2017 Australian Open SF: Federer vs. Wawrinka

[Fiero425]

WOW!!!
Fedex looked down and out before the fifth, but somehow regrouped, started serving better and making Stan run more, Stan got tight, and there was no turning back.
Fed showed weakness in rallies a bit though. Plenty of negative reactions to Stan's ball-bashing, but credit to Stan, he was in his MAN edition after the second set.

I think Roger's dip after Stan's well-timed injury time out was to be expected. He hasn't played but 8 matches in 6 months so the dip was to be expected. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I doubt Mirka was impressed by Stan's injury timeout and muttered a few "cry babies" under her breath when Roger lost the 3rd...and the 4th... :lolz:

A huge, colossal choke at the end was most dissatisfying! Stan pulled a Kei and decided to just spin a few serves in in the 5th set and gave that match away! Why couldn't he choke those finals against Nole at the FO & USO like this? I'm so done with these players! They're gutless and when it comes down to the crunch forget how to play the game allowing "gramps" to beat them! :nono :cover

 

[Front242]

If it's going to be against Nadal, an extra day or two of rest won't matter at all.

I disagree. Whatever the probability of Fed beating Nadal in the final is, it's greater than zero, and it's greater if Fed is at least fit and rested than it would be if he's not.

I get you. I meant that an extra day or two more than the opponent would not matter because one poster had mentioned that he will be fresher because he played his semi today. I remember in 2009 he played his semi on Thursday, while Verdasco and Nadal played a marathon on Friday, but Federer looked the more tired as the final progressed.

You must have missed the memo. Spaniards don't fatigue ever. Must be something in the air.

 

[Carol]

I disagree. Whatever the probability of Fed beating Nadal in the final is, it's greater than zero, and it's greater if Fed is at least fit and rested than it would be if he's not.

I get you. I meant that an extra day or two more than the opponent would not matter because one poster had mentioned that he will be fresher because he played his semi today. I remember in 2009 he played his semi on Thursday, while Verdasco and Nadal played a marathon on Friday, but Federer looked the more tired as the final progressed.

You must have missed the memo. Spaniards don't fatigue ever. Must be something in the air.

It seems the Swiss either, it has to be because the mountains or when they take a MTO too

 

[TennisFanatic7]

Great stuff this tournament and hilarious that we've got a good chance at a Fedal final. Djokovic and Murray have absolutely dominated the last 18 months or so and who is it that takes advantage when they both lose early here? Federer and Nadal (and Dimitrov)!

Poor Grigor by the way. Does anyone actually want him to win tomorrow? Roger, maybe, but otherwise?

Everything crossed for a Fedal final showdown. What a lovely bonus that would be to add to the story of their rivalry.

 

[Riotbeard]

Great stuff this tournament and hilarious that we've got a good chance at a Fedal final. Djokovic and Murray have absolutely dominated the last 18 months or so and who is it that takes advantage when they both lose early here? Federer and Nadal (and Dimitrov)!

Poor Grigor by the way. Does anyone actually want him to win tomorrow? Roger, maybe, but otherwise?

Everything crossed for a Fedal final showdown. What a lovely bonus that would be to add to the story of their rivalry.

If you push it back to 20 months, Stan has won more slams than Murray in his period of co-"domination."

 

[Fiero425]

Great stuff this tournament and hilarious that we've got a good chance at a Fedal final. Djokovic and Murray have absolutely dominated the last 18 months or so and who is it that takes advantage when they both lose early here? Federer and Nadal (and Dimitrov)!

Poor Grigor by the way. Does anyone actually want him to win tomorrow? Roger, maybe, but otherwise?

Everything crossed for a Fedal final showdown. What a lovely bonus that would be to add to the story of their rivalry.

If you push it back to 20 months, Stan has won more slams than Murray in his period of co-"domination."

