There will be a first-time French Open champion and the favorite will be the winner of Friday’s semifinal showdown between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. They also faced each other for the Australian Open title earlier this year.
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will be squaring off for the 27th time in their careers and for the fourth time already this season when they do battle in the semifinals of the French Open on Friday.
The series once stood at a basically even 8-7 in Djokovic’s favor, but he has won seven in a row and 10 of their last 11 encounters to storm ahead of Murray 18-8 in what is becoming a lopsided head-to-head matchup. Murray has not defeated the Serb since the 2013 Wimbledon final. Djokovic prevailed earlier this year 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0 in the Australian Open title match, 6-2, 6-3 in Indian Wells, and 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-0 in Miami.
They have faced each other only twice on clay. Djokovic cruised 6-0, 6-4 at the 2008 Monte-Carlo Masters and survived a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2) thriller at the 2011 Rome event.
The red stuff has always been Murray’s worst surface, but don’t tell him that right now. Roland Garros’ No. 3 seed is a perfect 15-0 on clay in 2015 with titles in Munich and Madrid. So far this fortnight he has taken out Facundo Arguello, Joao Sousa, Nick Kyrgios, Jeremy Chardy, and David Ferrer. A red-hot Murray, who is 36-5 overall for the season), also reached this stage at Roland Garros in 2011 and 2014 (lost on both occasions to Rafael Nadal).
Nadal is now out of the way thanks to Djokovic, who trounced the nine-time champion 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday. The world No. 1 preceded that huge victory with straight-set beatdowns of Jarkko Nieminen, Gilles Muller, Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Richard Gasquet. Djokovic, who has not even been pushed to a tiebreaker during this tournament, is 40-2 for his 2015 campaign and has won 27 matches in succession.
Not unlike in his recent dominance of Nadal, Djokovic is able to dictate play in this matchup and keep his opponent in a defensive position. Murray should be able to put up more of a fight than did the Spaniard because his return of serve is superior and he generally gets more depth on his shots–especially given the way he is performing right now. Still, Djokovic is looking unbeatable these days and he should beat Murray in a fashion similar to their previous meetings: early drama followed by Djokovic running away with a commanding win.
Pick: Djokovic in 4
[polldaddy poll=8911232]
Reblogged this on Tennis Abides.
Hope murray does not fall for any of Djokos tricks and antics..I hope he remembers what happened in Australia
Sanju: remind me, what happened?
Was that when Murray’s feet were so blistered they looked like raw ground beef?
Djoko did all his theatrics in 3rd set that he was gassed..almost dead..had no energy after he went down a break..It broke Murrays concentration and Djoko ran away with the match
I get the giggles when he wants to convey he is suffering/in agony/doesn’t think he can continue etc.etc complete with imploring looks towards his entourage. TV audiences get the full benefit when the cameras zoom in on these histrionics. There have been umpteen of these play-acting performances over the years: at least he no longer retires mid-match as a matter of course when the going gets tough – thanks to Andy Roddick’s famous send up during the USO.
The weird thing is, thanks to his extraordinary level of fitness, he rarely is injured enough to keep him out of the game.
Djoko destroyed Fed in Rome final in extreme heat.
Wilting in the heat? Fixed
Added killer drop shot? Fixed
Novak in three.
No, Murray let Novak’s theatrics get to him! I remember that match quite well. It’s on Murray if he lets Novak get inside his head. That would never work with Rafa.
There is no excuse for Murray letting anything Novak does get to him or break his concentration. Gamesmanship happens all the time in this sport. It’s nothing new.
For what it’s worth, I think Murray will at least make a match out of this one. I think it’s going at least four sets. At some point Murray is going to get fed up with losing to Novak. He’s certainly got the game on paper to beat him. However, Novak will be riding high after beating Rafa. It also didn’t cost him physically.
Novak will win this, but I say it will go four sets.
agreed….It will at least go to four. Andy has no burden of expectations. If this were any other slam, he would be expected to have a decent chance but this is clay. He has improved a lot and he can definitely stay in long rallies with Novak. I hope he is aggressive and tries to control the court .
^^^^^^NNY
Or even five………….
I’m banking on Andy making a match of this one for his good friend’s sake as well as his own pride.
@Sanju that is total BS, it was obvious he was wobbly. sour grapes my friend. cheers.
Hawkeye
In 3 I agree
Djokovic in 5
Joker in 3.
novak in 3 or 4 in case of a mental lapse.
what is novak’s theatrics/tricks !?!?
^^scroll up, read some of the posts above.
Hope this helps.
Have you been watching him at all? Then you would know all about these theatrics.
SARS. Bird flue, to name but a few.
Would love an upset but practically no chance of that happening.
Agree. I would love to be wrong for Andy’s sake but strongly his record for Slam SFs played will be 2-15 at close of play tonight. Andy will fight for all its worth but Djokovic is a man with a mission.
Now that Rafa is gone, Novak will be relaxed and playing his game with no pressure..I don’ t think Andy has a mindset to attempt to beat Novak…I feel sorry for Andy when he issues a statement prior to the match with Novak practically saying: hope I can make this competitive or something like that…he loses it already in the locker room…I think Stan will make a bigger challenge for Novak…
Novak in 3…would love to see a different situation but I doubt it…
Sigh………..I guess that means Soderling is also in the frame for the King of Clay title. After all, he also beat Rafa once at RG:
https://twitter.com/stroppadel/status/606535461755092993
Wilander is an idiot.
