joekapa
Legend
Bull excrement.
2019 ATP Madrid SF: Djokovic [1] vs Thiem [5]
- Thread starter Im(moral) Winner
- Start date
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
That's your argument? Ha ha, throwing the towel alreadyYeah, sure whatever you say
Tenacity
Hall of Fame
That is one mentally unstable person, if I ever seen one
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Earth's Mightiest Warrior....Fighting the darkness since 2011.
T
Tiki-Taka
Guest
Good match. Hopefully Rafa joins Nole because the final can be even better.
NoleFam
Bionic Poster
Mike seems to be surprised because he thinks Thiem is better on clay than Djokovic now, which is fine and Thiem has been better so far this season but Djokovic still has the ability to raise his level. I think Thiem is great on clay but Djokovic is no slouch and can beat him.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
The hottest? I think Djokodal are playig better than Thiem in Madrid.
That was on hard courts, not clay. Djokovic is not winning in 2. In fact, I would pick Nadal in 3.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Djokovic did what I hoped he would do, and that is get his game pitted against Thiem and despite it being tight, he managed to get it done in straights. A win against Nadal would be the perfect way to cap this week off. Nadal though can also rest his mind by beating Djokovic here, because if he does, then he erases the past few weeks instantly and can focus on Paris.
StrongRule
G.O.A.T.
The thing is that Djokovic wasn't much better than Thiem by the level of play, it was all mental. Thiem was up a break in both sets, leave alone all the break points he missed. In the first set I admit Djokovic did well to come back, but the second set was just a big choke from Thiem.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Djokovic is still a better clay player than Thiem. Sorry for Mike.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
I am talking about over the course of the clay season so far, Thiem has been the better player of them all. His win in Barcelona was solid.
B
BrokenGears
Guest
People underrating how good Djokovic can be on big points of course
Sport
G.O.A.T.
In both tie-breaks Djokovic dominated Thiem and won by a fair margin the tie-breaks. I don't think it was "mental". Thiem's game is just too risky and against Djokovic it doesn't work most of the time. Djokovic is still a better clay player than Thiem.
NoleFam
Bionic Poster
I agree with most of this except the choke part. He wasn't great on the big points yesterday against Federer either but he kept getting chances and it finally fell his way. I thought the match was very close today and there wasn't much between them but when Djokovic went down in those breaks he just raised his level immediately. So yes a lot of it is mental and Djokovic is better in that department.
StrongRule
G.O.A.T.
If Thiem played better on the big points then there would not be a tie break in the second set. Anyway, I hope Nadal will lose to Tsitsipas now. Otherwise it might be a repeat of AO final.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
I hope Nadal wins so we can get the 10th anniversary of the legendary Nadal v Djokovic Madrid 2009 showdown.
@TheAssassin
NoleFam
Bionic Poster
Djokovic needed this win to get his clay season going and he needed to play someone like Thiem to see where he matches up right now which was crucial. It was tight and he didn't always maintain the level he needed but he got it done which is great for him. If he wins here, his confidence goes up immensely heading into the stretch of the clay season.
StrongRule
G.O.A.T.
If they meet I expect Djokovic to win 6-1 6-2. In 2009 they played close matches. But now their matchup is just too one sided. Djokovic starts playing better when he plays Nadal while Nadal starts playing worse.
TheAssassin
Legend
If Thiem played better on the big points
Yeah, piece of cake, playing good under pressure against Earth's Mightiest.
Yeah, piece of cake, playing good under pressure against Earth's Mightiest.
Keep those 10 year anniversaries coming.
Steve0904
Talk Tennis Guru
I'm not that surprised. Thiem doesn't like being rushed and that's what Federer does to his opponent these days. It's something he's actually done to his opponents his whole career, but particularly later in it. It almost worked for Federer in Madrid at altitude. I doubt it will work as well against anyone in Rome or at RG.
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
Thanks for the thoughts . GOAT made clay appearance for 3 matches and I am doing perfect
Pheasant
Hall of Fame
A couple of weeks ago, I put 100.00 on Thiem to win RG. At that time, the odds were 11/1, which would be a great payout. Right now, I am not feeling good about this bet. I should have hedged this bet by also putting 100.00 on Djoker at 4/1 odds.
It’s not the first or the last time that I will end up eating my own words and that is fine.
Djoker continues to be clutch, as usual. This win over Thiem was a huge step forward for his clay comeback. We have to give Djoker huge credit here. Thiem is no joke on clay, no pun intended. Nothing that Djoker does surprises me. If he came back from 6-3, 6-2, 4-0 down in the RG final to beat Nadal, I wouldn’t be surprised.
It’s not the first or the last time that I will end up eating my own words and that is fine.
