Ten years later, there will be no final rematch of the 2008 Wimbledon epic between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. But the All-England Club faithful will be treated to a different historic rivalry two days earlier–Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic in the semis.
The two all-time greats are set to face each other for a hard-to-believe 52nd time in their careers on Friday, with Djokovic holding a lead so slim (26-25) that it will be all tied if he loses this one. Nadal had dropped seven in a row and 11 of their last 12 meetings before taking their two most recent encounters, also in semifinal showdowns (6-2, 6-4 last spring in Madrid and 7-6(4), 6-3 a couple of months ago in Rome). They have not collided on grass since the 2011 Wimbledon title match, which Djokovic won 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.
Surprisingly, Nadal had not been back to even the quarterfinals of this tournament since that 2011 result. But it has all turned around for the world No. 1 this fortnight, with straight-set romps over Dudi Sela, Mikhail Kukushkin, Alex De Minaur, and Jiri Vesely prior to an epic 7-5, 6-7(7), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarterfinals. Nadal is now an awesome 35-2 this season and 31-1 in his last 32 matches since retiring against Marin Cilic in the Australian Open quarters.
“Anything could have happened (against Del Potro), so this is a big achievement for me to get to the semifinals at Wimbledon,” the Spaniard said following Wednesday’s thriller. “In the last set there was a little of everything: great points, great rallies, he was hitting crazy with his forehands. I tried to resist and maintain focus.
“Now is the moment to enjoy and then start to recover, as it was a tough physical battle. [Djokovic] is one of the toughest opponents. I am just excited to be in the semis.”
While Nadal has finally found greener pastures at Wimbledon following years of SW19 frustration, Djokovic’s all-around game appears to be back in business for the first time in a year. Physical problems derailed the second half of 2017 and the first half of 2018 for him, but the Djokovic of old has returned. The 21st-ranked Serb picked up some momentum on clay and has only improved on grass, with a runner-up performance at Queen’s Club and wins this fortnight over Tennys Sandgren, Horacio Zeballos, Kyle Edmund, Karen Khachanov, and Kei Nishikori. Djokovic is 17-3 in his last 20 matches since being saddled with a 6-6 mark through his first 12 of the year.
“I feel (that) if I have to compare the game that I’ve played, the level of tennis that I’ve had those years and today, I think it’s pretty close,” Djokovic assessed after beating Nishikori 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday. “I like the level of tennis that I’m playing right now; I really do. I think with the performances I’ve had, I deserve to be in the semifinals. I don’t want to stop here. I hope I can get a chance to fight for a trophy.”
While this Djokovic is something different than what was on display from January through April, his sample size of success remains small. The 12-time major champion owns just a single top-10 win since Rome last spring, and that has come at the expense of a slumping Grigor Dimitrov in the Queen’s Club second round. Toppling Nadal in the Wimbledon semifinals is a whole different beast of a task.
Nadal has quite simply been the best player this entire year and the best player throughout this tournament. Although it obviously isn’t clay, conditions are suiting him well this fortnight. If more of the same continues and he produces a similar level to what Del Potro saw on the other side of the net, the 32-year-old should advance to his sixth Wimbledon final.
Pick: Nadal in 4
[polldaddy poll=10053663]
who ya got?
I hope Nadal but i fear Djokovic since 2011. You never know what could happen.
I hope its Rafa in four as I know Djoko is good enough not to lose in straight sets.
I just hope Rafa recovers in time and battle ready for the SF.
Djokovic in 4 for reasons already outlined.
Tactically, Djokovic can turn this into a grind and pull the trigger when he wants knowing the guy at the other end of the court is worn out and in need of a rest.
Djokovic is as opportunistic as Nadal and will use the work Del Potro has done to his advantage.
There’s a host of oyscholiguvsl factors at play here which give Djokovic additional motivation and an edge.
Djokovic in 4
Its going to Rain on Friday? how will That impact? your thoughts?
Weather forecast for Friday
https://www.lachainemeteo.com/meteo-royaume-uni/ville-44339/previsions-meteo-wimbledon-vendredi-prochain
No rain. 55% humidity but partly sunny
I haven’t seen enough of Novak recently to make a confident judgment, but what I have seen doesn’t look like the almost unbeatable version of a couple years ago. The forehand in particular isn’t much of a weapon, at least from what I’ve seen.
ND has raised his level by leaps and bounds at Wimby and he will be well and truly fired up for this match. OTH
so will be Rafa.
My guess is Djokovic will lose his cool and get into one of his manic rages – particularly if it is Bernadez in the chair: he’ll be issuing time violations left right and centre.
Put simply, Nadal can’t beat Djokovic in grass.
what about ON grass?
Hahahahaha!!…Yeah!!…Very funny Ricky!!..Hehehehe…Serves JC right!!
Hahaha Ricky, LOVE it! 😂😂
Haha! Good point, Ricky. 😉
What have you been smoking, JC? 😊
6 more sets, 2 more matches, 4 more days.
Rafa holding 18th slam trophy at All England Club.
Never doubt about it.
You are very brave to claim that. Djokovic is a dengrrous player . But i hope you are guessing right.
Rafa in 4
the id sounds familiar ..
vrael!
Ricky!!! XD
Folks : I know Rafa had a gruelling match tat was physically and mentally taxing but it was not the first time for him to have a 5 set marathon and having to bounce back. Yes he was younger earlier when he bounced back but then such kind of matches also give you the springboard to leap ahead as it puts in a great deal of confidence. Novak will not have it easy as Rafa will fight for this tooth and nail. I hope Rafa wins this though it will not be easy for either. Expect lots of see saw ups and downs. Historically Novak has been the toughest opponent for Rafa but Rafa has Wimby 18 to play for and it is worth going the extra mile for it.
Regarding Fed I always had the feeling he will not win Wimby and will underperform. He will make some noise at USO though (not saying necessarily will win but will go very deep).
Rafa now has a good buffer at world No 1 right till USO ends..thats another 2 months.
amy..was the Delpo match the edge match or nervy match as per you?
Novak maybe fresher but he has his own vulnerabilities too. It wont be easy for Novak to win this, rafa will make him earn this. Likewise if Rafa has to win, he will have to go all out and pummel Novak into submission who will bring his best for Rafa.
Sanju…no not really as his nervy matches mean that he starts timidly and poorly. Yesterday he started great and was very aggressive with the forehand piling up winners. In the first 2 sets he was much the better player but in the second set he suddenly threw in a terrible sloppy game to get broken. But he played great aggressive tennis to break back straightaway. In the tiebreak he had 4 set points and double faulted one away. Then in the third Delpo started playing awesome and rafa reverted to his old habits of playing as if he was on a clay court…attacking delpo’s bh while ignoring endless opportunities to take the point with a forehand. Last set was pretty amazing by both!! Sorry am writing with assumption you didn’t see the match?!?
If rafa comes out aggressive like he did in the first 2 sets and sticks to it then he’ll win. Nole is still mentally fragile and has lost crucial tiebreak s by choking. The thing that actually helps rafa imo is that he can’t even think about attacking Nole ‘s bh! That means he has to be aggressive with the fh!
Rafa is better at the net than Nole and has an infinitely superior overhead. I hope he throws up some lobs!!!
Mira – what you feeling? 🙂
Sanju…My feeling?…Weeelllll…I have a mixed feelings…Of coz i’m happy Rafa win..And 4 hrs 48 minutes is innocent numbers,but it looks like a golden opportunity lost…
I know anything can happen in tennis…i guess we just gonna wait & see…Would love for Rafa to prove me wrong Sanju….
any extended highlights of rafa delpo and novak fed? All I see are 3 minute useless highlights by Wimbledon
sorry anderson fed
This is a tough one to call.
Back in the day when Nole was in God mode Rafa clearly had a mental meltdown.
He (Rafa) then worked on his game, as Novak himself did before, to counteract Novak’s strengths and eventually managed to beat him again (maybe also Novak just couldn’t maintain the same level).
Even though Novak should have an edge on grass I don’t think it’s possible at this point to gauge Novak’s improved level Vs Rafa’s sustained Nr1nes (I take spelling liberties in this media chat format, forgive me)
I think if Novak is able to be a wall and paint the lines Rafa will probably implode at some point but, if Rafa is able to hurt Novak here and there he will smell blood and get the win somehow.
In short, lots of words to just state the obvious.
Yes, it’s really hard to predict what will happen. Especially since I’m not quite sure how far the Djoker has really come out of his slump. I suspect that he is on a very good way, but IMO he hasn’t been tested, yet, by a high quality opponent. Kei ist a high quality opponent but grass isn’t his best surface, and he is always plagued by one or another injury in the latter stages of a tournament.
Rafa has been severely tested yesterday, and he ultimately passed the test. And he overcame his five-set woes. That’s very important IMO. I tried to work out when his struggles to close out five-setters started. I think it’s possible that this trend started after he lost his epic encounter with the Djoker at the AO final 2012. After that match he won only two five-set matches if my memory ist correct: the great semi against the Djoker at RG 2013, and the match against Tim Smyzcek (probably spelled that incorrectly) at the AO 2015. But in 2012 his Wimby woes started in earnest with bis early loss against Rosol, and since then he lost many more five-setters, not just at Wimby. His five-set losses against journeymen like Rosol, Verdasco, Pouille, Fognini, Dustin Brown, and Müller come to mind. And he often lost after having been up a break in the fifth like against Fed at the AO 2017. Someone also pointed out that Rafa wasn’t as good anymore at winning matches where he won the first set. So, by winning against Delpo he really overcame a worrying trend, which surprisingly has rarely been analysed properly. It seems like the old narrative of Rafa, the ultimate fighter and clutch player, was too strong and every loss of another five-setter has been declared to be an exception – mostly because he still projected his oncourt warrior personality and his opponents had to throw everything and the kitchen sink at him in order to win.
Rafa won 2 five setters in AO 2017. People remeber the third five setter. May Rafa is so good that he is never extended to five sets.
True, how could I forget about the great 5-set wins against Zverev and especially Dimi!
And you are right, Rafa is normally good enough and doesn’t need to go often over the long distance. But it’s also true that bis 5-set statistics have taken a serious hit over the years, and there have been many puzzling losses against lesser players. And often he has been up a break in the 5th but couldn’t close it out. The two AO final losses against the Djoker and then Fed were especially hard. Right now I’m just glad that he pulled off the win against Delpo and hope it hasn’t sapped bis strength too much…
Still sticking with Nadal for this one, I think he’s looked a bit better in the tournament so far.
The winner of Isner/Anderson will probably need this match to really go the distance to have much hope.
Yes, Anderson/Isner could eventually profit from the lopsided development of the tournament. If Rafa and the Djoker will get into a protracted tussle it’s “Advantage Anderson/Isner”. I don’t count them out at all for the final. And I admit that I’m biased, but I do hope that Anderson will be in the final. Isner winning Wimby would be a cosmic joke…and not a good one IMO. Sorry, If I offend some of the few Isner fans here 😉
Was Goran also a servebot like isner? Just asking out of curiosity as I was only 2 years old when goran won wimby.
not really. Goran came to the net more. In his prime Goran was one of the best players in the world.
test
this is a slightly longer test.
Isn’tner definitely a servebot.
The only time that Goran was one of the best players in the world was 2001 when he wasn’t in his prime.
Goran came to the net more than Isn’tner because all players generally speaking at that time came to the net more on faster surfraces during the 90s. If Isn’tner played in the 90s, he would have come to the net more.
Compared to the best players in the world, he won 35% of return points (RPW), and by 2001, the year he won his lone slam, it was just 31% for that year (but TWA had begin).
RN forty three percent career RPW,
ND, AM, AA forty two percent,
Rog forty percent
Pistol thirty eight percent.
Johnny Serve Bot by comparison is a career twenty nine percent.
1
2
3
testing numbers
HAHAHA HAWKS! IsN’Tner!! That is the funniest shit I’ve seen in a while, Hawks. 🙂
You didn’t offend me, littlefoot. 🙂 And I know you didn’t offend Hawkeye haha! I’m usually able to separate someone’s political views from how I feel about them in sport. However, with Donald Trump, it’s not a political thing to me- it’s a moral thing, about common decency and how we treat our fellow humans.
Therefore I just cannot help but not like someone who so openly and publicly supports Donald Trump. I just can’t bring myself to just ignore this aspect of Isner. I don’t give a shit that he’s a conservative- it’s strictly the fact that he so passionately loves and defends the horrible human being that is Donald Trump. How am I supposed to be able to just pretend like that doesn’t exist, and want Isner to win? Same goes for Ryan Harrison, Kiki Vandewegh, etc., although those two are also cocky assholes who just suck. Isner at least tries to be a nice guy, which is unfortunately ruined by the fact that he WORSHIPS the most mean-spirited, divisive asshole in the entire country.
This dude is talking about wanting to tweet Trump to get him to come watch his semifinal match, as Trump is currently in Britain.
Ok, rant over. 😂
Yeah agreed kevin. Btw what is it with so many American tennis players supporting him? Can you imagine Murray Edmund Konta Robson Watson ever giving him the time of day?! I am absolutely sure that they all think he is a loathsome tosser!!
I really don’t get it, Amy… But the more I think about it, maybe I shouldn’t be that surprised. And what makes me say that is the fact that so many male tennis players are inherently sexist. How many ATP players actually believe that women’s tennis should be considered equal to men’s? I wouldn’t even use all 5 fingers to count them! And I’m pretty sure Trump has openly stated before that he felt like women’s sports are less than men’s. Let’s face it- that inherent sexism that is rampant in society is unquestionably greater among supporters of Trump.
So many we shouldn’t surprised how many Trump-supporting assholes there are in tennis?
How many TSA’s are there in the USofA? Enough to elect the madman. No reason tennis players shouldn’t reflect the society that spawned them.
don’t think all Trump supporters are assholes. Misguided, yes.
For example, Sandgren is a Trump supporter and a genuinely terrible person. Isner, however, appears to be a good guy.
Disagree with your last sentence. If Anderson plays like he did the last two sets, he will win against either of these guys. Too much firepower. Not saying he will (or even if he will get there), but the win against Fed will have given him massive confidence.
+1
It was a breakthrough win IMO, bigger than making the USO Final.
especially based on competition level in NYC
I don’t even think his US Open run was that impressive, personally. None of his wins were surprising at all.
I thought that his win over Andy Murray at 2015 US Open was his biggest achievement until yesterday. And I still put that win at #2 ahead of making 2017 US Open Final.
I know the odds are very sbad cakes against him, but could you imagine if Kevin Anderson became Wimbledon champion, having defeated Roger Federer AND Rafael Nadal/Novak Djokovic en route?? I mean, forget about his own personal best achievement- it would arguably be one of the best achievements in tennis, period! Seriously, what better single achievement could there be in men’s tennis than winning the most prestigious tournament beating 2 of the 3 greatest players of all-time en route?
But that’s why it would be the most monumental achievement- because he has like a 5% chance of pulling it off haha.
Ha, somehow “stacked” autocorrected into “sbad cakes”. 😂😂
Just read Tignor’s piece on the Rafa/Delpo match over at tennis.com. He made a very interesting point which had crossed my mind as well: I wondered how it would affect Rafa’s mind during the match when he learned that Fed lost! Tignor pointed out that Rafa was well in control of the match – and then Fed lost, and Rafa seemed to lose his concentration. Doing a double fault in a tie break is a rare occurence for Rafa, but it happened. I don’t see how Fed’s loss couldn not have affected Rafa: like it or not – Fed was the greatest obstacle for Rafa on his way to another Wimby title, and Rafa hasn’t beaten Fed in years (I won’t go into the reasons here why that is the case). Rafa himself has said recently that he is not eager for a new edition of the 2008 final, and that he prefers another opponent than Fed if he should reach the final. And then, out of the blue, his supposedly greatest obstacle was gone! That surely must’ve affected his mind. He might also have contemplated the possibility that he could follow suit and make an exit too. But he dug in and kept fighting. The thought that another Wimby title after an 8-year hiatus had just become more realistic might’ve helped him to come back and win this match.
I don’t know who will win the semi final – Rafa or Djoker. Ricky said that Rafa has been hands down the best player this season. This is an interesting point of view because Rafa missed huge chunks of the season because of his protracted injury woes. But Rafa has been nearly untouchable since he came back for his Daviscup matches against Germany, where, despite having gone into DC without being battle hardened, he dismantled Sasha Zverev in a great display of his clay court art. Since then he lost only one match. We will see if he can remain the best player as the season progresses. But at this year’s Wimby he demonstrated again that he is so much more than the King of Clay. And with Delpo he took down a player whose form had been very, very good lately. He even scored the first win of the season over Fed in the IW final. Looking back this match actually started Fed’s slide downwards. After IW he became beatable again.
Looking just at this season, Rafa is the favorite against the Djoker. But the length of his match against Delpo might be a factor. And I suspect that remnants of the Djoker might still remain lodged in Rafa’s mind, especially since the Djoker is clearly on an upward trajectory atm. I’m sure that both players will give their very best.
AT 9:11 AM: ¤¤ Tignor pointed out that Rafa was well in control of the match – and then Fed lost, and Rafa seemed to lose his concentration. ¤¤
===
Hmm. This is Mr. Tignor’s imagination.
That’s what Rafa replied to journalists:
“I was playing tennis. I was not thinking much about what was going on in the other court,” Nadal said.
“I am not that good to have the chance to think about all the things going on outside. I had a tough work having Juan Martin in front.”
http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2018-07-11/nadal_books_first_semifinal_place_since_2011.html
It may be not so much Tignor’s imagination but his interpretation. It may be correct or not. And of course Rafa wouldn’t say openly right after the match, that he was a bit thrown off by Fed’s unexpected loss. But I would be very surprised it it didn’t affect him at all. This thought crossed my mind right after Fed lost, and I hoped that wouldn’t affect Rafa negatively.
Whatever, Rafa came out Victorinox, and that’s all that matters.
Correction: that should read “victorious”. I love the creativity of autocorrection 😉
Fed has admitted recently that earlier on when his biggest rivals lost, he felt pressure that he could follow next . Rafa surely would have been shocked seeing Feds loss and I am sure some thoughts ran through his mind as he was in 2nd set when that happened
littlefoot I had thought the same as a possibility while I was watching the match.
Many said the same about Federer in 2009 when Rafa lost in Paris. Federer seemed to tighten up several times in matches afterwards.
It is possible which is all that Tignor speculates.
Hawks, we will never know for sure – unless Rafa eventually makes a frank statement – but the way he lost the second set was puzzling and untypical for Rafa, especially since he normally nlever suffered many mental lapses when he plays against Delpo.
Ricky is right about Rafa being the best player this year even if he missed a chunk of the season out injured. Last year when Fed skipped clay and won his Halle and Wimbledon titles, suffering only one loss in the season to that point in time, many were saying he’s the best player, not Rafa despite Rafa having earned more ranking points.
Rafa in this season so far has lost only two matches, has won the most titles and ranking points, and has now reached at least the SF of Wimbledon with chances of winning the title. He’s clearly the best player so far this year.
Yes, I completely agree. I also never bought the narrative that Fed would be the real Number One If he only hadn’t skipped the clay season, because Rafa also missed large chunks of the 2017/18 years because of his injuries. Therefore they are pretty even as far as missed tournaments are concerned.
Rafa has had his lapses in concentration during his matches (in all or almost all of them) that had him losing serve(s).
I noticed the lapses happened after one plus hours of play, perhaps Rafa couldn’t sustain his concentration much longer than that without suffering lapses. It happened in the second set during the Delpo match as the first two sets took almost two hours (as long as any of his straight sets matches in the first four rounds).
I do hope Rafa could come out all guns blazing against Djoko to win the first two sets before his lapses occur; so that he will be ahead even if his lapses cost him a set. It’s important that he doesn’t give Djoko the head start over him, when Djoko is ahead, it’s hard to catch him.
Recently it hasn’t been so hard to catch the Djoker when he was leading. He lost many matches after leading comfortably. But I wouldn’t count on that trend to continue for the upcoming match…
Yes, I think thats the problem with Fed also. With Djoker as well. Earlier they were so good that would just run away with the matches.
Actually, lapses of concentration become more frequent when players get older. It’s Part of the aging process. Therefore it’s not a big surprise that it happens more offen, now that Fed, Rafa and the Djoker are thirtysomethings. And they can compensate this trend with experience.
And yeah something that is worth noting is that rafa has not lost a single gs sf since uso 2009(I maybe wrong) and yeah he has only lost 2 gs sf in his carrer. Amazing conversion rate it seems
This is turning out to be like rg 2013 where rafa djoko played the semis and rafa after playing a marathon easily dismissed ferrer. Now what ferrer is to clay court big servers are to grass court. So yeah anything can happen. Just hoping the best for nadal and all his fans.
No Ferrer on clay is less tougher than Anderson on grass because clay is Rafas strongest surface and grass is not. Its not a valid comparison.
Nadal over Djokovic in 4. Rafa is just too good this year, only lost 2 matches (one by retirement) and is on a 17 match winning streak. However, if the final is against Isner, that will be VERY tricky
Has he ever lost to Isner? At the end of the day, the guy’s only a servebot. Anderson is less of a servebot, but not that strong mentally. Plus if it’s Anderson v Nadal in the final, Kev will surely have that US Open rout in the back of his mind. Just because of that I think he’s a better chance against Djokovic.
The supposed servebot has beaten Federer and Djokovic before. You cant beat them just being a servebot
Sure, and he’s certainly no walkover on grass, but how many times has he beaten them vs lost?
Being a servebot doesn’t mean you can’t get the occasional win against good players, because you can. It just means that your game is pretty one-dimensional and that you generally lose those encounters because of it.
Yes, Sanju, you are right. The big servers always have a chance on a good day for them and a mediocre day for their opponents. Isner has rarely beaten one of the Big Four, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Ithink, it’s arrogant to believe that Isner/Anderson have no chance against Rafa or Novak. Roger is Exibit A. And lately Isner has been almost as successful as Anderson. Unlike Anderson he actually won a Masters, although he has never been very successful at the slams.
I think it’s premature to believe that the match Rafa vs Novak is the true final. Isner and Anderson are in grass way more dangerous than Ferrer on clay.
Sanju i left you a post earlier to the one you addressed to me earlier up the thread. Just in case you didn’t see it!!😀
yes amy i read it. i just hope rafa wins tomorrow ..will chat after he wins..till then nerves 🙂
In Miami, Isner was cracking both his forehand and his backhand. People don’t realize this about John, but when’s confident and at his best, he has absolutely thunderous groundstrokes. Plus his volleys are constantly improving, and he was serve and volleying a lot against Tsitsipas and Raonic, and it was working a lot. In fact, he hit a diving backhand volley to save set point in the second set tiebreak against Raonic!!
