2017 Australian Open Final: Nadal (9) vs Federer (17)

Winner?


  • Total voters
    246

mandy01

G.O.A.T.
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Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
I believe it was Nadal serving 3-2, after getting back to 30-30 from a 0-30 hole.
Cheers, and did the umpire respond?
Need to re-watch Fed's speech, but did he imply he might not play next year?
some took it that way, others more hey, he's been out for 2 of the last 3 slams and played Wimbledon not at a 100 %. He just doesn't know if he'll be fit or not.

"“I did believe that I had the game and the mental and physical capabilities to do it again. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but if I look back at the last years, when I was fit, 2015, 2012, 2011, I was really close. I never lost belief.”"
Fellow Fed fans @NatF @Steve0904 etc. - what were Fed's major problems in 2014? I remember that as a fairly fit year. Federer doesn't, it seems.
 
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Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
Need to re-watch Fed's speech, but did he imply he might not play next year?
some took it that way, others more hey, he's been out for 2 of the last 3 slams and played Wimbledon not at a 100 %. He just doesn't know if he'll be fit or not.

"“I did believe that I had the game and the mental and physical capabilities to do it again. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but if I look back at the last years, when I was fit, 2015, 2012, 2011, I was really close. I never lost belief.”"
Fellow Fed fans @NatF @Steve0904 etc. - what were Fed's major problems in 2014? I remember that as a fairly fit year. Federer doesn't, it seems.
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
some took it that way, others more hey, he's been out for 2 of the last 3 slams and played Wimbledon not at a 100 %. He just doesn't know if he'll be fit or not.

"“I did believe that I had the game and the mental and physical capabilities to do it again. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but if I look back at the last years, when I was fit, 2015, 2012, 2011, I was really close. I never lost belief.”"
Fellow Fed fans @NatF @Steve0904 etc. - what were Fed's major problems in 2014? I remember that as a fairly fit year. Federer doesn't, it seems.

It looks like Federer meant to say 2014 when he made the SF and lost to Nadal because he wasn't close in 2015. 3rd round loss to Seppi.
 

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
Well he may have just forgotten 2014, but he usually has a great memory so if he didn't I'll try to pick his brain. Federer was fine in 2014, but I think Federer may look at his 2014 AO as a bit of a carry over from 2013, when he wasn't fit. He still got to the SF's so he came relatively close to winning, but he did lose in an easy straights to Nadal. So keep in mind when I say this next thing that I'm not a mind reader, but I don't think Federer himself feels in that quote that he came close to winning the AO that year. I'd say he wasn't expecting to (a bit like this year really) because of how 2013 ended. Then when he got to Nadal with Nadal in that form he probably said to himself "I'll give it everything but I'm not the favourite here." And everybody else knew it too, hence the straight set loss.
and then there was the Gulbis loss at the FO and the Cilic loss at the US after the Le Monf scare. And a well played Wimbledon and WTF.
Not his best year, surely. But injury related? Perhaps just the cross over from 2013 as you say. Any other guesses? @Feather, @falstaff78 @stringertom - see the issue above.
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
some took it that way, others more hey, he's been out for 2 of the last 3 slams and played Wimbledon not at a 100 %. He just doesn't know if he'll be fit or not.

"“I did believe that I had the game and the mental and physical capabilities to do it again. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but if I look back at the last years, when I was fit, 2015, 2012, 2011, I was really close. I never lost belief.”"
Fellow Fed fans @NatF @Steve0904 etc. - what were Fed's major problems in 2014? I remember that as a fairly fit year. Federer doesn't, it seems.

