Roland Garros 2018, Paris, France, ATP GRAND SLAM

[brokenshoelace]

Been saying all year that people are overreacting to every Novak loss. He has a GREAT chance to be in the semis, and a very good chance to be in the final honestly. It won't be easy against Thiem/Zverev, but he's the favorite in my book.

 

[Carol]

Same like the 2017 final.

Come on, not even half brilliant than 2009

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Current odds:

Rafa 4/11 (73%)
Novak 10
Thiem 12
Sasha 14
JMDP 37

Novak was at #4 before the opening day and is at No #2 now.

 

[DarthFed]

Darth,,Denis doesn’t realize that you truly do not have Novak’s best interests at heart, your hidden agenda is that Djoker is the one real true threat besides Thiem or to a lesser degree Sasha to ambush Rafa from winning unidecima. As you know..the same holds true at Wimbledon, most Rafa’s fans want Novak in Roger’s half of the draw.. You said that you welcome the challenge, an inform Djoker will cause Roger some sleepless nights.:sleep:

The opposite my man, a Novak that returns to his best just buries Rafa and we know this. The Nole we've seen since mid-2016 isn't a threat to Rafa here or Roger at Wimbledon. I do welcome the match as it should be an easy payback much like Nole picked on Roger the past 6-7 years when the latter lost his level.

I'm just being realistic, Nole has been way way way off the pace for over 1.5 years now. Maybe he gets it back but I will believe it when I see it

 

[DarthFed]

Come on, not even half brilliant than 2009

Way more brilliant, the winner was 35 and had a way tougher road than Rafa of 2009 vs weak Turdasco.

 

[Carol]

Way more brilliant, the winner was 35 and had a way tougher road than Rafa of 2009 vs weak Turdasco.

Verdasco played the match of his life in 2009, Rafa not so good in 2017

 

[Moxie]

Been saying all year that people are overreacting to every Novak loss. He has a GREAT chance to be in the semis, and a very good chance to be in the final honestly. It won't be easy against Thiem/Zverev, but he's the favorite in my book.

I don't think it's been an overreaction on the part of most to say that the losses were surprising, as was his attitude in some of them. It's also been surprising to most that it's taken so long. But I think most folks believed he'd find his way back to good form. I'd pick him for the final, now, too. (Just bums me out I didn't pick him in my draw challenge to go that far. But who knew?)

 

[Moxie]

Way more brilliant, the winner was 35 and had a way tougher road than Rafa of 2009 vs weak Turdasco.

That's just plain wrong to say that about Verdasco in that match. You're just mad Fernando didn't win that SF.

 

[Federberg]

While I've been impressed that Sasha has finally been able to learn how to navigate slams, I suspect that Thiem is going to be a step too far for him. Sasha has finally shown me that he's ready to start going deep in the next few slams. I like the fact he's been gutting out wins, didn't think those stick legs of his would hold out for consecutive five setters, so it's a great sign.

I'm thinking a Thiem vs Novak semi. While I would prefer a Novak - Rafa final, I'm not sure Novak is ready for the level of balling Thiem will bring to a semi. So I'm picking Thiem for the final. I'm looking forward to a confrontation between Rafa and Delpo. If anyone can challenge Rafa here it just might be Delpo, he looks to be getting better and better. All in all, looks like we've got some decent matches. This is altogether a much better RG this year than last

 

[DarthFed]

Verdasco played the match of his life in 2009, Rafa not so good in 2017

Who cares if he did, that's not saying a whole lot.

 

[DarthFed]

Been saying all year that people are overreacting to every Novak loss. He has a GREAT chance to be in the semis, and a very good chance to be in the final honestly. It won't be easy against Thiem/Zverev, but he's the favorite in my book.

I don't see how it's overreacting. He's had shocking losses and hasn't even reached a final. Got blown out in straights at his best slam. He's shown a bit of life recently with some decent wins but he isn't exactly facing a tough draw until the semis. If he loses there we can say he's still far off the pace.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I don't see how it's overreacting. He's had shocking losses and hasn't even reached a final. Got blown out in straights at his best slam. He's shown a bit of life recently with some decent wins but he isn't exactly facing a tough draw until the semis. If he loses there we can say he's still far off the pace.