Anyone who watched Anderson beat Fed couldn’t say that he’s just a serve bot. He has a massive serve, sure, but he had a lot more to his game than that. He often controlled the rallies from the baseline, he moved better than I ever thought a guy 6’8” could move, and even his BH was pretty strong.
I think the point a few people are making is that both Anderson and Isner have improved a lot in the last couple of years. And Anderson has gotten a lot stronger mentally; the match against Fed will have done wonders for his confidence.
So, maybe, we can remove the asterisk from Rafa’s USO title now? ☺☺☺
well said
Yeah, now that he beat Fed, all of a sudden he’s got game, lol!! Smh!!!
Olly July 12, 2018 at 10:21 AM
‘if the final is against Isner, that will be VERY tricky’
Especially if it’s Anderson who gets into the final
oh, sorry, I hand’t read your post properly… you wrote ‘if’ the final is against Isner…. my bad… was trying to be cheeky
Not exactly a clever idea by isner to invite twitler to come watch him! Most brits think that twitler is an idiot/insane/revolting/a conman/an absolute joke/completely corrupt/a raving narcissist/a sex pest/a threat to the planet/ a warmonger/someone who makes you want to vomit…
He’s not exactly going to endear himself to the crowd is he??
That’s why I hope that Anderson will make the final!
I read somewhere though, that The Donald ist one of the greatest Rafafans, lol! Oh, well, you can’t chose all of your fans. But if there will be a final Nadal/Isner – could that mean, someone will get into his presidential plane and head for London??
Sorry do you mean he will come or a worthy ie deeply corrupt/lying sycophant/possibly deranged acolyte like Mike pence??
I don’t quite understand your question, Amy.
But if I haven’t expressed myself clearly – I’m on the same page with you re: The Donald. I truly Hope He will decline Isner’s invitation. But since The Donald ist a self proclaimed Rafafan, I thought, that a final Isner/Nadal might tempting him to come. It would be a pairing where The Donald cannot lose. And that’s the kind of Position he likes 😮
Sorry littlefoot! I thought maybe you were suggesting he wouldn’t come but someone would come in his place!?
I think the security issues would be absolutely monumental in terms of twitler coming. And it absolutely wouldn’t be good pr for him if wimby is surrounded by massive crowds of protesters – as it would be -and if he was heckled by the crowd. There will be some horrible brexiteers there who would cheer him but london is a cosmopolitan Remain vote stronghold and there would definitely be a lot of people who would boo and heckle him.
Am praying Anderson wins!!!
Ah, OK, Amy. Yes, my comment could be read in this was, lol!
Just seen footage of the fascist moron arriving here…ugh! And ugh to melania as well. Just sod off you pair of cheap spineless grifters!
The only place you truly belong and which would welcome having you is a jail!!
Rant over!
PS fascists are marching in London tomorrow holding trump posters! They know what he stands for!
is he going to Isner’s match?
He had better not ricky!
I don’t see how he could as the protesters would block the streets so how could anyone actually get in to watch!!!
Amy, I was totally disconnected from the background of this discussion. Trump is there of course. And I do know that he is a tennis fan, and he has had contact with tennis players before. I remember that he has contact with Monica Seles. There we’re even rumors about a short affair. I understand Isner a bit better now. I truly wonder now if Trump will go to the final if Isner will play. And as I said before Trump is a great Rafafan – which isn’t Rafa’s fault of course. But sometimes I do wish that Rafa would pull a Kyrgios, lol! But that’s of course not Rafa’s style.
I really hope that Trump stays away from Wimby! 😣
Well, I belong with the protesters in London LOL
Tsame.
I’m with Kyrgios and his tee.
#FDT
tsame
Go Anderson!
Muuuuuuch rather see Anderson win a slam than Isn’tner.
I’m with you, Hawks. I would be really annoyed if Isn’tner managed to win Wimbledon. Especially if our scumbag President were there cheering him on.
Kevin Anderson may possibly be hardest guy to root against of all-time haha. He’s just so nice. And his wife is so cool, too. I would love to see him give Isn’tner the biggest slaughtering ever.
I agree, Kevin.
I would also hate if Trump would go to a Rafa/Isner final, and Trump would cheer for Rafa if he wins!
Anderson simply has to beat Isner! Someone should tell him that this isn’t just about tennis anymore, lol! I do know that Anderson is politically interested and active. So, he certain would listen ☺
Amy,
I am sorry that your country has to be invaded by the fascist moron. I am just so embarrassed for my country to have this lying thug representing us. He has insulted our allies and cozied up to the likes of Putin and Kim Jong Un and other tyrants and dictators. He is a traitor to his country and belongs behind bars.
I hope that the British people will protest long and loud to let him know what they think of him.
Nny Actually today has brought it home to me how dreadful it must be for the Americans who detest him! Having him on our soil makes me want to vomit! Yet you have to put up with him every day! It must be torture!
Solidarity!!!
Nny and Kevin
I really want to write more to you but I am feeling quite unwell today…think I need to try and lie down to rest up for tomorrow!
F*** trump!!
Pss nny I am a member of Stop Trump who are organising the mass protests! A lot of people will come out although quite disturbingly the government has leant on the police to curtail certain legal methods of assembly which has never happened before. A sign of the moral decay which is taking place here as a result of brexit.😡😡
NNY, thank you for recognizing us! It’s importsnt for everyone around the world to remember that the MAJORITY of the United States does NOT support Trump! Even if you just look at the people who voted in the election, it is a fact that more people voted for NOT Trump than for him. Our electoral system does not use the actual votes like they should. If it did, Donald Trump would not be President because less people voted for him than Hillary Clinton. I’m not saying that Hillary Clinton would have been a good President herself, but we at least wouldn’t have this hateful scumbag in office.
Anderson just 3-8 career vs Gods Country Trump fan good ol’ boy Isner.
Add to that a predictable let down and some fatigue makes another win a “tall” order.
Advantage boring Isner FTW in four tiebreaks.
Yawn
I think you will be correct, but I hope nevertheless that you are wrong!
And I’m with Nick Kyrgios, too!
Wimbledon@Wimbledon 15 minutes ago
FRIDAY’S ORDER OF PLAY (Centre Court, from 13:00 BST):
Kevin Anderson vs John Isner
Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
https://twitter.com/Wimbledon/status/1017373448992186368
Let’s just hope that Anderson/Isner doesn’t turn into a “7 Days Of Hell” encounter, lol 😉
I know this has been said many times before but one marvels at the longevity of the big 4 and it will be a sad day when they all walk off into the sunset. Andy Murray is already being groomed as a future commentator (hence his stint alongside the regulars at Wimby this year)and has his finger in a number of different pies; Rafa has his academy and his fishing ; Djokovic has a career in politics mapped out; Federer will surely be appointed the official Ambassador for tennis and earn ever more mind-boggling sums of money.
Meanwhile I thank my lucky stars to have been around to witness this amazing epoch in tennis.
Haha hello Ricky,Hi Cheryl
I used to be a regular at Tennistalk.com,so some of you might recognize me.
Djokovic in 4 without a doubt.
major doubt in that one
Hows the crazy predictions by these guys
https://www.thenational.ae/sport/tennis/rafael-nadal-beats-novak-djokovic-as-kevin-anderson-defeats-john-isner-wimbledon-semi-final-predictions-1.749558
It’s not one bit crazier than your own predictions – which haven’t been very successful for quite a while, lol! The truth is that these semis are very hard to predict, since so many uncertain parameters come into play quite literally. We are not at the French Open where it’s not hard to predict the eventual winner. This year all tennis experts have been 100% correct with their predictions. Even Steve Tignor, whose well documented curse normally dooms a player before he even hits a ball, got it right 😉
But this year’s Wimby turned out to be tricky, although you have to be definitely over thirty in order to have a chance. This goes for the women as well btw. The last youngster has been ruthlessly eliminated today.
It is so comical how you all turn this forum into something political. Do you seriously have something against Isner other than his political beliefs?? Or you just dislike him because of who he voted for? Btw, Kevin Anderson is a permanent United States resident (as is his “cool” wife)… How is it known that he did not vote for Trump other than the fact he has not said it pubicly?? Very interested in the responses to come………..
you just said it doesn’t matter….
also Anderson isn’t a U.S. citizen, so he can’t vote.
therefore he did not vote for Trump.
And considering that Anderson is an ardent enviromentalist, it’s highly unlikely that he would’ve voted for Trump if he could’ve voted.
Cb23, Previously I had nothing whatsoever against Isner except that I intensely dislike his way to play tennis – although I don’t hold it against him personally, since he just tries to be as successful as he can. But now I hate his political leanings, and I do hold this against him personally. It’s not so much how he voted. Many have voted for Trump and regret it now. We all make mistakes. But Trump turned out to be even worse than expected, and Isner still publicly supports this moron. Even Mr. Sandgren retracted publicly some of his more controversial opinions. Isner however even would like to give Trump a platform to show himself at a popular event! And that’s reason enough for me to hope sincerely that Isner will lose against Anderson and not win the trophy. It may happen nevertheless, though. Our preferences don’t influence the outcome of matches…
Rafa in 3….he’s just too intense and too focused to lose!!
Rafa the slight favorite in this match for me.Novak will have to serve big consistently to keep rafa at bay.
Never actually made my pick. This is a tough one to call. I’m gonna go with Djokovic in 5 (slightly rooting for Nadal though)
From the little I’ve seen of Djokovic in this tournament, I’d say this. His serve, movement, and BH look near what they were at their best. His FH does not; it’s consistent enough but lacks punch, which will give Nadal an extra chance at some balls that previously would have been winners. Nadal, in contrast, is more aggressive than he’s been in the past, but somewhat less consistent on this surface. Long rallies will favour Djokovic.
Given that I would say peak (2014-15) Djokovic beats 2018 Nadal on grass pretty handily, I think the current version has just enough to win. Novak in 5.
We’ll see! I’ll say Rafa in four! This Djoko needed four sets to put away a relatively easier opponent when he should be doing so in three sets. I doubt Rafa would let this slip away from him, unless he’s overcome by nerves! I trust that he’ll come out with the right strategy instead of playing grinding tennis.
I’ll even say that the 2014 Djoko might be on par with this Rafa; the 2015 version might be better but still not as great as the 2008 version of Rafa on this surface (that version of Rafa moved like snake on grass and was almost perfect with all his shots though still not as varied as himself of 2018). I mean who could almost put Fed away in straight sets at Wimbledon if not for the rain?
I’m no tennis expert but from an armchair point of view, the last thing Rafa should do is allow Djokovic to settle on the baseline where he can hit the balls to his heart’s content till the cows come home. Rafa needs to be offensive and not play the Ping-Pong King’s game.
Are you seriously picking rafa over Novak on grass? Lmao
+1
why is this so hard to comprehend?
grass isn’t Djokovic’s best surface.
I agree, Novak’s best surface ist clearly hardcourt, although it came to pass that he was -so far – a bit more successful on grass than Rafa. But there were times when grass was considered to be Novak’s worst and Rafa’s second best surfrace, lol! That’s the true! And being more successful on grass doesn’t necessarily translate into being the better player on grass. The margins are too narrow for making such a claim with any confidence. Their head-to-head on grass ist 2:1 for Rafa, and he also has two more final appearances at Wimby. But all this doesn’t count today because both have changed considerably during the last few years. Recent successes for Rafa and Novak’s lack of any recent notable wins over top ten players clearly have the momentum on Rafa’s side. And I think, Ricky partly based his prediction on that. However, the fact that Rafa had a gruelling quarterfinal and that he might still have to face some remnant demons in matches against the Djoker might favor Novak. As a Rafafan I will close my eyes and hope for the best ☺
Littlefoot, as far as I understand you came much earlier than me on this forum. People here used to mention you sometime. I just want to say you bring a good, healthy balance to this place. You are one of those real Rafafans, who tries to analyse things as objectively as possible from that position. And also one of those tennis fans who know that a Fedfan&Rafafan can be friends. It has nothing to do with them (players) anyway. It’s about understanding that tennis is amazing, but life is more than tennis and not taking things personally.
Rafa is 2:1 against Djoker on grass, by the way.
Rafa needs to win the first set here. Djoker serve improves when he is in the lead. Serve speed and accuracy just goes way up.
Rafa need not woory about Djoker BTL shot. That is one shot which is not at all working for him. Rafa can continue to leave door open and let Djoker try it out. But Rafa can surprise Djoker with FH DTL . So Djoker is much more handicapped and his FH DTL is also not great.
I’m not sure about that. Novak’s tactics for the last few years have been to test Nadal’s lateral movement to his FH. In the match against Nishikori, Djokovic was getting great angles on the cross-court BH. That’s the shot that I think will cause Rafa trouble.
OTOH, Nadal has to hit his inside out FH at every opportunity, and make Novak try to hit the DTL FH. Two years ago I think Novak would return that shot with a sharply angled FH, but this is where I think his wrist lacks the strength to do that effectively. Basically, the more Nadal can hit to the Djokovic FH, the better.
Not going to predict anything. Hard to call. Hope the best wins and the best player at this tournament wins the whole thing.
The thing ist that we haven’t really enough recent data for making a well founded prediction for the Rafa/Nole match. Their last match on grass was seven years ago and took place 2011, when Novak was virtually invincible, and Rafa was on a long losing streak against Novak . But when have the two last met on another surface than clay? Was it at the WTF final 2013? While Novak won that indoor match easily, Rafa in general had shaken the hold Novak had over him for so long. Anyway, this was a long time ago,and both players changed considerably since then. Therefore it’s very hard to predict what will happen today. I do suspect, though, that Novak is still lodged into Rafa’s head to a certain degree. But Novak might’ve to fight demons of his own.
Let’s just say that as a Rafafan I’m still extremely weary of that match up. There’s a lot at stake for both, since such a good shot at the Wimby trophy might not offer itself again: the old maestro gone (although Rafa as well as Novak might’ve won a hypothetical final against Fed, since he wasn’t at his very best this year), and the young guns still not ready for taking over. Neither Rafa nor Novak are that young anymore. Eventually being over thirty might cease to be a requirement for winning a slam, lol!
Keep your mind sharp and focused, remain confident, be strong and show your warrior spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dh-1XGrXkAAJ4Yj.jpg
Good luck Rafa!! Hope its a good match, we are rooting for you!! We know you will do your best! Stay sharp, no dfs on set/match point plz. lol!!
Vamos, Rafa!!
Vamos Rafa!
Hope Rafa will win…Hope too that aggressive Rafa who would turned up today…Otherwise,i will go to Wimby myself & kick your a@$ hard with my slippers!U hear Rafa??..And look at me!Talking to myself like a mad cow!!…Hehehe…Woohoo!!Vamos Rafa!!
How are you today mira dear?
Hey amy!..Hey Sanju!…I SWEAR!!U GUYS R AWESOME!!!!…Never before someone asked me how i feel xcept u guys!!!Ohohohohhoho!!…U GUYS R UNBELIEVABLE!!..And i’m just a stranger for u guys!!…Would u guys be my virtual brother & sister???I sure want one!!Hahahaha…
Btw…I feel much better this evening…After Rafa win yesterday,i felt so sad & disappointed even tho the match itself was the most amazing match we’ve ever seen from Rafa at Wimby in a long time…But,at the same time,feel like a trophy slipping a little bit far away from Rafa & us…And knowing that this year is his best chance to get his 3rd…Anyway…hope to God that Rafa will win today…Please!please!please God!!…Grant our wishes!Amin!!…
I’ll be very happy for Rafa if he wins… may the strongest man between them make and win the final!!
By “them”, I mean Rafole.
Cheers to the Rafa fans…all of them and I mean it!
I won’t be posting or watching — taking a long weekend away.
Go Angie!
MA and Amy, love you both.
Be strong amy and hope you are well.
Hey RC….U be careful when u rafting okay?No repeat of last year…U should bring Mr RC too…in case something happen…
Rain forecasted today from 730 PM (:-
Mira how you feeling?
Hey Sanju!…Thank u for your concern!!…I really appreciate it bro!…I’m okay Sanju!!…U??U don’t be nervous okay?Here’s my virtual arm for u to hold & break if need it!Hehe…
It’s going to be rain today??Oh no!!…Hope Rafa would not be nervous much!
Thanks darling!
Am sick today!! Can’t go march!😢
Have a lovely weekend
!
PS am I actually allergic to the fascist moron!??
That post was for rc!!
Thanks amy. Take care of yourself – maybe it’s too hot over there across the pond.
Got an invite to go rafting that I can’t turn down and the river is COLD! Love it. Should be good for me unless I fall out again, like last year and break something.
I’m trying very hard to not get into politics on this tennis forum. But you call it right, amy.
amy,
I think you could well be allergic to the fascist moron! At least he will leave your country and you don’t have to live with him. Every time he or s his mouth, he lies. He is such a disgrace to humanity and this country. There are truly no words bad enough for him.
Every time he opens his mouth, he lies! *
Amy!…You’re sick?Hope you take your medicine k?R u going to watch Rafa?
https://cdn7.bigcommerce.com/s-af2f8xc7r2/images/stencil/2048×2048/products/7033/4782/Get%20Well%20Soon%20Bubbles%20Balloon%20Kings__75902.1497221765.png?c=2
Hey guys!!!
Am feeling very dizzy today!!! Quite hard to write!!
Love you all! Can’t reply individually!
Huge protests in London and it is a week day!!
Tomorrow will be massive!! Biggest
So there are 2 main reason why I believe Rafa should win today. It obviously helps Novak that he has won the last 7 matches they have played off of clay, and that Rafa hasn’t beaten Novak on a non-clay surface since US Open 2013. HOWEVER, after the first 7 match losing to Novak, Rafa turned it around with a couple of clay court wins in 2012. And what happened after those clay wins? He went on to have success again off of clay against Novak. I think that Rafa just getting a couple wins off of Novak on any surface/condition was precisely what he needed to end the mental block he had against Novak.
And I see the same thing happening after the most recent 7-match losing streak. Rafa has won their past two matches, and I don’t believe it matters that they were on clay and today’s match is on grass. I believe that those two most recent wins have served to end, or at very least lessen, his mental Novak-block. So that is one reason I think Rafa will have an edge today- he’s won their last 2 matches, so he’s got that “mental momentum”, if you will.
The other reason is very simple- Novak is just not the insane force he once was. I don’t even see two-thirds of the guy he used to be! Sure, he’s made big steps compared to where he was a few months ago. But those steps just haven’t been big enough if he wants to be the same player he was just a couple years ago. Surely a big part of Novak’s collapse and subsequent inability to regain dominance is his injury issues. But the reasons are irrelevant to this argument. Whatever the reasons are, there is just no denying that he is still a relative shell of himself from a couple years back.
On the flip side, Rafa is playing much better than he was a couple years ago when Novak was killing it. As Ricky mentioned, if we include this Wimbledon fortnight, Rafa has arguably been the best player so far this year. Novak has not even been close to Rafa’s level. Rafa is just playing better tennis than Novak, period. So that’s another big reason why I believe Rafa should win this match (and the title).
Please don’t get me wrong- I am NOT saying that Novak CANNOT win this match/title!! People on here too often think that when someone predicts that a player will lose, then that must mean they think that player CAN’T win. And that is ridiculous… Novak has won this tournament 3 times in the previous 7 years. He also has had Rafa’s number for the large part of the last 8 season’s. To say that he can’t beat Rafa is just false. Not to mention that he did win the one time they played at Wimbledon.
Rafa is not the overwhelming favorite. But there is no doubt in my mind that Rafa is the SOLID favorite over Novak today, and is the solid favorite to win the title.
even if roof closed rafa has better chance? i feel it will help novak.
Rafa’s serves are already a problem, sigh!
ya both went to deuce.
Djoko serves and returns well and scrambling around the court doing unbelievable retrieving, he’s playing well at the moment.
I like his aggression though! But he needs to dial it in, it will come!
I already feel Rafa will lose first set. He’s still a tad tentative!
That’s dangerous. then will be hard to stop Nole if you give him belief.
Rafa making mistakes…come on rafa have confidence..
He has to keep going for his shots!
Rafa has to serve very well because Djoko is returning very well at the moment. Djoko holding serve a bit more easily than Rafa does.
What is Rafa “s strategy??!
Djokovic knows he cant lose.
Rafa’s serves will get him in trouble, I know it!
What did I say? No way with this serving, just no way!!!
Novak Breaks.
Lost serve! Oh dear!
Oh ffs! He has to be more aggressive! You can’t beat Nole this way!
Djokovic too big too strong!
Rafa is poor server than Nole. And Nole is dictating play as well from baseline. Rafa is looking ordinary. He has given Djoker confidence with the break of serve.
And too many errors! He has to go for his shots, be less defensive and serve well! I cant see him winning with that serve, sorry!
Nole confident now!
Djokovic is playing so within himself and holding the ball on his racquet beautifully.
Today I am really not happy moya isn’t there…
Its over! No way Rafa can win this….wont even go to five. Only if Rafa serves well from second set, i see chance, but not with this swerve!
Its over! No way Rafa can win this….wont even go to five. Only if Rafa serves well from second set, i see chance, but not with this serve!
Stop using the slice!
looks to be Djokovic in 3 the way it is going now.
if nadal plays the way he did to hold his serve at 5-4 he has a chance…that was a good service game from him.
otherwise gonna be huge L for nadal
Roof open or close, Rafa has to change things with his shitty serve. He somehow has to return better as well. This looks like 2015
Djoko now moves better than Rafa on grass, as he could slide along the baseline, only peak form Rafa could match or even be better than Djoko’s movement on grass.
Sometime back you said this Rafa is better than 2015 Djoker as well. But this Djoker is for sure worse than 2015 Djoker. You are contradicting yourself.
Rafa making wrong shot selection.
rip this match it might finish today
it won’t
Whatever strategy rafa is using it isn’t working…He wasted opportunities…
What opportunities, it was a one sided set.
Dammit! When Rafa puts him in a position to win the Wimby he runs into a red hot Djoko 🙁
Wrong shot selection,lack of belief it seems,Scared of Novak as usual too etc etc..The kind of usual symptom when he facing Novak..Other than clay that is..It was like watching the Rafa of 2015 all over again lol!!…
Feels like rafa went out negative with the roof closed and Nole really confident..
He didn’t seem negative to me, maybe a bit tighter. But he was pretty pumped up it seemed.
Ok, I see Rafa returning better, bcos Novak will not serve like this forever!
novak winning this easy 3 sets its over
Rafa hitting to Djoko’s strike zone, Djoko already knows where Rafa is hitting to most of the times; Rafa needs to change things up. I said before, Rafa relying on his CC BH too much, Djoko hitting DTL to get a winner.
It seems that Rafa has no idea how to play against this Djoko. He has to hit DTL shots more I feel.
Stupid errors!!
Big hold!
Djokovic is 1.10 to win this match. Its just a practice session for him.
He’s got so much time on the ball its crazy.
Engaging in rallies with Novak who plays wall-like is not good tactics from Rafa! This is where Nole is better than Rafa on grass and HCs. Rafa needs to be more aggressive and cut the rallies! Novak is dictating points and Rafa should not sllow it! Novak serving well though while Rafa can not rely on his own serve now or ever! Rafa’s mental blockade should loosen up at some point…Hope Rafa improves from now on…
Djoko is playing very well and Rafa is playing poorly, he just doesn’t know how to play against Djoko on non clay surface. He really has to up his level to stand any chance. His every service game is a torture and he has to work so hard to hold serve! He really doesn’t have a good serve to begin with!
each server game same story. always trying to save BP. one more for novak now
Hmmh…This seems like a very different Rafa than the one in DelPo’s match right?Maybe the combination of roof closed & Novak made Rafa this nervous??
Why doesn’t he use the sliding serve or the body serve??
What is this ? 2011? 🙁
Weird!😕 why keep repeating the same serve which didn’t work against Delpo!?
nadals shot selection is very confusing to me
I dont know what Rafa can change. He cant work so hard to win every service game like this. Plus somehow he has to return shot to Nole so that he can bring him forward or surprise him. Otherwise Djoker is very comfortable.
May be if rafa gets chance to break Novak once, that will put more belief in him.
I really feel that the conditions doesn’t suit him now playing at night. We know for Rafa to win on grass these days, he needs the conditions to be favourable to him.
Djoko on the other hand, has good enough serve and returns and speed around the court to win more easily (than Rafa) on grass and so isn’t that much affected by the conditions.
Yesss!!!😀
Now Hold!!!
Finally He got break. hope he consolidates.
hes back into the match hopefully this’ll make him more confident and agressive 🙁
Rafa breaks serve finally, now please hold your own serve! Perhaps Rafa’s ROS is better than his serve!
Broken back by Novak
Ffs! His serve is almost no advantage to him!
Serve broken, Rafa taking a leaf out of Anderson’s book! Not a good sign!
Kelsey’s two favorite players!
Yeah Lucky…I think so too…There’s must be something atm that makes condition not suits to Rafa’s liking…The ball bouncing low maybe when roof was closed…He looks really uncomfortable out there…And just like that break was gone!Urgh!!
Djokovic took his foot off the pedal and was thinking how easy have I got this. You cant do that against Nadal, no matter how in control you are, he’ll punish you every time.
How can Rafa’s serve be so poor!!!! There’s no advantage at all when serving and when breaking serve if he can’t hold on to his own serve!
Djoko too strong and consistent for Rafa at the moment
rafa said before echo come back when roof is closed so he can not here the ball well
hear
I really think that Wimbledon committee is really screwing things up for Fedal this year! I doubt Anderson can perform well on Sunday after his 6+ hours match.
Great play by Rafa!!😀
Haaa!!…This is much better Rafa!!…C’mon!!…Finish it Rafa!!
Now hold!
break again for rafa. keep fingers crossed. hope he keeps his serve
Rafa is better at breaking serve than holding serve it seems! His ROS > his serve!
i think nadal has a lot more confidence now 😀
Can people just lose the negativity please? Rafa has come back in this second set and is up a break. He consolidated. He’s in there fighting so let’s not give up on him.
I stopped reading after all the gloom and doom here. Rafa is trying and has done well to come back here. Let’s not say it’s over yet.
Rafa got to win this sets!..He had no choice otherwise it will be very difficult for him mentally to come back…
I am liking what I am seeeing from Rafa now. much more aggressive. Just close the set now.
Rafa I think has to get two more breaks to close the set. Cant rely on Rafa to hold serve 🙁
Yesss!! Rafa has really stepped it up!😀
Rafa serving better!
amy,
Thanks for the positivity!
Come on Rafa!
Finally holds!
Djoko is scary in that he’s already so good even when not at his best level yet; I shudder with the thought of him reaching his best level again!
Yeah amy!…The serves comes along with confidence it seems…Hope he can close out this sets soon..
Come on Rafa, one more hold and you’ll get the set! Vamos!
Use the sliding serve!
Come on Rafa, two more points!
Finally Got 2nd set. very Happy
Yesss!!! Rafa on front foot now!!!!😀
Yeessss!!..Woohoo!!…2nd sets in hand!!..Vamos Rafa!!Make it happen!!..This is how he supposed to fight against Novak!!Jeepit up!!
Yes!!! vamos! One set all! Well done Rafa!
Come on, serves better to win the next two sets! Vamos!!
Now early break will put Novak Under pressure
This is a match Djokovic would win 9 times out 10. He needs to be careful here.
Yesss! That’s the right way, Rafa! Fight until the end!
Vamos Champ!
Very clutch. Awesome ! Nole must be regretting he is 1/6 breakpoints. Rafa came up with good serves. Not sure why he did not start like this. Nole is playing much better than what he played all Wimby.
I think the conditions need a bit of getting used to. Rafa hasn’t played against Djoko on grass for a Long time now, so needs a bit of getting used to also.
Rafa playing against Delpo may help him with his ROS here, I mean Djoko not serving as well as Delpo. Rafa will go out to fight for the win now, knowing him.
I just hope Rafa can up his intensity and wins the next two sets so that there’s no postponement.
Rafa came out pretty flat. Maybe a byproduct of the long match with Delpo
Amy may be waiting for long isner/andy match
Maybe!
Rafa seems to have given it all on the court in the one set. Djoko may have a lot more left in his reserve
Vamos Rafa! Way to go! It’s one set apiece!
I have been critical of Rafa during matches. I know that. But I just feel that to give up on him because he lost the first set is wrong.
He has got everything going against him, but he’s still in there giving it his all. We have a match.
I never gave up on him nny!
I didn’t give up on him…..yet….i just know that if he didn’t serve well he’ll be toasted!!! Now he is serving better and looks much more confident out there! I like his body language!!
Me too Nny!!..It’s just when he played like s@#$,we have to kick his a!@ a little bit!…It works it seems!hehehe..
amy and MA,
I know both of you did not give up on Rafa! Good on you! But to read someone say it’s over and will be straight sets win for Novak, is upsetting. Rafa does not deserve that. Maybe he will win, maybe not. But as long as he is in there fighting, I am going to have his back!
Hehehe..Yes ma’am!!..me too!!…Oh God!…I will cried my hearts out if Rafa win today!
And he plays very confidently atm!..Which is YAAYYYYY!!
It’s a different rafa out there now!!
I think Rafa is getting used to the conditions and to Djoko now; he’s serving better now.
Yes!Agree with u guys!!
When Djoker serves down the line Rafa doesn’t seem able to get there in time to return it.
Great game on service!!😀
Yess!..Easy hold!…Confident!Confident!
Both are taking easy serve holds now
Nadal giving him too much room up the T
Yes!
No!!
Phew! What a forehand!
Its time for a break Rafa!!!!
I hope by the end of the match,Rafa’s balls will not fall off by the sheer tugging & picking at it!..It’s vicious abusing there!..Ohohoho!!
At any cost rafa need to hold next 2 games
Some sensational shots by rafa!!
Yeess!!….C’mon Rafa!!…1 more game!!
Very happy to see Rafa hit his DTL shots out of nowhere tonight…This creativity that will make him win imo…
Yeessss!!…That aggressiveness!!…More Rafa!!
I hope people realise that regardless of wh o wins this set they have to stop at 11!
Yes AMy thats why i want Rafa to win this so when they come back tomorrow he has advantage
I havent seen Djoker play this well and so dialled in for last 2 years. He is back no matter what
Damn!
I so so Wish that somehow rafa should manage to win this third set.
these tie breaks are sometimes trickey.
No!
No again!
Yeesss!!…Finish it now rafa!!…C’mon!!
Ffs! Serve out wide!!!
Oh My God!…My chest hurt!!…Aarghhh!!
Ffs!! So many chances!
Rafas serve again!! Deserts him when he needs them most!
Unbelievable!He was outplaying Nole that set! Served terribly in the tiebreak!
Yes he played a great set only to lose it. I am happy they have called off the day. The disappointment of the set would have been too tough to take your mind out.
How could Rafa find himself in this position? His serves are piss poor!!!
Rafa in deep shit now. He’s just losing all those tight TBs these days, I don’t understand why! He has the set within his grasp, yet he loses the set again!
That’s ridiculous. Why suspend it when its indoors and the paying ticket holders are all there. Dumbest decision ever.
Oh well..when u don’t take chances…they will deserted u…
Commies are saying will start tomorrow at 1. Well they won’t need the roof tomorrow so that will help rafa…
I got so cross with him for where he was serving…
IT seems the roof wiill be opened only if both the players agree. Doubt Nole will
What! They are going to play in the sun under the roof?! Wimby is an outdoor tourney..
That is what I heard the commies say
Djokovic will want it closed
Rafa played like a number 1 in that set. Some shots even in the TB with the forehand and the drop shots were out of this world
Nole would have deserved this if he wins this tomorrow. I still have hopes of Rafa pulling it off
Well not if he comes out flat, and that drop shot that Nole put away had too much air!! Well at least Rafa will come out tomorrow wilt all guns blazing bcos he knows he has to win BOTH sets!!
And that f#$king slice, does not work on Nole!!!
Relax guys . Djoker was the better player for set and a half. Rafa was definitely better than Nole in 3rd set. But he did not have any BP chances. Tomorrow, Rafa can come back and play in open. It was always a tricky encounter for Rafa.
His serve did not work in TB.
Gosh some people don’t seem to realise wimby always stops at 11 for travel reasons..
Maybe he will play better under the sun tomorrow??Who knows!..But s!@#!…He shouldn’t lost that TB…Novak was sooo damned tired!And Rafa couldn’t take adv of it!!Urgh!!
Suspending it until tomorrow helps Nadal big time.
Rafa seriously needs to work on his serve! Djoko can just serve down the T for aces but Rafa couldn’t! At clutch moments, Rafa falters (I feel he’s playing it save, and may be that’s because he doesn’t have a good enough serve to back him up). To lose the set in this manner is rather disappointing.
Pheeewwwwwwwwww! What a TB. Djokovic not converting those BPs earlier could have cost him. Novak should take this now, I don’t see Nadal coming back from this.
Im sure u said the same about Anderson with Roger and Isner!!!!!!
wrong. I didn’t care for other matches.
Rafa had his chances but failed to capitalize. Both played fantastic tennis: Rafa IMO playes with more varieties and some amazing points but Nole serves and retrieves better…too bad this was not the final!
Vamos Champ!
Nat you are right!!!! On the ball. Its a good match, unfortunately Rafa is two sets to one down!
If Rafa’s serves were great, he would have won this in 3!!!
People seem to be assuming that the roof will not be on tomorrow. But I read that unless both players want it open, it stays closed.
Damn this stupid tournament and it’s idiotic rules!
The serve, the serve, the serve! Three set points and loses the third set TB. It’s asking a lot to play another five setter and win. They really screwed everything up with that match going so long. The winner of this match would have to play three days in a row.
Rafa was the better player in that set and had multipl e chances to take the tb. I don’t know why he stopped g going to the sliding serve when it works!
One of those cases when a player almost wants it too much and loses it. Rafa played amazing tennis. But Djoko was solid too.
As all of us suspected, a very close match. To me, this reminds me of 2013 Djokovic. Much of his game is near its best, but some crucial aspects are a couple steps below what they were at his peak two plus years ago. First, his ROS has deserted him at crucial points today. He has missed some very makeable returns on relatively easy 2nd serves, including a number on break point chances. Second, and more strategically, he lacks confidence and punch on his ground-strokes, particularly his FH. Related, he lacks the confidence to come in to net when he has built an advantage in the point.
Nadal, in contrast, has imo been the better player in all aspects today except for the serve. He has been stronger from the baseline, and has shown his usual brilliance at net, both knowing when to come in and finishing. Unfortunately, the serve is the most important shot in tennis, and Rafa just doesn’t put enough pressure on his opponent. (After watching the first SF it was like watching kids serve in the 2nd SF). If Novak had been returning better, he would have broken early in the 2nd (he had many chances) and this match would probably be over right now.
I predict that Novak will improve his ROS, bring back the aggression he showed in the 1st set, and finish it in 4 tomorrow.
wimby always stops at 11pm due to council restrictions
I predict Rafa will improve when playing in the afternoon and wins in five sets, just like that Delpo match. I can also say that had Rafa served better, he would’ve won the match or at least being up two sets to one now.
Roof will be closed unless Djoker agrees. So pretty much roof will be closed.
Ridiculous! It’s an outdoor tournament! Where are the women going to play then?
I didn’t think Nadal served poorly by his standards. His serve just isn’t that good, particularly for grass. He gets very few easy points on serve, either aces or service winners, and that means he’s usually under a lot of pressure to hold.
So what is the situation regarding the roof? Is vmk right? We were told they would be given the choice so why does Nole get to decide ?
Is roof closed tomorrow ?
I don’t see how it can be if they start at 1 because the only roof is on centre where the women’s final starts at 2!
Rafa can beat Nole, but not with this serve. He served the worst in this tie break than in the whole tourney!!
Roof closed tomorrow when there’s bright sunshine, it’ll be baking hot inside the court! I’m not sure the players want the roof close!
Ricky do you know what is going on with the roof tomorrow? We don’t!
roof is closed
BBC said players have a choice!?
they decided on closed
Rafa agreed?!
It remains closed unless both agree to open
Ridiculous!! Bad for the spectators as well!
If Rafa is destined not to win Wimbledon this year then too bad; with so many things screwed up, it’s like they’re not wanting Rafa to win, esp after Fed got knocked out!
If they have two more grueling sets of tennis tomorrow, then the Sunday final will really be of very poor quality! And deserve it by screwing thongs up!!
Who is not wanting Rafa to win ? Are you in your senses ? So, right now it looks like whole world was against Anderson/Isner that had to be approx 7 hours in the court and they will be at a big disadvantage on Sunday , more than Rafa or Nole
Rafa or Djoko has to play on three consecutive days, and their match is not exactly easy on their bodies. If the match goes to a fifth set, who can guarantee the fifth set won’t go the distance?
‘very poor quality final’ lets just wait and see .
Sounds like you’re ready with your asterisk…
The ONLY thing wrong with Rafa today, is the serve!!! Everything to me was great!! He IS playing like a #1 except he is playing against an exceptional returner!!! He has no choice but to server well, he cant win, not even against Anderson with a poor serve!!
Come on, Lucky, how can you say that it’s like “they” are not wanting Rafa to win? The crowd was solidly behind him today; he didn’t have to play on Court 1 yesterday like Fed, and whoever wins this match is going to have an advantage over Anderson, who basically played two matches today.
If Nadal wins, good on him. If he loses, he loses, no excuses.
What excuses? Why do people assume that Rafa or Djoko will have an advantage when they may also play long match come tomorrow? And whoever wins have to play again the next day. And, it’s not their fault that their match has to start at 8pm.
Djoko is the fresher of the two as he has a relatively easier QF match.
You never said that DelPo was at a disadvantage in QF. Height of hypocrisy !!
What hypocrisy? I already said he’s at a disadvantage and so I predicted that he would lose to Rafa! I had not said that Delpo was fine after playing for three days!
They played three hours for three sets; so they may play another two hours at least if it goes five sets, and may be longer if the fifth set gets extended.
Sorry, LS, hilarious choice of words
That was to Lucky at 10.23
People are just so ridiculous here! I said IT’S LIKE , or put it this way, it’s AS IF they don’t want Rafa to win when so many things screw up – they being the Wimbledon Committee.
If they could decide earlier on to use Court 1, perhaps Rafa/Djoko could start their match earlier and might have completed their match on the same day. Who knows, Rafa/Djoko may also play for five or six hours for five sets of tennis (they had done it before at AO2012).
I concentrated on Rafa because I’m a Rafa fan; people keep talking about Fedal’s 2008 match and anticipating a 2018 rematch but it can’t happen now. They screw things up with the way they assign the courts, being unfair to Djoko resulting in him complaining and so Fed had to play at Court 1 for his QF match. I don’t know whether that disadvantaged him or not against Anderson.
Rafa had not played at Court 1 and so if they moved the SF match there who knows how he would play. They didn’t move it and in the end his match started at 8pm and couldn’t finish within the day and had to continue tomorrow.
Had they been fairer and smarter with their court assigning, and had Fedal too playing their early rounds at Court 1, maybe Fed won’t depart so soon, or Rafa/Djoko could be moved to Court 1 without anyone being disadvantaged.
Isner/Anderson had some disrespectful spectators hurling some nasty words at them – if I’m not wrong, according to John Mac, somebody shouted they didn’t want a Isner 70-68 long match, or they wanted Rafa/Djoko on court. It’s not the players fault that the match went that long, so Wimbledon need to do something to at least help shorten the five setters, and, perhaps give the top players some privileges and let them start their SF first at the CC, so that if their match goes the distance, the other SF could be moved to Court 1; afterall, the spectators want to see the more popular top players and so giving them priority at CC is reasonable though it may not be fair to the players in the other SF. It’ll be ideal if both matches could finish within one day so that the players have at least a day’s rest before the final.
Why does it matter whether roof is open or closed? I honestly can’t see any difference with these two players.
Baking hot playing in the afternoon with roof closed. The spectators already feeling stuffy and perspiring in indoor conditions at night. I can’t imagine when it’s in the day. I saw people fanning themselves.
Isnt there air conditioning?
The players are used to hot conditions much more than the locals. Rubbish about them fanning themselves
I mean the spectators, the paying spectators! Who’s talking about the players????? Can’t people just read more carefully?
What i meant was the players are used to playing in the heat,the comfort of the spectators is a separate issue to the tennis.
Of course it does, Novak is a better indoor player than Rafa. It is no secret Rafa likes the sun.
But regardsless, Novak probably surprised Rafa with his level of play. He was quite calm even in the tight moments.
It will be one of the best comebacks if Rafa manages to come back tomorrow which he surely is capable of. He needs Novak to be off a little to stamp his authority
And they deserved it by screwing things up!
Who screwed what up? Why do you always have to find an excuse when Rafa doesn’t do well?
that’s the rafa fangirl culture on this site (Ricky excluded).
Who are you slasher?? As if you know the Rafa fans!
Exactly!
Who are you slasher? I have never seen you post here! Cut the crap about the fan girl culture on this site! It’s sexist and misogynistic! There is no place for that garbage here!
why do you care? mind your business.
I am minding my business. Your comments are offensive. Period.
Stop trolling!
Nny!…Just forget about him…He’s not worth our attention at all…Of coz he came here just to rattle us..And if u keep give him attention,he will thrive on it…Just keep our focus on Rafa okay?
So as per luckystar, when Rafa was engaged with DelPo in a long battle , Rafa had disadvantage. But not DelPotro who played 4.5 hours with no rest day.
His logic is screwed up . Nothing else .
Stop picking on lucky! And he is a she!
Thanks Amy, this fedexal is such an idiot, calling others hypocrites!
Her, not his! What logic? You please go and read my earlier posts, I predicted he would lose to Rafa because of his long match with Simon playing for three consecutive days! What hypocrisy??
fedexal, you’re ridiculous! If you’re not here to read my earlier posts about Delpo, stop assuming things about me, YOU ARE DAMN RUDE! Got off my back!!
See how rude you are! Ricky should give warning to such posters, for being so ridiculously rude to other posters here!
Come on fedexal back off! This is unwarranted and unseemly!
Please read my post at 11.39pm.
I mean Joe, please read my post of 11.39 pm.
Ok, I read it. I still don’t see why it seems as if anyone doesn’t want *Nadal* to win. One might as well say that it seems as if they don’t want Fed or Novak to win.
I agree that some of the scheduling decisions have been bad, and I specifically think that they should scrap the no-tiebreak in 5th set rule. I just don’t see how these decisions seem to have been designed to hurt or help and particular player.
Joe, like I said, I’m a Rafa fan so I felt that way! The Fed fans could feel that way when Fed was being shafted to court 1 for his QF match; he might be at a disadvantage as he had not played there prior to the QF whilst Anderson had played there and knew how the condition was.
The Djoko fans could feel that he’s being unfairly treated when he’s always given the more unfavourable time slot, and played at Court 1 for most of his matches.
We as fans would have our own opinions about anything regarding the players we support, but it’s the Wimbledon committee that screwed things up by making some poor decisions and they affected the players.
I don’t think Isner/Anderson deserved those insulting words shouted at them during their match; or Rafa/Djoko having to wait the whole day for their match to start and have to come back the following day to complete the match, when there’s a court available for them to play, The assignment of courts could be done in a fairer manner and didn’t need to wait for a player to complain. Last year, Djoko was also a victim of that and he had to play on two consecutive days his two matches.
AMAZING quality. No lapses from both players. I do think Rafa will win in 5 tomorrow. Pity the rood is closed tomorrow but Rafa will be ready. Rafa was the aggressor in set 3 and was the better playing heading into the tie break. The TB was pretty even and while Rafa was usually the aggressor, Djoko was sooo solid.
If Rafa can find a good serving rhythm tomorrow, he’ll get the W given how well he started returning and how he was hitting his forehand DTL now.
Vr!!
Come back tomorrow !
VR,
You are more optimistic than I am at this point. I felt that Rafa needed to win the third set here. He had three set points and did not get it done. I don’t see him again going five sets to come from behind. He played so well in the third set but did not get it done.
This means playing three days in a row. That’s a tall order. The serve, the serve, the serve.
Woever wins tomorrow will win Wimby.
Perhaps. But I’m with McEnroe; they need to change the rules and institute a tie-breaker in the 5th. Maybe they could keep tradition just for the championship match.
Very poor scheduling IMO.The Anderson Isner match , could have been postponed /moved to another court once it got to such a ridiculous stage in the fifth.
In the old days, the Semis were played on centre and no.1 simueltaneously.
Still, as always ,the conditions are the same for both players.
Theres a few options, like if it gets to 6-6 final set, only have one serve.
Or no deuce
+1
Gosh I am despondent about the roof being closed! Rafa plays much better in the open air..
One more set plzzzzzzz 😭😭😭.
We are there almost, one more.
Buzz off!
🤣🤣🤣
why
But if Djoko wins, what a massive result it will be for him. 3 GOATS winning the first three slams of the season
Yeah, that’ll be something special, and if Murray could come back to win USO, that’ll be something like 2012 all over again, with Fed and Djoko switching place at AO and Wimbledon.
