An apology...

[nolefam_2024]

I wonder: when will tennis get exciting again? I used to watch every masters tournament and the WTF. So I watched tennis basically the whole year. Now I‘m only interested in the 2nd week of slams and the WTF. Which gives me 5 weeks of tennis per year.

It feels like the sport is dying. That nothing matters anymore. It‘s just about the quest of Djokovic to further cement his GOAT status by amassing more GS titles.

It's because you are just following Djokovic. If you are fan of Djokovic as I am, you should follow Djokovic. Otherwise there are new players which you should follow.

 

[Cortana]

It's because you are just following Djokovic. If you are fan of Djokovic as I am, you should follow Djokovic. Otherwise there are new players which you should follow.

I also started to like Medvedev and thought that he would replace Djokovic for me. Be he went AWOL.

 

[nolefam_2024]

I also started to like Medvedev and thought that he would replace Djokovic for me. Be he went AWOL.

He didn't go awol. He had surgery. He is number 3 in the race and as clay season is over he might be number 1 in the world.

Alcaraz lost 1 match to the goat and people lost their minds. They expected too much from a 20 year old like he should never fail or it's weak era. At his age Roger Federer was a nobody. In modern tennis it takes a lot to physically get fit to win bo5. Alcaraz will get there in a year or two. His tennis is already better than big 3 at the same age..

Same with Rune and his physicality.

 

[zvelf]

I wonder: when will tennis get exciting again? I used to watch every masters tournament and the WTF. So I watched tennis basically the whole year. Now I‘m only interested in the 2nd week of slams and the WTF. Which gives me 5 weeks of tennis per year.

It feels like the sport is dying. That nothing matters anymore. It‘s just about the quest of Djokovic to further cement his GOAT status by amassing more GS titles.

You should watch women's tennis. After many years with no real rivalries on the women's side and when anyone could win a slam, Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Rybakina look like they are turning into big challenges for one another and have for the moment, pushed themselves to another level above the rest of the tour. It's entertaining.

 

[mike danny]

He didn't go awol. He had surgery. He is number 3 in the race and as clay season is over he might be number 1 in the world.

Alcaraz lost 1 match to the goat and people lost their minds. They expected too much from a 20 year old like he should never fail or it's weak era. At his age Roger Federer was a nobody. In modern tennis it takes a lot to physically get fit to win bo5. Alcaraz will get there in a year or two. His tennis is already better than big 3 at the same age..

Same with Rune and his physicality.

Well, we've seen 20 year old Nadal and Djokovic beat prime Federer to win majors, now it;s too much to expect from a 20 year old Alcaraz to beat a 36 year old Djokovic?

Alcaraz's game isn't better than Nadal's at the same age.

And at least Federer at 20 didn't cramp when he faced an ATG in a BO5.

 

[zvelf]

Well, we've seen 20 year old Nadal and Djokovic beat prime Federer to win majors, now it;s too much to expect from a 20 year old Alcaraz to beat a 36 year old Djokovic?

Alcaraz's game isn't better than Nadal's at the same age.

And at least Federer at 20 didn't cramp when he faced an ATG in a BO5.

This post just shows how spoiled we've become because if someone isn't like Nadal or Djokovic or Federer, that is, 3 of the greatest players of all time, suddenly they are losers. No, we shouldn't expect Alcaraz to be as good as Nadal at 20, but I can almost guarantee you that Alcaraz, barring serious injury, will become an ATG anyway.

 

[nolefam_2024]

This post just shows how spoiled we've become because if someone isn't like Nadal or Djokovic or Federer, that is, 3 of the greatest players of all time, suddenly they are losers. No, we shouldn't expect Alcaraz to be as good as Nadal at 20, but I can almost guarantee you that Alcaraz, barring serious injury, will become an ATG anyway.

And Alcaraz might be better than Nadal at 20/21 as well. Always remember nadal's 80% of the career is defined in 4 syllables. C l a y.

