The 2015 In Between Grand Slam Thread

walshb

I'd love to see Rafa do it.

cowboyBuilder

walshb wrote: »

I'd love to see Rafa do it.

Well, set aside some time on Sunday afternoon then..

walshb

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

Well, set aside some time on Sunday afternoon then..

Hope so

What's your infatuation with Nadal always winning. You pick him no matter what.......

cowboyBuilder

walshb wrote: »

Hope so

What's your infatuation with Nadal always winning. You pick him no matter what.......

:D

I have a "bit" of a reputation here

walshb

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

:D

I have a "bit" of a reputation here

You're a Nole fan, right?

Not a Nadal fan? It just seems a little odd that you are always so certain that Nadal wins even when he's getting routinely beaten by others. Federer had a pretty easy time when they last met.

cowboyBuilder

Could be a jinxing thing

Halloween Jack

Don't understand people being fans of Djokovic, he was born to be the unstoppable super villain of tennis, the sooner he quits trying to be loved (and to be fair he tries damn hard) and embraces his villainy the better...

whiterebel

Halloween Jack wrote: »

Don't understand people being fans of Djokovic, he was born to be the unstoppable super villain of tennis, the sooner he quits trying to be loved (and to be fair he tries damn hard) and embraces his villainy the better...

What do you want him to do, make his entrance to villainous organ music, while wearing a black cape and top hat?:)

cowboyBuilder

Halloween Jack wrote: »

Don't understand people being fans of Djokovic, he was born to be the unstoppable super villain of tennis, the sooner he quits trying to be loved (and to be fair he tries damn hard) and embraces his villainy the better...

Horses for courses, I like the guy, he has great charisma.
Flipside for me is Nadal - on the face of things Nadal is a lovely bloke, gracious, respectful etc .... but I still think he is poison.

Halloween Jack

whiterebel wrote: »

What do you want him to do, make his entrance to villainous organ music, while wearing a black cape and top hat?:)

That's the ideal;)

cowboyBuilder

Ohhhh !!!


Djokovic!!!!!!!!!!

whiterebel

Enjoyed the match between Fed and Stan. Don't know if Fed can be Djoko twice in a week. Mixing it up nicely though.

smurfs5

Interesting stat from Mark Petchey- when Roger wins 50% or more of 2nd serve points, he's won 20 of the last 22 matches against Novak.

Would love to see Federer win but I'm going with Novak in 3.

walshb

Nole again producing the goods when it matters.

walshb

It may be 22-22, but Nole a clear leader in the significant matches.

Sexy Panda

walshb wrote: »

It may be 22-22, but Nole a clear leader in the significant matches.

Well given Federer is 34 he should be beating him.

Federer of 2006 is better than Djokovic of 2011 (Peak Djokovic).

walshb

Sexy Panda wrote: »

Well given Federer 34 he should be beating him.

Federer of 2006 is better than Djokovic of 2011 (Peak Djokovic).

No. He is not. The level Nole is at now and recently is well clear of Fed's 2006 opponents.

Rob2D

walshb wrote: »

No. He is not. The level Nole is at now and recently is well clear of Fed's 2006 opponents.

Just as Fed of '06 was well and clear of his opponents. History repeats itself.

walshb

Rob2D wrote: »

Just as Fed of '06 was well and clear of his opponents. History repeats itself.

Not all them. Nadal was always superior.

Sexy Panda

walshb wrote: »

Not all them. Nadal was always superior.

No he wasn't if he was superior he would have won more tournaments than Federer.

Federer won 3 slams and and a load of other tournaments. Nadal won one slam.

No one said Federer's opponents were better than Djokovic by the way.

I think people over estimate the level of competition in 2015.

In 2006 there was a peak Federer and a better Nadal than the one we see in 2006. Both are a shadow of their previous selves.

yerwanthere123

So Novak Djokovic completely sweeps the 2015 tennis season... and I couldn't really care less Praise the gods that Wawrinka managed to win Roland-Garros, literally one of the only highlights of the year for me.

Sexy Panda

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

So Novak Djokovic completely sweeps the 2015 tennis season... and I couldn't really care less Praise the gods that Wawrinka managed so win Roland-Garros, literally one of the only highlights of the year for me.

