Australian Open: Down Goes Nadal
I apologize if this was already on the board, but just happened an hour or so ago.
Tsitsipas took down Nadal in five. Goes up against Medvedev in the semis- that's going to be a fun one to watch. On the other half, Djoker is taking on qualifier Aslan Karatsev. I would have to imagine that is going to be a runaway victory for the Djoker.
I would like to see someone other than the Big Three win another major; I think it's always good for the sport to see someone else than what we have for like 15 years.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:20 AM ^
MeanJoe is rooting for RGard.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:22 AM ^
1. Definitely OT
2. If it happened an hour ago, just look to see if it was on the board.
3. It’s a bummer seeing Nadal go down, needed someone to challenge Joker.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:24 AM ^
/get off my lawn
February 17th, 2021 at 10:02 AM ^
1. Definitely OT
Yeah, I was looking for a enriching COVID post instead.
February 17th, 2021 at 12:49 PM ^
Logged in to upvote. M-Cov-Log.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:35 AM ^
So long as he beats Djokovic. F that dude. Even before all of the 2020 stuff.
February 17th, 2021 at 12:31 PM ^
"Even before all of the 2020 stuff."
So...are you a Roger Federer fan or Nadal fan who resents Djoker's success against those 2?
/I'm a big Djoker fan.
//I like all 3. I feel privileged to see arguably the 3 greatest players in men's tennis play in the same era. I just happen to prefer Djoker's style of play over the other 2.
///I don't like Djoker's anti-vax stance or his cavalier attitude w/r/t to COVID but I still enjoy watching him play tennis.
February 17th, 2021 at 12:50 PM ^
If Djoker stays healthy he probably ends up with the most Grand Slams; He's incredible but also had the fortune of catching Roger and Rafa at the last quarter of their careers. Besides all the vax/Covid stuff, he's always been a bit smug and aloof.
I still think Roger is the greatest of all time across all surfaces...He'd have 4 or 5 French Open titles if not playing in the same era as Nadal.
Nadal is the fiercest competitor, but the fact that 13 of 20 Grand Slam are on the clay of the French Open suggests he is the greatest on one particular surface only.
Roger and Rafa are class acts. Djoker seems like a nice enough guy, but often comes across as a bit too smug.
February 17th, 2021 at 1:12 PM ^
He's incredible but also had the fortune of catching Roger and Rafa at the last quarter of their careers
Sorry, Bo, but I gotta disagree a bit here. Besides only a one-year difference in age, Djokovic's career is really only one or two years behind Nadal. Rafa won his first French in 2005. By 2007, Nole was already making the semis of the French Open and Wimbledon and the finals of the US Open. So their careers absolutely overlapped.
Roger is a little different, but even then, I'd say Djokovic caught him at maybe the last half, but definitely not the last quarter, of his career. And, of course, if you're going to say this about Nole, then the same could be said for Rafa as well.
I've never understood the comment about Nole being smug. I'm admittedly a fan, but I think he's a class act (apart from his Covid attitude). He's definitely intense, but also has a playful side (see his impersonations until he started to get crap for them). And as Frank Chuck pointed out above, unlike Roger and Rafa, he consistently has to deal with a hostile crowd.
February 17th, 2021 at 4:17 PM ^
Djokovic speaks six languages. For that alone I respect the guy.
February 17th, 2021 at 5:00 PM ^
There's a saying that Serbo-Croatian actually counts as at least three different languages ?. But in all seriousness, that is a feat. And the crowds love it when he gives a post-match speech in their own language.
February 17th, 2021 at 6:00 PM ^
Uh, some would say Nadal and Fed had the good fortune of catching Agassi and Sampras as the end of their careers... That argument is bogus.
I like all three except I really cannot stand Nadal's pre-point routine of touching his ears, nose, ears over and over. Just oddly irritating beyond reason.
February 17th, 2021 at 1:23 PM ^
"He'd have 4 or 5 French Open titles if not playing in the same era as Nadal."
