2017 RG Quarterfinals: Thiem vs. Djokovic

[the AntiPusher]

OK, I hear your point about hindsight. I don't know if Novak will recover or not - I have no idea. I am just questioning how much he wants it. It was clear that Roger wanted it in 2013, that he still loved playing. It is not so clear with Novak in 2017, at least to me. That's the point I was making that I think you were missing, which is just speculative.

He looks confused, like he's not even sure he wants to be out there anymore rather than OMing in the Himalayas.

Denis. Has a point..you didn't say this about Novak this time last year..Rafa and Roger was AWOL, Stan was hit and miss in regards to what grand slam he would do well at and Murray was winning the tournaments he wasnt. Sounds like you are putting the guy out to pasture before even considering him for STUD..Novak really has been injured or taken a big break from the game since 2010..he just may need to take a break after Wimbledon or the US Open to just reset whatever going on inside of his head and spend more time with his family. He be Aight

 

[DarthFed]

Yes..but he is still the world's number #2 for now..there's nothing wrong with him physically..he just need to reset his mind with Mr Clean(Agassi) ..he will be aight

He isn't injured but physically he's fallen off. Way less power and way slower. Just looking at him it's obvious he is much less toned than in the past. Becker did say he got lazy with training and I think he's right.

 

[El Dude]

Denis. Has a point..you didn't say this about Novak this time last year..Rafa and Roger was AWOL, Stan was hit and miss in regards to what grand slam he would do well at and Murray was winning the tournaments he wasnt. Sounds like you are putting the guy out to pasture before even considering him for STUD..Novak really has been injured or taken a big break from the game since 2010..he just may need to take a break after Wimbledon or the US Open to just reset whatever going on inside of his head and spend more time with his family. He be Aight

Huh? I'm not putting him out to pasture. I'm not saying anything definitive, just questioning whether he has the desire and drive to be a top tennis player.

And why would I have said this last year about Novak when he had just won the French Open and with no sign of decline? That would be like questioning Rafa's desire to win after he won the US Open in 2013.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Huh? I'm not putting him out to pasture. I'm not saying anything definitive, just questioning whether he has the desire and drive to be a top tennis player.

And why would I have said this last year about Novak when he had just won the French Open and with no sign of decline? That would be like questioning Rafa's desire to win after he won the US Open in 2013.

He hasn't went a full calendar year without a slam and you are questioning his desire..he is human..the man spent most of his career chasing probably the two greatest tennis players ever..afterwards he held the top spot for almost 3 years and probably had the biggest points difference in regards to his ranking and the other players in the top 4 spot ever..but now you think he doesn't have the desire..he is just burnt out..that's why he called Agassi

 

[El Dude]

Burnt out = not having the desire. I suspect you are disagreeing with me because you like to disagree with me.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I did not see the match. I am glad that Thiem won. More importantly, I am glad that Thiem won in straight sets. This would mean that there is some hope that Thiem could win or at least give a good fight to the Bull, instead of disappearing mysteriously.

 

[Carol]

Novak did put too much on fire and he got burned out physical and mentally. It's clear that his body is not responding so well, his incredible resistance neither and then his confidence is down. He doesn't know what else to do, he fired Becker, later his team, he hired Agassi, now he says he should take a long vacation and to see what else he can do.

 

[Front242]

Won't be able to watch this with work but for those who can, I hope it's a good match. Thiem was very honest after his loss to Novak saying he's a very bad match up for him but h2h and match ups only matter so much if anyone recalls the scenario in 2009 with Soderling and Nadal: 6-1 6-0 in Rome and then look what happened in RG right after. Exact same scoreline that Thiem lost to Novak by at Rome, so who knows

Take a bow

 

[El Dude]

Front, are you really patting yourself on the back for saying "who knows?"

Good job, buddy.

 

[Front242]

Front, are you really patting yourself on the back for saying "who knows?"

Good job, buddy.

Not so much but I had a sneaking feeling Novak would lose when I revisited 2009 in my head. I didn't however expect the scoreline by any means. Thought Thiem would win in 4 and tightly contested sets at that. Turns out it was only 1 close set. Was pretty shocked seeing the score at work.

 

[El Dude]

The score pretty accurately reflects the match: Thiem ran away with it in the second set. I felt bad for Novak and his fans...he looks so lost.

 

[Front242]

It's called the off season for a reason.

 

[DarthFed]

^ and it's going to be a big offseason for him. A couple nice results in the meantime could help get him back to an elite level sooner rather than later/never

 

[Front242]

Well, Roger goes into Wimbledon as a heavy favourite now given Djokovic was his main hurdle there in recent years. Must be grinning ear to ear right now

 

[Denis]

Well, Roger goes into Wimbledon as a heavy favourite now given Djokovic was his main hurdle there in recent years. Must be grinning ear to ear right now

Yup, good point. Fed should be heavily favoured at this point. Milos seems lost too, Berdy is even further down in the gutter, and Dimitrov.... well let's not go there. Again, what a difference a year can make.

 

[El Dude]

Sounds like the perfect context for Roger to blow it . Seriously, though. He was basically written off for AO, especially with the difficult draw he had.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Burnt out = not having the desire. I suspect you are disagreeing with me because you like to disagree with me.

No..if you feel Burnt out is an euphemism for saying a player not having the desire then go with it..I don't know why you keep insisting I like to disagree with you.. nope that's not the case.

 

[Moxie]

Yup, good point. Fed should be heavily favoured at this point. Milos seems lost too, Berdy is even further down in the gutter, and Dimitrov.... well let's not go there. Again, what a difference a year can make.

However, given Murray's return to form, it might take the edge off of "heavy" favorite.

Sounds like the perfect context for Roger to blow it . Seriously, though. He was basically written off for AO, especially with the difficult draw he had.

I'm surprised you're still willing to talk about Federer's draw as particularly difficult. I think you all really mean his "path," and in that sense his and Nadal's were pretty equal.

 

[Moxie]

Burnt out = not having the desire. I suspect you are disagreeing with me because you like to disagree with me.

I would say burnt out might mean more almost literally as it sounds: the desire could be there, intellectually, but the ability to summon the "fire" is missing. I'm sure Djokovic believes he wants to achieve more in tennis, wants to give Fedal a run for their money in the history books, but the taste for competition seems to have left him. Martina said, last summer I think, in the context of her own big run of wins and domination, that she didn't even recognize that she was burnt out. So she took some time off. (A week or two, I think.) Djokovic needs a big time-out to rekindle the drive. It will be a lot longer than two weeks. Maybe he should just say his shoulder is messed up, go to Vegas and work with Agassi, have a new baby, and come back next year, when he's remembered how much he wants it. Sounds drastic, but it seems like drastic measures are called for, at this point.

 

[DarthFed]

However, given Murray's return to form, it might take the edge off of "heavy" favorite.
I'm surprised you're still willing to talk about Federer's draw as particularly difficult. I think you all really mean his "path," and in that sense his and Nadal's were pretty equal.

Murray in any form isn't beating a decent version of Fed at Wimbledon.

Fed's "path" was still significantly harder than Rafa's with the exception of the QF. Berd, Nishi, Zverev and Stan as a group is a lot tougher on paper than Zverev, Monfils, Raonic and Dimitrov.