Fritz cannot afford to choke. I agree that may happen but if it does he will never win anything of note. He should view this as a great chance. Nadal surely will be cooked.
He called trainer 2 games prior and he took during the break and broke after saving couple of bp himself, I know you are not able to cope with it, lol.
James P
G.O.A.T.
20-25 mph is a massive difference. And he really wasn't able to crank it up today due to the wind. Just trying to keep it in play. But yeah, I get your point.
Apun94
Hall of Fame
Cry some more
Federer_pilon
Professional
Where were you when Medvedev was getting a leg massage at every changeover in the fifth set of the AO final?
Mark Anderson
Professional
Of course, times change, it used to be the peak of your career was 25. Call it as it really is.
Ray Mercer
Hall of Fame
I just want to point out that a 36 year old Federer beat the living daylights out of a 5 year younger Rafa 5 years ago on this court.
clayqueen
Bionic Poster
Rafa on a bad day.
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
I know our sample size is extremely limited, but that's easily the best match I've ever seen anyone 35+ play. Genuinely shocking he was still able to bring that kind of level to the court.
Nadal - GOAT
Hall of Fame
To be fair, Rafa asked for the medical timeout 2 games back. He played out till the next break between serves for the timeout.
Alcaraz had opportunities in that time in Rafa service game. It was upto alcaraz to grab them.
Also in the second set when he was struggling with the wind, he played it out despite clearly at a disadvantage.
Topspin_80
Hall of Fame
You can't compare Alcaraz to Thiem.
Alcaraz is 18 yo , and already got 2 titles under his belt, Thiem was 21 when he got the 1st one.
Thiem at 22 yo highest ranking was 18, Alcaraz at 18 yo is already 17.
Give Alcaraz 3 years more to develop, then compare him to Thiem, that would be more fair, don't you think?
heftylefty
Hall of Fame
As Paul Annacon said, "Rafa doing Rafa things".
Ray Mercer
Hall of Fame
Yes it would be more fair. Ferrero needs him working on his serve.
V
Vamos Rafa Nadal
Guest
It's really weird that Rafa could win this tournament while not playing all that well during this tournament! Still, I will be rooting for him to win tomorrow!
Terenigma
Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal was whining in the 2nd set to try and stop the match because of the wind. Also He didn't "play it out" because he called out the supervisor to discuss it and was told the match would not be stopped. Nadal did everything he could to manipulate things in his favour so i disagree with your assessment.
Nadal - GOAT
Hall of Fame
Good points.
Also considering that alcaraz already has pace on his serve, am sure he will improve placement/ spin and become a better server.
After the first set he should the mental toughness to change tactics and lower his UEs. That is remarkable considering he is just 18. He had his opportunities in the 3rd. Was just unlucky in some instances with Nadal at the net. He could have easily won this.
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
You are cheating the readers. When he spoke to the supervisor the set was on serve. Stopping it wouldn't have given anyone an advantage.
beltsman
G.O.A.T.
Alcaraz serve does nothing to Nadal. Fritz serve can bully Nadal all day long and make life brutal. Fritz can blast his FH and had a great 1-2 punch. I actually think Fritz is a tougher MATCHUP for Nadal than Alcaraz.
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
I don't know how much better fritz can play than kyrgios the other day. Even opelka played Nadal quite solid.
Terenigma
Talk Tennis Guru
The poster i was replying to was implying that Nadal was not coping with the wind as well as Alcaraz was (something i agree with) so i was meerly building on that premise and suggesting that Nadal wanting to stop the match WAS him trying to swing things to his advantage despite the score not displaying the advantage at that time.
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
The match was a seesaw at that point with both players struggling. There was no clear advantage to Alcaraz in the wind.
V
Vamos Rafa Nadal
Guest
I just want to point out it took Roger Federer 4 years to win his first Grand Slam, and Djokovic was either 3 or 4 years. (I thought Rafa was only 2 years? Not certain). So Carlos is doing great and will likely continue to improve his serve and the rest of his game and will be winning tournaments for many years to come, including Grand Slams.
Nadal - GOAT
Hall of Fame
I didn't get a read on the conversation between Nadal and supervisor so would not comment on that. But I feel that if he had to stop play with an unnecessary medical timeout, he would have done it at the 2nd set when he was behind.
He did it when they were evenly placed in the 3rd.
Also, I think even if Rafa/Novak do these things purposely, it is more in grand slams or arch rivals where the stakes are high. They don't bother too much especially against friendly opponents.
Phenomenal
Hall of Fame
Thank you really! i wanted to write exactly same thing. He waited the break. Are you guys blind who thinks that way?
V
Vamos Rafa Nadal
Guest
I don't agree that he is a tougher matchup in general but I do think Alcaraz didn't serve well in this match. He needed the consistency he had in his previous matches in this tournament, especially the Monfils match. I think it was a mental issue about playing Rafa though and he wouldn't have had that problem with Fritz. But I do agree that Fritz could win tomorrow if he and Rafa play at the same level they did today. But Rafa might lift his game...
Rattie
G.O.A.T.
Speculative opinion then basically, with no actual evidence.
Terenigma
Talk Tennis Guru
There was. Anyone watching the match could see there was a clear difference in both performances but I know when it comes to discussing Nadal me and you are always going to be on opposite ends of the spectrum so it's pointless us arguing about this.
Sixpounder
New User
Nadal at this point doesn’t know how to lose.
Phenomenal
Hall of Fame
I don't think Rafa played that bad like you think. He played against Alcaraz who gets almost every ball and played great. Second set was windy could have gone either way Alcaraz made less mistakes returned well and probably was bit better.
When match started looked like Alcaraz was the agressive one only his serve was problem and UE. it was up to him. But then 2. set specially it seemed to me Nadal was more agressive playing riskier than usual. Third set was great battle.
Sixpounder
New User
People talking about players not serving well. They played in the middle of a hurricane
initialize
Hall of Fame
Uhh no. He’s having better results, yes, but the competition was much more fierce 5 years ago
SonicNirvana
Hall of Fame
Bc Roger finally figured out Rafa
Lol, read what he said in reply to mto and you find something new to .. lol
FiddlerDog
Hall of Fame
The typical clown posting here does not even own a tennis racket
abmk
Bionic Poster
It was like a tennis lesson out there from Fed.
And I had the chance to watch it live at Indian Wells!
The Big Foe fan
Hall of Fame
Gamesmanship at the end from capy bara to break the youngster's momentum.
Typical cheater.
Typical cheater.
The Big Foe fan
Hall of Fame
Huahahahahahhahahahahahah
ScentOfDefeat
G.O.A.T.
Nadal is generous both to those who like him and those who dislike him.
He has even given his critics the soothing coping mechanism of thinking he only won because he had that medical time-out in the third set.
This is extremely generous, because now they can tell themselves he didn't win because he's good/better, but only because he cheated at that specific moment.
His generosity extends beyond his fans, even going as far as to make his haters comfy in their own delusions. Truly a special player.
He has even given his critics the soothing coping mechanism of thinking he only won because he had that medical time-out in the third set.
This is extremely generous, because now they can tell themselves he didn't win because he's good/better, but only because he cheated at that specific moment.
His generosity extends beyond his fans, even going as far as to make his haters comfy in their own delusions. Truly a special player.
The Big Foe fan
Hall of Fame
Rewatched the last 4 games of third set.
Yep, same conclusion. CheaterDal at his very capy bara best.
Yep, same conclusion. CheaterDal at his very capy bara best.
ScentOfDefeat
G.O.A.T.
I'm glad he makes you happy.
The Big Foe fan
Hall of Fame
I'm not glad that his fanbase refuses to even acknowledge the poor sportsmanship & high AF gamesmanship he employs again and again.
initialize
Hall of Fame
Didn’t watch the last set but it sounds like claydal cheated? Called an MTO for an injured pec and then magically played better afterwards?
Aabye5
Talk Tennis Guru
Why don't you go watch the match and find out?
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