Novak Djokovic: I’ll Focus On The French Open In Paris, But Not Before Then

What happened with Nole last year at Roland Garros last year? I can’t remember. I do remember Ferrer was clobbered by Nadal in the final.

April 14th, 2014 at 9:52 am

Rafa beat him at RG for the 5th straight meeting there.

i.e., the norm is what happened to him.

April 14th, 2014 at 9:55 am

^^ It’s a slow day on TX. Was this post so bad?

April 14th, 2014 at 10:56 am

@Pete, Nole was clobbered by Nadal in the semis.

April 14th, 2014 at 11:11 am

Having to come back from a break down in the 5th is clobbering to nadalista. Then I guess what Djokovic has done to Nadal the last 3 times has been complete and utter domination of the highest possible order.

April 14th, 2014 at 11:24 am

Pete, you can believe Nadalista’s story or you can read this:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/04/15/Monte-Carlo-Sunday-Djokovic-Preview.aspx

Nadalista, understandable that you would see it that way , but anything going 5 sets = not a clobbering, imo.

FO 2008 Final was a clobbering; have to give you that :D

April 14th, 2014 at 11:26 am

Joker learnt from last year – no tanking in Madrid and Rome!
And take a cue from Rafa – one match at a time, don’t think too far ahead.
Vamos Rafa!

April 14th, 2014 at 11:33 am

I guess this is the paragraph you have in mind, @contador,

“Last year, Djokovic came the closest he has yet to lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires in Paris, holding a 4-2 lead over Rafael Nadal in the fifth set of their semi-final. Had he held on, he would have challenged first-time finalist David Ferrer in the championship match. ”

Would have, could have, should have…..all rather wistful, no?

Btw, I am a Bertie fan myself, he looks in good form to challenge pesky Sky this year at the TdF.

April 14th, 2014 at 11:34 am

Giles, I think Djokovic tanked in Rome but not in Madrid. At least not in the match he lost. Who fights that hard in the second set if they plan on tanking?

April 14th, 2014 at 11:38 am

Sure he tanked. That’s why he told the crowd to apply… negative pressure to his…. appendage.

Listen, these guys simply do not tank.

April 14th, 2014 at 11:47 am

Ben. Maybe. It did cost him the y/e #1 ranking though!

April 14th, 2014 at 11:48 am

Sorry Ben, just saw you were talking about Rome but again, hard to believe any elite player would actually tank.

April 14th, 2014 at 11:48 am

In hindsight, I gotta admit, that loss to Berdy did look a little suspect.

April 14th, 2014 at 11:50 am

lol, yes, that was the passage, @ Nadalista.

It’s Off Topic, but I am so excited about Bertie’s complete bossing of the Pais Vasco last week. TdF Froome vs El Pistolero is gonna be good.

April 14th, 2014 at 11:53 am

Giles, I think there are several more significant matches to look at than the Berdych loss as far as the ranking goes. But that’s besides the point. Suspect? He was up 6-2 5-2 wasn’t he? Then completely lost the plot and lost 5-7 4-6? If that’s not a tank job then nothing is.

April 14th, 2014 at 11:56 am

Happy to, Sean.

By all accounts, Djokovic was deflated by that RG loss to Rafa and he only got out of the loss-indiced funk after the US Open. So, regardless of the scoreline, that beating was a clobbering.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:02 pm

@Ben Pronin, Novak tanking at Rome 2013? Can you explain further and why? I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d love to hear your reason for that choice of word, Sean Randall included.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:07 pm

Agreed nadalista. A clobbering to his ego. Great insight!

April 14th, 2014 at 12:07 pm

Ben. I am just taking the Rome tank job in isolation then. Had he not tanked, all his results thereafter, without changing anything that transpired, wins/losses, would have ensured the #1 ranking for him.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:10 pm

Rafa was in Nole’s head after that loss. (Montreal, USO). nadalista said nothing about other players.

Nadal’s loss at Wimby has nothing to do with Nole’s state of mind.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:14 pm

Sean Randall, you asked me to explain clobbering in the context of Djokovic, not Nadal.

Now that you ask about Rafa: he was clobbered by Darcis at Wimbledon and his funk lasted until………Montreal, where he piled on the clobbering on………Djokovic.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:16 pm

I was at that match in Montreal.

That 3rd set TB was a masterclass clobbering.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:20 pm

Nole was deflated, after losing FO in a closely contested match, after being up 4-2 in the fifth set. That is my take on it and yeah, it took him some time

In hindsight, it makes sense that the loss to Nadal was tough on Nole and it took time to get motivated again. He at least needed that Madrid win going into FO 2013, agree on that. Now he has a plan and looks happy and confident with his back to back wins over Federer and Nadal in IW/Miami.

We’ll see, maybe Stan will clobber everyone again.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:26 pm

Not to mention that poor Darcy has been on an extended MTO since that Wimby. He will think twice before administering a clobbering on Rafito, our Mr. Darcis…………

April 14th, 2014 at 12:27 pm

No need to apologise, Sean Randall. My pleasure…

April 14th, 2014 at 12:30 pm

I can’t believe I’m siding with Nadalista, but making the Wimbledon final makes sense for Nole, since Rafa went out early to Darcis. Wise for Rafa to use a get out of jail card – he probably knew by his sensations what his chance was by the time he got to Darcis in the final on grass.

