Also, part of the reason I revisit those Rosol highlights is that it's simply one of the best matches anyone's ever played, ever. That fifth set was as close to perfect as a tennis player can get.

I actually think Fed complains to the umpire a fair amount when he's under pressure too.

Yeah, he does sometimes, and it's annoying.

But he makes up for it with his gorgeous tennis.

He has extremely early preparation, even for a professional. You can see in that video how long we waits with his racquet at the very back of his backswing, compared to Fed and Nadal who barely pause there, if it all. Beside that, it really doesn't take much extra time to turn one's wrist the opposite direction. Marat Safin had a similar technique on his forehand, as did Carlos Moya. Players like Nadal, Hewitt, and Del Petro have forehand swings that take much longer to execute (because of their overall range of motion) than Djokovic.

Some players with short backswings that come to mind are Agassi, Blake, and the Bryan Brothers. Most doubles specialists play with much more compact strokes than singles players because of the drastically reduced reaction time when playing against net players and also the premium that is placed on aggressive serve return.

Part of the reason why I support Nadal is cause he was the solution to Federer, but over time, I started rooting for him cause he really should not be winning with the technique he has, it's almost like a farmer playing a game so technical. Yet, he manages to win and overcome odds. There's just about nothing elegant about him, heck, I liked him when he had the capri pants and sleeveless shirts and beard even better, it was the perfect fuck you to federer's sleek oiled hair and polo shirts. Idiot had to clean up after he became number one, but I'd already become a fan by then.

My favorite forehand with that technique:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lR92UVCZV0[/youtube]

Yeah, Gonzalez had just a beast of a forehand when he was on. The length of his swing, though, I think contributed to his groundstrokes not being terribly consistent over the long-term. I think he is also a little impatient by nature, which is why he worked so well under (the extremely underrated) Larry Stefanki, who preached a more patient, opportunistic game style.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 46488.html

Take that, Yousha.

Thank you, I did enjoy that immensely.

amen... the very reason he is my favorite tennis player (and why fabrice santoro is up there for me, as well). there is little that is aesthetically pleasing about rafa's and djoko's games, though at their best they're as effective as roger at his.

Tommy Haas beating Djokovic leaves me in no doubt that he'd have been an absolute legend if he was a player in the 80s and if he was fit. By legend, I mean over 5 Slams.

Yeah, he was very unfortunate with his injuries. I think his game also just tends to bother Djokovic, who's 4-3 against him now. I remember when Haas beat Djokovic at back-to-back tournies in 2009. It's nice to see him still having success at nearly 35 (like, he turns 35 in a week or so, I think).

Yeah Haas plays with a lot of variety and that can bother Djokovic if executed well. I hope he can keep winning. In this form he'd be a definite threat at Wimbledon...or at least a potential banana peel for any of the top guys.

Same for me and Federer.