JMac knows that’s a bunch of crap! It’s unfortunate that some are using Rafa’s loss to Novak this time as a chance to make truly absurd statements.
Hey Wilander – it’s the guy who has won nine titles at RG who is and always will be the King of Clay!
C’mon Muzza!
#ClayMuzz
Well, well, now come the 2 guys with perfect records on clay this season.
Pigs do fly………….
go Muzza.
Murray plays ping pong against Djoker and attacking tennis against Rafa.
stupid Muzza
Fool me once yada yada yada…
https://twitter.com/SteveTignor/status/606856064135512064
He is without shame.
Serena has got the flu so Safarova might just win her first GS; something her ex, Berdy, hasn’t managed to do.
I already know the result of this match, straight sets to Djoker, so why am I even watching it as I don’t enjoy their game in the slightest.
Djokovic knows that all he has to do, is to pretend that he is out of gas. And Muzz will get distracted and present the match to him on a plate.
There is dumb, there is dummer and then there is Muzza
I changed from watching on Eurosport to ITV because The British Commies will be quiet atm as they have no reason for hyperbole about how great Murray is on clay.
They are missing Rafa already. Petchy has just said after the 1st match Muzz needs to make this match competitive.
Without charismatic players and high tension rivalries audiences will drift away from watching tennis on TV as they did in the Sampras era.
I was one of the drifters in the Sampras era.
GSM.
Nice exho. Sunday’s exho should be marginally closer.
I did better than Ricky.
Congratulations to Meeee!!!!
#NID
Watching this match is like torture. Novak is running Murray all over the place. What is with the drop shots so often? It’s not like this is something new in tennis.
I can’t say anything about Murray because Novak is just too good right now. Beating Rafa only gave him even more confidence. He’s playing like a guy who can’t lose. For what it’s worth, Murray did not play lights out against Rafa in the Madrid final. He didn’t have to. That’s why he won, because Rafa just didn’t compete. If Rafa was anything close to himself, Murray would have been toast.
The truth is that Rafa is the only player who can take it to Novak. We’ve seen that for the last two years. Now that Rafa is AWOL, Murray and Fed aren’t up to it. Fed’s best days are behind him now. Even though he managed to get back to #2, he can’t do it in slams. Murray just doesn’t have it mentally or even physically at this point, even though he’s playing much better than last year. Rafa was the one who could beat Novak. But he’s not there, at for the time being.
I think the final could be really ugly. Stan may have found his game, but he did have to struggle against the likes of Tsonga, and Novak is a whole other level entirely.
This is really boring.
GSM Djokovic, 63 63 61.
The Brits are now claiming gamesmanship by Djoker.
At least Wimbledon hasn’t screwed up their web site the way the boorish FO did.
http://www.wimbledon.com/index.html
According to the pundits Rafa’s washed up. Well, that’s his excuse then. What’s Muzza’s?
Wow, I’d forgotten about Serena.
Serenovak calendar slam anyone?
https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/status/606870269005864960
I think that a calendar slam for Novak would put him on par with Roger for second best of all time.
Roland Garros @rolandgarros 32s33 seconds ago
“Lorsque je joue à mon meilleur niveau, je sais que je peux battre n’importe qui.” #Wawrinka
Translated from French by Bing Wrong translation?
“When I play at my best level, I know that I can beat anyone.” #Wawrinka
(when he is not too busy crying that is – Sorry Stan but I could not resist one more time, no?)
#MirkaWasRight
#HereFishyFishy
#FeelingPeckish
That’s a stupid comment from Stan. So all of a sudden he thinks he’s Superman? Please! This guy has done nothing this year and finally gets a good result and he’s talking himself up? Talk is cheap! He has to bring it on the court.
That kind of talk is only going to get Novak even more motivated. Dumb, just dumb Stan!
TennisNow @Tennis_Now 4m4 minutes ago
Djokovic looking bulletproof, impregnable, indomitable, insuperable, insurmountable, invulnerable, unbeatable, unconquerable, unstoppable.
TennisNow @Tennis_Now 6m6 minutes ago
Djokovic playing beaming, bedazzling, brilliant, effulgent, glowing, incandescent, lucid, luminous, radiant, shining, splendid tennis.
https://twitter.com/ReemAbulleil/status/606874297584504832
Is he losing the match in the locker room by making this statement? Kind of thinking he is lucky just being in the final.
What? Did he really say that? It makes no sense!
When am I going to stop picking Murray to make a match of it against Novak? I keep saying he’s going to do it this time, for sure!
I need to learn my lesson!
Rafa, where are you? Tennis needs you! We need you! Please get it together and come back playing the way only you can!
No one can beat Djokovic. Hid movement and defense is unreal. His FH, BH, serve are all good
All his shots are 8 or 9/10
Stan has no chance, he may max take a set given the nerves in the final.
sanju,
Djoko lost the 3rd set.
Have to applaud Djokovic’s dedication. Watching him, it is clear he has been working on his weaknesses: volleying and smashes. The difference from last year is incredible.
Just have to give the devil his due……….
Rafa needs to learn from Novak now how to improve it several notches and scale higher. There is no shame learning from your celebrated rival. Novak kept learning from Rafa and Fed.
Rafa has nothing to learn from Novak. Let’s see how Novak copes with playing 1 full season out of three with one injury after another and surgery.
^^snap!
