Death Stryke Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 I think tactically rafa still hasn't found a rhythm yet against this guy. Djoker's BH wing is his strongest. And Rafa's BH is still weak. He has to mix it up and play more to novak's FH and hit deeper and flatter. Rafa was always on the defense in this match. A major chunk of his points were errors by Novak. Novak was returning his serves faster than Rafa was serving them. Rafa was under pressur everytime he served. So still lots do, but a great effort to push the best player today to 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtheK Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 I think more the Rafa Pushing him to 5th, it was the crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 And on the topic of longest Grand Slams, this is the longest every Australian Open match as well as the longest every Grand Slam final. 6 hours, plenty of stamina. And a classic encounter. Memorable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NitroNeo Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 DJoker showed a awesome performance i was tense when Sadal won the forth set & Novak looked like he was having doubts but he cooled of & won Epic Novak , you sir take a bow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achilles Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) I don't think I recall ever having seen the momentum of a match swing so often and so very drastically. And this happens in almost all 'finals' matches of a major tournament now. I've replayed some of last years matches and some of the earlier ones too. The changes in body language, the accuracy, stamina (!), from down and out to back etc, specially in Djoker's matches are hard to grasp. Even in today's match the way Rafa was hitting the ball in the second half of the 4th set and the first half of the fifth set and then to suddenly lose all adrenaline and lose from 4-2 in the 5th, there is some well practiced dramatics going on here. I find it a little unpalatable. That is all I'd say. Edited January 29, 2012 by achilles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NitroNeo Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Oh & OMG Victoria Azarenka won the females Australian Open , yes yes , beating maria 6-3 , 6-0 , damn i missed that match , i hope she performs well in future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Stryke Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) Nadal has lots to do with his serve. He aint getting free points. I think 90% of his service games went to deuce. U can see the problem right there. Everytime it was time for him to serve I used to groan. His service game is fine against most players, but Novak returns better than anyone I've seen yet. Even Agassi in his heydays. The rankings could never be truer today. Novak deservedly no 1 and rafa at 2. These both are way better than anyone on the tour today. I also think Murray will pose a danger to Novak sooner than Rafa. He has a better BH than him, and gets more free points on his serve too (although his 2nd serve is abysmal). Federer well, I think it'll be quite tough for him to win slams these days. He will have to surely beat 2 out of these 3 to get one. Which is quite a task Edited January 30, 2012 by Death Stryke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achilles Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 What's wrong with you? Rafa's serve saved him a lot of times yest, was certainly better than Djokovich's serve. The way Rafa started playing in the 4th set, it's hard for me to believe he lost. He was f**king Djokovich's happiness. I dunno man, I'm more inclined towards sport being scripted now, just like we're watching a soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Stryke Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) U serious? It helped him out tight tight situations like when he's serving at 30-40 or 40-A. Games where Rafa won comfortably (40-15, 40-30) were far and few in between. I dont see that as comfortable. Actually, Its more in relation to how good Novak's return of serve is which is one of the best in the business like I said. Most of his returns used to land at Nadal's feet after he finishes his serve motion. That good. Against anyone but Novak, Rafa's 1st serve is fairly good. Its got variation, and good placement. 2nd serve needs more depth and speed. Rafa does a good kick serve but i feel he needs to sacrifice the kick for more depth and speed against returners like Novak (120-130kph 2nd serve wont cut it). Also did u notice nadal slicing too much? Lot of times he had the open court but he made the decision to hit the BH slice rather than hit the hard winner. Weird. Novak dealt with it quite well and that also punished Nadal. Novak hits a few more aces and also he can serve out wide to attack Nadal's BH which is his weak wing. he gets the short ball in reply and he attacks. I wont say his serve is the best, but its effective. Nadal didnt break him for 3 sets almost and only broke him finally at 4-2 in the 5th. Nadal got a bout of insipiration at the f** end of the 4th and start of 5th. I actually thought at 4-2 he would win it, but Nadal tightened up. It wasn't scripted. No one wnts to lose 7 times in a row or hold the record for 3 straight finals losses at majors. Nadal's fortress is at Roland Garros. Dead sure he will do his very best to keep that to himself. Edited January 30, 2012 by Death Stryke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Stryke Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 FINALLY Rafa breaks the losing streak. Beatdown city at Monte Carlo 6-3 6-1!! The Clay season just got so much more interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theneurotoxin Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 It'll be more interesting if we get Rafa vs. Roger. Anything else is too easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithuvien Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 Roger wins Madrid Open . .ties for most ATP MAsters titles with Rafa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Assassin Posted June 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Nadal out in the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2005 Lukas Rosol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceman™ Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Stryke Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Oh well, He played a lot and very well last few months winning 2 masters and the French Open. Guess everything caught up to him... But i'd credit Rosol. That guy played out of his mind. He was possessed, he didnt misktakes, was serving bombs. Its just unebelievable. He had no nerves too while serving out the match. Just shocking how he kept his composure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazycod3r Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Rosol was on steroids for sure the way he was playing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dharmin Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 nadal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithuvien Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 (edited) saw the highlights today! I have never seen anyone stay calm and fire down aces so calmly! Frankly, Nadal had no chance once he got broken in the 5th set. Plus, Uncle Tony needs to get Nadal to a sports shrink. He complains too much about everthing these days and that is partially what is throwing him off his game. But Rosol!!! He resembled more a barbarian chopping of people's heads than a tennis player. He was swatting the ball like a fly. Whooo! Will this change the men's game? For years, it has been the feifdom of a handful of players, but now, lower ranked players are stepping up and how! Edited June 29, 2012 by lithuvien Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithuvien Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Roger Federer prevents a double scare and survives Benny the Terror in five sets! AAAAAAAAAAAAAArrghh! It looks like Rosol is inspiring everyone to go all guns blazing! First Stepnak takes a set from Djokovic and now this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Stryke Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 ^he was playing playstation tennis. That said, this is the performance he wont repeat again. It is why he is ranked 100. Won only 23 matches his entire career. Watch him flameout 62 62 62 in the next round. Tht level of tennis is not sustainable by anyone, let alone a guy ranked 100. He played the most cocky risky brand of tennis. One day day it could result in 100 errors, if you have luck on your side, all those become winners. Yeah i agree with u, but i think its his way of channeling his frustrations. He will not break anything out of his habit. Novak breaks racquets, murray kills and berates himself. Maybe rafa should try that. And yea, be more calm Fed was lucky today, that poor guy broke his elbow and wrist during that fall. Still fed was way below his game. Novak will wipe him off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.