At the end of the 4th set......

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Rolling into the 5th, when Rafa looked to be confused and running out of gas..... what were your honest thoughts? Everyone knows I bleed #TeamRafa and I was convinced he had messed it up. I went from celebration mode to texting my mom about how I can't believe Nadal gave the match away :D how many of you still thought Rafa would win? What an epic match, still can't believe he did it after Medvedev had won like 15 out of 17 points or something like that on the trot o_O

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What an unexpected gift from Rafa. Who would have saw him having a slightly better year than Novak after the AO final? My boy is so epic!
 

terribleIVAN

Hall of Fame
The set he lost were played better the ones he won (first 2).

I thought the level displayed in sets 1 and 2 was dreadful, from both. Rafa was just a little more clutch.

His returns tactic was atrocious, as usual, and it drained his energy tank even though he was winning these sets.

Medvedev was camping 5 feet behind the baseline and Rafa couldn't execute a correct drop shot to save his life.

He almost blew it.
 
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Deleted member 503267

Guest
I sure hope Rafa gets him something nice for Christmas because Medvedev

gave him lots of gifts throughout the match.
 

tonylg

Legend
The set he lost were played better the ones he won (first 2).

I thought the level displayed in sets 1 and 2 was dreadful, from both. Rafa was just a little more clutch.

His returns tactic was atrocious, as usual, and it drained his energy tank even though he was winning these sets.

Medvedev was camping 5 feet behind the baseline and Rafa couldn't execute a correct drop shot to save his life.

He almost blew it.

Pretty good summation of what I saw (kept switching it off out of boredom).

At the end of the 4th he started holding Medvedev up on serve .. and that was the difference in an epicly long, but pretty low quality match.
 

tonylg

Legend
Lol it was no AO 2009, but it damn sure wasn't low quality either.

Not that any were great, but I'd rate 3 of the quarters as having higher quality tennis than the final.

People often confuse occasion with quality, but they are not the same thing.
 

TripleATeam

G.O.A.T.
I thought Rafa would still pull it out, but I'll be damned if I wasn't rooting for Medvedev to take this comeback all the way home. I thought 65% Rafa, but after the break in the 3rd I was thinking 99% Rafa, so there's the comeback.
 

Rafa24

Hall of Fame
Completely coincidentally when he started to refuse to return serve.
??? he didn't "coincidentally refuse to return serve and break him".

Med got the ace to get to 30-0 after that or 40-0 i forget which but it had no impact.
 

junior74

Talk Tennis Guru
Medvedev had 1 or 2 break points in Rafa's first 2 games, but couldn't take them.

Yeah, I couldn't remember, but it clearly felt like the momentum was his.

The last three sets where phenomenal, but I agree with you the first two were poor.
 

duaneeo

Legend
Schwartzman came back from 2 breaks down in the 1st and 2nd sets against Nadal, but couldn't get that crucial set win. When Medvedev got that crucial set win after trailing 2 sets-love, then got the second set win, I thought two great things were about to happen: The first NextGen slam champion, and Roger still +2 ahead.
 

tonylg

Legend
??? he didn't "coincidentally refuse to return serve and break him".

Med got the ace to get to 30-0 after that or 40-0 i forget which but it had no impact.

Of course it had impact. From that point onward, Medvedev never knew before hitting a first serve if Nadal would try to return it or just throw his hands in the air and ask demand a redo.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
lol i forgot about that too. match point against anderson and lost. match point on serve against djoker at US semi and lost
Federer 2 MPs against Nadal at Rome 2006. Federer 1/17 in BPs against Nadal at RG 2007.
No denying Federer has choked a lot. Even Federer fans won't deny he's choked some big ones away.
 

Rafa24

Hall of Fame
Federer 2 MPs against Nadal at Rome 2006. Federer 1/17 in BPs against Nadal at RG 2007.
No denying Federer has choked a lot. Even Federer fans won't deny he's choked some big ones away.
they've both choked. i don't have the numbers but i'd say of the big 3 djoker chokes the least.
 

Gary Duane

G.O.A.T.
The moment Rafa won the first set, I turned off the TV and went to sleep. I was recording. I woke up, checked to see how badly Med got beat up, and surprise - Med won the 3rd set and was fighting for 4. So I started watching again, live, which I usually don't do. I still thought Rafa had it after 4, because almost no one has beaten him in a major when he was 2 sets up, but I honestly thought Med had a 50/50 shot near the end of the 5th set.

And I absolutely don't think that either player was less than very good. Rafa showed more stress than I can remember. He REALLY wanted this slam. Maybe now he can fully enjoy his wedding. ;)
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
they've both choked. i don't have the numbers but i'd say of the big 3 djoker chokes the least.
Djokovic is a pure baseliner and basically a robot who's overall boring to watch but brilliant as a player. Not a guy people really feel fascinated about in terms of entertainment value. That's why he's so behind Fedal in terms of popularity. Even if he wins the Slam race eventually in the next 4-5 years, he won't likely get the adulation of Federer and Nadal.
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
I definitely thought the ship had sailed when Bull was facing break points early in the 5th. All momentum had gone to Daniil but Rafa managed to flip the switch and slam the door in the end.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
The moment Rafa won the first set, I turned off the TV and went to sleep. I was recording. I woke up, checked to see how badly Med got beat up, and surprise - Med won the 3rd set and was fighting for 4. So I started watching again, live, which I usually don't do. I still thought Rafa had it after 4, because almost no one has beaten him in a major when he was 2 sets up, but I honestly thought Med had a 50/50 shot near the end of the 5th set.

And I absolutely don't think that either player was less than very good. Rafa showed more stress than I can remember. He REALLY wanted this slam. Maybe now he can fully enjoy his wedding. ;)
It was a very stressful match for everyone involved including the people watching. LOL
Nadal's family were completely stressed out and his girlfriend was about to break down when Nadal was behind in his service game in the 5th set. She was terrified he was going to get broken yet again.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
I definitely thought the ship had sailed when Bull was facing break points early in the 5th. All momentum had gone to Daniil but Rafa managed to flip the switch and slam the door in the end.
Nadal took some real risks I must say in those close moments. Stuff he probably would not do 99% of the time, he was forced to try and execute. Guy is a legend for sure. It's too bad he didn't play with this much tenacity and determination in that AO final. But maybe we'll get another epic battle like this in AO2020. Good to see at least 2 members of the new generation making some inroads. Thiem and Medvedev have performed the best so far of the young lot in 2 Slams this year even though both lost to Nadal in finals.
 

Gary Duane

G.O.A.T.
It was a very stressful match for everyone involved including the people watching. LOL
Nadal's family were completely stressed out and his girlfriend was about to break down when Nadal was behind in his service game in the 5th set. She was terrified he was going to get broken yet again.
Mostly enjoyable for me because I actually did not care who won. I was pulling a bit more for Med, but it wasn't huge.

For me the Wimbledon final this year was awful. THAT was stress for me because I really wanted Fed to win it.

I enjoy tennis more when I don't care who wins.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
You don't really get a sense of Medvedev's height until you actually see him standing next to Nadal. The way Medvedev moves and covers the court is impressive for such a tall guy. But I don't sense Medvedev being a guy playing great tennis into his 30s and beyond. I think he'll be a Del Potro/Safin type who'll break down earlier in his career because of his gangly frame and long limbs. He runs way too much on court. Too many long drawn out points. Going to have to change it up if he wants a long career.

rafael-nadal-daniil-medvedev-759.jpg
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Mostly enjoyable for me because I actually did not care who won. I was pulling a bit more for Med, but it wasn't huge.

For me the Wimbledon final this year was awful. THAT was stress for me because I really wanted Fed to win it.

I enjoy tennis more when I don't care who wins.
I wanted Medvedev to win because the sport needs new blood winning a Slam. But it's cool. Nadal winning is great too as it makes the Slam race even more exciting.
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
You don't really get a sense of Medvedev's height until you actually see him standing next to Nadal. The way Medvedev moves and covers the court is impressive for such a tall guy. But I don't sense Medvedev being a guy playing great tennis into his 30s and beyond. I think he'll be a Del Potro/Safin type who'll break down earlier in his career because of his gangly frame and long limbs. He runs way too much on court. Too many long drawn out points. Going to have to change it up if he wants a long career.

rafael-nadal-daniil-medvedev-759.jpg



Agree with this. Reminds me (to a different degree obviously) a little bit of Kristaps Porzingis. Guys that lanky aren't built to withstand a lot of running.
 

Gary Duane

G.O.A.T.
I wanted Medvedev to win because the sport needs new blood winning a Slam. But it's cool. Nadal winning is great too as it makes the Slam race even more exciting.
Yes. I'm a Fed fan, but I'm fine with ALL of the Big 3 riding off into the sunset at this point. Won't stop me from rooting for him if he gets to a final, but I hope he doesn't become the Venus Williams of men's tennis, hanging around forever when he can't challenge for the trophies any more.

There were always great young players in the past, from Connors right through to the Big 3 when they were all young. I want to see another young guy hold up a slam trophy. It looked like Med could be that guy for a few minutes.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Yes. I'm a Fed fan, but I'm fine with ALL of the Big 3 riding off into the sunset at this point. Won't stop me from rooting for him if he gets to a final, but I hope he doesn't become the Venus Williams of men's tennis, hanging around forever when he can't challenge for the trophies any more.

There were always great young players in the past, from Connors right through to the Big 3 when they were all young. I want to see another young guy hold up a slam trophy. It looked like Med could be that guy for a few minutes.
Didn't Federer sign a 10 year deal with Uniqlo? So now he has to play until he's 47? LOL
 

Gary Duane

G.O.A.T.
Didn't Federer sign a 10 year deal with Uniqlo? So now he has to play until he's 47? LOL
No idea. But if he starts falling back to his 2013 level, or even goes back to never being able to win another slam, I hope he retires. Maybe he feels the same way too. Kudos to Pete to getting that one last slam and then riding off into the sunset!
 

alexio

G.O.A.T.
. I still thought Rafa had it after 4, because almost no one has beaten him in a major when he was 2 sets up, but I honestly thought Med had a 50/50 shot near the end of the 5th set.
plus during the match (probably when you were sleeping).. i don't remember a moment when exactly it happened, but it was shown the stats that medvedev has never won five-setters in his career ..0-4, now it's 0-5
 

Gary Duane

G.O.A.T.
plus during the match (probably when you were sleeping).. i don't remember a moment when exactly it happened, but it was shown the stats that medvedev has never won five-setters in his career ..0-4, now it's 0-5
Oh, I've heard that stat several times, and because I record I saw the whole match later. In fact, I spent time with the 2nd and 3rd sets today. But you have to admit that almost beating Nadal in the final of the USO is probably as impressive as winning 2 or 3 5-setters in early rounds. After all, the goal is never to even HAVE to play 5 setters!
 
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