Tennis_Hands
Banned
Federer dominated till early 2010 despite exiting his peak in 2007, so I don't know what people that talk as though 2007 was the last year when Federer was the leading player are smoking.
How good will Nadal/Djokovic be a 30
- Thread starter Praetorian
- Start date
Federer dominated till early 2010 despite exiting his peak in 2007, so I don't know what people that talk as though 2007 was the last year when Federer was the leading player are smoking.
Lew II
G.O.A.T.
#1/2 are usually are the most in form players.
Winning 6 matches doesn't equal being a great finalist, as you can see here:
1/2 time finalists are 15-68 in finals. Apparently winning 6 match in a row doesn't mean they were playing really great.
yeah, right, the other 126 players were better during the 2 weeks, but somehow all of the better players lost.
nadaltennisfan
New User
Doesn’t this logic negate all weak era discussion pointless (for both 2004-07 and 2016-present). Any player you meet in a slam final would have beaten the same number of opponents (unless we measure slam quality by total number of walkovers), so a slam is a slam is a slam and discussing quality of opponents is useless?
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
I predicted Berrettini in mid 2012, you can't make this S up.
I have never argued about weak era.
Quite the opposite, I always tell:
1. one can only play the opponent that is on the other side of the net
2. if 2 of the big 3 lose before the final, it doesn't negate the achievement of the 3rd one, e.g. Nadal at USO, or Federer in whatever amount of slams he won
3. the amount of tennis professionals increased dramatically, while the prize money technically decreased for lower level players. So, I can't believe that the competition is weaker. Usually more competitors mean a freaking tougher competition.
4. At the very top the amount of prize money increased dramatically. So I can't imagine that all other pros, except for big 3 are not interested in winning.
Once you sum up the reality proven data and leave alone the "fanboy" discussions, many arguments don't make sense.
Yes, I know, the prize money at lower level didn't decrease in absolute numbers, they stayed the same.
But prices attached to most things increased, so back some 20 years ago, one could afford to buy much more for same amount of money like today.
So, in real life, the prize money at Challengers and ITF Futures actually did decrease, as their buying power decreased significantly.
One Handed Dynasty
Semi-Pro
2004-2007 was before the ITF and ATP mandated homogenization of surfaces, and there was such a thing as surface specialists. All stats comparing an era of surface specialization and diversity to an era of surface homogenization with slower speeds and higher bounce heights are inherently flawed.
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Lew II
G.O.A.T.
So suddenly consistent players happened in 2007 and were gone again in 2017?
What was so different for 2007-16 surfaces?
RS
Bionic Poster
Surfaces changes big time started in 2001.
RelentlessAttack
Hall of Fame
Indeed, Hewitt and Nalby in the W02 final tells you all you need to know
One Handed Dynasty
Semi-Pro
Doesn’t this directly contradict your weak era and elo assertions? You reward Nadal and Djokovic for beating the the highest ranked opponent, while in the 2006 AO, for example, you don’t reward Baghdatis for beating #2 Roddick. If anything, Baghdatis should have a higher rating than Roddick in your model because Baghdatis beat the same players Roddick would have, in addition to beating Roddick (#2 seed). If you apply the same logic to Federer’s victory, he played a harder opponent than Roddick because Baghdatis had all of the victories Roddick would have had, plus a victory over the
second highest ranked player. You’re selectively alternating between historical and predictive analytical models to fit your narrative.
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beard
Legend
I just love this retro threads... 
When I see some hard dying Fed fan in old posts, I click on his name to see activity log...
Guess what. Most of those are wanished from forum, and dates are corelated with Fed's worst defeats or Rafole great success... Remember @zagor, he disappeared after W19, for example...
I can just imagine desert after Rafa and/or Novak overcome Fed... This place wont be so interesting, but we have thousands threads like this to relive and enjoy...
I must say I admire @tennis_pro, about his prediction, not because he is right, but because of his consistency of winning about weak era (and he is Fed fan, believe me, so ironic)... Good broken record, gooood......
When I see some hard dying Fed fan in old posts, I click on his name to see activity log...
Guess what. Most of those are wanished from forum, and dates are corelated with Fed's worst defeats or Rafole great success... Remember @zagor, he disappeared after W19, for example...
I can just imagine desert after Rafa and/or Novak overcome Fed...
This place wont be so interesting, but we have thousands threads like this to relive and enjoy...I must say I admire @tennis_pro, about his prediction, not because he is right, but because of his consistency of winning about weak era (and he is Fed fan, believe me, so ironic)... Good broken record, gooood......
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
I will be whining 50 years from now too after an 83 year old Nadal beats an 88 year old Fed in Rome because he has an age advantageI just love this retro threads...
When I see some hard dying Fed fan in old posts, I click on his name to see activity log...
