The inaugural ATP Cup final will be headlined by a showdown between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Sunday’s action in Sydney begins with Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain facing Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic.
Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) vs. Dusan Lajovic (SRB)
Bautista Agut has been an absolute hero for Spain over the last two team competitions. He helped his country capture the 2019 Davis Cup title and now the Spaniards find themselves in the ATP Cup final thanks in part to Bautista Agut’s perfect 5-0 record. The world No. 10 was especially impressive during a 6-1, 6-4 beatdown of Nick Kyrgios on Saturday night.
Up next for Bautista Agut is Lajovic, who is a hopeless 0-5 in the head-to-head series (0-3 at the ATP level). If there is any good news for the 34th-ranked Serb, it is that he has also been in outstanding form throughout this event. But he has mostly struggled in big Davis Cup situations for Serbia and he will be feeling a ton of pressure to deliver following his nation’s recent quarterfinal disappointment in Madrid (lost to Russia). Bautista Agut is quite simply the better player and has more experience–both quantity and quality–on this kind of stage.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 2
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Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Djokovic and Nadal will be facing each other for the 55th time in their careers on Sunday. The head-to-head series stands at 28-26 in favor of Djokovic, but the most telling statistic is that Nadal has not won on a hard court since the 2013 U.S. Open final. Their most recent hard-court encounter came in last year’s Australian Open title match, with Djokovic dominating 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
There are additional reasons to like the second-ranked Serb’s chances. He is 5-0 so far at the ATP Cup, and although he needed three sets against Daniil Medvedev on Saturday his level in the decider was incredible. Nadal could be especially fatigued, as he went three sets against Alex de Minaur (a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory) and worked double duty against Belgium in the quarterfinals (including a 6-4, 7-6(3) loss to David Goffin).
Pick: Djokovic in 3
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who ya got?
RBA in 3, Djokovic in 2. Nadal doesn’t look great atm. Normal for him, since it usually takes a while to shake off the rust…but it isn’t fantastic for him to be facing Djokovic so close to the AO.
RBA DOES look good, but then so does Lajovic. I thought he was was particularly impressive against an out-of-sorts Khachanov. I think Nadalovic will be disappointing and Lajovic/RBA will be entertaining.
I agree with Cheryl. Novak in 2 easy sets.
Spain could still win it though. Have to give them the advantage in doubles.
I think Spain will still win it, actually.
Rafa has/had the luck that, when not playing well, he has/had to meet Djoko! How often that happened (esp in 2015-2016) whilst Djoko when not playing well (2017 to mid 2018) only met Rafa twice, on clay.
It should be an easy win by Djoko in straight sets, judging from how poorly Rafa played vs Goffin and De Minaur. Djoko is so much better a player than those two.
I don’t foresee an easy win for Novak! He struggled to beat both Shapovalov and Medvedev, no easy win for him there! And Rafa, although tired and kind of out of sorts will be playing for his country so there he will get the energy from…
I personally do not care if Rafa loses to Novak tmrw, I want him to win this AO, which hugely depends on how he will cope with the heat and humidity..Rafa has had enough match play and should be ready for Melbourne!
Vamos Champ!
Natashao..waiting for your vision of rafa winning a second ao to come true..missed 4 chances 12,14,17,19.
Rafa has never reached consecutive ao finals..so let’s see..the draw will be key..who draws Nick in third round? Which side fed lands in? Who gets tsitsipas or thiem in qf..lot of intangibles at play…
Strange that they had a rest day in the RR but are playing 3 days in a row – singles and doubles – in the knockout stages. The scheduling leaves a lot to be desired. Spain lost 3 hours moving from Perth to Sydney and had to play immediately they got there. That’s why Rafa is so tired and just making the best of it.
I really dislike the scheduling fir this ATP tournament. I did not realize the circumstances under which Rafa was playing against Goffin. Five hour flight, three hour time difference between Perth and Sydney. Belgium had a day of rest. Then the court conditions and the godawful humidity.
Rafa’s game is not where it needs to be, but he does not have to be at his best now. He needs to get enough match play to be ready for the AO. I am now watching the replay of his match against Demon. The time difference is always awful with Australia and it’s confusing to know when Rafa will be playing.
I am not going to freak out about Rafa playing Novak. It would seem that Novak is in better firm, but he has not had a cakewalk in his matches. I don’t know what Rafa will have left for the final.
It’s all good so far with Rafa helping his team to get to the final. The big prize is the AO.
Novak is in better form. *
RBA is strong and consistent, I would be very surprised if he loses tomorrow. Simply the better player, that is correct.
Neither Djokovic nor Nadal is playing at their best right now. Granted, Novak found some form today, but that is no guarantee that he’ll be able to maintain it.
Rafa started slow both yesterday and today (he could still have beaten Demon in two if not for the first game of the match). I think that he as well ended playing the right stuff today. However, I doubt that Djokovic will employ the same go-for-broke strategy as Goffin and de Minaur. He does not have the mindset and tools to do it and he also must consider himself the favorite tomorrow. So he will present a different kind of challenge for the Spaniard.
I don’t agree that Nadal is tired, he just struggled with horrible scheduling (travel, timezone change, going to sleep in the morning, etc.) and adjusting with the new conditions – but he looks fine now.
That being said, Djokovic is indeed the favorite against Nadal on a hardcourt – or is he? If Rafa brings his USO / Davis cup tennis tomorrow, he can win this. However, I agree that he probably won’t just yet so Novak has the edge for now.
If that’s the case, Lajovic would’ve been under pressure against Khachanov knowing Medvedev was a strong chance of beating Djokovic.
I actually think Lajovic is stepping up to the ocassuk and handling the pressure except his next opponent is a different kettle of fish to his previous opponent.
With Spain up 1:0 and having an edge in doubles that changes things slightly and Nadal will liklely use it to his advantage from the outset.
Baptista Agut in 2
Nadal in 2
Now that I watched Rafa’s match with De Minaur, I think that the third set was the best tennis he has played in this tournament. He really had to tough it out in the second set until he got the break at the end. Then he seemed to change his tactics in the third set. I did not expect that third set to be so easy. Rafa just took over and De Minaur started making more errors. The only blip was Rafa getting broken when he was up 4-0. But he broke right back and then served it out for the win.
I am not that concerned if Rafa loses to Novak in the final. I know that Rafa will give it his best playing for his country. I don’t think that beating Novak will necessarily give Rafa a boost heading into the AO. At least this time Rafa will not be coming in cold. I just want Rafa to be match ready to give himself the best shot at winning that doh me career grand slam,
Me too. But every year I feel like Charley Brown when Lucy…you know.
Winning that DOUBLE career grand slam! *
It’s tough for Rafa against Djoko, that guy seems to have his numbers everywhere and it’s only lately after 2015/2016 that Rafa is > Djoko on clay again. He’s still struggling against Djoko on the HCs and grass, and doesn’t seem to figure out Djoko ‘s game – tried to be aggressive and it backfired re AO2019, tried to go toe to toe with Djoko and he lost after a long battle re: Wimbledon2018.
Djoko seems to have whatever Rafa has and even better – better serve, better returns, better BH, better court position, better speed and movements, better defence. His FH may not be better than Rafa’s but it’s not worse; his volleying may not be better but they’re already at a good level. It’s only his overhead smashes that are not up to par.
Unless Djoko has an off day or is injured somehow, once he sees Rafa in a final, he’ll play his best tennis to beat Rafa. I hope Rafa is at least competitive enough, and not loses like at Doha 2016 or AO2019.
Seeing the number of negatives rafa has as per this site, it seems rafa is ranked below 100 and knows nothing about tennis ..
Djoko may beat rafa likely today but that’s ok .all i hope is rafa not to get injured so that he has maximum chances at ao n he gets lucky with the draw in avoiding muck,fed,tsitsipas,thiem
Speak for yourself Sanju; you’re always the negative one here.
Let’s be honest, Rafa has problems vs De Minaur and Goffin, would he not have even bigger problem with the no.2 player? Rafa at times this ATP Cup doesn’t play like the world no.1, even Agut does better than him at times. Agut clinically despatched Kyrgios without much fuss, imagine Rafa vs Kyrgios, his own serve would be broken by Kyrgios, and Rafa’s ROS won’t be able to handle Kyrgios big serves (and Kyrgios would be extra motivated facing Rafa).
It’s Rafa’s tenacity more than his game that helped him came through, but the biggest test is still Djoko. Rafa has the problem holding serve in his first service game of his matches, and also when serving for a set or the match; it’s a bad habit that he fails to shake off, perhaps he’s more nervous at the start and nearing the end of matches?
His tenacity alone cannot win him 19 slams .it’s a big factor but there are lot other good things too..i am nervous about him losing because i want him to win n get the highest slam count ,not negative about him .Anyways i don’t watch his matches live, so i am not in a position to comment what parts of his game are clicking or not. All i know is perhaps he does not need to try so hard n push himself as atp cup is not Olympics. The only things that matter now are slams and olympics this year.
Come on Sanju, I’m talking about ATP cup here, why are you talking about the slams? Rafa’s game here at the ATP cup is not up to par, still some way to go before he gets back on track imo.
As far as the AO is concerned, Rafa said in an interview in Spain that he didn’t want a 5 hour slugfest with Djokovic after his ankle surgery in November so didn’t push too hard. Anyone watching that match could see for themselves that it was hardly the kind of contest they normally have. Djokovic took 6 hours to overcome Rafa in the 2012 AO final and the 2018 Wimbledon SF could have gone either way. It was 10-8 in the 5th set played indoors in bright sunshine because Djokovic preferred that.
Their h2h is only 28-26 to Djokovic. Most of Djokovic’s wins have been since 2011 and since 2012 Rafa has been plagued with one injury or another not even finishing the season except for 2015 and 2013.
$5M Bautista Agut 2:0 @ 1.75
$1M Bautista Agut 2:0 + Nadal to win at least a set @ 3.10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9laEwg1Qzh8&feature=emb_title
Keep your mind focused, remain confident, be strong and show off your fighting spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOEMHnbWoAAMAxY?format=jpg
RBA playing a bit too defensive tonight. Lajovic is playing the psychological battle well. Showing that he has self belief and can out hit Rna from.the back of the court.
Let’s see if he can keep it up or choke on critical points against players of Rea’s calibre.
or choke on critical points like he usually does against players of RBA’s calibre.
RBA has made some terrible decisions with an open court so far. A bit complacent this evening.
Both of them play the same counter punching style. I think RBA has a real coach in his team so, hopefully, Roig will get him to do something different.
That’s Lajovic’s inexperience right there. He had no business getting involved in that discussion about replaying the point. All it dud quagmire up RBA animate Lajoviclose concentration to hand him the break.
RBA wins the first set, hopefully he wins the match.
Lajovic just pissed RBA off by continuing that discussion. The whole dynamics of the match (I.e Lajovic being the aggressor) changed after that.
I hope Rafa has recovered enough to have a decent shot at Djokovic. Even I am wilting with keeping up with the schedule on the other side of the world. I can’t imagine what Rafa is going through starting off in Perth and finishing in Sydney on the other side of Australia.
How can zivojinovic, a doubles player, be of any use as a coach in this match?
Spain 1 Serbia 0.
Vamos Spain!
Sanju- which stream/channel is showing the atp cup in india?
There’s no way Rafa goes down 2:0 playing for his country with team support.
Damn!! Djokovic metamorphoses when he see rafa on hc across the net. Rafa already under pressure
Nadal is so damaged psychologically against Djokovic on this surface. Hasn’t played anywhere near his potential in years.
Expectations have diminished– hope rafa can avoid bagels
The solution for Nadal is simple. Play his best tennis and make Djokovic beat him instead of handing him the match every time.
Ok genius! Rafa gets a game😃
Exactly but it’s easier said than done. Rafa just has no idea how to play Djoko on the HCs, his head may be messed up, confused, so he doesn’t know whether he should be more offensive or should he stay back and defend more. He hasn’t found the right balance yet, not helped when his serve fails him, that he loses his service game.
As expected Rafa loses serve in his first service game. Djoko may be tired as he’s throwing drop shots already so early in the match.
Rafa needs to fight hard to be aggressive and controls the points. Djoko always has the advantage vs Rafa on the hard courts as he always tries to step inside the court to take the ball early, Rafa otoh stands way back thus giving Djoko time and space to move forward.
It’s no wonder Fed beats Rafa on the HCs so often lately, because Fed always steps into the court and stays offensive.
3 DFs this game. Plus Nadal just get over your inferiority complex on this surface. How can you be one of the greatest when you let another player dominate you like this.
One can see it in rafas eyes. He is scared.. and nole is so calm as if he expects to deal a beatdown..
best case in all hc tourneys is hope djodal are 1 and 2 and someone take nole out
Rafa is not scared! That is more than a ridiculous comment! This is just a surface that suits Nole so well, almost as when Nole faces Rafa on clay! Of course that Nole is at advantage here! And I don’t expect Rafa to push it to his limits and risk injury! Nole can have it, Rafa will do the talk later!
Vamos Champ!
Thank you Natashao. I’m sick and tired of reading Rafa being talked about like he is outside the top 50 and Djokovic is so superior. Rafa has done well considering the timetable being to Spain’s disadvantage. He is doing his best and he is not superhuman. He can’t win them all.
When Rafa is trouncing Novak on clay, we don’t get this put-down of Djokovic.
Nadal is better than Nole on clay, but when was he trouncing him? Not often.
OTOH, Nole has won 19 consecutive sets on HC against him. Fact, not putdown.
There!…as expected!…Novak will wrap up 1st set quickly…like usual…
😢😢 ao 2019 memories and rafa is getting bugged by the crowd too.. Nole has played his entire life being riled by the crowd
The first set is gone imo, let’s see what Rafa can come out with in the second set. If he carries on like this, then gone case; PCB has to get ready for the doubles.
It’s expected Djoko will be his ruthless self after Lajovic lost the match.
Djokos mastery over rafa is amazing on hcs. He does not even seem to give a chance. He hardly faces a bp and almost seems to break every game🤦🏻♂️
Ironically rba had a higher chance of beating nole
That’s because RBA hits the ball rather flat hence his balls are more difficult to defend against. Rafa’s topspin is not helping him on the HCs, Rafa also doesn’t have a consistently good serve, hence he’s often forced to defend after his serve, against Djoko.
The roof was closed, as well
Roof? Did you say roof? When Rafa was serving like the way he did at DC last year, roof or no roof didn’t bother him. The problem is, Rafa couldn’t always serve that way!
Oh yes, the Roof may be helping Djoko, no wonder he served so well, like a Karlovic; no wind in indoor conditions, no? LOL!
I would like to see Rafa generate a bp against the djoko serve this set
Just forget who’s at the other side of the net and play your best tennis Nadal. Is that too hard for you to do at half a billion net worth?
Half these matches you had to him on a platter!!!
No bagel today! Phew!
After this beatdown.. there is no hope for rafa at the aussie open of nole makes the final
Not to mention play its role in the doubles match next.
Djokovic is only worried about Medvedev. That’s what he worked on during the off season.
Over 5 sets, I give the edge to Med.
The same could be said about Medvedev, Medvedev hits flat shots too hence he’s able to hang in there against Djoko from the baseline. Rafa’s topspin FH is more attackable on the HC as the ball bounces up just at the right height for Djoko to attack it.
Furthermore, Rafa standing way back to hit his shots resulted in some short balls hence Djoko is able to rush in to take the ball early. Rafa is not helping himself playing like that.
Wtf! Is Karlovic serving?
Nadal is showing him too much respect. Why don’t you kiss his bum Nadal.
That’s a bit better Nadal.
Ha ha; right, just concentrate on attacking and play your best tennis, don’t care who’s across the net! Just trust that your attacking game is good enough to beat anyone! That’s what Fed does I suppose.
Urgh hope the year isnt going to give us a gazillion Rafole matches purlease :-/
Well at least he got bps
Rafa showed up for the second set. This is better than I expected.
Much better. Rafa will likely lose. But, this set should give him a lot of confidence should they meet again at AO.
Rafa in seventh gear and nole is still in third. Nole has a lot of slack left. Will be terrific if he steals a tb
Words like better than expected, and phrases like at least he had BPs , and Rafa was lucky , Novak was unlucky seem to crop up whenever they play each other, Novak always gets credit in their matches, and Rafa never does, which is why i dont like this rivalry, and really hate watching their matches, even though Rafas my favorite, seem to be foregone conclusions ….
I don’t understand why Rafa must play this way: only when he’s about to lose then he brings his best tennis! Why in the first place he can’t bring his best from the get go? It’s no wonder he gets injured so frequently, it’s because he loves to spend so much time on court in each match, busy chasing from behind!
Rafa is so stupid, why hitting right back at Djoko instead of hitting to the open court? Where’s his brain?? If he cuts down all these silly shots, he could have broken Djoko’s serve already.
How the F do other players beat djoko who seems like iron man against rafa🤦🏻♂️
Rafa better not lose dubs too.. at least win the war having lost the battle.. else it will be insult to injury😔
Nadal is a WAY better doubles player than Djokovic. I fully expect Spain to win.
LOL owned
It’s just the SURRRFFFFACE. Rafa wins on clay, Novak on hard.
I try to avoid this forum when Rafa is playing because of the negativity and really quite derogatory comments about Rafa’s capabilities.
Trying not to get their hopes up and managing the disappointment I suppose.
Noone is questioning rafas capabilities but the results show that rafa is ill equipped against djoko.. it is not even close.. rafa looks like he has retooled his game vs lesser opponents but seems like it is status quo vs djoko..
Djokovic played better and he was more relaxed with a break in his pocket from the first game and Rafa helped him with UEs.
A good start to 2020 for Djoko, beating the no.1 player. Rafa just doesn’t have the tools to beat Djoko on the HCs; Djoko is 13-2 vs Rafa on the HCs from 2011 onwards, that’s how far ahead Djoko is on the HCs.
As long as Djoko is in the final on the HCs, Rafa can forget about winning it. Unless Rafa changes like a chameleon, and starts hitting flat penetrating shots, he’s not going to win against Djoko on the HCs. It’s so obvious that there’s so many flaws in Rafa’s game on the HCs, I’m sure Fed and Djoko know that and then exploit that when meeting Rafa on the HCs.
Yet, Rafa has won the USO 2 out of the last 3 times and retired with injury in the SF in 2018 otherwise he could have won it 5 times same as Roger Federer. Of Rafa’s 4 USO titles, he beat Djokovic twice in the final.
Nadal is excellent on hard courts…what he isn’t is excellent against Djokovic on hard courts. It’s a match up problem, every bit like Federer has a match up problem on clay against Nadal….and Djokovic with Nadal on clay, for that matter.
It took Djokovic 6 hours to beat Rafa in Australia in 2012 and last year, Rafa said he hadn’t had time to train on his defensive game after his ankle surgery before the AO. His defensive game is crucial against Djokovic. Djokovic is 2:0 against Rafa in Australia; nothing like Rafa’s 6:1 dominance against Djokovic on clay.
Yeah, and one of those two USO wins against Djoko was in 2010, Rafa’s best year. After 2011, Rafa only managed to beat Djoko twice on the HCs in 2013, another of his best years, and that’s all.
His problem on the HCs is Djoko, not the others, as Djoko is good at exposing Rafa’s weaknesses on the HCs.
There is always some excuse for Rafa beating Novak. I get it.
👍
So why don’t you disregard all Novak’s wins against Rafa in 2011 which was his best year?
Be realistic, 2-13 or 7-20 is nothing to be proud of, whichever way you want to put it.
It’s not difficult to acknowledge that Djoko >> Rafa on HCs; whilst Rafa >> Djoko on clay.
Rafa came close to breaking Nole’s serve and squandered those precious break points! Novak serving DF in the tiebreak means he also fears Rafa and Rafa should have taken the advantage on it, but Rafa has too much respect for Nole on fast surfaces! I think Rafa playing the way he did most of the second set has strong chance of beating Nole on HCs in the near future!
The comments here are so disrespectful of Rafa, even from his own fans, that I am just astonished! I recall Rafa beating Fed all the time and Fed fans still believed in their fave and gave Fed chance to level it on the HCs which Fed managed to do lately!
I am so proud of Rafa! I knew he would not give up just easily and the match was close from the second set onwards! Hope Rafa comes out believing in himself now and can have his game further adjusted to finally beat Novak at his favorite surface in Melbourne!
Vamos Champ! ❤️
The problem is Rafa doesn’t believe! It’s when his back is against the wall then he starts to fight back! Why wait until such time then he plays his best tennis, that’s not the way to win matches!
It’s more frustration than disrespect imo, because Rafa’s offensive game is good enough to beat most guys, even Fed and Djoko, but Rafa rarely wants to play offensive tennis against those two guys, for lacking in confidence. He prefers to grind against them.
He should learn something from his Rome match win against Djoko, no doubt that’s on clay, but since on clay he could be offensive, then all the more he needs to be more offensive on the HCs. It’s a matter of he not feeling confident on the HCs against those two guys; against all others he doesn’t feel intimidated imo.
At times Djoko wasn’t even at his best, but he still was able to beat Rafa, whilst Rafa needs to be at his absolute best to beat Djoko, esp on HCs and grass.
Thank you Natashao. Some of these comments are so outrageously disrespectful. Based on these comments Nadal shouldn’t even bother playing Australian open, and US OPEN and Wimbledon for that matter since the ALMIGHTY djokovic is there. Nobody gave Nadal hope after 2011 and 2012 consecutive losses to Djoko on hardcourt. Nadal came back and beat djokovic twice on hardcourts in 2013 including at the US Open. So Rafa can beat Djoko on hardcourts period.
