Aus Open Day 2:

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Interesting title “best roadrunner”.

I thought Nadal was better as a roadrunner.

Nadal found his master in that department. Sure with more gutsy shots from Nole....but only just.

I disagree.
It is because No,e is a better player than Nadal in general that he was able to beat him in the forst place.

No. He was able to stay in the rallies with him and force Nadal to pull the trigger first.

Watch all those matches of 2011. Quite telling.

how come he could't beat him in RG till 2015?

noleisthebest wrote:how come he could't beat him in RG till 2015?

Nerves...and you know that.

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Interesting title “best roadrunner”.

I thought Nadal was better as a roadrunner.

Nadal found his master in that department. Sure with more gutsy shots from Nole....but only just.

I disagree.
It is because No,e is a better player than Nadal in general that he was able to beat him in the forst place.

No. He was able to stay in the rallies with him and force Nadal to pull the trigger first.

Watch all those matches of 2011. Quite telling.

Not saying I disagree, but do you have a theory for why it was fairly topsy-turvy from 2011 onwards, with three distinct phases: Djokovic 7-in-a-row during 2011 to 2012 AO, then 6 out of the next 7 for Nadal 2012 - 2013 USO, and then 11 out of the next 13 for Djokovic?  They seem to have taken it in turns to have worked one another out 

I don't really like their matches much - give me the 2017 AO final vs 2012 any day.

I thought 2012  was colossal, and my favourite win of Nole.

I saw it as George slaying the dragon.

Not pretty, but fantastic.

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:how come he could't beat him in RG till 2015?

Nerves...and you know that.

Mmmm...nerves were a part for sure, like in all other slam finals he lost to other players (which is why he hired Becker)

Also, Nadal because of his seemingly inexhaustible bicep tank did make others nervous even in locker room.

In the 2014 RG final, Nole simply had no energy left to finish Nadal off despite having him on the ropes.

Yes, it was hot, but it all adds up.

Nadal is a more robust RR.

On the question of nerves in Nadal vs. Djoko, I remember two particular incidents - that awful missed overhead by Djoko in the 5th set at RG SF in 2013, when he fell into the net, and Nadal missing that b/h put away at 30-15 in the 5th at the Australian Open 2012.  Both points were big ones.

Djoko's dominance of Nadal in 2011 made Nadal very edgy when facing Djoko - it's impressive that Nadal found such a convincing way back after the AO 2012.  I sometimes wonder how important Fed's victory over Djoko at the SF of RG 2011 was.  Djoko had pummelled Nadal on the clay Courts in 2011 (and continued for the rest of their matches that season); what wold have happened if they'd met in the RG final then, both in terms of that match and, if Djoko had continued with his Nadal demolition job to win, in the subsequent Djoko/Nadal/Federer dymanic?  Djoko would probably have been less nervous at RG vs. Nadal then than he became in subsequent years, it was not at that stage 'the odd one out' for him.  Maybe Federer's anxious looks over his shoulder would be more at Djoko than Nadal....?  

Anyway in 2011 Nadal's team made no secret of their joy at Federer's win, they thought he had dodged a column.

I watched the first set of Nole vs Young. Unfortunately Young was so abysmal it was hard to tell how well Djoko was playing.