Looking at tennis' past through old TTW threads.

Raining hopes

Hall of Fame
I have been reading old TTW threads . Since bumping them means deletion I would just recollect what interested me.

1. Even in around 2006 everyone was absolutely certain that Nadal won't last longer than 26-27. His style of play was considered too physical.


2. Murray even around 2007-08 was considered without a doubt the next big thing. There were posts about him being Federer's heir and next dominating force. Interestingly , Djokovic was considered very good but I don't think I found a lot of people considering him the better prospect than Murray




3.That way back in 2004 when Federer had won only 4 slams half the posters and pro players (Agassi,Hewitt,Safin,Henmen) all were already speaking about Federer being overall better player than Sampras. Same for Nadal too, he was being called the best clay courter since Borg just after his second RG.



4. The Fedal wars had started way early , there are threads comparing the two back in 2006.


5. People really saw promise in Blake, Baghdatis . Gasquet's hype was beyond comprehension. There genuinely are posts about how he will be the one to stop Federer in all slams thus becoming the no. 1 .


6.The amount of Safin worship here almost seemed unwarranted. He is a great great player but people were talking about how lucky Federer was that the mighty Safin had decided to not properly play tennis.He seems to be the first moral victor legend here.

7. Nobody gave Federer even a fighting chance in 2011 FO SF. Only one or two were confident in his victory.Federer was supposed to be dispatched very easily.


8. People fawned as much over the WB 2005 F probably more than the AO 2007 SF.


9. There was thread about the fastest players in 2010 and 90% didn't nominate Nadal or Djokovic.
Chang, Coria(especially Coria) , Blake , Hewitt and Borg,Phau were considered better . Shows how appreciation of talent wanes with time


10. People were very seriously talking about Federer slump in 2007 not just Federer fans but also others, the closeness of WB 2007 F and his uncharacteristic losses were considered proofs of his decline.There were threads by Sampras fans about how Federer wasn't able to keep up his level anymore.
 
Last edited:

CYGS

Legend
I have been reading old TTW threads . Since bumping them means deletion I would just recollect what interested me.

1. Even in around 2006 everyone was absolutely certain that Nadal won't last longer than 26-27. His style of play was considered too physical.


2. Murray even around 2007-08 was considered without a doubt the next big thing. There were posts about him being Federer's heir and next dominating force. Interestingly , Djokovic was considered very good but I don't think I found a lot of people considering him the better prospect than Murray




3.That way back in 2004 when Federer had won only 4 slams half the posters and pro players (Agassi,Hewitt,Safin,Henmen) all were already speaking about Federer being overall better player than Sampras. Same for Nadal too, he was being called the best clay courter since Borg just after his second RG.



4. The Fedal wars had started way early , there are threads comparing the two back in 2006.


5. People really saw promise in Blake, Baghdatis . Gasquet's hype was beyond comprehension. There genuinely are posts about how he will be the one to stop Federer in all slams thus becoming the no. 1 .


6.The amount of Safin worship here almost seemed unwarranted. He is a great great player but people were talking about how lucky Federer was that the mighty Safin had decided to not properly play tennis.He seems to be the first moral victor legend here.

7. Nobody gave Federer even a fighting chance in 2011 FO SF. Only one or two were confident in his victory.Federer was supposed to be dispatched very easily.


8. People fawned as much over the WB 2005 F probably more than the AO 2007 SF.


9. There was thread about the fastest players in 2010 and 90% didn't nominate Nadal or Djokovic.
Chang, Coria(especially Coria) , Blake , Hewitt and Borg,Phau were considered better . Shows how appreciation of talent wanes with time


10. People were very seriously talking about Federer slump in 2007 not just Federer fans but also others, the closeness of WB 2007 F and his uncharacteristic losses were considered proofs of his decline.There were threads by Sampras fans about how Federer wasn't able to keep up his level anymore.
On 1: by everybody, you mean Fed fans. Just as "everybody" thought Djokodal would fade away after turning 30.
 

Raining hopes

Hall of Fame
On 1: by everybody, you mean Fed fans. Just as "everybody" thought Djokodal would fade away after turning 30.