He should have won that 2nd set after many breakpoints but made mistakes. If he won it, then the 3rd set is 50/50 cause Nadal serve was solid thru the second set.
I agree with Nadaline too.
Vamos Rafa. We believe in you.
Close but not enough; how many times he came close but lost? AO2012, Miami 2011 for examples, and now. Rafa since his win in 2013 USO, had not won a set against Djoko on the HCs, that’s pretty poor by any standard.
Whether we like it or not, that’s the reality. Rafa has to break this spell, and overcome the Djoko ‘demon’ in his head. He doesn’t have any issue with all the other players.
That’s because Fed’s fans treat him like he’s god; likewise Djoko’s fans with Djoko.
I doubt Rafa’s fans treat him like a god; more like treating him as a fellow human being, and seeing his flaws in his game and wanting him to improve.
My personal opinion: Rafa is the best athlete among the tennis players, and he comes with a good tennis brain, one of the best if not the best tennis brain. His attitude towards the sports plus his skills set, together with his physical attributes and his tennis brain should make for a complete tennis player achieving much more on the tennis courts, on all surfaces. Imo he still has not reached his full potential, at least not on the HCs and grass, and should and could achieve even more if he continues to work hard to win more on the non clay surfaces, esp beating his main rivals on those surfaces.
I don’t even think Rafa has had time to train since he arrived in Sydney because he’s played everyday until late and has barely had time to go to bed.
Rafa is not playing in the doubles. It’s Feli and PCB vs Djokovic and Troicki.
Good choice! Rafa should just lay back and enjoy! He did enough so far, time for Nole to fight in the doubles and if they win good for them!
Rafa pulls out of dubs.. probably best considering the mental scars that must be so fresh of seeing djoko across the net
Rafa has played 4 matches in 3 days since arriving in Sydney. He must be knackered.
I think Rafa played at close to his best in set 2 and it was close. Could have gone his way. But, in critical moment, he just lacked the belief. Like the volley at 2-1 in tie breaker. This is the problem.
But, overall, it’s not a bad loss, IMO. Plus, it’s better to get a match in now rather than straight the AO final.
I still don’t see anyone, but Djok or Fed beating Rafa at AO. I genuinely see a lot of people who can beat Djoker ( Med, Tsisi to name a few).
Agreed!
I agree. A Djokovic win in Melbourne is not a foregone conclusion. Depends on the draw. I actually give Medvedev the edge over Djokovic in a best of 5. If Rafa is in the final against anyone but Djokovic, he’ll be at 20.
Sorry Cheryl, I respectfully disagree. Judging by what I saw in the 2nd set, If Nadal brings that level consistently in the Australian open final against djokovic he will win barring injury. The end.
If! How often you see that? The problem is mental, when Rafa is facing anyone else not named Djoko, he could play his best tennis on the HCs to beat them; but when he sees Djoko across the net, doubts begin to cloud or crowd his mind (eg. in the match that just ended, how often Rafa hit the wrong shot, right back at Djoko, when the open court was right there for him to attack?).
Rafa can win the AO provided he plays like he did at the DC last year, just be aggressive throughout and serves well, even against Djoko.
Fed too Cheryl ?
keep underestimating Djokovic at your own peril, roof expert.
For Rafa’s sake, just hope that Medvedev and Tsitsipas end up in Djoko’s half of the draw at the AO. Now that Medvedev will be seeded fourth, it may be better that Fed is in Rafa’s half of the draw leaving Medvedev to Djoko’s half.
Rafa needs the help of the next gen to get rid of Djoko on the HCs. Most of them do not have mental scars against Djoko so they may fare better than Rafa against Djoko. They’re young and fit too, most importantly they’re offensive and have no fear of Djoko.
Rafa is not afraid of Djokovic on h/c same as Djokovic is not afraid of Rafa on clay. I think Rafa has more than proved himself on hard court but no one wants to recognise that.
Exactly nadaline. Well said. Plus I am not wishing that Medvedev or Tsitsipas is in djoko’s side of draw. Nadal can beat anyone in Australian open including djokovic, Medvedev, Tsitsipas. For goodness sake Nadal is a 19 time grand slam champion! He deserves better appreciation and respect.
The fact that Rafa wins one AO out of five finals, and he last won it more than ten years ago, says something about him and the AO. Djoko has proven that once he’s in the AO final, like Rafa at the FO, he’s always winning. So, the best chances for Rafa is not having to face Djoko in the final, and that’s not disrespectful to Rafa but just being realistic ( and showing respect to the seven time AO champion).
Nadal was leading in the 5th set in the Australian open final 2012 against Djokovic and should have won it imho. So he is more than capable of beating djoko at the Australian open final. Nadal has no equal to his expertise at the French open, djoko at the australian open
is not even close to Nadal’s level at the french. It is VERY disrespectful to say that if djoko is in a hard court final including australian open, that nadal should forget about winning it. That is not being realistic, that is fear, period.
He only won once because he was injured too many times at the australian open. So injury is his problem and Achilles heel not Djokovic. He is more than capable of beating djokovic at the australian open cause nobody is invincible especially not djokovic at the australian open and not djokovic with regards to playing nadal and that is my realistic humble opinion.
Sorry don’t agree. Djoko has proven when he’s in a AO final, he would win it, so not recognising that is not giving him respect. Rafa also lost before the final there at the FO no matter how invincible he’s there. So, Djoko may also lose before the final at the AO (and he lost there far more than Rafa losing at the FO) but once he’s at the AO final, he’s ruthlessly good, esp after his early loss in 2014.
What guarantee that Rafa will beat fed. He has not beaten fed too outside clay last 5 times right..Medvedev maybe easier than fed for rafa
Sanju, I prefer Rafa facing Fed in the SF than facing Djoko in the final. So, it’s better to have Medvedev to deal with Djoko in the SF, and hopefully he could beat Djoko to reach the final. Or better still, have Tsitsipas to meet Djoko in the QF too.
But, knowing Rafa’s luck at the AO, he will have a tougher draw than the other two big three fellas.
We’ll see thiem n tsitsipas will be tough for the big 3 in qf..neither of the big 3 will have easier time beating both..now it depends who draws them..i hope fed gets tsitsipas n djoko thiem
I prefer rafa to have Medvedev than fed. Yes fed has lesser chance to beat djoko but fed has better chance to beat rafa than med. We will think of djoko in final seperately .for all you know rafa may beat him
Funny, you think Rafa can beat Djoko in the final but will have problems against Fed in the SF? Rafa could at least take a few sets off Fed on the HCs, but he couldn’t take a single set against Djoko lately.
I never said he will beat djoko in final..i said he needs to reach final to beat djoko n beating med is maybe easier than fed for rafa…n in a final going for 20…maybe the adrenaline can get him through..n chance of both fed n djoko getting upset is bleak..so let them both be on other side n kill each other:-)
Fed and Djoko won’t kill each other on the HCs, at this moment Djoko > Fed on the HCs. Medvedev could at least extend Djoko and runs him crazy.
