There was little doubt when the French Open draw came out that a semifinal showdown between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal would come to fruition.
That is indeed the case, as the two all-time greats will square off for the 58th time in their careers on Friday evening.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head series by an incredibly slim 29-28 margin. The fact that it could be all tied up after 58 meetings is fun to think about, but it is hardly the most relevant statistic. This is what matters: Nadal is 5-0 in their last five clay-court contests, while Djokovic is 10-0 in their last 10 matches on hard courts and grass. Nadal hasn’t won on anything other than clay since the 2013 U.S. Open final.
Good news for the Spaniard: we are once again only talking about clay.
In fact, it’s more like great news. Nadal’s perfect 5-0 mark on the slow stuff, which dates back to the start of 2017, also includes an 11-2 sets record at Djokovic’s expense. Their 2020 French Open matchup came in the final and the King of Clay dominated it 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. They most recently faced each other in last month’s Rome final, with Nadal recovering from a mid-match hiccup to triumph 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.
None of those results bode well for Djokovic. Conditions at a most unusual 2020 Roland Garros event–held in October instead of June–were far worse for Nadal, and he still had no trouble giving the Serb a free clay-court lesson. It is also no secret that Nadal is much tougher to beat in Paris than in Rome. Take 2020, for example. He lost to Diego Schwartzman in the Rome quarterfinals only to dominate the French Open without dropping a single set in the process–including a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(0) semifinal beatdown of Schwartzman.
If Djokovic could not beat Nadal in Rome, what’s to say he can do it now?
His form, although decent, definitely doesn’t. The world No. 1 cruised through his first three matches of the fortnight in straight sets, but he lost a pair of tiebreakers to Lorenzo Musetti on Monday and then required three hours and 28 minutes to get past Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 in the quarters.
Nadal, on the other hand, has been entirely dominant. The third seed crushed Alexei Popyrin, Richard Gasquet, Cameron Norrie, and Jannik Sinner in straight sets to reach the last eight. Schwartzman ended Nadal’s French Open set streak at 36 on Wednesday, but the 34-year-old responded to that test by winning 30 of the match’s last 35 points en route to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory.
With five more wins under his belt, Nadal is now 105-2 lifetime at Roland Garros. He is 13-0 in semifinal matches. Add finals to the mix and he is 26-0 in his career once he advances to this stage of the French Open.
There is no reason to think such perfection will end on Friday.
Pick: Nadal in 3
It really is disgusting that this site is full of gloating trolls.
We don’t behave that way when their faces lose.
But then we have lives and are not psychotic losers.
Actually on the contrary you are acting exactly like a psychotic loser you just can’t see it because your hypocrisy blinds you so 😔.
Wow, reading your messages you are lost and can’t acknowledge that maybe Rafa wasn’t playing his best tennis because Novak was actually the better player. He was rattled and not at his best because of the level of his opponent. Reading your messages is so painful. lol
what an opportunity for Stefanos on Sunday.
He can take inspiration from Wawrinka who beat Novak in 2 grand slam finals including one here.
I always said Rafa’s serve is the key for his game… lousy serve causes doubts.. 8 dfs? That is just so miserable… this was a very bad match for Rafa..he showed weakness against both Shwartsman and Sinner, I knew it would be like this if he failed to improve for the semis…
Rafa is healthy and should just go back home with his beautiful family to rest and enjoy the summer… for Wimby I have no expectations and let’s see which Rafa will show up at USO…
Novak deserves this win…played some amazing points…congrats to his proud fans!
Yes he deserves congrats, after the previous final. I havent seen much of the match yet .
Thank you, Natashao
He did play amazing points and so did Rafa. It was greatly entertaining!
Going to get some sleep now as too tired to write anything.
Congratulations to dear Elizabeth.
Nny and mira I just left you a message on the previous page.
Love to you both
Xxx
I will not congratulate Novak fans after the crap I had to read on this site from a few of them. I do not engage in this nonsense of jumping all over favs whose player has just lost. I have no intention of ever doing that. But I will nit congratulate them because some of the Nibsk fans are the nastiest, vindictive favs there are. They should be ashamed,
I well remember when Fed lost Wimby two years ago. Gut wrenching with two match points. I was very supportive of Fed fans. So were others on this site. It’s the cheapest of cheap shots to take advantage of fans when they have watched their guy lose a tough one.
It is a dirty, classless thing to do. Fabs should be given some space to just feel bad or sad if whatever they need to feel,. Without being insulted by those who use a loss to dig the knife in even more.
It is despicable behavior.
Of course I meant NOVAK fans! Autocorrect!
Doesnt Novak deserves congrats , even if his fans dont
Because it’s you, one of the good Novak fans along with RC, I will congratulate Novak.
Thanks for that- I’m one of the good ones .
And so frustrating my Eurosport recording only got the first two sets- it was one of the best matches of all time ,so they say.