It doesn't bode well, there aren't any young players coming through that look like they can challenge get him in the near future.

whiterebel

Sexy Panda wrote: »

It doesn't bode well, there aren't any young players coming through that look like they can challenge get him in the near future.

Its amazing that a 34 year old Federer is still the one that seems to be closest to him. I can't take to ND, but his returning and coverage of the court are amazing.

yerwanthere123

So difficult to get behind Djokovic when he plays such a mundane brand of tennis. Imagine if someone like Wawrinka was dominating the way Djokovic is now, would be incredible.

cowboyBuilder

Sexy Panda wrote: »

It doesn't bode well, there aren't any young players coming through that look like they can challenge get him in the near future.

Tennis will see a smash and grab few years for GS winners (when Nole quietens a bit), but yeah, it's true, I know some junior coaches here and Nadal is the last top Spanish player for a generation at least, there is no one coming through .... apparently there is a lot of French talent tho ..

CassieManson

Sexy Panda wrote: »

It doesn't bode well, there aren't any young players coming through that look like they can challenge get him in the near future.

I found this list in L'Equipe back in 2013 - predicting the top 10 for 2018, I kept it out of curiosity. Some of the young challengers from 2013 have been disappointing so far.

This was the list:
1. Dimitrov
2. Paire
3. Murray
4. Raonic
5. Djokovic
6. Nishikori
7. Tomic
8. Gulbis
9. Janowicz
10. Sock

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

CassieManson wrote: »

I found this list in L'Equipe back in 2013 - predicting the top 10 for 2018, I kept it out of curiosity. Some of the young challengers from 2013 have been disappointing so far.

This was the list:
1. Dimitrov
2. Paire
3. Murray
4. Raonic
5. Djokovic
6. Nishikori
7. Tomic
8. Gulbis
9. Janowicz
10. Sock

I was looking for this list a while ago. I remember laughing at it at the time. There's more chance of the top 10 being the same as it is now than this list being accurate.

walshb

Sexy Panda wrote: »

No one said Federer's opponents were better than Djokovic by the way.

I realises this. I was using it to out across the point that Federer in 2006 wasn't meeting the quality that Nole brings. Nole today and recently gives the 2006 Federer hell.

smurfs5

Janowicz's Wimbledon semi-final seems to have been a one-off. Gulbis was hyped for a while and always seemed to be a dangerous opponent in 1st round GS matches but he hasn't made the step-up to the next level. Tomic- well, we all know what the problems there are. Dimitrov is a Top 10 player- he just hasn't gotten himself together mentally to be consistently challenging the Top 5 at Grand Slams.

I wouldn't say that there are no young players coming through at all. The ATP seeme excited about the batch of youngsters like Coric, Zverev, Kokkinakis, Kyrgios so we'll see if they can meet the expectation. Chris Kermode was on Sky on Friday saying that he wants to set up an Under 21 version of the World Tour Finals either next year or by 2017 to bridge the generation gap and to give that group of young hopefuls a push towards the pinnacle of the game. Hopefully we'll see them make their mark soon.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

smurfs5 wrote: »

I wouldn't say that there are no young players coming through at all. The ATP seeme excited about the batch of youngsters like Coric, Zverev, Kokkinakis, Kyrgios so we'll see if they can meet the expectation. Chris Kermode was on Sky on Friday saying that he wants to set up an Under 21 version of the World Tour Finals either next year or by 2017 to bridge the generation gap and to give that group of young hopefuls a push towards the pinnacle of the game. Hopefully we'll see them make their mark soon.

The WTA have something like that already. Kermode nicking ideas

cowboyBuilder

No mention on RTE (Tv + Radio) about the WTF .... pathetic really ...

mickmackey1

walshb wrote: »

I realises this. I was using it to out across the point that Federer in 2006 wasn't meeting the quality that Nole brings. Nole today and recently gives the 2006 Federer hell.

Nonsense. Federer 2015 beat Djokovic 3 times!! despite being 8/9 years past his peak. Djokovic didn't even have to reach his 2011 standard to win all he won this year. Weird times for tennis, contrast with golf where champions are getting younger.

lostcat

mickmackey1 wrote: »

Nonsense. Federer 2015 beat Djokovic 3 times!! despite being 8/9 years past his peak. Djokovic didn't even have to reach his 2011 standard to win all he won this year. Weird times for tennis, contrast with golf where champions are getting younger.

