An apology...

K

Kralingen

Bionic Poster
Throughout RG 2023 I was quite outspoken in my support of Carlos and skepticism around Djokovic's ability to win the tournament.

And not just in my own posts, I was pretty cocky replying to others. I even asked for apologies from people who thought Djokovic was the favorite for RG during a Davidovich Fokina match (@junior74)

Well, that was obviously wrong. Took some time to see how wrong I was.

Have fun reading these:

Kralingen said:
Imo Djokovic odds are in the toilet. I would take Ruud, Alcaraz, Medvedev, and maybe even Sinner or Rune over him right now. Given this draw and his awful form.
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
Until Djokovic demonstrates that he’s capable of playing clay tennis at above a top 20 level this season, I remain pessimistic

This was his worst clay season by miles

Literally not even one truly good set you could point to, let alone match, let alone tournament
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
It's amazing that anyone is still saying that Djokovic is the favourite.
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
Djokovic has been absolute garbage and dealing with an elbow injury this clay season by the way.

I’m not saying he can’t win but this is NOT the old Djokovic by any stretch of the imagination. Last 3 years Djokovic would be the favorite. This year’s? Hardly
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
Fokina the big favourite coming into this one. Looked indomitable this tournament and has beaten Novak on clay recently. Dead conditions will really benefit his defensive game and the live arm he has.

Only question: is he up to the task mentally? He regularly chokes ends of sets. Djokovic will win if he is not at his sharpest between the ears.
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
Djokovic is not winning Roland Garros.

That much, if nothing else, should be abundantly clear.
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
Djokovic is the only “scary” player in the draw and that’s mainly nostalgia. He has been truly horrific all clay season, easily the worst clay season of his entire career going back to 2005 (even 2017/18 was better).
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
Lol. Yeah nice stuff from the ‘GOAT’

Carlos in 4. Yes, get ready for it, this Djokovic level is not enough. Stop being delusional.
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
And anyone who bet against Djokovic to win RG is going to get their money's worth... and then some.
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
Djokovic needs to start skipping clay Fed-style. This is getting embarrassing.

Totally dismantled by a younger, better, stronger opponent. And Rune is basically just keeping the ball in play...
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
It really is hard to see anyone having a chance vs. this Carlos. I say that with all due respect to Djokovic - what he ONCE was could handle Carlos just fine, but what he is NOW… I don’t see it.
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
Lol being battered by Khachanov and people think he has a chance at beating Raz. Some even say he’s the favorite.

This place is in for a very very rude awakening on Friday. And honestly, all of you deserve it.
Click to expand...
then I asked for apologies:
Kralingen said:
I’ll take my apologies now.

Fokina dominating any rally above 4 shots. Up an early break and thoroughly dominating the match. Mostly in control once the rally begins. 4/4 at net on drop shots as well. Overpowering Djokovic on both wings.

But no, “just a NextGen mug” and “Djokovic is unbeatable”. “Kralingen doesn’t know tennis”
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
I would like a mass apology from everyone who said Djokovic was the favorite for Roland Garros.

Will not be coming, of course.

We also could’ve seen this last Friday had Fokina not had multiple brain aneurysms when ahead in the first two sets… but Djokovic’s flawed level was plain as day to anyone who wanted to see it.
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
To your point, I think the reason is that we all know that someone has a clear form advantage and clear physical (power, speed, explosiveness) advantage.

That’s why it would be so disappointing if Carlos failed and lost. Not even because of numerical age but because of visible age. He will look like a different stratosphere of athleticism and power output next to Djokovic on Friday. If he loses I can only assume it will be by erroring himself out of the match, duffing a bunch of drop shots, allowing himself to be outsmarted and getting frustrated by the older player.

In short, it will be an avoidable loss. And it will appear very avoidable as if he’s playing well below par, to the watching eye, if he loses.

That’s why it would be embarrassing.
Click to expand...
Kralingen said:
Hahaha. What can you do against him man.

