2019 Madrid ATP SF: RAFA [2] vs Tsitsipas [8]

Winner

  • Total voters
    53
Djokovic_is_the_best#1

Djokovic_is_the_best#1

Bionic Poster
mightyrick said:
I knew if Tsitsipas could just win that first set... Nadal's mental state and confidence would erode. Nadal has such little consistent belief in his game anymore. All you need to do against Nadal is win a few straight points against him, and he just retreats and folds mentally for 10 minutes. It is absolutely predictable now. This isn't coincidence. Good job for Tsitsipas to just hang on and keep going for his shots.

I still think people who believe Nadal is the favorite for the FO are crazy. At this rate, best-of-five is going to be a nail in the coffin for Nadal. The guy simply cannot hold it together mentally for that long -- much less best-of-three.
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Nadal still deserves to be favourite for French Open! Due to his record and he’s 2 time defending champ. The court suits him perfectly and he feels at home there. However, the gap has narrowed, the next generation are coming and believe they can beat Nadal even on clay. Also Djokovic is back to playing at a high level on clay this year, so it’s not gonna be easy for Rafa. We could see a new winner this time! Time will tell!
 
George Turner

George Turner

Hall of Fame
BeatlesFan said:
Can you imagine saying that even one year ago? I couldn't. His decline has been very pronounced even since January.
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Nadal wasn't vintage at RG 2018 (not in comparison to 2017) but there's been other years he's won there without being vintagre. So was hard to predict the decline back then.

Sometimes age can catch up with a player quite rapidly and suddenly. His speed is declining and if the forehand doesn't have the same hyper effective topspin it once had, he doesn't have an awful lot left in his armory.
 
Tenez!

Tenez!

Professional
Djokovic2011 said:
Well the good news is Djokovic should be guaranteed to stay #1 until at least the N/A hard court season.
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Barring a total collapse, it's hard now for me to see who stops Djokovic from nabbing Fed's 310 week record.
He's 4000 above slowing Nadal, 6000 over aging Fed, and still has banked 500 points more than either since 2019.


Zebrev said:
Even Gasquet held together with duct tape should have a chance against Rafa at the moment. A shadow of his old self.
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But if Nadal had traded a few points around and won, you would have praised him to the high heavens.
He played great in the last 2 sets, and won more points. Admit it, you're results-biased.

As a side note, when is the last time Nadal lost a match where he won 6 more points?
 
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tenisdecente

tenisdecente

Hall of Fame
Great match by Stefanos. Nadal missed a few silly shots in the end, but that was because (how ironic) the pressure was huge and he felt it.
Still, I think he showed a decent form here - for me still the favourite for Paris
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic2011 said:
I don't know Steve. I just don't think he'll be anywhere near as focused or motivated as he would be against Nadal.
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I suspect he will be. This is the perfect time for him to announce his intention of winning RG, with a demolition in the final. Even if he's not that focused I don't see him losing. The talent gap on clay between him and Tsitsipas (i.e anyone not named Nadal) is still pretty wide. I think Djokovic could win playing B- tennis.
 
Im(moral) Winner

Im(moral) Winner

G.O.A.T.
Tenez! said:
It's hard to see Djokovic lose his top spot for a whole ATP year now.

But if Nadal had traded a few points around and won, you would have praised him to the high heavens.
He played great in the last 2 sets, and won more points. Admit it, you're results-biased.

As a side note, when is the last time Nadal lost a match where he won 6 more points?
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RAFA won 10 more points in his Acapulco match against Kyrgoat.
 
S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
icedevil0289 said:
Steamroll is an exaggeration ofc but he's still hard to defeat in bo5 and there is a reason his record is so good there. I prefer he didnt win ofc but I can see him finding his groove, and getting a soft draw
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He was TOTALLY gassed in the third set today, but he is going to be physically fine in best of five? I fail to get the joke.
 
I Am Finnish

I Am Finnish

Bionic Poster
Diamond age lives!!!!!!

@Meles right now


50025.gif
 
EllieK

EllieK

Hall of Fame
Tennis_Hands said:
R.N:Now is not the time to talk about the issues that I had. I had problems before the tournament as you well know and was not well after the stomach problems. My preparation was not optimal, but I tried my best, no. Now is Stefanos' moment, so I congratulate him for ombeleebel result. I was not at my best, but I hope that I will be ready soon.

