Age 35...

[BGod]

A reminder the only male players to win Slams after turning 35 were Federer & Rosewall with 3 each and Rosewall's last AO at 37 was against less than top competition.

30 was never the stop gap it was played out to be. Prior to the Big 3, Agassi, Pete, Gomez, Connors, Gimeno, Ashe and of course Calendar Slam by Laver at 31.

Sure Novak might break the mold but I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[Oceans II]

5+. Djokodal fighting tooth and nail for the slam race are here to stay for a while.

 

[terribleIVAN]

Depends purely on luck.

Fed managed it only because half the top 10 was decimated by injuries.

As soon as Novak cameback to form, he stopped winning.

So to answer your question, Rafa can win this week provided Medvedev doesn't make the final.

 

[AO13]

Nadal from 0 to 2, vaccinated Novak 0.

On the other hand if Djokovic stays vaccine free, he'll cap 2, 3 more Slams.

 

[BGod]

Depends purely on luck.

Fed managed it only because half the top 10 was decimated by injuries.

Luck with situational timing is true.

But in fairness to Federer it was literally Novak keeping him from winning 3 Slams at age 33-34 and him being out that gave way to those 3 Slams and again blocked from winning 1 more at near 38.

Novak might well be blocked by 1 player.

 

[Bender]

Nadal might win 0-2, depending on how this one goes. I don't see him being able to win the USO with even more humid conditions unless he gets better at closing out matches than he's shown.

 

[DIMI_D]

A reminder the only male players to win Slams after turning 35 were Federer & Rosewall with 3 each and Rosewall's last AO at 37 was against less than top competition.

30 was never the stop gap it was played out to be. Prior to the Big 3, Agassi, Pete, Gomez, Connors, Gimeno, Ashe and of course Calendar Slam by Laver at 31.

Sure Novak might break the mold but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I think Novak was another 3 min in him Nadal at least 2

 

[junior74]

If the tour wasn't so strong, they'd easily win more slams than Federer.

 

[Crashbaby]

Zero for Novak as he won’t be allowed to play in any majors until he retires, unless he gets the jab…..
Rafa is past his prime, but will grab 2 more french opens before he pulls the pin.

 

[DSH]

While Federer has won three GS titles in his 35th year, there are a few caveats:
If the 2017 Australian Open semifinals had been played on the same day (as they always should have been) Federer would have had no chance of winning that match against Nadal.
Absolutely no chance.
At Wimbledon 2017, the Swiss played every match of the tournament on Center Court when the rules say that at least one match should be played on a secondary court.
It also didn't help much that Cilic played one of the worst Grand Slam finals in living memory.
In Australia 2018, apart from the fact that Federer decided that practically all his matches were at night, he had rivals like Berdych in the quarterfinals and Chung in the semifinals, and if that was not enough, the final of that edition was played indoors for no reason, when the day before the women's final was played outdoors.
And who of the two finalists favored that decision?

And answering the question, this is probably Nadal's last chance to win a GS on hard court, if he doesn't get it now he won't have an opportunity like this again.
And the most that both Nadal and Djokovic can reach in GS titles is 22.
Apart from age, everything related to Covid makes even participation in Majors tournaments unsafe.

 

[AO13]

Zero for Novak as he won’t be allowed to play in any majors until he retires, unless he gets the jab…..
Rafa is past his prime, but will grab 2 more french opens before he pulls the pin.

Rafa will never ever win another RG. Djokovic is favorite there, alongside with Tsitsipas, healthy Thiem, in future Sinner and Alcaraz.

 

[T007]

Depends purely on luck.

Fed managed it only because half the top 10 was decimated by injuries.

As soon as Novak cameback to form, he stopped winning.

So to answer your question, Rafa can win this week provided Medvedev doesn't make the final.

Which top 10 player was injured ??.Federer won by beating Nadal,Cillic,Stan,Raonic,Nishikori,Berdych. They all were playing fine during 2017-18.

Djokovic couldn't manage to make deep runs to face Federer so its not Federers fault.

