Tennis 2019

he's always injured/half-injured/tired because he had couple of five setters earlier etc. that's Nishikori.
 
Djokovic-Nadal final is well on the cards, that's exactly what doctor ordered then
 
Bojan11 said:
I don’t buy this Federer being more enjoyable to watch. Maybe 10 years ago. Probably because Federer has a better serve than the other two, so his service games can be over in a minute with nothing happening. Where as Djokovic and Nadal need to work a lot harder to hold their serve so it makes for more interesting rallies.

I found Nadal and Djokovic matches even when they not playing each other more entertaining. Djokovic has been involved in many classics.
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Entertaining is subjective, admittedly, but you seem pretty partisan with this comment. Federer clearly has more to enjoy than a serve! You're also in the minority when it comes to style preference, just like some people love Mourinho's style of football, but it's not nearly as universally popular as Klopp/Guardiola.

Personally I find Djokovic matches in particular boring unless his opponent makes it interesting - his ability to get the ball back is impressive, but I could just watch a tennis ball machine for that.

Revan said:
Djokovic had the highest absolute peak, and positive record with the other two. If he reaches 20, he likely would have surpassed Federer as the person being in No. 1 ATP list. Extremely hard to argue against him if he reaches 20. The only arguments for Fed would be his visual appeal (as in, being more enjoyable to watch) and number of semis/quarters (but then doesn't Djokovic has more ATP Masters), but they are a bit weak arguments. If Djoker wins 20, he will be the GOAT.

Nadal, it depends. If he wins the last 3 outside of FO, he might have an argument. 9 GS outside of his favorite one would be better than only 6 there and 14 in FO.
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GOAT is also subjective, but I'm willing to bet Federer will still be there for the majority even if Djokovic or Nadal surpass him in GS titles, mainly because of his style of play. You may see it as a weak argument, but it's very important across most sports. It's a big reason that Fergie is rated so highly, despite underachieving in Europe, and none of the teams in the conversation were those that won defensively.
 
Djokovic won’t even need to match Federer’s 20 Grand Slams to surpass his career achievements. 18 or 19 would be enough considering what he’s done everywhere else.

If Nadal got a career ending injury today then Djokovic would end up surpassing Federer’s Slam count and if Djokovic got a career ending injury today then Nadal would end up surpassing Federer’s Slam count.

The only way Federer’s 20 GS record remains alive is if Nadal and Djokovic continue taking Grand Slams away from eachother.
 
Nadals been on a rampage since his first service game. Feel for Tsitipas because Nadal in this form is too good for anybody.
 
I don’t remember Rafa these recent years at the AO having looked anywhere close to how impressive he’s looked in this year’s tournament. If (when) Djoko gets to the final we might be in for a classic.
 
Some performance. I think Tsitsipas looked nervous and made a few odd choices, but, ultimately, as the poster above said, no one beats Rafa when he’s like this. If he can stay healthy for one more match, we could have an absolute classic. I still think these split sessions are unfair on the players who plays the next day, though.
 
Nadal's serving has been a revelation this tournament. Only had to face one break point today (right at the end) and he's not been broken since the first round.

Tstsipas also had 69% first serves in the match, which makes the win that bit more impressive.

Hope Pouille wins tomorrow, but confident Rafa can put in a good performance against Novak
 
Brophs said:
Some performance. I think Tsitsipas looked nervous and made a few odd choices, but, ultimately, as the poster above said, no one beats Rafa when he’s like this. If he can stay healthy for one more match, we could have an absolute classic. I still think these split sessions are unfair on the players who plays the next day, though.
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I recall there being a stat that more players who played on a Friday have won the final than Thursday. But that’s probably because Djokovic no matter what day he’s played on has dominated the tournament.

Nishikori pulling out didnt help things too.
 
Saw the question on Twitter earlier, but if you were Federer looking at Nadal and Djokovic chasing him, who would he want to win on Sunday (if Djokovic makes it through, obviously). Nadal is the more obvious answer for simple reason of proximity, but Djokovic probably has more opportunities to catch him.

My gut feeling is that if Nadal wins Sunday, he’ll catch and maybe overtake Federer. As brilliant as Djokovic is, I still think the motivation could wobble again at some stage. How amazing would it be if they all ended up on 20, though.
 
Brophs said:
Saw the question on Twitter earlier, but if you were Federer looking at Nadal and Djokovic chasing him, who would he want to win on Sunday (if Djokovic makes it through, obviously). Nadal is the more obvious answer for simple reason of proximity, but Djokovic probably has more opportunities to catch him.

My gut feeling is that if Nadal wins Sunday, he’ll catch and maybe overtake Federer. As brilliant as Djokovic is, I still think the motivation could wobble again at some stage. How amazing would it be if they all ended up on 20, though.
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Nadals is more fitnesss. That’s why I think no matter what happens in the final he shouldn’t play Indian Wells or Miami. Play one of them probably Indian Wells and then get ready for clay.

