Nadal's success at the US Open feels even more astonishing now

[octogon]

People have been denigrating some of his recent US Open wins as "cakewalks". The "Berretini Open", where he best Danil Medvedev in the final was dismissed as an easy title, despite Medvedev being the clear form hardcourt player of that year. .

Yet Medvedev destroyed Djokovic, the "hardcourt GOAT " in a US Open final, in straight sets. Bit hard to dismiss Nadal's last title run now.

Djokovic is a great player everywhere and on every surface, but it's fascinating how the New York hardcourts somehow seem to benefit Nadal more.

 

[Lleytonstation]

That final starts to look better and better everyday. Have a watch again. It was awesome stuff.

 

[jondice]

Nadal has two of the best Open victories of all time: 2013 and 2019. Epic stuff.

 

[Beulah Jesus]

Awesome stuff indeed.

 

[Ledigs]

That was actually an extremely high level match - one of the best I've seen. Hardly a cakewalk. Nadal has also beaten Djokovic before and after Djokovic's supposed peak there.

 

[James P]

That '19 USO is still my favorite match of Medvedev's career. Today's was more important, but that match was so good. Both players.

 

[Tshooter]

Nadal has two of the best Open victories of all time: 2013 and 2019. Epic stuff.

 

[MeatTornado]

Yet Medvedev destroyed Djokovic, the "hardcourt GOAT " in a US Open final, in straight sets. Bit hard to dismiss Nadal's last title run now.

Do you really think 2019 Medvedev destroys Novak today?

2019 Med played quite poor for over 2 sets and then started swinging freely once the match looked out of hand. Once it got real again in the 5th he immediately faltered. Just earlier this year he took his lumps by not being able to handle the moment in the AO final. He needed time to get to where he was today where he could hold his nerve in a big final.

 

[Third Serve]

lol funny that OP picks now to make his return to the forum

 

[Steve0904]

lol funny that OP picks now to make his return to the forum

Beat me to it. How lame is this from the OP? Worse than Med's victory celebration I'd say.

 

[MichaelNadal]

 

[-NN-]

Absolutely hilarious thread.

 

[Pheasant]

Not all slam titles are created equally. Djoker has faced some monsters at the USO and it’s shocking that he only has 3 titles there. He’s been a bit unlucky. He had face Federer 6 times there.

Wins vs top 10 at the USO:

Lendl 19
Federer 16
Sampras 16
Djoker 14
Mcenroe 13
Connors 7
Nadal 7

 

[topher]

Do you really think 2019 Medvedev destroys Novak today?

2019 Med played quite poor for over 2 sets and then started swinging freely once the match looked out of hand. Once it got real again in the 5th he immediately faltered. Just earlier this year he took his lumps by not being able to handle the moment in the AO final. He needed time to get to where he was today where he could hold his nerve in a big final.

2019 Medvedev had just beaten Novak in Cincy and he used almost identical tactics to today to do it. He bombed 2nd serves but mixed it up, while out-hanging Novak from the baseline. That Novak was better than the one today.

You need to go back and watch that 5th set imo. Med started it great, earning break points on Rafa’s serve, and his 1st serve percent was very high just like today. But Rafa started reading it by adjusting his return position and was winning more points on Med’s 1st serve than he was at one point. That’s what broke Med, not the moment.

The other thing working against 2019 Med was his draw was tougher that year, but giving him his 2021 draw he should be more fresh and focused to start the match.

 

[DMTNA]

I am gonna watch that final again.

 

[zagor]

Don't think 2019 USO Med was anywhere near as good as this year's USO Med. He blitzed through the draw, served like a maniac in the final, had a clear gameplan and executed it very well.

2019 Med was just a guy in his first slam final who had enough fight and talent in him to take advantage of Nadal's dips in form.

That said, Nadal has more USO titles (so far) and no one can take that away from him. He has had some easy draws there but he also had to skip it a few times when he would have had a decent shot (like 2012 for example).

 

[MeatTornado]

2019 Medvedev had just beaten Novak in Cincy and he used almost identical tactics to today to do it. He bombed 2nd serves but mixed it up, and he played high 1st serve percent.

