It's Dec 1, 2018...What happened?

[Busted]

So do you think Novak will be back like in 2011? not even in his dreams it doesn't matter how much help is trying to find or in 2015 when Nadal was struggling physically and mentally too?. Nadal has not beaten Federer this year...and? Goffin has beaten Nadal and Federer too but let's go to pass that page......

Your lack of reading comprehension skills is becoming legendary. Where did I say that I thought Djokovic would be back to 2011 form? Nowhere but in your fetid little noggin did I say that. Djokovic wan't be 2011 great because - it's not 2011 anymore. It'll be 2018, which means he's 7 years older with 7 years more mileage on his body. What I said was that I thought he would hit the ground running and be money from the jump. With all the guys who are probably coming into the season carrying injuries from last year? If Djokovic is healthy and has it together mentally? Then yes, the door is open for him to make the AO final and win it. And he sees all of the other top guys are struggling with injuries and know that Federer and Nadal were able to take advantage of his bad form last year. That should be etra motivation for him. Even if he's only 80% he's got a better chance to win the AO than Nadal and his creaky knees - depending on the draw. - because he's won it 6 times before and it's where he has his best Slam results.

As far as Nadal and his bad knees - he'd be stupid to play before the AO. He needs to skip Brisbane - and the charity thing on Jan 8 or 10 (whichever date it is). Just his luck he hurts himself and loses 1,200 points because he can't even play the AO..

 

[Busted]

If you're a realist, you have to know that Roger's chance of repeating last year are not 40-60. He hadn't won a Major for 4-1/2 years before this year. The chances that he wins 2 next year are, by history, almost nil.

But you do severely underestimate Nadal. And over-estimate Djokovic, based on how he's been for 18 months +. Nadal is the #1 ranked player, in case it has escaped your notice. The notion that he couldn't "even" beat Federer is a little coy. I thought that Fed fans were crowing about how Roger had found the formula to do it. In any case, Roger was by most estimations the best men's player of 2017, by a hair. So why would it be bad that Rafa didn't beat him, especially? Or an indicator that Rafa is going to have the poor 2018 that you predict? Roger and Rafa have shown, once again, that they are the players to beat. Everyone coming back from injury will have some ground to make up. We'll see how they've recovered, physically, and how they get their confidence back...not just with other players, but with their own bodies.

To clarify - I mean repeating 2 Slams, 3 Masters and 7 titles - and I should have said "at best it's 40-60 if other players are still injured." He was in 3 Slam finals and 5 other SFs during those 4 1/2 years, so it's not like he didn't have chances. That's more chances at Slam titles than most guys get in their entire careers.

Re: Underestimating Nadal? Listen, Nadal's body is more fragile than a tween girl's ego. Already we're hearing that he's skipping the XO in Abu Dhabi and may not play Brisbane. Nadal's fragile body, and the fact that I already knew his knees were an issue, is what I'm basing my prediction on. That and the fact that he's never been able to back up his YE #1. He plays hell-for-leather - get's to #1...get's injured and misses half of the next season.

Also...Nadal couldn't beat Federer. That's the reality. He had 4 cracks at Federer and won ZERO. Sure, Roger skipped the clay season, but I've always said that there was no guarantee that they would have met on clay anyway because Roger probably would have lost before the SF or F Like I said - I'm a realist..I have no problem admitting Roger may not have made it to the SF or F to play Nadal. At this point I don't think it's exactly a secret that clay bores Roger.

And to be clear here - I don't think Roger's going to win as much as he did last year either. He may play like a god...but sooner or later Father Time is going to kick Roger's ass just like he does with the rest of us...

 

[Busted]

I think you’re putting way too much stock in Novak. Only Fedal have shown a consistent ability to come back from the dead so to speak. This is Novak’s time to show he’s made of the same stuff. Until he does it I for one remain a sceptic. To do what both Rafa and Roger did last year takes more than just all time great level. It takes a once in a lifetime caliber. Novak has not proved he’s made of the same mental stuff so the first half of the year return to form just seems like extremely low likelihood to me. I’m waiting for New York

I don't know that I'm putting too much money on Djokovic so much as I'm dismissive of most of the competition. And I think you're under-estimating him. He's obviously going to a lot of trouble to build his new team - even adding the stats guy...which I think is overkill and too much info may come back to bit him in the ass. Go with the KISS theory and don't overload the brain. He won 12 Slams without a stats guy holding his had so beats me why he needs one now... Personally I just think Novak will be extra motivated because he watched Federer and Nadal win 2 additonal Slams each and now he trails them by 4 and 7 Slams. The question is - how badly does he want to be part of in the GOAT convo? Remember - he's got the winning H2H against bother Federer and Nadal. If he gets to 16-17 Slams - and Nadal and Feder never wins any more- then he gets to spoil the Federer/Nadal GOAT debate.

 

[Federberg]

I don't know that I'm putting too much money on Djokovic so much as I'm dismissive of most of the competition. And I think you're under-estimating him. He's obviously going to a lot of trouble to build his new team - even adding the stats guy...which I think is overkill and too much info may come back to bit him in the ass. Go with the KISS theory and don't overload the brain. He won 12 Slams without a stats guy holding his had so beats me why he needs one now... Personally I just think Novak will be extra motivated because he watched Federer and Nadal win 2 additonal Slams each and now he trails them by 4 and 7 Slams. The question is - how badly does he want to be part of in the GOAT convo? Remember - he's got the winning H2H against bother Federer and Nadal. If he gets to 16-17 Slams - and Nadal and Feder never wins any more- then he gets to spoil the Federer/Nadal GOAT debate.

I don’t recall Fedal ever checking out like he did against Thiem last year. I’m not being dismissive of him at all, I’m simply waiting to see what he’s going to do. You seem to just assume that he can just hop on the bike and everything will be the same. I just don’t think it’s that simple. There are some young Turks who won’t have quite as much fear of Novak as those who’ve been scarred. Before we even talk about slams let’s see if he can impose his authority again. That’s all I’m saying

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Yes, it's not going to be easy for Novak to come back and win something big. The first question is - Roger Federer. Can he beat Federer? I think Federer's doing pretty well at this moment.

 

[Busted]

I don’t recall Fedal ever checking out like he did against Thiem last year. I’m not being dismissive of him at all, I’m simply waiting to see what he’s going to do. You seem to just assume that he can just hop on the bike and everything will be the same. I just don’t think it’s that simple. There are some young Turks who won’t have quite as much fear of Novak as those who’ve been scarred. Before we even talk about slams let’s see if he can impose his authority again. That’s all I’m saying

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one because time will tell. Part of the reason Djokovic sought out Agassi last year was that he wanted, as much as anything, life advice from a great player who lost the plot for a while and found his way back to the top and was arguably better than before his mental - and physical - holiday. Considering that Djokovic is into a lot of this new age mysticism stuff I imagine he was smart enough to seek out the help of a sports psychologist over the last 6 months. He's not an idiot. He knows his on-court struggles since winning the FO in 2015 have been 70% mental. Whatever he was going through off the court was either an offshoot of his on court problems or the source of them. That's why my caveat to me comments was IF he has his head in the right place and is mentally back on his game as well as physically. I think part of why he struggled was that he'd achieved all of his goals and in the process pulled withing 2 Slams of Nadal and 5 of Federer. The he hit a mental wall. Now he's 4 behind of Nadal and 7 behind Federer. If he wants to be in the GOAT convo then now's the time to pull on his big boy pants because he'll be 31 soon and his window of opportunity is rapidly closing.

Re: the young turks? Zverev - and Kyrgios - obviously the 2 most talented "young turks" - haven't even made it out of the first week of a Slam. I take that back - Kyrgios did it 1 time at Wimbledon 3 years ago. Obviously that will change eventually, but will it be in 2018? I doubt it. Thiem I can see being a problem for Djokovic on clay but not hard courts. And as you know...I just can't with Dimitrov...not that he's a "young turk." Sure, there are lot of hungry young players - but hunger generally isn't enough to overcome superior talent who are also hungry or else 3 guys wouldn't have won 47 of the last 55 Grand Slams.

 

[isabelle]

Yes, it's not going to be easy for Novak to come back and win something big. The first question is - Roger Federer. Can he beat Federer? I think Federer's doing pretty well at this moment.

if Goffin, Haas, Delpo, Donskoy, Sasha beat Mr Vavrinec so Nole can beat him too

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

if Goffin, Haas, Delpo, Donskoy, Sasha beat Mr Vavrinec so Nole can beat him too

The kind of tennis Donskoy played that day, be assured that Nole won't be playing at that level any time soon.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Remember Roger during IW 2011? Remember that blue shirt and the very seasoned, oldish, post-peak maestro? Novak is the same age today as Roger was during that tournament.

 

[Carol]

if Goffin, Haas, Delpo, Donskoy, Sasha beat Mr Vavrinec so Nole can beat him too

I can't finish to understand why Nadal lost three times in a row against Federer this year (I don't count Shanghai because he was clearly injured). Anyway I doubt Federer is going to play this next year as well as he has played in 2017

 

[isabelle]

I can't finish to understand why Nadal lost three times in a row against Federer this year (I don't count Shanghai because he was clearly injured). Anyway I doubt Federer is going to play this next year as well as he has played in 2017

I guess hard isn't his best surface that's all. I have to admit that the arrogant old guy is better than him on this fast surface but as we all know, clay is another story.... if both players had played 2017's clay season, your champ would have beat the old guy easily. it's just a question of surface for me

 

[DarthFed]

I can't finish to understand why Nadal lost three times in a row against Federer this year (I don't count Shanghai because he was clearly injured). Anyway I doubt Federer is going to play this next year as well as he has played in 2017

Shanghai counts or should we not count the USO when Roger's back was clearly messed up and Nadal faced no one good. Roger has trashed Rafa in Shanghai a couple times before the recent beatdown. And there isn't much to understand, if Roger's backhand holds up he can and will beat Rafa.