All Rafa needs to do is resurrect Old Rafa. Old Rafa can beat Novak hands down………
+1
sanju and nadline both have some truth there: rafa needs if he possibly can get back to being in good shape…if he can… yet he also needs to evolve his game what with Nole 3.0 and the rest of the field improving
Novak looked good because Muzz was not challenging him.
Muzza suddenly out of nower won 3rd set.. Djoko just relaxed and got complacent maybe :-)..Watch out for him to stamp his authority hard in 4th
Am with you on this @Sanju. Think Muzza is simply prolonging the inevitable.
Where has Djoker gone, vamossed back to Serbia??
watch for some more theatrics
Rafa has a lot to learn from Novak..Has Rafas serve evolved so well as Novaks has? Can he today cover the court as well as Novak can? Can he change defense into offense as well as Novak can? Is he drop shoting that well as Novak? Is he holding serves easily as Novak is?
Cmon there is no harm in accepting few truths. Novak has truly evolved into a complete player now.
Well at least Andy didn’t quit in the 3rd like Rafa did. I see Nole is up to the old mto trick again.
Still got Rafa-itis, hey @filter? Don’t worry, your favourite player, Rafael Nadal Parera, will be gracing the Stuttgart grass courts next week. You don’t have long to wait to watch him play.
Is Dustin Brown playing? I want to see him beat Rafa again.
#Rastafari
SI Tennis @SI_Tennis 5m5 minutes ago
Novak Djokovic has left the court for a medical timeout. #RG15
Oh it started again
Muzza started winning when he started being more aggressive…….
SARS-ovic doing it again.
Muzza saves 3 BPs 0-40 down.
Noice!!!
https://twitter.com/SI_Tennis/status/606884640276795392
Novak takes a MTO and comes back and gets 3 BP
Andy somehow saves them all..huge save..
Seriously when will Andy learn? Why did you let him get 3 BP in 1st place.
Wow 5 pts in a row to hold.
C’mon Muzza. Fight.
7pts in a row now.
Triple BP to Muzza.
COME ON!!!!!!!
BREAK ANDY!!!!
Nine points in a row!!!
Djoko-SARS will be saved by darkness.
10 point streak and counting!
Empy seats
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CGwYB6dW0AAyNqz.png
empy ➡ empty
Somewhat like some-bot-y here.
#BetweenTheEars
Oh well.
Is Dustin Brown playing? I want to see him beat Rafa again.
#Rastafari
Oh the former “rafan” is back from his busy life to troll on the little folks.
Poor little fedbot fanboy ghost..
filter,
You are repeating yourself? A desperate cry for attention? Nothing better to do?
Too bad! 🙁
Curtains for Muzza now…………
Uh oh. Double match point.
How can Muzza be friends with Djokovic? Djokovic is such an un-likeable character.
Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer.
Fortunately, you needn’t worry about the first part ghostboy.
Houdini-Muzza!
Goes to the drop shot bucket one too many times. Muzza saves two BPs.
COME ON!!!!
Nole saved by the pending storm.
Advantage MTO-vak.
Play suspended. Advantage Stanimal.
Like your brain development as a child.
God it’s killing you this latest loss by the clayking isn’t it? You have resorted to personal insults now. I didn’t even bother to post anything the day of the loss. Here it is 2 days later and you’re still crying/mourning? Buck up at least he didn’t fall out of the top 10 and your backup is still at #2.
That’s it???
Fedfans have no sense of humour.
of course there is no advantage when your half of the draw starts playing on the first day of the fortnight 🙂
#DropTheMic
…….and when your half of the draw consisted of chopped liver….no advantage whatsoever.
Poor fedfans. The expat Fedfans are the worst. So sad indeed (in a hilarious way).
Why did they stop? Not yet dark, no rain………….wtf
Raining now. Besides, both players were complaining they couldn’t see the ball.
They must have been called joker and roger
The clouds opened just as the officials ordered everybody to leave the court
I left before the end of set 3 to walk the dog: I hadn’t wanted to see ND with that irritating smirk he’s been wearing all this week. I should know by now it’s never over till………etc.
Going to rewind to watch now.
Match suspended to tomorrow..Break favours Djokovic. He has time to fix whatever bugged him and he is up 2 sets to 1 up
Rem Rafa..Novak in 2012..Same situation..There Novak was up a break in 4th..here its on serve.
And by Djoko Andy playing half a set tomm or even 1.5 is no advantage to Stanimal.
What time they will practice..they will play on court..and anyways they play 2/3 sets consecutive days in Masters
no advantage to stanimal this time
but you can’t tell ahead of time how start a contrast rain delays will make
e.g. rafa at wimbledon playing 1 match against soderling for most of the second week (2007 I think)
Schedule for Saturday:
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/p_schedule19.pdf
incroyable
#InterwebsGuru
Oh that elina cracks me up every time.
elina Says:
Definite advantage to Nole with the delay. He is a better starter and can catch some eggstra rest.
June 5th, 2015 at 3:20 pm
elina Says:
^^^ correction: extra rest
Hilarious!!!!
^^^^naughty, naughty 🙂
Not to mention a certain self-described troll who supports Novak constantly prattling on about how Rafa won his 14 Slams by abusing the time between points rule, and then providing evidence that Rafa is not the only one who abuses this rule!
mat4 Says:
@elina:
“Besides while Nole is truly one of the best ever, he needn’t worry too much about the rule until he threatens a certain slam record.”
