Through two sets of their French Open semifinal showdown a little more than a month ago, Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz had the makings of an epic.
Leg cramps suffered by Alcaraz prevented that match from living up to the hype, but the tennis world has another chance to witness an instant classic at the All-England Club.
Djokovic and Alcaraz will wage a rematch on Sunday afternoon, this time in the Wimbledon final. It will mark just the third head-to-head meeting in their careers, with the first two encounters having been split. Alcaraz won a 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5) thriller at the 2022 Madrid Masters before Djokovic just recently prevailed 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 at Roland Garros, aided by the Spaniard’s physical problems.
Alcaraz vs. Djokovic head-to-head
2022 Madrid Masters SF: Alcaraz 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5)
2023 French Open SF: Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
With presumably fewer grueling rallies on grass and playing on a Grand Slam final stage that has not fazed him in the past (Alcaraz beat Casper Ruud in the 2022 U.S. Open final), the 20-year-old has no reason to melt down either mentally or physically this time around. He certainly didn’t on his way to the championship match. Buoyed by a grass-court title at Queen’s Club, a confident Alcaraz has advanced this fortnight by beating Jeremy Chardy, Alexandre Muller, Nicolas Jarry, Matteo Berrettini, Holger Rune, and Daniil Medvedev. The world No. 1 was especially impressive in the quarters and semis, erasing Rune 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-4 and Medvedev 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Of course, nobody has been more dominant than Djokovic at Wimbledon both this fortnight and over the course of the past decade. The 36-year-old has won this tournament four times in a row and is one victory away from a fifth following defeats of Pedro Cachin, Jordan Thompson, Stan Wawrinka, Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, and Jannik Sinner. Hurkacz and and Rublev managed to take a set apiece, but Djokovic raised his level in the semis to thump Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4).
The No. 2 seed is too good to get blown out–even by an opponent as red hot as Alcaraz. Assuming this turns into a long, pressure-packed affair, you still have to give both the physical and mental edge to Djokovic. I don’t expect Alcaraz to fade like he did in Paris, but Djokovic may end up wearing him down yet again.
Pick: Djokovic in 5
[yop_poll id=”402″]
who ya got?
Nope
o
It’s time…Alcaraz!!!…in 3.
🤣
A bit optimistic, no? I think it’ll be Novax in 4. But maybe Alcaraz will win it in a year or two. Maybe.
Novak in 4.
2nd that
Cocovic will lose 1-3. Yes his name is Cocovic and was always Cocovic!
Novak will win this. BTW, Enjoy the tennis, Alili. Stop being so paranoid Novak is breaking your fave’s records, that you want to mock him every time. Funny, if you are a tennis fan and can’t respect all he’s achieved. You don’t have to be his fan but summoning up this level of feigned disdain for an Undeniable great, shows you aren’t truly a “tennis” fan.
Dullfan get over it. Djoko might not win this, but deserves more respect than that.
Some people forget Novak Djokovic first took a medical timeout in the 2nd set in their French Open semifinals and after the time out he got broken, he could have easily won 3-0 on clay.
I’m not saying he will win in straight sets here but his win over Alcaraz would have happened cramps or not.
It’s going to happen sooner or later, as Novak ages and Carlos and his cohort get stronger and gain more court guile/craft. My head says next year but WTH Carlos in 5. You can all laugh and point when Novak wins 3-0!
Do hope Carlos doesn’t think his drop shots will win him any points either!
M…i certainly agree with u here!..if Carlos can stay healthy the entire match,and if he wisely take the opportunity given(there’ll be an opportunity),he has a chance creates an upset today M!..he can go toe to toe with novak for hours,that’s for sure!
At least you wont jeer and point darling 🙂
OMG someone make Balding shut up! Have had to mute the telly. Already.
Is she even more annoying than Barker, hard to tell!
Henman is least irrutating of BBC commentators. I also like Nick Lester from Prime.
Even as a tennis nut I feel BBC has overdone it with coverage, as we now have iplayer no need to have wall to wall Wimbledon on BBC 2 & 1!
OMG now Bouncy joins in. Bleuh.
I think she is worse than Barker!
