The Australian Open 2017

[Singh bling 1,931]

0-30 Federer 

[Singh bling 1,931]

0-40 Nadal showing tiredness 

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40-40 

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Longest Rally 

[Cricketics 9,443]

What a match, what a fifth set. 

[Singh bling 1,931]

5-3 Federer 

[Cricketics 9,443]

Federer serving for 18th slam.

[Singh bling 1,931]

0-30 Nadal Punching back 

[Cricketics 9,443]

Championship Point

[Singh bling 1,931]

Roger Federer 

[Cricketics 9,443]

My boy has done it

Championnnnnnm

[Cricketics 9,443]

Roger Fkin Federerrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[I6MTW 535]

FEDERER WINS!!!

18th grand slam title

[Yoda-esque 1,705]

Wow wow wow,waited for this moment for 6 years..its incredible...

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[coffee_rules 5,727]

And the winner is.....

 

 

Hawkeye!!

 

[Yoda-esque 1,705]

Tears of Joy...

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[Cricketics 9,443]

Well played Rafa, gave it all. Did not serve well in the last set which cost him.

 

Federer was brilliant and so was Nadal. Two legends gave us the best possible game at this age. 

[kira 3,507]

Damn nadal lost, disappointed 

[I6MTW 535]

Where does this match rank amongst tennis matches?

[Yoda-esque 1,705]

Where does this match rank amongst tennis matches?

Didnt watch the match but judging from the scorelines,it was definitely not the highest quality

[Cricketics 9,443]

2 minutes ago, I6MTW said:

Where does this match rank amongst tennis matches?

Brilliant 5th set and then some first three sets had class shown by both  players in the sets they won. 4th set was the weakest.

 

But 5th set was just brilliant. 

 

Overall, I wasn't expecting the greatest match to be played, but it gave those chills for sure because of the players involved and again for it going to the fifth set. 

[kumar713 222]

Just now, I6MTW said:

Where does this match rank amongst tennis matches?

Definitely not a classic 

[kumar713 222]

Reason Federer won today:

 

Aggressive Backhand (Didn't expect it)

Court speed

Rafa's bizzare tactics (Didn't use his FH well)

His Backhand was doing much damage

He troubled Roger forehand defence with sharp backhands

May be Rafa has lost his confidence in FH:hmmm:

 

Anyway No 18 will motivate nole

 

Only reason i supported today was i didn't want Rafa or Murray (lost earlier) to win 

Edited January 29, 2017 by kumar713

[Cricketics 9,443]

For anyone who has been waiting to achieve something and hoping for success for a very long time, look nowhere beyond this man, who was told to retire by many few years ago. 

 

All you got to do is just 

[coffee_rules 5,727]

Well Fed played better overall, not a classic match..too many unforced errors, 

 

One hawkeye q, why would a favorable result on second serve, give one, a first srrve?  It should result in a second serve , technically .

[Yoda-esque 1,705]

The courts seemed faster this year.If so, the organizers need to be congratulated.

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[I6MTW 535]

11 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

Well Fed played better overall, not a classic match..too many unforced errors, 

 

One hawkeye q, why would a favorable result on second serve, give one, a first srrve?  It should result in a second serve , technically .

Hmm, I think he challenged the call on the first serve, but then again he already did the second serve, nt sure

[Yoda-esque 1,705]

Cpupld of things i noticed this time with Federer against Nadal..

He didnt net rush

He attacked nadals forehand

He ripped cc backhands like wawrinka with good angles

He was more patient from the baseline

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[Muloghonto 2,714]

5 hours ago, Cricketics said:

If you are rich enough to have a big time around you such as trainer and traveling coach, you can do well. There is lot of money now to afford those kind of trainers for top 50 players. Federer and Nadal have made tons of money to afford team of 10 such people for every tournament. 

It is not just that, but today's game favours longevity. Its a bit counter-intuitive, but if you play baseline game, it requires a high level of fitness but its a style that doesn't break down your body as much. Note how late Agassi, Lendl, etc. played till and were effective.

Serve and Volley, even though is energy-conserving, catches up to you in your late 20s, because its a continuous story of stretching & lunging at your limit. After you turn pro at 18 and do it for 10 years or so, your back, shoulder, hamstrings etc. tend to blow up on you. 

This, IMO, is one of the major reason why baseline pounders these days are lasting longer.

[Muloghonto 2,714]

5 hours ago, Yoda-esque said:

Didnt watch the match but judging from the scorelines,it was definitely not the highest quality

I watched it and I'd say it was definitely a classic.

This match was more tactically oriented than most Fedal matches i've seen, with both players showing they are more in tune with strategy than trying to pound crazy winners (Federer) or crazy long rallies (Nadal) past each other.

It also had some periods of super-high quality tennis of both styles (Pounding baseline rallies and crazy angle winners) and periods where each player was misfiring but both recovered after their level went down a few notches.

 

To me, the decisive element of this match was Federer played completely carefree, in a way he doesnt usually play at Slam finals. He knew Nadal's bread and butter would be to lock him up in the backhand corner with his big, bouncy forehand, so he went 'all-out' on his backhand wing and crushed them back to Nadal's forehand, instead of slicing it back as he regularly does. And once he connected with a few of the crunching backhands, he grew in confidence and started hitting his backhand real hard and flat, taking away time from Nadal to set up his big loopy forehand. 

Federer and Nadal both served very well and Federer didn't give many free points to Nadal by senselessly rushing the net. Nadal also adjusted marvellously once his 'bread and butter' tactic against Federer stopped working and went back to plan B, which is make the old man run around from corner to corner. That, IMO, showed the tactical brilliance of both men, as Federer was exposed to be a step and half slower than before in covering corner to corner rallies, but he also went for the more high-risk shots (down the line running forehand/backhand) to try and break the pattern. 

 

All in all, not as high quality as their two wimbledon finals, but definitely  the next best match played by these two.

 

[Cricketics 9,443]

^I think barring 4th set where Federer made lot of errors, all other 4 sets were of high quality Tennis, even though scorelime suggests that a certain player dominating each set. 

[Dil Dil India 468]

Nadal exposed once again when the time violation rules are enforced more strictly. Well done to the only true GOAT :) 

[Dil Dil India 468]

@bones is losing it, having a meltdown all over the place. Ball bouncer, time waster Novack has been shut out firmly by Federer and he is absolutely in ruins now. Loving it. The cherry on top is that cricket team may have to qualify for the 2019 WC hahahaha.

[Gambit 661]

This defeat is good for Rafa. He's getting back in the groove and making it to the finals will give his self belief a huge boost. La Decima is coming.

[Cricketics 9,443]

1 hour ago, Gambit said:

This defeat is good for Rafa. He's getting back in the groove and making it to the finals will give his self belief a huge boost. La Decima is coming.

With French Open, surely a great form and signs for Rafa.

However, I do feel that Murray, Djoker and especially Wawrinka will come back hard to do better at the next slam.

 

I think it will be interesting to see how Djokovic does after series of poor result.

 

After completing his career slam last year, Djokovic's level of play dropped as you can see he probably might have slacked a bit having achieved it. But with Federer winning now, all will be pumped to do well again. Especially Nadal who was as good as Federer but just came a bit short. 

 

If Roland Garros was tomorrow, Nadal is favorite to win. But next few months will be interesting to follow his results. 

 

 

[kumar713 222]

On 1/29/2017 at 6:46 PM, Yoda-esque said:

The courts seemed faster this year.If so, the organizers need to be congratulated.

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Thats a huge adavantage for federer in finals against nadal. Court speed played a key role on that night.

[kumar713 222]

On 1/29/2017 at 7:47 PM, Yoda-esque said:

Cpupld of things i noticed this time with Federer against Nadal..

He didnt net rush

He attacked nadals forehand

He ripped cc backhands like wawrinka with good angles

He was more patient from the baseline

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Federer crunched 8 backhand winners alone in final set if i remember right. His Backhand held reasonably well till final set. I thought it will break down after may be 2 sets but it didn't.

[kumar713 222]

On 1/30/2017 at 4:24 AM, Dil Dil India said:

@bones is losing it, having a meltdown all over the place. Ball bouncer, time waster Novack has been shut out firmly by Federer and he is absolutely in ruins now. Loving it. The cherry on top is that cricket team may have to qualify for the 2019 WC hahahaha.

R u kidding? Federer shut down novak?   If it was Nole in final we all know what would have been the result even before players arrive on court.

 

Nole was always troubled by Stan in slams but not against Federer.

[Muloghonto 2,714]

23 hours ago, kumar713 said:

R u kidding? Federer shut down novak?   If it was Nole in final we all know what would have been the result even before players arrive on court.

 

Nole was always troubled by Stan in slams but not against Federer.

Err,till Federer got old & had injury problems, he used to dominate Nole in slams....

Federer vs Nole, even today, is on Federer's racket : if Federer serves well, he will win. If he doesn't, Nole will win. 

 

[kumar713 222]

On 2/5/2017 at 9:34 PM, Muloghonto said:

Federer vs Nole, even today, is on Federer's racket : if Federer serves well, he will win. If he doesn't, Nole will win. 

 

No way

[Muloghonto 2,714]

11 hours ago, kumar713 said:

No way

It has been that way since Nole stopped choking (circa 2010), which is why Federer-Nole has been so evenly matched since then. Nole is the greatest returner ever. And Federer is one of the greatest servers ever. If he serves well, he usually beats Nole. If he doesn't, Nole takes him to the cleaners.

 

[Cricketics 9,443]

8 hours ago, Muloghonto said:

It has been that way since Nole stopped choking (circa 2010), which is why Federer-Nole has been so evenly matched since then. Nole is the greatest returner ever. And Federer is one of the greatest servers ever. If he serves well, he usually beats Nole. If he doesn't, Nole takes him to the cleaners.

 

3 set may be, if it is a 5 set game, it all depends then which Nole turns up - Nole before completing his career slam or post career slam. 

 

If it is just a small bad patch of Nole, I would pick Nole in 5 sets. Federer reached finals last year too and I thought he would win finally, but he was stopped by Nole again. 

 

 

[Muloghonto 2,714]

29 minutes ago, Cricketics said:

3 set may be, if it is a 5 set game, it all depends then which Nole turns up - Nole before completing his career slam or post career slam. 

 

If it is just a small bad patch of Nole, I would pick Nole in 5 sets. Federer reached finals last year too and I thought he would win finally, but he was stopped by Nole again. 

 

 

Yes, in 5 sets, i'd pick Nole too. But only if it is actually the 5th set.

In a best of 5 set, i'd still pick Federer. It all comes down to the Federer 1st serve. If he can consistently put the first two out of 3 first serves in his service games, he usually ends up holding quicker and messing up Nole's rhythm. If Federer serves poorly in this 0-0, 15-0, 15-15 or 15-30 situations, then Nole ends up wearing Federer down mentally as well as physically.  I've seen a lot of Fed-Nole matches. I've seen all types of them: close but ordinary, close and great, not close with one dominating the other, etc. but i've not seen one where Federer does well on the above points (i.e., gets his first serve in) and still loses the match. Thats what i mean, when i say its on Federer's racket. 

PS:  As a side note, these are also 'key points' in a game for the server, from a player's POV. When you play, these are the points you WANT to 'win ASAP/as hard as possible'. Because these points give you breathing room. Error margin. Calms you down if you win those. This is because:

a) 0-0 is the start. Nobody wants to fall behind right from the get go. 

b) 15-0 is when you can get decisive advantage and move to 30-0. 

c) 15-15 is pretty much a higher stake 0-0. Again, don't wanna fall behind and play tight.

d) 15-30 is mini-crisis. Under no circumstance do you want to be 15-40 down and have to win 2 straight points to win the game. 

 

[kumar713 222]

Federer can't maintain his level against Nole over 5 set matches. That is the reason roger lost couple of slam finals to him in past few years even though he reached finals with ease.

Nole has the mental edge in grand slams. When Nole decides to grind federer physically federer can't handle that. 

In best of 3 federer can match nole but not in 5 setters.

 

I was really surprised by AO 2017 result. Nadal of earlier with a break up in 5th set would have never lost. That shows how well nadal has declined.

[kumar713 222]

4 hours ago, Muloghonto said:

PS:  As a side note, these are also 'key points' in a game for the server, from a player's POV. When you play, these are the points you WANT to 'win ASAP/as hard as possible'. Because these points give you breathing room. Error margin. Calms you down if you win those. This is because:

a) 0-0 is the start. Nobody wants to fall behind right from the get go. 

b) 15-0 is when you can get decisive advantage and move to 30-0. 

c) 15-15 is pretty much a higher stake 0-0. Again, don't wanna fall behind and play tight.

d) 15-30 is mini-crisis. Under no circumstance do you want to be 15-40 down and have to win 2 straight points to win the game. 

 

[Muloghonto 2,714]

4 minutes ago, kumar713 said:

Federer can't maintain his level against Nole over 5 set matches. That is the reason roger lost couple of slam finals to him in past few years even though he reached finals with ease.

Nole has the mental edge in grand slams. When Nole decides to grind federer physically federer can't handle that. 

In best of 3 federer can match nole but not in 5 setters.

 

I was really surprised by AO 2017 result. Nadal of earlier with a break up in 5th set would have never lost. That shows how well nadal has declined.

In none of the 5 setters recently, has Federer served well. Actually except this Aussie Open, i can't think of a tourney where Federer served well since Wimbledon 2014 and even then he served poorly the match vs Djokovic. Anyways, their best of 5 set record is 9-7 in Djokovic's favour, hardly a decisive advantage, given the disparity in age. 

Nadal being break up and crumbling, its not about Nadal's decline, its more of Federer never plays this high risk tennis in 5th set before, going for as many winners as he did here.

 

[Yoda-esque 1,705]

No way

 

 

Federer on a fast surface will own Djokovic even now..check all their matches in Cincinnati

[kumar713 222]

Federer has a good chance vs Nole in fast courts but in 5 setters  i will go with Novak irrespective of court speeds. Even if Federer serves well it won't be of much threat since Nole returns well. Once they engage in rally its advantage Nole.

 

I remember Nadal was 2-0 in final set against Verdasco in AO 2016 then crumbled. 

 

[Muloghonto 2,714]

7 hours ago, kumar713 said:

Federer has a good chance vs Nole in fast courts but in 5 setters  i will go with Novak irrespective of court speeds. Even if Federer serves well it won't be of much threat since Nole returns well. Once they engage in rally its advantage Nole.

 

I remember Nadal was 2-0 in final set against Verdasco in AO 2016 then crumbled. 

 

As i said, i agree if its the 5th set. However, in a simple best of 5, i will favour Fed on the faster surfaces, if Fed serves well. And if you look at their matches, Nole being a great returner only factors in when Fed isn't serving well. Nole is practically impossible to ace, but against most first serves, he puts the ball barely into the court for a slam-dunk winner from Fed. Its when Fed has to serve the 2nd serve repeatedly that Nole puts him on the backfoot. 

 

[Dil Dil India 468]

On 04/02/2017 at 5:41 PM, kumar713 said:

R u kidding? Federer shut down novak?   If it was Nole in final we all know what would have been the result even before players arrive on court.

 

Nole was always troubled by Stan in slams but not against Federer.

What are you talking about? I was referring to all the obnoxious drivel that was spewed by Nole fans regarding him being BOAT and GOAT. Federer has firmly shut the door on such debates and I am happy for it. Tennis should not have a ball bouncing, grunting, time waster as its GOAT.