As a Rafa fan, of course I won’t hope for that to happen, and I’m not a hypocrite!
Rafa would win next 5 sets and hold trophy on Sunday.
wafa ain’t winning this.
He very well may not win this. But if Kevin can come back from 2-0 down, can’t we at least hope for Rafa to make a comeback.
that’s fair. there is a possibility.
get a life!
Rafa should have been aggressive from set 1 . Unfortunately roof takes away away a lot of elements from Rafa’s game . Spin and bounce just go out of picture.
I see 2 scenarios now…
1]…Rafa will come out gun blazing coz he’s so mad for the unfairness that keep being throwing at him/them,the possibility of roof closed again today[which is ridiculous right?Why in hell they want to close the roof when the sun is shining so bright hah?]
2]…He once again will come out full of nerves & jittery like in the 1st set when he find out he have to play with roof closed…And when this happen,i don’t know he have time to righted himself like last nite…And Novak sure will use this opportunity to close out the match…I hope he will find a way to win 4th sets..But,don’t know..
To be honest, I expected it to go 5 sets. And I stand firm with that belief. We never know what’s going to happen in this situation. Yes, the person who is up 2-1 has an advantage, but it’s not nearly the advantage they would have if there was no suspension. It’s basically a one-set shootout with better reward for Djokovic. But if you view it like a one-set shootout, then those things can go either way. Both of the guys are naturally going to be nervous starting that fourth set. Whichever one is able to compose themselves better early on, I believe they will win the match. And if Rafa is able to take it to a 5th set, he will arguably have the advantage going into the 5th because he will have the momentum, and Novak will be forced into a position where he has to deal with the fact that he just had to win the first set and it would be over.
The question is, which one will rise to the occasion better. Simple as that. Rafa has a slightly steeper climb and different obviously different mentality, but he has the opportunity to start a new match tomorrow.
I seriously can’t imagine the pressure these guys will feel on the court. This would be a very good win for both of them. I’m annoyed that the match couldn’t finish, but that’s the way it goes, especially at Wimbledon! Suspense at it’s finest. Can’t wait for tomorrow!
Fans of both players- hang in there! It’s going to be ok, I promise. These are the moments your player lives for. Let’s try to appreciate and enjoy the moment while we can.
Leading 2:1 is only a slight advantage to Djokovic because if Nadal wins the 4th hellmist likely win.
Nadal sees any type of delay an advantage to him when he’s losing and uses it to psychologically screw with his
He usually comes out in full swing also hitting winners all over the place whereas the opponent that was leading tries to protect the lead.
Djokovic is well aware of what Nadal will do when he comes out so it’s a matter of staying focused.
I expect Djojovic to win in 4.
If there is one player that can counter Nadal’s antics it’s Djokovic.
But Djoko is Djoko, he’s not any other player so Djoko may fight hard once play resumes and him fighting hard is very tough to overcome. The delay may be good for Djoko too as he looked the more tired of the two at the end of the third set.
It’s a shame that the match had to start so late and so it couldn’t finish within the time limit. I really can’t say that the delay till the next day benefits which player, as it can benefit both and/or works against both too.
Excellent thoughts Kevin . I agree Rafa could have lost in four with the grief of losing tie-break with so many set points.
Kevin – I envy how you sound so neutral without bias for any player while commenting on tennis matches. I wish I could be as objective when it comes to viewing tennis matches. 🙂
Both Rafa and Djoko won the same number of points; given how close the match was and it was played indoors, I do feel that had it been played outdoors right from the beginning, Rafa might have the edge.
Djoko is really good on quick surfaces (it’s only Fed who’s better than him), his serves, returns, flatter ground strokes, his ability to slide around the baseline on any surface, and his improved net game and volleying, make him really hard to beat by anyone. He’s still not back to his great level of the past yet but his current level is still great and that is scary!
I noticed he looked the more tired of the two by the end of the third set, despite him spending fewer hours (than Rafa)on the court prior to this SF. Before the match, I thought Rafa would be the more tired of the two, as Djoko used to be a very fit guy, as fit as Rafa during 2011-2015. Djoko’s fitness is clearly not back to his previous level yet.
I’m surprised by the fitness of Delpo and Anderson. I thought Delpo would be tired after the long match vs Simon on two consecutive days but he still could play another four plus hours against Rafa before being overcome by Rafa and his own fatigue at the end.
Anderson had a long match vs Monfils, then another four hours vs Fed and now another six plus hours vs Isner, and Isner looked the more tired of the two during and after their match!
I guess I shouldn’t underestimate the fitness level of these TOP players, they work hard on their game and their fitness level. Now that Anderson is a confirmed finalist, I’m wondering, from his point of view, who’s the better opponent for him in the final – Djoko or Rafa? Either will be tough for him especially after his long SF match, but what is his chances vs them however slim the chances may be?
Win or loss here, Rafa has already done his best; he has already overcome the issue of not being able to move past R4 here at Wimbledon. The thing is, Rafa has been losing tight TB sets when he has/had SP and him serving to close the TB set but twice now in two matches, he failed to win the TB. In the past, he would’ve served well, clutch enough to win the point and the TB but right now he’s no longer clutch enough to do so. I guess it’s still his serve which is his main problem, he may be extra nervous in such moments because he knows he can’t rely on his serve the way he could in the past. He really needs to work on that serve if he is to defend his USO title.
Nadal is so fit it’s crazy. He could run marathons triathalibs no problem. He’s twice as fit as any other player on tour.
Fitness is a major edge because it allows you to be relentless in pursuit of the break and YouCan out grind your opponent . the
Nadal is all about maximising the edges.
Nothing wrong with that! It’s not that his other skills are inferior, maybe his serve only. Rafa really knows how to make full use of the court to force his opponents to play their best to beat him!
Rafa would have an edge in outdoors here. With sun and bounce , the conditions are faster. Indoors on grass is the worst for Rafa. And Nole’s serve is much better indoors just like Fed with all the elements taken away.
I am disappointed that Rafa lost third set despite being a better and aggressive of the two. Loved his drop shots and net play. Irrespective of the result, I saw the great variety which I even did not see in a long long time from Rafa on grass.
Rafa’s serve, ROS and his BH has let him down badly. Nole is one player who can consistenly Rafa pinned to his BH and ultimately it breaks down.
I wont be disappointed if Rafa loses this one as with roof closed its tough to break down Nole with Rafa’s style of play. Nole is not at this best but I did not see him folding like he did in RG QF tie-break or against Cilic yesterday and this is his best match for 2 years maybe.
Hoping whoever wins this one , wins the finals tomorrow. I hope Nole agrees with open court so that we can actually enjoy the real Wimbledon rather than synthetic conditions.
Rafa might win the fourth set but I facncy Nole will come thru ultimately this one.
Amazing to see Djoko back! He is nearly back to he’s best, although not all the way there. I thought Nole was the better player overall but his break point conversion rate was awful while Nadals was stellar.
It’s stupid to complain that the game is being unfair to Rafa due to the roof being closed. It’s the rules and if Djoko feels he has a better shot indoors why not. is it fair that Rafa always gets to play on Centre?
Let the best man win! But really hope it’s Djoko!!
AVN, playing at CC or not is not Rafa’s decision; to let the match continue indoors or outdoors, well the players have the right to decide and they must mutually agree on that.
It’s all Wimbledon committee’s decision, for court assignments, for deciding matches to be played indoor or outdoor from the start of the match(es) or changes of courts etc.
Exactly my point, it may be Rafa playing on center every time or having to continue the match indoors both are a result of pre-defined rules or committee decisions. Some favor you some don’t
Rafa’s draw has been a real brutal one. Playing in form DelPo and Djoker back to back is very tough. Right now Rafa is so confident that he could actually take it to both of them. Noone including Fed on grass can have it easy against both of these two guys.
If it was outdoors..Rafa had a real solid chance..The roof spoiled everything..Even now for a comeback maybe it will not make Rafa that confident to mount it with roof being closed..The only way Rafa can win this is to be aggressive and unleash the beast within and not take the foot off the pedal at all..Very tough ask though…Just hoping the unthinkable happens..
I have stopped watching Rafas matches after AO 17 loss where I as emotionally invested and he lost it. But I will watch it today. I want to see if he can channel the beast within and comeback and if he does, I dont want to miss it.
The match will resume under a closed roof. What a mess!
Vamos Rafa!
I don’t understand why it is left to the players to decide to play under the roof or not when play is resumed
and that it has to be unanimous. Does this rule apply when it is closed during a match due to rain.
I too think Rafa’s huge disadvantage was playing the damn indoor conditions. The roof emulated Rafa’s topspin but it also creates doubts in Rafa’s head. Oh, well, it’s the way it is and certainly not Nole’s fault. If he decides to continue play under the roof I will also understand…
Rafa was great in the third set but his nerves got him yet again. However, Nole did have multiple break points in that set and could not convert due to Rafa’s great play. So in those critical moments Rafa did display superiority. Too bad he did not make use of the set points in the TB.
Nole clearly on advantage when the play resumes. Not sure resurgent Rafa will show up as he really had tough time in facing Delpo and both last matches are certainly taxing emotionally and physically…
I recall my thinking before the RG. I could see Nole was coming back and I was praying he would not be ready for RG and did not want to face Rafa at the RG knowing these two would kill each other on the court. I recall saying “ Nole could have the Wimby instead” anticipating Rafa would not go deep in Wimby due to his slumps in the recent years. Gosh, was I wrong to think that and underestimated Rafa like that.,.😢
If Nole wins it will be well deserved for he had to beat the best player in the world this year!
Vamos Rafa! Vamos Champ!
^^The roof “erased”…
Nole did not have any BP in third set. No player had any BP in the third set. Rafa was the better player for the second phase of the match. Nole was by far the better in the first half.
Too bad Nole had to
Lucky
The problem is the bunch of geriatric old codgers who run TAETC who cherish their traditions above all else.
They follow their own rules regardless of the consequences.
Yeah Ed, and this time they might have affected Fed (and I hope not Rafa!). Had they treated the players (esp the former champions) fairly, assigning the courts fairly, they need not move Fed to court 1 for his QF match. I’m not saying Fed lost because of that, but who knows, playing at CC may help him over the finish line when he had MP, though it may be unfair to Anderson as I don’t remember him playing at CC prior to his SF match.
I feel they should start the SF of the TOP players first at CC as the spectators come mainly to see these TOP players. Why let them wait, and in this case having to wait for 6 plus hours and then have to come back the next day to watch part 2 of their favoured SF? Why inconvenienced anyone if not everyone?
It’s also to do with the rampant commercialisation of wimby when ian Ritchie was in charge when the system was changed from playing both sfs at the same time which was much fairer. Ritchie went to the rfu and rampantly commercialised that as well.😡
Someone needs to tell English that they no longer rule the roost which was the case 100 years back. Its a third world country now with stupid traditions.
All white, no play on Sunday, I think Wimbledon is the worst slam of all .
+1
This business with the roof is absurd! Everyone on this site knows i like Nole but I don’t like him enforcing this archaic rule. If this had been Federer who is also favoured under the roof I don’t think he would have done this. Wimby is an open air tourney and this not only affects the players but the people watching inside,those on henman hill, those watching on tv. And what about the women’s final?! Do they also then have to play under the roof afterwards or will they open it? that takes a fair while!
It is all unutterably silly and I don’t think Federer would have made this decision despite the advantage it confers.
If Rafa comes out again not employing the sliding serve out wide which was so successful against Delpo and uses the serve which Delpo hit with gay abandon in the middle part of the match until he went back to the sliding serve and got back to winning ways which then apparently resulted in him not using said serve in the first set against Nole leading to him being constantly under pressure until in the second set he started to use the sliding serve again with great success until he abandoned it in the tiebreak..then I will scream!
Wimbledon is the most prestigious tournament – NOT!
What is going on with the tv coverage?! I thought rafole were starting at 1 but BBC coverage starts at 1.15!! Joke!!
Wimby is a long extended metaphor for brexit and the guiding principles behind it! Discuss
amy..It may seem on the surface that Novak is being unsportsmanlike by denying the roof to be opened. Its a very critical match and why would he allow Rafa to get advantage. I dont necessarily agree Fed would have allowed roof to be opened though he respects traditions more and its a 50-50. But these guys play for biggest tournaments and mental edge and games are all part of the deal. I hope Rafa comes out firing like nothing ever seen.
I still stick to my opinion that fed would have allowed the roof to be opened Sanju! I am very nervous about today..Rafa has to serve well to have any chance!
Agreed. Having the roof on during such a beautiful day outside is unfair to players, to spectators, to fans watching the Wimby which is supposed to be outdoor tournament! I am very disappointed…
I think it’s unsportsmanlike by nole…And everyone here knows I like him!
Amy I agree, the roof should be opened, but they talk about same conditions, so…..
That butterfly is a sign who would come out Victor
Damn. For Rafa,serving is a handicap with Djokos unbelievable returns
The serve!😢
Great hold!!
Well even the great Roger Federer’s serve was made to look pedestrian by the GROAT. 😐
Poor Rafa, takes more than 10 mins to hold serve! After 10 or so mins of play he’s already soaking wet! Djoko looks cool and composed out there.
Rafa is getting the FHDTL going
Yes, Rafa breaks serve! At least he can now serve with a little bit less pressure, I hope.
Yeess!!…Break!!…Good sign from Rafa so far!…Yaaayyyyy!!..C’Mon Rafa!!
Rafa gets the break. But it almost seems more difficult for him to hold than to break 🙁
Yeesss!!..Oh my God!!…Rafa is on fire!!Thank u God!!
Rafa!!! Playing so well!😀
Now playing like crap! Novak is serving better now. Tie break at best, but im not holding my breath. Rafa just struggling WAY too much with serve, cant wait for match to end!! This is miserable!!
Rafa and the butterfly!☺
oh ho! What a FHDTL off the half volley. Reminded me of that nightmarish Roger’s FH at Australia
Ffs!
What a sloppy game!😠
Oh God!I can’t believe Rafa surrendered his break!!Urgh!!…Brain freeze at it’s best!!
Horrible!
Hey ppl, i give up. There is just no hope there, sorry!! Im done!!
How typical, Badal breaks straight away after a break.
Yep, the delays/reschedules dont advantage him much
Lets go Djokovic, forget about these little opportunities that nadal exploits, get the expected, genuine, legitimate, result.
Oh go away!troll!
Djoko just too strong and solid. Rafa has to constantly redline and that has to take its toll.
+1
Oh God!…I’ve never this nervous when watching Rafa!…Soo afraid he would fold under pressure…Let him be strong God!Please!!
Rafael “Mr Opportunistic” Nadal
Yesss!! Now serve it out!
YEESSSSS!WOOOHOOOO!…BREAK AGAIN!!!!….THANK U GOD!!…NOW HOLD!!
He did the easy part. Breaking! Now comes the humungously difficult part.
Oh God!…I knew i shouldn’t celebrate that last break!!..I won’t do it anymore!!
Nice time for a double fault. Wow.
Nobody does this quite the way these two do. Good gracious.
Yess! What a hold !!!😀😀
WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!…..YEESSSSSSS!!….GOT IT!!!!THANK U GOD!!!
And it’s going the distance.
Uhmmmmm, that white butterfly!! lol!!
Deja vu- USO 2013. saving 3 BP’s. Though not as dramatic
Yes Vamos Rafa! Fourth set in the pocket, now play aggressively to get the fifth set. Vamos!
Yessss! I love you Rafa! Fighter, warrior, brave soldier all in one!
Vamos Champ!
Seems like this match was destined for a 5th set. I feel bad for Serena and Kerber.
Hope Djoko helps Rafa out by coming down a notch from insane returning levels
In the last two five setters, the guy who went up an early break ended up losing the match 😐
Now,don’t lose focus Rafa!…Go on & win this sets!!….
The Wimbledon final over 2 sets
Rafa starting sloppy!😠
Ohohoho!….Becker pick Rafa to win!….
That’s the kiss of death!
I just woke up to see that it’s in s fifth set. God bless Rafa for fighting and going the distance!
What a warrior!
You’re full of it. Nadal was 1.10 to win the 4th.
Hater! Why don’t you shut up of get lost!
Djokovic just has to stay with him in until he thinks. Nadal has been running in adrenalin and instinct up until this point.
These dfs!😢
Come on Rafa! You can do it!
Rsfa fighting to hold serve.
Where is everyone?
What a hold!
Nole will be broken now
Yessss!!Great hold!!
Oh My God!!..This is it!!..Be strong Rafa!!
Nadal just had 2 wimbledon trophy points.
Rafa has two break points and did not break.
Oh My God!..Lost opportunity there!
If only Rafa had a serve which bailed him out!
Now the pressure is on Rafa..Hope he holds….Please Rafa!…Hold!!
If he hasnt thought up until this point, he’ll be thinking now!!!
Oh no!
That’s your serve amy!
Mira and Amy,
I am glad you are here!
That’s your serve again amy!!Hahaha..
Clutch by rafa!!😀
Hehehhe…Me too Nny!!…U came here late milady!!…Hope Rafa win today Nny!…If he do that..i’ll go to Florida & kiss u senseless!!Hehehehe..
I did not get up early enough to see the fourth set.
How is Rafa going to do this when he already had two break points and could not break?
It’s the serve!
I just want to feel the support right now! He’s battled so hard.
Rafa knows his serves are a problem! But at least he is trying! If not for the serve he would have been the finalist already!
That is very true. He would already have Ron this match. It is so frustrating to watch this.
He would have WON this match!
I am surprised there aren’t more people here live blogging.
Rafa is serving well in fifth. But he is unable to make dent on Djoker serve. Djoker really servig well.
Sad that there is going to be a loser.
Clutch by rafa again!
This is maddening.
When was the last time Nadal lost after a delay or when a match is split over 2 days? I bet you he’s never lost.
Nadals had 5 wimbledon title points now
Djoko will win now.
What an game
Finally so much positiv energy from djoko
Even a nadal cant stop him now
<3
goddamit!
They both deserve to win. This is an epic piece. Very qualitative match.
Rafa wasted all the BPs. To me he’s making all the wrong shot selections when sometimes he should go DTL but he insisted on going CC.
Rafa is the better player this set, I hope he wins it.
No!!!
I really feel for Rafa! He want this but on the important points hes not playing well on Novak’s serve!! Two different chances at 15:40 and could not convert!
Im trying hard to see how Rafa can possibly win this! His killer instinct in non-existent!!
Rafa clutch again!
So exhausted i can hardly watch!
This is just sheer torture.
Rafa is not playing the fhdtl now at crucial moments!He can’t beat Nole going cross court all the time
Nadals getting tired now. Mustve given him an adrenalin shot before the 4th set
Rafa has to cover his FH corner! Players are attacking his FH these days, yet he’s not doing anything about it.
Muhahahahaha!!!
You are a loathsome troll! I had an argument with you when you said Nole had cheated to win half of his slams! All you do is pour out bile and hate!
Well….like last nite,he didn’t take the chances given…he deserve the lost..And Novak deserve the win..
I agree Mira 100%. But semis is not a bad result, he was very close to the final!!! Next time Rafa!!!lol!!
If the match had been played outdoors today rafa would have won! I am not going to criticise him. And he must have been tired!
Oh well! Rafa played very well but he seems to have lost his killer instinct to play the right shot at the right time. He should have won the third set tiebreak and done it in 4!
5 points to win the title he had too!
OMG!! What a comeback by Djoko. As for Rafa, he has nothing whatsoever to be ashamed of.
Only thing is when Rafa seemed on course for a wimby in a long time, a red hot Djoko happens
We all knew once he could not break Novak then he had no chance, and his serves?! Nah, he tried but lets face it, his serves let him down!! Well at least it was a very close match and he tried his best! That Delpo match also took a toll.
Vamos Rafa!!
But,still he have a great tournament…But,we don’t know whether he will have the opportunity like this year…I mean,it’s not every year he came here & not suffered a knee pain…Oh well…All the best for the NA HC Rafa….
Rafa has plenty left for the uso where he’s b eaten Nole twice! But they have to work on his serve! If the match had been played outdoors he would have won!
I am proud of him and feel that the long match with Delpo caught up with him in the end.
Novaaaaaaak im so happy right now
<3
Me too 😭😭😭.
So, it’s not to be for Rafa! I see winning that third set TB is crucial, and Rafa faltered and lost it.
Congrats to Djoko, he’s clutch enough to save all those BPs whilst Rafa just didn’t do enough to convert them. Rafa is just not good enough when it mattered, ie he just couldn’t serve well enough to bail himself out of trouble.
It’s quite unbelievable that he’s able to reach a slam final when still not yet at his best level. Rafa really need to work on his serve, it’s erratic, and he had to put in so much efforts to hold serve, it’s almost a miracle that he could survive till the SF here.
It’s too bad that there has to be a troll on this site. When Fed had that tough loss, nobody gloated or hated. I just feel sorry for someone whose life is so empty that this is all they can do. That is a sorry soul.
As for Rafa, he knows he had his chances. If you don’t convert the break chances, then you lose.
Rafa should be satisfied that he has at least reached the SF here despite his relatively poor serve.
No one can predict or control how a match goes – the Isner/Anderson match for example. Had Anderson took that third set after he broke serve, he might win in four sets and Rafa/Djoko might be able to start playing earlier with the roof opened, at least for some time till darkness set in.
Rafa plays better in outdoor conditions and this year’s conditions suits him, too bad, where it matters, he has to play indoors against a player who’s great playing indoors.
It’s not meant to be for him, and his serve really let him down; I hope he could improve on that. He had lost two crucial TBs where he had SP and was serving for the set, a good serve would’ve won him the set, and he would be saving more energy for the SF. He winning the third set TB would’ve made the difference in the SF results I feel. He’s just not clutch enough where it mattered, a problem he should address, if not he’ll make life very difficult for himself.
I think Rafa’s serve was made to look worse than it actually was, thanks to Djoko. He kept sending the balls back each time. Even Roger has looked clueless when serving against Nole at Wimby.
This win may just give Djoko the fillip that the AO 2017 gave the Fed and he may go on a tear hereafter.
Sorry to Rafa fans. But I do remember some saying that if Novak Djokovic should meet Rafa in the semis he would be embarrassed by Nadal. Never take anything for granted. That’s why I take it one match at a time.
This one will be tough for Rafa. He wanted this trophy but Novak was amazing and won’t let him. I give all due credit to rafa for staying in it and fighting hard. It was a brilliant effort on his part. His draw was good and many expected him to win this when Fed was out.
To the good Rafa fans here you deserve respect. I know this is hard, painful and disappointing but hang in there everything will be alright ok.
