As a Rafa fan seeing Novaks level of play today makes the semi loss to Fedr hurt more.

[Rafa24]

Novak was far from ultron mode. He was outplayed by Fed other than the tie breaks and clutch moments.

I figured ultron would show up and win easily in straights vs Fed or Nadal but it wasn't ultron. First set tie break was rafas undoing as he and fedr are both tough to beat when they win the first set. I think Rafa could have given novak a decent match today, Might not have won but this was far from the best novak.

Misery loves company fed fans.....

 

[zagor]

Have to agree, I think Rafa would have had a decent shot at beating this Novak.

That said, he would have also given Novak more rhytm (part of Novak looking out of sorts was because of Fed's superlative serving) so it would have been a different match-up.

I'd say it would have been 60-40 in favour of Nole.

 

[ScottleeSV]

I suspect Novak was mentally more prepared for the Rafa test and the fact it was Federer (and a Federer playing amazing tennis) caught him out a bit.

To the extent he almost lost anyway.

 

[aman92]

Djokovic had a higher level in the last year semi finals for sure

 

[Dilexson]

Nah, dont even think Rafa would have pushed him to that limit.
Novak should feel more secure in that match up after their last slam meeting.

 

[weakera]

2018 level Rafa for sure beats Nole yesterday but that Rafa was MIA on Friday

 

[MrFlip]

It's on grass though...

Nadal only a threat on clay, again.

 

[WarriorRafa]

Hard to say that Rafa would still have won or not. Djoko would have upped his level against Rafa. And some of his errors were due to the fact that Fed gave him no rhythm and servebotted a lot.

 

[Julian Houston]

Djokovic isn't that ready to hit a winner yesterday. 2018 Rafa would have outplay this Djoker if he made the final.

 

[LETitBE]

Novak would have slapped nadal around the court like
a red headed step child LOL

 

[Benjamin Rio]

A fit Nadal would have won. No doubt about that. 0 losses when is match fit.

 

[Feather]

It's a different match-up. Rafa hasn't beaten both Roger and Novak from 2014 off-clay!

AO 2019 was utter destruction

Roger was serving excellently. He didn't get broken till the end of fourth set. Novak will get more looks on Rafa's serve and would have broken him.

Roger Federer, with the serve, has better chances to beat Novak than Rafa and he even had match points.

Even in their last Masters match at Paris, Novak didn't even break Roger's serve. I am hopeful about Roger's prospects if they, Roger and Novak play at US Open

 

[ibbi]

If you think that Nadal could have served like Federer served then you might have a point. Him serving like a god the whole match is the reason Djokovic was up against the wall the way he was.

 

[weakera]

If you think that Nadal could have served like Federer served then you might have a point. Him serving like a god the whole match is the reason Djokovic was up against the wall the way he was.

He couldn't serve like Roger but he would have made Nole pay for his dreadful first serve for long stretches of the match. That is, if he played like 2018 SF. 2019 SF level, no chance.

 

[Gary Duane]

Novak was far from ultron mode. He was outplayed by Fed other than the tie breaks and clutch moments.

I figured ultron would show up and win easily in straights vs Fed or Nadal but it wasn't ultron. First set tie break was rafas undoing as he and fedr are both tough to beat when they win the first set. I think Rafa could have given novak a decent match today, Might not have won but this was far from the best novak.

Misery loves company fed fans.....

It's kind of funny actually. Fed screwed Nadal, Novak screwed Fed. Nadal didn't get to screw Joker because Thiem did it for him.

Something perverse about this picture, so don't take it literally.

 

[Benjamin Rio]

He couldn't serve like Roger but he would have made Nole pay for his dreadful first serve for long stretches of the match. That is, if he played like 2018 SF. 2019 SF level, no chance.

We get it. He played crap against Roger and great against Novak.

Rafa must feel he was really lucky not to have played Novak at the FO conditions.

 

[weakera]

We get it. He played crap against Roger and great against Novak.

Rafa must feel he was really lucky not to have played Novak at the FO conditions.

Rafa would have beaten Nole soundly at RG based on the level both displayed at the tournament.

 

[Benjamin Rio]

Rafa would have beaten Nole soundly at RG based on the level both displayed at the tournament.

Oh yeah.

Before facing Thiem in those horrible conditions and unfair schedule Novak hadn't lost a set. If he had showed up with his AO 2019 level, Nadal would have been thrashed.
Nadal can say thank you to Guy Forget.

What is true as a matter of fact is a fit Nadal is invincible and has never ever lost a match against an educated player.

 

[weakera]

Oh yeah.

Before facing Thiem in those horrible conditions and unfair schedule Novak hadn't lost a set. If he had showed up with his AO 2019 level, Nadal would have been thrashed.
Nadal can say thank you to Guy Forget.

What is true as a matter of fact is a fit Nadal is invincible and has never ever lost a match against an educated player.

The conditions on the day of the final were excellent and perfect for Rafa's game and he defeated Thiem easily. He had also bageled Nole on clay just a couple of weeks earlier lol. I think Novak takes maybe one set if he was good enough to have reached the final

 

[StrongRule]

Oh yeah.

Before facing Thiem in those horrible conditions and unfair schedule Novak hadn't lost a set. If he had showed up with his AO 2019 level, Nadal would have been thrashed.
Nadal can say thank you to Guy Forget.

What is true as a matter of fact is a fit Nadal is invincible and has never ever lost a match against an educated player.

Lol, we are yet to see a decent player getting "thrashed" by Djokovic in RG. Djokovic never beat a very well playing opponent there and won RG 2016 with a joke of a draw.

 

[Benjamin Rio]

The conditions on the day of the final were excellent and perfect for Rafa's game and he defeated Thiem easily. He had also bageled Nole on clay just a couple of weeks earlier lol. I think Novak takes maybe one set if he was good enough to have reached the final

I think Novak was gutted because he knew in current form he would have won against Nadal.

In Rome Novak was far from playing well (terrible schedule).........and still got a set form Nadal.

Rome results don't mean much.

Murray beat Novak in Rome in 16 and lost the FO final.
Novak beat Nadal in Rome 14 and lost the FO final.

 

[weakera]

I think Novak was gutted because he knew in current form he would have won against Nadal.

In Rome Novak was far from playing well .........and still got a set form Nadal.

Rome results don't mean much.

Murray beat Novak in Rome in 16 and lost the FO final.
Novak beat Nadal in Rome 14 and lost the FO final.

Yeah, Rafa has no history of beating Nole at RG with Nole in good form

Call me when Novak conquers Dominic, then he can get an invite to the clay big leagues

 

[ghostofMecir]

Have to agree, I think Rafa would have had a decent shot at beating this Novak.

That said, he would have also given Novak more rhytm (part of Novak looking out of sorts was because of Fed's superlative serving) so it would have been a different match-up.

I'd say it would have been 60-40 in favour of Nole.

“This Novak”existed today because of Federer’s game, his offense, his serves hitting lines again and again, his hitting inside the court, right off the baseline. Novak would have torn Nadal apart like he did in Australia.

 

[Benjamin Rio]

Yeah, Rafa has no history of beating Nole at RG with Nole in good form

Call me when Novak conquers Dominic, then he can get an invite to the clay big leagues

Novak on clay

1 FO 3 finals
2 MC ( 2 sets win against Nadal)
3 Rome ( 2 sets win against Nadal)
2 Madrid (2 sets win agsinst Nadal)

 

[StrongRule]

Novak on clay

1 FO 3 finals
2 MC ( 2 sets win against Nadal)
3 Rome ( 2 sets win against Nadal)
2 Madrid (2 sets win agsinst Nadal)

Not a single win against a great playing opponent in RG. No wins over a decent Nadal there. No wins over a decent Federer there. He even failed to beat a decent Thiem.

 

[Benjamin Rio]

Not a single win against a great playing opponent in RG. No wins over a decent Nadal there. No wins over a decent Federer there. He even failed to beat a decent Thiem.

I get it. When Nadal beats Novak in MC Madrid FO Rome Novak was playing the tennis of his life. When Novak won Nadal played poorly. Double standards as usual.

 

[StrongRule]

I get it. When Nadal beats Novak in MC Madrid FO Rome Novak was playing the tennis of his life. When Novak won Nadal played poorly. Double standards as usual.

Nadal in 2015 played the worst tennis of his career and it had nothing to do with Djokovic. So stop your trolling please. Djokovic had his wins over a decent Nadal in Madrid 2011, Rome 2011 and MC 2013. But Nadal beat a good Djokovic on clay much more times.

 

[Julian Houston]

It's a different match-up. Rafa hasn't beaten both Roger and Novak from 2014 off-clay!

AO 2019 was utter destruction

Roger was serving excellently. He didn't get broken till the end of fourth set. Novak will get more looks on Rafa's serve and would have broken him.

Roger Federer, with the serve, has better chances to beat Novak than Rafa and he even had match points.

Even in their last Masters match at Paris, Novak didn't even break Roger's serve. I am hopeful about Roger's prospects if they, Roger and Novak play at US Open

Sure, but he cannot choke again. Fedr needs to pick himself up and move on.

With his talent of serve, he should be playing aggressive to break Djokovic frequently. On his backhand side should not play the same CC shot over and over again, some short DTL slice and dropshots will work better.

 

[Tennisbg]

Not for me, Djokovic would have turned on his ultrone mode against Nadal.

 

[Benjamin Rio]

Not for me, Djokovic would have turned on his ultrone mode against Nadal.

Nadal is easier for Novak than Fed.
He's better than Nadal on every aspect except the volley and overhead.

 

[skaj]

Nadal had a lot of chances in that match and Djokovic profited from the seeding, so no reason for you to hurt.

 

[Pantera]

Novak was far from ultron mode. He was outplayed by Fed other than the tie breaks and clutch moments.

I figured ultron would show up and win easily in straights vs Fed or Nadal but it wasn't ultron. First set tie break was rafas undoing as he and fedr are both tough to beat when they win the first set. I think Rafa could have given novak a decent match today, Might not have won but this was far from the best novak.

Misery loves company fed fans.....

Rafa was never beating Novak, not on a low bouncing court. The rivalry between Nadal and Djokovic is not personal so Novak never gets that tight v Rafa.

Rafa did brilliantly and its been a fantastic summer for him as he closed the gap on Federer with his 2nd best slam to come. Its up to Rafa to stay fit now. Rafa thought Federer was winning W if anyone remembers a comment he made after he beat Fed at FO.

 

[Pantera]

Nadal is easier for Novak than Fed.
He's better than Nadal on every aspect except the volley and overhead.

Mentally Nadal is stronger, Nadal FH is stronger, volleys id give Nadal as well.

However Rafa v Novak comes down to FH v BH. on high bouncing courts Rafa comes out on top usually as his FH breaks the Djokovic BH down, on a court like grass Djokovic BH comes out on top.

 

[Benjamin Rio]

Really? USO ring a bell? I guess all those 22 wins for Nadal were flukes then?

2010 Novak not great.
2013 Bad match from Novak. last set he lost to Nadal on HC.

He won his USO against Youzhny Gasquet Rublev. 100% fluke.

Never defended anything outside clay. Fluke

 

[Pantera]

2010 Novak not great.
2013 Bad match from Novak. last set he lost to Nadal on HC.

He won his USO against Youzhny Gasquet Rublev. 100% fluke.

Lol....you must be out of salt almost.

 

[tennisaddict]

Don’t see it . It would have been a competitive match still

 

[zagor]

“This Novak”existed today because of Federer’s game, his offense, his serves hitting lines again and again, his hitting inside the court, right off the baseline. Novak would have torn Nadal apart like he did in Australia.

Maybe I'm overrating his chances but there's also 2018 SF which was awfully close. You think it would have gone from that to Nadal receiving a drumming?

 

[weakera]

rafa wouldn't have done **** against djoko on this fcuking slow grass........his loss to fed was so expected, just read my two previous posts........rafa's game is aided by a speedy court and negated by a slow court........i have been saying this since several years and even most rafa fans don't get it to this day........rafa likes fast and lively conditions with good bounce........that's why he succeeded more at us open and failed more at the slowed down garbage lawns at wimbledon over the last 10 years........

I agree totally re: Rafa's preferences. The Rafa likes slow conditions misconception continues to plague tennis. Rafa likes a big, consistent bounce more than anything else.

 

[Rago]

Maybe I'm overrating his chances but there's also 2018 SF which was awfully close. You think it would have gone from that to Nadal receiving a drumming?

Unlikely to have happened.

Probably another 5 setter with the way Novak played sets 2 and 4.

Funny thing is I wouldn't have been surprised if Nadal even won in 4; don't think he'd lose both tie breaks and go down 2 sets to 1.

Different match up and too many ifs and buts; let's not mess with the time zones.

Nadal in another slam final would have been a nightmare. Let's not go there.

 

[MichaelNadal]

I don't agree. Djokovic wasn't ever going to let go. Would have been just like last yr.

 

[NoleFam]

Lol, we are yet to see a decent player getting "thrashed" by Djokovic in RG. Djokovic never beat a very well playing opponent there and won RG 2016 with a joke of a draw.

