I dont like simons style but his movement is pretty freaking incredible.It was a good match, but more than 4 hours of this kind of tennis is just too much for me.
There should be a different way of tracking UEs. When points go that long someone finally has to miss, so a lot of Novak's UEs were pretty much semi-forced.
It's still fairly early in the tournament. Novak has two days to rest. I think he'll be back to his usual Ultron self.
It was interesting watching someone making Novak impatient. That's mostly why the match went on so long. Novak wanted to win faster and was irritated at being out-Ponged!
2016 AO R4 - [1] Novak Djokovic vs. [14] Gilles Simon
- Thread starter The Green Mile
- Start date
Gary Duane
Talk Tennis Guru
He's right in there with Murray and Ferrer. If he had a great serve he would already have a few slams.
bjsnider
Hall of Fame
That can be said about a lot of players.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Simon doesn't go for winners and does not hit big but he's very steady and positions himself very well on the court, so he can keep rallying for what seems like forever. The opponent starts losing patience and goes for a bit more and misses. It is a strategy that just works very well for Simon's game.It was a good match, but more than 4 hours of this kind of tennis is just too much for me.
There should be a different way of tracking UEs. When points go that long someone finally has to miss, so a lot of Novak's UEs were pretty much semi-forced.
It's still fairly early in the tournament. Novak has two days to rest. I think he'll be back to his usual Ultron self.
It was interesting watching someone making Novak impatient. That's mostly why the match went on so long. Novak wanted to win faster and was irritated at being out-Ponged!
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
BiggerIs your hubby as big a Novak fan as you vero?
Djokovic2011
Bionic Poster
Oh wow, your living room must be a cauldron of nervous tension whenever he has close matches like he did last night!Bigger
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
Exhibition of drop shots is proof for the versatility ?
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
My husband went to bed. He's watching the match right nowOh wow, your living room must be a cauldron of nervous tension whenever he has close matches like he did last night!
(but I'm usually the more nervous/emotional of the 2)
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Lol yeah the ds leave a lot to be desired but I'm looking at the big picture, not isolated shots.
Gary Duane
Talk Tennis Guru
It is certainly a favorable match-up for Simon.
Gary Duane
Talk Tennis Guru
The funny thing is to me it looked like he got stubborn. "I'm going to keep hitting that damned shot until it works, because I'm going to win the match any way."
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
He he he looks that way even in matches he could lose. He keeps insisting on those ds and he loses so many of them! But I have to admit that sometimes when he manages to get them working, they come in handy. It's just that they fail a bit too often for my taste!!The funny thing is to me it looked like he got stubborn. "I'm going to keep hitting that damned shot until it works, because I'm going to win the match any way."
Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil
Talk Tennis Guru
Yesterday I almost asked OP was this match really worth a thread.
It now stands on the 2nd page of the most discussed matches in TTW history.
It now stands on the 2nd page of the most discussed matches in TTW history.
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
Bobby Jr
G.O.A.T.
I'm disappointed in Djokovic's comment in his press conference afterwards > "Actually, it gives me great joy to know that I can't get worse than that, than what I played today."
It's a bit disrespectful to Simon that he wouldn't view it for what it was: an in-form Simon doing exactly what he does best - frustrating his opponents into errors by not giving them the patterns and opportunities they're used to in most matches they play. That wasn't really a bad performance by Djokovic, it was Djokovic taking ages to overcome Simon and having almost no answer to his style of play other than banking on being a fundamentally better player in the end. Tons of players have faced Simon and experienced a day like Djokovic did - Federer included. It's just Simon's brand of extremely smart tennis against players who outgun him shot-wise.
As an added comment, Federer was asked last night about the Djokovic-Simon match and he had this to say - he sums it up perfectly re: Simon's effect on opponents.