As far as the whole year of 2014 goes, he was fit from what I recall (I assume you're talking about all the slams he came close at, not just the AO). He probably just forgot to mention it.
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
OMG I only entered here to say

@veroniquem, please look for her, I think she should be in suicide watch

@Nostradamus, what about not giving chances to Federer? LOL
I GAVE Roger many many chances............I said on this Super FAST court,,,, IF Roger serves great, plays smart attacking tennis then he has good chance to win due to fast conditions and low bouncing court that kind of negates the Big topspin by RAFA.. and Roger did ALL of these things,,, and he won as I Predicted,,,,,,,
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
OMG I only entered here to say

@veroniquem, please look for her, I think she should be in suicide watch

@Nostradamus, what about not giving chances to Federer? LOL
I GAVE Roger many many chances............I said on this Super FAST court,,,, IF Roger serves great, plays smart attacking tennis then he has good chance to win due to fast conditions and low bouncing court that kind of negates the Big topspin by RAFA.. and Roger did ALL of these things,,, and he won as I Predicted,,,,,,,
 

tenisdecente

Hall of Fame
I GAVE Roger many many chances............I said on this Super FAST court,,,, IF Roger serves great, plays smart attacking tennis then he has good chance to win due to fast conditions and low bouncing court that kind of negates the Big topspin by RAFA.. and Roger did ALL of these things,,, and he won as I Predicted,,,,,,,

Come on girl, dont make me look for your post basically mocking Fed... I am at work :D
 

TheMusicLover

G.O.A.T.
I'm very late to this magnificent party because I kept on watching re-runs of this match yesterday, as I couldn't believe it was actually REAL! :D

I should merely post something like "no words" "speechless" and the like, but I'll give it a try anyways.

Up to about a week ago, there wasn't any brain cell in my head that actually believed this could happen... the both having had a bad 2016, injuries, "old" age, millenium-mileage, etc...
I really thought the GS-ship had already sailed off to Valinor for the both of them, and quite some years ago already, too.

The match in itself: it truly lived up to all of the hype, expectations, and, for the Fed-fans: hopes. ;)
A fantastic display of tennis and sportmanship, both giving it all of their (near to) best.
Fed was very right in saying during his post-match interview that while a tennis match can't end in a draw, it wouldn't have been wrong for this particular match to have had it as the ultimate outcome.

As I don't want to spoil this thread with my endless 'Exultate, Jubilate!' about this match, just a few things I noticed:

Rafa: yes, he's surely BACK, and if he keeps up this level of play, surely back into contention for the upcoming slams.
His serving, especially, was briljant - for his standards for sure - I wonder, may Moyà have advised him to use that body serve so often as he did during this match?
A welcome addition to his game.
Here's me hoping he'll finally lay his hands on La Decima come June in Paris!

As for Rog... man man.
- no more lame-ass slice serve returns: CHECK!
- no more breaking-down OHBH: CHECK!
- no more starting off with the right attacking tactics, but changing to losing, pushing tactics after a few failing balls: CHECK!
...

Brilliant offensive tennis, taking the balls as early as possible, with a blistering speed - Davydenko-like, at times.
Those fantastic CC backhands, where did they come from. all of a sudden?
I get the feeling Ivan Ljubicic deserves a bit of the credits for this victory... and perhaps even more than just a bit.

Truly jewels to the sport, These Two. Whether this will be their (or even one of them's) Swansong, or that they will be able to build up on it (again) remains to be seen, but this was a true classic and a match to remember.

There, I'm done. :D
 

tenisdecente

Hall of Fame
I GAVE Roger many many chances............I said on this Super FAST court,,,, IF Roger serves great, plays smart attacking tennis then he has good chance to win due to fast conditions and low bouncing court that kind of negates the Big topspin by RAFA.. and Roger did ALL of these things,,, and he won as I Predicted,,,,,,,

Please dont make me look for your post mocking Fed chances. I have to work, you know :D
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
OMG I only entered here to say

@veroniquem, please look for her, I think she should be in suicide watch

@Nostradamus, what about not giving chances to Federer? LOL
I GAVE Roger many many chances............I said on this Super FAST court,,,, IF Roger serves great, plays smart attacking tennis then he has good chance to win due to fast conditions and low bouncing court that kind of negates the Big topspin by RAFA.. and Roger did ALL of these things,,, and he won as I Predicted,,,,,,,
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
- Double post, forum was having hiccups -

It's been like that since at least yesterday. To avoid double (or more) replies hit the Post Reply button just once and then wait a bit (maybe until the 3 "waves" in the top right hand corner disappear, I'm not totally sure) and refresh the page. You might have to refresh 4 or 5 times and your original reply will turn grey, but it should work. I've also lost a couple of replies upon refreshing so you might want to right click and copy so that you can you paste it again if you lose it. :)
 

Feather

Legend
and then there was the Gulbis loss at the FO and the Cilic loss at the US after the Le Monf scare. And a well played Wimbledon and WTF.
Not his best year, surely. But injury related? Perhaps just the cross over from 2013 as you say. Any other guesses? @Feather, @falstaff78 @stringertom - see the issue above.

