2015 French Open QF: Djokovic v. Nadal

[golds girl]

Just got back from an ill-timed dentist's appointment.

Congrats to Novak and his fans. Really can't be mad at this one as it wasn't unexpected.
Novak's been on fire this year and deserves a shot at his missing Slam. Hope he takes it all.

 

[nehmeth]

I'm assuming you meant at Rafa's own hands.

Never assume B.S.

You're right, my bad. Those losses to Melzer and Kohlschreiber certainly were at Nole's own hand. Fair point. He should never lose to these nobodies.

I love it Broken, almost as the 6-1 third set.

 

[britbox]

Well done to Nole, been exceptional all year, all tourney. :clap

Weathered the storm when Rafa thundered back in the first. I felt Rafa didn't hammer that home and became timid again, and when the match was competitive (up to 3-3 in the second) Nole was the aggressor on the big points. Nole didn't buckle, and it only became harder for Rafa then. Rafa still isn't the man he was, and there's some signs in his game and movement to worry about going forward, but this is a milestone in the sport, and a genuinely great chance for Novak to get his mitts on the RG cup.

Nothing lasts forever, people! Second slam in a row where Fedal haven't one member in the semis. They're looking old. They're getting brushed aside now, becoming notches on the bedpost. Kinda sad to see, but we've seen it with every great player who ever played the game...

why no poast during majors then old bean ?. is it a rafa thing ?.

Don't worry, Kieran will be posting more frequently during majors here on in.

 

[Front242]

Congratulations to Djokovic for finally beating Nadal at Roland Garros. Not an easy task but he finally did it. Also, with this win, Djokovic has beaten both Federer and Nadal in every Slam which is an impressive stat.

As for Nadal, I can't be too disappointed about that match. This match just showed his level throughout 2015. I do think he will come back as Top 5 player maybe not this year but next year for sure. Also, 70-2 is not a shabby record.

Finally, it looks like we might never see a male player win a single Slam six straight times.

Yup, Roger missed out on the US Open in 2009 also. I also doubt it'll happen anytime soon.

He also missed out the 2008 Wimbledon too.

Well spotted. Had forgotten he was going for 6 straight there too.

 

[Kieran]

One think Novak can be very pleased about is the match didn't degenerate into an illiterate brawl. It never became a strength sapper. He still has work to do to win this but he's put himself in an incredibly strong position with the way he's managed his matches economically...

 

[Kieran]

Well done to Nole, been exceptional all year, all tourney. :clap

Weathered the storm when Rafa thundered back in the first. I felt Rafa didn't hammer that home and became timid again, and when the match was competitive (up to 3-3 in the second) Nole was the aggressor on the big points. Nole didn't buckle, and it only became harder for Rafa then. Rafa still isn't the man he was, and there's some signs in his game and movement to worry about going forward, but this is a milestone in the sport, and a genuinely great chance for Novak to get his mitts on the RG cup.

Nothing lasts forever, people! Second slam in a row where Fedal haven't one member in the semis. They're looking old. They're getting brushed aside now, becoming notches on the bedpost. Kinda sad to see, but we've seen it with every great player who ever played the game...

why no poast during majors then old bean ?. is it a rafa thing ?.

Don't worry, Kieran will be posting more frequently during majors here on in.

I like to take a break from posting during the majors, usually only pop up if Rafa has lost. Sometimes it's not a bad idea to get away from here for a while...

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cYGnxQIY1g[/video]

 

[brokenshoelace]

Never assume B.S.

You're right, my bad. Those losses to Melzer and Kohlschreiber certainly were at Nole's own hand. Fair point. He should never lose to these nobodies.

I love it Broken, almost as the 6-1 third set.

...but not as much as i love the 6-1 head to head at Roland Garros. I'd say Novak was handed his ass to him 6 times, but as I've been enlightened by some terrific revisionist history, he's handed himself his own ass 6 times in a row.

 

[rafanoy1992]

One think Novak can be very pleased about is the match didn't degenerate into an illiterate brawl. It never became a strength sapper. He still has work to do to win this but he's put himself in an incredibly strong position with the way he's managed his matches economically...

I still don't get on why he got so agitated about the court during the early part of the second set. I understand it was patch but he won the first set so there's no need to overstress about something outside of Tennis...

 

[nehmeth]

You're right, my bad. Those losses to Melzer and Kohlschreiber certainly were at Nole's own hand. Fair point. He should never lose to these nobodies.

I love it Broken, almost as the 6-1 third set.

