2019 French Open SF: [1] Djokovic vs. [4] Thiem

Who wins?


  • Total voters
    102

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
Congrats to Tim on winning the match. However it doesn't matter who gets to the final since it's a foregone conclusion. You can't play 4 back to back days in a grandslam. Nope, not against Nadal on RG. It will be a straight forward 3 set beat down.
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
is this the solice you need today?

I need no solace as it's just a game and my favorite lost a close match while not playing his best. That's just part of sports. Solace would be needed if he got all the way to a GS final and got destroyed. ;)
 

RF-18

Talk Tennis Guru
giphy.gif

Martina said in Thiem's shoes she'd be laughing every time Novak had to abandon the baseline for the net as it showed he was taken out of his game and desperate.:eek:

Conditions played a part in that.
 

Lebsta

Rookie
Sorry i don't think Thiem has what it takes for tomorrow. If he really was good enough we would've won this match in 4 sets. He's too inconsistent and still shows nerves when trying to close out the match. Playing for 3rd consecutive day doesn't help either. Rafa should win this in 4.
 
Probably Rafa, but I'd love for Thiem to take this. Would make quite the story, he's in the semis together with the Big 3 and comes out victorious for his first GS title.

I hope he can recover from his SF to at least make it competitive.
 

Sephiroth

Hall of Fame
Djokovic is more than likely done at RG but will always have shows at the 2 HC slams and Wimbledon, his best days at RG were between 2011-2015/16. He'll probably win Wimbledon now knowing him.

I'm surprised Thiem even won in 5 given the humongous choke when serving it out he's gonna be literally shaking vs Nadal of all competitors if he ever gets to a winning position.
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
um sam querrey? NICK KYRGIOS? djokovic has lost to lesser players at slams than tsitsipas. how bout denis istomin? i bet you were saying in 2016 after djokovic won french, calender year slam guaranteed nobody can stop djokovic. wawrinka looks like he's back in form. he can beat djokovic if they meet at wimbledon

Sam Querrey and Istomin are young players? They also beat Novak when he was playing his absolute worst. Please. Kyrgios beat him in lesser tournaments when he was at his worst. Wawrinka beating Djokovic on grass? Lawl...
 

Druss

Hall of Fame
Well the 2011 peak Djokovic was beaten by Fed. Do you think the current Thiem would beat that Fed?
Tennis is all about matchups, In a way the 2019 Djokovic isn't as bad, even though he is not prime.
His serve is far better and skill at the net too.

2011 Djoko would have utterly destroyed this Thiem.
 

Bertie B

Hall of Fame
Do you honestly expect other players to beat Novak on hards and grass? Fed is getting old. Nadal is not the force he was outside of clay.
Thiem sucks on grass and not great at hards. TsiTsiPas is overrated. Z is perennial underperformer in slams.
Others are not even worth mentioning. So who will stop Novak at Wimbledon and the UsOpen?

It used to be that no matter what Djokovic would find a way to win the important matches. With this loss, a turning point has been reached. Not only will Thiem's victory embolden the 'new balls', it will also put doubts in Djoko's mind - he isn't invincible.
 

arvind13

Professional
Sam Querrey and Istomin are young players? They also beat Novak when he was playing his absolute worst. Please. Kyrgios beat him in lesser tournaments when he was at his worst. Wawrinka beating Djokovic on grass? Lawl...

in 2016 when he was at his peak, nobody expected djokovic's form to suddenly drop and he loses to querrey it hapenned. wawrinka beating djokovic at wimbledon isn't a far fetched scenario. he beat novak in all three of the other slams, including djokovic's favourite AO.
 

uscwang

Hall of Fame
Sigh.
On the bright side, Novak has gained points in all tournaments played so far this year. He can play WB without consecutive this or consecutive that pressure.
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
in 2016 when he was at his peak, nobody expected djokovic's form to suddenly drop and he loses to querrey it hapenned. wawrinka beating djokovic at wimbledon isn't a far fetched scenario. he beat novak in all three of the other slams, including djokovic's favourite AO.

He was not at his peak after RG 2016. Well his form did suddenly drop and he was terrible at that Wimbledon. Wawrinka is terrible on grass so yes it is a far fetched scenario. That is the one surface where Djokovic could routine him if he's playing well.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Congrats to Thiem! He is not the strongest when it comes to holding up under pressure but it is all the more commendable that he managed to overcome the nerves. I think Nadal vs Thiem at RG will be a more interesting encounter this time around.

Djokovic needs to unwind himself a bit. One of his weaknesses is that he seems to pile up stress. There comes a point where he needs to reset and now with Wimbledon coming is just the time for that.
giphy.gif
 

gameovais

Semi-Pro
Just goes to show how difficult it is to win 1 slam let alone 4 in a row. So much luck required with the scheduling, you need luck with the draw and also conditions.

So a lot of credit must go to him for the Nole Slam in 2015-2016. I think Novak's RG days are over anyway, he doesn't have the power on his groundstrokes he once did. When he does apply the power he bails out of the rally sooner than his opponents. Zverev, Thiem, Khachanov, Bautista Agut have all show it is possible to outlast him from the baseline in the last year.
 

RF-18

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic is more than likely done at RG but will always have shows at the 2 HC slams and Wimbledon, his best days at RG were between 2011-2015/16. He'll probably win Wimbledon now knowing him.

I'm surprised Thiem even won in 5 given the humongous choke when serving it out he's gonna be literally shaking vs Nadal of all competitors if he ever gets to a winning position.