You need to go back and watch that 5th set imo. Med started it great, his 1st serve percent was very high just like today, but somehow Rafa just started reading it and was winning more points on Med’s 1st serve than he was at one point. That’s what broke Med, not the moment.

The other thing working against 2019 Med was his draw was tougher that year, but giving him his 2021 draw he should be more fresh and focused to start the match.

Oh, Cincy? He won Cincy? Well I stand corrected then because beating the Big 3 at Masters events has always proven to be an indicator of how rematches in slam finals go.

 

[MichaelNadal]

I am gonna watch that final again.

It's such a ridiculously epic match

 

[topher]

Oh, Cincy? He won Cincy? Well I stand corrected then because beating the Big 3 at Masters events has always proven to be an indicator of how rematches in slam finals go.

Take his US Open finals performance then. I think you need to watch that 5th set again, your recollection sounds off.

Here’s a good summary if you’d rather read it: https://theracquet.substack.com/p/the-racquet-the-5th-set

 

[Aabye5]

Not all slam titles are created equally. Djoker has faced some monsters at the USO and it’s shocking that he only has 3 titles there. He’s been a bit unlucky. He had face Federer 6 times there.

Wins vs top 10 at the USO:

Lendl 19
Federer 16
Sampras 16
Djoker 14
Mcenroe 13
Connors 7
Nadal 7

Yes, I think this is also a pretty telling stat. I also wonder if the new surface at this year's Open worked in Medvedev's favor more or Novak's.

 

[JustMy2Cents]

People have been denigrating some of his recent US Open wins as "cakewalks". The "Berretini Open", where he best Danil Medvedev in the final was dismissed as an easy title, despite Medvedev being the clear form hardcourt player of that year. .

Yet Medvedev destroyed Djokovic, the "hardcourt GOAT " in a US Open final, in straight sets. Bit hard to dismiss Nadal's last title run now.

Djokovic is a great player everywhere and on every surface, but it's fascinating how the New York hardcourts somehow seem to benefit Nadal more.

Terrific match and great trophy presentation

 

[PilotPete]

lol funny that OP picks now to make his return to the forum

It is lame, but so what? Many Djoko fans do the same.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Terrific match and great trophy presentation

This is such a GOATY moment. One of the best in Rafa's career.

 

[The_Order]

Don't think 2019 USO Med was anywhere near as good as this year's USO Med. He blitzed through the draw, served like a maniac in the final, had a clear gameplan and executed it very well.

2019 Med was just a guy in his first slam final who had enough fight and talent in him to take advantage of Nadal's dips in form.

That said, Nadal has more USO titles (so far) and no one can take that away from him. He has had some easy draws there but he also had to skip it a few times when he would have had a decent shot (like 2012 for example).

Try watching the match...

Med was in red hot form in 2019 as well and his draw this year was a cakewalk compared to 2 years ago...

Rafa has had ONE easy USO draw -> 2017 the other three were not easy.

 

[Third Serve]

It is lame, but so what? Many Djoko fans do the same.

VB is more obvious about it tho

 

[topher]

Not all slam titles are created equally. Djoker has faced some monsters at the USO and it’s shocking that he only has 3 titles there. He’s been a bit unlucky. He had face Federer 6 times there.

Wins vs top 10 at the USO:

Lendl 19
Federer 16
Sampras 16
Djoker 14
Mcenroe 13
Connors 7
Nadal 7

Wins vs top 10 in your losing runs has nothing to do with overall quality of your actual titles.

Novak has had 5 top 10 wins in his 3 USO title runs.

Rafa also had 5 top 10 wins in 3 of his USO titles wins.

Rafa’s 2017 win had none, but Del Potro and Anderson were top 10 shortly thereafter. The same is true of two other players Rafa faced in his other runs, Youzhny and Berrettini.

 

[BGod]

Comparing 2019 Medvedev to 2021 is just as sensible as comparing 92 Sampras to 94 or Agassi 1990 to 1992.

Medvedev's USO draw this year was quite weak as well until the final. Nadal's 2017 specifically is all-time weakest draw along with Sampras 00 Wimbledon. And in 19 getting a halfway decent Finals opponent does not a decent draw make, again 2000 Sampras.

 

[topher]

Try watching the match...

Med was in red hot form in 2019 as well and his draw this year was a cakewalk compared to 2 years ago...

Rafa has had ONE easy USO draw -> 2017 the other three were not easy.

2017 still wasn’t nearly as easy as it’s made out to be. Del Potro and Anderson weren’t ranked high at the time but shorty thereafter climbed up and were top 10 players.

 

[Pheasant]

Yes, I think this is also a pretty telling stat. I also wonder if the new surface at this year's Open worked in Medvedev's favor more or Novak's.

That’s a great point. One of the people on the Tennis Channel said that the court speed index of the AO is 39 and the USO this year is 43. So yeah, that hurt Djoker. I don’t want to take anything away from Med. But Djoker has had some bad luck at the USO.

 

[Start da Game]

People have been denigrating some of his recent US Open wins as "cakewalks". The "Berretini Open", where he best Danil Medvedev in the final was dismissed as an easy title, despite Medvedev being the clear form hardcourt player of that year. .

Yet Medvedev destroyed Djokovic, the "hardcourt GOAT " in a US Open final, in straight sets. Bit hard to dismiss Nadal's last title run now.

Djokovic is a great player everywhere and on every surface, but it's fascinating how the New York hardcourts somehow seem to benefit Nadal more.

well said......so much for all this nonsense of cakewalks.......what's even more laughable to me is the misery of fraud fools, they are literally in every thread about nadal denigrating his achievements and ridiculing the op.......just ignore them, they still can't come out of all the beatings nadal handed to fraud in his prime........

 

[chut]

Well he definitely was wayyyyyyyyyyy more lucky at the USO than Djokovic or even Federer for that matter. But props to him for seizing his luck every time he got in position to do so.

 

[weakera]

Well he definitely was wayyyyyyyyyyy more lucky at the USO than Djokovic or even Federer for that matter. But props to him for seizing his luck every time he got in position to do so.

So lucky to beat Djokovic twice, beat Del Potro the year before Djokovic beat Del Potro for his 3rd USO crown, and beat the guy who pummeled Djokovic yesterday

 

[MichaelNadal]

So lucky to beat Djokovic twice, beat Del Potro the year before Djokovic beat Del Potro for his 3rd USO crown, and beat the guy who pummeled Djokovic yesterday

Get em

 

[NatF]

2017 still wasn’t nearly as easy as it’s made out to be. Del Potro and Anderson weren’t ranked high at the time but shorty thereafter climbed up and were top 10 players.

Delpo and Anderson played one decent set between them lol.

Typical of the bullfans to crawl out of the woodwork and to try and conflate 2019/2021 Medvedev lol.

 

[Start da Game]

Delpo and Anderson played one decent set between them lol.

Typical of the bullfans to crawl out of the woodwork and to try and conflate 2019/2021 Medvedev lol.

what are you doing in this thread when op is talking about nadal, medvedev and djokovic?

 

[NatF]

what are you doing in this thread when op is talking about nadal, medvedev and djokovic?

Ask the poster I quoted.

 

[chut]

So lucky to beat Djokovic twice, beat Del Potro the year before Djokovic beat Del Potro for his 3rd USO crown, and beat the guy who pummeled Djokovic yesterday

2010 was a very nice draw for Nadal, he faced 4 players who played a 5 setter just before, coming back from at least a 2 sets to 1 deficit. 2010 Djokovic was also pretty weak.
2013, his best USO imo, he had a soft draw until the final, but he played this one very well.
2017, i'm laughing at your Del Potro thing, Del Potro was coming back and completely gassed when he faced Nadal. The weakest draw in a long time for a slam winner
2019, it's an ok win, over uprising players, but they were pretty immature tbh, Medvedev gave 2 sets away before starting to play.

The way i see it, Nadal managed usually to avoid tough matches at the USO except some finals, when being fresher from avoiding tough matches before helped him.
Djokovic had a harder time all in all, even considering the considerable luck he had to get to the USO 2016 final and the not so tough 2015 and 2018 draws. At least each times he faced fresh opponents.