Oh, and Fed may have problems himself against the other young guns; Rafa OTOH can beat the rest of the guys when fit and healthy; it’s still Fed and Djoko who will give Rafa the most problems at the AO.
Any news on how courts in Melbourne this year are playing …fed has had a hit already…are they fast like 2017 or medium fast…
N hope rafa is physically fine over playing n no injury at all
Sanju AT 10:14 AM,
I don’t know how fast the 2020 AO courts are, but their surface differs from the 2017 court surface.
The AO court surface has been changed. The Plexicushion surface (that was in use since 2008) was replaced with GreenSet surface for the 2020 AO.
https://www.tennis-tourtalk.com/47104/tennis-australia-appoints-greenset-worldwide-as-official-court-surface-supplier
https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/tennis-australia-to-change-hardcourt-surface-for-australian-open/
I don’t understand how he was unable to play doubles.
Agree with Lucky @ 7:23am & 7:41am…
Rafa won the Davis Cup on hard court for Spain single handedly and Serbia didn’t even make the final.
Yeah I was hoping that Rafa would appear here at the ATP Cup but too bad, that Rafa disappeared. The DC Rafa was offensive Rafa at his best – served incredibly well, very offensive moving inside the court so often, held serve all through the DC and didn’t lose a set in the singles, and playing in both singles and doubles.
DC Rafa played flawless tennis, if that Rafa appears here, he would beat this Djoko. The current Rafa reverted back to playing defensive tennis on the HCs, hence all the flaws creeping in. Unless he plays at Melbourne the same way he played at DC, he’s not going to beat Djoko if they meet there, imo.
DC court surface was very fast. That helped Rafa. Here, it’s slower, which gets Djokovic returning and ground game into play. That’s a difference, lucky.
And Melbourne courts are faster these days! Rafa stands more chance, he just needs to have beliefs and plays with more confidence on key points..
He will be just fine provided no injuries.,.
Rafa at AO vs 125 players not named Djok or Fed = win and slam no.20. That’s how good Rafa is. No1 is taking that away.
A lot of The serves that Novak retuned today, will not come back against any other player.
Rafa has explained that he’s not playing the doubles because he is low in energy. He’s been playing on fumes since he arrived in Sydney.
Wow. I didn’t expect that.
I was right all the way.,,I noticed Rafa was lacking energy! All these matches, bad scheduling and traveling did take it’s toll on Rafa’s body.,.
I hope it is just lack of energy as to why he’s not playing doubles and not any injury. Please I hope he’s ok physically. He should go and rest. He has had enough match practice for australian open and he should do well there.
I hope Spain wins the cup, to prove they are the best team despite all the poor scheduling against them. Come on Feli and PCB!
Whatever happens to djoko in australia., everything he touches turns to gold🤦🏻♂️
And how are there so many serbians in Sydney😳
Emigration. Novak gets that support there much like Rafa gets huge Hispanic support in Miami.
The Serbian supporters are very loud, the same goes for the Greek supporters and also the Bulgarian supporters. Oh, and the Argentines too.
I noticed during Dimitrov’s matches, his Bulgarian supporters courtside were so loud, making Djoko (and Rafa) rather pissed off. The Greek fans were very loud courtside at Abu Dhabi final when Tsitsipas played against Rafa. The Argentines were very loud too supporting Delpo at Miami and also during their DC final against Spain, in Spain one year.
These fans are loud regardless of where they are, supporting their players. Sometimes I wish for the Rafa fans courtside to be louder than them, its not like there’s a lacking of Rafa fans around; its only in Madrid that I feel the crowd is really very loud in support of Rafa, because its in Spain.
The only group that could be louder than all these groups, imo, is the Fed supporters, maybe only in Spain that the Rafa supporters drown the Fed ones. Even in Melbourne, his supporters drown that of Djoko’s, regardless of the Serbian migrants there, imo.
Now feli-busta are underperforming. Looks like djoko put the fear of the devil in the whole of the spanish team
There was the reason why Rafa had to play all the doubles! Feli is old and I would expect him to retire soon, while Carreno can play well when Rafa is there to bail him out of troubles. Troicki is back to playing well, played great matches this whole tournament and serves great…paired with Djokovic they make a winning combination!
“Old” people CAN still play doubles well. It’s just that Spain’s doubles teams have been useless in team competition unless Rafa is half of them. Just the way it is. I hope Rafa recovers some energy in the next week. Rafa without his trademark energy is very sad to see. I am very glad that Team Spain decided to sit Rafa out for this one though. No point in risking injury!
Amen! Ramara. It was an excellent decision. And I am happy Rafa faced Djoko before Australian open, so he knows what to expect should they meet and can work on implementing his DC game and his level at the 2nd set. And I believe he can beat Djoko and fed at the Australian open. I am optimistic unlike some people.
Vamos Rafa
he knows what to expect from Djokovic since 2013, a beatdown.
why not? This was the deciding match of a very important competition.
Feli is the weak link here, too bad no Rafa in the doubles, as he’s really good in doubles among the singles players.
Congrats to Serbia.. novak single handedly led them to the cup not unlike rafa at the dc.
Rafa was better at the DC than Djoko was at the ATP cup, because Rafa had to do it at year end after Paris and WTF. And, Rafa was ridiculously great at DC, beating everyone in straight sets and playing doubles so often too.
Djoko struggled to beat Shapo and Medvedev and it’s at the start of a new year, after a year end break!
I agree completely and I have faith that he can replicate that performance at the Australian open and win it beating whoever including djokovic. Nothing is impossible.
Yeah nothing is impossible.
Why I’m frustrated with Rafa was because he obviously had the game to counter Djoko( as shown in the second set and when his back was against the wall) but he’s so sluggish at the start that he kept dropping serve at the start of his matches, and then what followed was he having to play catch up all the time in the first set.
Once his opponents were able to break his serve, they ran away with the set quickly because they were then full of confidence and played their best to not allow Rafa to break back. It happened in the SF and now in the final. If he started his matches by playing the way he played in set two, I doubt his opponents would break his serve that easily and he would be in for a chance to win the first set and then made things easier for himself.
He could have saved himself some energy playing that way against De Minaur instead of having to play three sets of tennis to win. Who knows, he might then have more energy in the final. If he’s tired, it would be a daunting task to have to win his matches in three sets so often, so all the more he should come out to play more offensively from the get go to put pressure on his opponents. As I’d mentioned earlier on, his offensive game was/is great and could beat anyone.
He’s not utilising his weapons the way he should, instead he retreated to 5 to 10 metres behind the baseline and played his clay court style defensive tennis. No wonder Goffin, De Minaur and Djoko could beat him (or almost beat him in the case of De Minaur) because he’s allowing them time to step inside the court to dictate play.
I knew Feli and PCB would lose as soon as I knew Rafa wasn’t playing. Feli can’t concentrate for 5 minutes in a row and PCB needs Rafa to pull him through.
Okay, first of all, congrats to Novak and team Serbia. Such a great effort!
Now on to analyzing Djodal episode #55, there are quite a few takeaways.
1. The way Rafa started off and how the early games transpired, it looked like the match would be over 6-2 6-3 or something. The first set was 6-2 but lasted 40 minutes. Rafa was making small in-roads but his court positioning was a lost cause, he was clueless behind second serves and unsure of his backhand patterns.
