It may be the “other” semifinal on Friday, but no one should be surprised if Novak Djokovic vs. Dominic Thiem turns out to be the better of the two matches–in terms of both quality and competitiveness.
Neither one of their first two French Open matches lived up to the hype, but it was not only Djokovic who engineered a beatdown. After the Serb cruised 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in the 2016 semifinals, Thiem returned the favor one year later by dominating 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-0 in the quarters.
Overall, Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 6-2–including 3-2 on clay. They just faced each other last month in Madrid, where the world No. 1 prevailed 7-6(2), 7-6(4) on his eventual way to the title. Thiem’s other victory came at the 2018 Monte-Carlo Masters via a 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3 decision.
Although Thiem looked vulnerable earlier this fortnight, he is now looking like a future (and maybe even present, come Sunday afternoon) champion at Roland Garros that many in the tennis world tip him to become. After scraping past Tommy Paul, Alexander Bublik, and Pablo Cuevas all in four tough sets, the fourth-ranked Austrian destroyed both Gael Monfils and Karen Khachanov without losing more than four games in any set.
“I think every match [I’ve gotten] better and better,” Thiem assessed. “(The) first two opponents were very tough because they also didn’t give (me) any rhythm and they didn’t have anything to lose. So these were two very tough matches. From the third round on, it got a lot better.”
Djokovic is perfect through five rounds, having made routine work of Hubert Hurkacz, Henri Laaksonen, Salvatore Caruso, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Alexander Zverev. The top seed and 2016 French Open winner is 13-1 in his last 14 clay-court matches, with a loss only to Rafael Nadal in the Rome final.
Thus the stage is set for a blockbuster semifinal lineup, which also includes Nadal vs. Roger Federer. Thiem may be the outsider among the four in terms of major title-winning experience, but it’s obvious from both past French Open success and current form that he is the only other player who truly belongs on semifinal Friday.
“Dominic is deservedly where he is–one of the top four guys, especially on clay,” Djokovic explained. “That’s where he’s playing his best tennis. He’s got that tremendous power in his game, especially with forehand and serve. I think (his) backhand also has improved a lot in the last couple of years.
“(It) seems like his relationship with (new coach Nicolas) Massu has helped him a lot…also mentally, I think, in big matches; seems like it has been working really well. If he continues playing this way, not just on clay but in general, I think we will probably be seeing him more often on different surfaces in the final stages of the tournament.”
Will we see Thiem in the final? We did last year, and he has been no less impressive on the slow stuff in 2019. His recent exploits are highlighted by a title in Barcelona, where he defeated Nadal 6-4, 6-4 in the semis.
Beating Djokovic at Roland Garros may be even more difficult, but it is a feat Thiem has already accomplished once. And as well as the 15-time slam winner is playing right now, he still does not appear to be at his Australian Open best.
Pick: Thiem in 5
[polldaddy poll=10337178]
WYG?
Ricky, you give me comfort! Hope your picks are right this time!
I’m way too nervous to think logically about the semis and final so no predictions from me.
Vamos Rafa!!
Djokovic in 4..minimum 3.5 hr match
Nole in 5.
Djoko is 15 times slam winner.
True, that Djoko doesn’t look impressive so far despite winning all his matches in straight sets. Sasha could’ve won the first set and then things might get more interesting; he didn’t so Djoko wasn’t really being tested. To me Struff should also test Djoko in their R4 match, too bad, Struff was really tired after his four hour five sets match against Coric in the previous round.
It’s now up to Thiem to go out there to fight it out with Djoko; unless Djoko raises his level significantly, I doubt he will beat Thiem playing at the level he played against Sasha.
I have just read about 10 weather forecasts! Honestly i think I am turning into sanju fretting away with worry. See what you have done to me sanju!
We cannot do anything Amy. Que Sera Sera..if fed does beat Rafa.. maybe tennis god’s wanted it .in few weeks neither you or me will bother about it and life will go on as normal..let Rafa worry..he is making the millions and controls proceedings on court
So what do they say..do we get good dry weather for 3 hrs from 1 to 4..
No! Only dry weather forecast is from around 6 onwards. The best in the afternoon is sun and showers, worst is constant light rain…
Ricky Nole has 15 GS’s. People forget that last year Nole wasn’t near his best at the FO. But this year Nole beat Thiem in Madrid and made the final in Rome – no shame in losing to Rafa.
To my eye, Novak is playing better tennis. His win over Sascha was just as I expected. Thiem will be a challenge – his serve can be insane – and his groundstrokes too. Very Wawa-like, imo. The problem is sustaining and executing that high level. If he can do it, the match could be over in 3 sets but I don’t think he can.
If Nole can find a way to win the first set, I think he’ll win in 3 or 4. Or losing the first set plus rain delays and interruptions – Nole may have to fight it out in 5 sets.
Correct yourself, Ricky. Nole has 15 Slams. Novak plays exactly how is enough. He routines to the 1/2. I think we will see Nole v 2.0 in the semis and final. He will win RG. Novak in 4 sets, with 3 to be tough. Match will last about 3 and a half hours. If he doesnt finish at Friday, because of weather, than the final should be on Monday. Rafa will destroy Fed. Novak will beat Rafa in 5 sets in the final.
Let us talk about final once semis are played..please..enough time for that 🙂 let Rafa handle fed tomorrow first..
Djokovic in 4
There’s no shame in having a love affair with Theim.
To my mind, only one player has ever beaten top-level Novak from the baseline in the past few years, and that is Wawrinka in 2015. Djokovic hasn’t been at his best yet, but I think he will bring it tomrorrow. To win, Thiem has to be willing to come forward when he has built an advantage in the point. He has the ability, but he has to commit to the strategy. I don’t think he will, and Djokovic will grind him down from the baseline: Thiem will hit a lot of winners but more errors. Novak in 4 sets and we will see a Novak-Fed final.
Does Djokovic need to be at his Australian Open best to beat Theim?
Djokovic was in the midst of the worst slump of his career, losing to Querrey at Wimbledon 2016, Wawrinka at the 2016 US Open, Istomin at the 2017 Austraian Open, Theim at 2017 RG, Berdych at 2017 Wimbledon and he didnt play the 2017 US Open.
That bad spell continued until RG in 2018, losing to Chung at the Australian Opan and Marco Checchinato at RG. Since then he has won Wimbledon, the US Open and The Australian Open.
Sorry, the point of that post is I’m not sure Djokovic is a similar player to what he was 2 years ago when he lost to Theim.
True that Novak hasn’t been playing his best but he really didn’t need to. By watching Sasha play today my impression is that youngsters are just not committed and not passionate enough to beat the big three! Sasha played with ‘I don’t care’ attitude and I was really disappointed with his appearance…I come to think has it been Rafa on the other side of the net he would fight more…
I also think Thiem has a chance tomorrow if he is consistent and if he doesn’t get drawn into Nole’s long rallies. But to be able to beat Nole in the semis he will have to be perfect and Nole will have to be at the same level as today! But Novak will most likely raise his level as he always does…hope the match lives up to the hype!
Rafa and Fed? Hmm…
Vamos Champ!
djokovic in 4.
Lol
Nole in 4 I hope
Djoker in five, what a matchup
Theim in 5
My head obviously says Nole, with a bullet. But heart is saying Thiem. I these scenarios, I tend to go with my head, and my head finds it hard to pick against Novak at a major when he’s won the last 3. Literally the one exception where I could talk myself into picking against Novak right now is against Rafa at this very tournament. But neither of them are in the Final yet, so no need to even think about that right now. There is absolutely no question that Thiem CAN beat Novak tomorrow (or Saturday). I just have more faith in Novak right now. Time and time again, he has shown that we cannot judge him off of previous rounds at a major. He could easily up his level 10-fold and embarrass Theim off the court. Conversely, he could lose to Thiem, albeit not as easily.
