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Post by Cast Asunder on Oct 7, 2020 20:21:49 GMT
I think Nadal is winning his thirteenth Roland Garros and equaling Roger Federer’s record of 20 grand slams!
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Post by TerryMontana on Oct 7, 2020 21:04:27 GMT
Tsitsipas!!!!
I'd only wish... Nadal win be the one I guess.
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Post by ibbi on Oct 7, 2020 22:34:26 GMT
I think the conditions are perfectly suited to Djokovic and I'd have him as the favourite right now, regardless of how up and down he was today.
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Post by themoviesinner on Oct 8, 2020 7:52:55 GMT
I've watched several matches, since the tournament is aired on a public channel here in Greece. Nadal and Djokovic haven't impressed, but they are bound to raise their level when it matters, Tsitsipas is playing his best tennis in months and the slow clay courts favor Schwartzman's style of play a lot. So any of the four can win it, although the favorite is definitely Nadal.
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Post by jimmalone on Oct 8, 2020 8:26:25 GMT
Well, usually on this court it is always Nadal. But this year is very different. Mostly because of the conditions. Nadal's biggest weapon is his forehand, which is probably the best in history (though you could argue for Federer's as well) and a big part of what makes it so dangerous is the high and fast  (on clay). But this year it's cold and rainy, the clay is thick and the balls don't as high. In Nadal's matches they meaasured a difference of average height of 11 centimetres compared to last year. That's huge. Having to play high on the backhand is one of the most difficult shots in tennis, but now this big strength of Nadal has been weakened through the weather and you could clearly see this in some of his past matches already. This could especially come through with hist possible last two opponents, the only 1.70 m tall Schwartzman, who usually had always problems with his backhand against Nadal's spin and Djokovic, who has always been the one player, who didn't have THAT much problems with Nadal's forehand, because of his excellent two-handed backhand. Also through the being different than usual Nadal himself has been out of position so much I've never seen before at the Chatrier. During the first set against Sinner he has rarely been in perfect position to strike the ball, which mostly is the quintessence of tennis, and was late pretty often. And to me he definitely looks more vulnerable here than in any other year except mabye for his down years 2015/2016. Foremost at the top level tennis is a psychological sport and this year Nadal can't keep up to his routines, which are so important to him. He doesn't live in the same hotel as usual, can't go to his usual italian restaurant and doesn't have his family with him, which is always very important for him to fell well. Also he didn't play much tennis this year and definitely looks a bit rusty, usually he thrives on self-consciousness, but his only tune-up event in Rome wasn't exactly successful, as he lost in the round of 16 already to none other than his next opponent Diego Sebastian Schwartzman. The Argentine is the only of the four men remaining I will rule out for the title though. I can imagine that he beats Rafa again, though in this match Nadal will remain the favourite for me despite their latest encounter, because despite of the conditions it's still something different to beat him over Best-of-5 on clay. Schwartzman is one of the few though, who probably has the stamina to stay with him in a close match, now that Nadal is 34. Schwartzman looked a bit nervy against Thiem, but as always against Rafa he might be more loose, cause you don't have anything to lose when playing Nadal. Before the tournament I was torn like I've never been in the past 15 years when choosing a winner of Paris. Cause obviously I knew well before that the conditions would play in favour of Novak Djokovic. So it was basically a toss-up between Nadal (you don't bet easily against 12 French Open titles, though I actually placed a bet on the Djoker) and Djokovic for me. A strange first set against Carreno Busta aside the Serbian has looked very solid so far, finding his groove much easier than Rafa. And if he makes the final I'd probably pick Novak for the title here. Cause I think at this point in time he has a psychological edge over Nadal and the match-up of their strengths and weaknesses plays well into his cards. But Djokovic has a pretty tricky semifinal to play first. Stefanos Tsitsipas has played well against Djokovic before and beat him. Their head-to-head is just 3:2 in Djokovic's favour and for once Tsitsipas didn't disappoint in this tournament like he did often lately - culminating in his choke (I rarely use this often wrong-placed word, but here it was fitting) against Borna Coric at the US Open after leading 2-1 in sets and 5-1 in the fourth - but played pretty well. He definitely can beat Djokovic again tomorrow, especially if he plays the way he did in his last two sets against Andrey Rublev, but I think he will have a huge problem with Djokovic's returns, which are as good as always. So still it's tough to choose between Rafa and Novak, but if I'm hard pressed I'd actually say Djokovic right now. And if it's only not to jinx Rafa...
