Fedal moves aside for Nolurray

[fedfan]

Not to discount Nadal whose still in the mix, but three of the last four slam finals have been Nolurray and likely a harbinger of more to come IMO

 

[shawnbm]

I tend to concur with your position on this. Roger may have one more in him, but Rafa may be mostly relegated to clay from here on out. I believe he'd be the underdog against either novak or Andy at a hard court major now. The tide is turning in favor of the young upstarts.

 

[Moxie]

I tend to concur with your position on this. Roger may have one more in him, but Rafa may be mostly relegated to clay from here on out. I believe he'd be the underdog against either novak or Andy at a hard court major now. The tide is turning in favor of the young upstarts.

I think it's too early to relegate Rafa to clay. (See IW 2013.) However, Rafa and Roger will feature less, and Novak and Andy more, that seems clear.

 

[Andrew William]

I agree with Moxie about Rafa. This is the usual knee jerk reaction. He looked pretty good at Indian Wells where he beat a dangerous JMDP.

 

[tented]

I agree with Moxie about Rafa. This is the usual knee jerk reaction. He looked pretty good at Indian Wells where he beat a dangerous JMDP.

"Knee jerk reaction" does take on special meaning with Rafa.

 

[Andrew William]

I agree with Moxie about Rafa. This is the usual knee jerk reaction. He looked pretty good at Indian Wells where he beat a dangerous JMDP.

"Knee jerk reaction" does take on special meaning with Rafa.

:laydownlaughing

 

[calitennis127]

Not to discount Nadal whose still in the mix, but three of the last four slam finals have been Nolurray and likely a harbinger of more to come IMO

Whatever happens, the tennis world has now been unburdened of the British obsession of having a native Wimbledon winner. Everyone can finally move on.

 

[secrettennisjunkie]

I wouldn't ignore Del Potro. Grass is supposed to be his worst surface and he beat Ferrer and pushed Djokovic to 5 sets. He's playing his best tennis since 2009.

 

[nehmeth]

Not to discount Nadal whose still in the mix, but three of the last four slam finals have been Nolurray and likely a harbinger of more to come IMO

Good thread fedfan.

It's been said before and lately I tend to concur that without the aid of a few beneficial upsets in his draw, Roger no longer has what it takes to run a gauntlet of top players in the later stages of a slam.

Rafa is the unknown commodity outside of clay. We have to wait and see how he comes back the 2nd half of the Summer and if he goes deep at the Open, before anyone starts to write him off.

Nole is my favorite player, but he's been losing to the other 3 of the Big 4 with unsettling consistency. Two huge disappointments for him at RG and here at Wimbledon where he wasn't even competitive in the final. Something needs to change.

As much as I hate to say it, unless Nole makes some adjustments Murray will be winning more slams.

Lastly, if Del Potro can manage to stay healthy - he may very well insinuate himself into the mix. Was never a fan of the guy, but seeing his heart, his resolve, his incredible shots during his semifinal battle with Nole kinda won me over.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Not to discount Nadal whose still in the mix, but three of the last four slam finals have been Nolurray and likely a harbinger of more to come IMO

Good thread fedfan.

It's been said before and lately I tend to concur that without the aid of a few beneficial upsets in his draw, Roger no longer has what it takes to run a gauntlet of top players in the later stages of a slam.

Rafa is the unknown commodity outside of clay. We have to wait and see how he comes back the 2nd half of the Summer and if he goes deep at the Open, before anyone starts to write him off.

Nole is my favorite player, but he's been losing to the other 3 of the Big 4 with unsettling consistency. Two huge disappointments for him at RG and here at Wimbledon where he wasn't even competitive in the final. Something needs to change.

As much as I hate to say it, unless Nole makes some adjustments Murray will be winning more slams.

Lastly, if Del Potro can manage to stay healthy - he may very well insinuate himself into the mix. Was never a fan of the guy, but seeing his heart, his resolve, his incredible shots during his semifinal battle with Nole kinda won me over.

As much as I hate to say it, unless Nole makes some adjustments Murray will be winning more slams.

Nehmeth, what's up with Nole decision making..Maybe it was Andy's defense today.

 

[Kieran]

Rafa is the unknown commodity outside of clay. We have to wait and see how he comes back the 2nd half of the Summer and if he goes deep at the Open, before anyone starts to write him off.