I am also not aware of any injuries that Roger Federer had in 2014. I think he was so close to being the number one in October. So he must have played a lot of matches
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
some took it that way, others more hey, he's been out for 2 of the last 3 slams and played Wimbledon not at a 100 %. He just doesn't know if he'll be fit or not.

"“I did believe that I had the game and the mental and physical capabilities to do it again. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but if I look back at the last years, when I was fit, 2015, 2012, 2011, I was really close. I never lost belief.”"
Fellow Fed fans @NatF @Steve0904 etc. - what were Fed's major problems in 2014? I remember that as a fairly fit year. Federer doesn't, it seems.
2014 was the first full year with the RF97 and I think he was feeling the way through that transition, capable of beating those we expect him to better and beating or challenging the elite in the right conditions (Dubai/IW'14 vs Djokovic). The clay season was also punctuated by the birth of Leo/Lenny. Going out to Chardy in 2R Rome after challenging Stan for the title in M-C was a one-off due to that. Gulbis? Just a brain fart on a big point vs a very hot player and anybody can lose by giving the upstart hope.
 

NatF

Bionic Poster
some took it that way, others more hey, he's been out for 2 of the last 3 slams and played Wimbledon not at a 100 %. He just doesn't know if he'll be fit or not.

"“I did believe that I had the game and the mental and physical capabilities to do it again. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but if I look back at the last years, when I was fit, 2015, 2012, 2011, I was really close. I never lost belief.”"
Fellow Fed fans @NatF @Steve0904 etc. - what were Fed's major problems in 2014? I remember that as a fairly fit year. Federer doesn't, it seems.

He had back issues at the end of the year, I don't think he had other issues. Perhaps lack of confidence in his body early on?
 

TheMusicLover

G.O.A.T.
Is it me or did Federer hardly use his slice? I thought that was the shot he would use the most and I thought that there was no way for him to survive at the baseline but he was hitting Rafa off the court at times.
Fed's never-working* lame-ass slice seems to have finally left the court.
Good riddance, I've lost count at the times he used it on BP against Nadal over the past decade... to no avail.

If that's Ljubicic' doing, I'm hoping he'll stay with Fed till the end of his career. :D

* against Rafa, I mean.
 
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eliars

Hall of Fame
I'm very late to this magnificent party because I kept on watching re-runs of this match yesterday, as I couldn't believe it was actually REAL! :D

I should merely post something like "no words" "speechless" and the like, but I'll give it a try anyways.

Up to about a week ago, there wasn't any brain cell in my head that actually believed this could happen... the both having had a bad 2016, injuries, "old" age, millenium-mileage, etc...
I really thought the GS-ship had already sailed off to Valinor for the both of them, and quite some years ago already, too.

The match in itself: it truly lived up to all of the hype, expectations, and, for the Fed-fans: hopes. ;)
A fantastic display of tennis and sportmanship, both giving it all of their (near to) best.
Fed was very right in saying during his post-match interview that while a tennis match can't end in a draw, it wouldn't have been wrong for this particular match to have had it as the ultimate outcome.

As I don't want to spoil this thread with my endless 'Exultate, Jubilate!' about this match, just a few things I noticed:

Rafa: yes, he's surely BACK, and if he keeps up this level of play, surely back into contention for the upcoming slams.
His serving, especially, was briljant - for his standards for sure - I wonder, may Moyà have advised him to use that body serve so often as he did during this match?
A welcome addition to his game.
Here's me hoping he'll finally lay his hands on La Decima come June in Paris!