2. Rafa was SO nervous at the start. His timing was way off, he was stepping away from the baseline, hitting very defensive slices. He was nervous because:
-He was up against a man who had won 17 consecutive sets against him
-He was low on energy and we all know why
-He was playing in the worst possible conditions: cool weather not giving much aid to his forehand, 90% humidity worsening his perspiration issue and of course, indoor conditions!
Djokovic is a bad match-up for him in multiple ways and the conditions made it even tougher.
3. Rafa is not able to swing freely against Novak unless he is really back-against-the-wall and knows he’s be done if he doesn’t go all out. By then, it is usually late. SO many neutral balls, I could picture Rafa crushing them against other players but he can get shaky against Novak.
4. Probably realizing it can’t go worse, Rafa, spurred on by Roig’s and RBA’s on-court advice, started thinking more and changed the patterns. He started serving better and FINALLY brought his serve and volley to the match! Surprisingly, he was then CRUISING on serve for most of set 2!
IMPACT: DJokovic started feeling the heat. He began making errors and there was that 2-3 game where Rafa had 5 break points I think. That was Rafa’s chance but Novak served too well and Rafa couldn’t take chance of a second serve return he had.
5. It is effective to use slices against Novak to build patterns but really depends how and when you use it. In set 1, Rafa was regressing from the baseline right away and slices from deep behind. This, combined with his nserves, his slices had too much underspin and the trajectory was too defensive. In set 2, he started slicing from the baseline, put more on it and was able to move Novak around. He uses aggressieve slicing in the USO 2013 final so that’s the perfect example.
6. Novak’s return is INSANE. I don’t know how Rafa survived that 5-5 game in set 2 when Novak was THUMPING first and second serve returns. FInally Rafa hit the spots which were too good and held!
7. Rafa lacked convinction in his offensive game in the crunch moments. He should have won set 2! There was a forehand DTL at 1-0 in the tie break that he netted, that backhand volley on 2-1 which he couldn’t put away.
Rafa definitely started going for more but he can surely hit bigger forehands and backhands against Novak.
8. Even though he lost in 2 sets, I think he’d take positives from set 2 and refine the execution of his tactics.
9. Novak served too good. Uncharacteristically good I would say! He clocked second serves at 170s and 180s and that is because he was never put under too much pressure until Rafa had that 2-3 game in set 2! It is a different story when you are under pressure, even in your opponent’s service games. Rafa must work on creating more pressure on him right from the get go!
Vamos Rafa, take some rest and good luck for AO! SO much also depends on the draw!
(I repeat my comment I posted on the Rafa page.)
Rafa said at his post-final press-conference: “In general terms, for me the last 10 days here, in the ATP Cup, have been positive.”
I’m glad that he didn’t get injured at the ATP Cup and I think that playing there was a good practice to him before the AO.
Rafa’s full press conference:
https://youtu.be/owrfHonMNzc
Vamos Rafa! 💪
Thank you Augusta. I was worried about him not playing doubles. I’m so happy he is not injured and he’s healthy. That’s the most important thing.
might not be. He should have played doubles if he was.
Ricky AT 10:55 AM,
Rafa explained at his post-match press conference why he didn’t play doubles.
“Team decision” according to Rafa who admitted he was “low on energy” in his interview. He did look very tired.
I think Rafa could have used more vacation over the so called year end break. All he got was a few days with his cousins and wife at Disneyland Paris. The rest of the time he’s been in training or playing Abu Dhabi. I think the thing is, he’s used to being injured at the end of the year, which is annoying but restful in a way, rehabbing, then taking a break after the AO.
The post in reply to Augusta is from me.
Congrats Djoko and team Serbia! What a beast Djokovic is, time for number 17 in AO! By the way, first time I ever saw a crowd cheer for Nole when he was playing Fed or Rafa. It was beautiful.
Yeah that is true.. first time djoko got the greater crowd support and he seemed as dialled in as he is when the crowd is against him… would have been interesting if he had faced fed in such an atmosphere
Too bad Fed and the Swiss team didn’t play here. Fed and Stan make a good team in singles and doubles. If both are fit, they are formidable in doubles and Stan as the second man can beat most guys. Fed as no.1 can beat all except maybe Djoko so Team Swiss may have a good chance of winning the Cup.
Luckystar AT 10:56 AM,
Fed withdrew from the ATP Cup due to family reasons, and because of that Switzerland did not qualify for the tournament.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tennis-atpcup-federer/federer-withdraws-from-inaugural-atp-cup-idUSKBN1X913V
I add to my comment AT 11:00 AM:
Wikipedia: ¤¤ The teams that participate in the ATP Cup are determined by the singles ranking of their best player.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATP_Cup
For Rafa to win Australian open 2020, he has to avoid Djokovic at any cost.Rafa doesn’t have the right tactics nor the mental state to overcome Djoker who is a beast on Australian hard courts. Too many things have to fall in place for NADAL and too many things should go wrong for Djoker. Nadal’s game feeds into Djoker’s strengths on this surface and Rafa cannot redline his game
In a best of 5. Hoping somebody takes out Djoker before finals and I am very confident Nadal will bear Fed in best of 5 with his improved serve and overall game on hard courts. Med should take out Djoker if they are on the same half. Fed has no chance against Djoker if they are in the same half.
I am not surprised by the result today. I also don’t think it was the be-all and end-all. Rafa did battle back in the second set and had his chances. I do think it was a guide thung fir him to sit out doubles and I do not think there is anything eating with him. He was carrying his team playing both singles and doubles and it was enough. No sense risking overplaying and injury before the AO. At least Rafa got match play and won’t go in cold.
I know Novak’s record at the AO. He will go in as the favorite. But not for one minute would I say that Rafa might as well not play because he has no chance against Novak. It’s true that it would be nice if someone knocked out Novak before the final. But Rafa will focus on what he has to do. Streaks do have to end sometime. It is true that Rafa has not beaten Novak on HC since 2013. The tennis channel commies kept saying it. But I do think Rafa can beat Novak if it comes down to it. You never know what can happen. There is no such thing as a sure thing in a slam. Rafa is the closest to it at RG.
Rafa still has his fighting spirit and I think he will work to get into his best form and peak at the right time for the AO.
Vamos Rafa! 😀
One sentence in my previous comment was totally butchered by autocorrect.
For the record, it should have read – I do think it was a good thing for RAF to sit out the doubles and I do not think there is anything wrong with him. *
dull biased fangirls in ruins :yummy: congrats Serbia for taking the trophy. Can’t wait for another dull smackdown by mighty Nole.
kay, first of all, congrats to Novak and team Serbia. Such a great effort!
Now on to analyzing Djodal episode #55, there are quite a few takeaways.
1. The way Rafa started off and how the early games transpired, it looked like the match would be over 6-2 6-3 or something. The first set was 6-2 but lasted 40 minutes. Rafa was making small in-roads but his court positioning was a lost cause, he was clueless behind second serves and unsure of his backhand patterns.
2. Rafa was SO nervous at the start. His timing was way off, he was stepping away from the baseline, hitting very defensive slices. He was nervous because:
-He was up against a man who had won 17 consecutive sets against him
-He was low on energy and we all know why
-He was playing in the worst possible conditions: cool weather not giving much aid to his forehand, 90% humidity worsening his perspiration issue and of course, indoor conditions!
Djokovic is a bad match-up for him in multiple ways and the conditions made it even tougher.
3. Rafa is not able to swing freely against Novak unless he is really back-against-the-wall and knows he’s be done if he doesn’t go all out. By then, it is usually late. SO many neutral balls, I could picture Rafa crushing them against other players but he can get shaky against Novak.
4. Probably realizing it can’t go worse, Rafa, spurred on by Roig’s and RBA’s on-court advice, started thinking more and changed the patterns. He started serving better and FINALLY brought his serve and volley to the match! Surprisingly, he was then CRUISING on serve for most of set 2!
CONTINUED..
IMPACT: DJokovic started feeling the heat. He began making errors and there was that 2-3 game where Rafa had 5 break points I think. That was Rafa’s chance but Novak served too well and Rafa couldn’t take chance of a second serve return he had.
5. It is effective to use slices against Novak to build patterns but really depends how and when you use it. In set 1, Rafa was regressing from the baseline right away and slices from deep behind. This, combined with his nserves, his slices had too much underspin and the trajectory was too defensive. In set 2, he started slicing from the baseline, put more on it and was able to move Novak around. He uses aggressieve slicing in the USO 2013 final so that’s the perfect example.
6. Novak’s return is INSANE. I don’t know how Rafa survived that 5-5 game in set 2 when Novak was THUMPING first and second serve returns. FInally Rafa hit the spots which were too good and held!
7. Rafa lacked convinction in his offensive game in the crunch moments. He should have won set 2! There was a forehand DTL at 1-0 in the tie break that he netted, that backhand volley on 2-1 which he couldn’t put away.
Rafa definitely started going for more but he can surely hit bigger forehands and backhands against Novak.
8. Even though he lost in 2 sets, I think he’d take positives from set 2 and refine the execution of his tactics.
9. Novak served too good. Uncharacteristically good I would say! He clocked second serves at 170s and 180s and that is because he was never put under too much pressure until Rafa had that 2-3 game in set 2! It is a different story when you are under pressure, even in your opponent’s service games. Rafa must work on creating more pressure on him right from the get go!
For some reason I am not able to post the remainder of my post. will try again
MPACT: DJokovic started feeling the heat. He began making errors and there was that 2-3 game where Rafa had 5 break points I think. That was Rafa’s chance but Novak served too well and Rafa couldn’t take chance of a second serve return he had.
5. It is effective to use slices against Novak to build patterns but really depends how and when you use it. In set 1, Rafa was regressing from the baseline right away and slices from deep behind. This, combined with his nserves, his slices had too much underspin and the trajectory was too defensive. In set 2, he started slicing from the baseline, put more on it and was able to move Novak around. He uses aggressieve slicing in the USO 2013 final so that’s the perfect example.
6. Novak’s return is INSANE. I don’t know how Rafa survived that 5-5 game in set 2 when Novak was THUMPING first and second serve returns. FInally Rafa hit the spots which were too good and held!
7. Rafa lacked convinction in his offensive game in the crunch moments. He should have won set 2! There was a forehand DTL at 1-0 in the tie break that he netted, that backhand volley on 2-1 which he couldn’t put away.
Rafa definitely started going for more but he can surely hit bigger forehands and backhands against Novak.
8. Even though he lost in 2 sets, I think he’d take positives from set 2 and refine the execution of his tactics.
9. Novak served too good. Uncharacteristically good I would say! He clocked second serves at 170s and 180s and that is because he was never put under too much pressure until Rafa had that 2-3 game in set 2! It is a different story when you are under pressure, even in your opponent’s service games. Rafa must work on creating more pressure on him right from the get go!
7. Rafa lacked convinction in his offensive game in the crunch moments. He should have won set 2! There was a forehand DTL at 1-0 in the tie break that he netted, that backhand volley on 2-1 which he couldn’t put away.
Rafa definitely started going for more but he can surely hit bigger forehands and backhands against Novak.
8. Even though he lost in 2 sets, I think he’d take positives from set 2 and refine the execution of his tactics.
9.
Novak served too good. Uncharacteristically good I would say! He clocked second serves at 170s and 180s and that is because he was never put under too much pressure until Rafa had that 2-3 game in set 2! It is a different story when you are under pressure, even in your opponent’s service games. Rafa must work on creating more pressure on him right from the get go!
Yeah, Rafa made far too many errors and that’s because it’s Djoko across the net; against anyone else he would’ve won the match, tired or not tired.
Djoko seemed able to bring out the worst from Rafa, a few times during the match, Rafa had Djoko pinned to one corner while Rafa was at the net, yet he stupidly hit right back at Djoko instead of hitting to the open court at the other end, and then it was Djoko who passed Rafa at the net to win the point!
Rafa just couldn’t think clearly when playing against Djoko on the HCs, I bet he not being able to win a single set against Djoko on the HCs since USO2013 did bother him and played in his mind when he faced Djoko across the net.
He not being able to take advantage of Djoko’s second serve is also a sign of him not being confident, so he’s unsure which way Djoko’s shot would come back to him.
I do believe if he approached the match like the way he did at Rome last year, he would give himself a higher chance of winning the match. The Rafa at Rome last year was very determined to beat Djoko at all cost, came out all guns blazing. Who knows, if Rafa could do that on the HCs against Djoko, Djoko might be taken aback and would be busy defending and might not be able to impose his game on Rafa the way he would want to.
So, Rafa was nervous against Djoko, that proved the point that Djoko is/was in Rafa’s head. I feel against Djoko, perhaps Rafa should choose to receive serve instead of serving first.
I feel once Rafa is nervous he tends to revert back to his defensive game, and that goes to show he’s still not comfortable playing his offensive game. His default game (ie his defensive game)is so much more ingrained into his mindset that it’s difficult for his offensive game to take over.
It’s a pity, because his offence is so good and he could beat anyone with his offensive game.
Once again,very agree with all your points lucky!…It’s really shame coz if he believe in himself…i have no doubt in my mind that he could beat Novak(on hc)…even at Novak sacred place..Melbourne..
At the same time,i am really sad knowing that Novak ‘damaged’ him that bad,changed him from the strong bull(mentally) to the player that doubted himself,clueless sometimes on court…don’t know what to do against Novak…i just hope Rafa will find a way to get rid of Novak’s demon in his head…once he’s be able to do that..insyaallah the old strong bull will return.
I actually hope that Moya was there to help Rafa to impose his offensive game on anyone, on the get go. I mean, since Rafa was physically tired, why not shortened all his matches by being more aggressive? Somebody must drill it into him, that his offensive game is seriously good and can beat anyone anywhere, to make him believe it and so to go for it esp when he’s not in tip top conditions physically.
Logically speaking, if you’re not physically in tiptop conditions, all the more you would want to spend less time on court, so why not take things into your own hands instead of being at the mercy of your opponent and have to spend time defending? It doesn’t make sense!
Luckystar AT 2:02 AM,
Carlos Moya has arrived in Melbourne:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7P63A6gc27/
According to Spanish daily sports newspaper Marca, Rafa will start to practice in Melbourne on Tuesday:
https://www.marca.com/tenis/open-australia/2020/01/13/5e1c3d5c268e3e046b8b4596.html
Reading comments from Rafa and Medvedev, yes, they were hard done by the travelling and the time difference between Perth and Sydney, and didn’t have enough rest and time to get used to the court at Sydney.
