Will Djoker ruin his clay season again playing MC ?

sbengte

G.O.A.T.
Last year, Novak played on at MC even as he suffered a personal tragedy and wasn't in the right frame of mind to play. As of then, he had a solid mental edge over Nadal beating him 7 times in a row including two straight set beat downs on clay in 2011. By playing MC when he was vulnerable, he conceded that mental edge which set the precedent for the rest of the clay season and handed the advantage back to Nadal on clay.

Agreed that Novak's form in 2012 was nowhere close to 2011 God mode, but if he had avoided ceding the mental edge back to Nadal, the next time they met, Nadal would be one notch below on confidence and Djokovic a notch higher.

I see the same thing repeating this year. Novak is injured and has somehow managed to make the final just because his draw got relatively easy with Delpo crashing out. With his current form and the injury, I think he will suffer a really bad loss (something like 2 and 2 or worse) which I am afraid can result in his confidence taking a hit the next time he plays Nadal. Moreover, his injury could be getting worse if he is forcing himself to play while not being fully fit.

I think Novak playing here was a bad move and may come back to haunt him if it impacts the rest of his clay season, specially his chances at RG, ending his career slam dreams once again for this year.
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
I was skeptical earlier in the week...Gulbis would have been a rough matchup if he hadn't blown up vs PusherPico. The ankle looks better now...today's match will not be a beatdown and, win or lose, help Djok for the rest of the Euroclay swing.
 

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Doesn't really make a difference sicne this is a weak year, with everyone not named Nadal being down, injured, out of form or too old and withered. :D
 

zagor

Bionic Poster
Meh, don't think one match "ruined" his CC season last year, confidence/mental edge is important but the gap in level of play was just too big, Novak wasn't playing on his 2011 level and Nadal was playing better than he was in 2011 (talking about clay), Nadal would have had a dominant CC season regardless.
 

atptennis

Rookie
I was skeptical earlier in the week...Gulbis would have been a rough matchup if he hadn't blown up vs PusherPico. The ankle looks better now...today's match will not be a beatdown and, win or lose, help Djok for the rest of the Euroclay swing.

+10 even i believe that win or loss today will only help Nole.
 

Feather

Legend
Last year, Novak played on at MC even as he suffered a personal tragedy and wasn't in the right frame of mind to play. As of then, he had a solid mental edge over Nadal beating him 7 times in a row including two straight set beat downs on clay in 2011. By playing MC when he was vulnerable, he conceded that mental edge which set the precedent for the rest of the clay season and handed the advantage back to Nadal on clay.

Agreed that Novak's form in 2012 was nowhere close to 2011 God mode, but if he had avoided ceding the mental edge back to Nadal, the next time they met, Nadal would be one notch below on confidence and Djokovic a notch higher.

I see the same thing repeating this year. Novak is injured and has somehow managed to make the final just because his draw got relatively easy with Delpo crashing out. With his current form and the injury, I think he will suffer a really bad loss (something like 2 and 2 or worse) which I am afraid can result in his confidence taking a hit the next time he plays Nadal. Moreover, his injury could be getting worse if he is forcing himself to play while not being fully fit.

I think Novak playing here was a bad move and may come back to haunt him if it impacts the rest of his clay season, specially his chances at RG, ending his career slam dreams once again for this year.

I don't think Djokovic and his team which will obviously include a doctor would take a risk by playing with an injury that can aggrevate and jeopardize his clay season. If he is playing means he is sure that it will not have any further complications.

Secondly, like Zagor said, Rafa was too good last season and Djokovic couldn't have won against arguably the best clay courter the world has ever seen. He was really good that he dropped only one set in the entire clay season excluding the two sets he dropped against Verdasco at Madrid.

I don't think Rafa would be as dominant as last year. He was on the verge of losing against Dimitrov. Plus going to tie break against Tsonga when 5-1 ahead. That is quite uncharacteristic of Rafa especially when you consider that it was on clay. After seeing baby Fed's performance, I have high hopes on Roger Federer this clay season. If he comes back with a better back, then I would certainly hope that he has a better shot against Rafa since Rafa is not that dominant this season. You see how seven months break did well to Rafa so I assume that two months break will do Roger also good

I feel that this clay season will be very interesting with Rafa, Novak, del Potro, Roger and Dimitrov in the mix. I know it's too early to include Dimitrov here but I was really impressed with his performance
 

sbengte

G.O.A.T.
Meh, don't think one match "ruined" his CC season last year, confidence/mental edge is important but the gap in level of play was just too big, Novak wasn't playing on his 2011 level and Nadal was playing better than he was in 2011 (talking about clay)

Yep, I admitted in my OP that there was a big difference in the level of play. But I wouldn't underestimate the mental edge factor where Nadal is concerned.