Nole is my favorite player, but he's been losing to the other 3 of the Big 4 with unsettling consistency. Two huge disappointments for him at RG and here at Wimbledon where he wasn't even competitive in the final. Something needs to change.

Good point about Rafa. If he's 100% in his movement and health, then things will get interesting. There isn't a more intense competitor out there.

As for Nole, actually losing in Paris to Rafa is to be expected. I know he laid it out this year to take advantage of Rafa's return, but I think he'll need a 2009 to get that RG crown.

Novak was always brittle. The Iron Man of 2011 was unexpectedly high and it's impossible to maintain that level of play. It was just a guy playing out of his skin and going somewhere insane. He's settled back to a mix of that and his usual uncertainty and this is where the concern is. Yesterday he deferred, just as if it was 2010 again. This isn't the response I expected from him. In fact, I thought the result might be the opposite of what we got.

But credit to Andy. I doubt I ever saw a player face so much strain as he must have and yet, whatever setbacks he faced, he reset his defaults and came back again strongly. It must have been unsettling for Novak that Murray just didn't give him space to breathe.

This might be a trend that Nole will be ready for in future...

 

[nehmeth]

Nehmeth, what's up with Nole decision making..Maybe it was Andy's defense today.

While Andy overall played a very good match, made some incredible gets and winners from out of nowhere, he was still vulnerable early. Obviously with 40 ufe's Novak was not anywhere near his normal self. It was as though his tennis brain fell into his gear bag, never to be retrieved. Kieran called him brittle - good word. I really don't know what happened.

Physically I don't think he was any worse for having played the semi. Emotionally/mentally, it was close to five hours in which neither player budged for more than a few points at any one time.

He was facing a similar task Sunday and I don't think he had it in him to climb that same mountain another time. He had moments at the onset of the match when he could have really turned the screws. His serving looked as though Todd Martin had been rehired. He was too concerned over Andy's return and went for too much instead of just placing the ball. His shot selection and execution during key points was quite bad.

Andy won no doubt. Even if the Novak we've come to know had shown up, Andy may still have won. At least it would have been a lot better match if he had.

 

[Kieran]

Sometimes Novak reminds me of Becker. For all his macho mouthing in the commentary box, Becker was a guy who'd lose matches that you'd have him down to win, and lose them in such a way, you'd think he'd lost interest. Now he talks himself up, but I remember the guy, and he had 2 slams by age 18, and somewhere along the line the pressure got to him, or he was more easy satisfied than the Borgs and Sampras of this world. He could accommodate loss more easily.

It was Becker who first said, "nobody died out there," after he lost against Doohan in 1987. Rafa once said this after a defeat, but the subtext was obvious: "nobody died out there, but next time they will, believe me."

Becker and Djoker both like to be liked, that might be it. I don't think Nole likes it much when he's cast in the role of villain. It doesn't matter to Fedal, but Nole is more sensitive than them, except for 2011, when he fulfilled his potential spectacularly...

 

[shawnbm]

I tend to concur with your position on this. Roger may have one more in him, but Rafa may be mostly relegated to clay from here on out. I believe he'd be the underdog against either novak or Andy at a hard court major now. The tide is turning in favor of the young upstarts.

I think it's too early to relegate Rafa to clay. (See IW 2013.) However, Rafa and Roger will feature less, and Novak and Andy more, that seems clear.

I like your post and agree with it. Make no mistake--I do not write off the Spanish Bull. The reality is, however, that he has on two or three occasions won nothing or merely one event from Wimbledon until the next year (at least twice nothing until Monte Carlo). The second part of the season has perennially (with the exception of 2010 and 2011--although he lost the final in New York in 11) been the doldrums for Rafa. He will have a tough time against Murray or Nole in Melbourne but likely will be able to hold his own on clay for a few more years. It would not surprise me if his only slam wins in the future were in Paris. Then again, I would not be surprised if he won SW19 again either.

 

[ftan]

Well this was inevitable.. a circle of life.. Federer was able to be in the mix lot longer than anyone expected. Rafa, unfortunately has had to deal with his knees since past 5 years or so and everytime we ask how long will his knees last. He has done well keeping that in consideration..

The new gen is taking over