I think he will make Djokovic look extremely ordinary and old in stretches.
Click to expand...
And finally, the worst post I've ever made, ROFLMAO.
Kralingen said:
Stop. The. Handwringing.

This will be my final post on the subject until someone lays out a detailed step by step plan for what Djokovic can even do to try to beat Carlos. How will he win points? I have yet to hear anything coherent.

I watched their games closely and there is only one winner once the ball is in play. Novak’s serve/return advantage is formidable on HC/grass but not here. It’s much harder to rush Carlos on this surface. And even their normal rally ball - Carlos has a huge weight of shot and ability to inject pace, he can put Novak on the back foot the same way Khachanov did. Add to that better defense, better aggression, better volleys, better drop shots…

I have zero clue how Carlos loses this match short of a complete mental capitulation.

I feel even more confident in Carlos than I did in Nadal last year, and have staked even more money to boot.
Click to expand...

So, clearly I got it wrong this Roland Garros. Obviously, no one saw the cramping coming from Carlos, including myself. But truthfully, I would pick Carlos again for RG 2024.

And the reason is, everything Djokovic did this past fortnight defied what we knew about clay tennis coming into the tournament.

-I thought Masters and lead-up tournaments mattered. Before 2022, every single Roland Garros winner in the 2000s had at least won a clay Masters 1000 or a clay 250/500 before winning Roland Garros. Djokovic didn't even make a single semi-final.
-I thought age and injury mattered - Novak was struggling with an elbow injury clearly in April/May, and his age and stamina were in question
-I thought Carlos's form mattered, Novak flattered to deceive vs. Fokina and Khachanov while Carlos was incredibly dominant, beating Musetti and Tsitsipas one-sidedly
-I thought Carlos had the physical advantage with his experience of 4 5-setters at the US Open last summer
-I thought Novak's clay form in every single match before the SF mattered even one bit.

The truth is, in this era, none of the lead-up stuff matters. Just who can elevate on the biggest stage. And right now, that man is still none other than Novak Djokovic. His spot serving, his ability to read, absorb, and inject pace and spin, his ability to vary his intensity, his tactical solutions on-court, his clutch play, his strategy and mind for tennis still allow him to win even without his old athleticism. I thought he had declined a lot, but ignored that he has never thought through matches better, never hit a serve better, he truly just gets it in a way that can't really be quantified.

So apologies - mainly to @TennisFan3 and @Checkmate for showing me the way. For 2023 at least, Novak is the man of the moment, and the man to beat. Wimbledon here we come.
 
Last edited:
Kralingen said:
Throughout RG 2023 I was quite outspoken in my support of Carlos and skepticism around Djokovic's ability to win the tournament.

And not just in my own posts, I was pretty cocky replying to others. I even asked for apologies from people who thought Djokovic was the favorite for RG during a Davidovich Fokina match (@junior74)

Well, that was obviously wrong. Took some time to see how wrong I was.

Have fun reading these:

then I asked for apologies:




And finally, the worst post I've ever made, ROFLMAO.

So, clearly I got it wrong this Roland Garros. Obviously, no one saw the cramping coming from Carlos, including myself. But truthfully, I would pick Carlos again for RG 2024.

And the reason is, everything Djokovic did this past fortnight defied what we knew about clay tennis coming into the tournament.

-I thought Masters and lead-up tournaments mattered. Before 2022, every single Roland Garros winner in the 2000s had at least won a clay Masters 1000 or a clay 250/500 before winning Roland Garros. Djokovic didn't even make a single semi-final.
-I thought age and injury mattered - Novak was struggling with an elbow injury clearly in April/May, and his age and stamina were in question
-I thought Carlos's form mattered, Novak flattered to deceive vs. Fokina and Khachanov while Carlos was incredibly dominant, beating Musetti and Tsitsipas one-sidedly
-I thought Carlos had the physical advantage with his experience of 4 5-setters at the US Open last summer
-I thought Novak's clay form in every single match before the SF mattered even one bit.