 

[mrzz]

Darth, as a Federer fan I am sick of those kind of arguments of why Federer has beaten Nadal, and this notion that Federer will beat Nadal if the backhand holds. The arguments instead should always be like this:

Federer beat Nadal four times in a row in 2017, nah nah nah, naaaaah!!!!!
Five times total, nanananananahhhhh!!!!
Seven straight sets since the fifth in Australia, nah nah nah nah, naaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

In your face, nanananana, naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!


It is the responsibility of us Federer fans to keep the level of the discussion high.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Darth, as a Federer fan I am sick of those kind of arguments of why Federer has beaten Nadal, and this notion that Federer will beat Nadal if the backhand holds. The arguments instead should always be like this:

Federer beat Nadal four times in a row in 2017, nah nah nah, naaaaah!!!!!
Five times total, nanananananahhhhh!!!!
Seven straight sets since the fifth in Australia, nah nah nah nah, naaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

In your face, nanananana, naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!


It is the responsibility of us Federer fans to keep the level of the discussion high.

Darth is like bad medicine .. he speaks the truth about everything with the exception of Nadal. Darth knows without that “juiced up backhand “ Rafa would’ve won AO 17.. Rafa had no answers for Roger after that match.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

if Goffin, Haas, Delpo, Donskoy, Sasha beat Mr Vavrinec so Nole can beat him too

Fed held match points against both Haas and Donskoy. Fed was clearly compromised in his losses against Sasha and JMDP. The only mysterious loss is to Goffin, a player owned by him and a player with no weapons. It is even more surprising, considering that Fed decided to abandon the chase of #1 and skip Bercy. So, Fed actually had two weeks of rest before WTF and still could not recover from the accumulated fatigue and/or back issues. This only means that age is affecting him little bit more than he lets us in.

 

[Carol]

I guess hard isn't his best surface that's all. I have to admit that the arrogant old guy is better than him on this fast surface but as we all know, clay is another story.... if both players had played 2017's clay season, your champ would have beat the old guy easily. it's just a question of surface for me

Well, maybe but it’s supposedly that Federer is better than Goffin, Zverev, Donskoy and Delpo in HC and you saw what happened.....

 

[Carol]

Darth is like bad medicine .. he speaks the truth about everything with the exception of Nadal. Darth knows without that “juiced up backhand “ Rafa would’ve won AO 17.. Rafa had no answers for Roger after that match.

I think he was carrying over that miraculous fith set

 

[the AntiPusher]

I think he was carrying over that miraculous fith set

Yep.. Carol there is a good video out on the internet with Carlos and Rafa practing.. Unfortunately my Spanish is only at the level to attempt to “be friend beautiful Latinas “ .. can you retrieve it and translate because it appears he is back training again

 

[Carol]

Yep.. Carol there is a good video out on the internet with Carlos and Rafa practing.. Unfortunately my Spanish is only at the level to attempt to “be friend beautiful Latinas “ .. can you retrieve it and translate because it appears he is back training again

I don’t find any video where both of them are trining now

 

[Bounce It !!]

Aloha Everyone, Mele Kalikimaka, Meka Haole Makahiki Ho Ho Ho !!
It's been a while since I stopped in and this thread caught my eye. Given the results of the 2017 ATP WTF World Tour Finals, Grigor over Le Goff, it seems anything is possible for 2018, will the Nex Nex Gen keep up the pressure, will Fedal repeat, will the other big three find their form... all good questions.
Sooo, looking into my crystal ball, that has a few cracks from the end of 2017, here is my wish list

1. Slam champions
AO Fed over Rafa, RG Fed over Stan, SW19 Fed over Novak, USO Fed over Murray
2. Year-end top 10
1 Fed, 2 Rafa, 3 Novak, 4 Sir Muzz, 5 Stan, 6 Alex, 7 Nick, 8 Grigor, 9 Jo Willie, 10 Dominic
3. WTF/Masters winners
Nick/Masters split between Fed, Rafa, Novak, Alex and Nick
4. Breakthroughs
Nick
5. Declines
Stan blows out his knee at RG and calls it quits, Novak and Del Po search the net for miraculous cure for ailing wrists.
6. Any and all speculations on specific players
Hmmm, see 1-5
7. True "fearless predictions" - things you realize are improbable but just have a feeling about
SEE 1-5
8. Anything else you want to say about 2018
It damn sure will be an interesting year and I better lay off the Kool Aid ;-)