suffering as a viewer that dragged on and on.

@ Daniela.

yes Rafa always finds a way to win except when he is loses......

We all know that Rafa was probably not feeling or tired or something like that when he lost Nole all those times.

And the defeat to Roger at WTF. Of course that was Rafa's twin bro who filled in because Rafa was nursing his knee in Spain.

Any match featuring Roger Federer, no matter how annoying,
how infuriating, depressing, disturbing, dumbfounding,
masochistic, uninspired, shitty and generally unwatchable
is a cause for celebration. Own up to it or else.

well we all know Federer was just 'tired' in Miami lol ... popped out, he was, poor Swiss, he just wasnt himself at all, maybe he was ill? hehe

in truth, he just kinda stunk, which there's no excuse for, is there?

Or else, what... you'll be creamed

The worst is the AO final.

Or else you will be sentenced to an eternity of
watching Rafa practicing backhand moonballs from
15 feet behind the baseline. Uncle Toni will be there.
As you may have guessed by now it's Hell.

Tim - also - he had a fever...the dreaded 'South Beach retro disco ball blinded by the light' kinda fever...truly, t'is a miracle he could even find his way to the venue. Also, one of the twins gave him a bad case of the gawumps. ;-))

Am I alone in thinking Fognini should
be somewhere on this list?

And the Novak/Muzz 'non match' at the AO gets my vote as the worst of the year...partly just because it WAS a grand slam final and only one of the players showed up. It was actually kinda disheartening... and that was on delay. The Muzzafunk abyss sucks in even the most stedfast -except Novak fans, of course. At least their guy came to play.

indeed CL, wondering, does being basically cranky and ill tempered count as an excuse for a stinky loss?

*musing the above definition of h e double toothpicks ... cant say I disagree! haha .. the qualifier, will be be grunting as well? that would pitch me over the edge lol

@Chu
I think we should be fair, he was sick in Doha. Of course, he is not losing only when he is sick/injured etc. He was also outplayed (by Fed at HC for example, or Andy in Tokyo, or Novak in Rome or Madrid).
And Fed in recent years has (mental) problems playing against Nadal, even on HC.
Also, in last year or so Fed starts furiously a set and a half, after which he drops his level. Usually it is enough and the opponents simply give up (they are totally lost), so Fed normally finishes easily, except against very top players (Rafa, Novak, AndyM, Tsonga at Wimb) who manage to keep fighting after this period, when Fed starts to lose concentration, strength and step, and eventually win.

very true re Fed and his fast starts, a few of those players can hang in through the storm long enough to take advantage of the shanks, and hang on for a win ..

most players just deflate and give up by then, before the shanks begin ...

so does having 'mental problems' count as a good excuse for a stinky loss? lol

there were plenty of playrs with mental problems before, but I never, ever heard of Laver, Lendl, Connors, McEnroe, etc., EVER being excused for a loss because they were 'tired', what a wimpy Era of whiners we're in now! lol

i should be so lucky i couldn't watch most of Pete's listed ones jejeje.

i barely remember the oz final. a foggy feeling it was rather dire for a slam final is all what stayed with me.
i can't say whether the level of play was really 'worst 5 i've watched this year'. but it disappointed indeed.
another high profile one which fell short of what i had hoped for was the wimbles final. great stuff to see nole accomplish one of his dreams but i felt i've seen better rafa matches, better nole matches and better rafa vs nole matches than that one. not quite saying it was a damp squib but it was a lot less than i had wanted. pity.

but what was a horribly poor match this year? where's my thinking spiked helmet when i need it...

I still pretend Wimby final 2011 was a "non event" and had to be cancelled...it kind of helps me get over it.....I really thought Rafa would win.....yep whatever.

Murray's response to everyone for voting his final the worst next year will be to first go back to the final,then take it home this time around,he's got enough!

Daniela

You must be new to the board, welcome.

First thing to learn, do not mention Rafa and injury or tiredness.

It's not allowed here.

Aube

3 times proves it? or things happen in three's..........

Madame president,you know the deal,he's just not going to take another loss,contenders beware!

Aube

Well I am not into "jinx"....I will be attending the mens final AO2012

May I add .....hopefully who ever makes the final can make it a "compeitive one".....not like 2011.

Yes that would be the bottom line ,we "spectateurs" want tantalizing matches, although I might say when it comes to Nadou I don't mind if he beats whoever is accross the net triple bagel,that will still be the best match for me...lol!

