Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka will battle for the Roland Garros title on Sunday. Djokovic is going for the career Grand Slam, while Wawrinka aims for his second major trophy.
Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka will be squaring off for the 21st time in their careers when they collide in the French Open final on Sunday afternoon.
Djokovic is dominating the head-to-head series 17-3, but that is not to say the matchup has been without drama. In fact, their last four Grand Slam meetings (and all of their completed slam showdowns that did not end in retirement) have resulted in five-setters. Djokovic won the most epic of all 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(5), 12-10 in the 2013 Australian Open semifinals and he prevailed 2-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 later that season in the U.S. Open semis. Wawrinka got some revenge with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 upset at the 2014 Aussie Open before Djokovic returned the favor 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 earlier this year Down Under.
The world No. 1 is 5-1 lifetime against Wawrinka on clay and the only blemish came via first-set retirement at the 2006 Umag event. They have faced each other eight times since their last clash on the slow stuff, which came three years ago in Madrid (Djokovic got the job done 7-6(5), 6-4).
Although Wawrinka is a major champion who has always accounted himself well on red dirt, his appearance in the Roland Garros title match could not have been expected. The ninth-ranked Swiss had lost seven of his previous 15 matches leading up to this fortnight. Suddenly in swashbuckling form, Wawrinka has advanced with wins over Marsel Ilhan, Dusan Lajovic, Steve Johnson, Gilles Simon, Roger Federer, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga–almost all of them in convincing fashion.
Whereas Wawrinka (and Tsonga, among others) benefited from a weak bottom half of the bracket, Djokovic put in the hard yards during a daunting trek through the top half. After disposing of Jarkko Nieminen, Gilles Muller, Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Richard Gasquet, the top-ranked Serb made quick 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 work of nine-time champion Rafael Nadal. Andy Murray then pushed Djokovic to five sets in a semifinal spread out over two days, but the favorite survived 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1. He is now 41-2 for the season and has won 28 matches in a row.
As strong as Wawrinka is on clay, the underdog will struggle to hit through Djokovic’s borderline impenetrable defense on a relatively slow court. Djokovic did not have to spend too much energy in his continuation against Murray on Saturday–especially not physically–and the brief scare may actually serve as a wake-up call.
With Djokovic one step away from the career Grand Slam, there will be no stopping him now.
Pick: Djokovic in 4
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Postscript
IMO Chloro still holds the Olympic Gold Commentator Medal for his timely intervention as the Weather Reporter at the height of the unforgettable meltdown on TennisTalk.
BTW, you all keep saying how Rafa should hire a new coach and keep Toni…in the meantime the Serbian press is full of criticism for Nole’s loss in RG final saying that it is all Becker and Vajda’s fault who apparently had huge fight over which tactics to employ in the finals…they also speak about Boris making faces during the match as Novak did not listen what he suggested but rather went for Vajda’s recommendations…this is not good news for Novak…
natashao2013 says:
June 10, 2015 at 10:00 am,
—Boris making faces during the match as Novak did not listen what he suggested but rather went for Vajda’s recommendations—
=====================================
.
So, they were coaching Djoko during the match?!
http://www.funutilities.com/files/smileys/07/04/110.gif
how does it suggest they were coaching during the match? :s
‘Novak did not listen what he suggested but rather went for Vajda’s recommendations’
Both the coaches must have given their recommendations BEFORE the match
augusta, you beat me to it. Such double standards.
June 10, 2015 at 10:25 am,
You skipped: “Boris making faces during the match…”
Everyone who has watched Djoko’s matches knows that he is constantly looking towards his box. 😆
wow! thanks for sharing this natashao! I used to wonder how bad vajda might be feeling ever since becker has been hired as the lead coach! This sounds credible to me…
Obviously not good news for novak
I’m not one bit surprised. I’m just amazed BB survived as long as he has. It was always a puzzle what Djokovic thought he would bring to the party – he always looked more like the proverbial spare p**** at the party.
The only measurable difference was his improvement at the net. But even that deserted him in his hour of need on Sunday.
Nats: I thought I detected surreptitious coaching from his box. As the match progressed Djokovic was definitely looking at them long and hard more frequently.
So was Boris not making faces DURING the match? Don’t try and defend the indefensible.
he might have been making faces. In fact I saw his disgruntled face a gazillion times!
