"If you can?t play Wimbledon like Rafa last year, you lose 2,000 points. If someone else wins, it's a 4,000-point swing. There is pressure week-in, week-out, for the players."

tht says it all........tennis is too demanding a sport

Roger has such a big respect for Rafa he always talks about his diffculties that led to him losing the 1st ranking last year even when he was asked about the other group at the TMC last year he was always refering to it as Nadal's group. such a gentelman. i dont think any other sport has been previlaged with such two fine gentlmen

"outsiders" hmmm.

tennislover...so true roger's respect for rafa has grown tremendously over the past two years now! any sort of bitter comments are not existant now! two great gentlemen :D

exactly deuce, HMMMMM....

Yes I feel truly blessed as a tennis fan to have witness these two, I am a first fan of Rafa's but always miss Rogers presence too, the best rivalry ever to grace the game for me!!! may the FeDal era not go just yet!

Yep, hmmmm .... !

Yes, they are "outsiders" until they can match the record and consistency of the two great players who have dominated the game in the last four or five years. Rafa and Roger have earned their place at the top. They are, indeed, the "elite", until someone else can show that they belong there.

(lol)

Roger has gone up in my estimation, he has come across as a real gentleman. Those of us who have been less than kind to him should now give him some slack, and I'm big enough to say that.

I still want Rafa to beat him everytime they meet though and regain the No 1 slot.

yeah Carrie only "some slack" lets face it if you become too nice about Federer and i become too nice about Rafa it is going to be boring nothing left to fight over !

tennislover, seriously I have been harsh on Federer because I have never seen this side of him. My main gripe was his 'arrogance', but he has shown that he can be gracious as well.

I suppose if Rafa continues his h2h over him, when the GOAT debate flares up again then sparks will fly.

federer has everything that he wants now.The French Open,Beating Sampras's Record.He's content now.
and now that he's a father that changes a person.
He has no reason to act mean towards rafa now, like he took something from him.
I still don't know about him and Murray :)

delpo and djoker must feel pretty good about themselves now as they had been trashing elite lately.

"delpo and djoker must feel pretty good about themselves now as they had been trashing elite lately."

And now they have to do it again. That's the trick, rfzr. Lots of people have beaten the best and won a major -- one time. You have to do it at least twice before anyone starts to pay attention.

I think Rochus should complain, the player's seat is too high for him, and the poor chaps legs are dangling during the break. When you can't even relax during the break, what chance do you stand against a top player like Federer?

Sorry, the above was posted to the wrong thread.

alik,

federer has never been "mean" to rafa-always respectful-its journalistic media twist on words that cons people into thinking otherwise. I love these two.

NNW: Andy came between this duopoly last year, yes I know only briefly but he DID do it. Delpot won USOpen, Djko has a slam, for these reasons I do not think they should be called "outsiders." Soderling is another matter altogether.

deuce, do you think the word "outsiders", just means "outside" nos. 1 and 2?

Maxi....Oh,my goodness...take the word "mean" as my twist on words.i guess i phrased my post wrong,since you are so stuck on symantics....
I guess i should have posted.."he has no reason to be rude,or to act arrogant against Rafa now".I tried to clean it up by using a nice word like"mean" but oh,well.:)

alik :)

hope yr njoyin the tennis.but i have never thought roger was ever rude to rafa. i stand by that. too much respect.

6:2 6:2. Rafa ia looking sharp, must reduce UEs though.

Ooops, wrong thread, not spamming, honest!

ah maxi darlin', you know the same old posters are gonna say something negative, even if they have to make it up. federer hasn't been anything but respectful to rafa. but this is 'tennistalk'. in general, here they're tired of the world number 1's dominance, most here hoping rafa will again swap places with RF but johan is right, the others are all "outsiders", albeit with excellent chances of changing the order at the top two spots in 2010. we'll see!! anticipating AO big time, too! xo zoey

deuce,

By "outsiders" I mean that no one else has managed to win as consistently as Rafa and Roger and remain at the top. I am not saying that they will never be the company of the "elites", just that they have not proved that they belong there yet. Delpo is very young and has incredible talent. Now we will see if he can continue his winning ways. If it was easy and many could do it, then Rafa and Roger wouldn't have dominated over the last few years.

Sorry, but I don't count Andy being #2 for a week or two. That was due to Rafa being injured. If he had held the #2 for a while, then it would have meant something. He has a chance to prove himself this year. We will see what happens. This could very well be a year of exciting tennis with all these talented guys capable of winning a grand slam.

I am looking forward to the 2010 AO. We will be treated to some great tennis, that's for sure!

alik, most true fans can see and accept the truth as is. no need to waste time arguing. people see what they choose to see - or choose not to see!

I agree with your post - alik , 1/5/10 1:17 PM. it will be inetresting to see how he treats murray if the media hypes up muray again before ao like last year, which wasn't even murray's fault. i think it's to do with the H2H, as it seems only rafa and murray were the targets, no one else. i think he'll be less vocal because as you say, he's a bit more content now. perhaps less pressure means less venon. who knows...