The matchup could not be better and the stakes could not be higher. Whoever comes out on top of the 42nd installment of the current best rivalry in tennis will be No. 1 in the world on Monday. If Rafael Nadal wins, he ties Pete Sampras at second on the all-time list with 14 career major titles. If Novak Djokovic prevails, he captures both his first French Open title and the career Grand Slam.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (2) Novak Djokovic
Ricky: I had Nadal triumphing this fortnight from the start–over Djokovic in five in the final–and see no reason to back down now. He handed out a thorough beatdown to Andy Murray in the semis while Djokovic dropped a set to Ernests Gulbis in a less impressive performance. In his last six sets against two of the best players in the world, David Ferrer and Murray, Nadal lost 11 games. Eleven. That’s an average score of 6-1.8 for those counting. Djokovic just beat Nadal in Rome, but facing Nadal in a best-of-three on clay is basically a different sport than facing him in a best-of-five on the red stuff (Ferrer upset Nadal in Monte-Carlo then look what happened to him on Wednesday). The latter may be the most difficult task in sports, right up there with a horse attempting to finish off the last leg of the Triple Crown (we’ll see in the span of 18 hours this weekend which one is tougher). Nadal is 65-1 lifetime at Roland Garros. With a ridiculous record like that, until he actually loses fair and square at this event (the one blemish was injury-plagued), I don’t see how you can expect him to do so in any particular match. The top-ranked Spaniard is 5-0 lifetime against Djokovic at the French Open and 14-3 in total sets. Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
Steen Kirby of Tennis East Coast: The final I and almost everyone else predicted has come to fruition as Djokovic will face Nadal to decide the world No. 1 ranking along with the French Open title. Djokovic is looking for his first Roland Garros title, having lost one previous final in 2009, while Nadal is looking for his ninth triumph at this event. All that being said, though, the present favors Djokovic even if history clearly favors Nadal. The Serb beat Nadal in Rome in their only clay meeting this year and he also won the other 2014 head-to-head meeting in Miami. They have both more or less blown through all comers en route to the final, without needing a decisive fifth set in six matches apiece. Djokovic has been the better player this year and throughout this clay season. It’s time for him to earn his No. 1 ranking back and I just feel for once this isn’t Nadal’s year to win the French. Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.
Joey Hanf of The Tennis Nerds: As the fortnight progressed, it almost seemed inevitable that we would get the final that everyone wanted. Neither Nadal nor Djokovic was ever really pushed in the tournament, with each player losing no more than one set in any of his matches. But we did learn things about their respective levels of play, confidence, and fitness. Before the French Open started, I firmly believed Djokovic was the smart pick. However, Nadal–especially in his last two matches–has looked scary good. Like…as good as I’ve ever seen him play. Although Murray played a lackluster match, Nadal made him look like an average player. Any questions about the Spaniard’s back should be gone, because it’s just fine. Meanwhile, Djokovic looked very strong for his first five matches but he showed signs of physical and mental vulnerability against Gulbis in the semifinals. The forecast is for rain starting around 6 p.m. Paris time and Djokovic should be praying that it comes earlier, because I really don’t see Nadal getting beat if it’s hot and sunny. Nadal 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.
Jared Pine of the Second Serb: The two best tennis players in the world right now are colliding in the Roland Garros final. The pair met just three weeks ago for the 41st time, with Djokovic beating Nadal on the court that–of the major clay events–most closely resembles the clay in Paris. It was a match that Djokovic won fairly comfortably to snag the Rome title despite not producing his best tennis. The world No. 2 let leads in several games slip away but still won 92 points compared to 73 for his opponent. The forecast on Sunday is for damp and heavy conditions, which will favor Djokovic. If this were a match of purely X’s and O’s, Nadal wouldn’t have a shot. But the pressure on Djokovic to complete the career Grand Slam and Nadal’s record at Roland Garros are going to be factors. Djokovic has admitted to struggling in big moments lately. He can’t let that be the case on Sunday. Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.
Hasan Murad: Djokovic comes into this final as only the sixth man in the Open Era to reach multiple finals of all Grand Slams. The Serb is now becoming the epitome of consistency in Grand Slam play, but the challenge awaiting him on Sunday is incomparable to any other. Nadal grows a foot taller as he enters the French Open. This year’s performance has not been any different so far. The Spaniard has converted 65 percent of break points, which is about 20 percent better than his career average. Historically, he has saved his best tennis for the final stages, and the fact that he has saved 75 percent of break points in eight Roland Garros finals speaks volume about his resistance. Djokovic was awfully close to beating Nadal in last year’s semifinal, so he clearly knows the winning patterns. Defending his second serve against the world’s best returner is perhaps the King of Clay’s biggest challenge, and winning only 43 percent of second-serve points in the Rome final is the latest evidence of that. In the wake of four successive wins over Nadal, Djokovic has the momentum in their rivalry. But Nadal has the advantage of better form, as he ramped up all aspects of his game in his semifinal masterclass. The fickle weather will be the ‘X-factor,’ and Nadal’s ruthless dismissal of Murray leaves no doubts as to which man will benefit from dry conditions. The world No. 2 will be playing his 10th major final since the start of 2011 (13th overall), while the world No. 1 will be contesting his 20th overall. Djokovic always raises his level against Nadal, but in a French Open final it’s the case of ‘until-proven-otherwise’…. Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
[polldaddy poll=8107246]
Steen Kirby of Tennis East Coast: The final I and almost everyone else predicted has come to fruition as Djokovic will face Nadal to decide the world No. 1 ranking along with the French Open title. Djokovic is looking for his first Roland Garros title, having lost one previous final in 2009,
Djokovic did not make the final in 2009. His first final was in 2012 when he lost to Nadal in 4 sets.
Jared Pine of the Second Serb:
“If this were a match of purely X’s and O’s, Nadal wouldn’t have a shot.”
Are you a comedian?
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/475284012832161793/photo/1
@Ricky
I would have agreed to your pick. But the scoreline doesn’t make sense.
There is no way Nole can lose the match after going 2 sets to 1 up. None of them will relinquish that kind of lead.
Ricky has Rafa winning the 1st set and Nole winning the 2nd.
Yeah.. But he also has Nole winning the 3rd. That makes it 2 sets to 1 up no..
Jared, Nadal is going for his 90th win to 1 loss at RG . Pick Nole by all means if that’s what you think but don’t disrespect The King of Clay.
90th win.. Are you serious?
Not at RG but in best of 5 on clay.
no
Make that 66-1 at RG.
Ricky, no, what?
The interesting thing to note is ALL 3 pundits have Rafa winning the 1st. If Rafa wins the 1st set it’s curtains for Djokovic!
It’s Rafa for his 9th RG trophy.
#NID
1st set is important for both.. But the kind of fighters these 2 are, can’t say that one of them can’t win from being a set down.
@ritb – I agree. If Rafa wins the 1st set, it’s curtains.
@ritb
what’s your pick if Nole wins the 1st set?
@abhirf;
If Novak wins the 1st set, I have Rafa in 5;
If Rafa wins the 1st set, I have Rafa in 4
So, by my reckoning, winning the 1st set makes no difference to the outcome for Novak.
If Rafa loses the first set, its still curtains!!!! Whats up with you guys!!!
@ritb,
that’s quite contrary to mine..
If Nole wins the 1st set he will win the match!
If Rafa wins the 1st set he will win it in 4! (maybe even 3)
@abhirf, I have no doubt Rafa will win regardless of whether he takes the 1st set or not. Taking the 1st set only makes it easier, and quicker, for Rafa.
1st set is an advantage but by no means decider for the match.
Tiggy’s pick on the women’s side is a set down in the Women’s Final, Shrieky only needs 2 games to get her hands on the trophy.
Tiggy picked Djokovic………… 😉
Shrieky drops the 2nd set on a TB and takes a comfort break…………….
HALEP
Double-faultpova……
RT @bgtennisnation : “I am issuing a yellow card and hard warning to umpire for ridiculously not calling time violation so far on Shazza”
She basically does as she likes………………
I was complaining about that the whole match yet when Rafa is playing they keep going on and on about it like there is NO bloody tomorrow!! Atrocious!!!! Halep will take her next time!!!
Monalisa (at 4:51 pm),
—they keep going on and on…—
I have repeatedly said that I have had a feeling that money talks in THEIR bank accounts.
RT @ivokarlovic : “Amazing how Sharapova didn’t get time violation in that tie break.. Average time between points 37 sec..”
RT @Mike_Dickson_DM : “Finally Sharapova gets a time warning – after two hours and 24 minutes. Ridiculous.”
The arm-wrist-hand bandage is back on………
https://twitter.com/DjokerNole/status/475300649266335744/photo/1
#Fakervic
He is pretending to be covering the bandage as if he doesn’t want anyone to see it. I hope he does have a sore wrist, all the better for Rafa.
Thats a bit harsh I think. The guy may be taking precautions, just like Rafa had bandage on the back for preventing it from flaring up.
It’s said a picture tells more than a thousand words lol. The last time he wore that ‘feel sorry for me’ expression was during a TV interview he gave after he feared he had a jeopodised his career playing for his country in a DC match. The YouTube footage complete, with Nole in tears, has been taken down but here are some dramatic pics of the time he rolled his ankle during a match he went on to win.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/nm8ooev
#DoubtingThomasina
@vmk1, It would help if we knew (not that we have a right) what exactly was ailing Novak. We know what exactly is ailing Rafa, his back. In the absence of facts, speculation can run riot.
He is not ailing guys. I just posted his practice pics. He is without any wrist bandage or tape. He is fine.
Sanju (at 5:43)
Who has believed that he’s not fine?!
Qelle surprise…………clearly an injury that moves in mysterious ways.
Looks like Nole is no match for Boris, Nole is in spot of bother.
Rafa has to win…………..by Royal command:
Rafa Nadal :
“Acabo de recibir una llamada de apoyo del Rey Juan Carlos I. Agradezco mucho el cariño y apoyo que siempre recibo de la Casa Real.
I’ve just received a phone call from the King Juan Carlos I. I appreciate very much the kindness and support I always receive from the Casa Real.”
https://www.facebook.com/Nadal/posts/10152272738881026
I hope soon-to-be king and queen of Spain, Felipe and Letizia, will show up at the Final tomorrow. Rafa always wins when Felipe watches his game in person.
^^I was thinking the same thing. I would be very surprised if there isn’t a member of the Royal family in attendance tomorrow. The Queen herself likes to show up at Rafa’s finals in Paris.
Possibly Queen Sophie will be there. I doubt the King will show up, that’s why he telephoned in advance to wish Rafa good luck. He and the Queen are barely on speaking terms! Once he has abdicated it’s highly doubtful they will remain together.
ed251137 (at 4:59 am),
Spains’ King Juan Carlos hasn’t been at Roland Garros for years. Queen Sofia or Prince Felipe have been there.
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/475572643413123072/photo/1
Hes fine
Kin9ofClay @Rafaholics · 8m
Djokovic practicing without his wrist wrapped http://instagram.com/p/o8YmImA9ts/ via greyzmdj
We knew that all along! I have been saying that Novak will come out fighting right from the start. But Rafa will be ready! 😀
updated with vamosrafa’s analysis
thank’s Ricky ! bravo 🙂
Thank you vamosrafa! I really enjoyed reading your analysis and prediction for the RG final. You have a such a great tennis brain and a depth and breadth of knowledge about this sport. I loved how you broke it down.
Of course, it goes without saying that our other experts, Ricky and company, have also done themselves proud in breaking it down for us.
Well done! 🙂
Thanks NNY !! 🙂 🙂
At tennis.com, they all picked Novak pre-tournament, now only Tignor is the hold-out. Bodo, McGrogan and Pagliaro are picking Rafa:
http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/06/2014-french-open-mens-final-our-picks/51700/#.U5N0X01ZrIU
Tignor is probably sticking to his jinx strategy.
This is odd, BB dining alone the night before the Championship, would have expected the Team to dine together:
http://instagram.com/p/o9Myorkfyg/#
Very odd. I made the comment two weeks ago that he doesn’t look as if he’s part of the inner circle. Perhaps he has already been handed his P45.
SI’s Courtney Nguyen also changed her pick from Djoker to Rafa:
http://tennis.si.com/2014/06/07/french-open-mens-final-preview-rafael-nadal-novak-djokovic/
Another Rafa fan-girl:
“Anne Hidalgo, new mayor of Paris, on French TV at RG: “tomorrow, I’ll be rooting for Rafa, my champion, and a beautiful person !” (via @mysoulFR )”
It’s satisfying to see some of those who picked Novak from the start, change their picks now to Rafa. Obviously, they have seen the light! 😉
True, But those who really know their tennis are predicting a 3 setter win for Nole :-).
Guys, California Chrome lost the Belmont Stakes, I was hoping for a triple double in California Chrome, Rafa And LeBron James (the Heat) this weekend. Bad start so far…………what a bummer!!!!
hardest feat in sports
Harder than beating Rafa in best of 5 on clay
Djokovic: “Big match coming up. This is the biggest challenge that a tennis player can have on this surface and in this tournament, to play in the finals against the most successful player in history. I have faith and confidence that I can beat him and lift the so desired trophy. Mentally and emotionally I should be at 100 %, but also physically. I do not think it will be a lot of short points, I have to be ready”
“I am extremely motivated because this title of champion of Roland Garos is the only one that I am missing in my career. In my match with Gulbis, I was good in the first two sets, but later I lost concentration. Luckily, all ended well – said Novak and added:
– There are no secrets between Nadal and me, I know what to do. Again, it is easier said than done. We anticipate a long match and I think I have to be physically ready for the greatest efforts. Duels we’ve played the last two years here have given me confidence that I can beat him. I need to find a left handed tennis player to practice with to better prepare for Nadal.
And interesting statements Novak made right after his match with Gulbis, which I read in the local newspaper:
“Honestly, I am a little tired of everything. I am caught with fatigue and not only physical. it’s hard for me to channel energy in the right way. I am playing the only tournament that I have not won yet, and I am trying not to be anxious about it. I did not play well against Gulbis.”
And finally, the only wish Novak had for the finals was to be sunny, with no rain delays, no interruptions…”
‘the only wish Novak had for the finals was to be sunny, with no rain delays, no interruptions…’
It looks pretty certain they’ll start in sunshine but thunderstorms are around from 6pm onwards so they will have to get a crack on.
A straight set win by Rafa would do it nicely 🙂
Djokovic is now admitting to anxiety and stress. Another change of tactics when the wrist ploy didn’t cut any ice?
#TrueOrFalse
Now that’s simply ridiculous …”wrist ploy didn’t cut any ice?”. So what about back injury plot… changing t-shirt after match and turning his back to cameras so everyone can see patches … Uncle’s Tony tactics ???
Djokovic has lost two Slam finals in a row to Rafa. With luck that will be preying on his mind 😉
^^^^^^Correction: He has lost to Rafa in the last three meetings at a Slam.
^^This to me is a very significant stat, one which the pundits have chosen to ignore. They have chosen to focus on the 4 times Rafa has lost recently, strange. That he has not beaten Rafa in a Slam recently, never mind at RG, has got to weigh on Novak.
ritb: So often, as someone pointed out (probably you) the tendency is to cling to the facts that fit our favourite theory. Looking at trends rather than a specific stat often reveals a very different picture.
Bjorn Borg: Nadal is the favorite to get his 9th RG
via tennistopic.
vamos !! he has borg’s backing too 😀
RT @NeilHarmanTimes : “We’ve had rain overnight in Paris [the odd storm] but forecast for men’s final time is 27C, clear skies with risk of storm in evening.”
Emilio Sanchez, Jim Courier had picked Novak, now they are picking Rafa.
“Fifty-one-49 Nadal is my take, assuming Djokovic doesn’t feel any effects from Friday,” said Jim Courier, the United States Davis Cup captain and former French Open champion.
Emilio Sánchez Vicario, the former Spanish Davis Cup captain and top-10 player, sees it the same way.
“I think Nadal has an edge because it’s more Djokovic who has the barriers in front of him,” Sánchez said. “The one who has to break the barriers is Djokovic. He has more to lose than Nadal.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/sports/tennis/novak-djokovics-first-french-open-title-would-deny-rafael-nadal-his-ninth.html?_r=0
I hope anxiety gets the better of Nole.
it will…. rafa will come out all guns blazing and novak will be more nervous. At least this is what has happened in their previous two matches at RG… could very well happen again…
Rafa does not take time to take the initiative in grand slam matches
Feel that Nole’s BH will decide the outcome of the match!
novak’s backhand and rafa’s forehand will be the biggest deciding factors.
I have always believed novak’s biggest weapon is his ROS against rafa. Rafa has to ensure his backhand is ready today ! No hiccups from the baseline.
Rafa should approach the net whenever possible, he is such a good finisher at the net.
@vamosrafa
Do you think Rafa can better or even match his service today like he did against Andy!
Good point about approaching the nets.
These 2 try to kill off each other from the baseline too much even when they have numerous chances to come forward and finish the point.
yeah..often you see both these players retreating to the baseline after having worked their way up the court. Both of them have lots of respect for eachother’s defensive skills and passing shots. Anyway, I hope rafa approaches the net more.
Abhirf, rafa HAS to improve on his service ot at least serve at a similar quality. At least. If his serving is off, novak is going to make him pay big time.
