What Does Novak's AO Victory Imply for the Rest of his 2015?

[auto-pilot]

You can't expect Nadal to be making regular masters finals (he's already been doing that for a decade, while Djokovic wasn't even winning slams for half that time).
Nadal and Djokovic have met in THREE slam finals in the last 2 years.
And would have been FOUR slam finals in the last 2 years if Djokovic made the 2014 AO final.

 

[Billie]

Nole plays every slam and goes deep in all of them. How is that avoiding anybody??uzzled

If he'd played less of them, maybe he would have been stronger and fresher and might have done better in some of them, that's what I am thinking.

 

[auto-pilot]

When I said "as long as Djokovic avoids Nadal, the sky is the limit" I was implying that if Nadal wasn't in the RG final or USO final then Djokovic has a much better chance of winning those (even though Nishikori beat Djokovic at the USO).
I don't mean Djokovic is trying not to play Nadal, I'm just saying that Nadal is the difference between "the sky being the limit" for Djokovic and not.
Nadal stands between Djokovic and the sky.
And the sky won't always be available, because Nishikori is on the way (and maybe Raonic/Dimitrov but I doubt it).

 

[lacatch]

Billie--I agree that auto-pilot has it reversed, and is apparently relying on the "old Nadal". The jury's still out on how he'll come back, and yes I know what he's done in the past but he's going on 29. At this point, I'd be more worried about Nole meeting Roger, who can give Nole a run for his money on fast courts.

 

[auto-pilot]

^ Nadal moved awesomely in 3 of his 5 AO matches, so clearly the 2 matches he played poorly in was a case of exactly what Nadal told the media - that he hadn't played enough recently, and therefore wasn't ready for the AO.

I can excuse the jury for doubting Nadal in early 2013 (because his knees were a major problem at the time), but if you doubt Nadal right now then you don't understand tennis, and you'll be found out at the French Open as usual.

Yes he's almost 29, but I hear his age mentioned every year, and that would be relevant if he was Michael Chang or Courier or Hewitt.......but he's the only player ever to win slams for 10 years in a row (the next best is Federer with 8), so we aren't dealing with a regular human being here.

I remember back in 2009 people were saying he'd be retired soon, or that he'd retire by age 26.
Its gotten to the point where we can make a film about Nadal and it'll be a comedy as he continues to make a mockery of the tennis community's predictions :laydownlaughing

 

[brokenshoelace]

^ Nadal moved awesomely in 3 of his 5 AO matches

No he didn't.

 

[Riotbeard]

Couldn't resist lol. Actually the commentators on ESPN chatted quite a bit about the rest of the slams, and Darren Cahill in particular thinks Novak is going to win 3 this year, similar to his 2011. Federer can still bring it (Wimbledon 2014) and Nadal's recovery is still a question mark, Murray can't really trouble him in 5 sets, and the young guns are almost but not yet quite ready for prime time. So a good window for Novak !

As long as Djokovic avoids Nadal, the sky is the limit.

I actually think Nole should track down nadal and beat him everywhere before he's ready, play the South American clay swing and beat up on nadal. Show up at practice sessions and beat him.

Ok so exaggerating a little bit, but I would say Novak should wanna play nadal as soon as possible (not really south america though) and mop the floor with him and set up camp in Rafa's head.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

The field are lame. Still. Which means the Big Boys can play their way in. Rafa returns after more or less seven months off and reaches the quarters in Oz. These lads can go deep and play their way in before anyone stops and asks for ID.

Very true. Reminds me of the way Kim Clijsters won USO after un-retiring. She barely had
a ranking when she won that time and she is coming back after giving birth to a child and
taking more than a couple of years off. What the heck happened to the rest of the girls
who are toiling around in the circuit day in and day out.

Shame on Anderson. He could not even take out a crippled Rafa. :cover

Tim would have taken out, if only he is not decent. :devil

 

[brokenshoelace]

Hold on, how is Nadal reaching the QF an indication of a lame field? Do you guys count a washed-up Youzhny and Dudi Sela as part of the "field"? And didn't Tim (who isn't even part of the field) give all he can handle?

When Nadal met a top 10 player, he lost. That's who people usually refer to when talking about "the field." Or were top 50's in previous eras consisting of nothing but killers?

I've said for a while that the current group of players beyond the top 4 is underwhelming, but let's not be overly harsh. Nadal's QF appearance was no indication of that, especially with the way he was crushed.

 

[Kieran]

"Underwhelming" is a kind but underwhelming way to describe them. There's been WTA records set against this underwhelming ATP field for the last decade and more.