That’s me, NNY, I try to be civil and nice. 😇 I have reformed.
Doesnt Novak deserves congrats , even if his fans dont
This is ridiculous and delusional. The Rafa bias on here is insane. No comment mentions how insanely great Novak played today. Like all about Rafa. He just crumbled on his own and lost. Novak took it to him. Wore him down. Played the angles insanely great. Utilized the drop shot great. Nadal was the more tired player at the end. End of story. Give credit where it is due.
Thanks, amy. It was a surprise. Sorry for your loss. Rafa isn’t done winning like some are saying. I underestimated Novak and certainly, he could lose to Tsitsipas tomorrow. It’s not over yet.
As I had feared ..had this intuition n expressed it too
The minute novak said after Belgrade hope to win RG, I knew it that he will take it. I told rc the same multiple times.
Sunday – novak maybe tired but tsitsi is no stan who had great firepower n loved the big stage . He can get passive n I doubt novak will let go off this oppty. It’s 90 percent novak
Vis a vis rafa – it’s good it ended ,had to end one day. I hope no more talk of the invincibility at french. The 21 along with french was maybe a bit too much to handle. Maybe his 21 needs to come at some other slam where he is not hyped up a lot, maybe it will come at the least expected one. I don’t want to be downright pessimistic as lucky by saying 20 it is, it may well be but who are we to say .
I read rafa is healthy and not injured , so maybe he can now work with a fresh mind and less pressure
I don’t believe in any astrology or tarot reading but just watch for the heck of it and an indian tarot reader had predicted ,rafa wont win the French n may get injured later ,fed will retire this year and will do very well at wimby (may win or go very deep) and novak will likely win 2 of the 3 ( rg, wimby,uso ).
Excited for wimby ,no pressure in that slam for rafans
Who do you think will most likely win at Wimbledon? I can’t think of anyone favourite for the Wimbledon title.
With Djoko fighting so hard here to reach the final, and there’s only a two weeks break between the two slams, I doubt Djoko has enough energy to win both. He couldn’t do it in 2011, 2015 his two best years, neither in 2016, and he was much younger back then. I doubt he can do it now at age 34.
None of the other players are promising favourites, not even Fed as he hasn’t have much match play. It’s anyone’s to win, maybe Shapo is the dark horse, as he skips the FO and concentrates on playing the grass season. His game is well suited for grass.
Maybe we will finally see more of those born in the 1990s starting to win slams this year.
Its a bit early to start predicting Wimby…
But I cant see Shapo winning
Nor me. FAA has more chance. But Tsit with his aggressive game must have a chance too. Don’t discount Med either, has made it clear he plays for the slams. And Nole of course. Depends on the draw.
I like Meds game on grass.He could do very well. There’s so many dark horses like Opelka, Harris,the Italians, (unfair to call Berrettini a dark horse) Cilic, Raonic etc
The favs are novak and fed in that order …if they get drawn in the same half will be interesting .however I don’t see the rg fiasco repeating again where they put all 3 in same half
Sanju,
it sounds like that Tarot guy knows more about tennis than Patrick Mouratoglou, who predicted Rafa would win RG again this year, just sayin’ 🤣
Sanju, June 11, 2021, at 5:56 pm.
You were right! I thought that his declarations of winning RG at Belgrade were bravado. Not that he couldn’t win RG, but I believe Rafa has superior prowess on clay. Rafa’s win in Rome also convinced me. Lastly, it’s the French Open, it is crazy to pick against Rafa.
I spent the day shopping with my neighbor and had a late dinner with him. I didn’t know that Nole had won until this morning! hahaha
The Rafole, (found it on Youtube) was amazing to me, a Nole fan. After many years of wanting him to win it and he could not. Then after he finally did win RG, I did not dare imagine he would win it again. There is still a very real chance that he won’t win tomorrow. Nole’s win in the Rafole simply means Nole stays in the mix with the greats of the era. To me, that is where he belongs.
…though I hope Rafa could regroup and wins the USO for a fifth time. He really needs to stay as fresh as possible physically for the HC season ahead; hopefully he skips the Olympics and plays just the Canada Open and the USO. And, he better improve his serve and BH if he wants to win the slams,
He mentioned that he was a bit tired during this SF match, I guess age played a part, and with his unreliable serve, he had to work so hard to win points.
Djoko OTOH had his more reliable serve to depend on, so he was able to get himself out of troubles so often especially during his earlier matches.
Lucky was it just fatigue in 4th set or was there something else…an injury ? Losing 6 games in a row is not normal on clay
Sanju, Rafa didn’t mention any injury, so I think it’s just fatigue.
The main problem imo is his serve, and then his BH is also unreliable. If he had a better serve, he would be able to shorten some points and perhaps won’t need to run as much, so then fatigue might not be an issue. I remember last year’s final, Rafa looked a bit tired by the third set and fortunately he was able to win that third set and so the match; had it gone to a fourth set, perhaps, Djoko might just got the upper hand, physically at least.
