Australian Open Day 3: Wednesday, January 21

[Carol]

I've just read about that fan who yelled very badly when Rafa was 30-0 serving and at two points to win the set and match and Smyczek ask him to repeat the serve again. Good detail from him which not too many players do, all my respect for him :clap :clap :hug

 

[Front242]

Yeah great act of sportsmanship alright. The polar opposite of Raonic who must be blushing a bit reading or/and watching that.

 

[Riotbeard]

He's in much better shape than poor Del Potro who nobody seems to care about as there's been no commentary anywhere here about him since he dropped out of the tournament. He left the AO and had surgery yesterday again on his wrist. Plenty of players have suffered from cramping at the AO over the last few years btw so I don't think it's got anything whatsoever to do with fitness.

True. Delpo has been flying under the radar. I follow him on facebook so I get my news about his goings on daily

I think people also forget that Rafa really didn't look that good at all last year except the AO. He didn't even play that well at the F.O. His only masters title was won largely on the back of his opponent being injured. Rafa has not been vintage for a year now.

 

[brokenshoelace]

He's in much better shape than poor Del Potro who nobody seems to care about as there's been no commentary anywhere here about him since he dropped out of the tournament. He left the AO and had surgery yesterday again on his wrist. Plenty of players have suffered from cramping at the AO over the last few years btw so I don't think it's got anything whatsoever to do with fitness.

And Del Potro's in much better shape than Pancho Gonzalez. What's your point?

We don't compare players to other players, we compare players to their usual selves. Nadal never cramped an hour into a routine match. He also never lost to jobbers ranked outside of the top 100 on a regular basis. Oh, it's happening to other players? I guess Nadal has never set himself apart physically. I don't know what more the guy has to go through for people to believe that "hey, yeah, maybe he can't play his best tennis.": Surgery? Check. Back injury? Check. Wrist injury? Check. Miss practically the second half of the season? Check. Struggle with results? Check. Lose to players you never lose to? Check. Never go deep in any tournament since the French Open? Check. Struggle physically by cramping up and admitting you're not in good shape yet? Check. Go to five sets with a dude ranked outside of the top 100 who himself admitted that you were only playing your C or D game? Check.

Anyway, You're arguing about a match you didn't even watch while ignoring facts that have been compiling for 6 months. I genuinely don't think you even take what you're saying seriously.

 

[brokenshoelace]

He's in much better shape than poor Del Potro who nobody seems to care about as there's been no commentary anywhere here about him since he dropped out of the tournament. He left the AO and had surgery yesterday again on his wrist. Plenty of players have suffered from cramping at the AO over the last few years btw so I don't think it's got anything whatsoever to do with fitness.

True. Delpo has been flying under the radar. I follow him on facebook so I get my news about his goings on daily

I think people also forget that Rafa really didn't look that good at all last year except the AO. He didn't even play that well at the F.O. His only masters title was won largely on the back of his opponent being injured. Rafa has not been vintage for a year now.

This is called a strawman.

You don't have to be vintage to win or go deep in tournaments, as Rafa proved in the first half of last year. You think his level then was equivalent to his level in the second half of the year and right now? Do you think it's even close? If so, how did he manage to make as many finals as he did?

Bringing up Del Potro (I know you didn't, but Front did) is 100% irrelevant. We're talking about Nadal's level and fitness. So yeah, there's another player who can't even play right now...please tell me how that has any bearing on Nadal or his results.

 

[Carol]

Injuries (and not just discomfort like most of the players have) are bad. Muzz was before and after his back surgery playing pretty bad and losing matches that one great player like him never he had to lose. The poor Delpo goes from bad to worst, Tsonga could play a lot better same like Monfils but their injuries don't allow them to advance,Almagro and others players too.
They need time to recovery and to get the confidence which they need to win (50% game 50% mind/confidence) and after to be out of the court for certain time, it's not easy to play their best, they are not robots :nono

 

[Riotbeard]

He's in much better shape than poor Del Potro who nobody seems to care about as there's been no commentary anywhere here about him since he dropped out of the tournament. He left the AO and had surgery yesterday again on his wrist. Plenty of players have suffered from cramping at the AO over the last few years btw so I don't think it's got anything whatsoever to do with fitness.