Sorry Djokovic fans were a hard find in 2006. And not all of those who thought this were Federer fans. But what I was trying to convey that there was no precedent for someone like Nadal (and later Djokovic ) to have lasted that long. Puts into perspective how special they are and their excellence in later years is truly commendable
 

Edhead-Fedhead

Hall of Fame
I have been reading old TTW threads . Since bumping them means deletion I would just recollect what interested me.

1. Even in around 2006 everyone was absolutely certain that Nadal won't last longer than 26-27. His style of play was considered too physical.


2. Murray even around 2007-08 was considered without a doubt the next big thing. There were posts about him being Federer's heir and next dominating force. Interestingly , Djokovic was considered very good but I don't think I found a lot of people considering him the better prospect than Murray




3.That way back in 2004 when Federer had won only 4 slams half the posters and pro players (Agassi,Hewitt,Safin,Henmen) all were already speaking about Federer being overall better player than Sampras. Same for Nadal too, he was being called the best clay courter since Borg just after his second RG.



4. The Fedal wars had started way early , there are threads comparing the two back in 2006.


5. People really saw promise in Blake, Baghdatis . Gasquet's hype was beyond comprehension. There genuinely are posts about how he will be the one to stop Federer in all slams thus becoming the no. 1 .


6.The amount of Safin worship here almost seemed unwarranted. He is a great great player but people were talking about how lucky Federer was that the mighty Safin had decided to not properly play tennis.He seems to be the first moral victor legend here.

7. Nobody gave Federer even a fighting chance in 2011 FO SF. Only one or two were confident in his victory.Federer was supposed to be dispatched very easily.


8. People fawned as much over the WB 2005 F probably more than the AO 2007 SF.


9. There was thread about the fastest players in 2010 and 90% didn't nominate Nadal or Djokovic.
Chang, Coria(especially Coria) , Blake , Hewitt and Borg,Phau were considered better . Shows how appreciation of talent wanes with time


10. People were very seriously talking about Federer slump in 2007 not just Federer fans but also others, the closeness of WB 2007 F and his uncharacteristic losses were considered proofs of his decline.There were threads by Sampras fans about how Federer wasn't able to keep up his level anymore.

Thanks for taking the time to compile this. It's a very interesting "look back." #10, in particular!
 

CYGS

Legend
Sorry Djokovic fans were a hard find in 2006. And not all of those who thought this were Federer fans. But what I was trying to convey that there was no precedent for someone like Nadal (and later Djokovic ) to have lasted that long. Puts into perspective how special they are and their excellence in later years is truly commendable
It also shows how wrong Fed fans have been and will continue to be so.
 

upchuck

Hall of Fame
Great thread and observations.
10. People were very seriously talking about Federer slump in 2007 not just Federer fans but also others, the closeness of WB 2007 F and his uncharacteristic losses were considered proofs of his decline.There were threads by Sampras fans about how Federer wasn't able to keep up his level anymore.
Because even though he won the Aussie Open that year, his losses to Canas in the spring felt like something out of space. All of a sudden he looked mortal for the first time in ages.
 
D

Deleted member 307496

Guest
Well plenty of threads to indulge in Fedalovic Beauty contests,let this one be . There is a new one just now about weak era and Federer being worse than Andy Murray. That should be right up your alley. You can have a field day with it.
I wish tennis forums were a thing in the early 90s. We could see the hype Tim Henman got for example.
 
D

Deleted member 307496

Guest
Henmen seems to have been bigger than Andy in terms of popularity in Britain.

Also on this forum the hype for Murray was big but the hype for Gasquet was unreal. Almost Everybody seemed convinced that he was going to win everything under the sun.
Gasquet was portrayed as the next big thing since the 90s when he was 9 years old lol.
 

Raining hopes

Hall of Fame
Found this in a thread from 2005

"My coach tell me to play smarter. That's just not my game" Marat Safin early on the tour.


My personal fav from Marat.. "Being told I am having to play Santoro is like being told I am going to die."

`I was pretty nice to the racket all last week. I was surprised how easy it broke. Maybe there is something wrong with it, or I'm too strong.''
- Goran Ivanisevic after breaking his racket against Kafelnikov in the 1995 Wimbledon QF

'I hit a lot of forehands because my backhand was like roulette. I did not know where it is going. It is like my golf. I never know where the ball goes.'
~Goran after losing to Karol Kucera in the final in New Haven

'I played like Kournikova - 20 double faults per match.'
~ Goran on his serva 5/5/99 at the Licher German Open

"Actually, I tossed it nicely, landed nicely, like airplane. No warning, beautiful. That's the art of throwing racquets."
- Goran in 2001

He's the king.

