It's that time again..who has the hardest draw?
- Thread starter egn
- Start date
fundrazer
G.O.A.T.
Ahh, forgot about that loss JBF. Guess it also must be a bit frustrating for Delpo what with not playing on grass in 2 years. Hopefully he doesn't end up like safin taking years to do half decent on the stuff. Well, Wimbledon anyway. I know safin had his halle final loss to Fed.
Anyways, I was just trying to say that he's not a complete non-factor. I do agree that Rafa probably doesn't have to worry about him, but you never know.
Anyways, I was just trying to say that he's not a complete non-factor. I do agree that Rafa probably doesn't have to worry about him, but you never know.
egn
Hall of Fame
Join the club..
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
I am with you on this one. Nadal is supposed to be the best in the world right now, correct? People on this board claim night and day how superior Nadal is and then a draw comes out and they act like Nadal is a tier 4 player. Which is it? Can't be both.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
LOL. Seriously. The biggest sporting upset of all time? Give me a break.
tenniselbow1
Rookie
TheTruth
G.O.A.T.
That's what I think too. It's the placing of them in his draw, not their credentials necessarily. At the beginning of the tournament you're more likely to be fresher mentally, and more rested. Tricky.
D
Deleted member 21996
Guest
egn
Hall of Fame
sorry 4th round is not early. Del Po will have all ready played 3 matches..that is not the beginning..
TheTruth
G.O.A.T.
What about Raonic? If he has Raonic in the third and del Potro in the 4th round I think that's pretty early. You'd play your 1st and 2nd round matches and immediately play dangerous players.
You don't get a chance to work your way into the tournament. You have to be on point pretty quickly.
egn
Hall of Fame
I had to sound like an ass, but what do you expect. By the third round you are playing someone who is likely in the top 40. If you ask me they all have dangerous third round opponents. I mean by that point most of the players left in the tournament have a good chance at making it to the quarters and have proven themselves. The 1st round is your warmup, 2nd round is to get your game going because by round 3 you are playing good chance a top 30 players or someone who has beaten a top 30 player.
Nadal got Raonic who we all know has a huge serve and can just plow through a field on a good day with his serve, however his grass court form has been far from what was anticipated, see his grass court results. Philipp Petzschner seemed to find ways to break him and proved Raonic still has work to do on his movement on the court and return of serve game before he can be a threat at wimbledon. Nadal serves better than Petzchner no doubt and is far superior to Raonic from the baseline. Sure Raonic might make Nadal work but unless Nadal plays bad like he did against Haase last year I can't see the game Raonic plays bothering him.
Murray in theory has Cilic who I feel in terms of matchups and talent is probably going to be the most troublesome. Sure Cilic is hit or miss but when Cilic is hitting he completely overpowers Murray. Cilic also has a huge serve to go along with his massive groundstrokes.
Federer got Nalbandian who people will probably scoff at as a joke, but I think that is a bit unfair. Nalbandian although old and not top notch is far from a joke anywhere. Nalbandian was at one point in time a wimbledon finalist and although grass for him is not is best surface, if he is playing well he will be no pushover. The only reason I feel this is the easiest of the round 3 match ups is Nalbandian has not played tennis in ages so he might not make it there, however Fed has the potential to have the worse second round match up with Mannarino its either than or Djokovic
Djokovic has round 3 with Baggy, who is a pretty good grasscourt player or was and is no pushover.Not to mention this is most likely going to be post a brutal showdown with Kevin Anderson who serves huge and plays a great grass game.
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N
NadalAgassi
Guest
Nalbandians Wimbledon final was a huge fluke. Grass is his worst surface by far, and in 2002 he wasnt even in his prime yet. Wimbledon 2002 was truly the worst Wimbledon ever for men and Nalbandian needed Arthurs and Malisse to both choke to make it (he also went 5 sets with Lapentti though he was the better player in that one). Hewitt ***** him like a junior player in the final.
A prime Nalbandian on grass would be a cakewalk for Federer, never mind an aging one missing a hip. This isnt Kuerten on clay.
A prime Nalbandian on grass would be a cakewalk for Federer, never mind an aging one missing a hip. This isnt Kuerten on clay.
egn
Hall of Fame
Fed last year got beatdown by Berdych and was taken to 5 sets by Falla I think it is safe to say Nalbandian could possibly cause Fed a bit of trouble if he was healthy. By the way the discussion regards this year's wimbledon and I did agree that Nalbandian will be no problem for Fed but saying he still should not be taken as a joke.
In terms of 2002 being the worst year for grass that is a bit harsh. The top half of the draw played out fine the bottom was a disaster. Also Hewitt did destroy him but let's not forget Nalbandian looked beat and had come off three extremely long matches. Hewitt had cruised. Other than that one hiccup in the QF. Where he should have won in 3 then nerves gave away the fourth but he came back.
N
NadalAgassi
Guest
These were the quaterfinalists at Wimbledon 2002: struggling Henman, Hewitt, Schalken, Nalbandian, Lapentti, Sa, Malisse, injured/nearly retired Krajicek. It was pretty dreadful. Henman played by far the worst tennis I ever saw him play on grass and still made the semis. Hewitts toughest test to the title was Schalken who had a break point to serve for the match. And in the Nalbandian-Malisse semifinal, Malisse had to leave the court and the match for awhile for heart problems related to nerves.
egn
Hall of Fame
Henman always struggled in wimbledon too much pressure. Hewitt and Schalken were both solid. Next four were ehh but Krajicek was serving great that whole tournament and although nearly done I think we can all recall what happened on year prior. I agree Nalbandian's run to the final was quite a joke but either way he still is capable on grass and did make the QF another year. He does like faster surfaces as his best surface is the indoor hadcourts and carpet so he's not a failure on fast surfaces either. Besides Krajicek came back for that one last wimbledon run and was definitely going to make the most out of it.
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stringertom
Bionic Poster
Odd that so few Consider Djok's Draw as Tough
If you look at Wimby's first two rounds as a mine field waiting to explode on one misstep by a top seed, surely Djok's path is the toughest.
With no match play on grass (don't even mention Boodles exo), Djok must play the #52 Chardy and hope to survive to face potentially #38 ace-bomber Anderson.
The others? Nadal plays someone older than Fed (Russell #91; BTW go Mike!) and then the winner of Andujar/Sweeting, both of whom he has beaten recently so is familiar w/games.
Fed has it tougher than Rafa with a #60 Kukushkin followed by the Mannarino/qualie(?) winner. The unknown qualie factor could bump his danger level.
Murray faces an Armada guy in Gimeno Traver (#56) followed by the winner of the "K" kontest...#72 Kavcic vs. #87 Kamke. Not much starch there.
Once the top guys get through to Round 3, they should expect a little resistance as they're now facing seeds if form holds. Fed's bumpy ride last year and Rafa's history of early-round struggles show it's good to sneak up on the elites from Day 1 through 4 or so. Remember The Bastl!
If you look at Wimby's first two rounds as a mine field waiting to explode on one misstep by a top seed, surely Djok's path is the toughest.
With no match play on grass (don't even mention Boodles exo), Djok must play the #52 Chardy and hope to survive to face potentially #38 ace-bomber Anderson.
The others? Nadal plays someone older than Fed (Russell #91; BTW go Mike!) and then the winner of Andujar/Sweeting, both of whom he has beaten recently so is familiar w/games.
Fed has it tougher than Rafa with a #60 Kukushkin followed by the Mannarino/qualie(?) winner. The unknown qualie factor could bump his danger level.
Murray faces an Armada guy in Gimeno Traver (#56) followed by the winner of the "K" kontest...#72 Kavcic vs. #87 Kamke. Not much starch there.
Once the top guys get through to Round 3, they should expect a little resistance as they're now facing seeds if form holds. Fed's bumpy ride last year and Rafa's history of early-round struggles show it's good to sneak up on the elites from Day 1 through 4 or so. Remember The Bastl!
TheTruth
G.O.A.T.
It doesn't sound like a donkey. It's a legitimate post.
I like this part. Very well put.
Cilic? Pfft. I've put him on the backburner. I can't even remember the last time he looked like a threat to win. He may have, but I haven't seen it.
Bags? Pfft. I'm so tired of him disappointing me I don't know what to do. He just can't seem to gather any momentum.
Nalbandian? When's the last time he even played? Although, he is a talent, I thought he just came back after another injury layoff.
I'll maintain my position. Raonic, is young, hungry, and touted to do great things. That makes him more dangerous, imo.
TheTruth
G.O.A.T.
That's funny!
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Djok Quarter Tougher By the Minute
Two tourney winners (Seppi, Tursonov) and two big boy qualifiers (Tomic, Dancevic). Ah, the minefield gets more complex! Soderling, Tomic, Anderson, Dancevic, Llodra all bring the lumber. Hewitt, Tursonov, Davydenko, Melzer strut some savvy. Chardy, Seppi, Malisse, Petzschner all great movers. Guess you have to hope they kill each other off in 5-setters before you face them, Novak. Good luck!
Two tourney winners (Seppi, Tursonov) and two big boy qualifiers (Tomic, Dancevic). Ah, the minefield gets more complex! Soderling, Tomic, Anderson, Dancevic, Llodra all bring the lumber. Hewitt, Tursonov, Davydenko, Melzer strut some savvy. Chardy, Seppi, Malisse, Petzschner all great movers. Guess you have to hope they kill each other off in 5-setters before you face them, Novak. Good luck!
jackson vile
G.O.A.T.
This poll is cheating... No way Nadal has ever had a tougher draw than Roger, I demand a recount!!!
jamesblakefan#1
G.O.A.T.
I don't doubt that Raonic is dangerous but he's also inexperienced on grass. He's the biggest threat in Nadal's section, which says more about how weak the section is than about how tough it is. Raonic may get a set, 2 at most but in the end Nadal is the better player and should win if he's really that great (which most people think he is).
All fans do it, tout their guys as beasts but when draws come out talk about how X low ranked player is dangerous. But in the end the better player and higher seed should find a way to win over the less experienced player.
TheTruth
G.O.A.T.
You're probably right, but I like to err on the side of caution.
I haven't seen Raonic on the grass this season, but a hungry player is a dangerous player, to me. He's got nothing to lose, but I sure hope you're right.
