Tennis 2018

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wr8_utd said:
Nadal's error count and BPs faced was pretty poor today. I think he faced around 20 or so BP? Last time I remember someone having that many was when Federer converted like 1 of 17 or something against Rafa here in 07 or 08.
Anyway, the Del Po Cilic match was really low on quality. Some quite shocking errors from Cilic through the match. I hope Thiem can just lose somehow tomorrow :nervous:
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Why would you want a match fixer in the final?

I lost respect for Ceccinato after reading that.

The only thing that will infuriate Nadal is he’s the number 1 seed yet playing second again. Him and Del Potro are playing second again. The forecast has predicted rain tomorrow.
 
Bojan11 said:
Why would you want a match fixer in the final?

I lost respect for Ceccinato after reading that.

The only thing that will infuriate Nadal is he’s the number 1 seed yet playing second again. Him and Del Potro are playing second again. The forecast has predicted rain tomorrow.
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So Nadal can beat him and teach him a lesson :lol:
I just want the easier opponent. The Thiem matchup just always worries me on clay.

And yeah Nadal playing second is really annoying. He's again going to get the heavier conditions to play in and probably another rain interrupted match.
 
Cecchinato hanging with him in the second, but Thiem does look to be a bit more in control generally. His service games are flying by whereas Cecchinato seems to have to work a bit more (albeit as I write this he served to love).
 
Mats Wilander summed it up nicely on Eurosport, re Delpo's big hitting start: "Enjoy it while it lasts. He's going to get moved all around the place".

Unfortunately, I tend to agree. I'd love to see him in the fina, but I think Nadal can afford to try wait out the storm.
 
No clue what Nadal's playing so far. Hitting it this short against Del Po is a recipe for disaster.
 
Yesss. First time he gets a look in on the Del Po serve and takes the set. Two to go!

Nadal needs to hit it deeper and flatter though. Just too floated and short.
 
As I said earlier this week, injuries weren't the only reason for Delpo's lack of success since the 2009 USO. He is just inconsistent enough and not mentally strong enough to go all the way in slams on a constant basis.

And, yes, I know that he is playing Nadal at RG right now.
 
ManUtd1999 said:
As I said earlier this week, injuries weren't the only reason for Delpo's lack of success since the 2009 USO. He is just inconsistent enough and not mentally strong enough to go all the way in slams on a constant basis.

And, yes, I know that he is playing Nadal at RG right now.
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Mentally weak?! Have you seen what he did to Federer (twice) and Nadal (once) at the USO? He's anything but mentally weak. You don't come back in the way the way he did if you're mentally weak.
 
ManUtd1999 said:
As I said earlier this week, injuries weren't the only reason for Delpo's lack of success since the 2009 USO. He is just inconsistent enough and not mentally strong enough to go all the way in slams on a constant basis.

And, yes, I know that he is playing Nadal at RG right now.
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So Federer is mentally weak because he lost to Nadal at the French always?

He’s had three wrist operations on both wrists, I think that might have something to do with why he hasn’t been consistent.

He also came into this tournament with a injury and limited time on clay. So it’s amazing he even reached the semi.
 
wr8_utd said:
Mentally weak?! Have you seen what he did to Federer (twice) and Nadal (once) at the USO? He's anything but mentally weak. You don't come back in the way the way he did if you're mentally weak.
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Yes. I saw him doing that, but many others beat Fed (my idol) and Nadal on a given day. Nadal lost multiple times to players outside the top 100.

Delpo is one of the best in the world, but is he consistent enough and mentally strong enough to win big titles on a constant basis? No, and that’s my point.
 
Bojan11 said:
So Federer is mentally weak because he lost to Nadal at the French always?

He’s had three wrist operations on both wrists, I think that might have something to do with why he hasn’t been consistent.

He also came into this tournament with a injury and limited time on clay. So it’s amazing he even reached the semi.
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I already said that injuries were one reason, but they are not the only reason.
 
ManUtd1999 said:
Yes. I saw him doing that, but many others beat Fed (my idol) and Nadal on a given day. Nadal lost multiple times to players outside the top 100.

Delpo is one of the best in the world, but is he consistent enough and mentally strong enough to win big titles on a constant basis? No, and that’s my point.
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He was the first one to beat them back to back.

You give any tennis player three wrist operations and most would be retired. Let alone in the worlds top four.

If you can’t see these wrist injuries still have a effect on him then you must be blind. He’s literally playing with no backhand and that’s what Nadal has been targeting all game.
 
It's a miracle he even played this tournament, let alone get to the semis. He had a groin tear two weeks before RG! He's more than shown his mental strenght even on the hard courts vs Fed this year.
 
So Thiem in the final. The toughest possible opponent. The ONLY man to beat Nadal anywhere on clay in the last 2 years. This is the first time in years someone has a very very good chance of winning a RG final against Rafa :nervous:
 
wr8_utd said:
So Thiem in the final. The toughest possible opponent. The ONLY man to beat Nadal anywhere on clay in the last 2 years. This is the first time in years someone has a very very good chance of winning a RG final against Rafa :nervous:
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Rafa hasn't looked great too. Going to be a tough one.

Thiem's a weird one too. Biggest gunslinger in tennis, just belts the ball as hard as he can.
 
wr8_utd said:
So Thiem in the final. The toughest possible opponent. The ONLY man to beat Nadal anywhere on clay in the last 2 years. This is the first time in years someone has a very very good chance of winning a RG final against Rafa :nervous:
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I wouldn’t go that far. Rafa has beaten peak Fed and Djokovic on clay. Thiem has nothing on both of those two. It will definitely be a tougher match than the final vs Ferrer. Nadal made Wawrinka easy work. But people before the game were predicting Stan could cause him trouble. Wawrinka was a potentially tricky opponent. It’s just Nadal made him look average on that day.

He also beat Thiem at Monte Carlo this year. Thiems gonna have to play very well and hope the Rafa that turned up in the first set the other day shows up.

It really depends on Rafa really. If he is at half his level then Thiem has a chance. If they both at a high level then Rafa will still take it easily.
 
And the women? Saw an interesting stat that Stephens has been in 6 finals (not all GS, obviously) and won all.
Meanwhile, favourite Halep has lost all her GS Finals.
 
Bojan11 said:
I wouldn’t go that far. Rafa has beaten peak Fed and Djokovic on clay. Thiem has nothing on both of those two. It will definitely be a tougher match than the final vs Ferrer. Nadal made Wawrinka easy work. But people before the game were predicting Stan could cause him trouble. Wawrinka was a potentially tricky opponent. It’s just Nadal made him look average on that day.

He also beat Thiem at Monte Carlo this year. Thiems gonna have to play very well and hope the Rafa that turned up in the first set the other day shows up.

It really depends on Rafa really. If he is at half his level then Thiem has a chance. If they both at a high level then Rafa will still take it easily.
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The thing is, Rafa has been at a very ordinary level these two weeks, by his standards. He might have just dropped a set but it's among his poorer attempts here. He's had an easy enough draw so it's not made much of a difference but he's going to have to really up his level tomorrow. He's played some very poor opening sets and gotten away with it and against Thiem, he can't play that way.
He destroyed Thiem at MC but then lost at Madrid (altitude doesn't help). I think it'll be one of the toughest finals Nadal has played at RG other than against Djokovic.
 
Thiem, Zverev, Delpo and Cilic all having decent showings makes it looks like the race for YE#2 could get exciting, only 500 points between Zverev in 2nd and Thiem in 5th after tomorrow. Cilic is a bit further back but you'd expect him to gain big time during the grass tournaments and then if Delpo's fit he'll pick up a lot towards the end of the year. Hopefully Federer can be in the fight too.

Going for Sloane in three today, would be nice to see Halep win but I have zero confidence in her getting over the finishing line in a final after her last couple of showings.
 
Rooting for Halep to finally win a slam final. If Stephens has a good day I see her taking it though.
 
A bit off-topic to the current even, sorry about that, but I'm watching Atlanta and there's a sentence

I'm a bit like Serena Williams. They might all hate but I got the stats.
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Is Serena Williams an unpopular figure in tennis?
 
Stephens has been very impressive so far. Seems to have an answer for everything Halep’s thrown at her.
 
Halep doesnt really have the weapons to blow Stephens of the court. She’s a fighter though, wouldnt write her off yet.

Also Halep makes some questionable shot choices today.
 
There's something quite Floyd Mayweather-esque about Stephens' tactics today. She's able to adsorb everything, and land her own punches without ever being in any danger of being hurt. Insanely good so far.
 
Actually don’t know who I’d like to win honestly. Hope it’ll go to a 3rd set though. Something like 14-12 in the third.
 
Pretty big drop off from Sloane these last couple of games. A third set would be nice but not if she's knackered already...
 
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