Nobody said that Novak would be embarrassed if he met Rafa. That is total bs! The point is that when Fed had his shocking loss to Anderson, but one person was hateful or gloated.
So shut up with the lies and stop spewing out crap! Rafa fans were very respectful of Fed. Infortunately, there are people who come here just to hate. Because they are miserable in their pathetic lives and have nothing better to do. That is a waste of life.
NOT one person gloated or hated on Fed when he lost! *
Thanks Stanley!…Hey,this is 1st time u talking like a civilized people,…Thank u for not berating us Rafans Stanley!…Tho,i suspect not for long!Hahaha
It came from my heart, so take care, everything will be alright.
I am always civilized and sweet sometimes some people don’t see it, it’s not my fault.
Agreed nny! And if you remember I had an argument with him when he said Nole had cheated to win half his slams! It’s all bile and hate with him!
Amazing amazing…Nole is back! What a match, it could have gone either way but in the end it means a lot more for Djoko! He deserves it!
Yes he deserves it.
So happy for him.
He went through injuries and many difficult times but Novak is back baby.
Congrats to all Nole fans here! He was clutch when it counted so kudos to him!He served way more aces today and yesterday than usual!
I think this is a slam that got away from Nadal. He was the best player in the tournament on this evidence and the Delpo match but somehow contrived to lose. Kinda like Fed-Delpo 2009. I did predict pre-tournament that Djok would beat Nadal in 5 in the semis, but I actually underestimated overall Nadal’s level because of his usual dominance on clay. May be his improved backhand came at the expense of his serve. Had I called before the semi before the semis, I would have in fact gone Nadal in 4.
Think we may have a competitive final now that Nadal is not in it. He would have cleaned up Anderson easy. Not entirely convinced Djok is all steel yet. Kinda like the Queen’s final against Cilic, he may get down on himself if Anderson manages to hang in there. Wouldn’t mind a Kando win for more than one reason.
The match was heavily influenced by the conditions..If they had played it outdoors Rafa would almost certainly have won.
At least Djoko waited till the Wimby to show his form and did not make life difficult for Rafa at the French 🙂
French is altogether a new thing . Even peak Djoker can never beat Rafa there. Reason being serve is not as big a factor. Plus I still feel with high bounce Rafa’s BH is even more penetrating , leave aside his FH.
No Rafa won’t have won.
That match belonged to Novak.
Rubbish! As per usual! Why are you always here when rafa loses patronising and gloating! It’s very un
Christian
None of the above, just expressing my viewpoint.
I am allowed to do that right?
If you disagree, please let’s disagrees cordially ok.
Agreed. But so it goes…Well, Rafa will be very proud of the tournament he played, as well he should be! Rafa was lucky with his first week draw. His second week, not so much.
But I’m now a convert to the idea of tb’s in the 5th set at slams! I’ve been through a few extended 5th’s too many in the past few days! Maybe at 9 all? That was Daren Cahill’s suggestion and he had some arguments as to why there.
Rafa would still beat him on clay! I am proud of how he fought out there. Playing it indoors was the decisive factor both imo and many others ie brad Gilbert!
I don’t think indoor conditions really favor one or the other in this matchup. It favors someone like Fed or Cilic who are more inclined to go for first strike tennis. This matchup is very very tactical and they are usually content probing and trying to exploit an opportunity that comes up. It eventually settles into rallies. Nadal’s movement on grass is not as good as on hardcourts which is why I think it went 5. Unless Djokovic is redlining his backhand cross and dtl on hard courts, he finds it hard to shake off Nadal, but here he was able to get away with it without really being red hot.
Novak has to win after this delicious victory.
He can’t beat Nadal and then lose to kando, that would be disappointing.
I like K. Anderson but he disappointed me in N.Y last year so no no for him 🤣.
It was a tough one for Rafa. I think playing DelPo in QF is a curse. Fed played him in USO went out. Rafa had such a physical match with him. DelPo spoiled Nole’s 2013 Wimbledon.
Rafa starting slowly in first set and missing the tie-break was bad. But I am happy for Nole. I always though USO was best suited for Djoker but I feel somehow grass comes natural to him.
so wafa is out. commies to all wafa fangirls.
i have a wonderful life. and it just got even better.
Get lost you loser troll! This is what makes your life better? Is that how bad your life is? Wow! What a pathetic excuse for a human being. Go take some meds and maybe that will help.
🤣, very funny 🤣😂🤣 XD.
Who is wafa?
This is the 1st time I am reading this lol.
wafa is the OCD guy, picks his butt and arranges his bottles meticulously. and he always passes anti-doping controls. very talented guy, no? and all wafa fangirls are in love with him.
I might not agree with everything but yeah the fangirls love him a lot.
yup, fangirls must be on some heavy tranquilizers as we speak.
“grassgoat” Name says it all, doesn’t it. Well his GOAT got put out to pasture all right.
grassgoat has gone off his meds and can’t get it under control. He still has not recovered from his idol losing, so nothing better to do than come on here and spread around some sexist and misogynist garbage.
A loser without a life who is SO bitter about Fed’s loss. Too bad, so sad.
You mean waffle? You’re hungry? I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place, go feed yourself elsewhere!
grassgoat,
Your name says it all. Still bitter much because your guy got knocked out in the quarterfinal after being up two sets and having match point?
Too bad, so sad! You have no life. Just another classless Fed fan who hates Rafa. Maybe the meds can’t even help someone as far gone as you.
” I have not much more inside me. I give it my best ” Nadal in his presser. This is what makes him the greatest competitor the game of sport has ever seen.
You pick top 10 matches in Open Era and Rafa would feature in most of these. I rather like Djoker Rafa rivalry very much. They just take it to new level.
Go and rest Rafa , thanks for Roland Garros and Wimby memories.
It was a very difficult match to watch if you are a Rafan…during the match I kept thinking it was just the matter of time when Rafa would lose his serve to give Novak the match…without serve Rafa simply cannot beat Nole…
Congrats to Novak, great match for him!
Vamos Rafa!
Nadal’s backhand CC is so lethal now that it is basically a second forehand. And the dropshot is a new point-ending shot plus he has a more aggressive style. I think he served well actually, he had one bad game at the end but was under tremendous pressure serving second. Give credit to Djokovic, the best returner in the game. I guess people would agree Federer has a better serve than Nadal, yet Djokovic made it look average in 2015 and merely good, but not dominant, in the 2014 final.
Nadal is right handed at the end of the day, the fact he can serve 120-125mph (and even up to 130 sometimes) with his other hand is incredible. It’s the price Toni decided to pay for him to have the lefty advantage, and it has paid off. But it means his service games will be more of a struggle.
But some perspective
1. Rafa reaches a wimby semi defeating Delpo and almost beating Djoko without having played a warm up grass tournery and a draining clay season
2. Rafa clears himself at the top of the ATP rankings
3. Nearly beats Djoko in an indoor setting on his worst surface
vmk1,
That’s a nice way of looking at it.
I’m devastated for Rafa. Genuinely wanted him to beat Novak. Looks like the Serb is back though. Damn that’s a tough one, I was actually playing my first round match of a tournament I’m in during the completion of the match so I couldn’t see. I heard Rafa was a dog out there and it was a great battle. Commiserations to Rafa and all the gracious Rafans on here.
Djoko won 195 points and Rafa 191 so there’s only 4 points difference but Djoko served 23 aces vs Rafa’s 9. Djoko having a better serve help him tremendously whilst Rafa has to work harder to win points .
I’ve to feel sorry for Rafa, that it’s not often that the conditions at Wimbledon favours him like this year, and yet he has to bump into Delpo and then Djoko, and has his SF match played in not as favourable conditions for him.
Nobody knows whether he will have any more favourable conditions coming his way at Wimbledon, I hope he doesn’t feel too disappointed that he couldn’t make the most of his chances this year.
I have to say Djoko has the game that suits the grass surface more than Rafa’s – great serve, great returns, flatter shots, great from both wings and great movement. Djoko’s style suits most playing surfaces – grass, indoor and outdoor HCs, even on slower surface like clay.
djoker turned wafa into a mental midget again. not to mention his superior technical tennis skills. wafa should only play in the dirt from now on.
I am so fed up with this trailer trash coming on here to vent because his idol lost after being up two sets to a player who had never beaten him.
Get some therapy! It’s not the end of theories because your guy didn’t win again.
What a wimp! So afraid of Rafa catching the so-called GOAT!
I feel sorry for you. No life. Just sad.
It’s not the end of THE WORLD! *
need to disagree with myself here. this was actually a clay court match as we know that wafa doesn’t like lush grass. wafa got owned on his favorite turf! what a player this djoker is.
Yes Djoker was/is amazing.
This loss is stinging. So near, yet so far. Rafa would have won Wimby had he somehow got thru today I feel. Wrong side of conditions. Even USO suites Rafa better than Wimby indoors
Gutted !
I still dont think Djoker is back to his best. Confident Doker is more aggressive, finishes points at the net more. His serve is almost back. BH DTL is not there.
But no doubt he will be back to the best.
Grassgoat you are funny 🤣.
a true statement. djoker needs a better form, his bdtl is still not clicking, he still misses returns, otherwise he would’ve sent wafa home after 3-4 sets. while wafa threw a kitchen sink at djoker and played aggressively out of his comfort zone, it still wasn’t enough to win the match. there is not much wafa can do now, unless he talks to someone named Fuentes. hopefully wafa is smart enough not to take these steps.
I really feel that nobody likes playing against Rafa; he’s just so competitive, so intense that he pushes his opponents to produce their best tennis if they want to beat him. It’s exhahsting for him and his opponents.
I’m sure Djoko felt relieved holding his serve at 8-8 or 9-8 in the final set when he faced several BPs; he knew how tough it was to beat Rafa, even on Rafa’s least favourite surface. I think Delpo could attest to that too.
Imagine Rafa having a better serve, he would be truly one of the hardest if not the hardest player to beat. Actually Rafa has the varieties in his game to win on grass, he came so close of beating Djoko, it’s more his own undoing at the TB that he lost, which cost him the match I feel. If he really could improve his serve and regains his ability to be clutch at crucial moments, he may have his chances come next year Wimbledon, with healthy body/healthy knees, enough rest and good preparation on grass.
With a good enough serve to help him win cheap points on grass, perhaps he won’t need conditions to be favorable to him to play well on grass. His ROS has actually improved when he tries to vary the way he returns serves though he tends to overhit his returns at times. He’s just not clutch when having BPs and squanders so many of them.
I hope he continues to work on his weaknesses, and gets ready to defend his USO title.
He having to deal with Delpo’s 30+ aces and Djoko’s 20+ aces and beating Delpo and coming so close to beating Djoko, gives me hope that he actually can deal with big servers on grass. He has better movement than most big servers on grass, he has a varied serve and ROS, a more varied game now and his usual big FH and now improved flat BH, all these are weapons for him to win on grass. He needs a better serve which he can deliver well all the time even in clutch moments. I think if he can have that, he’ll not falter during crucial moments or when facing big servers.
Yeah, truly great tournament for Rafa reaching the semis when many thought he would skip the whole thing. For Rafa to make it this close with Novak his fierce rival on his least favorable surface and in the indoor conditions only means Rafa will be the man to beat at USO and AO! He has improved his game even further mixing it up with great drop shots and volleys! All Rafa needs to fo for uso is to work on his serve to make it more of a weapon!
I am so proud of Rafa!
Enjoy summer time, Rafa and come back strong!
Vamos Champ!
I think it’s best to take the positives even out if this tough loss. Rafa might not have had anything left had he won today. But with so much going against him, he really battled and it was thisclose.
I feel it’s more than just improving the serve. He needs to capitalize when he gets break points late in a match. He also could not convert three set points in the third set. So he had his chances to win, which makes this harder to take.
But from what Rafa said in his presser, he may have just reached his limit. With no day of rest, it might have been too much for him in the final. But I still would have liked to see him get the chance to play for another Wimbledon title.
There is still a lot to like about her e he’s playing now. The USO should be exciting.
Rafa did say in his presser that he “didn’t have much left in him”. Completing the channel slam at his age (or any age for that matter) is a HUGE achievement. I said before the tournament that I’d be very happy if Rafa made the quarterfinal and I am. Of course I’d be a whole lot happier if he’d won it! But it’s been a great and interesting Wimbly.
I think Djokovic will win the final – I said at the quarters that I thought whoever fought through the bottom half would win the championship. Still think it’s true. Djokovic had it pretty easy up to his last match while Kevin played a very long match vs Roger and an even longer one vs Isner.
I remember Rafa had a break point in final set and there was a wrong rally. He moved forward on Djokovic’s FH but Djoker pulled a winner. He was unlucky like that against Muller.
But overall Rafa’s net play is very good. His drop shot is a weapon now . Hope he gets to work on his serve in the off-season , 10% improvement there would be a great help. Although I felt Rafa served great in the fifth set, was broken 4 times in a tight five setter against Djoker, twice against DelPo.
It turned out to be a brutal draw for Rafa.
Nadal’s net play has always been excellent, but the drop shot in his last two matches was a revelation. In general, I really liked the way he played, very different from his style of play in the past, imo.
Can’t say I agree about the brutal draw. Even if the last two matches were tough, the first four rounds were not terribly challenging. Anderson has had the tougher draw overall.
Obviously a lot of respect to Nadal and Djoko both for playing an amazing amazing match but I don’t agree with people saying Djoko should have agreed to playing with the roof open. At this level, every bit of advantage counts and the game is decided by a point here or there. I am sure Fed/Nadal would have done the same thing and picked conditions that suit them if given a choice. Doing otherwise would be stupid. Nothing to do with being unsportsmanlike. I actually think Djoko doesn’t get the respect he deserves from the fans and is always at a disadvantage playing with Fed and Rafa w.r.t crowd support. The three of them belong in the same league IMO.
Djoker is as world class a player as Rafa and Roger. they got to show him some respect. Keeping him off the major courts, having him play Monfils in AO in extreme conditions to protect Fed, high time world recognizes this extraordinary talent. If there is one guy who can go toe to toe with Rafa for 5 hours without breaking down , its Nole not Fed.
I hope he wins Wimby tomorrow . He deserves this
why does he deserve it any more than anderson? They both have slogged to reach final.
Nadal came so close to beating but have to agree he was always under pressure with that serve.
Nadal needs to work on improving aspects of his game in the off season. The problem that has been for past few seasons that he gets injured or hampered by that time of year and so the crucial period of few months is spend in recovery rather than improving his game.
Federer on the other hand was able to use the off season and extended break provided by that injury he had to work on aspects of his game like backhand and see how he came strong.
Nadal and his team if for the sake of his longevity and continued competitiveness will need to have a look and work out his schedule so that he isn’t hampered. Also they will need to realize that he has to improve his serve. Age is catching up. Nadal will need free or easy points offered by his serve else it will only become harder
This is the best match between Djokovic and Nadal , I believe. This surpasses their AO 12 final . RG 2013 SF comes very close. Level wise this was right up there.
Djoker is a threat on grass. He almost beat Cilic in Queens, was comfortable in first few rounds, I thought he enjoyed sailing through the draw under the radar. He had a good draw as well. I dont think Djoker would have won today had he played DelPo in QF. Winning back to back is never easy. Winning against Red Hot DelPo in fifth took a lot out of Rafa.
What a great match. Commiserations to Nadal fans here, but Rafa has nothing to hang his head about. He played a great match, and certainly could have won. In the end I think his serve was the difference. Although he served pretty well today, he couldn’t get many free points.
All credit to Djokovic, even though he’s not back to his best, imo. He had just enough to win this, but I thought his ROS was over-rated today. He missed a lot of very make-able returns in the last set. And the serve he’s going to face tomorrow is going to be a different beast altogether.
I also don’t think Novak’s fitness is back to where it was. This match was obviously draining, and he may not have much of an advantage tomorrow, if any. Nadal is fitter and would have had more. At this point, just judging by their recent form, I’d say the final is going to be extremely close. I might even give Anderson the edge.
Anderson would facny Nole more than Rafa tomorrow.
Nah,Novak is a better player/baller than Rafa.
Djoker is not fully back to his best but he should take care of business just as he did today.
It won’t be easy but this trophy belongs to Nole.
its funny to see Stanley rooting for Nole just to keep Rafa away from 20..have you forgotten you a Fed fan ? 🙂 What happened to your Fed will win everything statements, hardly anything this year from March..
no he wouldn’t
And JoeSmith finally gets a prediction right after some gems like picking Marterer at RG and Zverev to win RG based on Madrid 🙂
False that I picked either of those. Find the link and prove it.
vmk1,
No, you are thinking of that idiot Jim Courier!
Oh really! I apologize to Joe Smith then 🙂
No apology necessary, vmk1. I did say that Zverev should be in the group of second favourites at RG, after Nadal who was the obvious main favourite.
Simply Amazing!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WTYUSMARCNU
As stinging as this loss is, I am sure Rafa will take positives out of it. We all should remember that when Rafa came back in 2017, none of us thought he would win 3 slams more. He has 3 undecimas, he finished last year as No 1..he well may finish this year too as No 1..there is lot to be proud ot..after every close bitter defeat..Rafa has gone only up..after 2012 AO loss..he beat Novak three times in a row and prevented him from getting 4 in a row at French..after AO 17 close loss..he got 3 decimas and won the USO and finished No 1 too. He will put things into perspective and I expect him to win either AO or USO …yes he will win one of them and hopefully its AO to complete double career slam..Glories come to Rafa after some disappointments and thats the pattern.
On some Fed fans here who have sprung out of nowhere and riduculing Rafa..I dont think Fed ever can play 2 back to back intense physical matches this way..And Rafa has more left in him than Fed to be honest going forth. Fed is 37 now and he is feeling the age. He has had a stellar career..show him more respect by being respectful to his greatest rivals..
Sanju,
I know that I have been critical of you and maybe too harsh. We all have our ways of dealing with the stress when Rafa plays, especially at RG. However, I must commend you for an outstanding post. Well said on all counts! For what it’s worth, I agree with you. Rafa will take positives out of this tournament.
I especially appreciate your final comments about Fed fans showing respect for his greatest rival. I am extremely disturbed by the tone and content of some of the hatespeak that comes out from low lifes and trolls when Rafa loses. I have already pointed out that no one took cheap shots at Fed when he had his shocking loss. It should be the same when Rafa loses. I despise the cowards who hide behind an anonymous username to spew out hatespeak.
It is disrespectful to Fed. Because we know the Fed respects Rafa and Rafa returns tha respect in full measure.
I couldn’t believe the final score I saw when I woke up. Definitely one of those matches where you wish no one could lose. I can’t wait to watch it.
Rafans- I’m truly sorry for your loss. This one is particularly tough as he came so very close to playing for the trophy, closer than he has in years. But I’ve been saying all along that Novak would get back to challenging Fedal for the biggest titles, and it looks to me like that has started, whether Novak wins the title or not. But keep your heads up Rafans- your guy is still #1, and the past two weeks showed that he will be formidable in NYC and elsewhere the rest of the season. And if he can defend his title in New York, he will most certainly be the year-end #1 again.
Nole fans (are there any diehard Nole fans on this site? Ratcliff?)- Congrats to you on your guy taking another big step forward. I certainly did not think he had that level of play and fight back in him yet. And I don’t think I underestimated him- he hadn’t looked NEARLY as good as he did in this match for the 2 years leading up to it. This was by far the best I’ve seen him play since at least 2016 US Open. Arguably since 2016 RG. He just had that mental toughness that we hadn’t seen for so long. It’s good for tennis whether we like him or not!
Thank-you Kevin!
I’ve been out on the river so I didn’t see any matches yet but I keep track of scores and honestly, I thought Rafa was going to win. Didn’t seem like either of them could capitalize on many bps. Nole made the final and I’m hoping he can get the trophy but with a server like Anderson…fingers crossed
Rafa is playing so well and strong on the heels of winning FO #11, then with no warm up tournament wins makes the SF. Congrats to the Rafa fans for all his efforts and best wishes for hc season.
And Angie Yay! Angie Kerber has her 1st Wimbledon and 3rd GS!
Serena keeps getting nicer and more lovable as she ages – she did way better than I expected.
That smarty Kpuppy, left the rest of us in the dust in the TDC WTA bracket. Well done, picking Serena to the final and Kerber SF.
In the Rqcquet Bracket Tourneytopia WTA bracket EG Robertson (is that Eugene?) got the #1 spot followed by, not too closely by a newcomer to the pool, Daan Dijkema – not sure who he is or if he goes by a username on TX or TG. But thanks for playing, EG Robertson, Daan and to everyone and best of luck next time. Gosh that was a low scoring GS bracket for most of us!!
And all those saying Novak is locked for the title..it is not as straightforward as it looks. This match may have taken a lot out of Novak..Even if rafa had got to the final..there was no guarantee he would win it as he played 2 brutal 5 setters..Anderson played 6 hours but it was not even anywhere close to being as demanding as this match..
For now, I surely want Djoko to win the Wimby title. He rarely gets chances in the final against a non big 4 (or wawrinka). And based on the ROS, I am sure a lot of Anderson’s serves are going to come back and frustrate him(add to the fact that Anderson may not be serving at his full capacity after his exploits)
And noone except a big 4 has won wimby since 2003.
Me too!
But he’s far from a lock. Getting to the SF and getting a close win over Rafa was tough I think. He could fade in the final but I hope NOT!
VMK, regarding the return of serves, it may not be. Fed also had difficulties returning Anderson’s big serves as their match progressed.
Djoko couldn’t return some of Rafa’s serves and Rafa’s serves, though tricky at times, were not huge serves. A Djoko at his 2015 level had to beat Anderson in five sets in R4, Anderson is now a much improved player whilst Djoko isn’t at his 2015 level.
The final may be a close match, unless Anderson is half dead after his 6+ hours SF; but, Djoko may not be fresh either, as a five hours match vs Rafa would take a lot out of anyone, be it physically or mentally. Moreover, Djoko has to play for three consecutive days, so if the final goes the distance again, I feel it’ll affect Djoko more than Anderson, as Anderson has his big serve to bail him out of troubles whilst Djoko will have to work harder when using his serve to win points.
I just saw the highlights..Those 3 Bps at 7 all were costly for Rafa not able to take them..but then Novak aced him in 2 of those..Rafa rarely used FH DTL in 5th set..wonder why..maybe was tired..
He went CC one too many. I was wondering why he’s hitting CC right back at Djoko, when Djoko could just change direction and hit his FH or BH DTL and time and again Rafa got out smarted by Djoko.
To be able to outlast or outsmart Djoko from the baseline, Rafa really needs both his CC and DTL shots from both wings. He has his improved CC BH now, should improve that DTL so that he has more options changing directions to keep his opponents guessing.
