^ Agreed about Hewitt. Tenacious to a fault but he simply does not have the weapons to hurt the likes of Federer & Nadal these days. It says it all that Federer cruised past him in straight sets, yet really didn't move out of third gear.
re Murray: I just really don't like his demeanour & the way he carries himself around the court. He's still young, granted, but there's a real petulance about the way he conducts his business - a complete lack of class about the guy. He strikes me as being a total brat, to be honest. Of course he's far from alone on the tennis circuit in that regard, but he's not a particularly popular guy on the tour for good reason. He's been a narky little tit in countless press interviews & I've lost count of the number of times I've seen him snap at ball boys & girls. No need.
Aggression & a burning desire to win is commendable & essential if you're going to be fighting for the top honours (and something that "Tiger" Tim was always lacking) but his grimaces & surly, tetchy behaviour leave a nasty taste in my mouth. Yes Andy, mounting an epic comeback at 9:30 in the evening after 5 sets was a terrific achievement & a wonderful display of your new powers of physical endurance & resilience, but did you really have to point at your biceps like a 'roided up posturing WWE wrestler? What a twat.
I'm not a huge fan of his over-reliance on drop-shots & general counter-punching game either. In a way I wish he'd go for his groundstrokes more as he evidently has the ability & his game would be more enjoyable to watch if he did. His court coverage is deceptively quick, he's got a great backhand & a delicate touch (good hands, as it's known) but he lacks the grace & magical finesse of a Federer or the insane cross-court angles generated off both sides by Nadal. I find tennis the most inspirational sport of all when it's played well, but I just don't enjoy watching Murray play.
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
And lastly, Federer aside, Gasquet is my favourite player & I fancy that he would have given Nadal a better game in the quarters. He's one of the most naturally gifted players around & when he's in full flow he's magnificent, as the first 3 sets last night showed, but his mental fragility is notoriously well known & although understandable given the circumstances, the way the centre court crowd turned on him was a pretty ugly development, I thought. It shows the guy's innate class that when he left the court he still turned to acknowledge & applaud the 15,000 people who for the last hour had booed & heckled him. You'd never catch Murray doing that, I assure you.
Bit of course this is Britain, where we just love to overstate the prospects of our sporting hopes & swamp any coverage with endless jingoistic nonsense to the neglect of all the other competitors. How great was Euro2008 in England's absence? Unfortunately, for the next 8 years or so we're going to have 'Murraymania' every time Wimbledon rolls around & it's going to do my fucking nut in!
Sorry for the ramble, but I had to get it off my chest. :D
re Nadal: I do definitely agree with you about his delaying tactics. The umpires should really start to clamp down on it more, I think, although he has started to get code violations & warnings recently, so hopefully the message is getting through. But dude, he's a phenomenal player (all but unbeatable on clay) with extraordinary energy levels & he chases down shots like a man possessed. He's also a really lovely guy by all accounts. I'd still like Federer to beat him should they meet in the final, but you almost get this sense that there's a wind of momentum behind Nadal this year... Can't wait! %)