I’m going to guess Novak in 5. I’d love to see Thiem really break through at RG. In order to do that he’s going to have to beat at least one of Novak and Rafa when they are not slumping. We know now that Novak was slumping in 2017 when Thiem beat him here. That doesn’t mean, however, that Thiem shouldn’t draw confidence from that previous victory. Even if Novak wasn’t Novak as we’ve come to know him at that time, he still unquestionably felt the wrath of Thiem that day. He knows who he’s going up against. I’d love to pick with my heart right now, but I just can’t do it.
As I said before I feel like this one has potential to be an epic battle, maybe one that assists the other side of the draw (Nadal imo) a bit. The question mark is mainly Thiem as you know Novak will bring a high level at this point. He may not have looked his very best so far, but it has been similar to his AO run in that regard. He has another gear which he brought in the AO final, and he can probably bring something similar here, albeit not quite as much on clay.
Thiem has stepped it up himself in his last two matches so I’ll be disappointed if he can’t get at least one set here and make the others tight. I don’t think he fears Novak on this surface, but the experience factor may still come into it. As Wawrinka has shown though, it is possible to hit through Novak on clay despite his amazing defence. I think Thiem can do that, and maybe get the better of Djokovic if he can make it an endurance battle and take it all the way.
Thiem in 5.
Well, if Djoko were to bring his best for the SF, I’m afraid he would’ve nothing left for the final should he get there.
AO is AO, he’s not doing poorly in the early rounds there either, and in the final he came out all guns blazing. Don’t forget, he faced a Rafa who’s not yet match tough, ie, Rafa played only seven matches, didn’t even have a proper warm up event before that.
Thiem by now is very match fit and match ready; TBH, I fear Rafa vs Thiem in the final this time, because 1) Thiem really improves a lot over last year, 2) Rafa isn’t as formidable as his 2018 self (and I’m not even comparing him to his 2017); 3) Massu, Thiem’s coach seems to be so confident about Thiem and his level of play, as if he has already devised a game plan for Thiem to beat Rafa here.
I do think that this time Thiem is ready fo beat Djoko; he’s playing something like a Stan – power baseline game – plus, he’s willing to move to the net to take the ball early and attack from there. I feel that’s how he beat Rafa at Barcelona, taking away time from Rafa.
I say, Thiem in four or five sets.
It’s all rain n cloudy for Rafa Vs fed .how do you think it will affect the match lucky. No trace of sun at all
Sanju, you worry about the weather a lot! Do you think Rafa will be at a disadvantage with rainy/wet weather? It will affect him, of course, but also Fed. I just don’t see either player with a clear advantage.
Joe’s right, the weather will affect both guys, not only Rafa.
I am expecting a Djokovic beatdown of Thiem in 3 with a breadstick in the final set.
Tight first and then a crumble.
Why would Thiem crumble? Thiem is no Sasha, he’s so full of confidence now, if anything, it may be Thiem making Djoko runs out of idea!
Yeah, but this is Prime Djokovic. He slaughtered Rafa at the Aus Open when everyone thought Rafa was at his best in terms of Hard Court performance.
Thiem has to be on song like in Barcelona against Rafa to have any chance of even getting a set against this Djokovic.
I agree he is mentally stronger than Sasha but skill wise he is no match for Novak today.
Excuse me, AO was how many months ago? Did you see how he play at IW/Miami? If anything he’s being slaughtered there by his opponents.
This is clay, not the HC of AO! He want to slaughter Thiem? Well it may take the whole afternoon or evening for him to do that! He may end up being slaughtered if he’s not careful!
You are conveniently forgetting that Rafa gave Djokovic a nice packed lunch in Rome of a bagel and a breadstick.
Imo, Thiem is another Stan in the making, and I feel he may be better than Stan one day, ie he may win a slam at a younger age than Stan, and may win a few.
If Thiem can at least beat one of Djoko/Rafa here, that will prove to me he’s ready to take the next leap, that of winning a slam. If Thiem can rein in some of his ‘reckless’ go for broke tennis and add in more precision to his shots, he may be a better player than Stan at his best, as he has some good net approaches and volleying, and is willing to move forward instead of staying at the baseline all the time.
I think his new coach Massu has made the difference in his game – makes him venture to the net more often, hence he’s not that one dimensional anymore.
Massu says he wants to make and see Thiem become no.1 player, well, after the big three have past their slam winning days, perhaps that may come true. I think Thiem has the time, the game and the power to outhit or outgrind guys like Sasha, Tsitsipas or Shapo, before they fulfil their potential in future, to become formidable players and formidable opponents to anyone.
You’re right that Thiem has a good net game, and he has to be willing to use it more. That will be the key for him to be able to upset Novak, imo. However, like Fed in the other SF, he has to be willing to stick with that plan even when he’s getting passed, like he will.
Luckystar JUNE 7, 2019 AT 5:17 AM
“Imo, Thiem is another Stan in the making, and I feel he may be better than Stan one day, ie he may win a slam at a younger age than Stan, and may win a few.
If Thiem can at least beat one of Djoko/Rafa here, that will prove to me he’s ready to take the next leap, that of winning a slam. If Thiem can rein in some of his ‘reckless’ go for broke tennis and add in more precision to his shots, he may be a better player than Stan at his best, as he has some good net approaches and volleying, and is willing to move forward instead of staying at the baseline all the time.”
Be careful what you wish for. If Thiem beats Rafa here he will be the champion it won’t just be the next leap……
Thiem goes for broke because he doesn’t have many layers to his game and it will take him a while to change what he does atm, if ever.
Nadline, obviously you’ve not watched Thiem’s every match. Thiem doesn’t go for broke always, that Thiem was the 2018 version. Thiem hardly go for broke to beat Rafa at Barcelona and won the title there. He didn’t go for broke to beat Fed at Madrid and Djoko barely edged him in two TBs to beat him; Thiem hardly needed to go for broke facing the three of them!
Also, what did I wish for? Thiem to beat Rafa?
Rafa has explained that he was working his way to being match-fit, mentally, after being sidelined from IW with a knee injury again, at the start of his clay season. Have you read the interview Moya gave about how down Rafa’s spirit was and how his team had to work on him to encourage to even play those tournaments because he felt so frustrated with his start/ stop career due to injury? Thiem beatin ‘that Rafa’ is no measure of what Thiem can do.
You cannot judge Rafa on his losses this year in MC through to Madrid because of what he was going through. Maybe you haven’t seen his post-match press conferences on clay this year.
I read everything.
I’m not measuring Thiem to the Rafa of MC or Barcelona. I’m looking at how Thiem plays, especially when facing the big three. I’m watched Rafa’s matches here at RG, as I’ve mentioned, his level is still below his 2018 level, whilst Thiem is playing better than his own 2018 level; plus Thiem is now more willing to take the ball early and coming forward to the net more often.
Unless Rafa could hit his FH with depth and plenty of topspin to give Thiem problem at his BH corner, Rafa will also have a hard time beating this Thiem, because as shown at Barcelona, once Rafa didn’t hit with depth, Thiem had all the time to move his legs to take the ball with his own FH CC and so neutralised Rafa’s topspin FH effect on Thiem’s SHBH.
I don’t want to measure Rafa and Thiem against each other because I’m not a tennis expert. All I can look at is the fact that Thiem has had to work harder to get to the SF. He even had to beat a WC in 4 sets in the first round. Having won Barcelona, he lost in the first round in Rome to Verdasco.