Djokovic is more mental. He also seems to struggle against some of these young guns. Nadal seems to deal with them well. But they don’t seem to be intimidated by Djokovic as they are when they play Nadal or even Federer.

If Nadal carries on serving like this he’d have more chance of winning on grass and hard courts. But for Nadal to see how his game has developed is if he could beat Djokovic on his favourite court and most dominant slam would be some message for the year. Djokovic has reached 6 finals and won all of them.
 
Bojan11 said:
Nadals is more fitnesss. That’s why I think no matter what happens in the final he shouldn’t play Indian Wells or Miami. Play one of them probably Indian Wells and then get ready for clay.

Djokovic is more mental. He also seems to struggle against some of these young guns. Nadal seems to deal with them well. But they don’t seem to be intimidated by Djokovic as they are when they play Nadal or even Federer.

If Nadal carries on serving like this he’d have more chance of winning on grass and hard courts. But for Nadal to see how his game has developed is if he could beat Djokovic on his favourite court and most dominant slam would be some message for the year. Djokovic has reached 6 finals and won all of them.
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I think he should just rest until the clay season after this unless he's really after the world no. 1.

Even during the clay court season he could do with taking 1 of Rome or Madrid off before heading into RG and Wimbledon. I think his hectic clay court schedule Travellers him by the time he makes it to Wimbledon.
 
Amazing so far from Rafa. Imperious is the word for his performances this AO.
 
Nadal and Djokovic thirsting for that record. Federer and his fans must be pissing in their pants :lol:
 
Fanatic 00237 said:
Sort of agree, coming from a Nadal fan.
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Yup I'm a Nadal and it's most definitely this for me. Even if Rafa and Djoko finish a Slam or two behind Federer it'll be the same.
I know a lot of people count Federer's "style and grace" that he's got going for him but he's got the kind of serve that gives him a lot of free points and the ability to dictate points and be on the attack. Djoko and Nadal just have not been blessed with anything remotely similar in term of serve. Nadal has changed his serve and you can see how it's helped him completely dominate and be on the attack here in Australia.

Also Novak and Nadal both having a superior H2H would count and also the fact that they never really had a weak era like Federer where they picked up 8-10 Slams. There's also the chance that both these guys would have won all the Slams twice and that's something that Fed won't ever achieve.

For all the talk of Rafa being a one court player and a "one trick pony", this is his 14th non Clay Grand Slam final and that's mighty impressive.

As for Djokovic over Nadal, it's pretty straightforward to me. Novak at his best has been better than Rafa at his best and he's also held all 4 Slams at one time.
 
wr8_utd said:
Yup I'm a Nadal and it's most definitely this for me. Even if Rafa and Djoko finish a Slam or two behind Federer it'll be the same.
I know a lot of people count Federer's "style and grace" that he's got going for him but he's got the kind of serve that gives him a lot of free points and the ability to dictate points and be on the attack. Djoko and Nadal just have not been blessed with anything remotely similar in term of serve. Nadal has changed his serve and you can see how it's helped him completely dominate and be on the attack here in Australia.

Also Novak and Nadal both having a superior H2H would count and also the fact that they never really had a weak era like Federer where they picked up 8-10 Slams. There's also the chance that both these guys would have won all the Slams twice and that's something that Fed won't ever achieve.

For all the talk of Rafa being a one court player and a "one trick pony", this is his 14th non Clay Grand Slam final and that's mighty impressive.

As for Djokovic over Nadal, it's pretty straightforward to me. Novak at his best has been better than Rafa at his best and he's also held all 4 Slams at one time.
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Commentator on Eurosport was saying Nadal missed 9 majors. That’s factored against him too.
 
Bojan11 said:
Commentator on Eurosport was saying Nadal missed 9 majors. That’s factored against him too.
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The injuries are less of a valid reason in my opinion because his style of play has caused a lot of them and without that willingness to always give everything he wouldn't have won so much.
 
Really wonder when the next actual great in men's tennis will arrive. The generations after Nadal / Federer / Djokovic all had a few gems, but none of them really succeeded in making their definite mark and at the end, it's the same old guys going in to the final weekend at most slams. You could argue that those three are just that exceptionally good, but sports evolve and someone should be able to knock them off that perch at some point.
 
RORY65 said:
The injuries are less of a valid reason in my opinion because his style of play has caused a lot of them and without that willingness to always give everything he wouldn't have won so much.
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Djokovic has a similar style and has only been injured once. Djokovic probably has to do more running.
 
Bojan11 said:
Djokovic has a similar style and has only been injured once. Djokovic probably has to do more running.
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I would suggest that Nadal's style is a bit more "violent while he's also known to be a ridiculously intense trainer, people who watch say he hits it possibly even harder than in matches which is unlike his competitors, which presumably he thinks he needs to do to compete. However he does it it's fantastic to watch him playing so well and if he keeps it up then he has a massive chance to win on Sunday.
 
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