Nadal and Djokovic must be licking their lips at the remainder of the slams this year

[Jokervich]

If we look at RG already:

Thiem - out in first round, looks washed up and burnt out
Zverev - pushed to 5 sets by some unknown qualifier
Rublev - out to the mighty Struff
Sinner - pushed to 5 sets and was 1 point away from going out

Tsitsipas could put up some minor resistance, but that's about it. Nadal and Djokovic must be licking their lips at the prospect of this. And still their biggest threat is a man who is almost 40 years old coming off an injury lay off of more than a year.

 

[ghostofMecir]

How is this different from any of the past years? Thiem, Zverev, Medvedev, etc., have never been seen as an obstacle.

 

[RoS]

Yeah, and even when Nadal is begging to lose a set, Popyrin make a DF and one of the worst smashes ever.

It's not today that Djokodal will be dethroned. Wimbledon is a lock for Djokovic and the USO is between Djokovic and Nadal.

 

[Spencer Gore]

That's how good they are. Plus the small difficulty of probably having to play each other at some point.

 

[ForehandCross]

His is this different from any of the past years? Thiem, Zverev, Medvedev, etc., have never been seen as an obstacle.

Thiem has defeated Djokovic twice in RG, last time when he actually was in good form(don't give me windy day crap, it wasn't as if wind was only blowing on Djokovic' side of the court) he got within an inch to beating Djokovic AND Nadal in a single slam last AO. He has beaten Rafael in a slam too.


Had he been in proper form, he would have been a strong top 2-3 contender. Even a stronger contender as Djokovic this RG .


But sadly he looks out of it as if tennis doesn't interest him and his body doesn't respond to him anymore.

 

[Lleytonstation]

You bet they are. They are laughing at the tour.

 

[dapchai]

Their performances at RG can't be a good predictor of how they will perform at Wimbledon and the US Open this year.

 

[TennisFan3]

And still their biggest threat is a man who is almost 40 years old coming off an injury lay off of more than a year.

Disagree with this. Fed is NO THREAT to anyone on clay. He likely won't even get to the Novak in the QF.

 

[Deleted member 771911]

They can divvy up the next seven or eight slams between them.

 

[D.Nalby12]

This is why Fed is trying for comeback at 40. He knows young players suck. He just needs a good draw avoiding Djokovic.

 

[I Am Finnish]

Yeah, and even when Nadal is begging to lose a set, Popyrin make a DF and one of the worst smashes ever.

It's not today that Djokodal will be dethroned. Wimbledon is a lock for Djokovic and the USO is between Djokovic and Nadal.

on sp? How bad was the smash?

 

[Rosstour]

Disagree with this. Fed is NO THREAT to anyone on clay. He likely won't even get to the Novak in the QF.

Remember in 2019 everyone said this? Do we get tired of being wrong?

 

[Im(moral) Winner]

Remember in 2019 everyone said this? Do we get tired of being wrong?

Did he win a slam?

 

[Beckerserve]

If we look at RG already:

Thiem - out in first round, looks washed up and burnt out
Zverev - pushed to 5 sets by some unknown qualifier
Rublev - out to the mighty Struff
Sinner - pushed to 5 sets and was 1 point away from going out

Tsitsipas could put up some minor resistance, but that's about it. Nadal and Djokovic must be licking their lips at the prospect of this. And still their biggest threat is a man who is almost 40 years old coming off an injury lay off of more than a year.

25 slams may be needed to secure the race.

 

[junior74]

Terrible generations. No way around it.

 

[dapchai]

on sp? How bad was the smash?

He had to smash twice. The first one was so so while the second one was meh, prolly because the ball was a bit out of his reach.

 

[Beckerserve]

This is why Fed is trying for comeback at 40. He knows young players suck. He just needs a good draw avoiding Djokovic.

And Nadal

 

[Kralingen]

I think the USO will be very competitive contrary to popular belief. Djokovic is certainly not iron clad there and the young guns will have had a full summer of North American HC to get in form.
Medvedev, Zverev, Berrettini and Tsitsipas,all have big time HC slam experience and guys like Shapo and Rublev were QFinalists there last year.