True. Delpo has been flying under the radar. I follow him on facebook so I get my news about his goings on daily

I think people also forget that Rafa really didn't look that good at all last year except the AO. He didn't even play that well at the F.O. His only masters title was won largely on the back of his opponent being injured. Rafa has not been vintage for a year now.

This is called a strawman.

You don't have to be vintage to win or go deep in tournaments, as Rafa proved in the first half of last year. You think his level then was equivalent to his level in the second half of the year and right now? Do you think it's even close? If so, how did he manage to make as many finals as he did?

Bringing up Del Potro (I know you didn't, but Front did) is 100% irrelevant. We're talking about Nadal's level and fitness. So yeah, there's another player who can't even play right now...please tell me how that has any bearing on Nadal or his results.

That's not what I said Broken. I merely pointed out that Rafa has not been great for close to a year now and this was not just an issue of the Fall. Mediocre Rafa is still better than most, and at the FO he was able to out consistent Novak. Was his fall worse, of course, he had a serious illness. His wimbledon was rough, but it was his deepest run since 2011, so it was hardly an anomaly in recent years.

My main point was that Rafa's issue is he hasn't been playing great tennis by his standard and that of his immediate peers (roger and novak) for close to a year. It's not a strawman, it is just a different point than what you were making. The main point being that for a year rafa's game has not been what we are used to, at times exacerbated by illness, yes, but in general he has not been as good as previous years.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Seeing I am a Stat's Fanatic I will post the following 5th set records as follows,

Nadal 17-5 (77.3%)

Murray 17-6 (73.9%)

Djokovic 22-8 (73.3%)

Federer 23.19 (54.8%)

 

[kskate2]

Ouch. Fed's is terrible when compared to his compats.

 

[Front242]

Always has been. There have quite a few of those he should never have lost. But still compare his record in slams won to all 3 and I doubt he cries at night too much about it Then again he's a greedy bastard and if he has any dignity he should be crying at night

 

[DarthFed]

^ What makes Roger's record in 5th sets a lot worse than that awful winning % indicates is how he does in the biggest 5th sets against the good players. 3-8 in the semis and finals of GS matches that have gone 5 sets. It's taken a lot of slams off the board. If a certain island boy catches or surpasses him in slams his abominable play in 5th sets might keep him up at night.

 

[the AntiPusher]

^ What makes Roger's record in 5th sets a lot worse than that awful winning % indicates is how he does in the biggest 5th sets against the good players. 3-8 in the semis and finals of GS matches that have gone 5 sets. It's taken a lot of slams off the board. If a certain island boy catches or surpasses him in slams his abominable play in 5th sets might keep him up at night.

If a certain island boy catches or surpasses him in slams his abominable play in 5th sets might keep him up at night

Darth, remember the circumstances why Roger cried on Rafa's shoulder..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypdSpGJTa18

Just being brutely honest my friend, I always felt it was an acknowledgement that he knew he had just thrown his best at his opponent but to no avail.

 

[Front242]

^ If you call that 5th set his best you're delusional, AP! All fans of both guys know Roger played nowhere near his best there. It's the opposite if anything. He was upset at how poorly he played in that 5th set and at other key points in that match. In terms of 5 set matches that he should not have lost btw I was thinking more along the lines of USO '09. That loss to Del Potro was a bad one. No offense to Del Potro but Roger messed that up big time. That should be the one he should regret the most imo. That would've been 6 straight US Open titles and I doubt anyone will do that anytime soon but he could well have that day.

 

[crystalfire]

so didnt get a chance to watch the match (effin time difference) was nadal playing below his level or was tim playing above his level..or both?

 

[Front242]

I didn't get to watch it either but it seems both.