Safin he was asked who his boy hood idol was growing up and his reply was

"I am not like Americans I have my own picture on my wall"


Martina being Martina

Martina Hingis to Lindsay Davenport, after winning the coin toss, and being given the choice to serve or let her opponent serve first.

"Do you want me to hold, or break you first?"



"Experience is a great advantage. The problem is that when you get the experience, you're too damned old to do anything about it."-Jimmy Connors
 

Edgecrusher

Professional
Found this in a thread from 2005

"My coach tell me to play smarter. That's just not my game" Marat Safin early on the tour.


My personal fav from Marat.. "Being told I am having to play Santoro is like being told I am going to die."

`I was pretty nice to the racket all last week. I was surprised how easy it broke. Maybe there is something wrong with it, or I'm too strong.''
- Goran Ivanisevic after breaking his racket against Kafelnikov in the 1995 Wimbledon QF

'I hit a lot of forehands because my backhand was like roulette. I did not know where it is going. It is like my golf. I never know where the ball goes.'
~Goran after losing to Karol Kucera in the final in New Haven

'I played like Kournikova - 20 double faults per match.'
~ Goran on his serva 5/5/99 at the Licher German Open

"Actually, I tossed it nicely, landed nicely, like airplane. No warning, beautiful. That's the art of throwing racquets."
- Goran in 2001

He's the king.

That´s why I always loved Goran. In his heart he´s an Entertainer.

The Hingis quote is brilliant as well hahahaha.
 
D

Deleted member 733170

Guest
I have been reading old TTW threads . Since bumping them means deletion I would just recollect what interested me.

1. Even in around 2006 everyone was absolutely certain that Nadal won't last longer than 26-27. His style of play was considered too physical.


2. Murray even around 2007-08 was considered without a doubt the next big thing. There were posts about him being Federer's heir and next dominating force. Interestingly , Djokovic was considered very good but I don't think I found a lot of people considering him the better prospect than Murray




3.That way back in 2004 when Federer had won only 4 slams half the posters and pro players (Agassi,Hewitt,Safin,Henmen) all were already speaking about Federer being overall better player than Sampras. Same for Nadal too, he was being called the best clay courter since Borg just after his second RG.



4. The Fedal wars had started way early , there are threads comparing the two back in 2006.


5. People really saw promise in Blake, Baghdatis . Gasquet's hype was beyond comprehension. There genuinely are posts about how he will be the one to stop Federer in all slams thus becoming the no. 1 .


6.The amount of Safin worship here almost seemed unwarranted. He is a great great player but people were talking about how lucky Federer was that the mighty Safin had decided to not properly play tennis.He seems to be the first moral victor legend here.

7. Nobody gave Federer even a fighting chance in 2011 FO SF. Only one or two were confident in his victory.Federer was supposed to be dispatched very easily.


8. People fawned as much over the WB 2005 F probably more than the AO 2007 SF.


9. There was thread about the fastest players in 2010 and 90% didn't nominate Nadal or Djokovic.
Chang, Coria(especially Coria) , Blake , Hewitt and Borg,Phau were considered better . Shows how appreciation of talent wanes with time


10. People were very seriously talking about Federer slump in 2007 not just Federer fans but also others, the closeness of WB 2007 F and his uncharacteristic losses were considered proofs of his decline.There were threads by Sampras fans about how Federer wasn't able to keep up his level anymore.
Interesting thread. The Safin hype is hilarious. Safin couldn’t take the pressure and drifted off into obscurity pretty quickly. I can’t see Kygrios staying around for more than another two years unless his results improve. He’s in danger of becoming a poor man’s Safin. The crowd loves a bad boy, and that’s why these people get idolised to the extent they do.

Regarding your point 9, that’s evidence of recency bias. Also the mind anchors their opinion on the one standout feature of a players game. What do we remember Chang for (besides his underarm serve) that he was quick around the court ergo he was one of the fastest players of all time, when in reality his speed has been superseded by several generations of players.

