Early RG Talk

[MargaretMcAleer]

I never said the match was a classic. I specifically said that Thiem played his D level tennis and still won. I agree that the womens final was much higher quality, thats not even up for debate.

Thiem has overscheduled in the past but I doubt he will do it this year. I really don't expect him to play in Lyon the week before RG this time.

I also said Rafa and Roger have never played as bad as Thiem did in a grand slam final and still win it, that is also a fact not up for debate since it never happened. That has nothing to do with my disl

You said and I quote

"Theim won the match playing his D level tennis which is super impressive'
Sasha was unimpressive handing Theim the match.
You said and I quote
Something Rafa and Roger have not done in their entire careers'
Unfounded comment.............Try to have a nice day!!!!

 

[rafanoy1992]

Thanks for the thread! But the French Open will happen in France, not Spain. Given that we have had 3 Majors during the pandemic, and RG will the the first to repeat, I have to think they can pull it off in their slot. There is a lot of precedent for options. (Fans/no fans; tune-ups locally or not.) I'm curious about the run-up to RG, and maybe this is where you were thinking Spain, because Madrid and Barcelona both feature. Guy Forget has left open the option to move it again this year, but he has said they would do it with more consultation than last year. (Ahem.) France's covid cases are trending down, and they are vaccinating.

As to odds, they do seem right. Given the obstacles for Nadal, and the way he blew past them, including Djokovic in the final, it's hard to think of who would cap him this year, if he's healthy.

I agree, Moxie! I mean if he swept the field in cold conditions with very little preparations, just imagine what he can do on a bright sunny day in Paris with maximum preparations?

Also, he will be very confident (as other years of course) going into RG because he is healthy (for now) AND he knows the golden opportunity to hold the Men's All time Grand Slam titles at 21 Slams. He will be ready this May/June!

 

[rafanoy1992]

Theim was bashed as a claycourt specialist until a couple of years ago, so I'm not too bummed about his AO results. He tends to overplay due to horrible scheduling for one, and the whole run up to the AO was bizarre, what with the quarantining, etc.

I do think last fall's RG was an understandable aberration for Theim. He had just won the USO, was mentally exhausted and had little clay court prep.

The "normal" clay court season has a runup of 6-8 weeks of tournament play before Roland Garos. Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, etc. IF that schedule can stick this year, it bodes well for Theim in that he can play into his claycourt form, because I still think that is his best surface. Even Novak I would pit 50/50 in his chances with Theim at RG, Theim beat him in 5 in the 2019 SF and in fact has beaten him in best of 5 the last 2 times they met in Paris.

However the elephant in the room is that a normal red clay schedule one would benefit Nadal most of all.

It will be interesting if Medvedev reaches #2 by Roland Garos. Nadal's seeding should be irrelevant for his chances , but it become a whole lot of relevant per whose side of the draw Nadal lands on; Novak, Theim or Medvedev. I'm still not convinced Medvedev on red clay plays up to his seeding.

If Medvedev is seeded number 2 at RG, then it actually hurts Djokovic's chances because he will guarantee to get Nadal or Thiem in the semifinals. On the other hand, Thiem will benefit from Medvedev being seeded number 2 at RG because he will only have 50% chance of facing Djokovic or Medvedev in the SF (and of course avoid Nadal until the Final).

 

[Front242]

Thiem would stand a better of winning against Nadal in the semi final than the final imo but, either way, he's not beating him. What I mean basically is he'd probably fare better but still lose in the SF. Doesn't appear too composed in slam finals.