2013 French Open SF: Nadal vs. Djokovic

[lindseywagners]

It's more so frustration at the BS way in which he wins matches against the other top players.

I may like to watch the superior shotmaking of a classic Fedal match more than Nadal-Joker, but I can't say Joker's play is BS. It's just different.

Nadal wins the way he wins and there's really nothing wrong with it. It is what it is, just as Fed's is as it is, and the rest are what they are.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

I watched it until djokovic broke nadal for 0-1 in the 5th but I had to go out, when I bame back the next sf had started ferrer leading 5-0 but I didn't know the result of nadal-djoko,

when I looked at the result the first thing I see is a '7' by djokovics name for 5th set, and for about half a second I think he is in the final until I look down and see a '9' next to nadals name...bwahahahahahahahahaaa.

 

[DarthFed]

Props to Rafa. This was his Wimbledon 08 and he passed where Roger failed miserably. fair play to him!

 

[Front242]

Surprised so many people thought this was a great match. It was a long match, sure but great? Not sure about that. Firstly, congrats to Nadal. He must be delighted and his fans also. Didn´t know it was meant to be so windy along with the 28c heat in Paris today but it meant a lot of passive pusher rallies ´cos they were both afraid of overhitting. I thought Djokovic had the wrong tactics on many points. I mean he could see Nadal´s FH DTL was on fire today so why did he keep going to it so often? When he could see how many CC shots of his hit to Nadal´s FH were coming back with interest DTL why did he keep hitting there? Expecting the errors? When Nadal rarely missed them I´d say time for a different approach right there. Djokovic was right up there in Fed´s league in terms of UFEs. And his overheads are a serious achilles heel that he needs to really work on. Reminds me of his Beijing missed overhead. Missed some sitters tonight for overheads. If that shot isn´t working for you just leave the damn ball bounce Djokovic you dolt.

Also, I seriously think they need Hawkeye on clay. That call at advantage Nadal in the 2nd game of the 3rd set was in on the Hawkeye replay and that poor error by the umpire really messed up that set for Djokovic. Had he gone on to hold there that set wasn´t a 6-1 mess. Just had a feeling the longer it went on that Djokovic would serve up a muck service game and he must feel gutted at that rubbish last game he played. Also proves the fitness issue wrong as Nadal is clearly still extremely fit. Think Djokovic´s dropshots were poor too and a bad tactic he shouldn´t use against Nadal as he always always gets to them. All in all for me the windy conditions made this a long but not so exciting match except for the last 2 sets. The start of the match there were just too many unexciting pusher rallies with really slow shots ´cos both were afraid of overhitting with the wind. On a weekend break so not sure I´ll catch the final but congrats to Nadal on an amazing 8th RG title. A shame he doesn´t face a guy who may have some shot against him in Tsonga, ´cos despite his consistency Ferrer just isn´t beating him even after the long match Nadal played today. The weather gods were cruel today to poor Djokovic. He always has issues with windy conditions. Wasn´t the sun that helped Nadal so much as the wind hurting Djokovic. He´s definitely the weakest of the top 4 in windy conditions, with the best example of that being against Murray at last year´s US Open. He just doesn´t handle it well. Not the classic match I would´ve liked. Would´ve preferred less wind and faster rallies with less pushing.

 

[Moxie]

^ Yes, but Front, this type of tennis isn't to your taste. Some of us love long rallies, which is why we love clay. Plus, you didn't have a horse in the race, right? (Except maybe hoping Nadal would lose?) For Nadal, and I expect, Djokovic fans, it was an emotional roller coaster.

As to Hawk-Eye, the reason they don't have it on clay is the same reason that the call you mentioned might have been correct, in fact: because of the clay, the margin for error is higher with HE on this surface, which is why they don't use it.

Anyway, enjoy the holiday! Now you don't have to worry about the tennis.

 

[Front242]

Cheers Moxie. No I like ralliying on clay when it´s not slow and boring. The wind made many of the rallies really slow paced pushing that just isn´t the slightest bit exciting imo. A sunny day with no wind and those shots would´ve been ripped much faster by both guys and made for a much more aesthetically pleasing match. It was exciting for sets 4 and 5 in that it was a long match but not many other reasons. I knew it was just a matter of time before Djokovic served up a poor service game as he did in the end. Regarding Hawkeye though surely replaying and seeing that was in will seriously annoy Djokovic and quite rightly. It was on the line by quite a bit in the replay, not just mere millimeters.

