ATP World Tour Finals 2017, London, UK

[shawnbm]

Yes, Moxie—me refiero a Borg. I admire Nadal and Federer so much. What the two of them have done is just unprecedented—literally. Rafa went from 9 to 1 in eleven months, and Roger went from 17-2 in that same time frame. What the hell is that in the modern era??? These two are special beyond mere words on a website. They are part of the pantheon of not only tennis, but sports gods.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Rafa won YE#1 in 2008. Then didn't make it in the next year.
He won again in 2010. Then didn't make it for the next two years.
He won again in 2013. Then didn't make it for the next three years.
He won again in 2017.

If this trend continues he is next slated to be come YE#1 in 2022.
But, it is probably safe to say it won't happen as he will be too old by then.

 

[Moxie]

Rafa won YE#1 in 2008. Then didn't make it in the next year.
He won again in 2010. Then didn't make it for the next two years.
He won again in 2013. Then didn't make it for the next three years.
He won again in 2017.

If this trend continues he is next slated to be come YE#1 in 2022.
But, it is probably safe to say it won't happen as he will be too old by then.

Ah, yes, but he doesn't care about YE#1. But what he can do in between....

 

[El Dude]

Ahh, Darnell Oregon, winner of nine Slams. What a great and literally unknown player.

 

[Moxie]

Ahh, Darnell Oregon, winner of nine Slams. What a great and literally unknown player.

Should have won so much more on his favorite surface: waxed linoleum. Just got skunked by his great nemesis, Katarina Witt.

 

[Carol]

Yes sir! and I hope that he will take another Trophy in the same place

 

[Ricardo]

yes Carrot i hope so too

 

[isabelle]

good luck to Sasha

 

[Busted]

Yes, Moxie—me refiero a Borg. I admire Nadal and Federer so much. What the two of them have done is just unprecedented—literally. Rafa went from 9 to 1 in eleven months, and Roger went from 17-2 in that same time frame. What the hell is that in the modern era??? These two are special beyond mere words on a website. They are part of the pantheon of not only tennis, but sports gods.

Impressive as this all sounds - let's not forget that their 2 biggest rivals were essentially out of the equation all season. It's like Murray's run to #1 last year - he never had to play Roger, Novak was navel-gazing and Nadal was still in a funk and didn't play a full season. I don't expect either Roger or Nadal to repeat their success this year in 2018. Nadal's already got creaky knees again and Roger will be another year older.

 

[Busted]

Sort of OT - I saw in the comments section on tennis blog that a Serbian newspaper said Djokovic's elbow isn't healing as quickly as they thought it would. That he's still having problems swinging a racket and hasn't resumed training yet. Anybody else heard anything like that? Obviously this would have a huge impact on next year if Djokovic is still struggling with an injury.

 

[Busted]

Rafa won YE#1 in 2008. Then didn't make it in the next year.
He won again in 2010. Then didn't make it for the next two years.
He won again in 2013. Then didn't make it for the next three years.
He won again in 2017.

If this trend continues he is next slated to be come YE#1 in 2022.
But, it is probably safe to say it won't happen as he will be too old by then.

I pointed this out to a Nadal fan who's a friend of mine. Nearly got me head taken off with a rusty scythe. LOL! Poor woman was already apoplectic over his creaky knees so that was poorly done of me. I have no remorse though. :lulz2:

 

[Federberg]

Sort of OT - I saw in the comments section on tennis blog that a Serbian newspaper said Djokovic's elbow isn't healing as quickly as they thought it would. That he's still having problems swinging a racket and hasn't resumed training yet. Anybody else heard anything like that? Obviously this would have a huge impact on next year if Djokovic is still struggling with an injury.

Yes. I actually mentioned it in the Paris Bercy thread. Guy Forget said that Novak had told him that he wasn't playing yet, and the few times he'd tried he'd been forced to do so left handed

 

[El Dude]

Impressive as this all sounds - let's not forget that their 2 biggest rivals were essentially out of the equation all season. It's like Murray's run to #1 last year - he never had to play Roger, Novak was navel-gazing and Nadal was still in a funk and didn't play a full season. I don't expect either Roger or Nadal to repeat their success this year in 2018. Nadal's already got creaky knees again and Roger will be another year older.

I agree - they won't repeat 2017, but that's not only because of Andy and Novak returning. I mean, let's face it regarding Andy: he's a great player, but generally only wins the leftovers. He'll occasionally sneak by Novak to win something, but not Roger or Rafa. Novak is the big question mark, but he may not be healthy.

But here's the other factor: A stronger overall field, with more landmines to step around. There were a lot of injuries in 2017 - not only Andy and Novak, but Stan, Kei, and Milos. Furthermore, the up-and-coming NextGen will only get better. And finally, I think the "lost gen" smells a bit of blood and wants in on the action as they enter their late 20s - before nextgen takes over.

This is why I predict that 2018 will be wild and woolly. Lots of upsets, a few surprise winners. Fedal go into the year as the players to beat, of course, but I don't think they'll win all four Slams again.

 

[Carol]

yes Carrot i hope so too

Me too, Ricotta

 

[Moxie]

Impressive as this all sounds - let's not forget that their 2 biggest rivals were essentially out of the equation all season. It's like Murray's run to #1 last year - he never had to play Roger, Novak was navel-gazing and Nadal was still in a funk and didn't play a full season. I don't expect either Roger or Nadal to repeat their success this year in 2018. Nadal's already got creaky knees again and Roger will be another year older.