But I was totally wrong with the women this year as well, cause I have been pretty sure that Halep would take the title. Really surprised that Swiatek, despite she is a huge talent and you could expect her breakthrough soon, totally dismantled her. Still, Best-of-3 is a different thing than Best-of-5.
Edit: It's really annoying that you can't type the word b.ounce on here...
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Post by ibbi on Oct 8, 2020 9:33:10 GMT
Well, usually on this court it is always Nadal. But this year is very different. Mostly because of the conditions. Nadal's biggest weapon is his forehand, which is probably the best in history (though you could argue for Federer's as well) and a big part of what makes it so dangerous is the high and fast (on clay). But this year it's cold and rainy, the clay is thick and the balls don't as high. In Nadal's matches they meaasured a difference of average height of 11 centimetres compared to last year. That's huge. Having to play high on the backhand is one of the most difficult shots in tennis, but now this big strength of Nadal has been weakened through the weather and you could clearly see this in some of his past matches already. This could especially come through with hist possible last two opponents, the only 1.70 m tall Schwartzman, who usually had always problems with his backhand against Nadal's spin and Djokovic, who has always been the one player, who didn't have THAT much problems with Nadal's forehand, because of his excellent two-handed backhand. Also through the being different than usual Nadal himself has been out of position so much I've never seen before at the Chatrier. During the first set against Sinner he has rarely been in perfect position to strike the ball, which mostly is the quintessence of tennis, and was late pretty often. And to me he definitely looks more vulnerable here than in any other year except mabye for his down years 2015/2016. Foremost at the top level tennis is a psychological sport and this year Nadal can't keep up to his routines, which are so important to him. He doesn't live in the same hotel as usual, can't go to his usual italian restaurant and doesn't have his family with him, which is always very important for him to fell well. Also he didn't play much tennis this year and definitely looks a bit rusty, usually he thrives on self-consciousness, but his only tune-up event in Rome wasn't exactly successful, as he lost in the round of 16 already to none other than his next opponent Diego Sebastian Schwartzman. The Argentine is the only of the four men remaining I will rule out for the title though. I can imagine that he beats Rafa again, though in this match Nadal will remain the favourite for me despite their latest encounter, because despite of the conditions it's still something different to beat him over Best-of-5 on clay. Schwartzman is one of the few though, who probably has the stamina to stay with him in a close match, now that Nadal is 34. Schwartzman looked a bit nervy against Thiem, but as always against Rafa he might be more loose, cause you don't have anything to lose when playing Nadal. Before the tournament I was torn like I've never been in the past 15 years when choosing a winner of Paris. Cause obviously I knew well before that the conditions would play in favour of Novak Djokovic. So it was basically a toss-up between Nadal (you don't bet easily against 12 French Open titles, though I actually placed a bet on the Djoker) and Djokovic for me. A strange first set against Carreno Busta aside the Serbian has looked very solid so far, finding his groove much easier than Rafa. And if he makes the final I'd probably pick Novak for the title here. Cause I think at this point in time he has a psychological edge over Nadal and the match-up of their strengths and weaknesses plays well into his cards. But Djokovic has a pretty tricky semifinal to play first. Stefanos Tsitsipas has played well against Djokovic before and beat him. Their head-to-head is just 3:2 in Djokovic's favour and for once Tsitsipas didn't disappoint in this tournament like he did often lately - culminating in his choke (I rarely use this often wrong-placed word, but here it was fitting) against Borna Coric at the US Open after leading 2-1 in sets and 5-1 in the fourth - but played pretty well. He definitely can beat Djokovic again tomorrow, especially if he plays the way he did in his last two sets against Andrey Rublev, but I think he will have a huge problem with Djokovic's returns, which are as good as always. So still it's tough to choose between Rafa and Novak, but if I'm hard pressed I'd actually say Djokovic right now. And if it's only not to jinx Rafa...
But I was totally wrong with the women this year as well, cause I have been pretty sure that Halep would take the title. Really surprised that Swiatek, despite she is a huge talent and you could expect her breakthrough soon, totally dismantled her. Still, Best-of-3 is a different thing than Best-of-5.