Yes,I'm biased and I know it!

Aube

I love a woman who is Honest.....lol!

Madame President,isn't it key?hahahah

cmon now Nam, lets tell the whole story to daniela, this whole site will crash from overload if the words 'rafa' and 'tired' appear together in any more posts, until at least 2013...

he is the most exhausted former No.1 in the history, no? :)

My Dear Tim

Seeing that you were awarded.......The Most Obsessive Rafa Fan

I hope you will keep the "home fires burning" until Rafa retires............

marg we all know i love rafa, his moonpies lofting up high and falling, falling, falling will never be forgotten lol

Tim

Gotta "love" those "moonpies"...........

And we are starting...... Tim? kids? oh yeah!!!!

A month to go for AO to begin.

Why cant't the ATP put up the schedule for 2012 after the Davis Cup final?

I can look it up on wiki...

hitius, I guess they're bit slow... :)

But isn't pdf good enough for you? So there's no direct link as far as I can see, but anyway the 2012 (and 2013) calendar has been there easily available for a long time, I've checked 2012 several times during this year. (click on 2011 calendar, then 2012-2013 calendars)

thanks Tuulia

I just wanted to check who was playing in Doha.
wanted the link to the website...
no big issue... happens every year

Nam1 - but fever is an *illness*, surely? ;)

But the issue reminds me... eeh... well, as you said, and you've probably heard already anyway. Nothing to worry about I'm sure.

hitius, ah that... click Doha on 2011 calendar and on the right hand side you'll find a link Visit Official Site.

Or here :)
http://www.qatartennis.org/

yea... got it
thanks

I think at some point soon, one of TW's posts needs this headline..

Moonpies and Mama Lions

Surely the site traffic would get a nice bump, and the moderator would stay busy, no?

Before this thread descends into the Fed vs Nadal pit into which so many TW threads inexorably march, let me add a comment which binds the two boys together and actually relates to the topic of the thread:

The 2 worst and most disappointing ATP matches that I saw this year were the Roger and Rafa losses to Nole at IW. Sure, Nole was on a tear, but the attitudes and performances of R&R in those matches stank to high heaven. I remember making a comment at that time about how the women's matches saved the day for the end of that tournament, a comment my pal Sherlock found "insulting" to Roger and Rafa. Bingo!

I hope I never see anything like that again.

It seems, Bodo still thinks Fed should win every match. How come his defeat against Rafa (6:3, 6:2) is worse than Rafas defeat agains him at the WTF (6:3, 6.0)?

Ruth

May I say I "never go to R&R" though I did peek once and that was enough for me.

Does nobody care about the quality of tennis any more? Who cares that there wasn't too much drama in the AO final, the tennis was spectacular. Where have all the true tennis fans gone? (of course I agree that closer matches are better, all else being equal, but to call the AO final a bad match is idiotic)

RR,is not worth venturing even if you're promissed the moon,except for the nice write ups that diligent editors care to put together!

so my take is read and tipoe out!

Just as long as you read :)

some of you sadly miss the thread of humor of R & R, truly, ultimately this is all just silliness, is it not, no matter how obsessive the Rafa gang gets? lol

pardon, Im gonna call Uncle Toni on his private line, make sure Rafa is taking his nap and warding off those pesky fevers he's so renowned for :)

meanwhile, Fed is drunk on a beach somewhere secret, I just heard from FederBear...

Gauloises

I do read yours ok and then quickly leave.....lol!

Ruth, now I have to say BINGO to your comment, you give one more time in the "bull's eye"! I agree with you 100% about those losses

Tuulia, exactly, fever is a *illness*:)

Tim

While your on the hotline to Toni please make sure Rafa brushes his teeth and flosses....I mean he does have great teeth and a wonderful smile...

Anyway bed calls....only one more night shift to go.....like yay.......

@Tim
"so does having 'mental problems' count as a good excuse for a stinky loss? lol"
No. It is not for Fed losing to Nadal, it is not for Rafa losing to Novak, and it was not for Novak earlier losing to both of them (USO final 2007, Olympic games, Queens).
The thing is:
Fed had managed (during his dominance) to mentally ruin all competitors, so they were (and are) basically coming to the court with white flags (Tommy Haas at RG). Of course, it is not an excuse for those players as well.
But then came Rafa who started winning against him on clay, but not meeting him often enough outside of clay, on the surfaces where, at that time, Fed was much better, to “compensate” it. With time Rafa had improved on other surfaces (at 2008, spring time, something just clicked in Rafa´s head and he was not any more satisfied with #2 position - actually I think he felt that Novak was threatening his #2 position, so simple waiting for Fed to go and retire in order to overtake #1 position was not any more an option). Now an improved Rafa version met Fed in the finals and then we got those epics. Fed had problem not having enough wins over Rafa (in "memory" to help him in dificult situations) and with time he got a ”mental” problem playing him.