I think these two years because of the pandemic, the players won’t be able to train as normal; Rafa may be lacking in stamina plus he’s already 35 yo. Djoko no doubt is also not that young, at 34, but he really has a good to great serve to get him out of troubles so often. Watching Djoko during BPs faced by him, he would take his time before he served, but more often than not, he would produce a serve with such precision that he would hardly miss the mark, and his opponent could hardly got his racket on the ball.
Djoko is still the no. 1 player for a reason; after winning so much, he comes into each match feeling confident about his own abilities (including saving BPs). I’ve to say having saved championship points to win his 5th Wimbledon title, that would certainly give him the confidence and belief, that he has the ability to fight against any adversity to win, no matter what.
Rafa doesn’t have such confidence (we all as his fans, know that he needs practice, training and match plays to build his confidence). Rafa said that he always have/had doubts and he would think that’s normal, he’s built that way, not a confident guy from the start ( and not helped when his uncle as his coach kept him in check, not to become complacent, but wanted him to respect all his opponents and thought of them as very tough opponents).
Natashao and Luckystar I mature rafa fans their comments are mostly reasonable and respectful win or lose unlike other batshit fans like nny,amy etc you lonely old gals need to grow up 🙂
Stanley,
Go play with your toys.
You’re my toy dear 😘😍😘 my one and only toy I love you 😂😂😂😘.
Don’t get too upset it’s just sports you need to take things easy and smile a little don’t get too combative when Rafa loses or when someone disagrees with you.
Xoxo 🙂
Stanley,
Get some help. I am concerned fir your obvious lack of a real life. Coming on a forum to insult or diss strangers doesn’t cut it. You need to try and find something else worthwhile to do.
Now you can go back to your toys! Have fun playing!
I will love to play with you 😄.
Sexist right to the end.
🙄
Hypocritical pig,you insult me non-stop 😂 but when I respond with a little humor I’m the sexist 😂 aah.
You need to look in the mirror pig and you will see who you are clearly if you have eyes to see.
Anyway this is a new day don’t have time for unproductive things, that’s enough take care darling.
Love you 😘😘👋
Mira- was it just fatigue in 4th set or was there some injury..losing 6 games in a row is not normal
In a Spanish interview he said that he has had a foot issue and is not sure whether he will play Wimbledon or not. He was very clear that this had nothing to do with his loss (don’t want to start that rumor). But he said he needs to take some time to think about his calendar going forward.
Ohh thank u for the info Ruby!
Hey Sanju!…I scoured the news all morning 2day..but can’t find any suggesting that injury is lurking around…Honestly,i don’t think it’s an injury…but fatigue,yeah!…Rafa himself admitted it..
I think it’s get down to mental as the usual culprit…When the condition got a bit slower later on,ball became less bounces less top spin & favoured Novak..plus when he made many mistakes,it all seeped his confidence..also the constant pressure from Novak,it’s all got to his head Sanju…but what i don’t understand why he can produced a very amazing tennis last october when the condition also not favoured him?What’s difference between last nite & last october??
It was like the same loss to Tsitsi at AO last january right?Almost the same pattern..I think the right answer is..he is declining…Old age made him like that Sanju…There is no escape…I guess we better accept that..Maybe when he go to RG next year as an underdog,he will play amazing again bcoz it’s going to be less pressure..Let’s hope Sanju!
Here is the link to him talking about the foot if you want it: https://www.ttdeporte.com/necesito-digerirlo-y-vacaciones/
Well I don’t think he rules out wimby n he is saying this issue is since 2005 n he has to manage it .it’s not a new thing
Yes mira..the decline has clearly started..n it’s stsrting with physical fitness n that then affects the mental part
Yes Sanju!…It’s happening with Fed long ago,and now it’s Rafa time..i hope when Rafa got his 21st,he’ll retire…i just can’t bear to see him lose to anyone anymore..esp young guns..and Novak too of coz!…Ohh those lost of chance to equal h2h with Novak!…Urgh!…it’s hard to take as fan!
H2h is least of the issues .the key is just 2 things .fix the serve n get the physical conditioning back
I noticed this as early as last year’s wtf finals where I felt he was getting tired in 3 sets itself..the sf against meddy he was tired in third set. The match against tsitsi at ao qf .he was done in fifth..the match yest..done in fourth.
So the key is fix the serve n get the physical conditioning in shape else there will be no 21..it’s not easy to last best of 5 for 7 matches in a row n now qf onwards all matches will be super tough .tsitsi ,zverev ,Medvedev ,thiem etc
Exactly Mira, he’s getting older and is declining, esp physically.
It’s very obvious this FO, he could win the first set, be it easily or struggling to win, and then he couldn’t sustain the winning momentum and in the second set he would go downhill, it happened during the QF and this SF; in the fourth round Sinner wasn’t experienced enough to force a fourth set.