Everyone would agree in a HC slam the playing field is much more competitive than grass or clay. I also think there’s more variance because of the presence of servebots and pace of points. Will be interesting to see what the surface is like this year though, it may click with Djokovic/Nadal’s game

 

[E36BMWM3]

Fedr

 

[D.Nalby12]

And Nadal

6-0 off clay since 2014 AO loss. If Federer plays well enough to go deep he will beat Nadal at AO/W. At USO Nadal will be favored.

 

[Gazelle]

It's funny but with Thiem's decline this era has become even weaker. Didn't know that was possible. Thiem was the only one who could push them in slams.

It's utterly laughable right now.

 

[TheNachoMan]

This is why Fed is trying for comeback at 40. He knows young players suck. He just needs a good draw avoiding Djokovic.

I back Fed to win Wimbledon if Djoko has a Querrey situation and goes out early

 

[Phoenix1983]

That's how good they are. Plus the small difficulty of probably having to play each other at some point.

Nadal and Novak Djokovic had nothing to do with the pathetic performances of the next gen in the 1st round of this slam.

 

[clout]

I back Fed to win Wimbledon if Djoko has a Querrey situation and goes out early

If Querrey and Rosol happen again, I'd pick Fed over the entire field this Wimbledon

 

[Beckerserve]

6-0 off clay since 2014 AO loss. If Federer plays well enough to go deep he will beat Nadal at AO/W. At USO Nadal will be favored.

Yes agree but still he will prefer to avoid Nadal i guess.

 

[SonnyT]

Excuse you for noticing only now!

They've doing it for the past 3 years. They won 10 of the last 11 Slams. The only exception, one of them wasn't playing, and the other was disqualified!

During that period, they only met 3 times, twice in finals, once in semi.

 

[Tshooter]

Disagree with this. Fed is NO THREAT to anyone on clay. He likely won't even get to the Novak in the QF.

Not even Istomin ? I think he just beat him on clay.

 

[WhiskeyEE]

I was tricked yet again. When will I learn.

 

[ND-13]

If we look at RG already:

Thiem - out in first round, looks washed up and burnt out
Zverev - pushed to 5 sets by some unknown qualifier
Rublev - out to the mighty Struff
Sinner - pushed to 5 sets and was 1 point away from going out

Tsitsipas could put up some minor resistance, but that's about it. Nadal and Djokovic must be licking their lips at the prospect of this. And still their biggest threat is a man who is almost 40 years old coming off an injury lay off of more than a year.

same story for last xx years and will continue for the next several years

 

[Rosstour]

Did he win a slam?

No but making a SF and only going down to the GOAT is a lot better than anyone expected. The consensus was 2R-4R.

 

[mike danny]

If we look at RG already:

Thiem - out in first round, looks washed up and burnt out
Zverev - pushed to 5 sets by some unknown qualifier
Rublev - out to the mighty Struff
Sinner - pushed to 5 sets and was 1 point away from going out

Tsitsipas could put up some minor resistance, but that's about it. Nadal and Djokovic must be licking their lips at the prospect of this. And still their biggest threat is a man who is almost 40 years old coming off an injury lay off of more than a year.

Fed is not their biggest threat in his current state. But before his surgery, yeah, he was easily their biggest threat. He actually came the closest to taking a slam from them at 38 while these 20's dudes can't do jack squat.

 

[mike danny]

I think the USO will be very competitive contrary to popular belief. Djokovic is certainly not iron clad there and the young guns will have had a full summer of North American HC to get in form.
Medvedev, Zverev, Berrettini and Tsitsipas,all have big time HC slam experience and guys like Shapo and Rublev were QFinalists there last year.

Everyone would agree in a HC slam the playing field is much more competitive than grass or clay. I also think there’s more variance because of the presence of servebots and pace of points. Will be interesting to see what the surface is like this year though, it may click with Djokovic/Nadal’s game

If there's anything like last year, who would bet against one of Djokovic/Nadal being the winner?