Your research does prove that forecasting is a tough game and bound to make fools of all of at times. Credit to those people who called Federer as being better than Sampras as early as they did as well as those who recognised early on the clay monster Nadal.
 
I have been reading old TTW threads . Since bumping them means deletion I would just recollect what interested me.

1. Even in around 2006 everyone was absolutely certain that Nadal won't last longer than 26-27. His style of play was considered too physical.


2. Murray even around 2007-08 was considered without a doubt the next big thing. There were posts about him being Federer's heir and next dominating force. Interestingly , Djokovic was considered very good but I don't think I found a lot of people considering him the better prospect than Murray




3.That way back in 2004 when Federer had won only 4 slams half the posters and pro players (Agassi,Hewitt,Safin,Henmen) all were already speaking about Federer being overall better player than Sampras. Same for Nadal too, he was being called the best clay courter since Borg just after his second RG.



4. The Fedal wars had started way early , there are threads comparing the two back in 2006.


5. People really saw promise in Blake, Baghdatis . Gasquet's hype was beyond comprehension. There genuinely are posts about how he will be the one to stop Federer in all slams thus becoming the no. 1 .


6.The amount of Safin worship here almost seemed unwarranted. He is a great great player but people were talking about how lucky Federer was that the mighty Safin had decided to not properly play tennis.He seems to be the first moral victor legend here.

7. Nobody gave Federer even a fighting chance in 2011 FO SF. Only one or two were confident in his victory.Federer was supposed to be dispatched very easily.


8. People fawned as much over the WB 2005 F probably more than the AO 2007 SF.


9. There was thread about the fastest players in 2010 and 90% didn't nominate Nadal or Djokovic.
Chang, Coria(especially Coria) , Blake , Hewitt and Borg,Phau were considered better . Shows how appreciation of talent wanes with time


10. People were very seriously talking about Federer slump in 2007 not just Federer fans but also others, the closeness of WB 2007 F and his uncharacteristic losses were considered proofs of his decline.There were threads by Sampras fans about how Federer wasn't able to keep up his level anymore.

1. That was everyone's expectation, but the expectation was not about 26-27, but rather around 30.

The 26-27 expectation came from a good physio, who predicted that, and also for historical reasons with many people comparing Nadal's career with that of Borg.

The prediction would have almost certainly turned correct too, if it wasn't for two major differences between Borg's time and Nadal's: 1) the tennis authorities were supportive of the superstars, unlike with Borg, where they actually gave him a hard time, and 2) Nadal took many sabbaticals from the game, so he didn't suffer the mental burnout of Borg

2) rightly so.

Until the miraculous transformation of Djokovic in the end of 2010, Murray has already been in several Major's finals, and actually was beating Federer quite often, and Nadal on some big occasions.

"The successor of Federer" is pushing it, though, considering from which generation he is.


3) Federer was considered the successor of Samp even before they even met on the court.

In the commentary before their only official match, the comentators were talking about Federer as though he, and not Sampras, was the defending Wimbledon champion.

Same for his early matches with Agassi, even the one in Basel, where Agassi completely destroyed Federer result-wise.

4) the time coincided with the explosion of the Internet access, so a lot of clueless pro-Nadal folk jumped on the then actual rivalry.

People that never played tennis, never watched anything prior to that, teens with too much spare time, and generally wanting to "prove themselves" were the main reason for the notoriety of that time.

5) It is the same story every time: the players with extraordinary good separate shots get a lot of hype, especially if they manage to get a couple of wins against the leaders under their belt.

6) the Safin "worship" was completely warranted

The guy was a beast when he was playing peak tennis, and at the same time his partying ways were well known.

One couldn't help but wonder what might have been, if he had the same level of dedication as Federer or Nadal.

7) yes, and for a good reason

After a terrible injury-ridden 2010, the ascendance to the top of Nadal, and Djokovic winning a lot, it was considered that Federer had finally declined.

A lot of people also thought that the additional rest Djokovic had makes him an ever bigger favourite against Federer.

Add to that the supposed complex that Federer had against Nadal, leading to speculations about Federer wanting to avoid Nadal thus tanking, which was at the time the go to idiocy of the vamosalaplayans, and the fact that some Federer fans were starting to believe that that might be true, and you get why the expectations were predominantly such.

A lot of people have already forgotten that Federer's ascendance to the #1 in 2012 was as big (if not bigger) feat than his recent heroics, precisely because of the supposed golden age, after the "weak era"

8) not sure what that implies

9) yes

10) correct

The myth that the talk about Federer starting to decline started after Nadal beat Federer outside of clay in the Majors, is/was perpetuated by the clueless vamosalaplayans, who wanted to re-write the history and leave the impression that it was solely Nadal's improvement that brought the changing of the guard.

Unsurprisingly, that same tune was taken up later by some other fanbases, so that we arrived at the ridiculous situation, where a well past his 30th year Federer is still called "prime", "peak" etc.


8)
 

Raining hopes

Hall of Fame
1. That was everyone's expectation, but the expectation was not about 26-27, but rather around 30.

The 26-27 expectation came from a good physio, who predicted that, and also for historical reasons with many people comparing Nadal's career with that of Borg.

The prediction would have almost certainly turned correct too, if it wasn't for two major differences between Borg's time and Nadal's: 1) the tennis authorities were supportive of the superstars, unlike with Borg, where they actually gave him a hard time, and 2) Nadal took many sabbaticals from the game, so he didn't suffer the mental burnout of Borg

2) rightly so.

Until the miraculous transformation of Djokovic in the end of 2010, Murray has already been in several Major's finals, and actually was beating Federer quite often, and Nadal on some big occasions.

"The successor of Federer" is pushing it, though, considering from which generation he is.


3) Federer was considered the successor of Samp even before they even met on the court.

In the commentary before their only official match, the comentators were talking about Federer as though he, and not Sampras, was the defending Wimbledon champion.

Same for his early matches with Agassi, even the one in Basel, where Agassi completely destroyed Federer result-wise.

4) the time coincided with the explosion of the Internet access, so a lot of clueless pro-Nadal folk jumped on the then actual rivalry.

People that never played tennis, never watched anything prior to that, teens with too much spare time, and generally wanting to "prove themselves" were the main reason for the notoriety of that time.

5) It is the same story every time: the players with extraordinary good separate shots get a lot of hype, especially if they manage to get a couple of wins against the leaders under their belt.

6) the Safin "worship" was completely warranted

The guy was a beast when he was playing peak tennis, and at the same time his partying ways were well known.

One couldn't help but wonder what might have been, if he had the same level of dedication as Federer or Nadal.

7) yes, and for a good reason

After a terrible injury-ridden 2010, the ascendance to the top of Nadal, and Djokovic winning a lot, it was considered that Federer had finally declined.

A lot of people also thought that the additional rest Djokovic had makes him an ever bigger favourite against Federer.

Add to that the supposed complex that Federer had against Nadal, leading to speculations about Federer wanting to avoid Nadal thus tanking, which was at the time the go to idiocy of the vamosalaplayans, and the fact that some Federer fans were starting to believe that that might be true, and you get why the expectations were predominantly such.

A lot of people have already forgotten that Federer's ascendance to the #1 in 2012 was as big (if not bigger) feat than his recent heroics, precisely because of the supposed golden age, after the "weak era"

8) not sure what that implies

9) yes

10) correct

The myth that the talk about Federer starting to decline started after Nadal beat Federer outside of clay in the Majors, is/was perpetuated by the clueless vamosalaplayans, who wanted to re-write the history and leave the impression that it was solely Nadal's improvement that brought the changing of the guard.

Unsurprisingly, that same tune was taken up later by some other fanbases, so that we arrived at the ridiculous situation, where a well past his 30th year Federer is still called "prime", "peak" etc.


8)


For 8th point I meant people praised the 2005 WB F Federer performance as much as if not more than the legendary 2007 AO Roddick Thrashing.
 

Edhead-Fedhead

Hall of Fame
I wish tennis forums were a thing in the early 90s. We could see the hype Tim Henman got for example.

Oh, but they very much WERE a thing-- on CompuServe (may it rest in peace)! And, they were not very different than these, actually... Lots of bickering and silly crap amongst the good, even in the olden "dial-up internet" days and prior to WWW.... The main difference was that there were WAY fewer members. And, you couldn't just Google for endless information, you actually had to know stuff, (or, at least, how to use some basic search commands, lol!) There were no pics or videos to find or post. We had to use our words! I still have a few tennis pals from those ancient days, a few of which I later met IRL at tourneys :) Ahhh, the memories!
 

Edhead-Fedhead

Hall of Fame
Found this in a thread from 2005

"My coach tell me to play smarter. That's just not my game" Marat Safin early on the tour.


My personal fav from Marat.. "Being told I am having to play Santoro is like being told I am going to die."

`I was pretty nice to the racket all last week. I was surprised how easy it broke. Maybe there is something wrong with it, or I'm too strong.''
- Goran Ivanisevic after breaking his racket against Kafelnikov in the 1995 Wimbledon QF

'I hit a lot of forehands because my backhand was like roulette. I did not know where it is going. It is like my golf. I never know where the ball goes.'
~Goran after losing to Karol Kucera in the final in New Haven

'I played like Kournikova - 20 double faults per match.'
~ Goran on his serva 5/5/99 at the Licher German Open

"Actually, I tossed it nicely, landed nicely, like airplane. No warning, beautiful. That's the art of throwing racquets."
- Goran in 2001

He's the king.

Safin he was asked who his boy hood idol was growing up and his reply was

"I am not like Americans I have my own picture on my wall"


Martina being Martina

Martina Hingis to Lindsay Davenport, after winning the coin toss, and being given the choice to serve or let her opponent serve first.

"Do you want me to hold, or break you first?"



"Experience is a great advantage. The problem is that when you get the experience, you're too damned old to do anything about it."-Jimmy Connors

Hahaha! Priceless quotes :)
 

Edgecrusher

Professional
Seen her be quite respectful when she came back and teamed up with Paes . Did achieve legendary results with him too.
Something pops to my mind ... wasn´t there some strange story about her former boyfriend who was afraid of her? I don´t recall any details ...
 

Edhead-Fedhead

Hall of Fame
Something pops to my mind ... wasn´t there some strange story about her former boyfriend who was afraid of her? I don´t recall any details ...

Well, Hingis was notorious for being unfaithful. Not sure about her being threatening. Capriati was accused of battering a boyfriend, though... Might you be thinking of her?
 

Edgecrusher

Professional
Well, Hingis was notorious for being unfaithful. Not sure about her being threatening. Capriati was accused of battering a boyfriend, though... Might you be thinking of her?

I just googled it. Her husband (!) accused her of beating, threatening and robbing him :-D

Here´s the (German) link:
LINK
 

Poisoned Slice

Bionic Poster
Henmen seems to have been bigger than Andy in terms of popularity in Britain.

Also on this forum the hype for Murray was big but the hype for Gasquet was unreal. Almost Everybody seemed convinced that he was going to win everything under the sun.

Henmania continues to run wild and Tim Henman will always be an icon of the British public, Raining hopes dude.
 

BHud

Hall of Fame
I have been reading old TTW threads . 6.The amount of Safin worship here almost seemed unwarranted. He is a great great player but people were talking about how lucky Federer was that the mighty Safin had decided to not properly play tennis.He seems to be the first moral victor legend here.

Safin does warrant worship...hookers in his player's box at the AO...LEGENDARY!
 

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
I have been reading old TTW threads . Since bumping them means deletion I would just recollect what interested me.

1. Even in around 2006 everyone was absolutely certain that Nadal won't last longer than 26-27. His style of play was considered too physical.


2. Murray even around 2007-08 was considered without a doubt the next big thing. There were posts about him being Federer's heir and next dominating force. Interestingly , Djokovic was considered very good but I don't think I found a lot of people considering him the better prospect than Murray




3.That way back in 2004 when Federer had won only 4 slams half the posters and pro players (Agassi,Hewitt,Safin,Henmen) all were already speaking about Federer being overall better player than Sampras. Same for Nadal too, he was being called the best clay courter since Borg just after his second RG.



4. The Fedal wars had started way early , there are threads comparing the two back in 2006.


5. People really saw promise in Blake, Baghdatis . Gasquet's hype was beyond comprehension. There genuinely are posts about how he will be the one to stop Federer in all slams thus becoming the no. 1 .


6.The amount of Safin worship here almost seemed unwarranted. He is a great great player but people were talking about how lucky Federer was that the mighty Safin had decided to not properly play tennis.He seems to be the first moral victor legend here.

7. Nobody gave Federer even a fighting chance in 2011 FO SF. Only one or two were confident in his victory.Federer was supposed to be dispatched very easily.


8. People fawned as much over the WB 2005 F probably more than the AO 2007 SF.


9. There was thread about the fastest players in 2010 and 90% didn't nominate Nadal or Djokovic.
Chang, Coria(especially Coria) , Blake , Hewitt and Borg,Phau were considered better . Shows how appreciation of talent wanes with time


10. People were very seriously talking about Federer slump in 2007 not just Federer fans but also others, the closeness of WB 2007 F and his uncharacteristic losses were considered proofs of his decline.There were threads by Sampras fans about how Federer wasn't able to keep up his level anymore.
The reason Murray was more hyped than Djokovic in 2008-09 is that his rise was quicker and that he was more solid; Djokovic was a headcase back in the day, and his frequent retirements made him more of a Safin-like volatile talent than the next big thing in the minds of fans. The tennis community only took him seriously after he beat Federer at USO10. At that point, the tennis community saw Djokovic rather than Murray as Nadal's next competitor as Federer lost his top spot, and he confirmed the new expectations by drubbing Murray at AO11.
 

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
Another observation: In 2010-11 everyone thought Nadal would just roll along winning everything in sight like he did in 2010, with some weak, occasional resistance from Djokovic and Federer. No one expected Djokovic to challenge Nadal and match him at his own game, even me. Not to brag or anything (except I'm bragging) but I called it in 2010 that Djokovic would win AO11 and saw the Murray destruction coming from a mile away, and predicted after his AO win Djokovic would win USO and possibly hit #1 for a week or two. But even in my wildest dreams I didn't expect him to beat Nadal 7 times, including Wimbledon final and twice on clay.
 

Poisoned Slice

Bionic Poster
It's Brother!
Henmania runs still wild brother! And when all wine sipping 14,000 Brit Henmaniacs scream , PETE would feel the centre court rumble.

What you gonna do Brother when the henmania runs wild on you ?

You made my day. I like it when somebody recognizes the impression.

Brother is the most recognizable, brother.. He ended so many lines with Jack, brother, dude, man. etc I like to mix it up.

Henmania will run wild like it has never ran before, man. The training, the prayers and the volleys are all at peak complexity, brother. Now whatcha gonna do when Tim Henman and all the little Henmaniacs drive that stinky Rusedski back to Canada, Jack?
Hogan.jpg~original
 

Raining hopes

Hall of Fame
You made my day. I like it when somebody recognizes the impression.

Brother is the most recognizable, brother.. He ended so many lines with Jack, brother, dude, man. etc I like to mix it up.

Henmania will run wild like it has never ran before, man. The training, the prayers and the volleys are all at peak complexity, brother. Now whatcha gonna do when Tim Henman and all the little Henmaniacs drive that stinky Rusedski back to Canada, Jack?
Hogan.jpg~original


That's right Jabroni. Even when the Rock has been trailblazing,eyebrow raising making vin Diesel his ***ch,Giving Hollywood infinite hits, electrifying the masses, kicking some candy ***es, in the Hollywood, Hulk Hogan remains the most recognisable name in Wrestling.

And that's the bottom line ,cause Raining hopes said so.
 
D

Deleted member 307496

Guest
You made my day. I like it when somebody recognizes the impression.

Brother is the most recognizable, brother.. He ended so many lines with Jack, brother, dude, man. etc I like to mix it up.

Henmania will run wild like it has never ran before, man. The training, the prayers and the volleys are all at peak complexity, brother. Now whatcha gonna do when Tim Henman and all the little Henmaniacs drive that stinky Rusedski back to Canada, Jack?
Hogan.jpg~original

In comes Nalbandian.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
I got a notification only about post being deleted having bumped an old (well it was from 2007) thread.

Was the post relating to something topical? If that's not the case it may be that the Mods have decided on a new policy of deleting very old threads bumped for no particular reason?
 