Imagine you are a coach. You discuss at length how will your player will play tomorrow. But during the match, he starts playing differently and obeys what the other coach said! OBVIOUSLY that will piss you off!
Conclusions that can be drawn from the excerpt: vajda and BB offered different suggestions, novak chose to act on vajda’s advice more and that pissed BB who was making faces. They MIGHT have been coaching during the match but I don’t know and neither does the excerpt say that!
Novak does look to his box a lot so i don’t know what exactly goes on!
VR you are being trolled by this site’s resident sienna.
hahaha…you make me laugh hawkeye 🙂
natashao2013 says: June 10, 2015 at 10:00 am
Hahaha! I said as much post the Final, that BB better beware, that Novak is not shy of making swift coaching changes after major disappointments and losing to Stan when everyone had already given the trophy was a MAJOR disappointment.
And then BB goes and enflames an already sensitive situation by talking publicly about Novak’s cold relationship with Fed, things that are considered locker-room stuff best left there. I think BB is skating on thin, thin ice…………
Is that just conjecture or speculation they indulging in or was there actually a fight? I mean will anyone from inner circle leak it out?
It does not help that Becker made a public statement about Novak and Fed not getting along though I think that is 100% true . I am keen to see Feds reaction and Novaks reaction when asked this.
vamosrafa, I know that in your eyes, Novak is God and can do no wrong, but he was clearly being coached according to this excerpt from nats post
“they also speak about Boris making faces during the match as Novak did not listen what he suggested but rather went for Vajda’s recommendations…this is not good news for Novak…”
Novak was being coached by Vajda and Becker but chose to listen to Vajda. That understands why he often berates his bench when he gets something wrong during a match.
LOL ..I believe in one God, that’s my religion. Rafa is my man 🙂
Keep your hatred aside and try to understand what i said. I said how does this excerpt show they were coaching him during the match??? where is it written?
Sure, he must have listen to vajda but what do you think players and coaches do before matches? eat popcorn? they discuss strategies! the coaches must have given strategies and novak was obeying vajda more?
That!
June 10, 2015 at 11:13 am.
—-Keep your hatred aside…—
=================================
.
‘Hatred’ is strong language according to somebodies here.
VR you are being trolled by this site’s Siena.
.
vamosrafa says:
June 10, 2015 at 8:28 am
—for those who have been here for long, know who are the posters who always stay away from ‘tennis discussions’ … nadline and augusta are not the innocent ones here lol—
—————————————
So talking about Rafa on tenngrand is not about tennis? You learn something everyday.
aww so innocent you are….yes, talking about rafa is certainly about tennis BUT talking about any other player and getting responses like ‘ you think he is God’ and then soon calling loyal rafa fans detractors and haters is WHAT IS NOT talking about tennis! do you understand now? you are the master of doing it! giving verdicts on who is a loyal rafa fan and who is not is NOT talking about tennis. Lesson learnt?
Loyalty is a virtue.
yeah…it is…blind worshiping is a menace though 😉
I am no less loyal than any rafa fan I have ever come across 🙂
We lost two great posters in deuce (a Murray fan who now finds Tennis X a more friendly and balanced site where she doesn’t feel under attack) and Lucky who was driven away because of being criticized for questioning Rafa’s game.
VR is the best tennis analyst on this site and he is being trolled with the attempt to similarly drive him away.
Soon this site will be left with nothing but the lowest common denominator and it’s ensuing social media reposts of everything Rafa.
June 10, 2015 at 3:57 pm,
—We lost two great posters in deuce (a Murray fan who now finds Tennis X a more friendly and balanced site where she doesn’t feel under attack) and Lucky who was driven away because of being criticized for questioning Rafa’s game.—-
==============================================
.
I remember that deucy couldn’t stand U.Toni.
As for me, I don’t know anything about her “questioning Rafa’s game.” I am just curious whether you have facts or you are (again) constructing an imaginary story. 😆
June 10, 2015 at 3:57 pm,
—VR is the best tennis analyst on this site and he is being trolled with the attempt to similarly drive him away—
=============================================
Really? I’m curious what’s the reason HE is writing factless accusations about other posters.
Not what I said. You can’t read.
For someone who lied about caring what I say, you sure put in a lot of effort responding to just about everything I say.
June 10, 2015 at 3:57 pm,
—Soon this site will be left with nothing but the lowest common denominator and it’s ensuing social media reposts of everything Rafa—
=====================================
.
No doubt you have made huge efforts to suppress information about Rafa: you have tried hard to sabotage the Rafa Nadal page. 😆
You’ve done a much better job doing that than I ever could.
Besides, I thought you didn’t CARE what I said. Apparently not the case. And yet you turn around to accuse others of lies and made up stories. Curious behaviour.
@hawkeye, thank you for your kind words. Your insights about tennis are also very good . You certainly understand the game really well and often the statistics and facts you present are very enlightening.
If someone here is so concerned, she should look for evidence herself. Luckystar (a fantastic poster with soooo much knowledge and understanding) was driven away after an argument with RITB I think? I think so. She was SIMPLY being critical of the way rafa played a certain match!
Hawkeye, I don’t have the intentions to leave but point holds…a lot of good fans don’t feel comfortable here because of the blind worshiping and attacks.
TBH I did not thing about coaching issue when I read this article…I do know that Novak looks at his box quite a lot during the matches but the commentator always says it’s for gaining support /cheering from his box rather than asking for instructions…however, what I know is that the instructions for tactics to be employed came before the match although the article itself implies that Novak made a decision himself during the match to adopt a rather defensive style waiting for Wawa to make UEs whereas Boris apparently insisted on aggressiveness…
I guess we will never know…I did not watch the whole match so I would not know if Novak was being coached but I honestly doubt it…
natashao2013 says:
June 10, 2015 at 10:56 am,
—Novak looks at his box quite a lot during the matches but the commentator always says it’s for gaining support /cheering from his box rather than asking for instructions—
==========================================
.
Interesting. When U.Toni says only ‘Vamos!’, then the (same?!) commentators say that it’s coaching!
so those commentators are stupid! name them so that I know what their true standards are…. anyway, it is better for umpires to decide this. They have the hottest seat to catch any kind of coaching 🙂 I guess it goes on in matches but the top guys are usually clean in this regard
June 10, 2015 at 11:33 am,
—-so those commentators are stupid! name them so that I know what their true standards are—
============================
Haven’t you ever heard that U.Toni has been accused of on-court coaching??
@natashao,
Good post! Looking at your team’x box does not even imply any coaching! I am sure a lot of people just have a habit of doing it! Looking for encouragenment and support etc..rafa looks at his box a lot and Toni is vamos-ing to encourage him!
Whether novak got any advice I DO NOT KNOW. but was BB making faces? YES! but that is not linked to on-court coaching!
I hope augusta can now provide an ‘factual evidence’ for this LOL
June 10, 2015 at 11:40 am,
—I hope augusta can now provide an ‘factual evidence’ for this—
===========================
.
The ATP Rulebook, page 166
l) Coaching and Coaches
i) Players shall not receive coaching during a tournament match. Communications of any kind, audible or VISIBLE, between a player and a coach may be construed as coaching.
vamosrafa,
I found your reply to my question yesterday some way back in the thread…but now I can’t remember where I left my reply to see what, if anything, you said!!
if that makes sense!…can you let me know?
thanks!!
I can’t get the control+f thing to work today……
vamosrafa,
ok have found my response to your response yesterday further up the thread.
i was looking to see if you had replied to that but as you haven’t that’s fine!
I am a bit like Coleridge’s ancient mariner going on about this topic anyway..!
hahaha no no , I will definitely reply to that post 🙂 sorry for the delay
vamosrafa,
I meant to ask you the other day what you thought about rafa choosing to receive serve against novak. TBH my heart sank when I saw this, thinking that even if rafa started well this would mean that when things got tough at the end of the set and he was trying to hold to stay in it he would get broken. i know that rafa likes to receive but this was a problem against nole in 2011 when rafa was forced to change his patterns and serve first – remember the first set at wimby in ’11 – you knew rafa was going to get broken. it’s fine for him to receive serve against nole when he’s back to winning ways but when his confidence is low i don’t think it’s a great idea..all through the first 2 sets against novak you felt that serving second was a big handicap for him. i was a bit disappointed that rafa and toni didn’t foresee this…..
at least if he’s serving first and get’s broken he’s got a chance to get back on serve and isn’t having to save set points…
Agree..I never understand why he chooses to receive at times when he wins the toss.
