2015 Masters Series Final Indian Wells: #1 Djokovic v. #2 Federer

[Moxie]

...may I submit to you Rafa Nadal? He's done very well against Djokovic in Slams. (9-3 H2H in favor of Nadal in Majors...

So it's down to that one now?

If I remember that fantastic year in 2011, the old Rafa fan mantras were dropping like flies after first frost: Novak never beat Rafa in a final; Novak never beat Rafa on clay; Novak never beat Rafa on real clay; Novak never beat Rafa in a best of five match or slam final.

Maybe this year, if they meet a few times in the right places, that slam h2h will even out a little too.

Well, you didn't read my whole post. It's down to Rafa at RG only, IMO. After Paris, I think a few others can cause trouble. Surely Djokovic has been toppling bulwarks that he hadn't previously for a long time now, against Nadal. I don't think the H2H at Majors isn't the only one, but Nole does inch closer. Anyway, Kiriljax was wondering who might stop Novak from the calendar Slam. I was submitting Rafa, whom he hadn't considered. Still a fair point, right? :angel:

 

[Fiero425]

...may I submit to you Rafa Nadal? He's done very well against Djokovic in Slams. (9-3 H2H in favor of Nadal in Majors...

So it's down to that one now?

If I remember that fantastic year in 2011, the old Rafa fan mantras were dropping like flies after first frost: Novak never beat Rafa in a final(Indian Wells); Novak never beat Rafa on clay(Madrid); Novak never beat Rafa on real clay(Rome); Novak never beat Rafa in a best of five match or slam final(Wimbledon).

Maybe this year, if they meet a few times in the right places, that slam h2h will even out a little too.

Preach! I kept hearing all this crap even from past champions like Wilander! Notice he's not asked for his commentary of late! Same for McEnroe lauding Rafa with so much praise! It's as if Nole doesn't exist! Who's been as successful taking him out; 7 and 4 matches in a row respectively? No one else has done that and he's creeping up on the H2H contests! Federer has been embarrassing; even if we give him some concession because of so many clay court losses to Nadal! He lost to him on grass and that shouldn't have happened; esp. with a lead! He's owned with only a little success against Nole who's more emotionally fragile! Even Murray tested him a few years ago! :blush: :angel: :dodgy:

 

[nehmeth]

...may I submit to you Rafa Nadal? He's done very well against Djokovic in Slams. (9-3 H2H in favor of Nadal in Majors...

So it's down to that one now?

If I remember that fantastic year in 2011, the old Rafa fan mantras were dropping like flies after first frost: Novak never beat Rafa in a final; Novak never beat Rafa on clay; Novak never beat Rafa on real clay; Novak never beat Rafa in a best of five match or slam final.

Maybe this year, if they meet a few times in the right places, that slam h2h will even out a little too.

Well, you didn't read my whole post. It's down to Rafa at RG only, IMO. After Paris, I think a few others can cause trouble. Surely Djokovic has been toppling bulwarks that he hadn't previously for a long time now, against Nadal. I don't think the H2H at Majors isn't the only one, but Nole does inch closer. Anyway, Kiriljax was wondering who might stop Novak from the calendar Slam. I was submitting Rafa, whom he hadn't considered. Still a fair point, right? :angel:

No worries Mox. I caught the main point. I just chose to to opine on your sentence about the h2h and Novaks one (noted 1), fantastic year.

 

[the AntiPusher]

With Federer running out of gas so obviously in set 3, what chance does he have a winning a slam now? Maybe Wimbledon? If not Federer, who can face up to Djokovic in the Slams this year? Going to have to hope for a Nishikori/Raonic/??? to break through somewhere or we could see a calender Grand Slam.

Well, there's a lot to be seen for how the comeback goes, but may I submit to you Rafa Nadal? He's done very well against Djokovic in Slams. (9-3 H2H in favor of Nadal in Majors, with the 3 for ND coming during his one fantastic run.)

Well, to be perfectly honest, that's the last thing I want to see! But I never count the Balding Bull of Mallorca out!

'Balding Bull of Mallorca out!"

Help me to understand something.. If you are not very smart, you can study harder or get a tutor... If you are fat, you can eat more sensible, exercise and see a nutritionist... but if you are experiencing male pattern baldness which doesn't affect your ability to hit a tennis ball or etc, but there is nothing Rafa can do to prevent that. I think it takes a really insecure person to try to belittle someone because he is experiencing something he can't control which doesn't have a DAMN thing to do with the sport of tennis.

 

[nehmeth]

http://www.hairclub.com/male-hair-loss-treatments

 

[Moxie]

So it's down to that one now?

If I remember that fantastic year in 2011, the old Rafa fan mantras were dropping like flies after first frost: Novak never beat Rafa in a final; Novak never beat Rafa on clay; Novak never beat Rafa on real clay; Novak never beat Rafa in a best of five match or slam final.

Maybe this year, if they meet a few times in the right places, that slam h2h will even out a little too.