Similar happened this year with Rafa losing to Nole.

Something that impresses me about Novak was that even he had so much heart-breaking loses to Fed and Nadal (especially to Nadal) he managed to overcome it, to improve and to dominate them in 2011.

Haha, AM, brilliant :)

AM: The R&R I was referring to in my comment are Roger and Rafa, but, on that day, they were as stinky as the "discussion" at RR (Racket Reaction) can be. :) I tend to read and enjoy the posts at RR, especially those by Pagliaro and gauloises, but I quickly lose hope and interest after the comments begin the descent into cr-p.

Carol: Thanks for your comment. As a fan of both guys, I was really, really upset by those performances at IW.

... And very wise, too.

marg, word is Toni sent Rafa to bed early without supper, for skipping his homework to sneak off and work on his moonpies, which have been skimming the net lately (some go as low as 10 feet over the net!) and he wants to add some additional 'heft' for safety ...

moonpies take years to master, as we all know :)

meanwhile, Roger is passed out on the beach, snoring...

ok on a more serious note Madame President,is my Olivia going to be able to play or is she denied the wild card since I saw you wrote Dellacqua got it?

sigh for unwanted answer1

"indeed CL, wondering, does being basically cranky and ill tempered count as an excuse for a stinky loss?"

Hey Tim - it is certainly MY excuse every time I lose. ;-))

Daniela,
I will bite. :)

I agree with most of your post @ 8:30, except this part.

"Fed had managed (during his dominance) to mentally ruin all competitors, so they were (and are) basically coming to the court with white flags (Tommy Haas at RG). Of course, it is not an excuse for those players as well."

That's unfair to Fed and more unfair to Tommy Haas. Because I wouldn't call someone leading by 2 sets and 4-3, 30-40 on a nervous opponent's serve to be coming to the court with white flag. It was eventually a five set loss - 4th set was the only real bad set Tommy played on that day when he was (wrongly?) saving himself for the 5th set. When I look at their H2H, I would like to conveniently consider only their slam matches.:) Three of the four matches they played were 5-setters and Tommy won one of those 3. Their last meeting was in Wimby 2009 with a 7-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss for Tommy -- not much different from how Djokovic was doing in almost all the slams against Fedal up until USO'10, no?

And I will add, in response to Daniela's comment about Roger's "mental" problem in playing Rafa, that it only works if you assume Roger's mental weakness resides in his BH. I would never underestimate the importance of confidence when it comes to playing anyone, but the reports of Roger's mental demise vs. Rafa have been "greatly exaggerated." It really IS more about match up than anything. All else is noise.

And speaking of white flags, IF some players waived them at Roger,...Rafa has had his share of players surrendering meekly too. Novak is just about at that flag tipping point as well.

Arun - I remember a Haas/Fed match from the AO that had me VERY nervous. Tommy was hitting HIS BH beautifully for much of that match.

Yeah, CL. There was some good shot-making in that match.

I know it wasn't one-sided like the ones you listed, but for me the worst match of the entire year was Nadal d. Verdasco in Cincinnati, which showed just how very good at losing Verdasco is. The Australian Open final is close, but that match takes the cake for me in terms of going away thinking "I wasted my time watching that: it was terrible".

Oh, yes, and:

"Posted by Barmy Person
Am I alone in thinking Fognini should
be somewhere on this list?"

In my opinion, Fognini gets a dishonorable mention for withdrawing from his FO QF match with Djokovic, the match that should have allowed Djokovic to tie McEnroe's record for most consecutive wins to begin a year. That still annoys me a bit.

IMSHEO, one of the top ten annoying (and, perhaps, worst) matches of 2011 was the Rafa-Andujar match at Roland Garros. No good reason that a five-time Roland Garros champ (going into the match) should play passive tennis and let Andujar hit through him, as Rafa allowed Andujar to do for much of the match. Then, in the third set, when Andujar went up 5-1, he proceeded to get tight, fail to convert on at least six set points, and lose that set in a tiebreaker.

Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Let's bring in doubles. Verdumbo in Davis Cup against France, Argentina, and much of the match against the U.S.

And Verdumbo's loss against Soderling, in which Verdumbo had at least one match point, then proceeded to stink up much of the rest of the match and lose.

I'm still bewildered that people didn't like the AO match. The first set was one of the best sets all year. They had tons of marathon rallies including one that was over 40 shots, iirc. Djokovic was playing unbelievable tennis (as Murray said after the match), and for me this match was proof that Djokovic was going to be a giant force in 2011. I don't understand how anyone could have been disappointed (sure, it would have been nice to go 5, but 3 sets of tennis at this level is far better than 5 sets of tennis at a lower level).

"I'm still bewildered that people didn't like the AO match. The first set was one of the best sets all year. They had tons of marathon rallies including one that was over 40 shots, iirc. Djokovic was playing unbelievable tennis (as Murray said after the match), and for me this match was proof that Djokovic was going to be a giant force in 2011. I don't understand how anyone could have been disappointed (sure, it would have been nice to go 5, but 3 sets of tennis at this level is far better than 5 sets of tennis at a lower level)."

You must've watched a different match than I did, then. If Nole played his A game against Fed in the SF, his level in the final was B+ at best, A- if I'm being generous. Tough, but far from unbeatable.

Muzz was able to hang with that Nole only for a few games of the 1st set. It all went downhill from there.

I was suffering from a kidney stone during the AO Final. Seeing the effort Murray put forth made me feel even worse.

I was suffering from a kidney stone during the AO Final. Seeing the effort Murray put forth made me feel even worse."

http://bit.ly/uEayI5

okay, pls scrub that. wrong thread.
'sorry - was meant for the martina, margaret Court, b.j.king story.
pls scratch prior comment from this thread.

Type Pad appears slow I will post again

Aube

Sorry I didnt answer your post before I needed to crash and get some sleep.The reason why Casey received her w/card into the AO 2012 is because she had good results this year in the "pro tour in Australia".Dont give up hope for Olivia just yet ok.

Kooyong Classic 2012 11th -14th January 2012

The final 2 spots have been confirmed today

Mardy Fish and Milos Raonic

The mens field for the round robin event is as follows.,

Andy Roddick
Jurgen Melzer
Gael Monfils
Tomas Berydch
Bernard Tomic
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga
Mardy Fish
Milos Raonic

Just read a interview Ana Ivanovic did in our Sydney paper today

According to Ana male players enjoy their tennis more because they dont carry their angst off court.

"Comepetitivness and tension inside the womens locker room far outweighs the relaxed vibe across the hall".Ana gained her vital insights into the male approach from Serb counterpart Novak Djokovic during last years Hopman Cup.

"That was really refreshing---getting to play along side Novak seeing how differently he functions".It was interesting to watch how much fun he had and how much he enjoyed his tennis"."Thats why we play the game,but sometimes the pressure and stress that gets forgotton".

"Maybe we (women would perform much better if we could relax a little more and let go".

These comments were taken from our Sydney Telegraph paper today Thursday 15th December.

Morning all. :)

Actually the match Rafa played before Kolya in Doha against Lacko was pretty bad too - I remember Lacko won the second set 6-0. :)

Regarding the AO final, I thought that losing that one spectacular point late in the first set took the heart/legs out of Murray, and it all went downhill for him from there. Both players started out visibly nervous to me & remained patchy.

Surprised that no-one has mentioned two of Murray's losses - to Donald Young and Bogomolov Jr.

"Regarding the AO final, I thought that losing that one spectacular point late in the first set took the heart/legs out of Murray, and it all went downhill for him from there."

Here's a better explanation: Muzz sux.

He's going to win a slam or two in 2012, I can feel it. :)

"He's going to win a slam or two in 2012, I can feel it. :)"

Muzz sux.

Well there's not much more to say that is there? :)

Haggis is more reliable than Muzz.

Murray was more reliable this year, at least in slams.

"Murray was more reliable this year, at least in slams."

In other news, the holiday spending is up by 0.00000000001% this yr.

Methinks the difference between Federer's loss to Nadal and Nadal's loss to Federer was the quality of play. Federer played atrocious tennis to lose to Nadal - Rafa barely had to do anything.

