Nole fans, do you think Djokovic is now a lock for Roland Garros title?

UnforcedTerror

UnforcedTerror

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Nole fans, it seems to me that Bull and Fed fans have already lost all hope after watching Sharkitos crumbling against the mighty crocodile. So my question to you, do you really believe Djokovic is now a lock for the title? Would you be surprised if he loses the final?

If this match was played on hard or grass I'd say Djoko would be 77% favorite but it's clay and Ruud has been firing on all cylinders in the last couple of matches. He completely demolished Jarry, Rune and Zed back to back to back and all three of them love clay and enjoy playing on it. So I have my doubts this going to be easy for Novak. He is for sure the favorite on paper for but nothing more than 55% imo. For me, he either brings his best into the final or he's going to be roasted by Ruud's forehand. Him losing wouldn't surprise me one bit.
 
I don't think Djoker is a lock for the title but I will be very surprised if he ends up losing to Ruud in the final. The question is will Ruud put up a better fight than Alcaraz did against Djoker.

Jarry, Rune and Zverev - none of these three are mentally in the same league as Djoker and don't carry around the same aura that Djoker has in a best of 5 set match regardless of the surface.

Ruud has been hitting his FH very well in the last few matches but Djoker is going to target his BH and move him around. I think Djoker winning in 4 sets would be the safe bet as he is prone to having some sort of mental lapse at some point, I hope Djoker demolishes Ruud in straights though

4-0 H2H for Djoker over Ruud with Ruud yet to win a set
 
UnforcedTerror said:
Nole fans, it seems to me that Bull and Fed fans have already lost all hope after watching Sharkitos crumbling against the mighty crocodile. So my question to you, do you really believe Djokovic is now a lock for the title? Would you be surprised if he loses the final?

If this match was played on hard or grass I'd say Djoko would be 77% favorite but it's clay and Ruud has been firing on all cylinders in the last couple of matches. He completely demolished Jarry, Rune and Zed back to back to back and all three of them love clay and enjoy playing on it. So I have my doubts this going to be easy for Novak. He is for sure the favorite on paper for but nothing more than 55% imo. For me, he either brings his best into the final or he's going to be roasted by Ruud's forehand. Him losing wouldn't surprise me one bit.
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He is lock. He is getting underrated if we give Ruud any chance. Ruud is nothing.
 
Ruud should adopt the strategy Roddick proposed he should use against Federer, and try to shove him down a flight of stairs before the match.
 
nachiket nolefam said:
He is lock. He is getting underrated if we give Ruud any chance. Ruud is nothing.
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Djokovic will find himself forced to exchange heavy blows with Casper for longer than he had to against Karl so you should be praying for his wrist to stay intact or you'll get served a humble pie to eat.
 
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pj80 said:
Ruud must not be underestimated.
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Nope. I want to be confident and I think he is the favorite, but he isn't a lock. Ruud just trashed Rune who just trashed Djokovic in Rome. He has more experience than last year and he was quite close against Alcaraz at the USO. It is the world number #4 playing on his best surface. And he will be fresh like a daisy.

Djokovic will have a huge amount of pressure of his shoulders. He was the underdog in SF and had nothing to lose.
Now he has everything to lose. 23rd Slam, Triple Career Slam, back to number #1, and a chance for the CYGS. So many at stake for ONE match. The pressure will be a factor.

I am also worried about his fitness. How much does he still have in the tank. The first 2 sets of his SF were gruelling. Heavy, warm conditions won't favor him. I am worried about his elbow, his wrist and his harmstring. His body could betray him anytime.

Is he favorite? Yes but I'm not cocky at all. It's a Slam final, he is playing for history and he might not be at 100% physically. Nothing is certain.
 
He is the fav but I would say Novak needs to be focussed on his goal. It ain't over until it is over. Plus he needs to remember that 23 itself is not the end, more goals ahead.
 
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Nope as nothing in life or sport is certain. However, as long as he handles pressure of occasion then I believe he should have that wee bit too much for Casper.
 
