WIMBLEDON 2012

It's raining in Hackney so I imagine we're not too far off a break in this

Which is a shame for Jo because he's FINALLY in something approaching full flow

Amazing pt!

k andy no more fucking around

Oh dear Jo

And then two amazing points to save BPs

oh god

Oh Jo. Oh that return. No.

out? really...?

lol thought so

wtf, umpire?!

Haha awful overrule

this match is just way too frustrating

can't be dealing with a 5th set of this bullshit

They're both fighting w themselves as much as each other

MPs Murray as Jo chooses this game to flop in

oh no he is pointing to the sky

Oh Jo.

way too much celebration from Team Murray (lendl excepted)

Appropriate point to end on - a point where no one knows what's going on.

Oh god the flag-waving stupidity on Sunday will be UNBEARABLE

i think it will be fun :)

Hey, Hlavackova and Hradecka have MPs to get into the doubles final!

Taken!

haha the Williams sisters beat Raymond/Huber and the Bryans lost

Williams/Williams vs Pennetta/Schiavone would have been much more fun

way too much celebration from Team Murray (lendl excepted)

― Matt Armstrong, Friday, July 6, 2012 1:52 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

had to leave for work but come on, this is so huge for him

it's his 4th major final, whoop dee do

celebrating a semifinals win (in 4 sets!) like that is bad news. At least when Fed did it at the French last year vs. Djoker there was a personal grudge there. And he didn't cry like a baby and point at the sky.

are you being serious or do you not realize that Murray is the first British male player in the Wimbledon final since 1938

Oh god the flag-waving stupidity on Sunday will be UNBEARABLE

― bitch I'm on the 242 (lex pretend), Friday, July 6, 2012 5:52 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

understandable, but at least there's the chance of watching the flags wilt if he loses (which i'd say is an 80:20 probability).

he will just have taken 'british' losing to a new level. that's how fit he is and how good his ankle protection and new coach are.

The last guy to lose to a Brit in the semi-final was killed in the battle of Stalingrad 4 years later.

This is 50:50. Awesome job to get to a Wim final, given all of the pressure since Nadal went out. Really dealt with Ferrer (prob his most dangerous opponent) well. No five set thrillers, no bullshit.

Important for Murray to at least to win a fkn set on Sunday. If not win, that is.

I might try and avoid watching by going to the cinema instead as I'll be too nervous. Don't know.

love fed obv but i'll be rooting for murray SO HARD.

I really think Murray has a massive chance - the highest level shown by any of the four SFists was his play in the 1st/2nd sets; Federer's first-strike tennis won him y'day's match but it misfired quite a bit and is also a lot more, um, straightforward than his Jesus mode days. But whenever I type "Murray has a massive chance" I think back to all the other times at Slams this has been the case and yeah you know how those went.

I dunno who I'm supporting, I want Fed to break the Sampras record but flagwaving stupidity notwithstanding I do really like Murray and have been wanting him to win a Slam for years? I guess I'm supporting Murray and will just have to try to block the stupidity out.

Today, then. A-Rad's first serve % is the key, if she serves like she did against Kerber she has a chance, if like she did against Kirilenko then she doesn't. I'm talking about a chance to keep it respectable not a chance to win obv. I don't know how serious this "upper respiratory infection" she has is but it's even more unfortunate.

Just try to win games Aga :(

yeah, I'm just hoping Aga doesn't get bageled.

Cheering for Fed, but I guess I won't hate Murray too much if he wins - it'll be well-deserved given his ridiculous run here: Kolya, Karlovic, Baghdatis, Cilic, Ferrer, Tsonga, Federer.

I mean, except for Karlovic, every one of his opponents was a current or former top-10 player.

Can't work out who's more annoying

- The jingoistic flag-waving fans who know nothing about tennis but are suddenly all over this despite paying ZERO attention to the sport for the rest of the year
- The jingoistic flag-waving fans who pretend to know about tennis despite only having the barest awareness of any player outside the superstars and again who fail to pay attention for the rest of the year
- Those obnoxious "anyone but Murray" types who make a big deal out of how much they're cheering against Murray, usually sprinkling in anti-Scottish racism or that football joke he made when he was a teenager or nonsense about his "likeability" for good measure
- The BBC with those OTT maudlin montages about how long "we" have been "waiting" as though the sport's existence is only validated if a British person triumphs
- The phrase "the entire nation..." DEAR GOD I am going to go on a murder spree if I see this used again

The worst is: Virginia Wade won it in the silver Jubille/Andy to win on the Golden Jubilee! Best outcome would be not bowing to the Queen and winning the thing in straight sets playing in God mode.

Been batting away all the likeability crap that I'm hearing (sport isn't a likeability contest).

Re-watched that match point and the huge pause and look to the skies and thinking 'look at what we do to these people'. That is just huge intense pressure bleedng out of him, takes your breath away...you hardly get to see such a thing, so naked.

And watching that I worry for M's prospects tomorrow. I never thought he'd win Wimbledon, and I still think that. But if he can get a set he would be on his way. Loved Lendl's non-reaction, which he'll hopefully transmit to Murray.

Wonder what Roger is feeling, surely a mixture of relief that the attention isn't on him as much for a change -- incredible for a man going for his 7th Wim crown, anyone else in the final and it would be all about him.

On his way to a slam other than W.

what I hate about the likeability thing is this underlying assumption that only a certain set of characteristics constitute an acceptable personality - as if being taciturn and reticent isn't even valid, we all have to fit into pre-determined media-friendly roles. This played out between Justine and St Kim for most of the 00s in this way.

It's quite weird to think that Murray leads the H2H with Federer. He obviously has the game, but then he always has had it.

feel pretty ambivalent, suspected murray would never win gs, generally quite like him personally and tennis-wise, the gap since the 1930's is so ridiculous that it looks contrived so i would like him to win i suppose

maybe absent the usual loser complexes, the british tennis fans, or britishness fans would be less obnoxious? not that a single win would do that, but it would take away some of the constant fucking moaning, while they wouldn't suddenly convince themselves they were a 'great tennis nation' or whatever

murray 7/4 with a lot of bookies, shorter than i would imagine (even with adjustment for the bets of dim patriots)

6-1, 6-4 to Serena today, I reckon.

You've got to beat the man to be the man, as it were. Novak is the man, Fed beat him, he'll beat Murray. THat's how I see it and that's how I want it. Federer in four.

Agree that it would be nice to ditch the 76 YEARS issue, but I am kinda rooting against Murray as if he wins Sports Personality of the Year 2012 that'll be a right kick in the face to swimmers/gymnasts/wheelchair murderball players, who only get a shot at recognition (and subsequent boost in funding/sponsorship) every 4 years. Thankfully this straw person is very unlikely to exist!

Don't think he'd win sports personality of the year if he wins tomorrow against a more "likeable", top olympic performance.

Ha just realised that if Murray loses in either a heartbreaker or a wipeout coming back in a couple of weeks for the Olympics will really not be great for him

Or maybe he'll see it as redemption!

Rooting for Roger, as always, rather than against Murray. Having said that I don't want to suffer so I'm more than okay with an annihilation (not that I expect one)

lex otm on this thread re: jngoism/ 'likeability'/ BBC... everything concering Murray really! Murray annoys a lot of twattish people so that's a good reason to support him imo. Hoping against hope the final today is not a total bloodbath.

Oh the blessed silence of the commentators on the ESPN3 stream of this so far. Which I suspect will change once the match actually starts.

Bah, there it is.

I've enjoyed the #shitchrissiesays hashtag from the US tennis tweeters I follow