2020 Australian Open QF :- [1] Rafa Nadal vs [5] Domi Thiem

[StrongRule]

I thought that 4th set tiebreak was terrible from both players. Thiem gave Nadal a lifeline with his choking and ball bashing, and Nadal wasn't able to take advantage. Rarely do you see that happen. I didn't see entire match but that was a poor tiebreak for Nadal's standards.

He will up his level at RG like he always does. It will take a miracle for anyone to stop him.

Lol, this choking version of Nadal is not going to win RG this year. For sure not indoor RG. Given the roof Djokovic is the big favorite for RG from now on. Thiem is a second favorite. Nadal is still a third I guess, but far behind them.

 

[Rafaisdabest]

It’s not over! Thiem may not be able to hold serve 3 more times, he’s choked many times in the past.

not to be but it was pretty good battle in the long run. Hope Dom can go on and win the whole tournament now. Deserves it after that effort.

 

[Yugram]

Crossing the line.

Yes that was bad from me

still the worst match i saw in my life

 

[StrongRule]

I couldn't watch the rest of the match because of work. I won't feed trolls anymore, let's hear what you'll have to say when Thiem wins AO.

What a joke of a prediction from you. Again...

 

[MeatTornado]

Yes that was bad from me

still the worst match i saw in my life

Then you must be very young.

 

[Yugram]

Then you must be very young.

Ok

 

[mr tonyz]

I knew it had to come from a Nadal UFE.

These guys choke big time

Wait , are you implying that Theim needed to draw an error from Nadal to convert on match point??

What the hell??

That Forehand u/e was terrible , i'd consider that a choke .

 

[StrongRule]

Yes that was bad from me

still the worst match i saw in my life

Terrible choking from Nadal. Thiem was also lucky with the net too many times, but Nadal deserved to lose anyway.

 

[wangs78]

You betcha Fed is going to play tomorrow and he will try to take as much flesh out of Djokovic as he can. I have a feeling the other semi will be an exhausting affair given both guys like to battle from the baseline. So even if Fed loses he has an incentive to push Djokovic hard to protect his record.

 

[OrangeOne]

As far as I could tell yes, he did.

If he really did walk off without shaking the umpires hand, it at least used to be - and definitely should be - an automatic fine / code violation / both.

As should his referee incident mid-match.

(As much as Tennys isn’t the most likeable character, I did like his comments to umpires in two matches asking for equity in treatment to all players. Special treatment for the big favourites does nothing for the sport).

 

[I Am Finnish]

Thiem could be the new Stanimal. The guy is pummeling the hell out of the ball. He overpowered Djoker at WTF. He can do it again.

it was a very close match
I do agree that Thiem could be the new wawrinka

 

[oldmanfan]

Did Nadal walk off without shaking the umpire's hand?

As far as I could tell yes, he did.

Pretty sure Nadl shook the umpire's hand as you can see her incline back up as the camera panned enough to see her.

 

[Yugram]

Nadal will be fine. He did nothing wrong. Not even 2011 Djokovic would’ve won the match where your opponent gets lucky net cords on EVERY important point in the match.

 

[I Am Finnish]

Nadal is mentally the weakest of the big 3. Novak or Fed would never lose 3 TBs in a match and choke all the time. Hillarious are those who think Thiem has a chance. He is just a brainless ball basher.

are you strongrule 2.0

 

[zep]

Expected result. People keep talking about Nadal's mental strength but to me he has become a bit of a choker. When it gets close, he often makes mistakes and can't seem to find a first serve. The US Open final was a prime example of how mentally weak he has become, he was lucky to win that match. Here Kyrgios failed to punish him for his lapses, Thiem didn't. That's the bottom line. Unless he starts playing freely, more often than not he would come out on the wrong side of these tight matches. With that being said, except a few minor hiccups Thiem played a great match but those hiccups would have been enough for a younger Rafa to beat him.

 

[Yugram]

This match sucks.

 

[Raul_SJ]

They wore most ugly shirts you can imagine! Yuck!

Who?

 

[NoleFam]

Lol, this choking version of Nadal is not going to win RG this year. For sure not indoor RG. Given the roof Djokovic is the big favorite for RG from now on. Thiem is a second favorite. Nadal is still a third I guess, but far behind them.