It's a bit disrespectful to Simon that he wouldn't view it for what it was: an in-form Simon doing exactly what he does best - frustrating his opponents into errors by not giving them the patterns and opportunities they're used to in most matches they play. That wasn't really a bad performance by Djokovic, it was Djokovic taking ages to overcome Simon and having almost no answer to his style of play other than banking on being a fundamentally better player in the end. Tons of players have faced Simon and experienced a day like Djokovic did - Federer included. It's just Simon's brand of extremely smart tennis against players who outgun him shot-wise.
As an added comment, Federer was asked last night about the Djokovic-Simon match and he had this to say - he sums it up perfectly re: Simon's effect on opponents.
Q. We haven't seen Novak play like this in a very long time.
In like what sense?
Q. Hitting a hundred unforced errors.
Yeah. How much did you see Gilles Simon play? I'm just wondering, because I think people miss the point of him. He plays every match, like, that. He makes you miss. He makes you go for the lines and he runs down a lot of balls. A lot of points end in errors, if you like. . . . People just kind of talk maybe -- it's my assumption, I'm not surprised you're asking me. I just feel people talking like he had a horrible day. Of course he can play better, but on the other side, you have somebody who has the fastest legs and he knows exactly what he's doing out there, and it worked almost to the very end. So it was very close for Novak, and he knows that.
In like what sense?
Q. Hitting a hundred unforced errors.
Yeah. How much did you see Gilles Simon play? I'm just wondering, because I think people miss the point of him. He plays every match, like, that. He makes you miss. He makes you go for the lines and he runs down a lot of balls. A lot of points end in errors, if you like. . . . People just kind of talk maybe -- it's my assumption, I'm not surprised you're asking me. I just feel people talking like he had a horrible day. Of course he can play better, but on the other side, you have somebody who has the fastest legs and he knows exactly what he's doing out there, and it worked almost to the very end. So it was very close for Novak, and he knows that.
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Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil
Talk Tennis Guru
Nobody is good enough to frustrate someone into making a triple digit of unforced errors, especially not someone who hardly ever misses the shots and is called a machine. Djokovic was rubbish, everyone saw that. On any other day, it wouldn't even get close to 5 sets.
If Federer thinks Simon has the fastest legs, he better think again.
moonballs
Hall of Fame
Simon is not the fasted but he was very impressive of not showing any fatigue in the fifth set. He was the true steady eddy from the start to the end.
I am wondering if Djokovic played like that due to his insistence of beating Simon on Simon's term, plus he wanted to practice his dropshot!
The Green Mile
Bionic Poster
Fed does sum it up perfectly really IMO. They did play 4.5 hours and 50 games (many with multiple deuces played) plus the TB of tennis last night. Add in Djokovic struggling to finish off points time and time again, and many long rallies, 100 UEs doesn't seem that unreasonable really. Simon sometimes really gets to you, no matter how good you are. Djokovic started to overthink, and his shot selection let him down at times. The Simon effect. Almost every player has witnessed it before.
And Simon may not have the fastest legs, but he's right up there. He can also keep it up.
And Simon may not have the fastest legs, but he's right up there. He can also keep it up.
Bobby Jr
G.O.A.T.
Yep, I think what Federer was getting at is Simon's anticipation, understanding of patterns of play and his opponent's favourite go-to shots are so top notch it means it is difficult to rush him without basically going for a winner - which in turn generally means hitting more errors.
The attributes Simon shows in his understanding of tennis patterns is what will make him an extremely good coach in the future. He's the sort of guy Dimitrov needs to spend time with imo.
Capulin Zurdo
Hall of Fame
2nd behind Fed
Cool. Right now I'm supporting Nishikori, and he's my second favorite behind Federer
Well it was a pretty safe bet tbh, saying that Djokovic will win in the end. Sorry if I sounded cranky, hadn't slept all night because I decided to watch that dreadful match.
N
Nathaniel_Near
Guest
Is it just me or are you being a bit funny with me recently Nathaniel?
Hardly.
Djokovic2011
Bionic Poster
You've definitely been a bit more grouchy with me than usual in your recent posts babe.
N
Nathaniel_Near
Guest
You've definitely been a bit more grouchy with me than usual in your recent posts babe.