Think back to their AO final earlier last year. Novak played terribly with his serve MIA for most part, turning into a UE machine at times and being totally gassed out in the fifth set. Nadal , in contrast, had his best serving day, was pretty consistent and the fitter player in the fifth set. And yet Novak edged him out, purely due to the mental edge. There is no denying that Novak was in Nadal's head up until MC. Once Nadal gained the belief back beating a sub par Djoker who lacked focus, there was no looking back.
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
The one who may be setting himself up for failure later in the clay swing may be Nadal. He's played more tourneys than ever in the last two months and is not dropping Barcelona prior to the two MS1000's and RG. Novak no longer has to appear in Belgrade and has the "mini-break" between today's final and Madrid.
 

sbengte

G.O.A.T.
I don't think Djokovic and his team which will obviously include a doctor would take a risk by playing with an injury that can aggrevate and jeopardize his clay season. If he is playing means he is sure that it will not have any further complications.

Agree, you have a point.

Secondly, like Zagor said, Rafa was too good last season and Djokovic couldn't have won against arguably the best clay courter the world has ever seen. He was really good that he dropped only one set in the entire clay season excluding the two sets he dropped against Verdasco at Madrid.

Well, Rafa was the clay GOAT even in 2011. The only difference in Rafa's 2011 and 2012 levels came down to one factor : Djokovic. The string of losses to Djokovic beginning in the IW finals and carried over to the clay masters really shook Rafa and affected his game. Take Djoko out of the picture and Rafa would arguably have his career best season in 2011 with 3 slams and a bunch of masters.

I don't think Rafa would be as dominant as last year. He was on the verge of losing against Dimitrov. Plus going to tie break against Tsonga when 5-1 ahead. That is quite uncharacteristic of Rafa especially when you consider that it was on clay.

Rafa being on the verge of losing means nothing. He always comes back and wins. I don't see this clay season being any different. Had hoped Delpo would make a mark, but he seems to be injured too.
 

sbengte

G.O.A.T.
Doesn't really make a difference sicne this is a weak year, with everyone not named Nadal being down, injured, out of form or too old and withered. :D

As always, Senti nails it with the most inciteful...I mean insightful comment :D

If a player comes back from a 7 month break and starts sweeping every title in sight, it has got to be the weakest era in the history of universe.
 
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veroniquem

Bionic Poster
Making a final is the best possible start to his clay season. Of course beating Rafa is not a given. It is not even likely. But that's the way it is on clay. Fed went through that ordeal before him. It is still a good sign to be able to beat everyone else.
 

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
But Rafa IS a "monster" on clay. He is the most phenomenal player one has ever seen and one will ever see on that surface. I don't think there is a limit for him on the red stuff, not even the sky :)
 

eliars

Hall of Fame
If one wants to stop the incessant jinxing/anti-jinxing spamming of Clarky on this forum, creating a Djokovic anti-jinx thread is basically just handing that poster more ammunition to his/hers automatic rifle of jinx-spamming.

With threads like this it's never going to end.
 

eliars

Hall of Fame
Grats to the OP. His anti-jinxing powers proved too much for Clarkys otherwise stern and incessant Djokovic-jinxing :)
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
The one who may be setting himself up for failure later in the clay swing may be Nadal. He's played more tourneys than ever in the last two months and is not dropping Barcelona prior to the two MS1000's and RG. Novak no longer has to appear in Belgrade and has the "mini-break" between today's final and Madrid.

The "djok" is on Humbalito...beaten down @M-C and now will, with the rain delays today and the rest of the week in Barcelona, be less than fresh in Madrid. Meanwhile, the rest of the biggies, especially Djok, benefit with time to rest and heal.
 
J

JackReacher

Guest
Looks like he just ruined Nadal's season.

In 2011, Dj beat Nadal in straight sets twice on clay but wasn't good enough to make the Roland Garros final. And that Dj was better than today's Dj. I think Dj has a Roland Garros complex.
 

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
Lol I guess the answer was "no". You want to start a new thread called "will Djoker ruin his clay season again playing Madrid? " ;)
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
In 2011, Dj beat Nadal in straight sets twice on clay but wasn't good enough to make the Roland Garros final. And that Dj was better than today's Dj. I think Dj has a Roland Garros complex.

CVAC was de-Fogged, IIRC. At least, that was the excuse used at the time on this forum after the GOAT ruined his chances for a CYGS.
 

PrinceMoron

Legend
Conditions were a bit slower. Nice for ND. Swings and roundabouts really, a loss to Haas with low bouncing balls, then a little bit of help against Nadal.

I think RF has had a few damp days on the clay, but then the benefit of the roof at Wimbledon.
 
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