The way he was playing, I was wondering had he won the SF, would he be able to take down Tsitsipas in the final. He kept repeating the same mistakes over and over again – the DFs, the subpar hitting of his BH; the insistence of going to Djoko’s BH all the time, etc and etc.
How many UEs he made during the match, and with his BH? I was thinking to myself, for goodness sake Rafa, moved your legs and hit your FH even when you’re at your BH corner, be it DTL or I/O CC FH. He didn’t, and I think his legs were too tired to do that. In the past, when he was younger, he used to dance around and used his FH DTL at his BH corner, when his BH DTL shot wasn’t great. He couldn’t do that now.
You made exactly the same arguments as this practically word for word in 2015 lucky.
You refused to look at the mental side. You saw everything as fatigue/ decline/ poor technique.
When I first came on this site in 2015 Hawkeye showed a link to a post you wrote during the clay court season in 2014 when you said he was in decline/ past it. Exactly the same. Hawkeye actually showed the post as an example of ritb ‘s bad temper because she attacked you.
Up to 7 years ago you were saying exactly what you are saying now. I have to say that it is blindingly obvious from this history that you are very very quick to write his tennis obituary.
And you were wrong! Now maybe one day as he gets older you will be right. But that’s not the point. The point is that you go in all guns blazing to write him off.
You started doing it 7 years ago. Since then he’s won 7 slams.
It’s abundantly clear to me why people who are Rafa fans on this site, including ritb, have got angry with you. I see why nny got angry with you yesterday.
I am tired of it as well. It’s very insensitive. Also as tennis analysi s it’s been categorically proven over the course of the last 7 years to be utter rubbish.
amy,
Thank you! I think that Rafa fans might just need 24 hours to deal with this loss. To feel sad, disappointed, whatever emotions they have. But to see a Rafa fan write his epitaph right after he lost, was just more than I could take.
So Rafa may not win more than 20 slams? And? In men’s tennis nobody has ever won more than 20 slams to date. Does anyone here not think that Rafa knows what is wrong with his game? He also revealed something we did not know after the match. He was feeling tired. He rarely mentions physical issues. He even said that the support from the crowd was great and they helped give him the strength to go on fighting. That should tell us a lot. Rafa is 35. He’s getting older and there are things that happen. I watched the third set again and saw him pushing so hard to get back in the set. He fought hard and gave as good as he got. He had set point. But he didn’t get it done. I don’t know if he would have won the match if he had won the third set. But he would have had a better shot at winning. He could have shifted the momentum.
Rafa had clarity in his post match presser. He knows his important it was to win the third set. He had a tough draw this time. The match with Diego was very physical. So Rafa is human after all. I also think that the pressure of going for # 14 and his 21st slam may have gotten to him.
Rafa said it was not his day. But this idea that suddenly someone is praising Novak to the heavens. Is ridiculous. He did not face a single decent player up until the quarterfinals. He had a crappy clay season leading up to RG. He was down two sets to the likes of Musetti, ranked # 78! He needed a fifth set TB at midnight to beat Berrettini, so why all this fulsome praise? On this day he gut the better of Rafa who had to battle a tough draw.
I think it was quite insensitive and unnecessary to trash Rafa an hour after this loss. It’s easy to support a player when he is winning, but it’s something else to be there when he loses.
Sorry I meant the fourth set with Novak’s match with Berrettini.
Yes, Novak had a crappy clay season but he was more than ready for RG when Rome concluded. That was evident from his QF, SF and Final performances there. Plus at the beginning of the year itself, he has already said that the majors will be his top priority. So we shouldn’t really have been reading much into his clay season.
Sorry NNY that you think I’m trashing Rafa. I’ve seen Rafa lost important matches, and I’m always honest with how I feel about the way he plays/played.
If he’s good I would praise him for that and if he plays poorly I would say that he’s bad. I’m sorry that my comment sounded harsh and insensitive to some of the Rafa fans here, immediately after a Rafa loss.
I think we have to learn how not to be too disappointed each time Rafa loses, as by now he has already achieved so much, that anything else that he wins it’s a bonus.
Rafa himself has accepted the loss and said that this is sports, you win some you lose some. I’m sure he can deal with this loss and moves forward, the important thing now is that he isn’t suffering from any injury, that’s the main concern for the rest of the season.
I hope he can come back strong to win the USO, to get to 21 and not stop at 20.
Amy, Rafa is 35 now and so a physical decline is reasonable. When the match got to five sets, he struggled to win (USO 2019 final Vs Medvedev), lost a five setter against Thiem at AO2020 and lost in five to Tsitsipas from two sets up at the AO this year. In the past he could at least outlast his opponents in five setters.