The truth is, in this era, none of the lead-up stuff matters. Just who can elevate on the biggest stage. And right now, that man is still none other than Novak Djokovic. His spot serving, his ability to read, absorb, and inject pace and spin, his ability to vary his intensity, his tactical solutions on-court, his clutch play, his strategy and mind for tennis still allow him to win even without his old athleticism. I thought he had declined a lot, but ignored that he has never thought through matches better, never hit a serve better, he truly just gets it in a way that can't really be quantified.

So apologies - mainly to @TennisFan3. For 2023 at least, Novak is the man of the moment, and the man to beat. Wimbledon here we come.
Click to expand...
I think had Carlitos not let the occasion and thus the cramping came from realising he had this match on his racquet he would have won it was first time Novak looked old and out-worked. It was pure lack of experience in knowing how to adjust tactically just not pacing himself and drinking fluids etc. novaks experience shone through in terms of his ability to want to finish the game early like rocky 3 tire him out up first serve % mixed it beautifully played the big points insanely well just lifted for that! Credit to him, Alcaraz will learn he has all the ingredients and next time they meet it will be a different match
 
Kralingen said:
Throughout RG 2023 I was quite outspoken in my support of Carlos and skepticism around Djokovic's ability to win the tournament.

And not just in my own posts, I was pretty cocky replying to others. I even asked for apologies from people who thought Djokovic was the favorite for RG during a Davidovich Fokina match (@junior74)

Well, that was obviously wrong. Took some time to see how wrong I was.

Have fun reading these:

then I asked for apologies:




And finally, the worst post I've ever made, ROFLMAO.

So, clearly I got it wrong this Roland Garros. Obviously, no one saw the cramping coming from Carlos, including myself. But truthfully, I would pick Carlos again for RG 2024.

And the reason is, everything Djokovic did this past fortnight defied what we knew about clay tennis coming into the tournament.

-I thought Masters and lead-up tournaments mattered. Before 2022, every single Roland Garros winner in the 2000s had at least won a clay Masters 1000 or a clay 250/500 before winning Roland Garros. Djokovic didn't even make a single semi-final.
-I thought age and injury mattered - Novak was struggling with an elbow injury clearly in April/May, and his age and stamina were in question
-I thought Carlos's form mattered, Novak flattered to deceive vs. Fokina and Khachanov while Carlos was incredibly dominant, beating Musetti and Tsitsipas one-sidedly
-I thought Carlos had the physical advantage with his experience of 4 5-setters at the US Open last summer
-I thought Novak's clay form in every single match before the SF mattered even one bit.

The truth is, in this era, none of the lead-up stuff matters. Just who can elevate on the biggest stage. And right now, that man is still none other than Novak Djokovic. His spot serving, his ability to read, absorb, and inject pace and spin, his ability to vary his intensity, his tactical solutions on-court, his clutch play, his strategy and mind for tennis still allow him to win even without his old athleticism. I thought he had declined a lot, but ignored that he has never thought through matches better, never hit a serve better, he truly just gets it in a way that can't really be quantified.

So apologies - mainly to @TennisFan3. For 2023 at least, Novak is the man of the moment, and the man to beat. Wimbledon here we come.
Click to expand...
Everyone gets it wrong sometimes bro. Everyone.
 
Tbh your prediction of Carlos to win was looking pretty good at 1 set all and no-one could have foreseen the cramping. Charlie clearly has the game to mix it with a well-playing Djoker.

You really did go all in though looking at these comments, I’m impressed
 
@Kralingen

I'm also one of those who had Djokovic as the favorite and had a few discussions with you and others about it. However, you are always a decent poster, and I would never take any "insult" from your posts, no matter if from time to time you pretend to use an "attacking" style or whatever. I always realized that you also have an almost rare ability of self-irony and (as shown here again) the ability to admit if you were wrong about something.