Why oh why are we subjected to Bouncy every year??!! It’s torture…
I don’t know, both gush like a faulty faucet!
Endless running tap of drivel…
I switched it off when Balding said Alcaraz was going to break all Novak’s records. So Alcaraz is going to get 24 slams plus is he?! No one knows that.
Novak’s ROS is killing Alcaraz.
Pathetic
LOL. I told you all Novak was going to win, 6:1, 6:1, 6:1 😉
Revised previous opinion too, not next year now. 2025…possibly.
Why is s Novak struggling so much with his serve at the near end? Think the breeze is bothering him.
It’s amazing how many under perform against Djokovic. Kyrgios did it last year and had him in all sorts of trouble and should’ve won and now Alcaraz is doing the same.
Djokovic is there to be beaten. All they have to is step up.
I agree. Are they intimidated even before they step on the court?
Bouncy disgusting now. Sharing private, personal info about Croft.
Is he? I have the sound on mute. Rotten of him.
Novak’s serve has been surprisingly sub par. Very unusual to see him serve this badly in a wimby final.
He’s had plenty of chances Alcaraz. He’s going to get into trouble soon.
And they get drawn into playing the match on Djokovic’s terms.
I think they don’t play to their strengths whereas Djokovic plays to his. They lack intent.
Alcaraz should’ve run away with this set and here we are with Djokovic 2-0 being a possibility.
All they do is reaffirm BS predictions of the masses when really Djokovuc should be losing.
Alcaraz serving way way better than Novak. I can’t remember when I last saw Novak serve so badly on grass.
Carlos playing too aggressively and missing the lines. Needs to rein it in and play a longer game.
Wrong time to come to the net. Djokovic was under pressure
This is BS. Alcaraz just handed Djokovic 2 points.
2 astonishing errors by Novak. First on set point. Second to give Alcaraz set point. Just astonishing.
Novak normally makes no ues in a tb. He just made 3 or 4. Can’t remember which. Very very sloppy and wasn’t under pressure.
OMG! OMG! Novak lost a tie break. The first for about 100 years!
The 2 errors back to back the first on his own set point were almost unbelievable. Both were easy shots.
What’s wrong with him?
If Novak continues like this he is going to lose.
Why didn’t he go down the line of that shot. Idiot.
What a turnaround. 2:1 to Carlos.
Not looking good for Novak, the 2nd set was important if he had won it this match would be different.
Now he is down 2 sets – 1 set, if any player can turn it around it would be Djokovic but boy it would be difficult.
Haven’t been watching as had to do stuff but still can’t get over the astonishing back to back errors Novak made on his own set point in the tb. Really weird.
If anyone can regain composure and focus, it’s Nole. We just have to believe…
Whatever happens today Novak has,shown that at 36 he is starting to feel his age and look vulnerable…
He seems to have perked up now……
Carlos needs to win this game so he goes into 5th serving first, suddenly looks unlikiely.
Novak playing better now. Expecting a fifth set decider.
OMG! OMG! OMG! Fantastic win!
Ahem…ahem…who called it? Just call me genius picker..;)
You’re a genius picker Margot!!😀
I missed quite a lot of the match & didn’t see the end…
Thank you x 🙂
😀
Congrats also to mira who picked Alcaraz to win in TDC..
Ohh..i didn’t pick Alcaraz amy!..i picked Novak..at RG i picked Alcaraz & Novak won!..wimby i picked Novak,Alcaraz won!…hehehe..
Makes USO more interesting huh?😀..can’t wait to do TDC!
Oh sorry mira! I misunderstood!
I missed parts of the match. However good Alcaraz was Novak made some astonishing errors ie at set point in the tiebreak he made 2 back to back errors on very routine shots. His serve was nothing like it is normally and left him very exposed..
Do think that these errors are part of being 36….not entirely surprised..
Amy…i felt Novak very bothered about the wind yesterday & it affected his serves..
And despite the 7 time wimby winner & 23 slam holder,i feel he was a bit nervous too & acknowleged that Alcaraz can hurt him in every department..usually novak did this to other players,last nite role certainly were reversed!