He has some good slices but I feel he still could improve on them especially when slicing down the middle of the court, could slice them lower to make it difficult for his opponents to return them.
Since the beginning of 2017, Rafa has lost only five set matches at the slams
Fed AO17
Muller Wimby17
Cilic AO18
Djoko Wimby18
Hope he wins USO again though 🙂
tough ask..he has never defended a non clay slam..I think AO maybe his though..he just needs to avoid Novak till final 🙂
Just shows how tough it is to beat Rafa at these events. Even when he does lose, it’s always close.
Congratulations to Novak fans. He played very well, although didn’t return so well *some easy serves.
I’m sorry for Nadal. But keep in mind that a few months ago you’d happily take another RG title and a Wimbledon SF. Very well done. Much respect warrior.
Good advice from Eugene to stay looking on the bright side.
The 5th set was a courageous effort by Rafa. He came out of the blocks fighting after the disappointment of losing the 2nd set TB last night. I’m in the camp that firmly believes the outcome would have been different had they not been playing with the roof closed. But that is with 20/20 hindsight and there’s no point crying over spilt milk. Djokovic is nearly back to his former level which is good for tennis although possibly not such good news for up and coming players fighting their way to through the ranks.
Apologies for the cliche ridden sentence in the post above
Djoko is nearly back but it seems his fitness is not there yet. I do feel a big server plus big hitter like Delpo or a Stan when he’s at his best, could give him troubles. On grass players like Delpo and Anderson could give anyone problem.
I feel Rafa didn’t get enough depth on his shots, perhaps because he’s playing from behind the baseline, and it’s those who could hit with depth (Delpo for example) that would pose more problems for their opponents, including Djoko.
On a side note- Ricky or anyone- do you know which half plays first at the US open? Trying to book tickets to NY and want to make it on the days that Rafa plays.
Afraid you have to wait for the draw day to see which half goes first or even which half Rafa is in. Supposedly that’s all drawn randomly. Good luck! The good news is that Roger will be in the other half so it will be possible to trade with a fed fan if push comes to shove. Then there’s also the question of which court… They do NOT make it easy for fans that want to see particular players.
Thanks ramarA. I am going to the cincy day session on qf day gambling that they will give the night session to the cincy darling – fed and more importantly, rafa will at least reach the quarters. Last year i watched him lose to kyrgios and the year before that he was ousted before the qfs by coric or lopez🤦🏻♂️.
But i have seen rafa lift the trophy in 2013 and 2017 at ny. Hope this year it will be something similar based on the form displayed
not announced until the the weekend before
but chances are good that Nadal will be first, as they will want Federer to play Saturday/Monday
They’re taking their time with the Djokovic v Anderson prediction. Can’t afford to get this one wrong. Must stop the bleeding lol
actually got Djokovic-Nadal correct, as I had Djokovic once the roof was closed
(as did everyone else)
This Rafa nole battle forced me to write something here yet again! Wow what a contest! Commiserations to all Rafa fans and congrats to Nole fans.
I really felt Rafa would win this given how well he had started returning and hitting his forehand DTL and backhand CC. He missed some chances and Novak found awesome serves in difficult moments.
Don’t worry Rafans! He’ll take so many positive from this and improve further. This was arguably the best quality match in their rivalry and there were NO lapses.
Massive respect for Djokovic as well and great to see him back in the mix.
Hello to Cherly Murray as well! great to see you back 🙂
Enjoy the final (which could be a very tricky affair for Novak if Anderson is feeling okay physically)!
Good bye tenngranders!
lastly, many posters here are dicussing the nadal serve. I agree the serve was the biggest differences but ONLY the first serve. Don’t forget he won 57% second serve points in this semi and won a staggering 62% against Delpo!
It is the first serve he needs to work on a bit. His second serve has improved quite a lot and he is more willing than ever to implement his all-court abilities!
VR,
You are killing me with these little nuggets is analysis. I really wish you would reconsider your decision. We still have a great core group of dedicated tennis fans here. You were an integral part of it for so long.
Now that Cheryl Murray is back on board, it’s only going to get better. There is so much tennis to look forward to still.
I agree with you about the serve. It’s the first serve that needs some beefing up. The second serve is strong. This was tough because Rafa did have his chances to break in the latter stages of the fifth set. It was a very close match and could have gone either way.
I am thinking that you are right that Rafa will take some real positives out of this result. He showed such heart and guts and will. I am SO proud to be his fan!
Good to hear from you, VR, and I hope you’re well.
Rafa needs to work on his first serve a lot, but it would be surprising if he can do much about it at this point. If he could have, he would have done so long ago, given the importance of the shot. Difference in ace count this match was 23-9, plus I don’t know how many service winners.
Second serve doesn’t mean much, and Rafa’s high pct. that you mention mostly reflects the fact that Novak’s ROS wasn’t that great in this match, esp. on 2nd serve. Many average Nadal second serves were returned with little depth or direction, and Rafa generally pounced on those to win the point.
Nadal had the advantage once a rally started. (Novak won 4 more points overall, but 14 of those were aces).
If it were Fed, he would have asked for the roof to be open. Djokovic is such a poor sport. That’s why he has so few fans and everyone adores Fed and Rafa.
It is again the organizers who are blame for making the rule complicated without having a clear policy. They ensured that the players’ bias comes into the decision by having them both agree to what the roof position should be..
An outdoor tournament should be played outdoors whenever possible
It’s tough for me to have respect for Nole after today. I have always find it hard to get behind him. Much easier to root for Fed or Rafa or Delpo.
I still didn’t give my congrats to Novak fans..especially RC…So,congrats RC!!…
Also thank u very much for the commies Kevin,Eugene,Joe,Benny…Am i missed anyone?That’s very awesome from u guys!
Don’t have to get angry with Djoko; I think Rafa was agreeable to the roof remaining close for the whole match.
I know Djoko was also eager to win this match, not so much against Rafa, but to prove he’s ready to win a slam. Watched his team courtside and you could feel their anxiousness. They’re not the usual relaxed team of 2011-2015 when Djoko was winning so much.
Djoko did play well, clutch when facing and saving BPs. Rafa otoh, wasn’t clutch even when serving for set, especially TB set. He throwing in poor service games to lose serves after breaking Djoko’s serve is another problem that Rafa and his team should address.
Rafa losing the TB to Delpo in the QF had cost him precious energy, losing the third set TB to Djoko too, so much so that Rafa felt he had nothing much left after the SF match that he had given his all. I hope Rafa address this problem as well, it’s no good to spend an hour or so playing a TB when you’d the chance to win with a SP and yet ended up losing.
Rafa said in his presser that he wanted the roof to be open.
Rafa and Djoko, sometimes you have to give and take. I remember in that FO2013 SF, when they’re about to start the fifth set, Djoko requested that they water the court but Rafa deemed it unnecessary and so they didn’t water the court. This time, perhaps Rafa gave in to Djoko’s decision.
There’re still some differences playing indoor or outdoors where these two are concerned – Rafa could deal with the elements better with his topspin game, whilst Djoko’s game is best suited where there’s no issue of elements involved. However in this particular match, I don’t think it mattered, as Rafa was running out of steam by or nearing the end of it.
Had Anderson held his serve after breaking serve in set three and won the set, who knows he might win in four sets and saved himself two hours of court time (and energy) and so Rafa/Djoko could start at say 6pm playing outdoor with ample daylight for another three hours. As things turned out, the first SF dragged on longer than expected and so we had what we had now.
Sometimes, things worked for Rafa and sometimes they worked against him, and they might be out of Rafa’s or anyone else control.
This question about the roof is just an excuse, really.We’ll never know whether it would have affected the outcome.
Tactics may have affected it, but since they’ve played so many times, there are no secrets.It came down to one or two points . I do feel gutted for Nadal fans , just as I was for Fed.
Rafa has lots of positives from Wimbledon. Drop shots and net play are the two biggest pluses. I think he should continue to come to net.
Djoker could have won with roof open since he always plays Rafa tough. Even their Rome match was tough. But roof open would have definitely suited Rafa.
Ironically neither Rafa nor Djokovic have won any of the five setters being 2-1 sets down. It just goes to show how much that tie-break was important. I think Rafa was slightly the better player overall. Look at the number of winners if you leave out the aces. Rafa outwinnered Djoker which is usually not the case. I think clutch serving from Djoker made the difference.
But no matter where the roof is, someone will always say it was a factor.Just as the rain came in 2001 for Henman, would he have won?
This roof at Wimby needs to be let half open, keep everyone happy !
How many more slams do you guys think Rafa has based on what we saw ? Honest opinions ? N please break by french n non french..and Federer n djokovic too ?
If anyone can tell you this he would be a great astrologer. Did anyone see the sudden decline of Djoker? And we are not sure if he loses today, would he again become contender. Even if he wins, we are not sure that he would definitely be back as his ranking is going to be outside 4 still and will get bad draws.
Who could predict that Fed would lose in Wimby QF when he did not lose serve in four rounds. Who could predict the great Rafa and Fed run where they won last 6 slams?
One thing is that Rafa needs to win RG to have his confidence high up . The year he loses RG, he would start doubting himself more and more. I still think he can play 2 good RG but this year RG was not as easy as last year and next year might be more difficult if you throw Djoker in the picture as well.
Rafa needs to take good time off at the end of the year now , and he now most probably would be very clear of Fed in terms of ranking points unless Fed wins USO. He should understand that he can go directly to tournaments and win the whole thing. He nearly won this year on grass. Skip Beijing, play only Shanghai , Paris and WTF only. Also he can skip one clay tourney maybe Madrid.
Great plan, I’m sure. But pigs will fly before Rafa skips Madrid.
Strange question. No one can foresee what will happen in future. If we’re to assume that these players are to remain fit and healthy, I think Djoko can win a few more, on the HCs and maybe one more Wimbledon (not including 2018 which he may or may not win).
On clay, if Rafa is still playing top class tennis then it’ll be difficult for anyone else to win the FO. I have a feeling the FO may get more competitive once Rafa stops winning there, as Thiem, maybe Tsitipas, Sasha and some other youngsters may take turns to win there.
I do feel Wimbledon will be more open as Fed is getting older still come next year and beyond, and any big server on their good day, could reach the final (like Anderson here), maybe Cilic, Delpo, Anderson and Raonic, will have their chances too, besides the trio of Djoko, Rafa and Murray (when he’s healthy).
I don’t know about Rafa, maybe he can defend his USO title and wins another AO title; and/or one more Wimbledon, in addition to one or two more FOs? Rafa still has the drive and desire, and he’s playing well at the moment, he just needs to improve his serve; he plays better on the HCs than on grass, if he plays with his varieties and aggression like the way he does at Wimbledon, then I think he’s in good position to defend his USO title. Given his good records vs Djoko at the USO, I think I’ll favor him over Djoko there.
I want the AO real bad for him. He has lost it narrowly twice n once got injured in final n thrice in qtrs. I hope he gets to win it once more to complete double career slam. If there is one slam I want him to win most it is AO
So, so, so sad that Rafa didn’t win
I couldn’t watch it and didn’t even take my phone me so, only saw Novak celebrating from a TV set at arestaurant… spoiled the rest of the dinner 😞
Well today after reflecting this match leaves a bitter taste. Rafa would have won that match if there was no roof as everyone knows except the people here who seek to demean him. If they had to play under the roof for legitimate reasons then fine but playing on a hot sunny day! Yesterday was also windy and we all know who plays great in the wind and who emphatically doesn’t! Rafa would have won it significantly earlier as well. Just about everyone gave the edge to rafa outdoors and Nole indoors.
The whole episode was a shambles and one player shouldn’t have the right to make a huge call which affected everyone…the players, the spectators, people on the hill, the viewing public and then having to open the roof for the women’s final!
“Rafa would have won that match if there was no roof as everyone knows except the people here who seek to demean him.”
You don’t know that, just like you dont know if Nadal won the 3rd set TB that he wouldve won.
Psychology and performance based on circumstances are variable.
I have nothing to say to a mega troll who i first had an argument with when he trolled Nole shamelessly at Rg posting every 3 minutes that Nole was a cheater and that half his slams wins were illegitimate. Then you laughed and laughed when he lost to Cecchinato when I was cheering for him to win. Unlike many people on this site who automatically demean the rivals of their favourite player i like Nole and Federer! You spend most of your time openly accusing players like rafa and Nole of cheating and I have nothing to say to someone who just pours out hate.
I was cheering for Federer earlier as well but you simply wouldn’t understand how you can support a player but also like and respect their rivals.
And I stand by those comments, Djokovic has won at least 4-6 grand slams with gamesmanship being a major factor.
It’s no disrespect to him, it’s simply the reality. Still a great player.
Well said, amy! Completely agree!
We do move on, but bitter taste remains for some time…it is simply not fair and Wimby organizers are huge disappointment!
Hope Rafa doesn’t let this disappointment get to him! He has made tremendous effort by fighting like he did and giving his all under unfavorable circumstances. Respect for the great Champion!
Vamos Rafa!
Bitter taste because you’re a “sore loser”? Build a bridge a get over it.
Djokovic is entitled to have the match played under the same setting for the whole match. Playing half a match indoors and half outdoors doesnt make sense to me.
You’re just clutching at straws now, Nadal had his chances. He was gifted another circumstantial donation with the reschedule which always advantages him. It effectively made the 3rd set win by Djokovic null and void.
Its time to move on and enjoy the final.
Natashao i wrote you a long post which disappeared and then another which also disappeared!
Will try later but thanks hon! Maximum respect for Rafa!!😀
Natashao do you remember what rafa said to Toni during his 08 wimby final with Fed? :he may win it but I will not lose it.
That’s exactly what happened and I don’t think he will be disheartened. He knows if the roof was open he would have won.
Agree with you 100% on the roof management. It was originally intended for bad weather only, not darkness. Also, the roof staying closed the next day is a dumb rule. Tennis should be played outdoors.
Given Rafas record indoors vs outdoors in sunny weather, there’s little doubt that it would have made the difference in this close match.
I hold nothing against Nole for wanting to keep it closed and he played amazing to beat Rafa and executed at key moments better than Rafa did.
I’ll be happy for either guy to win today but I’m rooting for the underdog in Anderson because it would obviously mean more to him.
Good to see you here hawks!!!
Honestly i am so tired from writing and then rewriting posts!
It does rankle with me that rafa lost under these ridiculous circumstances where an anomalous decision over the roof was such a factor! We are just about the only Rafa fans on the site who are also to a lesser extent Nole fans but I honestly find it hard now to feel happy for him in the ways i would if he had beaten rafa fair and square out in the open!
These are the tough losses for sure Amy. I couldn’t even watch the match live excerpt for a few points. I’m way too tense watching Rafa in later round slams other than RG and can only watch after his matches are over.
I’m so happy to hear that you are involved in the anti Trump movement in the UK. Scary times in the world today with Trump in bed with Putin, Brexit and nationalism rising in many parts of the world.
I’m ashamed for humanity.
Trump is a symptom, not the problem. Today, just 1 in 2 Americans disapprove of his performance. That’s the problem.
Fight the good fight Amy and Vamos Rafa no matter what.
Thanks hawks! These last 2 years have been a terrible eye opener in so far as human nature is concerned. Trump is incredibly unpopular in Britain and Europe…in some countries up to 90%
if the population strongly disapprove of him. The anti trump movement here is very passionate and strong but this country is in a dangerous state of moral decline over brexit.
I respect rafa even more after he played Nole so close indoors while suffering the fatigue of the Delpo match.
Agreed Amy. Rafa, more than any other professional athlete, embodies what it means to be a good human being especially given his accomplishments.
From the Kipling poem “if” posted at Wimbledon:
“If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,
And treat those two impostors just the same;”
Rafa’s ability to live this on and off the court is what separates him from the rest making him GOAT in my opinion.
Even if the roof was open Novak Djokovic will still win.
Rafa can’t beat this current Novak on any court.
Djokovic is getting better and his form and gameplay is improving.
🤣🤣🤣, none of the above Hawktard.
I haven’t seen you in awhile, what’s up Fool?
+1
no
As with jim i don’t have anything to say to you Stanley. I will leave this post and then I will simply not read your posts as I won’t read his. You haven’t been here in ages mercifully but here you are back when Rafa loses patronising sneering and gloating. You are just a troll.
Not just a troll, but a racist, misogynist, homophobic nazi trump loving troll.
Fools never change they just continue in their folly over and over again.
You are getting better MORON, keep going.
Vamos Hawktard, Vamos!
Amy are you referring to me?
If you are that’s not right/fair, please mind your language.
We can disagree on something’s and still have an enjoyable and nice conversation.
Just chill, I understand where you are and I assure you everything will be alright.
I never understood why some people live their lifes through famous people. Is your own life that silly? Do you think and feel some kind of accomplishment when they win? These people have no clue who you are and could care less, so how about you guys stop thinking you are living their life.
It’s almost funny watching adults defending their hero, who will never ever think about them, yet you guys are fighting about the most stupid things ever.
Nadal don’t care about any of you, Djokovic don’t care about any of you nor does Roger care about any of you, and whatever they archieve in life has nothing to do with you guys.
True statement, some take it way too serious.
Guy’s just chill and enjoy the game.
Let’s not fight over meaningless things, let’s disagrees, agree and respect each other while doing it.
Let’s just have fun and support the players we like.
So basically, passionate sports fans shouldn’t exist? This is probably the worst comment of all time. Sincerely, everyone
+1
Am I the only person here who thinks that keeping the conditions the same through the whole is a perfectly acceptable argument? I’m not saying it’s the better argument, but it’s absolutely no worse than arguing for changing the conditions of a match after 3 sets. I mean, couldn’t you argue that if they did open the roof the next day that then it wouldn’t be fair to Novak? Is there any right answer here?
I’m honestly kinda disappointed in all the over-the-top roof-blaming… I at least don’t understand how people don’t see how wanting to not completely change the conditions of the match after 3 sets makes a lot of sense.
Of course we would prefer for it be played outdoors like every other non-rain matches. But this was a good reason to at least consider keeping it open. It’s obviously harder to admit if you’re so passionate about Rafa, but an unbiased observer can at very least admit that it makes sense to want to change the conditions part way through, even if it’s a new day.
Think about when it’s being played outdoors, and then they have to close the roof mid-match. That sucks! I don’t care who it favors or doesn’t favor- it’s not a good thing. But in that case it cannot be controlled because we can’t control Mother Nature. But if we have the ability to keep the match played how it was from the start, I think that makes perfect sense.
But I understand that because Rafa has never been very good under a roof, you guys are going to be really, really
Annoyed when the roof is closed. I get it. 3 of the 4 majors now have roofs, though, and 2 of them have had them for a long time now. It’s just part of the sport.
I’m not saying this myself, but couldn’t a Novak fanatic say something like, “Why should we change the conditions of the match mid-Way through just because you guys don’t like that Rafa has never played great under a roof?” Wouldn’t that be just as fair of an argument at least?
I guess I’m just surprised by how overwhelmingly the blame is being put on the roof by some Rafa fans. Especially considering that Novak is arguably just as good outdoors as he is indoors, like it would have been a guarantee that HE wouldn’t have played better outdoors? C’mon guys. The roof? Rafa looked pretty goddamn great to me in that match, and it was under the roof! The few issues he had looked more like a mental thing to me. He played really freakin’ well. He could have easily won the match! So why should people feel bad about the roof when he can clearly play very well under it, and the other player has to play under the same roof?
I’m sorry Rafa fans, I always try to stay as positive as I can on here, but I just can’t keep my mouth shut on this one… Your argument is no better, or worse, than the other sides’s argument, the way I see it.
(This is not an anti-Rafa rant, so Trolls of Grandstand- please don’t take this comment as an invitation to troll.)
Wow, LOT of typos there…
*makes sense to NOT change the conditions…
Not when it’s next day and no threat of rain in my opinion.
Hotter conditions affects how the ball plays and given the closeness of the match, I think it would have made the difference but one can never know.
The match should have been moved to Court 1 earlier and the roof was never intended for night play.
Tennis should be played outdoors unless it’s raining. I’m not saying stop the match to reopen the roof but next day is already a change in conditions to some degree.
https://twitter.com/planettrish/status/1018434750397075457?s=21
posted by someone on tx
Agree with Kevins long post. Nadal was one or two points from winning .Nadal wins, then you wont hear any complaints about the roof.
OTOH, roof opens , Nadal loses , then different story.
Some tournaments have a canopy-type roof which allows air circulation, while still keepin gthe rain out and allowing some protection from the sun.Better job, IMO.
Sorry Kevin but this post really irritated me. Wimby states over and over that it is an open air tourney and that it does everything it can to play matches outside and the roof is only there as a last resort. I have heard henman say that on multiple occasions. They screwed up the scheduling so in a desperate attempt to try and get the match played they closed the roof when it wasn’t raining and there was plenty of light. Because of their screw up Nole had the opportunity to ask to play indoors which he took when rafa emphatically didn’t agree and wanted to play outdoors. And the conditions weren’t remotely the same next day anyway as they were playing in high humidity conditions with the hot midday sun. I already said i think it’s wrong for one player to be able to make a decision which determines everything ie not just for the players but for the spectators, the viewing public on tv, people on the hill, the delay in having to open the roof for the women’s final. And I made these comments before the match as well as afterwards! Even if Rafa had won i still think it was wrong. I also said before the match that I don’t believe that Federer would have enforced playing inside even though it would confer on him an even greater advantage. That’s not in keeping imo with Fed’s views about tradition,history, how the game should be played and so on. Hawks and myself are the only Rafa fans here who really like Nole and we both see it as the wrong call that the roof should be closed we also both think Rafa would have won if it was open on Saturday.
Just about every rafa fan on this site said on site before the match that he wasn’t going to win with it closed and just about every commentator and expert who had picked rafa to win before changed their pick to Nole.That’s how big a factor everyone saw the roof as being before the match so why the hell shouldn’t we complain about it afterwards!we are just being consistent in our thinking!!!
Also imo the biggest advantage Nole had when the roof was closed was that he knew very well that rafa has a poor record playing indoors while he has a very good one. He came into that match pretty mentally weak imo but the roof being closed gave him a huge shot of confidence and belief while also putting doubts in rafa’s mind at the beginning at least.
That again was a huge factor in his capacity to win.
I have supported Nole a lot on this site…to the extent that I have been accused of being first and foremost a nole fan! I wanted him to get back to his best and I’ve said it was going to happen soon. But I don’t like how he got his win over rafa and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
All perfectly said amy (not sure about Fed though).
Thanks hawks! Just my opinion about fed! Am in a bit of a rage about roofgate and an not going to shut up about it!