As for Rog... man man.
- no more lame-ass slice serve returns: CHECK!
- no more breaking-down OHBH: CHECK!
- no more starting off with the right attacking tactics, but changing to losing, pushing tactics after a few failing balls: CHECK!
...

Brilliant offensive tennis, taking the balls as early as possible, with a blistering speed - Davydenko-like, at times.
Those fantastic CC backhands, where did they come from. all of a sudden?
I get the feeling Ivan Ljubicic deserves a bit of the credits for this victory... and perhaps even more than just a bit.

Truly jewels to the sport, These Two. Whether this will be their (or even one of them's) Swansong, or that they will be able to build up on it (again) remains to be seen, but this was a true classic and a match to remember.

There, I'm done. :D

Great post and great avatar (even though your previous one wasn't too shabby!)

Re. body serve: Yeah, I think Moya contributed with utilizing that one. Pity he didn't use it a lot in the final.
Ljubicied Federer was also on display with those spinny forehands to Nadal's backhand and overall using the angles to pull Rafi off the court.
 

TheMusicLover

G.O.A.T.
Great post and great avatar (even though your previous one wasn't too shabby!)

Re. body serve: Yeah, I think Moya contributed with utilizing that one. Pity he didn't use it a lot in the final.
Ljubicied Federer was also on display with those spinny forehands to Nadal's backhand and overall using the angles to pull Rafi off the court.
Thanks mate! I'll be on the look-out to update my avvy, I thought this one was fitting for the time being, LOL.
Too many nice pictures all over the net right now to choose from. :D

Yep, I think both Moyà and Ljubicic deserve a lot of credits, if 'only' for enabling Fedal to reach a GS final again - I saw pretty much of nice additions/alterations from the both's playing styles, to think that they did have at least some bit of an influence.

Moyà: MORE BODY SERVES!
Ljubicic: Keep holding on to your original attacking game plan!

:)
 

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru

Veronique should be careful what she says and she should stop making definitive statements about what will happen. For a few of the past slams she has said that Djokovic would win easily (i.e. FO 2015 or USO 2016) and for this last one that Federer had no chance at all and look what happened! For example she said the following for this AO final:

I hope Fed will win a game. I worry about him not being able to go through trophy ceremony if he doesn't ;)

Look how that turned out? She is like our good luck charm. Keep making those type of statements veronique! :D:oops:
 

Crisstti

Legend
Hi there! unfortunate Rafa couldn't keep the break up in the fifth... but since seeing him play this well was so great, Ii'm not (much) upset anymore.

Anyway, I came here to say congrats to all the great Fed fans here (and probably my favourite posters here are mostly Fed fans). Won't name them cause I could forget many. Must be incredible for sure :)

So congrats!
 

Big_Dangerous

Talk Tennis Guru
I found something again! ;)

The number 12 is special.
When Rafa beat Roger for 12th time it was Wimbledon 2008 in five sets
When Roger beat Rafa for 12th time it was AO 2017 in five sets
Their most special grand slam matches. :oops::oops::oops:

Oh and Novak completed his career slam with his 12th slam. :)

Nice find!

By the way, is that a picture of you in your avatar?
 

coolschreiber

Hall of Fame
Thanks mate! I'll be on the look-out to update my avvy, I thought this one was fitting for the time being, LOL.
Too many nice pictures all over the net right now to choose from. :D

Yep, I think both Moyà and Ljubicic deserve a lot of credits, if 'only' for enabling Fedal to reach a GS final again - I saw pretty much of nice additions/alterations from the both's playing styles, to think that they did have at least some bit of an influence.

Moyà: MORE BODY SERVES!
Ljubicic: Keep holding on to your original attacking game plan!

:)

Plus

Moyà: MORE BODY SERVES! + Hit backhand more aggressively. Nadal was hitting his backhand pretty well too. One more thing he did well was holding court position pretty well, playing close to baseline.

As for Federer that backhand was doing WORK! Federer was playing that shot at Difficulty level 10 -
- taking it on the rise
- that too to Nadal's topspin
Its like riding on the roof of a car........................ in the Paris-Dakar rally!!! Absolute pandemonium.
 
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