Tennis 2022

[AshRK]

Brilliant win by a brilliant athlete. Always said you can be a Federer fan, nadal fan or djocker fan but these three are special and we better enjoy their success.

As for medvedev he should be gutted. The match was there to be won, felt he was hurrying things up rather than taking time.

 

[The Hilton]

Sure but all of that goes without saying, really. This isn’t some tedious Big 3 argument, just a simple statement that Medvedev had him at 2-0 and instead of putting his foot on his throat he started making poor choices (drop shots and the off pace, particularly) and, more importantly, he banked on being able to run Nadal’s legs off. Instead he walked himself back into a match against maybe the best competitor of all time. Naive at best.

Oh yeah I totally agree, Medvedev fell apart and threw it away, but that's something that the top guys can do to people, and Medvedev has always been a bit fragile mentally - someone a bit stronger (like Murray or Wawrinka when they were disrupting the big boys) would have pushed the advantage I imagine.

 

[Rajma]

What a champion, and great match. You can never write off the big 3, they rarely go down without kicking and you have to put them away while you’re on top, because they will find a way eventually if you give them something to cling on to. Bravo!

 

[Rajma]

Medvedev is a nice guy, crowd was awful as per usual.

 

[Rajma]

He’s going to be the guy to beat at the French Open, likely to go 22 if he can hold this form. Quite a turnaround this when it seemed that Novak will pull away from the rest.

 

[Rajma]

Novak is getting vaccinated as we speak.

 

[Kevin]

He’s going to be the guy to beat at the French Open, likely to go 22 if he can hold this form. Quite a turnaround this when it seemed that Novak will pull away from the rest.

Novak will always be a huge threat to him on any court. If he gets vaccinated I'd say a final at the French Open between them is 50/50.

 

[RooneyLegend]

He’s going to be the guy to beat at the French Open, likely to go 22 if he can hold this form. Quite a turnaround this when it seemed that Novak will pull away from the rest.

They better wrap him in cotton wool until the clay court tournaments if he's to win it. He probably should learn there is no need for him to play a loaded schedule at this point in his career.

 

[Ladron de redcafe]

Cannot wait for Medvedev to destroy Nadal. Hope he puts on and celebrates in an ‘Idemo’ t-shirt.

Too bad this didn't pan out for you. Instead, Nadal sets the all time slam mark in epic fashion, surpassing Djokovic who's breaking his television set somewhere.

 

[Godfather]

Absolutely love it. What a player Nadal is. Also surpassed Novax which makes it even better

 

[Bepi]

The three super amigos era has produced a number of epic matches in the last 20 years and it still keeps going, which is just out of this world. I cannot find too many similar stories of sustained, epic success (and failures) from any sport… except possibly the 00s crop of QBs from the NFL? This is insane, an insane conclusion to an insane match. Nadal clearly and deservedly throwing his hat again into the GOAT debate, and Djokovic maybe realising his scientifically idiotic covid stance has hit him with a double hammer… which is good for the sport, in that it will fuel a much expected comeback in Wimbledon and the US Open. A 22-22 grand slams each at the end of 2022??

 

[ExoduS]

You can only beat who is in front of you. Thank you Novak for being covidiot and let things other than tennis determine who the GOAT is.

 

[saivet]

Just watched the 5th set and glad I didn't watch that final set as my nerves would have been through the roof.

His mental game and his ability to play at the net and execute his drop shots were the big difference it seemed when they were both struggling physcially.

Still can't quite believe it. The AO, is the one I wanted him to win most as he only won it once before and had some tough defeats.

 

[James Peril]

I am 36 and I have witnessed Tiger Woods, Messi, Ronaldo, Federer and of course Nadal in their absolute primes. It is going to be dramatic when all of them disappear from their sports at the same tine, but what an absolute privilege it’s been. Can only salute all of them, what Nadal did today is so incredibly impressive I don’t have words. He is losing heavily and uses his experience to change his approach instead of giving up. I remember when he stormed onto the scene when I was into small-stake betting back in 2005ish, that’s almost half my life ago!