How did you do in TDC mira!!
Am guessing Margot won the ATP bracket??!
WTA bracket must have been bad for most people…!
Hey hey hey amy!..i did bad in ATP bracket amy!..2nd from bottom!..hehe..and yup!..Genius M won ATP!..while Mira Andi from stupidland won WTA!(wearing embarrasing face now!)
Hey!..u know,i used yor tip in picking Bouzkova/Garcia amy!..and she won!(thanks amy!)..but i picked her to the final which is very bad picking of me!
Did you use my prediction that Kenin would beat Gauff mira?? Big congrats on winning WTA. And
of course major congrats to Queen Margot!😀
Picking Bouzkova to the final wasn’t really a bad pick given she was close to beating Vondrousava. I don’t see how anyone could have picked Vondrousava given she had hardly ever won a match on grass!!!
It’s a weird feeling after the end of wimby isn’t it mira? With 2 slams so close to each other there is a feeling of almost endless tennis! Keep waiting for a new slam to begin but nothing until the end of August…
Wow M!!…woohoo!..u’re genius!..picking Alcaraz to win over Novak!..at Wimby??..wow!..such guts M!..hehe..
Congrats congrats boss!
Thank you darling. Afrer 6-1 in the first I was feeling mighty silly TBH!
Hahaha…i understand M!..when he lost the 1st set,i started to feel very skeptical about his chances too!..
Mira Elizabeth, I see you’re still doing bracket challenges! That’s my girl!! LOL It was a great match. I knew Carlos had the tools to win, but Novak has proved many times how hard he is to beat. Carlos hung in there tough and got r done!! I’m liking this young Spanish kid. He reminds me of another player from Spain. VAMOS‼️
Hahahaha!!…hey hey hey my bozzy!!…miss ya!!…yup!!…i’m still doing Bracket bozzy!..but not weekly like i used to do!
Ohh…it really was a great match bozzy!..very nerve wrecking!..boy!..this win is huge for him!..defeating Novak at his best!..at his sacred place nonetheless!
p/s..I know u like this kid very much bozzy!..gud th8ng too since yor baby is about to retire next year!
Very pleased with TBC result as I was bottom for the first couple of rounds!
@Mira……Yes he will be retiring very soon. I wasn’t for sure I could get behind anyone else like I did Rafa….but I think I’ve found him. Carlos is fun to watch. But there will never be anyone that I can love more than Rafa. Been following him since 2005. Gonna be tuff w/o him in the picture, but life goes on. VAMOS‼️
I’m glad u have someone to watch for after Rafa retire bozzy!.. really glad!
Thank you sweet Mira! 🥰🥰
Hehehe…u’re most welcome bozzy!❤🧡
Fantastic win by Alcaraz, that was one of the better recent GS finals
Congrats to Alcaraz, two slam finals two wins, great!
I never expected Carlos to do it but ALAS, he did!! Kudos to him!! He has arrived!!! Say what u want! Perfect Revenge for FO!!
Should’ve won RO,too. Just got ambushed by someone that had nightmares of losing. I suspected he wouldn’t be able to bring that same level of intensity twice.
We’ll done young man, please excuse me while I go and wash the egg off my face lol
Incredible. Heart-stopping match, shocking outcome. Great for tennis.
Congrats to Alcaraz and Alcaraz,fans.
Commies to Novak fans. I would say especially Elizabeth but I am not at,all sure she wanted Novak to win this one. He still has 2 slams this year so no disgrace losing this one…
Congrats Alcaraz. Well deserved victory. It was such a pleasure watching this classic. Alcaraz is fearless and his mental strength is incredible.
Not an easy task to beat Novak in a 5th set at a slam, or in a TB, but Alcaraz did both. I thought large parts of the match were not as high quality as I hoped, even though it did have some incredible rallies. Djokovic in particular made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes; wind probably played a factor. But I also thought Alcaraz was pretty tight until the 4th set, when he really had a chance to go ahead early until Djokovic raised his game. But Carlito showed nerves of steel in closing it out. Well done Carlos!
We’ve seen Novak have problems with the wind before. He seemed to be really struggling with his serve. I don’t remember seeing him serve so poorly on grass. In the second set his serve was awful. Carlos served a lot better and on grass the serve is the most important shot.
Novak seemed to be getting into it with the crowd an awful lot. More than usual. I thought it started to affect his concentration and drained his energy levels. I missed sections of the match but some of Novak’s ues were astonishing, especially in the tb on his set point and the point after. It was a a very routine shot and if he had taken it the match was probably over in straights imo.
Much of the match wasn’t high quality I agree but I missed parts of it so what do I know, maybe they were a lot better!. Some sensational rallies but a lot of not great stuff.
I agree with you regarding the crowd. He really has a major problem dealing with them. I thought his fan base was really behind him today. They were chanting his name. But he seems to single out a fan who is against him and makes it known. Don’t think that’s a positive aspect for his game. Not to mention hitting the net post with his racquet. Commentators thought he might have injured his hand. He needs to get his temper in check…. definitely affects his game.
I just don’t think I have ever seen him get quite so involved. I do think that instead of drawing strength from it, as he has done in the past, it drained him. I missed parts of the match but did see the first 2 sets. I honestly don’t think you can say that it was his opponent who was making him serve so atrocious ly in the second set given he had just destroyed him in the first set nor did it explain the mistakes he made in the tb which he was controlling and had set point on a very routine ball.
Think he is feeling the effects of being 36! It happens as you get older that parts of your game unravel unexpectedly. The very good things he has been doing this year have been masking signs of decline you can see elsewhere. He started to believe his own mystique that he couldn’t lose and put pressure on himself and couldn’t deliver..
May suit him that the pressure will now be transferred to Carlos.
I didn’t see the part of the match when he hit his racket against the post! Crazy stuff..!
All the so called experts got it wrong. They were so confident too.
Yep, and no celebratory post yet. Must be shell shocked, devastated and lost money
Their beloved Djokovic, how could he lose. The gamesmanship must be getting sloppy in his old age.
I heard he was complaining and smashing racket…….clearly didn’t phase Alcaraz!
Alcaraz is one of the few players that can rally with Djokovic on the backhand and that’s all it took.
Djokovic had break point at 1:0 40:30 in the 5th set and should’ve won that point and then Alcaraz started playing like Alcaraz.
In a five setter you don’t always get great plays all thought out…….they r human after all. Novak is 36 and Alcaraz is in his first GS Wimby final. So there will always be uncharacteristic UFEs. It happens all the time……..I remember especially with Rafa and Roger as well. So that is not always a reason to blame players for losing……..the important thing is to play the important points well and if u don’t then ure chances always diminish. Novak is a veteran and it’s his fault to let the crowd get to him. They never really support him here at Wimby so he should get used to it by now. So they crowd is no excuse for a loss.
Anyway, I’m happy for Alcaraz……..happy he’s leading the charge for the younguns………it was about damn time!!!! Vamos!!
Novak was a real good sport at the net and post match, so I feel a bit sorry for him now. I’m sure he’ll be back and win a couple more.
The guy is an absolute rock – he’ll be fine.
the pressure of trying to equal Roger’s record probably got to Novak.
Ask his mangled tennis racquet
Ok just seen Novak commented on the 2 routine bhs he missed at set point which he said changed the match. Alcaraz also says if he had taken the set point it would probably have been over in straights. That’s what I was banging on about yesterday. First, it’s extraordinary for Novak to make such elementary errors. Second, he seemed to obsess about them and lose confidence. These,are signs that at 36 Novak is becoming fallible.
Also his really terrible day on serve which put him under immense pressure. I can’t ever remember him serving so badly in a slam final. He did serve badly in the second set of the 2020 RG final but that’s on clay after being bagelled by Rafa. Not comparable.
Djokovic was tired and Alcaraz was one step too far. Winning back to back RG Wimbledon at 36 would be quite a feat when it’s rare to win a major at that age.
I watched the way he walked out on the court and he wasn’t his confidence self. Hurkacz, Rublev, Sinner were all in top form and took a lot out of him. You just cant sustain that level and the wind just made it even more improbable. The fact he made it to the final in the fashion he did and then nearly win it, is a superhuman effort.
