Australian Open 2013: Day 14 27-Jan-2013 - THE FINAL

I'd say unfortunately....Djoko in 3!....ideally anyone in a 6h match...while I'll be playing tennis myself!

I need to do 3 days of points table .

And My take would be Murray.

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:I need to do 3 days of points table .

And My take would be Murray.

Forget about it! I won! without doping!

Tenez wrote:I'd say unfortunately....Djoko in 3!....ideally anyone in a 6h match...while I'll be playing tennis myself!

I knew you were a closet Murray fan all the time, that explains the photo at the top, you could've fooled anyone else but me

Almost forgot, my pick: Nole!

In fact when I watch Djoko play I want Murray to win but when I watch Murray I want Djoko to win.....in other words I want them both to lose. They are the new Nadals. They both banked on the ugly tennis versus guile and creativity.

Tenez wrote:

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:I need to do 3 days of points table .

And My take would be Murray.

Forget about it! I won! without doping!

You are the beastest, indeed!
Are we going to hear the winner's speech

Tenez wrote:In fact when I watch Djoko play I want Murray to win but when I watch Murray I want Djoko to win.....in other words I want them both to lose. They are the new Nadals. They both banked on the ugly tennis versus guile and creativity.

yeah, yeah......

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:I need to do 3 days of points table .

And My take would be Murray.

Forget about it! I won! without doping!

You are the beastest, indeed!
Are we going to hear the winner's speech

Of course....after the final! As I predict Djoko to win...unfortunately (again)....I want to make my speech after predicting the winner right till the very end.

I don't know what to want and/or think of/from that final. It seems to be that Murray got so much more aggressive and is serving so strong that if he can play at the same level as he did when he beat Fed in semi, he should win as nothing I've seen from Nole was impressive at this AO. Against Stan, the latter was the aggressor and he just tried to keep the ball in play and he said so himself. Plus, as Murray beat Fed and I'd rather Fed lost in 5 sets to the eventual champion, I think I'll be on Murray's side to win (even though I usually prefer Nole). The good thing from this win would also be that Nole loses a few points, which in turn gives a chance for Fed to get back to number 1 and who knows, maybe doing so after winning FO?!

Tenez wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:

raiders_of_the_lost_ark wrote:I need to do 3 days of points table .

And My take would be Murray.

Forget about it! I won! without doping!

You are the beastest, indeed!
Are we going to hear the winner's speech

Of course....after the final! As I predict Djoko to win...unfortunately (again)....I want to make my speech after predicting the winner right till the very end.

ok, then, why UNFORTUNATELY?

sphairistike wrote:I don't know what to want and/or think of/from that final. It seems to be that Murray got so much more aggressive and is serving so strong that if he can play at the same level as he did when he beat Fed in semi, he should win as nothing I've seen from Nole was impressive at this AO. Against Stan, the latter was the aggressor and he just tried to keep the ball in play and he said so himself. Plus, as Murray beat Fed and I'd rather Fed lost in 5 sets to the eventual champion, I think I'll be on Murray's side to win (even though I usually prefer Nole). The good thing from this win would also be that Nole loses a few points, which in turn gives a chance for Fed to get back to number 1 and who knows, maybe doing so after winning FO?!

But there was a drop of fitness from Murray from set 2...and that despite Federer keeping the rallies short....so I think over a 5 setter there is little Murray can do....and as we saw again today....mentally he is not as strong as Murray.

Good point about Djoko losing some points for number one....but it;s also better for teh future GSs to have Federer at number and not overtaken by Murray cause this will seriosuly affect his chances of winning another slam. Imagine if Fed had had Ferrer in semi and Djoko v Murray in the other semi...Fed would have a great chance to win another slam.

Nole has not won a slam for the last 12 months. ....Maybe he forgot how to.

noleisthebest wrote:ok, then, why UNFORTUNATELY?

Cause I woudl have said Murray is going to win UNFORTUNATELY.....too....if I thought he was going to win. As I said if they could both lose on the court...I d be very happy.

I understand. Really !!!