I remember Kimmy Clijsters return but I thought she had the baby the day before the tournament and practiced the morning of her match and swept to the title on the day after they threw a baptism party for the bairn. :snicker

 

[Kieran]

I actually think Nole should track down nadal and beat him everywhere before he's ready, play the South American clay swing and beat up on nadal. Show up at practice sessions and beat him.

Ok so exaggerating a little bit, but I would say Novak should wanna play nadal as soon as possible (not really south america though) and mop the floor with him and set up camp in Rafa's head.

He tracked him down four times before the FO and dropped only one set. But by the time they got to the second Sunday in Paris...

 

[brokenshoelace]

"Underwhelming" is a kind but underwhelming way to describe them. There's been WTA records set against this underwhelming ATP field for the last decade and more.

I remember Kimmy Clijsters return but I thought she had the baby the day before the tournament and practiced the morning of her match and swept to the title on the day after they threw a baptism party for the bairn. :snicker

Just wondering, are Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray somehow excluded from the field? Because those are like...4 out of the top 10. That's almost half of it. And only last year, Wawrinka and Cilic won majors.

"Underwhelming" sounds about right because a stronger adjective, especially if you're referring to the last DECADE, is just the typical agenda. Because the last decade also had Del Potro, Soderling, Roddick, and the rest of the Fed generation. So yeah, sorry, not buying this.

Was the field weak in say, 2008 or 2009? Really? You might want to check back.

The main worry is about the future, not the present, and certainly not the past.

I also like to know how Rafa getting pushed to 5 sets by a no name and getting taken to the cleaners by Berdych is somehow an indication of a weak field, even if like I said, I do think it's kind of underwhelming at the moment.

 

[Kieran]

No, they're a very strong field. Count up their MS and GS titles and you'll see. The record is irrefutable.

As for the future, it looks better because actually guys like Cilic winning slams, and beating Nishi in the final, is a sign that good health is returning to the sport. It's becoming less predictable and more competitive. Perhaps this is natural. because Nadal keeps breaking down, and Roger is (very slowly) getting older, but it's still a good sign that - for example - Rosol at Wimbledon in 2012 took on the man who was top of the race at that point, the legendary Nadal, and felt he could beat him - right up until he did beat him. That resolve and inner conviction is something that's become more common, but it's been seldom in evidence over the last decade, even among the well-fed also rans at the top of the game...

 

[auto-pilot]

I also like to know how Rafa getting pushed to 5 sets by a no name and getting taken to the cleaners by Berdych is somehow an indication of a weak field, even if like I said, I do think it's kind of underwhelming at the moment.

Nadal almost didn't even play at this AO, because he knew he didn't have enough match practice to play even a week of best-of-5-set tennis.
The Berdych match was proof of that.
And that R2 5-setter almost killed Nadal, or at least almost made him unconscious.
As it turned out that R2 match was the most entertaining match of the entire tournament.

 

[Kirijax]

I also like to know how Rafa getting pushed to 5 sets by a no name and getting taken to the cleaners by Berdych is somehow an indication of a weak field, even if like I said, I do think it's kind of underwhelming at the moment.

Nadal almost didn't even play at this AO, because he knew he didn't have enough match practice to play even a week of best-of-5-set tennis.
The Berdych match was proof of that.
And that R2 5-setter almost killed Nadal, or at least almost made him unconscious.
As it turned out that R2 match was the most entertaining match of the entire tournament.

For Nadal fans I suppose it was. :lolz:

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I also like to know how Rafa getting pushed to 5 sets by a no name and getting taken to the cleaners by Berdych is somehow an indication of a weak field, even if like I said, I do think it's kind of underwhelming at the moment.

Nadal almost didn't even play at this AO, because he knew he didn't have enough match practice to play even a week of best-of-5-set tennis.
The Berdych match was proof of that.
And that R2 5-setter almost killed Nadal, or at least almost made him unconscious.
As it turned out that R2 match was the most entertaining match of the entire tournament.

For Nadal fans I suppose it was. :lolz:

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Nadal almost didn't even play at this AO, because he knew he didn't have enough match practice to play even a week of best-of-5-set tennis.
The Berdych match was proof of that.
And that R2 5-setter almost killed Nadal, or at least almost made him unconscious.
As it turned out that R2 match was the most entertaining match of the entire tournament.

For Nadal fans I suppose it was. :lolz:

Your not showing your 'fan boy' objective?................ lets move on shall we ?