 

[T007]

While Federer has won three GS titles in his 35th year, there are a few caveats:
If the 2017 Australian Open semifinals had been played on the same day (as they always should have been) Federer would have had no chance of winning that match against Nadal.
Absolutely no chance.
At Wimbledon 2017, the Swiss played every match of the tournament on Center Court when the rules say that at least one match should be played on a secondary court.
It also didn't help much that Cilic played one of the worst Grand Slam finals in living memory.
In Australia 2018, apart from the fact that Federer decided that practically all his matches were at night, he had rivals like Berdych in the quarterfinals and Chung in the semifinals, and if that was not enough, the final of that edition was played indoors for no reason, when the day before the women's final was played outdoors.
And who of the two finalists favored that decision?

And answering the question, this is probably Nadal's last chance to win a GS on hard court, if he doesn't get it now he won't have an opportunity like this again.
And the most that both Nadal and Djokovic can reach in GS titles is 22.
Apart from age, everything related to Covid makes even participation in Majors tournaments unsafe.

There are no caveats these are useless hypothetical scenarios to target Federer.

The field is weaker at present compared to what it was in 2017-18.

Except Medvedev no one is mentally stronger to Challenge Djokodal. Theim if he can get back to his best may pose some threat.

 

[tennis_pro]

Depends purely on luck.

Fed managed it only because half the top 10 was decimated by injuries.

As soon as Novak cameback to form, he stopped winning.

So to answer your question, Rafa can win this week provided Medvedev doesn't make the final.

Dude it wasnt Djokovic who stopped him it was Anderson, Millman... Djokovic literally stopped him at one Slam and needed the choke of the century to do it.

 

[Adv. Edberg]

Djoko should win 5-7 more in the next couple of years.

 

[DSH]

Rafa will never ever win another RG. Djokovic is favorite there, alongside with Tsitsipas, healthy Thiem, in future Sinner and Alcaraz.

Rest assured that Djokovic will not win RG again.
Unfortunately, Mussetti didn't have the physicality to finish off the Serb in the fourth round last year.
He was very lucky that the second semifinal was played in the afternoon session, since if it had been played in the first turn, he would not have had any chance of beating Nadal in those conditions that make the Spaniard virtually invincible on RG clay.
And let's not talk about Tsitsipas anymore, who was afraid to win from the beginning of the third set in the final; if the Greek had believed it, he would have finished Djokovic in three sets.
When he started to react a little bit in the fifth set, it was already too late and the Serb made his experience prevail to define the title in his favor.
Djokovic is still the top favorite to win at Wimbledon, but neither at RG nor at the US Open is he.
Maybe he'll reach the semi-finals in those tournaments, but it won't be good enough for anything else.
That's for sure.

 

[Russeljones]

Rest assured that Djokovic will not win RG again.
Unfortunately, Mussetti didn't have the physicality to finish off the Serb in the fourth round last year.
He was very lucky that the second semifinal was played in the afternoon session, since if it had been played in the first round, he would not have had any chance of beating Nadal in those conditions that make the Spaniard virtually invincible on RG clay.
And let's not talk about Tsitsipas anymore, who was afraid to win from the beginning of the third set in the final; if the Greek had believed it, he would have finished Djokovic in three sets.
When he started to react a little bit in the fifth set, it was already too late and the Serb made his experience prevail to define the title in his favor.
Djokovic is still the top favorite to win at Wimbledon, but neither at RG nor at the US Open is he.
Maybe he'll reach the semi-finals in those tournaments, but it won't be good enough for anything else.
That's for sure.

You do know that Tsitsipas suffered a personal tragedy shortly before the final started? Not sure when he became aware but I don't know if anyone can objectively judge his performance in that match.

 

[AO13]

@DSH

We shall see.

I say, Djokovic wins one more RG (either this or next year), Nadal none untill the end of his career.

 

[mike danny]

While Federer has won three GS titles in his 35th year, there are a few caveats:
If the 2017 Australian Open semifinals had been played on the same day (as they always should have been) Federer would have had no chance of winning that match against Nadal.
Absolutely no chance.
At Wimbledon 2017, the Swiss played every match of the tournament on Center Court when the rules say that at least one match should be played on a secondary court.
It also didn't help much that Cilic played one of the worst Grand Slam finals in living memory.
In Australia 2018, apart from the fact that Federer decided that practically all his matches were at night, he had rivals like Berdych in the quarterfinals and Chung in the semifinals, and if that was not enough, the final of that edition was played indoors for no reason, when the day before the women's final was played outdoors.
And who of the two finalists favored that decision?

