Serpententacle
Hall of Fame
My apologies. I misunderstood.
French Open 2008 Mens Final - [1] Roger Federer vs [2] Rafael Nadal
- Thread starter InvisibleSoul
- Start date
My apologies. I misunderstood.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
Hey serb, keep thinking Djoker wil win wimbledon.I would love to see a matchup between Fed and Djoker on grass, to see if he can really beat the man.
ninman
Hall of Fame
My interpretation of it was that Federer didn't turn up. Right from the start he was expecting to lose, and in the third set he gave up completely. I think he needs to take a long hard look at himself and ask if he really has a champions mentality when he plays Nadal, because I saw none today.
Serpententacle
Hall of Fame
I would think Nole would win. I think he wants it more.
luckyboy1300
Hall of Fame
it's not that djokovic played better, but nadal is miles ahead of himself from that semis encounter. djoko might've eaten a stick at least. perfect tennis right in front of my eyes.
Yes, he gave all due credit to Nadal. But of course he thinks there's things he could have done better (like that 1st set in particular, it set tone for the whole match).
That said, he could have played his absolute best today, better than at Rome in '06, and he would have lost, possibly still in straights. Nadal just played absolutely great. He was completely consistent. The games Federer won, he essentially had to play perfect points to do it.
Nadal just played at the top of his game today from absolute start to finish. His errors in each set were in the single-digits, right? He was just automatic out there.
N
nikdom
Guest
He did play Nadal like umm 2 days ago. Djokovic may have played better in the final set compared to Roger, but it was still a straight sets victory for Rafa.
SikSerb
Hall of Fame
I look forward to that match too. I too want to see if Djokovic has what it takes to beat the great champ on grass.
I guess we might get that chance soon enough...
Strobe Lights
Semi-Pro
Federer didn't play well. But there is a reason for that. And it is Nadal. He has him mentally (from all his previous wins) and everything Fed tried from the serve and volleying to coming in to drop shots didn't work. He is too good on clay. He is phenomenal. Unreal passing shots.
Fed's big chances to get anything out of the match (read, only one set) were that 15-30 point where he volleyed into the net (still only to get two break points and we saw what happened with them last year; plus Fed missed the volley trying to make it too good because he knows how good Nadal is) and the break point at 3-3 in the second.
Disappointed by Fed giving up in the third though. He was just totally demoralised. A humiliation like that was very surprising. That was Fed visibly showing he no longer believes he can beat Nadal on clay (2006 was the key year). Interesting to see how he responds at Wimbledon.
Well done to Fed on three straight finals though, great achievement, just unfortunate he ran into Nadal every time (also the year before in the semis).
Major congratulations to Rafa. Four in a row. Joins the group of players to win a Major without dropping a set. Insanely good on claycourts. Interesting to see how long he can sustain this for, because it doesn't look like he is gonna stop for years and years (but the same has been said about domination by others in the past, including Fed). Rafa seems to have the focus to continue it in my opinion. I was so surprised by his lapse of concentration in the third set against Djokovic as I've never seen that before. Today he was relentless.
Fed's big chances to get anything out of the match (read, only one set) were that 15-30 point where he volleyed into the net (still only to get two break points and we saw what happened with them last year; plus Fed missed the volley trying to make it too good because he knows how good Nadal is) and the break point at 3-3 in the second.
Disappointed by Fed giving up in the third though. He was just totally demoralised. A humiliation like that was very surprising. That was Fed visibly showing he no longer believes he can beat Nadal on clay (2006 was the key year). Interesting to see how he responds at Wimbledon.
Well done to Fed on three straight finals though, great achievement, just unfortunate he ran into Nadal every time (also the year before in the semis).
Major congratulations to Rafa. Four in a row. Joins the group of players to win a Major without dropping a set. Insanely good on claycourts. Interesting to see how long he can sustain this for, because it doesn't look like he is gonna stop for years and years (but the same has been said about domination by others in the past, including Fed). Rafa seems to have the focus to continue it in my opinion. I was so surprised by his lapse of concentration in the third set against Djokovic as I've never seen that before. Today he was relentless.
SikSerb
Hall of Fame
Well you know what I mean. HAD he played Nadal in the final and not the semis...
dysonlu
Professional
Djoko could have, would have. It's all speculation. Fact is: Roger beat Djoko on clay.
Until Djoko actually beats Nadal and Federer on clay, Djoko is still behind Nadal and Fed on that surface.
He didn't lose as badly, but Nadal also didn't play as well in the SF. He played perfect in the final. I've never seen him play better. The commentors said he played even better than in his SF.
Photoshop
Professional
don't waste your energy arguing just present the facts:
Total points won:
Nadal 108 - Djoko 90
Nadal 92 - Federer 52
zagor
Bionic Poster
Great post,I completely agree with it.Nothing was going to stop Nadal on clay today.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
Just because Djoker wants it doesnt he mean he could beat the man on grass.Djoker has had results but nothing more.He is still an unknown in grass.
It's definitely the beginning of the end for Federer. It's truly annoying the fact that a guy who's only managed to win one tournament (not even a Masters Series one) since the beginning of the year holds still the number one place in the ranking list after half the year now passed.
luckyboy1300
Hall of Fame
this is actually the first time federer received a bagel from nadal, (or from any player since like 2000s). fed already gave 3.
N
nikdom
Guest
Rafa has changed the way the game is played on clay. Such physicality and consistency. The template for future champions will be based on players like Rafa and Tsonga - big and powerful.
