2015 Monte Carlo Masters Semifinal: Djokovic v. Nadal

[Denis]

The two big games were at 3-all in each set, and Novak won them both. That tells us where we are. Rafa has a lot of work still to do, if he's to be truly back, and Nole is going to win his second MC title tomorrow.

As a Rafa fan, I'm happy with what I saw, and as a tennis fan, there's nothing like a match between these two...

It didn't come down to those two games. Novak was the better player today, found the answers, and unless Nadal does not seriously starts improving his serve among other things, it will be an uphill battle from here onwards.

 

[Kieran]

I think Rafa was wise to tank today so he didn't have to face Berdy... :snicker

 

[Riotbeard]

NOLE NOLE NOLE

 

[Puppet Master]

Yes, please Nadal show us how big of a loser you really are, oh and how much of a loser you can be. HEYYY it's only April, boy do you have time to humiliate yourself!
So many topsin balls that amateurs like me could blast back at him.
Credit to Novak, he played great, outplayed the guy by a long shot. Now we wait for RG, yeah lose there and retire like a true winner
Sorry guys and gals, Nadal is frustrating me out of my mind.

 

[Kieran]

The two big games were at 3-all in each set, and Novak won them both. That tells us where we are. Rafa has a lot of work still to do, if he's to be truly back, and Nole is going to win his second MC title tomorrow.

As a Rafa fan, I'm happy with what I saw, and as a tennis fan, there's nothing like a match between these two...

It didn't come down to those two games. Novak was the better player today, found the answers, and unless Nadal does not seriously starts improving his serve among other things, it will be an uphill battle from here onwards.

No, it didn't only come down to those two games, but they were pivotal in each set. Rafa was gone, more or less, and Nole expanded his reach. But like I said, Nole settled after he lost the first game and won every single big point afterwards. He was impressive, but I expected him to be.

I agree though: Rafa still isn't back to his best and there's so many areas of his game are under attack. It's a stride forward though. I thought it might get ugly, but it was quite competitive...

 

[Riotbeard]

The two big games were at 3-all in each set, and Novak won them both. That tells us where we are. Rafa has a lot of work still to do, if he's to be truly back, and Nole is going to win his second MC title tomorrow.

As a Rafa fan, I'm happy with what I saw, and as a tennis fan, there's nothing like a match between these two...

It didn't come down to those two games. Novak was the better player today, found the answers, and unless Nadal does not seriously starts improving his serve among other things, it will be an uphill battle from here onwards.

No, it didn't only come down to those two games, but they were pivotal in each set. Rafa was gone, more or less, and Nole expanded his reach. But like I said, Nole settled after he lost the first game and won every single big point afterwards. He was impressive, but I expected him to be.

I agree though: Rafa still isn't back to his best and there's so many areas of his game are under attack. It's a stride forward though. I thought it might get ugly, but it was quite competitive...

I agree. There were a lot of great points.

 

[Fiero425]

Yes, please Nadal show us how big of a loser you really are, oh and how much of a loser you can be. HEYYY it's only April, boy do you have time to humiliate yourself!
So many topsin balls that amateurs like me could blast back at him.
Credit to Novak, he played great, outplayed the guy by a long shot. Now we wait for RG, yeah lose there and retire like a true winner
Sorry guys and gals, Nadal is frustrating me out of my mind.

His hideous game always frustrates me; the slice, looping the ball where it barely makes it to the service line! No one hits balls as short as this guy on a consistent basis! :nono :cover :angel:

 

[Denis]

The two big games were at 3-all in each set, and Novak won them both. That tells us where we are. Rafa has a lot of work still to do, if he's to be truly back, and Nole is going to win his second MC title tomorrow.

As a Rafa fan, I'm happy with what I saw, and as a tennis fan, there's nothing like a match between these two...

It didn't come down to those two games. Novak was the better player today, found the answers, and unless Nadal does not seriously starts improving his serve among other things, it will be an uphill battle from here onwards.

No, it didn't only come down to those two games, but they were pivotal in each set. Rafa was gone, more or less, and Nole expanded his reach. But like I said, Nole settled after he lost the first game and won every single big point afterwards. He was impressive, but I expected him to be.

I agree though: Rafa still isn't back to his best and there's so many areas of his game are under attack. It's a stride forward though. I thought it might get ugly, but it was quite competitive...

It was between ugly and competitive, a pretty straightforward win. Something I have seen Novak do against say Kukushin.

 

[Mile]

Here I am waiting for the ceremony and they are leaving the court :cover

True, maybe because of oncoming rain. Sometime they dont cover it on TV, thats bad.

 

[Federberg]

Yes, please Nadal show us how big of a loser you really are, oh and how much of a loser you can be. HEYYY it's only April, boy do you have time to humiliate yourself!
So many topsin balls that amateurs like me could blast back at him.
Credit to Novak, he played great, outplayed the guy by a long shot. Now we wait for RG, yeah lose there and retire like a true winner
Sorry guys and gals, Nadal is frustrating me out of my mind.

:laydownlaughing

 

[tented]

Here I am waiting for the ceremony and they are leaving the court :cover

True, maybe because of oncoming rain. Sometime they dont cover it on TV, thats bad.

[It was a semifinal, not a final.]

 

[nehmeth]

Here I am waiting for the ceremony and they are leaving the court :cover

True, maybe because of oncoming rain. Sometime they dont cover it on TV, thats bad.

[It was a semifinal, not a final.]

No! :cover

 

[Puppet Master]

Yes, please Nadal show us how big of a loser you really are, oh and how much of a loser you can be. HEYYY it's only April, boy do you have time to humiliate yourself!
So many topsin balls that amateurs like me could blast back at him.
Credit to Novak, he played great, outplayed the guy by a long shot. Now we wait for RG, yeah lose there and retire like a true winner
Sorry guys and gals, Nadal is frustrating me out of my mind.

His hideous game always frustrates me; the slice, looping the ball where it barely makes it to the service line! No one hits balls as short as this guy on a consistent basis! :nono :cover :angel:

You see him on the court, it is reasonable to expect deeper shots from him, I mean look at the guy.
But no, Novak slaughtered him. And why did some posters say this is positive?
IMO this is very negative, showing once more that he simply can't beat Novak currently. It almost makes you think their past matches were flukes. Jesus :nono

 

[Puppet Master]

Yes, please Nadal show us how big of a loser you really are, oh and how much of a loser you can be. HEYYY it's only April, boy do you have time to humiliate yourself!
So many topsin balls that amateurs like me could blast back at him.
Credit to Novak, he played great, outplayed the guy by a long shot. Now we wait for RG, yeah lose there and retire like a true winner
Sorry guys and gals, Nadal is frustrating me out of my mind.

:laydownlaughing

Am I wrong ? Some of those forehands were just awful.

 

[kskate2]

Yes, please Nadal show us how big of a loser you really are, oh and how much of a loser you can be. HEYYY it's only April, boy do you have time to humiliate yourself!
So many topsin balls that amateurs like me could blast back at him.
Credit to Novak, he played great, outplayed the guy by a long shot. Now we wait for RG, yeah lose there and retire like a true winner
Sorry guys and gals, Nadal is frustrating me out of my mind.

His hideous game always frustrates me; the slice, looping the ball where it barely makes it to the service line! No one hits balls as short as this guy on a consistent basis! :nono :cover :angel:

You see him on the court, it is reasonable to expect deeper shots from him, I mean look at the guy.
But no, Novak slaughtered him. And why did some posters say this is positive?
IMO this is very negative, showing once more that he simply can't beat Novak currently. It almost makes you think their past matches were flukes. Jesus :nono

Not flukes. Nadal was playing better in those matches he won. They're both different players now. Novak is at a completely different level since he became #1.

 

[Federberg]

Yes, please Nadal show us how big of a loser you really are, oh and how much of a loser you can be. HEYYY it's only April, boy do you have time to humiliate yourself!
So many topsin balls that amateurs like me could blast back at him.
Credit to Novak, he played great, outplayed the guy by a long shot. Now we wait for RG, yeah lose there and retire like a true winner
Sorry guys and gals, Nadal is frustrating me out of my mind.

:laydownlaughing

Am I wrong ? Some of those forehands were just awful.

It's just that I can't see amateurs having an easy time handling Rafa's topspin. I remember Macenroe talking about what it was like facing it. He said it was like nothing he'd ever experienced. We get lulled as armchair fans into thinking what these guys do is ordinary. It's far from that..

 

[Carol]

If Nadal would be playing his best and losing then I would be worry but he is not so I'm just waiting for his best level soon
And like I said a days before, what players are playing their best in this 2015? a lime and sand excluding Novak who still is playing well ant taking a good advantage of it
Hope things can change soon, please!!! :huh: :angel: :cover

 

[calitennis127]

The ultimate question here is whether Djokovic will be able to take a second set in a 5-set match at Roland Garros before Nadal does. Djokovic had Nadal down and on the ropes last year in the second set and failed to put him away by winning the second set - a deficit Nadal never would have come back from.

Winning these best-of-3 matches is nice but it doesn't ensure that Djokovic will rise to the occasion when he has a chance to put Nadal away at Roland Garros. Djokovic does not have a very strong history of solidifying leads against Nadal in big matches.

 

[Kieran]

You see him on the court, it is reasonable to expect deeper shots from him, I mean look at the guy.
But no, Novak slaughtered him. And why did some posters say this is positive?
IMO this is very negative, showing once more that he simply can't beat Novak currently. It almost makes you think their past matches were flukes. Jesus :nono

What kinda thinking is this? It's like reading a strange language. You've watched tennis the last year, yeah? You might have missed a wedgie-shaped hole for a large part of it. Don't worry about Rafa, he's been here before, and we know he'll do the hard work to get back up. Will he make it? We'll see, but today was a positive for him...

 

[BratSrbin]

NOLE NOLE NOLE

No-1e! No-1e! No-1e!