Sports Blog
Check out the sports blog, where the State News sports staff will discuss everything from Spartan to professional athletics on a daily basis.
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Recent posts
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Fantasy football, week 12
No in-depth opening this week, let’s get straight to my picks:
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Early men's hoops awards
With my term coming to an end as an MSU men’s basketball beat reporter since the spring, I can’t help but still feel connected to the team.
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Appreciating the great camera work
So after the blizzard that struck during the attempted second half of Sunday’s field hockey game, I have an extra appreciation for what our camera people do.
High hopes for Roger Federer
Back on July 6, I watched every rain-soaked minute, delays and all, of Rafael Nadal’s victory over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final. It was an epic span of almost seven hours of some of the most amazing tennis ever witnessed (4 hours and 48 minutes of actual tennis.) This is significant because it marked several things:
1. Federer’s five consecutive Wimbledon titles failed to become six.
2. It made Federer’s record of 237 consecutive weeks atop the world rankings come to an inevitable end Aug. 18. He was surpassed, of course, by Nadal.
3. It started the talk that Federer, 27, is now on the decline of his illustrious career.
That’s where we stand now. One loss, his first on grass since 2002, apparently marks the end for many tennis “experts.” The U.S. Open, another tournament that Federer has dominated — he has four consecutive titles — is well under way and both he and Nadal, 22, are still alive and kicking in the quarterfinals.
I have never been a fan of Nadal. He is too radical in his behavior and was, until this year, too one-dimensional in his dominance of the French Open, which is played on clay. I have, on the other hand, been a fan of Federer and his style of play and quiet demeanor. Not once have I thought that he is now in the twilight of his career.
I believe, despite his “struggle” with 23rd-seeded Igor Andreev, who he defeated in four sets, that Federer will bounce back and win, most likely against Nadal in their seventh Grand Slam final meeting.
Again, Federer was criticized for his performance at Flushing Meadows. This time, critics cite his sloppy play and the fact that he was smiling and “overly” happy about his victory over Andreev. I cannot agree with many of these critics, though, because I have never thought that being happy about a solid victory is a bad thing.
So despite there still being plenty of matches to be played before the final, expect a rejuvenated Federer to win his 13th Grand Slam fairly decisively. Not only will he bounce back from his “down” year, expect an amazing 2009 where he will surpass Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slams and regain the No. 1 world ranking.
Comments
Angie
09/03/08 @ 9:50pm
I completely agree!! Federer is not going anywhere. 2009 will be his comeback year and he will get his ranking back because it belongs to him as long as he is playing the game. Yesterday’s raw emotions that he displayed on court were not of frustration but of his every desire to win the game! It shows that he loves his sport with passion and had an amazing fighting spirit.
Nadal was also struggling with Querrey in the last match. I don’t see anyone criticizing him.
Mycah
09/04/08 @ 5:23am
^ Amen to that!!!
It’s quite frustrating that critics easily dismiss Federer just because he had a season that may not be as spectacular as in the previous years but had been solid nonetheless. 2009 will be federer’s year, no doubt!!!!
Facts
09/04/08 @ 10:16am
Just to clarify: Federer needed five sets to beat Andreev, not four. The score was 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Cathy Cawood
09/04/08 @ 5:53pm
I totally agree with you. I think that Roger will regain his No.1 postion and go on to win more grand slams.