My theory on why Nadal lost the Wimbledon SF to Novak.

[Tennease]

When they returned to resume the match on the following day, Nadal was too anxious and too tight. He went all guns blazing 10000% hitting winners left and right. He was like a ferret on methamphetamine (my bad, I mean Ferrer). This has caused him loss of energy and loss of fluid. Just look at him, he was drenched and soaking wet. He lost a lot of fluid and energy. He ran out of gas in the end.

Djokovic, on the other hand, he was cooler throughout that second match (eventhough he did yell several times to his box when he couldn't return some of Nadal's serves and also hit his shoes with his racquet). Overall, Novak looked calmer and more composed. He hardly sweat, unlike Nadal. His shirts looked drier than Nadal's. That means Novak was more chilled and conserved more energy so he was the strongest guy when they reached the finishing line.

10000% effort is great, but sometimes you need to control yourself.

 

[Mack-2]

He lost because Nole won the last point of the match.

 

[Antonio Puente]

Basically, it came down to a point or two. No scientific theory necessary. Two great players - someone had to win.

 

[roysid]

No theory..but djokovic played poorly on the important points in 4th set. He basically gifted it

 

[Tennease]

He lost because Nole won the last point of the match.

Wasn't it the last 4 or 5 points of the match? How's that possible?

 

[Deleted member 756486]

Both played astounding tennis but Nole was that bit better.

Novak’s mental toughness is frankly outrageous at times.

 

[Bartelby]

Novak certainly crushed Nadal in that last game.

 

[Standaa]

Both played astounding tennis but Nole was that bit better.

But you and your posts in the match’s section were better than anything I’ve read it tells a great story

This is becoming unbearable.

Starting to lose all faith.

This match will be the end of what little sanity I have.

Novak playing with my heart again.

Novak plays better when he’s pissed off.

Not many people are like Novak.

Djokovic isn’t winning this.

I hate you Novak. You are breaking my heart.

I’m gonna be puking very soon.

JSJSHAJSIMZMZMZ

JUST GONNA BE HONEST AND SAY IT RIGHT NOW

I WOULD GIVE NOVAK A BJ.

 

[Tennease]

Lol

 

[Deleted member 756486]

But you and your posts in the match’s section were better than anything I’ve read it tells a great story

I honestly thought that I’d be in the back on an ambulance by the end of that match. Ridiculous.

All those posts were in the moment. I was in pure pain during that match and then euphoria when Novak won.

 

[Standaa]

I honestly thought that I’d be in the back on an ambulance by the end of that match. Ridiculous.

All those posts were in the moment. I was in pure pain during that match and then euphoria when Novak won.

Because of Novak having protected Fed’s Slam count or because of him getting into finals?

 

[ADuck]

But you and your posts in the match’s section were better than anything I’ve read it tells a great story

Just the average Federer fan. Nothing suspect.

 

[Deleted member 756486]

Because of Novak having protected Fed’s Slam count or because of him getting into finals?

Bit of both.

Novak has really grown on me because of his struggles to get back to the top. I’m a sucker for comeback stories and yes I want Fed to have more slams then Rafa.

Not gonna lie, I teared up a bit when I watched Novak’s post match interview.

 

[Deleted member 756486]

Just the average Federer fan. Nothing suspect.

Paranoid and mentally unstable? Pretty much.

 

[HunterST]

I thought Nadal looked a bit stronger throughout the day. It truly was a match that could have gone either way. Nadal had a break point at 7 all. If that had gone his way, he would have won.

 

[Pete Player]

I’ve been thinking, Nadal is lacking something on the tactical, but has extreme shotmaking skills and mental as well physical abilities.

Kind of Monfills 2.0. Those few points in the last set, I thought he was going to get a heart failure running from corner to another, while Nole took only few shuffles in the middle.


——————————
On pain meds - all contributed matter and anti-matter subject to disclaimer

 

[donquijote]

When they returned to resume the match on the following day, Nadal was too anxious and too tight. He went all guns blazing 10000% hitting winners left and right. He was like a ferret on methamphetamine (my bad, I mean Ferrer). This has caused him loss of energy and loss of fluid. Just look at him, he was drenched and soaking wet. He lost a lot of fluid and energy. He ran out of gas in the end.

Djokovic, on the other hand, he was cooler throughout that second match (eventhough he did yell several times to his box when he couldn't return some of Nadal's serves and also hit his shoes with his racquet). Overall, Novak looked calmer and more composed. He hardly sweat, unlike Nadal. His shirts looked drier than Nadal's. That means Novak was more chilled and conserved more energy so he was the strongest guy when they reached the finishing line.