 

[Garro]

Surprised so many people thought this was a great match. It was a long match, sure but great? Not sure about that. Firstly, congrats to Nadal. He must be delighted and his fans also. Didn´t know it was meant to be so windy along with the 28c heat in Paris today but it meant a lot of passive pusher rallies ´cos they were both afraid of overhitting. I thought Djokovic had the wrong tactics on many points. I mean he could see Nadal´s FH DTL was on fire today so why did he keep going to it so often? When he could see how many CC shots of his hit to Nadal´s FH were coming back with interest DTL why did he keep hitting there? Expecting the errors? When Nadal rarely missed them I´d say time for a different approach right there. Djokovic was right up there in Fed´s league in terms of UFEs. And his overheads are a serious achilles heel that he needs to really work on. Reminds me of his Beijing missed overhead. Missed some sitters tonight for overheads. If that shot isn´t working for you just leave the damn ball bounce Djokovic you dolt.

I have only seen bits and pieces of their Australian Open final, so I can't really compare to that, but this was my personal favorite Djokovic/Nadal match, with only the Madrid 09 final coming close. Just so much drama and so intense in that fifth set, what Nadal had to do with his game to win that set was astonishing. I thought J-Mac said that it was the best match he'd seen played at the French and I dunno if I'd go that far but I enjoyed all of it.

 

[Moxie]

I got ya about the wind. And the controversial shot. (Didn't see that one myself, due to work.) And since I couldn't sit focused and watch every point of the match, I'll take your word. Actually, I couldn't judge it as a "great" match or not. "Drama" I think it did have, at least because of the set-up, and the 5 sets. But I can understand if it's not a "timeless classic."
But in some ways, it must have lived up to the hype.

 

[Iona16]

Huge congrats to Rafa. I had to follow this match between meetings at work today. I'm watching the highlights right now. More fun when I know the result.

I got the final I wanted. Still rooting for Rafa but would also be very happy for Ferrer if he were to win.

 

[Moxie]

Huge congrats to Rafa. I had to follow this match between meetings at work today. I'm watching the highlights right now. More fun when I know the result.

I got the final I wanted. Still rooting for Rafa but would also be very happy for Ferrer if he were to win.

I'm pretty sure you're the only one who would say this was the final they wanted, though, if I'd believed it possible, I might have said so, too. Everyone said this RG was more up-for-grabs than usual, so I guess that was at least 50% right. I really do want Nadal to win, for the obvious reasons, but if Ferrer were to pull it out, I'd be thrilled for him. Nobody gave him a snow-ball's chance. Except maybe you.

 

[Iona16]

Huge congrats to Rafa. I had to follow this match between meetings at work today. I'm watching the highlights right now. More fun when I know the result.

I got the final I wanted. Still rooting for Rafa but would also be very happy for Ferrer if he were to win.

I'm pretty sure you're the only one who would say this was the final they wanted, though, if I'd believed it possible, I might have said so, too. Everyone said this RG was more up-for-grabs than usual, so I guess that was at least 50% right. I really do want Nadal to win, for the obvious reasons, but if Ferrer were to pull it out, I'd be thrilled for him. Nobody gave him a snow-ball's chance. Except maybe you.

hey Moxie

I have to be honest and say that the minute Andy pulled out the French Open did lose appeal for me. With no Andy I was 100% behind Rafa. When the draw came out I did expect another Fedal final. I thought Fed would reach the semis and beat Ferrer. After Tsonga's performance against Federer I thought we might see the Frenchman in the final. I do think Ferrer is a very worthly finalist. He hasn't dropped a set has he?

 

[brokenshoelace]

Surprised so many people thought this was a great match. It was a long match, sure but great? Not sure about that. Firstly, congrats to Nadal. He must be delighted and his fans also. Didn´t know it was meant to be so windy along with the 28c heat in Paris today but it meant a lot of passive pusher rallies ´cos they were both afraid of overhitting. I thought Djokovic had the wrong tactics on many points. I mean he could see Nadal´s FH DTL was on fire today so why did he keep going to it so often? When he could see how many CC shots of his hit to Nadal´s FH were coming back with interest DTL why did he keep hitting there? Expecting the errors? When Nadal rarely missed them I´d say time for a different approach right there. Djokovic was right up there in Fed´s league in terms of UFEs. And his overheads are a serious achilles heel that he needs to really work on. Reminds me of his Beijing missed overhead. Missed some sitters tonight for overheads. If that shot isn´t working for you just leave the damn ball bounce Djokovic you dolt.

I'm not with you 100%, but I agree with a lot of this. The one thing I disagree about is this not being a great match. It certainly was. The first two sets were "good," the third was pretty bad (which overall hurts the match's quality), the 4th was pretty damn good, and the fifth was phenomenal. You add to this the drama, everything that is at stake, and the two participants, and you have a great match. If you're strictly looking at it from a pure quality perspective, then it might "just" be a very good match, as opposed to great.

