2019 WTF RR: (3.) Swiss Maestro vs. (5.) Thieminator

Who will win this match?


  • Total voters
    33
  • Poll closed .

mightyrick

Legend
t's like saying that the world chess champion defeats his opponents because they have a "mathcup issue" with him

Actually, the fact that you say this about chess means that you literally have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to tennis. Let alone about chess.

Matchup issues are very real in all sports.

But age is always a factor when you get over 30 in this sport. Movement is everything in this sport. Everything else follows from movement. And if you're a step slow, everything else sucks.

Where you are correct is that Federer didn't lose this because of a matchup issue. He lost it because he's slow.
 

Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil

Talk Tennis Guru
I don't know who is playing match 3 last of Djoko and Nadal but that feels like could be the key. Whoever plays last can decide who their SF opponent will be if Nadal and Djokovic gets to that scenario.
Well Djokovic's group started today, Nadal's will tomorrow. So Nadal will get to "pick" if he ends up being in a comfortable position after his first two matches.
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
Timmy owns Roger now. 3 wins in a row.

Now we'll never hear the end from Nadal fans on how tough competition he is.
Maybe Federer fans should just bash him less? At his best Thiem is very dangerous and all the big 3 experienced that. He is very inconsistent though and when it isn't his day he is beyond pathetic.
 
Thiem was consistently deep with his groundstrokes, served well, hit to the bh, no? Too good. Federer's level was down from Basel. Hopefully he gets better as the week goes on.
 
D

Deleted member 762343

Guest
Federer hasn’t been the same ever since Wimbledon. He did win Basel but the field wasn’t really strong since it’s just a small event. Hopefully he will be fresh at AO.
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
Great performance from Dominic and great job of drowning out the crowd cheering his missed first serves and yelling come on Roger as he served.

I wonder what it is about London crowds since they used to be well behaved but they are obnoxious these days. Never thought I would say Paris has better atmosphere and crowds now.
 
D

Deleted member 765702

Guest
Expected better from Federer but this was one of Thiem's best performances I have seen. Looking forward to his match with Djokovic if he brings this tennis again.
 

Djokovic2011

Bionic Poster
Great performance from Dominic and great job of drowning out the crowd cheering his missed first serves and yelling come on Roger as he served.
I don't think he even made a single double fault. :) Is it just me or does Dominic have one of the most underrated 2nd serves in men's tennis? He always seems to get it quite deep in the box with a decent amount of pace on it.
 

ChrisRF

Legend
Maybe too much pressure knowing that he had to win this match in order to make the SF?
Why? In fact, this is the only time in the year where a loss is NOT the end of the tournament. I remember last year Federer admitted that he wasn’t really motivated in the 1st RR match just because of that.
 
Last edited:
Wake up. There is no such thing as "matchup issue" on any sport, stop with the excuses. It's like saying that the world chess champion defeats his opponents because they have a "mathcup issue" with him, rather than simply because he is better than all of his opponents. In tennis, no single ATG has a losing H2H against a non-ATG if they have played more than 10 matches.

Thiem is better on clay and hard courts than 2019 Federer. You can blame age, but not any "matchup issue". In 2019, Federer has only been clearly better than Thiem outside grass. The reason why Thiem dominates Federer 3-0 in 2019 is simple: Thiem in 2019 is a better tennis player than Federer outside grass.

Miloslav Mecir has a 7-4 head-to-head lead against Mats Wilander. I would argue that Wilander is an ATG and Mecir not, and Mecir clearly troubled him more than most other players of his ability did. Krajicek also led Sampras 6-4. I know, I know, that is only 10 matches, but if they had played once more, Krajicek would have led with more than 10 matches played even if he had lost the match. Finally, Davydenko led Nadal 6-5.

That said, I agree with your analysis of Federer and Thiem in 2019.
 

Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil

Talk Tennis Guru
Unless Djokovic beats everyone in his group, Berr beats Thiem, Federer beats Berr. Then it becomes a 3 way tie decided by games lost.
Today did Berrettini no favors if it comes down to that. I don't think he will beat Thiem anyway. Easily the weakest link of the whole WTF line up.

Hopefully Novak wins on Tuesday so there will be less pressure against Federer in the last group match.
 

Meles

Bionic Poster
Federe speediest court exit everer
aQnvR92_460s.jpg
 

mightyjeditribble

Hall of Fame
It's only the first match, but Fred's path to the semis already looks pretty questionable. He'll have to beat Novak in the third match, almost surely. And even that might not be enough.
 

Crionics

Semi-Pro
Why? In fact, this the the only time in the year where a loss is NOT the end of the tournament. I remember last year Federer admitted that he wasn’t really motivated in the 1st RR match just because of that.

