Dubai Championship ATP 500

[Fiero425]

You just get the feeling that Federer has another Slam in him still before he hangs it up.

If he can turn the tide versus Djokovic at the slams (where Nole has won 3 of their last 4), and of course avoid the other usual challengers. I'm a bit surprised Federer has so much trouble at the Slams, as it seemed like 30's Agassi was better at the Slams than at the non-Slams.

Agassi wasted a lot of weeks, months, and possibly years underachieving! What other top pro have you heard or seen go up and down the ranks the way Andre did routinely; actually playing qualifiers at one point? Hell, he actually admitted to drug addiction! He had a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th act because the tour allowed it! Sampras needed a rival; desperately! Chang and Courior just wasn't getting the job done, Becker on the way out, and the other pros had lost before getting on the court against Pete in the mid 90's! The only player that challenged him really was Richard Krajicek! Took Sampras out of Wimbledon and won it in '96! :nono :angel: :dodgy:

 

[Federberg]

I just watched the match as well. The reason why Nole lost today is because I didn't watch it live.

Too bad he couldn't convert on any of the break points, especially one of the ones that he had as set points. He wins one of them and set #2, who knows what would happen in the 3rd.

Congratulations to Federer and his fans!

I hate it when Nole loses, but it didn't feel like he really gave it his all here and it is not a major so I am not really that upset. Wow Roger very complementary about Nole!:clap

Don't kid yourself. He tried..

 

[herios]

I just watched the match as well. The reason why Nole lost today is because I didn't watch it live.

Too bad he couldn't convert on any of the break points, especially one of the ones that he had as set points. He wins one of them and set #2, who knows what would happen in the 3rd.

Congratulations to Federer and his fans!

I hate it when Nole loses, but it didn't feel like he really gave it his all here and it is not a major so I am not really that upset. Wow Roger very complementary about Nole!:clap

Don't kid yourself. He tried..

Not hard enough:dodgy:

 

[Kirijax]

Things must have a balance. Nadal leads Federer in H2H, Federer leads Djokovic in H2H, and Djokovic should lead Nadal in H2H. Djokovic not doing his part! :snicker

 

[britbox]

It's another title for Fed and well earned but I wouldn't read too much into the result. Not much has changed. I'd still favour Novak to win the 5 setters at majors, still favour Novak on clay, slow hardcourts... The match was decided on a handful of key points as is often the case when these two draw swords.

Fed's net game has definitely improved over the last 18 months though - as Murat said, that's going to be a large component of his game from here on in.

 

[auto-pilot]

^ We figure that out last year when Federer beat Djokovic in straight sets twice.
Non-slams are non-slams, slams are slams.
That's what makes the Olympics so fascinating, because they are a compromise between slams and non-slams, as the final is best-of-5-sets.

 

[britbox]

Each to their own, but I don't find Tennis in the Olympics fascinating. It shouldn't be part of the Olympics.

 

[DarthFed]

It's another title for Fed and well earned but I wouldn't read too much into the result. Not much has changed. I'd still favour Novak to win the 5 setters at majors, still favour Novak on clay, slow hardcourts... The match was decided on a handful of key points as is often the case when these two draw swords.

Fed's net game has definitely improved over the last 18 months though - as Murat said, that's going to be a large component of his game from here on in.

Agreed. It has always been an uphill battle for Nole against Roger on fast surfaces. He's managed to barely scrape out 3 wins at majors on them otherwise the H2H would be ugly and both player's resume could be way different. I wouldn't favor Nole on grass against Roger at this point but he's certainly the favorite at the other 3 slams including the USO.

 

[Billie]

I just watched the match as well. The reason why Nole lost today is because I didn't watch it live.

Too bad he couldn't convert on any of the break points, especially one of the ones that he had as set points. He wins one of them and set #2, who knows what would happen in the 3rd.

Congratulations to Federer and his fans!

I hate it when Nole loses, but it didn't feel like he really gave it his all here and it is not a major so I am not really that upset. Wow Roger very complementary about Nole!:clap

Don't kid yourself. He tried..

Not hard enough:dodgy:

Exactly. Nole is not going to jeopardise next weekend's DC tie, he already fell awkwardly in his semi final. He always looks at the big picture. If he wins 3 other big tournaments and loses every other, I would be OK with that.

Nole is already in Belgrade with his family and is going to Kraljevo tomorrow where they will start preparing for the DC tie vs Croatia.