Rafael Nadal, incredible sportsman, absolute legend and top-notch professional. Always time for others and always polite. The GOAT.

 

[saivet]

Have to feel for Medvedev. No crowd support tonight and he didn't get much love when he beat Djokovic in the US Open final.

Seems in his post match press conference it really got to him, which is a bit sad. I'm sure he will get that crowd support eventually as he's a likeable character.

 

[wr8_utd]

Just watched the 5th set and glad I didn't watch that final set as my nerves would have been through the roof.

His mental game and his ability to play at the net and execute his drop shots were the big difference it seemed when they were both struggling physcially.

Still can't quite believe it. The AO, is the one I wanted him to win most as he only won it once before and had some tough defeats.

There were many moments in that fifth set I put the TV off. Just couldn't deal with it

 

[utdalltheway]

What an amazing match!
Congrats to Nadal on making history. You could really see how much it meant to him in the moment. The next few weeks will be unreal for him.
Medvedev was very gracious in his speech and came across as a really humble guy.

 

[Rajma]

Australian fans have been a disgrace from start to finish this year.

 

[UweBein]

Australian fans have been a disgrace from start to finish this year.

He is a rather spoiled brat.
Man up and fight on, is the meesage for this russian snowflake.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

Australian fans have been a disgrace from start to finish this year.

I’m not excusing their behaviours but let’s not pretend that Medvedev is blameless here, when you constantly give it back to them and call them low IQ then they aren’t going to change their mind.

Every man and his dog knew the crowd would be massively behind Nadal, letting them get to you is just poor mental fortitude.

 

[Rajma]

He is a rather spoiled brat.
Man up and fight on, is the meesage for this russian snowflake.

Spoiled brat? What the heck are you even talking about it? Give your head a check.

Expecting not to be cheered on his mistakes is far away from being a spoiled, it’s just some common decency which is severely lacking in majority of Fedal fans unfortunately in English speaking countries that attend these events.

 

[Rajma]

I’m not excusing their behaviours but let’s not pretend that Medvedev is blameless here, when you constantly give it back to them and call them low IQ then they aren’t going to change their mind.

Every man and his dog knew the crowd would be massively behind Nadal, letting them get to you is just poor mental fortitude.

He was spot on though, Australian fans have shown to have a low IQ during this tournament for everyone to see. Booing during tennis matches without a very good reason can only be associated people that are not really bright.

 

[Wade3]

Spoiled brat? What the heck are you even talking about it? Give your head a check.

Expecting not to be cheered on his mistakes is far away from being a spoiled, it’s just some common decency which is severely lacking in majority of Fedal fans unfortunately in English speaking countries that attend these events.

While I can understand Medvedev‘s point of view a bit, generalizing Federer and Nadal fans from English speaking countries in this manner is lacking any common decency as well.

 

[Rajma]

While I can understand Medvedev‘s point of view a bit, generalizing Federer and Nadal fans from English speaking countries in this manner is lacking any common decency as well.

It’s not a generalization just an observational fact though? You just have to watch any match involving Fedal against the rest that has something hanging on it during Wimbledon/Australian Open/US Open to see this, and this rarely happens anywhere else in the world when these guys play.

 

[Red Devil 26]

I’m not excusing their behaviours but let’s not pretend that Medvedev is blameless here, when you constantly give it back to them and call them low IQ then they aren’t going to change their mind.

Every man and his dog knew the crowd would be massively behind Nadal, letting them get to you is just poor mental fortitude.

Tbf, he only said that about those that were cheering when he missed his first serve when he was break point down against Kyrgios.

I find his interviews really refreshing and think this crowd were deserving of stick. I appreciate their hostility towards him is a bi-product of him calling them out, but it's no excuse for their behaviour in between points. They were booing him too when his name was mentioned, prior to the trophies being presented. That's a disgraceful way to behave towards a runner up that helped put on such a spectacle for them.