Guess what. Most of those are wanished from forum, and dates are corelated with Fed's worst defeats or Rafole great success... Remember @zagor, he disappeared after W19, for example...
I can just imagine desert after Rafa and/or Novak overcome Fed...
I must say I admire @tennis_pro, about his prediction, not because he is right, but because of his consistency of winning about weak era (and he is Fed fan, believe me, so ironic)... Good broken record, gooood......
Backspin1183
Talk Tennis Guru
And Nadal's favourite whipping boy peak Federer himself.
One Handed Dynasty
Semi-Pro
The players didn’t change, the conditions did. Average rally length of each slam by year:
The trend towards homogenization is obvious, 3 slams had equal rally length in 2011 and the range has been ~1 stroke since. It’s only logical that if surfaces are made to be more similar, certain play styles will gain an advantage and be more consistently successful. The ITF and ATP kept making surface changes to result in lower ball speeds and higher bounce heights without studying poly strings, and defensive baseliners gained a competitive advantage as a result. They admitted as much when they lamented not extensively researching poly strings and allowing them to proliferate the professional ranks without any regulations.
It’s nothing to support one player or try and diminish the achievements of another. Look at Djokovic in the 2007 USO final against Fed, he was an aggressive baseliner and was attacking and hitting winners all over the court. He saw the changes that were taking place and adapted, evolving into the best defender/returner/neutralizer to ever play the game.
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The_Order
G.O.A.T.
Makes me wonder why he's so salty...
He knew this could happen and he had 6-7 years to prepare himself for it.
Still whines like a punk whilst forgetting how many slams his idol vultured before the arrival of prime Nadal and Novak...
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
He really showed Fed in their 5 biggest matches outside of clay in 2004-2007
Backspin1183
Talk Tennis Guru
Yeah his Berrettini like resistance against Nadal was noteworthy.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
8 out of 9 major finals (and a semi), 4 majors, that's pretty damn dominant to me. It doesn't necessarily mean he was dominant all the time but as a whole.Dominated til early 2010?
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
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GabeT
G.O.A.T.
Can’t believe you need to explain this.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
I feel you lol, I really couldn't be bothered about all the dick-measuring, Im here for the Wings and gifs
GabeT
G.O.A.T.
Wings rule!I feel you lol, I really couldn't be bothered about all the dick-measuring, Im here for the Wings and gifs
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
Vultured LMAO, this is who Nadal beat in his USO winning editions from the QF onwards: Verdasco, Youzhny, Robredo, Gasquet, Rublev, Anderson, Schwartzman, Berrettini, Medvedev.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
The_Order
G.O.A.T.
Where's Djokovic? I like how you conveniently left him out despite the fact Rafa beat him in 2 finals there
Lew II
G.O.A.T.
The game became more similar across the surfaces, and it's not necessarily because of surfaces, it might be a natural evolution of the game. If players are fitter, stronger and more dedicated they can adapt to all courts.The players didn’t change, the conditions did. Average rally length of each slam by year:
The trend towards homogenization is obvious, 3 slams had equal rally length in 2011 and the range has been ~1 stroke since. It’s only logical that if surfaces are made to be more similar, certain play styles will gain an advantage and be more consistently successful. The ITF and ATP kept making surface changes to result in lower ball speeds and higher bounce heights without studying poly strings, and defensive baseliners gained a competitive advantage as a result. They admitted as much when they lamented not extensively researching poly strings and allowing them to proliferate the professional ranks without any regulations.
It’s nothing to support one player or try and diminish the achievements of another. Look at Djokovic in the 2007 USO final against Fed, he was an aggressive baseliner and was attacking and hitting winners all over the court. He saw the changes that were taking place and adapted, evolving into the best defender/returner/neutralizer to ever play the game.
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And it doesn't mean it's easier to be consistent. You have more opponents on all surfaces, rather than just specialists.
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tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
Yeah, well, bit of a difference when you face Youzhny/Gasquet instead of Federer/Wawrinka which takes like 4+ hours of work.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
Bad luck, injuries, facing a fresh Djokovic instead of Exhaustedovic, lack of Schwartzmans and Berrettinis in the final stages of the tournament.And Federer hasn't won a USO since 2008, why?
Sort of like with Nadal at the AO the only difference is that Fed won 5x as many USOs as Nadal AOs hehe.
RelentlessAttack
Hall of Fame
The players didn’t change, the conditions did. Average rally length of each slam by year:
The trend towards homogenization is obvious, 3 slams had equal rally length in 2011 and the range has been ~1 stroke since. It’s only logical that if surfaces are made to be more similar, certain play styles will gain an advantage and be more consistently successful. The ITF and ATP kept making surface changes to result in lower ball speeds and higher bounce heights without studying poly strings, and defensive baseliners gained a competitive advantage as a result. They admitted as much when they lamented not extensively researching poly strings and allowing them to proliferate the professional ranks without any regulations.
