Mr Topspin
Semi-Pro
Hey folks,
The AO is almost over as we head towards the final four. Who would have predicted that Bagdatis who was pretty much unheralded at the start of the tournament would beat so many seeds to reach the semis. Bagdatis has had an excellent tournament and has underlined his credentials as a big time player but does he have the heart to win the 'thing'!
Bagdatis faces Nalbandian for the right to play erm.... let me see, probably Federer in the final on sunday. As much as I like Bagdatiis i would be so disappointed if he beats the ATP's self appointed hero 'Nalbandian' in the semis and then gets crushed by Fed in the final. As i would prefer to see the next champion from the bottom half it is important IMHO that whoever wins in the semi's also defeats Federer in the final.
So my question is who do folks think would be more likely to beat Federer in a big slam final - Bagdatis or Nalbandian?
If we take Nalbandian for example he has the groundstokes to hurt Fed, such as the DTL backhand and the crosscourt forehand. He has decent volley's, has good movement and can play all court tennis. Mats Willander has said in his commentary for Eurosport that guys that can hurt Fed on his forehand side have a great chance to beat him i.e Safin, Nadal, Haas and or Nalbandian.
The only possible weakness for Nalbandian in the match up against Fed is his serve. If only he would work on his serve and get it to say top 10 standard he would have won a bag of slams by now. The serve aside Nalby has everything in his favour including a winning record (6-4) to make sure he would be in a strong position to pick up his first slam.
If we look at Bagdatis however his merits are not so disimilar to Nalby's.
Bag also has solid groundies, in fact his DTL backhand and crosscourt forehand have been causing havoc recently - just ask Arod and Ivan.
He also moves extremely well, can volley and has excellent hands and great court sense. In his favour is a big first serve and a free and engaging spirit plus it would be his first final and he would garner so much support from the fans.
The big drawback for Bagdatis however, is his record with Fed. He is currently 0 - 3 against the great man and has nothing to draw from should he meet Federer. So even though some people might say that Bagdatis is virtually Nalbandian with a better serve - this has not translated itself in his matches with Fed as he has only managed 1 set out of 3 meetings with Fedex.
In conclusion i would be more confident of Nalbandian if i were a betting man, he has the experience (*Nalby has reached the semi's of all four GS) and has the confidence, a solid baseline game and the inner belief that he can beat Fed in major finals. He beat Fed in Shanghai and when they were juniors, so everything is in his favour for sunday.
The AO is almost over as we head towards the final four. Who would have predicted that Bagdatis who was pretty much unheralded at the start of the tournament would beat so many seeds to reach the semis. Bagdatis has had an excellent tournament and has underlined his credentials as a big time player but does he have the heart to win the 'thing'!
Bagdatis faces Nalbandian for the right to play erm.... let me see, probably Federer in the final on sunday. As much as I like Bagdatiis i would be so disappointed if he beats the ATP's self appointed hero 'Nalbandian' in the semis and then gets crushed by Fed in the final. As i would prefer to see the next champion from the bottom half it is important IMHO that whoever wins in the semi's also defeats Federer in the final.
So my question is who do folks think would be more likely to beat Federer in a big slam final - Bagdatis or Nalbandian?
If we take Nalbandian for example he has the groundstokes to hurt Fed, such as the DTL backhand and the crosscourt forehand. He has decent volley's, has good movement and can play all court tennis. Mats Willander has said in his commentary for Eurosport that guys that can hurt Fed on his forehand side have a great chance to beat him i.e Safin, Nadal, Haas and or Nalbandian.
The only possible weakness for Nalbandian in the match up against Fed is his serve. If only he would work on his serve and get it to say top 10 standard he would have won a bag of slams by now. The serve aside Nalby has everything in his favour including a winning record (6-4) to make sure he would be in a strong position to pick up his first slam.
If we look at Bagdatis however his merits are not so disimilar to Nalby's.
Bag also has solid groundies, in fact his DTL backhand and crosscourt forehand have been causing havoc recently - just ask Arod and Ivan.
He also moves extremely well, can volley and has excellent hands and great court sense. In his favour is a big first serve and a free and engaging spirit plus it would be his first final and he would garner so much support from the fans.
The big drawback for Bagdatis however, is his record with Fed. He is currently 0 - 3 against the great man and has nothing to draw from should he meet Federer. So even though some people might say that Bagdatis is virtually Nalbandian with a better serve - this has not translated itself in his matches with Fed as he has only managed 1 set out of 3 meetings with Fedex.
In conclusion i would be more confident of Nalbandian if i were a betting man, he has the experience (*Nalby has reached the semi's of all four GS) and has the confidence, a solid baseline game and the inner belief that he can beat Fed in major finals. He beat Fed in Shanghai and when they were juniors, so everything is in his favour for sunday.