You're completely overreacting. There is no more sure bet in all of tennis than Nadal winning RG. You also have to remember that it has to rain for that roof to be used. It could be sunny like it usually is which Nadal likes.

 

[Rafa.the.Magnificent]

Pretty sure Nadl shook the umpire's had as you can see her incline back up as the camera panned enough to see her.

Sorry I misinformed! And glad to hear.

 

[Sudacafan]

Thiem is not Dimitrov.

Of course he’s not. He’s not “been there”, and may never be.

 

[Raul_SJ]

Ladies and gentleman, our Australian Open slam SF.

"Find Similar" Google Image Search on that pic returns this:

 

[Djokovic2011]

@vive le beau jeu ! :Three defeats already for the nadal and we're not even in February. Not too bad a start to the New Year, no?

 

[Rina]

Who?

Both. I think Nadal lost due to his pink shirt! And the weird Thiem shirt? Oh, well, maybe it is just not my style.

 

[moonballs]

Let's be clear that Nadal might be the mentally weakest of the big three, he is still way above Thiem on the mental area. The reason Thiem won is because he has physically beaten Nadal. He should have beaten him in the US Open if they were on the same level mentally.

 

[Raul_SJ]

Both. I think Nadal lost due to his pink shirt! And the weird Thiem shirt? Oh, well, maybe it is just not my style.

Please explain that horribly ugly pink effeminate Rafa shirt. Do women like that?

 

[tennisjedi]

Nadal had his chances, but Thiem did better on the points that mattered.
My two favorite players. I hope Thiem wins the AO.
The ATP needs a 90's born slam winner, the WTA already has a 2000's born slam winner.

 

[mauricem]

Nick does not have the consistency and all-around game to ever beat the GOAT Rafa.

LOL, they've played 7 matches and Nick has won 3 of them!

 

[Raul_SJ]

LOL, they've played 7 matches and Nick has won 3 of them!

At a Slam where it really counts! Only once 6 years and nothing since. Rafa will never again lose to the clown Nick.
Nick does not have the all around game. Lacks consistency. Lacks fitness, Lacks strategy. Lacks mentality.

 

[Rina]

Please explain that horrible girly pink Rafa shirt. Do women like that on a man?

I personally don't like it. Some other women might. It looks like his lucky shirt from a decade ago. Makes me think he was worried about this match and wore it on purpose, hence he lost before he ever stepped on the court.

 

[Raul_SJ]

I personally don't like it. Some other women might. It looks like his lucky shirt from a decade ago. Makes me think he was worried about this match and wore it on purpose, hence he lost before he ever stepped on the court.

So the good news is that we will never see that ugly pink Rafa shirt again.

 

[bezs]

Nicely done by the Thiemnator.

 

[I Am Finnish]

Both. I think Nadal lost due to his pink shirt! And the weird Thiem shirt? Oh, well, maybe it is just not my style.

Que

 

[BeatlesFan]

When was the last time Rafa didn’t shake the chair umpire’s hand after the match? Very uncharacteristic of him. Watching the replay, he didn’t shake her hand.

 

[Wilhelm]

Great win for Thiem! I hope he makes the finals.

 

[weakera]

Nadal had Thiem pinned so far behind the baseline consistently yet you can count on one hand how many times Nadal tried keeping Thiem honest with a dropshot.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Delete, Weakera corrected me.

 

[AceSalvo]

He’s the prohibitive favorite, obviously, but never count your chickens before they’re hatched. I was fully expecting a Djoker-Nadal final, but Thiem is another matter. He beat Nole both times they played in 2019, including in a slam and also 7 weeks ago. Nadal would have had no chance against Novak, but a Thiem will have a small chance, perhaps 15%.

Thiem just reached the WTF and Zed already won that title. Conditions are very similar to the WTF which is why I think Nadal went down. Any one of these two should be expected to have good finish to this AO.

 

[weakera]

When was the last time Rafa didn’t shake the chair umpire’s hand after the match? Very uncharacteristic of him. Watching the replay, he didn’t shake her hand.

Fake news. Camera missed it but you can see the ump has her hand down still after the shake here,

 

[BeatlesFan]

Please explain that horribly ugly pink effeminate Rafa shirt. Do women like that?

LOL, give me a break that a pink shirt on a man is “effeminate.” Pink shirts look better on fair men as opposed to darker men IMO, but are usually attractive. This is effeminate to you!?

