2016 U.S. Open: Day 7, September 4 - Order of Play

[pavlik89]

Rafael Nadal vs Lucas Pouille Highlights ᴴᴰ US OPEN 2016

[video=dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4rugk5[/video]

 

[GameSetAndMath]

SO, finally things are opening up for Kyle. Now, the question is can he exploit the situation and make Novak pay?

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Both Rafa and Lucas had positive differentials, which is a mark of a good match. Rafa was +11 (52 -41) and Lucas was +6 (59-53).

Both won exactly the same number of points, viz., 156.

 

[BIG3]

Both Rafa and Lucas had positive differentials, which is a mark of a good match. Rafa was +11 (52 -41) and Lucas was +6 (59-53).

Both won exactly the same number of points, viz., 156.

It is the match of tournament so far. Lucas played like between 2010 and 2011 Novak, aggressive, never hesitate to pull trigger, BH goes toe2toe against Rafa topspin, with much bigger serve than Nole. I hope they can meet in semi.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Before Nadalites bring up wrist, knees, ribs, heart, lungs etc, let me say that Lucas did not defeat a crippled lame duck Rafa. Rafa was fully fit and running around like energizer bunny for 4 hours. No excuses, please. :nono

Rafa choked...his ridiculous tactic of standing that far back on ROS is so freakin outdated.,ignorant and self torturous ..I thought Lucus P was the 14 time career grand slam champion.. Rafa and his team had a absolutely NCAA Jr college approach to playing players besides Federer is astounding that he EVER win another title..What does Rafa have to loose..why he holds back is beyond reasoning..Rafa had no business ever loosing a set to this guy,..Monfils will beat the living horse manure out of this guy..Rafa needs a ReAl coach who played the game not some favorite Uncle..Damn:devil

Come on A-P, you're being unfair.

Firstly, old goats get nervous. Navratilova told us that centuries ago. And it's hard to imagine Rafa ever holding up on the big stage now, no matter how well he plays. It's a pattern, and it has little to do with style of play. He had a gimme forehand at 6-6 in the tiebreak and he shanked it, so it isn't style of play, it's between the ears. It happens. Happened to Pete too, Federer, all of them eventually are unable to stay steady in tight matches.

Secondly, Pouille is a kid of substance, played a great match and took his chances with panache. I enjoyed watching him, while wishing him all the evil under the sun, if you get my drift...

Brotha, I don't think even Ray Donavan can't FIX Rafa's tennis game.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I think Jiri gave a better fight to Novak at this USO than Kyle.

 

[Kieran]

Nadal hasn't had a big injury in years and the talk of retirement due to injury with him has always made me laugh. Why? I'll tell you why. Because for all the constant talk of Nadal being so injured so so much of his career, he's had zero surgery due to injuries sustained through tennis. ZERO. He had appendix surgery and besides that he has had only treatments that were not surgery. So, really, talk of injuries ending his career are a bit laughable. Del Potro would clearly have the wrist injury Nadal had in exchange for his 2 years back and 3 surgeries, likewise Haas with his 9 surgeries. Give me a break with Nadal retiring due to injuries with no surgery please, not to mention each and every time he's ever been off tour he storms back lol.

^ That's nonsense...

 

[Kieran]

I think Jiri gave a better fight to Novak at this USO than Kyle.

Edmunds did great to get that far. It hasn't been a bad open for the Brits...

 

[the AntiPusher]

Nadal hasn't had a big injury in years and the talk of retirement due to injury with him has always made me laugh. Why? I'll tell you why. Because for all the constant talk of Nadal being so injured so so much of his career, he's had zero surgery due to injuries sustained through tennis. ZERO. He had appendix surgery and besides that he has had only treatments that were not surgery. So, really, talk of injuries ending his career are a bit laughable. Del Potro would clearly have the wrist injury Nadal had in exchange for his 2 years back and 3 surgeries, likewise Haas with his 9 surgeries. Give me a break with Nadal retiring due to injuries with no surgery please, not to mention each and every time he's ever been off tour he storms back lol.