Rafa could be looking at another channel slam and 18 slams right now!!
Hawks i find my policy of just not reading posts by trolls such as jim, Stanley and grassgoat really an excellent one!
Saves so much time and energy!!😀
If no one reacts to their posts, they get bored and move on.
I thought that Wimbledon cannot be worse than letting 2 people fight in the SF indefinitely and compromising their chances for the final, while the other 2 semifinalists and spectators got tired and frustrated not being able play/watch the other match on a different court simultaneously. No, Wimbledon comitee can be even more stupid than that. For some silly reasons, they didn’t open the roof on a bright, hot day with A/C on, exactly as they used to play back in the 19 century. Because they like tradition. I lost my respect for this tourney. This was disgusting.
Well it was rafa who had to pay for their scheduling stupidity and incompetence Eugene! He specifically said afterwards that wimby is an outdoor tournament and they should have opened the roof on Saturday!
Which I agree with! i think many ordinary people here in Britain who aren’t really tennis fans but always watch wimby think wimby screwed things up!
I know Rafa would’ve want to play with the roof open.
They should as well let Fed&Rafa outside CC, so they get used to other courts, in case unforseen circumstances occur. Fed shouldn’t have played only on Cc before the QF match.
Well I wanted fed to get to the final Eugene!! I like all 3 of fed rafa and Nole!
Brad Gilbert:
“This is absolutely something that needs to be addressed for next year’s rules if for some reason match does not finish even if played indoors,next day option should always be based on weather this is outdoor tournament”
ie saying same as Rafa!!
But the real problem was the poor scheduling.The match should never have started so late and carried over.
True, Wimbledon screwed things up (I’d already said that many times in my earlier posts) for Fed and Rafa, resulting in a poor final yet again!
I’m sure a Fed/Rafa or Fed/Djoko Final would be 100 times better than a tired Anderson/Djoko final. What a shame and what a joke Wimbledon had turned into.
For me,this is the BADDEST Wimby ever!…The one time Rafa have a shot on it,and they screwed up!!….Urgh!!!….I’m still very pi@#ed over bad scheduling & roof scandal!..I hope Rafa will boycott this tourney next year if things still not changed…
Yes I am angry as well mira! If Nole had beaten rafa outside on Saturday i would be upset and disappointed but I would move on and accept it and also be glad for Nole! As it is I feel that the result is illegitimate and rafa has been cheated out of a slam! I realize some people are going to attack me for saying this but it’s what I feel and I am not going to pretend otherwise!
Another brad Gilbert tweet from Saturday this time:
“The only thing I know is roof closed for 1pm restart this afternoon, obviously djoker or his team wanted it closed but I think it terrible that it is outdoor tournament roof should be open on restart just my humble opinion”
Most people said same as Gilbert and what puzzles me is that henman said they took the decision to allow it to be played under the roof if one player wanted it not because it was a rule but because it was common practice. Well if it is common practice then how come so many experts and ex players like Gilbert were surprised by it! It also contradicts wimby rules to play outside whenever they can!!
I also read somewhere that Novak said afterwards that he didn’t even know he had a choice! Everything about the decision seems shambolic and inept!
amy,
I gave my thoughts here yesterday. I days d that it made no sense to have the roof up the next day. Now it appears that the roof is being used as advantage to determine the outcome of the match. I am not saying that Rafa for sure would have won if the roof was not up. What I am saying is that there was no reason for it to be up because it was daylight and no darkness and no rain. It was a stupid decision in a long line of stupid decisions.
I did not know about the hard stop at 11:00 pm. But the organizers did. Therefore, as the first semifinal went on so long they had to know that there was s real possibility that the second semifinal would not finish. So their failure to go anything, like moving the first match to court one and getting Rafa and Novak on center court, should have happened. They knew that once the match started so late at 8:00 that the match would not finish by 11:00.
I am fed up with the lack of respect and consideration shown towards the players. I know that Rafa said in his Spanish presser that he did all he could and can’t blame or criticize himself over this loss. He is right. Things were taken out of his hands and all he could do was play his best,
Rafa has absolutely nothing to criticise himself for nny! He played like a champion. But I don’t like any of the decision making process and although one can’t know for sure it’s extremely likely be would have won if they finished the match outside. That’s pretty sickening to think about..
It should be made clear that Rafa was not okay with the roof being closed once play resumed the next day. On VB they talked about the Spanish part of Rafa’s presser in which he said that it did not make sense for the roof to be closed the next day. So there should be no question about how Rafa felt.
He was right, of course. It was daylight, no darkness or rain. There were no rules about it starting and ending with the same conditions. The tournament screwed up royally!
I think any Rafa fab should avoid tennis-x. That place is anti-Rafa I’m the extreme. I don’t care if Novak fans are talking about the court but being watered in the 2013 RG semifinal. What else would you expect them to day. That fire is filled with the likes of grassgoat, spewing out toxic bile.
All I know is that Rafa came out and gave it his best. So much was out of his control. But the tournament organizers should be ashamed of the way they handled the entire scheduling for the two semifinals. It was a disgrace and unfair to the players. Common sense would have indicated that they get Rafa and Novak on court one at least as the other match dragged on. Something should have been to try and make sure both semifinals were completed.
To clarify my comments in the third paragraph of my previous post – any Rafa FAN should avoid tennis-x. It’s anti-Rafa in the extreme. I don’t care if the Novak fans are talking about the court NOT being watered in the 2013 RG semifinal. That SITE is filled with the likes of grassgoat, spilling toxic bile. *
Nny,
Oh dear, I’ve not read or posted there since before the Nole ve Rafa SF. And I couldn’t hold my tongue then.
I don’t dare go read there — but you make me curious – shoot.
I wanted to add that Rafa, in his Spanish presser, said that he talked about the match conditions and decisions “for information” and asked that the writers not make it “the story” but write about it as the great match that it was. He’s a class act all the way through.
I’d like to add that I watched John Isner’s exit presser also. Whatever you think of his politics and his tennis (no, I don’t like either), he’s a fine sportsman and a gracious gentleman.
Indeed, about Isner – I’ve never doubted his manners.
And Rafa is pure class. It was a great match and it should have been the final, imo. I watched all the matches I missed including the Kerber vs Serena one. Serena was wonderfully lovable in her RU speech.
+1
much different from Sandgren
Nny!…U R absolutely right about TX!…If Fed win,Fedfans will still bashed Rafa[some of them]..Now,i’m waiting with anxious now that Novak win again,his ‘over xcited’ fans will come again to TX & also bash,belittle & worse, spreading their hatred to the xtreme.. for example in 2015 when Novak still dominated,one of them came to TX & gave the link[rafa’s pic] especially to ME..And,in this pic Rafa grabbed Juan Monaco’s a@#[my guess,Rafa humour’s mood at the highest level at that time,hehe]….And in his post,Novak fan also implied that Rafa is gay….
And my answer to him was simple…”Wow!thank u very much for that pic @#!…Rafa’s hair was sooo cute!…And he also very handsome in that pic”!…And then,came another Novak fan[he’s also very brutal..but always got a nice words about Rafa,which is very nice gesture from him]…He said..”Mira,@# want u to see where Rafa’s hand in that pic”…And i replied..”I know @#!…I already can see where Rafa’s hand in that pic,i just acting nerd coz i knew the intention of @# just to hackled & provoked me,in hoping that i will get mad & start fighting with him…Not to mention that he wants everybody to see that Rafa is gay or prefer man or he is not what we thought he is & other BS..coz what Rafa did is totally not of our concern right? And i replied again to him…sorry @#!..i think u really underestimated me!…and also u just beware your a@# okay?Who knows when Rafa go to NY,he will grab your a@# next”!…And i end up my post by saying..Hugs & kisses from a far away land!Hehehehehe….Serves him right Nny!!…He’s the most vicious Novak fan on TX!…
Oh!…Yeah,each one of us still mad over what happened at Wimby this year Nny!….I know i am!..But..i think it’s better if we forget what happen,and start looking forward to NA swings…Hopefully our Rafa will once again have success there Nny!…Oh!..have u seen this Nny?I think you’re going to like it!…
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Rafael_Nadal/57824/-rafael-nadal-is-possibly-the-greatest-athlete-ever-in-tennis–rod-laver/
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Rafael_Nadal/57776/boris-becker-love-and-respect-for-rafael-nadal-/
MA,
I know all about what they say about Rafa on tennis-x. It’s a cesspool. I have seen it all many times. That’s why I wrote off that site years ago. I used to read there without posting, but gave that up. Not good for my health!
That’s what this troll grassgoat has been doing here. But insulting Rafa is one thing. Taking cheap shots at Rafa’s female fans is quite another. We are NOT Rafa fangirls! We are grown women who know our tennis and love this sport! There should be no place for that kind of condescending, sexist misogynistic garbage on this site! I not about to tolerate that! No way! But grassgoat belongs on tennis-x. He fits right in.
I know that amy checked out the site. But I will steer clear of it at all costs.
🤣😂🤣.
I see at as complement don’t let it make you unhappy ok.
Rafa fangirls is not a bad, many/some women will die to be called that.
Rafa fangirls is a cool name.
But if you don’t like Grassgoat saying that I totally understand 👍.
Some errors in my previous comment.
It
A
Bad name
He always acts as if he does not know. After playing this long, if he does not know then he is acting or really Idiot. i go with former. He did similar things to Murray as well few times
MA,
Thanks for those links! Love what Laver said about Rafa! He was my idol growing up, so it is great to hear him pay tribute to Rafa!
😍
amy,
I am glad that Brad Gilbert tweeted his thoughts on keeping the roof closed. That was absolutely stupid. Made no sense whatsoever ever.
The disturbing aspect of this whole fiasco is his the organizers did not put the well being and fairness to the players above all else. I am sick of their outdated traditions and rigidity.
It was a disgrace. Then the women came out and played without the roof! Unbelievable!
I know that Rafa is most likely going fishing and enjoying some relaxation right now. He will put this behind him and move forward. The good news is that he is healthy and playing some of his best tennis. He reminded everyone that he can for sure pjay in the grass! He is going to take good things out of this debacle. He knows he did his best in a situation that was not in his control. That is all we can ask of him as fans.
I don’t think the idiots who run Wimbledon will change the rule of no TB’s in the fifth set. They will not change anything and stick to their inane and out of date traditions.
It’s good news that Rafa is fit and healthy and enjoying his vacation now. A fit and healthy, well rested Rafa will be able to play great tennis. I hope come August when he plays the HC swing, he will play with the same varieties and aggression that he displayed at Wimbledon; and, come with an improved serve as well!
If Rafa remains fit and healthy with good knees, I like his chances at Wimbledon next year. He has the game to play well on grass, I hope he really improves his serve and serves more aces to get many cheap points too.
One more thing, I hope he practices or trains in humid conditions to let himself get used to humidity, as I feel he’s at a disadvantage if his body can’t cope with it.
Yes, tbh, I feel had they let Rafa/Djoko played at Court 1 and the match to be completed on Friday, Rafa would most likely be the winner. By the end of the third set, Djoko looked the more tired of the two, and he’s fortunate the match was suspended after that. Had they continued, Rafa the fitter of the two would most likely played better and won in the end.
When play resumed the next day at 1pm, with closed roof, the heat and humidity was trapped within the arena and Rafa was perspiring like crazy. The glass roof is/was never intended to block out heat, it’s meant to block out rain! Hence, the air conditioning wasn’t enough to cool the place when heat kept coming through the glass roof. It’s not meant to be an indoor event so the roof was never built to block out heat, unlike those venues intended for indoor play.
It’s kind of embarrassing that a tournament as historic as Wimbledon, couldn’t even manage court assignment properly and made a mess of it not only this year but also last year.
I mean this year without Murray, the court assignment should be a bit easier among the TOP men players. Is it too difficult to be fair to the three champions? Why assign all Fed and Rafa matches to CC, that the one left behind had to complain?
There’s so much hype about Fedal rematch 10 years after their classic 2008 final; and now we have a final almost as bad as last year’s that many people would want to forget. As I said earlier on, Wimbledon deserved a lousy final after the mess they have created.
Anderson was also a victim, for having to play for 6+ hours, if a TB for the fifth set was in place, he certainly could’ve saved some precious energy for the final.
Novak would still have won.
Funny and crazy👉 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TKKPzFrvvsY
After watching this video☝️ you won’t trust Rafa again 🤣.
Oh mine, I just read an article at golf digest.com by a Shane Ryan, which was written 14 hours ago. His thoughts was almost exactly like mine! And, I’m sure many shared those thoughts too!
Thanks for the reference, Lucky. That was a laugh-out-loud rant!
Ramara, there’s the interesting take about Djoko and his tennis in that article. He mentioned that Djoko at his best is better than anyone who has ever played the sport. Well, based on his 2015 level (and to me his 2011 level seemed better) that might be true. To me the only issue is that for him to play that way, he has/had to push his body to the limit, leading to his elbow issue in 2016, and his back issue after USO2011.
I’m tempted to say that Djoko could play at that level on his fav surface ie HC; was he better than peak Fed on grass? I’m very sure he couldn’t play better than peak Rafa on clay. Even on quick HCs like Cincy and Shanghai, Fed was still able to beat him in 2015.
The author mentioned that if Djoko could accumulate eight more majors (slams) he’ll one day overtake Fed as the Goat, hmm, that’s what I was thinking and I’d written earlier on.
I’m positive that Rafa will win a few more slams, clay and non clay, and people will have to argue till no end about ‘who’s the Goat!’?
Hahaha! That shan e ryan article was accurate and hilarious except for the last part puffing Novak. The guy hasn’t been a force for 2 years and had massive luck in getting this title as Ryan himself repeatedly points out due to the absurdities of roofgate and how much that favoured him.
Lucky pointed out the vast list of things which helped him….she forgot to mention nishikori taking out kygrios who as we all know is at his most dangerous against the big names and could either have beaten him or made him play a long five setter in the quarters which would certainly have not helped him later.
Everyone needs some luck to win GS. Rafa was lucky as well last USO that he met only dead tired DelPo , rest of his matchups were quite easy. I believe if Rafa fans are more truthful to themselves they will acknowledge this.
Agreed Rafa had an edge over Djoker in an open match, but usually Djoker had been at the receiving end of scheduling more than Rafa , far more than Fed.
I believe there are other ways to look at it. Djoker beat Khachanov when he had less than 2 hours to finish the match. He went toe to toe with Rafa as well. Played Anderson well with no rest day. There are lot of ways to look at it if people want to look at those aspects.
I don’t dispute that luck plays a part in winning slams but the whole business about roofgate is something rather different and very unusual annoying many people who are not specifically rafa fans. Did you see the tweets i posted from brad Gilbert above?? A lot of people who are not rafa fans have said similar…Gilbert is a fed fan afterall!
Yes Amy, imagine Djoko having Rafa’s draw and Rafa Djoko’s; Rafa would most likely beat Djoko in the SF.
Rafa was truly impressive this Wimbledon,was playing a heavy clay schedule, and yet came so close to reaching the final (most probably winning it against a depleted Anderson) had it not for the fact that they screw up the schedule for him in the SF.
Tough draw or easy draw, Rafa was still able to reach the business end of things, even on his worst surface, I doubt Rafa won’t be able to beat a fit Delpo at the USO, when Delpo himself mentioned that Rafa was very aggressive against him at the USO. Rafa knows how to beat Delpo, at USO, FO and Wimbledon. He may beat Delpo too if they meet at the AO.
Actually lucky i adore Delpo and admire him so much for how he is playing after years of injury! I want rafa to win uso but if he doesn’t i hope Delpo does!
Last night I couldn’t sleep because of the heat and noise and I found myself compiling a mental list of who would and who wouldn’t have done what Novak did in insisting the roof stayed closed. I already said i think fed wouldn’t and I added to that list Delpo Murray and thiem. Obviously in compiling the list i was looking it as an abstract scenario as certain players would have no advantage playing indoors anyway!
Yes, Murray is principally correct. The guy came to USO, ensured that Fed and Rafa end up in same half and withrew. Rafa was surprised, I call that thing as worse principally than expressing the preference of a closed roof.
And Djoker is the only player who has beaten Fed and Nadal in all grand slams in open skies . Neither Fed nor Rafa enjoy this luxury.
We can guess roof open would have been an advantage for Rafa but Djoker has done it before. He no doubt makes Fedal nervous due to his trackrecord in big matches.
I agree Amy. As I said earlier, Djoko was desperate to win, even at all cost I feel. I think when he was winning everything (from 2011 onwards) and full of confidence, he would most likely agree with Rafa that the roof should remain open. Now, he’s not so confident, and he knew that if he beat Rafa here, he would have a good chance to win the title against a tired Anderson, he won’t want to throw away that chance. Sometimes when someone gets desperate, he may forego whatever principles or values that he used to have. I think another player I can think of is Kei, who imo wasn’t honest once or twice regarding double bounces, and that inexplicable 12 mins toilet break during his Olympics match vs Rafa.
I also tend to think that Murray, Delpo and Rafa are a different breed, sticking to their principles and being fair.
I also remember an incident when Djoko played against Murray, Djoko obviously hit the ball with his racket over the net, the umpire didn’t see it, but Djoko didn’t own up and Murray lost the point.
Djoko however is almost always gracious when he loses. I must say the guy has to endure some unfair treatments at some events and esp when playing against Fed. It’s his resilience, his pride that keep him going and getting the upper hand over Fedal. Maybe, he’s desperate for some respect and love shown towards him.
Yes lucky I too think Novak might very well have made a different call on the roof during 2011-Rg 2016. As you rightly say he was desperate to win.
He is a true sportsman in other ways though ie as you again mention he is incredibly gracious in defeat…
There are of course other players who would not have taken the advantage…I am not a dimi fan but suspect he wouldn’t have taken it…
If Rafa was in an outrage and calling unfair – okay I’d agree with him. I don’t understand why there would be a choice for the roof to be closed on a perfectly sunny day. Was Novak truly the reason they closed the roof? Novak is not very popular compared to Rafa or Federer. Why would Wimbledon do what they did? I’ve never heard of it.
Of course I’m happy that Novak got another Wimbledon trophy. But I’m quite unhappy reading this thread. I much rather Rafa had won #18, another channel slam than read this. This is where I chose to post. It’s upsetting to read Novak again being cast as the villain. It also seems absurd that a tournament would favor him and not favor Rafa ahead of Novak.
All this rage that I read translates into hating Novak Djokovic. I’ll be taking an extended break again.
I don’t blame Novak. He was given a choice, he took the one that gave him an advantage or maybe just the one he preferred. I don’t have a problem with that. I do have a problem with the tournament requiring such a choice. A lot of people do. Wimbledon is still an outdoor tournament. Playing with the roof closed when the weather is perfect is absolutely ridiculous.
During the 2013 semi Rafa v Nole, Novak was desperate to have the court watered after 6 all in the 5th. but both players had to agree. I’m sure Rafa was asked about it but he preferred not to stop for that. He said in his on court interview with MacEnroe that he was not aware of the rule about both players having to agree. Novak was obviously also unaware of the rule and continued to remonstrate. His distraction may well have cost him the match. But my point is that the players are not aware of all the rules surrounding a particular match.
right. no player is going to harm his or her chances of winning a tennis match. the problem was with Wimbledon, not with Novak.
I agree with Ricky. The problem rests squarely with the Wimbledon organizers. They were in charge is scheduling decisions. They messed up.
Yeah!…Agree with Ricky,Nny & many others that the organizers did the stupid things…NOT Novak…he just did what he thoughts best for him…It’s a competition after all right?I don’t blame Novak one iota!
We have already talked about this stupid rule of Wimbledon, and players should voice out their displeasure and hope Wimbledon would address the issue.
If the two players agree, that it should be played outdoor, then this stupid rule of Wimbledon won’t even need to be applied. The thing is, why would anyone want to play in such a greenhouse at 1pm when heat and humidity would be unbearable for most, when you have a choice not to do so? It’s more to gain an edge no doubt.
I think many people (Rafa fans or not) were angry with Wimbledon, not Djoko, with all the mess created, but the Rafa fans were more disappointed (than angry) that Djoko would want to choose to play under such conditions, when everyone else, Rafa and the spectators, would have to suffer in those conditions, it’s clearly because this favor him.
My initial reaction was: how ridiculous Wimbledon could be, to leave the roof on in broad daylight with no rain, and then opened the roof for the next match under same weather conditions! I thought Rafa was the one agreeable to it (as I thought both players must agree to it) but then found out from here, that Rafa didn’t agree whilst Djoko wants the roof closed (to play in same conditions as the night before, why?) and since the players couldn’t agree, then the Wimbledon committee decided that the conditions should remain the same (as previous night). How ridiculous? It’s night and day, how could conditions be the same? What if they played with roof opened yesterday, but it rained today, would they not change the playing conditions by closing the roof? When the rain stopped, were they or were they not going to open the roof again? How can day and night conditions remain the same, when there’s a roof, a glass one?
Its better to get educated here with the facts . Any Grand Slam with the roof (other one being AO) has the same rule.
https://ausopen.com/essentials/tournament-info/policies
AO does not even ask the players.
This is Wimbledon, not AO. Theres no rain, no extreme heat involved in this case, its the mistake due to the stupidity of the committee that the players involved had to start their match at night and they had to close the roof in order to have the lightings on (crazy system). Its not due to any weather changes.
If the tournament committee has the right to decide, then better still, they can always decide based on weather conditions, not some stupid rule that you have to play under same conditions when its not even same conditions between day and night.
Its better to read the link again . I dont think you understood it. If a match is started with the roof closed, no matter even if the conditions change, the roof would remain closed. If a roof is closed due to extreme heat, even if the temperatures fall down
This is not specific to Wimbledon.
I have read it.
The fact that Wimbledon asked for the players opinions means that there’s some leeways, unlike AO when they dont even need to ask the players.
Since Wimbledon can have that difference, then why cant they make more sense by using their discretion to decide? As we had said here many times, its a stupid rule!
Since they closed the roof at night not because of the weather conditions, but its because of lighting issues, then why in broad daylights, they needed to close the roof? It also didnt make sense that for example, if its raining at night and so the roof was closed but the match couldnt finished at 11pm, so play suspended till the next day. If the next day there’s bright sunshine, it really didnt make sense to have the roof closed as the weather conditions changed, just because of what? Same playing conditions??
So, we are here saying the rule is stupid, and in this case, its made worse by Wimbledon committee’s scheduling mess, and the players become victims of such mess.
