Fritz
Banned
Watching RG-13 semifinal I noticed that Djokovic was taking attacking initiative during almost every point, which is not a bad tactic, but courts on Chatrier are quite slower than in Rome where Djokovic had success with that tactic. Novak doesn't posses the same firepower as Soderling and it takes enormous efforts to blast Rafa out of that court. Moreover it's quite naive to hope that everything will click playing in such risky manner by basically smashing every ball to the corner. I wouldn't say that Djokovic played his best vs Nadal on that day, it was certainly a good performance, but still not enough to beat Rafa, although extremely close.
Djokovic still has the ability to beat Rafa at RG, but he needs to do it hard way by outlasting Nadal like in AO-12 final. Nole basically should play with the same strategy as at WTF-14 where he was perfectly controlling the court with his movement, not forcing much action, but slowly and confidently turning points in his favor by excellent combinational and counter-attacking skills. There is no wonder elixir for Djokovic to accomplish this task, the only question would be in the level of Novak's form approaching RG, which means that he should win a few Masters before RG. There is no easy way out, Djokovic should earn it.
Look at the history of last clay seasons: In 2012 Djokovic had terrible clay Masters season, so no wonder that he lost FO final. In 2013 Djokovic won Monte-Carlo, but as Nole said he wasn't training much after that and ended in losing to Dimitrov and Berdych before RG, the guys Nole should beat with closed eyes. In 2014 Novak got wrist injury in Monte-Carlo, won Rome, but neither of Djokovic( lost a set to Ferrer,Raonic) and Nadal( lost a set to Youzhny, Simon and Murray) were in a great form during the tournament. Nadal had been raising his level at RG with every match, while with Nole it's a different story and he still suffered from injury. Djokovic's best chance to win FO was in 2011, a year when Nole swept clay masters season by winning 2 Masters in a row before RG. Djokovic had that perfect mix of physics, attacking potential and mental toughness, but Federer stopped him. Let's see what will happen in 2015.
I think it's not impossible for Djokovic to dethrone Nadal at RG, he just needs to bring close to WTF-14 form to RG. Easier said than done. Maybe he doesn't need to be that good as in WTF group stage where he settled a record for the least games lost, but close to that form. As I stated before Nole isn't kind of a power player like Soderling who won 1 game vs Nadal in Rome-09 and a few weeks later played almost perfect match in slam. Of course there is still a small chance that Djoko could play a perfect match, but better to keep it safe, play great clay Masters season, gradually improve the form and properly calculate his peak for the final.
Your thoughts on topic?
Djokovic still has the ability to beat Rafa at RG, but he needs to do it hard way by outlasting Nadal like in AO-12 final. Nole basically should play with the same strategy as at WTF-14 where he was perfectly controlling the court with his movement, not forcing much action, but slowly and confidently turning points in his favor by excellent combinational and counter-attacking skills. There is no wonder elixir for Djokovic to accomplish this task, the only question would be in the level of Novak's form approaching RG, which means that he should win a few Masters before RG. There is no easy way out, Djokovic should earn it.
Look at the history of last clay seasons: In 2012 Djokovic had terrible clay Masters season, so no wonder that he lost FO final. In 2013 Djokovic won Monte-Carlo, but as Nole said he wasn't training much after that and ended in losing to Dimitrov and Berdych before RG, the guys Nole should beat with closed eyes. In 2014 Novak got wrist injury in Monte-Carlo, won Rome, but neither of Djokovic( lost a set to Ferrer,Raonic) and Nadal( lost a set to Youzhny, Simon and Murray) were in a great form during the tournament. Nadal had been raising his level at RG with every match, while with Nole it's a different story and he still suffered from injury. Djokovic's best chance to win FO was in 2011, a year when Nole swept clay masters season by winning 2 Masters in a row before RG. Djokovic had that perfect mix of physics, attacking potential and mental toughness, but Federer stopped him. Let's see what will happen in 2015.
I think it's not impossible for Djokovic to dethrone Nadal at RG, he just needs to bring close to WTF-14 form to RG. Easier said than done. Maybe he doesn't need to be that good as in WTF group stage where he settled a record for the least games lost, but close to that form. As I stated before Nole isn't kind of a power player like Soderling who won 1 game vs Nadal in Rome-09 and a few weeks later played almost perfect match in slam. Of course there is still a small chance that Djoko could play a perfect match, but better to keep it safe, play great clay Masters season, gradually improve the form and properly calculate his peak for the final.
Your thoughts on topic?