Does Federer-Djokovic feel like the biggest Grand Slam semifinal of all time?

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McEnroeisanartist

Hall of Fame
Is this the most anticipated Grand Slam semifinal of all time?

Considering how well both are playing, considering how many Grand Slam championships they have won, it seems like the biggest Grand Slam semifinal of all time?

How do you think the anticipation/excitement compares to other huge Grand Slam semifinals of this era like:

Nadal - Federer - 2005 French Open semifinal
Djokovic - Federer - 2011 Australian Open semifinal
Federer-Djokovic - 2011 French Open semifinal
Djokovic-Federer - 2011 US Open semifinal
Nadal-Federer - 2012 Australian Open semifinal
Djokovic-Federer - 2012 French Open semifinal
Federer-Djokovic - 2012 Wimbledon semifinal
Nadal - Djokovic - 2013 French Open semifinal
Nadal-Federer - 2014 Australian Open semifinal
Federer-Murray - 2015 Wimbledon semifinal
 
tennis_pro said:
ENOUGH. Djokovic will straight set the old man tomorrow and I'm not even kidding.
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Is this some kind of reverse psychology or something? Ye of little faith! Fed's gonna break out the full bag of tricks! Think you might find yourself pleasantly surprised.

P.S. I'm hugely excited for tonight's match (been amped for it since the draw was first released), but I think Djok fans are probably feeling a bit more anxiety. The Calendar Year Grand Slam dream is... shall we say, in jeopardy?
 
FedFosterWallace said:
Is this some kind of reverse psychology or something? Ye of little faith! Fed's gonna break out the full bag of tricks! Think you might find yourself pleasantly surprised.

P.S. I'm hugely excited for tonight's match (been amped for it since the draw was first released), but I think Djok fans are probably feeling a bit more anxiety. The Calendar Year Grand Slam dream is... shall we say, in jeopardy?
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I've read the script too many times. If Federer can't beat Djokovic at Wimbledon or the US Open he surely won't do it at the AO.
 
tennis_pro said:
I've read the script too many times. If Federer can't beat Djokovic at Wimbledon or the US Open he surely won't do it at the AO.
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Think of all the things that are actually in his favor tonight...

Also, is it possible that the AO '16 center court is actually playing as fast (or faster) than the USO '15 center court?

It's cherry-on-top stuff now... and the kind of success he's had at AO this year is like a bonus for most Fed fans. Of course everyone counts on Wim and USO, but this has been fairly masterful stuff here.
 
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helterskelter said:
I used to play hearts with a guy who, prior to every single hand, would say either "This is the best hand of all time" or "This is the worst hand of all time." Every single hand.

This board gets like that sometimes.
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Ahhh, superlatives. The timeless fan favorite! And when I say that, I mean EVER! Of all recorded history!
 
tennisaddict said:
Yes. But that is different from saying Fed will be straight setted.

I think it is very reasonable to expect Fed to get 1 set.
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He should do, yes. He's probably playing better than he was in 2008, when he was unwell. And Djokovic isn't playing as well as he was in 2011 (and probably not as well as he was in 2008, either).
 
FedFosterWallace said:
Think of all the things that are actually in his favor tonight...

Also, is it possible that the AO '16 court is actually playing as fast (or faster) than the USO '15 court?

It's cherry-on-top stuff now... and the kind of success he's had at AO this year is like a bonus for most Fed fans. Of course everyone counts on Wim and USO, but this has been fairly masterful stuff here.
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The things that really matter do not work in his favor, the main thing being - Federer can't hang on with Djokovic for more than 2,5-3 hours. The moment the match is over that time (unless Federer is up a break in the 4th set having won 2 already or something) Federer can pack his bags. Speed of the court, form etc. don't matter.
 
tennis_pro said:
The things that really matter do not work in his favor, the main thing being - Federer can't hang on with Djokovic for more than 2,5-3 hours. The moment the match is over that time (unless Federer is up a break in the 4th set having won 2 already or something) Federer can pack his bags. Speed of the court, form etc. don't matter.
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Don't lose the belief. If Simon could take it so close, Fed can cross the line.

There is a very remote chance that Fed wins.

Even BO3 after 2013 it felt like Fed would never win, but he proved us wrong time and again. So, there is hope left.
 
tennisaddict said:
Don't lose the belief. If Simon could take it so close, Fed can cross the line.

There is a very remote chance that Fed wins.

Even BO3 after 2013 it felt like Fed would never win, but he proved us wrong time and again. So, there is hope left.
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I don't believe in miracles. Sorry that not every Fed fan is hopeful.
 
Amazing that the OP asks if this is the biggest semi and then only lists matches from the last 4 years.

Tennis history extends way before 2011.

Just a match like the 1987 Wimbledon semi between Lendl and Edberg was WAY more anticipated. This semi is a foregone conclusion, basically. If Fed gets a set, that will be a moral victory. The match won't even be close, probably.
 
tennisaddict said:
Don't lose the belief. If Simon could take it so close, Fed can cross the line.

There is a very remote chance that Fed wins.

Even BO3 after 2013 it felt like Fed would never win, but he proved us wrong time and again. So, there is hope left.
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If you think that Djokovic will play as badly against Federer as he did against Simon then think again, brother. It just ain't happening. I'm sorry that not everyone shares your enthusiasm (no irony here).
 
^^ more often than not, people who invoke the term "of all time" on this board have memories that do not extend beyond ten years.
 
Lendl-Edberg 1987 Wimbledon Semifinal - Really? Coming into that match: Edberg was the Australian Open champion that year. Lendl was the French Open champion. Edberg had won 2 Grand Slams and Lendl had won 5 Grand Slams at that point. Compare that to this match tonight: 17 Grand Slams for Federer and 10 Grand Slams for Djokovic.
 
No. 2013 French Open. The closest an able Nadal actually got to losing a French open. It was essentially the final as whoever won was gonna stomp ferrer.
 
McEnroeisanartist said:
Is this the most anticipated Grand Slam semifinal of all time?
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Yes and ....

pigs-can-fly.png


:D
 
helterskelter said:
I used to play hearts with a guy who, prior to every single hand, would say either "This is the best hand of all time" or "This is the worst hand of all time." Every single hand.

This board gets like that sometimes.
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this is the best comment of all time. EVER.
 
helterskelter said:
He should do, yes. He's probably playing better than he was in 2008, when he was unwell. And Djokovic isn't playing as well as he was in 2011 (and probably not as well as he was in 2008, either).
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I agree with most of your posts, but I don't know how you can compare 2008 Novak to the one we are (still) seeing right now. As for 2011, he probably was even sharper in returning, but I don't think he served as well.
 
Gary Duane said:
I agree with most of your posts, but I don't know how you can compare 2008 Novak to the one we are (still) seeing right now. As for 2011, he probably was even sharper in returning, but I don't think he served as well.
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You think he's much better now than in 2008? In general, I agree. It's just that he hasn't produced his best form yet this tournament. That's probably because these days he paces himself and so waits to play a good opponent before producing his best tennis. In 2008, it was all new to him, so he went all out in every match.
 
Nadal/Djokovic at the FO 2013 an easy choice. Djokovic went into that match believing he was going to dethrone the King. He almost succeeded. Almost.
 
helterskelter said:
You think he's much better now than in 2008? In general, I agree. It's just that he hasn't produced his best form yet this tournament. That's probably because these days he paces himself and so waits to play a good opponent before producing his best tennis. In 2008, it was all new to him, so he went all out in every match.
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I would never judge someone by a weak match in a slam when the guy survives. To me it is still Novak's to lose. I'm still picking him to win. But if his play falls way down afterwards, or if he starts to slide by losing this AO, of course it is possible that his level could fall below what he did in 2008.

However, that would be a HUGE fall and would probably indicate the end of his peak. He only won 4 tournaments in 2008. I don't expect that to happen this year.
 
It would be up there if Fed was prime and had more than a puncher's chance of winning.
 
Federer Djokovic slam matches became very predictable since 2014. The only one I gave him a hope of winning was 2019 and look how that turned out.
 
I wasn’t excited for this match for a few reasons.

1. Federer couldn’t even push Djoker to 5 sets at Djoker’s 3rd best slam a few months earlier at the USO. But this time, Fed was playing Djoker at his best slam event.

2. The previous year, Fed lost in 4 sets to a guy named Seppi.

3. Fed hadn’t been to the final of the AO since 2010. And he lost to multiple players along the way, including Seppi, MuryGOAT, and Nadal, who shredded Fed in straight sets in 2014.

There was 0 chance Fed was winning this match. Slow hard courts were not Fed’s thing. As a case in point, Fed was 3-3 vs Roddick on slow hard courts, yet 18-0 everywhere else. And at that time, Nadal owned Fed 5-2 on slow hard courts. But now, he was facing the harcourt champ at his very best event. Nope. Zero chance. Zero suspense. At least Fed won a set, which was honestly more than I expected.
 
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