From reading his interview transcript though, I do think he needs to be more thick skinned when going up against the big 3. They will understandably always receive more adulation for their exploits and he needs to accept that.

Anyway, I do hope he continues to be himself off the court. The game could do with more of his candor and his willingness to stick it to obnoxious crowds.

 

[MattofManchester]

He was spot on though, Australian fans have shown to have a low IQ during this tournament for everyone to see. Booing during tennis matches without a very good reason can only be associated people that are not really bright.

Maybe it would help if he wasn't antagonising them or shouting at umpires and ballboys. The crowd was bad, not the worst, but bad. Although Medvedev is as much an ass as the rest of them.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

He was spot on though, Australian fans have shown to have a low IQ during this tournament for everyone to see. Booing during tennis matches without a very good reason can only be associated people that are not really bright.

If only being right is all it takes to get what you want in life.

The whole court courtesy is a bit iffy imo. I would not do it if I were at the tennis and how rowdy the crowd was didn’t sit right with me either, but that’s just how I was conditioned to think of as appropriate behaviour at a Tennis match. At the end of the day, those people paid a feck ton of money to be there (cheapest ticket price for the final, unless you got lucky and actually got in the queue, went for sth like 400USD a pop), so they can cheer on their side however they want, as long as it doesn’t interfere with play like calling out fault or shouting between serves.

 

[Rajma]

If only being right is all it takes to get what you want in life.

The whole court courtesy is a bit iffy imo. I would not do it if I were at the tennis and how rowdy the crowd was didn’t sit right with me either, but that’s just how I was conditioned to think of as appropriate behaviour at a Tennis match. At the end of the day, those people paid a feck ton of money to be there (cheapest ticket price for the final, unless you got lucky and actually got in the queue, went for sth like 400USD a pop), so they can cheer on their side however they want, as long as it doesn’t interfere with play like calling out fault or shouting between serves.

They can absolutely do whatever they like but it doesn’t change the fact that this is an awful look and extremely disheartening from player’s perspective who was part of the great final with a lot of quality and is a world No. 2. I’m just sick and tired of seeing these partisan crowds over the years. That’s not that tennis is all about.

 

[frostbite]

Unbelievable!!!

I watched the first two sets and then I gave up. I was 100% with Nadal and I was watching him suffering, sweating, missing his first serve ... it was terrible, and after the second set I could not take it any more! And he came back from that??? Wow! Incredible!

 

[wr8_utd]

I've always hated the crowds in Federer matches so to see those kind of crowds today was not a good lack and I hope it stops. That being said, Medvedev also always has a lot to say that antagonizes crowds (USO and AO this time) so it's not all that surprising, I guess.

 

[ExoduS]

They can absolutely do whatever they like but it doesn’t change the fact that this is an awful look and extremely disheartening from player’s perspective who was part of the great final with a lot of quality and is a world No. 2. I’m just sick and tired of seeing these partisan crowds over the years. That’s not that tennis is all about.

Well man up and silence the crowd. Djokovic had to do it against Federer numerous of times. It was him against Federer and the stadium. He did it, and didn't cry about it. Medvedev could have kept crowd out of the match as did Djokovic in 2019 where he absolutely demolished Nadal. Djokovic would hit amazing winner and crowd would be "quiet", Nadal wold fight back and crowd would go crazy. Well that is how it is. You have to go through that.

 

[UweBein]

Spoiled brat? What the heck are you even talking about it? Give your head a check.

Expecting not to be cheered on his mistakes is far away from being a spoiled, it’s just some common decency which is severely lacking in majority of Fedal fans unfortunately in English speaking countries that attend these events.

They pay for the tickets and they can support whoever they want in whatever way they want, as far as I am concerned.
Daniil finds that unfair? Well suck it up and toughen up...