This argument cuts both ways. When perhaps the 3 best players of all time are playing at the same time they prevent the other ones from winning. Certainly, Federer would likely have a couple more French Opens and at least two more Wimbledons if not for Nadal and Djokovic. But Nadal would have several more Wimbledons / Australians / US Opens but for Federer and Djokovic. And Djokovic would have several more of each but for Fed and Nadal.
February 17th, 2021 at 2:44 PM ^
I really like all 3 (plus Murray, who would be a clear #1 in most other eras). I'm a Feds fan and I give him the edge because he was the first, and he had to play these guys 5 or 6 years older than them.
If there was no Nadal at Roland Garros, Fed wins 10 straight grand slams. Federer won or lost to Nadal in the final 15 out of 16 straight grand slams (Djoker got him in the other).
But you can make arguments for all 3. And I do give massive credit to Djokovic for clawing his way to the point that he's favored in any match except Nadal at RG. His peak form is maybe the best ever.
February 17th, 2021 at 3:18 PM ^
I this argument clearly favors Djokovic, in fact. If we posit that Nadal and Federer are two of the top players ever -- maybe the two top players ever -- Djokovic had to play his *entire* career, winning all 18 of his majors, with them active. Federer in particular started his dominance without having to beat either Djokovic or Nadal. Yes, there were good players around when Fed came to prominence -- Agassi, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt -- but they don't compare.
I like Djokovic for that very reason, in fact. Despite having won 18 grand slams despite facing the best competition in this history of tennis during his entire career, he is consistently minimized as "the third." I give him full credit. He's a fighter, despite getting no love.
February 17th, 2021 at 5:19 PM ^
Djoker is only 1 year younger than Nadal, he was more of a late bloomer than the other two. Being at your best early is part of the equation.
Federer did win 7 out of the previous 11 majors before facing Nadal which definitely helped his count. But once he turned 28 (and beyond) and the other guys were 5-6 years younger, that's 8 grand slam finals they took away from him, and he only won 1 from them. Roger actually only took 2 finals from Nadal and 1 from Djoker before that.
We can't say what would have happened if they were all born at the same time, but I'm pretty confident that if they didn't have to play each other, Feds wins over 30, the other guys 25 or so. Just looking at actual results and who knocked who out. Nadal would dominate grass and clay but not the hard courts to such a ridiculous extend, and Djokovic hasn't been at his peak for as long. If he's still winning slams in 5 years I'll change my mind.
But I give Djoker full credit, turning the big 2 into the big 3 was damn near impossible, but he did it. And it just depends on what criteria you use, either one of those 3 could be the literal mens tennis GOAT.
February 17th, 2021 at 6:03 PM ^
"Nadal would dominate grass..."
I'm a big Nadal fan but c'mon, Federer is / was the King of Grass.
February 17th, 2021 at 5:59 PM ^
"Djokovic had to play his *entire* career, winning all 18 of his majors, with them active..."
Novak "only" has 17 majors, not 18. Check back in four days and it may be different.
February 18th, 2021 at 6:16 PM ^
One of the biggest myths in sports is that somehow Djokovic achieved his success against a diminished Federer and Nadal. Nothing can be further from the truth. Consider that when Djokovic emerged as the top player in the world in 2011 he did so after a 2010 season in which Nadal won 3 Grand Slams. In order to become No. 1, Djokovic had to square off against Nadal in a final SIX times in 2011 and Djokovic won all SIX. What we saw then and continued to see, wasn't a diminished Nadal, it was a player in Djokovic that reached a slightly higher level. Something that even Nadal admits.
The same is true with Federer. It is not as if Federer stopped winning matches after 2011. He dominated EVERYONE not named Nadal or Djokovic. In 2015, Djokovic beat Federer in two Grand Slam finals, and knocked him off in the 2014 and 2019 Wimbledon finals, As late as 2017-2018, when Djokovic had his elbow issue and had to leave the tour, Federer was winning not only Grand Slams (3 of them) but was adding Masters 1000 titles. In fact, Federer didn't drop a set in winning the 2017 Wimbledon championship. But once Djokovic found his form, Federer's title runs ended again.