It just goes to show what it takes to stop him from winning.
I missed most of the Hurkacz match but McEnroe and Henman were both saying he seemed off physically. Think one of them described him as sluggish. I do think that there have been warning signs all year he is feeling his age. It’s counter to the history of tennis for players where there is a 16 year age difference to keep winning.
Novak made a big mistake imo by talking himself up and starting to believe his own mythology. You can’t cheat time and the effects of age. Sooner or later you will slip up.
I too thought he was sluggish. He was just off of his game…. so uncharacteristic of him. But yes age is playing a part in his game and rightfully so. I thought he got complacent after the first set…..maybe thought he could slack off a little, but bad mistake thinking that. When Carlos raised his level of play, Novak weirded out. Rabbit ears regarding the crowd. Everything and everyone was getting on his nerves and in his head. One time after Rafa had lost a match, in his press interview he said “I beated myself”…. LOL! I’m of the mindset that Novak helped beating himself…. if that makes sense!! Lol
It does!!! Good description and I agree! I remember, I think?, after Andy murdered Fed in the Olympics that he said afterwards that as you get older the serve can just go. And Fed in 2012 was much younger than Novak is now. Everyone says as you get older you just have off days which you can’t control. Historically it’s pretty unprecedented for players to be racking up slams after 35( much younger really..) and beating players with such enormous age gaps.
Novak’s year actually looks strangely similar to Rafa’s at the same age last year. Winning the first 2 slams and then falling at wimby although with Rafa it was because of injury.
Having said all that it has to be remembered that if he had taken his set point then the match would almost certainly have been over in straights and all the headlines and commentary would be completely different. Just as they will be if he beats Alcaraz in New York.
Gosh I miss Rafa!!😪
Carlos showed the blueprint on what it takes to beat Novak, this hopefully will inspire the other players, USO will be interesting 😁Agree with Amy miss Rafa though😢
Amy..there is a reason Novak has not done well at nyork. The bounce and the wind there don’t suit him. It’s his worst slam in final conversions ..plus many ppl play well on hc n it’s last slam of year with more wear and tear on body.
Though I read on Twitter that most Novak fans are saying the loss to alcaraz will give Novak new motivation post rafa exit n he will beat him in nyork n win it. Well they know everything…what do we know…
Where meddy lands in draw will be key too in nyork and holger rune..
The loss to Alcaraz must have dented Novak’s confidence because of the extraordinary errors he made in the tiebreak and the disappearance of his normally excellent serve. Definitely bound up with aging imo.
Also he hates the breeze/ wind. But being under pressure is very difficult and Alcaraz will be the favourite in New York. He could crack.
The competition in the ATP is pretty dreadful right now though. Alcaraz is way way ahead of the players close in age and Tsitsi and Zverev are worse than they used to be. Meddy is pretty unconvincing now in slams and has too many weaknesses..
What impressed me most about Alcaraz was his ros. He returned Matteo and Meddy ‘s big serves with little difficulty. Very impressive. Imagine if Rafa had had his serve!!! Rafa would have had another 3/4 slams. Maybe more.
Novak fans celebrated in wimbmedon that he avoided both med and rune in wimby n they both were in alcaraz qtr n half..well alcaraz beat them all
I never took to alcaraz much last year maybe as rafa was still playing ..however I just love him now ..he’s my tonic for rafa exit and I know who to support bow on. I watched the second n fifth set twice of wimby what shot making ..bh , fh , slice, Cc,dtl ,drops, volleys ,lobs , speed ,power, mental strength ..he has it all in abundance ..just needs to play a bit low percentage to reduce the unforced ..
Rafa isn’t retired yet sanju!! I find it a bit sad you are writing him off and consigning him to the past. He is a great champion! I much much prefer him as a person to Carlos.
Rafa had to play Fed in his prime at wimby with the crowd against him. It was way harder for him. Plus Ferrero is an ex #1 who is a better coach than Toni.