I disagree about the level Djokovic is currently playing at, he is a much better, more rounded player than he was in 2011.
He managed to redline his way through the first two thirds of 2011.

He was in cruise control for most of this year, due to a better first serve, much much better second serve, more intelligent tactics and being far and away the most mentally strong player on tour.

He has become more attacking (when it suits him) and won a lot of fast matches this year compared to 2011 (I haven't checked the figures, but it sure feels that way).

Someone in an earlier post said his game is mundane. While it may be monotonous watching him 'easily' winning most of his matches, I certainly couldn't call his blend of technical and mental excellence mundane....

lostcat

In other news, in a blatant attempt to curry favour with fans, Djokovic has engaged in his own SABR campaign.......





(Sorry About Beating Rodger)

Halloween Jack

lostcat wrote: »

In other news, in a blatant attempt to curry favour with fans, Djokovic has engaged in his own SABR campaign.......





(Sorry About Beating Rodger)

See! Just embrace the dark side Novak.....

cowboyBuilder

I see Dunblane won the Davis Cup !!

Halloween Jack

Rarely watch doubles, not sure why 'cos that match was very entertaining;)

whiterebel

Halloween Jack wrote: »

Rarely watch doubles, not sure why 'cos that match was very entertaining;)

Brilliant, until Darcis fell apart. Some difference between Andy Murray's serve and the others.

Halloween Jack

this set has showcased the worst of andy murray, passive in rallies and moaning at himself/his bench a lot

Halloween Jack

Halloween Jack wrote: »

this set has showcased the worst of andy murray, passive in rallies and moaning at himself/his bench a lot

Perhaps I was underestimating how much it meant to him, another achievement boxed off, an Australian open and a week at number one and I think that'd be quite the career;)

vienne86

David Cameron seemed more interested in the Davis Cup win than in the EU Leaders' summit in Brussels today!

cowboyBuilder

Halloween Jack wrote: »

Perhaps I was underestimating how much it meant to him, another achievement boxed off, an Australian open and a week at number one and I think that'd be quite the career;)

eh ?

Anyway, good for Murray, he´s won 2 grand slams an Olympic gold and a Davis Cup.

Decent career.

Cos he aint winning any more slams...

lostcat

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

eh ?

Anyway, good for Murray, he´s won 2 grand slams an Olympic gold and a Davis Cup.

Decent career.

Cos he aint winning any more slams...

I can see him winning a couple, all he needs is to stay at no. 2 for the year, and for Djokovic to have an off day in a final (bound to happen at some stage.....surely....?).
If Federer hangs around at no. 3 for a year, which he might, Murray has a 50/50 chance of avoiding him in a slam.

Murray is very consistent in reaching the business end of most tournaments, if he mentally unshackled a bit and became a small bit less passive I can certainly see him winning a couple

cowboyBuilder

ah yeah, I'm just trolling, he will win a couple more for sure ... but will be tough .

I'm actually happy for the guy, he played amazing yesterday, he was bossing the match on clay
the way Nadal of '08 would ...

CassieManson

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

ah yeah, I'm just trolling, he will win a couple more for sure ... but will be tough .

I'm actually happy for the guy, he played amazing yesterday, he was bossing the match on clay
the way Nadal of '08 would ...

Yes, I really enjoyed the match yesterday, it was competitive with some great shots, especially match point. The doubles was great also!

Fair play to Andy, that was a big effort throughout the year.

cowboyBuilder

And winning points that Gofin dominated - with such good shots too, really impressive and demoralising for Goffin.

cowboyBuilder

listening to Sean O Rourke show now .... lets see if they mention Britains FIRST DAVIS CUP since 1936 .... I wouldn't expect so ..

RosyLily

Great Britain vs Belgium was probably the most unlikely DC final but it was entertaining! Really enjoyed the doubles!! Will be interesting to see what players choose to play next year, especially with it being an Olympic year.

yerwanthere123

Heads up! Wimbledon ballot applications are open from today!

https://www.aeltc.com/BallotApp/os/BallotForm

RosyLily

I'm in the ballot. It's after coming around quick!:eek: