Biggest mismatch slam final for men since start of 2003

[anointedone]

What did you think was the biggest mismatch Slam final for men since 2003:

Here are the candidates I can think of:

Agassi vs Schuettler 2003 Australian Open final- Schuettler did beat Agassi later that year, but he was a shock to even be in a slam final. Nobody thought he had any chance to even make a set close. It turned out to be right.

Ferrero vs Verkerk 2003 French Open final- Verkerk was a complete shock to even reach a slam final, especialy on clay since his game doesnt seem to be a clay courters game at all. This match was like David vs Goliath. You knew Verkerk never had a chance. Ferrero jerked him all over the court like a yo-yo all match long.

Federer vs Phillipousis 2003 Wimbledon final- This was also a complete mismatch. Federer is superior to Phillipousis in every aspect of the game, much better return of serve, much better groundstrokes of both sides, movement around the court much superior, Phillipousis is not even that comfortable or net or any better then Federer there, so except maybe the serve where they might be about equal. That 2 sets went to tiebreaks were completely deceiving since the last 2 sets were a cruise. Federer easily could have broken twice in the last set and won it 6-2, just like the 2nd, and he won the tiebreak 7-3.

Nadal vs Puerta 2005 French Open final- The match ended up much closer then expected, but going in it looked like a complete mismach. It was a combination of Nadal being nervous in his first slam final and Puerta playing the match of his life. Still going in it looked like one of the biggest mismatches.

Federer vs Baghdatis 2006 Australian Open final- Like the Nadal-Puerta French Open final this seemed to be an extreme mismatch. Ended up much closer then expected though.

Federer vs Gonzalez 2007 Australian Open final- Another huge mismatch, regardless how well Gonzalez was playing. Gonzalez's best shot is his forehand and Federer easily trumps him even on that.

 

[jazzman21]

when and where was the verkerk match?

 

[anointedone]

when and where was the verkerk match?

The French Open final in 2003, when Ferrero won his only French Open, and only Slam title.

 

[ChipNCharge]

Any particular reason you chose 2003 as the starting point?

 

[anointedone]

Any particular reason you chose 2003 as the starting point?

I think alot of people in this forum mostly know from 2003 to today. They might not know the matches if I went beyond that.

 

[snapple]

I would say it would have to be Fed's handing Hewitt two bagels in the Open finals of '04. That match was a total demolition.

 

[daddy]

Puerta, Gonzalez and Baghdatis do not beling here. Puerta was on drugs ( doping ) and was a great player on clay at the time, the 2nd best. HAd a chance to win, Baghdatis is top 10 player most of the time, had a great tournament then and kicked out some pretty harsh faces and played well in finals until 4th set was over, Gonzo is a top 10 regularly and is not a surprise package for him to get to the final at least once in his top 10 reign.

 

[jelle v]

Nadal - Puerta a mismatch? Puerta should have won that one.. he came very close. Puerta shows how much advantage Nadal has as a left-handed player (no pun intended). Puerta also being left handed didn't have any trouble with the high bouncing balls from Nadal.

 

[anointedone]

I voted for Federer vs Phillipousis, since Mark does not do one thing better then Federer, except a better first serve on his great days, but even his serve is unreliable and has its great days and not so great days. Most areas he is not even half as good as Federer, return of serve, forehand, backhand, overall court coverage, overall mental game. Pretty hard to see someone having any chance going into the match that way. Like a British paper I read said if it wasnt for Mark's serve he would have been charcoal in under an hour.

 

[daddy]

I vote ferrero - verkerk. Because Federer would probably win the wimby anyways , even if he had better oponent. Ferrero might have lost to some better player, thus it was a lucky title. As gaudios was lucky because the old cat had cramps during the 5th set. I dont remember the guys name, his nick is cat.

 

[MEAC_ALLAMERICAN]

I would say it would have to be Fed's handing Hewitt two bagels in the Open finals of '04. That match was a total demolition.

That would be the ultimate mismatch, but I voted Agassi vs Schuettler thoughm the score was 6-2, 6-2,6-1. It lasted about 76 minutes, no chance for Ranier down under.

 

[Defcon]

Your choices suck. The correct answer is Fed vs Hewitt USO 2004 as already mentioned. A mismatch on paper means almost nothing, its all about who turns up to play that day. If it ends up being a close its not really a mismatch is it.

 

[superman1]

Hewitt won 6 games against Federer. Schuettler won 5 games against Agassi. So there's your answer.

 

[anointedone]

Puerta, Gonzalez and Baghdatis do not beling here.

Puerta was on drugs ( doping ) and was a great player on clay at the time, the 2nd best. HAd a chance to win,

Puerta was doping probably, but he was NEVER considered the 2nd best player on clay. It was a huge shock that he made the French Open final, there were many players rated over him on clay going into the event. His record on clay for the year before the French Open was 25-12, and many of those matches were Challengers. At Monte Carlo, Rome, Hamburg, he went 4-3. Does that sound like the second best clay courter before the French Open?

If Federer had played him in the final 95% likely Federer would have won, however the idiocy of making #2 ranked Roddick the #2 seed (ROTFL!) meant Federer and Nadal were in the same half. If Coria had played him in the final, Coria probably wins as well even though he was already on the downward a bit.

Baghdatis is top 10 player most of the time

Baghdatis has spent exactly 10 weeks of his whole career ranked in the top 10. Pretty slim pickings for someone who is supposably a top 10 player "most of the time" even if you mean recently only.

had a great tournament then and kicked out some pretty harsh faces

Benefited greatly from the fact Nadal was out of the event with an injury. Say whatever you want about Nadal's record on hard courts, but his head to head play with Baghdatis on any surface is telling enough. Plus with the slower conditions that year Nadal would have atleast been in the final probably that year.

and played well in finals until 4th set was over

Actually he won 2 games in the final 2 sets.

Gonzo is a top 10 regularly and is not a surprise package for him to get to the final at least once in his top 10 reign.

It is somewhat a surprise for a 26 who had never been to even a slam semi yet in his career, and never won a Masters title, getting to a slam final.

 

[xtremerunnerars]

I don't think a thread for the men is as interesting as it would be for the women.

I think the agassi match was pretty sad though, but then again so was the fed-lleyton match.

My vote goes to agassi.

 

[OrangeOne]

I voted for Federer vs Phillipousis, since Mark does not do one thing better then Federer, except a better first serve on his great days, but even his serve is unreliable and has its great days and not so great days. Most areas he is not even half as good as Federer, return of serve, forehand, backhand, overall court coverage, overall mental game. Pretty hard to see someone having any chance going into the match that way. Like a British paper I read said if it wasnt for Mark's serve he would have been charcoal in under an hour.

It was a few years earlier - but did you ever see Mark DESTROY Sampras at the AO?

Of the matches you listed, Mark is one of the few players who can, at least once in a career , do something on a phenomenal stage. He didn't just beat Pete, he literally blasted him off the court, sheer destruction.

 

[lacoster]

I don't really remember all those matches, but it would be helpful if you had posted the scorelines from each match...but I remember Federer pwning Hewitt in 04.

 

[schnick_15]

The Agassi-Schuttler match, in my opinion Roddick should have made it, he got completely wiped from the El (I don't know how to spell the other part of his name) match.

 

[davey]

It wasn't the most lopsided final, but after watching Safin play out of his mind and beat Federer in the 2005 AO semi-final, I knew Hewitt had no chance in the final.

 

[Ljubicic for number1]

3 votes for the Scud lol the people who voted obviously didnt watch the match.

 

[chris1992]

i think it was in 2002 not 2003 but when hewitt beat nalbandian in the wimby final, it was pretty much a whitewash.

 

[anointedone]

3 votes for the Scud lol the people who voted obviously didnt watch the match.

I watched the match. It was not a competitive or close match at all. The first set was, after the first set you always knew Federer was going to win. The score was 7-6, 6-2, 7-6, but the final set score is a bit of a joke and totally misleading. Federer had one break point in a game where he missed an easy forehand with the whole court open that he makes 99 times out of 100, and another break point in another game where a second serve fault was overruled. The 3rd set should have really been either 6-2 or 6-4 but you always knew Mark never had a chance to win it.

Anyway I wasnt neccessarily talking about just the competitiveness of the matches. I mean matchups that looked all along like a player had no chance to win. That is one for me that always looked like a done deal before they even stepped on the court. JMO

 

[Rhino]

It depends if you mean mismatch by name, or mismatch by how they actually played in the final.
Baghdatis put up a respectable performance against Federer, leading a set and a break if I remember, and Puerta took the first set off Nadal at Roland Garros.
Agassi v Schuettler gets my vote because it was so one sided (like his final with Clement), and possibly Hewitt v Federer at the 04 US Open, Hewiit v Nalbandian Wimbledon final (although that was 2002).

 

[anointedone]

It depends if you mean mismatch by name, or mismatch by how they actually played in the final.
Baghdatis put up a respectable performance against Federer, leading a set and a break if I remember, and Puerta took the first set off Nadal at Roland Garros.
Agassi v Schuettler gets my vote because it was so one sided (like his final with Clement), and possibly Hewitt v Federer at the 04 US Open, Hewiit v Nalbandian Wimbledon final (although that was 2002).

Agassi vs Schuettler is probably the best one for this, since that was a mismatch in most peoples views and opinions on the matchup, and the actual match ended up being a mismatch. So it was the perfect combination of both.

 

[madmanfool]

Verkerk, he should have never won the QF against Moya, the Moya gave away those two first sets..unheared of

 

[AndrewD]

Phillipousis is not even that comfortable or net or any better then Federer there, so except maybe the serve where they might be about equal.

LOL, time to stop talking out of your arse.

 

[anointedone]

LOL, time to stop talking out of your arse.

Dont worry, I could already tell you were an Australian from your posts in the Former Pro Player section.

 

[Warriorroger]

There's no such thing as a mismatch. Anyone who can get to a final of GR is something else. Like in life, the aim/the final is not always as great and tough as the road to it. You have to play 6 players to get there. Anyone who makes it makes a lot of people proud, family, friends, peers.

 

[jelle v]

I think that the people who voted for Nadal - Puerta should watch the match again..

 

[Warriorroger]

I think that the people who voted for Nadal - Puerta should watch the match again..

goed gezegd, later, hahah

 

[West Coast Ace]

I will vote for AA vs Schuettler. But where's Safin vs Johansson? Just because Safin lost doesn't mean it wasn't a mismatch (on paper).

 

[AndrewD]

Dont worry, I could already tell you were an Australian from your posts in the Former Pro Player section.

Sure, I'm an Australian but that doesn't change the fact you're still talking out of your arse.

 

[ninman]

What about Nadal Federer Wimbledon?

 

[roysid]

The above list holds good only for on paper, not performance in the final.
There it's a close call between Agassi vs. Shutler and Ferrero vs. Verkerk.
Mark Phil. is not a no-name. He had played GS final earlier.

If you take final performance, then you have to add Federer-Hewitt

 

[anointedone]

Sure, I'm an Australian but that doesn't change the fact you're still talking out of your arse.

By saying Fed does everything better then Phillipousis except maybe the first serve, ROTFL!!! Sorry bud just pointing out reality. Mark is versatile compared to Karlovic maybe, but compared to Federer he is a one-trick pony. Once the ball was in play in that Wimbledon final it looked like a pro playing a college kid. Phillipousis was destroyed from the baseline and he could not get to the net with any success vs Federer either. His serve was the only thing that kept him respectable.

 

[TacoBellBorderBowl1946]

Federer vs. Roddick is the biggest mismatch for a slam final, 2004 wimby, 2005 wimby, and 2006 uso.

Andy won't defeat Roger again by the way he's playing