 

[auto-pilot]

^ Yeah I wish Federer had advanced to the US Open Final in 2010 and 2011.
Judging by what happened in 2014 (Nishikori beating Djokovic at the US Open), we may still get a Nadal-Federer clash at USO.

 

[Billie]

It's another title for Fed and well earned but I wouldn't read too much into the result. Not much has changed. I'd still favour Novak to win the 5 setters at majors, still favour Novak on clay, slow hardcourts... The match was decided on a handful of key points as is often the case when these two draw swords.

Fed's net game has definitely improved over the last 18 months though - as Murat said, that's going to be a large component of his game from here on in.

Agreed. It has always been an uphill battle for Nole against Roger on fast surfaces. He's managed to barely scrape out 3 wins at majors on them otherwise the H2H would be ugly and both player's resume could be way different. I wouldn't favor Nole on grass against Roger at this point but he's certainly the favorite at the other 3 slams including the USO.

I wonder how Nole managed to beat Roger 17 times. Must have been all in Australia or some really slow surfaces.:snicker Even when he was younger and half the player he is now, he managed to get to semis where he would routinely lose to Federer and Nadal, especially on their favourite surfaces. He had a long way to go, but he is closing the gap. Too bad they can't make all the semis everywhere now as the H2H would have probably been different. But as it stands, Nole is doing just fine against the two of them.

 

[Billie]

^ Yeah I wish Federer had advanced to the US Open Final in 2010 and 2011.
Judging by what happened in 2014 (Nishikori beating Djokovic at the US Open), we may still get a Nadal-Federer clash at USO.

Federer had such an easy time with Cilic as well. And where was Nadal in 2014 USO?:snicker

You should first hope your guy can play at all.

 

[Federberg]

I just watched the match as well. The reason why Nole lost today is because I didn't watch it live.

Too bad he couldn't convert on any of the break points, especially one of the ones that he had as set points. He wins one of them and set #2, who knows what would happen in the 3rd.

Congratulations to Federer and his fans!

I hate it when Nole loses, but it didn't feel like he really gave it his all here and it is not a major so I am not really that upset. Wow Roger very complementary about Nole!:clap

Don't kid yourself. He tried..

Not hard enough:dodgy:

Lol! Does that mean if he tried harder he would have won? :lolz:

 

[Federberg]

Don't kid yourself. He tried..

Not hard enough:dodgy:

Exactly. Nole is not going to jeopardise next weekend's DC tie, he already fell awkwardly in his semi final. He always looks at the big picture. If he wins 3 other big tournaments and loses every other, I would be OK with that.

Nole is already in Belgrade with his family and is going to Kraljevo tomorrow where they will start preparing for the DC tie vs Croatia.

Yup. Sure.. the DC tie... that's why he lost :cover

 

[Billie]

Not hard enough:dodgy:

Exactly. Nole is not going to jeopardise next weekend's DC tie, he already fell awkwardly in his semi final. He always looks at the big picture. If he wins 3 other big tournaments and loses every other, I would be OK with that.

Nole is already in Belgrade with his family and is going to Kraljevo tomorrow where they will start preparing for the DC tie vs Croatia.

Yup. Sure.. the DC tie... that's why he lost :cover

Well I have my opinions, no need to mock me as I am usually right when it comes to Nole. So you think that Nole would go all out in ATP 500 event a week before an important DC tie, when he just won a major, when he is 4000 points ahead of the next challenger, and after a nasty fall and a big battle in the semi final vs Berdych? Sure! No wonder you guys are almost always wrong when it comes to Nole and predictions about his results.:snicker

Anyway you should just enjoy and be happy about Federer's win yesterday, never mind me. Or is my saying Federer is the best player in the world and he rules everybody based on this title going to satisfy you?

 

[Federberg]

Exactly. Nole is not going to jeopardise next weekend's DC tie, he already fell awkwardly in his semi final. He always looks at the big picture. If he wins 3 other big tournaments and loses every other, I would be OK with that.

Nole is already in Belgrade with his family and is going to Kraljevo tomorrow where they will start preparing for the DC tie vs Croatia.