I don’t really agree with this. I wrote that in 2012, Rafa took 52 sec per point. Here are the stats for 2012 and 2014 (not available any more on TA)
seconds per point
2012
1. Nadal, 50,7;
2. Murray 45,3;
3. Berdych 45,3;
4. Djokovic 45,2;
5. Nishikori 43,7;
6. Cilic 43,7;
7. Ferrer 43,5
8. Wawrinka 41,6
9. Raonic 40,7
10. Federer 39,6
maintenant:
1. Nadal 47.2
2. Murray 45.0
3. Simon 43.1
4. Coric 42.9
5. Ferrer 42.8
6. Berdych 42.5
7. Garcia Lopez 42.4
8. Vesely 42.2
9. Djokovic 42.2
Federer 37.6
While it is evident that certain players play shorter points, I am also suspicious that some of that time is allotted to routines between points.
June 6th, 2015 at 5:56 am
Even TMF abuses the rule. You can’t make this up……………….
He’s a complete idiot.
Drat the rain coming just when Andy had grabbed the momentum. Do we know why the Djoker took an MTO breather between the third and fourth set?
Send in your answer on a postcard please 🙂
ed, you’re betraying your age. Nowadays answers are by twitter, instagram or text. The PO could take days to deliver a PC now and it would cost you 62p by 1st class instead of 1/2p. 🙂
^^^ Almost old enough to remember the post being delivered by a man on horseback 🙂
well, i am not sure who’ll get the benefit from this delay. had murray been up a break, then surely it would have been bad for him but at 3-3 it is okay. remember, winning three consecutive sets after being two sets down requires you to maintain a high intensity for a long period of time and that takes its toll mentally as well as physically.
Andy can now come out tomorrow with the belief that if he plays aggressively, he can beat novak just like he beat him in set 3. for novak, he can calm down now and regroup. djokovic is the favorite to win in 4 but anything is possible! Definitely.
No major advantage to Stan but there could be a small advantage. It’s not about getting tired before the final but rather about getting your routine disturbed ! The preparation gets disturbed and the mind set can get affected a little. Novak , if he wins tomorrow, will be favorite but Stan will certainly make life difficult for him.
vamosrafa,
I left when the match was tied up 4-4 I think in the third set. Then when I was at the hair salon I checked my iPhone and saw that Murray won the third set 7-5! Yikes! He finally woke up! So my prediction may yet come true, but that really isn’t important. At least Murray made a fight out of it, instead of giving Novak an easy three setter. My belief in Murray is somewhat rewarded.
I will watch the replay on the tennis channel tonight and see how it all happened. I read the comments here and heard about Novak’s MTO. Gamesmanship anyone? Then I checked my iPhone when I was ready to head home and saw that play was suspended in the fourth set with the score 3-3. So it have to resume tomorrow. I am not sure who it benefits. As you said, it might help Murray because he won’t have to push himself through four or even five sets all at once. But Novak knows that all he has to do is win that fourth set.
I don’t know about any advantage to Stan. These two are incredibly fit. Unless the match does go to five sets, I don’t see it being that much of a factor.
Why did Djokovic take the MTO by the way? was it for back treatment again? That can get sore again if that were the case!
I read on another site it was an extended ‘bathroom’ break. Maybe he was shitting himself at the thought he might still lose this match.
Did he ever have a back issue? Never heard of it?
Plus, that missed overhead at 2-1 might have played on andy’s mind. He can get distracted easily sometimes. I hope he can hit he reset button and come out firing with his forehand.
will be over in less than 15 mins tomorrow.
lol…could be
Oh, I hope not! I really hope that Murray can come out fighting and try to push it to a fifth set.
Does anyone know the reason for the MTO? Was the crowd booing? 🙂
NNY: Cant remember now if he was booed back onto the court but he came in for quite a bit of booing and barracking during the match. Definitely more overall support for Andy, including the mexican wave. In spite of their often bad behaviour, the French do know their tennis and can appreciate good play when they see it.
ed,
Thanks for the update. I am definitely going to watch the replay on the tennis channel. I was just waiting for the replay of the Stan/Tsonga match to be over.
It’s interesting that you said the that they booed and expressed their disapproval during the match. That’s encouraging! I like the fact that they were supporting Andy.
I do agree with you that the French know their tennis.
I was so upset with Novak for going on and on about watering the court during his match with Rafa! Unbelievable! The guy never quits! It wasn’t enough that he was winning. He had to have it his way!
I would love to see Andy take it to five sets tomorrow. Am I counting on it? No! But it would sure be fun to see Novak pushed some more!
The “speed bump” Wawrinka is going to win this.
over Djokovic?
I was watching the nbc match and after the third set Novak took an MTO. Ted Robinson said Andy has no right to complain because he did the same in his quarters with ferrer after he lost the third set. Ted: Murray said he needed to take that break to regroup.
Then Carrillo called him mopey Murray.
Although legitimate, taking a bathroom break IS a grey area – open to exploitation. I don’t know when it was first allowed but I don’t recall it happening in the ‘old days’. I seem to remember it was Boris Becker who started the trend: he was back and forth like a yo-yo. Even Federer admitted to using this tactic during a match against Davydenko to gain time for the sun to move across the court.