Because deep down he knows he will not defeat Djokovic, therefore he really needed that first win against Thiem.
 

Terry Tibbs

Hall of Fame
Federer is a complete mystery to me sometimes. His level in Basel was extremely high. When he plays at that level on a hard court he is pretty much unbeatable. Now on the back of that form he comes here to another indoor tournament which I'm led to believe is also a fast court and loses. Eff sake, come on! Thought he had real chances here but he is basically out now as we know already what the Djokovic result will be.
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
Today did Berrettini no favors if it comes down to that. I don't think he will beat Thiem anyway. Easily the weakest link of the whole WTF line up.

Hopefully Novak wins on Tuesday so there will be less pressure against Federer in the last group match.

LoL. No favors. Let's say it becomes between Thiem and Federer if this happens. We will see. I'm interested to see that match since Berr beat him in Shanghai and came close to beating him in Vienna. Berr might pull that one off.

Djokovic better be on his toes the entire tournament. He can't afford any mishaps or the title is gone and so is YE #1. Treat every match like it's sudden death, although if he goes up 2-0 the pressure does come off a bit in that last RR match. If Nadal loses one of his matches, it comes off even more.
 
Last edited:

Sport

G.O.A.T.
You had to be dellusional to vote "Federer in 2". You really had to be dellusional. Thiem almost defeated Nadal at the US Open 2018, and more importantly beat Federer himself both at Indian Wells 2019 and Madrid 2019. Thiem also had recently won the 2019 Viena Open on indoor hard courts. Nothing suggested that Federer would win in 2.
 

TheAssassin

Legend
Today did Berrettini no favors if it comes down to that. I don't think he will beat Thiem anyway. Easily the weakest link of the whole WTF line up.

Hopefully Novak wins on Tuesday so there will be less pressure against Federer in the last group match.
If only he played last in round robin and knew for sure there was an option to send himself to play Nadal in the semifinal. This way it's just a guess. Every point matters and he should go all out in every match now.
 

Jokervich

Hall of Fame
I don't think he even made a single double fault. :) Is it just me or does Dominic have one of the most underrated 2nd serves in men's tennis? He always seems to get it quite deep in the box with a decent amount of pace on it.
Who cares about the second serve. Dude is 26 and hasn't even come close to winning a slam yet (no, getting destroyed by Nadal at the French doesn't count as coming close).
 

oldmanfan

Legend
It's only the first match, but Fred's path to the semis already looks pretty questionable. He'll have to beat Novak in the third match, almost surely. And even that might not be enough.

I'll look on the bright side. Last year at WTF18, a worse Fedr lost easily to an equally bad Nishikori in straights. He improved as the tourney went on. This Fedr (still pretty bad) is better than last year's, and lost a close one against a very good Thiem. Well, now Fedr knows that he has to play better if he wants to progress. That simplifies things, and if he can bring his Basel level, he'll do well. If he couldn't, then he doeesn't deserve to be in the SF.
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
You had to be dellusional to vote "Federer in 2". You really had to be dellusional. Thiem almost defeated Nadal at the US Open 2018, and more importantly beat Federer himself both at Indian Wells 2019 and Madrid 2019. Thiem also had recently won the 2019 Viena Open on indoor hard courts. Nothing suggested that Federer would win in 2.

Maybe the 2 and 3 spanking Federer gave him at this tournament last year?
 

Crionics

Semi-Pro
Djokovic is beatable in the whole year apart from Australian Open. Federer will have his chances, although Djokovic is a slight favourite.

True that he has been more inconsistent this year than in 2015, but since Paris Bercy he plays again at a very high level. The loss of number 1 to Nadal must have stinged him a lot and I see a Djokovic who is extremely pumped up to regain the number 1 spot...
I would be very surprised to see Djokovic lose to Federer, especially given the poor level of play displayed by Federer today.
 

SQA333

Hall of Fame
Federer hasn’t been the same ever since Wimbledon. He did win Basel but the field wasn’t really strong since it’s just a small event. Hopefully he will be fresh at AO.

But he won the Laver Cup! Such a significant event steeped in tennis history.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
3rd victory this season for Thiem over Federer extending the H2H to 5-2. He really seems to have Fed's number now on all 3 surfaces, at least in Bo3.

Against Thiem, Federer now has his biggest losing H2H next to Djokovic and Nadal.
 
Last edited:

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
If Dom plays like he did today, he's the favorite. Just a monster level of heavy hitting today. Rafa defends better than Fed and will return better, but Thiem would have to be favored if they meet.
The crazy thing is that if Nadal will beat Thiem here (I doubt they will even meet by the way) then you will say it was absolutely NID.
 
Top