Raining hopes

Hall of Fame
Was the post relating to something topical? If that's not the case it may be that the Mods have decided on a new policy of deleting very old threads bumped for no particular reason?

Well,now I think of it,it wasn't topical but was in jest. I bumped one of 90s clay type thread from 2007 where a poster with a completely different username had posted in the traditional SetSampras(90s clay MTF account) manner about Federer having it easy.
 

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
I have been reading old TTW threads . Since bumping them means deletion I would just recollect what interested me.

1. Even in around 2006 everyone was absolutely certain that Nadal won't last longer than 26-27. His style of play was considered too physical.


2. Murray even around 2007-08 was considered without a doubt the next big thing. There were posts about him being Federer's heir and next dominating force. Interestingly , Djokovic was considered very good but I don't think I found a lot of people considering him the better prospect than Murray




3.That way back in 2004 when Federer had won only 4 slams half the posters and pro players (Agassi,Hewitt,Safin,Henmen) all were already speaking about Federer being overall better player than Sampras. Same for Nadal too, he was being called the best clay courter since Borg just after his second RG.



4. The Fedal wars had started way early , there are threads comparing the two back in 2006.


5. People really saw promise in Blake, Baghdatis . Gasquet's hype was beyond comprehension. There genuinely are posts about how he will be the one to stop Federer in all slams thus becoming the no. 1 .


6.The amount of Safin worship here almost seemed unwarranted. He is a great great player but people were talking about how lucky Federer was that the mighty Safin had decided to not properly play tennis.He seems to be the first moral victor legend here.

7. Nobody gave Federer even a fighting chance in 2011 FO SF. Only one or two were confident in his victory.Federer was supposed to be dispatched very easily.


8. People fawned as much over the WB 2005 F probably more than the AO 2007 SF.


9. There was thread about the fastest players in 2010 and 90% didn't nominate Nadal or Djokovic.
Chang, Coria(especially Coria) , Blake , Hewitt and Borg,Phau were considered better . Shows how appreciation of talent wanes with time


10. People were very seriously talking about Federer slump in 2007 not just Federer fans but also others, the closeness of WB 2007 F and his uncharacteristic losses were considered proofs of his decline.There were threads by Sampras fans about how Federer wasn't able to keep up his level anymore.
First of, great work. Secondly, boy you have a lot of time!
1) I don't remember it as that young, but people def. didn't expect Rafa to be competitive post 30 or in his late 20's for that matter. But you're probably right. Caveat: Who saw blood cell (PRP) and stem cell therapy as part of the a way to prolong his career back then? I for one didn't.
2) this surprises me tbh. I remember him being predicted a better future in 2009-2010, but 2008 was a phenomenal year for Djokovic and he'd made the semis in all slams by the age of 20.
3) Well, what he did in 2004 going 18-0 against the top-10 was pretty unheard of. Only real blip was the FO loss, but I guess it's okay to lose to Kuerten even if he wasn't quite peak.
4) Dominance breeds resistance, it's the way of the world. Some couldn't stand Fed and Rafa was just the weapon they've hoped for.
5) Interesting with B&B. Not too long ago, there were posters here who saw real promise in the Donald as well. Just for comparison. Gasquet - well, he did show some real promise early on. Tbh, I'm surprised he did as well as he did considering his serve, forehand and movement.
6) Safin's peak level does warrant respect. It's up there with the best of them. However, he rarely produced it.
7) I remember myself feeling in doubt before the match. Should I cheer on tennis history and the streak? Or cheer on my favorite, Fed (who would most likely lose to Rafa yet again). Once the match began, there was no doubt.
8) Def. don't recall that
9) No Nadal? No Djokovic, I can understand. But no Nadal? That's outrageous. No le Monf is pretty wacky as well (he would beat them all in a 100 meters)
10) 2007 was, in many respects, his worst year in the 4 year dominance. Quite a few more losses. But it was a pretty great year nonetheless and light years ahead of what came afterwards.
 

Raining hopes

Hall of Fame
First of, great work. Secondly, boy you have a lot of time!
.

Nope just a man on vacation which sadly ends tomorrow and I will have to go to work with one of the most remote areas of the country.
I already have been lucky that it was extended by two days else I won't be posting a reply because there would be no internet.
 
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