BORIS BECKER: RAFAEL NADAL IS THE FAVORITE TO WIN THE FRENCH OPEN

Do you agree with Becker?

  • Yes

    Votes: 24 48.0%

  • No

    Votes: 21 42.0%

  • Nadal pull out of the FO with an injury

    Votes: 5 10.0%
  • Total voters
    50
Nowadays, my google's feed is full of Boris said this, Boris said that. Seems he can't stop himself from saying inane things.

Boris also said that Roger played very well at AO !
On another day Boris said that "the more Roger wins the more he will want to continue playing" !!.
Boris also confirmed that Nadal played well !!!

I think we should start a thread titled "The Official BORIS SAID thread" :D :D
 
Sentinel said:
Nowadays, my google's feed is full of Boris said this, Boris said that. Seems he can't stop himself from saying inane things.

Boris also said that Roger played very well at AO !
On another day Boris said that "the more Roger wins the more he will want to continue playing" !!.
Boris also confirmed that Nadal played well !!!

I think we should start a thread titled "The Official BORIS SAID thread" :D :D
Click to expand...
Lol, I will do one, if you don't! :D:p
 
Aussie Darcy said:
Gee the Boris/Novak split mustn't have been amicable. I'd shutup if I was Boris.
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But you aren't. ;)

That's why we call it a split. Both are free to say what they want, within reasonable boundaries, plus media like to pull comments/opinions from Becker, which pays his bills, so this is all rather healthy.

You "gagging" Boris is the odd weird thing standing out here.
 
Sentinel said:
Nowadays, my google's feed is full of Boris said this, Boris said that. Seems he can't stop himself from saying inane things.

Boris also said that Roger played very well at AO !
On another day Boris said that "the more Roger wins the more he will want to continue playing" !!.
Boris also confirmed that Nadal played well !!!

I think we should start a thread titled "The Official BORIS SAID thread" :D :D
Click to expand...
You will get many responses from confused racing fans...BORIS SAID is a NASCAR driver on the Joe Gibbs Racing Team.
 
ANDYbhGENIUS said:
But you aren't. ;)

That's why we call it a split. Both are free to say what they want, within reasonable boundaries, plus media like to pull comments/opinions from Becker, which pays his bills, so this is all rather healthy.

You "gagging" Boris is the odd weird thing standing out here.
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Its called being respectful to the person you coached for years. Notice how Lendl stayed rather quiet post Murray split? Same with Mauresmo? And more? Move on with your life, stop having subtle jabs at the player you used to work with for years.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
Its called being respectful to the person you coached for years.
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Yes, agreed, but what does a vague term like "showing respect" precisely mean? Is it that B&W? Loyalty devoid of criticism to death do us part? --

Mauresmo whom you quoted was very descriptive about Murray's different on/off-court personalities, shortly after they split, so showing respect is such a nice PC-type phrase, but being honest when you are asked for an interview is also in the equation, factoring in the way Boris always needed the media attention, and the media needed Boris, comparing him to Lendl is a bit off, my point being that there really is no way of equating showing respect to "be nice or else shut up" -- there is much more grey area that can be respectfully navigated. Opinions on that navigation may differ, that is largely a personal thing.
 
stringertom said:
Way too early to make a call on RG. If I were forced to, I have to go with Murrnadovic as three way co-favorites.
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Unfair would be too strong a term, but leaving out Wawrinka seems a bit unfair to me ;)

Stan played exceptionally well in Australia running into the Fed Mission/brilliancy, and on the Paris Clay he imo is the ever so slight favourite to win the whole thing for a second time.
 
ANDYbhGENIUS said:
Unfair would be too strong a term, but leaving out Wawrinka seems a bit unfair to me ;)

Stan played exceptionally well in Australia running into the Fed Mission/brilliancy, and on the Paris Clay he imo is the ever so slight favourite to win the whole thing for a second time.
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Shhhh! He thrives on stealth, doing best when expectations aren't so high.:)
 
Wawrinka favourite as long as he avoids Murray.

If Murray takes out Wawrinka, I make Djokovic the favourite as Murray is his pigeon at grand slams.

Nadal 4th favourite in my view.
 
Not too far off, if Rafa manages to keep up his AO level of play, and Djok, Muzz, and Wawa don't manage to get back on their business.

I wouldn't call Rafa THE favourite, but he's sure one of.
Once again: if, if, and IF. Let's await the upcoming clay court season at first, before making any statements.
 
Nadal is not the favorite if he plays as many matches as he currently has on his schedule. If Nadal wants to win the French, he needs to lighten up his schedule so he's at full strength.
 
TheMusicLover said:
Not too far off, if Rafa manages to keep up his AO level of play, and Djok, Muzz, and Wawa don't manage to get back on their business.

I wouldn't call Rafa THE favourite, but he's sure one of.
Once again: if, if, and IF. Let's await the upcoming clay court season at first, before making any statements.
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To me "the favorite" only means that if you have to pick one guy, he is the most likely.

Don't forget how many times Nadal was seeded #2 to Fed at RG.

I even thought Nadal had an outside chance last year before injuries took him out, and his game looks at lot better so far to me...
 
Gary Duane said:
Meaning that Becker is not far wrong.

But don't you wonder how much his opinion is swayed by having been "fired"?
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Sure. But he may be right nonetheless. If I were the bookmakers, I might well have Nadal favorite, too. Djokovic continues to be on miserable form, and while it's true that he was on consistently good form for several years, whereas Nadal has been in the doldrums ever since the middle of 2014 (and, to be honest, he had only sporadically done well after the US Open 2013), Nadal's form in recent months is probably at least on a par with Djokovic's. Given that Nadal is generally better on clay if they're at their best, it might make sense to think that Nadal would be better if both are at 65%. But who knows, really?
 
helterskelter said:
Sure. But he may be right nonetheless. If I were the bookmakers, I might well have Nadal favorite, too. Djokovic continues to be on miserable form, and while it's true that he was on consistently good form for several years, whereas Nadal has been in the doldrums ever since the middle of 2014 (and, to be honest, he had only sporadically done well after the US Open 2013), Nadal's form in recent months is probably at least on a par with Djokovic's. Given that Nadal is generally better on clay if they're at their best, it might make sense to think that Nadal would be better if both are at 65%. But who knows, really?
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I think he IS right. I'm just saying that he wouldn't be making such statements now if things had not gone sour in the Djokovic camp.

Sour grapes is simply about humans being humans. I still think the whole situation with Becker could have and should have been handled a lot better.
 
I now think Djokovic is in deep trouble. It just seems that ther is some kind of massive distraction in Djokovic's life at the moment. I hope he gets over it soon because he is at the tail end of his career and still has one or two things to achieve.

On Nadal, I think he has decent change at RG, but I get the feeling someone else will win it this year. We'll see.
 
Nadal has a shot given he made the final in a surface that he is not the best with. But it is way too early to make any predictions. I dont believe he (or any title contender) will reach final without playing either Djokovic or Murray.
 
@Mainad:

Federer's finished on clay. If anything, he should be 6th after Thiem. But given Thiem's recent sophomore slump, I suppose Federer probably is fifth favorite. Bear in mind there's also a decent chance he'll skip RG to maximize his fitness for Wimbledon.
 
helterskelter said:
@Mainad:

Bear in mind there's also a decent chance he'll skip RG to maximize his fitness for Wimbledon.
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He has already said three times he is playing RG and in Prague today he said he is making his clay schedule as we speak. Why on earth would he skip RG? Nobody skips the FO (unless injured) when they've won the AO-- for obvious reasons. However remote it may be, Fed is the only man this year with a chance (albeit .05%) of winning a CYGS.
 
Federer pulls a rabbit out of a hat and now people want to pretend Djokovic isn't automatically the huge favorite in every tournament he plays?
 
Booger said:
Federer pulls a rabbit out of a hat and now people want to pretend Djokovic isn't automatically the huge favorite in every tournament he plays?
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Why would he be now? This isn't about some perceived weak era anymore. It's about Djokovic looking like he'd rather be anywhere but on a tennis court. It's about him losing to Denis Istomin at his favourite tournament. Losing to Wawrinka in the USO Final (after getting a cakewalk of a draw to get there), and losing to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon. In between have been losses to RBA, Cilic, Delpo, and Murray, along with a withdrawal from Cincy.

Could he get his form back? Absolutely, and I'm expecting him to do so at some point (although not to his 2015-mid 2016 levels), but he's not a huge favourite in every tournament he plays anymore and I suspect he may never be again.

Father Time never loses.
 
Boris is obviously trolling Novak, but if you go on AO form I think there is wisdom in his prediction. As of today, it's not crazy to think If Nadal can make the final and nearly win in (historically) his weakest major, he should for sure be favourite in his strongest one. Particularly given that two of his biggest rivals (Murray and Novak) are currently AWOL.

With that said, my prediction is that Indian Wells will be a big circuit breaker, and Murray and Wawrinka will both play brilliantly there, and everyone will need to reset their expectations for the beginning of the clay season.
 
Booger said:
Federer pulls a rabbit out of a hat and now people want to pretend Djokovic isn't automatically the huge favorite in every tournament he plays?
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Djokovic didn't get past the second round at AO. The last time that happened? 2006............ I don't think anyone is pretending about anything. The analysis of the situation is that a large shift has taken place in the tennis landscape and Djokovic's Physical, mental and emotional level has changed dramatically in the last 12 months.
 
every7 said:
Djokovic didn't get past the second round at AO. The last time that happened? 2006............ I don't think anyone is pretending about anything. The analysis of the situation is that a large shift has taken place in the tennis landscape and Djokovic's Physical, mental and emotional level has changed dramatically in the last 12 months.
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The field is still the weakest of all time. I mean, Grigolo and Ryan Harrison just won tournaments for crying out loud. If Djokovic even half shows up with his typical defensive pusher game, he wins easily.
 
I can't possibly know which player(s) are the favorites to win the FO until I see how the players do at the clay warm-up events and I see the FO draw.
 
Booger said:
The field is still the weakest of all time. I mean, Grigolo and Ryan Harrison just won tournaments for crying out loud. If Djokovic even half shows up with his typical defensive pusher game, he wins easily.
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:rolleyes: At Memphis; Fritz in final last year and Harrison this year. Clay is going to be absolutely loaded this year.
 
Becker in effect is doing Djokovic a favour, and Rafa a disfavour.

Here's why: Nadal does not need added pressure from pundits regurgitating Becker's words, Rafa just needs the matches, no talk of them/him in English does him any favors. Esp. when he is bombarded as the favourite by the coach of his main adversary;

Nadal does not like that anymore. Djokovic otoh may swim like a fish in this relatively new type of water.

Brilliant Becker.
 
Meles said:
:rolleyes: At Memphis; Fritz in final last year and Harrison this year. Clay is going to be absolutely loaded this year.
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No. It won't be "loaded" at the top. Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka, and Djokovic if he finds his form (which I expect him to at some point) will be the favourites for RG, but pretending like Djokovic is still the massive favourite for any event he enters just means you're not paying attention. He'll be one of the favourites, but he's not a lock anymore. Regurgitating crap about defensive pusher styles and whatever other clichés someone may come up with doesn't make Djokovic a far and away favourite.

And Dimitrov has been playing well in 2017. Well enough to win a 250 in Sofia on a HC for sure. Well enough to be a dark horse for a RG title? We'll see.

Harrison will be nowhere to be found at RG and is likely to lose in the 1st RD.
 
Last edited:
Yesterday Becker won a €200,000 pot with KK on an A high board. I'd listen to him.


xOo1Tsv.png
 
Steve0904 said:
No. It won't be "loaded" at the top. Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka, and Djokovic if he finds his form (which I expect him to at some point) will be the favourites for RG, but pretending like Djokovic is still the massive favourite for any event he enters just means you're not paying attention. He'll be one of the favourites, but he's not a lock anymore. Regurgitating crap about defensive pusher styles and whatever other clichés someone may come up with doesn't make Djokovic a far and away favourite.

And Dimitrov has been playing well in 2017. Well enough to win a 250 in Sofia on a HC for sure. Well enough to be a dark horse for a RG title? We'll see.

Harrison will be nowhere to be found at RG and is likely to lose in the 1st RD.
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Not saying Harrison is doing anything on red clay or Fritz for that matter.:confused: Djokovic will be in good enough form unless he decides to skip several Masters 1000 on clay. Loaded means tons of former winners and finalists in contention. Plus Thiem, Zverev, and Dimitrov should be strong on clay. All of the top players are good on clay now except for perhaps Federer or Raonic (no loss there.) If Djokovic is a bit off and Nadal not as dominating as he looks likely to be, all the better.;) I guess you consider the field loaded when Nadal is a slam dunk for the title?
 
helterskelter said:
Bookies have it:

1. Djokovic
2. Nadal
3. Murray
4. Wawrinka
5. Federer
6. Thiem
7. Nishikori
8=. Del Potro, Raonic, Kyrgios
Click to expand...

This looks more like a defacto list pre-2016 FO rather than 2017. Where would Thiem sit on the list if he had actually played well in 2017?
 
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