Rafa tried to keep a high first serve percentage in the US open final so often he was NOT going for the lines. I think he has to find the right balance. Go for aggressive serves when the lead perhaps? It’s crucial to maintain a high percentage of 1st serves because novak’s return on 2nd serves is scary.
Novak often goes through a purple patch in their matches. Beijing 2008(2nd set), RG 2008 (3rd set after being down 0-3 double break), RG 2012 (4th set after being down 0-2), RG 2007 (first set after being down 5-2 double break), and USO 2013 (3rd set when everyone thought novak was gona race away with the title).
So rafa has to be wary of this. These patches have proven in the past not to be sustainable! Novak starts taking high risks and exploits rafa being slightly tentative. In a best-of-5 match, rafa has wrestled in the momentum almost always. He could not do it in rome but he will have time today. I hope there are no purple patches for novak today !
In my preview abovem I have mentioned how rafa raises his level on the biggest of points. The break points ! he converts as well as saves break points at an abnormal rate at RG. In 2007 , the final agaisnt Fed, rafa saved 16/17 break points faced ! UNREAL. I hope he does the same today. He also went 10/10 BP saved against soderling in 2010
^^ hmm… But I don’t think Rafa would be so generous against Nole. Fed has a habit of not converting loads of BP’s. Nole would not let those many chances get away!
So many experts changing their picks means only one thing :
They were clueless before the start of the tournament and they are clueless even at the end of the tournament!
No one has a clue about the outcome not even the players. Tennis is not an exact science, sport is not an exact science that’s why it’s so compelling to watch. If it was all a foregone conclusion, as it was in the weak era, people would be turned off,….that wasn’t sport because there was no competition.
Everyone sees what they want to see, obviously influenced by what’s happened before. The commies are changing their minds because they don’t want to look silly as things haven’t gone the way they thought they would. A lot of them were, stupidly, banking on Rafa losing to Almagro, Ferrer or Stan (as if) and failing that for Rafa to wilt to Djoker in the final like he did in Rome. Rafa was knackered in Rome with too many long matches at night.
well, it isn’t a foregone conclusion because of Djoko.. remove his name and there will be no interest in this final.. does that signify weak era?
Also, almost all these experts had Nole beating Rafa in final, not someone else. what has changed so much in the past fortnight that they were compelled to change their picks.
I haven’t noticed any major change in game play of the 2.
Whatever happens, Djoker will serve first, that’s always the case when Rafole play because when Rafa wins the toss, he always elects to receive and when Nole wins the toss.he always elects to serve.
This is the BBC weather forecast for Paris, and it’s always 99% accurate on the day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2988507
Rafans – Hope some 7 hours from now, we will all be crying tears of joy. Vamos Rafa 🙂
Oh Sanju, I am a nervous wreck already!
You cant ne worse off than me. You can atleast watch the match, I cant even do that as my satellite provider TataSky is not showing NeoSports-the one broadcasting in India. I will be happily disappearing at 3 PM Paris time (6:30 PM IST) and slowly peeking in after 3 hours hoping to see something positive.
I can understand your problem @Sanju..
Dealing with the same problem here.
My only hope is the Wi-Fi connection of my hostel. Hoping that it doesn’t break down during the match so that at least I can watch the live stream!
Which livestream is good abhirf in India that you watch ? The ones ed gave me have so many ads and popups , it barely lets you enjoy the match.
@Sanju,
go to following links: http://www.wiziwig.tv/ and click on live sports. or go straight to this link http://www.wiziwig.tv/index.php?part=sports
this site provides many different streams. I watch the eurosports link.. Hardly any pop ups. There are numerous options to choose from.
.
Thanks abhirf 🙂
Expert predictions mean nothing. They all pick as they are paid to make a prediction/pick, its their job 🙂
Yeah!
Nothing better than making easy money for just doing foretelling..
Last night I was reading an article on how to make money on the internet betting exchanges (I know, I know lol) and the following jumped out at me:
“the wisdom of the day is almost always wrong – so if you hear the same view spouted by pundits on TV and repeated by bores elsewhere, go online and position yourself against it. The hard part is having the self discipline to cash out while you are ahead”.
ed, you will be happy I will not be live blogging as I wont be watching the match 🙂
^^^^^ ?
I think you are in the best position believe me @Sanju! At least you are spared the torture of deciding whether to switch on or off! Oh I hate Novak, why can’t he just submit and go away quietly!
Haha..RITB..Novak is to Rafa what Rafa was/is to Fed. We can maybe now empathize what all Fed fans went through 🙂
But Rafa has fought back far more valiantly than Fed ever fought back to turn the tide against Rafa.He has barely beaten Rafa in any big stage except maybe WTF after 2008..On the contrary after 7 straight losses to Novak, Rafa has beaten him 6 times since and 3 of them at slams and rest in Masters finals. Hopefully today again.
Sanju, try http://www.tsmplug.com
I have found the quality of its streaming quite reasonable. Once you close the ads they won’t bug you anymore.
http://www.tsmplug.com/ provides the same link from wiziwig.tv
I feel more comfortable with the latter.
Good thing about both is – no ads and pop-ups to disturb in between!
everyone likes to play it safe. Going against the trend is a big risk only few are willing to take!
Our very own pundit has been steadfast in his pick from the word go. He held his nerve when all around him were jumping on the Djokovic bandwagon.
https://twitter.com/piersnewbery/status/475572051676499968/photo/1
Borg will present the winner with the trophy……
RT @ChrissieEvert : ““@atharvhbk: @ChrissieEvert It was great to see you there! who’ll be presenting trophy to Men’s Champion??”the Great Bjorn Borg”
RT @ChrissieEvert: “leaving Paris,I think this was one of most exciting yrs for women’s tennis.. Enjoyed presenting trophy, miss those croissants..Nadal in 5”
RT @christophclarey: “#Djokovic in El Pais on #Nadal’s competitive spirit: “He has the ability to play each point as if it were the last point of the match””
ed, what does it look like out of your window?
Radar picture (made 30 minutes ago). No rain clouds (green area) near Paris
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/475602386216845313/photo/1
Sun is shining at Roland Garros
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/475606113044688896/photo/1
What? Is he gone nuts?
Neil Harman @NeilHarmanTimes · 10m
Andy Murray confirms Amelie Mauresmo as new coach, for grass court season initially
looks like he has!
Congrats to nadline. I suspected as much when he quickly named her to his fantasy football team of tennis players!
Retweeted by Roland Garros
Pat Cash @TheRealPatCash · 8m
Special moment from the locker room @rolandgarros I’m sitting there and see Novak and Rafa walkin by each other smile and give a high five.
Tension Tension
LOL…nice
by the way, agassi has also picked Rafa !
sanju, check your email too
Loving the fact that the sun is shining in paris. This will put rafa in a very positive frame of mind right from the beginning !
Not that it matters but
Brad Gilbert @bgtennisnation · 4m
Right now I am leaning torward Rafa in 4tight sets
RT @bgtennisnation: “Beating Rafa in best of 5 on clay in the heat is a whole another level, absolutely vital Djoker win 1set if Rafa rough 1st set then trouble”
I think we are in danger of reading too much into the 1st set thing (me, included), it’s 5 sets!
Carole Bouchard @carole_bouchard · 3h
Nadal looks to me as past days : FH is back, the calm too. Didn’t push on his serve much. No tape on Djokovic right arm.
Carole Bouchard @carole_bouchard · 3h
Rafa ending practice on serve, and Djokovic arrives. Moya greets Djokovic but Rafa doesn’t stop. Final has started.
What was the tape doing on Nole’s wrist in the first place, I thought the wrist healed before Rome. Fake, much!
could be precautionary….nothing else
to get people like the ones here in a fuss about it!
See u after the match, Tenngranders, hopefully to celebrate!
Vamos Rafa!
Go get the 9th!
players on court
Nadal to receive
Okay here we go. I am getting a case of the jitters!
15-0
30-0
easy hold for Djokovic. Nadal did not play poorly.
nadal could barely hit his backhand in the opening game….was nervous…then djokovic missed some easy shots.. and now this game featured heavy hitting from both. Rafa’s forehand has had great length on it so far, even on forehands struck on the run.
This will be titanic
Djokovic on point so far
Djoko has come out to play today. Off to a fast start! Hope Rafa can keep it together
both holding without too much trouble
is nole going much for forehand I/O? how are the playing so far? is rafa solid as always?
both good
Djokovic dictating entirely. More winners but also more errors.
what I am afraid of…
SAVED
had this feeling!
shit
SAVED what ricky?
BPs
Ricky, SAVED WHAT??????
BPs
Nadal’s FH is OFF THE BOIL
lost the golden opportunities!
Ricky, make a report per game (demanding) LOL for us to be fully aware, PLEASE !
Nadal should have broken. Didn’t. Set Djoker.
I hate this! I have a bad feeling! may be a wash out :((((((((((
What the hell was that set from Nadal. Some of the worst play in the entire tournament on those break points. He’s lost this, first set very very important. Djokovic will juts relax now and start hitting big. Nadal had a big chance in that first set, djokovic was so tight and yet didn’t take advantage.So bad. What a waste.
no, first set way more important for Djoker
Rafa gave away the first set easilly…
We are in for the long haul.
OK Ricky. NID
Forehand errors have lost him the set 🙁
Gosh!
Both the players looked nervous as hell in that set!!
Let’s see if they play in a more relaxed manner..
Gosh!
Both players were nervous as hell in that set.
Hope that they are more relaxed now!
Rafa had a golden opportunity with two break chances but his forehand let him down. That was tough to watch. I guess he’s going to have to do it the hard way.
why is rafa serving so slowly????!!! 98 K/H????!!!!!
dreadful, Rafa
I can imagine that nole is out playing rafa’s forehand
rafa horrendous in the last two games of the first set. Inexplicable misses on imp points.
He must get a break here ASAP. oh, of course he must hold on to his serve before that…
It’s not that djokovic outplayed him and bullied him big time …it was more about rafa losing his way …
@vamosrafa,
I didn’t want to be so explicit, but of course you are correct. Rafa basically just handed that set to Novak. The last two games were really poor from him.
This is something new. Novak wins the first set. But I do agree with Ricky that it was much more important for Novak to get the first set.
Little by little Rafa is raising his level but he has way to go.
break rafa, COME ON
Rafa has upped his level
by a lot
How could he give the break straight back?
Wow…rafa is messing it all up after doing the hard work
I am praying djokovic’s 1st serve % drops here ! rafa has won 71% 2nd serve return points in this set
This is making me crazy. The old pattern of getting the break and giving it back. I just don’t know what to say at this point,
exactly ! i feel like pulling my hair out
this is so erratic. One moment rafa starts hitting so cleanly , the next moment he misses routine shots ! He should have won this set by now
Well I am pulling my hair out now!
And I was thinking (hoping?) that it was going to be Nole who was going to be the more nervous of the two. I am remembering now just how often Nadal has been nervous enough in matches that really matter. Hopefully his combative spirit will come out more and more, like we used to see in previous years when he was trailing in a final match.
Lord help us. We’re heading for a tie break unless Rafa works a miracle NOW
BREAK HERE RAFA PLZ ! and novak, HELP RAFA GET THE BREAK
On a lighter note. Moya is being interviewed. He gets better looking each year 😉
I will never be able to watch a tb. My nerves are frayed already. This is nervous time.
break hereeeeeeeeee
I hope Rafa relaxes now, having won the 2nd set.
Vamos
Oh Rafa must have heard me! Thank goodness! A break to win the set!
Now go get him Rafa! You are the man!
The crowd are behind Rafa, chanting his name, They were ecstatic when he took the 2nd set.
hahahahah the exact thing happened ! novak leaked errors and rafa raised his level in the end !
This match is more on rafa’s racket ! novak will improve but rafa can still win this in 4 sets
Rafa has tied it without playing his best. Now he needs to crank it up and take it to Novak!
best of 3
Yes, this match is definitely on Rafa’s racket. He gave that first set away, Novak didn’t win it.
Come on, Rafa!
I’m watching on French TV. Jean Pierre Loth is trying very hard to be impartial but he’s pulling for Rafa unashamedly.
Rafa in control now
Now Rafa fight as hard as you know how and make my prediction good :-). Rafa in 4.
What’s going on? I am tending to agree with Wilander’s take on the match.
Vamos Rafa
the expected is happening
What’s Wilander’s take?
Nadline, good to see you on here,! When I didn’t see u I said I am sure sure feeling like I ambcos I was not happy with Rafa at the start so I turned the TV off. Happy to Rafa kinda in control now but he should by no means lose his intensity bcos we all know what Novak is capable of. Mind u, Novak’s face is so red….lol!
Oooooooh là là
Rafa is rolling now. He just has to keep pounding that ball and taking it to Novak. Oh and hold his serve to get this set.
The bull is awake and in the house!
All I hoped for prior to this match is that nerves would not be the deciding factor. That either’s abilities on clay on a big stage out of 5 would decide it, with mental strength part of the picture but not simply bad nerves.
Rafa just slammed the door shut in Djokovic’s face.
But he needs to lock it now…………………..
Nole did the favours himself
I was reminded of Rafa’s retelling of what went through his mind after the fourth set of Wimby ’08. At that point he had won two sets with break, never lost a break, and lost two sets in tiebreaks. He told himself during the break (rainbreak?) that he had not done anything badly, had played well, and there was not reason why continuing to play that well he couldn’t (finally) win against Roger on that court.
^^^^He also told U.Toni during the rain break: “Dont worry I’m going to win this”
And bolt it too…………………
Rafaaaaa!!!
How well is rafa serving !!!
This is what I feared the most.
Nole seems to have gone in a deep sleep. Might be too late till he wakes up.
I wish Novak would stop pulling those aggrieved faces each time he loses a point.
Oh now he’s throwing his racquet around.
Gulbis
Hello tennis fans…too nervous to watch but I like what I see from the comments. #vamos
Are Djokovic’s parents in the house?
So we got a racket smash from Novak! I also loved the look on his face after Rafa won that last point to hold serve! Priceless! Like how do I beat this guy?
That hold by Rafa was the most important one so far in this match. Huge!
Rafa needs to knock it on the head in the 4th set.
Vamos Rafa
Good boy. Keep up the pressure.
Nelson is interviewing Uncle Toni who looks ecstatic. He speaks quite fluent French BTW.
One more set!
#Nervrous
#GoodFeelings
#FindingSolutions
#Vamos
Ooh LA LA!! Fantastic!! Finish it off, Rafa!!
Get a move on Rafa. You’ve not got long – the storm clouds are moving your way.
At least Fed made it more competitive for Nadal when Rafa was an absolute beast on clay.
Nole so far looks out of sorts.
(I’m not able to watch the match but just getting feeds and reports of the proceedings)
abhirf, ,after those terrible misses in the last two games of set 1…rafa has raised his level tremendously ! at one moment, he was unplayable …won 19/26 points !
right now, rafa’s backhand is also back as he is finding sharp angles on it….
we are talking about rafa’s serve before the match and he is serving even better than he did against murray
vamosrafa, what about Nole?
Where are his serve and BH??
Has Nole ran out of gas.. Almost everyone on twitter has pointed out that Nole has no legs left to carry on this match since start of set 3!
What’s the real scenario??
nole has been playing at a good level ! what makes you think he is playing poorly ! like murray said, you can have all the tactics in the world but you cannot execute them at your wish when rafa is hitting the ball that well.
When nole lost the 3rd set 6-1 last year, people said he was done and dusted and we know what followed. YOU CANNOT sustain that intensity against rafa nonstop….dips are bound to occur
that was spit, no?
Careful Rafa. Djokovic has got a second wind.
Remember last year when Rafa couldn’t close it out in the fourth set. We can’t get carried away just yet. Rafa just has to keep holding and then try to put some pressure on Novak. He’s the one who is down two sets to one.
I hope that the weather doesn’t get cooler. No second wind for Novak!
So my feeling of this final being a damp squibturns to be true!
Match done and dusted for Nole!
Congrats Rafa for the 9th RG crown!
#ALegendIndeed
damp squib? this has been a high quality match ! look at the winners and errors ratio !
NO RAIN, ,please
Damp squip? If Rafa blinks……..on to a fifth, we don’t want that!!
Rafa is broken again. The NBC commentators are saying that he hurt his back. He’s having trouble serving.
I don’t want to see a fifth set.
There we go………..fifth set!!!! Rafa is just too frustrating!! I sense danger!!!
Oh no, please not that. He was serving at 80% in this set. It’s down to 70% now.
It cant end this way. But it is obvious he is having trouble.
If he’s going to do it it has to be now. You can see the pain etched on his face.
I trust the crowd response will lay to rest the notion the French ‘hate’ Rafa.
Only took them 10 years.
They were very classy today.
Vaaaaaammmmmmmmmooooooossssssssssss!
Is anybody else crying with happiness ?
^^Do you need to ask??
I’m finally dry-eyed enough to post something. OMG. Every year I tell myself that *next* year I won’t get as emotional and it will be ok if Rafa loses. Never happens.
#ma9ic #dreamin9
#kin8ofclay
vamooooooooooooooos
gongrats to all 🙂
sorry #kin9ofcaly
VAMOOOOOSSSSSS!!!!!!
Rome my *** 😀
Rafa stays No.1 and commiserations to Novak who has to wait another 12 months to try again for his career slam.
Vaaaaaaaaamooooooooo!!!!!!!!!
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/475681166016921601/photo/1
All those ESPN ‘experts’, eat your heart out!!!!