Let’s see if they both make it to the final.
Luckystar JUNE 7, 2019 AT 5:17 AM
“Massu says he wants to make and see Thiem become no.1 player, well, after the big three have past their slam winning days, perhaps that may come true.”
Which coach doesn’t want to see their player become #1?
Nadline, many coaches, those of players who realistically don’t have any chances!
Yes, but if you are coaching a player in the top 10 any coach would aspire to taking them to #1 but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will all be good enough to achieve it.
Speaking of the weather conditions, it is not ideal for Rafa as sunny conditions work best for him. The heavier conditions will also give him some benefits like more time on the return and defend in baseline rallies.
Rafa WILL go bigger on his second serves and not allow Roger to take charge on the return like he did during 2017. Fed will do his best to do so and he’ll also try using a penetrative backhand CC.
All these years, Rafa’s go-to ‘reset’ shot against Roger has a to hit a high forehand to Roger’s backhand as the Swiss was never quite able to punish those balls DTL like others like Djokovic or Murray (and now Thiem) can. In 2017 ,Roger was able to do that better so Rafa has to get rid of that ‘bad habit’ against Roger. I can’t blame him because that pattern was engraved in his tennis brain when taking to the court against Roger.
Rafa was able to overcome 7 straight losses to Novak and turn the tables against him. You can beat him over a period but in the long-term he is almost always able to find the answers. I think he’ll be wary of the threat Roger’s game poses and I hope he won’t be caught off guard at all. He’ll serve better and employ more variation and make it tougher for Roger to implement his game and the surface of course helps Rafa.
Rafa’s backhand been on fire and that will really help. If he keeps the errors a bit more in control on the forehand side, he will be in a commanding position more often than not.
Lastly, even though I always say Fed’s faith in his attacking game is amazing and his self-belief is very high. I am still unsure how much he actually believes that he can take Rafa down at RG given their history and Roger’s lack of tough match wins on clay over the last few years.
Long live Fedal and good luck to both these INCREDIBLE champions.
Vamos Rafa!
I think Djoko is marginally favourite here just because of his mentality. Thiem is an incredible clay court player and he has the game to topple anyone here (except for a red-hot Rafa).
This match could go the distance and become one of those classics.
Good to see you here vr!
Feeling nervous!
Nervy start by Rafa too but thankfully he gets the game
So damn windy!
One streak of not facing break points is broken. Next is actually breaking
Another streak of not breaking is broken. Next streak is breaking the set loss
Which thread are we on!?
3-0 rafa!!!☺☺
One service game roger did not get into
Let’s stay on this thread now!
Rafa is going to the backhand way too much! Fed knows what to expect!
Now for the one we’ve been waiting for.
This windy weather will be shank city for Thiem with his game style.
Final
Nadal vs Djokovic
Nole doesn’t like playing in windy conditions. Wonder how it will impact him.
All the clay blowing around is very difficult for Nole with grit getting into his contact lenses.
Shall we comment on this thread??
Nole playing horrible. Needs to get a grip!
yes
If he accepted the conditions he would play much better!
yep Nole needs military grade protective goggles – wind with clay dust just doesn’t work for him. It’s a mental block too.
Thiem has this in 3.
Who do you support Elizabeth? Think you are a new poster so welcome!☺
She’s Ratcliff in disguise! And a filthy Djokofan (just kidding) but she IS Ratcliff, says this name works better for this wackadoodle forum, and so a really nice person/poster even if she is a….:)
Not surprised Djoko is upset, playing tennis in weather like this is enough to upset anyone. Well, maybe not Theim – takes a hurricane named Serena blowing through his presser to upset HIM!
Yes, I’m that filthy Nole fan.
lol, Ramara.Good one about hurricane Serena blowing through Thiem’s presser!
Nole playing awful, has to accept the conditions and try and strategise. He is going out fast otherwise.
Thiem did very little to win that set.
Next time, Djokovic will say I don’t want to play because my opponent is playing better than me. What a jerk
No that’s not it. Apparently this storm passing through Europe is named “Miguel”
Sirens are going off the commentators are saying. Probably dereche type of winds which can make tennis near unplayable. But..Nole has to adjust and accept it. Use his humor, tell himself “so what”, deal with it and dive in.
Similar conditions here in Idaho yesterday. But I get an adrenaline rush in bad weather and seek it out at higher altitudes! Love skiing in it and doing other things in it.
Is that you rc?! I thought you were a new poster under your new moniker!
Oh, you didn’t know it was me, Amy? Yes it’s me RC, jalep, ect. Word press works better if I use my real name and stick to one email address. So odd these computer mysteries, which seem to want my real information LOL
Gosh Elizabeth I would never use my real name online! I haven’t been on site for months so way behind the curve.
Good to see you!☺☺
I wasn’t trying to hide behind my own name. It was out of dire straights that I went to my real name. I couldn’t log in here for a long time.
Nice to see you still think it’s nice to see me — nice to see you here too xx
XXX Elizabeth!
I keep starting to write Rc and then have to correct myself!
Keep calling me RC, amy! Let’s confuse as many as we can 😀
Ok boss rc!😁
Tennis is not one of those things I like doing in wind. Kite sailing, wind surfing, downhill skiing, trying to fly 😀 Have always loved a good storm. Well not hurricane force winds or a massive tornado.
Looks like Thiem might actually like it too.
I remember the slippery blue clay in Madrid. Federer and Berdych both liked it. Probably because most of the main competition were complaining or refusing to play on it.
Massive hold for Nole when in trouble serving against the wind! Dom isn’t actually playing that well imo.
Nole playing much better now.
Novak will get over his hissy fit and settle down. I can’t believe that he complained to the supervisor about the conditions!
Just left the room to get some food and come back to see play suspended!
Well, who else is there to complain to? Buddha?
Any idea how long play will be suspended? Until tomorrow maybe??
Why did fedal play in wind n why was it suspended now..are there no standard rules ?
Think there was rain!
Was rated “playable” for Fedal but the prediction was for worsening weather – I’d guess it hit the tipping point or maybe there’s lightning now – they do NOT play in lightning or if rain is too heavy.
Nole playing better but still making egregious errors.
Make sure to stay safe though Elizabeth xx
Lol, Alison, you know me. I love me some exciting weather 😀
We could be in for a Titanic match here, potentially over 3 days. Novak being down a set means nothing. I hope Thiem wins, but I know better than to get my hopes up after Novak loses the first set at a major…
Whoops, I meant potentially over multiple days- not over 3 days. That would be insane. One thing is for sure- if we want the highest quality Final possible, this match MUST finish today. I don’t blame Rafans for wanting his opponent to have no full days of rest since Wednesday. But for those of us that have no dog in the fight, I want both guys to get a day of rest before the Final!
Break Nole! See what happens when you accept the conditions and just play!!
Nole wins second set pretty convincingly! We have a match!☺
Now we got us a match!
Nole outplaying Dom now. Think he will win in 4 now.
Thiem doesn’t know how to play in the wind. What’s with that stupid CC BH slice, he’s always doing that and slicing the ball out of the court! I mean can’t he move his legs to then hit a FH CC instead? Why so stingy with the FH?
As, hitting the FH and then breaks Djoko’s serve for a 3-1 lead third set!
Dom has played some very poor tennis before he got the break.
First good play by Dom in a long while!
Another rain delay. Not looking good.
How can you not like thiem. some great shots to get the break.
TC commentators are unbearable to say the least.