Carlos isn’t playing in the age of the big3/4. He is 16 years younger than Novak and 17 years younger than Rafa. It’s very dubious saying he would have beaten them on an equivalent footing. You don’t know that!! There are too many intangibles.
I will never support another player like I support rafa.
Not yet retired but he said next year will be his farewell year isn’t it…do we honestly expect him to win slams next year ? Esp when he won’t be ranked and will need help of wild cards to even get in tourneys and can draw top players in round 1. If he wins I’ll be super happy however what are chances of him doing so ? I think miniscule given the circumstances n his position..I genuinely hope he wins a slam or 2 and retires but after Novak passed him, I frankly don’t think it matters now if Novak is anyway ahead.
Amy..all these are facts and true..but I think rafa easily goofed up on 5 winnable slams due to maybe not showing right mix of aggression and defense…he had no business losing the 2018 wimby semi n its this loss that gave novak his second lease of life n look how many he won post that..n ofcourse not getting Moya onboard earlier was biggest mistake .Moya should have come in 2014 itself rafa wasted 14 to 16 winning just 1 slam…
Till today Tony big mouth is giving interviews commenting on everyone n thereby damaging rafa…he needs to shut up..compulsive talker ..
N frankly don’t u honestly think alcaraz at 20 has way more complete game n more balanced than each of the big 3 had..fed n djoko were anyway late bloomers ..
sanju, oh yes I agree that Alcaraz has a more complete game. No one could argue any different. It’s true that the worst time for Rafa was 15 to the beginning of 17. The same time that Novak cleaned up and the head to head turned in Novak ‘s favour. Alcaraz has been working with a psych coach for years already!!. But Rafa, who went through a long period when he could hardly breathe on court, refused to get professional help. His stubbornness has really cost him. Plus he needed Moya earlier in his career.
Alcaraz didn’t take Novak’s serve away from him sanju!! He just had an off day and is clearly showing the signs of aging. As I keep saying, if he had not made those extraordinary errors on set point he would have won the match in straights! Alcaraz himself said that! The errors also are signs of aging. He missed routine backhands one of which was on a ball from Alcaraz with absolutely nothing on it! Novak himself described them as really poor errors. They were!
Margot below commented on his slowing down so he couldn’t get to drop shots he would have got to in the past!
Plus the breeze especially at one end was really affecting his serve. I have never seen him serve so terribly!! It was like watching Rafa. Alcaraz knew exactly where the ball was going because he abandoned the T serve and wouldn’t go near the lines.
Have already said most of this in conversation with Okiegal who said she thought he helped beat himself. Well he obviously did!
But the point we are making is it happens as you get older that you have these bad days. It’s not something you can control..
As for Rafa getting slams when he returns I know it will be incredibly difficult. I am a realist. But if he wins even one at 38 it will be an amazing achievement.
Everyone is assuming he would have won in straights.. who can say for sure . Did anybody 2 sets down ,2 3 0 40 down think rafa will come n win ao 22.
Only truth is Novak didn’t win and lost the match..the calendar slam talk would be insufferable by his fanbase and we are spared of that..
Do u know many of his fans have logged off Twitter for some weeks..they just are there to gloat when he wins ..they can’t take it when others dish it out to them..they wrote reams calling alcaraz lucky no 1..well they got a good medicine.
I never said he would have beaten them on equal footing..I just said he is far more complete at 20 than each of the big 3 at that age plus he’s mature and not rash either..he is super smart ..just see the 5th set..Novak played well in the fifth..alcaraz just didn’t give him room to breathe .see the 5th set stats ..see the winners .he took the racquet out of novaks hands except third set Novak never played badly.ppl talk of just 2 aces ..well alcaraz returned well..reached his serves..its not that novak sprayed dfs and served badly..the 3 points 2 bh misses in tb and the missed smash in 5th which were inexplicable misses ,why are we not thinking it was induced by the sheer stress of alcaraz at the other end …n he’s famous for botched up djokosmash since years wats new abt it
I agree with all yor assessment & everythings u said on this thread sanju!..i think Novak not turned up like his usual self last sunday bcoz of his opponent..easy said,he found his match!…At last!
p/s..of coz wind play a factor too!
p/s2..never ever belittling yor younger opponent who’s not afraid of u!..they might bit u in the a&&!