And answering the question, this is probably Nadal's last chance to win a GS on hard court, if he doesn't get it now he won't have an opportunity like this again.
And the most that both Nadal and Djokovic can reach in GS titles is 22.
Apart from age, everything related to Covid makes even participation in Majors tournaments unsafe.

LMAO

 

[mike danny]

Depends purely on luck.

Fed managed it only because half the top 10 was decimated by injuries.

As soon as Novak cameback to form, he stopped winning.

So to answer your question, Rafa can win this week provided Medvedev doesn't make the final.

Yeah, Novak stopped Fed from a whooping 1 slam. Before and after that it wasn't Novak stopping him.

But keep crying

 

[mike danny]

You do know that Tsitsipas suffered a personal tragedy shortly before the final started? Not sure when he became aware but I don't know if anyone can objectively judge his performance in that match.

I don't think he was aware before the match started because otherwise, he wouldn't have played as well as he did in sets 1 and 2.

 

[Im(moral) Winner]

While Federer has won three GS titles in his 35th year, there are a few caveats:
If the 2017 Australian Open semifinals had been played on the same day (as they always should have been) Federer would have had no chance of winning that match against Nadal.
Absolutely no chance.
At Wimbledon 2017, the Swiss played every match of the tournament on Center Court when the rules say that at least one match should be played on a secondary court.
It also didn't help much that Cilic played one of the worst Grand Slam finals in living memory.
In Australia 2018, apart from the fact that Federer decided that practically all his matches were at night, he had rivals like Berdych in the quarterfinals and Chung in the semifinals, and if that was not enough, the final of that edition was played indoors for no reason, when the day before the women's final was played outdoors.
And who of the two finalists favored that decision?

And answering the question, this is probably Nadal's last chance to win a GS on hard court, if he doesn't get it now he won't have an opportunity like this again.
And the most that both Nadal and Djokovic can reach in GS titles is 22.
Apart from age, everything related to Covid makes even participation in Majors tournaments unsafe.

This has been disproved.

 

[DSH]

LMAO

I know you are a fan of Federer but if Nadal with one day less rest was very close to winning, you should recognize that all things being equal, the outcome of the final would have completely changed.

 

[zagor]

While Federer has won three GS titles in his 35th year, there are a few caveats:

God, what a wall off butthurt.

Just be thankful Nadal doesn't have to deal with a 5 year younger ATG in the draw like Fed had to in 2017 AO and still prevailed against odds.

 

[DSH]

God, what a wall off butthurt.

Just be thankful Nadal doesn't have to deal with a 5 year younger ATG in the draw like Fed had to in 2017 AO and still prevailed against odds.

If one more day off for your idol doesn't strike you as unfair, then let's forget fair play.
The best decision Tennis Australia has made in many years has been for the semi-finals to be played on the same day.
I hope it stays that way.

 

[abmk]

I know you are a fan of Federer but if Nadal with one day less rest was very close to winning, you should recognize that all things being equal, the outcome of the final would have completely changed.

I know you are a blind hater of federer and completely sore here, but ....
LOL, if fed didn't have a groin injury, he'd have pummeled nadal in 4 sets tops in AO 17 final.
didn't lose 1 set or even a break in their next 3 matches on HC - IW, Miami, Shanghai

 

[NatF]

I know you are a fan of Federer but if Nadal with one day less rest was very close to winning, you should recognize that all things being equal, the outcome of the final would have completely changed.

If Fed wasn't having groin trouble then Nadal would never have been close to winning

 

[DSH]

I know you are a blind hater of federer, but .
LOL, if fed didn't have a groin injury, he'd have pummeled nadal in 4 sets tops.
didn't lose 1 set or even a break in their next 3 matches on HC - IW, Miami, Shanghai

If I am a hater of your idol, that makes you a hater of Nadal.

