Nadal didn't face a top 10 player in 2019 US Open until the final and that was an inexperienced first-time finalist Medvedev at 8 and he struggled.
As far as men's grand slams goes it was a gimme.
And Nadal has diminished more than Djokovic in the last 2 years, especially off clay.
As said hasn't beaten Djokovic off clay in 8 years - that wasn't going to change.
Glasso you will have to pick up a copy
Didn't say Nadal would beat Djokovic, I said in my opinion he'd have posed a bigger threat than the others, if you read my post again I said I'd expect Djokovic to beat Nadal. I also expect Djokovic to beat Zverev, Tsitsipas or Medvedev if he meets any of them at the USO. Anything other than Djokovic winning will be a surprise.
You're obsessed 🤩 dude
I was just following the headlines awaiting the inevitable "road to Damascus" moment which she eventually "had" recently where she can't really clearly remember now why she was an unhappy unhappy bunny with the media - but it was lots of "wondering" and vague reminiscences and of course it was all Mr.Pandemic's fault and now she's "grateful" that she she's a tennis player getting over $50 million a year in sponsorship from WowWow, Nissan etc and so "grateful" that she doesn't live in Haiti in a collapsed shack or is being ravaged by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Amen
It was ever to come to pass thus
Oh dear, Serena out of the US Open with injury. Sad her career is ending in this way. At the very least I think she'll give the Australian Open one more shot anyway, a favourable draw and she could sneak her way to one last title.
Nadal hasn't won a single solitary set off Djokovic on a hard court since 2013 over 9 encounters.
I just can't see how that could be considered any sort of threat really.
This isn't 'just' a hard court tournament however, this is Djokovics worst slam, one he has found a way to lose in many times.
Nadal has won this more times than Djokovic and a fit Nadal would have proven tough. However, its likely that the only person who will beat Djokovic here is himself, he didn't look great in his last couple of matches, maybe the pressure of the grand slam / 21 will get to him.
The only way he would have been in the remotest danger of losing to Nadal here in 2021 is if he was disqualified and that's not going to happen two years in a row despite what some may hope for 😂
Could certainly be beaten by other players though and the time off is not something he did last year when he came in after winning Cincinnati
But the new surface (Laykold) at the US Open that only came in last year (2020) only seemed to suit Djokovic even more as it was faster than the old Deco Turf.
It's the same surface the Miami 1000 where Djokovic has won ... 6 times and Nadal - 0 ( but a faster implementation)
So that's another reduction in Nadal's "threat" as just ask Nadal how slower surfaces can impact your chances of winning
I think Djokovic will be at his most vulnerable in the first couple of rounds as he tends to play himself into slams, so if he gets an awkward opponent or someone plays out of their skin in the first few rounds he could be in trouble, plus he's likely to be slightly rusty after his layoff, but, once he gets to the second week he becomes a different animal, he steps up through the gears and tends not to give his opponents much opportunities to take advantage of, it'll take an outstanding performance from Zverev or Medvedev to beat him, one that I'm not sure they're capable of. They'd have a much better chance of beating him if they met him in the early rounds of the tournament, but, unfortunately for them it's likely to be in the final or semi finals they'll meet him when he's in the zone and almost impossible to beat. Of course anything can happen in sport it's why we watch it, but, in all likelihood Djokovic will complete the calendar slam and reach 21.
US Open thread here
https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058205948/2021-us-open#latest
Looking forward to the USO - will Amazon prime have it ?
Not available on Prime in Ireland. If you use a UK VPN it recongises it and won't let you in.
yes no VPN seems to work for Amazon anymore
Got it working thanks to Boards! Go to www.primevideo.com and make sure your country is set to Ireland. It's showing up under live and upcoming events!
Seems to show up yes when you do that - will click on a qualifying match later to see if it works for a game.
Good spot.
It's working for me in Spain, Winston Salem and USO qualies ... let's see next week ..
Sandgren has just gone and done a Djoko.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEh1_CaRlQw&t=70s
https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/58569560
Since it hit a fence first and then hit the line judge it seems like a harsh decision to me.
Looks like the State of Victoria (seat of the Austrailian Open) is going to mandate players of next years tournament be fully vaccinated. there are a good few players who aren't and have voiced objection to being vaccinated, including at least Djokovic, Medvedev, Tsitsipas on the mens side. Will be interesting to see if they bite the bullet, or even if the tournament is moved to somewhere more amenable to their concerns...
Whatever they decide can't be any worse than this year's sh1tshow.
Serve the anti-vax loons on the tour right if Victoria does go ahead with it.
Heather Watson has lost her first round match at Indian wells to Sloane Stephens in three sets after winning the first set. The third set she lost 6-1.
Poor Andy
https://www.rte.ie/sport/tennis/2021/1007/1252270-murray-missing-wedding-ring-after-trainers-mishap/
Kim clisters lost in three sets which I’m surprised at because she lost the first set in less than half an hour last night but seems she won the second set handy enough but lost the decider by the same score she won the second set.
The US open woman's finalists from this year both play their first matches tonight at 2am and 4am Irish time with Emma Raducanu up first and leylah Fernandez up second.
It's inconceivable that the tournament would be moved due to a certain proportion of players refusing to get vaccinated. Nor are the authorities going to cave in and drop the vaccination requirement, not even for likes of Djokovic. Politically, that would be a non-starter. My guess is that a number of the holdouts will begrudgingly get the jab(s) late this year once they realise the Aussies are not for turning, and most of the rest will elect to take the 14-day quarantine option.
Meanwhile, it's strange to be watching Indian Wells in October. But it's been a long wait since the last staging in March 2019.
Looks like domestic bliss has been restored at Château Murray:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/58824365
Not an issue for Djokovic, he's already vaccinated.
https://au.sports.yahoo.com/tennis-2021-novak-djokovic-vaccination-theory-sends-internet-wild-033733793.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGeyf3aDQp9CVhURuJuUycI4rpk_5Dz-8c4t6-QmP7nG0ViLJDUZG27HbflfrXgbjU-ivPFgaBII9-iuL2jVMxZofVJNLYn2-KXg8ytL_-bigAQiWcmZ6rxtpDqTi5Lhy1cNv8HKaVYep627SLoF5N49k2ANMbBi4yYO8RP8wdRL
ATP investigation into Zverev opened.
Whitaker on the Tennis Podcast can barely contain her glee as she awaits (in her mind anyway) the certain guilty finding.
What a rotund dose.
Shelby Rodgers wins to get into the third round.
considering she stumbled her way through the prime video coverage of the US open she’s hardly in a position to call people out. Daniela hantuchova was the star of that coverage imo as she came across as a very nice and warm person.
It will be interesting to see how Emma Raducanu deals with being US open champ and the expedition that comes with that.
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