Fedal - XXXVII - Miami Finals

[Federberg]

91 titles

 

[Federberg]

un- fucking - believable

 

[El Dude]

Wow

 

[Moxie]

He's found the fountain of youth.

 

[Federberg]

I wouldn't have asked the tooth fairy for this type of year for Roger... she would have just said.. "be realistic!"

 

[Federberg]

Roger up to 4, Rafa 5...

 

[Federberg]

good enough for the European season to come for both I think

 

[Federberg]

71 points won by Roger to Rafa 56

 

[El Dude]

Only 5 aces...that must be the fewest he's ever had and beaten Rafa

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

christ..ao.iw. miami at 35yrs old. time machine fedster.

 

[Federberg]

he really didn't have to do much.. it was just weird

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

What do you say to that really? Congrats Roger!

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

beaten rafa 4 times in a row. as nick would say...unreal.

 

[Federberg]

what on earth is Annabel Croft saying?? Roger's serve has not been great so far this year... she's saying he's serving better than ever

 

[Federberg]

I'm not sure Rafa really believed he could win that match. I think that's why I found it weird

 

[Busted]

The better player won..just plain and simple..I don't think Roger was forced to slice the backhand not one time.. too easy for Roger.. Man I feel bad for Nadal.. what an extremely crushing blow for him and his team..this shall too shall pass

There were 2 times that Roger was forced to slice the backhand because the ESPN commentators mentioned it. Overall though Roger was able to hit slice when HE wanted to - not because Nadal forced him to.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Well, what do you say to that...? The guy is defying everything. Congrats Rodge !

Roger's kickin' ass in the mornin' and takin' names in the evening! Anybody still having the GOAT discussion just needs to give up the ghost. The man is 35 and just won the 3 biggest tournaments of the season so far - and looked 25 while doing it.

On another note - Nadal? You can see the limitations in his game now that for years he got away with - especially against Roger. Djokovic has exploited them for years but as long as Nadal was still beating Roger and Andy he didn't bother to make any changes. He literally has no Plan B to speak of. Hit more top and hit harder just ain't going to get it done off clay against Roger, Andy and Nole anymore. Time to go back to school and make some adjustments - starting with NOT standing 15 feet behind the baseline to return serve.

The first four games, Rafa was playing the correct way..then he went back to the loopy short balls .just 15 feet is extremely dumb plus he still is not gaining an advantage in the point, dropping the ball just past the service box...I am convinced it's Rafa not his team that allows him to stand that far back..Rafa should take that 2nd place trophy and toss it into the Key Biscayne bay ..I am not gonna bitch about this ..It is what it is..

 

[Busted]

But Roger is just on an amazing roll. This is the best he's played since his run in 2012 to reach #1, maybe even since his peak in 2004-07. What an incredible talent.

I wonder if he's saying to himself, "I should have taken 6 months off sooner!" He did comment during the AO that looking back on it, in 2013 when he had back problems, he shouldn't have played and shut it down after his loss in Wimbledon.

 

[Haelfix]

Nadal amazes me as well to be honest. I thought his career would be a brief, but incredible rise followed by a precipitous fall. I sort of envisioned him fizzling out after that big injury in 2009, and then being done by 2011 given his injury history and the physicality of his style (and the requirements of movement). Yet here he is, years later, still going strong. Yea he isn't the unbelievable 2008 version, or even what he was in 2013, but he's still damn good. We just watched him being the second best player in the 3 major hardcourt tournaments, easily besting all the young players in their prime.

 

[Kieran]

The better player won..just plain and simple..I don't think Roger was forced to slice the backhand not one time.. too easy for Roger.. Man I feel bad for Nadal.. what an extremely crushing blow for him and his team..this shall too shall pass

From Roger's perspective, he took a long break and he knocked ten years off his age. I hope this isn't a trend we'll see.

For Rafa, I wouldn't see this as crushing. I haven't been watching much tennis, my ol;d lad isn't well, but in general up til the Big Matches, Rafa is actually playing great tennis. He just isn't holding himself together too well once there's something big at stake, and he's been like that since 2014. He gets anxious, he hurries the shots, he blows big chances. Even still, facing FUBAR-Fed, it's been an unlucky time for him, but I think that he could be prone to lapses against anyone, in a big final. Even last year, his only victory of note was in Monte Carlo, and he struggled there in the final to beat Le Monf, which is not really something he used to do.

Put it this way - if he'd faced Monfils in the semis of MC last year, he'd have destroyed him.

I saw this happen with a lot of players as they age, they become tentative, and big finals become too much for them. They weary easier, and physically they drain quicker, through anxiety, etc. The big matches aren't gonna be there forever for them, so they begin to fluff their lines. I'm proud of him so far this season though...