2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXXV

[the AntiPusher]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

One thing Federer does much better than Dimitrov is to volley, and Dimitrov lost a lot of net points Federer wouldn´t. Them both like stupid approach shots, and one thing that baffled me today is that Dimitrov fired a lot of approach shots right to Nadal´s hand.. and some of them actually worked.

More wishful thinking than anything, and I´ll go with Federer in three. Rational arguments never mattered that much in this match up, anyway. The only one I have is that Nadal is no longer the confidence beast he once was.

Roger will be extended numerous invitations to go to the net and he will get passed severely but it's really his only chance to stay close to Rafa if Nadal keeps playing at this ferocious level. IMO.

 

[DarthFed]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Roger is also more experienced, smarter, and with more finesse and weapons than Grigor. Yes, he doesn't have that movement anymore, but Grigor tried to out-physical Rafa, a task only one player in tennis history has really been able to do: Novak Djokovic. So where Roger will lose ground in movement and pure physicality, he will gain it back in experience, tactics, and subtleties of play that Grigor simply doesn't have.

I'm also not 100% convinced that Rafa will be able to easily bounce back from this five-hour match. He isn't 22 anymore. He's still a beast, and should be fine, but he might drop a notch after this one.

That said, Rafa still has the edge. But I won't give up hope...

If he has recently been drinking from a special "fountain of youth" as I expect he will recover just fine. Just the fact he was fresh as a daisy in the 5th set makes me think he will be fine.

 

[El Dude]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Right now I think Rafa is the favorite at Roland Garros, and Roger is--if not the favorite, right there with Andy and Novak for Wimbledon. The crazy thing is that whoever wins AO has a good chance of two Slam titles this year.

Big Two? Haha, yeah right.

 

[mightyjeditribble]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

I voted with my heart today for Fed in 4.

Head says it's more likely to be Rafa in 4 or 5 though.

 

[mightyjeditribble]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Right now I think Rafa is the favorite at Roland Garros, and Roger is--if not the favorite, right there with Andy and Novak for Wimbledon. The crazy thing is that whoever wins AO has a good chance of two Slam titles this year.

Big Two? Haha, yeah right.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves ... but they have certainly proved that they are in the mix for their respective "favourite" grand slam tournaments.

 

[El Dude]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

How am I getting ahead of myself? If Rafa wins on Sunday, he has a good chance at winning two Slam titles this year as I think he goes into RG as the favorite - at least if he maintains his current form (that is, stays healthy). If Roger wins, he's not only won his first Slam in almost five years, but has shown a level that would make him a serious contender at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Now it could be that this is the last Fedal Slam final - even for both of them. But that's not what I'm witnessing. 2017 could be the last great Big Four year, but what is interesting is that it isn't Andy and Novak on one level, Rafa and Roger below, like we all expected.

 

[Carol]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Obviously Rafa is not only one of the most talented players of the history but also very smart, he knows to read perfectly well his opponent game and when he is "in" it doesn't matter how much his opponent fights (all of them do) he finds the way because his great abilities. I was impressed how well Dimi has played, of course much better than Stan and that made the match lasted one hour more

 

[mightyjeditribble]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

How am I getting ahead of myself? If Rafa wins on Sunday, he has a good chance at winning two Slam titles this year as I think he goes into RG as the favorite - at least if he maintains his current form (that is, stays healthy). If Roger wins, he's not only won his first Slam in almost five years, but has shown a level that would make him a serious contender at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Now it could be that this is the last Fedal Slam final - even for both of them. But that's not what I'm witnessing. 2017 could be the last great Big Four year, but what is interesting is that it isn't Andy and Novak on one level, Rafa and Roger below, like we all expected.

I just think we shouldn't be predicting the demise of the dominance of Andy and Novak just yet - particularly as neither Roger nor Rafa had to beat one of them to make the final. Losses happen.

 

[19USC66]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Worst nightmare realized. This won't be a match, Rafa looked fresh as a daisy in the 5th today, hitting harder and moving faster than he had in the 4 sets before it (not suspicious at all...). We know this drill by now.