I think you have made a very valid point. I was also saying this to my brother while watching the match that rafa gets himself in trouble by opting to receive! May be he was thinking it was RG and he could control things better. The strategy has worked for rafa in the past but yes when low on confidence, it is dangerous! I hope serves first on grass…The wimbledon 2011 example is perfect. He was 30-0 up and suddenly missed two routine forehands ! it was 30-30 and then novak took advantage.
Toni and rafa need to smart choices now. I don’t think he will be consulting anyone else so it is up to them .
@sanju, rafa can have a stronger second half. His level of tennis has gradually improved since AO and there has been progress. The progress has not been fast but as rafa said, his level was better by the time of RG. He played a very bad match but overall things have gotten better. With no pressure, and with some favors from draws, he can do better.
yeah, but gotta say that both these examples show how slow they are to adjust tactics at a very fundamental level. this ex great as new coach i keep talking about would have foreseen that one and sorted it out!
just getting that one in under the radar!
Rafa always chooses to receive when he wins the toss. The only time Rafa serves first is when his opponent wins the toss and puts him in to serve because they all know he doesn’t like to. He was asked once in the blogs he used to do and he said he likes to settle down before serving and if he breaks his opponent in their first service game then he is more at an advantage.
no, he was chosen to serve first on some occasions but that has happened quite rarely.
yeah i know but that just doesn’t work against nole when rafa’s confidence is low does it?…..that’s why after a long while they made the shift in 2011 and rafa started to serve first…but it took them a long long time….
then he shifted back when he started beating nole again….
Choosing to receive first for Rafa makes sense to me given he is a slow starter, unlike say Djokovic who is always quick off the blocks. Doesn’t want to risk getting broken first game of the match when he is still warming up. I have always likened Rafa to a diesel engine: takes time to warm up.
No, what? Isn’t that what I said that he only serves first when his opponents elect to receive if they win the toss?
amy: I’ve always assumed electing to receive when he’s won the toss is one of his superstitions dating back to RG 2005 I recall people I was next to at the SF questioning why he chose to receive. He took Fed completely by surprise, won the first point, then the set and finally the match. I think it is another example of his need to stick to rituals. I don’t know if he does it 100% of the time, but it’s certainly most of the time.
ed makes sense here….and rafa feels more ‘colm’ when he receives first. He feels if there any nerves , he can use the first game to get rid of them ! He himself said this once…
sanju, is fine when his game is really on fire. but when he’s got problems it creates problems. remember against novak in 2011 it took them ages to adjust to this until rafa started to serve first. wimby 2011 in the first set is a prime example of this with rafa starting well and then utterly imploding when serving at 4-5 down to hold. you could feel that it was going to happen!!
now for this i criticise toni, he’s the coach, he should have foreseen this and not waited so long to make the adjustment.
Call me optimistic but I feel he will do much better in second half than first half. I really feel that getting the monkey off the back will loosen him up and the pressure of having no points to defend will ease off the pressure. I think whatever happened, happened for the best.
I meant luxury of having no points to defend
gonna reply to myself here!!
anyone remember how sebastian smashed his fist down when rafa made those mistakes at 4-5 in that first set at that wimby to give away the set?!
i remember thinking ‘how is that going to help rafa’! have never seen poppa nadal behave like that….!
I do remember that. Still they are only human, he was just reacting out of frustration.. At least the Nadals don’t shout ‘out’ during a match.
amy says:
June 10, 2015 at 12:00 pm,
—anyone remember how sebastian smashed his fist down when rafa made…
have never seen poppa nadal behave like that….!—
======================
Fedfans don’t let forget it. They have posted a clip a zillion times (not here).
Papa Nadal and Rafa also behave (almost) ‘like that’ while watching football.
🙂
didn’t mean it as a criticism, just observation…
just so unusual for sebastian to show his frustration in that way…….have to say i was not exactly jumping for joy when i saw rafa chuck that set away…..!
amy ( at 12:24 pm),
I add to my post (at 12:20 pm):
https://twitter.com/littlemissnadal/status/597132946840100865
Sebastian does “suffer” when his son is playing, especially at important matches. Djokovic’s father also does. The only one who appears to keep it together during his son’s matches if Fed’s Dad.
Feds wife more than makes up for his cool as cucumber dad. During Wimby 2008, there was 1 man in Feds box sitting right next to Mirka, he was extremely aggressive in his stance.
However for Rafa, apart from his dad who is also usually cool, rest of his entourage is cool. Mom and sis and gf are always quiet and mellowed.
vamosrafa, what I’m saying is, some players who would normally elect to serve when they win the toss sometimes put Rafa in to serve because they know he feels nervous at the start of the match.
no. There have been occasions when rafa chose to serve himself after winning the toss.
Bogdan Obradovic attacks Boris Becker: ´He negatively influenced Roland Garros final!´
http://www.tennisworldusa.org/Bogdan-Obradovic-attacks-Boris-Becker-He-negatively-influenced-Roland-Garros-final-articolo24396.html
So its all Beckers fault now..lol..Stan had no role to play neither did Nole 🙂
“Obradovic also added, “Novak has already too many people in his team. For this once, I asked him why not add a teacher of saxophone, since it is a tool they like. Too many things were said to Nole, and this affected him. They must choose.””
Priceless……..ROTFL
hahahah this guy is ridiculous…’novak played at half speed’ HAHAHAHAHAHA
June 10, 2015 at 12:56 pm,
The article: ¤¤ His team showed negative energy. It’s clear that affected the result of the match. First thing I didn’t like the face of Boris Becker from which transpired disappointment and disinterest. Boris didn’t react well and has not given the right support to Djokovic. Knowing Novak, I realized that on the court sometimes it requires a gesture to motivate yourself. The German didn’t do so well this time. It was evident.” ¤¤
So, Djoko needs BB’s gestures during the match! If it’s not on-court coaching then what it is.
present ‘factual evidence’ ;p Don’t draw these inferences
Gestures are often given to motivate! what is so fishy?
June 10, 2015 at 1:43 pm
—Gestures are often given to motivate! what is so fishy?—
===================================================
In the article below: Nick Bollettieri talks about his signals and Rafa received an official warning because U.Toni shouted ‘Vamos’. It’s called here ‘illegal coaching’.
The Telegraph, 27 Jun 2010: ¤¤ Wimbledon 2010: Rafael Nadal’s uncle at centre of illegal coaching row.
The world No1 has DENIED the umpire’s claim that he received coaching during his victory over Philipp Petzschner, but the incident has opened up a debate on the subject.
One of the leading coaches, Nick Bollettieri, has admitted to having advised his players in the past by using the SIGNALS of touching his sunglasses, rubbing his nose, or by shouting out code words, and that “anyone in tennis who doesn’t think it happens should open their eyes and ears”.
Illegal coaching was being discussed at the All England Club over the weekend after Rafael Nadal, the world No 1 and 2008 Wimbledon champion, received an official warning from the umpire for supposedly receiving advice from his uncle Toni during his five-setter against Philipp Petzschner, of Germany.
Anyone who appears on Centre Court is meant to be self-reliant, to be able to think for themselves on the grass, and Nadal was so annoyed by the accusations that he said he intended to speak with a supervisor.
“Toni wasn’t giving me any tips, he was only SUPPORTING me,” Nadal said. “Sometimes in the past Toni would talk, maybe too much, and the referee or the umpire would give me advice and, if it continued, a warning, but he didn’t talk too much this time in my opinion. I told the umpire that we will be talking to the supervisor and this we will be doing.”
Nadal’s opponent also said that he had not heard any coaching, just a few cries of “VAMOS” from Toni. It was not the first time, though, that Toni has been accused of passing on some ENCOURAGEMENT to his nephew, as during the final of the 2006 Rome tournament, Roger Federer said he had caught him at it. ¤¤
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/rafaelnadal/7857620/Wimbledon-2010-Rafael-Nadals-uncle-at-centre-of-illegal-coaching-row.html
so what? I said ‘gestures are OFTEN given to motivate’ ! yes, they are! sometimes, coaches can absolutely use them to do some coaching. There is nothing new you have told us. Where is your factual evidence about the case in hand though?!!!
