Roland Garros - 2020

Let's be clear he is over the peak physically but that is not to underestimate the benefit of playing with 19 slams in the bag and 15 years on the tour playing so many different players, not having much to prove or lose and having a better shot selection and timing than ever. We can see this clearly with Djoko for instance except that Djoko seems to still have the legs.
However with Nadal being unable to take the ball early he is more dependant on his fitness....and clearly he is not as agile.

Tenez wrote:


I am pretty sure that after the match Sinner was thinking a la Djokovic : "It's not difficult to beat Nadal...."

Of course Djokovic knew he could beat Nadal on clay, and he did, more than anybody.

but he said so in 2006 after retiring in their QF match at RG, and he finally beat him on clay in Madrid 2011, 5 years and 9 matches later. So yeah, pretty easy.

He said so in 2006 but realised what it took then. That is what matters. 64 64 is not that bad for playing Nadal on clay for the first time....and 3 years later in 2009  it is Nadal trying to save his life which he just managed by saving 4 or 5 MPs on Nadal's home crowd.

Sinner knows as well that he lost yesterday more than Nadal won.....but he also knows that Federer and many others were so close to beat him on clay but it takes a bit more composure and that comes with the added fitness and experience.

well, as I said yesterday, he (Sinner) wont have to battle Nadal to make his history, as Nadal will soon be gone and Sinner will still be young when that happens.

Nadal´s history is already written no matter what happens from now on. 12 roland garros out of 15 says it all.

Tenez wrote:Tsip can win this tournament.

No, he definitely can't. He's 5050 vs Rublev today, and if he sneaks past Rublev he will be spanked by Djokovic

bogbrush wrote:

BEL19VE wrote:Lol Sinner’s level today is much higher than Zverev’s normal level. He’s 19 so low ranking but basically playing at top 10 level already. 

Diego crushed Nadal in Rome. Conditions aren’t fit for tennis.

I don’t know why they were permitted to move it. You should have your slot, use it or lose it. Not stick it in the cold straight after the US. Do it dignified, like Wimbledon.

Pushy French.

It's going to be 13 degrees basically for the rest of the tournament. Nadal looked very cold yesterday. Crowd were wearing coats.

So Nadal and Djocovid both the mega complainers of this RG how cold, wet, new balls la la la, yet both go to final, morons.

Only if he battles past both Diego and potential hypothermia.

Hypothermia playing on +12C? come on Mr. doctor

well done Kvitova

Well I'd rather have Rublev win than Tsip but for some reasons I thought Tsip was better on clay.

Rublev 's game is very similar to Lendl....too thin margins and therefore requires too much confidence. It took Lendl years to win his first GS for that reason. Excellent outside slams cause less stressful but the emotion of big tournaments and more so big occasions can easily blunt that needed edge.

I turned the tv on Rub was 5/3 up....I feel guilty.

Tsitsi has not impressed me so far, he may be winning but I feel like Rublev is in control of the rallies.

Okay to be fair he improved after the first hour and played well

naxroy wrote:it was fun... put too much hope on Dimi, that was a big mistake.

Novak
Rublev 

Thiem
Nadal


you went really risky with Schwartzman, I mean, he could do it... but lacks serve

Two wrong already.

And Tenez is about to make a 100% right

Djokovic feigning injury again.

Is anyone taken in by this any more?

naxroy wrote:And Tenez is about to make a 100% right

Frankly i wanted to pick busta,,,,,

bogbrush wrote:Djokovic feigning injury again.

Is anyone taken in by this any more?

He has done it many times but since being ridiculed by Roddick I think they have been genuine. Or more exactly he doesn't hide his little niggles.

he has shown many weird patches over his career (FO 2013 final ie) and what is annoying is that he wants everybody to know about it....but I don't think he is bluffing at the expense of losing sets. That would be stupid and counter productive, even against Busta.

Can anyone think of a more boring match up? Busta /Djoko?

I think Andy Murray would disagree, he was completely conned in the Australian.

everytime I see novak making the suffering show I know he is about to up his game.

Tsip will beat Djokovic. Better serving and more aggresive shots with a very good coverage of the court.

Lets hope so, time for someone to put an end to this Monaco prick.

I just hope Nadal makes the final, only the king can stop Novak

If Tsi can't stop him, Nadal no chance.

Tenez wrote:Tsip will beat Djokovic. Better serving and more aggresive shots with a very good coverage of the court.

No chance in a million years.

Even Busta having a go at Djocovid's fake MTO's 

"He didn't surprise me (by asking for a medical time-out). It's a good thing. It's a sign that he is losing and that I was playing well, because he always does that.
"Every time the match gets complicated, he asks for medical assistance."It's something that he has been doing for years. When he is down, he asks for the trainer.
"I don't know, maybe it's the pressure or something that he needs to do it.
"But, I mean, he continues playing normal, no? I don't know if he's (in) pain really or (the issue is) mental. Ask him."

Wow thats telling....

I am shared between Djoko breaking the #weeks at top and Nadals 20....if only Schwartz and tsip could save it!

I still would prefer Djoko over Nadal's 20. I really don't think Nadal deserves it.

Djokovic will break the weeks at number 1 record eventually for sure, but frankly who cares. No one in the next gen is consistent enough to challenge for that, and Nadal and Federer are old now. 
ATP ranking also gives far too much weightage to normal ATP events. Can we be honest, no one gives a shit about the Masters 1000 tournaments. They shouldn't have half the ranking points of a slam. I think Federer fans would definitely trade 5 Indian Well titles for 1 Grand Slam. 

