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Arena Federer/Nadal/Djokovic Era - Now 1/3rd Over

Discussion in 'Community' started by Jabbadabbado, Jan 17, 2013.

  1. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    The Murray, Nadal, Djokovic era will be over too before you know it, but maybe not before Nadal wins 10 titles at Roland Garros.
     
  2. KnightWriter

    KnightWriter Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Nov 6, 2001
    Sad, but true (that it will be over soon).

    I know some people dislike the hold that a few people have had over the men's tennis landscape, but I lost interest in tennis in those few years between Sampras/Agassi and the rise of Nadal to challenge Federer. Sustained greatness is what I want to see, not a bunch of semi-anonymous people competing for slam titles. When someone remarkable like Nadal has to play at his absolute best to defeat someone of equal talent like Djokovic, that's where we see the envelope of achievement pushed. That's why I think that for the moment, Nadal's US Open victory last year is his greatest achievement, and you can further distill it to his break point save and then third set win over Djokovic. Djokovic's top moment is probably his Australian Open title in 2012, when both he and Nadal needed chairs after the match.
     
    yankee8255 and heels1785 like this.
  3. heels1785

    heels1785 Skywalker Saga + JCC Manager / Finally Won A Draft star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Dec 10, 2003
    Perfectly said, KW. I remember that Australian Open final better than any match in recent history, save perhaps Nadal's first Wimbledon title.
     
  4. PRENNTACULAR

    PRENNTACULAR VIP star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Dec 21, 2005
    read an interesting article on grantland the other day about how it's weird that American fans root for the greats in Tennis instead of the underdogs (Which they tend to do for pretty much every other sport), but that it's a part of what makes tennis special.
     
  5. heels1785

    heels1785 Skywalker Saga + JCC Manager / Finally Won A Draft star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Dec 10, 2003
    I think that's true for sports centered on individual performances - racing, tennis, golf. Less regional affiliation than team sports, save perhaps the Olympics.
     
  6. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Mar 19, 1999
    I don't think people ever systematically root for underdogs for the sake of rooting for underdogs. They root for brand names teams and athletes they can identify with. People root for the Cubs because they're the Cubs, but not because they're always gunning for last place. The only way to establish yourself as an identifiable brand in tennis for an American audience is to be a contender in the majors. People tend not to watch early round matches and other tournaments, often because they don't have easy access to them.
     
  7. tom

    tom Chosen One star 8

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    Mar 14, 2004
    i think there are notable exceptions. a cinderella team during march madness. or whoever happens to be playing against the heat (or the lakers or the yankees or whoever the juggernaut team of the day might be). likewise i think a lot of people were rooting for stan in the aussie final because they don't share the view that tennis is best when it's dominated by two or three great players. those people are definitely a minority, but i think a fairly significant one.

    personally i do like watching the greats. but i also just like watching tennis being played at a high level. the best is when those two things coincide.
     
  8. PRENNTACULAR

    PRENNTACULAR VIP star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Dec 21, 2005
    idk. Personally, I totally fit the bill of what the article talked about. For example, I was rooting for underdogs throughout the entire NBA playoffs. My team was out of it (wasn't ever really in it), so I was forced to find teams to root for. And those teams were generally the underdogs (or whatever team was playing the heat).

    Same thing for me in baseball or football whenever the Giants or Packers aren't involved. I'll almost always root for the team that isn't supposed to win. But then in tennis it's almost the complete opposite. With the exception of not-great players I really like (Monfils, for example), I find myself always rooting for the greats.

    It might be because I just really like the greats, but I think it has more to do with what tom and heels said.

    interesting to think about, at least.
     
  9. KnightWriter

    KnightWriter Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Nov 6, 2001
    I think there's also a grey area where situational greatness happens. I'm thinking of things like Goran Ivanisevic's Wimbledon title in 2001 and Jana Novotna's in 1998, both of which came after a combined five title match losses between the two of them. Neither of them did a lot outside of Wimbledon, but their titles mean a lot. If you want to see something special, watch Novotna win the tournament and her meeting with the Duchess of Kent.

    Both of those tournament runs mean a lot more than Richard Kraijeck's in 1996 (snooze) or Lleyton Hewitt's in 2002 (more zzzzs).
     
  10. heels1785

    heels1785 Skywalker Saga + JCC Manager / Finally Won A Draft star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Dec 10, 2003
    Maria into the final. Good run for Genie.
     
  11. -polymath-

    -polymath- SFF:F/TV Trivia Host star 4 VIP - Game Host

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    Jun 7, 2007
    Genie played well throughout. Maria though....damn...she just raised her game.
     
  12. tom

    tom Chosen One star 8

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    Mar 14, 2004
    three straight finals at rg for maria. a 5th gs title would do a lot for her legacy.
     
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  13. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Mar 19, 1999
    Halep about to be in the final without losing a set unless this tiebreaker goes south.
     
  14. heels1785

    heels1785 Skywalker Saga + JCC Manager / Finally Won A Draft star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Dec 10, 2003
    Sharapova dropped first sets against Stosur, Blanco, and Genie, in consecutive rounds. Especially if she draws Halep, I wouldn't count on being able to win 2 straight sets after falling in that hole in the final.
     
  15. heels1785

    heels1785 Skywalker Saga + JCC Manager / Finally Won A Draft star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Dec 10, 2003
    Djokovic through to the final. Let's go Murray.
     
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  16. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Mar 19, 1999
    Breaking news: there's a photo of a young Borg "Borg: 40 Years Ago" on the home page of the roland garros site. He looks exactly like Tonya Harding.
     
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  17. heels1785

    heels1785 Skywalker Saga + JCC Manager / Finally Won A Draft star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Dec 10, 2003
    LOL. Indeed.

    [​IMG]
     
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  18. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Mar 19, 1999
    I'm thinking Ferrer and Djokovic are the only men in the game equipped to take even a set off Nadal right now at Roland Garros. Murray is not going to do it.
     
  19. KnightWriter

    KnightWriter Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Nov 6, 2001
    Well, Nadal looked unbeatable after playing Federer in Australia, and then his back went out on him.
     
  20. -polymath-

    -polymath- SFF:F/TV Trivia Host star 4 VIP - Game Host

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    Jun 7, 2007
    Nadal looks unbeatable right now.
     
  21. heels1785

    heels1785 Skywalker Saga + JCC Manager / Finally Won A Draft star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Dec 10, 2003
    Novak beat Nadal in the final at Rome less than a month ago, and is 2-0 against him this year, one each on clay and hard. Not sure that means anything after the confidence Nadal has shown since he dropped the first set to Ferrer, but I hope it at least gives us an entertaining final.
     
  22. KnightWriter

    KnightWriter Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Nov 6, 2001
    If it's hot and dry on Sunday, that's bad news for Djokovic. I just checked the forecast, though, and there's apparently a chance of rain. That could give Nadal some issues.
     
  23. tom

    tom Chosen One star 8

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    Mar 14, 2004
    they played an all-time great match in the semis last year. i expect another classic on sunday.
     
  24. MarcusP2

    MarcusP2 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jul 10, 2004
    C'mon Rafa! Hopefully another classic. Though I will be unable to watch.
     
  25. KnightWriter

    KnightWriter Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Nov 6, 2001
    I'll be watching-- the first time I'll have watched anything on my ancient TV since last year's final. There won't be too many more of these meetings, even if they seem regular at the moment.