June 10, 2015 at 6:08 pm
—I said ‘gestures are OFTEN given to motivate’ ! yes, they are! sometimes, coaches can absolutely use them to do some coaching. There is nothing new you have told us. Where is your factual evidence about the case in hand though?!!!—
======================================================
.
So, you (& “us” = Bogdan Obradovic? ) are sure that coaches can absolutely use gestures to do some illegal (!) coaching during the match! That’s really something new to me!
What evidences about what do you want??? I quoted this in my post (on June 10, 2015 at 1:26 pm):
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CHNSsL3UgAA96R0.png
You can never be sure..It maybe that Djokovic made his Davis Cup captain release these bytes 🙂
Each year the European clay swing and defending his RG crown takes an increasingly greater toll on Rafa. In terms of physical, mental and emotional stamina.
It’s now five years since he achieved the back to back channel slam. From now even with two weeks between RG and Wimby I think it’s urealistic to hope for a repeat of that achievement.
I should’ve said
‘unrealistic to hope for a repeat of that achievement.in future years’.
Anyone heard from poor ol’ Mats Wilander post RG final? Would love to hear his take given his ridiculous pre-final comments that Djokovic was now the best clay-courter of all time.
^^^ In his den licking his wounds and wiping the egg off his face 🙂
Poor Bodo’s still seething. I don’t get it, he should be happy that Rafa is now “rolling back downhill” as he says it and stop obsessing about him!
http://espn.go.com/tennis/french15/story/_/id/13032744/french-open-big-four-take-backseat-stan-wawrinka
“Remember what tennis was like back in the day of the dreaded “clay-court expert,” and those mind-numbing, metronomic 55-shot rallies? It sure is different now.
………..By contrast, Nadal’s chance to catch Federer (the Swiss has 17 major singles titles, Nadal owns 14) took a major blow when he lost to Wawrinka in the Australian Open final of 2014, and they dimmed even further now that the Spaniard has failed to defend his Roland Garros title.”
The difference between 14 and 17 is not that much, really. I wish people like Bodo would just pipe down and “enjoy” Rafa’s so-called demise.
Gotta give it to Bodo, he makes no attempt at appearing impartial.
I always get the feeling reading Bodo that he is quite sure of being right, quite happy with himself, thank-you-very-much
gotta love the experts 🙂
I really think ESPN ought to put a disclaimer under his posts: the views expressed by Mr. Bodo do not in any way reflect our stance on the issues he writes about.
There are so many other tennis pundits who are pro-Fed but they are not as crass in their fandom as Mr. Bodo.
mary,
Thank you for your post. I hope you continue to read TT and continue to post.
Mostly hawkeye and I post about tennis.
We also have a well-tuned BS detector, as do many (all) regular and less regular posters here. There is a reason for calling things out once in a while. The constant pervasive attacks on anyone and anything not worded as 100% ultra-devotion were getting and are still tiresome. Not just tiresome but disruptive of the flow of discussions here and of the otherwise very pleasant (and entirely rare in the internet of tennis fan sites) mood we have here at tenngrand. It WOULD be nicer — perhaps this is just never going to happen — if we could discuss tennis without constantly being judged and pointed at irrationally about anything mentioned that is not fanatically 100% perceived-to-be pro rafa.
On the other hand, perhaps hawkeye tries to stop it it too often and perhaps with too much sarcasm? Perhaps I too try to stop it too often?
In fact that is more or less where I was going with the asperger post. As I posted yesterday, Perhaps it didn’t come across this way but I posted that observation in the name of _understanding_. Asperger? Could be way off base. But either way looking for understanding. Perhaps understanding will help this situation.
Just as we are looking here to understand the much harder time Rafa is having with confidence this year than before. Is it all just coming back from 2014 times away from the game and the illnesses and injuries? Seems like there is more to it. Does he have a little anxiety or is it at a level of an actual disorder? Does he have some OCD like behaviour only or is it at a level of an actual disorder in his case? Could toni and everyone else in his team look for new approaches / people / pro help that this particular team is not likely to look for while other teams would? Millions of fans are distraught at what is happening, sponsors and tournament owners would have been happier (stand to make more income) if rafa found solutions to this, especially as rafa is one of the main ingredients in the popularity of the sport today and of its attendance, physical and electronic, at specific tournaments, Rafa is being torn (I think, am pretty sure) between his huge commitments to fans and sponsors and to his honour, between his passion for winning and desire to go further still, and between what deeper problems plague him (not to even mention frequent injuries — this year, as far as we know, touch wood, none yet).