So, certainly no need to change, no need to stop the enthusiam, no need to stop predicting again and no need to be afraid of being wrong (again).
 
weak era or not, what Djokovic is doing at 36 is simply incredible and any Fed or Nadal fan that can't acknowledge it is simply being bitter. Fedal were never this consistent at slams when they were 36. And though it is frustrating having to endure year after year of next gen mugs failing to win slams, I do admit I sometimes enjoy watching Djokovic destroy these next gen clowns the same way peak Fed was destroying his contemporaries.
 
Wrong prediction is not exactly the issue, the other things you've written /and still write are.

Does Hitman have you on ignore?
 
Kralingen said:
Throughout RG 2023 I was quite outspoken in my support of Carlos and skepticism around Djokovic's ability to win the tournament.

And not just in my own posts, I was pretty cocky replying to others. I even asked for apologies from people who thought Djokovic was the favorite for RG during a Davidovich Fokina match (@junior74)

Well, that was obviously wrong. Took some time to see how wrong I was.

Have fun reading these:

then I asked for apologies:




And finally, the worst post I've ever made, ROFLMAO.

So, clearly I got it wrong this Roland Garros. Obviously, no one saw the cramping coming from Carlos, including myself. But truthfully, I would pick Carlos again for RG 2024.

And the reason is, everything Djokovic did this past fortnight defied what we knew about clay tennis coming into the tournament.

-I thought Masters and lead-up tournaments mattered. Before 2022, every single Roland Garros winner in the 2000s had at least won a clay Masters 1000 or a clay 250/500 before winning Roland Garros. Djokovic didn't even make a single semi-final.
-I thought age and injury mattered - Novak was struggling with an elbow injury clearly in April/May, and his age and stamina were in question
-I thought Carlos's form mattered, Novak flattered to deceive vs. Fokina and Khachanov while Carlos was incredibly dominant, beating Musetti and Tsitsipas one-sidedly
-I thought Carlos had the physical advantage with his experience of 4 5-setters at the US Open last summer
-I thought Novak's clay form in every single match before the SF mattered even one bit.

The truth is, in this era, none of the lead-up stuff matters. Just who can elevate on the biggest stage. And right now, that man is still none other than Novak Djokovic. His spot serving, his ability to read, absorb, and inject pace and spin, his ability to vary his intensity, his tactical solutions on-court, his clutch play, his strategy and mind for tennis still allow him to win even without his old athleticism. I thought he had declined a lot, but ignored that he has never thought through matches better, never hit a serve better, he truly just gets it in a way that can't really be quantified.

So apologies - mainly to @TennisFan3. For 2023 at least, Novak is the man of the moment, and the man to beat. Wimbledon here we come.
Click to expand...
3f76727c19f01078ffde66f6529b3c67.jpg

APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED ! @Kralingen
 
Kralingen said:
I very much was. All in on his futures. That’s the issue.
Click to expand...

He's the best prospect in quite some time, shooting stars aside. Much realer than Tim ever was. @Meles and I, and several others went all in on Tim, and the damage we hath wrought upon ourselves speaks for itself.

Just gotta keep $ out of it IMHO.
 
MichaelNadal said:
The ponytail GOATED though lol
Click to expand...
I love the raw'ness of Pony'tailerer, sheer shotmaking and so explosive, especially into the forehand. The haircut almost symbolised Federer moving towards more conservative percentage based tennis, reaching it's height in 2006.
 
Kralingen said:
Throughout RG 2023 I was quite outspoken in my support of Carlos and skepticism around Djokovic's ability to win the tournament.

And not just in my own posts, I was pretty cocky replying to others. I even asked for apologies from people who thought Djokovic was the favorite for RG during a Davidovich Fokina match (@junior74)

Well, that was obviously wrong. Took some time to see how wrong I was.

Have fun reading these:

then I asked for apologies:




And finally, the worst post I've ever made, ROFLMAO.

So, clearly I got it wrong this Roland Garros. Obviously, no one saw the cramping coming from Carlos, including myself. But truthfully, I would pick Carlos again for RG 2024.

And the reason is, everything Djokovic did this past fortnight defied what we knew about clay tennis coming into the tournament.