No, eat CROW!! You will hear, if not for the sun Novak wold have won, if not for the rain, moon and sky….lol!!
Rafa’s house.
#ENCROYA9LE
#BEL14VE
All together now. Hip Hip Hooray !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can’t stop crying! Oh my goodness! Rafa was in pain, so I am grateful that Novak cooperated with some help from the French crowd! Nice of him to DF the match away!
Oh Rafa! Now you have gone where no one has before in this sport!
NNY: I hope you’re still glued to the tele. Borg is presenting the cup.
@ed,
YES! I saw him! He was so happy for Rafa! I wondered why in the past they didn’t have Borg present the trophy to Rafa. It’s so appropriate! Great moment!
I am over the moon right now! I won’t come down from this high for days!
nativenewyorker7 (at 6:28 pm)
—I wondered why in the past they didn’t have Borg present the trophy to Rafa—
Björn Borg presented the trophy in 2008
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/475709350494109696/photo/1
Roland Garros is to be known as Rafa Garros, henceforth.
guys, pleeeeaaaaaaaaase hit me with any video you’ve got of the ceremony! rafa celebration, highlights, anything 🙂
I swear Rafa is more emotional about this win than when he won the Olympic Gold. ?
ed, definitely.
well done rafa. a true sporting legend. however, i’ve never felt so flat after a final. Such a shame some Rafa fan(s) had to ruin it by shouting out between djokovic first and second serves (this is of course a guess, but it seems highly unlikely anyone but a rafa fan would do this). im not saying the result would have been different, but it happened twice and at absolutely crucial moments. I could not live with myself knowing id negatively impacted such a historic and hard fought sporting contest, however happy i was at rafa winning.
Oh, come on. Do you remember a Nole fan disrupting Nadal in the SF last year and security had to give him a talking to?
abhirf,
we all know you to be more objective than most fans (of any player) … but with all due respect, this was anything but a damb squid. And Novak gave Rafa a tough match pretty much the whole time. Rafa’s abilities on clay are just a step up from Novak’s abilities. Comparing Nole to Roger, Roger hardly ever managed to make Rafa work this hard at Roland Garros, and most of the time at other claycourt tournaments either. Maybe a hard fact to come fully to terms with.
https://twitter.com/Clijsterskim/status/475685629154852864/photo/1
That BH pass he made to bring the score to 30 all in the final game…………………….
was awesome 🙂
I went outside during 4th when got broken….
can some tell me if Rafa really won his 9th RG?
I mean, I switch off my laptop when i read some posted here that rafa got broken. Was he got really broken in the 4th set?
Been long time since I join the Rafans shoulting VAMOOOOOSSSSS !!!
Hallo there Raindrops!!!! I was talking about you only yesterday and up you pop.
Where have you been hiding all this time?
Ed, I was around all the time and chose to be in the sideline because I got really heart broken by that AO loss. I can’t get over it until today. At least it helps me to get back again watching tennis LOL.
Vamos!!! Rafans!! Group fist pumps!!!! What a playaaa!!!
Congragulations everyone!!! : ) 🙂 😀
Raindrops, I understand that completely! I felt the same way but I can’t turn my back on Rafa. I have learnt we have to take the good with the bad, oh he has given us so much joy!! Vamos!!!
abhirf,
we all know you to be more objective than most fans (of any player)… but with all due respect, this was anything but a damb squid. And Nova gave Rafa a tough match pretty much the whole time. Rafa’s abilities on clay are just a step up from Novak’s abilities. Comparing Nole to Roger, Roger hardly ever managed to make Rafa work this hard at Roland Garros, and most of the time at other claycourt tournaments either. Maybe a hard fact to come fully to terms with.
It all appeared to be too jittery and nervy final. Also I posted this before Nole broke back in 4th set.
Match may have been high on emotions, but not great or upto the expectations.
^^^^Too much emotional energy was expended watching the match to make a rational assessment of it. But you are right they were both too tense and it was not the usual level of tennis we see usually see when they meet in a slam. I felt for Novak watching his pain at having his dream crushed yet again. I guess he’s now beginning to wonder if he will ever lift that trophy.
and guess what! rafa won against DJOKER without his BRUTAL FOREHAND 😀
Congratulations Rafans! Sorry Novak, there is next year to try………………..
I am just going to take a break and drink all this in……
Vamos Rafa!
#9
#14
For once it looked like the French crowd will make Nole cry!
Got to see the 1st set and 4-2 in the 2nd and was lucky to get some action in the end.
Still couldn’t decide what failed Nole today – his service, his BH or his nerves? Would have accepted this scoreline if Rafa had been playing like he did in 2012 final or even like last year.
Congratulations RAFA!!!
9th RG crown in the bag!
keep going!
BTW did anyone else noticed this : both the times Sharapova won RG , Nole lost the final to Rafa in 4 sets DFing on match point both the times..
Then I hope Sharapova keeps winning RG, except it doesn’t really matter who wins the women’s trophy, Rafa always wins the men’s except for one year.
Nole and Maria just don’t seem to go along well together :p .. Quite a history between the 2.
They won Aussie 2008 together!
@vmk, that’s shocking to hear!!
I think that your puzzlement stems from the a perception that Novak is Rafa’s equal on clay and his equal in best of five tournaments. He pretty much only beat Rafa on clay when Rafa was compromised in some significant way. To wit, he has only once taken Rafa to five sets on clay, and almost didn’t, and that was at last year’s semi when Rafa was tired and vulnerable.
I’ll say it again, come the end of this RG Novak will rue not winning that semi last year as it was his best chance, so far, to defeat Rafa there and complete his career slam. Nole deserves to win it some day as he has played better here several times than anyone not named Rafa. Time will tell whether he will win it by defeating Rafa here once, or because he won’t have to meet him in the final.
well.. last year’s SF is what puzzles me the most. I think Nole was playing much better this year.
In last year’s SF, I still can’t make out that how he stretched it to 5 sets despite playing really shabby tennis at times.
And it is not my perception that Nole is equal to Rafa on clay. I don’t even consider him to be a better clay courter than Fed, forget Rafa.
It’s just that ideal matchup that he has created with Rafa. I haven’t seen Rafa so nervous against anyone on tennis court. The fact that Nole couldn’t utilise that advantage even being the toughest mentally, just stirs up the puzzlement.
Rafa is no equal to Fed on Grass or HC’s but he defeated him for the exact reason : got the better of Fed’s nerves at Wimby and AO.
Maybe Rafa is destined to win 15 FO’s .. who knows??
But I’m disappointed with Nole. He could have fought much better than this. He won the 1st set just because Rafa gifted it to him. His tendency to go to sleep mode in the matches have costed him a lot in the past and if he doesn’t learn from it, will cost him more in the future. This is what was the difference in 2011.. He played full on for the whole match!
On a lighter side :
At least Nole would now understand how FED felt back in the days 😉
^^^^^^Good point. Watching him struggling to deal with his loss and to control his emotions I was thinking today was a salutary lesson for him. He might, just might, in future show more consideration towards his opponents by modifying his bellicose behaviour after beating them to the title.
This feels so good
Rafa coming back after losing the first set which is against the dynamic of their rivalry. Putting the 4 losses in a row behind him. Beating a motivated Djoko at the height of his powers. Rafa still BO5 king!!!! 😀
After this performance, there should be some rethink on the fed tards consensus of what what would have happened had they met in 2011 😀
Yes they are such a logical and objective bunch.
VAMMMMMOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!
(goat)
Nole would have won in 2011..
It’s not about Rafa.. Nole was a different animal back together in 2011, not this shaky one.
Absolutely!! He would have won in 2011 just like he would have won today if Gulbis/Fed had taken him out in the semi 😀
After ten tournaments Rafa played at RG, dear abhirf, do you not yet see how difficult Rafa makes everything there for his opponents, even when they are playing very well? Nole was not particularly shaky today. Rafa was the more nervous one in the first set. It’s simply that once he shook off some of his nerves his superior level made things almost impossible for Nole… who kept playing well. Is that so hard to see or admit?
lol…nole would have won in 2011? I thought people learned a lesson today. facing Rafa in the final of the french is a totally diff proposition.
@abhirf, take note of the break point conversion rate !!! told ya, rafa gets possessed on brk points at RG LOL
Rafa’s backhand was such a liability in rome but today, his backhand was bullying djokovic ! People underestimate how big a weapon can rafa’s backhand be. In the 2011 final,rafa’s backhand again rose to a very high level after having been absent throughout the clay season
Sorry guys..
I have seen both Nole and Rafa play much much better than this on clay.
@vmk, you guys can continue to believe what you think for your reasons and I will continue to believe in my reasons…
The thing is- it didn’t took place. So both are right as well as wrong!
@chloro, I know how difficult it is for someone to beat Rafa at RG! And I still respect Soderling for that.
But tell me the truth, wasn’t every Rafa fan concerned whether he will win this one or not because Nole was on the other side.
Hell! even Rafa was mighty concerned evident by that 1st set.
abhirf (at 5:56 pm)
— I know how difficult it is for someone to beat Rafa at RG! And I still respect Soderling for that.
Yeah, Soderling is a hero in the eyes of Fed fans!
abhirf,
I find it amusing whenever anyone quotes Soderling’s win without mentioning that Rafa was gravely injured in the knees, and not just on the day… besides the fact that Robin played the match of his life. If you had won this tournament the nine other times you competed there and only lost when your knees where badly injured how would you like that loss to be characterised? Simply that the opponent was better on the day? To wit, Rafa beat Robin very comprehensively the next time they competed at RG.
I personally never doubted that in the end Rafa would win today. I’ve written it here consistently since months ago, and immediately after the Rome final and all these last two weeks. Yes, I was a little nervous, not after the first set but towards the end because of concerns of a possible injured back and then having to play a fifth set. Concerns re injury, no other.
No one says it’s _easy_ for Rafa to win each match here. And it isn’t. However between his tennis mind and skills and mental strength he has managed to win 68 times against all comers no matter how he was doing that year and that day. With the exception that proves nothing: one loss to a player who played outstandingly while Rafa was badly injured.
The thing that I respect Robin for his win that day is how well he played himself.
Is there a tournament where Roger comes close to a 68 / 69 win ratio? It is an unbelievable statistic. No one would have believed this possible if we had discussed the possibility of something like this 9 years ago when the 18 / 19 year old boy from Majorca first played here in the ATP. Anyone would have said it is absolutely impossible. To wit, compare with Roger’s and Sampras’ best ratios at their best slams. The only reason why Rafa’s win today does not surprise (in the least) is that we have grown accustomed over many years to the fact that he is unbeatable there when not injured… year after year. Only time will tell how many years this will be true for. Eventually he will retire or age will be too much of a factor. Nole and Rafa are of comparable levels on hardcourt (especially if you take away all the AOs where Rafa was injured or didn’t appear due to injury). But on clay Rafa is a head above Roger and Nole, still. We might be writing the same 12 months from now. We’ll see.
@abhirf,
During the 7 win streak of Nole over Rafa several of their out of 3 matches were pretty close even though Rafa was too nervous and Nole in exceptional/exceptional mode. In out of 5 matches Nole won in 4 sets (W), 4 sets (USO) and 5 sets (AO), the last one almost losing. On clay at RG he simply did not make the final that Rafa did win. Out of 5 on clay at RG what would have happened? What would have happened on the day. You’re right that we can’t know for sure. We can only say what we think is the more likely outcome. I think that Rafa had a higher likelihood still to win then.
Had Rafa lost then it would have been one loss there in his worst year against his toughest opponent when his toughest opponent had his miracle year. Their H2H at RG would now be Rafa – Nole 7-1 rather than 7-0. What would be the precise meaning of that difference in H2H at RG?
No Soderling is not a hero in our eyes. He is appreciated for closing out the match.
Many top players have won the match even when they were physically not at their best.
Rafa himself has won matches when he was injured. Soderling did well enough to close out the match. Also everyone came to know about the injury when Rafa was out for months. If Soderling hadn’t defeated him, who knows Rafa may have won another FO even with that injured knee (like 2012).
@chloro
on your above post, agree to it more or less.
I have never liked Rafa’s game (apart from IW and Montreal 2013), but always respected him highly for his achievements and spirit!
guys what’s up with rafa’s back? any thing serious?
rafaelo, he said he was tired. He didn’t say anything about his back in his interview.
he usually doesn’t get tired! that’s even more concerning!
Now sick of too much of Rafaole.
Time for some entertaining tennis..
C’mon ROGER get that bloody 8th Wimby title in your bag 🙂
That’s mean..whats not entertaining here? Cmon really mean comment at this hour when they played their hearts out
@Sanju
Can’t help. But the tennis style on display didn’t really pleases me.
abhirf (at 5:26 pm),
—C’mon ROGER get that bloody 8th Wimby title in your bag—
People are tired of his victories.
@augusta08
People are also tired of Rafa’s victories!!
https://twitter.com/ESPNTennis/status/475690766199963649/photo/1
14 slam titles now for Rafa!
RT @SteveTignor : “Nadal at 4-2: “I was so tired…I could hardly move. Lost the coordination on my serve.” Didn’t see Novak get sick.”
That is some body language control. I did not think Rafa was suffering at all. Nole on the other hand seemed to be suffering when he made UFE’s and seemed rejuvenated when he made good shots.
RITB for christ sake,play the happy song!!
^^@vmk1, I promise I will, when I get my mojo back. Right now I am too emotionally drained to be happy. Don’t worry, it will come………….
RT @SharkoTennis : “In 8 of 9 title runs @rolandgarros, @RafaelNadal has beaten rivals @DjokerNole (6 times) and/or @rogerfederer (5 times) en route.”
Vamos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rafa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I didn’t watch the match. I couldn’t stand the nerve. I start my subscription to the Tennis Channel just so I can watch replays of Rafa’s matches.
So the weather forecast on weather.com held up. It’s mostly sunny. Good for Rafa. I’m surprised Djoker didn’t seem to hold up well in the sun. What happened to all his super-fitness routines since 2011? Could it be he’s deviating from those after so much success? Good efforts but I’m just surprised he would have so much physical discomforts.
I’m not surprised Rafa gutted it out. No one beats Rafa in heart.
Vamos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rafa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I didn’t watch the match. I couldn’t stand the nerve. I start my subscription to the Tennis Channel just so I can watch replays of Rafa’s matches.
So the weather forecast on weather.com held up. It’s mostly sunny. Good for Rafa. I’m surprised Djoker didn’t seem to hold up well in the sun. What happened to all his super-fitness routines since 2011? Could it be he’s deviating from those after so much success? Good efforts but I’m just surprised he would have so much physical discomforts.
I’m not surprised Rafa gutted it out. No one beats Rafa in heart.
I don’t like this graphic. Rafa should stand alone above Fed and Pete…..
https://twitter.com/SharkoTennis/status/475698430094753792/photo/1
Well the numbers in that graphic do make Rafa stand out.
#DoYou???
Rafa > Nole following AO 2012: 7 – 5
Not bad after Nole’s 7 match winning streak.
Rafa > Nole 23 – 19
Rafa > Roger 23 – 10
Let Nole win the battles and Rafa win the wars.
Last four slam h2h wars and titles that is since AO12.
If Rafa matches or surpasses Roger’s slamcount …. a BIG if due to concerns of injuries … and if he completes a second career slam … and if he ends with a positive H2H over Nole when he retires…. I’d like to know… what kind an asterisk are the pundits and fanatics going to put next to Rafa’s career achievements? “too many mandatory tournaments are played on clay each year, about half as many as on hardcourt” perhaps 🙂 ?
Rafa 4-0 last four majors vs Nole.
http://twitter.com/SteveTignor/status/475685469405982720
Congrats Rafans..Could not see the match, just peeped in after 4.5 hours..very happy to c this. Was feeling all knotted up and suffered acidity just out of stress n not seeing the match
Rem what I told..Feds 2009 (harsh loss in 2009 AO to miss No 14) and then winning FO, Wimby may repeat for Rafa again..Hope he wins Wimby now..
Cramping is okay ..it can happen after a stressful physical match but hope back is okay?
BTW Rafa hit 44 winners to Noles 43..he outlasted Nole again in winners department..If there were 87 winners..why is match being called crap by abhirf? Isnt that a good number abhi?
Don’t mind abhirf a usually very fair minded fedfan (or should I say Fedole fan).
#Afraid
#14andCounting
🙂
@hawkeye
I’m a Fedelpo fan, not really Fedole fan.
And BTW, what are you afraid of?
Not me abhirf! 🙂
Then who is afraid Hawkeye??
Ignorance is bliss perhaps so I won’t ruin it.
I didn’t called it crap. I said it wasn’t good enough.
The quality of the match was really marred by the terrible level of play at crucial junctures which is hard to see in matches between these 2!
They do set impossibly high expectations to be sure, no?
(Unlike finals during The Weak Era.)
Not high expectations. Just the quality you expect from top 2 guys. Watching the highlights of Madrid 2011 SF b/w Fed and Rafa didn’t help either. That is what’s called quality tennis.
As for the weak era, it never really started and if it did started then it is still going on. That is just a good lame argument which seems to be initiated and supported by some anonymous groups.
sorry.. didn’t mention – watching the highlights prior to this match..
Someone please update on Rafa cramping, saying he could not move at 4-2, the back n forth breaks in 4th set and Novaks vomiting?
Stress must have killed them both
vamosrafa/NNY : Maybe either of u can oblige me by giving details
@Sanju,
All I know is what Rafa said in his post match interview with John McEnroe. Even during the interview JMac could see that Rafa was cramping. So he had the leg cramps which is not that uncommon, but also said he was very tired. He made some kind of bad movement in one game and then said he couldn’t move.
JMac asked Rafa if he knew that Novak threw up two times during the match. Rafa said he didn’t know that and was sorry for that.
http://twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/475680589371428864
RT @tomasberdych :”This guy born for Roland Garros,he has clay in his DNA!! Well done @RafaelNadal”
Toni: “Rafa said me in the ear that he has cramps & that he is very tired. Then, I’ve called even the doctor”
Tomáš Berdych @tomasberdych · 14m
This guy born for Roland Garros,he has clay in his DNA!! Well done @RafaelNadal
chiara gambuzza @ChiaraGamTWI · 24m
Djokovic said to Serbian media that in the last 4-5 days he vomited several times and didn’t feel good.
Beyond The Baseline @SI_BTBaseline · 19m
So after all the upsets and all the speculation/doubt, it’s Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova establishing order on clay. Funny sport, this.
Tennis Facts @TennisFacts · 21m
Nadal has beaten Djokovic most no. of times at six en route to his 9 Roland Garros titles followed by Federer at five.
Rafa crying Kin9ofClay @Rafaholics · 22m
I can’t take it.. #Nadal #emotional #RG14 HQ >> http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-06-08T174542Z_989073089_LR2EA681DBW6F_RTRMADP_3_TENNIS-OPEN.JPG … pic.twitter.com/wiCkWaIGpT
Melbourne put me on the edge. Miami nearly pushed me over it. I’m in a much better place now. But grateful to experience it all.
#Kin9ofClay @Rafaholics · 27m
THe #Nadal’s hug it out! HQ > http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-06-08T173042Z_851119923_LR2EA681CMV5V_RTRMADP_3_TENNIS-OPEN.JPG … pic.twitter.com/eMQhdpiHnn
Erik Gudris @ATNtennis · 28m
Closing words from Paris – “I saw Nadal cry for the first time.” – John McEnroe.
Kin9ofClay @Rafaholics · 28m
#TrophyBite HQ >> http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/a12e0d5a67878116560f6a7067006eb4.jpg … pic.twitter.com/6aCTrpphzD
Beyond The Baseline @SI_BTBaseline · 30m
Rafael Nadal seemingly came down with some arm cramps while trying to pose with the trophy. Those things get heavy after a while.
Kin9ofClay @Rafaholics · 31m
#TeamNadal emotions! https://twitter.com/Rafaholics/status/475695824476061696/photo/1
Rafael Nadal Fans @RafaelNadalFC · 34m
So emotional: Rafa and Uncle Toni! (EFE) https://twitter.com/RafaelNadalFC/status/475695360623800320/photo/1
Joe Fleming @ByJoeFleming · 37m
What the heck. One more … two French Open heroes (REUTERS) http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/french/2014/06/08/rafael-nadal-novak-djokovic-french-open-final/10198417/ … pic.twitter.com/dh3em8FNhn
Greg Sharko @SharkoTennis · 38m
3 of 14 @RafaelNadal #grandslam titles have come after losing 1st set, all @rolandgarros (2005-06, 14).
Toni: “Rafa said me in the ear that he has cramps & that he is very tired. Then, I’ve called even the doctor”
Tomáš Berdych @tomasberdych · 14m
This guy born for Roland Garros,he has clay in his DNA!! Well done @RafaelNadal
chiara gambuzza @ChiaraGamTWI · 24m
Djokovic said to Serbian media that in the last 4-5 days he vomited several times and didn’t feel good.
Beyond The Baseline @SI_BTBaseline · 19m
So after all the upsets and all the speculation/doubt, it’s Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova establishing order on clay. Funny sport, this.
Tennis Facts @TennisFacts · 21m
Nadal has beaten Djokovic most no. of times at six en route to his 9 Roland Garros titles followed by Federer at five.
@sanju,
I saw where Rafa whispered in Uncle Toni’s ear when he went up to his box to hug everyone. He kind of grimaced a little when he said it. Rafa was hurting!
RT @SteveTignor: “Nadal makes special mention to McEnroe about wanting do well again at Wimbledon. Said same thing about US Open to him in 2010. #RG14”
Rafa crying Kin9ofClay @Rafaholics · 22m
I can’t take it.. #Nadal #emotional #RG14 HQ >> http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-06-08T174542Z_989073089_LR2EA681DBW6F_RTRMADP_3_TENNIS-OPEN.JPG … pic.twitter.com/wiCkWaIGpT
Melbourne put me on the edge. Miami nearly pushed me over it. I’m in a much better place now. But grateful to experience it all.
#Kin9ofClay @Rafaholics · 27m
THe #Nadal’s hug it out! HQ > http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2014-06-08T173042Z_851119923_LR2EA681CMV5V_RTRMADP_3_TENNIS-OPEN.JPG … pic.twitter.com/eMQhdpiHnn
Erik Gudris @ATNtennis · 28m
Closing words from Paris – “I saw Nadal cry for the first time.” – John McEnroe.
Kin9ofClay @Rafaholics · 28m
#TrophyBite HQ >> http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/a12e0d5a67878116560f6a7067006eb4.jpg … pic.twitter.com/6aCTrpphzD
Beyond The Baseline @SI_BTBaseline · 30m
Rafael Nadal seemingly came down with some arm cramps while trying to pose with the trophy. Those things get heavy after a while.
Kin9ofClay @Rafaholics · 31m
#TeamNadal emotions! https://twitter.com/Rafaholics/status/475695824476061696/photo/1
Rafael Nadal Fans @RafaelNadalFC · 34m
So emotional: Rafa and Uncle Toni! (EFE) https://twitter.com/RafaelNadalFC/status/475695360623800320/photo/1
Joe Fleming @ByJoeFleming · 37m
What the heck. One more … two French Open heroes (REUTERS) http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/french/2014/06/08/rafael-nadal-novak-djokovic-french-open-final/10198417/ … pic.twitter.com/dh3em8FNhn
Juan M. del Potro @delpotrojuan · 44m
Congratulations to Rafa, a great champion, and also Nole for the effort and the great match they played.
Carole Bouchard @carole_bouchard · 45m
“I’ll try until the end of my career to win this title”, Djokovic. Who won the saddest/cutest smile of the event at this presser. #ToughOne
Ubaldo Scanagatta @Ubitennis · 52m
#RG14 #Djokovic About the 2nd serve on matchpoint… Novak stops the journalist and says “I don’t want to talk again about the crowd please”
Nick Bollettieri @NickBollettieri · 51m
French Open had two champs today. @RafaelNadal THE winner and @DjokerNole A winner! Speeches were fantastic! Hope they play for a long time.
Roland Garros @rolandgarros · 53m
“I wasn’t able to bring my A-game when needed,” #Djokovic adds. “To be appreciated by the fans the way I was, it gives me strength” #RG14
Ben Rothenberg @BenRothenberg · 53m
Djokovic uncharacteristically edgy in press, clearly bitterly disappointed by the loss. Knows he squandered a big opportunity today. #rg14
#Nadal: “All the victories are different. So much emotion year after year. You never know when it’s gonna be the last time”.
Erik Gudris @ATNtennis · 59m
Nadal said he felt down mentally few months after AO. But last 4 weeks starting feeling better about things. #RG14
Roland Garros @rolandgarros · 1h
“It was a great start, but he was better on the crucial points” #Djokovic says. “It’s disappointing, of course” #RG14 pic.twitter.com/ydwzvT7bUj
Erik Gudris @ATNtennis · 1h
“I was so tired. I felt like I couldn’t move.” Nadal on 4-2 game in 4th to McEnroe. “I accepted it and I kept on fighting.”
Rafa said he wants to play well at Wimbledon this year.
Do you have room where you will put 9 trophies? Rafa #Nadal: “If not we will make it. I live with my parents.”
judy murray @judmoo · 1h
Cloud 9. #Rafa x
http://bloguin.com/attackingthenet/2014/eight-is-not-enough.html
“As was said when this tennis blog started three weeks ago, Rome is a nice tournament to win, but Paris is what matters on European red clay. Players fatten their bank accounts and rise in the rankings when they conquer Italy. They become immortals when they subdue France, its moody crowds, and its preference for a very particular brand of tennis. This is why majors are majors, and Masters 1000s are Masters 1000s.”
PREACH!!
Erik Gudris @ATNtennis · 1h
Nadal goes from tears to smiles. Djokovic sitting in his chair as in disbelief. That’s the tennis. #RG14
Vibhu batra @VIBHUISM · 1h
This is the 1st ever final that Novak #Djokovic has lost in his career after winning 1st set (won 32 successive finals before today). #rg14
Vibhu batra @VIBHUISM · 1h
With this win, Rafa #Nadal will retain #1 ranking for *at least* 4 more weeks (till Wimby) & ensured to complete 142 weeks @ #ATP #1. #rg14
Darren Cahill @darren_cahill · 1h
If beating Nadal @rolandgarros is not the most mentally & physically difficult thing to do in sport, then I’m not sure what is. A true great
And let the records show, Rafa did not even bring his A game to the RG 2014 final……………
Simon Cambers @scambers73 · 1h
Both men looks absolutely drained after that. Unbelievable 9th French Open title for Rafael Nadal. More Paris heartbreak for Novak Djokovic
Juan José Vallejo @juanjosetennis · 1h
The fact that Rafael Nadal has had so much success against a great player whose game is custom built to thwart him is just astounding.
Juan José Vallejo @juanjosetennis · 1h
After the cruel nature of this year’s Australian Open, Rafael Nadal keeps defying fate, his own body, and everything in between.
Ben Rothenberg @BenRothenberg · 1h
Djokovic DFed on match pt after fan interruptions before second serve. After he pointed a finger, gave sarcastic thumbs ups to them. #RG14
Ben Rothenberg @BenRothenberg · 1h
Rafael Nadal, #Kin9ofClay. He romps 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 over out-of-sorts Novak Djokovic. Underwhelming match; overwhelming champion. #RG14
Tennis Facts @TennisFacts · 9m
Djokovic has lost four US Open finals (twice to Nadal, once to Federer & Murray each), two RG (both to Nadal), and one Wimbledon to Murray.
Its proven now Djoko does not play well in slam finals outside AO..massively underwhelming results
I said that Rafa would fight like a man possessed to win this title. I also always believed that it’s the slams that count. Let Novak have his four consecutive wins at lesser tournaments. Rafa won where it counted – at RG! He has been beating Novak in the slams since that last defeat at the 2012 AO. Where Rafa is at in his career now, it’s the slams that matter most of all. Rafa got the big prize again.
Does anyone doubt that Novak would trade his wins at Beijing, WTF, Miami and Rome to win RG? Now those who picked Novak over Rafa can sit there in embarrassment over not going with the man who has dominated this tournament like no one else in history.
I got to see my two favorite players of all time together at RG – Borg and Rafa! Just a wonderful sight. I loved how happy Borg was for Rafa!
Tennis Facts @TennisFacts · 13m
Meanwhile, Djokovic slips to a 6-7 record in Grand Slam finals. All losses were outside Australian Open.
Guys look at this answer from Djoko..Very telling
Djokovic asked if the outcome of the match could have been different if the match had started at 6pm: “Maybe if I were lefty, I’d have won”.
“Djokovic tasted that bitter knowledge yet again on Sunday, building the kind of rich-yet-incomplete Roland Garros legacy that will read thusly on his tennis tombstone: “He won a ton of matches and made multiple finals… but then he played Nadal.””
AMEN!
http://bloguin.com/attackingthenet/2014/eight-is-not-enough.html
Genny SS @genny_ss · 22m
Toni: “Goal at beginning of season is to win 1 GS & has been achieved. Besides, he keeps #1, but above all, RG #9.Awesome”
What? Goal was just 1 GS? Cmon Toni, atleast 2..dont let Rafa go to sleep now (:- You fought so hard to win AO..how was goal just 1 slam?Are you kidding?
I think Uncle Toni was trying to be realistic. He and Rafa do set goals each year. But he didn’t say that Rafa won’t win more! 😉
I really would love to see Rafa win Wimbledon. It’s the first time I have said it out loud. I just wanted to focus on RG. The fact that Rafa mentioned wanting to do well in his interview with JMac, tells me he’s got more on his mind than just winning one slam this year!
Rafa will win Wimby this year is my prediction and forecast..I said it 4-5 months back itself that RG-Wimby double for Rafa and he will repeat Feds 2009 in 2014 after brutal AO loss..Let us see
Yeah I hope so too. But before that I am hoping he is not rosoled or Darcised this year. I would be happy if he makes it to the second week. And then anything is possible
One thing I really appreciated hearing from the commentators on NBC, was how Rafa has had to beat the best to win his nine titles. They mentioned him beating Fed in the finals. I don’t remember how many. Then Novak in two finals. Ferrer last year. No chumps in the bunch! Rafa beat them all and that makes all his wins even more impressive! No weak era for Rafa!
I think it’s still sinking in right now. I was just telling Rafa to hang in there because I knew he was hurting. He showed so much heart and guts and will. I am always proud of Rafa, always. But today my heart is just so full!
“In 2012, serving to stay in the fourth set and the match against Nadal in a Roland Garros final, Djokovic double-faulted on match point. The fact that Djokovic double-faulted on match point two years later — in the same Roland Garros final; the same late-in-the-fourth-set situation; and amidst the same “if I can just clear this hurdle, I can win the Grand Slam” tensions — offers a perfectly representative illustration of the fact that Nadal, even when not at his best, is the mental giant of this sport. Djokovic is a formidable mental marvel — he’s better than every other player on the earth — but Nadal is tops between the ears.”
Hallelujah!
http://bloguin.com/attackingthenet/2014/eight-is-not-enough.html
#Masters1000AreNotTheNewSlams
Simon Cambers @scambers73 · 35m
Going to be very interesting to see how both @RafaelNadal and @DjokerNole respond at Wimbledon after massive RG efforts. Huge task
Yes need to see..will require massive regrouping from both..Rafa n Novak..wake up soon..make Fed/Andy struugle n fight for that Wimby
Steve Tignor @SteveTignor · 42m
Nadal makes special mention to McEnroe about wanting do well again at Wimbledon. Said same thing about US Open to him in 2010. #RG14
Vamos Rafa..channel slam again..my bet is on you..carry the momentum..skip Halle..rest and come back fresh
“Let’s get one thing straight in advance: Unless his back gives out or his physical health is in some other way reduced to a substantial degree, you had better not spend the 2015 clay-court season picking Djokovic or the field…
… at least, if you value being right at Roland Garros.”
Tell ’em!
http://bloguin.com/attackingthenet/2014/eight-is-not-enough.html
Are you listening Tiggy, ESPN Experts, Steen Kirby, Jared Pine, Sean Randall etc, etc.?
RT @juanjosetennis: “The thing I frequently wonder when I think about Nadal’s career: what if there were 2 clay slams instead of 2 hard court slams?”
He would have 26+ Slams by now………………easy.
RITB in the article you posted (loved the blog)..he openly says match was ordinary quality and that Rafa did not even play great..just that Djoko played worse :-)..Mainly below statements..People who saw the match? Was it that average?
At the end of a match that never really found its footing,
Djokovic could not find enough quality to beat Nadal on a day when the greatest clay-courter of all time played an average match.
This match deserved a grade no higher than a C-plus. It was a noticeably ordinary match laden with errors and hitting that did not rise to a fever pitch for most of the day.
@Sanju, tbh, I cannot say right now, about the quality I mean. I would have to see it again to judge that. All I was looking for was a Rafa win, no matter how! Glad you like the blog, so did I.
Btw, Juan Jose at changeovertennis.com thinks Djokovic’s new strategy of attacking Rafa’s FH instead of his BH is a disaster. It appeared to work in Miami and Rome and this is why a lot of the pundits picked Djokovic to win. I think hitting to Rafa’s FH made an appearance after BB came on board………..
Loved the blog..one of the best I read 🙂
Folks..if anyone has long good highlights please share..anything on dailymotion etc?
Augusta..maybe you can help as always:-)
Beyond The Baseline @SI_BTBaseline · 3m
Nadal says the match was in Djokovic’s hands early and if he didn’t win that second set he doesn’t think he’d be holding the trophy now.
Adeline Auger @adel1609 · 5m
Nadal confirms he will play Halle. Will travel to Germany in the afternoon tomorrow after RG celebrations. #RG14
Ben Rothenberg @BenRothenberg · 12m
“I hope my knee will have the positive feelings on grass.” -Rafael Nadal on his Halle/Wimbledon prospects. #RG14
“The emotions were very high,” #Nadal continues. “The crowd inside Chatrier always supports me. I can’t explain the feeling” #RG14
A full press room greets #Nadal w/ applause. “The most important thing is always to win Roland Garros,” he says
Just get a few practise hits on the grass and… VAMOS RAFA!!!!!!
https://twitter.com/SI_BTBaseline/status/475720354812690432
SKIP IT Rafa..wrong decision..risk of injury
BTW Is Rafas back okay? Reading on twitter he bent and held it at 4 2 in 4th?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/20140608/french-open-final-rafael-nadal-novak-djokovic/
Good article
This:
Rafa has now played 20 finals at Majors, won 14, and had to face either Federer, or Djokovic, or both, in 18 of those Majors.
