Miami 2015 Djokovic vs. Dolgopolov

[djoker of darkness]

I don't hate Djokovic at all. I have never seen him this far out of his comfort zone. It was interresting. It was like he had nothing to do with the match for a pretty long periode of time. Did you see the match?

It was a match that tells us all Djokovic is very beatable by those who do other things than hitting the ball into the middle of the court in regular patterns aka baseline tennis.

Of course djokovic is beatable, and i agree that players with variety to cause him more trouble than baseliners, but at the end of the day dolgopolov probably played the best he could last while djokovic was quite poor (admittedly from dolgopolov not giving him time) yet novak still came through, which to me says something, djokovic atm this year is looking like the only player who can play badly and still win.

 

[rainingaces]

I went to bed after the 2nd set expecting Djokovic to win but what I didn't expect was Dolgo to only win6 points in the 3rd set.

 

[junior74]

Of course djokovic is beatable, and i agree that players with variety to cause him more trouble than baseliners, but at the end of the day dolgopolov probably played the best he could last while djokovic was quite poor (admittedly from dolgopolov not giving him time) yet novak still came through, which to me says something, djokovic atm this year is looking like the only player who can play badly and still win.

Dolgopolov froze when he realized he could win. Djokovic, off course, knew the chance of this to happen was big, and waited for the change of momentum.
I agree Djokovic can suck and win, against almost everybody. But I really don't think he sucked, he was just kept out of the match by Dolgopolov's outstanding shotmaking at times. I think that's why he got so frustrated. As many others have said, he was kept out of rhythm.

I get a little frustrated when we can't discuss an interresting match without the stupid LOLs and the throwing of the word "hater" against someone that is trying to point out something interresting in a polite fashion

 

[Marty Cintron]

I went to bed after the 2nd set expecting Djokovic to win but what I didn't expect was Dolgo to only win6 points in the 3rd set.

Dolgopolov slightly damaged his foot at the end of the second set.
Does anyone have news about this (not too serious, it seems) injury?

 

[veroniquem]

I don't hate Djokovic at all. I have never seen him this far out of his comfort zone. It was interresting. It was like he had nothing to do with the match for a pretty long periode of time. Did you see the match?

It was a match that tells us all Djokovic is very beatable by those who do other things than hitting the ball into the middle of the court in regular patterns aka baseline tennis.

I disagree. It tells us that very high risk tennis doesn't work over the distance vs someone as consistent as Djoko. You may get a blitz win once in a blue moon with that strategy but not often enough to be worth it.

 

[veroniquem]

Of course djokovic is beatable, and i agree that players with variety to cause him more trouble than baseliners, but at the end of the day dolgopolov probably played the best he could last while djokovic was quite poor (admittedly from dolgopolov not giving him time) yet novak still came through, which to me says something, djokovic atm this year is looking like the only player who can play badly and still win.

Djoko also has a lot of confidence going atm. That's what happens when one wins a lot of matches: having belief in tight situations. That's what Nadal is trying to get back right now: self-confidence in tight moments. (see the way Djoko played on BPs in the game for Dolgo to go up 4-0 in 2nd set, perfect example of how confidence helps)

 

[makiiie]

Wow.... I almost started breaking my own racquets at home after watching Novak implode in the first set/ beginning of second and then once again, zen 101 cleans the floor with Mr.Dog...... In any case, if he tries to pull off that against Kei he wont have a good time.

 

[veroniquem]

He needs more 1st serves. He's too breakable otherwise.

 

[RunDatGame]

I went to bed after the 2nd set expecting Djokovic to win but what I didn't expect was Dolgo to only win6 points in the 3rd set.

Actually Dolgopolov won only 3 points in 3rd set.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

As vero says, we shouldn't underestimate a top player when he's already been challenged and has managed to somehow fight through it. I could see him dismantling Nishikori after the confidence boost he got from this match.

 

[laughingcavalier]

Actually Dolgopolov won only 3 points in 3rd set.

Yeah,I saw that little tidbit and felt disgusted.How many times do you see something like that when somebody is on the cusp of a great upset then 'curl into a little ball' in the 3rd.As my coach always said 'At least get on the scoreboard,don't give them the satisfaction of issuing you a bagel'.Aren't players these days embarrassed of getting a 'bagel'.It just undermines their performance and the fight they showed by taking it to the brink.


At least when Nadal won 4 points against Murray in the 3rd set in Tokyo a few years ago he still tried to get on the scoreboard.

 

[veroniquem]

As vero says, we shouldn't underestimate a top player when he's already been challenged and has managed to somehow fight through it. I could see him dismantling Nishikori after the confidence boost he got from this match.

