Tennis

[zebedee]

Ferrer started cramping during the final set, received constant and illegal treatment during changeovers and his legs finally buckled completely at one point towards the end of the match. I've never seen that happen to him before. Maybe Del Moral is out of reach these days. Murray didn't fare so badly during the final, but he was self-evidently tiring too at the end, being unable to raise himself sufficiently at certain points when he needed to to close the match out.

My only strong observation on this tournament concerned the ability of Murray to extricate himself time and again from difficult court positions to keep in the point. Some of his recovery shots in Miami were insane. This was a pattern he displayed all week and he shows a level of defensive capability now which must be the equal of Nadal and the Djoker, if not better.

Whether this has anything to do with doping or not is anybody's guess.

 

[blackcat]

i reckon.

the best defenders are fed, and nolek.

murray is one of the best, perhaps equal to nadal.


monfils aint bad cos he is gogogadget

 

[SundayRider]

i reckon.

the best defenders are fed, and nolek.

murray is one of the best, perhaps equal to nadal.


monfils aint bad cos he is gogogadget

Was a great defender quite a few years ago now. Sadly all parts of his game are well on the decline.

 

[blackcat]

Was a great defender quite a few years ago now. Sadly all parts of his game are well on the decline.

monfils?

yeah, because the hardcourts kill his body with his ballistic movement.

aint too efficient, but he can cover ground, almost like nolek on virtue of his explositivity and long levers.

entertaining.

he and tsongga, great athletes, they just lack something to pull of a slam. its tuff to take down noek, federer, nadal, and murray. depth historically unprecedented?

 

[zebedee]

Something I picked up from the THASP website, a piece of recent research looking to throw light on doping in tennis.

http://www.jssm.org/inpres/2595/2595text.php

It seems most pro players believe doping is going on in tennis, just that no one will admit to doing it themselves. Dumb asking really, if you ask me. Who's going to provide an honest answer?

 

[Bicycle]

Really not enjoying watching tennis any more. Our 2 winners today: frequent lengthy periods off the tour with mysterious injuries that never require surgery - only to return to action months later as good as ever. Whole thing stinks.

 

[frenchfry]

Really not enjoying watching tennis any more. Our 2 winners today: frequent lengthy periods off the tour with mysterious injuries that never require surgery - only to return to action months later as good as ever. Whole thing stinks.

The 2 winners you refer to are walking adds for steroids, among other PEDs. Tennis is even more of a joke than cycling with regards to doping. At least cycling pretends to do something about it.

 

[mikehammer67]

at least nadal feels guilty about it

 

[the sceptic]

Shouldnt the bio passport make it harder to be as juiced as Djokovic and Nadal are? They look like they are on 90s level of EPO with their amazing stamina and recovery.

 

[Bicycle]

Roland Garros starts today. Can anyone stop Steroid Boy and Girl?

 

[ToreBear]

Shouldnt the bio passport make it harder to be as juiced as Djokovic and Nadal are? They look like they are on 90s level of EPO with their amazing stamina and recovery.

It depends on the features of the bio passport. There are new additions to it's capabilities, but not everyone is cutting edge in their utilization of new features. Beta vs release candidate etc.

Also I think the BP takes about a year to establish baselines.

I don't watch or know anything about tennis, so I have no idea about whether there is anything suspicious about jokovik and nada.

 

[SeriousSam]

There's little testing in tennis so everyone who can afford it has a big incentive to use PEDs. not getting injured & recovering in training are a big deal in tennis (as they are in every sport).

The absolute top players are extra suspicious. Nadal and Djokovic have incredible stamina and endurance. Federer literally never gets injured. I'd add Murray here because he's almost as fit as Nadal and Djokovic and has just as big an incentive, but he's a Brit so it's very unlikely he dopes.

 

[the sceptic]

Roland Garros starts today. Can anyone stop Steroid Boy and Girl?

Serena will probably win slams in her 40s.

As for Nadal, only a fully prepared Djokovic can stop him. Dont know if Djokovic is on that level anymore. He hasnt looked that good in the clay tournaments.

 

[Briant_Gumble]

Serena will probably win slams in her 40s.

Serena almost died once from a pulmonary embolism I doubt she'll be good in her 40's.

 

[iejeecee]

Serena will probably win slams in her 40s.

As for Nadal, only a fully prepared Djokovic can stop him. Dont know if Djokovic is on that level anymore. He hasnt looked that good in the clay tournaments.

Maybe he wasn't "fully prepared" for recent clay tournaments, and is "peaking" for roland garros.

 

[blackcat]

the lighter players have more agility and stamina for clay marathons. serena' physical talents come back to the field in paris

 

[Cycle Chic]

Berdych juicing

Just watching Berdych play Monfils and Berdych's legs are ENORMOUS.

He used to have skinny legs - they're now bigger than Nadals. Another one on the HGH.

 

[Cyivel]

Was Berdych the one who said he had only been tested twice OOC in four years?

 

[SundayRider]

Just watching Berdych play Monfils and Berdych's legs are ENORMOUS.

He used to have skinny legs - they're now bigger than Nadals. Another one on the HGH.

I know this is the clinic BUT an athlete with muscular legs doesn't mean anything, I'm sure we all know even amateur/hobby athletes with impressive musculature.

 

[Briant_Gumble]

Surprised to see Nadal lost the first and went to a tiebreaker in the second.

 

[Andynonomous]

Surprised to see Nadal lost the first and went to a tiebreaker in the second.

The tournament is two weeks long. Because of the nature of tennis tournaments (elimination), you play tougher, and tougher competition as you move through the tournament. You would want to "peak" at the end of the second week, where the best players play. By a strange coincidence, Nadal always peaks at the end of the grand slam tournaments (he does occasionally get beat by lower ranked players early in the grand slams).

Because there is an off day between matches at a grand slam, and players only get tested after a match, you can use any substance on your off-day that clears your system in less than 24 hours (testosterone patches, autologous blood doping, epo,...). I am certain that some players are "in-tournament" doping. The strength and stamina that these "athletes" have is super-human (ie. Lance Armstrong in the Pyrenees).

 

[Briant_Gumble]

By a strange coincidence, Nadal always peaks at the end of the grand slam tournaments (he does occasionally get beat by lower ranked players early in the grand slams).

).

I don't doubt that he has doped right under the testers noses in the past in order to peak for the final days of a grand slam.

However, the first round struggle is noteworthy because it represents the first time he's lost the first set in a grand slam ever in his career (at the French of all places) and I remember him sailing through the first couple of rounds at the French usually.

 

[the sceptic]

 

[Cycle Chic]

Steroids Stosur

Yep Sam Steroids Stosur is well and truly back on the roids. Her interview was quite funny - her head and voice is morphing into a man.

 

[thrawn]

No wonder she's garbage. She doesn't watch the ball properly.