Wimbledon 2014 final: Federer vs Djokovic

[DarthFed]

Ok I am still not done sulking...fifth set is what troubling me.. after great 4th set.. it seemd like Roger left all his fight behind.. and that last game was a throwaway...

Roger in the 5th set has been bothering me for years but I'm guessing most here already know that :snigger

That's why my optimism was still not through the roof after the 4th set. I still had the feeling he would come up lame in the final frame again. Sadly that was the case. Roger used to eat up the momentum and cut through the opposition like butter when he was feeling it. Now there is definitely no such thing as momentum for him heading into a 5th. 2-2 at Wimbledon, 0-3 at USO and 0-3 at AO in 5 setters in semis and finals. Ironically he is 1-0 at RG and it was the biggest of them all as it helped secure the career slam.

 

[Fiero425]

^ What crack are you smoking. Nole had like 25 UE's in 5 long sets (granted that is Wimbledon scoring). Even Roger played relatively clean, his problem is he wasn't playing aggressive enough, particularly on the forehand wing.

Roger should feel great about nothing. In the end he got a dinner plate and some nice cash. The former was never good enough for him and he doesn't need anymore of the latter.

You're obviously having vision and interpretive problems! Absolute sitters were missed into the net again and again! His backhand down the line was almost non-existent! I've watched him destroy Nadal, Federer, and Murray; even on clay and expected more from him! Sorry if you can't see that! :nono uzzled :angel:

 

[DarthFed]

How many sitters were missed time and time again? I remember about 3-4 really awful misses from each player yesterday. That's going to happen when there are almost 400 points in the match. Nole hit plenty backhands down the line but he is obviously not going to mind cross court backhand exchanges with Roger.

Nole called it the best GS final he's ever played and it's hard to argue with him. He won a match on grass where Roger had one of the best serving performances of his career. That's not going to be easy.

 

[Fiero425]

How many sitters were missed time and time again? I remember about 3-4 really awful misses from each player yesterday. That's going to happen when there are almost 400 points in the match. Nole hit plenty backhands down the line but he is obviously not going to mind cross court backhand exchanges with Roger.

Nole called it the best GS final he's ever played and it's hard to argue with him. He won a match on grass where Roger had one of the best serving performances of his career. That's not going to be easy.

Maybe I'm just spoiled by perfection in past finals! Borg played Connors in a 5 set marathon in '77, but only had 5 forehand errors and returned all but 2 of his serves! He did that with choppy, slick grass and a wood racket strung as tight as a pane of glass! That's hard to match I guess! I want more, I want more, I want more out of the top players! :snigger :clap :angel:

 

[tented]

We should remember that greatness is only achieved in winning. Aside from dying on court there is nothing worse than losing.

I was convinced you would have considered dying a form of quitting.

 

[Moxie]

Maybe I'm just spoiled by perfection in past finals! Borg played Connors in a 5 set marathon in '77, but only had 5 forehand errors and returned all but 2 of his serves! He did that with choppy, slick grass and a wood racket strung as tight as a pane of glass! That's hard to match I guess! I want more, I want more, I want more out of the top players! :snigger :clap :angel:

You ARE spoiled. The Borg v. Connors match also included a 6-1 set won by Borg. Is error-free tennis the only goal? Often errors are "forced" because the playing from both sides is of a high-quality.

 

[Kieran]

I remember the Borg-Connors match, Bjorn was 4-0 up in the fifth and the raging bull brought it back to 4-4 - then dropped a calf. The grindin', fightin' Connors found it easy to be tough when he was cornered, but soon as he had a chance to win, his bottom dropped.

It was a great match, though, and Borg won a great five setter a couple of days before, 8-6 in the fifth against Gerulaitas....

 

[DarthFed]

We should remember that greatness is only achieved in winning. Aside from dying on court there is nothing worse than losing.

I was convinced you would have considered this a form of quitting.

I'm not following, my excuse is it's Monday

Roger didn't quit and I think he handled the pressure great and he was under lots of it throughout. But l I think the 5th set was there for the taking at the beginning but he didn't do much of anything to put pressure on Nole when he had to be feeling it after dropping the 4th set. It's not like this was like the AO 2009 5th set but it was still one that should have been better played. Kieran put it well yesterday that it almost seemed like Roger looked at the 5th set as a clean slate when he should have smelled blood after winning 5 games on the trot.

 

[Kieran]

I agree with you here, Darth, because the momentum was all Federer at the end of the fourth. In fact, at one stage in the late fourth set, I remember commenting that Nole is close to winning the match right HERE - and so is Roger! It could have swung that swiftly - and decisively - and I wouldn't have been shocked had Roger taken an early lead in the fifth.

But after the fourth, they both took long toilet breaks, and then Nole had an MTO after the 3rd game of the fifth set, I think - but by then he'd served twice, almost casually, and Roger's momentum was nowhere to be seen.