4th set 2-3 40 15 crowd yelling Nole nole
Crowd booing pascal and the clouds lmao
I had a good time watching the part of the match that I missed. At one point, Novak started yelling at his box in Serbian and the crowd got on him and started hissing and booing. He was mad because he missed a shot into the net! I thought it was kind of funny. The crowd was getting on Novak at different points in the match. When he took that extended MTO, as he walked back on the court you could hear the crowd booing him. I didn’t see much of Murray’s match with Ferrer, so I have no knowledge of what he did. If they said he took a MTO in that match, then I guess he did. Novak was gone for some time. Murray was waiting on court to play and even the commentators remarked on how long he took.
One thing about Murray that sometimes makes me laugh is this extended monologue he has with himself at times on the court. He just is talking and talking to himself, sometimes you can make out what he is saying and sometimes not.
I don’t remember the crowd yelling Nole in the fourth set. Maybe I couldn’t distinguish what they were saying. But they really got behind Andy when he started hitting some great shots late in the third set to finally break Novak and then win the set. Where was that Andy? That’s the one I thought would come out right from the beginning. There were some amazing rallies that seemed to go on forever. Murray starting pushing Novak more and using his great movement on the court. It was nice to see him raise his level of play even though down two sets. They were battling hard when the decision was made to suspend play due to a bad rainstorm on the way.
I thought Andy was playing well at that time, so I don’t know if coming back tomorrow will be an advantage or not. They will have to start all over, warm up and then pick up where they left off.
If Novak gets the first break of serve he will race across the finishing line. We will never know for sure what the outcome would have been had the match gone the distance last night.
Hysterical. Just goes to show you can’t believe everything you read on the official ATP site 🙂
http://www.leparisien.fr/sports/roland-garros-l-atp-annonce-par-erreur-la-victoire-de-novak-djokovic-05-06-2015-4836587.php#xtref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.be%2F
Determined to be quick off the mark, the ATP had already written Andy’s ‘obituary’
believing the result was NID. How this got to be run on their news page instead of the story about the rain delay without being spotted is a mystery. Possibly an over- enthusiastic staff writer cum Djokovic fan got carried away when Murray gave back the early break in the 4th set.
#RedFacesAtTheATP
Both will regroup. Amelie can calm Murray down too. Frankly the pressure is on Djokovic, not Murray. Murray can come out and play with nothing to loose.
However yeah it may wrap in 4th set. Djoko is determined.
http://www.eurosport.com/tennis/rafa-nadal-could-need-a-year-to-rebuild-shattered-confidence_sto4768164/story.shtml
Rafas main undoing are his negative statements , his self deprecation and he needs to talk positive language
Also I am thinking why dont these ex players call up a top current player and offer them some perspective. I mean what prevents Agassi, Guga, Billie Jean, Steffi to just call Rafa and give him their perspective. I mean nothing wrong. If they can say it in press, why not directly. Heart to heart chat? Everything need not be done as a job.
Because no one does these things unless its for money. They might offer to coach him as some offered to Roger (e.g Cahill) during his slump/ past prime days. But they will not do it for free and they might have prior commitments they may not be able to forgo (again, like Cahill). In the end, the insights these guys have to offer are special and they know their value.
[polldaddy poll=8915881]
Is French Open the worst organised slam??
The faux pas in le Parisien, see above, says it all. However they were right to avoid the risk of a stampede by clearing the stands before the storm actually broke. The marshalling of the spectators queuing to enter the stadium is also inept and play is constantly held up while people wander about trying to find their seats.
I used to go to the SFs but long ago gave up. The hassle simply wasn’t worth the effort and expense.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CG0F6pFUAAA_zwl.png
I can’t breathe…………………
*opens @ed251137’s mouth, performs mouth to mouth resuscitation*
Breathe @ed251137, breathe…………….
Going 5. Advantage Stanimal.
One set to decide who faces Wawa folks!!
Oh yes…go Muzza
I thought this was getting over in 15 mins. Muzz had other ideas.
5th set
Djoker must be S******g his pants now.
He will through
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CG0HphaUQAA2By9.png
Murray really defending hard. I hope he is fresh enough for the entire set
I never thought a non Rafa match would get me so excited! Lol
Unfortunately, I think he put everything in that 4th set, Novak will take this…….
Muzza FH gifts Novak the break……..
Don’t fold now, please, Andy. Hang on in. You’ve got the crowd with you.
Just so frustrating to be a Andy Murray fine. He just folds at the end
Well that was an anti-climax but not unexpected. I was grateful Djokovic had the grace not to over celebrate. He knows he probably got let off the hook when the thunderstorm stopped play.
Look how Rafa fought after being down a break in the 5th in 2013. Muzz totally folded, he was playing well in the fourth
The last sets by Djoko against Murray have all been 6-0 or 6- 1 or 6-2
Djoko slips in the middle sets and later stamps his authority.
Disappointing. Credit to Djokovic he really hot the reset button and was quite focused.
The problem with andy is that when novak is not missing, the british no.1 is pushed deep and he runs , runs and runs. How many times did we see Murray hittinf defensive lobs in this match? COUNTLESS TIMES.
For wimbledon, he must try to control the court more with his forehand and stay closer to the baseline.
So can stanimal stop novak? May be he can. Djokovic now one match frm completing a career slam
No one will stop Djokovic from winning his 1st French. And frankly he deserves it.
Stan match may not even be a 5 setter.
I think his hunger to win it will pull him through.
And he will be tense but he has his team and more importantly a family (wife/child) now who can have a calming influence.