 

[NoleIsBoat]

The field is simply too strong and deep. Only big2 can come out on top as they’re GOAT level players.

 

[mike danny]

I did a quick check and this is the most dominant Djokodal have ever been in slams.

We can pretty much pencil in Nadal for the title here which would bring us at 11 of the last 12 slams won by Djokodal since AO 2018. The other one was THE USO 2020 that we know meant nothing in the grand scheme of things because Djokodal weren't beaten.

The best they did before this was winning 9 slams in a row from RG 2010 to RG 2012 and 11 of the last 13 slams from RG 2010 to RG 2013.

Pretty sad that 30's Djokodal have been more dominant at the slams than even their prime/peak selves.

 

[NoleIsBoat]

I did a quick check and this is the most dominant Djokodal have ever been in slams.

We can pretty much pencil in Nadal for the title here which would bring us at 11 of the last 12 slams won by Djokodal since AO 2018. The other one was THE USO 2020 that we know meant nothing in the grand scheme of things because Djokodal weren't beaten.

The best they did before this was winning 9 slams in a row from RG 2010 to RG 2012 and 11 of the last 13 slams from RG 2010 to RG 2013.

Pretty sad that 30's Djokodal have been more dominant at the slams than even their prime/peak selves.

Maybe they’re still playing peak tennis? It helps that ATGs Murray and ATG level Wawrinka declined.

 

[StrongRule]

I did a quick check and this is the most dominant Djokodal have ever been in slams.

We can pretty much pencil in Nadal for the title here which would bring us at 11 of the last 12 slams won by Djokodal since AO 2018. The other one was THE USO 2020 that we know meant nothing in the grand scheme of things because Djokodal weren't beaten.

The best they did before this was winning 9 slams in a row from RG 2010 to RG 2012 and 11 of the last 13 slams from RG 2010 to RG 2013.

Pretty sad that 30's Djokodal have been more dominant at the slams than even their prime/peak selves.

LOL. Even after his struggles against Popyrin you can't stop with these jinx attempts.

Nobody is beating Djokovic in these new conditions. This is not RG anymore.

 

[mike danny]

LOL. Even after his struggles against Popyrin you can't stop with these jinx attempts.

Nobody is beating Djokovic in these new conditions. This is not RG anymore.

Even so, my overall point still stands.

 

[Deleted member 780630]

Lol who cares? Slams these days are like German Marks in the Weimar Republic. Totally worthless and inflated.

 

[Kralingen]

If there's anything like last year, who would bet against one of Djokovic/Nadal being the winner?

I don’t know, Zverev really should have beaten Djokovic at AO 2021 and both Thiem/Tsitsipas have wins over the Big 2 deep in slams recently. Where they would stumble at Wimbledon or RG due to lack of comfort, the hard courts are built for a younger player with power.
I’d still probably take Djokovic and then Nadal because of their talent but they’re definitely less heavy favorites than at the Channel Slams.

 

[Phoenix1983]

The field is simply too strong and deep. Only big2 can come out on top as they’re GOAT level players.

Your trolling is sub-standard. The fact that the young guys are either losing or scraping through in R1 has nothing to do with how good Nadal and Novak Djokovic are.

 

[mike danny]

I don’t know, Zverev really should have beaten Djokovic at AO 2021 and both Thiem/Tsitsipas have wins over the Big 2 deep in slams recently. Where they would stumble at Wimbledon or RG due to lack of comfort, the hard courts are built for a younger player with power.
I’d still probably take Djokovic and then Nadal because of their talent but they’re definitely less heavy favorites than at the Channel Slams.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Zverev played a mediocre middle part of the match. To say he should have won is pushing it.

Wins over Djokodal are nice, but if those respective slams still end with one of Djokodal as the winner, then those wins mean very little. Especially since Tsitsi himself also went on to be destroyed by Medvedev after that match.