Nadal first to qualify for World Tour Finals. Year after year he continues to amaze.
http://www.nbcsports.com/tennis/nadal-ties-sampras-14th-major-victory
Interview with Mcenroe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dOkgz5BCxcQ
Nice synopsis on the match…
This will not be recalled as one of the classic matches between Nadal and Djokovic. Both players betrayed nerves throughout the match. They endured rough patches when their shots — their backhands especially — let them down. Their serves were unremarkable. Djokovic smashed his racket. And vomited. And double-faulted on match point. There was plenty of drama, but it came principally from wondering which player’s body would give out first.
Still, this rivalry is so entrenched that — even when the aesthetics are lousy — the matches are worth watching for the narrative alone. By beating Djokovic for the third straight year at Roland Garros, Nadal snapped a four-match losing streak to his nemesis. He deprived Djokovic of the one major to elude him. He secured his top ranking. He gathered momentum heading to Wimbledon, where Nadal somehow lost in the first round last year. Maybe most important, Slam No. 14 puts him ever closer to the summit of Mount Federer (altitude: 17) and with it, the Greatest Of All Time designation.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/20140608/french-open-final-rafael-nadal-novak-djokovic/#ixzz3451Dp0eR
(except regarding the GOAT comment – Rafa’s already GOAT according to many including great players past and present)
So you do agree that quality of the match wasn’t good?
@abhirf, who cares? How about the quality of these stats:
9th RG;
14th Slam;
A Slam in a year in the last 10 consecutive years.
Good, no?
I did not see but few articles are rating in C plus..so must be true abhi :-)..They say Rafa was average to above average..just that Novak was worse than him 🙂
I think its nerves..Would not call it damp squib though as you said..it was a 3.5 hr 4 setter..can call it underwhelming maybe..yeah that could be right word 🙂
Foe people who saw it? Was this better fought than 2013 USO final and better quality or was that match better?
@ritb,
The nos. and stats are incredible!
Depends on what defines quality.
From a technical standpoint, for a Rafole match with extremely high standards, it was average. Compared to finals played from 2001-2007, it was well above average.
Still there were many excellent points (see highlights posted) and from a dramatical and historical stance, it was simply phenomenadal!!!!
Either way, not many players (if any) in the history of the sport could have beaten either of them today IMO.
@Sanju, this was definitely poor than USO 2013.
Quality be damned!! I am amazed Rafa managed to win under the circumstances. After having the worst clay season in 10 years. I felt 2013 final was better. I watched it in the stadium for one. And for the first three sets, there was no clue who would win. Here after the 2nd set, it seemed the wind was out of Novak’s sail
Well, what I felt was that the emotions and historical part overtook the quality of tennis for majority of the match except maybe in the middle of 2nd set.
Sounds like a serious case of Rafaphobia, no?
https://twitter.com/ChiaraGamTWI/status/475696605396733952
@Sanju,
In regard to your question, this match was not of the same quality as the 2013 USO. However, at the time many didn’t think that match was as good as the 2013 RG semifinal. That was one of their best. I just recently watched the replay of that semifinal when the tennis channel showed it again before the start of this year’s RG. I don’t know that anything will come close to that one.
Even with Rafa and Fed slam finals, they weren’t always able to produce their best tennis. The 2008 Wimbledon ranks highest on most lists. Even though the 2009 AO didn’t match that brilliance, it is probably one of my all time favorite Rafa wins. By all rights, Rafa should never have won that match. But he accomplished one of the great physical feats in tennis history in somehow overcoming the longest semifinal ever against Verdasco, only one day’s rest to Fed’s two days and not ever having won a slam on hard court.
Just because a slam final isn’t the greatest tennis ever, that doesn’t diminish its value. It certainly wasn’t a boring match, because there are always ebbs and flows in matches with Rafa and Novak. Rafa has spoken about how each of them plays their best in parts of their matches, It was like that in this one. There were certainly flashes of brilliance from both guys, but not sustained over the length of the match.
I don’t know that we can expect them to come out and play master class tennis in every final. As it is, it always seems like they will kill each other the way they both go at it. 🙂
https://twitter.com/rolandgarros/status/475685955782062080
#Nadal “If he had win the 2nd set I’m not sure I would have won the title”
#Nadal “Emotional because of I’m older, and because it is a Slam title, you want to enjoy the moment, after all that work”
#Nadal “Emotional also because you don’t know if you gonna win it again”
#Nadal “Me, Roger and Novak even not playing at the best all the time, we kept fighting, that’s why we achieved so much”
Nadal: “I felt the match was more in his hands at the beginning than in my hands”
https://twitter.com/NeilHarmanTimes/status/475684080483594241
You’re not alone Neil.
#Verklempt
Few things I wanna say in CAPS
NOVAK WON THE BATTLE ROME BUT RAFA WON THE WAR ROLAND GARROS
FEDERER CLERALY SAID ALL THIS TALK OF NOVAK BEING FAV IS RUBBISH..AS PER HIM RAFA WILL ALWAYS BE FAV IN RG , CAN WE SAY HE KNOWS BEST?
Coz the best always knows the best 😉
No one has more experience losing to Rafa than Roger so he definitely knows best! 🙂 🙂
Exactly!!! Who better to proclaim that than the one who got the most beatdowns from Rafa on the biggest stages!!
🙂
and yet everyone makes a fuss when he expresses his thoughts about a match or a player..
#FairWeatherCritics
Let’s just say he’s had his good days and bad days in that area.
I hope the pundits anoint Djoker as their favourite again next year!!
Vamos!!
RT @juanjosetennis : “The fact that Rafael Nadal has had so much success against a great player whose game is custom built to thwart him is just astounding.”
This is the part which annoys the most!
Having the game is one thing.. Realising it is another.
Look at Muzz. His game looks even much better to thwart everyone including Rafa (much better than Nole’s) but he hasn’t realised it yet.
At the top, the game is just as much mental, no strike that, more mental than it is technical/physical.
#RafaGOAT
@hawkeye,
Regarding your comment @ 8:25 pm, you are on fiyah right now! 🙂
disagreed, Muzz’s game is not better than nole’s to counter rafa…both can be really bad matchups for rafa but nole is the worse one
vamosrafa..Hope u are fine and ur family is fine too? Not sure where in Pak u stay but seeing all news on Karachi airport on TV..Post back if you fine
https://twitter.com/jon_wertheim/status/475660511489830912
RT @TigerWoods: “Congrats to @RafaelNadal on his 9th French Open, guy is so impressive.”
https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/475737633017307136/photo/1
Is it fair to say Novak is badly choking in the bigger stages..He has lost 6/13 slams and outside AO he has lost 7/9 GS matches..
he seems to be fighting for the CHOKER’s tag!
More to do with the player on the other side of the net.
i agree with hawkeye
Take 2011 out of Novak and his career will be called good..not great..3 slams outside 2011..ofcourse he still has 2-3 years left to play but I somehow feel his slam tally wont cross 10-11, that is max he can get to.
2011 seems to be a result of continuous desperation to get something.
He seems to have relaxed after getting those titles and is just happy to make deep runs in the tournaments.
https://twitter.com/PseudoFed/status/475621405011484672
This time I looked at the chess pieces on the board. Looks like a fake match. Not only does BB have Nole in a check-mate -pawn to key, protected by queen – but he has way too many (black) pawns. So either someone photoshopped this picture’s board… why would they? or BB and Nole set up a fake match for this photo op. If BB has Nole check-mated, why is he looking so pensive as if trying to work out the best next move?
#fishy
#allAboutTheWrist?
I meant to have a closer look at their board as I had suspected the same.
Classic Nole.
#TooFunny
Just had a look. That board is virtually impossible.
Waaaaaaay too many pawns stacked one behind another. Would never happen.
You don’t have to know how to play chess well to see this immediately, you only need to have played a few matches in your life to spot it (once you look at the board)… so why make it so transparent? Is this entire photo meant to be post-modern ironic deconstructing the faking of the faking?
C’mon folks, just look at his twitter handle: #DkjokerNole, speaks volumes, no?
that is a photoshopped version of the board. pseudofed photoshopped it to look like boris is cheating. look at the caption. here’s the actual board taken from novak’s twitter: https://twitter.com/DjokerNole/status/475300649266335744/photo/1
That’s hilarious!!!
That said, the positions on the board are still very strange. Becker has chosen to move his knight twice and his queen thrice into a very shall we say aggressive position,
Nole’s moves look quite random as well moving both rooks one space (ruining his castle) and one bishop is trapped by his other material.
I think pseudo fed’s obfuscated board was more complimentary TBH.
Too funny!
I suspect that even the original photo is not of a real game they played. Either the whole look at my bandaged arm is a wink and not to be taken seriously at all, or the conceit of the picture is a little troubling.
Nole feels Rafas forehand down the line did the damage here. Between them its always the first or 2nd shot in a rally to sieze control of the rally that determines outcome..today Rafas Forehand DTL overpowered Noles CC BH wide to Rafas FH to stretch Rafa and it overpowered Noles BHDTL too
“I think he was covering the forehand angle quite well,” he added. “My backhand crosscourt wasn’t as effective as it was maybe in the previous matches against him. He was hitting his down-the-line forehand really, really well, so I think his first shot off the forehand, off my return, was terrific today.”
This is what Juan Jose thought of Djokovic’s tactic of targeting Rafa’s FH:
RT @juanjosetennis : “Too many Nadal FHs DTL. Way too many. Like giving Ray Allen endless looks at corner 3s. Gotta grind, gotta jam him, gotta take away the FH”
I noticed that Rafa was defending that forehand side extremely well today. Something he wasn’t doing earlier in the clay season. At one point they showed serving stats for both players. I am trying to remember if it was the third set or fourth set. But what stood out to me was that Rafa was winning something like 52% of second serves and Novak was winning only 36% of second serves. In every match where Rafa has beaten Novak, he ends up winning a higher percentage of second serves.
I do think that Rafa’s DTL forehand did a lot of damage today. He was able to control the rallies and dictate points more. I remember Rafa saying after the loss in Rome, that Novak was getting the early advantage in their rallies, putting Rafa in a bad position. Somehow in this match today, Rafa was able to change the dynamic to his advantage again.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/tennis/27757048
“I want to try to play well again in Wimbledon,” he said. “I’m healthy. That’s the most important thing.”
“I hope my knee will have the positive feeling on grass, because I feel my knee is better than last year on the rest of the surfaces,” he said.
“Grass always was a little bit harder for me after the injury. Last year I tried, but I was not ready to compete at Wimbledon.
“Let’s see how my feelings are there this year, but it’s a very important tournament.”
#SNAP!!!!
How are “your friends” doing doing over at Fed -x blog? Must be like being at a wake over there today……………..
Dunno. I’m not allowed to play over there anymore. I don’t play by the “rules”.
I was gonna go over there and ask Sean to tell us more on why he thought Nole would win RG this year as he devoted a whole blog about his personal feelings. What a doofus.
#StepfordRafans
“I want to try to play well again in Wimbledon,” he said. “I’m healthy. That’s the most important thing.”
“I hope my knee will have the positive feeling on grass, because I feel my knee is better than last year on the rest of the surfaces,” he said.
“Grass always was a little bit harder for me after the injury. Last year I tried, but I was not ready to compete at Wimbledon.
“Let’s see how my feelings are there this year, but it’s a very important tournament.”
Nadal has now won 14 Grand Slam titles, three behind Roger Federer’s record total, but refuses to target the Swiss player’s mark.
“We will see when I finish my career how many Grand Slams I have or if I win four, three, or five in a row,” he said.
“The most important thing today is I won the most important tournament of the world on clay, probably the most important tournament of the year for me.”
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/tennis/27757048
I am so happy that I am quite relaxed about whatever happens at Wimbledon. Rafa is just the best anyway you cut it.
Novak remains slamless this year.
Vamos Rafa
Uncle Toni said this was what Rafa whispered to him after the match – ”
At the end of the match, when he came up to me in the stands, he told me that we needed to get the doctor to come and see to him because he was really, really exhausted.”
Thankfully, it was not to do with his back.
RT @PseudoFed : “Staff member said, “Rafa keeps getting closer to your 17 all the time” #shutup #shutup #yourefired”
Vamos Champ! La Decima next year, Vamos!!
https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/475757753886310400/photo/1
I am so proud to be a Rafan…I am so proud of our boy who made history once again…
it was a tough match, mentally and physically, for both of them…too much at stake for Novak, he could not handle the pressure…Rafa OTOH was not as mentally strong as I would have liked him to be in the match like this…losing again his serve when I envisaged him to finally nail Nole down in the fourth set meant only one thing: Rafa was extremely nervous himself…
people talk about the quality of match…if we judge it by the standards of Rafa vs. Nole previous encounters it was not the match that would meet the highly set requirements, i.e., not even close to what we have been experiencing from these two the recent years…however, there is no one else on tour who could produce such tennis as these two young people did…and it makes the match like todays one of highest possible standard…we have to be grateful to witness such great moments in tennis history…
my heart is full…Rafa took one step closer to immortality…
Beautiful win, dear Rafa! Thank you!
Finally it’s all really sinking in. I just have this euphoric feeling. I can’t stop smiling! 😀
Everyone could see what this meant to Rafa. The fact that he even brought up the loss in the AO final, tells us just how damaging it was for him. Sometimes maybe things work out the way they do for a reason.
i don’t want to seem as though I have such high expectations for Wimbledon. I was totally focused on RG, but in the back of my mind I have wanted Rafa to win at least one more Wimbledon before he’s done. I will be happy with whatever result he has there because there’s no points to defend. No pressure. The #1 ranking is still safe through Wimbledon. Novak has finalist points to defend. But the fact that Rafa brought it up the way he did, tells me that he wants to do well at Wimbledon this year. He can’t be happy about getting knocked out in round 2 and 1 consecutively the last two years. When he says something, there’s a reason. JMac and the commentators on NBC made note that in a previous post match RG interview, he mentioned wanting to do well at the USO. That was 2010 and we all know what happened at the USO that year! 🙂
Rafa is getting closer and closer to the magic 17. The closer he gets, the more frazzled the Federazzi will get!
^^^^^^^Ha,ha
God forbid. should Rafa be in a final when that is a possibility, just imagine how frazzled his fans will be watching that. Sanju would need to be anaesthetised 😉
#OnlyForTheStrongAndTheBrave
@ed,
I am sure that Rafa’s fans will be going crazy should we get to that historic occasion! Oh and I agree about Sanju! He will never make it through that match staying conscious and awake! 🙂
Oh plz. I did not watch the match as I could not. I do stay and watch his semis and finals, I am not that bad or a chicken ;-).
I will be cool rest of season. Defending RG was stressful because there were 3 big milestones on the line – A) 10 years in a row slam won B) Tying Pete for all time 2nd C) 9 wins at a GS vent (tying Navratilova). Now that he has done it, I am cool. Now all the stress I am saving for AO 2015 when there will be a double career slam on the line.
And btw repeating again, get a feeling Rafa will do well at Wimby. Hopefully even win it. Said it 4-5 months back too, saying it again.
@Sanju
Another Wimbledon crown would be seriously impressive but I suspect the chances of repeating the Channel Slam again are diminishing with time. Defending RG takes a huge toll on Rafa’s emotional and physical energy. Maybe next year it will be more feasible with the extra week between RG and the grass court swing.
Which doesn’t mean to say I wont be thrilled if you get the opportunity to crow and say “I told you”.
Here we go, history – legend – has been made today, something that makes even Borg’s record seem trivial. The enormity of the feat hasn’t sunk in, forsome it will never do; and yet the nature of us fans, I might even extrapolate to all human beings, is to immediately look for the next horizon.
I used to get angry, now I just see it, as I said, as human nature…
I’m referring to the slam count, Nadal has barely had time to cool down and people already want more. As if it isn’t enough to have witnessed a 9th RG in the bag…
I’ll be as happy as anybody if Rafa would win more majors, surpass Federer even but frankly if he were to retire tomorrow he’d still be the best ever for me. What we witnessed today is already legendary, nothing less than that. Just enjoy Nadal’s career (those who enjoy) and forget about the count, at least for now. That’s how I feel about it anyway
I couldn’t put it better, Shireling
hawkeye, do you mean Rafa retains number by reaching SF in Wimbledon regardless of how far Novak goes? Novak has finalist points to defend there so could go up in points or down or stay at the same level.
After Wimbledon Rafa has a lot of points to defend up to and including US Open, and then some finals in the fall. Novak has a lot of points to defend too through the end of the year.
As Shireling and others said, right now any of those possible future match wins will be icing on the cake.
I remember years ago when Moya asked the early teenage years Rafa whether he dreamt of being number one one day Rafa said candidly and earnestly: much more than that. And when Uncle T was asked, after Rafa’s third or so undefeated RG whether Rafa was in Borg’s league, Toni said, rightly so, that he’d had much more yet to achieve before such comparisons could be made. I never dreamt then that we’d talk even more GS after his 9th RG, 14th GS, a career slam and possibly a second career slam some time. I never thought Rafa’s knees would last this long. Now it is looking like they just might last several more years.
Yes.
^^^^^Spot on. Many times I’ve been on the brink of voicing the exact same thoughts ever since those long seven months when we didn’t know if Rafa would ever again compete at the top level.
@Sanju,
You are cracking me up! Now you know that ed said it’s all just teasing! I do agree with you that the stress is off now that Rafa won RG. I wanted this for him for all the reasons you gave and also to take the bitter taste of that defeat in the AO final away once and for all.