 

[BeatlesFan]

Fake news. Camera missed it but you can see the ump has her hand down still after the shake here,

Ah... thanks for the correction.

 

[Nadal15thslam]

What a joke of a prediction from you. Again...

You are the biggest joke on this forum. Every match you predict Nadal to lose and when he eventually does you're like : "Look at me, I'm right, I told you so!". If I predict Tomic to win every match he's playing I'll be right at least once assuming he doesn't lose all his matches. Grow up.

 

[Subway Tennis]

No shame in losing to Thiem today.

Agree. He played some wonderful tennis.

 

[natalia]

 

[Mainad]

Looks as if a 2nd AO title will forever elude Rafa. He will never get the chance to become the only player in the Open Era to win multiple titles at all 4 Slams.

Still, he remains the only player in the Open Era to win multiple Slam titles on all 3 surfaces. He can continue to take solace and pride in that.

 

[StrongRule]

Looks as if a 2nd AO title will forever elude Rafa. He will never get the chance to become the only player in history to win multiple titles at all 4 Slams.

Still, he remains the only player in history to win multiple Slam titles on all 3 surfaces. He can continue to take solace and pride in that.

Unfortunately, RG is doing everything to help Djokovic win more titles there.

 

[Mainad]

First Slam semi-final on hardcourt for both Thiem and Zverev (first on any surface for Zverev). They will now have to fight it out for the (dubious) honour of getting beaten by Djokovic in the final.

 

[TennisFan3]

You must have missed last year’s Wimbledon final. Fed lost 3 TB’s and choked massively at 40-15.

Fed choked against Novak who is an ATG and maybe strongest player since Sampras.
Nadal chokes against everyone and their brother. He fails to close out sets and fails to hold serve after he breaks.
There is no coincidence that Fed and Novak just have a MASSIVE winning record against Nadal since 2017 (After Nadal has been out of his prime).

There is no argument here. Fed is FAR stronger mentally than Nadal in the later part of their careers. I would even say overall too.
Obviously vs Djokovic it's no contest. Nadal was never mentally stronger than Djokovic EVER (except perhaps when Novak was a cub and used to retire from matches).

 

[Rosstour]

As far as I could tell yes, he did.

The most sportsmanship

The greatest warrior

oh...wait a second, this is interesting

https://twitter.com/x/status/1222524473427091457

Looks as if a 2nd AO title will forever elude Rafa. He will never get the chance to become the only player in history to win multiple titles at all 4 Slams.

Still, he remains the only player in history to win multiple Slam titles on all 3 surfaces. He can continue to take solace and pride in that.

He will get another chance. Many more. And he will take solace in owning 25+ GS titles.

 

[Keystoner]

He is such a likable guy, Thiem. Great win!

Agreed. He gives great post-match interviews, particularly after losses.

 

[TennisFan3]

I thought that 4th set tiebreak was terrible from both players. Thiem gave Nadal a lifeline with his choking and ball bashing, and Nadal wasn't able to take advantage. Rarely do you see that happen. I didn't see entire match but that was a poor tiebreak for Nadal's standards.

You have to see that match. If Nadal isn't MAD at his level of play there is NO hope for him. He didn't backup his serve. Didn't play clutch at all in the TBs. Started to ARM the backhand as he got nervous. His technique was all wrong on so many shots. I swear to you I was watching the match and knew so many times that Nadal is going to miss the shot. And he did. This is not technical - it's mental.
Thiem CHOKED so hard and just bashed brainlessly. Many times Thiem just missed sitter - but Nadal didn't even take that lifeline. Nadal had ZERO confidence on his serve and retreated behind instead of coming forward. His volleys were also pathetic.
Overall, he was just too nervous. He wanted it too much. Sort of what is happening to Serena. And this is not new. Nadal has been fragile mentally. He even won the UsOpen 2019 barely.

He will up his level at RG like he always does. It will take a miracle for anyone to stop him.

I would NOT be so sure. Nadal won last year when Novak and Thiem killed each other over 5 sets. He was still cramping in the 4th.
This year with indoor type of conditions and with Thiem/Novak in ascendancy, there is NO DOUBT in my mind that Nadal won't win the French.
If Thiem is in Nadal's half, he definitely won't. He will NOT be able to beat Thiem and Novak back to back.
Nadal's tennis has just declined rapidly along with his physical abilities. He just isn't as good as before. It's as simple as that..