It was a weird match as in Nole had a pressure/no pressure situation. There was absolutely nothing Millman had that was going to hurt him it was clear after a few games. Nole had to be thinking “ This guy beat Federer??” The humidity seemed more an issue.
Again other than not being taxed much out there i think Nole’s mental swagger is back. With him the only question is he completely back in a match where he’s pushed; Rafa let him off the hook somewhat at Wimbledon ( as he did Roger at 17 AO) and Nole ran through the opening. A confident Nole is hard to beat. My only question is is he back to absolute consistent monster mode of 14/15. This tourney might tell.
Nishikori could be interesting but again doesn’t seem to have anything that scares Nole but he does have that 2014 win here, so there’s that.
Nole's had plenty of aberrant losses to player he's owned; esp. in important moments like a major or the Olympics! It's not like
he choked, but they seemed to
rise to the occasion; almost refusing to lose/miss! We've seen it with Murray, Wawrinka, Cilic, Berdych, & even the likes of Isner & Querrey! There's a difference with Federer where he's obviously not there; either mentally or physically! It's to be expected with the many years of him tolling away on tour at a top level! I've seen it before in men and women! The biggest and most comparable has to Martina who performed 20 years of top flight tennis, but by the end of the 80's, even she had to admit to burnout, the legs not being there, and a little less "stick" on her shots being pummeled and shot back at her! She had the game to hold out a little while longer to win one more Wimbledon in '90 and making a final run in '94 dropping the match to a player she owned, Conchita Martinez!
Federer's been absolutely amazing, but we expect too much; so does he! Losses like to Millman will occur and we shouldn't be shocked! If Nole's feeling it playing at night, we shouldn't have been surprised with the other night! It would have been a sweet exit in 2012; made it well worth it to wait 5 years before having another great season in 2017! Winning that AO this year had to be a gravy, but I have to believe Fed needs to really pull back on his schedule and seriously think about retiring after next season! I think it can only get uglier with the likes of players like Shapovalov, Coric, Thiem, & Zverev, Chung, & Kyrgios if he gets his $#!t together! I've already said he wouldn't defend all those titles from last season; the FALL ain't going to be any better than the Spring and Summer! :whistle:
