A three-team panel previews and picks Sunday’s Australian Open final between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. It is the third final at this event between Djokovic and Murray.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (6) Andy Murray
Ricky Dimon (The Grandstand): The question here, of course, is which Djokovic is going to show up. You pretty much know what you’re going to get from Murray, who has been the most impressive player the entire way this fortnight. The Scot was only tested to the max by Grigor Dimitrov and he even handed a bagel to a previously red-hot Tomas Berdych. Djokovic had been solid through five matches before a performance against Stan Wawrinka that should have sent him packing from Melbourne (49 errors to just 27 winners, including zero winners in the entire fourth set). However, you have to think the world No. 1 will be a different man for the final. He is 4-0 lifetime in Australian Open title matches, whereas Murray is 0-3. Djokovic is also 7-0 in his last seven hard-court matches against Murray and 12-1 in the last 13 hard-court sets between the two rivals. Djokovic 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-3.
Pete Ziebron (Tennis Acumen): Welcome back to the Big 4, Murray! The Scot’s impressive march to the 2015 Australian Open final will elevate you back to where you belong in the ATP rankings. Murray will certainly benefit from the fact that he will have an extra day of rest heading into the final and that the top-seeded Djokovic was extended to five sets by Wawrinka in Friday’s semifinal. However, despite three previous final appearances, Murray has yet to win the Aussie Open and he will be facing a four-time champion in Djokovic. The Serb, who tends to ricochet quickly back into form following a poorly-played match, now finds himself back in familiar territory in Melbourne: in the final, where he will reign supreme once again. Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(3).
Jared Pine (The Second Serb): Following his win over Wawrinka, Djokovic has now won six of his seven slam semifinals that have gone five sets. However, the Serb has only gone on to win the final two of those times–and both were on hard courts over Rafael Nadal, whom Djokovic was dominating in the head-to-head at the time. Djokovic has met Murray in major finals four times and each has won two, accounting for the Scot’s only two such titles. The two that Djokovic won were both at the Australian Open. Murray hasn’t been in a Grand Slam final since winning Wimbledon in 2013; it has been a long ride back to the biggest stage of the sport. Djokovic is going to be the player who is much more ready for this because he has continued to be in the final rounds of slams, whereas Murray had been struggling just to reach quarterfinals. Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
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“whereas Murray had been struggling just to reach quarterfinals”
?? You’re assessing his chances on last year’s form? It doesn’t seem like you’ve been following his progress this year.
Fair point. I think he is saying, however, that murray will be at disadvantage due to little recent history at this stage of slams.
Mind says djoko in 4
Heart says Murray in 5
i imagine this is the case for many people
#Ditto
#DoYouuuu????
+1
+1 2
It will be brilliant and unexpected if Murray wins this 🙂
Hope he pulls it off
The court is playing quicker this year. The surface used to benefit Djokovic more but since last year, they have quickened the court. That should give murray a slight advantage.
Murray has more momentum heading into the match. Djokovic was lacking in intensity against Wawrinka throughout. Had stan been firing more consistently, he would have taken djokovic down. When was the last time you saw djokovic hit zero winners in a set of a grand slam semi final? I believe never before. Anyway, do not want to read too much into that performance alone.
Murray is doing a slightly better job of defending his second serve now and I absolutely loved the use of his backhand slice against Berdych! he used a lot of backhand up the line slices against novak in their USO match last year so I am assuming he will employ the same variation.
Djokovic is mentally tougher but I don’t think Murray really lacks belief against Novak. He believes he can beat Novak when playing well.
While I totally understand the reasons for picking djokovic, I am picking murray to win.His forehand will be strong and backhand will be versatile.
Murray for his third career slam.
in how many?
Murray in 5
Novak will come out playing aggressive tennis and take command right away. Andy MUST pounce on novak’s 2nd serves and avoid dropping floaters in the middle of the court !!
The backhand slice and the slider serve out-wide will be key for Murray. The court is seemingly playing more conducive to underpin and if Murray can capitalize on that, he will have his chances.
Lung-busting rallies will be in abundance 😉
Whose lungs and muscle systems do you think will cope better?
During the semi final against wawdard I was trying to remember just how Djokovic managed to get into so much better physical shape than in his years prior to 2011 when his lungs were limiting him among other physical complaints. The egg has been part of it, I don’t know whether he has continued using it. The sport psychology cnosultation he had around the end of 2010 / early 2011 that he alluded to back in 2011 seems to have done wonders, and perhaps the gluten-free diet really did make a big difference _in his case_ (it only seems to be necessary for those who have Celiac disease).
Living in the US is bad for this particular tournament. When do you sleep/wake up for the match, Ricky?
I hope Murray will win in 5. 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2
Probably sleep from 10 pm to 3 am
And nice pick
Carlos, I was so sad to read of your death in 2004.
That Tristan Und Isolde with Dame Margaret Price – the one that caused you to storm out of the recording studio, a neurotic heap, never to return – was heartbreakingly profound.
Best wishes to you in the afterlife. Long may you continue to post your thoughts on All Things Tennis through the ether.
PS that Munich Rosenkavalier is unforgettable. In particular, I think Brigitte Fassbaender’s single-handed backhand down the line, allied with the judicious use of the lob, is telling. Vielen dank!
muzz in 4. Nothing that has happened in 2014 can be taken into account. This is vintage pre-Wimby 2013 muzz back (with value added, IMO). As it was then, there will probably be less than a hair’s breadth between them tomorrow, but I’m going for muzz to win the key points … and because I just can’t take the stress of 5 sets.
alex,
Here’s a shout out to you! Nice to see you here! Your guy is looking more like his old self. As for the final, it could go either way. One school of thought is that Novak has won four finals here and will rise to the occasion and play his best tennis, unlike his performance in the semis. Then there is another school of thought that says Murray has found his game again. He is a formidable foe who can hang with Novak in these tough best three out of five set matches. He may be coming off a poor year and the sense is that he lacks belief for the final, but I think he has gained confidence in that tough match with Dimitrov and even with a red hot Berdy. He’s as ready now as he can possibly be. I think he is hungry for another slam win after such a disappointing year returning from back surgery. He is healthy, his physical stamina is back and also his great movement all over the court. Last year he simply could not hang with Novak. But this year will be different. I definitely expect a tough battle and a really good final.
It’s almost a toss-up and I can’t argue with the unanimity in the expert picks because Novak would be the favorite based on his record at this slam. But I will go for Murray to win in five sets.
Like others above, rooting for Murray but betting on Joker!
Most of Murray’s losses to Novak came from his disbelief he could beat Novak…I see Andy looking much stronger this year and it seems to me he is more determined than ever…If I were in Andy’s shoes I would just replay the nole vs wawa semi to build confidence…even Dokovic in his pressers admits he was not playing well and that he was not pushed hard in his previous matches, even Serbian press recognizes Novak is not at his best and I hope Murray can build some confidence on it…
If the right Andy shows up, the one who trusts his own game and who SERVES big, I say he will take the crown…
I predict: Andy in five sets…I have Nole losing the first set, winning the second, Andy winning the third and Nole pushing hard and winning the tiebreak in the forth and then Andy wining the fifth… I would love to see Andy lift the trophy…
but since I am a Rafan, if I have to chose between Nole wining AO or wining the RG this year I would certainly wish him to win the AO trophy and then to fade away for the rest of the year… 🙂
I don’t understand your last point. Why do you have to choose? If Djokovic plays so well that he wins Roland Garros this year then he deserves it. I don’t think Nadal will allow him to win though. But again, it depends on Rafa’s health before and during RG.
“…………….. it depends on Rafa’s health before and during RG.”
Careful, @CarlosKleiber, this could becinstrued as making excuses for Rafa! 🙂
Novak Volleyovic
^^ I just can’t take the stress of 5 sets 🙂
As a longterm Muzzman I would’ve thought you would be battle hardened by now Alex!!
There has been a seismic shift in Andy’s attitude that bodes well for this confrontation – notably he is enjoying himself out there at last and unless Nole has been playing bluff and double bluff (always possible) he has looked a lot less cocksure in several of his matches.
Too much to hope there will be a repeat of his dodgy performance against WaWa but I am quietly confident Muzz will get the better of him.
Murray in 5 sets
I think Andy got a lot of confidence in the Berdych match, up to then he wasn’t playing outstanding tennis, let’s be honest. Nole has been playing average tennis throughout and I think Murray is the better player at this moment in time.
Some really nice backhand volleys by Djokovic. He escapes 0-40
Muzza needs to get out of this BH pussy-footing with Djokovic otherwise it’s curtains for him. He needs to be aggressive out there.
Gosh, how I wish Muzza had a FH………..
THis is too damn good by djokovic so far. Murray MUST start pulling the trigger earlier in rallies…
Djokovic threading the DTL shots to good effect…………
Djoker on fire
The difference so far: one guy has a FH, the other not…………….
Can’t believe I just said Djoker has a FH. Encapsulates how awful Muzza’s is………
Djokovic winning it in straight sets….Murray already collapsing.
It would be miracle if Murray manages to even even 1 set….
IF djokovic keeps playing like this….which would also require a miracle
Aw Gawd, there’s Kim………….with her mouth open……….
Even Andy Roddic had better forehand than Murray.
Roddicks forehand was good. Roddick had a terrible BACKHAND.
If Roddic had Federer’s forehand, just imagine, he could have won at least 8 slams.
Match on
Djokovic has already cooled off
Ricky Dimon, I would love to see you predicting ICC cricket World Cup 2015. lol
I dont get it
Is Amelie coaching Andy? If that was Toni it would have been called coaching.
Nop, she is just encouraging him. Come on !
WTA………..
Djokovic swearing in Serbian…………..
Only one guy wants to play well at a time
Djokovic agitated, music to my ears……………
great play by Andy! using the backhand so well
Djokovic was complaining that he wasn’t allowed an MTO in the middle of a rally. 🙂
only rafa at RG can sustain the highest of level throughout the match…. Djokovic was really really good in the start and then has cooled off, BUT, Andy also has a role in this. He has improved his level. PROTECT your second serve andy
Brad already tweeted that Djokovic’s game is off the scales.
Djokovic missing routine BHs now. It’s the finger, meaw………..
Djokovic so mad right now
murray has won ONLY 38% of his second serves and his first serve in percentage is 58% so he has delivered a lot of second serves.
Despite Muzz’s strong ROS,, djokovic 8/11 (73%) on second serves BUT 13/26 (50%) on first serves! and thankfully for Andy, djokovic’s first serve in % has been 70% LOL
Okay Kim, you got me there! Perfect.
https://twitter.com/sabinelisicki/status/561817425927471104/photo/1
Epic
Why does Murray always lob when the opponent comes in instead of going for the pass! The chances of making the lob is so much lower
That was a dumb one
Especially cause the rest of his game has been good.
Has anyone noticed that there is no grunting by Djoko in the rallies like he normally does
wow…that was on murray’s racket!!
Murray choked that set away against a sub par Djoko
Murray is making so many unnecessary mistakes.
The match is a bit dull as expected.
100 times better than Djoker-Wawa tho
Djoko seems to be under the weather. The usual glint in his eye is absent, there is no grunting in the rallies or while serving. And still Murray finds himself a set down
Something is up with Djoko, most definitely. This is the not the Djoko we see
Nadal or Federer could have won in straight sets with this kind of djokovic, had any of them reached into the final.
No way nadal could have
Solid analysis. Oh wait.
Whats your analysis of Nadal vs this Djokovic? Thanks in advance.
No chance Nadal wouldn’t take advantage of Djokovic down period during this match. That’s the difference.
Strong tactical analysis
Better than yours
Is Andy throwing the match?
Yes
disappointing by Muzz
Terrible by Murray after going up a break in the second! Absolutely terrible. Its not even an inspired Djoko that he is up against
Honestely Djokovic is luck that he got mentally destabilized Murray in Final, Berdych could have handled much better with type of djokoivic. And Murray’s serve has been the worst so far in Final.
Impossible to predict how Berdych would have handled his first Grand Slam final. Chances are he would have handled it terribly.
forgot about Rafa vs berdy wimbledon 2010 final? hehe
Lolololol. I basically just made my point for me. Thats how forgettable Berdych is in slam finals.
Any one else think Djokovic acting like he’s about to pass out and falling over, and then recovering to near 100% by the next game is unfair on Murray? Its so hard to focus when your opponent is acting like a bizarre drama queen. Massive up and down in terms of pace and intensity to deal with, no rhythm. So strange and not even close to being the first time djokovic has done this.
The last sentence is right on. Which makes it mind boggling why andy wasnt expecting it and not handling it better.
Agreed. This was the difference today.
Take that, Kim Sears! Your turn………..
https://twitter.com/JelenaRisticNDF/status/561832173922451457/photo/1
not aggressive enough with the forehand ( bring back Lendl? ) , poor at delivering as well then defending his second serve ( 32% of second serve points won is NOT going to win you a grand slam final) , not aggressive enough on second serve returns ( credit to djokovic though for delivering solid second serves) .
The intensity has wavered for both but djokovic has won key points even when not playing at his top level.
I hope Andy can break here and somehow win set 2 to make things competitive
Now THIS is technical analysis
and andy has only 2 aces for the match and he has won very few first serve points today ,even though he has a strong first serve.
Have also not seen any of those scorching CC forehands on the run
RT @BackSwings : “Barker, Sue: “…and THEN #ThumbGate happened! What an awful grand slam final so far.””
what a recovery but the recovery will only have some effect if he holds here
I am still unable to understand how Murray won 5th set against Djokovic in US Open Final 2012.
Judging by the intensity, it could be a first round of the Grand slam
At last, a passing shot from Muzza………..
