2014 Masters Series Rome Final: Djokovic v. Nadal

[Kieran]

Anybody who actually thought Nadal might win this match, you're a fanboy. There, I said it.

Sorry, but it was never going to happen ... Not with that kind of serving ...and not with that kind of baseline play.

Brother, nobody said that Rafa would serve like a eunuch and fail to impose his forehand on the match - and still win. If they did, you're being polite calling them fanboys - and it's not like you to be polite... :snigger

Nadal was very close to winning.

Lol.....this was not a 6-2, 6-1 drubbing.

After he went 4-1 up in the first, Novak dominated most of the big points. He broke early in the last two sets - just like he did in their recent hard court matches - and when Rafa broke back, Nole broke again immediately. Rafa was never dominant in this match, whereas Nole seemed to be able to break serve at will. You'll never beat Nole anywhere if you can't protect your serve. Rafa made it close because he's clutch, but even still, he left too many gaps for even a champ like him to cover.

Nole was too good...

 

[brokenshoelace]

Anybody who actually thought Nadal might win this match, you're a fanboy. There, I said it.

Sorry, but it was never going to happen ... Not with that kind of serving ...and not with that kind of baseline play.

Brother, nobody said that Rafa would serve like a eunuch and fail to impose his forehand on the match - and still win. If they did, you're being polite calling them fanboys - and it's not like you to be polite... :snigger

Brother, the problem is that people didn't take hints from Rafa's previous form and realize that it is NOT realistic to expect him to all of a sudden serve well and impose his forehand. That's what I've been yapping at all week. Maybe you guys should start listening to me the way you used to listen to Clay Death

 

[Kieran]

Anybody who actually thought Nadal might win this match, you're a fanboy. There, I said it.

Sorry, but it was never going to happen ... Not with that kind of serving ...and not with that kind of baseline play.

Brother, nobody said that Rafa would serve like a eunuch and fail to impose his forehand on the match - and still win. If they did, you're being polite calling them fanboys - and it's not like you to be polite... :snigger

Brother, the problem is that people didn't take hints from Rafa's previous form and realize that it is NOT realistic to expect him to all of a sudden serve well and impose his forehand. That's what I've been yapping at all week. Maybe you guys should start listening to me the way you used to listen to Clay Death

We DO listen to you the way we listened to Clay Death! :lolz:

 

[brokenshoelace]

Anyway, shame for Rafa. He was "very close to winning this match." As evidenced by winning the first set and trailing in every portion of every set for the rest of the match..

 

[calitennis127]

Anybody who actually thought Nadal might win this match, you're a fanboy. There, I said it.

Sorry, but it was never going to happen ... Not with that kind of serving ...and not with that kind of baseline play.

Brother, nobody said that Rafa would serve like a eunuch and fail to impose his forehand on the match - and still win. If they did, you're being polite calling them fanboys - and it's not like you to be polite... :snigger

Nadal was very close to winning.

Lol.....this was not a 6-2, 6-1 drubbing.

It may not have been a drubbing, but from what little I saw of the final set, Nole was in complete control and Rafa was "all at sea!" :clap :angel:

How is that any different than many of the matches Nadal has won against Djokovic or Federer?

If Djokovic had a hit couple errors in the third set after it was 3-3 and he had lost 6-4 or 7-5, then you'd be singing a completely different tune. See Nadal's comeback in the third set of the US Open final.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Anybody who actually thought Nadal might win this match, you're a fanboy. There, I said it.

Sorry, but it was never going to happen ... Not with that kind of serving ...and not with that kind of baseline play.

Brother, nobody said that Rafa would serve like a eunuch and fail to impose his forehand on the match - and still win. If they did, you're being polite calling them fanboys - and it's not like you to be polite... :snigger

Brother, the problem is that people didn't take hints from Rafa's previous form and realize that it is NOT realistic to expect him to all of a sudden serve well and impose his forehand. That's what I've been yapping at all week. Maybe you guys should start listening to me the way you used to listen to Clay Death

We DO listen to you the way we listened to Clay Death! :lolz:

That's just cold :nono

 

[brokenshoelace]

For the sake of accuracy, in the "very similar" Montreal match Nadal had 7 aces and 21 winners, compared to Novak's 8 aces and 27 winners. Yes, two VERY similar matches. He also outhit Novak by 5 winners in the deciding set. VERY similar.

