2014 Roland Garros Final: Nadal vs. Djokovic

[Front242]

True. I wouldn't belittle those titles though. These are big tourney's just below the GS's.

Anyway, which players did you have in mind? David Ferrer? Roger Federer? lol

No, if fit and made it to the final Nishikori or Gulbis. They would've done better and still ultimately most likely have lost but imo they would've done better today than the flat out poor performance from Novak with the emphasis on flat and poor.

Not sure. It was boiling hot out there and it was a GS final. But yes, potentially, if they would have severely overachieved.

If it weren't for the fact that he's injury prone as hell, Nishikori of late (only talking this year really) has proven to be a cleaner ball striker under pressure than Djokovic. Well, he's always been a very clean ball striker like Davydenko but with his serve and attacking powers he showed in Madrid I believe he'd have put up a very good fight today. Again, all pure speculation and hypothetical as the guy is always injured unfortunately.

Seriously, I think this tournament was seriously lacking because of Nishikori's early loss. I think he was probably still injured, but he finished the match so I won't say that definitively. He may have simply been outplayed. But man I was hoping he'd make it to Djokovic. I definitely gave him a chance against Djokovic and the rest of the field. I may be jumping on his bandwagon too hard. But I could see him in the final giving Rafa a run for his money. I really thought it was possible. I mean, I really was cautious precisely because of his injury in Madrid. But I was just hoping he wasn't injured and I would really give him a chance. Then he lost his first match. I was rather disappointed. I hope he was injured. And I hope he heals up now.

His hip was wrecked. Hope he didn't injure himself more but imo he should've skipped the tournament altogether.

 

[DarthFed]

By the way, Djokovic looked sick out there. I wonder if he had illness or did the heat affected him a little bit. John McEnroe said Djokovic threw up a couple times.

I think his play made him puke when he had time to sit and think about it.

 

[Kieran]

No, if fit and made it to the final Nishikori or Gulbis. They would've done better and still ultimately most likely have lost but imo they would've done better today than the flat out poor performance from Novak with the emphasis on flat and poor.

Seriously, brother, the wheels have fallen off the Nishikori bandwagon. File under "Dolgo, etc." Remember him? Or JJ? It's rolled, and it's gone.

Nole is the only credible threat to Rafa in Paris...

 

[zalvar]

What a good day! ;P

Rafa win and Hsieh win. hee hee.

 

[Kieran]

Happy, you stubborn Irish bastard?

I most definitely am not stubborn... :snigger

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

the whole atp is being propped up by old men.

dead wood refuses to be washed away into the void.

 

[nehmeth]

By the way, Djokovic looked sick out there. I wonder if he had illness or did the heat affected him a little bit. John McEnroe said Djokovic threw up a couple times.

I think his play made him puke when he had time to sit and think about it.

Save your venom for Roger. Just because your bulwark against Ralf reaching 17 has been unable to do it, your anger would be better directed at your guy who failed to create a bigger cushion.

I can understand the frustration. Three more slams in the next three years shouldn't be too big an ask. Heck he might even win Oz before he retires and hold 2 of each of the 4 slams. Tied at 17 and with the h2h between them, anyone saying Fed's legacy is greater than Nadal's will sound like a Sampras fan when Fed won #15. :nono

 

[Kieran]

By the way, Djokovic looked sick out there. I wonder if he had illness or did the heat affected him a little bit. John McEnroe said Djokovic threw up a couple times.

I think his play made him puke when he had time to sit and think about it.

Save your venom for Roger. Just because your bulwark against Ralf reaching 17 has been unable to do it, your anger would be better directed at your guy who failed to create a bigger cushion.

I can understand the frustration. Three more slams in the next three years shouldn't be too big an ask. Heck he might even win Oz before he retires and hold 2 of each of the 4 slams. Tied at 17 and with the h2h between them, anyone saying Fed's legacy is greater than Nadal's will sound like a Sampras fan when Fed won #15. :nono

Well said, Nehmeth! :clap

Roger and his fans have spent the previous 27 slams hoping Rafa loses, so Roger has a chance to win. In fact, if it wasn't for Nole, Rafa might be on 17 already, and looking for more, despite missing time through injury. Nole is the only credible rival Rafa has, and he has more wins against Rafa than the next two on the list combined, one of which is Roger.

It's just Nole's great misfortune to come up against great players all the time, instead of you know what i mean...

 

[kskate2]

Missed the 2nd half of the match. Happy for Nadal and his fans that he reaches a huge milestone in his career. :clap As I mentioned yesterday, I'm sure Novak is gutted and in tears. I don't know how many more chances he will have to crack this particular nut.

