The Official Tennis Thread

[Angelo]

great drama, fair play, both tried to throw it away, have no doubt jokes would have prevailed against either had they not canned him

thiem will be a threat in paris but still fancy rafa

Rafa will need to avoid Thiem on his side of the draw, it would be a big ask to take both Thiem and Djokovic in a couple of days at 34 years of age. Djokovic will hope to be avoiding Thiem for similar reasons.

The Italian Open starts tomorrow and it will be Rafa's first game since Covid, he has Carreno Busta up first in a tricky tie.

[Angelo]

Nadal took a long time to get going last night but eventually saw off Sinner in straight sets.

Sinner looks like a huge prospect for the future. He will now play Schwartzman in the semi who knocked out Thiem in a 5 hr, 5 set epic yesterday. Scwartzman beat Nadal in straight sets in Italy a few weeks ago so will be in confident form ahead of their meeting.

On the other side of the draw, Djokovic should take care of Carreno Busta but the other quarter is an exciting contest, Rublev v Tsitsipas. Rublev has been in fine form but I take Tsitsipas will have the edge on clay, Tsitsipas very nearly went in the first round but has been impressive since then and if he keeps up that form I think he could ask Djokovic big questions in a semi final.

[Orior]

Sinner had a few opportunities to win the first set last night but blew it. Nadal played with a racket with slightly less tension, so had to hit the ball harder to reach his normal speed.

[Angelo]

The conditions this time of year certainly do not suit Nadal. He is much happier with a drier, faster court on clay.

[Angelo]

Nadal in his 13th RG SF.

Yet to drop a set.

He is 13-0 in RG SFs, has only dropped 3 sets in those 13 semi finals, 1 against Federer in 2006 and 2 against Djokovic in 2013.

[SHEEDY]

Great game in the 2nd semi final. Stefano Tsitsipas has fought back from 2 sets down to take match into a deciding set. Giving djokovic a real game here.

[SHEEDY]

Nadal v djokovic again. Tsitsipas day will definitely come, still only 22.

[Angelo]

Tsitsipas was very impressive there. Djokovic played really well and didn't really give Tsitsipas much to play with which made it all the more impressive that he brought it to a deciding set.

The Old Firm meet again.

[Milltown Row2]

Has Nadal's game changed due to the conditions and will that give Novak a better chance?

[Angelo]

Has Nadal's game changed due to the conditions and will that give Novak a better chance?

The conditions are certainly a bit of a leveller, Nadal would prefer the conditions drier as it firms up the court and allows the ball the bounce higher and to get more spin on his shots.

Djokovic has also been working hard on his drop shot the past few weeks and it has been a real weapon so it is something extra he brings this time round.

A huge game in the GOAT race.

Nadal can move level with Federer on 20 and put a gap of 3 between himself and Djokovic or Djokovic can close to within 1 of Nadal and 2 of Federer.

I think if Djokovic wins, he is certain to end on top of the pile, a loss may complicate matters as most of the next gen thrive on hard courts - Zverev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov, Rublev etc. Even though Thiem won the US Open last year and has proven himself an excellent hard court player, clay is his best surface.

The US and Aus Opens will be the hardest won slams from here on in for the older guard.

[Milltown Row2]

Novak bring kicked out last time is certainly a factor in his drive to win this. Sets it up to be a cracker

[Milltown Row2]

Feet up and ready for this match!

Nadal bookies favourite hard to separate though

[Angelo]

Roof closed.

Adv Djokovic.

[Milltown Row2]

Roof closed.

Adv Djokovic.

He's played 101 games won 99! Advantage Nadal!

[Angelo]

Outrageous from Rafa so far.

4-0 up.