As for my comment of 2015, after Rafa’s injury plagued 2014 where he lost the AO final with a back injury and then had to skip the USO where he’s the defending champion because of a right wrist injury, he then came back on tour in 2015 a shadow of his usual self, no longer the mentally tough warrior but a player lacking in confidence and full of self doubts. He couldn’t win a single title on clay until he played at Hamburg. Now on hindsight he had a poor 2016 too with another wrist injury. At that time he’s approaching 30, and with all the injury issues, I couldn’t help but felt negative about Rafa’s future back then.
I was and am so glad that Rafa had proven me wrong and came back to have a glorious 2017, winning two slams that year. As for now, I certainly hope that I’m wrong again, that physical decline or not, Rafa could win his no.21 slam (at the USO this year!).
Lucky..i understand what u’re saying & i respect very much what u wrote…I always loved to read yor comments about Rafa…everytime Rafa lost,i need to know what’s going on with him…i feel very unsettled if i didn’t ..and yor post usually fulfilled that…and i love reading other Rafans post too of coz!hehe😁..ohh Novak fans(RC,Big Al)..and Fed fans too!😁
Hi Mira, thanks for your comment. I know many here are sad about Rafa’s loss so I may sound harsh saying that Rafa MAY stop at 20 and I hope he WONT drop out of top ten.
Some here are so upset about my comment, that they think I’m saying that Rafa WOULD drop out of top ten!
Both Fed and Djoko did drop out of top ten (due to injuries) so I hope Rafa won’t be like them. I hope Rafa will remain in top ten for the rest of his career, a sign of how great he is!
When I said Rafa may stop at 20, at that moment I was disappointed by how he played, losing a winnable important match.
I do hope that I’m wrong about Rafa stopping at 20 slams; I think if Rafa improves his serve and BH, and shortens points by playing inside the court more often, and most importantly be very fit physically and mentally prepared, he can do well at the USO this year, After all, he should be having good feelings there at the USO, winning four titles already and being through some tough moments there too. Also, it’s unlike the FO where everyone expect Rafa to win, so may be less pressure on Rafa.
Correction: I posted that ‘I hope he doesn’t drop out of top ten’.
And yeah, for the reason that I mentioned (ie unlike Fed and Djoko).
Lucky…Once again i will say i understand what u’ve been saying…sometimes when we’re frustrated & angry,we tend to say something that other’s don’t like…God knows i tried very hard to not come here & commenting when Rafa is playing coz i know other Rafans don’t like to hear critisism towards Rafa no matter how bad he is playing & i try very hard too to respect their wishes coz i know they love Rafa to bits!😃(just like we do!)..Our ‘mom'(Nny) sure very defensive towards her baby bear!….our sister too!(amy)😁..hehe
Ohh bout Rafa stop at 20,ermmm…i personally think he’s gonna win at least 1 more(if not 2@3)Lucky..and yeah!..agree with yor suggestion that he needs to improve many things in his game in order to win another slam!..i don’t understand why he’s so reluctant to shorten the points against Novak if he felt a bit fatigue?Many times he only pummelled novak’s bh side 4,5 times in a row when fh side was empty for him to take!..I donno why the passivity?Why the heck is that?We also saw he executed 1,2 punch as well at some point..and succeed!..Like u said,if he wants to win another slam,he gotta make some big changes in his game! ..he’s got to!…heh heh..enuff rumbling!..Now its time to take cover behind the sofa!!😁
N mira do keep us posted if he is injured or not. N if he is playing wimbledon
Sanju..As far as i know,Rafa still undecided to play Wimby or not..but he already pulled out from Mallorca Open next week…
I guess after ‘vacationing’ on the sea,take a rest a little bit,then he will decide what to do..maybe in 3,4 days we will know his schedule..But if he decide to pull out from Wimby,i’m ok with that too!…Just concentrate on USO swing..For me,he still a contender at USO..
I think is not that Rafa didn’t want to shorten points but mentally he’s not that confident to do so.
For one, he must have a dependable serve to start with, so that he could at least have the chance to rush forward into the court; but as we could see, he missed his first serve so often and his second serve wasn’t that powerful, and worse still he had DFs (8 in total!).
No.2, I think he was feeling fatigued so he couldn’t move quickly enough, if not he could’ve move around to hit his FH DTL or CC at his BH corner when his BH kept failing him.
I think fitness is an issue for him now, probably because of the pandemic, that he couldn’t train that much unlike during normal times. We know Rafa needs lots of training and practices to make him feel confident about his game.
I also think that the back issue, since beginning of the year, has affected the way he serves, that’s why we are seeing so many DFs.
So, I hope Rafa can skip the Olympics if not Wimbledon too, and concentrates on recovering physically, and works on his game and especially his serve. For, when Rafa is confident with his game and physically in tip top conditions, he’ll then be mentally prepared to fight the battles on court.