I agree with you Sandu. Perhaps I’ve had to acknowledge the influence of the passing years more than most, because of Andy.
It was clear to me that Novak, fantastic athlete that he is, had slowed down. I mean Carlos catching him with those drop shots would never have happened previously.
I hope Sinner and Rune can step up to the Alcaraz challenge.
Don’t think sanju is saying that Margot! It’s me and Okiegal saying he is showing clear signs of aging..You could see the same with Rafa at the same age last year. He was so much slower and more tired at times even when he was winning..
I often wonder how you feel about Andy playing on..At wimby 21 with Rafa out I ferociously supported Andy! But boy was it an exhausting experience and so frustrating at times watching him miss balls he would make in his sleep in the past. When he got beaten so easily by Shaps it really was miserable to watch..
Apologies Amy! That’s the trouble with scim reading!
I agree about Andy too. TBH I hate him playing on and I hate seeing him lose to players he would’ve stamped on years ago!
I’m sure he’ll have a great career away from competition too, coaching, commentating etc but I heard commentators at Wimbledon say that there’s someone new coming onto the coaching team!
I liked seeing him and Kim in the audience watching Carlos v Novak, Very stress free for once!
I feel your pain Margot!! Honestly I don’t know how you can watch sometimes when he plays so far below his real ability. If it were Rafa I would rather he retired..
I can imagine Andy being a brilliant coach btw…
Amy…I feel novaks year is turning out to be mirror image of rafas last year ..good first 6 months till June and then a subpar second half..rafas second half was abysmal and ridden with injuries…don’t think novaks maybe that bad but his fans are expecting him to win uso coming back super motivated .
Carlos will be fav at uso and that may affect him..however meddy may decide to play on hc like he did first half of year
It feels like this is a big blow to Novak’s confidence sanju! He prides himself on hanging tough at crucial moments and failed to do so…It may also inspire other players to beat him as his aura of invincibility is gone.
I don’t see him as the fave at USO. He had slipped up there many times before…
Yes rafa needs to win a slam next year and go out on a high..a huge statement win ..he deserves it hope he doesn’t get an exit like federer
BTW any news abt him…just vacationing n enjoying ?
Yes hope so but super difficult!!
So what has Toni been saying? You mentioned him before..
He has a habit of talking nonsense and actually seems to know very little about Rafa hence his predictions are always nonsense…
Same old..rafa was wronged..surfaces not in his favor..more injured than the other 2..
All true but how many times will you say the same thing ..plus who is Toni to keep talking about Rafa now .he is Felix coach…focus on him.
We clearly can see Toni is not a great coach.. he has been able to do nothing with Felix..what he did with Rafa was because Rafa was special…
Happiest must be fed fans…his no 8 at wimby is secure for a year more
PS sanju as per your comment above about wimby 2018 I really don’t think you can blame Rafa for losing that. He played a brilliant match. Both players did. But Novak was really helped by the roof. It helped him serve a very large number of aces including on break points. Also Rafa was absolutely drenched with sweat with the humidity.
The guy who was referee that day revealed recently that Rafa got angry about the roof being closed the next day at Novak’s insistence. Also there was a breeze that day!! Rafa for sure would have won as his topsin fh is way better in the breeze than Novak ‘s. Novak often doesn’t play well in the breeze and wind. They asked for the roof to be closed for the final as I expect you know..
That’s the slam all Rafa fans get mad about!
Anyway the referee revealed what we Rafa fans guessed that Rafa,was angry about being made to play with the roof on. It was a very hot day that day! I remember it vividly..
I am not aware about roof requested to be closed for this year’s final…who asked it ..is it not an outdoor tourney ..why should roof be closed if no rain .
I still don’t understand why did they listen to Novak even to close the roof in 2018 next day..the rule was changed from 2019 …rafa was no 1 that time ,novak was no 17. I know rafa would have won it that year with roof open..main reason is the useless isner Anderson match…
Well everyone is saying that Novak’s team asked for it to be closed. Obviously they do what Novak wants..