2013 Wimbledon SF: Djokovic vs. Delpo

[Front242]

Don't they make a lovely couple

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/07/stealing-show/48246/#.Uddl_qy0SjM

 

[Moxie]

Obviously...

Novak won 83% of his first serves, while DP won 72% (not shabby). The interesting thing is that Nole only won 39% of his 2nd serves, while DP won the majority of his (55%).

DP didn't have a horrible day serving by any means - especially when considering to whom he was serving. He played a great match, moved well, crushed the ball off both wings in a way that was reminiscent of his 09 form. In my opinion, he just ran out of gas at the end, or they might have had an Isner v. Mahut last set. :s

Actually, it's surprising when you look at the stats, who was whom. Agreed that DP ran out of gas at the end. I know he's big, and maybe his knee was a little gimpy, (though I'm not really buying that anymore,) but he does have fitness issues. Maybe he should see a nutritionist, like Nole. It has done wonders for him!

 

[Moxie]

Actually, it's surprising when you look at the stats, who was whom. Agreed that DP ran out of gas at the end. I know he's big, and maybe his knee was a little gimpy, (though I'm not really buying that anymore,) but he does have fitness issues. Maybe he should see a nutritionist, like Nole. It has done wonders for him!

I'm not sure if you're pulling my leg. If there is one thing I would like to see Davin focus on (besides keeping DP healthy) is continuing to improve his fitness/stamina. He's done a great job with DP's serve and his movement. But he's still one notch below the likes of Rafa, Ferrer, Andy and Novak in the fitness department.

Oh, I'm not at all! I'm serious. My concern in all of DP's comeback is that he seems to lack stamina. Who knows what the issues are, and he's a big guy, but look what thinking outside of the box choices to diet, etc., did for Nole. I'm totally in favor.

 

[nehmeth]

Actually, it's surprising when you look at the stats, who was whom. Agreed that DP ran out of gas at the end. I know he's big, and maybe his knee was a little gimpy, (though I'm not really buying that anymore,) but he does have fitness issues. Maybe he should see a nutritionist, like Nole. It has done wonders for him!

I'm not sure if you're pulling my leg. If there is one thing I would like to see Davin focus on (besides keeping DP healthy) is continuing to improve his fitness/stamina. He's done a great job with DP's serve and his movement. But he's still one notch below the likes of Rafa, Ferrer, Andy and Novak in the fitness department.

Oh, I'm not at all! I'm serious. My concern in all of DP's comeback is that he seems to lack stamina. Who knows what the issues are, and he's a big guy, but look what thinking outside of the box choices to diet, etc., did for Nole. I'm totally in favor.

Okay good. And, me too. Del Potro adds so much to the sport, improving his fitness would be invaluable, even if it meant having to share a few slam trophies with him.

 

[mrzz]

Hi everyone;

It's been a while since I last posted. But I just saw the match (in fact a good part of it) and had to come by and say that it was an unbelievable match. Congratulations to both men. I would go as far as saying that a LOT of more-than-one-time major winners never played as good as del Potro played in this match (not to mention the winner, but he is well praised).

And, before I forget: Congratulations Britbox, Moxie, El Dude and Broken for the site (if there's someone else, sorry, but I could not enjoy it in much detail, yet).

 

[Moxie]

Hi everyone;

It's been a while since I last posted. But I just saw the match (in fact a good part of it) and had to come by and say that it was an unbelievable match. Congratulations to both men. I would go as far as saying that a LOT of more-than-one-time major winners never played as good as del Potro played in this match (not to mention the winner, but he is well praised).

And, before I forget: Congratulations Britbox, Moxie, El Dude and Broken for the site (if there's someone else, sorry, but I could not enjoy it in much detail, yet).

Great post, Mrzz, and good to see you back. One of our co-founders is tented, by the way. Please keep posting.

I agree that Del Potro played better than many in his loss. It was one helluva match!

 

[britbox]

It's surely only a matter of time before Delpo adds to his major. Let's hope he keeps fit.

 

[isabelle]

Juan was heroic but it was not enought to beat Nole
I was sad to see him lose
Hope his knee injury isn't too serious
Now he can rest and get ready for US tour

 

[britbox]

The chatroom discussion during the match has been merged into this thread.

 

[Mog]

It's surely only a matter of time before Delpo adds to his major. Let's hope he keeps fit.

Agree britbox. He is a great player and fun to watch. I hope he keeps fit. His on and off injury is a matter of concern. Healthy Delpo is more dangerous than this. I like the guy.

 

[tented]

It's surely only a matter of time before Delpo adds to his major. Let's hope he keeps fit.

