2023 In Between Grand Slam Thread

josip

Zverev-Rublev later tonight is now a dead rubber. I'd agree about the group stages, but I'm looking forward to both semi finals.

yerwanthere123

Oh dear, Alcaraz not at the races at all tonight, the least competitive match between the pair yet. A rematch with Sinner awaits in the final, but lightning won't be striking twice methinks.

tiegan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121386175#Comment_121386175

Agreed, but there was some fantastic tennis played in the second set by both players. But Novak on fire!

Slashermcguirk

Alcaraz played well to be fair and even said himself he could hardly serve better. Just shows how ridiculously good Djokovic is

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121387234#Comment_121387234

Not denying Djoko was good, but serve aside Alcaraz was way below par.

Augme

Alcarez form since Wimbledon has been really poor. Novak must be really kicking himself over that one. Unless Carlos turns it around, it's hard to see past a clean sweep for novak next year. I do hope Sinner wins, might give him some confidence that he seems to sorely lack.

yerwanthere123

I wouldn't say has Alcaraz has been poor since Wimbledon, maybe just slightly below par for him. Only bad losses I'd say were to Dimitrov and Safiullin, but these occurred near the end of the season when fatigue kicks in and the motivation mighn't be quite as high as it would be in the first half of the season. Although the loss to Tommy Paul was a bit of a weird one too.

He is still just 20, so probably still not even that used to playing a full season, and there was bound to be a a bit of a mental comedown after all that comes with winning Wimbledon. I just think he needs a rest, above all else.

Slashermcguirk

I really don't think Alcaraz was particularly below par. Djokovic is a far superior indoors player, very different surface to play on. Alcaraz played some great tennis but I don't think anyone would have beaten Djokovic yesterday. Alcaraz played really in Cincinatti in that really close final vs Djokovic. There are such small margins when it comes to matches against the very best.

Sinner is the form player this week and with all the home support he is probably marginal favourite in the final but would never write off Djokovic.

Slashermcguirk

Even looking back at Wimbledon final and small margins, Djokovic was one point away from taking a break lead in that 5th set but Alcaraz somehow saved that crucial break point. If Novak wins that point maybe he is thr calendar year grand slam winner now. It really is the smallest of margins. That wimbledon final could have gone either way but Alcaraz played his max level and snuck out the win deservedly. Really just a few key points decided it though

yerwanthere123

Yeah it could've all been so different. Just goes to show how high a level people have to consistently display to get past Djokovic. Sinner did it this week, but it took over three hours to do so, and I can't see him doing it again in the final.

Girly Gal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121387736#Comment_121387736

You could say that about any close slam final or indeed any close match, generally comes down to a handful of points, it's not always the best player on the day that wins, but, the player that plays the big points the best. Djokovic has won plenty of matches and slams that could so easily have gone the other way, on the law of averages alone he was due to lose one he could and probably should have won.

Augme

One way traffic. Again, the big points and the big moments and Sinner just wasn't good enough. Story of his career so far.

josip

I only saw the 2nd set, including Djokovics near perfect service game. Was the first set pretty much the same?

lbunnae

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121389069#Comment_121389069

Think it was much more perfect.

lbunnae

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121388988#Comment_121388988

World no 4 at 22. 10 titles lol , Just to add context.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121389086#Comment_121389086

Ones masters 1000 title and one semi-final appearance at a grand slam. It's a poor return for someone of his talent at this stage of his career.

lbunnae

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121389227#Comment_121389227

No it isnt. Hes 22. Hes got great talent but i dont see him as a generational one. I think he will win 3 or 4 slams.

Slashermcguirk

Djokovic brings a level of tennis that is just mind boggling.. easy to criticise his opponents like Sinner but you need to appreciate just how good Novak is. There is virtually no weakness to target him. He is known for his amazing return, backhand and his forehand which is a big weapon but look beyond that. His serve is so under rated, gets so many free points even though he is not one of the big servers, its so accurate. His volleys are now superb so he can kill points at the net even when he wants to shorten points.

Alcaraz and Sinner didn't do much wrong. They were playing against an absolute machine who is so strong both physically and mentally. Sinner is definitely not an under achiever, he will win many slams as will Alcaraz but Djokovic is from another planet.

Girly Gal

It's his mental strength that really sets him apart, regardless of how well he is playing or his opponent, he has an ability to play the big points well, that's what ultimately wins the matches at elite level. There are plenty of examples in matches throughout his career where opponents had him in all sorts of trouble, yet, he was able to turn these matches around by winning the big points, either break points against or for and in tie breaks, eventually that's what breaks his opponents spirit, knowing that no matter how far ahead they are or how well they are playing they know he has the ability to turn the match, even when he's playing poorly, because he's done it so often before, it feels inevitable that it'll happen again, that's a fear other players feel even when they have him in trouble.

Despite his dominanation in recent years I personally feel, his level has dropped off, he's not playing as well in the last few years as he was between 2010 to 2020, however, his level is still good enough to win more often than not, as the level of the opposition has dropped off more in my opinion, not Djokovic's fault he can only beat what's in front of him.

The Golden Miller

The field is the worst I've ever seen. Dunno if it's ability, but the young players have no steel mentally. They'll be ahead in a game, and completely collapse. Djokovic doesn't even have to play better when losing or force the game, they'll just completely collapse on their own accord. Never seen anything like it!

whiterebel

Sinner completely reverted to type in the final. Played the ball straight back to ND every time, allowing him to dictate every point. His serve was really good which set him up, but he didn't have much to do to put Sinner away.

Slashermcguirk

Djokovic was at his peak between 2011 to 2016. He is way past his prime now but his 70-80% is better than pretty much everyone else. I think saying the field now is poor is off the mark though. You can hardly say Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sinner and others like Tsitsipas and Zverev are not really good players. These lads on their day are very dangerous players. I think players like Rublev and Fritz are well behind though, very one dimensional.

I think the likes of Alcaraz, Sinner and Medvedev would have given Fed, Nadal and Murray all sorts of problems.. nowhere near as good but still very dangerous

Girly Gal

Djokovic has a slight edge over both Federer and Nadal, plenty of close matches between them that could easily have gone the other way( both for and against Djokovic), Djokovic at 70-80% would not have a hope against either Nadal or Federer near their prime, but, thats still too strong for the current field. The current field is poor, no doubt about that, Alcaraz apart, the rest are very inconsistent and mentally weak, they have proven this consistently over the last 5/ 6 years.

Hard to tell how good Alcaraz actually is, he's definitely the best of the current generation, but, still struggles against Djokovic, a Djokovic well past his best, I don't think Alcaraz would have been a factor against Djokovic, Nadal, Federer or even Murray in their primes, yet he's won two slams already against the current field and will likely dominate whenever Djokovic does retire. He does of course have time on his side to improve, so my view might change on that.

Djokovic has won as much in his thirties ( still a few years left) and been more dominant than he was in his twenties, yet most would agree his level has definitely dipped in the last 3 years or so and Covid restrictions affected him more than any other player in that time. He's not playing as well, yet, is finding it easier to win, so all that indicates that the standard of the opposition has regressed dramatically, which I think is fair to say it has, although the tennis media do not want to admit this fact, listening to them, you'd be fooled into thinking the men's game is better than ever, when it's clearly not.

josip

Did anyone get lucky in the Wimbledon Ballot?

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121461426#Comment_121461426

Are results out?

I haven't heard anything, nor have I heard anything from the many, many friends who also entered.....

josip

Emails started going out on the 17th to successful applicants apparently.

tiegan

No news here either!

yerwanthere123

Play already underway for the new season, so new thread here

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058329006/2024-in-between-grand-slam-thread