I also think that Rafa will do well at Wimbledon. But there is still next year. As you said, the time to freak out will be at the 2015 AO! 🙂
Shireling well said. I could’t agree more.
Aside: Rafa will stay No. 1 after Wimby by making the SF.
#VAMOS!!!!
Bare minimum SF he will have to make if Djoko wins Wimby to stay No 1.
But will Djoko win? For all you know Rafa may be the eventual winner 🙂
Full audio Nadal presser…
http://www.tennistopic.com/arthur-ashe/audios/estaba-destrozado-fisicamente/
I just have to say that people should be free to say what they think, to wish for Rafa what they wish and to hope and dream that he can make more history. I don’t really understand why anyone would get angry or offended at any fan who would want Rafa to keep winning.
Honestly, I think some of us can’t win for losing. Maybe I should have kept my dream of another Wimbledon to myself. But I did decide to say it out loud. It’s been something I have wanted for Rafa. It’s not as though I am going to win Wimbledon. It’s not as though Rafa himself didn’t mention Wimbledon in his post match interview with JMac. So if he is thinking about it, then why can’t his fans?
I am enjoying this moment immensely. It’s been a joy to see Rafa make this kind of history. You know what? I’d love to see him win more. I am speaking as somone who’s been there for all the ups and downs, the triumphs and the defeats. I love Rafa unconditionally. I would still love him and support him and be his fan even if he lost today. But I want him to achieve as much as he can while he is still able. He’s lost so much time in his career due to injuries. It’s been so difficult for him. I want him to stay healthy, enjoy competing and have as much success as possible. I don’t see anything wrong with that at all.
I could not have endured watching Rafa’s agony had he been toppled from his beloved RG throne after all he has been through. That is why he was wandering in the wilderness since AO. Not because he lost but because he was felled by a new and different injury. He surely began to fear his body was failing him. He has spelt out many times he is not interested in breaking records nor is he that concerned about his actual ranking. The only thing he wants is to be fit enough to compete and win.
NNY. <>
I don’t understand why you are banging the drum about the right to express your opinion. That is what we are all doing.
Relax. Nobody is getting angry. Nobody is offended. Nobody is calling out anybody else.
@ed,
That comment should have been addressed to Shireling. There is more than one way to take that comment @ 11:26 pm. I thought it was a dig at some of us who are talking about Rafa doing well at Wimbledon. I am not sure to whom it was directed. But what’s wrong with reveling in Rafa’s slam count? What’s wrong with thinking about him equaling or passing Fed? I know that Rafa doesn’t go on for that, but he did indicate that he was thinking about Wimbledon. So he seems to want to do more this year. Maybe I took the comment the wrong way, but I just think that people should be able to celebrate in any way they wish. Some will think about the historical nature of this slam win, others may think about what is yet to come. I just didn’t really get it.
Sorry for the confusion, because it was not meant for you at all. I just thought it was kind of critical of some people for, what, not appreciating what Rafa has done at RG? I know you and others liked the comment, but it left me kind of confused.
No problem, I didn’t take your comments personally. I assumed you were generalising.
I suggest you read the comments by Shirllng and Chloro again without being so defensive and quick to take offence.
Decade of dominance…Vamos!
YUP
ed,
Regarding your response @ 5:13 am, my feelings are my feelings. I said that I was confused by the comment. I wasn’t sure if it was meant in general or directed at a few. But since I had just posted my feelings about wanting Rafa to win Wimbledon and Sanju also said the same, I wondered if it might be directed at us. That we are not satisfied in some way.
It’s really not important and nothing should spoil this time for Rafa fans. But I don’t think that I was defensive and quick to take offense. If someone feels that they have been unjustly criticized in the past then sometimes it’s more likely that they might feel uncomfortable at times.
It is perfectly okay to want Rafa to win more. We all love him, we want the best for him.
My wish list –
MUST ) 1 more AO
GOOD to HAVE ) 1 more Wimby & 1 more RG
And yeah I am not stressing any more at RG in future. He has won 9, even if he loses in futre, I dont care. He will lose there someday eventually.
@Sanju,
Yes! Thank you! This is what I was trying to say. I agree with you. It’s fine if some of us want Rafa to win more and are already getting excited about it. That does not in any way mean that we don’t appreciate and understand the magnitude of Rafa’s achievement. There was a poignancy to Rafa’s emotional celebration and he said in his presser that it’s because he is older now and doesn’t know if he will win again. He can savor it even more because of all that he has been through and because his body allowed him to do it. He has the awareness that he is getting older in tennis years. He spoke about it. Rafa is being realistic. So maybe each slam win is even more special for him now. His career has gone on longer than many thought. He has defied his detractors. I want every moment to count for him. He’s suffered so much and I don’t ever want to see him go through what he did at this year’s AO again.
A good post on another site. Copying it
By tying Sampras with his 14th Major title, Rafa is now my clear #2 of the modern era. Rafa’s had tougher competition, playing Federer and Djokovic in 15 of his 20 Major finals and winning 10. Anchored by his unparalleled brilliance on clay, Nadal has accumulated a truly remarkable 25-7 Majors record against his top foes: now 9-3 against Djokovic (winning the last 4), 9-2 against Federer (winning the last 6), and 7-2 aginst Murray (winning the last 5). Nobody in the modern era, or perhaps any era, can match that. (And even setting aside his 13-0 domination of the Big Four at Roland Garros, he still has an impressive 12-7 edge over them at the other Majors.) Plus he already has five more career top 10 wins (129 to 124) and a 5% better top 10 win rate than Sampras. He also has a significant advantage of 27 Masters to Pete’s 11, though Pete has the big advantage of five Tour Final titles and his for-the-ages record 6 consecutive year-end #1 rankings. But Rafa was in Federer’s shadow for years at #2 so he has accumulated a total of 386 weeks ranked in the top 2, which is actually 10 more than Pete. And now they both have 64 total titles, though Rafa has done so in 150 fewer total matches.
The harsh reality of sports at the highest level is that a big historical step forward for Nadal was also yet another historical setback for Djokovic, now a mere 6-7 in Major finals, including 3-4 against Nadal. To me Djokovic’s career has become similar to Lendl’s, becoming the most consistent week-to-week player the last 3 years but still losing so many big matches and repeatedly failing to complete the Career Grand Slam (Lendl couldn’t win Wimbledon and Novak has come up short to Nadal the past 3 years in Paris). To his credit, he’s become the most fearsome of opponents in best-of-three matches with a career 16-13 edge over Nadal, including 9-6 in finals (winning the last 4). But in the biggest matches of all – Major finals and semis – he’s had a lot of missed opportunities, having now reached 22 Major semis, one less than both Sampras and Nadal.
Did you guys read this?
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/06/23/Roland-Garros-Brain-Game-Nadal-Djokovic-Final.aspx
Rafa is 6465 points in race, ahead of Novaks 5250
But in ATP rankings, just slender 170 points difference.
wow that is tight
Rafa has no points to defend at Wimbledon and Novak has 1200 points to defend. If Rafa does well, he will extend the lead.
not necessarily. If Djokovic wins (and he should be a heavy favorite), he gains 800 points.
Nadal would have to reach the final in order to extend lead if that happens.
Possible points after Wimbledon (if Rafa and Djoko won’t add points before Wimbledon):
¤ if Djoko wins, he’ll have :
12 330 – 1 200 + 2 000 = 13 130
¤ if Rafa reaches the SF, he’ll have
12 500 – 10 + 720 = 13 210
Oh, no not again, Djokovic being the heavy favourite. Out of the last 10 slams he’s played, he’s only won 2.
Djokovic being a heavy favorite on Grass is hilarious. Where on earth do you get that from?
whom do you think will win Wimbledon?
He’s not a heavy favourite. Slight favourite over Muzza but he’s still an underdog vs. the field.
Rafa at 5:1 (just slightly ahead of ol’man Fed at 6:1) is the best value out there by far given that he made five straight finals followed by two years where his knees compromised his performance and the fact that he stated he wants to do well this year and doesn’t feel physically compromised. When he makes such statements, he usually delivers.
#RafaGOAT
He’s not and shouldn’t be a heavy favourite.
Hasn’t won a slam in his last five attempts.
#WhatHaveUDone4MeL8ly
Isn’t grass supposedly Djoker’s worst surface? The only reason he made the finals last year was (a) a cup-cake draw which had all his rivals, Rafa, Fed and Muzza in the same half and (b) Rafa’s knees giving up on him, resulting in him getting knocked out early and Fed as well.
YE 2008, Fed only tipped Nole to #2 by 10 points but Roger ended 2009 as #1, albeit thanks to Rafa’s troubles with injury and personal problems.
2 Federer, Roger (SUI) 5,305
3 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 5,295
congrats to all Rafans
and to me, of course, for my predictions both at the start of the tournament and in the final
Well Done, Ricky. Tell your ESPN rivals to need to learn from you.
good job Ricky, but rafa in 4 was superior to rafa in 5 😛 lol
Yes!
@Ricky
I already gave praise to you yesterday for picking Rafa ahead of the field
Remove that first set prediction and your scores were scary good.
(But I predicted all four projected draw QF, a 1/16 probability.)
#Props
Wimbledon seeding will be:
1. Djokovic
2. Nadal
3. Murray
4. Federer
So Murray might not be in Rafa’s half. If the Wimby organizers want to help Murray along, would they not put him in Federer’s half?
@chloro, fi Muzza is seeded #3 and Fed #4 they cannot be in the same half. Djoko will be in the top half and Rafa in the bottom. Muzza and Fed will be split so either is in the top or bottom.
I am hoping Muzza is in the top half……………..no prizes for guessing why!!
The Spanish Royal family was represented by Princess Elena at Roland Garros.
Picture. Rafa celebrates with Princess Elena of Spain after his final match on June 8, 2014
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/475893625067679745/photo/1
A picture for those who didn’t watch the final match; the stadium was packed
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/475899617486602240/photo/1
I’m glad Elena was there. Yesterday was Spain’s Army Day. King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia presided over a military parade in Madrid. I thought no one from the Spanish royal family was in Paris for the FO.
P. S. Thanks for all the photos, Augusta! Just one note: Elena’s title is Infanta. In Spain, the king’s daughter has the Infanta title. Only the heiress or the heir’s wife has the title of Princess in Spain. Letizia is Princess of Asturias as the wife of the heir. Her eldest daughter Leonor will assume the title when she’s elevated to queen in another 10 days.
JMac on court interview with Rafa:
http://www.nbcsports.com/tennis/nadal-ties-sampras-14th-major-victory
“Happy”
[Verse 1:]
It might seem crazy what I’m about to say
Sunshine she’s here, you can take a break
I’m a hot air balloon that could go to space
With the air, like I don’t care baby by the way
[Chorus:]
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
[Verse 2:]
Here come bad news talking this and that, yeah,
Well, give me all you got, and don’t hold it back, yeah,
Well, I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine, yeah,
No offense to you, don’t waste your time
Here’s why
[Chorus]
Hey, come on
[Bridge:]
(happy)
Bring me down
Can’t nothing bring me down
My level’s too high
Bring me down
Can’t nothing bring me down
I said (let me tell you now)
Bring me down
Can’t nothing bring me down
My level’s too high
Bring me down
Can’t nothing bring me down
I said
[Chorus 2x]
Hey, come on
(happy)
Bring me down… can’t nothing…
Bring me down… my level’s too high…
Bring me down… can’t nothing…
Bring me down, I said (let me tell you now)
[Chorus 2x]
Come on
love it! 😀
People just bandy these accolades around that are not backed up by the facts. The notion that Djokovic is the best returner in the game is a myth, Last year, Rafa topped the stats. for ROS, butthe still keep saying Djoko is the set returner of all time.
Djokovic Return Errors
Another major element of the final was the unusual amount of return errors from the player widely thought of as the best returner in the game. Djokovic committed an unusually high 24 return errors (Nadal made 10), including 17 off his normally rock-solid backhand wing. Remarkably, five of these were off second serves, stopping any momentum in its tracks he was desperately trying to build. Nadal directed 80 per cent of his first serves at Djokovic’s backhand return but was close to 50-50 on second serves, hitting a lot of successful jam serves right at the body.
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/draws/ms/index.html?from=atp
Like many people I was watching the stats like a hawk throughout the match.. It quickly became obvious that Rafa’s serve was the key. A lot of people were saying beforehand that Rafa would need to beef up his serve. I maintained accuracy and positioning would be more crucial than speed: even more so for his 2nd serve. This proved to be the case. Nole’s failure to capitalise on Rafa’s 2nd serve combined with his failure to score points on his own 2nd serve were also key factors.
Rafa hit lot of body serves literally jamming Novak
ed251137 says: June 9, 2014 at 10:04 am
This is what Vajda had to say about Novak’s return game and Rafa’s serve yesterday:
“I was not happy with his return today,” Vajda told reporters. But he added, “Rafa changed his serve very good, mixed it up and caught him a bit off balance. He served very smart, where to serve and Novak was a bit unsure.”
@augusta and @nadline will be chaffed about the following from CNN:
“As popular as Djokovic is for his dance moves, humor — and chatting to ball kids during rain delays — it was Nadal who received the louder applause as they walked on court.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/08/sport/tennis/tennis-nadal-djokovic-french/?hpt=hp_t3
Hahahaha! Hahahaha! I am rolling on the floor laughing, talk about poetic justice, served the ITF right:
“• The annual ITF dinner, held the second Tuesday of the event, was tennis’ Tower of Babel writ small. Though he finished second in the rankings and won half as many Grand Slams as the guy ahead of him, Novak Djokovic was somehow honored as the 2013 Player of the Year. (Presumably he edged out Rafael Nadal, through some byzantine metric, but who can be sure.)
Except that Djokovic didn’t show up, citing the fact that he had just finished his quarterfinal match. Serena Williams, the 2013 female player of the year, was long gone, having sent in her regrets. The honored men’s doubles team, the Bryan Brothers, had lost and skipped town. The honored women’s doubles team was Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. Except that Errani, still in the singles draw with a match to play the next day, elected not to attend. And Vinci decided not to go alone. The toast of the evening? The junior champs, Belinda Bencic and Mischa Zverev.”
After dissing Rafa and announcing Novak their 2013 Player of the Year, Novak could not be bothered to attend their dinner commemorating the event. The only “ITF 2013 Champions” who turned up: Junior Champs!
This, more than any words, articulated how insignificant their award is.
#Karma
#PoeticJustice
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/20140608/french-open-50-thoughts-rafael-nadal-maria-sharapova/#ixzz3482674D5
Thank you so much for this ritb. I was wondering what ever happened to the awards ceremony. The ITF Champion of Champions remains slamless.
Unfortunately us Rafans do not have the luxury of truly wallowing in his RG victory, the schedule simply does not allow it! Halle starts today and Rafa’s in the draw, You can bet he won’t bethinking about his RG victory there!
On to the next, Halle! Like every pro, he’s in it to win it, although I hope he takes it easy, allows his body to de-compress in preparation for the next big stage: Wimby 2014!
Vamos Rafa
From an article 🙂
If Djokovic needs any encouragement when he ponders his Paris defeats, he need look no further than his other big rival Roger Federer.
The Swiss great swept all before him, but repeatedly came up short at the French Open, usually at the hands of Nadal.
It looked at one stage, after 10 failed campaigns on the Paris clay courts that he would never bag the elusive win that would consecrate his career, when out of the blue Robin Soderling defeated Nadal in a huge upset in the 2009 fourth round.
Federer duly entered the history books a week later when he beat Soderling in straight sets in the final.
Djokovic has now also come up short in 10 French Opens, so if Federer is anything to go by, next year could see him finally hold aloft the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
^^Oh @Sanju and his “mystic alignment” theories! 😀
Remember, until yesterday, Novak had NEVER lost a match where he won the 1st set. Thank goodness Rafa holds no brief for mystic alignments. If he is healthy, Rafa will be going for La Decima in 2015!
Having said that, I am sure Novak will win RG one day, as you say @Sanju, if the stars align for him…………….
Desperately want a Murray vs Rafa final at Wimby. They deserve atleast 1 GS final between them and where better but at Wimby 🙂
Rafa celebrating his historical 9th RG title
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/475937115948462080/photo/1
Hmmm…..I cannot believe that monstrosity was cooked up after the final, must have been prepared well before and kept out of sight just in case!
Oh my! I thought I was caustic, but this takes the cake:
” Novak Djokovic spoke in French when he addressed the Philippe Chatrier crowd after Sunday’s championship match at Roland Garros. French is one of the four languages he speaks in addition to his native Serbian. But he still cannot say the words he most wants to here: I am the French Open champion.
It’s not a language issue. Djokovic can learn Russian, Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Thai or Tagalog and it won’t make any difference as long as the opponent standing across the net is speaking Spanish and saying, “My name is Rafael Nadal, and I am the King of Clay.” Or saying anything really.”
http://espn.go.com/tennis/french14/story/_/id/11052206/french-open-novak-djokovic-do-rafael-nadal
What I still do not understand is this: why the pundist put such a premium on the recent 4 losses (in minor tournaments) Rafa has suffered at the hands of Novak but conveniently forgot to mention Novak’s recent string of losses in Slams to Rafa. So, according to the pundits, Rafa’s losses were going to weigh heavily on Rafa but not Novak’s?
Just like the ITF and its stupid 2013 World Player of the Year award were shown to be not so smart, so have the majority of the pundits! I have no issue with picking Novak, but credit us the reading class with a bit of intelligence and lay out your case intelligently and coherently.
The one saving grace is that the winner in tennis matches is not decided by a panel of judges like in skating or boxing, otherwise all these experts would have awarded Novak more points than Rafa.
I for one cannot let my satisfaction rest with Rafa alone, I have to give special kudos to Uncle Toni. His training made the difference out there yesterday.
There was a point in the last 2 games when Rafa won a point and went for a fist-pump and his right leg seized up with cramp and the pain on Rafa’s face was hard to watch. But what did he do next? He turned his back to the camera and Djokovic, composed himself and turned round to face him and the court impassively, as if nothing had happened. He was suffering, he was in pain. Djokovic was also suffering, he was also in pain but compare his handling of his obvious distress with Rafa’s.
Uncle Toni trained Rafa to “put on a good face”, while on court, no matter what. He trained him to play in pain. He trained him to enjoy the suffering. The anecdote which comes to mind is the time Rafa broke his finger when he was playing as a Junior and Uncle Toni told him to play on, after all he had 4 other fingers still.
When people talk about the mental aspect making the difference yesterday, Uncle Toni’s training is it.
As someone else pointed out above, it’s not about the technical aspects where these 2 are concerned, it’s about the “upstairs”
I was always supportive of Uncle Toni’s…even when some people here wanted him to go away I was always saying: Uncle T is the key to Rafa’s game, to Rafa’s mentality and stability, to his endurance and his belief! He is so much better than gluten-free diet… 😀
Great job Uncle Toni! You should be proud!
Vamos Nadal Family!
Don’t worry, the Fall is just around the corner! Rafa will lose Shanghai and China Opens to Djokovic and people will bay for Uncle T’s blood!
That’s the sport, no? I don’t think Uncle T minds………
natashao2013 (at 10:57 am)
Uncle Toni loves Rafa
https://twitter.com/genny_ss/statuses/475809831899914240
I cried when Rafa went and hugged U. Toni. Maybe he was too tough on Rafa as a child but the end justifies the means. With such a close knit family, Rafa could have been too molly cuddled by people praising every little achievement and glossing over the disappointments, but Toni toughened him up.
Vamos Toni
As far back as 2008, before Wimby and the Olympics, people on TT were saying Rafa needed a new coach. I’ve always said Uncle Toni is Rafa secret weapon. Whoever master-minded Rafa’s strategy for Sunday had a brainwave. It took Rafa a while to put it into practice but once the tide turned Djokovic was on the back foot. He kept looking towards his box as if to say “what am I supposed to do now?”
I got rafa in 4 sets right , but many others got that right…however, I deserve additional credit for mentioning the perhaps the most defining stat of the match in my pre-match analysis 😛 lol jk
“. Nadal grows a foot taller as he enters the French Open. This year’s performance has not been any different so far. The Spaniard has converted 65 percent of break points, which is about 20 percent better than his career average. Historically, he has saved his best tennis for the final stages, and the fact that he has saved 75 percent of break points in eight Roland Garros finals speaks volume about his resistance.”
And the trend continues. Djokovic won 3/9 (33%) of break points only while rafa converted 6/10 (60%) 🙂
The trend for killing opponents’ second serves also continued here…
This was a masterclass from rafa. Tactically he was great in all regards
^^@vamosrafa, you and Ricky got the result right but you went one further and got the number of sets right. Hearty congratulations! I most certainly was not lumping you together with the Djoker fanboys masquerading as impartial tennis pundist!
But then again, you are hardly impartial yourself, you are a Rafa fanboy! Credit to you, you do not hide the fact. It would be easier to take some of these pundits seriously if they stated their favourites and then made their picks.
thank you ritb ! 🙂
vamosrafa,
You should tout your prediction! Good for you! That’s why I told you how much I enjoyed reading it. You focus in on the key details and what will be crucial in the match.
You are a special combination of humility, decency, kindness and a great brain! 🙂
many thanks NNY for your kind words , you are a generous person ! 🙂 🙂 ….haha…predictions are usually just-for-fun thing. I am more focused on what content is backing an analysis/preview. Does not matter if a prediction goes wrong but if the factors that are discussed in the analysis do play out in the match , then it’s more fun 🙂
I hope rafa plays well enough for us to confidently predict a title for him again 😀
Rafa hit lot of body seves yesterdat literally jamming Novak. His body serves and the FH DTL did the damage yesterday
You can guarantee that everyone will be perfecting the body serve now, especially Novak.
15 Roland Garros titles in one picture
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/475953482416259072/photo/1
^^Superb!
That’s the picture I wanted to see. My two all time favorite tennis players. I am so glad that Borg was there to give Rafa the trophy this time. He loves Rafa! 🙂
Rafa in Paris today
https://twitter.com/nidssserz/status/475957874259017728/photo/1
https://twitter.com/b1pr/status/475953123463536642/photo/1
No Euro Disney this time? 🙂
Rafa-mania at the photoshoot.
Video. Rafael Nadal RG2014 Trocadero photoshoot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgLG2qJU_Ug
Love the red kicks!
me too…Gosh, Rafa is so cute…and he is so happy! And so are we… 😀 😀
Love the bull T-shirt and the red sneakers.
Milos R, Gulbis (if his coach allows him! :-)), Tsonga…they all may go deep in Wimby…but I am certainly hoping for Rafa, Nole, Fed and Andy to each reach last stages in Wimbledon…
I am with Sanju on this that Rafa may surprise and win Wimby this year when NOBODY expects him to, provided his knees and his back are ok…if not, IMO the biggest favorite is Andy and then Fed…I am afraid Nole is not going to be up to the task…he really seems to be shaken with the loss in FO…it depends how well he will be able to regroup and to put this loss behind him…true, he did it before, he is been there already, but he did not look at all so convincing in the slams this year…the trend may as well continue…I think Nole should fire Boris…if he loses earlier than semis in Wimby Boris will be gone with the wind… 😉
nats, what are the papers saying in Serbia?
NOVAK Concerned: Something is going on with me, I vomited on the court
“I’m disappointed, but the better player won. I am not satisfied with my game in the second part of the match. I had a lot of missed backhands while his forehands were more difficult to handle on this surface and under these conditions, compared with other tournaments. I could not deal with that, “said Djokovic after the match.
“The key was the end of the second set and if I won it I might have played better, while he would probably lose concentration. What’s done is done, the champion is the one who was better on the court.
“Djokovic said he repeatedly vomited on the court and that something “has been happening with him lately”.
“In the last four to five days I have had problems with my health. There is also this psychological aspect, there are certain emotions affecting the situation, but I’d rather not talk about it, because it seems as if I was looking for an excuse. A lot has been at stake, both of us were emotional, a lot of tension and desire to win the trophy.”
“Unfortunately, I did not succeed this time, but that’s sport, you can’t always win. This is not the first or the last time that I will lose. He is an experienced player who knows how to deal with matches like these and he knows how to adapt to certain situations. If it’s necessary for him to change the tactics, he will do it in an efficient and wise manner, “added Djokovic.
I tried to “protect the baseline”, and not allow the opponent to dictate the pace.
“I had trouble with his forehand and did not succeed to have the depth of my backhands; whenever I hit the angels, he would reach the ball and counterattack. His forehand was fantastic. More or less, a couple of points decided the winner. Had the second set went into a tie-break, it could have been a different outcome of the match.
When on the podium Djokovic got a standing ovation, which made him cry and he addressed the crowd in French.
“I have never experienced something like this to lose in the finals and receive so much support from the crowd wishing that I come back and win this tournament. I am grateful for it and it gives me extra motivation. It’s hard for me to talk about it right now, but I want to look a bigger picture. I have a great career, I am healthy and I will have another chance to play in Paris, “said Djokovic.
Novak says he vomited repeatedly on court? I only saw him puking once, when they started the 3rd set after Rafa had taken a comfort break. And even then, it wasn’t like he lost his lunch, it was more like fluids, the re-hydration fluids he takes during the match.
He is exaggerating the vomiting. I only saw him spit once but it looked worse in slow motion. Immediately after that he had a banana without even washing his mouth out which is what most people would do before eating anything after vomiting.
Imagine something that is very easy to imagine, something that was much more likely to have happened than its opposite.
Imagine that Rafa did not suffer a blister on his hand at the AO, or that he did not unwisely open it up himself. And that therefore he had not changed his grip. And that thanks to this, or simply for any reason he did not suffer any back issues at the warm-up or during the AO final. We KNOW he would have defeated Wawa at that final. Possibly even in straights. Almost certainly in less than five.
Then Rafa would not have had the hard several months he had, worrying about his back, not practicing as much before certain matches.
He would then have made a clean or almost entirely clean sweep of the claycourt tournaments leading up to RG. All for the absence of a back issue at the AO final.
He would be arriving in Paris with 14 GS. And most likely at least three of: MC, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome titles.And perhaps another hardcourt title.
And with many more ATP points and calendar points than Nole.
So, with the absence of the back issue, would the pundits still call Nole able to defeat Rafa at RG? Would Nole have had the same belief that the victory in a possible final with Rafa was around 50% both sides?
It seems most pundits saw the victory as more or less 50% on both sides, or perhaps 55/45 or 60/40. I never did. To me it was always more like 75 / 25 or 80 / 20. Injury on either side notwithstanding. Even with the season Rafa had leading up to RG. Because of how he gradually worked his way back up to confidence, fitness etc in the last few weeks.
The only reason why Rafa and Nole are about tied in points at the moment is that back issue back then.
Ah, for the lack of that back issue. Rafa would now have 15 GS, 2 career slams, several more 500 and 1000 crowns, and would have already surpassed the claycourt specialist Vilas in overal claycourt titles. And would go on to Wimbledon and USO with lots of confidence, one Slam (Wimby) away from a Rafa slam and two from a calendar slam.
But who is greedy 🙂 ?
It was that close.
Oh well, he has to win 2 more RG trophies for symmetry. His name is Rafael, not Rafa:
http://media.fyre.co/uUhcyPUiSQmTeuyCKzED_BpphgyyCAAAwLnQ.jpg
I somehow had wished for a AO 2009 reprise happening yesterday..would have been nice
Rafa putting his arms around Novak and consoling him..but Novak did not bawl like Fed..so maybe he did not. I am sure had he cried like Roger did, the consolation would have happened
I voted for Rafa in four sets, so good for me! But honestly I wouldn’t have cared as long as he won! I do think that Rafa served smart in the match. I think that’s the best serving from him so far this clay season. I have always wished that Rafa could get some easy aces at critical points and some cheap points. But as long as he wins, then there’s no reason to complain.
The NBC commentators talked about how Novak was not returning well in this match, especially on Rafa’s second serve. I still say that the key stat for me is second serve points won. Every time Rafa has defeated Novak, he has won more second serve points than Novak. That was true this time as well.
When you see Rafa’s RG run, makes you wonder what the Federazzi are thinking when they tout Fed’s quarterfinals run. I mean, what is that? Quarterfinals run against a Slam winning run? 10 consecutive years winning Slams, 9 wins at a single Slam. This is insane.
As Rafa says, when his career is over, we can sit down and make a tally of all the “important” stats……..
I agree 9 RG wins trumps 40 QF matches, or however many Roger has. But I do think that making that many GS QF matches in a row is impressive. This means Roger never skipped a slam, and never lost before the QFs in TEN(? or is it 9?) years.
Of course the quarterfinals stat is impressive IN ITS OWN RIGHT, but should not be brought up as an argument for greatness or in comparison to Rafa’s achievements.
Never skipping a Slam means you were injury free for that length of time. So the quality of a player’s medical staff becomes part of the greatness debate? I should hope not. As for the never losing before the quarters argument, well, I am sure if we dig deep enough we can find some 2nd round streak by someone lurking around………..
^^ RITB: yes, Roger’s doctors deserve a lot of accolades!! Or his parents for the good gene pool! Even Rafa made a reference to this a few years back at the AO presser. Something along the lines that Roger has been blessed to be injure-free for so many years. That has nothing to do with skill, IMO.
Jeu Nadal (at 4:47 pm),
It’s a myth of the Federzzi that Fed has been injury-free, He has had a back problem at least since 2003 and he has skipped a lot of tournaments. The Federazzi has called his withdrawals due to injuries – ‘good planning’ 😆
^^@Jeu Nadal, 4:47 pm. Agree!
^^^^^Some years back I read an article on this subject which analysed why. Cant remember details but it was to do with his physiology and a natural born athleticism which contribute to his freedom from the usual injuries which beset tennis players.
So yes, good genes combined with a skilled team of doctors, physics, trainers etc play their part.
I wonder if the bitter disappointment of losing for two years in a row the tournament he now covets the most will bring about a change in Novak’s behaviour and put an end to the insensitive displays of triumphalism – at their worst when it is Rafa he has beaten.
We are accustomed to Novak’s performance as the ‘good loser’. For me, at least, it didn’t always ring true. It came across as just that – playing a role. Yesterday I felt we were seeing the real person behind the facade. Few people witnessing his anguish at losing would not have felt some compassion.
3 years in a row :-). 2012-2014
His behavior post USO 2013 loss , Wimby loss was far more dignified than yesterday. But maybe he was more disappointed at losing yesterday than USO 2013.
There was nothing undignified about Nole’s post match reaction IMO.
On the contrary, he expressed without words what RG means to him without taking anything away from Rafa’s victory.
He already owned USO and Wimby titles. Failing at RG was a far more crushing blow. He knows time is running out to complete his career GS.
There has been some kind of sea change at Roland Garros! Does anyone recall a standing ovation by the crowd for a loser who was not French. Not even Roger was accorded the degree of sympathy and admiration shown to Novak.
That was by far a kinder, fairer and gentler RG crowd for both players than I’m used to seeing. Maybe it’s something in the water.
Perhaps Fed’s hold on them is finally fading.
Maybe he shouldn’t have told them to shut up two years ago…
Could be.
ed251137 (at 4:24 pm)
As for ‘a standing ovation’, the people stood up when the match finished.
Standing ovation is a figure of speech
It is difficult to deliver an ovation while sitting on your hands 😀
We’re talking about the volume of sound and the length of time people remained on their feet clapping.
ed251137 (at 5:24 pm);
They remained on the feet also after clapping.
Gussie: now you’re just being pedantic 🙂
@Sanju 2:11pm
He stopped short of hugging Novak but his anxious concern showed from the moment they shook hands at the net. Given the enormity of what he’d just achieved his own celebrations were pretty muted just as they were when he put an end to Fed’s dream at AO.
@hawkeye63, 4:34pm,
I agree…I also think that deep inside Nole expected to lose…after seeing Rafa dispatch Andy, Nole became nervous…there was so much at stake for him, even though I think Rafa as well was too tense in the finals…it did affect the quality of tennis displayed…
these two great champions deserve all the respect the crowd paid to them yesterday…I was rather surprised to see French crowd behave in a civilized manner for a change…however, Nole did have an argument with the crowd before he double faulted…so maybe this was their redemption… 🙂
RITB, I too was amused at the Qtr F record they were touting for Fed. The next thing they’ll be telling us that he holds the record for winning the toss.
^^Hahaha! That is funny @nadline10……..
^^Nadline strikes again. LMAO!!.
I hope Nole now realizes that beating Rafa in Rome or MC does not translate to beating him at RG.
Rafa’s game is so underestimated. He has so many layers to his game that it’s hard for players to execute their plans because Rafa can easily change tactics. Andy made the same mistake after taking Rafa to 3 sets in Rome, saying it was quite clear in his head what was lacking in Rafa’s game and what he had to do against him.
^^Not just Nole, the pundits as well. They all picked Novak on the back of his exploits in mostly hard courts, Rome in Masters tournaments. Unbelievable.
Novak last beat Rafa in a Slam in Australia 2012. After that loss Rafa came out and said he had figured out how to beat Novak. True to his word, he hasn’t lost to Novak in a Slam since then. The pundits missed this?
As for Novak’s poor fans, there is a stunned silence on the net. They really thought THIS was the year Novak would do it. Even an Act of God, the Serbian floods, was invoked as divine inspiration. 2014 had been ordained………….
My or my……………….
This was the 10th RG I have watched. The more the years go by the more I realise how lucky and privileged I was to have been there when Rafa made his maiden appearance on Chatrier Court.
http://ngslis.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/bigcats.jpg
During a changeover they showed a close up in slow motion which captured the extraordinary intensity in Rafa’s eyes. The French commentator used the analogy of Rafa prowling like a Big Cat who has smelt blood.
^^Oh my God @ed251137! I so remember a slo-mo of Rafa during the match yesterday where they focused on Rafa and it was the eyes that caught my attention: so intense and cat-like, really, really cat-like. You know how cats look like they are not looking at you but they can see exactly what you are up to? That was the look.
You never see it properly on TV during the match. It’s a truly awesome sight and must be pretty intimidating for players the first time they encounter it. He often does it just after someone has pulled off a winner against him. Almost a silent message saying ”I’ll get my own back on you for that one”.
Toni Nadal, quoted in l’Equipe: At the end of the third set, Rafael told us that his calf muscles were cramping. When he talked to me after the match, he told me to call the doctor because he was almost dead. If he doesn’t win the fourth, it’s over. I saw my nephew who wasn’t recovering while Djokovic who had his problems before, was recovering. When Rafa lost his break advantage in the fourth (at 4-2), we got very scared.