He's not done at RG. Again people just think short term. Djokovic produced great level of tennis during these 2 weeks. Conditions didn't favour him over these 2 days and generally unlucky with how the tournament and the weather unfolded. His loss today is nowhere near signs that he is done at RG but I agree it's the least likely slam for him to win compared to the other 3.
 

arvind13

Professional
He was not at his peak after RG 2016. Well his form did suddenly drop and he was terrible at that Wimbledon. Wawrinka is terrible on grass so yes it is a far fetched scenario. That is the one surface where Djokovic could routine him if he's playing well.

ya so after RG 2019, he might not sustain his peak. i'm not saying it will happen. i'm just saying it could happen. wawrinka is terrible against players who can keep the ball low against him on grass. djokovic is not one of those players
 

Sephiroth

Hall of Fame
He's not done at RG. Again people just think short term. Djokovic produced great level of tennis during these 2 weeks. Conditions didn't favour him over these 2 days and generally unlucky with how the tournament and the weather unfolded. His loss today is nowhere near signs that he is done at RG but I agree it's the least likely slam for him to win compared to the other 3.

Thiem is a legit contender for him no matter what condition especially at RG. It was always hard with Nadal as it is but it's even more now with Thiem in a legit mix, and Thiem's only gonna improve from here.
 
You clearly missed the WTA Semi final. Barty was 5-1 and 15-40 (2 break points against serve) in the first set in her semi final 1st set. She lost that set 5-7

I quoted the wrong person but oh well xD
My bad but I've stopped watching WTA matches unless the encounter involves a big name or it's a big final...
 
Very happy for Thiem to go through. I think he has the better chance to be fit for tomorrow as well, given his age. (Remember Rome?)

Commiseration to Djokovic fans though. He almost came back through sheer force of will I felt.
 
Younger players take a few years to figure things out - this was true for both Novak and Roger. Only Rafa won Grand Slams within his first year or so, so the younger players CAN develop and start to win soon, esp. since the big 3 are getting older.
TBH,
Fed was getting big wins since 2001 or so..
Nole was knocking on the doors since 2006...

Yes, you're right about nadal being the best early bloomer, but fedovic weren't totally silent at all
 

Rickenbacker4003

Hall of Fame
Will Novak regroup enough mentally to win Wimby? I think he's played a lot of tennis and is due for a slump. Part of the resurgence was due in part to losing early for an entire year. it sort of refreshed him mentally and physically. He got his hunger back after slumping for so long. We'll see if this holds true.
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
ya so after RG 2019, he might not sustain his peak. i'm not saying it will happen. i'm just saying it could happen. wawrinka is terrible against players who can keep the ball low against him on grass. djokovic is not one of those players

Wawrinka is not a good grasscourt player and Djokovic is. He struggles with the timing on his backhand on the surface. He has a 50% winning percentage on grass. To say he can beat Djokovic on it is a far fetched reality. End of story.
 

Bertie B

Hall of Fame
Astrologically speaking...

Djokovic was in a down-cycle from June 2016 thru Summer 2018. I expected him to have surprising losses as his planets were out of alignment. This loss was different, as there is nothing, cosmically, stopping him from exerting his will.

Djokovic will be 33 next year. The young guys would've only gotten better.
 
Last edited:

ChrisRF

Legend
nadal


maybe i'm wrong but nadal is clearly declining much more than djokovic. he doesn't have another another 4 french opens in him. next year he'll be 34. nadal isn't federer. he's not going to be playing till 37. way more wear and tear on body. way more physical style that is unsustainable in late age. so i agree with tennis addict. djokovic is more of a threat than nadal, and djokovic lost today so its a breather for federer fans.
Djokovic should have more chances, that’s right. It’s simply because he is a bigger favourite than Nadal at 3 of the 4 Slams. But I don’t see Nadal declining very fast. Due to his injuries he has his breaks and only plays a full schedule in the clay season now, so he always gives his body the time to recover (intended or not).

Also at the French Open itself there is absolutely no sign of decline. People can talk about 2008/2010/2012 etc. as much as they like, but he doesn’t win his titles any harder now. In 2017 he didn’t drop a set, in 2018 it was one set, and it’s very much possible that it will be the same this year.

How often have people said Nadal won’t have much longevity, and still after turning 30 he lost 2 sets (!) in 20 RG matches.

He will get to 20 Slams, but Federer himself isn’t done yet.

Djokovic might very well fall into another slump and just loses a year or so. Unfortunately he is the type of guy who can easily get distracted by anything. Nadal on the other hand will never lose focus career wise, even if playing badly for a while.
 

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
. Nadal on the other hand will never lose focus career wise, even if playing badly for a while.

Read Moya's interviews. He said that after the IW injury Nadal took it very very hard. It was the hardest recovery time for him. Moya also said that Nadal was very negative for the first time in his life for his career.
They were almost afraid he was done, but he recovered.

All I'm saying is that nothing lasts forever. The next big injury that Rafa has might lead him to call it quits. He is getting older too and there is only so many times you can come back.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Second straight final for Thiem at Roland Garros and second Slam final altogether. He now joins the 3 players ranked above him as well as Del Potro and Anderson as the only players in the top #10 to make multiple Slam finals.
 
V

Vamos Rafa Nadal

Guest
Win or lose, will Thiem go up to #3 in the rankings after this tournament?
 
Top