Mira 2/3 at rg itself is impossible …it will mean he needs to win till 38
Or are u talking of other slams too
Once again 100% agree with yor post Lucky!😃👍
Ohh…i’m talking about other slam too Sanju!…Very Possibly RG next year or USO this year(depends on draw & luck of coz!)…AO,Wimby..i doubt it coz Rafa seems suffering from lack of belief when playing in those 2 event..
I think Rafa will determined more than ever win RG next year Sanju bcoz the pressure is off from his shoulder..i don’t think he take this loss very kindly!…Nope!..So pressureless & determined Rafa is a very dangerous beast!..Can’t wait!
I read somewhere his interview after the loss, that he said he’s going back to Majorca with his family, and will look forward to coming back next year to RG to try to win again. I think that’s good news, that he’s not ready to retire anytime soon, whether he’s starting a family or not. I hope that in future, Xisca could take care of the kids when Rafa is still out there playing tennis!
Sorry thats Luckystar.
Novak started serving very well in the fourth, he was hitting lines
I thought it was an amazing match, so full of courage, artistry and sublime tennis. Some of those shots just weren’t possible.I was glad I didn’t have a dog in the fight and could simply enjoy it all! Congratulations and commiserations all fans.
I just looked at the odds for the final, and I don’t understand why Nole is such a heavy favourite.
Stefanos took him to 5 sets last year, and I think he’s playing better now. To me it’s more like 50/50.
Tsitsi is the younger player who should have more energy.
Novak will not let this oppty pass..he knows great chance to get 19 n take advantage of tsitsi first slam nerves
Agree Sanju!…but he also playing a lots of tennis in the past 3 weeks…In fact i am very surprised Rafa looks more fatigue than Novak!…Novak didn’t rest at all a week b4 FO..he was playing Belgrade…
Tsitsi should capitalize his fatigue form…but he could also turned out like Daniil at AO!😁…1st timer at slam usually unreliable!😁
Dannil first time was uso 19 n he gave rafa such a scare
The tsitsi match won’t be settled in straights ..will go 4 atleast
N fed fans .please pray if you want fed to win, he needs to be in same half as novak..chance of beating novak in qf or sf easier than final..in final pressure will be huge
Mira, do you remember how many champions won their first grand slam final?
McEnroe, Borg, Connors, Becker, Sampras, Hewitt, Courier, Kuerten, to name a few 🙂
Rafa too right ..fed too..isn’t it
Hehe…sorry guest!…i should say ‘some of them’ …
But he did not play Madrid meera .so it balances out .plus rafa played a match more in mc,Barcelona n 3 more in Madrid than novak .
Secondly novak played no quality opponent in Belgrade..so it was just warmups
I guess it depends on how the two of them play. I hope Tsitsipas learnt his lesson last year, it’s silly of him when he said he could play differently (as in the third and fourth sets) and yet he insisted on playing the way he played in set one and set two! I mean when he lost set one, he should be thinking of changing the way he played and started to play differently from set two onwards; why wait till you lost two sets then you decided to change? What made him think that playing set two like the way he played in set one would give him a different result??
He then ran out of steam during set five, and lost. At the AO this year he came from two sets down against Rafa and won in five, but that’s at the beginning of the year when physically he was fresher (than the FO last year during Oct).
If Tsitsipas is really determined to win this Sunday, then he better play it smart, learn from last year’s experience, be aggressive and tries to win the first two sets ASAP. Perhaps he could also learn from Mussetti, on how he played the first two sets against Djoko. He has to play with varieties and moves forward as much as possible, and of course serves well to hold serve; staying at the baseline to rally all day with Djoko would play into Djoko’s hands.
Hi mira and sanju how are you today?
I’m okay amy. I told you I was expecting it..I have recalibrated my expectations too. Rafa has painful losses like ao 17,wimby 18 against his 2 chief rivals but none at his fav gs, well we saw that too. So now nothing to fear ,seen it all.
I think it’s good that he lost so that there is no pressure anymore and he can play freely next year.
Key is his health ,physical conditioning and his serve..needs to fix it
I’m curious whether he will play wimby or not, I think he will.
I am not expecting any addition to 20 ,anything that comes will be a bonus. Best way to not feel disappointed 🙂
Ok sanju! Glad you are not too upset!
I am.just physically and mentally drained today because watching live and blogging is very tiring.
I don’t think he will do well at wimby. He is a confidence player and this hasn’t been a good tourney for him.
I don’t know what exactly is going on with the serve as it was changed because of his back problem but it is a disaster area. If there is no longer a back problem they should return to the old serve! If there is a back problem so they can’t change it back then that might explain some of the problems.
Also you can’t play on grass without a good serve!
Hey amy!…hehe…i don’t want to be exaggerated!…but..oh God!..today is one of the most BLACKEST SATURDAY EVER for me amy!😆
I know it’s stupid to feel this way over tennis..but i can’t help it!…But insyaallah,i will lift myself up pretty soon!..hehe…what about u amy?Ok?Nobody got injured from yor frustration?😁
Hawks are you around? I’d like to talk to you…
I really don’t know why people are saying that was a great match. It had great moments but
Rafa played poorly for large parts of it.
