Dubai Championship ATP 500

[auto-pilot]

I don't know Darth, you forgot that Roger beat Nole in MC last year, yet lost in the Wimbledon final (that should have ended in 4 save for Nole's nerves and Roger's extreme fight-back). I wouldn't be surprised at seeing any one of these great players win anywhere, including Roger's win over Rafa on clay, no matter how crazy that sounds to some. When it's their day, they can play well anywhere really. The only question mark is Roland Garros, until proven otherwise, Rafa is still the king there.

It would also be a feat if Federer beat Nadal at a hardcourt slam, as Nadal leads 3-0 there.

 

[Billie]

I don't know Darth, you forgot that Roger beat Nole in MC last year, yet lost in the Wimbledon final (that should have ended in 4 save for Nole's nerves and Roger's extreme fight-back). I wouldn't be surprised at seeing any one of these great players win anywhere, including Roger's win over Rafa on clay, no matter how crazy that sounds to some. When it's their day, they can play well anywhere really. The only question mark is Roland Garros, until proven otherwise, Rafa is still the king there.

It would also be a feat if Federer beat Nadal at a hardcourt slam, as Nadal leads 3-0 there.

Never say never auto-pilot. Have you watched Federer's matches lately? He just needs to be fresh mentally and physically. I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see Federer win. But they would both need to play well and reach semi finals at the same hard court slam if they are ranked 2 and 3 and be on the same side of a draw, that seems to be the biggest problem lately. I would still give Rafa the edge based on the history but the margins might be less than they seemed before. I think that Rafa is on the right path of regaining his better form but you just never know.

 

[Fiero425]

I don't know Darth, you forgot that Roger beat Nole in MC last year, yet lost in the Wimbledon final (that should have ended in 4 save for Nole's nerves and Roger's extreme fight-back). I wouldn't be surprised at seeing any one of these great players win anywhere, including Roger's win over Rafa on clay, no matter how crazy that sounds to some. When it's their day, they can play well anywhere really. The only question mark is Roland Garros, until proven otherwise, Rafa is still the king there.

It would also be a feat if Federer beat Nadal at a hard court slam, as Nadal leads 3-0 there.

I'm still surprised Roger hasn't come up with a formula to win over Rafa on HC; it has happened as early as a QF when he was down a little in the rankings! Been too long ago to remember the details, but I can still remember him shaking his finger in satisfaction that he finally beat Nadal in something! Early on I only remember Federer winning at Wimbledon and Rafa taking the FO! I always thought Roger had a great chance off clay, but it really hasn't been the case! It doesn't matter the surface, Roger's owned! How he breaks Nole down at times still makes me SMH! :nono It shouldn't happen; even if the court is fast! Djokovic had opportunities to break and it just wasn't in the cards; Roger won his home match! Nole so sensitive to the crowds! :nono :cover :angel: :dodgy:

 

[auto-pilot]

I don't know Darth, you forgot that Roger beat Nole in MC last year, yet lost in the Wimbledon final (that should have ended in 4 save for Nole's nerves and Roger's extreme fight-back). I wouldn't be surprised at seeing any one of these great players win anywhere, including Roger's win over Rafa on clay, no matter how crazy that sounds to some. When it's their day, they can play well anywhere really. The only question mark is Roland Garros, until proven otherwise, Rafa is still the king there.

It would also be a feat if Federer beat Nadal at a hardcourt slam, as Nadal leads 3-0 there.

Never say never auto-pilot. Have you watched Federer's matches lately?

Yeah, not sure what they have to do with him playing against Nadal, as that's always far more difficult for Federer than playing Djokovic.
I mean if Federer had beaten Djokovic in 2010/2011 US Open, do you really think Federer would have beaten Nadal in the final?
I don't believe so.

 

[Billie]

It would also be a feat if Federer beat Nadal at a hardcourt slam, as Nadal leads 3-0 there.

Never say never auto-pilot. Have you watched Federer's matches lately?

Yeah, not sure what they have to do with him playing against Nadal, as that's always far more difficult for Federer than playing Djokovic.
I mean if Federer had beaten Djokovic in 2010/2011 US Open, do you really think Federer would have beaten Nadal in the final?
I don't believe so.

Well Rafa is not a physical freak anymore in case you didn't notice. Anyway let's see how the season plays out. I think that Federer would have had good chances in NY in those early years. Rafa wasn't that good early on to make it to finals, in 2010 he made it for the first time. Later Federer had problems reaching the final there. But who knows what would happen if they were to face there for the first time. Slight edge to Rafa, but I really don't know, it would depend on a lot of circumstances.

 

[Billie]

BTW thanks for inserting Rafa in a discussion about Nole and Roger. What took you so long?:laydownlaughing

 

[Carol]

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.

Why you have to include Nadal and his fans in that argument about Roge and Novak? excuses? I'd like to know what you would say if Roger would have came back of an injury/surgery when his fans always have made excuses of his loses bc his "back problems", come on!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

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.

Why you have to include Nadal and his fans in that argument about Roge and Novak? excuses? I'd like to know what you would say if Roger would have came back of an injury/surgery when his fans always have made excuses of his loses bc his "back problems", come on!

I am not speaking for Broken,but I think you took his post the wrong way....

 

[brokenshoelace]

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.

Why you have to include Nadal and his fans in that argument about Roge and Novak? excuses? I'd like to know what you would say if Roger would have came back of an injury/surgery when his fans always have made excuses of his loses bc his "back problems", come on!

Sarcasm.

 

[Federberg]

Nadal fans are such excuse makers.

Why you have to include Nadal and his fans in that argument about Roge and Novak? excuses? I'd like to know what you would say if Roger would have came back of an injury/surgery when his fans always have made excuses of his loses bc his "back problems", come on!

Sarcasm.

laydownlaughing:lolz:
and...
:cry

 

[tented]

BTW thanks for inserting Rafa in a discussion about Nole and Roger. What took you so long?:laydownlaughing

You mean like you did here and here?

 

[Carol]

^ 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.

Nadal was taking care with a REAL wrist injury and appendicitis
By the way Novak probably is one of the players who goes to the court with more anxiety and effort to win (he is very lucky he doesn't get injuries, the yoga is working well on him) and the one who shows with his body language he doesn't like to lose any point. He can give many hugs to his opponent but the "storm" is inside of his head like anyone else

 

[Carol]

Nadal fans are such excuse makers.

Why you have to include Nadal and his fans in that argument about Roge and Novak? excuses? I'd like to know what you would say if Roger would have came back of an injury/surgery when his fans always have made excuses of his loses bc his "back problems", come on!

Sarcasm.

Oh! :blush:

 

[brokenshoelace]

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.

I didn't mean to sound harsh with the above post, just how I see it. In this matchup Nole has the clear edge on slower courts so it is an uphill battle for Roger there. On fast courts, even 2011 and after, it is a struggle for Novak vs. Roger.

He's done well to beat Roger 2 times at the USO and once at Wimbledon. From Roger's perspective those USO losses are among the worst of his career as they featured complete meltdowns and at Wimbledon last year, going on age 33, he damn near beat Novak playing the best we've ever seen him play on grass.

I didn't think you needed an attorney to counter my post.

Darth, I can handle different opinions, I know everybody is different, but when other posters start getting personal, I lose any interest in proceeding, just for that reason, not that I get offended. From that moment on I ignore them.

Oh dear. Nobody got personal with you. You accused some here of having simplistic views on tennis and I responded by showing how you're guilty of that as well. If you count that getting personal, then you did it first. Your victim-playing card never ceases to be redundant.