How can Novak just walk off the court without asking anyone..is it allowed
Storm Miguel
https://www.thelocal.fr/20190607/france-braced-for-130kmh-winds-as-storm-miguel-approaches
We need some live information from dear Monalisa.
Thiem’s the man for Miguel.
Will Thiem consolidate the break .or will he come back n surrender the break ..Novak will be calmed by vajda .
Anyone know how long this rain break is going to last? If it’s a long time I want to get outside for a bit!
OK they say will be back in 15-20 minutes. Doesn’t look like it!
doubt they will get any more play today.
Play has been suspended for the day. They will have to finish tomorrow. That means playing three days in a row.
4 days in a row as Sunday is final..but match was short today..barely 1.5 hrs ..this suspension will help Novak ..he will regroup big time n calm down..I hope massu really pumps up Thiem too..
Ricky is being spot on ..he said Rafa will beat fed in 3 ..most had 4..he said second match won’t get completed .have you become Nostradamus Ricky .I hope your Thiem in 5 comes true
They play for four days in a row but it’s like one plus to two hours per day, just like they’re playing in a Masters, until maybe the final.
Both Thiem and Djoko finished off their QF opponents in straight sets; they played for one plus hours today. They’ll play another two and a half sets tomorrow maximum; unless the sets go the distance into TBs or in case of a fifth set, well past 6-6, I think they may not need to spend too much time on court tomorrow.
I don’t know whether they’ll change the Men’s final to Monday after all that. Wimbledon didn’t seem to care to do that last year, I wonder RG will do the same.
four
Play called off!
Fedexal..Thiem has a chance Tomm. It will be sunny tomm
Yes, it wont be easy for either. Theim for sure can win, he looked the better player today but Djoker struggled. Djoker has been struggling though, his straight set victories kind of hide that. But then again Djoker can scale up his game at important moments.
Overall its a tight call. Theim plays in sunny conditions, like any clay court specialist, he likes baked court where his shots can fly.Theim is a great courter, make no mistake about it. He has beaten Djoker in straight sets 2 years back when Djoker was the defending champion. Has had consistent results last two French Open, so it won’t be a surprise if he wins this one.
From Rafa’s point of view, it won’t be such a bad thing if Djoker comes through. Theim is a sort of unknown, he can trouble anyone if he starts finding his range.
Still think Nole will win!
You want him to win ? Easier for Rafa if Thiem wins right 🙂
Sanju how can you doubt that I want rafa to win on Sunday??!! I am a rafa fan all the way!!☺
I meant better for Rafa if Thiem wins isn’t it
one would think. but he’ll be favored regardless.
Tomorrow may still be gusty, so not much difference in playing conditions. It may help Djoko but it may also help Thiem, who knows.
I hope Thiem wins this in four sets, so that he’s not too disadvantaged in the final. I think Thiem will come out and hit as hard as he can, but please, no more sliced BH CC; instead please hit the FHCC so that he can have better control of the ball!
Hope massu tells him that..but don’t you think massu told him to use sliced bh n hence he using it
Then he’s stupid for not changing it if it’s not working! He did finally hit some hard FH and finally broke Djoko’s serve.
To me Thiem needs to hit both his FH and BH CC and DTL, not slicing all the time, in windy conditions. He’s so predictable slicing CC all the time, and he didn’t have good control of it maybe because of the wind.
This match will not be finished today judging by the forecast. So annoying. We’re going to have one guy in the Final who will be playing for his 4th straight day, while the other guy will have had Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday off. Rafans- Please don’t take this as any kind of thing against Rafa. Whoever wins the title will be 100% deserving of it, period. This has nothing to do with Rafa. I’m just pointing out how frustrating it is when these thins happen. Whomever your favorite player is, if they had to play 4 days in a row while the opponent had the normal day of rest plus two full days before that, you would be very annoyed. We talk all the time about the pros and cons of having roofs, and they are all legitimate points! But to me there is 1 positive reason for having roofs that cannot be denied, especially if only 1 of the finalists ends up having to play 4 days in a row.
Personally, if this match has to be played over two days, I wish they would just push the final forward to Monday. That would give either Novak or Thiem a day of rest, and there’s no longer an issue. What do you all think?
Rafa also experienced that at Wimbledon 2007; he played four or five days in a row while Fed rested for that long, believe it or not. Still, Rafa did make a match of it in the final that year.
And that wasn’t fair to Rafa! Which is why it was awesome that Wimbledon installed a retractable roof, which RG is getting about a decade too late.
TV will determine that Kevin..weather is ok on Sunday I think
Weather forecasts are worse for Monday than Sunday Kevin. So if they delayed it they might not play until Tuesday. Or Wednesday! That would be a logistical nightmare.
But they’re not playing that much on any of the four days. In a regular tournament they’re usually playing 2-3 sets per day Weds, Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun. Neither guy had a really tough quarterfinal. Even if they end up playing 2 1/2 sets tomorrow they should be good to go on Sunday. These are two of the fittest guys ever out there and neither has had any 5 setters this tournament.
I doubt the French Fed would push it to Monday even if they were half dead!
Simple Maths tell me, its more hectic than Masters 1000 where you play maximum of three sets. Both Theim and Djoker played 3 sets on Thursday, 2 and a half on Friday, approximately another two sets today and then play best of five set match Sunday. For sure its more hectic than a Masters 1000 given the quality of opponents they had to face.
Of course if they end up in an interminable 5th set on Saturday – perish the thought! – that could make a difference. It also *might* make the French revisit their no 5th set TB rule.
How will either of the 2 sleep tonight knowing what an important match tomorrow 🙂
Good question. Djokovic better than Thiem, maybe. He’s more used to it.
Rafa has said that he didn’t fall asleep until 4 am the night before 2008 Wimbly but it didn’t matter. He said recently that resting while watching tv for a few hours plus 5 hours sleep is plenty.
It just makes me even happier that RG is finally putting in a retractable roof on Chatrier. It’s about damn time. 🤷♂️
Read this BBC article regarding the suspension of this match:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/48555775
Guess FO wanted to give ND as much chance as possible to regroup and win this match.
Lots of chatter on twitter about this dubious decision. Seems that Thiem & team were not even informed of it until Djoker stalked off court. Ricky posted a funny tweet about it. Thiem must be wondering exactly what you have to do to get a little respect at RG what with Serena-gate and now Djoker-gate.
Thiem should take this as a pill to come and win the match.
Thiem has to win the third to make a match of it..hope he comes out cool and calm n hope Ricky’s prediction holds 🙂
Novak wanted to postpone the match for today! He has more chance now to win then yesterday when he was again behind and chasing the result! The decision is in favor of Novak similar to what he did at Wimby last year when insisting to play under the roof!
Organizers are just useless and do not follow the rules! It was difficult conditions for Fed and Rafa, maybe Fed should complain to the tournament for not postponing their match now…
It’s not a given that Novak will win. If Thiem wins third..match is on..first serve game of Thiem is key..
I was at the match yesterday and conditions were bad all day! The women played their semis without any complaint. there was drizzle, rain and they played as well as Roger and Rafa!
When it was Nole’s turn they stop play twice. After the second time Nole just left before while ppl went back to sit down awaiting match not knowing that Nole had already fled. Then it was announced match was suspended. Ppl were very incensed as expected. The weather was ok after that with no rain but cold.
Tennis is an outdoor game!!! What gives?!
Well I just hope that Thiem will concentrate on holding his serve and leads 4-1, just make Djoko works harder to hold serve later on. If Thiem wins the third set, then he’ll have a good chance of winning it in four.
I feel Rafa is ready for anyone in the final, be it Thiem or Djoko, but I prefer Thiem in the final even though I find the new improved big hitting Thiem a very dangerous opponent.
I wish for Rafa to pull ahead of Djoko in the race, and with not much ranking points to defend later on, I wish for Rafa to catch up with Djoko, and who knows, he may even surge ahead to get back to no.1 ranking and then gets his fifth YE no.1. To me if not for Rafa’s injury last year, he could have hold on to the no.1 ranking and be the YE no.1, it’s a missed chance that I hope he can make amendments for this year. He’s at 196 weeks at no.1, a player of his caliber could have easily be >200 weeks as no.1.
I do feel that Rafa is the only player who could challenge Djoko for the TOP ranking, at least for the time being until the young players are ready to challenge for it (Thiem for example).
The weather is exactly the same today as it was yesterday so they’ve gained nothing by cancelling yesterday’s session of their SF.
It’s WAY better today
That being said, they still should have continued yesterday
Courier’s sycophancy in relation to Novak is really cringeworthy! It’s hard to listen to.
Why on earth is Novak going to the net so often leaving the whole court open?! He is just asking to be passed!
Not sure Thiem deserved to win that set! He didn’t play very well!
Theim looks unbeatable right now. Only way Djokovic wins from herein is if Theim beats himself.
‘Here on’
Spoke too soon. He is playing the Workd Number One.
He absolutely deserved it.
Novak will lose in 4. To him this feels exactly like RG15 finals
Nah, Thiem is not playing all that well, he’s hitting too much that BHCC slice imo. Having said that, Djoko is also not playing well, just grinding his way through as usual when he’s not at his best.
I think both of them couldn’t play well in windy conditions thus its not really a high quality match unlike their other matches.
What’s wrong with sclcing if your opponent cannot handle it well?
Thiem is just a better player on clay and fully deserves to win.
Did you see how Thiem made all those errors with his BH slices? And his slice went out and he lost his service game!
How’s Thiem the better player on clay when Djoko has Masters titles on clay when Thiem has none? Even this clay season, Djoko does better than Thiem, don’t even need to mention the past.
agreed
To me this feels
A net cord that ends up being a perfectly placed lob. You’re kidding aren’t ya.
OMG that net cord was hilarious.
Thiem’s BH slice is a horror, yet he’s still hitting it as usual!
As a Rafa fan, you would rather want Novak to win. He will be easier to beat than Thiem.
But, Rafa and Thiem are the best clay clutters and it’s fitting they should play the finals to decide the champion.
Easier? Djoko can grind all day long and he’s way more experienced than Thiem is. I’m not sure he’s easier to beat.
Yes he can grind. But his clay game has a lot of limitations. Slow conditions on Sunday…no chance Djoker hits through Rafa. Thiem’s dangerous if he catches fire.
With all that said, Rafa is winning this easily, Regardless of the opponent.
Well Id like to really think so
Thiem playing such stupid tennis doesn’t deserve to win, Djoko for the win now, at least he uses his brain more to problem solve on court, can’t say the same for Thiem!
If Theim wins i’d be very surprised. He’s giving Djoker troubles but he’s wasting a whole lot of opportunities!!! Never saw him being able to beat Novak here, and He won’t be able to beat Rafa either!!!
Exactly Monalisa; Thiem is not taking full advantage of this subpar Djoko. If he loses, he’s going to regret it, a missed chance to beat a world no.1 at a slam!
Novak can’t beat Rafa here either.
Monalisa, I agree. If Thiem didn’t waste so many chances, he’d have won in 4 sets.
He already destroyed Novak once here
How many times has Novak come to the net and been passed! He leaves the whole court open!
Whow, Djoko is 23/50 at the net! I mean he approached the net 50 times? Really? That’s impressive, he’s making full use of the court knowing how well Thiem could play from the baseline.
Thiem now leading 5-4 in set four, hopes he hangs tough to win in the end.
Thiem has made 45 UEs and Djokovic 33.
Theim has Djokovics measure on this court.
Nadal has Theims measure up until now. Sunday we will see if that is still currently the case.
It’s much less windy than yesterday yet the tennis is way inferior to that played by fedal!
First 2 sets of Fedal, yes
Nole beaten at the net again!
Theim just beat himself.
So to five sets we go! Best possible scenario for Rafa. 🙂 (ok, I’m shameless, I’ll take any advantage.)
Djoko break serve again and now serving for set four! See how terrible Thiem is, can’t break Djoko’s serve to win and then loses his own serve!
Yeah I agree, that the quality of this match is much poorer than Fedal’s match.
Djokovic isn’t grinding as well as he use to. It’s his bread and butter that he always eventually goes back to but he expects to win the points a bit too quickly in the clay these days.
Theim in 5 eh. Let’s see if Ricky’s prediction is on the money.
Ha! Don’t feel it! It would be a wonder!
🙏🏼
See how that horrible BH slice from Thiem helps Djoko to win the set? Thiem looks so limited out there when facing Djoko, running out of ideas and relying heavily on his BH slices that fail him time and again. He’s really not too bright up there, doesn’t know how to change up when things are not working for him.
It’s very noticeable that over the 2 days fed, Novak and Dom have all really struggled to hold serve serving into the wind. Obviously the problem was worse yesterday as it was so much windier. But rafa held serve into the wind way way more often ! Just an observation!
Brain fart at the end from Thiem. Still backing him to take this in 5
Crazy shot selection by Djokovic. He’s not comfortable.
He’s just not happy to grind.
That slice by Theim when Djokovic is moving forward is a great shot.
Ha ha, Thiem’s BH DTL slice is better than his CC ones. Beautiful.
How many times has he run to the net and got passed!
LOTS
Djokovic wanted to hold all 4 majors for the 2nd time. He’s not a happy boy right now.
4-1 adv Thiem in the fifth. Come on Thiem, hold on to the adv and finishes the job!
Lucky, Theim is more dangerous for Nadal than this Djoker. Theim looks really solid and powerful when his game is on.
Doesn’t matter, Rafa is too good with his court craft to deal with Thiem. I just don’t like the hype about Djoko and his second non calendar slams. Also, I want to see Rafa moves well ahead in the race, with a chance for the no.1 ranking later on in the season and to finish as YE no.1 for the fifth time to at least tie with Fed and Djoko. To me, he’s too good not to do that.
Lucky, I agree to 1000%, lol!
I fully agree. Novak just does not have much clay court weapons.
Not in a slam final he isn’t
Djokovic is the best grinder in the game. It’s a weapon and he’s not using it.
He couldn’t wait to get off the court just then.
Djokovic’s game is effective when the elements are calm because playing defensively in gusts of wind is not productive.
That’s true
Nole 26-57 at net! Just asks to get passed!
making some bonehead decisions
Rain delay! Thiem could have won this match already, if not for all those chances that he failed to take.
I hope Thiem can sustain the momentum to win the match.
Uhmmmmmm, lets c
he was in the middle of BP for 5-1 when it started raining
So, is the final on Sunday or Monday now, when this SF goes the distance?
How’s the weather on Sunday and Monday?
It would be definitely on Sunday with all TV formalities. Moreover Sunday forecast is good, Monday is far worse.
Sunday for sure
I’m for Theim. If Rafa can’t win RG I prefer Theim winning it to Djoker.
I am with you.
Why can’t Rafa win?
Someone said Thiem would be a more difficult opponent to Rafa, based on that assumption, if Rafa had to lose, I’d rather he lose to Thiem.
Djokovic’s problem is this. When he’s facing possible defeat he doesn’t play to his full potential. He goes into his shell.
He did this when he lost to Wawrinka and Theim at RG. He needs to just redline and play his best regardless of whether he might lose or not.
That didn’t happen in the Wimbledon semis!
I find Novak’s play as a 15 time GS champion astonishing. He probably lost the fourth set because of his mad serve volley tactics when he looks totally lost at net. Suicidal tactics going up there in return as well and just asking to be passed.
But he won the fourth set!
He does go into his shell when he thinks hes losing, unlike Rafa
Exactly, Rafa on clay plays like he’s trying to beat the best every time. He’s been doing since day one.
At the AO he went into his shell but he rarely does it.
Rafa just did not show up on that day! Smh!
Rafa said he wasn’t physically up to a long gruelling match coming back from 5 months injury time out, playing someone like Djokovic. He actually said in one Spanish interview that it was better for him to lose in straight sets.
And that makes perfect sense!
Djokovic hasn’t been at his best since Australia. It’s been obvious even during clay despite marginal improvement over Indian Wells and Miami.
I think you are right
Djokovic has said himself that his game is all about defending the baseline, which he does very well. He can’t play at the net and he has one of the worst overheads on tour. This is why conditions have to be perfect for him to be in control of a match.
It’s fear of losing that’s winning the battle against Djokovic right now.
If Theim was number one and the 15 time grand slam winner I wonder if Djokovic would be playing the same brand of tennis.
I don’t think it’s much the fear of losing as much as it’s the idea of not having opportunity to go for the Novak slam what is inhibiting him so much. His endless desire to be greater than Roger and Rafa is what it is!!
Hahaha!
Doubt it
Thank you Ricky for agreeing with me about Novak’s utterly bizarre desire to run to net and get passed! He must know it is costing him yet he persists I think because of his anxiety about the wind.
26-57!!
amy JUNE 8, 2019 AT 12:35 PM
I find Novak’s play as a 15 time GS champion astonishing. He probably lost the fourth set because of his mad serve volley tactics when he looks totally lost at net. Suicidal tactics going up there in return as well and just asking to be passed.
Yet, one commentator after another bleating that Djokovic has no weaknesses.
They are showing us Fedal during the rain break. Way better tennis with some miracle shots!
I hope Thiem is mentally strong enough to keep his service games, as I know Novak will attack from all weapons to break him back!
Novak is not afraid of losing. He is just irritated by the weather which drives him out of his comfort zone. However, he still will be very dangerous when back on the court so Thiem will have to be focused and not making stupid decisions otherwise he ends up losing…
the delays have HELPED Djoker, so he shouldn’t be irritated
All 3 delays couldn’t have happened at better times for Djokovic.
He came out slow after the last delay.
We’ll see!
Novak got his head together during the break. Theim’s game is not together. I think Novak wins from here.
Quite possibly! Novak was 27-61 at net at last count. He needs to just play his normal game not hand out free points!
Novak played awesome to get the break back. Theim not so much.
Thiem overplays every shot.
Why is it so difficult for Thiem to hold serve? He’s just not clutch enough! He’s standing so far back and after his serve, he’s being put into defensive position right away because Djoko just rushes forward to put pressure on Thiem.
Thiem is just camping at his BH too much that he’s so slow to cover his FH corner!
Why does Thiem keep giving the ball back to Djokovic?
I have asked that a 1000 times!!
This is such great tennis now that I hope they play a nice long fifth set to give the spectators a treat!😉😉
Djokovic choked big time. He wants to win the points too easly.
Terrible game from Novak!
Whoa, what a gift for Thiem, can’t believe Djoko DF at BP! Now a real test for Thiem serving for the match.
Theim df at breakpoint in the fourth!! It happens! And Novak seems to df a lot at critical points at RG. He did the same against Rafa some years ago there giving RAfa the match!
And the plot sickens. Djoko was serving with the sun in his eyes when he got broken…Theim with less excuse, back to deuce!
Hahahaha, can’t anyone here hold serve?
What a choke! 2 match points gone!
Surely that is the end of Dom? Who can conspire to play the least dreadful tennis?!
Why does Thiem have to go for broke on every shot? It opens him up to UEs galore.
See, Thiem just can’t hold serve! He’s such a mental midget! This is not even the final!
As Lucky said, slice bh is killing Theim.
Stop that BH slice, you stupid!!
Bet Rafa’s enjoying this….
Rafa does not really care. Noneof them are going to beat Rafa with this type of elevator tennis! One good point, one bad point, up, down, up, down, break of serve, break back. C’mon, Federer would have had this Djoker for lunch!
Talking about that, Fed had the luck to draw Rafa in the SF, had he been drawn in Djoko’s half, I bet it’s Fed in the final to meet Rafa there (and Rafa would’ve beaten Thiem in a windy SF, unlike this Djoko)!
Fed played better yesterday than either Dom or Novak!! Quality of Fedal was way higher!
I do hope Massu tells Dom to use slice all the time against rafa!!☺
Thiem’s BH is leaking so much errors despite the winners, why isn’t Thiem moving his legs to try to hit CC FHs instead?? So very unintelligent!
The ladies’ final would have finished by now if they hadn’t carried this match over.
And Thiem holds at love… can we go to 72-70? C’mon guys, shoot for the record!
Ramara 😉
Why did Thiem not go down the line instead of giving the ball back to Djokovic?
Well played Djokovic at the net. Clutch.
Dominic Hit-Or-Miss Thiem
I’m truly pissed with Thirm, Djoko is making so many mistakes and yet Thiem just couldn’t take advantage!
Thiem did it in the end!
hahaha, Thiem’s despised bh slice, properly used for ONCE, sets up mp and Thiem takes it! Big props to him!
Too tentative on critical points Djokovic. WD Theim.
Yes finally!! See, it’s your FH that wins you the match!
Phew! What a match after the rain delay, at least some good tennis at last. Thiem really needs to learn how to solve problems on court, he has missed so many chances to end the match earlier.
At least he has now beaten a world no.1 in a slam, it’s a step forward on the right path; just don’t beat Rafa on Sunday!
I’ve been thinking….the last Djoko slam cost him 2 years without a slam. How will he recover this time?
But he did not get the Novak slam this time.
@NNY Yeah, I noticed that. But I think it was the effort, not the achievement, that did him in last time. Maybe he paced himself better this time, focusing mainly on the slams, which would explain why he performed relatively poorly in the masters events. I think Djokovic is desperate for achievements to separate himself from Fed/Rafa.
That’s what i said and its doing him in!!!
lol!
3 out of 4 slams is enough!
Although Thiem will likely be a much easier opponent for Nadal I’m glad he won, just felt like he deserved it. In spite of all the chokes, he had momentum stopped multiple times by rain delays and still kept going hard.
This year I think Thiem may be good enough to win a set, but we’ll see how he pulls up from this one.
At least now we don’t need to listen to all the hype about Djoko’s double non calendar slams and also his double career slams!
With this win Thiem gets to retain his no.4 ranking, had he lost in the SF, he would drop to no.6, just below Tsitsipas at no.5. I feel it’s about right Thiem is no.4, as Sasha isn’t playing all that well at the moment to become no.4 again.
Am so glad Thiem did it. As good as Thiem can be, I was more scared of Djokovic. he is a different animal when he faces Nadal these days. I am not against him but the whole narrative with him being greater than Nadal and Federer puts me off.
And more so, now this is a great chance for Nadal to get to his 18th and stretch away from Djokovic inching closer to Fed. Its all about numbers now. I will be ok with them three ending up their careers with a tie.
Good luck to Nadal and all of us Rafans for tomorrow!