Djoker continues to be clutch, as usual. This win over Thiem was a huge step forward for his clay comeback. We have to give Djoker huge credit here. Thiem is no joke on clay, no pun intended. Nothing that Djoker does surprises me. If he came back from 6-3, 6-2, 4-0 down in the RG final to beat Nadal, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Harry_Wild
Talk Tennis Guru
Very tough lost for Thiem! Close but still so far away!
Steve0904
Talk Tennis Guru
Is anyone? Thiem was never second best to Nadal on clay as long as Djokovic is in decent/good form. And in BO5 I can only see the gap growing.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
No, you should have bet for Nadal but you vote with passion not objectivity.
alexio
Legend
take a look at the poll and you'll see
Steve0904
Talk Tennis Guru
Polls here are never close to accurate. Too many people vote with their hearts and not their heads. I've also been guilty of that so I'm not saying it's bad. Just saying it's the way it is here.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Yes, you and I were of the same collective mindset when we were saying we needed Thiem to beat Federer yesterday so Djokovic can gauge where he stands among the top contenders for RG. So far so good. Hopefully he can see where he stands against Nadal also.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
LOL - Djokovic beating Nadal 6-1, 6-2 on clay? I doubt it very very much.
Steve0904
Talk Tennis Guru
You realize it's better to bet on underdogs if you are going to bet? The risk vs reward is not even close to worth it if you bet on the clear favourite.
StrongRule
G.O.A.T.
Fognini almost beat him 6-4 6-0 just a few weeks ago. Nadal improved a bit, and I think now he would be good enough to beat Fognini. But beating Djokovic after what happened in AO?
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
That was, as Nadal himself stated, his worst match in 14 years. He was coming back off an injury to the knee in IW which caused him to pull out of that event. Here he has said he is playing much better and played his best match on clay so far against Wawrinka. His form has gone up a lot. So while Djokovic can beat him on clay, yes, that is very possible, a scoreline like the one you are suggesting is a bit far fetched.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Djokovic also lost to Medvedev, so? Nadal improved a lot, not a bit, in Madrid. His match against Wawrinka ressembled his 2017 form with great forehand, backhands, drop shots and, importantly, defense again. AO was fast hard court, not clay.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
He's selling Nadal short here.
Enceladus
Legend
For example, in the 1990s, Ferrer would have the chance to win 2-3 FOs and Berdych would have a good chance of AO.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
what a story markNovak wont play at 37. At that time he will be retired goat
StrongRule
G.O.A.T.
Did you see the match? Wawrinka was pretty much an unforced errors machine. This can't be compared to playing his toughest opponent just a few months after this AO final. By the way the final is played at the evening and that will help Djokovic as well.
alexio
Legend
and he will be margin called pretty soon probably
helterskelter
G.O.A.T.
Set predictions are always hazardous. What I think we can conclude is that Djokovic won't win easily. But it's not always the case that a two-set win is easier than a three-set win. For example, 7-6 7-6 is probably closer than 6-0 6-7 6-0. I agree that Djokovic won't win easily if he plays Nadal tomorrow. There's a small chance Djokovic will win in two tight sets, similar to today. Overall, Nadal is likely favorite; however, nowhere near as much as he would be at Roland Garros. Madrid is about halfway between the Australian Open and Roland Garros in terms of conditions - the surface is still clay, so the movement favors Nadal, but the altitude makes the ball project through the court more, which somewhat neutralizes Nadal's clay-court advantage. Djokovic also always does better in best of three than best of five against Nadal (that's true on hard courts as well as clay). So, if there is any clay-court match in which Djokovic goes in at almost even money against Nadal, it's in Madrid. Generally speaking, if we're thinking in terms of Djokovic's chances against Nadal on clay it is, in descending order: 1) Madrid, 2) Rome, 3) Monte Carlo, 4) Roland Garros.
True Fanerer
G.O.A.T.
He has the ability to beat the Big 3, but it's these big matches against Djokodal where he doesn't deliver at crucial moments.
NoleFam
Bionic Poster
Yes, I think Nadal will win today and we will get another blockbuster matchup this tournament. What a tournament this has been so far.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
I saw the match, and yes, while Wawrinka didn't play well, Nadal ended very strong. And I am not saying Djokovic cannot win, but you are predicting some kind of decimation 1 and 2 for Nadal here. He isn't playing that bad either, and Djokovic isn't playing that good yet also.
StrongRule
G.O.A.T.
I really understand why Djokovic fans like his matchup with Nadal so much.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
It is sad, really.
7 years ago, Delpo and Murray were both beating Fed multiple times by comparison.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Not going to argue with someone who already believes Djokovic is the best ever.That's your argument? Ha ha, throwing the towel already
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Again, the AO final was on fast hard courts, not on clay.
It's like seeing a crocodile destroying a lion on water and concluding that the crocodile will also destroy the lion on land.
Fast hard courts ≠ clay.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
It has been a fun tournament.
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