Poor scheduling had cost them I feel; Khachanov could do better vs Lajovic (who said he’s more comfortable playing in Sydney than Brisbane!); Medvedev could have a chance too vs Djoko given how close the match was.
Going forward, if they have to play at the three locations again, it’s better to let those at Perth to finish the group matches two days ahead of the rest and then travel to Sydney ASAP to give them time to adjust to different time zone and also the court surface.
The seedings are out. Kyrgios got 24 which means he can’t play the big 3 till 4th round. 13-16 is dangerous for big 3. Shapo, stan, Diego, Karen..all big hitters and all are aggressive .wonder who is the best for rafa…djoko sure will be desperate to avoid stan
I’ll take Khachanov any day for Rafa, because want Stan or Diego to face Djoko, ha ha! Shapo is good enough to extend the TOP two but not good enough to beat them in BO5 I feel.
Kachanov uso 18 was terror for rafa
Khachanov is playing terrible tennis these days, it’s the current form that matters, not the form of 2018, if not nobody will be wary of Medvedev!
Diego qf is lucky for rafa ..he wins the slam..haha..french 18 n uso 19..but Diego 4th round is unlucky .eg ao 18 ..he got injured next round n withdrew
Strange, Diego is a bad opponent for anyone, because he simply drags everyone into a grinding war, so no, I won’t want to see him near Rafa.
Hurkaz Hubert got 32. Will be tricky for round 3.
Talking about Stan, he’s the only one who could beat Djoko regularly in BO5 but rarely in BO3. I wonder why that’s so; maybe in BO5, Stan could afford to start slow but still has time to catch up and then overcome Djoko, with his consistently powerful and unrelenting groundstrokes.
In recent times, off clay, only Stan could beat Djoko at the slams ( when Djoko wasn’t in his slump from 2017 to mid 2018). On grass Djoko seems invincible again, even Fed couldn’t have win over Djoko at Wimbledon.
Stuart Fraser 50m ago: “Eleven hours until Australian Open qualifying gets underway, and a sudden influx of strong-smelling bushfire smoke in Melbourne:”
https://twitter.com/stu_fraser/status/1216694675698044928
Awful!
Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria 40m ago: “Smoke has increased over Melbourne this evening as a wind change moved through. A Road Weather Alert is current for reduced visibility in the smoke; observations indicate visibility down to 900m in parts. Take extra care while driving.”
https://twitter.com/BOM_Vic/status/1216698796958154752
Awful!
Augusta…thank u bout haze/smoke info up there!…I wonder how players would react bout it??
Smoke in Melbourne on January 14 AT 7:40:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOMNp8pU0AAXcWV?format=jpg
Awful!
Antonio Arenas, who tweeted, is the director of communications at Rafa’s academy and a commentator for Eurosport’s Spanish-language channel.
José Morgado: “Start of the AusOpen qualifying now delayed till 11am local [due to smoke in Melbourne]”:
https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/1216846098750484486
Hi all. I didn’t see the whole ATP cup final, but I saw 15 minute highlights. I have to say, I thought the level of tennis was INSANE. Novak was sensational in the first set, but it seems they both were in the 2nd. Obviously that second set could have gone either way, but based on that set, it’s very hard to believe Nadal hasn’t beaten either of his two main rivals on a hard court in six years.
As is often pointed out, it’s hard to miss Nadal’s defensive court positioning. However, I don’t think it would necessarily help him to move forward, at least against Djokovic. Although Rafa has developed a great flat backhand that he can basically take on the short hop and muscle either CC or DTL, I don’t think he can manage it on the FH, where he needs more time to generate his whip motion. If he steps forward to the baseline, I think Novak will force a lot more errors on the FH side. In any case, if Nadal can serve like he did in that second set and play his game, he should do fine.
I too thought Nadal did pretty well in that 2nd set. He was tired from previous matchplay and the conditions (humidity, closed roof) favored Novak, but he still came close.
I don’t know if he needs to move forward or not, but I thought he seemed a bit passive in some rallies, basically just trading down the middle of the court. Then Novak would be the aggressor, and get him running out to the FH side (also a successful tactic against Fed). The problem on hard courts now is that he doesn’t have his old defensive skills. On clay it’s not such a problem because his forehand causes insane difficulty with the top spin so he’s rarely on the defensive. Plus, when he is on the defensive his movement is better and clay gives him more time.
It’s those hard courts that have less bounce that can really cause problems, because the ball is ending up in a hittable zone as soon as it’s a little bit short. Even guys like Goffin and De Minaur who aren’t known for their offensive abilities can then cause problems in three set matches. I do think it’s partly a matter of timing though, he seems to take a little while to adjust to the speed of the HC. Once the timing on the FH is right he doesn’t give many short balls away, although indoor conditions obviously favour opponents because it’s easier to rush him.
The problem with Rafa as always, is that he tends to camp at his BH corner, and so his FH tends to be under attack more often than not these days, esp when he’s now older and not as quick to cover his FH corner.
To me that’s the flaw in his game, he could never be like Djoko and Murray, who tend to recover their positions quickly back to the centre of the baseline after each shot they make. For them, it would be easier to cover the court at both ends and at the same time, make it easier for them to redirect shots back to their opponents whichever directions they want.
Rafa standing way back means his shots may land short at his opponent’s court and so giving his opponent chances to step in to take the ball early. How often we see that happening during his match with Djoko!
I don’t agree that if Rafa stays closer to the baseline it would make it worse for his FH, it’s a matter of how he controls or hits it. In practice he could hit a flatter FH, but once in a match he has the tendency of reverting back to hit it with more topspin.
During this ATP cup, Rafa netted a few make-able FH and that’s due mainly to his court position behind the baseline. Had he hit from closer to the baseline, he would’ve gotten the ball over the net. What he could do imo is to hit his FH flatter than usual when playing on the HCs and hitting from closer to the baseline.
A consistently good serve may help him with his S&V tactics and that’s pretty effective against anyone. Djoko has a great serve when he needs it and his one two punch was very effective against a Rafa who stands so far behind the baseline to return serve. Rafa, when he’s serving well, could also employ the one two punch tactics very well (as per AO2019) so mixing in all these tactics may help Rafa be the aggressor in this match up.
Yes, flattening it out is a logical option that would allow him to stand further forward on faster/lower-bouncing hard courts. I guess the issue is how comfortable he’ll be in taking on that extra risk.
And yeah, personally if I were Djokovic/Fed I would like seeing Nadal standing so far back on the return. It just means he’s in a very defensive position to hit any return ball, even if he is usually able to move in afterwards.
Good analysis of Rafa/Djokovic in the ATP cup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7jPXpyhTBA
Simon Briggs 2h ago: “Davila Jakupovic retires after suffering a horrendous coughing fit and breathing difficulties in the heavy, polluted air in Melbourne. Awful scenes”
https://twitter.com/simonrbriggs/status/1216926145507033093
Rafa wont beat Djoker at the Aussie, the same way as Djoker wont beat him at French. So, lets all rest easy and not expect too much out of Rafa for this slam.
If someone takes Nole out
*if someone takes Nole out, then Rafa is in with a shout.
Yeah!…Very agree with u atul!