SikSerb
Hall of Fame
Yeah tru, could've should've would've. All speculation.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Great job today Rafael!!
Greenfin Beta
Semi-Pro
eurosport doesn't know what to do with all that remaining time set aside for the french open final. nobody expected for it to end so soon.. now they're showing the women's final.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
My problem with calling Nadal the greatest on clay is with the titles.Yes he has 4 in a row but isnt it about how many clay slams u have?He is very impressive on the red stuff.I just wanna see him do it for a couple of more years.
ninman
Hall of Fame
That's because he's defending champion at both Wimbledon and US Open as well as the MC and a finalist in 3 of the 4 remaining MS, with one victory.
Serpententacle
Hall of Fame
We'll see, Maybe you're right. After today, I would be careful at calling out near certain wins when it come to Federer.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
Hey zormon, maybe because there are 2 slams still left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Each one the reigning champ is Roger Federer!
M
Morrissey
Guest
If he doesn't win Wimby and the US Open I can assure you he won't finish #1 in the end.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
Hey serpe, come on.Even i knew that Fed was an underdog and Nadal the heavy favorite.U telling me that Federer shouldnt be a heavy favorite at wimbledon?The guy is moving very well then he did in the beginning of the year.
The boy who cried wolf. You guys said Fed wouldn't even make it to the final. You've been predicting the end of Federer from the beginning of him. Give it a rest.
Federer is still just made for grass; unless they slowed down the grass even more, *******izing it even more, he will most likely win Wimbledon again this year.
Just because Nadal is too good on clay, doesn't mean Federer is going to collapse everywhere else. He turned around their H2H on non-clay surfaces a few years ago.
Man, seeing the Wimbledon highlight. Horrible. The baseline is brown, it looks like dirt. The net area is as green as can be. Just awful what they've done to wimbledon.
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luckyboy1300
Hall of Fame
i don't know, but after this if some people still not calls nadal as the GOAT on clay is really deluded.
Serpententacle
Hall of Fame
Nadal might be laying out a blueprint for Fed's Achilles heel. It's hard to see Fed as G.O.A.T with a backhand like he has (or showed today). One would think the G.O.A.T. would have a near flawless bh. Future opponents will zero in on the same strategy.
SikSerb
Hall of Fame
I really dont see him winning the US open. I also have doubts about Wimbledon, but who knows, he may regain his form.
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
Well, Rafa's camp invited Donald Young to train for three weeks, perhaps the same offer can be extended to another needy tennis player.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
I remember the same thing last year.Fed wont win anything anymore,lol.We will see about that.
zagor
Bionic Poster
Yeah,I still think he has a good chance at Wimbledon and USO although most people seem to disagree with that.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
Unless the bounces are really high at wimbledon, Fed's backhand will be smoking on grass.
Greenfin Beta
Semi-Pro
with all due respect to nadal, who's a great champion and master of clay, he'll need to win one other slam to be no.1. he can win the french each year for the rest of his life but if someone else wins two slams, he can't be no.1.
He sure played great on grass last year, best he's ever played. But if Federer plays his best on grass throughout the tournament -- like Nadal did on clay this year -- no-one has a chance, not even Nadal.
That is, unless they're planting the grass this year on clay wish crushed brick over it. Maybe that will be next for Wimbledon?
cucio
Legend
hoodjem
G.O.A.T.
What the hell happened? I was watching in the second set, and it was tied 2-2. The blatherers were saying Fed has raised his game and now we were in for a really tight match.
I went off to eat breakfast and came back, and . . . it's over.
What the heck? 6-1, 6-3, 6-0????
So much for Fed's GOAT chances.
I went off to eat breakfast and came back, and . . . it's over.
What the heck? 6-1, 6-3, 6-0????
So much for Fed's GOAT chances.
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Yes...hopefully, he'll get it before Djokovic. It would be a real shame if he was never #1. But I think it's just relatively symbolic. 4 FO in a row is more important than #1. Djokovic could reach #1, it wouldn't be more impressive than what Nadal's done.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
Hey DH, dont remind me.No fat grass at all.
ACE of Hearts
Bionic Poster
4 FO is impressive considering other guys havent doned it.I give credit to Nadal but its too bad that some of his fans are so diluted,lol.
Right, because Sampras has no claim to GOAT, right? Nadal would have destroyed Sampras at the FO. I think he also would have destroyed Laver on clay too, the other guy with a lot of acclaim as GOAT.
dysonlu
Professional
Very disappointing performance by Roger. Waving the white flag like that in the 3rd set was a shame. That was not a champion and world #1's to do. On top of that, it was in front of many former tennis greats. I think he lost more than a match today.
I'm still shocked at this meltdown. Nadal was absolutely marvelous but tones of UE's by Roger too. I can't believe how many missed easy volleys and shanks Fed committed today. Is it lack of concentration? It's baffling.
I'm still shocked at this meltdown. Nadal was absolutely marvelous but tones of UE's by Roger too. I can't believe how many missed easy volleys and shanks Fed committed today. Is it lack of concentration? It's baffling.
TheAeropro
Semi-Pro
Vamos Rafa
Greenfin Beta
Semi-Pro
LOL! next time take your breakfast in front of the tv. ;-)
Give a lot of credit to Nadal. Sure, Fed could've made some of them. But Nadal was playing so well, that he needed to go for a lot on his volleys, more than he'd need to go for on any other surface. Makes it more likely to miss. And also, it's very tough volleying on clay against Nadal's insane top-spin.
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