Arena Federer/Nadal/Djokovic Era - Essentially Over

i am going to be really sad the day we actually do have to change this thread title.

 

Rafa has delivered two bagels in this tournament, which strikes me as a lot. He's had some of the worst luck over the years in Melbourne and I hope this year it finally changes for the better (putting aside his having won the tournament before). I always go back to 2014, when he looked invincible going into the final. I know @tom disagrees, but I think he would have beaten Wawrinka just as he did the latter's Swiss counterpart in the seminal that year (that dismantling makes Federer's 2017 victory all the more remarkable). Rafa was just too strong for anyone to beat then, until back spasms cut him down (but not before he took a set off Wawrinka while barely being able to walk straight).

 

Pouille. Does he have the firepower to prevent a Nadal-Djokovic final? What an amazing rivalry. Djokovic a bit ahead in matches, but Nadal with the edge in majors finals, because, you know, clay.

Did I count right: they've played each other 7 times in slam finals? Their last Australian Open final: 2012.

 

it was never that i disagreed. i always conceded that you might very well be right, but i just couldn't completely discount stan, who was also playing superlative tennis in that tournament (it was stan who upset djokovic in the quarters, who at the time was the three-time defending champion). my biggest regret with that match was that we were robbed of what was shaping up to be a classic by nadal's injury, and we'll never know what would have been if both players were healthy.

i have learned to never count out novak. to me he's the one guy who can lift his level and hang with rafa even when nadal is at his very best. the 2012 australian open final and last year's wimbledon semi are evidence of that i think. i think novak and maybe fed are probably the only players who could find answers for the way rafa is serving right now. it's true that djokovic hasn't quite been cruising the way nadal has, but i think part of that is novak has been waiting for a challenge. when shapovalov did take the third set from him, novak immediately responded by bageling him the next set. he similarly raised his level after medvedev took the 2nd set tiebreak from him in the fourth round. if it is djokovic and nadal in the final i think we're in for a treat, and it's anyone's game.

 

Djokovic will win. book it

 

pretty ****e semi finals though. the gap between the top 2/3 is crazy

 

Osaka and Kvitova currently with a set each in the women's final. Naomi had a number of Championship points but couldn't win them. I expect the experienced Petra to win from here unless Naomi can regroup.

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Well I got that wrong! Naomi wins her second Grand Slam in a row!

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Glad she could enjoy this one a bit more than the US Open.

 

Truly remarkable yes, but the commentators (primarily Sam Smith) just wouldn't shut up about it! Surely there is more to say of Petra and her game than the unfortunate injury that was given her.
It's the same with Naomi's post grand final press interview. I had to stop watching because they were far too focused on reflecting what this moment meant in light of what occurred with Serena in September.

 

here we go. vamos rafa!

 

djokovic's movement is just incredible.

 

rafa has clearly not found his top level. it would be a shame if this match ends without that ever happening.

 

welp good night. djokovic just too good. rafa could have played better, but he wasn't beating novak tonight.

 

loathsome epic > loathsome heels

 

it's not much of a prediction i guess really, but after yesterday, i now fully expect Djokovic to go on and surpass Federer's record, and be regarded as the best player of all time.

 

If Djokivic could dethrone an injury-free Nadal in France while Nadal is playing at this level, that would be in my view be even better than passing Nadal's title count.

 

maybe what you're saying is nadal wouldn't be in the conversation without his french open results? i mean, that's obviously true but those results alone aren't enough to put him in the goat conversation. what makes him worth considering are the six titles and 14 finals at the other slams (worth considering that djokovic only has 8 non-australian open slams), the 80 total titles, the record against fed, the record 33 masters titles, the nearly 200 weeks at number one, and so on.

sorry, it just raises my hackles a bit when people paint nadal as one dimensional. being the greatest clay court player ever does sort of overshadow his other accomplishments, but those accomplishments are still there.