Matches you recommend watching in the absence of live tennis

[brokenshoelace]

Rafa’s first loss to Federer on clay, Rafa’s first loss in a clay-court final, and most notoriously the match which snapped Rafa’s 81 match winning streak on clay. I’m still not exactly sure what happened here. It’s as if Rafa hit a wall by the third set.

The narrative at the time was that Nadal was pretty fatigued after a grueling clay season (at the time Hamburg was the last tune up before RG) and a marathon semi with Hewitt.

I'm usually anti "there's always something wrong with Rafa when he loses" but there is some credence to it as he clearly ran out of gas after the first set. I mean, he lost the following 2 sets 6-2 and 6-0.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Ridiculous what noise he makes on every damn shot. From the very beginning.
Unbelivable.

Other players making noise NEVER bother me or I have NEVER had a player say to me that someone was making too much noise or their grunting was a distraction whenever we played USTA tournaments. just my opinion

 

[Bonaca]

Other players making noise NEVER bother me or I have NEVER had a player say to me that someone was making too much noise or their grunting was a distraction whenever we played USTA tournaments. just my opinion

It obviously did not affect Roger.
Looking this video, it’s just striking because of the huge contrast.
One player did not make any noise, except when his racket hits the ball, the other is groaning on every single rally.

 

[brokenshoelace]

It obviously did not affect Roger.
Looking this video, it’s just striking because of the huge contrast.
One player did not make any noise, except when his racket hits the ball, the other is groaning on every single rally.

You're a Djokovic fan and you're talking about grunting?

 

[brokenshoelace]

Death, taxes, and Anti-Pusher referencing his athletic endeavors as though relevant to any discussion regarding the elite level. Well, that and his speeches to Bill Gates.

 

[Bonaca]

You're a Djokovic fan and you're talking about grunting?

Yes.
It just hit me watching this old clay court match between Roger and Rafael.
This kind of groaning from Nadal seems to be out of this world, on every rally from the first point. I think today he isn’t doing that that massively anymore. Not comparable to Novak’s sounds.

 

[Moxie]

Yes.
It just hit me watching this old clay court match between Roger and Rafael.
This kind of groaning from Nadal seems to be out of this world, on every rally from the first point. I think today he isn’t doing that that massively anymore. Not comparable to Novak’s sounds.

I really have never understood this complaining about grunting. It is not unusual in physical effort, and the training of it, to use an expulsion of air to aid physical effort. In yoga, it's part of the practice. In all physical effort, to be most efficient, you intake breath on the absorption of power, and expulse it on the exertion of it, or against it. Maybe some people are just noisier when they do it, or maybe they're working harder than others.

 

[the AntiPusher]

I really have never understood this complaining about grunting. It is not unusual in physical effort, and the training of it, to use an expulsion of air to aid physical effort. In yoga, it's part of the practice. In all physical effort, to be most efficient, you intake breath on the absorption of power, and expulse it on the exertion of it, or against it. Maybe some people are just noisier when they do it, or maybe they're working harder than others.

I am quite sure that most fellas are not saying to their significant other when they are grunting or shrieking like Sharapova, "Honey, Can you keep it down please, I am having a hard time concentrating"!

 

[Carol]

Yes.
It just hit me watching this old clay court match between Roger and Rafael.
This kind of groaning from Nadal seems to be out of this world, on every rally from the first point. I think today he isn’t doing that that massively anymore. Not comparable to Novak’s sounds.

Then try to see the Novak's matches again, he bounces the ball 20 times, then when he his the ball serving and then while he is playing before to critic the others....

 

[Jelenafan]

Wilander versus Cash 1998 AO finals highlights




Matts Wilander is underrated IMO, a baseliner at the beginning of his career, he evolved to a more versatile player with what became a very good feel for the net

 

[Moxie]

I just watched Nadal d. Thiem USO 2018 on TC. I'd never seen it before, as I was on an intense project during that USO, and couldn't see the point of revisiting, since Rafa had to retire the next round v. del Potro. Helluva a match, though. I don't get why Thiem isn't more popular around here.

 

[Bonaca]

Then try to see the Novak's matches again, he bounces the ball 20 times, then when he his the ball serving and then while he is playing before to critic the others....

Sorry but I simply don’t understand your post? What is your point?

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I just watched Nadal d. Thiem USO 2018 on TC. I'd never seen it before, as I was on an intense project during that USO, and couldn't see the point of revisiting, since Rafa had to retire the next round v. del Potro. Helluva a match, though. I don't get why Thiem isn't more popular around here.

I have never warm to him at all,he lacks a personality to me for starters,he also rubs me up the wrong way in some of his press conferences,I also think he tends to 'over play tournaments'.

 

[Moxie]

I have never warm to him at all,he lacks a personality to me for starters,he also rubs me up the wrong way in some of his press conferences,I also think he tends to 'over play tournaments'.

Funny how these things are just the way they hit you personally. Maybe I haven't seen that many of his press conferences. But I've long admired his work ethic. I think he's put in the hard yards, like Rafa. I think he's strong and has a lot of grit. But to each her own.

 

[Carol]

Sorry but I simply don’t understand your post? What is your point?

My point is when Novak is serving and hitting the ball makes a lot of noise, clear?