It’s nothing to support one player or try and diminish the achievements of another. Look at Djokovic in the 2007 USO final against Fed, he was an aggressive baseliner and was attacking and hitting winners all over the court. He saw the changes that were taking place and adapted, evolving into the best defender/returner/neutralizer to ever play the game.
I knew this to be true from the eye test but this chart makes me want to vomit. This is just one more reason why big 3 inflation era resumes can't really be compared 1:1 to older greats like Borg, Laver, Sampras - conditions, tour structure, money, culture, relative prestige, etc. are just far too different.
One Handed Dynasty
Semi-Pro
It’s been documented by the ATP, ITF, and multiple tournament officials and tour players. The ATP and ITF are motivated by ratings and act accordingly.
This is one good article with a nice range of sources and facts:
Surface changes at Wimbledon, other Grand Slams have all but eliminated place for specialty players
These days, the well-manicured lawns are drastically different from the dirt patch that favoured serve-and-volley players
nationalpost.com
Federer’s win probability against Nadal. No surprise but It shows how Federer is favored as court speed increases:
Wimbledon continues to slow down:
US Open tournament director admits to purposefully slowing courts:
Open courts altered to slow surface speed
The director of the US Open said the courts were altered "a touch" to slow down the surface speed. Director David Brewer said the move was in response to players noting in recent years that the surface seemed to be speeding up.
Tournament speeds from 2010-2013:
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Xemi666
Professional
Yes, Wimbledon's "slow grass" started in 2001, funny how Fedt*rds conveniently forget that.
ForehandRF
Legend
You still like Federer
RS
Bionic Poster
AO got faster though.It’s been documented by the ATP, ITF, and multiple tournament officials and tour players. The ATP and ITF are motivated by ratings and act accordingly.
This is one good article with a nice range of sources and facts:
Surface changes at Wimbledon, other Grand Slams have all but eliminated place for specialty players
These days, the well-manicured lawns are drastically different from the dirt patch that favoured serve-and-volley players
Federer’s win probability against Nadal. No surprise but It shows how Federer is favored as court speed increases:
Wimbledon continues to slow down:
US Open tournament director admits to purposefully slowing courts:
Open courts altered to slow surface speed
The director of the US Open said the courts were altered "a touch" to slow down the surface speed. Director David Brewer said the move was in response to players noting in recent years that the surface seemed to be speeding up.www.espn.com
Tournament speeds from 2010-2013:
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The_Order
G.O.A.T.
Didn't Novak also have a 5 setter against Rogi in 2011? Didn't seem to have any impact on him whatsoever so why should I believe this crap affected him in 2010 and 2013 finals?
Why don't you bring up how exhausted Safin was in AO 2004? Or Agassi in US 2005? Each played more gruelling 5 setters than Novak did...
Guess those slams don't count for Rogi then either...
The_Order
G.O.A.T.
Yeah all before prime Novak and Nadal...
At least Nadal beat prime Novak there twice. And he would've sent Fed packing in any of his title runs as well.
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
Please tell me that last sentence is a joke.
beast of mallorca
G.O.A.T.
Because Feddy Teddy is a Vulturerer, and becomes a scaredy cat when facing real competition.And Federer hasn't won a USO since 2008, why?
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
pretty pretty pretty good
JaoSousa
Hall of Fame
Like the 16 times he beat Nadal...
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
I predicted Murray #1 in 2016 and Fed winning the 2017 AO. I was trolling both times
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
I’ve seen the first thread. I didn’t know you predicted the second. What’s the title of the thread so I can take a look at it?
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
Wrong.
"Peak Fed" is 2017 according to Nadal fans, and Rafa was 0-4 against Fed that year. Not sure what wiggle room that leaves you, mate.
KineticChain
Hall of Fame
if nadal has 19 slams and djokovic haves 16 slams by 2020, come back to this post and give it an upfeder
mike danny
Bionic Poster
The guy has 5 of them. Why did he need to win more?And Federer hasn't won a USO since 2008, why?
I swear some of Rafa's fans use this as a reason to bash Fed and it's one of the silliest ever.
One Handed Dynasty
Semi-Pro
It did, funny enough ratings began dip again, this time because viewers said the play styles were too similar and the rallies too long. The homogenization trend got slightly reversed and look who starts winning again in 2017...
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MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Why do you act brand new with me? Im not dissing him at all im saying if the draws were so easy, which YOUR boy is going around saying, then maybe someone besides Nadal should be able to win them. If I need to take it there I will but that's not how I meant it and you already know it. Federer has been in every draw Nadal won a USO in. It is what it is.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
Prime Novak in 2010 lol