If a set goes on for 93 minutes it qualifies as great I think .I think ppl are talking more about the third set only
Sanju, Rafa played poorly for a lot of that set just as he was doing against Diego. Then, exactly as against Diego, he suddenly got his nerves under control, and started to hit his fh. He could have won the set.
If he had hit his fh all along them he would have won the match.
He was obviously very tired in the fourth after putting himself under so much pressure. He had no first serve in the fourth.
I knew against Sinner, Norrie and Diego that he had a big problem with his nerves. The same pattern happened again.
If it’s fatigue how come he can suddenly turn it on late in the third set?
Only moya can answer what’s the real issue with serve .it’s time to maybe dig out some interview of him or someone to ask him that question
Tbh sanju, as you know I didn’t see any warm up tourneys , but I read what moya had to say at the beginning of RG.
He talked about Rafa ‘s dfs and sudden inexplicably poor play as with the match against rublev. I actually found what he said very unnerving but thought that maybe because he had won Rome he had got his head together.
It became very very clear to me that there was a big problem going on quite early on at RG.
This can’t simply be attributed to fatigue! Although it’s true that Rafa does get tired in ways he didn’t before.
What did he say abt the serve..I don’t think he referred to a back issue
People need to stop looking for excuses. Djokovic lost 3-0 last year but no one was talking about how he played, it was all about how great Nadal was.
The way I see it is Nadal had 4 sets and 4 hours plus to play his best and he played his best possible match all things considered and cam up short on this occasion.
Nobody is looking for excuses! Rafa does not lose at the semifinals of RG. Hello! So it’s natural to want to analyze it. So let us do it!
Last year no one on this site took shits at Novak fur losing the first set 6-0. The first time he was ever bagejed in a slam. We did not make fun of him. Not like the vile crap I had to read yesterday. Some Novak fans have zero class! That’s just the truth! So you don’t get to tell us that we are looking for excuses!
SHOTS!
Congrats to Al as well as Elizabeth. Sorry I forgot you!
You didn’t forget me amy! xxoo
Me too, Im a Nole fan and of many players , but Fed is still my fav.
Nadal was horrible, period. Nothing great about the match. Djoko played well and Congrats to him and his good fans. Djoko will win the final in 3 sets easily. Tsitsipas will choke as usual.
Rafa is a legend and will always be win or lose,he had a great tournament and played really well, Djokovic was just better I this match.
How many times has Rafa won FO or defeated Novak here? Nothing to be disappointed about.
To Amy, nny etc please calm down and have fun wins or loses no need for sour/sadistic comments just relax who knows Rafa might defeat Novak on hard or grass this season it would be very difficult but not impossible.
https://youtu.be/3bnmkMx2x_8
Rafa played really well especially in the 1st set it just wasn’t his day.
Okay, my opinion.
Why Rafa lost? It’s simple. A mix of physical and mental tiredness, which are interdependent on each other, the trigger can be any of them. Novak was solid, but again he won because Rafa was not even at his 75%, not because he was soo good. Rafa was vulnerable yesterday, could have lost to quite a few players; no need to make Djoko a hero, but he deserves to be given the credit, sure- for being there and holding his level, although he did nothing new as usual -serve well, return deep, which was enough to beat Rafa. This moment had to come. It can be a blessing. He has nothing to prove at RG. This loss can in fact make him feel better and less anxious,because the weight he had around this invincibility talk and stats was too heavy.
It’s a bit silly to fantasize that it’s over and be may drop outside the top 10. He’s not done for sure.
This win for Novak is essential at a personal level only and may remain just that if he fails to win tomorrow, which is possible.
Thank you Eugene! You are indeed the true voice of reason and encouragement. Thanks again.
Agree Eugene on the loss being a blessing in disguise
Who knows maybe rafa will beat novak on hard or grass too in return. We nevee know the future .
Agree that if he does not win tomorrow , beating rafa means nothing. Finally he wants the slam
@Eugene you must be drunk or high on something stupid.
Listen , Stanley, I am not drunk and don’t take drugs.
You’re just a stinky mushroom that appears after rain ( when Rafa loses). Also, the 2nd reason you’re a stinky mushroom is for assuming something about me, when you don’t know me at all.
Word of advice. Find a life, buy a cat, do an activity you like or just fyyk yourself.
Eugene,
Love it! Well said! Stinky mushroom!
But we need to let Stanley go play with his toys now. He needs all the help he can get. Hasn’t been the same since Trump lost the election! Too bad!
😂😂😂 Did I hurt your feelings kiddo? You need to stop being high on stupid that way you will reason sensibly.
Congrats, one of the stupidest comments across all forums and twitter combined.
