2015 French Open Semifinal: Djokovic v. Murray

[Kieran]

Rogers not artificially held up: he was finalist at Wimbo, he holds a couple of MS titles, a WTF finalist. Seriously, he'd take you back if you wanted him to... :snicker

 

[BIG3]

I am sorry if BIG3 offends Andy's fans here. I love tennis for decades and check here daily for your guys' analysis and comments. Excited to join.

 

[Kirijax]

Novak win the first 3 games and end the match.

Welcome BIG3. I can see we are going to have an interesting relationship.

 

[Kieran]

I am sorry if BIG3 offends Andy's fans here. I love tennis for decades and check here daily for your guys' analysis and comments. Excited to join.

I think Andy is looking safer as a member than Rafa at the mo...

 

[Kirijax]

I am sorry if BIG3 offends Andy's fans here. I love tennis for decades and check here daily for your guys' analysis and comments. Excited to join.

Don't worry! We all have our favorites! We're not quickly offended, just easily insulted. :snicker

 

[Fiero425]

Rogers not artificially held up: he was finalist at Wimbo, he holds a couple of MS titles, a WTF finalist. Seriously, he'd take you back if you wanted him to... :snicker

I would be giving Roger all the support I once did back in his prime if he wasn't just a mere shell of that player! His ranking is artificially held up because we all know it'll be very difficult to defend those points coming up! On the live ranking, he has a nice lead over Andy, but depending on what he does leading up to Wimbledon, and if Murray can get past Nole tomorrow, Roger will drop precipitously; IMO to #5 or #6 by next month! He's still the GOAT, but he's little more than an annoyance who does have good chances against Nole on a fast court like Dubai! :angel: :dodgy:

 

[Kieran]

Well, he was bound to get older, you know. Seems a bit harsh to leap from following the second ranked player to the first ranked, just cos you're ageist! :ras:

 

[BIG3]

I am sorry if BIG3 offends Andy's fans here. I love tennis for decades and check here daily for your guys' analysis and comments. Excited to join.

I think Andy is looking safer as a member than Rafa at the mo...

At the moment, yes.

Though I love Fed's style, his dominance suffocated the game until 2008. In my view, 2008-2014 is gold era of ATP. I followed every slams, masters, WFT. I love Fed's style, Rafa's toughness, Nole's endurance. I respect and like Andy's play too, but not as much as the other three.

:snicker:snicker

Sorry to distract the thread. Just self-intro. Please don't let it start another fandom war.

 

[Front242]

He may well by a mere shell of himself but he's still world number 2 and almost 34. Not bad really all things considered.

 

[Kieran]

I am sorry if BIG3 offends Andy's fans here. I love tennis for decades and check here daily for your guys' analysis and comments. Excited to join.

I think Andy is looking safer as a member than Rafa at the mo...

At the moment, yes.

Though I love Fed's style, his dominance suffocated the game until 2008. In my view, 2008-2014 is gold era of ATP. I followed every slams, masters, WFT. I love Fed's style, Rafa's toughness, Nole's endurance. I respect and like Andy's play too, but not as much as the other three.

:snicker:snicker

Sorry to distract the thread. Just self-intro. Please don't let it start another fandom war.

Good stuff. As for your thinking that Nole swipes the first three games tomorrow, he's capable of that. If Muzza is muzzy it might be done before Tiriac sits down in his throne in the front row...

 

[Fiero425]

Well, he was bound to get older, you know. Seems a bit harsh to leap from following the 2nd ranked player to the 1st ranked, just cos you're ageist! :ras:

Dude, I'm being harsh because Roger needs to hear/read this! He still thinks he's 25 and can rally all day with the other kids and it's finally caught up with him! I applauded his hiring of Stefan Edberg figuring he was going to get serious about being more aggressive to finish off points sooner at the net! It's only marginally increased and he's going down in flames behind the baseline! I'd rather lose doing something like attacking the net than letting other players run me around like a chicken with my head cut off, my tongue dragging on the ground, and ready to call for oxygen at some point! :cover :nono :angel:

 

[Front242]

Well, he was bound to get older, you know. Seems a bit harsh to leap from following the 2nd ranked player to the 1st ranked, just cos you're ageist! :ras:

Dude, I'm being harsh because Roger needs to hear/read this! He still thinks he's 25 and can rally all day with the other kids and it's finally caught up with him! I applauded his hiring of Stefan Edberg figuring he was going to get serious about being more aggressive to finish off points sooner at the net! It's only marginally increased and he's going down in flames behind the baseline! I'd rather lose doing something like attacking the net than letting other players run me around like a chicken with my head cut off, my tongue dragging on the ground, and ready to call for oxygen at some point! :cover :nono :angel:

Seriously Fiero, he's one of the most aggressive players on tour and he's really only losing to the top echelon and big hitters like Stan and Del Potro have given him trouble since Soderling knocked him out of RG 2010. Have you seen what happens when he does mindless Roddick headless chicken net rushes against Novak? It works maybe 1 time out of 20. The rest of the time he gets passed easily 'cos those passing shots are easy for Novak. Mostly 'cos his approach shots are poor. He's not losing much to nobodies though still even in 2015 at close to 34. If he was he wouldn't be world number 2.

 

[Fiero425]

Well, he was bound to get older, you know. Seems a bit harsh to leap from following the 2nd ranked player to the 1st ranked, just cos you're ageist! :ras:

Dude, I'm being harsh because Roger needs to hear/read this! He still thinks he's 25 and can rally all day with the other kids and it's finally caught up with him! I applauded his hiring of Stefan Edberg figuring he was going to get serious about being more aggressive to finish off points sooner at the net! It's only marginally increased and he's going down in flames behind the baseline! I'd rather lose doing something like attacking the net than letting other players run me around like a chicken with my head cut off, my tongue dragging on the ground, and ready to call for oxygen at some point! :cover :nono :angel:

Seriously Fiero, he's one of the most aggressive players on tour and he's really only losing to the top echelon and big hitters like Stan and Del Potro have given him trouble since Soderling knocked him out of RG 2010. Have you seen what happens when he does mindless Roddick headless chicken net rushes against Novak? It works maybe 1 time out of 20. The rest of the time he gets passed easily 'cos those passing shots are easy for Novak. Mostly 'cos his approach shots are poor. He's not losing much to nobodies though still even in 2015 at close to 34. If he was he wouldn't be world number 2.

You may be right, but the way I see it, he still hangs back too much whacking away with those short, top-spinning backhands that players can jump on! He could take more balls out of the air when he does see he's hurt his opponent with his forehand! I go absolutely nuts when I see Nadal running around near the backstop, flagging down great shots, while his idiotic opponent is hanging back as well, allowing the ball to bounce deep to restart the point! If they had been at the net, the point would have been over 9 times out of 10! It just makes no sense to see how gutless today's players are; being so afraid to come into the net except to shake hands and collect the check! :cover uzzled :dodgy:

 

[Kieran]

I wonder how the fans of Novak and Andy will sleep tonight? Maybe it'll be difficult to doze off. Could be the minds will be racing, spinning like video wheels replaying certain points over, dreaming up tight and tense victorious scenarios, or miserably fretting over dreaded nightmare endings?

I wonder how the two players will sleep too. I reckon they'll probably be too knackered to lie awake staring at the ceiling. Maybe it's novaks turn to stay in and mind the kids while Jekena has her usual Friday night out on the tear...

 

[BIG3]

I will set my alarm to get up early tomorrow. Where can we watch in US? ESPN, TENNIS or NBC?

 

[Fiero425]

I wonder how the fans of Novak and Andy will sleep tonight? Maybe it'll be difficult to doze off. Could be the minds will be racing, spinning like video wheels replaying certain points over, dreaming up tight and tense victorious scenarios, or miserably fretting over dreaded nightmare endings?

I wonder how the two players will sleep too. I reckon they'll probably be too knackered to lie awake staring at the ceiling. Maybe it's novaks turn to stay in and mind the kids while Jekena has her usual Friday night out on the tear...