 

[Moxie]

Tennis Channel is showing Nadal v. Medvedev final from last year's USO. That game at 0-1, Rafa serving and down 15-40, he saved with aggressive and brave tennis. When Medvedev had another break point, Nadal got a 2nd time violation, lost his first serve and saved the BP with aggressive play at the net. Gutsy point. Medvedev overplayed a couple of shots late in the game, but he was being pressed. They were pressing each other. Nadal also pressed too hard on a volley to blow it and give Daniil his 3rd BP in the game. No way that Meddy "collapsed" in that game, or gave it away. Also worth remembering how much more time he'd spent on court than Rafa in the tournament. He was seen by the trainer a couple of times in the 5th, including at the start. When he failed to break, it did start to look a bit gassed and got broken the next game. Not uncommon to get broken when you fail to break in a hard-fought game.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Tennis Channel is showing Nadal v. Medvedev final from last year's USO. That game at 0-1, Rafa serving and down 15-40, he saved with aggressive and brave tennis. When Medvedev had another break point, Nadal got a 2nd time violation, lost his first serve and saved the BP with aggressive play at the net. Gutsy point. Medvedev overplayed a couple of shots late in the game, but he was being pressed. They were pressing each other. Nadal also pressed too hard on a volley to blow it and give Daniil his 3rd BP in the game. No way that Meddy "collapsed" in that game, or gave it away. Also worth remembering how much more time he'd spent on court than Rafa in the tournament. He was seen by the trainer a couple of times in the 5th, including at the start. When he failed to break, it did start to look a bit gassed and got broken the next game. Not uncommon to get broken when you fail to break in a hard-fought game.

That is a match I wont be rewatching,I was suffering all match lol! well until the end of the match,where I needed a double straight scotch.

 

[Moxie]

That is a match I wont be rewatching,I was suffering all match lol! well until the end of the match,where I needed a double straight scotch.

Believe me, Margaret, I would have thought the same. But in the absence of fresh tennis, and because we debated it so much around here, I kind of wanted to give it another look, particularly the 5th set. It was easier to watch, knowing the outcome, but still provoked some anxiety. Rafa was pretty tight throughout, given the stakes, but Medvedev was brilliant throughout much of it, which was easier to appreciate in retrospect. And despite what Cali kept trying to insist, no way he collapsed in the 5th. He was a point away from leveling the match at 5-5 in the 5th. I'd forgotten...willfully, most likely...that it was still that tight that late in the 5th.
It makes me wonder what the lay-off is going to do to stall the game and momentum of the younger players, like Daniil. We know that the Big 3 can mentally handle long absences from the tour and come back strong. And maybe Murray and del Potro get a benefit...more time to recover and come back with something to say. But it will be curious to see how some of the younger players respond to being artificially stalled at the more delicate time of their maturing years on the tour.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Believe me, Margaret, I would have thought the same. But in the absence of fresh tennis, and because we debated it so much around here, I kind of wanted to give it another look, particularly the 5th set. It was easier to watch, knowing the outcome, but still provoked some anxiety. Rafa was pretty tight throughout, given the stakes, but Medvedev was brilliant throughout much of it, which was easier to appreciate in retrospect. And despite what Cali kept trying to insist, no way he collapsed in the 5th. He was a point away from leveling the match at 5-5 in the 5th. I'd forgotten...willfully, most likely...that it was still that tight that late in the 5th.
It makes me wonder what the lay-off is going to do to stall the game and momentum of the younger players, like Daniil. We know that the Big 3 can mentally handle long absences from the tour and come back strong. And maybe Murray and del Potro get a benefit...more time to recover and come back with something to say. But it will be curious to see how some of the younger players respond to being artificially stalled at the more delicate time of their maturing years on the tour.

Well Del Potro cannot afford to get another injury that is for certain,I read Murray is happy to start back on clay,though at present he cannot see RG being played.I think Murray showed after his break when he came back on won a title,though at times his mental ability can be lapsed.
Getting back to 'that match' in the 5th set Rafa was up a double break and then? my husband walked out and said he deserved to lose,I just hung my head in disbelief.

 

[Moxie]

Well Del Potro cannot afford to get another injury that is for certain,I read Murray is happy to start back on clay,though at present he cannot see RG being played.I think Murray showed after his break when he came back on won a title,though at times his mental ability can be lapsed.
Getting back to 'that match' in the 5th set Rafa was up a double break and then? my husband walked out and said he deserved to lose,I just hung my head in disbelief.

Only saying that the likes of del Potro, Murray, and say, Kokkinakis, can benefit from the lay-off.

As to the USO final, Rafa missed multiple chances...MANY multiples of chances to close that match before getting it done. Yes, it was a frustrating match for a Nadal fan. But in the revisit, I was able to appreciate how well Medvedev played it, how he kept his cool, and how he won back the crowd that was fully against him a couple of matches before. He was kind of learning on the job, in the same way that I thought del Potro was in his final v. Roger in 2009. I know a lot of Fed fans feel that Roger blew that match, and sure, I'd have felt that Rafa had blown this one if he'd lost. (Though a 2 sets lead is different than splitting the first two sets.) Anyway, both matches were a big leap for the younger player. Del Potro had been leaping higher at that point, in big tournaments, so it was more understandable that he got the win. Medvedev was creeping higher at 500s, then 1000s, but the finals of a Major was too much of a jump. Still, they're similar trajectories over a really good summer. I'm so interested to see how Dany comes back, after the quarantine.