Even in withdrawing from the Masters Tourney, Fed is the leader. He did it first and Nadovic simply followed.
Fed'll also be the 1st to retire and make the HOF! What else you got? Age has it privileges and detriments; more a detriment now with Fed!
In the same mailbag, Wertheim says he believes that Novak will win the USOpen. He tells the rest of us that we have PTSD for bringing up Vinci d. S. Williams so often to him. He insists that Djokovic's situation is different for a number of reasons. He cited the Bo5, which you have mentioned several times, (and I agree with that. Which is one reason I think women should play Bo5 at Majors, but that's for another day/thread.) He also said that Novak doesn't have to play his own brother, and that we don't take into account the emotional toll there. I think that is an oddball point, since Serena has won plenty of Majors beating Venus, whether in the finals, or along the way. Sure, another pressure in a pressure-filled USO for her that year, but I don't think that salient of a point, as a comparison. And then he said that Novak is not playing his home Slam, as Serena was. All due respect to JW, whom I like and respect, I think that is a completely bogus point. If anything, home court support is a benefit, not a disadvantage. But that's not even really my point. It's a Major, and the pressure to win is great there, any year, for elite players. If Serena had been a first time Major contender at the USO, you might cite the pressure of winning for US tennis. But she'd already won the Open 6 times before 2015.
...and you have another section of hatahs that wishes Nole will be so nervous, he'll blow this CYGS chance as Serena did back in 2015! Sure, there's plenty of pressure, but when isn't there when it comes to playing a major? Nole hasn't played a final since winning in 2018, and he's had an appropriate number of years between finals, so he's due!
Well, that's one way of looking at it...he's due. I'm sorry, but it's not haters that are saying that there will be pressure. There will be pressure. And he's not the best at dealing with it....and you have another section of hatahs that wishes Nole will be so nervous, he'll blow this CYGS chance as Serena did back in 2015! Sure, there's plenty of pressure, but when isn't there when it comes to playing a major? Nole hasn't played a final since winning in 2018, and he's had an appropriate number of years between finals, so he's due!
Medvedev's a lot more dangerous regardless if Rafa stayed or not! That guy can be "scary" good at times; then others he'll crash & burn early!
Medvedev is now my No. 1 hope to win the US Open.Medvedev's a lot more dangerous regardless if Rafa stayed or not! That guy can be "scary" good at times; then others he'll crash & burn early!
Whomever becomes No. 1 deserves it. Rankings are objectively based on numbers. It’s not a judged sport.That's the shameful part of this thing we call an ATP race! Djokovic has lost a couple YE #1's on the last day of the season holding multiple majors! In 2016 he owned 2 completing his Nole-Slam, and was in the finals of a 3rd and the YEC finishing #2 behind Murray! Medvedev is still in the running this year with Nole's 3 majors setting himself up for immortality! It would be ridiculous if this were to happen again!
Again, it’s all about math. My theoretically having a problem with Medvedev becoming No. 1 would be a judgement call, and it’s not a judged sport.So you'll have no problem if Med snatches #1 at the end of the season regardless of what Djokovic has accomplished this season?
At the USO in 2019, the commentators were speculating that, with Roger and Novak out, and Nadal facing a newbie finalist in Medvedev, that he seemed clearly to feel the pressure that the opportunity created. Because he would have known that such opportunities become much rarer. And he was uncharacteristically tight in that final. And that was "just" for one more Major. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and Novak will know that. There's a lot of pressure on him, in any case, and who knows if it feels easier, the task, or more pressure, without Rafa (and Roger) in there.