^ That's nonsense...

Yep

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

After rewatching the match and seeing the first three sets, I have to give credit to Pouille I know some are saying Rafa choked at key moments, but if you look at the entire match Pouille really mixed up the depth and pace of shot on Rafa and at times made it hard for him to know what to do. Pouille was fairly smart about when to pull the trigger and when not to this match. Some of those down the line shots were phenomenal. In other words, he did to Nadal what Nadal typically does to other players make them think they have to do something special and induce the error.

 

[Front242]

Nadal hasn't had a big injury in years and the talk of retirement due to injury with him has always made me laugh. Why? I'll tell you why. Because for all the constant talk of Nadal being so injured so so much of his career, he's had zero surgery due to injuries sustained through tennis. ZERO. He had appendix surgery and besides that he has had only treatments that were not surgery. So, really, talk of injuries ending his career are a bit laughable. Del Potro would clearly have the wrist injury Nadal had in exchange for his 2 years back and 3 surgeries, likewise Haas with his 9 surgeries. Give me a break with Nadal retiring due to injuries with no surgery please, not to mention each and every time he's ever been off tour he storms back lol.

^ That's nonsense...

Yep

Please both elaborate and tell me how it's nonsense exactly?

 

[Kieran]

^ That's nonsense...

Yep

Please both elaborate and tell me how it's nonsense exactly?

It's so basic and primitive buddy, I'm surprised you need it spelt out for you. But then again, knowing how much you love Rafa...

a) Rafa had a wrist injury this year that forced him outta the French and skipped Wimbledon. That's a serious injury right there, for a tennis player, and for a 14 time slam champ who was playing good stuff on clay at the French, it was a serious time to have to withdraw - and then miss Wimbledon. Injuries aren't made more serious just because they required surgery. The sheer reptition and volume of injuries he had, and the effect on his career, makes them serious.

Missed Wimbledon in 2009 when he was defending champ. Missed the USO in 2012, and 2014. Missed Oz in 2006. Missed the WTF several times.

b) Rafa never "storms back" after injury breaks. In 2009, after he returned he was sh1t, and it took until the clay season in 2010 before he beat anybody worth talking about. In the meantime, Nole and Del Po and Sod and everybody with a small bandwagon in tow took their chomps outta him, and boosted their H2H.

Look at him now, FFS. He had the wrist and appendix in 2014 - and has he stormed back? Has he? You been watching him since 2015, right? Is he storming anywhere, or anything? Or anybody?

Seriously bro, you ought to stick to chop socky flicks - I believe you on them!

 

[Kieran]

After rewatching the match and seeing the first three sets, I have to give credit to Pouille I know some are saying Rafa choked at key moments, but if you look at the entire match Pouille really mixed up the depth and pace of shot on Rafa and at times made it hard for him to know what to do. Pouille was fairly smart about when to pull the trigger and when not to this match. Some of those down the line shots were phenomenal. In other words, he did to Nadal what Nadal typically does to other players make them think they have to do something special and induce the error.

And yet...Rafa was up a break in the fifth, and he choked.

Nobody is saying he choked every point he lost, or that Pouille was crap, but Rafa was crappier. My own take is that actually Rafa was playing better than we'd seen him play in his first 3 matches, and had he squeaked through this match, that form, and the confidence gained from winning a tight match, might have benefitted him. I said this somewhere above. I agree with you on this - that Pouille was so good, he forced Rafa to play better. I give Pouille credit for what he done, but at the same time, it doesn't take away from Pouille to say Rafa choked. Pouille helped him reach the position where a choke was possible. Never used to be an issue with Rafa, because he'd swat dudes away, but now it's The Big Issue with him.

But Rafa has been choking big matches since he came back in 2015. His form has generally been terrible too, but it wasn't form, or tactics, or any of that cost him yesterday. It was that, when he needed to be calm and stay at a high level to clinically kill the kid, he tightened.