What the hell was that set point?
This is embarrassing from Muzza…………those FHs.
Anyone with a decent FH would have put away this Djokovic.
Rafa forces Djokovic to play exciting tennis.
Why does Murray bring all his venom against Rafa?
Except for Roger, everyone gets their A game against Rafa! Roger seems to go the other way around
You do realize that its way easier to play your A game against Nadal on a hard court than it is vs Federer, right?
One thing is that Nadal basically plays a defensive game and lets the other player dictate the play. Also Nadal is not able to kill the point very quickly on a regular basis (aces, serve and volleys.) All that allow his opponent to gain the rhythm and play better.
But after all that, Rafa still wins the majority of the time….go figure!
I was saying ROger is unable to get his A game against Rafa anywhere but gets his A+ game against just about anybody else
Crucial back to back holds by Djoko and Murray.
my stupid stream..what happened on that set pnt?? and wow, big hold from Andy and finally some good first serves Perhaps the inability to win points on second serve had forced him to take a little off his first serve in an attempt to raise the%.
So a tie break is here… this is going very much like the 2013 final…. but andy won set 1 back then in a breaker and novak won set 2 in a breaker
He dumped a backhand in the net
finally free points on serve are coming for murray!
I feeling quite perky about Nadal now, watching these two.
NO! what was that???????
It has been a long and dull final. At least Murray got that second set to make this an interesting one. I really do not like a drunk Djokovic winning easily.
he takes it! kudos to Andy. He improved his serving as well his groundstrokes and he DID NOT panic. Thoroughly deserved.
These two return so damn well that being up a break does not mean much. Andy was down a break in all three sets of the wimbledon final he won !
2.5 hrs for two sets? Are we heading for a repeat of the 2012 final if things stay like this? I guess the intensity will waver and this set will be 6-4 ish
that is some serious ball control by Andy Murray…0-30
Fakovic is back.
Have to say this appears to be accurate
OMG!! Whats Djoko trying to do? Everytime a set begins he begins to tumble and makes it seem as if he is having a hard time staying on his feet.
Murray has no chance when Djokovic drinks magic potion
YEah like Popeye having spinach
lol
Set two and the six games for set three combined, djokovic has won 52% of second serve points , as opposed to 73% win rate in the first set! How murray has turned things around in this category is quite impressive
Murray played that break point poorly! He could not overcome his tendency to drop floating shots in the centre of the court on two occasions and that was enough for djokovic. DO NOT do this Mr.Murray if you want to win this
Murray had so many opportunities to put Novak to bed……..he has just f@#%ed them up!!!
As anticipated, Murray is beginning to wilt letting drama queen into his head!
tsk tsk tsk
2 set to 1 Novak…….no more pain in finger!!!!! We will see!!
So Similar to 2013 final… two tie breaks and then 6-3
Commentators talking about Djokovic ‘bluffing’ and making a fool out of Murray
GSM
same as 2014 USO
yeah!
now a 6-2 ?
We are not the only ones complaining about Novak’s antics!!! Novak and Sharapova are the most disingenuous players on tour! I hardly heard Sharapova scream once when she played Serena yesterday….that’s why I love it so when Serena wipes the court with her arse!!!
Murray screamed that Djokovic fakes injury all the time yet he fell for it.
It is Murray’s fault if as a professional player he fell for it in the grand slam final. But i really do think that though he overdid it, Djoko is not himself in this match. The usual intensity is missing but still he is going to win
did he scream something like Djokovic faking???
He said he does if all the time
So Murray could not even avoid going down double break…had he done that, he would surely have had a few looks to break back.
unless he breaks back RIGHT here, its going to be a drubbing
Murray is playing like shit. I really wanted to cheer for him but the performance is pathetic. He should have been much, much better. He’s not a 19-year-old kid anymore. He knows what it is to play in a Grand Slam final. Yet he choked again.
Murray is losing the match Djokovic is not winning it. If Murray watches the recording of this I think he’ll top himself, seriously. He had Djokovic from the first ball and threw it.
I fear a bagel here
Murray really disappointed me, I expected him to at least take it to a fifth…….regardless of how good Novak was playing!
Compare this to how energized Murray is against Nadal. He turns up in a GS final and plays crap tennis then bursts his guts against Nadal in an exhibition. Pathetic.
Haha!! Thats hilarious. Leaving his guts on the floor in an exhibition
lol!
Murray deserves a drubbing if he wants to hand Djoker the match and take Nadal out at any cost.
Its so amazing…..now matter how bad Rafa is playing ir no matter how good everybody else is, Rafa is always the man to beat!!! Weird!!!
With this title we can declare Djoko the god of the Australian Open. Joining Rafa at French and Roger at Wimby
five australian opens… somebody gotta stop him from winning next year or he will start inching closer to the danger zone …lol..long long way to go though.. He can match roger’s 7 titles at wimbledon but rafa’s 9 (and counting) is the mount everest of tennis.
And the mind boggling thing is that in each of his campaigns he has beat a fellow big 4 member. That is so impressive!! Rafa and murray in 2012, Roger and Murray in 2011! If not for a Soderling like Wawrinka performance last year, he might have clinched it last year too
oh you rafa fans out there , I know you don’t like wawrinka for winning over an injured rafa but you should be thankful to him as well for taking novak out last year 😛 otherwise, novak would have been holding his 6th title here haha
lol, @vmk, you wrote the same thing… yeah, djokovic is the king of the australian open.
I know a well playing rafa can really put djokovic to the ultimate test here but rafa has only faced him once. Aus open has been very unlucky for rafa either in terms of its timing in the year or in terms of coinciding with rafa catching an illness or injury.
So Novak’s 8th slam… he is 6 behind rafa …I just hope rafa wins his 10th french so that he has 15… I will not take any tension (hopefully :P) if rafa can win RG and one of wimby and USO this year..
Djoker has 5 at the AO and 3 at the other 3 combined. Is he an AO specialist?
Yes. But the narrative will never allow anyone but Nadal to be called a specialist. Sad but true.
haha..perhaps he is an AO specialist but depends in what context the word specialist is used. If its used with the often negative connotation tennis fans attach with it, then yes he is a specialist as per the stats mentioned by you. On the other hand, one can say he has two wimbledon titles and not even many grass court specialists were able to win two wimbledons ! But yeah there is a big skew towards AO titles,,
Tomas bagelled Rafa, Andy bagelled Tomas and now Djoko to bagel Andy? Djoko has already bagelled Stan :O
there will be serious abuses hurled at Djokovic by Andy Murray when the latter leaves the court.
Also, there will be serious abuses hurled at Andy Murray by none other than Andy Murray himself.
If Djoker’s faking is what put Murray off, then I would say that was smart play by Djoko. Knowing the sort of headcase that he can be, he played mind games and came out on top
There are mind games and there are mind games!!! Feigning injury questions your sportsmanship!!!