The heat was very bad. Down on the court, it was tough. But it’s true, the match didn’t reach the intensity of last year’s semi-final or the 2012 final.
His level this year before Roland was weaker. In Monaco, the altitude, the quality of the hitting, it wasn’t working. In Madrid, we won the tournament when Nishikori retired. But we’re not fools. When we arrive here next year we’ll still be scared. Pressure, pressure, pressure.
The back injury Rafa suffered in Australia prevented Rafa from training as hard as he usually does, that affected his stamina and overall fitness. The pressures of the rolling ranking system also meant that Rafa could not take time off to heal properly. He paid the price on court, in IW, Miami and the Clay swing. His fighting spirit brought home RG 2014.
We saw this with Fed in 2013 when he turned out pretty bad results overall because of a niggling back injury.
If Rafa stays healthy and encounters no health issues next year, he will not have so many points to defend after AO and until RG 2015…it will take the pressure off him and he should relax and enjoy playing IW & MIami and his beloved clay tourneys…and we his fans will be more relaxed… 🙂
Sanju (at 6:09 pm)
The doctor wasn’t far away
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/476071216319827969/photo/1
This why Rafa succeeds and gets better and better. He has a coach who tells him the truth. They know that Rafa would have lost Madrid if Kei had not retired; they don’t live in a fool’s paradise, unlike Stan who believes that he actually beat a fit Rafa, now he is having difficulty living up to that.
I also think that BB and Vajda should have told Nole not to bask too much in his victory in Rome because Rafa was obviously fatigued. They took victory at RG for granted, based on that and Nole paid the price.
Stan is having difficulty beating anyone–fit or otherwise. Wonder how long before Boris gets fired and retreats to his broom closet? Never liked him. I also think Nole’s over-confidence was his downfall. He was sure it was HIS time to win. One more reason why I love Rafa, he never takes a victory/tournament/match for granted.
**how long before Boris gets fired and retreats to his broom closet?**
Hilarious. Bet he will negotiate a massive pay-off. He’s in dire financial straits. His villa in Spain has been seized and is due to be auctioned off to pay his debts there.
Couldn’t stand Bathroom Break Becker either.
@ ed 8:02 p.m. he’s prob in dire financial straights partly because of all the child support he has to pay and bad investments. For a while he was commentating matches, but doesn’t look like he was very good at it.
Marion Vajda strikes me as an honest man, someone who would not shy away from telling Novak the truth. BB, otoh, looks a little shifty to me…………not surprised he(BB) is the one they used for that fake chess photo………..
After his newphew’s ninth French Open title over Novak Djokovic, Uncle Toni gave his thoughts on the match to RolandGarros.com, revealing that Rafa would have been in serious trouble if it went to a fifth set.
“We’re delighted and very emotional about this victory,” Uncle Toni said. “This is the first time that we came to Roland Garros having lost so many matches on clay this year. We lost at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome and even though we won in Madrid, I can’t forget that Nishikori had to retire in the final. So we were short on confidence. Djokovic played very well here in the first set. Rafael wasn’t playing badly but he made a few errors and when you’re playing Novak, there’s no room for manoeuvre.
“The match turned on its head at the end of the second set because Djokovic’s level dropped a little. We all felt it, and Rafa stepped up then. This match wasn’t at the same level of the 2012 final or last year’s semi-final, but it was a very, very intense final.
“At the end of the fourth set, Rafa was cramping up everywhere and he almost couldn’t go on. We really had to fire him up because we knew that if he didn’t win the fourth, he’d lose the fifth because Novak was stronger than him physically. At the end of the match, when he came up to me in the stands, he told me that we needed to get the doctor to come and see to him because he was really, really exhausted.”
The website also caught up with Djokovic’s coach Marian Vajda.
“It was a strange match,” Vajda said. “It was disappointing but you have to admit that Rafa was simply better than he was today. Novak started off the match very well and had a really good first set but he didn’t manage to maintain his level of play because Rafa just got better and better.
“In the second set, Rafa was playing quicker, his top-spin was more and more difficult to play and the rallies were incredibly tough because the two players were stuck in the corners. I don’t know if the spectators realised or not but it was really, really intense. Novak started to have a few doubts, he was also having a few stomach problems and when you’re playing Rafa, any time your game slips a little, there’s no way back.
“In the fourth set, Novak got back to 4-4 but Rafa didn’t give an inch, he gave it his all and he ended up winning the match. It’s tough to lose a Grand Slam final but that’s the way sport is.”
@Sanju, I am surprised, you are quoting Uncle Toni extensively today! 😀
While I have never heard you say Rafa should fire Uncle Toni when things have gone bad for Rafa, you have in the past been quick to say Uncle Toni talks too much. What’s changed my friend? Don’t answer that, #rhetorical!
#9
#14
He does talk too much, I still maintain..Look at his interview above.
I just posted the thoughts of both coaches.
It is interesting to note that Vajda gave Nadal more credit than Toni did. Toni was stressing more on the fact that had it gone to 5th, Rafa would have lost as he was cramping..he barely uttered good things..on contrary Vajda was effusive in his praise of Rafa
It’s interesting to read what Uncle Toni said, because I will confess now that I was actually praying out loud for Rafa to finish it in the fourth set. I sensed that he couldn’t go on. When they showed him bent over after an intense rally and then the closeups of his face, you could see the pain. I don’t know how he hung on the way he did. Sheer will power and guts! I was just praying and then telling Rafa to hold on. I felt that he wouldn’t make it to a fifth set. I asked God to please not take this away from him after he fought so hard. That’s how it is with me when I watch Rafa, particularly at RG here. I was so afraid that he wasn’t going to be able to make it.
exactly ! When rafa missed an overhead off a ball that landed on the baseline, he bent and it was obvious he was hurting. He did his best not to show any anguish on his face. He was hiding the pain. What an unbelievable guy rafa is !!! I was also nervous after rafa lost set 1. But I knew he’l raise his level. The most tense moment was when rafa lost serve at 4-2 ! Thank God he closed it out in 4 sets.
Rafa has gotten old now. He is no longer the young rafa who had infinite reserves of energy . The rafa that could go on for 5 hours on court for back to back matches. It’s really important for rafa now to conserve energy in the earlier rounds. He now has the winning momentum so I hope he confidently strides into the wimbledon opening rounds. Rafa will,however, be very nervous in the early rnds of wimbledon.
VAMOS CHAMP!
Rafa already practicing? wow! #Grass pic.twitter.com/mrHs1PJUhy via @meta_pulso
https://twitter.com/meta_pulso/status/476064566921535489/photo/1
Sanju (at 7:19 pm),
Please visit the article “Queen’s Club and Halle previews and predictions”
Roger on Rafa’s 9th RG title: “I watched a bit of the match. I was very happy for him. it’s tremendous what he proves on clay every year.”
Hehehe! Did anyone else see this: apparently they gave Novak the wrong plate and then asked for it back!
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/06/novak-djokovic-french-open-trophy
Novak Djokovic was given the wrong trophy at the French Open
“As if Novak Djokovic’s Sunday wasn’t going bad enough.
After the world No. 2 was halted in his quest to earn a career Grand Slam (in a match in which he teasingly won the first set, vomited on the court and double-faulted on match point after some fool in the crowd loudly shouted), Djokovic was accidentally handed the wrong runner-up trophy in a post-match presentation.
As noted by L’Equipe, Djokovic was called to the podium during the celebration and awarded a circular plate. Djokovic held onto the plate while Nadal was presented with the winner’s trophy Djokovic truly wanted.
But at some point during the presentation, Djokovic was approached and asked to exchange his dish for a platter.
The platter had been handed to Maria, the chair umpire, prior to Djokovic getting his award. It seems that Maria got Djokovic’s award and Djokovic was given Maria’s.
It’s bad enough that losing tennis players are forced to stay on the court and accept an award they don’t want after losing a Grand Slam final. But politely tapping a loser on the shoulder and saying, “uh, Novak, we accidentally gave the trophy you’re probably going to throw away to a guy who sat in a chair for the three-and-a-half-hour match,” is just adding insult to injury.”
Just want to point out that an earlier comment about the innappropietness of tallying slams whilst the dust still hadn’t cleared off the court was solely an expressed frustration at reading all the headlines, especially form the Spanish press, and not any sort of accusation as to how anybody is allowed to express their happiness on this site.
Shireling, I don’t think anyone was questioning you. I certainly didn’t take issue with it.
@Shireling,
I appreciate the clarification. I was just not sure to whom you were addresing that comment. I didn’t know anything about the headlines or the Spanish press. I expressed my wish for Rafa to win Wimbledon again. It doesn’t have to be this year, maybe next year. I want him to keep on winning and enjoy his tennis and stay healthy.
I was just confused by what you wrote. There’s no problem whatsoever.
Thanks! 🙂
^^^^^ Shirling: poor NNY still has a bad hangover from the TT days when she was mauled on a regular bases. She is still looking over her shoulder and under the bed for marauders creeping up to launch an attack on her,
@ed,
Mauled is a polite word for what happened on TT! I don’t know about looking over my shoulder and under the bed, though. 🙂
Dear rafans and others,
Imagine something that is easy to imagine for it was far more likely to have happened than what did. Which is that Rafa had not suffered a bad back at the worst time at the final in AO. Perhaps in good part if he had not inadvertantly broken open that blister on his hand and then had to change his grip. At any rate, if there had been no bad back in that final or the subsequent weeks…
We KNOW who would have won the match with Wawa. And Rafa would not be plagued by concerns for his back, less training before tournaments and lowered confidence in the following months.
But for that bad luck with the back (blister?) he would have had a double career slam, 15 slams, more claycourt titles (more at this point already than Vilas), much more confidence at the RG that just ended and more confidence to complete the Rafa slam with one more slam in a row.
OK. That’s off my chest now :-).
All the same, it IS fantastic that he completed a Ninth RG, no matter the circumstances. In the long run perhaps even more valuable than the double career slam, which may still happen. I know, GREEDY I am.
The way these last months played out was that they were, again, not boring, and that Rafa delivered more inspiration in how to cope with everything that is thrown at you.
I think I will remember this RG final more than most of his RG fnals. Including the sound their rackets were making.
The reason Rafa feels so much more emotional about every win at RG than any other tournament is quite simple. It was where it all began for him in 2005. He had missed most of the clay season the year before following a stress fracture in his left ankle. A genetic malformation of the foot was discovered and for some months there was doubt whether he would be able to play tennis at a professional level. He described this period as the darkest moment in his life.
He emerged from that crisis and his meteoric rise to the top of the game truly began when he lifted his first Slam trophy at Roland Garros two days after his 19th birthday.
Every year since then we have seen him fight tooth and nail – with a greater level of intensity and often in severe pain – to repeat that performance.
A wise old lady once advised me “It’s not the stupid things you do in life that you’ll live to regret: it will be the things you didn’t do when you had the opportunity.”
I wish now I had remortgaged my house to buy tickets for the SF and Final but, as someone said, the sheer enormity of what Rafa achieved is only just dawning on us.
#20/20Hindsight
Chloro says: June 10, 2014 at 2:36 am
Oh my God, there are so many Slams “that got away” that if we totted them up, Rafa would have surpassed Fed by now and then some. But the same applies to his rivals as well.
Rafa’s Slams have all been hard fought, none came easy. The only one I could maybe put in the easy column (no disrespect to Berdy) was his 2nd Wimby. This makes each and every Slam special and makes Rafa’s legend even bigger.
My hope for him now is:
1. To manage his body better, so he can at least play at a high level with minimum pain;
2. To focus on the Slams, even at the expense of the #1 ranking.
To your list I want to add Rio de Janeiro!
I need hardly add – and to see him bite on the Gold.
It’s not an impossible dream but that’s being greedy, no?
Rafa already philosophical to the core..already predicting generation shift. Cmon Rafa, not till you complete your double career slam.
This year is emotional for different reasons,” said Nadal after his record-setting fifth consecutive French Open title.
“I am 28, it’s not forever. I want to enjoy the moment because I have worked so hard to be here. I will have a few more opportunities but you don’t know if I will ever win it again.”
Nadal’s introspection was an echo of his feelings after his second round win over Austrian hot-shot Dominic Thiem, the 20-year-old widely expected to be a title threat in Paris in 12 months’ time.
“Our generation is on the way out. We have all been here for a long while. It’s normal. A generation is walking away and others will replace us. It will not come overnight, but it will come,” said Nadal.
He admitted that fatigue was a huge factor in Sunday’s French Open final where he beat Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4.
If he had not won the second set, he felt that “I don’t know if I would have this trophy with me now”.
Even Toni Nadal, his uncle and coach since boyhood, believes lifting a 10th French Open may be beyond even the famed super powers of his nephew.
“What I hope now for him is to win it for a 10th time,” said Toni. “But I know that it will be more and more difficult, even almost impossible. Each year the chances of victory are reduced. Next year, we will arrive with the fear of losing, telling ourselves it’ll be really hard.”
“What I hope now for him is to win it for a 10th time,” said Toni.
I am so glad Uncle Toni said this. Team Rafa is not resting on its laurels, they want more, so do we his fans!
I am reminded of that line in the Godfather II when Michael Corleone’s sister says to him, “Now they will fear you”. Regardless of Rafa’s performance leading up to RG 2015 you can be sure of one thing, when he arrives at RG in 2015, they will fear him.
Vamos Team Rafa!
@Sanju 5:53am
Therein lies the greatest difference between Rafa and his rivals. Federer and Djokovic exude an air of entitlement each time they step onto court and then look slightly aggrieved when they have lost. Rafa comes out knowing he could lose to anybody, is thrilled if he wins but is philosophical if he loses.
^^^
“……………is thrilled if he wins but is philosophical if he loses.”
This is why, to me, when Rafa loses and he says,” it is what it is”, it is genuine because he held out the possibility of losing right from the get go. On Sunday, I found Djoker’s, “it is what it is” contrived and hard to believe as I know he never contemplated losing, especially with everybody telling him he was the favourite!
Good fun to read
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2090397-projecting-rafael-nadals-timeline-to-catch-roger-federers-17-grand-slam-titles
You wouldn’t know it – two tournaments being played but everybody still here obsessing about Rafa’s triumph at RG. 😀
It’s a shame the schedule does not allow Rafa to truly celebrate his historic achievement. Rafa already surpassed Federer last year when he won his 8th RG (compared to 7 Wimbies for Fed) but it is only this year, when he has snagged his 9th, that people are truly realizing what he has done.
I am so hoping, praying his knees do not betray him this grass season, the draw pits him against Muzza…………………oh I can dream!!
Rafa vs Muzza Wimby final hopefully 🙂
ed251137 (at 7:49 am)
Haven’t you noticed the article “Queen’s Club and Halle previews and predictions” ?
Yes, a few somewhat desultory comments!
Next year Djokovic will be favourite again, for sure. Good for Nadal 🙂
^^^
Yes, yes, yes! I hope Djokovic is favourite at ALL the Slams henceforth!
I think Djoko will beg them not to make him the favourite. Fat lot of good it did him.
It will be intriguing to see Djokovic’s demeanour leading up to Wimbledon. Will he be his usual cocksure self or will he have been chastened by the RG experience?
In 2016, the WTA will host a grass court tournament in……………….Mallorca
http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/3888129/title/wta-to-head-to-mallorca-in-2016
http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/11057105/mallorca-host-wta-tour-grass-court-event-2016
Will a men’s event follow do you think?
I have this mental image of a distinguished white-haired Rafa presenting the prizes and then taking part in the veterans’ matches 🙂
Nadal’s doctor [Eduardo Anitua] : “Nadal is physically ok”
Rafa Nadal passed physical examination after the titanic effort Sunday in the final of Roland Garros against Djokovic. Eduardo Anitua, personal friend and physician [?] tennis, visited him. Anitua was the CREATOR of plasma, that comes infiltrating on Nadal’s knees.
The doctor has spoken about the current physical and mental state of Nadal, saying that the main reason why Nadal mantain an optimal mental and physical level, is the family.
“An athlete of elite as Nadal, need a clear balance between body and mind. The people see a final of Roland Garros as a physical fatigue, but many people don’t see the mental aspect, not only for the final, but even for the previous round. Rafa, as many athletes, lives permanently in competition. If he would not a trained and structured mind, he would lead to exhaustion. For me, the most important thing is that Rafa is not an example only when he wins, but a person who faces the difficult times with no bad gestures, even on the court. I think Rafa is a landmark, because his behavior is exemplary, in the victory and in the defeat. Rafa has won on Sunday not only for his tennis, but even for his behavior. I guess Nadal will play for a long time, but the most important thing is that when he’ll retire, will still be present as an example to emulate.”
Nadal’ll play in Halle this week. “I’ve not said to him if play or not in Halle. The only recommendation I can give is to enjoy and enjoy, always. Rafa has spoken with his team, and then has decided to play there.” ¤¤
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1s236nh
^^Thanks @augusta08
great to read about the WTA grass tournament in Mallorca in 2016, awesome, thx RITB!
nadline10@June 9, 2014 at 5:12 pm
—He [Djoko] is exaggerating the vomiting. I only saw him spit once but it looked worse in slow motion. Immediately after that he had a banana without even washing his mouth out which is what most people would do before eating anything after vomiting.—
Here is a video of ‘the vomiting’
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/statuses/476780718564311040