Imagine if Fed had had Ferrer in semi and Djoko v Murray in the other semi...Fed would have a great chance to win another slam.

This is where I believe Nadal's absence has benefited most to Djokovic. Now its 2 consecutive slams he has drawn and faced the rug-ball of the top-4 aka Ferrer... while the other finalist have had to come through a dog-fight.

This years draw was a cup-cake for him to the finals as was expected when the craw came out.

I still feel djoko can handle rafa the best so i dont agree he has benefitted the most.

noleisthebest wrote:I knew you were a closet Murray fan all the time

Good catch! I did not notice that "unfortunately" slip up. His subsequent explanation does not sound too convincing

I go with Andy. Close call for me but I thought he looked very good against Roger and I think he will be mentally stronger against Nole so he is more likely to avoid the little mental lapses he had in the SF. Only watched Nole play against Wawrinka, and he looked unimpressive there. Still, it is close to 50-50 for me.

I like both of them about the same so will not be emotionally invested in the match. Will probably be rooting for Andy, but just because I think 5:2 reflects their relative quality better than 6:1.

luvsports! wrote:I still feel djoko can handle rafa the best so i dont agree he has benefitted the most.

There were two slams played during Rafa's absence. In both of them he was slotted to play Ferrer. No matter how well he handles Rafa, he handles Ferrer better

luvsports! wrote:I still feel djoko can handle rafa the best so i dont agree he has benefitted the most.

See this is where we are talking different things. You are talking about potential benefits while I'm talking about facts. Djokovic could have taken out Nadal, possible. Maybe Nadal might have been out before facing Djokovic, possible. Maybe Nadal would have beaten Djokovic like he did last 3 times. Possible. Those are potential things. They may have happened, or maybe not.

But the matter of fact which I'm talking about is what did really happen in Nadal's absence which is Djokovic got Ferrer in semis and it was nothing less than a virtaul ticket to the finals. Do you deny it didn't happen this way? Then who factually benefited from Nadal's absence? None but Djokovic.

i get your point and i agree i was simply stating my opinion

simple little facts: in 2011, with Nadal around, Nole won 3 slams, 4 if you include AO 2012.
Since he has been away, Nole has not won any slams, Federer won one, Murray won the other.

Not a big deal, of course, we all see things differently from time to time; the main thing is, TENNIS has benefited from Nadal's absence

Had a quick glance at the headlines and was amazed to find out that Murray"annihilated destroyed, dismantled, bamboozled and demolished" etc etc Federer in 5 sets yesterday.
A huge article on Becker who gives Murray an advantage tomorrow and says that after tomorrow's win he'll go on to become a multislam champion

But you cannot fool the ordinary people, though.
In my spinning class today, we were doing a 4 minute time trial, basically big gear and push like mad, and as we were all semi-dead in towards the end, the instructor tried to motivate us with these words:

" don't let your head tell you you can't do it. Don't do what Murray did in the 4th set yesterday!"

To which I waved at her and pointed at my T-shirt, only to be snubbed: "you are not suffering enough if you have energy to point at your T-shirt, push harder....and btw, I'm not a Djokovic fan!"

Then, after the agony was over, I talked to her and said that Djokovic was going to beat Murray, she said no way...when another ignoramus joined the conversation and said how all Djokovic does is always moan and complain about injuries all that said with that same, painful big-headed England's-gonna-win -he-World-Cup pre-tournament arrogance; when will they learn ...

So, just 12 hours before a fight, a merciless fight. The fight between two, the same age, who knows each other very well and they respect each other. Their last final in USO final was won by Andy. Their match will be very important for both of them and will show us a hint how their rivalry will develop. They both surely know that they can rule on tennis throne for a couple of years even though if Morybundus returns on courts.
Andy showed in the match with Fed that he finally understood that he can not only punch a ball without pace and showed that when he got a chance he tried to attack. The question is if his increased aggression came just from his change of mind or whether it was mainly triggered by Fed´s indisposition. In my opinion it was a bit more the second option.

I think that both of them will try to take the reins and not to be pushed in defense. Let´s not expect the moonballing, but real fight.

Whom to wish the win? Of course to Nole . He plays with more variability, more attacks at the net, better swings, cooler head and besides he has his unearthly super elastic body and great stamina. He can handle better with a pressure and likes fight sparking. So that an advantage should be on Nole´s side.

I am very curious how active both players will be on the court. A couple of games will tell us.

Nole, come on!!

paulcz wrote:Whom to wish the win? Of course to Nole . He plays with more variability, more attacks at the net, better swings, cooler head and besides he has his unearthly super elastic body and great stamina. He can handle better with a pressure and likes fight sparking. So that an advantage should be on Nole´s side.
I am very curious how active both players will be on the court. A couple of games will tell us.Nole, come on!!

Not a lot can go wrong in Nole's case:

Ideally, Nole wins the first set.
Also, he holds his serve in the first few games. Very important for confidence.

A lot more variables and potential problems for Murray:

1)Does he start attacking full guns blazing?


He tried that more than once and prevailed in USO due to bad weather and the fact Noel was tired.
He tried in Shanghai and nearly prevailed due to Nole's phenomenal fighting spirit.
He tried in WTF and ran out of courage and steam after a set and a half.

Will he try it in AO final? I doubt it.

Does he copy Nole and does the mix of attack and defense?
NO, he does not have the ability or the mindset for it.

What are his options?
He'll attack Nole's serve and hope nerves overwhelm The Best.

What are my options?

I've got a bottle of vintage Bolinger cooling in he fridge nicely. It's all mine. Can't wait!

paulcz wrote:Whom to wish the win? Of course to Nole . He plays with more variability, more attacks at the net, better swings, cooler head and besides he has his unearthly super elastic body and great stamina.

Yeah..you right...unearthly is the right word. Tomorrow we will have a battle of not very earthly players....how can we call them? Mutants?

noleisthebest wrote: Ideally, Nole wins the first set.

The beggining will be quite important and the first set will be decisive for the whole match development. Nole needs to concentrate from the first ball. The match with Stan was for Nole very useful in this respect. He knows that he can not underestimate the start. His new shoes was a elementary mistake which will not happen again for sure. That affected his move very much and he had a lot to do to fight out the match.

noleisthebest wrote: I've got a bottle of vintage Bolinger cooling in he fridge nicely. It's all mine. Can't wait!

My option looks as a bottle of Chardonnay, I wonder if I should open it right now

Tenez wrote:

paulcz wrote:Whom to wish the win? Of course to Nole . He plays with more variability, more attacks at the net, better swings, cooler head and besides he has his unearthly super elastic body and great stamina.

Yeah..you right...unearthly is the right word. Tomorrow we will have a battle of not very earthly players....how can we call them? Mutants?

Ten, I am sure that you will like it

paulcz wrote:]My option looks as a bottle of Chardonnay, I wonder if I should open it right now

I've got a compromise!
I'll have a glass of red as a toast to a great final and one UNIQLO shirt ripped to bits tomorrow! Cheers !

paulcz wrote:

Tenez wrote:

paulcz wrote:Whom to wish the win? Of course to Nole . He plays with more variability, more attacks at the net, better swings, cooler head and besides he has his unearthly super elastic body and great stamina.

Yeah..you right...unearthly is the right word. Tomorrow we will have a battle of not very earthly players....how can we call them? Mutants?

Ten, I am sure that you will like it

Especially if it lasts 6 hours....this way I'll be able to watch the end when I return from tennis myself!

Tenez wrote:

paulcz wrote:

Tenez wrote:

paulcz wrote:Whom to wish the win? Of course to Nole . He plays with more variability, more attacks at the net, better swings, cooler head and besides he has his unearthly super elastic body and great stamina.

Yeah..you right...unearthly is the right word. Tomorrow we will have a battle of not very earthly players....how can we call them? Mutants?

Ten, I am sure that you will like it

Especially if it lasts 6 hours....this way I'll be able to watch the end when I return from tennis myself!