It was a mystery to me as well...

 

[tented]

We should remember that greatness is only achieved in winning. Aside from dying on court there is nothing worse than losing.

I was convinced you would have considered this a form of quitting.

I'm not following, my excuse is it's Monday

[I was making a joke that dying on court = quitting. It had nothing to do with yesterday's final.]

 

[Moxie]

Not to be rude, but where is Front on the MTO from Djokovic to get his calf massaged in the 5th set? (Just keepin' it real, Front.)

 

[Kieran]

Or Roger's two toilet breaks, just after he lost the second and fourth sets?

Or Roger being interviewed on BBC before the match, and saying how his back fecked up his 2013. Tut tut, excuses, excuses.

I reckon Front is a consistent fellow and he disapproves of all these things...

 

[britbox]

Or Roger's two toilet breaks, just after he lost the second and fourth sets?

Or Roger being interviewed on BBC before the match, and saying how his back fecked up his 2013. Tut tut, excuses, excuses.

I reckon Front is a consistent fellow and he disapproves of all these things...

Roger won the fourth set.

 

[Kieran]

Good point. :laydownlaughing

So the second set, and the rest of it!

 

[rafanoy1992]

Or Roger's two toilet breaks, just after he lost the second and fourth sets?

Or Roger being interviewed on BBC before the match, and saying how his back fecked up his 2013. Tut tut, excuses, excuses.

I reckon Front is a consistent fellow and he disapproves of all these things...

Unfortunately, Nadal is proabably the only tennis player who is not allowed to use MTO...

:laydownlaughing

 

[DarthFed]

^ Oh, we know all too well Rafa is allowed to use it. The better question is whether anyone else would be allowed to go right before his opponent served for the match or whether anyone else would be classless enough to try it?

In Nole's defense it did look like he was shaken up there. If that was an act then he did a good job in selling it. I do think it was timely even though he was up 2-1 in the 5th.

 

[Fiero425]

Or Roger's two toilet breaks, just after he lost the second and fourth sets?

Or Roger being interviewed on BBC before the match, and saying how his back fecked up his 2013. Tut tut, excuses, excuses.

I reckon Front is a consistent fellow and he disapproves of all these things...

Unfortunately, Nadal is proabably the only tennis player who is not allowed to use MTO...

:laydownlaughing

It hurt his own credibility years ago; doesn't get the benefit of the doubt "running game" on the system and his opponent when losing a match to some "also-ran!" He's offended me more than Ilie Nastase in the bad old days! At least you could say he was just being crazy; these are rational acts that have changed the momentum of matches he probably should have lost! Take your beating like a man and just be better the next time I always say! :nono :clap :angel:

 

[Fiero425]

^ Oh, we know all too well Rafa is allowed to use it. The better question is whether anyone else would be allowed to go right before his opponent served for the match or whether anyone else would be classless enough to try it?

In Nole's defense it did look like he was shaken up there. If that was an act then he did a good job in selling it. I do think it was timely even though he was up 2-1 in the 5th.

What was that all about with Federer; changing rackets after the break and making Nole wait? It may not have been "bush," but it truly was strange! uzzled :nono :angel:

 

[Moxie]

^ Oh, we know all too well Rafa is allowed to use it. The better question is whether anyone else would be allowed to go right before his opponent served for the match or whether anyone else would be classless enough to try it?

In Nole's defense it did look like he was shaken up there. If that was an act then he did a good job in selling it. I do think it was timely even though he was up 2-1 in the 5th.

What was that all about with Federer; changing rackets after the break and making Nole wait? It may not have been "bush," but it truly was strange! uzzled :nono :angel:

So which is it? Nadal the only offender, or maybe a little gamesmanship from Roger? Surely, none from Djokovic…even with a tender massage on the thigh. :dodgy:

 

[Fiero425]

^ Oh, we know all too well Rafa is allowed to use it. The better question is whether anyone else would be allowed to go right before his opponent served for the match or whether anyone else would be classless enough to try it?

In Nole's defense it did look like he was shaken up there. If that was an act then he did a good job in selling it. I do think it was timely even though he was up 2-1 in the 5th.

What was that all about with Federer; changing rackets after the break and making Nole wait? It may not have been "bush," but it truly was strange! uzzled :nono :angel:

So which is it? Nadal the only offender, or maybe a little gamesmanship from Roger? Surely, none from Djokovic…even with a tender massage on the thigh. :dodgy:

What do you want me to say? Ok, they all do it! HAPPY??? This goes back to the 90's with the women calling out a trainer at strategic times! I quite remember at Hilton Head on clay, Gabriella Sabatini took an "attire break" twice; each time when Graf was serving for the set and was broken subsequently! Gabby won in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 when Steffi was up a break in each set! It happens and works at times!