 

[nehmeth]

Roger and his fans have spent the previous 27 slams hoping Rafa loses, so Roger has a chance to win. In fact, if it wasn't for Nole, Rafa might be on 17 already, and looking for more, despite missing time through injury. Nole is the only credible rival Rafa has, and he has more wins against Rafa than the next two on the list combined, one of which is Roger.[/i]

If not for Novak, especially when you think of some of the matches they played leading into slams and Oz 12... Rafa might not have had the amount of time away due to injury. I'm pretty sure he would have been at 17 already.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

By the way, Djokovic looked sick out there. I wonder if he had illness or did the heat affected him a little bit. John McEnroe said Djokovic threw up a couple times.

I think his play made him puke when he had time to sit and think about it.

Save your venom for Roger. Just because your bulwark against Ralf reaching 17 has been unable to do it, your anger would be better directed at your guy who failed to create a bigger cushion.

I can understand the frustration. Three more slams in the next three years shouldn't be too big an ask. Heck he might even win Oz before he retires and hold 2 of each of the 4 slams. Tied at 17 and with the h2h between them, anyone saying Fed's legacy is greater than Nadal's will sound like a Sampras fan when Fed won #15. :nono

Well said, Nehmeth! :clap

Roger and his fans have spent the previous 27 slams hoping Rafa loses, so Roger has a chance to win. In fact, if it wasn't for Nole, Rafa might be on 17 already, and looking for more, despite missing time through injury. Nole is the only credible rival Rafa has, and he has more wins against Rafa than the next two on the list combined, one of which is Roger.

It's just Nole's great misfortune to come up against great players all the time, instead of you know what i mean...

well I have not.

 

[crystalfire]

What is amazing about Nadal in this venue especially in the final is that he has never played a five setter in all nine finals he has played in. That's pretty remarkable accomplishment right there.

yea that is something considering his opponents have pretty much been fed or djoker.

 

[Fiero425]

the whole atp is being propped up by old men.

dead wood refuses to be washed away into the void.

In the past, it was common to have more mature players ruling the tour, but it shouldn't be happening these days except for what I've been saying about today's players; gutless who don't have more of a plan than just "ball bashing!" That was the main reason Roddick never went anywhere; taking a lone USO! He had opportunity after opportunity to do more, but his reckless play of serving hard and whacking forehands could be blunted by just getting the ball back and allowing him to make an error! I still reference an early round match with Federer and Feliciano Lopez in Madrid a few years ago! They had played and split 2 TB's and Lopez was leading 5-2 in the 3rd tie-breaker! Roger wasn't doing much and was set to lose with a weak lob that Lopez butchered badly at the net! He laughed it off and systematically gave away his lead losing 8-6! That kind of thing happens a lot these days among today's youthful players! :nono :angel:

 

[crystalfire]

By the way, Djokovic looked sick out there. I wonder if he had illness or did the heat affected him a little bit. John McEnroe said Djokovic threw up a couple times.

I think his play made him puke when he had time to sit and think about it.

Save your venom for Roger. Just because your bulwark against Ralf reaching 17 has been unable to do it, your anger would be better directed at your guy who failed to create a bigger cushion.

I can understand the frustration. Three more slams in the next three years shouldn't be too big an ask. Heck he might even win Oz before he retires and hold 2 of each of the 4 slams. Tied at 17 and with the h2h between them, anyone saying Fed's legacy is greater than Nadal's will sound like a Sampras fan when Fed won #15. :nono

even if rafa does that i wouldnt consider him more of a goat over fed. they would be equal i would give fed the edge since his grand slam spread is even. 6 wimby, 5 USO, 4 AO with anomaly of 1 FO (tho he made finals consistently even there only due to rafas clay greatness he has 1). he also has 6 year end and rafa has yet to win one i believe. tho rafa will have way more masters (again due to his clay prowess) i say both are equal i guess

 

[crystalfire]

By the way, Djokovic looked sick out there. I wonder if he had illness or did the heat affected him a little bit. John McEnroe said Djokovic threw up a couple times.

I think his play made him puke when he had time to sit and think about it.

Save your venom for Roger. Just because your bulwark against Ralf reaching 17 has been unable to do it, your anger would be better directed at your guy who failed to create a bigger cushion.

I can understand the frustration. Three more slams in the next three years shouldn't be too big an ask. Heck he might even win Oz before he retires and hold 2 of each of the 4 slams. Tied at 17 and with the h2h between them, anyone saying Fed's legacy is greater than Nadal's will sound like a Sampras fan when Fed won #15. :nono

Well said, Nehmeth! :clap

Roger and his fans have spent the previous 27 slams hoping Rafa loses, so Roger has a chance to win. In fact, if it wasn't for Nole, Rafa might be on 17 already, and looking for more, despite missing time through injury. Nole is the only credible rival Rafa has, and he has more wins against Rafa than the next two on the list combined, one of which is Roger.