I for one have surely mentioned that Fedal got the boost this year from the absence of Murrovic. But who stepped through that window of opportunity? Rafa and Roger.

Sort of OT - I saw in the comments section on tennis blog that a Serbian newspaper said Djokovic's elbow isn't healing as quickly as they thought it would. That he's still having problems swinging a racket and hasn't resumed training yet. Anybody else heard anything like that? Obviously this would have a huge impact on next year if Djokovic is still struggling with an injury.

Federberg did mention it on another thread. A google search shows that he has only hit left-handed, and that only 2x, as of recent few days. F-berg says he doesn't see how he'll be ready for AO. Murray, though, looked pretty crisp in that exho with Roger.

 

[Busted]

It's actually real hair. Apparently they just take the hair from the back of your head, where it will grow back, and surgically place it on the balding area. The root of the hair would be placed in that area and the hair would grow normally. The things money can buy.

Ahhhh...the old Hair Club For Men. Dude shaves his legs but then he fills in the bald spot on his head. How metrosexual of him. Murray seems to be more accepting of his future baldness because at his XO with Roger he joked about "my ever increasing bald spot."

 

[Busted]

I for one have surely mentioned that Fedal got the boost this year from the absence of Murrovic. But who stepped through that window of opportunity? Rafa and Roger.
Federberg did mention it on another thread. A google search shows that he has only hit left-handed, and that only 2x, as of recent few days. F-berg says he doesn't see how he'll be ready for AO. Murray, though, looked pretty crisp in that exho with Roger.

Thanks for the reply. I was going to Google it but wasn't sure if anyone here had better info than a bad Google translation. From the sound of it - the AO doesn't seem like a possibility unless he pushes himself too soon..

As for Murray - he was obviously not 100% at the XO and I think Roger took it easy on him. He definitely didn't play full-out like a regular match. Had to give the people paying for the charity tickets their money's worth! Murray was practicing with Thiem in London on Saturday, so it does seem like he's closer to returning for the AO than Djokovic is.

Also, I concur about Roger and Nadal stepping into the breach this year - but as I've said for donkey years and reiterated at the start of 2017 - if they're healthy there's really only 3 guys who are going to win the Slams. Sure, Stan and Murray have sneaked in 3 each, but the reality is - 3 guys have won 47 of the last 55 Slams.

 

[Busted]

Yes. I actually mentioned it in the Paris Bercy thread. Guy Forget said that Novak had told him that he wasn't playing yet, and the few times he'd tried he'd been forced to do so left handed

Thanks. I missed your post on the Paris thread. Definitely doesn't sound good for Nole returning by the AO.

 

[Busted]

I agree - they won't repeat 2017, but that's not only because of Andy and Novak returning. I mean, let's face it regarding Andy: he's a great player, but generally only wins the leftovers. He'll occasionally sneak by Novak to win something, but not Roger or Rafa. Novak is the big question mark, but he may not be healthy.

But here's the other factor: A stronger overall field, with more landmines to step around. There were a lot of injuries in 2017 - not only Andy and Novak, but Stan, Kei, and Milos. Furthermore, the up-and-coming NextGen will only get better. And finally, I think the "lost gen" smells a bit of blood and wants in on the action as they enter their late 20s - before nextgen takes over.

This is why I predict that 2018 will be wild and woolly. Lots of upsets, a few surprise winners. Fedal go into the year as the players to beat, of course, but I don't think they'll win all four Slams again.

I agree to a point but I don't think the overall field is "stronger." Push comes to shove - how many of these guys do you really see winning a Slam next year? DelPo? Maybe with the right draw. Ditto for Stan. Zverev? Still hasn't made the 2nd week of a Slam. Thiem? Not unless he can solve Nadal in 5 on clay. Those are literally the only other 4 guys I can take seriously. The "lost gen" - Cilic *yes, even him), Dimitrov, Raonic, Nishikori, Goffin, etc. etc, etc. "smelling blood?" Not gonna happen unless Roger, Nadal, Murray, Djokovic, Wawrinka are already out of the tournament.. And the problem with that of course is that if a player beats one of them they can never seem to back up their win by beating the next one.

What I do believe is that sooner rather than later someone is going to break through and win a Slam simply because time is not on the side of Big 4+Stan. They'll all be 31+ this year, so common sense says - a younger player is going to win a Slam soon. I'd put my money on Zverev before I'd put it on any of the "lost gen." Those guys are going to stay lost.

 

[El Dude]

The field will be stronger by virtue of multiple players being healthier: 2017 saw five of the 2016 top 10 miss significant time due to injury. Plus young players getting better. But you're probably right about the Lost Gen. But my point isn't as much that the field being stronger is going to lead to multiple Slams won by non-Big Five players in 2018, but that it could lead to more upsets, which increases the chances that someone breaks through and wins a Slam. And imagine a couple upsets at Wimbledon and then Raonic serving lights out in the final, or Dimitrov against Murray. Again, not predicting this, just saying it could happen.

And yeah, at this point I agree that Zverev is more likely to win a Slam before any of the Lost Gen. I'm pretty sure he'll win more Slams than all players born 1989 to 1994ish combined.