-I thought Masters and lead-up tournaments mattered. Before 2022, every single Roland Garros winner in the 2000s had at least won a clay Masters 1000 or a clay 250/500 before winning Roland Garros. Djokovic didn't even make a single semi-final.
-I thought age and injury mattered - Novak was struggling with an elbow injury clearly in April/May, and his age and stamina were in question
-I thought Carlos's form mattered, Novak flattered to deceive vs. Fokina and Khachanov while Carlos was incredibly dominant, beating Musetti and Tsitsipas one-sidedly
-I thought Carlos had the physical advantage with his experience of 4 5-setters at the US Open last summer
-I thought Novak's clay form in every single match before the SF mattered even one bit.

The truth is, in this era, none of the lead-up stuff matters. Just who can elevate on the biggest stage. And right now, that man is still none other than Novak Djokovic. His spot serving, his ability to read, absorb, and inject pace and spin, his ability to vary his intensity, his tactical solutions on-court, his clutch play, his strategy and mind for tennis still allow him to win even without his old athleticism. I thought he had declined a lot, but ignored that he has never thought through matches better, never hit a serve better, he truly just gets it in a way that can't really be quantified.

So apologies - mainly to @TennisFan3. For 2023 at least, Novak is the man of the moment, and the man to beat. Wimbledon here we come.
Click to expand...
Although Novak won, you did make a good prediction based on a solid arguments. There was nothing wrong with your comments, and even your sporadic cocky moments were on a lighthearted side, no detectable toxicity.
So, all in all, you're ok :)
 
-I thought Masters and lead-up tournaments mattered.

They don’t, and I think that’s really sad tbh. It’s contributed a lot to my waning interest in the sport as a whole for years now. The lead up tournaments simply don’t matter and haven’t for almost a decade now. The actual contenders just use them as match practice now and don’t even bother giving them max effort anymore. It’s made the sport stale and boring. Who cares about the rest of the calendar when only 8 weeks see the best players giving their best? I get why the older guys don’t push themselves that hard anymore since they have to conserve energy for the schlems. But it just gives these young guys (and the fans) false hope which gets obliterated every time (USO 21 remains the lone exception) in the actual tournaments that matter.

And speaking of young guys:

-I thought Carlos's form mattered, Carlos was incredibly dominant, beating Musetti and Tsitsipas one-sidedly
-I thought Carlos had the physical advantage with his experience of 3 5-setters at the US Open last summer.

This is why Tiny Carl is currently in the chihuahua sized dog house. The potential SF vs Joker was the single most hyped match of the tournament…and it could not have flopped harder. Even before he started cramping at the beginning of the 3rd set he (and Joker) still didn’t play well. He was on pace to make 14 UFEs per set before he mentally and physically melted down. He ended up finishing the match with 50 UFEs. For as bemoaned as last year’s RG was for how a massively declined RAFA won, at least we got a Nadavic match. The fact that guys in their mid-30’s are able to produce a better more exciting level (despite being pale imitations of their peak/prime selves) then the new young “stars” is just a bad look for the sport going forward. Once Joker retires the ATP is going to have a vastly inferior product on their hands.
 
No harm done. We know your predictions are bad. We remember the 2022 predictions. We all make bad predictions sometimes...just not as bad as yours. :laughing:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Novak was doubted at Paris Olympics
Replies
44
Views
2K
Steve500
S
Leandro2045
[Historic] Nadal is the bookies underdog in a Clay Court match tomorrow
Replies
45
Views
3K
D.Nalby12
D
weakera
Rank the levels of the last 10 Grand Slam Champions
Replies
41
Views
3K
fishpiefriday
fishpiefriday
UnforcedTerror
No tennis player believes in himself like Djokovic does.
Replies
30
Views
1K
mahatma
M
Backspin1183
Toni: thought Rafael could go as high as #6 or #7, maybe become like C Moya
Replies
42
Views
4K
furryballs
F
Back
Top