 

[aldeayeah]

That '19 USO is still my favorite match of Medvedev's career. Today's was more important, but that match was so good. Both players.

It was a match of contrasting unusual styles, and Med's zoning was impressive in the middle sets. As was Nadal's clutchness at the net.

 

[Sunny014]

2021 Medvedev vs 2019 Nadal

6-4, 7-5, 6-4

 

[Start da Game]

2010 was a very nice draw for Nadal, he faced 4 players who played a 5 setter just before, coming back from at least a 2 sets to 1 deficit. 2010 Djokovic was also pretty weak.
2013, his best USO imo, he had a soft draw until the final, but he played this one very well.
2017, i'm laughing at your Del Potro thing, Del Potro was coming back and completely gassed when he faced Nadal. The weakest draw in a long time for a slam winner
2019, it's an ok win, over uprising players, but they were pretty immature tbh, Medvedev gave 2 sets away before starting to play.

The way i see it, Nadal managed usually to avoid tough matches at the USO except some finals, when being fresher from avoiding tough matches before helped him.
Djokovic had a harder time all in all, even considering the considerable luck he had to get to the USO 2016 final and the not so tough 2015 and 2018 draws. At least each times he faced fresh opponents.

what sport are you even watching? tennis was always about the semis and finals in the last 15 years.......it moved from being a top 20 sport to big-2 sport initially and then big-3 over the last 10 years.......

2017 was the only easy slam one could argue.......just dig up all the threads from 2010, 2013 and 2019 and see for yourself how many posters favoured djokovic over rafa in 2010 and 2013........medvedev was right in the zone in 2019, the best hardcourter that north american season until he hit a roadblock in the form of fit nadal playing at 80% capacity.......

 

[ChaelAZ]

This is such a GOATY moment. One of the best in Rafa's career.

GOATY AF.

 

[Oceans II]

The USO courts even after the recent surface change are still too lively and bouncy for Nole, and ideal for Rafa. Nole thrives on dead bounce with his low centre of gravity and where taller, stronger players struggle more to reach lower balls.

 

[Backspin1183]

2021 Medvedev is more experienced and wasn't as nervous as he was in 2019 final.

 

[The_Order]

Delpo and Anderson played one decent set between them lol.

Typical of the bullfans to crawl out of the woodwork and to try and conflate 2019/2021 Medvedev lol.

Quite rich coming from a feddy fanboi who's come out of the woodwork so many times to try and conflate his opponents from 04-06 LMFAO

 

[NatF]

Quite rich coming from a feddy fanboi who's come out of the woodwork so many times to try and conflate his opponents from 04-06 LMFAO

lol I'm always here, plus it doesn't seem like you understand what the word conflate means. What a fail

 

[Nadal_King]

The USO courts even after the recent surface change are still too lively and bouncy for Nole, and ideal for Rafa. Nole thrives on dead bounce with his low centre of gravity and where taller, stronger players struggle more to reach lower balls.

I completely agree to this,these Us open courts are still suitable to Rafa game

 

[aldeayeah]

2021 Medvedev vs 2019 Nadal

6-4, 7-5, 6-4

Depends on the court tbh. 2019 was slower.

 

[AnOctorokForDinner]

Try watching the match...

Which makes it obvious 2021 Medvedev > 2019 Medvedev duh.

 

[duaneeo]

I had predicted Djokovic would beat Nadal in 2010 and 2013. From 2007 - 2009, Nadal lost to Ferrer, Murray, and Del Potro while Nole lost only to Federer. After beating Federer in 2010 semifinal, I thought for sure he'd beat Rafa (playing in his first USO final).

The 2013 loss makes no sense to this day.

 

[Backspin1183]

I had predicted Djokovic would beat Nadal in 2010 and 2013. From 2007 - 2009, Nadal lost to Ferrer, Murray, and Del Potro while Nole lost only to Federer. After beating Federer in 2010 semifinal, I thought for sure he'd beat Rafa (playing in his first USO final).

The 2013 loss makes no sense to this day.

Really? You didn't see Nadal had won Canada Open and Cincinnati back to back and was in dominant form? Even tennis reporters tweeted how good Nadal looked in practice sessions. He was the favourite for 2013.