 

[Front242]

Actually I had zero intention of watching it even with no work today! Saw the grumpy photo of Nadal's face on tennis.com and thought he'd lost.

 

[TsarMatt]

Well done to Nadal and his opponent. I don't think anyone here will truly know how Nadal felt on court, and I'm not speculating either - all I know is that Rafa, like most of the other top tennis players, are freakish athletes with unparalleled drive and fitness. To see somebody of his health struggle on the court, physically - and conspicuously - is really all the signs you need. It's a shame some (nobody here, mind you) are deriding Nadal over his performance. You could tell he was hurting on court. I admire him going the distance and actually getting across the lime. I guarantee I would have retired.

Well done to Bernie, too - it was a pretty slick match, and he got lucky at times, but I'm happy he progressed. Well done to Groth, as well - always nice to see a resurgence in one's career. He's more than a serve-bot now. And Kyrgios was surprisingly restrained and careful in his victory. Good stuff.

 

[Carol]

He's in much better shape than poor Del Potro who nobody seems to care about as there's been no commentary anywhere here about him since he dropped out of the tournament. He left the AO and had surgery yesterday again on his wrist. Plenty of players have suffered from cramping at the AO over the last few years btw so I don't think it's got anything whatsoever to do with fitness.

True. Delpo has been flying under the radar. I follow him on facebook so I get my news about his goings on daily

I think people also forget that Rafa really didn't look that good at all last year except the AO. He didn't even play that well at the F.O. His only masters title was won largely on the back of his opponent being injured. Rafa has not been vintage for a year now.
[/quot

This is called a strawman.

You don't have to be vintage to win or go deep in tournaments, as Rafa proved in the first half of last year. You think his level then was equivalent to his level in the second half of the year and right now? Do you think it's even close? If so, how did he manage to make as many finals as he did?

Bringing up Del Potro (I know you didn't, but Front did) is 100% irrelevant. We're talking about Nadal's level and fitness. So yeah, there's another player who can't even play right now...please tell me how
that has any bearing on Nadal or his results.

^ What makes Roger's record in 5th sets a lot worse than that awful winning % indicates is how he does in the biggest 5th sets against the good players. 3-8 in the semis and finals of GS matches that have gone 5 sets. It's taken a lot of slams off the board. If a certain island boy catches or surpasses him in slams his abominable play in 5th sets might keep him up at night.

If a certain island boy catches or surpasses him in slams his abominable play in 5th sets might keep him up at night

Darth, remember the circumstances why Roger cried on Rafa's shoulder..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypdSpGJTa18

Just being brutely honest my friend, I always felt it was an acknowledgement that he knew he had just thrown his best at his opponent but to no avail.
[/


My goodness, I forgot that Roger was crying so much, he almost made Rafa to cry even winning the title lol

 

[Carol]

Rafa said "I have to cangrutate Tim, he is a real gentleman"
He really is, all my sympathy for him and from now I'm going to be her fan hoping to see him playing so well like today, well done Tim!

 

[the AntiPusher]

^ If you call that 5th set his best you're delusional, AP! All fans of both guys know Roger played nowhere near his best there. It's the opposite if anything. He was upset at how poorly he played in that 5th set and at other key points in that match. In terms of 5 set matches that he should not have lost btw I was thinking more along the lines of USO '09. That loss to Del Potro was a bad one. No offense to Del Potro but Roger messed that up big time. That should be the one he should regret the most imo. That would've been 6 straight US Open titles and I doubt anyone will do that anytime soon but he could well have that day.

Front .. You cant based the entire match just on the 5th set. Roger had numerous of opportunities to take control of the match. It was a good match but it wasn't the best Fedal. My point was Roger threw at Rafa what he had on that day and that's all you can ask of a player. e.g. How often do you think that all Rafa fans relive AO 2012 5th set 4-2 30-15 Rafa has a short ball and Djoker at the net and Rafa does not make the down the line passing shot. :cover:nono