No one cares what happened next, a GS tournament is played to the best of five sets, if you don't already know that.
Not even in his best moment could Federer beat Nadal in straight sets in Major tournaments, much less was he going to do it at that age.

 

[mike danny]

I know you are a fan of Federer but if Nadal with one day less rest was very close to winning, you should recognize that all things being equal, the outcome of the final would have completely changed.

I'm just laughing at the idea that a 30 year old was at a disadvantage against a 35 year old

 

[abmk]

If I am a hater of your idol, that makes you a hater of Nadal.

No one cares what happened next, a GS tournament is played to the best of five sets, if you don't already know that.
Not even in his best moment could Federer beat Nadal in straight sets in Major tournaments, much less was he going to do it at that age.

you are a blind fed hater. its obvious as 3+3 =6
fed is just my favorite, not my idol

I said 4 sets tops. Read properly. Also federer hadn't beaten nadal 5 times in a row before, but he did it then. nor had he won 7 sets in a row without getting broken vs nadal.

Again
if fed didn't have a groin injury, he'd have pummeled nadal in 4 sets tops.

pummeled man, absolutely pummeled!!! (crying face)

 

[zagor]

If one more day off for your idol doesn't strike you as unfair, then let's forget fair play.

He had almost full two days of rest and was playing a 35 year old who was fresh of a knee rehab.

As I said, be happy Nadal doesn't have to face a younger Fed in this tourney.

 

[DSH]

I'm just laughing at the idea that a 30 year old was at a disadvantage against a 35 year old

Tell me one thing, do you think it's fair that the semifinals of a GS are played on different days and what do you think that Tennis Australia has decided that after a long time in that instance both matches are played on the same day?

 

[zagor]

I'm just laughing at the idea that a 30 year old was at a disadvantage against a 35 year old

I'm sure Nadal who barely put away Shapo would do well against 2012 AO Fed lol.

 

[DSH]

you are a blind fed hater. its obvious as 3+3 =6
fed is just my favorite, not my idol

I said 4 sets tops. Read properly. Also federer hadn't beaten nadal 5 times in a row before, but he did it then. nor had he won 7 sets in a row without getting broken vs nadal.

Again
if fed didn't have a groin injury, he'd have pummeled nadal in 4 sets tops.

pummeled man, absolutely pummeled!!! (crying face)

If your own idol recognized that Nadal could have won the final, I think I'm going to pay attention to the protagonists and not to a guy sitting at the computer.

 

[abmk]

If your own idol recognized that Nadal could have won the final, I think I'm going to pay attention to the protagonists and not to a guy sitting at the computer.

he could have due to fed's groin issue, but he didn't. fed outplayed him and beat him even with groin issue.

and again, your reading is utter fail. I said fed is my favorite, not my idol.

Again
if fed didn't have a groin injury, he'd have pummeled nadal in 4 sets tops.

pummeled man, absolutely pummeled!!! (crying face)

P-U-M-M-E-L-E-D

 

[helterskelter]

A reminder the only male players to win Slams after turning 35 were Federer & Rosewall with 3 each and Rosewall's last AO at 37 was against less than top competition.

30 was never the stop gap it was played out to be. Prior to the Big 3, Agassi, Pete, Gomez, Connors, Gimeno, Ashe and of course Calendar Slam by Laver at 31.

Sure Novak might break the mold but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Both Nadal and Djokovic have already won slams at 34 - Djokovic actually won two slams at 34 - and before them, the only open era players to win slams at 34+ were Federer, Rosewall, and Gimeno. So I think that Nadal and Djokovic are more likely to emulate Federer than was anyone before them. However, they definitely both have limited time. If Nadal doesn't win this Australian Open, I think I'd be at the point of betting he wouldn't win any more other than at Roland Garros. How long he can go on at Roland Garros is a different question. As for Djokovic, so much of it will depend on his vaccination status and the vaccine requirements at slams in 2022. If he has to skip the whole of 2022, it will be really hard for him to come back from that long an absence at his age. It just seems like an incomprehensible hill to die on, but he seems determined to do so. I hope he isn't.