Anyone who follows Nole knows how proud he is of his wife and now his new boy. He’s appears to be a true family man.
He’s truly deserving of this French an I’ll be pulling for him over Stan who has made other choices and now is dating a 20 year old.
atul. Dont think he so much as folded as Djokovic raised his level and Murray couldn’t stay with him.
To some degree maybe but muzza had the classic first hood letdown after a big set win.
I’ve seen it many times.
The growth in Nole’s mental game evidenced in his ability to put out behind him though was very impressive.
So many time between points were around 30 seconds mostly by Nole and not a single violation called. That rule is for one player only.
This is true. Novak goes over the time limit on a regular basis and should be called out for it. I have to say that it does appear they are specifically targeting Rafa with this rule. I do remember yesterday at one point the chair umpire did call Novak for a time violation, but the score was 15-15. With Rafa they make sure to do it when it’s break point. Even the likes of Jim Courier said this has to stop!
It was also just a warning. Rafa gets called on violations and he loses his first serve. Important distinction.
That is not a reason to support Novak over Stan! A player’s personal life is none of my business. I have issues with Stan because of his boorish behavior towards Rafa in that 2014 AO final.
I won’t be rooting for anyone.
I’m pulling for Nole because he deserves it. End of.
I am hating lot of tweets on twitter by analysts lauding Murray to take 2 sets off Djokovic whereas Rafa took none. Seriously why get Rafa into this? What about the past 9 times he won when Rafa used to blast everyone off the court.
Sanju (at 12:18 pm),
—Seriously why get Rafa into this?—
==========================================
Rafa is the center of the tennis universe. 🙂
I’d rather wish he performs on the court and lets his racquet do the talking than being centre of twitter universe or tennis universe.
he also has more competition at Wimbledon
Sanju ( at 12:50 pm),
Rafa wouldn’t be the center of the tennis universe, if he hadn’t let his racquet do the talking.
Sanju nailed it.
Could someone please put a sock in Rusedki’s mouth? I’d be very grateful.
I’m glad he deserted Canada. You can have him.
Sanju,
Great comment @ 12:50 pm! I agree! Well said! 🙂
Juan José Vallejo @jjvallejoa 11m11 minutes ago
The good news for Stan yesterday was obviously making a GS F again. The bad news was losing about 60% of the scary post-RF beatdown aura
Relieved that Nole won it finally.
huge props to Andy for making this a competitive match but Nole kicked in to a higher gear when needed the most.
I think that the 6th game in the 3rd set was a big turning point. Nole looked like pushing more to get the decisive break, went for too much on return on 2 serves and lost those points. From there, he just didn’t looked dialed in enough to take the match away. Muzza upped his game from there. A slight drop in Novak’s level and Andy bringing out his best made for 2 really competitive sets.
One interesting observation was, even when Andy was dominating, he was also the one who was doing all the running, while Novak seemed more or less rooted to his place.
I think Djoko winning the first game in 5th was key. It went to deuce and Murrays BH went wide/long.
Simon Cambers @scambers73 6m6 minutes ago
On that form, Murray has a great chance at Wimbledon where the surface will help him. Let’s hope he & Novak are in opposite halves
They will be in same half. A certain Fed may want it that way 🙂
Wonder whose R16 will Rafa fall 🙂
Fed can handle him on grass as long as he is holding his own part.
If Fed’s not holding his own, won’t even need Muzz or Nole to put him out.
I think Wimby will be the key to Nole winning calendar GS. He has bigger chances of stumbling at Wimby than USO.
https://tenngrand.com/2015/06/06/french-open-final-preview-and-pick-djokovic-vs-wawrinka/
Also, does someone else feel that Andy got more crowd support because of Amelie.
She’s French, no!
^^^^^abhirf
Good point. Hadn’t thought of that.
Also something to do with who was on the other side of the net.
The only two matches I’ve seen the French (including the throngs of American tourists) significantly favor Rafa were against Nole.
June 6, 2015 at 2:12 pm,
Am. tourists are booing their own players.
Some-bot-y claimed they don’t CARE what I say yet can’t seem to stop reading and replying to my posts.
I guess that claim was just another made up story.
Yummy yummy yummy
#YoureWelcomeMyFan
#MostHumb1e
I think both Rafa and I could use a restraining order.
Carole Bouchard @carole_bouchard 3m3 minutes ago
“I’m not going into that”, Murray on Djokovic MTO yesterday + about match interruption. Was called a sore loser after AO, so won’t repeat.
I really wish American tourists would stop being brought up. As though anyone here knows what American tourists or any other tourists do! It’s insulting to Americans and I happen to be one. Incredibly bad taste!
hawkeye,
I do think you need a restraining order. Seriously! 🙂
Some of my obsessive fans are scary!
It comes with the territory I’m afraid. Not everyone gets a12 man security detail like The Chosen One.
June 6, 2015 at 3:19 pm
—As though anyone here knows what American tourists or any other tourists do!—
==========================
Media makers seem know.
For example:
Tennis Now, May 14th, 2012: ¤¤ After losing the first set tonight in his opening match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, John Isner could probably hear the boos not only in Rome, but perhaps a few coming all the way back in the good ol’ USA. ¤¤
Murray can actually take over from Fed as No 2 based on results. at Wimby
Just a 2200 point differential which will become 2400. Fed is defending 1200 at Wimby and Murray 360.
I have sensed that Murray could take over the #2 ranking from Fed. He’s playing well and has now made the AO final and the RG semifinal.