Alcaraz has won USOpen, may win Wimbledon USopen or atp finals this year making him better than 20 year old Nadal outside c l a y

 

[mike danny]

This post just shows how spoiled we've become because if someone isn't like Nadal or Djokovic or Federer, that is, 3 of the greatest players of all time, suddenly they are losers. No, we shouldn't expect Alcaraz to be as good as Nadal at 20, but I can almost guarantee you that Alcaraz, barring serious injury, will become an ATG anyway.

Those are just 3 I mentioned. Safin and Hewitt also won GS at 20 beating a GOAT in the final.

Alcaraz will become an ATG, but he's not even close as of now.

 

[nolefam_2024]

In any case losing to goat on RG semis is hardly a failure.

 

[mike danny]

And Alcaraz might be better than Nadal at 20/21 as well. Always remember nadal's 80% of the career is defined in 4 syllables. C l a y.

Alcaraz has won USOpen, may win Wimbledon USopen or atp finals this year making him better than 20 year old Nadal outside c l a y

Sure, let's forget 20-21 year old Nadal actually reached Wimb finals.

 

[mike danny]

In any case losing to goat on RG semis is hardly a failure.

Cramping after only 2 sets is. You talk as if Djokovic beat him fair and square. He didn't.

 

[Hypo Crisis]

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:

Spoiler: Bad RG predictions

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 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.

Dude, apology works only if it is sincere and if you refrain yourself from making same mistakes again. Otherwise it's pointless.

 

[junior74]

Humble pie is the good pie, no?

 

[Kralingen]

Dude, apology works only if it is sincere and if you refrain yourself from making same mistakes again. Otherwise it's pointless.

You're right.

I think Djokovic is going to do the CYGS. Idemo

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Please forgive me
If I act a little strange
For I know not what I do
Feels like lightning
Running through my veins
Every time I bet on you
Oh, you better win
Or we're through

 

[zvelf]

Those are just 3 I mentioned. Safin and Hewitt also won GS at 20 beating a GOAT in the final.

Alcaraz will become an ATG, but he's not even close as of now.

Let's put it this way, again, barring injury, I see Alcaraz way out-achieving Safin and Hewitt's careers.

 

[mike danny]

Let's put it this way, again, barring injury, I see Alcaraz way out-achieving Safin and Hewitt's careers.

If he doesn't, then something is surely wrong.

 

[Rosstour]

Again wrong. He was 35.

Yes that's partly true, he turned 36 that year though and won the 18 AO at that age.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Mate, you're one of the best posters here, no need to apologize! @Kralingen

 

[Thundergod]

I wonder: when will tennis get exciting again? I used to watch every masters tournament and the WTF. So I watched tennis basically the whole year. Now I‘m only interested in the 2nd week of slams and the WTF. Which gives me 5 weeks of tennis per year.

It feels like the sport is dying. That nothing matters anymore. It‘s just about the quest of Djokovic to further cement his GOAT status by amassing more GS titles.

Unfortunately, the days of Masters tournaments being hotly contested events are long gone. Nadal and Djokovic don't care about Masters anymore like they used to and a decent amount of Masters feel like like 250/500 fields. Back in the day, Paris used to be the only Masters with garbage fields.

 

[ND-13]

I too kept stating Djoko will win. I don’t need an apology from a quality guy like you. But I will take an apology from the GOAT fanatics if they change their mind , anytime

 

[GabeT]

Fed also suffered injuries which explained his drop in level. Djokovic hasn't suffered any serious injuries.

We can say he's the fittest of the 3, but that's it.

Fed was also coming back from injury

Fed also waxed Rafa like 5 times in his age-36 year

And we can bag on Cilic all we want, but he has more Slams than Cmonderson, Ruud, Kyrgios Tsitsipas and Berrettini combined.

on Cilic: Fed beat him. And im not commenting on the quality of the players post 30 Fed beat. I’m commenting on the quality of the players he lost to. He lost to players like Raonic and Stakhovsky and Seppi and Gulbis over a number of years.
In that same age range Novak won multiple consecutive slams. He won multiple slams in all the surfaces. “old” Fed would have won more without Novak around but he would not have won as much as Djokovic did.

 

[JustMy2Cents]

GabeT doesn’t predict matches though. He never said Djokovic was going to win with any confidence.

No, the only one who constantly pushed back and was 100% confident in Novak is the one who deserves the apology.

That man is @TennisFan3

tennisfan3 is a veritable Goran, if I recall right... staunchest Djo guy, stating Rafa has no chance in 2022 and probably 2020 RGs.
it's not a surprise his prediction was for djo, it always is!

re predictions, there are quite a few posters, hitman ffw etal, who create snarky threads on the eve of any slam viewing Rafa as a scrub with no chances.
for example, there was a hitman thread 'who did nadal **** off' after the AO draw 2022 snarking about how he'll never handle the draw, the same vein thread by ffw before AO 22, claiming Rafa was bound for a 1R exit
if that's what floats their boat, so be it!!

what I've seen of your posts, they are entertaining and don't need apologies.
keep the predictions coming.
after all, this is all banter for a few laughs!

 

[GoldenMasters]

Masters don't indicate anything for Djokovic's Slam performance since he returned to the tour in 2018. His 2018-Present is a completely different era than 2011-2016. He is just peaking for Slams only. It's not that he isn't trying to win matches in masters, it's that once they require more effort to win he just doesn't waste energy to put in that effort while in Slams he will always do it.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Masters don't indicate anything for Djokovic's Slam performance since he returned to the tour in 2018. His 2018-Present is a completely different era than 2011-2016. He is just peaking for Slams only. It's not that he isn't trying to win matches in masters, it's that once they require more effort to win he just doesn't waste energy to put in that effort while in Slams he will always do it.

Frankly Novak doesn't need masters instead of vice versa.

Novak won 25/51 masters in 2011 to 2016. That's godly. No mortal will ever come closer.

When he stopped winning masters he was already having 30 that was a record that time. And he added 8 more in 5 years. Now he doesn't need a single masters but he will win at least a couple more.

 

[Sir Weed]

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

You're right.

I think Djokovic is going to do the CYGS. Idemo

Damn now we doomed nolefam!

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Frankly Novak doesn't need masters instead of vice versa.

Novak won 25/51 masters in 2011 to 2016. That's godly. No mortal will ever come closer.

When he stopped winning masters he was already having 30 that was a record that time. And he added 8 more in 5 years. Now he doesn't need a single masters but he will win at least a couple more.

He has the records in every metric and in masters too. He’s won them all at least twice and got record so nothing to prove in them either. Getting 40 would be cool but not necessary at this point.

 

[Cortana]

It would still be nice for Novak to get to 40-50 Masters titles. Set a record that can‘t be broken again in our lifetime.

 

[yokied]

You're right.

I think Djokovic is going to do the CYGS. Idemo

I've got him booked for a 10-day stay in Heartbreak Hotel in NY. Don't book it though.

Problem isn't the predictions per se, but you don't learn, especially after the AO injury fiasco.

lol the only thing owed around here re Novak's imaginjuries are the 14 DVDs he said he was making and the 66 different scans he promised.

 

[NeutralFan]

Son, You should apologise to every fan whose favourite players have been jinxed by you.

 

[slipgrip93]

I wanted to believe ,and from your posts Kralingen before the Alcaraz vs. Djokovich match, that Alcaraz could pull it off and be on his way. But I was still wary of Djokovich. I knew he had always had seeming hidden extra gears (concealed carry like) of experience and gameplay he could and had brought to previous matches. A few years ago, I thought he was just an ultimately easy-spin pusher making opponents mentally "cramp" up, wearing them down. But I saw how he turned around vs. Tsitsipas from set 3 to 5 in their RG final. Saw how he could hit harder shots vs. Nadal in certain games. Like he chooses which games he wants to change his style of pace as an incredible high level of playing option.