 

[Brophs]

At least Medvedev will get to play in front of a top quality crowd at his next slam.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

They can absolutely do whatever they like but it doesn’t change the fact that this is an awful look and extremely disheartening from player’s perspective who was part of the great final with a lot of quality and is a world No. 2. I’m just sick and tired of seeing these partisan crowds over the years. That’s not that tennis is all about.

Tbh I feel like the cat is out of the bag and this sort of behaviour will become more and more commonplace in the future. Chatting and cheering was once accepted at the opera/classical music concert, dressing nicely and not booing was once the norm in football matches. It’s really hard to regulate these behaviors as the demographics change. I could be wrong and I hope that’s the case, maybe once Fedal retired crowds would behave nicely, but imo players are better off getting used to it and filter them out instead of letting it wind them up.

 

[wr8_utd]

Well man up and silence the crowd. Djokovic had to do it against Federer numerous of times. It was him against Federer and the stadium. He did it, and didn't cry about it. Medvedev could have kept crowd out of the match as did Djokovic in 2019 where he absolutely demolished Nadal. Djokovic would hit amazing winner and crowd would be "quiet", Nadal wold fight back and crowd would go crazy. Well that is how it is. You have to go through that.

That's the biggest difference really. Players like Novak and Ronaldo can feed off the hate/lack of affection they receive from crowds and channel that into victories. Medvedved, as has been apparent from that USO in 2019, really gets quite affected by crowds. Sometimes he might draw inspiration from that but he really needs to be able to block out what crowds think of him.

 

[frostbite]

Regarding Medvedev and the fans, he basically made things worse and opened his own grave. He should never antagonize the fans. After all, it is fans that pay for the many million dollars he earns. (Price money $22 million, plus endorsements, ads, etc)

After the match he should say something like "I understand the fans, the crowd was behind the all time greatest player, which is natural. I hope that in the future I can win the fans and have the same support Nadal had today." Instead, what he said is like "feck the fans, feck them, I will only play for myself, I don't care about the fans anymore". That's stupid, isn't it?

 

[ExoduS]

That's the biggest difference really. Players like Novak and Ronaldo can feed off the hate/lack of affection they receive from crowds and channel that into victories. Medvedved, as has been apparent from that USO in 2019, really gets quite affected by crowds. Sometimes he might draw inspiration from that but he really needs to be able to block out what crowds think of him.

Yeah it sucks. Federer and Nadal are two champions that are so loved and admired. Medvedev and Novak have similar personalities, they can be a bit arrogant, a bit condescending. Federer is also arrogant but manages to hide it very well. Nadal is just humble, likeable guy. I hate him as he dished Novak some heavy defeats, but I can see why he is so loved and admired.

 

[wr8_utd]

Regarding Medvedev and the fans, he basically made things worse and opened his own grave. He should never antagonize the fans. After all, it is fans that pay for the many million dollars he earns. (Price money $22 million, plus endorsements, ads, etc)

After the match he should say something like "I understand the fans, the crowd was behind the all time greatest player, which is natural. I hope that in the future I can win the fans and have the same support Nadal had today." Instead, what he said is like "feck the fans, feck them, I will only play for myself, I don't care about the fans anymore". That's stupid, isn't it?

While he is free to air his opinion, he's got to understand this will just make it worse for him in the future. He called them low IQ fans as well some rounds ago.

 

[SinNombre]

They are in the entertainment business.

He is not a particularly unique player either, just a natural evolution for the post-Fedalovic era in being a good server and good defender.

The onus is on him to win the fans over, not the other way around.

And it is not that hard. If you are good and not being a dick, time will naturally get you there. Nadal was hated by Federer fans for ages but time makes them (or at least the sane majority of those) realize how much the former is part of the latter’s legacy.

 

[utdalltheway]

Unbelievable!!!

I watched the first two sets and then I gave up. I was 100% with Nadal and I was watching him suffering, sweating, missing his first serve ... it was terrible, and after the second set I could not take it any more! And he came back from that??? Wow! Incredible!

Feck!
Presumably you’ve gone back to watch it later?