Fed isn’t getting it done despite the fact that he’s playing good tennis. I think Murray has a good chance at Wimby.
I just came on here kind of late to find out the result. I am happy that Murray forced a fifth set. We will never know how it would have gone had there not be a suspension of play for rain. I thought that Murray hit his stride and was giving Novak a run for it.
Murray can take positives out of this match. Finally he really pushed Novak. Next time hopefully he will win!
augusta,
You are a broken record. You also do not seem to understand someone making a comment meant to be kind of humorous. That comment was not meant to be taken literally!
Don’t you get it? Or do you not get nuance?
What is this obsession with American tourists?
nativenewyorker7 says:
June 6, 2015 at 3:52 pm.
—You also do not seem to understand someone making a comment meant to be kind of humorous.
What is this obsession with American tourists?—
======================================
I am wondering why you think that I take hawkeye63 seriously! I don’t.
hawkeye63 is obsessed with Am.tourists and HE keeps writing about them.
Some-bot-y is obsessed with Me despite their made up stories to the contrary. Many made up stories from this not including American tourists being the source of booing the scoreboard when the boorish French crowd discovered Rafa beat Isner.
What a sad bot. I cannot be held responsible for the behavior of My extremist fanatics just would like to apologize for them. I am embarrassed for them.
June 6, 2015 at 4:21 pm
—booing the scoreboard when the boorish French crowd discovered Rafa beat Isner—-
============================
It’s impossible to take seriously the story (hawkeye63 is desperately spreading) that somebodies booed Rafa somewhere FAR away (on Court SL) from the place where Rafa&Isner played (on Court PC)! 😆
SPECTATORS of the match on Court PC didn’t boo – that’s what matters!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CG1SkOgW8AAzUpM.png
June 6, 2015 at 4:21 pm
—Some-bot-y is obsessed with Me —
====================================
It’s impossible to take seriously hawkeye63’s imagination that somebody here is obsessed with HIM! 😆
and yet you can’t stop replying.
Some-bot-y’s actions betray their own made up stories.
Methinks some bot protests too much.
Hilarious!
“Right now I’m upset but I would say I’m probably playing (my) best tennis” Andy on his form & how he feels #RG15
@Sanju,
I think the organisers might be tempted to put a FEDAL R16.
Might be there last chance to showcase the 2 fading greats against each other!
Doubt that will happen..if it happens too bad..Not before a QF atleast..But first Rafa has to reach and cross first week..difficult no going by past 3 years experiences
sanju, you seem to be enjoying Rafa’s slump. Like clockwork, you never fail to show up at times like this.
But I am speaking the truth. Let him prove it that he can reach the QF at Wimby, no? He hasn’t in past 3 years. I would be happy if he wins, but by me saying it, will he?
And if this slump will make Rafa rise like a phoenix and grab few more majors..I welcome the slump.
Hahaha! careful, @abhirf, you sound like a random draw sceptic!
Just my random observation…………
#TheTruthIsOutThere
Anyone who still believes that draws are random either don’t understand what random means or are laughably naive.
@ritb,
was trying to have some fun!
I still believe, unseeded players can be fixed. The same cannot be said about seeded ones.
Why not?
@hawkeye,
the defending champion draws the seeded chips.
Abhirf, please see my post below. The players can’t see what they have picked before the chip is handed over.
#ByDesign
Just look at any draw ceremony on YouTube. The chips are all closed before they are placed in the cup. A player draws each closed chip and hand it to an “official”(read illusionist). The official carefully “opens” (read manipulates) each chip before it is revealed.
It is so obvious.
When Isner and Mahut were drawn to meet at Wimbledon in 2011 after the marathon in 2010 it finally convinced me that the draw is not above board. They evidently wanted another freak show.
One of many obvious examples.
I was never sure how it was possible with players making the draw until I watched them on YouTube.
Looks like Rafa is set to face rosol, Tomic and then either lamonf or Kohls in Stuttgart.
No-one in cilics half.
I thought you wer doing th jokings @hawkeye63 until I took a peek at the Stuttgart draw. Mai oui…………
All random coincidence ritb.
The federazzi aren’t leaving anything to chance. Would not be prudent business practise to let Rafa get any rhythm in his game prior to Wimbledon.
I have faith in Rafa @hawkeye63, he shall overcome all these evil machinations, just you wait………
@DjokerNole, on #RG15 final: “Whatever I have left in me, I will put out on court tmw, & hopefully it can be enough”
That statement from Nole gives mixed emotions..Whatever I have left in me? Seriously u have lot left..u have barely been challenged all year.
RT @KelseyOAnderson: “Anyone who claims WTA isn’t entertaining needs to tune in to this final!! #ThisIsTennis #GirlPower #youcantsitwithus”
RT @Dimonator : “@KelseyOAnderson did Murray hack your account?”
Kelsey Anderson – 1
Ricky Dimon – 0
#GirlPower
Great Rafa lefty forehand from Serena.
Serena gets a code violation for cursing and Murray doesn’t???
Shhh….. Sexism at work.
I have an idea: Rafa is naturally right-handed, no? Why not use both hands during a match? Like, he could hit a lefty running FHDTL on the left side and if it comes back cross court, he could run to the right changing his racquet from left to right and hit a running righty FHDTL.
That should fix them, problems solved. Uncle Toni, I will e-mail you my bank account details for my co-coaching fees. 😉
Rafa’s problem lately has been his lefty FH, no?