 

[abmk]

Tell me one thing, do you think it's fair that the semifinals of a GS are played on different days and what do you think that Tennis Australia has decided that after a long time in that instance both matches are played on the same day?

nadal had more than 1.5 days to recover.
I know it might be too complicated for you to understand, but try. The so called unfairness only shifts from final to semi now with one set of semifinalists having a day off extra.

 

[kevaninho]

Some of the defence today was unreal. I doubt theres anyone who will be running around fighting like that at almost 36.

I think during the 2nd set, there was one particular moment at 30-30 on his own serve, that he was out of the point, and somehow managed to retreive something just to put the ball back into play, and then Denis put the ball out.

Its these little things that more players need to think about.

 

[mike danny]

Tell me one thing, do you think it's fair that the semifinals of a GS are played on different days and what do you think that Tennis Australia has decided that after a long time in that instance both matches are played on the same day?

That's the way it always was up until this year.

I'm sure you wouldn't have found any faults had Fed been on the receiving end of this

 

[DSH]

That's the way it always was up until this year.

I'm sure you wouldn't have found any faults had Fed been on the receiving end of this

No, I have always said that it was an aberration that the semi-finals will not be played on the same day, no matter who plays those matches.
Fortunately, it seems that the Organizers have realized this and have rectified it.
I only hope that this measure is maintained over time and not just for this edition of the tournament.

 

[mike danny]

No, I have always said that it was an aberration that the semi-finals will not be played on the same day, no matter who plays those matches.
Fortunately, it seems that the Organizers have realized this and have rectified it.
I only hope that this measure is maintained over time and not just for this edition of the tournament.

It still wouldn't be fair as whoever plays the second SF would be at a disadvantage.

 

[mike danny]

Tell me one thing, do you think it's fair that the semifinals of a GS are played on different days and what do you think that Tennis Australia has decided that after a long time in that instance both matches are played on the same day?

If Nadal had faced a 25 year old Federer, sure, you would have grounds to complain.

But he faced a Federer 5 years older instead so no point in complaining.

 

[DSH]

It still wouldn't be fair as whoever plays the second SF would be at a disadvantage.

I'm sorry, but your answer doesn't make much sense.
In the other GS tournaments, the semifinals are played on the same day, so there are only a few hours difference between the first and second Matches, unlike having 24 more hours of rest as it has been so far at the Australian Open.
An excellent decision whichever way you look at it.

 

[DSH]

If Nadal had faced a 25 year old Federer, sure, you would have grounds to complain.

But he faced a Federer 5 years older instead so no point in complaining.

No, I can't criticize nature, but I can criticize the organizers of a tournament as important as the Australian Open for making such a gross mistake.

 

[MugOpponent]

@DSH

We shall see.

I say, Djokovic wins one more RG (either this or next year), Nadal none untill the end of his career.

Novak's 2021 RG was a miracle. The stars aligned in so many ways. Credit to him in that he took advantage but it'd be a huge surprise if he ever won there again.

I will concede that Nadal is vulnerable there in ways he wasn't in prior years but if healthy then he's the favorite.

 

[mike danny]

No, I can't criticize nature, but I can criticize the organizers of a tournament as important as the Australian Open for making such a gross mistake.

Nadal lost fair and square to a guy 5 years older. Deal with it.

 

[mike danny]

I'm sorry, but your answer doesn't make much sense.
In the other GS tournaments, the semifinals are played on the same day, so there are only a few hours difference between the first and second Matches, unlike having 24 more hours of rest as it has been so far at the Australian Open.
An excellent decision whichever way you look at it.

There's never fairness in schedule as 2 players will never have equal time to rest.

 

[DSH]

There's never fairness in schedule as 2 players will never have equal time to rest.

Are you seriously going to compare playing the semifinals on the same day to doing it on different days?

 

[DSH]

Nadal lost fair and square to a guy 5 years older. Deal with it.

Don't worry if someone has a different opinion than you, after all what would sites like Tennis Warehouse be used for.

 

[mike danny]

Are you seriously going to compare playing the semifinals on the same day to doing it on different days?

I'm just saying that there is no such thing as schedule fairness.