Great Matches of the Big Three

[TennisBatman]

I am starting this thread to collect quality videos of great matches between the big three.

Here is the first one:

Nadal vs. Djokovic 2006 French Open QF

I was fortunate to be able to watch this match when video streaming was free where I was living. Nobody heard of Djokovic before this match. It wasn't a particularly good performance from him, but it was symbolically important in being the first ever match between the two players.

 

[TennisBatman]

I am starting this thread to collect quality videos of great matches between the big three.

Here is the first one:

Nadal vs. Djokovic 2006 French Open QF

I was fortunate to be able to watch this match when video streaming was free where I was living. Nobody heard of Djokovic before this match. It wasn't a particularly good performance from him, but it was symbolically important in being the first ever match between the two players.

This match was also well known for its interview, where Djokovic said that he was in control of the match.

 

[PilotPete]

The non-english speaking Nadal in his earlier years is actually funny to listen to.

 

[Steffi-forever]

Highlights of the first Fedal match

 

[RaulRamirez]

Highlights of the first Fedal match

That was half a lifetime ago for Rafa. It's crazy that he had that much game - along with the athleticism and desire - at 17. Those that continue to paint him as one-dimensional or just the product of hard work seem to never see his instincts and pure genius as a player. That other guy's not too bad, either.

 

[Deleted member 771911]

They have had good matches? Jokes!
My fav of all time is Madrid 2009 Nadal Djokovic.

 

[Tshooter]

…Nobody heard of Djokovic before this match. ..

Typical TTW tripe.

I’d seen him play in person several times before that and so did hundreds if not thousands of other people. Of course, anyone that followed tennis at all knew of him. You’re not born into the ATP tour.

 

[TennisBatman]

Typical TTW tripe.

I’d seen him play in person several times before that and so did hundreds if not thousands of other people. Of course, anyone that followed tennis at all knew of him. You’re not born into the ATP tour.

In other words, nobody.

 

[Tshooter]

In other words, nobody.

Another great match where nobody knew of either player before: 2019 USO. Add it to your list.

 

[TennisBatman]

Here is the first match between Djokovic and Federer, at the 2006 Monte-Carlo Masters:

A brave fight from a version of Djokovic who was still figuring out his own game.

 

[Jokervich]

You could already see in that match that Djokovic would cause problems for Nadal on clay in future years. He's always been Nadal's only real threat at RG.

 

[TennisBatman]

I am starting this thread to collect quality videos of great matches between the big three.

Here is the first one:

Nadal vs. Djokovic 2006 French Open QF

I was fortunate to be able to watch this match when video streaming was free where I was living. Nobody heard of Djokovic before this match. It wasn't a particularly good performance from him, but it was symbolically important in being the first ever match between the two players.

Here is a better quality version of the first match between Nadal and Djokovic, although the video does not include the interview:

 

[RaulRamirez]

Here is a better quality version of the first match between Nadal and Djokovic, although the video does not include the interview:

A few observations:
Novak already had a very good backhand dropshot. And/but if you hit a dropper versus Rafa, it has to be almost perfect. A few were, the good to very good ones were layups for Rafa.
Novak had some beautiful volleys.
...
Rafa's backhand has always been underrated. I read ad nauseum about how Rafa has the advantage of hitting CC forehands to his opponent's BH. It's kind of silly and simplistic, as the reverse is also true. In rallies shown where Novak was hitting crosscourt to Rafa's BH, he couldn't break it down. He hit some winners, but Rafa's backhand was steady and sometimes lethal as well.

 

[Biotic]

A few observations:
Novak already had a very good backhand dropshot. And/but if you hit a dropper versus Rafa, it has to be almost perfect. A few were, the good to very good ones were layups for Rafa.
Novak had some beautiful volleys.
...
Rafa's backhand has always been underrated. I read ad nauseum about how Rafa has the advantage of hitting CC forehands to his opponent's BH. It's kind of silly and simplistic, as the reverse is also true. In rallies shown where Novak was hitting crosscourt to Rafa's BH, he couldn't break it down. He hit some winners, but Rafa's backhand was steady and sometimes lethal as well.

There's some truth in that, even if this is not the best match to draw conclusions about Djokodal matchup. There was a time when Djoko was feeling so confident he used to try to overload Nadal's FH side. A legit strategy, but much harder to execute compared to pounding his BH. The issue is when Nadal's BH was on, it was an uphill battle for anyone.

 

[RaulRamirez]

There's some truth in that, even if this is not the best match to draw conclusions about Djokodal matchup. There was a time when Djoko was feeling so confident he used to try to overload Nadal's FH side. A legit strategy, but much harder to execute compared to pounding his BH. The issue is when Nadal's BH was on, it was an uphill battle for anyone.

Maybe not, but sports is about dictating play, playing to your strengths and to the opponents' weaknesses, if any. Novak, at his best, could handle CC forehands to his BH as well as anyone, and could also change the pattern as well as anyone by going DTL. But yes, righties also hit CC to lefties' backhands. It's being able to be strong enough from both sides over the course of a long match.

 

[D.Nalby12]

Finally something more than Goat debate fanwars.

 

[D.Nalby12]

Djokovic already had great forehand back in 2006. His technique os just so good.

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

Here is a better quality version of the first match between Nadal and Djokovic, although the video does not include the interview:

The fact that Nadal could play like that and no one could do a damn thing about it is the Exhibit A of why clay (and Nadal) can do one for me. An utterly exasperating watch.

 

[Rosstour]

Just FYI--you're not allowed to post Federer wins in a thread like this.