How’s that a solution??
It isn’t!
That is why my solution is très magnifique, no? Enter the righty FH to assist the over-worked lefty FH………….
T.A.K.E A B.O.W SERENA WILLIAMS!
Tepid applause from the boorish RG crowd stretching their legs for Serena winning her 20th slam.
With all those American tourists, you’d think she’d get more support there.
hawkeye,
Love it! Yes, why aren’t the American tourists who apparently go to RG to watch tennis, applauding and giving Serena more support!
I don’t get it! 🙂
The way WTA tour is going, Serena could easily end up with at least 25 slams!
Hawkeye
I think Murray is a commentator favorite.
LOL! Well at least if American tourists must be brought into this discussion then we can have a good laugh about it!
Who knew there were all these American tourists in the stands at RG every year! 🙂
Congratulations to Serena for #20!
Now the network is going to play Novak/Murray, so I will get to see how it all played out.
I wish that there was some suspense about who wins the final, but I can’t see Novak losing it being this close.
Lucie Safarova is lovely. Serena a deserved Champ, hope Lucie gets a Slam before Berdych…………….
Very happy for Serena on her 20th and keeping her calendar slam alive.
Looking at Serena’s career gives me hope for Rafa. Serena has not had a smooth ride to 20 Slams, she has faltered, been incredibly superb, has been beaten by nobody’s etc, etc but she has always found a way………….
Rafa will find a way………….
ritb, that’s crossed my mind too. They’ve both also been plagued with illness and injury
But she does not have the level of competition the way it is on the mens tour.
She won her first slam in 1999 and its 2015..16 years later she is still winning slams.
Rafa’s problem is in his head. He needs to calm down, grow up and marry the gf.
Nadal was averaging over 40 seconds between points (at times clocking at 45-47). That’s TWICE the time allotted. They’re bound to call a violation. If there was such an insistence on making life tough for Nadal, they would have, for instance watered the courts when Djokovic asked them to be watered (which actually they’re supposed to between sets or else the clay gets really slippery). But, tough to let go of the victim complex once you get it, so whatever.
Where do you get your information? I distinctly recall the chair umpire telling Novak that the courts are watered in between sets. That is the rule and the way it is always done! So please don’t come here to instigate and start trouble my making things up out of thin air.
Have you clocked Novak when he serves recently? Please don’t tell me that he stays within the allotted 20 seconds! LOL!
The tv commentators have been checking Rafa’s time and never once have I heard them say that he takes that long! That’s a bunch of baloney! Stop exaggerating! Also, did you happen to hear Jim Courier trashing the rule being applied to Rafa when he has a break point or any crucial moment of the match? Maybe you should have listened to him go off about how they are selectively enforcing the rule. If Rafa is routinely exceeding the time limit, then they can give him a warning at any time. But they are waiting until he is at risk of being broken.
You seem to have a victim complex whining about Rafa going over the time limit. What about Novak cursing vulgarities in Serbian at the crowd or smashing his racket? That’s not delaying the game? That’s okay with you? LOL!
Where do I get my information? Nadal was clocked ON TELEVISION during his match versus Sock. There are articles about it too but I don’t expect you to read them because it doesn’t fit the “martyr syndrome” does it? The fact is, Nadal deliberately slows down the game and to a significant extent at that. And he’s going to be called out on it, period. As he should rightly be. If he cannot respect the rules and thinks he’s entitled to break them, he should be made to pay. With a violation, for how notorious he is and given that he seems to have popularised it not only on his serves but also on returns at times. Also, I pointed out why he was given a warning/violation. Why on earth would I have a “victim complex” about it? I’m not complaining about it. Hell, I love it! I don’t complain even when he’s not punished. BUT when he is, it’s good to see because it means the umpires finally have the balls to make him pay.
As for Djokovic smashing his racket, I don’t see him do it at every opportune moment. And I have absolutely no clue how that violates the time rule. Talk about building a strawman. The fact is, Novak has done much more to contain the time he takes between points than Nadal has, and I respect that. That said, if he abuses the rules in places he shouldn’t be, he ought to be called out too and I would be equally happy to see that because that would mean that the umpires are finally doing their job. But to throw a fit because an umpire is doing the right thing -THAT is a victim complex of the top order. :p But do carry on. It entertains.
Also, the courts were not watered in that match. I’m reasonably certain I saw even Nadal slip once and that rarely happens given that he moves better than literally anyone else on that court. Djokovic might have been self-serving when he asked for it but the end was going to benefit both. That day, had something happened to Nadal, had he fallen down for instance, I doubt I’d be hearing any complaints over Novak asking the umpire for the courts to be watered after Set 1. In the end, nobody wants to see top drawer players suffer from injuries or be hindered by lack of maintenance on courts. I distinctly recall this happening during Fed-Wawrinka match too. At one point Federer asked Stan to watch out for a blind spot on the Court during change of ends because the entire top coat had been blown over.
I think that Murray is going to take some positives out of this match. At least he pushed Novak to five sets. But he wasn’t able to make that fifth set competitive. Still he is looking more like the Murray who has been able to beat Novak at the USO and Wimby. He’s been getting better and better.
I hope this loss makes him even more determined at Wimby!
As for Serena, I have drawn solace and also inspiration from her struggles and how she has come back strong. I like to think that this is how it will be for Rafa. 🙂