Edit: It's really annoying that you can't type the word b.ounce on here...
DAMN good stuff, Malone! The one thing I would add is that Tsitsipas plays in a way that will probably play right into Djokovic's hands (if he is a little physically off as his match yesterday suggested) with shorter points, and like you say if Novak returns well and gets on top of the Greek's serve I can see a quick collapse following. I think if he was the one playing Diego tomorrow he might have been in deep trouble. |
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Post by jimmalone on Oct 8, 2020 9:52:55 GMT
Well, usually on this court it is always Nadal. But this year is very different. Mostly because of the conditions. Nadal's biggest weapon is his forehand, which is probably the best in history (though you could argue for Federer's as well) and a big part of what makes it so dangerous is the high and fast (on clay). But this year it's cold and rainy, the clay is thick and the balls don't as high. In Nadal's matches they meaasured a difference of average height of 11 centimetres compared to last year. That's huge. Having to play high on the backhand is one of the most difficult shots in tennis, but now this big strength of Nadal has been weakened through the weather and you could clearly see this in some of his past matches already. This could especially come through with hist possible last two opponents, the only 1.70 m tall Schwartzman, who usually had always problems with his backhand against Nadal's spin and Djokovic, who has always been the one player, who didn't have THAT much problems with Nadal's forehand, because of his excellent two-handed backhand. Also through the being different than usual Nadal himself has been out of position so much I've never seen before at the Chatrier. During the first set against Sinner he has rarely been in perfect position to strike the ball, which mostly is the quintessence of tennis, and was late pretty often. And to me he definitely looks more vulnerable here than in any other year except mabye for his down years 2015/2016. Foremost at the top level tennis is a psychological sport and this year Nadal can't keep up to his routines, which are so important to him. He doesn't live in the same hotel as usual, can't go to his usual italian restaurant and doesn't have his family with him, which is always very important for him to fell well. Also he didn't play much tennis this year and definitely looks a bit rusty, usually he thrives on self-consciousness, but his only tune-up event in Rome wasn't exactly successful, as he lost in the round of 16 already to none other than his next opponent Diego Sebastian Schwartzman. The Argentine is the only of the four men remaining I will rule out for the title though. I can imagine that he beats Rafa again, though in this match Nadal will remain the favourite for me despite their latest encounter, because despite of the conditions it's still something different to beat him over Best-of-5 on clay. Schwartzman is one of the few though, who probably has the stamina to stay with him in a close match, now that Nadal is 34. Schwartzman looked a bit nervy against Thiem, but as always against Rafa he might be more loose, cause you don't have anything to lose when playing Nadal. Before the tournament I was torn like I've never been in the past 15 years when choosing a winner of Paris. Cause obviously I knew well before that the conditions would play in favour of Novak Djokovic. So it was basically a toss-up between Nadal (you don't bet easily against 12 French Open titles, though I actually placed a bet on the Djoker) and Djokovic for me. A strange first set against Carreno Busta aside the Serbian has looked very solid so far, finding his groove much easier than Rafa. And if he makes the final I'd probably pick Novak for the title here. Cause I think at this point in time he has a psychological edge over Nadal and the match-up of their strengths and weaknesses plays well into his cards. But Djokovic has a pretty tricky semifinal to play first. Stefanos Tsitsipas has played well against Djokovic before and beat him. Their head-to-head is just 3:2 in Djokovic's favour and for once Tsitsipas didn't disappoint in this tournament like he did often lately - culminating in his choke (I rarely use this often wrong-placed word, but here it was fitting) against Borna Coric at the US Open after leading 2-1 in sets and 5-1 in the fourth - but played pretty well. He definitely can beat Djokovic again tomorrow, especially if he plays the way he did in his last two sets against Andrey Rublev, but I think he will have a huge problem with Djokovic's returns, which are as good as always. So still it's tough to choose between Rafa and Novak, but if I'm hard pressed I'd actually say Djokovic right now. And if it's only not to jinx Rafa...
But I was totally wrong with the women this year as well, cause I have been pretty sure that Halep would take the title. Really surprised that Swiatek, despite she is a huge talent and you could expect her breakthrough soon, totally dismantled her. Still, Best-of-3 is a different thing than Best-of-5.