Every loss itself was bad, but the predictions that he's going to fade into irrelevance were over the top. I'm not ready to say Novak is back, and he may well lose in the semis. But I think he's on the right track back.

 

[the AntiPusher]

The opposite my man, a Novak that returns to his best just buries Rafa and we know this. The Nole we've seen since mid-2016 isn't a threat to Rafa here or Roger at Wimbledon. I do welcome the match as it should be an easy payback much like Nole picked on Roger the past 6-7 years when the latter lost his level.

I'm just being realistic, Nole has been way way way off the pace for over 1.5 years now. Maybe he gets it back but I will believe it when I see it

Darth..that's what i stated , a rejuvenated and informed Novak is what you want.

 

[Moxie]

Left standing from today: Djokovic will meet Cecchinato (!), Thiem v. Zverev.

Tomorrow: Nadal v Marterer
Cilic v Fognini
Schwartzman v Anderson
Isner v del Potro

Nadal has never played Marterer, who is young and lefty. No idea what kind of a mood the Fog will be in. Not sure if Schwartman will keep it going. I'd like to see del Potro win, and he seems healthy after the groin issue, but Isner is on a hot streak.

 

[Federberg]

^Delpo always seems to take care of the big guys very comfortably. Not really ever understood why. Besides I think the moment will probably be too big for Isner

 

[Moxie]

^Delpo always seems to take care of the big guys very comfortably. Not really ever understood why. Besides I think the moment will probably be too big for Isner

Maybe because he's 6'6"? No, I think he's a better returner of the serve than the other trees, generally, and rallies better. He'll break the Isner serve and get through. Probably John will take one set, in a TB. Also, I agree with your above post that he has the best chance of getting Rafa of anyone in the top half. And that this RG is more interesting than originally advertised.

 

[Moxie]

Sorry for not taking this to a PM, but @Mastoor : didn't I tell you, when the draw came out, that Verdasco might well take out Dimitrov, but not be able to make 2 matches in a row out of it? I figured Novak to take out Goffin, but who foresaw Cecchinato? That's got to be a gift. And so, while Thiem and Zverev beat each other up, Nole is very likely to have a cushy next round. I told you he had a path to the final.

 

[Mastoor]

I didn't see the match, but I watched a 15 minute highlights and my impression was that Nole lifted his game after being re-broken for 3-3 in the second set and destroyed Verdasco from that point on. I again missed to watch Cecchinato playing. Nole says he trained with him many times on both hard courts and clay. That's because he was in Piatti Academy which is somewhere between Montecarlo and Sanremo.

I don't know if I understood correctly, but they say, Nole is in the slam quarterfinal for the 40th time and only Connors and Federer made more 41 and 52 respectively.

 

[Mastoor]

Sorry for not taking this to a PM, but @Mastoor : didn't I tell you, when the draw came out, that Verdasco might well take out Dimitrov, but not be able to make 2 matches in a row out of it? I figured Novak to take out Goffin, but who foresaw Cecchinato? That's got to be a gift. And so, while Thiem and Zverev beat each other up, Nole is very likely to have a cushy next round. I told you he had a path to the final.

Moxie, you did. Luckily, the lowest remaining seed played to my expectations. Still he has to improve his overhead and dropshot. I haven't watched Cecchinato yet, but Nole is aware how good he is and won't underestimate him. I am not sure how much energy will Zverev have left to play a long match against Thiem. i think it may be a quick win for Thiem.

 

[Moxie]

Moxie, you did. Luckily, the lowest remaining seed played to my expectations. Still he has to improve his overhead and dropshot. I haven't watched Cecchinato yet, but Nole is aware how good he is and won't underestimate him. I am not sure how much energy will Zverev have left to play a long match against Thiem. i think it may be a quick win for Thiem.

Novak's overhead and drop shots have been a problem for years. I don't see how they're going to improve. They're hit-and-miss. When his drop shots hit, especially cross-court at the net, they're stunning. His overheads can be an embarrassment. It's not even about confidence...even at his best he can duff those on more than a few occasions.

Personally, I think Thiem v Zverev will be a fight. Both are playing for position as guys who are supposed to take the next step. I think Zverev is the more talented. Thiem the sturdier, and rather more rested. And better clay courter. Zverev will be looking to get it done quickly, with his big serve. If he can keep Dominic on his back foot for the first couple of sets, he might do it. If it goes 5, Thiem.