The Official Tennis Thread

[Milltown Row2]

Novak has given this set up by looks of it! Nadal is returning some unreal shots

[Angelo]

Novak has given this set up by looks of it! Nadal is returning some unreal shots

He's barely getting a first serve in and Rafa has been imperious so far.

[Angelo]

6-0, 6-2 Nadal

Djokovic is going to have to pull out the greatest Houdini act of all time here.

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Novak may hit a lino. Its the only way to get out of this with any respect 😉🤓

[gallsman]

An absolute destruction by Nadal so far. Much worse than the beating Djokovic gave him in Australia two years ago and now like the one Nadal gave Federer in the 08 final.

[Angelo]

Djokovic not dead yet. Nadal serves to stay in the third.

Nadal has had a tendency to tighten up in recent years as he gets closer to the finish line, his 1st serve % is way down in this third set and Djokovic is begging to dictate the points.

[Angelo]

The Greatest of All Time

The Best Ever

[Angelo]

Arguably the greatest performance of all time as the greatest of all time secures his legacy beyond doubt as the greatest of all time.

Vamos Rafa!!!!

[gallsman]

Incredible performance. Even better, and more surprising given the conditions should have tilted it a bit more towards Djokovic.

[Angelo]

Incredible performance. Even better, and more surprising given the conditions should have tilted it a bit more towards Djokovic.

Yup, extraordinary.

He is the GOAT.

I think that was a huge one in the race for the GOAT.

People still back Djokovic to topple him but all the next gen are hard court players and that's where Djokovic is going to come under pressure. He will find it tough to win on clay with Nadal and Thiem ahead of him.

[gallsman]

Djokovic will still be red hot favourite for Australia but:

1) the last month will have taken a bit of a toll on him for sure. He probably fancied catching Rafa on 19 but not find himself 3 behind.

2) who knows what state the world will be in in 3 months time?

[Angelo]

Djokovic will still be red hot favourite for Australia but:

1) the last month will have taken a bit of a toll on him for sure. He probably fancied catching Rafa on 19 but not find himself 3 behind.

2) who knows what state the world will be in in 3 months time?

You could see Djokovic going on for another 5 years but you don't know what will happen.

Thiem won a slam this year, Zverev in a final, Medvedev made a final last year - all on hard. Tsitsipas has the talent. Shapovalov and Rublev are coming on, Sinner looks a big talent. With the exception of Thiem (who is now a slam winner on hard), all these guys are at their best on hard courts. That's where the pressure will fall on Djokovic. I think Wimbledon will probably be his best chance going forward, if Nadal can add another couple I don't see anyone catching him. I think Thiem is currently the only guy who I'd fancy to beat Nadal on clay now.

These were unfavourable conditions for Nadal on clay - slow court, cold, indoors and slower balls ye the won it without dropping a set - only forced to two tie breaks along the way. Remarkable.

[Milltown Row2]

Ok that was a master class from the person who's won a tournament 13 times! Amazing run of wins at that surface, regardless of what people think, to be the 'GOAT' you've to be a  champion across all surfaces.

If Nadal could secure 2/3 more titles on a different surface he'll be the man .. he's only lost twice ever in Paris.

[Angelo]

Ok that was a master class from the person who's won a tournament 13 times! Amazing run of wins at that surface, regardless of what people think, to be the 'GOAT' you've to be a  champion across all surfaces.

If Nadal could secure 2/3 more titles on a different surface he'll be the man .. he's only lost twice ever in Paris.

Nadal has 7 titles on grass and hard courts.

Nadal has won double the amount of grass court titles Federer has clay.
Nadal has won 5 times the number of hard court titles Djokovic has clay (2 hard slams a year so you can dilute to 2.5)

All you have done is point out that the slam calendar discriminates against Nadal.

It's also worth noting that Federer won 12 of his slam titles in a 5 year period when Nadal was (16-21) and Djokovic (15-20) and only won 7 slams in the next 13 years.

Nadal has had a prime Djokovic and prime Federer for all his career, Djokovic likewise.

Federer on the other hand won most of his slams when he had the likes of Hewitt, Roddick, Philopoussis, Safin, Nalbandian, Kafelnikov, Bagdathis as his main competition. When the competition got tougher, the slams dried up quickly and he was relegated to no 3. He's had a great career but he is definitely no 3 behind Nadal and Djokovic.

Look at Federer's first 12 slam wins and his final opponents:

2003 Wimbledon - Phillippousis
2004 Austrailian - Safin
2004 US - Hewitt
2005 Wimbledon - Roddick
2005 US - Agassi (35 years old - retired the following year)
2006 Australian - Bagdathis
2006 Wimbledon - Nadal (had just turned 20)
2006 US - Roddick
2007 Australia - Gonzalez
2007 Wimbledon - Nadal (just turned 21)
2007 US - Djokovic (20 yrs old)
2008 US - Murray (21 yrs old)

[Angelo]

Not to mention Nadal is

- the only one of the big 3 to complete the golden slam
- the only one with multiple slam titles on every surface
- has a superior head to head record with the other two in slam meetings (10-6 against Djokovic and 10-4 Federer)
- reached 20 in 19 less slams than Federer
- 5x Davis Cup Winner


He's been written off time and time again, overcame multiple injury setbacks and now has 6 slams in his 30s. He has completely adjusted his game in the past 5 years, he's far more aggressive now, his serve is much more of a weapon. Who would have seen this after the nightmare run he had in 2015/16?

Not only is he the greatest tennis player of all time, there's a great case to be made for him being the greatest sportsman of all time.