Why people are overrating Cilic so much?

U

User123

Hall of Fame
I really don't understand what reasons people on this forum have to do that. Comments like "he deserved his slam more than Nadal deserved any of his 16 slams" or "he is the only threat to Federer in WTF" make no sense. Let's take a look at his statistics against the top players.
Djokovic-Cilic head to head 14-1. Many bagels and breadsticks. USO 2015 was arguably the worst performance in slam semifinals history. Cilic finally got a win last year when Djokovic played a bit weaker than usually, and yet still served for the second set, just missed it with 2 double faults.
Nadal-Cilic head to head 5-1. Cilic's only win came in the end of 2009 which was one of Nadal's worst periods in career. After that Nadal won all meetings. Cilic didn't even beat Nadal in Basel 2015 LOL.
Federer-Cilic head to head 7-1. Cilic's only win came in USO 2014 when Federer played really bad, probably was tired from the 1/4 finals match. Cilic didn't have to do much to win it. I have no doubt a better version of Federer would destroy him. Wimbledon final was again one of the worst performances by a player in a slam final. Because when Federer is actually in form Cilic can only panic instead of playing.
Murray-Cilic 12-3. Wawrinka-Cilic 12-2. Del Potro vs Cilic 10-2. And so on.
The guy is basically an unforced errors machine. Maybe some weaker players can lose to him, but he doesn't stand a chance against top players in baseline rallies.
Why people are still saying he is a threat to Federer in WTF? After Wimbledon final it is especially funny. If they meet I expect Federer to drop not more than 4 games.
 
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User123 said:
I really don't understand what reasons people on this forum have to do that. Comments like "he deserved his slam more than Nadal deserved any of his 16 slams" or "he is the only threat to Federer in WTF" make no sense. Let's take a look at his statistics against the top players.
Djokovic-Cilic head to head 14-1. Many bagels and breadsticks. USO 2015 was arguably the worst performance in slam semifinals history. Cilic finally got a win last year when Djokovic played a bit weaker than usually, and yet still served for the second set, just missed it with 2 double faults.
Nadal-Cilic head to head 5-1. Cilic's only win came in the end of 2009 which was one of Nadal's worst periods in career. After that Nadal won all meetings. Cilic didn't even beat Nadal in Basel 2015 LOL.
Federer-Cilic head to head 7-1. Cilic's only win came in USO 2014 when Federer played really bad, probably was tired from the 1/4 finals match. Cilic didn't have to do much to win it. I have no doubt a better version of Federer would destroy him. Wimbledon final was again one of the worst performances by a player in a slam final. Because when Federer is actually in form Cilic can only panic instead of playing.
Murray-Cilic 12-3. Wawrinka-Cilic 12-2. Del Potro vs Cilic 10-2. And so on.
The guy is basically an unforced errors machine. Maybe some weaker players can lose to him, but he doesn't stand a chance against top players in baseline rallies.
Why people are still saying he is a threat to Federer in WTF? After Wimbledon final it is especially funny. If they meet I expect Federer to drop not more than 4 games.
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He is rated so highly because he has the ability to blow anyone away. Federer didn’t play badly at the Us open against Cilic -we just wasn’t allow to play well as he was outhit and outplayed. And I am a Federer fan saying this. Cilic would have absolutely crushed anyone in those last 2 rounds
 
timnz said:
He is rated so highly because he has the ability to blow anyone away. Federer didn’t play badly at the Us open against Cilic -we just wasn’t allow to play well as he was outhit and outplayed. And I am a Federer fan saying this. Cilic would have absolutely crushed anyone in those last 2 rounds
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He’s overrated because he allowed Federer to win WB.
 
Because he is a threat, especially compared to the rest of the field at the WTF this year. Do you prefer when this forum is full of people with their fingers in their ears yelling "FEDGOAT IS UNBEATABLE!"

Yes, Federer's A-game will beat Cilic's A-game just about every time. But if Fed slips up even a little and Cilic's serve is on, he can take care of business. Fed has losses their year to Donskoy, Haas, Zverev and a sick Delpo. He's 36 and can have a let down at any time if he's not 100%, it doesn't require a 2010 Nadal or 2015 Novak to beat him.
 
User123 said:
I really don't understand what reasons people on this forum have to do that. Comments like "he deserved his slam more than Nadal deserved any of his 16 slams" or "he is the only threat to Federer in WTF" make no sense. Let's take a look at his statistics against the top players.
Djokovic-Cilic head to head 14-1. Many bagels and breadsticks. USO 2015 was arguably the worst performance in slam semifinals history. Cilic finally got a win last year when Djokovic played a bit weaker than usually, and yet still served for the second set, just missed it with 2 double faults.
Nadal-Cilic head to head 5-1. Cilic's only win came in the end of 2009 which was one of Nadal's worst periods in career. After that Nadal won all meetings. Cilic didn't even beat Nadal in Basel 2015 LOL.
Federer-Cilic head to head 7-1. Cilic's only win came in USO 2014 when Federer played really bad, probably was tired from the 1/4 finals match. Cilic didn't have to do much to win it. I have no doubt a better version of Federer would destroy him. Wimbledon final was again one of the worst performances by a player in a slam final. Because when Federer is actually in form Cilic can only panic instead of playing.
Murray-Cilic 12-3. Wawrinka-Cilic 12-2. Del Potro vs Cilic 10-2. And so on.
The guy is basically an unforced errors machine. Maybe some weaker players can lose to him, but he doesn't stand a chance against top players in baseline rallies.
Why people are still saying he is a threat to Federer in WTF? After Wimbledon final it is especially funny. If they meet I expect Federer to drop not more than 4 games.
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He is very one dimensional
 
timnz said:
He is rated so highly because he has the ability to blow anyone away. Federer didn’t play badly at the Us open against Cilic -we just wasn’t allow to play well as he was outhit and outplayed. And I am a Federer fan saying this. Cilic would have absolutely crushed anyone in those last 2 rounds
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Yes. The statistics I brought EXACTLY prove he can blow anyone away. More like anyone can blow him away, that makes more sense. Keep convincing yourself whatever you want, but Djokovic would beat him in straight sets in the final, even given his relatively bad USO 2014 form. Cilic was very lucky not to face Djokovic in the final.
 
MeatTornado said:
Because he is a threat, especially compared to the rest of the field at the WTF this year. Do you prefer when this forum is full of people with their fingers in their ears yelling "FEDGOAT IS UNBEATABLE!"

Yes, Federer's A-game will beat Cilic's A-game just about every time. But if Fed slips up even a little and Cilic's serve is on, he can take care of business. Fed has losses their year to Donskoy, Haas, Zverev and a sick Delpo. He's 36 and can have a let down at any time if he's not 100%, it doesn't require a 2010 Nadal or 2015 Novak to beat him.
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Federer's 50% will also beat Cilic's A-game every time. He needs to play much worse than that to lose to a player whose whole playing style is based on hitting hard and making too much unforced errors.
 
Has the game to do a lot better against the big 4 than he does, that's why people rate him. People rate Dimitrov for the same reason.
 
George Turner said:
Has the game to do a lot better against the big 4 than he does, that's why people rate him. People rate Dimitrov for the same reason.
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What game does he have? His playing style-hit hard. If things go bad-hit harder. Nothing more. Hits hard, hits harder, makes too much unforced errors. And people call Nadal one dimensional LOL!
 
User123 said:
What game does he have? His playing style-hit hard. If things go bad-hit harder. Nothing more. Hits hard, hits harder, makes too much unforced errors. And people call Nadal one dimensional LOL!
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Yes, he can potentially hit through anyone.

The fact he doesn't is a different matter, he's got the game that makes people think he can do so on his day.
 
User123 said:
Federer's 50% will also beat Cilic's A-game every time. He needs to play much worse than that to lose to a player whose whole playing style is based on hitting hard and making too much unforced errors.
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Agree to disagree I guess. But just for fun, what % would you say Fed was at in the 2014 USO semi?
 
MeatTornado said:
Agree to disagree I guess. But just for fun, what % would you say Fed was at in the 2014 USO semi?
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I didn't watch the match live, but in his previous matches at the tournament he was really bad. And according to the highlights he couldn't hit backhands at all. Anyway, I watched the final and saw it was more Nishikori playing bad than Cilic playing great. Nishikori was probably very tired from such a hard draw.
 
User123 said:
I really don't understand what reasons people on this forum have to do that. Comments like "he deserved his slam more than Nadal deserved any of his 16 slams" or "he is the only threat to Federer in WTF" make no sense. Let's take a look at his statistics against the top players.
Djokovic-Cilic head to head 14-1. Many bagels and breadsticks. USO 2015 was arguably the worst performance in slam semifinals history. Cilic finally got a win last year when Djokovic played a bit weaker than usually, and yet still served for the second set, just missed it with 2 double faults.
Nadal-Cilic head to head 5-1. Cilic's only win came in the end of 2009 which was one of Nadal's worst periods in career. After that Nadal won all meetings. Cilic didn't even beat Nadal in Basel 2015 LOL.
Federer-Cilic head to head 7-1. Cilic's only win came in USO 2014 when Federer played really bad, probably was tired from the 1/4 finals match. Cilic didn't have to do much to win it. I have no doubt a better version of Federer would destroy him. Wimbledon final was again one of the worst performances by a player in a slam final. Because when Federer is actually in form Cilic can only panic instead of playing.
Murray-Cilic 12-3. Wawrinka-Cilic 12-2. Del Potro vs Cilic 10-2. And so on.
The guy is basically an unforced errors machine. Maybe some weaker players can lose to him, but he doesn't stand a chance against top players in baseline rallies.
Why people are still saying he is a threat to Federer in WTF? After Wimbledon final it is especially funny. If they meet I expect Federer to drop not more than 4 games.
Click to expand...
Cilic is the Gaudio of this era.
 
timnz said:
He is rated so highly because he has the ability to blow anyone away. Federer didn’t play badly at the Us open against Cilic -we just wasn’t allow to play well as he was outhit and outplayed. And I am a Federer fan saying this. Cilic would have absolutely crushed anyone in those last 2 rounds
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Actually yeah, Fed played a pretty crap match that day.

And I highly doubt it, his competition was a joke - tired Fed and Nishikori. I bet someone like Goffin could have won that slam.
 
User123 said:
I didn't watch the match live, but in his previous matches at the tournament he was really bad. And according to the highlights he couldn't hit backhands at all. Anyway, I watched the final and saw it was more Nishikori playing bad than Cilic playing great. Nishikori was probably very tired from such a hard draw.
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Cilic wasn't unbeatable no, though it was the best tennis he's ever played. He beat Simon during his run and that's his only career win vs Simon :D

Sort of match where Federer needed to be in good form and he wasn't. Would say Cilic played a higher level than Del Po did vs Fed at this years US open.
 
I can tell you this much. No top player wants to meet this guy in a major. Pencil him in for a darkhorse at Wimbledon pretty much every year moving forward. He hasn't won a UO and made a Wimbledon final for nothing. He can hit you off the court plus one of the better serves around(much improved under Ivanisevic).

An in-form/healthy Cilic is a dangerous player. He struggles with confidence at times which is his Achilles. God forbid he ever becomes confident on a regular basis
 
Because 2014 US Open is all Cilic-****s have left to hang on. The guy is cooked. The sooner him and his 20-ball bouncing self is out of tennis the better!
 
Sabratha said:
Cilic is the Gaudio of this era.
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Hi Sabratha.
I totally disagree, one has to give credit when it's due, Cilic can play on two surfaces and he is not that bad on clay, Gaudio was totally useless on any surface and conditions but clay.
Gaudio was very close to lose the only slam final he played, this final was awful and Coria lost the match himself and has only himself to blame.
Cilic is a superior player by a big margin. No contest. That's my opinion.

I am looking at which player could be considered the Gaudio of today, and I cannot find. I mean even Ferrer is a better player in my opinion, difference is he played against Nadal in the only slam final he played. Tsonga, Nishikori are also better than Gaudio, despite failing to win a slam.