Rafa ain't clinical anymore in the clutch, and that's the Big Issue. He was the best at it, but time and tide, etc. Hes getting on, and he's more anxious at big moments now because of it...

 

[Front242]

Yep

Please both elaborate and tell me how it's nonsense exactly?

It's so basic and primitive buddy, I'm surprised you need it spelt out for you. But then again, knowing how much you love Rafa...

a) Rafa had a wrist injury this year that forced him outta the French and skipped Wimbledon. That's a serious injury right there, for a tennis player, and for a 14 time slam champ who was playing good stuff on clay at the French, it was a serious time to have to withdraw - and then miss Wimbledon. Injuries aren't made more serious just because they required surgery. The sheer reptition and volume of injuries he had, and the effect on his career, makes them serious.

Missed Wimbledon in 2009 when he was defending champ. Missed the USO in 2012, and 2014. Missed Oz in 2006. Missed the WTF several times.

b) Rafa never "storms back" after injury breaks. In 2009, after he returned he was sh1t, and it took until the clay season in 2010 before he beat anybody worth talking about. In the meantime, Nole and Del Po and Sod and everybody with a small bandwagon in tow took their chomps outta him, and boosted their H2H.

Look at him now, FFS. He had the wrist and appendix in 2014 - and has he stormed back? Has he? You been watching him since 2015, right? Is he storming anywhere, or anything? Or anybody?

Seriously bro, you ought to stick to chop socky flicks - I believe you on them!

Yes, for an injury to be serious it does require surgery and he's had none except non tennis related appendix surgery. He missed Wimbledon and reached the semis of the US Open 2009. A perfectly fine result. 2010 was one of his best seasons ever after his performance enhancing PRP treatment which he again had in 2012 and guess what, stormed back then too and had a fantastic 2013. Like I said, none of what I said was nonsense, it was based on facts. 2014 sure, he had a bad back at the AO and then guess what, he won the French Open. LOL! Please. Yes, he's been having poor (by his standards) results the last 2 seasons but that's as much down to the competition improving as it is him getting any worse. He's been playing great btw for the last few months. Just 'cos he lost yesterday or in Rio does not mean he wasn't playing great in both 'cos he was. His opponents have just been even better.

 

[the AntiPusher]

After rewatching the match and seeing the first three sets, I have to give credit to Pouille I know some are saying Rafa choked at key moments, but if you look at the entire match Pouille really mixed up the depth and pace of shot on Rafa and at times made it hard for him to know what to do. Pouille was fairly smart about when to pull the trigger and when not to this match. Some of those down the line shots were phenomenal. In other words, he did to Nadal what Nadal typically does to other players make them think they have to do something special and induce the error.

SMG ..there is a reason Rafa is ranked #5 and seeded #4, Pouille played a great match because he was never Force out of his comfort zone..As Rafa said he didn't make Pouille feel enough Pain..Rafa only had 52 winners Pouille had 59..Pouille 11 aces Rafa 1.. Rafa UFE 41 Pouille UFE 59..Rafa said he gave it his best, I don't think he did.

 

[Kieran]

Please both elaborate and tell me how it's nonsense exactly?

It's so basic and primitive buddy, I'm surprised you need it spelt out for you. But then again, knowing how much you love Rafa...

a) Rafa had a wrist injury this year that forced him outta the French and skipped Wimbledon. That's a serious injury right there, for a tennis player, and for a 14 time slam champ who was playing good stuff on clay at the French, it was a serious time to have to withdraw - and then miss Wimbledon. Injuries aren't made more serious just because they required surgery. The sheer reptition and volume of injuries he had, and the effect on his career, makes them serious.