...but not as much as i love the 6-1 head to head at Roland Garros. I'd say Novak was handed his ass to him 6 times, but as I've been enlightened by some terrific revisionist history, he's handed himself his own ass 6 times in a row.

:clap :laydownlaughing :snicker :lolz: :clap

Not revising anything buddy - Rafa won them all fair and square. But that doesn't mean Novak didn't have chances, only to shoot himself in the foot. You can come and sh*t all over things and it still won't dampen the joy.

 

[Kieran]

One think Novak can be very pleased about is the match didn't degenerate into an illiterate brawl. It never became a strength sapper. He still has work to do to win this but he's put himself in an incredibly strong position with the way he's managed his matches economically...

I still don't get on why he got so agitated about the court during the early part of the second set. I understand it was patch but he won the first set so there's no need to overstress about something outside of Tennis...

Novak thinks the FO should be played on a rainy winters day in Ireland. But he only thinks that when he plays Rafa. The court was fine. He won't be asking for it to be turned into a swamp for the semifinal...

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWUXgnJAwMQ[/video]

 

[rafanoy1992]

The silver lining about Nadal after this lost is that he doesn't have a lot of points to defend for the rest of the year. He is really only defending 270 for the rest of the year so he has a great chance to return to the Top 8 assuming his level goes up even it is for a little bit.

 

[crystalfire]

rafa-djoker 2011 matches were the best. both playing at top of their abilities and all their matches were so close.

 

[Carol]

Sorry but I don't think is still time to bury Nadal at all. We know that this year has been his worst on HC and even more rodiculously worse on clay but it's not the end of the world, now he has time to practice on grass and maybe once and for all to recovery his confidence. I don't think his problem is physical but mentally and hope he can resolve it before it would be too late :huh:(

 

[Kieran]

Sorry but I don't think is still time to bury Nadal at all. We know that this year has been his worst on HC and even more rodiculously worse on clay but it's not the end of the world, now he has time to practice on grass and maybe once and for all to recovery his confidence. I don't think his problem is physical but mentally and hope he can resolve it before it would be too late :huh:(

He's a few problems but it would be silly to write him off. A myth about Rafa is that he returns from injury and goes straight back to his best. He never did, and he still hasn't. But even though he's largely stunk the joint out all year, his fitness is good, his movement is often very good, his shots are contrary but can improve. He can only get better...

 

[Fiero425]

One think Novak can be very pleased about is the match didn't degenerate into an illiterate brawl. It never became a strength sapper. He still has work to do to win this but he's put himself in an incredibly strong position with the way he's managed his matches economically...

I still don't get on why he got so agitated about the court during the early part of the second set. I understand it was patch but he won the first set so there's no need to overstress about something outside of Tennis...

Nole was more concerned about the court becoming slippery! If you noticed closely in those last couple games, he seemed to tweak something and had to do a little stretching of his legs! :angel:

 

[rafanoy1992]

Sorry but I don't think is still time to bury Nadal at all. We know that this year has been his worst on HC and even more rodiculously worse on clay but it's not the end of the world, now he has time to practice on grass and maybe once and for all to recovery his confidence. I don't think his problem is physical but mentally and hope he can resolve it before it would be too late :huh:(

He's a few problems but it would be silly to write him off. A myth about Rafa is that he returns from injury and goes straight back to his best. He never did, and he still hasn't. But even though he's largely stunk the joint out all year, his fitness is good, his movement is often very good, his shots are contrary but can improve. He can only get better...

Also, sometimes a player just need a new year to have a fresh start or regeneration. Just look at Federer and Murray. They used their offseason to regenerate some of their tank. I think Nadal will definitely do that this year.

 

[nehmeth]

Nole was more concerned about the court becoming slippery! If you noticed closely in those last couple games, he seemed to tweak something and had to do a little stretching of his legs! :angel:

Rafa was slipping around too. I saw it and JLLB mentioned it as well.

 

[Fiero425]

The silver lining about Nadal after this lost is that he doesn't have a lot of points to defend for the rest of the year. He is really only defending 270 for the rest of the year so he has a great chance to return to the Top 8 assuming his level goes up even it is for a little bit.

You're assuming a lot! It's not like I'm trying to kick dirt on his grave, but most of the time, Rafa's summer and fall are abysmal! He had a decent 2013, but 2 years is a long time on those wheels! More people will feel empowered to challenge him; mark my words! I see some ugly losses; esp. at Wimbledon for the great Raphael Nadal! :nono :angel: :cover