Thats right, Novak cannot afford to be arrogant and count chickens before they are hatched, need to stay grounded. Take your opponent as if he is the most dangerous player on earth.

Instead of Ruud it is better to assume that you are playing Nadal and take Ruud that seriously.
 
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The pressure is massive on djoko and this isn’t Australian open or Wimbledon.

I hope he can stay physically healthy for 1 more match to give his best fight. Ruud is playing great tennis this RG and shouldn’t underestimated at all.
 
I would say he's a strong favourite, but obviously still needs to put in the work today and remain sharp / focused.

If he starts feeling tight or goes off his game Ruud can definitely challenge him
 
Razer said:
Cool bro.

We follow the Nadal approach of staying the radar and praising opponent, it is a good strategy to not have pressure. Bull even praises his roland garros 1st week opponents by saying he needs to take them seriously.... that is right approach
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Nadal never looked passed anyone. He was very good at approaching its match like he was playing a very tough opponent. It kept him locked in all the way in slams.
 
Djokovic_is_the_best#1 said:
Nadal never looked passed anyone. He was very good at approaching its match like he was playing a very tough opponent. It kept him locked in all the way in slams.
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True.
I think Federer used to take opoponents lightly in 2000s, from what I have seen he did take people lightly. Djoker also does sometime loosen up but Nadal never takes anyone lightly, he is always 100% against everyone at every point.
 
Razer said:
Cool bro.

We follow the Nadal approach of staying under the radar and praising opponent, it is a good strategy to not have pressure. Bull even praises his roland garros 1st week opponents by saying he needs to take them seriously.... that is right approach
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Exactly what's the point of reducing pressure when you're not the one playing the match?
 
CoolCoolCool said:
Exactly what's the point of reducing pressure when you're not the one playing the match?
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These days non players are the ones who create pressure.

We saw that 2 days ago when Alcaraz was hyped beyond limit and even his coach could not calm him down. A lot of this pressure was created by Djokovic fans themselves who praised Carlos so much to take pressure off Novak. Hitman and others called Carlos the fav so many times that Carlos himself was pumped him, that caused him to lose like that.
 
Razer said:
These days non players are the ones who create pressure.

We saw that 2 days ago when Alcaraz was hyped beyond limit and even his coach could not calm him down. A lot of this pressure was created by Djokovic fans themselves who praised Carlos so much to take pressure off Novak. Hitman and others called Carlos the fav so many times that Carlos himself was pumped him, that caused him to lose like that.
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Huh? Are you aware that those players don't even know we exist? They probably don't even know TTW exists. Not sure if you're joking or not.
 
CoolCoolCool said:
Huh? Are you aware that those players don't even know we exist? They probably don't even know TTW exists. Not sure if you're joking or not.
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Players are humans like us and of our same age group, they might be aware of TTW and MTF and might be checking the forums once in a while, I am not saying they are following coolcoolcool or razer or follow our posts or know us, but they MIGHT be checking forums related to their profession.

Secondly, if not TTW then TWITTER definetly is something they check, so that adds up pressure for sure.

Twitter and Faceboook definitely matter a lot.
 
Social media is a big deal in adding pressure or creating hype, undeniable fact in 2010s decade and beyond, in 2023 undeniable beyond doubt
 
Djokovic is only a man of flesh and blood, but he still has much greater mental strength compared to other top athletes. I think that this match is of greater importance to him in relation to the other GS. Let's remember the 2021 Olympic Games and how Djokovic cracked under the pressure of the Golden Slam.
 
No.
"It ain't over til is over".

Conditions vastly different than in any of previous 6 matches. Have to adjust , maybe change game plan in the last moment.Humiditty (always)/slow courts (nowadays) bother Novak and that's a fact
His opponent is playing well, I wrote earlier I'm expecting from Ruud to give his all, literally all at this RG .
 
This is Ruuds favourite surface. He is a clay specialist. He is looking in peak form.

This match will be tense. Djoko is no lock. He is not just playing Ruud, he is playing for the biggest piece of history ever.
 
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