:cool:
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That's about dead on. Someone needs to feed him some Greek yogurt
 
Djokovic_is_the_best#1

Djokovic_is_the_best#1

Bionic Poster
Steve0904 said:
Maybe so, but his ranking might dictate his slam draws, and RG has always been his stronghold. He's a confidence player much more so than Federer or Djokovic and I think losing RG alone is a major blow. In fact I'm willing to say that if he doesn't win this RG he won't win any of the next 3 up to RG 2020.
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We will see! It’s too early to write off Nadal yet. He’s the greatest ever on clay. Plus he’s very mentally strong and I expect him to bounce back in Rome and the French. What this has shown though is it’s a lot more open and at the French, there maybe few more candidates in mix for title, not just a formality that Rafa wins it. The gap has closed.
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic_is_the_best#1 said:
Nadal is still the favourite for Roland garros though!
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Not sure about that anymore tbh. The final will still be Nadal vs Djokovic because I'm still not sure anyone other than Djokovic can beat Nadal in BO5 at RG (better conditions for Nadal than Madrid), but if Djoker plays the tennis we know he's capable of and Nadal keeps playing like this, I'd make Djokovic the favourite. The potential RG final is still a month away though, to be fair.
 
marc45

marc45

G.O.A.T.
Nadal: ‘It’s not been a good match. I fought and did a couple of good things mentally. I trained around 5pm & it was very hot but it was more windy, more cold. I felt the ball better yesterday. It’s not been my best night. My opponent has been better, when that happens you lose.’
 
underground

underground

G.O.A.T.
Steve0904 said:
Not sure about that anymore tbh. The final will still be Nadal vs Djokovic because I'm still not sure anyone other than Djokovic can beat Nadal in BO5 at RG (better conditions for Nadal than Madrid), but if Djoker plays the tennis we know he's capable of and Nadal keeps playing like this, I'd make Djokovic the favourite. The potential RG final is still a month away though, to be fair.
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RG is still too far away. For all I know, Rafa ends up winning Rome and gets back to his normal level, or he scrapes through a crazy 5 setter saving MP in RG against some underdog and he's back to his energizing self again. I won't be deciding on favourites for RG until Rome concludes.
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic_is_the_best#1 said:
We will see! It’s too early to write off Nadal yet. He’s the greatest ever on clay. Plus he’s very mentally strong and I expect him to bounce back in Rome and the French. What this has shown though is it’s a lot more open and at the French, there maybe few more candidates in mix for title, not just a formality that Rafa wins it. The gap has closed.
Click to expand...

I didn't write Nadal off. I just said that if he didn't win RG he wouldn't win any slams until RG 2020.
 
Djokovic_is_the_best#1

Djokovic_is_the_best#1

Bionic Poster
Steve0904 said:
Not sure about that anymore tbh. The final will still be Nadal vs Djokovic because I'm still not sure anyone other than Djokovic can beat Nadal in BO5 at RG (better conditions for Nadal than Madrid), but if Djoker plays the tennis we know he's capable of and Nadal keeps playing like this, I'd make Djokovic the favourite. The potential RG final is still a month away though, to be fair.
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We will see. Djoko is not a lock for French Open Final. He’s playing better, but he can defo play better. He’s more vulnerable to rest of field at Paris than Nadal is. Tomorrow will be a tough final for him against Stefanos. I agree that Novak probably still has best chance to take 3 sets off Nadal but it’s not easy doing that in Rafas kingdom. Will be interesting though!
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
underground said:
RG is still too far away. For all I know, Rafa ends up winning Rome and gets back to his normal level, or he scrapes through a crazy 5 setter saving MP in RG against some underdog and he's back to his energizing self again. I won't be deciding on favourites for RG until Rome concludes.
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True. Masters don't tell us much of anything tbh. The format difference between the masters and slams is too drastic to make any grand predictions. All I know is that I'm still picking one of Nadal or Djokovic to win RG.
 
L

Latetothegame

Semi-Pro
MeatTornado said:
Going to be rough for Tsitsipas. Idk if he's going to have anything left in the tank for the final.

Between the late finish, the longer semi-final, Novak already having a walkover on Friday, and playing doubles this week, he's got a lot going against him.
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Does not matter really, he is young and will fight another day, and is capable of many more opportunities in the future.
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic_is_the_best#1 said:
We will see. Djoko is not a lock for French Open Final. He’s playing better, but he can defo play better. He’s more vulnerable to rest of field at Paris than Nadal is. Tomorrow will be a tough final for him against Stefanos. I agree that Novak probably still has best chance to take 3 sets off Nadal but it’s not easy doing that in Rafas kingdom. Will be interesting though!
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Nobody's a lock for anything ever in sports, but I do think there's a very high likelihood that the RG Final is still Djokovic vs Nadal.
 
Djokovic_is_the_best#1

Djokovic_is_the_best#1

Bionic Poster
Steve0904 said:
I didn't write Nadal off. I just said that if he didn't win RG he wouldn't win any slams until RG 2020.
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Ah right that’s fair enough. To be honest it’s hard to predict anything. Things change quickly. Federer might not be done winning slams yet. He’s looked good this year and will fancy his chances at Wimbledon again!
 
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