Dunno. Everyone’s been saying so for years now and a hamstring pull/tear is not nearly as bad as another knee chapter; plus he’s coming off one of his two best years on Tour – along with '08 – and as Marley points out he is still only 24. I also agree with him that it’s highly doubtful Nadal will be playing at Federer’s level in his late twenties, but as I also said, I think he’s got a good two to three years at/near the top of his game. And though nothing is a given three years ≈ 12 Slams, three of which will be on clay were he’s been virtually unbeatable and three more on grass where he is second to none. So methinks Rafa won’t beat Fed’s GS record – or even Pistol Pete’s 14 – but he is better than even odds to capture at least two to three more…which in turn will further entrench in ‘Legend Territory.’
Fearless prediction: Andy over David 2nite. And a not so fearless “pick 'em” for The Final.
That was a tight match, and Djokovic did very well to keep Federer back at the baseline. Too many long rallies for Federer and not enough easy points on serve. I thought Federer was moving into top gear when he took those four straight games in the second set, but when he gave the lead back I figured it was not going to happen for him. So unless I’ve missed something, this is only the second final since Australia 2005 with neither Federer nor Nadal in the final. (The other was 2008 in Australia, when Djokovic won it.) I’m thinking Brad Gilbert was right all along - Andy Murray’s time has finally arrived. Murray might have a mental block against Federer in slams, but now he won’t have to play him and he’s been great throughout. Djokovic is no slouch either and it should be a really good final. Here’s hoping I’m not making a big mistake in writing off Ferrer, but I think Murray is just a better player.
In the women’s final, I’m picking Clijsters in two close sets.
& after seeing a lot of Wozniacki’s outfit over the last few days, I have to agree - really ugly waist band! While I wanted to li to win, I did feel sorry for Caroline.
I’m picking Ferrer to win over Murray. I just don’t think Murray is quite right at the moment. & unreasonable & unfair as it is, due to his spoilt brat demeanor when he was younger, I just don’t like Murray.
It’s an impression I’m getting - partly from the Aussie commentators & partially from watching him rub one of his calves. I don’t think its a major injury - just a niggle. But even having a niggle against someone as fit as “Ferro” may be enough.
If I was a celebrity who was pestered to sign autographs, I would change my name to something like ‘‘Li Na’’. A name like ‘‘Caroline Wozniaski’’ would just take too long to write.
I guess I am rooting for Clijsters because for anyone who can joke about her boobs and being grumpy deserves some cheers.
Is there anyone besides me that thinks the melanoma friendly Ball-kid uniforms/cowl-like headgear are “butt ugly”. Everyone looks like a sissy. Just give the kids a wide brimmed cap if you want to keep the sun off their necks, ears.
Personally, I didn’t see anything wrong with it but I openly admit that I think she’s cute and that that is most likely affecting my already limited ability (and desire) to objectively judge her outfit.
My wife, however, feels that there are too many pleats and that it looks like a cheerleader’s skirt.
Well, it was a much tighter match than I expected. Murray always looks like he’s driving on his last quart of gas, but it does appear as if his hip is strained.
Yup, it’s looking like it’s Djokovic’s tournament to win if he can keep focused.
It is a tough one, and nothing would surprise me about Nadal. Ideally I like him to retire on the same number of slams as Federer and let the arguments rage for eternity.
That would be no argument at all. If Nadal comes within a few slams of Federer, that’s a debate. If they’re even, Nadal gets the title of GOAT unanimously by virtue of their head to head record.
[QUOTE=Ellis Dee;13406921 If they’re even, Nadal gets the title of GOAT unanimously by virtue of their head to head record.[/QUOTE]
I disagree. IMO, the only reason why Nadal has a significant lead on Federer is because of most of their matches have been on clay courts.
Federer is great on clay, he just isn’t as great as Nadal.
If Nadal could have reached more finals on Grass and Hard Courts, I suspect Federer would have narrowed the gap.
They have met 12 times on clay, and only 10 times combined on grass on hard court.
Nadal’s conversion rate once he gets to a GS final is tremondous, the problem is that he doesn’t get there with the same frequency as Fed. (9-2 for Nadal, and 15-6 for Fed)
Federer has 23 straight GS semi-final appearances in a row (27 total). The best Nadal has ever done is 5 Semis in a row (14 total).
I wasn’t able to stay awake long enough to see the final because I was traveling today, but I see I definitely underestimated Djokovic. And it also sounds like Murray once again got himself to a major final and then didn’t play enough offense once he got there. Great tournament for Djokovic, though. It should be very interesting to see how he builds on this win and his successes late last year.
By the way, Nadal has a slight hamstring tear and is expected to miss six or eight weeks.
ESPN had an interesting graphic about long wait between major titles for Djokovic. He tied for the second-longest-ever gap between first and second slam wins. He has the game to win more of them in the next few years, but this doesn’t seem to bode well for him:
Marat Safin - 14events (first Slam was the 2000 U.S. Open at age 20, second was the 2005 Australian Open at 25)
Djokovic - 12 (won 2008 Australian Open at 20, won 2011 Australian at 23)
Gustavo Kuerten - 12 (won 1997 French Open at 20, won 2000 French Open at 23)
Mervyn Rose - 10 (won 1954 Australian Open at 24, won 1958 French Open at 28)
Safin and Rose never won another major aside from those two, and Kuerten won only one more. Safin had the talent to win more but his mind and attention weren’t always there. Kuerten won the French Open three times ('97, 2000, 2001) and was a very good player but a clay court specialist. He never reached the semis at any other major and won few significant titles on other surfaces. Rose played in a different era and did not go to every major tournament.
You can definitely picture Djokovic winning more titles, though. He lost only one set all tournament (to Dodig, in a tiebreaker in the second round) and really put it all together. The conditions didn’t seem to bother him either, although it was not the hottest Australian Open.
And then there’s the question of what happens to Murray. He’s 0-3 in major finals and has not even won a set in any of them. He’s definitely one of the top players but doesn’t seem to know what to do when he gets to the biggest stage. I’m wondering if this is a coaching thing. I’m not going to say that having his mother as his coach is holding him back, but I think his closest advisers are his mother and friends, not a former pro who has been in the position Murray is trying to reach. I think that would help him. When you are in a major final, you’re playing against someone who has won six best-of-five matches in a row. You can’t just wait for them to make mistakes.
Murray was definitely playing not to lose while Djokovic was playing to win. Murray seemed sluggish and overwhelmed while Djokovic seemed focus and determined.
I think Murray’s got all the skills but lacks the grit that players like Nadal, Djokovic, Schiavone, and even Ferrer have. Whether he can work through that mental block and actually win one of the majors remains to be seen.
In my last post I didn’t congratulate Ducky Clijsters. She’s such a changed player these days and it’s terrific to see her win three out of the last six majors. Who saw that coming? She’s been great and she’s an excellent representative of the sport. It’ll be too bad if this is her last full year on tour, and if it is, I hope she defines “full” loosely.