Finally, ricky, I will tone down the frequency and content of replies to posts I find — sorry but this is the truth — troll-like and constantly aggressive behavior. For yourself, I don’t recall you ever writing anything here on either ‘side’, so-to-speak. Now that you have, I trust you would look at these back-and-forth posts from ‘both’ sides and moderate or comment accordingly.
peace, everyone
Mary,
You seem to be new to this site. I would appreciate it very much if you would take into account context when you criticize other posters. Your view seems to be a bit one-sided. There is more to this than your brief comment would indicate.
Sometimes humor is a response to a situation that otherwise would seem intolerable. The incessant hero worship for Rafa and the subsequent intolerance for any differing opinions or thoughts, is a concern.
I try to talk about tennis. It’s my passion. But there are times when personal attacks on my character and that of others, is just too much. I don’t mind anyone disagreeing with me as long as they don’t make it an attack on me personally.
chloro
All I wanted to say is that your last paragraph accurately sums up my feelings. I second your thoughts.
June 10, 2015 at 1:43 pm,
–I will tone down the frequency and content of replies…—
======================================
.
Oh! A “troll-like and constantly aggressive behavior” will tone down the frequency and content of his posts! At least that’s some progress.
Thank you, Mary!
case in point, as usual, predictably 🙂
It would AWESOMELY refreshing if we could read instead a heart-felt cogent reply in the manner that good dialogues are made of. Even a semblance of apology just in case one was perhaps appropriate. (My apology is already in my post above.) But there it is.
#tennis
stop smashing your head to the wall , chloro … 😉
Ditto.
That response perfectly illustrates the problem some of us are having here. It takes more than one person to start a fight and more than one person to restore a measure of peace.
However, when some do not take responsibility for their actions and their part in instigating and posting antagonistic comments, then nothing can be resolved. Everyone has to want to get along and come here in good faith.
^ +1
Must say, Wawa looks kinda good looking here:
http://media.fyre.co/1TM5cnrqTemPR1RV8CM9_10511274_10153389575774920_7734713731938949175_n.png
Chloro,
Don’t hold your breath! 🙂
Oh Stan………wonder who that tongue was aimed at? Wilander?
http://media.fyre.co/NV7YZSOKQuOuSymgt0uQ_741AD21C-71E8-4BD7-8446-E6D681DD8773_zpspomgg6rp.jpg
For what it’s worth, I sniggered at BB’s appointment to Novak’s team when it was first announced. He has proved my skepticism wrong in my opinion because I have seen visible improvements to Novak’s game since BB’s appointment.
– Killer drop shots, which he used effectively in the build-up to RG and against Rafa;
– Overhead smash, marked improvement;
– Volleying, marked improvement. Not yet as good as Rafa’s but improved nonetheless.
Understandable for there to be frustration in Novak’s camp but hard to see how Novak’s loss can be dumped on BB alone.
I am still sceptical of Becker’s input and contribution to Mark 3 Djokovic. It strikes me BB has used the last 18th months to feather his own nest, sometimes shamelessly.
I rather think he might be persona non gratis at the All England Club after his indiscreet comments and speculation on the relationship between Djokovic and Federer.
http://www.amazon.com/Boris-Beckers-Wimbledon-career-England-ebook/dp/B00VWYVD6S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433950257&sr=1-1&keywords=boris+becker%27s+wimbledon
I’m surprised the Djokovic camp didn’t get him to sign a Confidentiality Agreement to prevent the gossip BB will no doubt peddle.
Speculation about coaching from the box often swirls around. I’m quite sure coded signals disguised as normal gestures do happen e.g ear scratching, blowing noses, removing sunglasses, jumping up and down, the number of fist pumps,
the way a hand is clenched etc could all be instructions. Though if body language is being used to transmit information it can’t be proved so it’s useless trying to make an accusation stick. Anyway on court coaching is allowed for the women and the ITF allow Davis Cup team captains to come on court during changeovers.
#Inconsistency