People put that on the back burner since Murray more competitive in 250 & 500 events! Stan is a world class player, but sometimes he just loses it and goes out to guys not in his class! He's proved it with wins over Nole and Rafa in major finals, but then he'll go to Tokyo or Brisbane and drop a match against some qualifier or WC! I just don't understand the "Jeckyll/Hyde" thing with his jerk! Hitting someone with the ball when the whole court is open to hit into doesn't help his image either! :nono :dodgy: :cover

 

[Puppet Master]

WOW!!!
Fedex looked down and out before the fifth, but somehow regrouped, started serving better and making Stan run more, Stan got tight, and there was no turning back.
Fed showed weakness in rallies a bit though. Plenty of negative reactions to Stan's ball-bashing, but credit to Stan, he was in his MAN edition after the second set.

I think Roger's dip after Stan's well-timed injury time out was to be expected. He hasn't played but 8 matches in 6 months so the dip was to be expected. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I doubt Mirka was impressed by Stan's injury timeout and muttered a few "cry babies" under her breath when Roger lost the 3rd...and the 4th... :lolz:

A huge, colossal choke at the end was most dissatisfying! Stan pulled a Kei and decided to just spin a few serves in in the 5th set and gave that match away! Why couldn't he choke those finals against Nole at the FO & USO like this? I'm so done with these players! They're gutless and when it comes down to the crunch forget how to play the game allowing "gramps" to beat them! :nono :cover

Are you really bitter because Stan can easily beat your hero and can't beat big bad Roger? No need to be bitter, I will give you a very simple explanation. When Fed doesn't have a dip in play that causes him to have a 3% first serve percentage, then he can bully Wawrinka with net approaches because of Wawrinka'a godawful returning and because he struggles with guys who hit the ball early and can hit their spots. Not to mention the fact that Fed knows as much about Stan's game as Magnus Norman, and Magnus Norman knows A LOT. Also, the mental block Wawrinka has against his compatriot, you can see that they are both kinda subdued in their celebrations against each other, almost never play at full intensity etc.
I love Wawrinka, but this is the truth.
I just can't wait to see who will be your next sinking ship. My guess is the first new wolrd #1. Either Grigor or Dominic at this point, I almost can't see anyone beyond them. I already proclaimed my prediction for Mr Alexander.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Is Stan the only player with more Slams than Masters 1000s? El Dude, GSM ?

 

[El Dude]

Is Stan the only player with more Slams than Masters 1000s? El Dude, GSM ?

Off-hand, quite a few one-Slam wonders don't have Masters, as far as I know. But I'll do a bit of research...

 

[El Dude]

OK, here's what I've found. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive list, but is what I found for the Open Era. I'm using Masters/ATP 1000 (1990-present) and Super 9/Grand Prix tournaments (1970-89).

Arthur Ashe - 3 Slams, 2 Grand Prix (although he won several other tournaments that were equivalent to Masters/Grand Prix)

John Newcombe - 7 Slams, 2 Grand Prix (same as Ashe)

Jan Kodes - 3 Slams, no Grand Prix

Johan Kriek - 2 Slams, no Grand Prix

Yevgeny Kafelnikov - 2 Slams, 1 Masters

And of course Pete Sampras won 14 Slams and 11 Masters.

Adriano Panatta, Mark Edmondson, Brian Teacher, Pat Cash, Gaston Gaudio, Juan Martin del Potro - all 1 Slam, no Masters/Grand Prix

 

[Front242]

I get you. I meant that an extra day or two more than the opponent would not matter because one poster had mentioned that he will be fresher because he played his semi today. I remember in 2009 he played his semi on Thursday, while Verdasco and Nadal played a marathon on Friday, but Federer looked the more tired as the final progressed.

You must have missed the memo. Spaniards don't fatigue ever. Must be something in the air.

It seems the Swiss either, it has to be because the mountains or when they take a MTO too

LOL, yeah 'cos Federer has taken so many MTOs in his career. Go do some homework on how many he's taken his whole career. And he does get tired and has had many bad losses because of fatigue.