Well, you didn't read my whole post. It's down to Rafa at RG only, IMO. After Paris, I think a few others can cause trouble. Surely Djokovic has been toppling bulwarks that he hadn't previously for a long time now, against Nadal. I don't think the H2H at Majors isn't the only one, but Nole does inch closer. Anyway, Kiriljax was wondering who might stop Novak from the calendar Slam. I was submitting Rafa, whom he hadn't considered. Still a fair point, right? :angel:

No worries Mox. I caught the main point. I just chose to to opine on your sentence about the h2h and Novaks one (noted 1), fantastic year.

Haha! I only mentioned that specific period in which he beat Rafa at Majors because that's just true, right? Perhaps I put too fine a point on it. :snicker Otherwise, I'm not in the camp that he had 1 fantastic year. Clearly not.

 

[Moxie]

Well, there's a lot to be seen for how the comeback goes, but may I submit to you Rafa Nadal? He's done very well against Djokovic in Slams. (9-3 H2H in favor of Nadal in Majors, with the 3 for ND coming during his one fantastic run.)

Well, to be perfectly honest, that's the last thing I want to see! But I never count the Balding Bull of Mallorca out!

'Balding Bull of Mallorca out!"

Help me to understand something.. If you are not very smart, you can study harder or get a tutor... If you are fat, you can eat more sensible, exercise and see a nutritionist... but if you are experiencing male pattern baldness which doesn't affect your ability to hit a tennis ball or etc, but there is nothing Rafa can do to prevent that. I think it takes a real SISSY to try to belittle a person because he is experiencing something he can't control which doesn't have a DAMN thing to do with the sport of tennis.

Get over it, AP. They attack the balding (and other things) because they can't fight his tennis cred.

 

[nehmeth]

Well, you didn't read my whole post. It's down to Rafa at RG only, IMO. After Paris, I think a few others can cause trouble. Surely Djokovic has been toppling bulwarks that he hadn't previously for a long time now, against Nadal. I don't think the H2H at Majors isn't the only one, but Nole does inch closer. Anyway, Kiriljax was wondering who might stop Novak from the calendar Slam. I was submitting Rafa, whom he hadn't considered. Still a fair point, right? :angel:

No worries Mox. I caught the main point. I just chose to to opine on your sentence about the h2h and Novaks one (noted 1), fantastic year.

Haha! I only mentioned that specific period in which he beat Rafa at Majors because that's just true, right? Perhaps I put too fine a point on it. :snicker Otherwise, I'm not in the camp that he had 1 fantastic year. Clearly not.

A very fine point I might add with even a little barb on the end of it. I know you're not of the one great year camp. Rafa made some headway here at IW, and the European clay court season awaits. Hopefully he continues to regain form and the two lads can have another go at RG.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Well, to be perfectly honest, that's the last thing I want to see! But I never count the Balding Bull of Mallorca out!

'Balding Bull of Mallorca out!"

Help me to understand something.. If you are not very smart, you can study harder or get a tutor... If you are fat, you can eat more sensible, exercise and see a nutritionist... but if you are experiencing male pattern baldness which doesn't affect your ability to hit a tennis ball or etc, but there is nothing Rafa can do to prevent that. I think it takes a really insecure person to try to belittle someone because he is experiencing something he can't control which doesn't have a DAMN thing to do with the sport of tennis.

Get over it, AP. They attack the balding (and other things) because they can't fight his tennis cred.

Mox, it doesn't bother me. If some posters want to be like that so be it.

 

[Kirijax]

Sigh...Rafa fans are so sensitive. :dodgy:

 

[herios]

I am not participating in this fight over who is winning RG. Too early, to say the least.
I am very happy with how IW unfolded, Nole defended his fortress, Milos conquered new territories which will help him building confidence when he steps out to face top competition going forward and the puppy power duo Pospisil & Sock claim yet another big title.
All is good in tennis land

 

[Fiero425]

I am not participating in this fight over who is winning RG. Too early, to say the least.
I am very happy with how IW unfolded, Nole defended his fortress, Milos conquered new territories which will help him building confidence when he steps out to face top competition going forward and the puppy power duo Pospisil & Sock claim yet another big title.
All is good in tennis land

Beside Nole holding onto his title and points, Hingis' return continues to be successful winning the doubles title with Mirza (whoever that is)! So far I haven't seen it; the men yeah, but not the ladies doubles final! :clap :angel:

 

[Mile]

Novak + crowds has always been a potentially lethal combination. He should have fixed it by now, but he hasn't, to his own detriment.

Thanks to crowd Fed lost GS on US Open to Djoker, having Fed lost few MP. I always find crowd to stimulate Novak when they are against him.


About the match, Djokovic went all out in first, burnt Fed callories, which was obvious in 3rd. Fed could not even put the serve normaly.

 

[Puppet Master]

I really hoped Roger could come back and win it after that tiebreak, but he disappointed me so much. . Even though Djokovic was playing visibly worse, he still couldn't do anything about it, since he was coughing up poor second serves, spraying baseline miles out of the court and had he played like himself in the first set things would have been different. :nono
He tried to hit through Djokovic many times off of both wings but I guess he peaked too early and played a bad final so those screaming forehand winners just weren't there.

 

[nehmeth]

Roger came out playing as well as he did in his previous two matches. He just came up against someone who was playing better. Roger often had to hit three winners to get one point, and sometimes that wasn't even enough. He was forced to go for more and the ue's crept upward.

The match was not on his racquet as it used to be in days gone by. This time it was on Novak's racquet, and when he lost focus, Fed the opportunist pounced and ran as far as he could with it. Those last few games, physically and mentally, the old guy just lost the plot.

 

[Puppet Master]

Roger came out playing as well as he did in his previous two matches. He just came up against someone who was playing better. Roger often had to hit three winners to get one point, and sometimes that wasn't even enough. He was forced to go for more and the ue's crept upward.

The match was not on his racquet as it used to be in days gone by. This time it was on Novak's racquet, and when he lost focus, Fed the opportunist pounced and ran as far as he could with it. Those last few games, physically and mentally, the old guy just lost the plot.

You are right, Djokovic was a lot better than anyone Fedster faced before the final, but please don't tell me he didn't have a chance just because Novak was hitting very deep baseline shots. At the very least he could have served better, and I remember he had some crazy shanks, there must have been 35+ ue, that wasn't all Novak.

 

[Great Hands]

With Federer running out of gas so obviously in set 3, what chance does he have a winning a slam now? Maybe Wimbledon? If not Federer, who can face up to Djokovic in the Slams this year? Going to have to hope for a Nishikori/Raonic/??? to break through somewhere or we could see a calender Grand Slam.

Novak has now won the last 4 big ones - Paris, WTFs, AO and IW. But it's worth noting that the next three slams are likely to be less straightforward for Novak to get the W than the AO was. If Rafa can find his form by RG, he's the fave there, WD is Roger and Andy's best chance at another slam, and several players have a lot of potential at the USO - look at last year's final between Cilic and Nishi.

And if Novak, say, won RG and WD, the pressure on him at the USO would be unbelievable.

That being said, this year looks to me like the best chance anyone has had do the calendar slam since...Rod Laver last did it in '69? (Fed in 2006, 2007 had Rafa at RG in his way).

It makes the narrative going into RG even more exciting. Although I'm not a fan of any one player dominating, I wouldn't mind seeing Nole doing the calendar slam, because it would just be an incredible thing to witness!

 

[nehmeth]

Roger came out playing as well as he did in his previous two matches. He just came up against someone who was playing better. Roger often had to hit three winners to get one point, and sometimes that wasn't even enough. He was forced to go for more and the ue's crept upward.

The match was not on his racquet as it used to be in days gone by. This time it was on Novak's racquet, and when he lost focus, Fed the opportunist pounced and ran as far as he could with it. Those last few games, physically and mentally, the old guy just lost the plot.

You are right, Djokovic was a lot better than anyone Fedster faced before the final, but please don't tell me he didn't have a chance just because Novak was hitting very deep baseline shots. At the very least he could have served better, and I remember he had some crazy shanks, there must have been 35+ ue, that wasn't all Novak.

I never said it was because of deep baselne shots, nor did I ever say it was all Novak. I just said that the match was on his racquet this time.

Watch the first set again. Regarding Roger's serve, he's playing the best returner in the game. Novak makes everyone go for more on their serve because of that. And things start to break down for his opponents from there.

Some of Fed's shanks were due to the heavy shots coming his way, some were due to his not getting to the ball quickly enough, some were frrustration and at the end he was just worn down.

 

[19USC66]

I used to be on Tennis.com under a different screen name with most of you and hardly ever visit this forum. However, I wanted to check in and read after the Fed vs Djokovic match if things had changed much. They havn't. Same voices same rhetoric. Carry on.

 

[Federberg]

With Federer running out of gas so obviously in set 3, what chance does he have a winning a slam now? Maybe Wimbledon? If not Federer, who can face up to Djokovic in the Slams this year? Going to have to hope for a Nishikori/Raonic/??? to break through somewhere or we could see a calender Grand Slam.

If Cilic and Wawrinka can win slams so can Roger. I can never understand the doom and gloom. Yes the odds are tougher now, but this is sports. Only Novak and Rafa are truly better than him at this stage, and even then I would fancy his chances on a very fast slam surface.. so US and Wimbledon. It's a pity that Roger hadn't fully matured into this new attacking style when he played Novak at SW19 last year. The result might have been different. But there's always this year.

When I watch Roger now at the slams, I see him as having the same possibility to be taken out early that a Becker or Edberg faced back in the day, with the same chances to win when he's managed to get deep. Does this make me depressed that we're not back in those times 04 - 09 where he was virtually guaranteed a semi-final spot? Not really.. Actually the victories would probably be sweeter now, and I'm far more philosophical about the losses!