Australian Open 2017

RosyLily

Grigor is toast now. 40-15 up on Nadal's serve was his best chance.

Jan_de_Bakker

such a shame ...

and there goes also any chance of #18 for Federer.

walshb

Get in, Rafa! ??

Dimitrov hanging in

walshb

Sealed!

Burial.

Get in Rafa ya beautiful man. What a f*cking match

EagererBeaver

From 3-4 and 15-40 down that is an incredible conclusion. I've never known anyone who fights like Nadal to dig it out.

Absolutely delighted for him but have to applaud Dimitrov for his performance too. I had no idea he had that kind of performance or fight in him. Even after giving up the break points and then getting broken he refused to just give it away.

yerwanthere123

Well I just threw up in my mouth a bit. Dimitrov blinked after missing those two break points, and here we are.

Who we got in Sunday's final, Hitler or Stalin?

Jan_de_Bakker

But in all fairness, you all know I don't like Nadal - but what a Gladiator ... and fine fine tennis ...


well done .

Floppybits

Could be a fantastic year for tennis with roger and rafa back to compete with Murray and djokovic and add the likes of Zverev, dimitrov and Raonic also. Going to be some classic matches.

Chivito550

Sickening. Dimitrov was so close!

What an epic.

I wonder how much that will take out of Rafa. Roger has an extra day too. But in 2009 he also had an extra day, Rafa had that long epic against Verdasco, and it still made no difference come the final. But he's 8 years older now.

innuendo141

God I am glad I got my early Roland Garros ticket this morning. That match was incredible.

I hope he can recover well. Would be a shame after all of this for a match to go down to fitness at an early stage.

walshb

The Fed fans already getting their excuses ready as to why Fed is better than Rafa...

walshb

innuendo141 wrote: »

God I am glad I got my early Roland Garros ticket this morning. That match was incredible.

I hope he can recover well. Would be a shame after all of this for a match to go down to fitness at an early stage.

Nadal is a world class athlete. Well used to 5 setters, and has almost 48 hrs to rest. Fatigue/stamina won't be an issue.

SlickRic

I cannot wait for Sunday.

MrKingsley

What an unbelievable match.

Dimitrov must have just proven to himself that with his game he can challenge anyone for years to come providing he keeps working like he has done. Gutted for him but Im absolutely delighted for Nadal at the same time.

If the final is half as good as either of the semis it will be an absolute treat

Chivito550

Length of time on court:

Federer: 13 hours 37 mins
Nadal: 18 hours 56 mins

5 hours 19 mins extra.

Be interesting to see what (if any) effect that will have.

SlickRic

Chivito550 wrote: »

Length of time on court:

Federer: 13 hours 37 mins
Nadal: 18 hours 56 mins

5 hours 19 mins extra.

Be interesting to see what (if any) effect that will have.

None.

Fed will be keeping rallies as short as possible. It won't be a marathon on Sunday IMO.

walshb

If Roger's serve is solid and quality he has an excellent chance to win. Needs to be getting circa 70-75 percent of his first serves in, maybe higher. Problem being that when he meets Nadal the fear creeps in and his game suffers.

EagererBeaver

Federer is also five years older and has a leg injury.

If Nadal recovers, which he should, he's a clear favourite in my eyes. He had massive problems with Dimitrov's serve today and was getting pushed further and further back. Fed can't do that to him.

walshb

EagererBeaver wrote: »

Federer is also five years older and has a leg injury.

In early!:p

walshb

Fed's performances in this tournament really does prove that age is just a number. His movement and shot selection have been astounding. And getting to the final proves this.

EagererBeaver

walshb wrote: »

In early!:p

Given that I'm a Rafa fan and want him to win, you can slide on. I was referring to the fact that Federer has been on the court six less hours. Neither of them will have excuses in the final. Nadal will be pooped after that but still has plenty of time to recover and has been through it many times before.

MrKingsley

EagererBeaver wrote: »

Federer is also five years older and has a leg injury.

If Nadal recovers, which he should, he's a clear favourite in my eyes. He had massive problems with Dimitrov's serve today and was getting pushed further and further back. Fed can't do that to him.

I dont get that bit. When he is serving well it is so accurate that Nadal will step back anyway. Also in todays match Nadal seemed to decide to vary his distance from the baseline in order to try something different/put dimitrov off and not as a result of being dominated by Dimitrovs serve

walshb

Chivito550 wrote: »

Be interesting to see what (if any) effect that will have.

It's not like it can be shown or proved. I am sure there have been many tournaments where these two met and the man who played longer triumphed.

walshb

MrKingsley wrote: »

I dont get that bit. When he is serving well it is so accurate that Nadal will step back anyway. Also in todays match Nadal seemed to decide to vary his distance from the baseline in order to try something different and not as a result of being dominated by Dimitrovs serve

I agree. Federer's serve is one of the greatest in history. It's his main chance to win here. Power, direction and variation....

NoviGlitzko

Chivito550 wrote: »

Length of time on court:

Federer: 13 hours 37 mins
Nadal: 18 hours 56 mins

5 hours 19 mins extra.

Be interesting to see what (if any) effect that will have.

They are actually a lot closer on time if Nadal took the time between points as Federer does.

Felt physically sick after that ending. Great match of course but I was gutted for Dimitrov, he was so close.

Tiredness won't be an issue come the final for Rafa let's be honest here. I was impressed by Nadal's defence it's exactly what he used to do to Federer years ago to win which doesn't bode well.

Nadal is the favourite for 1 main reason. He'll make it into a physical battle and Federer will gift some UE's when he gets tired in the 5th set. And believe me he will he isn't as fit as he used to be. The only thing that could save him is the court speed.

MrKingsley

NoviGlitzko wrote: »

They are actually a lot closer on time if Nadal took the time between points as Federer does.

Glad you brought this up.

Nadal took an average of 26 seconds between points in his quarter final. he served 16 games (plus a tiebreak). Say the average game had 6 points it means he would have spent around 40 mins just bouncing the ball and fixing his shorts. And that was a straight sets victory.

Id not sure how long Federer takes but Id imagine it would be close to half of what nadal does. This never seems to get mentioned though as its a better stat to just say player X has spent 20 hours working on the court

Stella89

It is amazing the lack of respect Nadal gets when he defies all the odds to win an epic match. No one gives him any credit, pities the opponent

Nadal is a champion when he wins and when he loses , he is always gracious in defeat . He is the all round package, physically, mentally, and skillfully . That is what sets him apart from everyone else

Chivito550

Federer can't let himself get dragged into long rallies. Only one winner if that happens. Nadal is quite ugly to watch at times, but it is very effective. Have to admire his ability to keep getting the ball back and forcing the error. Definitely not graceful tennis, but you do what you do to win.

Pretty gutted now really. Looking at it logically Federer has a great chance, but after years of disappointment at RG and Oz Open between the 2, I just can't look at it logically. A Grioger win and the title was Federer's. No way he'd have rallied after 5 hours in the greatest match of his life to win his debut final.

Ah well, at least I'll be 90 Euro richer.

EagererBeaver

MrKingsley wrote: »

This never seems to get mentioned though

*Gets mentioned all the time*