To be fair, both Djokovic and Muzza feign injury when they are on-court. Muzza clutched his body parts like they are falling apart. Djokovic winces and flays like he has been shot. They both know each other’s games. Novak played the fakes better today…………
Lol!!!
We all knew this was Nole’ s to take…Andy dissapointed again…but sure Nole deserves to be congratulated for his achievement..
well said
thanks…posting comment from a cell phone and I get to be anonymous…good to know this… 🙂
true.. for me, this has now become the case of until-proven-otherwise. Unless there is a very strong factor going against him, he is the bet for AO! he erased little doubts that were there.
Congrats to Daddy Nole! A most deserving winner!
most discussed non-Nadal match in Grandstand history. Well done, folks.
nice! haha
Takeaways from the final :
1. Djokovic has a much superior second serve . We knew this before too but it was really evident today. He even won some free points on second serves in important moments and his second serve held up extremely well today against one of game’s best returners. he won a very impressive 62% second serve points today . For perspective, he only won 44% in their 2012 Semi final and 52% in their 2013 final ! So this was the key stat of the match in my view. Perhaps Djokovic has improved the quality of his second serve. Murray on the other hand, won only 34% of his second serves but this is line with the percentages he had in the 2012 SF and 2012 Final when he won 31% and 34% respectively! So very clear what the game changer was : Novak’s effective 2nd serve!
2.Murray’s forehand needs some serious work. His forehand is good at spreading the court but that that alone is not enough against the best mover on hard courts! The problem is that when Murray stands on the baseline, he can do serious damage with his backhand by taking it on the rise but he cannot take balls on the rise aggressively enough on the forehand side! He needs short balls to hit big shots. Perhaps his inability to generate heavy spin restricts him from punishing balls that are fading towards him. However, when Lendl was in charge, he was doing a better job of being aggressive. To be fair to Murray, he has just started playing his best tennis and to get strong hold over your weaknesses requires time and we should give some time to him. It’s just like rafa needs time in order for his forehand DTL, backhand CC to start clicking and it all comes with confidence and victories. ANDY MUST RAISE THE AGGRESSIVENESS OF HIS FOREHAND.
3. In full flow, Murray’s backhand can have the edge over Djokovic’s backhand because of its greater variation AND more firepower. However, his backhand is nowhere as good in terms of defending strongly. He can RETRIEVE almost as well but because he does not hit open-stance backhand, he resorts to hitting backhand slices whenever he is stretched. Novak is a brick wall on his backhand side. He has an open stance and literally everything gets rebounded at great length.
4.Murray has relatively poor control over his temperament and emotions. He got affected by Djokovic’s antics too much.
5. Amelia Mauresmo- Andy Murray duo has done a good job so far !
6. Murray is back in the big 4.
7. Djokovic is the king of AO!
8.Djokovic-becker duo has proved many critics wrong! He really is back on track. But the equation is still missing a big constraint : he has not faced an in-form, healthy nadal but that will happen soon.
That 2nd serve improvement was what I had mentioned in one of my posts on the other thread. But nobody seemed to agree with it!
Also well said about the Nole-Becker duo. Everyone jumped up at them, but the result is there to see : regained No.1, won 4 Masters, 2 out of 5 slams as well as the WTF title! I would say, good job Boris!
vamosrafa,
I remember you saying that Murray would have to serve well, particularly his second serve. Well the stats show that it didn’t happen. Against someone like Novak, who has such a great ROS, you simply must serve your best. Also, Novak winning such a high percentage of second serves is impressive. I always checked that stat in the seven straight losses that Rafa had to him in 2011, finally ending in that marathon 2012 AO final. In every single one of those losses, Rafa’s second serve points won percentage was less than Novak’s. However, once Rafa started beating him again, his second serve points won percentage was better than Novak’s. That’s a key stat.
I wonder about Murray’s forehand. Lendl really worked on that shot with Murray to improve it and make it a more deadly and effective weapon. Is Lendl’s influence wearing off? I also like your analysis of Murray’s backhand and where Novak is superior.
Nice breakdown of the match!
I have to say that it now looks as though Novak made a good move in hiring Boris Becker. He ran over to him and grabbed his hands to share his victory. Whatever others may have thought, it seems to have worked out for him.
I do think that Andy is doing well with Mauresmo. I wondered how he would adjust to a new coach. But this result has to bode well for him. Getting to a slam final and also getting back in the top four, is a great way to start the new tennis year.
thanks for your comments NNY.. you are spot on with your analysis on second serve points won in rafa-novak matches. Rafa was able to turn that around. Rafa does not have the best of second serves out there but it is a much better second serve than murray’s.
I would like to give Murray some time. It is not easy to have all your strengths working at 100% and it is particularly difficult to manage your weaknesses. Logically, Andy will be back to his best around wimbledon.
A bagel? Really Muzza? I go out for a coffee and come back to this???
Now we have to live on the “Novak for the Calendar Slam” diet until Rafa puts him in his place at RG………
No thanks to you Muzza…..
I remember someone here saying Muzza has a better serve than Rafa??
Aw Gawd………………
Murrays second serve is horrendous
Muzz’s 2nd serves won’t find a place even in the WTA!
But, how good are Djoko’s returns. He always looked like painting the lines with those returns!
Muzza gets distracted by Berdy’s antics in the semi……….
Muzza gets distracted by Nole’s antics in the final…………
I think the locker room has cottoned on to Muzza’s mental frailty and try to exploit it at the earliest opportunity, Rafa excepted of course. Rafa just wears Muzza down with his game, not antics………..
Best chance for calendar slam in decades.
As I predicted these two base liners head to head makes for dull one dimensional tennis and Novak in four as predicted.
Congratulations to me, for sure, no?
decades? Djokovic wasn’t that impressive this tournament, to be honest. Would have zero chance vs. Nadal on clay in this form.
No 1 in the world. Finds a way to win beating seven guys in a row. Makes finals at other three slams regularly. Most consistent player in the world at the moment. Other guys not at their best
Name another. Surely not fed when rafa was always there as a sure thing at the French. No longer the same sure thing.
Fed had a much better chance at the other 3
being a lock at 3 and needing only a fluke at one is fare more likely (see 2009 at RG) than having a decent chance at 3 and an outside chance at 1
Correction! Zero chance at the French.
Right.2009 where he lost in Australia and New York. Gotcha.
You missed the point. HOW MANY TIMES will you continue to miss points? SO MANY TIMES!
Rafa BY FAR had the best chance to hold all four slams simultaneously, He was two service games away in 2009.
As in Novak is a sure thing at FO?? *guffaws*
Even Sean Randall has seen the error of his ways in this regard.
Where do I say sure thing?
#NadlineDisease
Congratulations to you indeed @hawkeye63. Why would 2015 be the best chance for calendar Slam in decades may I ask? I am being serious. I thought every year Novak won in Australia he was a shoo in for a calendar Slam.
No! Rafael always had a better chance in prior years to beat him at the French.