It all depends if there is some physical tiredness too. He'd better have a good serving day against Nishi because if he doesn't, he will get broken left and right and unlike Dolgo, Nishi won't fizzle away (that's IF Nishi wins his next match, I could easily see Isner win it and then Djoko would have less pressure on his service games, he would just have to be clutch in TBs or hope Isner messes up a couple of his service games). It will be a tough semi in any case, with audience against him in the case of Isner.

(At least, he won't have to deal with that wicked slice which did cause a lot of errors in the Dolgo match!)

 

[veroniquem]

I would like to add something about this match. Djoko tends to play better and better in a long match whereas Dolgo started at the best level he could possibly muster. Comes crunch time, Dolgo had nowhere else to go but down.
Morality: being able to finish strong is more important than starting on fire, unless one gets blown off the court and luckily for Djoko, that is rare (Fed is about the only one able to pull that off).

 

[junior74]

I disagree. It tells us that very high risk tennis doesn't work over the distance vs someone as consistent as Djoko. You may get a blitz win once in a blue moon with that strategy but not often enough to be worth it.

You're allowed to disagree. But to me it is pretty clear that it was not high risk tennis that made him suffer, it was low risk tennis: When he saw the finish line, he started to play it safe. And against the best baseliner in the world, that is not a good idea.

 

[preeb]

I'm not really surprised with the bagel set. He's got Gilbert's Syndrome which means he can't last as long so he's got to go for big shots. His extremely fast racquet head speed looks absolutely exhausting. So with these top players, especially ones like Djokovic, he's pretty much got to win in straights.

All this means we get some entertaining tennis, and luckily this match delivered. I didn't watch the third set though, which was a good time to go do something else.

 

[veroniquem]

You're allowed to disagree. But to me it is pretty clear that it was not high risk tennis that made him suffer, it was low risk tennis: When he saw the finish line, he started to play it safe. And against the best baseliner in the world, that is not a good idea.

I also disagree that he DECIDED to play it safe. He had played at an insane level for a long time and he started feeling it physically. He got a bit tired. He COULD not maintain the aggression because he needed a breather (whereas Novak had not depleted his reserves and clearly had plenty left). And in the 3rd set, his feet started to hurt too and he was completely out of gas. It takes a lot out of a player to play THAT aggressively with such intensity for such a long period of time. That is why I do not like the tactic. He would be better off temporizing a bit, playing more % in some parts of the match and keeping his best effort for crucial points/games (that's what Fed has done so well in his career).
Of course, vs a player like Djoko, one does not have much margin for low intensity. Still, super aggression is useless if one burns out before the finish line. What Dolgo needs in order to win more matches is more consistency and the flexibility to switch gears when necessary, not show off his brilliance, which we know he has but will not get him titles if he can't manage his energy level better.

ETA: also let's not take credit away from Novak. The way he played on those BPs in that pivotal 4th game of the 2nd set was truly impressive. Needless to say, if he had faltered there, even he would most likely not have been able to come back.

 

[Marty Cintron]

Djokovic Interview: ATP Miami 4R.
http://www.tennistv.com/video/video...r4r0gu/title/djokovic-interview--atp-miami-4r

 

[Marty Cintron]

Match statistics:
aces (10-1)
double faults (2-4)
winners (19-28)
unforced errors (24-49)
total points won (100-74)

 

[uscwang]

Novak can be troubled by players who break his rhythm, especially those who slice a lot. His backhand against slices is just too harmless. I would love to see him running around some of those slices and attack with FH.

 

[cc0509]

It is too bad after Dolgo's sizzling play in the first two sets that he drained himself and failed to compete aggressively in the third. He was the much better player for the first two sets and the more interesting player. Such a talented player. But unless he learns how to maximize his energy he will continue to lose those type of matches against a steady drone like Djokovic.

 

[veroniquem]

It wasn't just "sizzling" play by Dolgo in the 1st half of the match. It was also Djoko lacking a 1st serve (less than 60% is not a good stat for him). Once he got his 1st serve back in the 2nd set, things got much easier for him (even before Dolgo started to crumble).
He will need to serve much, much better in the next rounds. It won't be as easy to come back as against Dolgo.

 

[VexlanderPrime]

It wasn't just "sizzling" play by Dolgo in the 1st half of the match. It was also Djoko lacking a 1st serve (less than 60% is not a good stat for him). Once he got his 1st serve back in the 2nd set, things got much easier for him (even before Dolgo started to crumble).
He will need to serve much, much better in the next rounds. It won't be as easy to come back as against Dolgo.

Good point, at the same time Dog was hitting shots that were just making me go "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam"

 

[uscwang]

Facing breakpoint in the 4th game of the 2nd set, Novak's 1st serve went out but was not called. Novak won the point.
The commentators kept saying Dolgopolov would have won the game and gone 2 breaks up had he challenged. It was only a 1st serve. Did they want Novak to lose too much or what?