If not for Novak, it was going to be number 14, even if he had to hypothetically play Diego, thiem, tsisipas back to back in qf,semis and finals.
I am not sure if you referred to my comment. I don’t think so – not so fast with the 14th assumption; Tsitsipas would beat Rafa tomorrow, if the Spaniard won against Djokovic. The pain would just be postponed by 2 days.
It’s a much needed break to revise his strategy, serve and schedule.
The stupidest moron on this site is the coward who posts as Anonymous!
You know nothing about tennis and have no decency. Loser!
Eugene,
Bless you fir this comment! So well said! You summed it up perfectly! Novak did nothing special. He didn’t have to! He had a cakewalk draw up to the quarterfinals and still had trouble! Rafa was nowhere near hus best level. I am do agree that this could be a blessing in disguise.
Thank you for saying it is ridiculous to say he could drop out of the top ten. From a Rafa fan no less! Honestly, there is nothing more to say. You put it in perspective and I thank you!
Thanks NNY. All the best to you, too!
My take on the match: Nole has been in much better form this RG than Rafa. Yes, he was pushed by Mussetti and Berretini, but they were playing out of their skin. Rafa’s match against Sinner was just too crappy. Sinner never really took advantage of Rafa’s poor game play and just kept spraying errors.
So, I would just say that Nole was more mentally ready and prepared for this match than Rafa. Plus no one gets on Rafa’s nerves more than Novak. Same is true for Novak also while facing Rafa on clay. That is why we saw so many of Rafa’s errors and Novak’s poor selection of dropshots. All attributed to the nerves.
Ultimately, Rafa was too fatigued mentally just trying to stay with Nole throughout the match. He looked completely spent by the time 4th set started. Hence, the scoreline. This loss was inbound for a long time. Rafa has prevailed many times against Novak here but only last year’s final was one sided. He was pushed all the times over the last decade. Novak’s resilience had to come through one day and that happened to be yesterday.
Tactically, Nole changed his strategy towards the end of the 1st set and just placed Rafa in a BH jail for the rest of the match. Rafa’s BH wasn’t ready for the peppering. I feel his serving was good. Yes he served multiple double faults,but they really weren’t at inopportune moments less 1 in the TB. It was just that he was facing Novak’s returns who was returning it deep and centre almost every time even when Rafa hit the out wide sliders and kickers.
So I would say Nole just outmatched Rafa yesterday with his unwavering focus to attack Rafa’s BH and his superior returns that only he can make. Rafa for once, couldn’t respond to this level of pressure, even though it was RG and that’s OK. He will move on from it easily.
U think he will abhirf ? The fitness issues is what concerns me. He can’t win a slam if he gets tired in 3-3.5 hrs
Relax Sanju!
Rafa has been that way for well over past 3-4 years now at least when the matches have gone to a 4th or 5th set. The only match I could recollect where his energy levels didn’t wandered too much over a longer match was the Wimby’18 SF where the break helped him. But still he has won GS titles, no?
So yes, he may not win many down the road with progressing age. I still feel he will win at least 1 more. There aren’t many threats on clay. Winning a non-clay slam will be very very difficult for him now with Stef, Sasha, Thiem, Medvedev, Federer all capable of beating him there. And Nole will always be tough.
abhirf,
After what I had to read from the nasty and vindictive Novak fans here, I am tempted to rub their noses in last year’s loss at RG. But the Rafa fans did not do that. We could have if we were as petty as the jerks here mouthing off after Novak’s victory. I won’t forget it.
Maybe this was always in the cards, maybe not. On clay the match is on Rafa’s racket. This time he was not able to bring his best. Strategies employed by Novak would not mean anything, especially if Rafa had his DTL backhand. Novak has done it all and it usually does not work. But Rafa is human after all.
I watched the third set again and am so proud of how RAF fought. He made one final run there. Knowing he was not at his best and letting the support from the crowd lift him physically he gave it one more shot. But it was not meant to be.
God bless Rafa for all the thrills and joy he has given his fans.
Hi everyone its been a while, hope your all well,RC,AM , Amy, NNY ,Margot hugs xx ,anyway by the law of averages the streak had to end sooner or later, and as a fan yes it does hurt, doesnt mean hes done, wont win another GS, drop out of the top 10 blah, blah, just means hes a step slower than he used to be, father time catches up with everyone in the end, hes been written off so many times ive lost count,so whats new,hell be back,just wont dominate anymore ? Novak was the better player end of, time will tell if he wins the title, its hardly the second coming ,maybe Sissy will surprise us all ,you never know, probably time that some new blood breaks through anyway, Hugs to you all, except the trolls go play marbles on a motorway ….
Hey Al!…Where have u been??We missed u here u know?Hope u’re ok over there Al!😃👋
Alison!
Phew, you are alive and made it through Covid. I salute your bravery. Thinking you still work where you used to I have been worried about you. Nice to see your post. 🤗