Its very rare for a match that begun under the roof would not get completed by 11 p.m. . Usually matches never get prolonged till that time. I think Murray’s match went very close but it got finished around that time.
rc,
Don’t take an extended break. Don’t take it personally. I blame the tournament organizers for this mess. They had the opportunity to either move Isner and Anderson to court one or to have Rafa and Novak start playing on court one. They had to know as the first semifinal went on and on that with the hard stop at 11:00 pm, the second semifinal would not finish. They did nothing and allowed the second semifinal to start at 8:00 pm with the roof closed in advance of darkness so they could use the time available until 11:00 pm.
Then it was compounded by the decision to keep the roof closed when play resumed the next day. That was the stupidest decision I have ever seen. With the sun shining and the weather perfect? There is no hard and fast rule that the conditions must be the same as when the match starts. That is absurd.
I don’t blame Novak for wanting the roof closed. I know Rafa wanted it open when play resumed. I blame the tournament organizers for all the stupid decisions that they made. This is on them.
Yeah!!…Agree again with u Nny!!…Your thoughts exactly like mine!!…Hope RC will consider her decision…
It’s crazy isn’t it, that in January at the AO, the controversy was also about the closing of the roof in the men’s final, whilst the women got to slog out there without the roof closed and the players suffered (I think Simona the losing finalist was hospitalised after that).
I also remember some controversy back during 2013 or 2014 at Wimbledon, when Murray was playing against Jerzy. Jerzy was complaining about the light or rain (not too sure about it now) and wanted the roof closed whilst Murray was surprised when they told him they’re going to close the roof and play had to stop for half an hour, when Murray was having the momentum at that point.
I do feel that there should be clear cut rules for each slam about the closing or opening of the roof, who get to decide when to close or to open it and under what circumstances. And, players have to be aware of such rules and agreeable to such rules before they get implemented to be fair to the players.
I also want to add that it’s more disruptive that half way through a match, play has to stop because of the closing of the roof. I think that may be why they decide to close the roof before the match starts when they know there’s imminent rain (or extreme heat at the AO). I guess it makes sense, and it makes sense to let the whole match continues throughout in the same conditions even when the rain does stop during the match, as long as they could finish the match within the same day. However, should the match be suspended and to be continued on the next day, then, it doesn’t make sense that they do not take the weather conditions of the following day into consideration. The players get to rest for the night and to come back the next day, it’s as good as starting afresh, and so conditions are already different to begin with.
Yeah Lucky!…It’s crazy!…I remember have a thought just after AO finished,that Roofgate there is just the beginning…I mean,organizers at AO toyed with rules..don’t care what others said/think except theirs…They dared to do things that unthinkable to us,without even feel guilty about it…And i thought,what if organizers at Wimby will do the same?AO already open the door that they can do anything they want without thinking
of the consequences or if they thought about it,they don’t have enough care in them to do the right thing?
I don’t know whether what happened at Wimby is just a coincidence or not…But,i’m curious to see how the US open is going to operate…whether roof gate or bad scheduling will happen again?But,honestly..what happened at both Wimby @ AO makes me really concern…that organizers start thinking with their kneecap instead of their head…is it going to be a trend?And unfortunately,it’s the players who will suffer the most…Who’s going to protect them??
Nny in answer to your previous posts higher up the thread don’t worry I won’t read tennis x again!
Henman has been talking about introducing a fifth set tb into wimby next year. It wouldn’t be at 6-6 but would be at something like 10-10 or 12-12. I think it probably will happen.
There has been some incredible tennis at wimby this year so it’s a great shame the scheduling and roofgate have spoilt what should have been a great tourney.
I am appalled at the kind of jealousy which I see on this thread with Djoker’s Wimbledon win, mostly coming from Rafa fans.
Did not see these guys coming up with all these posts when Djoker was left stranded on maniac Monday last Wimbledon. I think it affected him and ultimately he retired against Berdych as his arm flared up.
He was on receiving end this year as well and credit to him for finishing the match quickly.
No wonder Andy Roddick slammed Rafa fans some time back when they started a twitter war with Fed fans and he rightly silenced them.
What are you talking about? I have defended Nole and supported him a thousand times on this site and received a lot of abuse for doing so. There are people here who hate him but I am not one of them. Hawks and myself have repeatedly been described as Nole fans because we regularly cheer for him and wish him well.
Some of the attacks on us for voicing our opinions – which have zero to do with jealousy and hate is getting out of control.
TG may be a tennis site but it is predominantly made up of rafa fans so of course there is going to be a slant in the discussion.
But most rafa fans aren’t even here talking about it ! The site is full of fans of other players and trolls such as jim, Stanley and grassgoat insulting Rafa. That in itself speaks volumes.
The only discussion I see on this thread is roof being closed. I want to remind Rafa fans that Rafa lost the tie-break against Djoker while playing indoors, just the same way he lost the tie-break playing outdoors against DelPo.
Meanwhile, I thought Hawkeye is the biggest troll on this site. Stanley is a saint if I compare with Hawkeye. Do you know how many ids hawkeye has ? Leave it, even hawkeye is not aware of that. Hawkeye has no spine. He was predicting Wimbledon scheduling will put Cilic and zcoric in Rafa’s draw.
Not surprised that you are being biased towards the biggest junk on this site.
Ok just forget it fedexal you are just trolling now.
I had to ask you to stop when you were openly insulting lucky the other night.
There is no comparison whatsoever between hawks who is intelligent witty and knowledgeable and stanley who is none of those things.
I have tried to be polite to you but enough is enough.
I will rate you intelligent and knowledgeable as well if you tell me how many ids haweye has ? By the way, why the heck do you need more than one ID if you are not a troll.
Amy, Fedexal is right. Hawkeye is by far the worst on this site. He has been unremittingly nasty to me, which is why I have stopped responding to him. But he is also generally a bully toward many newcomers if they don’t agree with him, and especially if they are Fed fans. Big Al is one who comes to mind in the last year. I am sure it would have an effect if you and/or other Rafa (and Fed) fans told him to tone it down once in awhile. But I have never seen any of you do it.
You will notice that I recently criticized grassgoat for insinuating that Nadal was doping (and for calling Rafa a moon-baller). Hawkeye regularly suggests that Federer is doping, and I have never seen any Rafa fan on this site call him out for it.
You are wrong if you think no one has called out hawkeye on this site. I have done it in the past. I don’t know if you were posting here at that time or not. But for the record, I am not okay with anyone accusing Fed of doping. Period! I also do not go along with these conspiracy theories about draws being fixed for Fed. The roof is in what happened this tome wuth Fed losing in the quarterfinals to Anderson. That’s why it can’t be done.
But I will point out that when Fed lost, we did not see any hating or gloating from Rafa fans on this site. However, when Rafa lost we had these trolls come n here to stink up this site with hateseak trashing Rafa and his fans.
Ok, NNY, thank you for saying that. Then we agree on some things. I agree with you that hating or gloating when Rafa loses is generally low-class and should be ignored. I know you have criticized me in the past for analyzing Nadal’s losses or prospects after a loss, but I have never gloated about such, or in any way rubbed anyone’s faces in his losses.
I agree with you that Rafa fans here were very polite about Fed’s loss to Anderson.
Exactly Amy. We had time and again voiced our opinions about the unfair treatment that Djoko had; whether it was last year or this year. I dont see why this fedexal could come up with a comment like that.
Rafa losing his TB, thats what I had posted so often, that its his own fault that he wasted precious energy losing TB when he had set points! And thats the problem he has to address going forward.
Best to ignore fedexal lucky!! He is making comments which by and large have no basis in reality! going to go and lie down for a while …I don’t know about you but I haven’t really recovered from live blogging rafa’s match! That and the heat here anyway!!
Yes, agree.Did Rafa lose that tiebreak because of the roof?
IMO it doesnt make sense to have a closed roof in daytime when its not raining, but the organisers are in an awkward position.If a match is well under way with the roof closed, is it fair to open it?
The PROOF is in what happened this time with Fed losing! *
Ha ha NNY, you’re right about Hawkeye! I even chose to ignore all his posts even when he tried to respond to mine to start a conversation, and I specifically told him to ignore all my posts as I was not going to engage in any conversation with him. It went on for quite a while, before I agreed to ‘let things go’ and let things get back to normal.
Joe Smith,
I have seen you make this accusation before , but did not want to revisit the past. However, I thought it was time to clarify the record. I am not okay at all with some of the things you have mentioned. I did have something to say about it. I don’t go on about it every time it happens, because I would prefer to ignore it and talk tennis.
Whatever disagreements we have had, in this instance I think your point is well taken.
Rc i only just saw your post. If I have offended you then I apologise unreservedly.
I find it very difficult to understand how you could think I hate Nole given i regularly support him.
Too tired to write anything sensible..as I said before and am happy to repeat I apologise if I have hurt or offended you in any way.
Ps Rc I will leave you a post tomorrow when I am less tired…I am not very coherent at the moment and will probably only put my foot in it further!
Rc should have said before that I love you you know!!
Take care darling xx
Well to all Rafa and Djoker fans , given Djoker’s recent form and the kind of mid-match capitulation that he was going thru , I expected him to lose to Fed or Rafa on outdoor/indoor grass . Heck, I expected him to lose to either of them in mud/concrete tennis court. Just the way he came thru, meant he could win against them on any conditions, it was more of a mental battle that he was fighting with himself.
And reminder to all Rafa or Fed fans, Djoker has beaten both in all Majors which means he can play on any surface.
Djoker’s coach Vajda very smartly said “Playing under closed roof favored us. However, we lost the momentum due to play halting the night before as we were right at the top at that time.”
Vajda’s comment made me laughed. Anyway I said it before, I was impressed with Djoko here at Wimbledon. What he lacked was confidence and now that he won the title, I’m sure he would have the belief that he’s close to getting back to his best level. What he lacks now perhaps is his fitness, as I could see (random tennis fans could see it too) that he looked tired after the third set TB against Rafa. Its maybe because playing against Rafa took a lot out of anyone; but he’s fine after a days rest, as he looked OK against Anderson (or maybe Anderson was the more tired of the two). He had played for three consecutive days but fortunately it’s three hours for three sets, two hours for two sets and then two hours for the final, so it’s not as taxing as say having to play five sets for five hours in one day for three consecutive days.
All people are talking about here is how the roof closed doesnt suit Rafa .Or a watered court.It doesn’t make good reading when trying to consider him as GOAT !
Rafa’s fans are always sore when he loses it. If you have a bunch of fan girls, who rarely talk logic, think they know more about players and their coaches, thats when you appreciate Roddick was absolutely correct to silence them when they started GOAT debate on twitter.
fedexal,
I am going to guve you the same warning I did to grassgoat. Cut the crap about tefrrrung to female posted on this site as fan girls! We are grown women and deserve respect. Would you want to be referred to as a Fed fanboy who doesn’t know anything? This sexist misogynistic garbage has no place in a tennis discussion. The female Rafa fans here are knowledgeable about tennis and are more than just fans F Rafa. We deserve to be treated as the serious tennis fans we are.
Don’t give yourself airs. I have probably watched this sport longer than you have been alive. I promise you that there is nothing you can tell me about this sport! Do not demean and condescend to the female posters here, because nobody died a day made you God!
Yeah!!…Agree again with u NNy!!
👍NNY!!
I can’t be referred as Fed fanboy as I have guts to call spade the spade.
Thanks for guessing my age! Never knew I have mentioned it anywhere.
I am not going to debate with an elderly lady, because the culture in which I have spent all my life motivates me to be frank and not talk crap. Unfortunately, everyone is not so blessed !
fedexal,
You are all over the place. First I am just one of a bunch of Rafa fangirls. Now I am an elderly lady. Get it together! As a matter of fact, I am somewhere in between. But you are all over the place.
It’s fair game to go after Rafa. Ricky has said this is not a Rafa fan site. However, it is something else entirely to go after specifically female Rafa fans on this site. We do not deserve to be degraded or demeaned or condescended to in any way. That is not okay with me and I do not intend to tolerate it,
Our opinions and thoughts deserve the same respect as any other poster, be they men or women. But it is beyond insulting to be singled out for being a female in a derogatory manner.
I have been chatting with the female Rafa fans on this site for a long time now. We may not always agree, even as Rafa fans. But we do try to listen to each other and at least give respect to everyone’s opinions. That is just common decency.
Yeaaahhhh!!…Agree once again Nny!!…
Sorry for the autocorrect. I meant REFERRING to female POSTERS! *
Finally, nobody died and made you God! *
I think the whole roof thing is really a tempest in a teapot. Yes, Wimbledon is an outdoor tournament. Yes, they should have opened the roof in fine weather. But let’s be honest. Had Rafa won his SF match, there would be no complaining here. So all of this very much sounds like sour grapes. In contrast, I might add, I have not seen a single Fed fan on this site complain that he was relegated to Court 1 in the QF.
The fact is, no one knows whether Rafa would have beaten Djokovic had the roof been opened on the 2nd day. Nor does anyone know that Fed would have beaten Anderson had his match been played on CC. Most here seem to agree that the relevant rules (tie-breaks, open roof, etc) should be changed in various ways. Can’t we leave it at that?
Yeah Joe…For me,we can leave at that…What happened is already happened…We also already know the winner…Novak deserves the Trophy…For me,Rafa also has a chance to win..but,as i expected when he faced Novak…especially on grass..things also could go the other way for him…
I can’t wait to see his NA swings campaign…Hopefully,it will be better than last year…NA!…Here we come!!Wooohoooo!!
True. And a third episode of the ‘roofgate’ may happen at the USO.
My question is had Rafa won tie-break, would he have asked for roof open ? I have my doubts.
Nobody knows the answer fedexal; we can only guess. My guess is the answer from both players would not be different from what they had given now.
Rafa losing that TB had nothing to do with the roof anyway, as he’s losing TBs more than he’s winning them these days even when he was in good positions to win them. It’s more to do with the state of his mind at that time during the TB, and of course the state of his game at that time too.
fedexal…Rafa would ALWAYS,ALWAYS prefer to play with roof open..except when it’s raining…I can assure u that…
There are many problems with Wimbledon.
1. No play on Sunday makes for a heavy schedule on Monday. One long match anywhere on Monday and you are gone. And a long match is a fair probability as all are tough matches.
2. No tie break created a havoc this time around. With all due respect to Isner-Anderson , people lost interest in that match when it moved beyond 10 all.
3. Playing under roof closed. If your schedule has gone wrong due to your own rules , move the final from Sunday to Monday and let Rafa-Nole play on Saturday under open skies.
Rafa made a mess of his schedule when he had a knee problem at the year end. Fed made a mess of his schedule when playing Canada last year and playing Rotterdam and 2 grass court events back to back. He looked a little tired when Anderson match went deep in fifth set.
Scheduling is so important for top players and Wimbledon made a mess of it. But they wont change their rules. No-Tiebreak in fifth would continue to happen.
I especially agree with point no.3.
The Wimbledon committee was being unfair to Rafa/Djoko because they wanted Rafa/Djoko to start their match at 8 pm, with the possibility of the match having to continue on the next day, and so the winner won’t have a day’s rest before the final. Is that fair to the winner of that match?
I think postponing the final to Monday would be a better option, to be fair to both finalists; as Anderson because of his long SF match would welcome another day of rest, and Djoko too so that he didn’t need to play three days in a row.
Lucky!…Do u have the same thought as mine?That Rafa unintentionally helped Nole found his game back?Don’t get me wrong,Nole is already on his way back to his former self…But,i think Rafa helped him found it sooner…In that semi..We all know that Rafa & Roger be able to make Nole perform at his very best whenever they meet…U agree?
Mira, it’s a matter of time Djoko will find his game and his way back. Like what Rafa said in the past, it’s not that he (Rafa) didn’t know how to play tennis anymore (after his injuries), so the same thing applies to Djoko here.
Djoko will always be a tough player to beat even for Fed and Rafa. Rafa can’t be blamed for losing here, thus helping Djoko to regain his confidence. It’s not Rafa’s fault that the match had to start at 8pm Friday and so the conditions didn’t favor him.
The way Rafa played, with aggression and varieties, I’m positive that as long as he plays this way, plus improves his serves, he can beat Djoko. Both Rafa and Djoko may not be playing as well as when they were in 2013, but Rafa is playing better tennis now than Djoko is (bear in mind Rafa played many more clay matches than Djoko before arriving at Wimbledon and he did not play any warm up event whilst Djoko did and reached a final).
We’ll have to wait and see how both players play after this Wimbledon. Rafa is a positive person, he’ll move on from here. The positive thing now is that Rafa and we know that he can play on grass, has the game to win on grass (even without a good serve), if he gets back his 2017 serve, it’ll make much positive difference to his game on grass.
I just hope Rafa doesn’t overplay, skips Laver Cup in future and stays fit and healthy (esp his knees), so that he need not stop and start due to injuries.
Yeah!….Agree with everything u said Lucky!…I also hope that Rafa will retain his aggressive play on HC…It’s so good to see him play that aggressive esp.in DeMinaur’s match…For me,Rafa’s perfomance in that match was the best i’ve seen so far…And he also made a LOT of winners from his aggressive play…I’m so happy to see this!…Let’s hope that Rafa will stay healthy for NA swing!… Vamos Rafa!!
MA,
I hope that rc gets some perspective. After all, Rafa fans had to endure garbage like grassgoat coming on here to gloat over Rafa losing. That is not something that anyone likes to see after their player has lost. Yet we are still here. So I think rc should realize that there was a good deal of disappointment because Rafa fans have waited seven years for him to get a good result at Wimbledon. Everyone knew that Rafa and Novak were playing for the title. Whoever won was going to win the final. The match itself was so close and turned in a few points.
But I do not blame Novak. I am not his fan and have my own issues with him. It is nice to see him back, but not at the expense of Rafa. The fault lies totally with the tournament organizers.
I have moved on from this loss. I know that Rafa has certainly moved on. He is wise beyond his years. He did his best in very difficult circumstances. Now I am sure his is fishing on his boat and relaxing and enjoying his time off.
I am looking forward to seeing him in the NA summer hardcourt season.
Most people agree that Nadal/Djoko was going to win the final. Imagine if Anderson won the 3 set where he had multiple set points. Obviously Novak was still the favourite to win, but who knows about Anderson…he started to play much better in that 3 set. Djokovic closed the mystery quickly. Good for him.
On top of that, he did what everyone was going to do for himself/herself. I agree that only Wimbledon is to blame, although I am not a Djoko fan.
Rafa was the aggressor of the two in SF as well. He had same winners as Djoker even though Djker had more than 10 aces difference. Its not always we have this stat.
If Rafa had finished DelPo in three or four sets, he would have won against Djoker in closed roof as well.
Rafa seriously needs to improve his serve. I really think that it’s because he couldn’t rely on his serve during crucial moments that’s why he got nervous and couldn’t produce an ace or a good serve down the T (the way he used to in the past) when he had SP in his TBs.
Djoko could serve 20+ aces, Rafa couldn’t, so he had to work harder to win points. Against Delpo he was also not able to deliver many aces whilst Delpo served 37 aces if I’m not wrong. I really don’t know what went wrong with Rafa and his serve; it’s after he came back from injury break that his serve deteriorated, so it must be something to do with his hip injury, perhaps he’s afraid to reinjure his hips again.
I was thinking how much difference can a simple decision (logical court management) or a few points can make. Nadal was very close to win that match. It would have been: Nadal 18 slams, Novak 12. Instead it’s 17 vs 13.
Probably Wimby organisers didn’t intend to help Djokovic win the title, but those decisions and circumstances all worked in his favour. Just saying.
I bet the organizers wanted a Fedal rematch; if not then a Fed/Djoko final. Too bad, because of their incompetence, they ended up with a final that most people except the Djoko fans would want to forget. Perhaps, postponing the final to Monday might be better for the players and for those who wished for a good final.
I’m happy with the way Rafa played, except that his serve really let him down and he has to put more work into it. Perhaps after such fiasco by Wimbledon, Rafa will come prepared next year, well at least get a better serve, be prepared to play in humid conditions and indoor conditions on grass.
I doubt the organizers would change much, they seemed too proud to admit their own mistakes. I thought after last year’s unfair court assignment and players complaining, that they would wise up this year, and with Murray’s absence, it should make it easier for them to decide and assign the courts fairly, yet they still failed and Djoko had to complain again this year.
The failure to let the second SF start earlier on another court, so that it could finish within the same day, really showed that they’re either incompetent, inflexible or simply high handed in hasndling the issues on hand. It’s not the fault of Rafa/Djoko that their match was delayed, yet the organizers just won’t even care that the winner of that match might have to play on three consecutive days and still have the final be played on Sunday. Why Rafa/Djoko were made to bear the consequences of the organizers’ incompetence?
Djoko made the best of the situation, it’s not his fault that things turned out this way, and he’s not wrong to want to maximize his chances of winning the title here. He still needed to go out there to fight for it, it’s not like things were handed to him on a plate.
We can just hope that come next year, we won’t need to witness such a fiasco all over again at Wimbledon.
Djoker was handed center court when actually Fed-Anderson deserved center court and it turned out to be a better match.
Djoker should have been given center court earlier.
mira
I see Rc hasn’t responded to the posts which both I and nny left for her…I think it’s quite plausible she hasn’t seen them as maybe she is angry and has just stopped reading here? Do you think it would be a good idea if you emailed her and let her know?? Because if she is angry she may not come back for a while and so won’t even see them…what do you think?
amy…There’s possibility that she still don’t read your post…But,then there’s also a possibility that she already read…and understand everythings what u wrote…Or maybe still don’t have an opportunity to reply to u…And yeah…I think,she’s hurt a little…And she just want to calm herself down atm…Don’t worry amy!…She knows u love her & she loves u too u know…U & Margot has a special place in her heart…Therefore,she’ll be back…She just needs time atm okay?…
About emailed her…Oh God amy!…I wish it was that easy…She hates email & she hates FB…Even if i wrote something to her on email,there’s no guarantee that she will reply…I just don’t have that privilage anymore amy…I’m totally a stranger now…But,don’t worry K!…I’m positive that She read what u wrote,believe me!…Just be patient waiting for her comeback k?She will after she calm herself down…
Ok mira!! I trust what you say! I am incredibly tired at the moment because I have a new neighbour who keeps me awake at night!! I is really awful and I am one of those people who can’t function without sleep! So I am a bit nervous about posting here as I can’t think of write clearly. Also I get very irritable and had tempered when I am tired so some of my reactions are simply to do with that.
Talk soon honxxx
Omg! So many autocorrects!
Should be:
It is really awful….
and
I get very irritable and bad tempered…!!!!
That’s okay amy!…I hope u will get a rest tonight amy!…If not,just go to new neighbours house & kick their a!@es & run home quickly!!..
Yeah!Talk later amy!!…Have a gud evening k?