Is he overrated?
I do not know, I don't read tennis forums and social media much but I never heard any hype about him except at the US Open.

@User123 Djokovic would have won the US Open encounter anyway but it was clear Cilic could not move in that match.
 
smoledman said:
Because 2014 US Open is all Cilic-****s have left to hang on. The guy is cooked. The sooner him and his 20-ball bouncing self is out of tennis the better!
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Minus a blister everything could be different right now. Cilic came into WF playing really well. As a Fed fan I didn't like the match-up after that crazy quarter last year. Still feel like Federer would have won anyway but it could have been a nail biter or even an upset(thankfully not)
 
User123 said:
I really don't understand what reasons people on this forum have to do that. Comments like "he deserved his slam more than Nadal deserved any of his 16 slams" or "he is the only threat to Federer in WTF" make no sense. Let's take a look at his statistics against the top players.
Djokovic-Cilic head to head 14-1. Many bagels and breadsticks. USO 2015 was arguably the worst performance in slam semifinals history. Cilic finally got a win last year when Djokovic played a bit weaker than usually, and yet still served for the second set, just missed it with 2 double faults.
Nadal-Cilic head to head 5-1. Cilic's only win came in the end of 2009 which was one of Nadal's worst periods in career. After that Nadal won all meetings. Cilic didn't even beat Nadal in Basel 2015 LOL.
Federer-Cilic head to head 7-1. Cilic's only win came in USO 2014 when Federer played really bad, probably was tired from the 1/4 finals match. Cilic didn't have to do much to win it. I have no doubt a better version of Federer would destroy him. Wimbledon final was again one of the worst performances by a player in a slam final. Because when Federer is actually in form Cilic can only panic instead of playing.
Murray-Cilic 12-3. Wawrinka-Cilic 12-2. Del Potro vs Cilic 10-2. And so on.
The guy is basically an unforced errors machine. Maybe some weaker players can lose to him, but he doesn't stand a chance against top players in baseline rallies.
Why people are still saying he is a threat to Federer in WTF? After Wimbledon final it is especially funny. If they meet I expect Federer to drop not more than 4 games.
Click to expand...
You don’t even need to mention Big 4 - Čilić H2H. Del Potro - Čilić is more or less the same.
 
User123 said:
I really don't understand what reasons people on this forum have to do that. Comments like "he deserved his slam more than Nadal deserved any of his 16 slams" or "he is the only threat to Federer in WTF" make no sense. Let's take a look at his statistics against the top players.
Djokovic-Cilic head to head 14-1. Many bagels and breadsticks. USO 2015 was arguably the worst performance in slam semifinals history. Cilic finally got a win last year when Djokovic played a bit weaker than usually, and yet still served for the second set, just missed it with 2 double faults.
Nadal-Cilic head to head 5-1. Cilic's only win came in the end of 2009 which was one of Nadal's worst periods in career. After that Nadal won all meetings. Cilic didn't even beat Nadal in Basel 2015 LOL.
Federer-Cilic head to head 7-1. Cilic's only win came in USO 2014 when Federer played really bad, probably was tired from the 1/4 finals match. Cilic didn't have to do much to win it. I have no doubt a better version of Federer would destroy him. Wimbledon final was again one of the worst performances by a player in a slam final. Because when Federer is actually in form Cilic can only panic instead of playing.
Murray-Cilic 12-3. Wawrinka-Cilic 12-2. Del Potro vs Cilic 10-2. And so on.
The guy is basically an unforced errors machine. Maybe some weaker players can lose to him, but he doesn't stand a chance against top players in baseline rallies.
Why people are still saying he is a threat to Federer in WTF? After Wimbledon final it is especially funny. If they meet I expect Federer to drop not more than 4 games.
Click to expand...
Great thread. This is basically because Cryic was a huge threat to Fed at Wimbledon. Cilic is close to finding some good form again, but still has some erratic play much like his early hard court season.

Count me a very interested spectator as I desperately want Thiem to hold on to at least 5 in the rankings. Dimitrov is defending so many points early next year that Thiem has a good chance to keep him at bay. Cilic has been plaguing Thiem all year with a lot of points on clay in 2017 and the great grass season. I hope you're right about Cilic because like Thiem he has little to defend until clay runs around and not liking Thiem's chances of holding him off on hard courts.:rolleyes: If Djokovic makes a decent return to play he could easily pass Thiem by clay. Top 4 seeding on clay would be a nice boost for Thiem and probably make for better draws on clay.:p

Cilic has showed sparks of top form over the last month; he might put it all together again at WTF.:eek:
 
Cilic is definitely overrated. He's made it to at least the semifinal just 4 times at the slams, and just 3 times at the Masters. Horrible numbers for a slam winner. He's actually the poster boy for 'one slam wonder' (in the fluke sense of the word).
 
User123 said:
What game does he have? His playing style-hit hard. If things go bad-hit harder. Nothing more. Hits hard, hits harder, makes too much unforced errors. And people call Nadal one dimensional LOL!
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Cilic typically is breakable on serve for such a tall player. His strength is his return game again for his size. When his serve gets crazy hot like at US Open 2014, that is basically Sampras like stats if his return game is doing well too.

Expecting the speeds to be fast again at WTF (faster than US Open) this year and I think your friend Cilic the UE machine will show up under pressure. This speed probably helps Fedal and maybe Sock somehow since he did well at Paris. Thiem, Zverev, Cilic, and even Dimitrov need normal WTF speeds (US Open) to probably do well. Dimitrov might pull it off, but just a bit too much pressure on his backhand with the bounce height/speed combination. (Looked fantastic on faster, lower bouncing Auz courts last year, and don't ask me about the backhand at Wimbledon which was a mess on grass.:rolleyes:) Goffin won't mind the speed except against Fed, very dangerous for the rest of the field.
 
Meles said:
Cilic typically is breakable on serve for such a tall player. His strength is his return game again for his size. When his serve gets crazy hot like at US Open 2014, that is basically Sampras like stats if his return game is doing well too.

Expecting the speeds to be fast again at WTF (faster than US Open) this year and I think your friend Cilic the UE machine will show up under pressure. This speed probably helps Fedal and maybe Sock somehow since he did well at Paris. Thiem, Zverev, Cilic, and even Dimitrov need normal WTF speeds (US Open) to probably do well. Dimitrov might pull it off, but just a bit too much pressure on his backhand with the bounce height/speed combination. (Looked fantastic on faster, lower bouncing Auz courts last year, and don't ask me about the backhand at Wimbledon which was a mess on grass.:rolleyes:) Goffin won't mind the speed except against Fed, very dangerous for the rest of the field.
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Yes. He got a lot of bagels and breadsticks.
 
SafinSucks said:
Hi Sabratha.
I totally disagree, one has to give credit when it's due, Cilic can play on two surfaces and he is not that bad on clay, Gaudio was totally useless on any surface and conditions but clay.
Gaudio was very close to lose the only slam final he played, this final was awful and Coria lost the match himself and has only himself to blame.
Cilic is a superior player by a big margin. No contest. That's my opinion.

I am looking at which player could be considered the Gaudio of today, and I cannot find. I mean even Ferrer is a better player in my opinion, difference is he played against Nadal in the only slam final he played. Tsonga, Nishikori are also better than Gaudio, despite failing to win a slam.

Is he overrated?
I do not know, I don't read tennis forums and social media much but I never heard any hype about him except at the US Open.

@User123 Djokovic would have won the US Open encounter anyway but it was clear Cilic could not move in that match.
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Thiem can be called the Gaudio of today, no? Gaudio was better than him though.
 
SafinSucks said:
Hi Sabratha.
I totally disagree, one has to give credit when it's due, Cilic can play on two surfaces and he is not that bad on clay, Gaudio was totally useless on any surface and conditions but clay.
Gaudio was very close to lose the only slam final he played, this final was awful and Coria lost the match himself and has only himself to blame.
Cilic is a superior player by a big margin. No contest. That's my opinion.

I am looking at which player could be considered the Gaudio of today, and I cannot find. I mean even Ferrer is a better player in my opinion, difference is he played against Nadal in the only slam final he played. Tsonga, Nishikori are also better than Gaudio, despite failing to win a slam.