10000% effort is great, but sometimes you need to control yourself.

Have you not seen this thread? You're over-thinking.
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/congrats-to-nadal-on-18th-slam.621307/

 

[OddJack]

He hit winners left and right because he had rest. Had the match not stopped yesterday it would have finished in 4 sets.
Remember he came off a physical match against Delpo

Look how the 5th set progressed.

Nadal kept his serve ....then several 0-30......then it's 0-40...He was spent.

Nadal is one of those that you can tell his distress level by his looks. He starts to grimace. His jaw drops lower and lower when he receives serve. His hair becomes disarrayed.

Then he loses.

 

[Tennease]

Have you not seen this thread? You're over-thinking.
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/congrats-to-nadal-on-18th-slam.621307/

Lol. Genius. That thread did not exist. I meant, that shot did not exist.

 

[Sentinel]

But you and your posts in the match’s section were better than anything I’ve read it tells a great story

LOL, I remember the LAST COMMENT you quoted very well. That is just what Novak would have needed at that point after all the fluid loss and all.

Sort of shocked me

 

[NEW_BORN]

Djokovic's defense in that 5th set was insane, that was the difference. Better defense won over offense.

 

[D.Nalby12]

Djokovic just better grass court player. Reason it was very close - Novak is not at his best yet while Nadal was firing all cylinders. It was his just second tournament after two years he played in form. Apart from Serve there is room for improvement in each aspect of the game. He had doubts in his mind too, that's why he was very passive on crucial points. Prime Djokovic would have finished this Nadal in four sets max.

 

[OhYes]

Nadal is always sweaty, you can't draw conclusions about Nadal's game from his sweat.

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

When they returned to resume the match on the following day, Nadal was too anxious and too tight. He went all guns blazing 10000% hitting winners left and right. He was like a ferret on methamphetamine (my bad, I mean Ferrer). This has caused him loss of energy and loss of fluid. Just look at him, he was drenched and soaking wet. He lost a lot of fluid and energy. He ran out of gas in the end.

Djokovic, on the other hand, he was cooler throughout that second match (eventhough he did yell several times to his box when he couldn't return some of Nadal's serves and also hit his shoes with his racquet). Overall, Novak looked calmer and more composed. He hardly sweat, unlike Nadal. His shirts looked drier than Nadal's. That means Novak was more chilled and conserved more energy so he was the strongest guy when they reached the finishing line.

10000% effort is great, but sometimes you need to control yourself.

Nole won because of that crucial hold at 7-7...
10 mins game I think...
Especially that forehand pass when nadal's internal bull was raging over djoker

 

[KG1965]

Serve. The serve.

 

[ibbi]

Nadal lost because he had a worse serve, and was serving second in that second set, and it eventually became too much. Just like last year. Rafa sweats just walking from his chair to the baseline, the conditions made it more extreme than usual, but if you really think Novak was the more calm and composed one in that final set you must have been watching a replay of the 2011 final by mistake.

 

[KG1965]

What do you think of Rafa's serve?

 

[fednad]

When they returned to resume the match on the following day, Nadal was too anxious and too tight. He went all guns blazing 10000% hitting winners left and right. He was like a ferret on methamphetamine (my bad, I mean Ferrer). This has caused him loss of energy and loss of fluid. Just look at him, he was drenched and soaking wet. He lost a lot of fluid and energy. He ran out of gas in the end.

Djokovic, on the other hand, he was cooler throughout that second match (eventhough he did yell several times to his box when he couldn't return some of Nadal's serves and also hit his shoes with his racquet). Overall, Novak looked calmer and more composed. He hardly sweat, unlike Nadal. His shirts looked drier than Nadal's. That means Novak was more chilled and conserved more energy so he was the strongest guy when they reached the finishing line.

10000% effort is great, but sometimes you need to control yourself.

Crux is.
We shall not sweat much. Sweating is not good.
One's shirt shall stay drier. Then one can win.

 

[MLRoy]

Rafa had his chances. He was moving great, and Joker made a few UEs. I think he lost because of poor shot selection. His backhand was much better than his forehand, but he ran around his backhand during several important points, losing the point with a mediocre forehand return or netting it. I wasn't impressed by his serving, either, though he didn't serve badly. He needed to serve great to win this match. His defense was REALLY impressive, but the depth of his shots weren't. His game regressed slightly to a few years ago, unfortunately. It was his to win...

 

[van_Loederen]

until that SF Nadal was lucky with the slowish conditions, then unlucky with the closed roof.
in the open he would have won,
but on indoor grass even this subpar version of DJ is stronger.

Nadal lost because he had a worse serve, and was serving second in that second set, and it eventually became too much. Just like last year. Rafa sweats just walking from his chair to the baseline, the conditions made it more extreme than usual, but if you really think Novak was the more calm and composed one in that final set you must have been watching a replay of the 2011 final by mistake.

this too

 

[ChaelAZ]

Nadal look nervy through the match, hitting a lot of shorter balls. Novak hit the points he needed a few times more.




Probably posting from the court between sets.

 

[van_Loederen]

^excellent summery (he looked nervy as the conditions are tough for him and also because of the strong opponent.)

Rafa had his chances. He was moving great, and Joker made a few UEs. I think he lost because of poor shot selection. His backhand was much better than his forehand, but he ran around his backhand during several important points, losing the point with a mediocre forehand return or netting it. I wasn't impressed by his serving, either, though he didn't serve badly. He needed to serve great to win this match. His defense was REALLY impressive, but the depth of his shots weren't. His game regressed slightly to a few years ago, unfortunately. It was his to win...

playing so much with the BH in these quickish conditions takes a lot of concentration (off him).
as for the quality of the match, the depth of shots wasn't great from either player,
but Nadal's new, more agressive game helped him.
as for the defence, he played himself into the tourney much better than i expected. (well, already last year it looked better than in the previous ~4 years though.) he moved quite well and standing deeper inside the court combined with DJ's mediocre depth of shot (for his standards) made Nadal's defence look quite good, imo.

 

[Backspin1183]

My theory is that Novak served a tad better and returned better than him. That Nadal doesn't return serves as well on grass as he does on clay or even hard court.

 

[InsideOut900]

Djokovic, on the other hand, he was cooler throughout that second match.

No way we saw the same match.
Have you seen how tense Novak was?
Playing so passive at times, affraid not to make unforced errors.

Nadal lost because Djokovic wanted the win more. It's no other way to call those 2 holds in the 5th from 15-40 down.
Both gave their best physical and mental effort till the last ball.

 

[Rabin]

My theory is that Novak served a tad better and returned better than him. That Nadal doesn't return serves as well on grass as he does on clay or even hard court.

Yeah, plus always having to play catch up in the fifth. It just wasn't sustainable, he was definitely getting tired. Conditions weren't great and it was still close, can't really complain about that.

 

[Backspin1183]

Yeah, plus always having to play catch up in the fifth. It just wasn't sustainable, he was definitely getting tired. Conditions weren't great and it was still close, can't really complain about that.

Yup. Always better to serve first in a 5th set. He has no one but himself to blame for blowing three set points of the third set though. He lost a tie break similarly against Delpo too. His record in tie breaks of late hasn't looked good.

 

[Rabin]

Yup. Always better to serve first in a 5th set. He has no one but himself to blame for blowing three set points of the third set though. He lost a tie break similarly against Delpo too. His record in tie breaks of late hasn't looked good.

Watching the fifth actually gave me the same feeling as that TB in the third, the longer it went on the more nervous I got. That SP on serve still haunts me, way worse than the BPs in the fifth if you ask me. Definitely would have helped to play more TBs in the tournament but it is what it is. Any opponent's serve will be easier to return on HC so I'm looking forward with some hope given the aggressive level of play Rafa showed in the past couple of weeks and especially the last two matches.

 

[Tennease]

Yes I agree about the serve, which is rather obvious. But Novak faced a lot of break points. Due to his calmness and mental strength he was able to maintain his belief and his confidence that he had what it take to beat Nadal. I noticed he often resets his mind or emotion when things did not go his way. His body language showed that. You can see it in his eyes and his posture when he is ready to return serve. He looked like a mighty rock in the middle of stormy seas that is ready to receive battering. He sort of told Nadal, hit me and I won't fall. Shoot me down, but I won't fall, I'm Titanium. Or Graphene, if you like.

 

[DJTaurus]

Nadal lost because on part 2 he was so bad on first serves. End of story. On most of rallies he was the one taking control of them....he was the one to loose or win them. Nole was controlling points with amazing placement and opening the court on nadals forehand but rarely going for winners. It was all about waiting nadals mistake or building the point to his advantage in order to approach. Nadal played more versatile tennis with his amazing volleys but he still needs to improve his serves.