I agree with you on Novak's tactics (I'm writing a blog about the match so I'll save the details for there), but yeah, he definitely should have went to Nadal's backhand more once he noticed that Nadal's forehand was clicking and that he was changing directions with ease. I think because of the hot conditions, Rafa's forehand had too much work, so Novak wasn't able to take it on the rise with his backhand and hit it deep cross court with the same consistency. He probably should have taken a few steps back, gave his backhand more air, and hit it to Rafa's backhand (which in fairness, was holding its own).

I don't think the wind was as bad as you're making it out to be though.

 

[britbox]

Ferrer is a worthy finalist but it's not box office and the result is a foregone conclusion. This semi was the defacto final.

 

[Moxie]

Huge congrats to Rafa. I had to follow this match between meetings at work today. I'm watching the highlights right now. More fun when I know the result.

I got the final I wanted. Still rooting for Rafa but would also be very happy for Ferrer if he were to win.

I'm pretty sure you're the only one who would say this was the final they wanted, though, if I'd believed it possible, I might have said so, too. Everyone said this RG was more up-for-grabs than usual, so I guess that was at least 50% right. I really do want Nadal to win, for the obvious reasons, but if Ferrer were to pull it out, I'd be thrilled for him. Nobody gave him a snow-ball's chance. Except maybe you.

hey Moxie

I have to be honest and say that the minute Andy pulled out the French Open did lose appeal for me. With no Andy I was 100% behind Rafa. When the draw came out I did expect another Fedal final. I thought Fed would reach the semis and beat Ferrer. After Tsonga's performance against Federer I thought we might see the Frenchman in the final. I do think Ferrer is a very worthly finalist. He hasn't dropped a set has he?

Hey, Iona:

Well, fair enough if you lost interest. In fact, Ferrer has not dropped a set. He's played a fantastic tournament. In fact, it bears mentioning that many have questioned over the years why he hasn't been more on-game at RG. Well, he has been this one, and he should be given a creditable chance at the final. I'm sure Nadal won't be taking it for granted.

 

[brokenshoelace]

By the way, I don't think Tsonga had a chance against Nadal. Sure in theory, he could have served out of his mind, crushed every forehand, and hit one drop volley after the next. In reality, how likely was it that he would keep that up against Nadal on clay?

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

the only things ferrer has in his favour are nadal will be a bit tired after his 4hr 40min sf in the sun,

the weather on sunday will be cooler and cloudy if not some rain as paris will be on the edge of a big low pressure system pushing up from n spain / s france.

 

[Iona16]

Huge congrats to Rafa. I had to follow this match between meetings at work today. I'm watching the highlights right now. More fun when I know the result.

I got the final I wanted. Still rooting for Rafa but would also be very happy for Ferrer if he were to win.

I'm pretty sure you're the only one who would say this was the final they wanted, though, if I'd believed it possible, I might have said so, too. Everyone said this RG was more up-for-grabs than usual, so I guess that was at least 50% right. I really do want Nadal to win, for the obvious reasons, but if Ferrer were to pull it out, I'd be thrilled for him. Nobody gave him a snow-ball's chance. Except maybe you.

hey Moxie

I have to be honest and say that the minute Andy pulled out the French Open did lose appeal for me. With no Andy I was 100% behind Rafa. When the draw came out I did expect another Fedal final. I thought Fed would reach the semis and beat Ferrer. After Tsonga's performance against Federer I thought we might see the Frenchman in the final. I do think Ferrer is a very worthly finalist. He hasn't dropped a set has he?

Hey, Iona:

Well, fair enough if you lost interest. In fact, Ferrer has not dropped a set. He's played a fantastic tournament. In fact, it bears mentioning that many have questioned over the years why he hasn't been more on-game at RG. Well, he has been this one, and he should be given a creditable chance at the final. I'm sure Nadal won't be taking it for granted.

I've still enjoyed the tournament but when your boy isn't in it you can't help but feel less involved.

I'm hoping it will be a great final.

 

[Moxie]

Ferrer is a worthy finalist but it's not box office and the result is a foregone conclusion. This semi was the defacto final.

The "box office" final, based on this draw, would have been Federer-Nadal. And the world still tunes in for that. But around here, Fed fans sneer at that one. So what's so wrong with 2 great clay-courters going at each other? Yes, everyone figured the de facto final would be the SF of Nadal/Djokovic. I, like Nadal, however, won't take anything for granted, and will watch the final on Sunday.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Does anyone know where I can find videos of the post-match press conferences, or at least, the transcriptions?

 

[tented]

Does anyone know where I can find videos of the post-match press conferences, or at least, the transcriptions?

Ever since the press convinced tournaments not to release such things to the public for 24 hours, they're very difficult to find.

They will be here:

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/interviews/index.html

But notice that Friday's interviews are for matches which occurred yesterday.