Is he overrated?
I do not know, I don't read tennis forums and social media much but I never heard any hype about him except at the US Open.

@User123 Djokovic would have won the US Open encounter anyway but it was clear Cilic could not move in that match.
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Thiem can be called the Gaudio of today, no? Gaudio was better than him though.
 
User123 said:
Thiem can be called the Gaudio of today, no? Gaudio was better than him though.
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Gaston Gaudio still above him a little, even though his final against Coria was clearly a fluke but one needs to keep reason, and I cannot rate Dom Thiem as high as Gaston Gaudio for now. Once Thiem's career is over? Probably above Gaudio, yes.
 
User123 said:
Thiem can be called the Gaudio of today, no? Gaudio was better than him though.
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Gaston Gaudio still above him a little, even though his final against Coria was clearly a fluke but one needs to keep reason, and I cannot rate Dom Thiem as high as Gaston Gaudio for now. Once Thiem's career is over? Probably above Gaudio, yes.
 
SafinSucks said:
Gaston Gaudio still above him a little, even though his final against Coria was clearly a fluke but one needs to keep reason, and I cannot rate Dom Thiem as high as Gaston Gaudio for now. Once Thiem's career is over? Probably above Gaudio, yes.
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Why was it a fluke? I didn't watch tennis back then, but as it looks like it was a match between two claycourters who never won any slams before. Why people think Coria is much better? Gaudio also had a better record against Nadal on clay.
 
User123 said:
Why was it a fluke? I didn't watch tennis back then, but as it looks like it was a match between two claycourters who never won any slams before. Why people think Coria is much better? Gaudio also had a better record against Nadal on clay.
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Guillermo Coria was a much better player than Gaston Gaudio, and to this day I still rate him above Gaudio, despite this loss.
Coria was destroying Gaudio, to the point Gaudio celebrated when he won his first game of the match.
In the third set, Coria runs to get a dropshot, and feels his leg cramping, he gives a look to the umpire (later the umpire said in an interview "i saw in this look from Coria that something unusual would happen"). Coria started to cramp after 3 sets, probably not physically but emotionally, the moment got to him. The 4th set of the match was like Set 2 between Nadal and Wawrinka at the Australian Open, probably worst, Coria could not move, eaten by stress. In the 5th he started playing better, both were nervous, Coria had match point, but lost, despite being a much better player.
 
And one last word on Coria vs Gaudio, the match was uploaded on Youtube quite recently. I watched a part of it, and the level was low.
I am not exaggerating by saying this, but today you watch a match between Fognini and Dzumhur on clay, they both play better. Not joking. Watch the match, it is on Youtube unless someone deleted it.
 
SafinSucks said:
And one last word on Coria vs Gaudio, the match was uploaded on Youtube quite recently. I watched a part of it, and the level was low.
I am not exaggerating by saying this, but today you watch a match between Fognini and Dzumhur on clay, they both play better. Not joking. Watch the match, it is on Youtube unless someone deleted it.
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Which is strange. Nadal-Coria matches in 2005 were very high quality. Their match in Rome was so much better than the overrated RG 2013 semifinal.
 
User123 said:
Which is strange. Nadal-Coria matches in 2005 were very high quality. Their match in Rome was so much better than the overrated RG 2013 semifinal.
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Nadal vs Coria was a terrific match indeed. Had Coria played like this, he would have destroyed Gaudio (that's what was happening in Set 1 and 2 actually because emotions got the better of him).
 
SafinSucks said:
Nadal vs Coria was a terrific match indeed. Had Coria played like this, he would have destroyed Gaudio (that's what was happening in Set 1 and 2 actually because emotions got the better of him).
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But still, 2004 was the last RG final which lasted five sets. In all other slams there were five set finals in the last few years, but not in RG.
 
User123 said:
But still, 2004 was the last RG final which lasted five sets. In all other slams there were five set finals in the last few years, but not in RG.
Click to expand...
True, bro. In my opinion a final can be great even if it lasts 4 sets, see 2015 for instance.
 
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