So you doubt Rafaels’ chances at RG this year? Okay then……..
I would have thought Novak has had excellent chances before to beat Rafael at RG but lost anyway.
But as the great man says, we shall see, no?
Rafa is the favorite to win the French. No where did I say otherwise.
#NadlineDisease
RT @linzsports: “Pot, meet kettle. RT @BenRothenberg: “Don’t worry about him. He does it all the time.” -Andy Murray muttering on Novak Djokovic. #ausopen”
And Muzza was rumoured to be Novak’s best man at one point???
All this of Muzz’s rant about Nole’s condition in the 3rd set affecting him is really poor stuff from him. I mean c’mon, Nole didn’t even took a MTO. Everyone could see he was breathing very heavily in that 3rd set. That 3rd game onwards Nole just went for broke too early in the rallies and he kept on going hard and deep with his shots and they landed in. It was quite clear in the 3rd and 4th set that Nole wanted to end the points quickly. It was only after that he received his energy drink from his trainer that he again started chasing the balls. Remember, Nole suffered a viral illness prior to this tournament. He may not have recovered from it’s effects completely. The extreme physical nature of their matchup didn’t helped Nole’ either.
Muzz was lucky enough to win that 2nd set, when Nole had all the momentum with him and Muzz looked completely out of ideas until those intruders jumped on the court.That helped him to regroup his game.
If even after playing so many years on tour, he gets affected by what’s happening on the other side of the court, then it’s really poor mentality from him. Has any other player even paid a heed to all those of his body clutching acts that he does on court when they play him!
Dimonator strikes again:
https://twitter.com/dimonator/status/561859572848001024
…………….The Serb hurt his thumb when he fell in the first set then appeared to twist his ankle in the second set and again in the third. He seemed to struggle briefly but them bounced back strongly.
Murray was bombarded with questions in his post-match media conference on whether he felt Djokovic was putting it on to distract him.
He denied this but admitted it affected his concentration in the third set.
“The third set was frustrating because I got a bit distracted when he fell on the ground after a couple of shots,” he said.
“It appeared that he was cramping, and then I let that distract me a little bit.”
Pressed on whether he thought it was a deliberate tactic to put him off his game, he replied: “I don’t know. I don’t know. I have no idea.
“I mean, it’s obviously what he thinks. I would hope that that wouldn’t be the case.
“But if it was cramp, how he recovered from it, that’s a tough thing to recover from and play as well as he did at the end.
“So, yeah, I’m frustrated at myself for letting that bother me at the beginning of the third set, because I was playing well, I had good momentum, and then just dropped off for 10 minutes and it got away from me.”
^^^http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-2935231/Murray-admits-got-distracted-Djokovic-takes-positives.html
Murray’s presser (video):
http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/video/index.html?tabName=interviews_videos
Andy Murray left kicking himself after falling for Novak Djokovic’s fake injury tactics
The Scot lost fair and square to the world number one in the Australian Open final – but was furious at himself for falling for the Serb’s age-old injury tactic.
By Eurosport
3 hours ago
Tramlines
View photo
.These doctors deserve big money. They cleared up Novak Djokovic’s injury brilliantly!
These doctors deserve big money. They cleared up Novak Djokovic’s injury brilliantly!
When Andy Murray went 2-0 up in the third set of the Australian Open, having just thoroughly outplayed Novak Djokovic in the second set tie-break, anybody familiar with the Serb could have written the script.
Even Djokovic’s strongest admirers will concede that the world number one has a suspicious susceptibility to injury when on the back foot in a match – and as soon as he gets his nose back in front, the mystery ailment invariably clears up.
We’ve seen it time after time – as has Murray. But the Scot still let it get to him, and 2-0 became 2-2 within the space of a few minutes. Murray had his chances thereafter, but Djokovic had the momentum back and ran away with the match.
This isn’t, in case you’re wondering, Tramlines’s opinion. (Or not just Tramlines’s opinion). It’s the opinion of Andy Murray himself, who was furious at himself for getting duped in his post-match press conference.
“It was clear that he was cramping. I let that distract me a little bit,” he said, gallantly refusing to speculate on the veracity or otherwise of Djokovic’s injury.
“That’s what I’m most disappointed about. I’m frustrated at myself to let that bother me.
“To me the reason why I lost that match was not a physical reason because I feel fine now.”
Murray added that he’d never had an opponent try such things against him in a grand slam final – and that in particular unsettled him.
Murray wasn’t the only person to call attention to Djokovic’s injury. From the moment the Serb first started hobbling, fans on Twitter let rip:
Sandy Armour @killiehippo
Any doctors on here, Djokovic has a strange ankle injury that only hurts when he loses a point #dramaqueen
11:23 AM – 1 Feb 2015
Paul Thomson @PaulThomsonEK
Djokovic is embarrassing himself here. All of a sudden the ‘injury’ is bothering him again now. Falling over every time he loses a point.
11:25 AM – 1 Feb 2015
Talking Rugby Union @TalkRugbyUnion
Follow
Great tennis, well played #Djokovic but there is no place in sport for faking injury
12:22 PM – 1 Feb 2015
https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/tramlines/andy-murray-left-kicking-himself-after-falling-for-novak-djokovic-s-fake-injury-tactics-150042137.html
I feel that the Djok was not quite feeling upto the mark yesterday. He overdid it alright by toppling over and showing signs of discomfort. But Murray should have know better, considering that he is not a newbie who has burst on the scene. To say that he lost because he got distracted does not cut it. He lost because he played worse than the Djok on key points. Period.
Djokovic steams to a record fifth AO and his 8th singles slam title, passing Mac and Mats and joining Andre, Ivan and Jimmy among Open Era competitors (see also Fred Perry, Ken Rosewall). He’s a kind of mirror image of Jimmy right now: two Wimbledons each, trading one win vs five wins at the USO and AO. No RG for either, and only Andre in this group has a career slam, backed up with Olympics, Davis Cup and WTF.
One more title and he’s getting into orbit, so few players having won as many in the history of the game. With two slams in the bag right now, he is a certainty to surpass Rafa for weeks at #1 in a couple of months’ time, having recently supplanted him as the second-highest earner in the history of the men’s game – and he’s closing in on Roger’s all-time record. 2011 is the only year, however, when he has won more than one slam. You’d still make Rafa the favourite at RG. Novak has a bit to prove just yet.
Still, he came through a very tough-looking draw and in doing so he bageled Andy, who bageled Tomas, who bageled Rafa, all inside the last three matches. Wonder if that has ever happened before! Novak also bageled Stan in their semi, thus rubbing it in against the only two players to take sets off him.
Weirdly, although he and Serena Williams are the winningest AO champions of the Open Era, this is the first year that they have won the titles together.
And well done to the Swiss Miss, Martina Hingis. A singles champion here at 16, she now finds herself sharing the mixed doubles title with Leander Paes – EIGHTEEN years on. Good for her.
