OT: Federer vs Nadal IX live thread

Submitted by WalterMitty on
Roger and Rafa meeting for an improbable 9th time in a slam final. The 2 greatest of all time champions, both ridiculously likable, along with Fowler and the McEnroe brothers on the call, make this well worth being up at 4:00 in the morning! Anyone else up for this historic showdown?!?
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rob f

January 29th, 2017 at 7:20 AM ^

What an amazing display of Championship tennis in that 5th set. I'm drained from watching this. Just when Fed looked cooked, his best tennis. What determination!!

Joined: 11/11/2010

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Hard-Baughlls

January 29th, 2017 at 7:51 AM ^

Amazing match from probably the 2 best ever. I would not be surprised to see Rafa competing for a title at the French, and both in contention at Wimbledon and the US OPen.

I do, however, think Novak will be tough once he gets his head straight. Those family/gf issues really threw him off his game over the past 6 months. And Murray and Wawrinka, of course, are always a threat.

Joined: 09/28/2016

MGoPoints: 6637

ommeethatsees

January 29th, 2017 at 2:38 PM ^

You think? I only managed to wake in time to watch the fifth but reading through the thread just now is entertaining as hell. Everyone was giving Roger for dead but the old man went for it and proved everyone wrong. Never been a huge Fed fan but he certainly proved some shit out there today. Hard not to call him GOAT after this.

Joined: 08/08/2009

MGoPoints: 1877

Procumbo

January 29th, 2017 at 8:38 AM ^

I was already bracing for another gutwrenching defeat, so happy Fed got this one!

I wouldn't be surprised to see him retire after this year. These matches are so punishing physically, and at this point what more could he possibly prove?

Joined: 11/24/2008

MGoPoints: 287

Hard-Baughlls

January 29th, 2017 at 12:20 PM ^

than many others, especially Rafa.  Roger's game is so fluid, and he is now playing a style for much shorter points.  Is it still grueling- absolutely- but the fact that he is 35 and still moving around like that is evidence of how smooth his game is.

Frankly, I think he shouldn't even compete in the French, as it is so rough on the body and clearly his worst surface, but such a competitor would probably never just sit out a major unless he has a serious injury.  If he did so, however, he could focus on just Wimbledon and the US Open where the points are much shorter, and probably play for another 2-3 years by limiting his matches.

Fed is a genius, came back from 6 months off and all that talent was still on display.  I really think he could compete for majors just playing 10 competitive tournaments a year, with the majors being 4 of them.  Only issue would be his lower seeding, which will make his draw generally harder unless there are early upsets.

Joined: 09/28/2016

MGoPoints: 6637

Navy Wolverine

January 29th, 2017 at 12:56 PM ^

Roger is so technically sound that he makes it look easy. His strokes are literally the textbook on how to teach the game. That is the main reason why he has stayed so healthy throughout his career and will let him play a few more years. I thought his strategy was brilliant tonight- crowd the baseline, take the ball on the rise and take time away from Rafa. That really served him well on those faster courts and his backhand was on fire. I thought Rafa made a tactical mistake in staying so far behind the baseline. That is his comfort zone from all his time on clay but he was on defense too much tonight. I agree on Fed's schedule. Skip the clay court season and limit your play primarily to the majors and Master's 1000 tournaments. That should still give him enough points to maintain a reasonable seed so he doesn't have to play Djokovic or Murray in the 3rd round yet keep him fresh for runs into the second week of majors.

Joined: 09/26/2016

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Hard-Baughlls

January 29th, 2017 at 4:38 PM ^

That's how absurdely great Fed is.  His worst surface, yet he is an all-time great on it, who just happened to play in the same era against Rafa, the greatest ever on that respective surface.

That said, I think because of the toll it takes on the body, the longer, grueling points, and the unlikelihood that he would win a major on clay with Rafa, Novak, Wawrinka, and Murray seeded above him, I think he can really laser focus in on the hard courts and Wimbledon, and push for a couple more majors over the next 2-3 years.

I really think he might go in to Wimbledon as the Vegas odds favorite, as insane as that may have sounded just 1 month ago. 

Joined: 09/28/2016

MGoPoints: 6637

Navy Wolverine

January 29th, 2017 at 7:06 PM ^

No dobut Roger could be considered the GOAT of tennis but clay is definitely his weakest surface. I think he may be more of a top 7-10 clay courter of all time but not top 2-3. He now has 89 career titles but only 11 of those have come on clay and he has a 76% win percentage. 1 French Open (4-time runner up). He is 2-13 H2H against Nadal on clay.

Here are some others who may be considered ahead of Roger:

1. Nadal - 46 clay titles - 92% - 9 French Opens

2. Borg - 30 / 86% - 6 French Opens (only lost one match there in his career)

3. Guillermo Vilas - 49 / 80% - 1 french title, 3-time runner up

4. Lendl - 28 clay titles / 81% - 3 French Opens

5. Thomas Muster - 40 clay titles / 77% - 1 French Open (known as the "King of Clay")

6. Mats Wilander - 20 / 77% - 3 French Opens

7. Gustavo Kuerton - 14 / 70% - 3 French Opens

8. Djokovic - 11 / 79% - 1 French Open - Has beaten Nadal 7 times H2H on clay (7-14 total)

9. Manuel Orantes - 30 / 77% - 1 U.S. Open title (played on clay in 1975)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/frenchopen/11615700/Top-20-male…

 

Joined: 09/26/2016

MGoPoints: 19370

snarling wolverine

January 29th, 2017 at 10:21 AM ^

Forgot to DVR it.  

I just "followed the match" by reading these posts.  I can tell you that the drama in these posts was quite high - it was looking pretty bleak for Roger for awhile there.  I'm amazed he did it.

GOAT, no doubt.  

Joined: 12/14/2011

MGoPoints: 98770

Hard-Baughlls

January 29th, 2017 at 12:24 PM ^

Rafa and Novak will be the favorites at the French. Wawrinka will be dangerous there too.

Anytime Rafa steps on the court at Roland Garros he is a huge threat.  The Australian Open has been his weakest major and he nearly pulled it off this year.

He's also slimmed down a lot, hardly as muscular as before, maybe taking some of the weight off his knees/legs.  Not sure if there was any merit to the HGH rumors, but his new physique definitely adds some more smoke there.

Joined: 09/28/2016

MGoPoints: 6637

NowTameInThe603

January 29th, 2017 at 11:47 AM ^

really disappointed rafa did not win. His style is incredible. Not a huge fan of tennis but I enjoy later matches in majors. I became a fan of Nadal in 2003, before he became legendary, on a random sunday afternoon. Every match it feels like he shouldnt win but he just out guts the other guy.

Joined: 12/10/2014

MGoPoints: 5751

Navy Wolverine

January 29th, 2017 at 8:36 PM ^

That's awesome - something that is on my bucket list.

The Australian Open has been one of my favorite sporting events in recent years. It looks like a great atmosphere down there. The timing is good because it occurs right after college football winds down. I also like the 16 hour time difference because you can start watching in the evening for as long as you can stay awake and then it is still on when you wake up in the morning. That and Austrlia is an awesome place in general.

Joined: 09/26/2016

MGoPoints: 19370