Laughing. Go figure. HMMMM

 

[mightyjeditribble]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Obviously Rafa is not only one of the most talented players of the history but also very smart, he knows to read perfectly well his opponent game and when he is "in" it doesn't matter how much his opponent fights (all of them do) he finds the way because his great abilities. I was impressed how well Dimi has played, of course much better than Stan and that made the match lasted one hour more

One of the things I admire about Rafa is how he was willing and able to adapt to overcome challenges and reach his goals. Witness his transition to an all-court player and winning his Wimbledon title, or turning around being owned by hard flat hitters like Blake early on to owning them instead.

Of course this is the mark of a real champion, and Roger has done it as well - he started playing a lot of S&V, then played much more from the baseline, and now again comes to the net a lot more as this has become the better strategy. But sadly he has never found a consistently convincing answer to Nadal's forehand on his backhand side.

 

[El Dude]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

How am I getting ahead of myself? If Rafa wins on Sunday, he has a good chance at winning two Slam titles this year as I think he goes into RG as the favorite - at least if he maintains his current form (that is, stays healthy). If Roger wins, he's not only won his first Slam in almost five years, but has shown a level that would make him a serious contender at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Now it could be that this is the last Fedal Slam final - even for both of them. But that's not what I'm witnessing. 2017 could be the last great Big Four year, but what is interesting is that it isn't Andy and Novak on one level, Rafa and Roger below, like we all expected.

I just think we shouldn't be predicting the demise of the dominance of Andy and Novak just yet - particularly as neither Roger nor Rafa had to beat one of them to make the final. Losses happen.

Maybe...but I am going to happily predict the demise of their dominance, if by "dominance" we mean them being head-and-shoulders above everyone else. Or maybe that is just wishful thinking, as the tour is more interesting if others are in the mix for Slams.

At the very least, even if the Big Four--once again--take all of the Slam titles, I will predict a couple things: One, none of the titles will be taken easily. Two, they won't win all of the Masters.

 

[lob]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Roger winning on Sunday will be a bigger upset than Novak and Andy not making it to the second week.

One of the reasons Rafa could play and fight Grigor that hard was because he knew that if he won, it was just a matter of beating Roger on the Sunday. Easy.

Sent from my 6045O using Tapatalk

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

YOu know what, for the last 3 years or so we kept hoping for a final Fedal showdown at a GS. One final one...one final one...we have been granted that wish finally...at AO by the tennis gods.

 

[El Dude]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Umm...that has not been a wish of mine.

 

[crystalfire]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

i feel the real final was played last night. this is like a victory lap. rafa in 4 if fed plays reasonably well if not takes it in straights. ((

 

[the AntiPusher]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Roger is also more experienced, smarter, and with more finesse and weapons than Grigor. Yes, he doesn't have that movement anymore, but Grigor tried to out-physical Rafa, a task only one player in tennis history has really been able to do: Novak Djokovic. So where Roger will lose ground in movement and pure physicality, he will gain it back in experience, tactics, and subtleties of play that Grigor simply doesn't have.

I'm also not 100% convinced that Rafa will be able to easily bounce back from this five-hour match. He isn't 22 anymore. He's still a beast, and should be fine, but he might drop a notch after this one.

That said, Rafa still has the edge. But I won't give up hope...

If he has recently been drinking from a special "fountain of youth" as I expect he will recover just fine. Just the fact he was fresh as a daisy in the 5th set makes me think he will be fine.

I posted on Fronty PED thread about Roger's "fountain of youth "

 

[Carol]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Funny that some of Roger's fans is talking about "the fountain of the youth"......:lolz: :laydownlaughing

 

[El Dude]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Take one from AP and keep talk of PEDs in the allotted thread. This thread still follows that useful adage, "innocent until proven guilty."

 

[delPoFearhand]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Maybe I'm a hopeless bel18ver, but I do think Fed can pull this out. He's got better net skills and anticipation than Grigor, and I think the fortitude to apply his fast court game plan. We'll see though, I'm super excited just to watch no matter what happens.

 

[the AntiPusher]

RE: 2017 Australian Open Final: FEDAL XXV

Take one from AP and keep talk of PEDs in the allotted thread. This thread still follows that useful adage, "innocent until proven guilty."

Come on El dude..all the lady saying is that's it's funny..Darth was the one who gave up his boy's "fountain of youth ":angel: