Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think it'll be like 2013 US Open, when Nadal goes for the forehand-down-the-line Djokovic has no answer.
In 2012AO Nadal wasn't going down-the-line enough, because he had no confidence after losing a lot of other matches to Djokovic leading up to that, so it lasted 6 hours.
2018 Wimbledon, Djokovic served 23 aces, Nadal only 9 aces, and that was the difference in the 10-8 5th Set, so now we see if Nadal's serve has caught up....
And Nadal has been getting free points with the serve when required, hit 11 aces in the really short match with Tiafoe, so can probably hit 20+ in a marathon.
I think it'll be like 2013 US Open, when Nadal goes for the forehand-down-the-line Djokovic has no answer.
In 2012AO Nadal wasn't going down-the-line enough, because he had no confidence after losing a lot of other matches to Djokovic leading up to that, so it lasted 6 hours.
2018 Wimbledon, Djokovic served 23 aces, Nadal only 9 aces, and that was the difference in the 10-8 5th Set, so now we see if Nadal's serve has caught up....
And Nadal has been getting free points with the serve when required, hit 11 aces in the really short match with Tiafoe, so can probably hit 20+ in a marathon.
Djoker is playing better and with more confidence than 2013 though, and has won the last 2 Slams.
In 2013 USO he also had a 5 set semi against Stanimal, Nadal got an easy match up in Gasquet.
This time he also annihilated his semi-final opponent Pouille, even more so than Nadal did to Tsitsipas.
So both are in peak form this time for the final, and could go either way imo.
Certainly the narrative couldn't get any bigger - either Djoker gets a standalone 7 AO's, or Nadal becomes the 1st man in the Open Era to get a Double Career Grand Slam. (Laver did one of his in the amateur era)
Djoker is playing better and with more confidence than 2013 though, and has won the last 2 Slams.
In 2013 USO he also had a 5 set semi against Stanimal, Nadal got an easy match up in Gasquet.
This time he also annihilated his semi-final opponent Pouille, even more so than Nadal did to Tsitsipas.
So both are in peak form this time for the final, and could go either way imo.
Certainly the narrative couldn't get any bigger - either Djoker gets a standalone 7 AO's, or Nadal becomes the 1st man in the Open Era to get a Double Career Grand Slam. (Laver did one of his in the amateur era)
2013 US Open: Yeah but how do we prove Djokovic's Wawrinka match was the reason for him losing to Nadal?
Tsitsipas and Pouille: That would be because Tsitsipas is one of the best players in the draw, while Pouille almost lost to an unknown 19-year-old Australian....and Nadal only conceded 2 more games than Djokovic.
2013 US Open: Yeah but how do we prove Djokovic's Wawrinka match was the reason for him losing to Nadal?
Tsitsipas and Pouille: That would be because Tsitsipas is one of the best players in the draw, while Pouille almost lost to an unknown 19-year-old Australian....and Nadal only conceded 2 more games than Djokovic.
The Wawrinka match was one part of the puzzle.
Nadal was in career best hard court form in 2013, and won the 2 preceding Masters, and deservedly won the USO.
Nole also had lost a heartbreaking RG semi to Nadal in 2013, and the Wimbledon final to Murray, so his confidence was down.
Nole at the AO is a different proposition though, and is 6-0 in finals there.
Both Djoker and Nadal come into this match in imperious form, completely destroying their opponents in the semi-final, so may the best man win.
Brad Gilbert and Patrick McEnroe both predicted Nadal would win the Final, and the media was speculating that it would be an epic.
Nobody had a clue that Nadal hadn't been able to train properly since ankle surgery.
He won 18 sets in a row without his trademark golden retrieving-
Yeah, was unbelievable the way that he played, no doubt about that. But at the same time is true that probably physically I was not able.
.....because of the things that happened to me in terms of surgery, then what happened in Abu Dhabi, I was not able to work that much the defensive game. I worked a lot on the offensive game, but not that much on the defensive game.
But if I am able to run 100% and to resist every ball, then you find ways.
Now is the time to be back, to have a good physical work, keep working on the things that worked very well here. Step by step, working on the things that I need a little bit more. That's the mobility, the defensive positions, the recovery from positions that are difficult to come back. That is something that I have naturally good, but I need to practice and need to be able to do it at that highest level.
Brad Gilbert and Patrick McEnroe both predicted Nadal would win the Final, and the media was speculating that it would be an epic. Nobody had a clue that Nadal hadn't been able to train properly since ankle surgery.
He won 18 sets in a row without his trademark golden retrieving-
Yeah, was unbelievable the way that he played, no doubt about that. But at the same time is true that probably physically I was not able.
.....because of the things that happened to me in terms of surgery, then what happened in Abu Dhabi, I was not able to work that much the defensive game. I worked a lot on the offensive game, but not that much on the defensive game.
But if I am able to run 100% and to resist every ball, then you find ways.
Now is the time to be back, to have a good physical work, keep working on the things that worked very well here. Step by step, working on the things that I need a little bit more. That's the mobility, the defensive positions, the recovery from positions that are difficult to come back. That is something that I have naturally good, but I need to practice and need to be able to do it at that highest level.
When I win Megabucks I am going to bet $10k against every BG pick for a year and donate all the proceeds to charity. It will be HUGE.
It appears Djoka had an idea about Rafa's ankle the way he kept foregoing the more open cross court ground stroke, choosing instead to for the less open shot right behind Rafa because he was having a lot of trouble changing direction.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
