World Tour Finals: Day 8 - Final - Sunday Nov. 16, Order of Play

[Kieran]

Novak went to 3 against Nishi Darth: Federer hammered Nishi in straights. That's how it goes. maybe Stan woulda dragged Novak to a third set tiebreak as well.

But as I said above, WTF is an asterisk if it isn't a little symbol that means there's explanatory info down below? This match is one that would have one of them little thingies...

 

[Kieran]

I completely agree DF. Nole won the tournament. End of story. Anyone adding an asterisk is trying to make the win less than it is


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It is less than it is - it's one match less because he didn't have to play a final. The asterisk will explain all at the bottom of the page!

 

[DarthFed]

Novak went to 3 against Nishi Darth: Federer hammered Nishi in straights. That's how it goes. maybe Stan woulda dragged Novak to a third set tiebreak as well.

But as I said above, WTF is an asterisk if it isn't a little symbol that means there's explanatory info down below? This match is one that would have one of them little thingies...

He went to 3 against Nishi but it amounted to being a brief hiccup surrounded by a breadstick and a bagel. That match probably wasn't 1.5 hours. The fatigue/injury excuses have always been weak, usually there is a reason these guys get tired/injured and it is often down to playing too much tennis (someone scheduling poor), maybe too physical tennis (playing style), or just playing an extremely long and draining match (Roger in the semis).

This match that didn't take place would have an asterisk explaining that no match was played and why that was the case. But does the tournament victory on the whole have an asterisk? No. Nole won the title and is the deserving champion. I'm pretty sure all of the top 3 have received walkovers during grandslams that they've won, they just haven't happened to be the finals. I hope we aren't putting asterisks on those titles either...Would there still be this asterisk if Roger showed up and hobbled around for 3 games and then quit? Now, would Nole have felt better destroying an injured Federer, yes, but the fact he didn't have to doesn't give his tournament win an asterisk.

 

[tented]

Now, would Nole have felt better destroying an injured Federer, yes, but the fact he didn't have to doesn't give his tournament win an asterisk.

Sure it does -- and you just gave it one, too.

This is quite simple. In the very pure sense of the word, something "extraordinary" happened. A first in the 45-year history of the event, it was so extraordinary. The final wasn't played. There was no scoreline to record in the record books, therefore an asterisk (to use that word both figuratively and literally) is required to explain why in this one instance there is no final score entered.

Additionally, this is not a moral judgement against Djokovic. This was beyond his control. Not a choice. It's like the standard things people say about winning any tournament: you can only play the people across the net; you don't get to pick and choose your draw. Well, Novak didn't choose not to play a final, either. It's simply what happened, however extraordinary.

 

[Billie]

I am looking forward to the discussions down the road about how Federer could have won this if his back hadn't given out and how Nole didn't really play that well here.:snigger

Most of the articles online are about Roger and his buddy Stan, never mind the winner.:nono

But most of all I am upset because I was so pumped up to see Nole win only to feel so deflated after the news about the withdrawal. As a winner of 1000 sportsmanship awards, Roger could have stayed at the ceremony to honor Nole, but maybe his back was hurting him so much that it was out of the question.

 

[nehmeth]

As a winner sportsmanship awards, Roger could have stayed at the ceremony to honor Nole, but maybe his back was hurting him so much that it was out of the question.

This is something I thought about as well. If he could go out there and speak to the audience, he could have been there for the ceremony too.

 

[Kieran]

This match that didn't take place would have an asterisk explaining that no match was played and why that was the case. But does the tournament victory on the whole have an asterisk? No. Nole won the title and is the deserving champion.

Novak didn't "win the title" - he was given the title because his opponent withdrew from the match. That's what the asterisk is for - you see an asterisk anywhere, you know there's more info at the bottom of the page. If Roger played 3 games and retired, the score would show that he retired.

I agree with Billie too - Federer should have stayed for the trophy giving. Murray gave up his day to play for free, it wouldn't have killed Roger to sit through this. I took it for granted that he had...

 

[Billie]

Nole could have had another indoor win to add to his streak, which is impressive enough, but still. He would have evened this years' H2H stat and reduce overall H2H, but I guess Nole will have to wait for this some more.

This was not just one of the matches, it was lauded as one the matches of the season, #1 vs #2 in the final showdown.