 

[TennisBatman]

The fact that Nadal could play like that and no one could do a damn thing about it is the Exhibit A of why clay (and Nadal) can do one for me. An utterly exasperating watch.

Are you saying that Nadal went easy on Djokovic and still won in straight sets?

 

[TennisBatman]

Another great match where nobody knew of either player before: 2019 USO. Add it to your list.

You must be referring to the semifinal match between Belinda Bencic and Bianca Andreescu, who was the eventual champion.

Although her thrashing of Serena Williams in the final was significant, it was not enough to put her into the Big Three, unfortunately.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Nobody heard of Djokovic before this match.

Total nonsense. Most tennis fans knew who Djokovic was by January 2005 when he played (and was brutalized) by Safin at the AO. He beat Monfils and Ancic at Wimbledon 2005 and many saw those matches too.

 

[GabeT]

The non-english speaking Nadal in his earlier years is actually funny to listen to.

He speaks English now?

 

[GabeT]

Finally something more than Goat debate fanwars.

Hmmm…maybe we should report this thread then?

 

[TennisBatman]

Total nonsense. Most tennis fans knew who Djokovic was by January 2005 when he played (and was brutalized) by Safin at the AO. He beat Monfils and Ancic at Wimbledon 2005 and many saw those matches too.

"Most tennis fans knew who Djokovic was"--OK, now that's stretching it. Djokovic lost in the first round to Safin. I think most tennis fans don't pay attention to matches until the 3rd or 4th round, even at Grand Slams. Maybe the more hardcore fans will watch 1st and 2nd round matches, but they are the minority.

Monfils and Ancic were not much more accomplished than Djokovic, even back then. And Wimbledon was dominated by Federer.

But the terms are all relative. The bottom line is that Djokovic entered the 2006 French Open as a journeyman player, not even in the top 40. And he left the tournament as the one player who had the guts to challenge Nadal on his home turf.

 

[jstr]

Federer has said that the Australian Open 2010, R16 - Final were his "finest performances"

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

Are you saying that Nadal went easy on Djokovic and still won in straight sets?

So much reactive, passive tennis with short balls etc., but when you can cover the court like that and run everything down with the occasional counter-attack, it is too difficult to consistently punish, even for the greats.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Are you saying that Nadal went easy on Djokovic and still won in straight sets?

So much reactive, passive tennis with short balls etc., but when you can cover the court like that and run everything down with the occasional counter-attack, it is too difficult to consistently punish, even for the greats.

What about his 2017 boss mode style at RG?

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

What about his 2017 boss mode style at RG?

Less exasperating, the disdain thus primarily limited to merely the fact that it is Nadal.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Less exasperating, the disdain thus primarily limited to merely the fact that it is Nadal.

Good

 

[mike danny]

Total nonsense. Most tennis fans knew who Djokovic was by January 2005 when he played (and was brutalized) by Safin at the AO. He beat Monfils and Ancic at Wimbledon 2005 and many saw those matches too.

He didn't beat Ancic at 2005 Wimb. Lopez did.

 

[TennisBatman]

He didn't beat Ancic at 2005 Wimb. Lopez did.

Let's analyze that historical error a bit further. I suspect that those "facts" were taken from the Wikipedia page for Novak Djokovic:

Novak Djokovic - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Djokovic made his first Grand Slam tournament appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian Open, where he was defeated by eventual champion Marat Safin in the first round in straight sets, after defeating future rival Stan Wawrinka in qualifying.[41][42] He went on to reach the third round of both Wimbledon and the US Open, coming back from two sets down to defeat Guillermo García-López in the former, and beating Gaël Monfils and Mario Ančić in the latter. Djokovic participated in four Masters events and qualified for two of them, his best performance coming in Paris, where he reached the third round and defeated fourth seed Mariano Puerta along the way.[43]

The historical error made by BeatlesFan must have arose from a misunderstanding of the word "latter".

 

[TennisBatman]

Enough talk about Djokovic, for now! After all, it wasn't until 2011, 5 years after Djokovic's match against Nadal at Roland Garros, that he gained the upper hand against Nadal in the tennis season (a fact that Novak himself stated when he won his 20th slam).

Let's now turn to the match that brought the Federer-Nadal rivalry to the next level...the 2006 Wimbledon final. From 2006 through 2010, this rivalry was the main storyline of the men's tennis game. But this was the match that really brought that rivalry to the forefront, more so than the Sampras-Agassi rivalry could ever be.

This match added a different dimension of the rivalry by shifting the focus from clay to grass, and giving Federer the chance to showcase his talents and give Nadal a lesson or two...

 

[SinneGOAT]

Highlights of the first Fedal match

Omg, Carlos has been there since the beginning!

 

[TennisBatman]

Let's now turn to the match that brought the Federer-Nadal rivalry to the next level...the 2006 Wimbledon final. From 2006 through 2010, this rivalry was the main storyline of the men's tennis game. But this was the match that really brought that rivalry to the forefront, more so than the Sampras-Agassi rivalry could ever be.

This match added a different dimension of the rivalry by shifting the focus from clay to grass, and giving Federer the chance to showcase his talents and give Nadal a lesson or two...

Here are some key moments of the match:


Federer Teaches Nadal
18:31 to 24:46

Federer wins the 1st set with an impressive score of 6-0.


Federer Races Ahead
1:11:00 to 1:19:35

Federer goes two sets ahead after a close tiebreak in the 2nd set.


Nadal Strikes Back
2:02:20 to 2:08:56

Nadal decisively wins his 1st set in a crucial 3rd set tiebreak.


Federer Keeps Ahead
2:22:05 to 2:26:03

Federer shows Nadal who is boss at SW19 by scoring a break in the 4th set.