How did Nadal get such a ridiculous draw compared to Djoker & especially Fed?

[zvelf]

I heard none of the players of the players Fed faced for the first 5 rounds were even in top 40. I don't always buy rigged draw theories, but it feels like doing everything possible to keep Fed in till at least the semis. Yet he's still going life and death with players ranked 100 like Sandgren. If Fed actually starts getting tougher than average draws, we'll be seeing more 3rd or 4th round exits from him.

Almost any player that could have given Djokovic any serious match was in Nadal's half of the draw (Wawrinka. Kyrigos, Medvedev, Thiem), so he's had a pretty easy ride to the semis. And Nadal has to take out a murderer's row of players from the 4th round on just to reach the semis.

It's interesting that Djokovic detractors often say that he's only achieved what he has due to a weak era but then cite all these current players who can give him serious matches.

 

[BeatlesFan]

I heard none of the players of the players Fed faced for the first 5 rounds were even in top 40.

Ask the Nadal fans, who collectively have posted their response about it: "Ask Craig Tiley, Fed's friend." It's a "rigged draw" and Nadal fans will go to the mat on that. They will also tell you Craig Tiley "rigged" the surface to Greenset because Basel has it (don't remind them Basel plays relatively fast and the AO court this year is dead as a door nail). Never mind that from now on Fed will have to defeat a 16 time slam champion and a 19 time slam champion in a final, if the draw holds. Having to go through 2 guys with 37 slams between them is a rigged/soft/Fed manipulated draw. Thus the irrefutable logic of the VB-ers.

That's why Fed has faced nobodies in the first 5 rounds.

 

[Steve0904]

Roger was supposed to play Hurkacz(31), Shapo(13)/Grigor(18) and then Berrettini(8) the last 3 rounds.

Them all getting upset early doesn't make it a rigged draw for Fed.

Not to mention that 2 of the guys in his actual draw should've beaten him, and even Fucsovics took a set. Truth is nothing is easy for Federer anymore so it's all pretty irrelevant.

 

[victorcruz]

It's not ridiculous, it's dangerous. The way I see it, it's the big 3. Whichever of the 2 got put into the same half, they wanted to ensure they made it to each other, while putting the remaining studs in the opposite. Nadal matches up better against Thiem and Stan than Djoker does so they aren't worried about it.

I'm a Rafa guy so I know it'll be hell to beat either of these 2 or Z for him.

Whatever, I don't care much for draw talks sheesh. You beat who's in front of you.

 

[Day_Tripper]

To be fair Nadal has had his fair share of cakewalk draws especially at the US Open. The reason Nadal has never won the WTF is that it is impossible to get an easy draw at that event. You have to play the best and beat the best.

 

[Subway Tennis]

I heard none of the players of the players Fed faced for the first 5 rounds were even in top 40. I don't always buy rigged draw theories, but it feels like doing everything possible to keep Fed in till at least the semis. Yet he's still going life and death with players ranked 100 like Sandgren. If Fed actually starts getting tougher than average draws, we'll be seeing more 3rd or 4th round exits from him.

Almost any player that could have given Djokovic any serious match was in Nadal's half of the draw (Wawrinka. Kyrigos, Medvedev, Thiem), so he's had a pretty easy ride to the semis. And Nadal has to take out a murderer's row of players from the 4th round on just to reach the semis.

Totally wrong.... Raonic should be compared with Thiem(qf opponents) and Schwartzmam with Kyrgios(4th round opponents). Nadal has the tougher draw

Rafa has a tough road ahead of him. I'm taking Rafa in 5 over Thiem. Thiem is a great shape and has proven to be a very tough out on hard courts. After that, he'll get the winner of Zverev/Stan, which is another dangerous match.

Alex Zverev seems much more dangerous during this tourney. He hasn't spent too much time on the court. He's clobbered his early-round opponents like he's supposed to, which is completely different from his other slam QF journeys. In the past Zverev struggled with a few grueling 5 set matches en route to the QF. This Zverev will have fresh legs going into the Stanimal match.

Either way, Nadal's path to the final is a tough one. I see Nadal being gassed and somewhat injured by the time that he gets to the title match against Djoker.

Fedr's 41, 75, 47, 67, 100 vs Nadal's 73, 76, 30, 26, 5

Yup, Fedr has an extremely tough draw

Agree

 

[Sentinel]

I heard none of the players of the players Fed faced for the first 5 rounds were even in top 40. I don't always buy rigged draw theories, but it feels like doing everything possible to keep Fed in till at least the semis.

What is the point of making it easier for Fed till the semi. What diff does it make if he gets out in the semi.

If they wanted to make it easy for Fed would they have not put him in Rafa's half, rather than Nole.

 

[OrangeOne]

Whichever of the 2 got put into the same half

How exactly are people "put into the same half"? It's a publicly televised random draw. I'd go as far as to say I'm sure there are auditors involved.

How exactly are people proposing that these "draws are rigged" anyways? Subterfuge of live random, I assume audited draws? Are we assuming magicians are involved?

If the draws were rigged, wouldn't they try and balance the days across the genders? I went to the actual AO this year, and having Williams, Osaka, Barty, Fed and Djoker all on one day made for pretty poor balance. Surely if they're rigging things they'd have ensured the lead women's drawcards would be a bit split, and on opposing days to the Fed Djoker?

Seems if they're rigging (which they're not), they're doing a pretty crap job of it.

 

[octogon]

What is the point of making it easier for Fed till the semi. What diff does it make if he gets out in the semi.

If they wanted to make it easy for Fed would they have not put him in Rafa's half, rather than Nole.

This is a silly question. Tennis is marketed on "the big 3". Tournaments want all these guys in the latter stage of tournaments. More revenue generated, higher TV ratings, more media coverage, which feeds the money making beast. It makes an insane amount of difference to a tournament if Fed gets to a semi-final, as opposed to getting knocked out in the 3rd or 4th round. The latter stages of a tournament always attract the most attention.

Because he's the oldest and getting older, Fed will rely more and more on favorable draws to get to the latter stage of tournaments. Even if he is at least making slam semis, it makes it still credible to market him still among the "big 3" of the sport as a live contender. And that means more money for the sport.

 

[octogon]

To be fair Nadal has had his fair share of cakewalk draws especially at the US Open. The reason Nadal has never won the WTF is that it is impossible to get an easy draw at that event. You have to play the best and beat the best.

Disagree. He's never won it because he's rarely prioritised it. He's chosen not to attend the WTF like nearly half the times he's qualified (or a significant amount of times he's qualified). If he rated it like a slam, he'd have turned up a lot more. He's usually dead tired or carrying injuries at that part of the season, so even when he plays the event, he's rarely been at his best. On the two occasions he made the final and was in decent form and health, it took the two best hardcourt players ever in Djokovic and Federer to beat him

 

[KINGROGER]

Payback for the 4 USO cakewalks to the final.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Payback for the 4 USO cakewalks to the final.

2 of those he had to beat Djokovic, the others he beat a USO champion en route to the final, and the GOATing player of last summer that took him to the brink. No one accidentally wins 4 slams, especially at the same event, just give the dude credit. Nadal has more USO's than Murray and Wawa have slams.

 

[tennis_pro]

Fedr's 41, 75, 47, 67, 100 vs Nadal's 73, 76, 30, 26, 5

Yup, Fedr has an extremely tough draw

And then he has the heavy favorite Djokovic in the SF.

 

[tennis_pro]

2 of those he had to beat Djokovic, the others he beat a USO champion en route to the final, and the GOATing player of last summer that took him to the brink. No one accidentally wins 4 slams, especially at the same event, just give the dude credit. Nadal has more USO's than Murray and Wawa have slams.

Verdasco, Youzhny, Robredo, Gasquet, Rublev, Anderson, Schwartzman, Berrettini, Medvedev. These are his opponents at the US Opens from the QF onwards.

 

[KINGROGER]

2 of those he had to beat Djokovic, the others he beat a USO champion en route to the final, and the GOATing player of last summer that took him to the brink. No one accidentally wins 4 slams, especially at the same event, just give the dude credit. Nadal has more USO's than Murray and Wawa have slams.

Meant more before the final, he’s generally had an easy path to get there compared to Djokovic and Fed (back in his prime). His final opponents have been decent apart from 2017.

 

[canta_Brian]

Both Wawrinka and Zverev are in better shape than Federer and so represent a tougher SF. Shape > name.

Zverev is fresh and young and has yet to lose a set in the tournament. Wawrinka just defeated the #4 in the world Medvedev, proving he is in great shape right now.

Don't forget that Federer is 38 years old and declined and almost lost to journeymen like Millman (#47) and Sandgren (#100). Federer is even reporting some injury or pain. This is the worst version of Federer at the AO ever.

I believe the powers at be are looking at changing the seeding system.

instead of using random things like world rankings they are going to look at these boards and see who somebody thinks is in better shape. Then they will travel forward in time and see which seeds fall early and readjust the draw to account for that. Then they will balance the seeds so that the numbers 1 and 3 meet in one semi (oh wait, has that already happened?) and that the number two is in a quarter at least.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Verdasco, Youzhny, Robredo, Gasquet, Rublev, Anderson, Schwartzman, Berrettini, Medvedev. These are his opponents at the US Opens from the QF onwards.

And he played them by winning enough matches to get there whining doesn't change 19 slams

 

[junior74]

Nadal Thiem Zverev Wawrinka would all straight set Federer. Forget the name look at whats happening on court.

Yeah, they all have a firm grip on Federer on HC. LMAO.

 

[Tshooter]

You need to specify whether you prefer a reference to probability theory or a conspiracy theory and then I can tailor the answer to your preference just like Facebook.

 

[beast of mallorca]

Raonic > Kyrgios
Schwartzman > Busta

Nadal has had a cake walk.

How many times has Raonic beaten Djokovic, Nadal and Federer ?

Now compare that with Kyrgios.

So take that > in your ***, Chichi

 

[Flash O'Groove]

I heard none of the players of the players Fed faced for the first 5 rounds were even in top 40. I don't always buy rigged draw theories, but it feels like doing everything possible to keep Fed in till at least the semis. Yet he's still going life and death with players ranked 100 like Sandgren. If Fed actually starts getting tougher than average draws, we'll be seeing more 3rd or 4th round exits from him.

Almost any player that could have given Djokovic any serious match was in Nadal's half of the draw (Wawrinka. Kyrigos, Medvedev, Thiem), so he's had a pretty easy ride to the semis. And Nadal has to take out a murderer's row of players from the 4th round on just to reach the semis.

Fun fact: Sandgren last QF was in 2018 at the AO. Kyrgios' was in 2015, 5 years ago...

 

[beast of mallorca]

Verdasco, Youzhny, Robredo, Gasquet, Rublev, Anderson, Schwartzman, Berrettini, Medvedev. These are his opponents at the US Opens from the QF onwards.

And he beat Djokovic in the finals in the 2 of them, babygirl.

 

[tennis_pro]

And he beat Djokovic in the finals in the 2 of them, babygirl.

That win in 2010 was really impressive.

 

[beast of mallorca]

That win in 2010 was really impressive.

It is.

Next

 

[tennis_pro]

It is.

Next

Pre-prime Djokovic who recorded his first top 10 win of the season just 2 days before against Fed who tanked 2 sets, a SF that took 4,5 hours to complete.
2013 - 4h+ SF against Wawrinka while Nadal played some Berrettini equivalent again.

Nadal has won the lottery ticket at the US Open when it comes to draws.

 

[beast of mallorca]

Pre-prime Djokovic who recorded his first top 10 win of the season just 2 days before against Fed who tanked 2 sets, a SF that took 4,5 hours to complete.
2013 - 4h+ SF against Wawrinka while Nadal played some Berrettini equivalent again.

Nadal has won the lottery ticket at the US Open when it comes to draws.

Pre-prime your ***, babygirl.

You can cry all you want, but your tears won't take away those 19 Slams.
Say bye, bye to your GOAT

 

[tennis_pro]

Pre-prime your ***, babygirl.

Djokovic sucked in 2010. Federer went 4-1 against him and had multiple match points to go 5-0. Nadal can't beat anyone of worth unless they are injured, old, tired or out of form.

You can cry all you want, but your tears won't take away those 19 Slams.
Say bye, bye to your GOAT

Keep counting those chickens.

 

[beast of mallorca]

Djokovic sucked in 2010. Federer went 4-1 against him and had multiple match points to go 5-0. Nadal can't beat anyone of worth unless they are injured, old, tired or out of form.

Keep counting those chickens.

And Djokovic suck 2010 because he lost to Rafa ? Keep sucking , Chichi.
24-16, and Federer was injured or made excuses in 24 of them.

Try again.

 

[tennis_pro]

And he played them by winning enough matches to get there whining doesn't change 19 slams

Those 19 Slams aren't really worth much if he got there but winning peasant Slams and Berrettini Opens.

2 Wimbledons, 1 AO, 0 WTF. Are these GOAT credentials?

 

[tennis_pro]

And Djokovic suck 2010 because he lost to Rafa ? Keep sucking , Chichi.
24-16, and Federer was injured or made excuses in 24 of them.

Try again.

you what?

I just wrote 2 posts earlier that Djokovic had ZERO TOP 10 WINS before the 2010 USO SF. Finally got that first top 10 win and it was exactly the round before facing Nadal and it took 4,5 hours of his energy.

Nadal can't win s**t unless there's an asterisk. In 2013 Djokovic had another very tough SF while Nadal played Gasquet. I mean you can't make this s**t up.

 

[RaulRamirez]

I hate the way tennis has random draws. There is no way a #1 seed should be slotted to play a #5 seed in the quarters while the #4 player is slotted to play #7 or #3 is slotted to play #8 like was the case in this year's draw. It should be done like it is with the NCAA basketball tournament with 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5. This should apply to all rounds where the seeds play each other. I know the random draw is currently done to avoid having the same match ups repeat but these guys move up and down the rankings enough where that probably wouldn't be an issue. As it is now, the top seed usually gets penalized when the benefit of being #1 should be to play the highest seeds at the end of the tournament.

I absolutely agree, and have made that point several times in the past here. From the R of 32 on, they should seed/bracket numerically.

 

[octogon]

Well Nadal did get a hellish draw indeed.

 

[Roo]

Excuses excuses...

 

[Deleted member 769694]

Nadal got medvedev in his side of the draw, i think he is the only top5 player Rafa has beaten since rome.

 

[JW10S]

These draw threads are so stupid. The draw, just like other tournaments, was made in public for all to see. I've been to several draw ceremonies myself. There is no smoke filled back room where people are conniving about who will play whom. It's a draw, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not--deal with it.

 

[King No1e]

Nadal's draw up till now has been fine. His quarterfinal is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY tougher than Djok or Fed's, but his semi will be against a pretender who can't serve (and who looks like one of those inflatable guys at used car lots) or a very very tough but old guy who is great but not as great as Fed/Djok's semifinal opponents.

That pretender definitely could serve last night

 

[King No1e]

So far Federer is having a far harder time getting through his opponents than Nadal against his draw. So the harder draw on paper is academic.

Doesn't make Feds draw harder. That means his form is very subpar if he's struggling against a Challenger level draw.

 

[40L0VE]

Doesn't make Feds draw harder. That means his form is very subpar if he's struggling against a Challenger level draw.

Read what I wrote:
So far Federer is having a far harder time getting through his opponents than Nadal against his draw

What you wrote rephrases what I wrote with the subpar assessment thrown in as additional information.

 

[ghostofMecir]

I heard none of the players of the players Fed faced for the first 5 rounds were even in top 40. I don't always buy rigged draw theories, but it feels like doing everything possible to keep Fed in till at least the semis. Yet he's still going life and death with players ranked 100 like Sandgren. If Fed actually starts getting tougher than average draws, we'll be seeing more 3rd or 4th round exits from him.

Almost any player that could have given Djokovic any serious match was in Nadal's half of the draw (Wawrinka. Kyrigos, Medvedev, Thiem), so he's had a pretty easy ride to the semis. And Nadal has to take out a murderer's row of players from the 4th round on just to reach the semis.

Hmmm...did you ask these questions during certain USO runs of the past (if you knew tennis existed then, that is).

 

[Cashman]

These draw threads are so stupid. The draw, just like other tournaments, was made in public for all to see. I've been to several draw ceremonies myself. There is no smoke filled back room where people are conniving about who will play whom. It's a draw, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not--deal with it.

Yes. Since the advent of 32 seeds, draws have become incredibly predictable and very even. Personally I think that is a bad thing.

When someone has a notably easier path to the latter rounds it is invariably because of upsets elsewhere in the draw. Guys like Shapovalov, Fognini and Berrettini earned their seeds, and it is not exactly Federer's fault that they all got themselves stitched up by unrated opponents.