 

[Front242]

WOW!!!
Fedex looked down and out before the fifth, but somehow regrouped, started serving better and making Stan run more, Stan got tight, and there was no turning back.
Fed showed weakness in rallies a bit though. Plenty of negative reactions to Stan's ball-bashing, but credit to Stan, he was in his MAN edition after the second set.

I think Roger's dip after Stan's well-timed injury time out was to be expected. He hasn't played but 8 matches in 6 months so the dip was to be expected. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I doubt Mirka was impressed by Stan's injury timeout and muttered a few "cry babies" under her breath when Roger lost the 3rd...and the 4th... :lolz:

A huge, colossal choke at the end was most dissatisfying! Stan pulled a Kei and decided to just spin a few serves in in the 5th set and gave that match away! Why couldn't he choke those finals against Nole at the FO & USO like this? I'm so done with these players! They're gutless and when it comes down to the crunch forget how to play the game allowing "gramps" to beat them! :nono :cover

You must have forgotten the 2 consecutive US Open semis where Roger was making a monkey out of Novak only to lose like a clown after being 2 sets up in each. Is Roger gutless too? Maybe he's just charitable.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Factoid: Roger has not lost AO finals to anyone other than Rafa (and that was the time when it brought tears).

Pedant alert: A "factoid" is actually "an item of unreliable information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact".

And yes, I know that since the 1980s/1990s it is often (perhaps more often) used to mean "a little-known bit of information; trivial but interesting data" (quoting Wikipedia), but I nonetheless can't help being annoyed by this.

These days people might need a short term for "alternative facts". :laydownlaughing

 

[GameSetAndMath]

If it comes to Fedal finals, I belive the court actually favors both of them. The courts are fast and so they favor Fed. The bounce is high and so the courts favor Rafa. So, nobody really has advantage based on surface, I would say.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Thanks for the info El Dude. I thought Stan's situation was kinda unique but apparently not

 

[Carol]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKQUeRbFS-k[/video]

 

[mrzz]

You must have forgotten the 2 consecutive US Open semis where Roger was making a monkey out of Novak only to lose like a clown after being 2 sets up in each. Is Roger gutless too? Maybe he's just charitable.

I was thinking exactly the same. You were kind enough not the mention the MP´s.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Roger had a differential of -3 and Stan had a differential of +10.

Actually, in each and every one of the sets Stan had equal or better differential than Fed (equal in 5th set and better in all other sets).

So, it is kind of a weird match. Also, both Fed's saving of 2 BPs and cashing the BP in the 5th set were all due to Stan's errors rather than due to Fed hitting some winner. But, I will take the win any way now.

 

[lob]

A huge, colossal choke at the end was most dissatisfying! Stan pulled a Kei and decided to just spin a few serves in in the 5th set and gave that match away! Why couldn't he choke those finals against Nole at the FO & USO like this? I'm so done with these players! They're gutless and when it comes down to the crunch forget how to play the game allowing "gramps" to beat them! :nono :cover

Last year, Stan lost in the 4th round to Raonic in 5 sets. In 2015, he lost in 5 sets to Nole in the SF. He won the 4th and got bageled in the 5th. In 2013, he again lost in 5 sets to Nole in the fourth round. None of those were gutless efforts.

Keep in mind that it is always very hard sustaining a come back after losing the first two sets. Also, Roger is just more gutsy in clutch against Stan. Roger can't stay that calm against everyone.

Sent from my 6045O using Tapatalk

 

[mightyjeditribble]

Roger had a differential of -3 and Stan had a differential of +10.

Actually, in each and every one of the sets Stan had equal or better differential than Fed (equal in 5th set and better in all other sets).

So, it is kind of a weird match. Also, both Fed's saving of 2 BPs and cashing the BP in the 5th set were all due to Stan's errors rather than due to Fed hitting some winner. But, I will take the win any way now.

Definitely at least on at least one of the break points, Fed looked absolutely out of it but played some great shots to stay in the point. So even if the final shot wasn't a winner, I don't think it's true that Stan gifted it to him.

But the break certainly was more due to Stan's play (and DF); that's true.