Missed Wimbledon in 2009 when he was defending champ. Missed the USO in 2012, and 2014. Missed Oz in 2006. Missed the WTF several times.

b) Rafa never "storms back" after injury breaks. In 2009, after he returned he was sh1t, and it took until the clay season in 2010 before he beat anybody worth talking about. In the meantime, Nole and Del Po and Sod and everybody with a small bandwagon in tow took their chomps outta him, and boosted their H2H.

Look at him now, FFS. He had the wrist and appendix in 2014 - and has he stormed back? Has he? You been watching him since 2015, right? Is he storming anywhere, or anything? Or anybody?

Seriously bro, you ought to stick to chop socky flicks - I believe you on them!

Yes, for an injury to be serious it does require surgery and he's had none except non tennis related appendix surgery. He missed Wimbledon and reached the semis of the US Open 2009. A perfectly fine result. 2010 was one of his best seasons ever after his performance enhancing PRP treatment which he again had in 2012 and guess what, stormed back then too and had a fantastic 2013. Like I said, none of what I said was nonsense, it was based on facts. 2014 sure, he had a bad back at the AO and then guess what, he won the French Open. LOL! Please. Yes, he's been having poor (by his standards) results the last 2 seasons but that's as much down to the competition improving as it is him getting any worse. He's been playing great btw for the last few months. Just 'cos he lost yesterday or in Rio does not mean he wasn't playing great in both 'cos he was. His opponents have just been even better.

No, you're mixing things up. For a tennis player, an injury is serious enough if he has to skip slams, and if they force him to take significant breaks in his career. In fact, he's been steady in having things disrupt his career since he started, almost, and have they impacted seriously on his career? Of course they have.

Can injuries force an end to his career? Absolutely.

AS for him "storming back", that's nonsense. He didn't in 2009 (didn't beat a top 10 player until he beat Federer on clay in 2010), and didn't after 2012, where he skipped Oz because he wasn't ready, and took the lighter route of playing South American clay to find his feet.

Hilarious how you say, "Yes, he's been having poor (by his standards) results the last 2 seasons but that's as much down to the competition improving as it is him getting any worse." It's funny because you've made such a big issue about how terrible the field is that Novak is dominating. How weak and poor it is. Now? You say they've improved, but Rafa is still the same as he was in 2013... :laydownlaughing

 

[Front242]

It's so basic and primitive buddy, I'm surprised you need it spelt out for you. But then again, knowing how much you love Rafa...

a) Rafa had a wrist injury this year that forced him outta the French and skipped Wimbledon. That's a serious injury right there, for a tennis player, and for a 14 time slam champ who was playing good stuff on clay at the French, it was a serious time to have to withdraw - and then miss Wimbledon. Injuries aren't made more serious just because they required surgery. The sheer reptition and volume of injuries he had, and the effect on his career, makes them serious.

Missed Wimbledon in 2009 when he was defending champ. Missed the USO in 2012, and 2014. Missed Oz in 2006. Missed the WTF several times.

b) Rafa never "storms back" after injury breaks. In 2009, after he returned he was sh1t, and it took until the clay season in 2010 before he beat anybody worth talking about. In the meantime, Nole and Del Po and Sod and everybody with a small bandwagon in tow took their chomps outta him, and boosted their H2H.

Look at him now, FFS. He had the wrist and appendix in 2014 - and has he stormed back? Has he? You been watching him since 2015, right? Is he storming anywhere, or anything? Or anybody?

Seriously bro, you ought to stick to chop socky flicks - I believe you on them!

Yes, for an injury to be serious it does require surgery and he's had none except non tennis related appendix surgery. He missed Wimbledon and reached the semis of the US Open 2009. A perfectly fine result. 2010 was one of his best seasons ever after his performance enhancing PRP treatment which he again had in 2012 and guess what, stormed back then too and had a fantastic 2013. Like I said, none of what I said was nonsense, it was based on facts. 2014 sure, he had a bad back at the AO and then guess what, he won the French Open. LOL! Please. Yes, he's been having poor (by his standards) results the last 2 seasons but that's as much down to the competition improving as it is him getting any worse. He's been playing great btw for the last few months. Just 'cos he lost yesterday or in Rio does not mean he wasn't playing great in both 'cos he was. His opponents have just been even better.

No, you're mixing things up. For a tennis player, an injury is serious enough if he has to skip slams, and if they force him to take significant breaks in his career. In fact, he's been steady in having things disrupt his career since he started, almost, and have they impacted seriously on his career? Of course they have.

Can injuries force an end to his career? Absolutely.

AS for him "storming back", that's nonsense. He didn't in 2009 (didn't beat a top 10 player until he beat Federer on clay in 2010), and didn't after 2012, where he skipped Oz because he wasn't ready, and took the lighter route of playing South American clay to find his feet.

Hilarious how you say, "Yes, he's been having poor (by his standards) results the last 2 seasons but that's as much down to the competition improving as it is him getting any worse." It's funny because you've made such a big issue about how terrible the field is that Novak is dominating. How weak and poor it is. Now? You say they've improved, but Rafa is still the same as he was in 2013... :laydownlaughing

Well, look if you want the honest to God truth on my opinion since I couldn't care less anymore. None of us are blind (well actually not true, there are many naive fans who are) and there are literally tons of Duracell bunnies out there now who never get tired. My personal opinion is the other players out there are not dumb and have decided if you can't beat them, join them and leveled the playing field if you know what I mean. What we're seeing now is a free for all dope fest and the guys who were once so far above everyone else are being made to look not a whole lot better than them since everyone and their cat is now juiced like a f*****g Tropicana factory. There. That's it.

 

[Kieran]

After rewatching the match and seeing the first three sets, I have to give credit to Pouille I know some are saying Rafa choked at key moments, but if you look at the entire match Pouille really mixed up the depth and pace of shot on Rafa and at times made it hard for him to know what to do. Pouille was fairly smart about when to pull the trigger and when not to this match. Some of those down the line shots were phenomenal. In other words, he did to Nadal what Nadal typically does to other players make them think they have to do something special and induce the error.

SMG ..there is a reason Rafa is ranked #5 and seeded #4, Pouille played a great match because he was never Force out of his comfort zone..As Rafa said he didn't make Pouille feel enough Pain..Rafa only had 52 winners Pouille had 59..Pouille 11 aces Rafa 1.. Rafa UFE 41 Pouille UFE 59..Rafa said he gave it his best, I don't think he did.

The serves by both men were poor, even though Pouille served 11 aces. Rafa wasn't as bad as he usually is, but he's unable to locate the great serve of 2010, or even 2013. And by "great", that's a relative term. Rafa finally had a serve that was at home on the ATP, and got him cheap points, but it wasn't Sampras great, or anything. Now his serve is fodder for everyone else...

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Neither guy looked in control of the match, so I never thought Rafa was going to have a comfortable moment on serve, neither guy really did for the match. Even in that fifth set, I knew they both could end up with a break given the serving. Pouille was the steadier of the two and kept himself in check which is never easy to do against Nadal like I said it was probably hard to know what to do against Pouille because he gave Nadal so many different looks. That ball was coming back at interesting angles, different depths and different paces. When you are Nadal and used to things going your way and being close to the finish line, pulling that trigger to close it out can get ugly. Those 3-3, 4-3, 4-4 moments near the final stretch can get interesting. I think Nadal wanted to make the finish line happen sooner than he should have tried to make it happen in that 5th and it cost him that game and he was broken. I never thought when Rafa got the break ok this is a sure thing especially with his serve and how many times of late I have seen him dump serve despite getting the break.

 

[Fiero425]

What did they say; 9 retirements? Thiem waved Del Po through to the quarters! The Tour still won't be smarter when it comes to the schedule! They're dropping like flies with Nole draggin' as well! Who's more fit and at the top of their game? Even he doesn't look that good this time of the year! He's feeling it and even skipped a couple events; what does that say? :nono :cover