It's just Nole's great misfortune to come up against great players all the time, instead of you know what i mean...

well I have not.

not gonna lie I have. :cry

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

^^yes..alot of weak players in the head, we all look around desperately trying to shove raonic/dimitrov/whoever up the rank charts to at least blow a hole in the top5 ..

at least wawrinka did get there, hardly a youngster is he at 29.. but looks like he is having trouble in his head dealing with being a major winner (another version of mental weakness)..at least his won a major. (at least a bit of mental steel there, keeping himself together in the 4th set ao final)

 

[Kieran]

Roger and his fans have spent the previous 27 slams hoping Rafa loses, so Roger has a chance to win. In fact, if it wasn't for Nole, Rafa might be on 17 already, and looking for more, despite missing time through injury. Nole is the only credible rival Rafa has, and he has more wins against Rafa than the next two on the list combined, one of which is Roger.[/i]

If not for Novak, especially when you think of some of the matches they played leading into slams and Oz 12... Rafa might not have had the amount of time away due to injury. I'm pretty sure he would have been at 17 already.

Novak might be the unluckiest of all the top players, or certainly had it toughest: more than 13% of all his career matches have been against a fellow member of the Big 4.

He was clearly ailing today and yet he almost nudged it into a fifth. I felt he actually recovered well and Rafa looked more vulnerable at 4-4. I know, Nole has a history in slams of inexplicably going AWOL, and I'm sure he looks at what happened to him against both Gulbis and Rafa, because his system crashed both times, but as a challenge to Rafa, he's the only one, and the greatest of them all, by far, and today he deserved that unprecedented round of applause from the crowd...

 

[rafanoy1992]

Roger and his fans have spent the previous 27 slams hoping Rafa loses, so Roger has a chance to win. In fact, if it wasn't for Nole, Rafa might be on 17 already, and looking for more, despite missing time through injury. Nole is the only credible rival Rafa has, and he has more wins against Rafa than the next two on the list combined, one of which is Roger.[/i]

If not for Novak, especially when you think of some of the matches they played leading into slams and Oz 12... Rafa might not have had the amount of time away due to injury. I'm pretty sure he would have been at 17 already.

Novak might be the unluckiest of all the top players, or certainly had it toughest: more than 13% of all his career matches have been against a fellow member of the Big 4.

He was clearly ailing today and yet he almost nudged it into a fifth. I felt he actually recovered well and Rafa looked more vulnerable at 4-4. I know, Nole has a history in slams of inexplicably going AWOL, and I'm sure he looks at what happened to him against both Gulbis and Rafa, because his system crashed both times, but as a challenge to Rafa, he's the only one, and the greatest of them all, by far, and today he deserved that unprecedented round of applause from the crowd...

That's why I give Djokovic two years to win the French Open. He is 27 years old and little by little his body and mind will start to fail on him.

 

[DarthFed]

By the way, Djokovic looked sick out there. I wonder if he had illness or did the heat affected him a little bit. John McEnroe said Djokovic threw up a couple times.

I think his play made him puke when he had time to sit and think about it.

Save your venom for Roger. Just because your bulwark against Ralf reaching 17 has been unable to do it, your anger would be better directed at your guy who failed to create a bigger cushion.

I can understand the frustration. Three more slams in the next three years shouldn't be too big an ask. Heck he might even win Oz before he retires and hold 2 of each of the 4 slams. Tied at 17 and with the h2h between them, anyone saying Fed's legacy is greater than Nadal's will sound like a Sampras fan when Fed won #15. :nono

There is plenty of venom there too. I've been saying for years now that Roger has not won enough, he went away too quickly after #16, had the awful 2008, etc.

 

[Kieran]

Roger and his fans have spent the previous 27 slams hoping Rafa loses, so Roger has a chance to win. In fact, if it wasn't for Nole, Rafa might be on 17 already, and looking for more, despite missing time through injury. Nole is the only credible rival Rafa has, and he has more wins against Rafa than the next two on the list combined, one of which is Roger.[/i]

If not for Novak, especially when you think of some of the matches they played leading into slams and Oz 12... Rafa might not have had the amount of time away due to injury. I'm pretty sure he would have been at 17 already.

Novak might be the unluckiest of all the top players, or certainly had it toughest: more than 13% of all his career matches have been against a fellow member of the Big 4.

He was clearly ailing today and yet he almost nudged it into a fifth. I felt he actually recovered well and Rafa looked more vulnerable at 4-4. I know, Nole has a history in slams of inexplicably going AWOL, and I'm sure he looks at what happened to him against both Gulbis and Rafa, because his system crashed both times, but as a challenge to Rafa, he's the only one, and the greatest of them all, by far, and today he deserved that unprecedented round of applause from the crowd...

That's why I give Djokovic two years to win the French Open. He is 27 years old and little by little his body and mind will start to fail on him.

One thing that's not in Novak's favour: he may never face so vulnerable a Rafa in Paris again...