 

[calitennis127]

Anyway, shame for Rafa. He was "very close to winning this match." As evidenced by winning the first set and trailing in every portion of every set for the rest of the match..

It was 3-3 in the third set, with Nadal having the momentum. How is that different than coming back to make it 4-4 in the third set at the US Open after being down double break point at 15-40?

 

[Kieran]

Anyway, shame for Rafa. He was "very close to winning this match." As evidenced by winning the first set and trailing in every portion of every set for the rest of the match..

It was 3-3 in the third set, with Nadal having the momentum. How is that different than coming back to make it 5-4 in the third set at the US Open after being down TRIPLE break point at 0-40?

Don't thank me...

 

[Mile]

Despite first set lost, I had comfortable feeling about Djoker. So I suppose RG was never more questionable than this year.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

who said rafa was not down on speed.

I think Rafa is hiding injury , he is hush hush about such things, he is not 100%

Don't start that stuff Kiu.

It is my opinion, I don't think he was 100% the entire week, he was close to it yesterday. It may have been fatigue today, these 1000 pointers with every day duty can be tiring.

Congrads to Novak, he was my pick! He deserved it, he was the better player today.

 

[calitennis127]

Anyway, shame for Rafa. He was "very close to winning this match." As evidenced by winning the first set and trailing in every portion of every set for the rest of the match..

It was 3-3 in the third set, with Nadal having the momentum. How is that different than coming back to make it 5-4 in the third set at the US Open after being down TRIPLE break point at 0-40?

Don't thank me...

My point is the same.

 

[tented]

who said rafa was not down on speed.

I think Rafa is hiding injury , he is hush hush about such things, he is not 100%

Don't start that stuff Kiu.

It is my opinion, I don't think he was 100% the entire week, he was close to it yesterday. It may have been fatigue today, these 1000 pointers with every day duty can be tiring.

Congrads to Novak, he was my pick! He deserved it, he was the better player today.

"Tired" is different than "injured" -- a huge difference, especially in this context.

 

[calitennis127]

Some people can't understand margins or psychology.

So Nadal hit 5 more winners in the final set of Montreal? Well, at 3-3 in the third set today he was not at all far from having a couple more winners than Djokovic.

 

[nehmeth]

Congrats to Novak, he was my pick! He deserved it, he was the better player today.

Some trophies one cherishes more than others. A Master's win against Ralf on clay is rare.

 

[tented]

Congrats to Novak, he was my pick! He deserved it, he was the better player today.

Some trophies one cherishes more than others. A Master's win against Ralf on clay is rare.

But quickly becoming more rare-ish than rare.

 

[the AntiPusher]

This is great for Novak. This match will be in Ralf's mind when they meet in Par. Unless Fed knocks Nole out in the semis again.

Congrats to Djoker, he deserves to Win. Not, this match won't be in Rafael' head , it's just another day at the office when he wasn't able to finish the job. No big deal, Rafa will just have to take a few days off and go back to work by lacing em up Wednesday morning practice.

 

[tented]

This is great for Novak. This match will be in Ralf's mind when they meet in Par. Unless Fed knocks Nole out in the semis again.

Congrats to Djoker, he deserves to Win. Not, this match won't be in Rafael' head , it's just another day at the office when he wasn't able to finish the job. No big deal, Rafa will just have to take a few days off and go back to work by lacing em up Wednesday morning practice.

A Rafa-fan mantra: Best of 5 ... best of 5 ... best of 5 ... best of 5 ...

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Also a quick kudos here to Nestor (41) and Zimonjic (37) for their second Masters 1000 title in a row. Aging like fine wine those two...

 

[tented]

Also a quick kudos here to Nestor (41) and Zimonjic (37) for their second Masters 1000 title in a row. Aging like fine wine those two...

There's clearly a chemistry between them. I'll add that they beat the Bryans en route to these titles, for those who didn't notice.

It's too bad we don't get to see more doubles. Just the little bit the Tennis Channel airs now and then.