Agree britbox. He is a great player and fun to watch. I hope he keeps fit. His on and off injury is a matter of concern. Healthy Delpo is more dangerous than this. I like the guy.

I agree, too. I've grown to like him, and respect his game, more and more over the past few years, especially after the Olympics last year. That was another devastating loss on Centre Court, but, like yesterday, he showed a lot of heart, which was exciting.

I also agree that when he's healthier than he's been this week, he can be lethal. He handed Rafa his worst GS loss ever in the '09 USO semi. There was nothing Rafa could do to stop him. Then JMDP showed a lot of confidence and skill to beat Roger at a Major he had won the previous 5 years in a row. Those two matches were incredibly impressive (even though at the time, the Rafa loss was awful!).

But I'm not saying yesterday was all about JMDP having a funky knee. Novak played an amazing match, and deserved to win.

 

[Mog]

It's surely only a matter of time before Delpo adds to his major. Let's hope he keeps fit.

Agree britbox. He is a great player and fun to watch. I hope he keeps fit. His on and off injury is a matter of concern. Healthy Delpo is more dangerous than this. I like the guy.

I agree, too. I've grown to like him, and respect his game, more and more over the past few years, especially after the Olympics last year. That was another devastating loss on Centre Court, but, like yesterday, he showed a lot of heart, which was exciting.

I also agree that when he's healthier than he's been this week, he can be lethal. He handed Rafa his worst GS loss ever in the '09 USO semi. There was nothing Rafa could do to stop him. Then JMDP showed a lot of confidence and skill to beat Roger at a Major he had won the previous 5 years in a row. Those two matches were incredibly impressive (even though at the time, the Rafa loss was awful!).

But I'm not saying yesterday was all about JMDP having a funky knee. Novak played an amazing match, and deserved to win.

I would not talk about JMDP`s knee yesterday and say that he would have won against Noble but healthy Delpo is dangerous.
Djoko is clearly no.1 and played great to win . But Delpo made it very exciting.

 

[Kieran]

del Potro plays like he has no heartbeat. Apart from the humour yesterday - which I interpret as both a way of handling stress and a chance to catch a breather (he only kidded after a draining point) - he has a touch of Pete's demeanor about him. Mopes about, looks half-corpse, half-breathing, then plays a stunningly ruthless point.

Just wasn't his day, came down to a few points that Nole won, and deserved to, but del Potro made a match of it. I thought his movement was affected by the knee, but then it's difficult to tell with him, isn't it?

 

[Alien]

del Potro plays like he has no heartbeat. Apart from the humour yesterday - which I interpret as both a way of handling stress and a chance to catch a breather (he only kidded after a draining point) - he has a touch of Pete's demeanor about him. Mopes about, looks half-corpse, half-breathing, then plays a stunningly ruthless point.

Just wasn't his day, came down to a few points that Nole won, and deserved to, but del Potro made a match of it. I thought his movement was affected by the knee, but then it's difficult to tell with him, isn't it?

I tend to agree. He always seems much more tired than he actually is. He indeed uses humour to rest. And you have to consider that the way he rips off the ball, he spends more energy than Simon to name someone who just pushes the ball.

I think he needs to improve his serve. Too few aces for a guy that tall.

 

[shawnbm]

Everybody welcome back our man from Chile, Derek Zoolander!

Shawnbm, Derek is living in Chile but is actually Argentinean. Used to go by the name Nalbandcoria for that reason... In an old age where the discussion was on Federer vs Sampras, who was the GOAT, etc ... We were young...

So noted, che (if you aren't a porteno, then parden the presumption).

 

[Front242]

This was hands down the best match of Wimbledon 2013 and one of the best I've seen in years actually. The high level of play was sustained pretty much all match long much like Fed v Safin AO '05. Incidentally another year when the semi was by far the best match of the tournament.

 

[Moxie]

This was hands down the best match of Wimbledon 2013 and one of the best I've seen in years actually. The high level of play was sustained pretty much all match long much like Fed v Safin AO '05. Incidentally another year when the semi was by far the best match of the tournament.

I agree, Front, and good comparison with Fed v. Safin. I'm pretty sure the knee wasn't as bad as we'd feared, for him to run around with Djoker for nearly 5 hours. (Hopefully that's so, and he wasn't just running on adrenaline and anti-inflammatories...then comes up with a bad knee sometime soon.)

What I was pleased to see that his endurance was good enough to last that long. That aspect of his fitness has been in question since his comeback from injury, which has been a long time now. It'll be interesting how he features in Canada and Cincy. If he does well, everyone will be looking to see where he ends up in the USO draw.