If I were NOLE, I wouldn't feel the pressure! I would say to myself, "I've beaten this clown the last 7 or 8 times and fed him a bagel in the final set the last couple times! There's no way I shouldn't be able to go out there tomorrow as a warm-up act for Serena and close this out by holding serve twice and breaking his once with the best service return on the tour!" Believe it! :angel: :dodgy: :clap - For those who need to know, NBC should be telecasting the FO at 9 am, EDT; 8 am CDT!

 

[Front242]

Dude, I'm being harsh because Roger needs to hear/read this! He still thinks he's 25 and can rally all day with the other kids and it's finally caught up with him! I applauded his hiring of Stefan Edberg figuring he was going to get serious about being more aggressive to finish off points sooner at the net! It's only marginally increased and he's going down in flames behind the baseline! I'd rather lose doing something like attacking the net than letting other players run me around like a chicken with my head cut off, my tongue dragging on the ground, and ready to call for oxygen at some point! :cover :nono :angel:

Seriously Fiero, he's one of the most aggressive players on tour and he's really only losing to the top echelon and big hitters like Stan and Del Potro have given him trouble since Soderling knocked him out of RG 2010. Have you seen what happens when he does mindless Roddick headless chicken net rushes against Novak? It works maybe 1 time out of 20. The rest of the time he gets passed easily 'cos those passing shots are easy for Novak. Mostly 'cos his approach shots are poor. He's not losing much to nobodies though still even in 2015 at close to 34. If he was he wouldn't be world number 2.

You may be right, but the way I see it, he still hangs back too much whacking away with those short, top-spinning backhands that players can jump on! He could take more balls out of the air when he does see he's hurt his opponent with his forehand! I go absolutely nuts when I see Nadal running around near the backstop, flagging down great shots, while his idiotic opponent is hanging back as well, allowing the ball to bounce deep to restart the point! If they had been at the net, the point would have been over 9 times out of 10! It just makes no sense to see how gutless today's players are; being so afraid to come into the net except to shake hands and collect the check! :cover uzzled :dodgy:

Sadly his forehand is pretty pedestrian for years now save for the occasional exception so he rarely hurts opponents that much with it. In his prime if you gave him a shot on his forehand you basically lost the point 9 out of 10 times. That hasn't been the case for years now so he doesn't have that luxury. Same thing happened to Roddick before retirement. His FH was once an absolute beast and by the time he retired it was nothing like it once was. Happens to them all. They lose their greatest weapons with age.

 

[BIG3]

I wonder how the fans of Novak and Andy will sleep tonight? Maybe it'll be difficult to doze off. Could be the minds will be racing, spinning like video wheels replaying certain points over, dreaming up tight and tense victorious scenarios, or miserably fretting over dreaded nightmare endings?

I wonder how the two players will sleep too. I reckon they'll probably be too knackered to lie awake staring at the ceiling. Maybe it's novaks turn to stay in and mind the kids while Jekena has her usual Friday night out on the tear...

If I were NOLE, I wouldn't feel the pressure! I would say to myself, "I've beaten this clown the last 7 or 8 times and fed him a bagel in the final set the last couple times! There's no way I shouldn't be able to go out there tomorrow as a warm-up act for Serena and close this out by holding serve twice and breaking his once with the best service return on the tour!" Believe it! :angel: :dodgy: :clap - For those who need to know, NBC should be telecasting the FO at 9 am, EDT; 8 am CDT!

We can't watch LIVE in US for Nole-Murray?:huh::huh::huh:

 

[Moxie]

Not great for Murray that he didn't get to finish today. The heat and humidity was getting to Nole more, I would say. Tomorrow looks fairer. I hope Andy comes out tough and at least forces a 5th. It won't help Novak to have no down day, as all the pressure is on him, even if he makes the final. Stan will be having a massage and an ice bath and laughing. And plotting how to make whomever go long on Sunday. Fresh legs could win him the day.

 

[Kirijax]

Yeah, the break was definitely in Novak's favor.

Curses!