 

[Ray Mercer]

The tour has been a joke for along time now. How has there not been another all time great appear since Djokovic 13 years ago? It’s sad and pathetic for the sport. There should be a 22-25 year old on tour right now that makes mince meat out of a declined Nadal and Djokovic. If a prime Fed appeared right now he’d be putting Nadal and Djokovic in a body bag.

 

[Sampras-Bruguera 1993]

Is Tsitsipas any good on grass?

If there was a year for Djoker to take the calendar slam though it would be this year. He just needs to cut out alot of the Mickey Mouse tourneys

 

[user92626]

If Querrey and Rosol happen again, I'd pick Fed over the entire field this Wimbledon

It's really weird to bring up Querrey and Rosol.

Any sh%^%^$ can happen -- that's life -- and that's why people do tournaments after tournaments ad nausea to confirm results or find unusuality. But these nonsense players (Q and R) are overwhelmed losers to Novak and Nadal, respectively. No?

Why do you guys hang on hard to them?

 

[Bumbaliceps]

LOL. Even after his struggles against Popyrin you can't stop with these jinx attempts.

Nobody is beating Djokovic in these new conditions. This is not RG anymore.

Last year you complained about the heavier balls which were supposed to help Djokovic. Now that normal balls are back, you think it will help Djokovic ? And the roof probably won't be used, so please tell me what the tournament did change about the conditions that is unfavorable to Nadal ? How has the situation changed from 2019 (I say 2019 because I suppose you have no complain about the conditions prior to 2020) ?

 

[StrongRule]

Last year you complained about the heavier balls which were supposed to help Djokovic. Now that normal balls are back, you think it will help Djokovic ? And the roof probably won't be used, so please tell me what the tournament did change about the conditions that is unfavorable to Nadal ? How has the situation changed from 2019 (I say 2019 because I suppose you have no complain about the conditions prior to 2020) ?

How about night sessions?

 

[NoleIsBoat]

Your trolling is sub-standard. The fact that the young guys are either losing or scraping through in R1 has nothing to do with how good Nadal and Novak Djokovic are.

What trolling? Thiem was unfortunate to run into peaking Andujar who just slayed peak rejuvenated Fed in Geneva .

 

[Bumbaliceps]

How about night sessions?

Oh yes you're right, true. I'm not sure it is really worse for him but ok, that's fair. So basically the night sessions are the only thing that make RG different as it used to be. And night sessions is a normal thing nowadays, not a decision that was made to go against Nadal I suppose you will agree with this.
I wonder then why you are so focused on RG changing conditions to suit Djokovic. The clay and the balls are the things that can be changed to have an impact on conditions, and it has been the same for such a long time, apart from last year's balls.

 

[StrongRule]

Oh yes you're right, true. I'm not sure it is really worse for him but ok, that's fair. So basically the night sessions are the only thing that make RG different as it used to be. And night sessions is a normal thing nowadays, not a decision that was made to go against Nadal I suppose you will agree with this.
I wonder then why you are so focused on RG changing conditions to suit Djokovic. The clay and the balls are the things that can be changed to have an impact on conditions, and it has been the same for such a long time, apart from last year's balls.

There is a clear problem when the players (like Medvedev) start comparing it to AO. The conditions are faster now. Just look how Popyrin was able to servebot against Nadal.

 

[Bumbaliceps]

There is a clear problem when the players (like Medvedev) start comparing it to AO. The conditions are faster now. Just look how Popyrin was able to servebot against Nadal.

You should watch videos of a younger Rafa, you will see it is no different. When the weather is nice, Roland Garros is not that slow, it has always been the case. Medvedev said he can play the same way as in AO, meaning it is fast enough for him to play his counter attack game. He is happy because last year it was so incredibly slow he couldn't hit agressive shots, he is just exaggerating here. Popyrin is tall with nice power and on a hot day his serve is gonna be rewarded of course, especially on the first round when Nadal is still far from the top of his return game. Last year it was the slowest tournament I've ever seen, it is not something we can use as a reference.