I finally saw the match earlier today. Suffice to say that it was disappointing to see Murray lose it mentally. Rafa would never let himself get distracted or fooled by any antics from Novak. Nobody gets away with that nonsense against Rafa. I am surprised that Murray let it get to him. I really thought he had a shot at the win. Also, I do have to say that Murray has been guilty of this same behavior on court himself. He will grimace and grab at his back or his ankle or some body part during matches. It’s gamesmanship. Murray calling out Novak for it is kind of like the pot calling the kettle black.
I did think this match would be like some of their other four or five sets matches. But Murray just lost the plot and got bageled in the fourth set, like Stan was bageled in the fifth set. I didn’t think Novak played his best, but it was good enough to get the win against Murray.
Novak is not a sure thing for the calendar slam. Not as long as Rafa is at RG. I also think that Murray can takes positives out of this match. He got to a final in his first slam of the year. That’s something he didn’t do last year. He is now back in the top four. That’s where he belongs. It’s important for him to forget about getting caught up in Novak’s gamesmanship. He should follow Rafa’s example and take good things out of this loss. I also see that Murray is not back to his former self. He’s come a long way, but there’s more work to do. I think he can have a good year if he can keep his head on straight and move on and continue to improve his game.
NNY I feel Rafa let Novak’s faking bother n distract him in the 2012 final . Remember how he fell on the ground a bit after a long rally in 5th set as if he was dead n that did unsettle Rafa
The handshake between Novak and Andy was very cold. Andy was clearly pissed with Novak n even more pissed when in his ceremony he wished Andy and Kim on their engagement n marriage and babies. That was uncalled for. If u want to wish him, wish in private, why on a public championship ceremony . Fed clearly dislikes Novak and now I see Andy added to the list
@Sanju,
I don’t know if I remember that exact moment from the 2012 AO final. I have never watched it again, except once or twice to see Rafa’s comeback in that fourth set to take it to a fifth set.
I think it was Rafa’s serve that let him down when he was up a break and two games from winning that match. Also, that missed backhand shot when he was trying to hold his serve. But I still think that overall, Novak has not been able to get under Rafa’s skin in their matches. I think in that match Rafa may still have been dealing with the mental stresss of losing six straight matches to Novak. He was lacking in confidence, but that was the first match since the losing streak in which Rafa showed some fight and came back to tie it up. He also came close to winning. He found the answers and we all know what happened next in his rivalry with Novak.
I did notice that the handshake between Novak and Andy was brief and very cold. It’s not the way you usually see them at the net after a match. The replay on ESPN did not show the award ceremony. They just went to a post match interview with Novak. So I didn’t know about Novak saying anything to Andy and Kim about their engagement.
I still think that Andy has no one to be mad at but himself. He has more work to do.
Andy shouldn’t complain too much he does engage in the same sort of tactics himself. I remember how he announced that he had injured the elbow of his serving arm before his SF match with Rafa in MC in 2011, then kept everyone hanging on waiting for him to say whether he would pull out or not, whilst saying he was practicing off site, Up to 5 minutes before the match he said he was having a trial hit to see if he was fit to play.
In that match Murray served like a demon taking his first set from Rafa (6:2) on clay and no more was heard about his elbow injury.
That is a good example of Andy’s gamesmanship. I remember how they delayed the start of that match and Rafa had to be kept waiting. I thought that they did a cortisone shot in his elbow. But it’s true that he came out playing well and did get that first set.
Andy is just kidding himself if he thinks he lost that match because of Novak’s gamesmanship. He didn’t play well enough to win.
Still, 5 AOs is quite awesome. Djokovic is a solid Nr. 1, I hope Rafa can pressure him this year.
Andy has to reflect, yet again, on his concentration and attitude on court but it’s a losing battle …
As always, they will brand Novak as favourite for RG (I know, I know, a bit too early in the season to talk about this but yet..), the questions is, will Rafa hone his skills in time to retain his crown .. every year it gets harder and harder
shireling,
Maybe it is getting harder each year but each year is not always as hard as the last and Rafa has nine final RG wins under his belt and in continues to work on his skills. I expect this will be another year where even Novak will be very unlikely to defeat Rafa if Rafa plays a more or less full clay season without burning out or getting injured. Novak is not particularly in Rafa’s head other than usually being hard to beat on hardcourt (and they haven’t been meeting on grass for a long time).
chloro,
I agree with you. We also know that Rafa doesn’t have to be at 100% to win RG. That’s where he has the real advantage. He’s brilliant enough on the clay to win when he’s not playing his best. He’s said so himself.
As far as I am concerned, Rafa is the favorite to win RG until he loses it. No way Novak should be the favorite for RG.
Indeed. People will be fooled again and call Novak a favorite. But if both are in regular form and play each other Rafa is still the favorite this year.
Shireling says:
February 2, 2015 at 1:35 pm
—As always, they will brand Novak as favourite for RG —
Not yet
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B82LTv0CEAAdQfz.png
6/4 is not much smaller a ratio than 13/8. However, no need to read much into this anyway. Offs are no oracle nor infallible nor try to be, they are about maximizing profits for the betting companies and thus are as much based on the public’s perception of what the ‘real’ odds might be, ie how they are willing to bet on those.
Even if Rafa had a less successful clay season as happened last year and the odds as a result show him a relatively weaker odd in the end what will matter is his mental and physical form. If it is close enough to his better/best form then he is a wall very hard to break through or climb over.
Yes, those betting odds reflect Rafa’s incredible record at RG. Rafa has time to work on getting back to his best form. There’s a lot of tennis to be played before RG. But Rafa has earned his status as odds on favorite because of the historic record he has amassed at RG. Well deserved.
We tend to forget that Rafa had back issues from the AO onward last year, that’s why his performance in the clay season was below par. What Rafa needs is a spell of good health and fitness. No stomach upsets, cramping etc. and I think he should stay away from sushi.
The back problem really disturbed his clay court campaign and the doubters and detractors mistook it as rafa’s decline on clay. It was not a decline. He mustered enough momentum and courage to tear everyone apart in RG. I remember he was below par in the rome final and many were fooled into thinking djokovic had his number now.
Anyway, the back won’t be an issue this time I hope. Rafa will be back. I have a good feeling about it. he will dominate the clay season once more.
I ma getting goose-bumps just thinking of RG #10….
#LaDecima
vamosrafa
February 2, 2015 at 6:49 pm
I’m glad you believe now that something WAS physically wrong with Rafa last year.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B83HlAnCYAAsg6L.png
You do have to admit that Rafa said nothing about his back during the clay season, during the entire summer season, during the entire fall season, and finally mentioned for the first time that his back had been an issue (all year) at the end of the season when he mentioned for the first time that he was going to have it treated. I don’t recall any other year where it took that long to find out about an ongoing injury.
Having said that, Augusta, you were right in your question on April 3 that we had no way of knowing one way or another whether there was anything wrong with Rafa in Miami.
This reminds me of the winter / spring 2009. I remember that a few of us remarked, months before RG, while watching the Miami matches that something was off in Rafa’s play.That was the tournament when his knee problems started to show – but he didn’t talk about it until after losing RG.
So when Rafa was not doing as well on clay last year it made sense, alas, in his case to think something physical _might_ be involved. I say _alas_ because this is now the case relatively often, much as I wished the opposite.
Oh Gosh…this is kind of disturbing !!! you sound like a high school master LOL.
Anyway, I guess i said that at that time because rafa made it to the final of miami and he was seemingly moving well and serving okay in the matches. CONFIDENCE was a big issue.
Plus, i wonder when will you stop pasting these screen shots out of context! Very likely there must have been some usual commenting that rafa lost because he was injured and implying there was no way he could otherwise get outplayed. Don’t you learn from rafa himself? He tries his very best to put things into perspective without this injury talk all the time UNLESS it hampers him significantly.
I think you should muster the courage to watch the highlights of the miami final and then come back to comment here. The match got away from Rafa really quickly and that can happen against Novak who is the king of slow hard courts. Of course I cannot look into rafa’s soul to see how many injuries he has.
What made sense at time was that rafa was not in any such discomfort or he would have withdrawn just like he has done in the past!
And as I said that the back injury probably had shaken his confidence and disrupted his preparation, I think I covered that element! He was far from his best very likely because of inadequate preparation and shortage of confidence.
Is that satisfactory now? I hope so!!
@chloro, yes. Now looking back, it looks like the back issue never quite left rafa.The treatments did not quite work. He was not able to get into the rhythm he likes and even his practice sessions must have been disturbed.
The back problem was also there in RG but thank God rafa overcame it !
I hope we do not have to worry about it any longer.
I’ve been thinking for a while about the back issues that plagued rafa all year starting with the AO final. And that they waited until the end of the year to treat the back.
Sounds crazy from one viewpoint, which is the simply viewpoint of treating your injuries when needed and giving your body rest when needed. Something that the rest of us can probably schedule more easily in our lives, at least outside of the workdays or by taking some time off if needed and possible.
This is where Rafa has a major issue. He is very motivated personally, he has commitments to sponsors, the public etc, and he needs to try to avoid long periods of time outside of competition because of how much it takes to come back… a mix that means he over-burdens his body. You know he does because of the frequency of injuries.
It’s not only him of course, only his case is more visible because he’s been at the top for so long. Among top players there has been Andy’s back surgery, Novak’s more vulnerable earlier years, and Roger has managed to mostly suffer _only_ from back issues, that we know of.
@chloro, I think rafa and his team did try a few different treatments for his back throughout the year but no treatment worked well. he said so himself at the end of last year and added that he hopes the stem cell treatment works
he needs some of Djoker’s magic potion
@vr: I’d forgotten that he mentioned they tried various treatments during the year. too bad they did not work (better)
@rd: you can say that again. Rafa needs some of Djoker’s magic potion. Or does Djoker have a pact with mephistopheles 🙂 ?
chloro says:
February 2, 2015 at 7:58 pm
—You do have to admit that Rafa said nothing about his back during the clay season, during the entire summer season, during the entire fall season, and finally mentioned for the first time that his back had been an issue (all year) at the end of the season…—
Actually, Rafa got injections in his back (to reduce pain) during the South American clay-swing and he had tapes on his back at Roland Garros (during some matches).
vamosrafa says:
February 2, 2015 at 7:20 pm
—i wonder when will you stop pasting these screen shots out of context!—
You can always find the context!
—Don’t you learn from rafa himself?—
You should learn not lecturing others.
My point is that “armchair doctors” can’t be too sure about the diagnosis they give.
I am not giving any dignosis here. I am here to talk about factors whenever possible or try my best to write down opinions that follow logic. I still agree with my assessment of the match. Rafa was not particularly ‘injured’ heading into miami or he would have withdrawn. He would never risk his clay season at the cost of Miami. I also believe the reason he lost was that novak really took time away from him and rafa’s preparation and confidence level were not up to the mark due the back injury (as stated in the screen shot you posted).
I am not lecturing others. I am simply responding to someone who continues to paste screen shots of choice comments whenever she wants to. I have NEVER addressed any post at you to lecture you! Sometimes I ignore and sometimes I respond as you mention my name! perhaps I should ignore more and more.
vamosrafa says:
February 2, 2015 at 8:09 pm,
— I am simply responding to someone who continues to paste screen shots —
I would like to see some facts from you too (In the past, you have accused me without presenting any facts)
augusta February 2, 2015 @ 8:00 pm
—Don’t you learn from rafa himself?—
You should learn not lecturing others.
“My point is that “armchair doctors” can’t be too sure about the diagnosis they give.”
Why don’t you give it a rest already? It’s not a capital offense for someone to be wrong about something for heaven’s sake! One would think that you have a monopoly on being right! Geez! Let it go!
There was a lot Rafa’s fans didn’t know about what was going on with him, but people are entitled to give their opinion if they so wish. If they are wrong, then they shouldn’t be attacked, especially since this was almost a year ago.
nativenewyorker7 says:
February 3, 2015 at 1:29 am
—but people are entitled to give their opinion if they so wish—
I think, I’m ALSO entitled to give MY opinion if I “so wish”.
🙂
vamosrafa says:
February 2, 2015 at 8:11 pm
—@chloro, I think rafa and his team did try a few different treatments for his back throughout the year but no treatment worked well.—
Rafa hasn’t talked about “trying different treatments” on his back.
“I did a lot of treatment on my back since Australia last year,”
“Some worked for a few weeks, other ones for a little bit longer… one didn’t work. We always tried to fix the things we need to fix to be competing at 100 per cent.”
Rafa said this before Abu Dhabi.
Rafa must be a “tennis” fan for saying such untruths.
vamosrafa,
Thanks for posting Rafa’s own words to clarify exactly what he said. No one is Rafa’s mouthpiece here or his PR man. He has Benito filling that job very nicely!
Sport 360, December 31, 2014:
¤¤ Nadal’s doctor explained last month that he was about to place stem cells in a joint his spine to regenerate cartilage and produce an anti-inflammatory effect. And while the world No3 is believed to have received the treatment already, he REFUSED to confirm it or discuss it in any detail.
“To talk about that you have to talk to the doctor. Because I am not ready to talk about these kind of things as I don’t have the whole information,” he explains.
“I had different treatments on my back and I am NOT ABLE TO TALK about all of them as I don’t have the information on all of them.
They were done with different doctors and sometimes it worked well and sometimes not. And in the case of my back, it was tough to find the real thing that helped me, and I hope that the last one would be a positive one.”¤¤
vamosrafa says:
February 2, 2015 at 8:09 pm
—Sometimes I ignore and sometimes I respond as you mention my name!—
I don’t remember that I have talked ABOUT you. I have only quoted you!
You don’t need to respond – my purpose hasn’t been (isn’t) to keep personal conversations.
LOL. Nobody here talks ‘about’ eachother. taking names and referring to someone directly is what I meant and you know it! yes, I will ignore such posts in the future whenever I can 🙂
vamosrafa says:
February 2, 2015 at 8:52 pm
—taking names and referring to someone directly is what I meant and you know it—
Nope, I don’t know what you mean, because you don’t present any facts.
—I will ignore such posts in the future whenever I can—
Ignoring my posts is the best thing you can do! 😆
I am here to support Rafa, not to fight with you (or anybody else)! 🙂
@VR!!!
Have not you learned by now?
Rafa? Not the best at anything such as ROS???
By definition, Rafa has NEVER lost when he’s been physically fit. It is simply not possible. Just ask Tenngrand’s resident Judge and Jury if it has ever happened.
What kind of TennGrandRafan are you anyway??? Tell me @VR, I’m just wondering if you might be one of those crazy fans of the sport of tennis I’ve heard about,
If you spoke of Federer like this on Ruan’s Federer Blog or Tennis-X you would surely be BANNED for life (as well as the next life)!!!
(By the way, some say that the earth is indeed round and is not the center of the universe. Off with their heads I say!!! Every true TenngrandRafan knows that the sun and stars revolve around the earth and that Rafa IS the center of the universe.)
(By the way, there are only two such fans in the world. It is quite exclusive so don’t be too hard on yourself.)
LOL…guilty as charged, hawkeye 😛 hehehe
as nny said,
we can all be wrong sometimes, not remembering everything perfectly
so augusta, I stand corrected – about not remembering that Rafa did once or twice talk about his back during the year, and now I remember those tapes on his back, I had forgotten about those too – mea culpa, mea maxima culpa 🙂
augusta, we should all be so lucky to have someone like you looking over our ‘work’ here and correcting it when needed, everyone needs a good proofreader 🙂
chloro says:
February 3, 2015 at 1:41 am
—so augusta… – mea culpa, mea maxima culpa 🙂 —
I can’t understand WHY you are getting upset about getting information!
—augusta, we should all be so lucky to have someone like you looking over our ‘work’… —
I am not interested in the “work of posters”, I am interested in (correct) information about Rafa.
🙂
chloro says:
February 2, 2015 at 7:58 pm
—You do have to admit that Rafa said nothing about his back during the clay season, during the entire summer season, during the entire fall season, and finally mentioned for the first time that his back had been an issue (all year) at the end of the season…—
I add to my post of February 2, 2015 at 8:28 pm:
Rafa talked about his back in Halle.
tennis.com, June 14, 2014: ¤¤ Nadal also admitted that his back was bothering him. “I don’t have a very bad feeling but I still feel the back a little bit,” he said. “It’s something similar I had at the Australian Open. I have a little bit of an oedema in the bone in the back.”
“And I felt that during Roland Garros, in the first round and especially in the second round, it was worse. But it’s true that after the second round I was improving. Today it’s not the worst day but I feel that I need to improve, I need to rest a little bit.”
The serve is where he is most affected, he explained. “It’s a little bit more dangerous for me to change the directions. It’s difficult to create all the power with the back,” said Nadal. ¤¤
http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/06/nadal-lacking-grass-court-matches-having-back-problems-ahead-wimbledon/51765/#.VG8HBvmUdXY
I am laughing reading the comments above!
Thank you for creating this wonderful site Ricky!
http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/02/assessing-oz/53920/#.VNBRGE39nIU
“Rafael Nadal
He lost to Berdych for the first time since 2006, but Nadal said he was happy to make the quarters in his first Slam since Wimbledon. Still, with Roger Federer already out of his half, more was possible in Melbourne. B”
Not quibbling with the grade but the rationale?? Since when does the plight of Federer have any consequence on Rafa’s fate? Nobody told Tiggy: Fed is Rafa’s pidgeon!
“Roger Federer
Even in victory, he didn’t have it in Oz this year. Federer lost a set to Italian Simone Bolelli in the second round before losing three to his countryman Seppi in the third round. Federer offered no excuses; he said he “wasn’t playing shocking or feeling shocking”—he just wasn’t in rhythm, and he lost to a guy who played well. We may have been shocked at his earliest exit from Australia since 2001, but the more amazing fact is that it took this long to happen. C”
I disagree with Fed’s grading. He lost to to Seppi for goodness’ sakes. He deserves an F.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6529870
Good post by a Rafan
hilarious comments up there…you guys made my day! Such a strong love for truth and accuracy…fulfilling everyone’s hunger for precision and to the highest degree emotional site this is… 😉
I wish that I found it that funny. I mean, let’s be real here. We are not writing a thesis here in these comments. Next we will have to annotate and cite sources for whatever we say! It’s getting ridiculous and the idea that one person knows what is correct and right about Rafa, is patently absurd.
If someone wants to spend their days looking up everyone else’s posts to make sure that they are accurate down to every letter and punctuation and word, then so be it. I have better things to do with my time, thank you very much!
Maybe someone has OCD.
hawkeye63 says:
February 3, 2015 at 9:26 pm
The armchair doctors have always been known as the most knowledgeable doctors! For example, they have diagnosed Rafa with OCD from a far distance already a long ago. Amazingly, amazingly qualified!
I wasn’t referring to Rafa.
http://ui.crawlersmileys.com/files/smileys/07/02/11667.gif
nativenewyorker7 says:
February 3, 2015 at 8:26 pm
—-We are not writing a thesis here in these comments.—
Chloro wrote he is doing ‘work’ here. (February 3, 2015 at 1:41 am)
🙂
I thought you do know, augusta, when we are being ironic
chloro says:
February 4, 2015 at 12:03 am
It’s a joke, chloro! You again didn’t notice a smiley! 🙂
(By the way, why do you call yourself “we”? Are you a blue blood?)
hawkeye63 says:
February 3, 2015 at 11:26 pm
I wrote: “For example…”
chloro,
I think irony just flies above the head of some. But hey, maybe you and I should write a thesis! We do sometimes have a lot to say in our posts! 🙂
I kind of like hawkeye’s idea about OCD. That could be it.
i could perhaps help you two with references… in MLA format 😀
nativenewyorker7 says:
February 4, 2015 at 2:17 am
—I kind of like hawkeye’s idea about OCD—
Congratulations on joining Dr.hawkeye63-Armchair. I wish you a great success!
chloro, it’s a joke! Or irony! Choose yourSELVES! 🙂
I have your prescription ready. Just check with reception.
#YoureWelcome
hawkeye63
February 4, 2015 at 2:50 pm
To borrow the phrase,
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B9AxyX6IIAAJG4B.png
#PingPong
#TableTennis
That’s an insult to ping pong and table tennis.
LOL! Too funny! An insult to ping pong and table tennis!
Okay, I think that I am ready for my prescription now, Dr. Hawkeye!
Irony is not flying about your head or mine! 🙂