February 17th, 2021 at 12:59 PM ^
Djokovic is a great player. I’ve always loved how efficiently and effortlessly he plays tennis. Is he a great player and impressive to watch? Yes. Does he seem like a huge douchebag? Also yes.
I hope Serena destroys Osaka.
February 17th, 2021 at 1:51 PM ^
Yes Serena the GOAT! I like Osaka too, but I'm on the SW bandwagon until it reaches its destination.
I like Novak too, but I try to ignore his comments about COVID... Federer was a fav, Nadal I like, but not really his style of play.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:36 AM ^
Not only did Tsitsipas beat Nadal, he came back from down 2 sets to get the win. Very impressive.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:42 AM ^
Yeah - when I left for work Rafa was is in the drivers seat when they started that 3rd set tiebreaker. By the time I checked back at the score was surprised to see that Tsitsi had won. AO has never been kind to Rafa....he always needs a couple months of his season to get in gear.
I think it's going to be Medvedev and Novak in the final. Med is really tough on hard courts. Dude is a 6'6' backboard.
February 17th, 2021 at 2:47 PM ^
Very impressive, but to win it all he will have to go through Medvedev & Novak as well. Novak having Thiem & Zverev in his half has worked out very well for him.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:39 AM ^
Personally I think men's tennis is a lot more interesting than women's tennis BECAUSE of the big 3. They challenge each other, push each other, and its always fun to watch them play one another. It also makes it more interesting when one of them gets challenged or knocked out by someone who isn't as established.
The women's game is still fun but, as an example, we just saw the 1 seed Ashleigh Barty go down in the quarterfinals. I can't get attached to anyone in the women's game other than Serena because none of them are consistent like her. It is not unheard of for the top seeded woman to go down in the first couple rounds of a major. Barty herself has done it before, going down in the 2nd round a few years back.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:42 AM ^
I, too, prefer the men's game with the bigger, consistent names. But it does need a great american again consistently ranked in the top 5 or so -- it's become crazy difficult to compete with these european countries -- it's easy to point to federer, nadal, and djokovic taking up those spots for so long at such a great level -- but you have to get back there eventually as ages increase in them.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:43 AM ^
Not for me- I like a little parody with my sports. I don't need to see the same guys over, and over, and over again.
I realize it's not their fault- they are just superior to the competition, but I'm ready to move on.
Maize above stole my point that I was planning on making. We need an American male star badly in the sport, and I think the sport to some degree needs it too. I just don't know who it's gonna be.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:54 AM ^
You're definitely on the right website for sports parody.
February 17th, 2021 at 11:27 AM ^
Guessing it’s just an autocorrect issue, but the word you’re looking for is parity
February 17th, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
Nah, it's just a Leo being dumb moment haha
February 17th, 2021 at 9:48 AM ^
It's truly amazing what the Big 3 have done. Before them, Pete Sampras held the record for most Grand Slam singles championships with 14. Federer, Nadal and Djoker have all surpassed Pete (Feds and Nadal at 20, Djoker at 17), and obviously they are still going strong.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:54 AM ^
Still going, yes. Still going STRONG? I think that remains to be seen a little bit.
Federer is 39. I think he's got a couple years left of elite tennis.
Nadal's body is starting to break down a bit. He plays such an incredibly physical style- he can only keep it up so much longer.
I think Djoker has the most staying power left. His body seems still OK (even though he supposedly tore something this year)- and his game does not require half the torque that Nadal's does.
February 17th, 2021 at 10:20 AM ^
It will be interesting to see what Federer does when he returns in March. Age is starting to catch up to him, but I agree he likely has a couple years left. Until someone knocks off Nadal at the French, he's the king there. And I agree with you about Djoker having more staying power left. He really blew it at the US Open last year....had a great opportunity to gain on Feds and Nadal in the Grand Slam Championship race, but self-inflicted frustration/bad luck knocked him out. We'll see if he can take advantage this week.
Thiem and Medvedev are starting to make their move up, with Zverev and Tsitsipas just behind them. But they aren't at the Big 3 level yet.
February 17th, 2021 at 10:49 AM ^
Djoker's game has been so dependent on defense, speed and flexibility I wonder how he will adapt as he gets into his mid to late 30s.
Andy Murray had a very similar game but his body has started to fail him and he can hardly win a match on tour any more because he still serves at 110 (85 on his second serve) and doesn't have a huge forehand.
You can see that Novak has tweaked his game in the last couple of years. Going for bigger serves. Playing a lot of drop shots. A lot of gamesmanship with medical timeouts, etc. It will be interesting to see where it goes with him.
February 17th, 2021 at 11:13 AM ^
Agree. Having multiple all-time greats going head to head has been a treat to follow. And if people don't like it, they make easy villains to root against. I prefer this to having total parity and no-name guys winning one career Slam and then disappearing.
February 17th, 2021 at 11:14 AM ^
Naomi Osaka has been more consistent at grand slams than Serena for a few years now, but I agree with your overall point.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:45 AM ^
Since Djokovic and Nadal are referenced, see this youtube of Joker imitating Sharapova and Nadal.
February 17th, 2021 at 11:45 AM ^
That was great. Djokovic's impersonations were priceless but then he started to take some heat for them. Personally, I loved his interview after beating Roddick in the '08 US Open. Roddick had made some claims about Nole faking injuries and Nole took exception to it. The crowd didn't like it at all, but Djokovic didn't GAF.
February 17th, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
Crown Djokovic.
Dude is an absolute BEAST.
He walks into a stadium and often has to beat his opponent *and* the crowd especially when he's playing against Federer or Nadal.
But he does it time and time again.
I wish Michigan Athletics (specifically Football) had whatever Djoker has.
Michigan's road woes (especially against ranked teams) is well documented. We lack Djoker's superhuman resilience and ability to execute under pressure.
February 17th, 2021 at 1:06 PM ^
He has to beat his opponent and the crowd because he’s an ass. People love greatness. They also love humility. The crowds don’t dislike him because he’s a great player. It’s his own fault if the crowds don’t like him, he’s quite unlikeable.
February 17th, 2021 at 1:17 PM ^
Please elaborate with some examples. I mean this honestly. I hear this all the time but I just don't see it.
February 17th, 2021 at 1:59 PM ^
I mean, he's not perfect, but he's no more unlikeable than some of the other top stars. Nadal isn't always the nicest guy. Federer is a charmer, but he snaps every now and then and yells at the refs a lot.
Novak can be an ass too, but if someone says you're faking injuries and then you go beat them on their own turf? I don't mind giving a little something back.
The number of great players that are humble and don't talk smack is approximately zero.
February 18th, 2021 at 8:10 AM ^
I personally find it very...interesting...the gentlemanly nature of tennis. Any one of these guys would be considered the classiest players in the game if they were playing in one of our major sports leagues. Kyrgios, McEnroe are considered "bad boys" and completely irreverent, while would be very tame by any other leagues standards.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:55 AM ^
Nadal's legs are getting old...
February 17th, 2021 at 9:55 AM ^
I don't think there's any concern with his level of fitness- I think his back is going to be a huge problem for him going forward, just like Murray's hip.
February 17th, 2021 at 9:56 AM ^
I'm glad it was at the hands of a (more) all-court player. I know full-time serve and volley is dead in singles, but I am really tired of seeing all these topspin baseliners rule the day with their babolats* /getoffmylawn
*i fully admit to owning a racquet that is inspired by/based on the pure drive
February 17th, 2021 at 11:04 AM ^
I just bought a Babolat Aero. Feels pretty good.
February 17th, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^
nice! I was looking at the aero and pure drive too, but the stiffness scared me off. They def are great racquets tho and I totally get why they're at the top of the market
February 17th, 2021 at 11:43 AM ^
Try the Yonex Ezone! If you like the Aero you'll love the Ezone. So much easier on your elbow too.
February 17th, 2021 at 11:58 AM ^
I'll have to demo that! I've been hearing good things about Yonex. Currently using a Prince Textreme Warrior 100 that emulates a lot of the Pure Drive's games, but more head light and less stiff (and $100 cheaper)