 

[DarthFed]

You people would complain if Roger wasn't holding the microphone to interview Nole. Roger basically gave his apology and runner-up speech when he went on the court.

And let's not complain about him wussing out of a match when we are talking about Djokovic and Nadal fans here. The combined withdrawals, (fake) medical timeouts (ie 5th set Wimbledon this year) and quitting during matches would be an astronomic number.

 

[Kieran]

Come on buddy, would it have killed him to stick about for the trophy giving? I'm sure he got his gigantic runner up wad of cash, would it have hurt him more to wave it about a little?

When injuries get bad enough for these men, they can't play. So he didn't wuss out, he was injured.*













* This asterisk indicates that there's a juicy bit of goss relating to this match. Use google to find out, we're over it already...

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Last man standing won the tournament ,deservedly so *














* Nole.

 

[DarthFed]

Come on buddy, would it have killed him to stick about for the trophy giving? I'm sure he got his gigantic runner up wad of cash, would it have hurt him more to wave it about a little?

When injuries get bad enough for these men, they can't play. So he didn't wuss out, he was injured.*













* This asterisk indicates that there's a juicy bit of goss relating to this match. Use google to find out, we're over it already...

Who knows, maybe he thought it'd be inappropriate given that no match was played. If everyone thought it was such a bad thing the tournament director probably would've asked him to stay on court to cheer on Djokovic...

 

[nehmeth]

Come on buddy, would it have killed him to stick about for the trophy giving? I'm sure he got his gigantic runner up wad of cash, would it have hurt him more to wave it about a little?

Who knows, maybe he thought it'd be inappropriate given that no match was played. If everyone thought it was such a bad thing the tournament director probably would've asked him to stay on court to cheer on Djokovic...

Maybe the tournament director was concerned Fed, in another narcissistic outburst, would start bawling like a baby on the platform (Oz 09') and steal the moment from the winner (*). :snigger

 

[Mile]

I suppose comitee which awarded Fed prize for fair play made rethink about nominating...

 

[Federberg]

And if he'd attended the trophy presentation, I'm sure some people on these boards would have said he might as well have played if he was there. You can't win.. lol!

 

[DarthFed]

^ Nail meets head. They were going to complain about something.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I swear tennis fans make a big deal out of the smallest issues. Federer apologized to the crowd and his opponent. That's all that was needed. I'm sure the man was super disappointed not to be able to play. No need to make him sit through a ridiculous ceremony after a match he didn't even participate in.

 

[nehmeth]

I swear tennis fans make a big deal out of the smallest issues. Federer apologized to the crowd and his opponent. That's all that was needed. I'm sure the man was super disappointed not to be able to play. No need to make him sit through a ridiculous ceremony after a match he didn't even participate in.

Yeah, he was really disappointed, especially since he was unable to play at Novak's level (his words). He saved himself another loss and I don't think he was too sorry about that.


(a little razzing of the old guy here B.S., nothing too serious)

 

[Kieran]

Come on buddy, would it have killed him to stick about for the trophy giving? I'm sure he got his gigantic runner up wad of cash, would it have hurt him more to wave it about a little?

Who knows, maybe he thought it'd be inappropriate given that no match was played. If everyone thought it was such a bad thing the tournament director probably would've asked him to stay on court to cheer on Djokovic...

Maybe the tournament director was concerned Fed, in another narcissistic outburst, would start bawling like a baby on the platform (Oz 09') and steal the moment from the winner (*). :snigger

A single tear, brother, rolling down his lustrous cheek, that's all it woulda taken to get him a humanitarian award. The Dalai Lama Award for Empathy with Elephants, or something.

One fricking tear! Is it too much to ask for? cry

 

[brokenshoelace]

I swear tennis fans make a big deal out of the smallest issues. Federer apologized to the crowd and his opponent. That's all that was needed. I'm sure the man was super disappointed not to be able to play. No need to make him sit through a ridiculous ceremony after a match he didn't even participate in.

Yeah, he was really disappointed, especially since he was unable to play at Novak's level (his words). He saved himself another loss and I don't think he was too sorry about that.


(a little razzing of the old guy here B.S., nothing too serious)

I mean, I'm sure ego wise, he probably feels better about not losing on court, but surely he would have preferred being healthy and actually competing? I'm pretty sure he'd be feeling somewhat confident following the spanking in Shanghai. I still don't think he would have won, but I don't think Roger would have been telling himself that.