Whoops. All the tension.. gave away my email id :))
It’s OK PK. We are a nice bunch here. We won’t troll you. 😉
oh I know. This is a good bunch. Or else I wouldnt be writing on a non Nadal thread 🙂
Was surprised with Amy tho. Why was she rooting for Djokovic.. Beats me
I wasn’t rooting for him PK! I wanted the match to go longer!
Ah ok Amy. Understood. Longer or not, I am just glad it was over and its not Djokovic on the other side on Sunday.
Should we have more belief in our boy. Either we want an exhausted opponent or just dont want him at all. Would be a nice thing to see Rafa beat Djokovic in their prime and both at their best. I would have a heartattack for sure. 😀
Thiem into another FO final has proven that his 2018 run was no fluke. I think he’s reaching his peak now at 25 almost 26. I wish for him to have a better career than that Dimi guy, who is such a disappointment after his 2017.
Ricky’s predictions spot on ! Theim was the better player from baseline. But I am still not convinced that Theim is an easier opponent in comparison to Nole for Rafa. Theim will recover quickly and I think he can trouble Rafa with his FH CC hurrying Rafa on FH CC side.
But Rafa should be prepared. Theim is having lapses of concentration in between and thats why he has lost 5 sets so far.
This is not the Rafa Thiem played in Barcelona.
yep
Fantastic match, also hope for a great final ….
fantastic drama. quality not so much.
Thiem in final… Atleast I can sleep well tonight…I hope rafa wins but if he does not,I am okay with thiem winning. Very nice guy and he deserves it as much .
And ricky is just Nostradamus this tourney. He is predicting right sets ss well as the schedule of matches 🙂
I agree. I wont feel as bad if Thiem wins as against Djokovic and he certainly deserves it. But ofcourse I want Nadal to lift his 12th. Its like a less pressure scenario for him. and then onto Wimbledon. I would never stop wanting more for Rafa. I do feel he has had a lot of missed opportunities and he deserves to go out at the top.
PK i dont post here often, but i will say Amys a Rafa fan, but also has alot of respect for the other all time greats too, i think she probably wanted to see if Rafa could return the favour and beat Novak on his own territory after what happened at the AO final lol, anyway im just second guessing here, she can speak for herself, Amys a great objective tennis fan first and foremost, my two cents 🙂
I would think so too. For a long time I was so proud Rafa’s final record was against his best rival(s) Fed and Djok. unlike Fed who in a way I do think had a weaker era substantially before these two came along ( without taking away the least for a guy thats showing phenomenal tennis and passion at 37. Cant dislike that guy anymore) .
But I dont care anymore if Rafa wins returns the favour or not. I just want him to rack up some more GS titles. He sure deserves atleast one more wimbledon and oh certainly one more Aussie for sure. He was the first for a while to be as close to a double career slam and he has been missing it for too long now.
Also as to Djokovic. I loved when he changed his mindset when he started mentioning Fed and Nadal as his rivals instead of the usual “Oh its an honour to play against them”. Thats what turned the tables for him and a perfect example for belief. But I cant stand it when someone says he is greater and he is the best.. Could as well be that he has the most rounded game but you dont put down champions just because they start losing. That said, all three deserve equal respect from each of their fans.
Thanks Alison dear! I wasn’t really rooting for either player but it’s true I did want Rafa to play and beat Nole! Also I am very fond of rc/Elizabeth and I don’t want her to feel like she can’t come here as there is a lot of anti Nole feeling. I do also worry that people are underestimating Dom. Thanks again Alison!!☺☺☺
I apologize to all Novak fans in advance but I have to make a point and I will.
Karma is the biggest b!tch and it showed up today for Novak. Remember mr djokovic how during wimby 2018 semi you refused to allow the roof to be opened on the second day n insisted match played under roof ? You could have agrees to keep the roof open as it’s outdoor tourney and subscribing to fair play but uou did not and you robbed rafa a slam he wanted . Guess what..you wanted this slam even more, you were going for 4 in a row and double career slam n mother nature gave it right back to you with harder ferocity at exactly the same stage. Hope you learn and take lessons from it mr djokovic . The way you just stormed off the court yesterday n left Thiem at sea was so disrespectful too n smelt of arrogance. You are a nice guy and it is okay to want to win but some acts and behaviour of yours are so repulsive and it is the only reason you are not a loved champion like the other 2- something you always grudge.
Agreed.
Interesting, Sanju. I don’t really believe in karma…but Djokovic DOES! Oddly, though, the weather breaks in this semi actually helped him and hurt Theim, I felt. Theim needs a little time to get rolling – Djokovic needed time to get his head together.
It’s not the breaks I am talking about…it’s the wind .external circumstances ..he got an environment not conducive to his playing style just like rafa did not in wimby semi.
I actually agree with this. I believe in karma. I also know that a good deal of the blame was on the Wimbledon tournament organizers. But Novak decided he wanted that roof open, despite the fact that it was sunny. In a close match that was decided on a few points, that made the difference. I wanted Rafa to get another Wimbledon title after not being able to play due to injuries for a few years. People forgot just how good he is on grass. He should have lifted his third Wimbledon trophy.
Regarding last year’s Wimbledon SF, I too feel that Rafa was robbed a chance to hold that trophy again with all the wrong decisions made by the organisers in particular. And, worse still, it ended up costing Rafa his fifth YE no. 1. By my calculation, as long as Rafa reached the Wimbledon final (that means Djoko lost in the SF), Rafa would retain his no. 1 ranking and be the YE no. 1, too bad he didn’t!
Lucky. 2500 point swing it would have given..720 vs 2000..rafa would have been no 1
If Rafa just reached the final at Wimbledon, he would have 7960(7480+1200-720) points, and Djoko losing in the SF to Rafa would mean he ended the year with 7765 points (9045-2000+720),so Rafa despite not playing anything after the USO, would ended up being the YE no. 1 had he reached the Wimbledon final (he didn’t even need to win it to retain his no. 1 ranking).
I agree Lucky, but I wouldnt think it was roof as much as it was Rafa’s own undoing. He should have won that match indoors or not. Had enough opportunities. Set points in the third, a little more angle on the approach at 15-40 in the fifth. It was much like the sitter he missed in the Aus 2012 to go up 4-2.
But tennis is a cruel sport, the thinnest of margins. At the end of the day, some moments go your way and some dont. But to see him come back everytime and come back strong is a pleasure.
You see PK, by starting the match indoors, it’s already a disadvantage to Rafa – Rafa mentioned that he couldn’t see the ball clearly in the first set under the light, so he lost the first set rather quickly. When you’re one set down so quickly, you’re already at a disadvantage.
Rafa was already doing well on grass, considering he had a tough five setter vs Delpo in the previous round, whilst Djoko didn’t have a difficult match before the SF.
I blame the organisers for not getting the second SF on court early enough to avoid having it played over two days. It would not be under the roof had it started earlier.
Agreed. Lets just hope Rafa makes up for it and wins Wimby ’19 :).
Lesson is never scheduled big servers first ..period..
Yes rafa could have won the match indoors too but all I am saying is imagine would the match have gone 5 had it been outdoors…the rule said the roof can be opened if both players agree and nole did not. It’s an outdoor tourney n the otgsniZers should not leave it to the players discretion. By default every outdoor tourney should be played outdoors on a new day
I absolutely agree Sanju. It made zero sense the roof would be closed on a perfectly sunny day. If a match can be played outdoors and then have the roof closed for the rest of it, it can as well make sense the roof be opened on the next day for what was played indoor for a reason. (for an outdoor tournament for God’s sakes).