Whereas in London, while Rafa wasn't playing aggressively, with short balls, he still had ~6 winners and 7-8 UFEs. Roger on the other hand had 28 winners and 7 UFEs in an hour flat. That's why I think the Murray/Rafa Tokyo final was also a good match - Murray just manhandled Rafa.

The Caro/Serena match was bad just for what a letdown it was. Caro mounted no resistance at all - broke back just ONCE to avoid losing the match, then promptly got broken. Esp considering how close their only other meeting had been.

That AO final was a huge letdown for a GS final. You expect the best to bring their best. FO final was second worst. W and USO were both grueling great matches.

Lets pray Andy Murray will find in 2012
the spiritual fortitude
+
divine self-confidence to win more than one slam.

"Lets pray Andy Murray will find in 2012
the spiritual fortitude
+
divine self-confidence to win more than one slam."

http://bit.ly/w5e8pO

Later.

Today's Caro

Video of her training in Dubai, from DR Sporten. Mostly in Danish, but Sanchez in English:

http://bit.ly/u7zeAZ

Concentrating on her forehand and her B/H volleys.

'Federer basically didn't show up. It was just one of those nights. He appeared sluggish, indifferent, almost peevish. At times, it looked as if the Swiss icon was lost in his own private Idaho, far from sultry Miami'

I didn't see too many comments like that describing Nadal's peformance at the O2. It was all about how well Fed played, yet it was clear Nadal had a terrible night as well. He even said that he would have pulled out of the tounrament had Murray not done so earlier. So what was Fed's excuse for Miami?

@ Arun, CL
Look, I think Fed is the best player that ever played tennis, from quality, variety, stile, elegance and “efficiency” point of view. It was never easy and it is still not easy to play against him. So, I am not at all surprised that the majority of players were and are really coming to the court without any hope of winning, even if Fed plays awfully (as he did in his match against Tommy) – it is still good enough to beat them. And even if not, after so many loses to Fed they simple can’t believe it is possible. I think it happened to Tommy in that match. And once Fed realized there is a chance – he took it. As simple as that.
Of course, Fed created this situation (that the opponents do not believe they can win against him and they are coming to the court with white flags) with his exceptional play, so it is not at all any disrespect toward Fed when I say it. He created it, he was/is so good.
The thing with Nadal, Djokovic, AndyM, Tsonga is that, they are “arrogant” enough that they believe(d) they had/have quality to win and eventually in one moment they started winning. I have nothing against the “arrogance” as many have. I think without it, without courage to try, without self believe we, as tennis fans, would not have the opportunity to see so many great matches/battles and really enjoy the sport.

@CL
Of course, Fed-Rafa is also about match up and that Nadal mainly plays to Fed´s BH. But I think with time the importance of the mental edge increased. Tennis is also a mental game (as we all read and witnessed many times), not only physical and technical, and there is nothing negative in that. It is quite normal. Everyone wants to put his opponent in the position to have no good answers to his game, to surrender.
Among the top players (let´s say top 3) there are now so small differences that any slight advantage (mental or technical) can be very important. In this year (except for Fed-Rafa at WTF) there was practically no blowout matches, all were very intense and you could not be sure who the winner is until the very last point (even with so called Novak´s dominance you never knew if Fed or Rafa (or Novak) would come back). Which I find great.

@DJB you can't really compare those matches. Nadal didn't play his best in WTF but he didn't play terrible. He only made 7 errors and his first serve percentage was also good (beter then fed). While Roger on the other hand played absolutely horrible in Miami. About 40% of all the points in that match were errors from federer.

@Baily, @DJB, @Northernboy

Completely agree with Baily. The difference between the those matches was Federer's level (awful and superb). Nadal played a fairly standard match in both.

As for him saying he considered retiring the day before, he also said that 'he felt the ball well and felt perfect today (the day of play)'.

This is also the reason why I,along with Northernboy, don't think Rafa-Murray in Tokyo belong on the list. Murray played superb and for that reason it rather belongs on a best of 2011 list.

Who feels that Nadal played at an outstanding level in IW against Fed? That's the difference DJB.

One of the worst matches I've seen on 2011 was Federer-Nadal WTF
I don't think that Federer played superb but Nadal played AWFUL
Hope don't see that anymore
Also Federer-Tsonga in Wimbledon and Federer-Djokovic in IW

WTA year end video....not bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K5KnxUfB-s&feature=youtu.be