Nope. I respond to what I see. Don't forget we recently had a great conversation on Snooker. Your pessimism as a fan though is laughable. If Djokovic bounces back with a great performance against Kei he'll be right back on track. If he mugs it against Kei then we'll talk.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
I have to relate something that is gonna please our paranoid friend in here. My husband watched the match this afternoon (delayed)and after 4 sets of this charade raised his eyebrows and said "the only explanation I can see to this is that somebody paid Novak to play 5 sets. The wild errors in the 2nd set TB seem particularly bizarre/uncharacteristic and Djoko's shot decisions during this match simply make no sense at all " I was like: nooooooooo, not you too!!
On 2nd viewing though, my own thought is that he must have ingested some gluten by mistake. His degree of sluggishness was nothing short of puzzling (until start of 5th) and the weather didn't seem to be hot or muggy. Simon's game plan, strategy or execution are not really enough to explain the extent to which Djoko was off his game, timing and accuracy.
My husband added that if he brought that disposition to the Nishi match, he would get blasted off the court like a flake in a blizzard. His eyes widened big as he added: "maybe it is time for Murray to win another slam"
Ha ha ha ha ha oops
On 2nd viewing though, my own thought is that he must have ingested some gluten by mistake. His degree of sluggishness was nothing short of puzzling (until start of 5th) and the weather didn't seem to be hot or muggy. Simon's game plan, strategy or execution are not really enough to explain the extent to which Djoko was off his game, timing and accuracy.
My husband added that if he brought that disposition to the Nishi match, he would get blasted off the court like a flake in a blizzard. His eyes widened big as he added: "maybe it is time for Murray to win another slam"
Ha ha ha ha ha oops
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Oh please! I am far from a Djokovic fan but Djokovic is absolutely right. He won the match after having 100 UEs. How much worse can he get? Credit to Simon for pushing Djokovic to five sets but the truth of the matter is that Djokovic was playing like complete crap for his standards. Look at the Djokovic-Simon h2h and their previous matches which have all been pretty comfortable wins for Djokovic. Nobody but a complete idiot predicted Djokovic would lose that match vs Simon. Simon expended all that energy only to come up short YET AGAIN.
Djokovic has been tested and will probably go on to fly through all the other opponents. I hope I'm wrong about it though and that Niskikori, Federer, etc. can get rid of this persistent bugger Djokovic finally!
The Green Mile
Bionic Poster
LOL, all been pretty comfortable wins? I've watched every single Djokovic vs Simon match. All 11 of them. And I can tell you that only about 3 of them were comfortable wins for Djokovic.
Noleberic123
G.O.A.T.
Its not like he played much better in Paris.
The Green Mile
Bionic Poster
Yeah, Paris was another shocker in quality. Still entertaining though.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
I enjoyed Novak's reaction to the fan. If Phil Taylor was in that position, he probably would have said something obnoxious like - ''You get up here and try a drop shot.''
Major Kudos to the champ.
Major Kudos to the champ.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Then we must be watching two different opponents. The bottom line is the h2h is 10-1. That's pretty darn comfortable.
The Green Mile
Bionic Poster
Yeah the H2H tells one story, yet the matches tell another completely different story. Djokovic wins nearly all the matches, because he is naturally the more superior and dangerous player. But he doesn't win them all without a fight.
Not that I thought Simon would cause the upset (albeit I was believing at the end of the 4th, quickly shut down).
Bobby Jr
G.O.A.T.
The point is not whether he is right, it's whether he is an uncharitable dooshbag about it. Simon is most of the reason Djokovic had poor stats, not Djokoivc mere;y having a bad day. It's the same for many of Simon's matches - he has a genius ability to deny people their favourite patterns of play, positions on court so they press more than they're comfortable doing - which is exactly what happened in this match. A detail obvious to those who've seen Simon do the same thing to many others over the years.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Meles
Bionic Poster
You missed another dreadful match. Raonic vs Wawrinka.
