We Fed fans always appreciated the Rafa villains. I feel like they were all just the dudes that beat Rafa at Wimbledon and then also throw in Soderling of course for RG and his earlier mocking of Nadal’s ritual. Kind of crazy how long ago all of that seems!
Yeah Rosol was a completed pain in the hole. And of course, his missus must have watched him play tough with Rafa and thought, you stingy bastard, if you played every match as if it was against Rafa, we’d be living in a huge feck-off mansion, with money for things, and great achievements in the game to look back on.
I still casually and confidently asterisk Stan’s 2014 Australian Open victory. I do it without a backwards glance. He’d played Rafa 11 times before that and never won as much as a single set, and then the one time Rafa arrives to play, with an obviously broken back and a stoop, Stan squelches out a W?
Stan was more of rival instead of a villain for Novak.. Stan just had the correct counters for Novak's game. Rafa and Andy had guys that did what ever they could to get under their skin personally.
Dont remind I was live at that match at the AO...........................tragically I survived, sad to say Rafa did not!I still casually and confidently asterisk Stan’s 2014 Australian Open victory. I do it without a backwards glance. He’d played Rafa 11 times before that and never won as much as a single set, and then the one time Rafa arrives to play, with an obviously broken back and a stoop, Stan squelches out a W?
GTFOH…********
Kieran, that match vs Stan really was a huge upset when Rafa woke up with a stiff neck or upper torso. No excuses Stan won the match and it was a day in AO when the tennis gods no likey Rafy!!I still casually and confidently asterisk Stan’s 2014 Australian Open victory. I do it without a backwards glance. He’d played Rafa 11 times before that and never won as much as a single set, and then the one time Rafa arrives to play, with an obviously broken back and a stoop, Stan squelches out a W?
GTFOH…********
The 2012 match losing to Novak really s head of this one.. Third was the gutless pre 5th set bio/MTO break that Roger took in 2017.
Maybe we can make it a tie
the reason I say 2012 is because Rafa was not jaded and made a critical mistake when he was up 4-2 30-15. He should have Ivan Lendl the chest of Novak when he was at the net. he decided to go around him. Rafa later in the year hit Novak which pissed him off tremendously which is all in the game.
I take your point in that match again I was live, actually it ended up like a boxing match towards the end, I came away saying
He “won” it but he couldn’t lose it. He was blessed by tennis gods that never favoured anybody before or since so obviously..
Brotha.. I have NEVER watched a replay of that match..I felt like I had a true hangover but I was not drinking that night..I am quite sure Fed Fans have about 5 matches that Novak got off the hook especially the one at the US Open when Roger had two matchpoints snatched by Novak..that's tennis and Roger is a billionarie. no worries
I rewatched it last year from that point on, to see how it ended and really, if Rafa wins that point, the set is over, 6-2. No question. Novak revived after that point. He was dead. If Rafa had won that point, he’s holding the trophy less than twenty minutes later. It’s cruel. Rafa was cursed in Melbourne. He could have had at least 3 more titles - 2012, 2014 and 2017 and nobody could complain.
He’s right. And I know a very strong Rafa fan who decided not to watch it cos the conditions favoured Djoker. But Rafa felt it that day. I think he even said that to someone before the match. No way he was going to lose. It was immense and kudos to Djoker for making the third set competitive..
Yeah that match grew in dread as it progressed. Same in 2022 but he got a grip on that one before it slid away…