Maybe we should come and watch you instead

Tenez wrote:

paulcz wrote:

Tenez wrote:

paulcz wrote:Whom to wish the win? Of course to Nole . He plays with more variability, more attacks at the net, better swings, cooler head and besides he has his unearthly super elastic body and great stamina.

Yeah..you right...unearthly is the right word. Tomorrow we will have a battle of not very earthly players....how can we call them? Mutants?

Ten, I am sure that you will like it

Especially if it lasts 6 hours....this way I'll be able to watch the end when I return from tennis myself!

In 4 hours Nole will have drunk up two bottles of wine and dancing gangnam in a dancing club. You need to serve just aces to catch the match, otherwise you can just cheer Nole with glass of wine afterwards.

Paul, Tenez is a lost hope when it comes to Nole. I've given up a long time ago. But we love him nonetheless

noleisthebest wrote:Paul, Tenez is a lost hope when it comes to Nole. I've given up a long time ago. But we love him nonetheless

He is clever enough to find out who is the best, I am totally convinced

paulcz wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Paul, Tenez is a lost hope when it comes to Nole. I've given up a long time ago. But we love him nonetheless

He is clever enough to find out who is the best, I am totally convinced

Miracles still happen....Murray won a slam.....

noleisthebest wrote:

paulcz wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Paul, Tenez is a lost hope when it comes to Nole. I've given up a long time ago. But we love him nonetheless

He is clever enough to find out who is the best, I am totally convinced

Miracles still happen....

It is only a matter of time

I think we need to tell Federer to convince him, that's my last option

OH, I've already found it! Londond, 11th of November 2012:

"Congratulations to Novak on an amazing tournament and an amazing year,
You are the best. It has been an amazing year for me too," Federer said.

Hey, T, what do you say?

noleisthebest wrote:simple little facts: in 2011, with Nadal around, Nole won 3 slams, 4 if you include AO 2012.
Since he has been away, Nole has not won any slams, Federer won one, Murray won the other.

Trying to twist things up here to make it look . Benefit doesn't always come in terms of who won how many slams. I also told Ferrer has benefited from Nadal's absence. Did he win any slams? No. But it did help his resume Slam-wise.

noleisthebest wrote:Not a big deal, of course, we all see things differently from time to time; the main thing is, TENNIS has benefited from Nadal's absence

I won't say that. I have actually missed a competitive player in Nadal. His absence highly shifted the balance of the draw in Djokovi'c favour in the last 2 slams. The current crop of players lack severe depth in ability (mentally or physically or both ) to even challenge the top-4 seeds.

noleisthebest wrote:Maybe we should come and watch you instead

With all my modesty I can say you will get a more creative, more risk taking tennis and a SHBH....On teh downside, you might get a few more UEs.

paulcz wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Paul, Tenez is a lost hope when it comes to Nole. I've given up a long time ago. But we love him nonetheless

He is clever enough to find out who is the best, I am totally convinced

I know who is the better player of today's final. And I also know who is the best...but unfortunately he is not in the final.

noleisthebest wrote:OH, I've already found it! Londond, 11th of November 2012:

"Congratulations to Novak on an amazing tournament and an amazing year,
You are the best. It has been an amazing year for me too," Federer said.

Hey, T, what do you say?

I'd say Fed is so confident about being teh best he can throw a bone every now and then...Pete got his!

Wilander not surprisingly backs up Djoko to win.

Saying that both are weak on the FH when pressure increases but Murray's FH is more fragile.

Let's see who wins. I will be watching their lower lips.

Good start for Nole, well focused, wearing good shoes

I like T's idea of both men losing. Would be funny if the ref climbs of his chair and says after a few hours: "guys, this going nowhere, you both lose, sorry. GSM: no one!".

summerblues wrote:Let's see who wins. I will be watching their lower lips.

Murray's Adidas outfit is really ugly. Djoko's is not great but at least it's not a sore.

Murray looking very comfortable with his service games.

gallery play wrote:I like T's idea of both men losing. Would be funny if the ref climbs of his chair and says after a few hours: "guys, this going nowhere, you both lose, sorry. GSM: no one!".

By far the best tennis from this AO for sure