The only thing that matters is Slam count. And Nadal will finish his career on 19 slams, while Djokovic will probably end up with more than 23.

Can we be honest, no one gives a shit about the Masters 1000 tournaments. They shouldn't have half the ranking points of a slam
============+++
I agree with that but unfortunately that's how it is and weeks at #1 matters. Especially if backed up by 17 or 18 slams.




=

You agree the weighting is flawed, so logically the metric is not that useful compared to analysing the total Slam and ATP event wins of any player. I personally think the W/L ratio is a much less flawed and more representative statistic. 

But either way, no one will really care when Djokovic does overtake the weeks at #1. I guarantee it will be seen as irrelevant. 
It's slam wins or bust. Nadal definitely won't add to his slam tally. The question is can anyone stop Djokovic getting 4 more.

Some more Jin ING for you... Always worked for Nadal..

Will it work a 20th time? We shall see.

I am amazed by your super powers of future telling

I have no idea about what will happen, I do know I wish Nadal could at least win 1 more australian.

With 12 RG it is not so important to me if he wins this one or not.

The problem for Nadal is that if he is not able to win here now, it will look impossible to add more slams from now on.

As a fan, I think Nadal is ok as he is now, I think there is certain justice if Federer stays ahead.

On the other hand, Nadal will never  lose his clay Kingdom, and I am happy with that, as clay tennis is the one I enjoy the most, by far.

That's strange. I like Clay too but it has actually been spoiled by someone able to win purely by his physical superiority. He has never produced the best clay tennis over a set but only the best over 3 sets. And this is the very reason he has 12 FO and much less of the others.

Jahu wrote:Even Busta having a go at Djocovid's fake MTO's 

"He didn't surprise me (by asking for a medical time-out). It's a good thing. It's a sign that he is losing and that I was playing well, because he always does that.
"Every time the match gets complicated, he asks for medical assistance."It's something that he has been doing for years. When he is down, he asks for the trainer.
"I don't know, maybe it's the pressure or something that he needs to do it.
"But, I mean, he continues playing normal, no? I don't know if he's (in) pain really or (the issue is) mental. Ask him."

Good for him. Djokovic is an utter twat.

Never thought I’d cheer on Nadal but if it’s them in the final I’m shouting Vamos!

Tenez wrote:That's strange. I like Clay too but it has actually been spoiled by someone able to win purely by his physical superiority. He has never produced the best clay tennis over a set but only the best over 3 sets. And this is the very reason he has 12 FO and much less of the others.

I think his game is great to see. It is full of quality, passion, strategy and of course great physical display

bogbrush wrote:Good for him. Djokovic is an utter twat.

Never thought I’d cheer on Nadal but if it’s them in the final I’m shouting Vamos!

True that.

Jahu wrote:

bogbrush wrote:Good for him. Djokovic is an utter twat.

Never thought I’d cheer on Nadal but if it’s them in the final I’m shouting Vamos!

True that.

Hold your horses, gentlemen.  Let's not do anything rash here.  I am no fan of Nole, but if it comes down to the sad final on Sunday, it just has to be "Idemo, Majstoreeeee !!!!!!".

Seriously though, I am not sure why people dislike Nole so much.

He is not the classiest guy around, and yes he is not above some cheating, but he is not all that horrible compared to many other players.  And he certainly has a good side to him too.  For example, he is one of the very few (the only one?) players that I have seen voluntarily giving up a point to his opponent on a bad call in his favor.  Neither Fed nor Rafa would ever do that - they would pocket the point and enjoy the fact the bad call is likely to irritate their opponent.

Also, I find his game more watchable than Rafa's and, frankly, I think he is a better player too.  If I was told that only one of Rafa/Nole were to surpass Fed's slam total count and I got to choose who, I would certainly pick Nole over Rafa.

In the meantime, let's hope that little Diego ousts Rafa, so that I can root for Tsitsipas in peace, and, hopefully, we do not have to worry about either Rafa or Nole on Sunday.

I fully understand that except fans, everybody would rather see new faces in the final.

Dont lose hope, the end is near. Its been 15 tough years I know. Specially when some careers were expected to have ended like 7 years ago.

I of course want Rafa in the final, against Stefanos if possible, as it is looks like the easiest way to the title, but you never know.

Even so, if Schwartzman wins, I will be very happy for him.

Also I wouldnt like Novak to win here again, but if he does, one has to recognize his greatness.

Beating Rafa at Roland Garros at this stage of the tournament, considering he is 98-3 here, with 12 titles over 15 years, sounds like one of the most difficult tasks in sports right now.

I think conditions are quite unique this year, but that wouldnt minimize the herculean heroism of such victory.

But of course, it wouldnt by any means delete the impossible history that Nadal wrote at Chatrier over the last three lustrums. That my friends, will stay forever.

I don't wish to spoil it for you but history can be rewritten....like it was for Lance. And even if it is not, I simply do not believe that a game based, almost purely, on fitness can succeed against people who dope and we know people dope.

Tenez wrote:I don't wish to spoil it for you but history can be rewritten....like it was for Lance. And even if it is not, I simply do not believe that a game based, almost purely, on fitness can succeed against people who dope and we know people dope.

lol, doping was late in this conversation already.


Well, Mr internet Sherlock, you are free to follow your wishes, no matter how far from real world they take you.

Schwartz looking like a junior player, 3:1 down already.

Schwartz has lost this in the locker room or gotten a phat cheque already and is playing shit.

Jahu wrote:Schwartz has lost this in the locker room or gotten a phat cheque already and is playing shit.

Or Nadal is the best player ever on clay