I think tennis has become exceedingly competetive along with three simultaneous all time greats, Organizers get confused on what makes sense. It did expose Novak a bit on he would do anything for a win. and I totally agree with your Karma comment. For the most part, I do think Novak was wrong even if the rules were in his favour.
At least Wimbly has learned from their HUGE mistake — spectators were as unhappy as Rafa was with that closed roof — and changed the rule so that the next day’s play WILL be outdoors if weather is suitable.
Did they do that…I did not know..I thought all they changed was 12 all tb
Good! The whole fiasco was beyond ridiculous!☺☺
Im just glad Theim did t, but for a long while there I really didn’t think he would have the bottle, and so did Novak! But he did! Good for him!
Vamos, Rafa!!!
Hope you aren’t too upset Elizabeth?! Nole couldn’t handle the wind and resorted to some crazy tactics serving into it as he got so anxious. Hoping for a rafole final at wimby!!
Anyway xxx to both you and Alison! Very glad you both defected from a certain site which we won’t mention and post here. ☺☺☺
Fedal at wimby will be better Amy in final. Imagine what hype it will create..it has not happened since 08. Rafaole match happ last year.
Yes I would love that sanju!
The BBC would die of joy if they had a fedal final!
Is the final moved to Monday?
No!
nope
I hate going on about the past, but i will say to this day i have no idea as to why they thought the roof needed closing , on a boiling hot sunny day , had it been raining fair enough, Wimbledon is supposed to be an outdoor tournament, end of story ….
Alison, your point is perfectly logical, and Wimbledon obviously agrees with you because they changed he rules to that starting this year. As I’ve said before, though, as someone who had no dog in that fight, that is is also a solid argument for that match to finished as it was started. I’m not saying it’s the right or wrong argument, but to me it’s a logical argument that the fair thing to do would be to have the whole match played in the same conditions. Let’s be honest that a big reason for disagreement in this topic is that Novak fans wanted the roof to remain closed because Novak happens to play well under a roof, and Rafa fans wanted it to open because Rafa does not play as well under a roof. But when it comes down to it, both arguments make logical sense. Because they both make sense, I wouldn’t have cared what Wimbledon decided. But their decision to change the rule having the roof open no matter how the match was played the previous day makes sense. I do see the argument for the most fair thing being to keep the conditions to same through the whole match, but it’s not quite a better argument than only having the roof closed when it needs to be. My only qualm with all of this is when people tried to claim like there was no logical sense in anyone wanting the match to played for the last two sets as it was for the first 3.
The truth, though, as you stated, is that it’s in the past. Sure, Rafa plays better without a roof. But we can’t just pretend like Novak somehow isn’t as good without a roof as he is with it. There’s so much hair-splitting involved with this one that there is absolutely no way anyone could claim that the roof was definitively what made the difference.
Well said Kevin. Both sides of the argument stick. I was just saying how half a match gets played outdoors and the rest of it with the roof because of rain should be applied vice versa too.
But yes its just an argument. Would it have mattered if Rafa won. Heck no! 🙂
Kevin, if the match was played within the same day, then yes I agree, that conditions should remain the same whether the rain stopped or started again, so once the roof was closed because of the rain, then let it remained close even though there might be sunshine afterwards.
However, it’s quite hypocritical to say that let the conditions remained unchanged when the match was played over two days, when the players’ conditions (their physical conditions) would have changed after the night’s rest!.
In this particular case, the roof was closed not because of rain, but because of impending darkness as the match went on (in order to have the lights on, they needed to close the roof), but when play resumed the next day, there’s bright sunshine so why they needed the roof and the artificial lights on?
And most importantly Wimby is an outdoor event to begin with! There is no argument to support changing the event into an indoor just because they wanted to keep the same conditions! That’s a plain stupid rule and it is wise decision to alter it!
Agree totally, and why should roof closed make such a difference? And nearly a year later, some people are still nitpicking this.
This years RG surely called for a roof, which might have affected the results , but who’s going to complain about that?
That was to Kevins post that gave a balanced view
Big Al, that’s because RG has no roof yet! We won’t complain if RG’s PC court has a roof and it’s closed to keep out the rain. Next year we’ll see the roof at PC court and I’m sure we won’t be complaining if it’s closed for the rain!
We are fine with the roof closed for the rain, but Wimbledon closed the roof not for the rain but for impending darkness. They started the second SF at about 6pm when there’s still natural light. Again, starting the second SF at 6pm knowing that the match between two greats would probably not going to end so soon, didnt they think it’s unfair to the players that they might have to complete the match in two days? And, they didn’t even want to postpone the final to Monday for the sake of being fair to the players.
It’s the same here at RG, the final should be on Monday to be fair to Thiem, but they said the weather on Monday may be even worse than Sunday’s.
I think next year with the new roof, it’ll be possible to postpone the final to Monday if similar scenarios like this year’s occurs. They’re having a roof over the PC court only, I’m not sure there won’t be rain delays as matches played on the other courts would still be stopped or delayed by rain.
And, I’m sure the spectators there at the Wimbledon SFs last year were getting irritated with the Isner/Anderson match when it had gone on like forever. They paid high prices for the tickets because they wanted to see the marquee match between two greats (if they didn’t have Fedal, at least they had Rafa/Djoko match!), but they were made to wait and then had to come back the next day again!
I think the Wimbledon organiser should put the marquee match first, for the sake of the spectators, and if the marquee match had gone more than three sets, then had the second SF played in the second show court so that the SF could be completed within the day.
I agree with all that,the semi should never have been started at 6pm knowing they had a rule about stopping at 11pm.And the final should have been on Monday,as at RG this year.
But,if you were a Nole fan,you,’d feel equally aggrieved if he went on to lose if the roof had been opened.
A big question mark about why Thiem-Nole were taken off on Friday,rain was sort of forecast but it never came.
Really nice to s see Ash Barty win!!
Like her a lot!☺☺
Yes good for her. Nice listening to the Aussie anthem, not many Aussie winning at the FO I think.
Thanks Amy , i hope RC is okay too, as a poster a admire and respect greatly, i think she did say she would be quite happy for Thiem though too, lol sorry if i keep putting words in peoples mouths, by the way to do prefer it here, people on the other forum can get so snotty at times, even resorting to personal insults ….
Amy agree about Ash what a lovely lady congrats to her , sorry for the other girl who was just beaten by the better player on the day, im sure shes bound for great things though too 🙂
Yes, amy, I watched most of it. Thiem was too good. Congrats to him!
And I should have put money on Ash Barty. Congrats on her first GS win!
Vamos Rafa!
Some incredible picks by ricky! Each one exactly on the money down to the number of sets!
and even which sets Thiem would win!
1, 3, and 5
Oh really Ricky! I didn’t realise that! That’s pretty damn good!
Lol, Ricky, stop gloating!!😜😜
But good job so far though. Hope your predictions hold true to the end!
Hi RC glad your safe with all these hurricanes going on 🙂
Alison no worries. You know me a long time. Of course I’m happy for Thiem :D. Novak would be in no shape to take on Rafa. I say that because he was so weak in the Rome final. Maybe no more Madrid – Rome doubles for him. Thiem is young and should recover enough to make better match with Rafael tomorrow.
Yeah, well done to Ricky!
woohoo
Ricky should be known as NostraDimon! Unbelievably spot on picks!
Well done!
😀
!!!!!
Kevin true enough hun, i just think it defeated the object of whats supposed to be an outdoor tournament, anymore its been and gone , moving on ….
https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/video/press-conference-djokovic-semi-final-rg19
Djokovic post match presser
Nadal and Thiem. What a final 🍿
yes sir!
Its a shame that Thiem had to play the day before the final , but hopefully it wont affect him .