Yup. Sure.. the DC tie... that's why he lost :cover

Well I have my opinions, no need to mock me as I am usually right when it comes to Nole. So you think that Nole would go all out in ATP 500 event a week before an important DC tie, when he just won a major, when he is 4000 points ahead of the next challenger, and after a nasty fall and a big battle in the semi final vs Berdych? Sure! No wonder you guys are almost always wrong when it comes to Nole and predictions about his results.:snicker

Anyway you should just enjoy and be happy about Federer's win yesterday, never mind me. Or is my saying Federer is the best player in the world and he rules everybody based on this title going to satisfy you?

You're a fan, with a sadly warped understanding of what it takes for a player like Novak to get to where he is. If you think he was willing to let the chance of a title go, against one of his major rivals, I'll leave you to your... thoughts :nono

 

[Billie]

^^^ Like I said, big picture is something you are missing. But I'll just leave it at that. Nole didn't seem upset at losing yesterday.

BTW what were the implications of Nole's loss in Dubai last year for the rest of the year for him?:snicker

 

[brokenshoelace]

Don't kid yourself. He tried..

Not hard enough:dodgy:

Exactly. Nole is not going to jeopardise next weekend's DC tie, he already fell awkwardly in his semi final. He always looks at the big picture. If he wins 3 other big tournaments and loses every other, I would be OK with that.

Nole is already in Belgrade with his family and is going to Kraljevo tomorrow where they will start preparing for the DC tie vs Croatia.

Nadal fans are such excuse makers.

 

[Billie]

Not hard enough:dodgy:

Exactly. Nole is not going to jeopardise next weekend's DC tie, he already fell awkwardly in his semi final. He always looks at the big picture. If he wins 3 other big tournaments and loses every other, I would be OK with that.

Nole is already in Belgrade with his family and is going to Kraljevo tomorrow where they will start preparing for the DC tie vs Croatia.

Nadal fans are such excuse makers.

You are right, they are. I am just saying that this loss doesn't mean that much to Nole in the big picture, that's all. And he wasn't very upset. That might be subjective, I agree, but that is how I felt after seeing the match. Federer was better in crucial moments yesterday, but we've seen Nole save 4 match points against him in bigger tournaments. I just didn't feel like he gave it his all yesterday. But I might be completely wrong, I will admit to that.

 

[brokenshoelace]

It's another title for Fed and well earned but I wouldn't read too much into the result. Not much has changed. I'd still favour Novak to win the 5 setters at majors, still favour Novak on clay, slow hardcourts... The match was decided on a handful of key points as is often the case when these two draw swords.

Fed's net game has definitely improved over the last 18 months though - as Murat said, that's going to be a large component of his game from here on in.

Agreed. It has always been an uphill battle for Nole against Roger on fast surfaces. He's managed to barely scrape out 3 wins at majors on them otherwise the H2H would be ugly and both player's resume could be way different. I wouldn't favor Nole on grass against Roger at this point but he's certainly the favorite at the other 3 slams including the USO.

I wonder how Nole managed to beat Roger 17 times. Must have been all in Australia or some really slow surfaces.:snicker

Interesting, this made me review their head to head:

Djokovic's wins:

1st win: Montreal. Medium hard court.
2nd win: Australian Open. Medium hard court.
3rd win: Miami. Slow hard court.
4th win: Rome. Clay.
5th win: Basel. Fast indoor hard court.
6th win: US Open. Fast hard court.
7th win: Australian Open. Medium hard court.
8th win: Dubai. Fast hard court.
9th win: Indian Wells. Slow hard court.
10th win: US Open. Fast hard court.
11th win: Rome. Clay.
12th win: French Open. Clay
13th win: World Tour Finals. Slow indoor hard courts.
14th win: Paris. Fast indoor hard courts.
15th win: World Tour Finals. Slow indoor hard courts.
16th win: Indian Wells. Slow hard courts.
17th win: Wimbledon. Grass (fast, obviously).

Out of Djokovic's 17 wins, 6 were on fast surfaces. Out of those 6, three were extremely close 5 setters in which he had to save match-points in two of them (the two US Open matches), and a virtual match point in the Wimbledon final (a break point that would have allowed Roger to serve for the match). So in at least three of those 6 wins (and I'm not counting 2 wins that went to three sets in a best of 3 match), Djokovic indeed faced an uphill battle.

By contrast, out of Roger's 20 victories over Djokovic, 13 came on fast surfaces. I mean, that stats tells you all you need to know.

Darth's assessment was extremely fair. No need to get defensive.