Beijing F: Nadal vs Djokovic

[Kieran]

Moxie, Front, it's been a pleasure. Fancy joining me in Butlers for a coffee? Come on, I'm buying!

Would be nice alright 10:45 and I'm tempted to go back to bed for an hour now though lol.

Capucinno first though, right?

Sorry for giving ya the wrong time. Hope you get some rest. Cheers!

 

[Moxie]

Moxie, Front, it's been a pleasure. Fancy joining me in Butlers for a coffee? Come on, I'm buying!

Would be nice alright 10:45 and I'm tempted to go back to bed for an hour now though lol.

I've got to write up the match, or I would.

 

[kskate2]

Just woke up. Thought they were playing this match after the women. I guess Novak has to be #2 and not at a slam to bring his best, huh? Congrats Novak on 4 titles in Beijing.

Hey, sleepy-head! I only got up after the first set. I thought they were starting at 4:30. Djokovic was spot-on the whole match, by what I saw, and heard tell of.

Hey, a girl needs her rest. Anyway that's a big gold cup isn't it?

 

[Didi]

Nothing about being away from the big events. Faster court so Novak is taking away all Rafa's time, putting pressure immediately on every service return thanks to the faster speed than the US Open court. Novak can hit much flatter on this surface too and it's annoying Rafa. Especially when he returns so flat to his backhand.

I don't think the court speed made the difference here today. The USO courts were very fast this year as confirmed by all players. Djokovic has played great and clean today but he was playing just as well in the 2nd and 3rd set of the USO final, even better imho, with nuances deciding the 3rd set and the difference at the end being that it was a best of 5 match in which Nadal was able to sustain his level throughout the entire match while Novak had a lot ups and downs just like in Paris which was basically the story of their season.

A opposed to that, today this was a quick best of 3 match where Novak will always prevail more times than not due to him being clearly the better hardcourt player and due to his average level on this surface being better than Nadal's. That's why their Montreal match was so close despite Nadal playing his very best while Djokovic never really played above his average level. In a best of 3 match on hardcourts the Serb will pretty much always win. Let's hope Novak can translate this into the YEC and Melbourne to make things really interesting.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

djokovic destroyed rafa/wafa for the first time since about 1964.

 

[NADAL2005RG]

This is probably the smallest amount of energy Nadal has ever expended in a final and also the smallest energy expended in a combined semi and final. Now that's what I call smart. The smart way to reclaim #1. Thank you China, and very happy to bring on Shanghai and that picture perfect draw!

 

[Kieran]

Rafa wasn't conserving energy. For what? This is the final, against his biggest rival. He was outplayed, simple as that...

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

Rafa wasn't conserving energy. For what? This is the final, against his biggest rival. He was outplayed, simple as that...

it made a change seeing rafa/wafa comprehensively outplayed..

i had almost forgotten such a happening was possible. :devil

 

[Moxie]

Rafa wasn't conserving energy. For what? This is the final, against his biggest rival. He was outplayed, simple as that...

Exactly right. Buddy boy needs a little perspective. Anyway, Djokovic was nigh on perfect.

 

[NADAL2005RG]

I called it, and I called it correctly (see my earlier posts regarding the then upcoming final). One man had everything to play for, the other man had less to play for. You could see it in Nadal's facial expressions early in the match (if you knew what to look for).

 

[kskate2]

Who knows what to look for? If I'm getting outplayed I'm sure there is a look and it ain't happiness.

 

[Moxie]

I called it, and I called it correctly (see my earlier posts regarding the then upcoming final). One man had everything to play for, the other man had less to play for. You could see it in Nadal's facial expressions early in the match (if you knew what to look for).

You were right that Novak had the more to play for, but it doesn't change the fact that he out-played Nadal today. And don't try to make out that Rafa lost because he didn't care. You really do give Nadal fans a bad name. If you know so much about Nadal that you read his facial expressions with such acumen, you also know that he's a fierce competitor. If he could have beaten Djokovic today, he would have.

 

[NADAL2005RG]

Before a ball was struck, Nadal's expression confirmed my pre-match ideas. It was a smartly played match (the shortest match of their rivalry perhaps) and Nadal now has an excellent opportunity to win Shanghai. No unnecessary fatigue. The perfect week.

 

[NADAL2005RG]

Not all fans are naive Moxie. Some of use see what Nadal sees. The big picture.

 

[DarthFed]

Lol, why even respond to such nonsense. Nadal, Novak and all the top players know the importance of momentum and the mental edge. Every match they play is an important match for that reason alone.

One thing I will agree with is that this clearly was a bigger match for Nole as he needed to stop the bleeding. Rafa won't lose sleep over this but he knows this was an opportunity to kick Novak while he was down. The AO is the next big one and Rafa does not want Nole to start turning this around. And that doesn't even begin to mention the pride factor, a loss to your biggest rival is the worst loss one can have.

 

[Kieran]

Lol, why even respond to such nonsense. Nadal, Novak and all the top players know the importance of momentum and the mental edge. Every match they play is an important match for that reason alone.

One thing I will agree with is that this clearly was a bigger match for Nole as he needed to stop the bleeding. Rafa won't lose sleep over this but he knows this was an opportunity to kick Novak while he was down. The AO is the next big one and Rafa does not want Nole to start turning this around. And that doesn't even begin to mention the pride factor, a loss to your biggest rival is the worst loss one can have.

Bingo.

He'd have preferred to click the W, but Novak wasn't having it. End of story. Next stop, Shanghai...

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Not an instant classic ...Nole did everything a bit better today than Rafa. He's got a good streak going in China, so congrats.

 

[Front242]

Before a ball was struck, Nadal's expression confirmed my pre-match ideas. It was a smartly played match (the shortest match of their rivalry perhaps) and Nadal now has an excellent opportunity to win Shanghai. No unnecessary fatigue. The perfect week.

A loss to your biggest rival when a win would've crushed his confidence even more is not a perfect week to anyone not high on mass hallucinogenics :nono You think Novak is going to be any more tired in Shanghai after that short match?! Perfect week for Novak. Not Rafa. Great week for Rafa getting back to number 1 and well deserved but for a perfect week he naturally needed to win, not lose.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Rafa wasn't conserving energy. For what? This is the final, against his biggest rival. He was outplayed, simple as that...

Agreed!
Djoker took Rafa to the woodshed and gave him an ole fashion butt whipping:cry.. Winning the China Open wasn't the goal. This one was about the number 1 ranking and to get warm up for Shanghai . Congrats to Djoker and his fans.

 

[Riotbeard]

Couldn't you all see when Rafa did practice swings on his backhand, that he was completely happy with how he was playing. It's in the subtleties of Rafa's movement, where you see that he was trying to lose to Novak in order to save a mere 45 minutes of court time, so he will be fresh for the 2014 French Open.