2014 Aussie Open QF: Djokovic vs. Wawrinka

[britbox]

Just awful, Nole was unrecognizable.

Please.... Talk about an exaggeration.

 

[Moxie]

:cover
Time to stop the bleeding - fire Becker

This can't be Becker's fault. Please. Whatever Becker was hired to do can't even have kicked in yet. If you trust your guy, you should trust why he hired Becker, but the results aren't going to come in 2 weeks.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Who ever said that net play was dead. It's not so much that it will win games for you, but it definitely can lose some for you.

:snigger too true.

I know it's easy to say this in hindsight, and we would have all praised him for having the guts to serve and volley on match point (and he SHOULD have made that volley, no question... It was a simple put away)...BUT, just let the ball drop and hit a forehand dude.

The way he was playing from the baseline? I'd like to see the points won for 4-9 shot rallies that set, it'd be ugly for Nole.

But that wouldn't have been a 4-9 shot rally. The rally would have ended on the next shot, one way or the other. It was a floaty high bouncing ball that would have granted him a relatively simple put away forehand (which don't get me wrong, he might have missed anyway).

 

[brokenshoelace]

The one odd thing about this is I found Stan's level to have been significantly higher in their match at the AO last year. He probably served better here though. Weird old sport.

 

[Front242]

:cover
Time to stop the bleeding - fire Becker

This can't be Becker's fault. Please. Whatever Becker was hired to do can't even have kicked in yet. If you trust your guy, you should trust why he hired Becker, but the results aren't going to come in 2 weeks.

True. He was meant to help him win matches :nono Something he's failed to do when it counts in slams for 2 years as Darth pointed out.

 

[Moxie]

:cover
Time to stop the bleeding - fire Becker

Nole's problem is within. We know he has a lot of game but the last 2+ years he hasn't shown it much.

Darth, I was trying to make a little comedy out of a loss. He's not brought his best in the big matches these past two years I agree.

oops…didn't see this was a joke. Forget what I said.

 

[Johnsteinbeck]

dammit, so much work, i didn't get to follow the match and now i don't even really have time to gloat

 

[nehmeth]

:cover
Time to stop the bleeding - fire Becker

This can't be Becker's fault. Please. Whatever Becker was hired to do can't even have kicked in yet. If you trust your guy, you should trust why he hired Becker, but the results aren't going to come in 2 weeks.

HELLO EVERYONE... I was trying to bring some humor to a rather gutting loss.

Do I think Becker is a disgusting dissipated philandering mess? Yes.
Do I think he's the reason for Nole's loss? No.

(and moxie you wish he'd kept Todd Martin)

 

[DarthFed]

Who ever said that net play was dead. It's not so much that it will win games for you, but it definitely can lose some for you.

:snigger too true.

I know it's easy to say this in hindsight, and we would have all praised him for having the guts to serve and volley on match point (and he SHOULD have made that volley, no question... It was a simple put away)...BUT, just let the ball drop and hit a forehand dude.

The way he was playing from the baseline? I'd like to see the points won for 4-9 shot rallies that set, it'd be ugly for Nole.

But that wouldn't have been a 4-9 shot rally. The rally would have ended on the next shot, one way or the other. It was a floaty high bouncing ball that would have granted him a relatively simple put away forehand (which don't get me wrong, he might have missed anyway).

I could be wrong but to me it looked like if he had let it bounce it'd have landed past the service line. Nole would have been ahead in the point but Stan would have been able to get back in it. And the way Nole was hitting the forehand? Volleying was the right play, just bad execution obviously.

 

[rahulpawar]

The one odd thing about this is I found Stan's level to have been significantly higher in their match at the AO last year. He probably served better here though. Weird old sport.

But stan played better during the crucial moments than last year. For example, he was many times 0-30 down on his service games but managed to hold most of the times.

 

[DarthFed]

Just awful, Nole was unrecognizable.

Please.... Talk about an exaggeration.

Aside from the serve he was.

 

[brokenshoelace]

The one odd thing about this is I found Stan's level to have been significantly higher in their match at the AO last year. He probably served better here though. Weird old sport.

But stan played better during the crucial moments than last year. For example, he was many times 0-30 down on his service games but managed to hold most of the times.

Yeah, mainly due to serving really good in key moments. That's what I meant. Tennis really hinges on small factors most of the time.

 

[Goldenboy]

Great mental fortitude to not crumble after getting broken at 1-1 in the fifth. If he missed even a couple of his returns in the next game, he would have been toast.

 

[coban]

:snigger too true.

I know it's easy to say this in hindsight, and we would have all praised him for having the guts to serve and volley on match point (and he SHOULD have made that volley, no question... It was a simple put away)...BUT, just let the ball drop and hit a forehand dude.

The way he was playing from the baseline? I'd like to see the points won for 4-9 shot rallies that set, it'd be ugly for Nole.

But that wouldn't have been a 4-9 shot rally. The rally would have ended on the next shot, one way or the other. It was a floaty high bouncing ball that would have granted him a relatively simple put away forehand (which don't get me wrong, he might have missed anyway).

I could be wrong but if to me it looked like if he had let it bounce it'd have landed past the service line. Nole would have been ahead in the point but Stan would have been able to get back in it. And the way Nole was hitting the forehand? Volleying was the right play, just bad execution obviously.

I think his position in the court was terrible during this exact point. He was a bit close to the net so that basicly forced him into the volley. If his position had been somewhat different he may have hit an "easy" forehand instead. Like you said, i think the ball would have landed somewhere around the service line.

Federer har hit so many of these errors on crucial points as well i think it comes down to pressure really - and in that regard Nadal is more clutch than anyone.

 

[britbox]

No kudos for Wawrinka? The reason he won that match was that he held his nerve in the clutch and didn't get tight. Historically, Wawrinka would generally have lost that match. Today, he didn't get tight, didn't play safe and kept going after his shots. He had the belief.

Too often "the field" get slammed for not stepping up. When they do, the elites get trashed and thrown under a bus...

Give Stan his dues.

 

[El Dude]

Wow, just woke up and saw the news. Congratulations to Stan. I picked him to win but it was more wishful thinking than anything else. Maybe he'll give Roger inspiration in hopes of an all-Swiss final.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

lets face it..stan was hitting accurate deep fast groundstrokes..and was mentally strong..

djokovic often was hitting short (near the T)..and was often mentally AWOL..thats the reality.

 

[britbox]

...and yeah, that last volley will be one he'll want to forget... but one point does not maketh a match.

 

[El Dude]

I haven't read the thread and don't know if it has been mentioned, but it is the first time Novak has gone out before the SF since the 2010 FO. That's a pretty amazing streak.

 

[rafanoy1992]

By the way, this is the first time since 2010 that Djokovic would not be holding a Slam under his belt. In addition, if Nadal wins this tournament, Nadal's lead over Djokovic would rise up to 4510 points!

Pretty remarkable considering Nadal was 7520 points behind Djokovic and ranked number five in the world at this time last year.