Edit: It's really annoying that you can't type the word b.ounce on here...
DAMN good stuff, Malone! The one thing I would add is that Tsitsipas plays in a way that will probably play right into Djokovic's hands (if he is a little physically off as his match yesterday suggested) with shorter points, and like you say if Novak returns well and gets on top of the Greek's serve I can see a quick collapse following. I think if he was the one playing Diego tomorrow he might have been in deep trouble. I actually think Djokovic will be alright though. He seemed to have just a little hardening of some muscles to me (only an assumption of course). He looked like his usual self in the last two sets. This match can go different directions based on Tsitsipas form on the day (physical, mental and technical), but my guess is it will be hard-fought and close. Tsitsipas is pretty difficult to predict, because he is so inconsistent. I think for him it's better to play Djokovic than Nadal. Even on this year's conditions Nadal would probably expose his backhand.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2020 17:50:07 GMT
I'd like to see Nadal tie Federer's record and win in January to take the crown.
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Post by pacinoyes on Oct 11, 2020 15:15:22 GMT
Watching Nadal winning (dominantly) his 13th French to tie Federer in GS wins.....I am filled with a sense of loathing......and .........revulsion .........  I know I should admire this impressive display of consistency but I really don't...... I'm already focused on Djoko in Australia ....ftw! |
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Post by TerryMontana on Oct 11, 2020 15:44:43 GMT
He'll win flawlessly...
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Post by pupdurcs on Oct 11, 2020 15:56:07 GMT
Nadal is the GOAT.
He absolutely dismantled Djokovic. What a beatdown.
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Post by mhynson27 on Oct 11, 2020 15:56:54 GMT
LETS FUCKING GO RAFA!!!!!!
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Post by Mattsby on Oct 11, 2020 16:01:27 GMT
Can't believe how many drop shots backfired on Djok. He didn't seem so present, like how he disappeared for a bit after losing the 3rd set match pt to Tsi. Nadal just came to sweep up, covered the court better, etc, w/e, etc. First time Djok was bageled in a finals? Nadal bageled Fed at the French back in '08, Fed has served bagels to 'em all, but Djok has never bageled them? Just looking into this to distract myself. Anyway.... I know just what I'm having for breakfast....  |
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Post by DaleCooper on Oct 11, 2020 16:19:44 GMT
This was like a reversed AO '19 final, Rafa completely outclassing Novak. Insane level from Rafa while pretty erraneuos from Novak. Too bad Thiem lost in the quarters as I think he would be the one who could make it the most competetive against Rafa on the clay (while ultimately loosing, of course).
Onwards and upwards, let's see what 2021 has in store, can Federer have one last go at the Wimbledon? How easy will Rafa win his 21st in Roland Garros? Can the younger generation finally step up and more consistently beat the big 3?
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Post by jimmalone on Oct 11, 2020 16:24:12 GMT
That was incredible. Djokovic didn't even play bad, actually he played pretty well for most of the match except having no serve in the first set, but Nadal in the first two sets was extra-terrestrial. He made 3 (!!!!) unforced errors in two sets! Incredible. That was almost his 2008 or 2010 level again. Result was still too one-sided in the first two sets though.
Chapeau Rafa!
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Post by jimmalone on Oct 11, 2020 16:48:28 GMT
Can't believe how many drop shots backfired on Djok. He didn't seem so present, like how he disappeared for a bit after losing the 3rd set match pt to Tsi. Nadal just came to sweep up, covered the court better, etc, w/e, etc. First time Djok was bageled in a finals? Nadal bageled Fed at the French back in '08, Fed has served bagels to 'em all, but Djok has never bageled them? Just looking into this to distract myself. Anyway.... I know just what I'm having for breakfast.... That's the difference when you play Rafa. He's still so fast that you don't play drop shots that often. And you have to play them precisely obviously, so no surprise, Djokovic netted some of those. I think he had quite success early on, but once Rafa varied his answers instead of always trying to lay it long down the line, Novak didn't know what to do.
Djokovic had one 6-0 against Murray in one of their Aussie finals, 2015 I think.
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Post by ibbi on Oct 11, 2020 17:01:46 GMT
Facemasks, empty stadiums, night matches, and a roof. The more things change the more they stay the same.
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(on clay). But this year it's cold and rainy, the clay is thick and the balls don't 