Djokovic has beaten Nadal, Federer, Murray, Thiem, Tsonga, Berdych and Del Potro at RG. He must be the luckiest tennis player ever if he beat all these guys, some of them multiple times, and not one of them were ever playing well.

 

[StrongRule]

Djokovic has beaten Nadal, Federer, Murray, Thiem, Tsonga, Berdych and Del Potro at RG. He must be the luckiest tennis player ever if he beat all these guys, some of them multiple times, and not one of them were ever playing well.

Your comment is a joke and you know why. You know just as well as all the others that Nadal in 2015 was at his absolute worst. Federer played a very bad match in RG 2012. It is seriously a joke that you mention them. Don't even make me start talking about Murray and BERDYCH. (who was double bageled by Goffin two weeks earlier in Rome)
Against Tsonga in RG 2012 it was his best win, at least Tsonga played very well for two and a half sets out of five. Still wouldn't call it a great win, just a good one.

 

[zagor]

Unlikely to have happened.

Probably another 5 setter with the way Novak played sets 2 and 4.

Funny thing is I wouldn't have been surprised if Nadal even won in 4; don't think he'd lose both tie breaks and go down 2 sets to 1.

Different match up and too many ifs and buts; let's not mess with the time zones.

Nadal in another slam final is always a nightmare.

The problem for Nadal would be getting to those tiebreaks and Novak settling into the baseline rhytm which suffered against Fed becaue he was racing through service games.

Agreed with the last sentence lol.

 

[Djokodal Fan]

Yeah, Rafa has no history of beating Nole at RG with Nole in good form

Call me when Novak conquers Dominic, then he can get an invite to the clay big leagues

Hold on to your pants Nadal fanboi. Nadal is yet to beat Djokovic outside of clay in last 5 years. So let's not get ahead of ourselves.

To the OPs original post, nope Nadal would have had zero chance against Novak here especially on grass. He would be a sitting duck like he was in Australian open finals. We all witnessed the massacre, don't we?

 

[weakera]

Hold on to your pants Nadal fanboi. Nadal is yet to beat Djokovic outside of clay in last 5 years. So let's not get ahead of ourselves.

To the OPs original post, nope Nadal would have had zero chance against Novak here especially on grass. He would be a sitting duck like he was in Australian open finals. We all witnessed the massacre, don't we?

Very convenient for Nole to avoid Rafa everywhere off clay from 2017 until W 2018 lol

 

[Djokodal Fan]

Very convenient for Nole to avoid Rafa everywhere off clay from 2017 until W 2018 lol

Let you idol first defeat Roger. I'm yet to see it outside his favorite clay. Can't defeat old nemesis yet who is about to retire . Let's discuss when he actually meets. Massacre guaranteed!

 

[Benjamin Rio]

Yes this is delusion you are posting. Answer why he does he have the 4th highest winning percentage since 1970 at RG if he never beat any well playing opponents? He must be the luckiest player ever. Also, he won all the major clay tournaments multiple times: Rome, Madrid and MC. I guess he never beat any good opponents there either. Man this guy is lucky.

Fo 2015 straight sets against Nadal
MC 2013 straight sets against Nadal
Madrid 2011 stfaight sets against Nadal
Rome 2011 Straight sets against Nadal

But he's right. He never played any good opponents.

 

[StrongRule]

Fo 2015 straight sets against Nadal
MC 2013 straight sets against Nadal
Madrid 2011 stfaight sets against Nadal
Rome 2011 Straight sets against Nadal

But he's right. He never played any good opponents.

 

[Tennis Rules]

its difficult to compare matches...but yesterday i thought the same...

nadal had beaten this djokovic. too bad he was´nt at his best against federer.

two years in a row he lost the semi and would have won the final (2018 for sure....2019 80%)

 

[Rafa24]

Your comment is a joke and you know why. You know just as well as all the others that Nadal in 2015 was at his absolute worst. Federer played a very bad match in RG 2012. It is seriously a joke that you mention them. Don't even make me start talking about Murray and BERDYCH. (who was double bageled by Goffin two weeks earlier in Rome)
Against Tsonga in RG 2012 it was his best win, at least Tsonga played very well for two and a half sets out of five. Still wouldn't call it a great win, just a good one.

Djoker isn't bad on clay. But i agree everyone knew in 2015 rafa was going to lose at RG. He was playing awful that year.