And then during the Alcaraz and the final vs. Ruud matches, he had some games where he was ruthlessly hitting power forehands like Alcaraz and even sprint-sliding like him which was shocking but not totally unsurprising like me like he could and has built up parts of his game to be even better or even just to show off to the crowd and the world he could do the circus show hitting like Alcaraz too if he wanted. Of course never as talented as Fed, nor spin-clay meister like Nadal, but has worked so hard on what he could personally improve on.

I was never a fan of Djokovich and his game, but have respect enough now and wary that he's a been a legit big three the past decade. However I've become kind of a fan just particularly of his and his teams fitness regimen, and use of alternative health products as his performance and fitness and injury prevention is surely a footnote or guiness record to be in the annals of longevity and anti-aging sports fitness and performance of our already now quarter 21st century with all the new and improving health and nutrition tech that wasn't here in the last quarter of last century.

 

[CoolCoolCool]

You're kinda like the antithesis of @TennisFan3, you see Djoker as a very fragile and overrated player for some reason. He's not invincible or as good as in his prime, but as always, the truth is in the middle.

That being said, him being trashed by Raz in the SF was a reasonable prediction to make, but the most sensible prediction doesn't always come true.

 

[mike danny]

on Cilic: Fed beat him. And im not commenting on the quality of the players post 30 Fed beat. I’m commenting on the quality of the players he lost to. He lost to players like Raonic and Stakhovsky and Seppi and Gulbis over a number of years.
In that same age range Novak won multiple consecutive slams. He won multiple slams in all the surfaces. “old” Fed would have won more without Novak around but he would not have won as much as Djokovic did.

Again, Raonic and Stakhovsky were injury-related. Otherwise Djokovic also lost to Istomin and Cecchinato in majors.

 

[TTMR]

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:

Spoiler: Bad RG predictions

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 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.

One thing to remember, Kralingen, as the bank repossesses your house, is that matchup and record dictates outcome, and hype trains usually derail when faced with a historically superior player or a lopsided matchup. Wise words to that effect from this poster:

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/sorry-murray-being-in-form-doesnt-matter.524148/

 

[joekapa]

This is a jinx thread.

 

[CoolCoolCool]

Somehow, this reminds me a bit of Rog vs Djoker at RG 2011. Everybody saw Djoker as the overwhelming favorite and Rog was thought to be washed up and nobody expected him to win. Of course, this is different, as the match was won because of Rog's insane level of play, but Djoker was below par by his standards, just like Raz was.

 

[GabeT]

Again, Raonic and Stakhovsky were injury-related. Otherwise Djokovic also lost to Istomin and Cecchinato in majors.

I don't see where we disagree. Yes, if Fed had always been healthy chances are he could have won more. That's true also of Novak.

 

[socallefty]

When is Carlos going to apologize to his TTW fans?

 

[Eureka]

When is Carlos going to apologize to his TTW fans?

If this is a serious question the serious answer is that he has nothing to apologise for. The responsibility for hyperbole is that of those who undertake it.

If it is not a serious question then the answer is " when pigs might fly".

He owes zilch to the media / comms / those on boards such as this.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Everything djokovic does still defies tennis because he is the chosen one

No one thought he would go back to back five sets, down 2 sets to 1 and still have motivation to fight back this year. But he found the motivation when it really mattered.

Safe to say this guy knows about how to peak in slams and when more than any ttw members. Now he is 37 and this is his worst surface so chances are not that good. But he is rounding into form for Wimbledon Olympics gold and USOpen.

Still a lot to play for.

 

[DSH]

If the apology is not to GabeT it doesn't count.

 

[Kralingen]

**** off stop bumping old threads @nolefam_2024

There was zero reason to post in this thread

 

[Deleted member 806402]

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:

Spoiler: Bad RG predictions

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 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.

I'm glad you found Djesus. It would've been terrible to see you Strongrulify.