Very strategic plan by team Nadal to not bother with Wimbles, get a good preparation, and take HC season. Well played.

Interesting to see how team Nadal plays it this year. If he loses FO, I wonder…these next three masters 1000’s will determine the plan, is my guess.

Should be fun watching.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:40 pm

^ I did not mean to say Rafa got to the Wimbles final last year.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:46 pm

Sean Randall is there not a way of finding out if Translated Age and A Tango Lad are different posters, or the same?

They are very much the alike content-wise. With the availability of dynamic IP addresses, it is probably hard to tell.

Have they written posts where they are chatting with each other here? That would take some real skill and imagination, not to mention, spare time.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:54 pm

“That 3rd set TB was a masterclass clobbering.”

Just before the tie break Nole was clobbered in the face as well.

April 14th, 2014 at 12:56 pm

“Ben. Maybe. It did cost him the y/e #1 ranking though!”

True Giles.
If he had made the finals and lost to Rafa in Rome and Madrid he would have finished No.1 last year.

Even this year if he wins Rome and Madrid with Rafa faltering he may get to No.1 like Wozniacki.

April 14th, 2014 at 1:05 pm

^Does that make you happy ST?

April 14th, 2014 at 1:05 pm

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/04/16/Monte-Carlo-Monday-Nadal-Sailing.aspx?
While joker is plotting and planning Rafa is sailing!
#Enjoy

April 14th, 2014 at 1:09 pm

my question to Slice Tennis was referring to him pointing out that Nole was hit in the face.

April 14th, 2014 at 1:10 pm

ST made me laugh.

Nole’s face was fine. Only his ego was bruised.

April 14th, 2014 at 1:11 pm

If Djokovic gets to number 1 without winning a slam that says more about the his predecessor and the state of the ATP than it does about him.

April 14th, 2014 at 1:17 pm

“hard to believe any elite player would actually tank.”

I disagree. There are some matches these elite/great have tanked.

Rafa vs Verdasco on blue clay was very much a candidate under this category. To me it appeared that he wanted to teach a lesson to the organisers and deliberately tanked it.

Before that match he played an absolutely great against Davydenko in R2 moving 100% perfectly on blue clay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOmNLzy1n6Q

April 14th, 2014 at 1:19 pm

Clobbering?
losing 7 finals in a row to the same guy is
Clobbering. And had to be a mental clobbering during that stretch for sure.
#moonballingdidn’tworkeither

April 14th, 2014 at 1:21 pm

^^ hm, definitely living up to its bill as a dysfunctional tennis blog, this.

April 14th, 2014 at 1:23 pm

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=416212361830765&set=a.222942984491038.48429.222913534493983&
ST. Mr. D had something to say about that. Lol
#ProtectiveParent

April 14th, 2014 at 1:23 pm

Novak sounds very confident. I like it.
Still don’t think he defends MC title.

April 14th, 2014 at 1:35 pm

contador Says:
^^ hm, definitely living up to its bill as a dysfunctional tennis blog, this.

My second audible smile of the day. :)

April 14th, 2014 at 1:46 pm

hahhaha…if I was living even a (partially) blinkered life about the tanking issue in tennis before blue clay Madrid, that tournament settled it. Blinkers off. The blue clay madrid was epic tanking. Federer and Berdych were basically the only ones not on the plan.

April 14th, 2014 at 2:10 pm

In all seriousness, I disagree.

Rafa was one unhappy camper in that loss to Nando.

Does this point look like tanking?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5vKzELYEso

April 14th, 2014 at 2:13 pm

So for all of the tanking “experts” out there, when did Federer ever tank a match or is he simply above all of that.

(in case you haven’t figured it out, that was a rhetorical question)

April 14th, 2014 at 2:30 pm

Oh man I forgot about Madrid that year. That tank job by Nadal was hilarious. And Djokovic did it, too, against Tipsy but with a lot less drama.

Federer was accused of tanking by Mary Carillo in 2006 when he lost to Murray in Cincy. He denied it. I didn’t buy it either. Federer barely won Toronto, going 3 sets against several scrubs, and barely won his first match in Cincy before bowing out to Murray. And given how Murray has fared against Federer since then, it’s not hard to believe that he won simply because he played better.

But I do think Federer tanked to Haas in Halle 2012. I know Haas has troubled Federer here and there, but really Federer has always owned him. And considering how well Federer was playing at that time, it just seemed unbelievable. I think he did it because Haas needed a ranking boost to qualify for the Olympics. It turned out to be for naught but I really think Federer tanked that match. I can’t think of any other instances, though, but I definitely don’t think he’s above it. That doesn’t even make sense.

April 14th, 2014 at 2:55 pm

Federer was also accused of tanking to Del Potro at the WTF a few years ago to prevent Murray from making the semis. I don’t buy that either because Federer had to lose a specific number of games for that to even happen and I can’t imagine any tennis player is that calculating or conniving.

April 14th, 2014 at 2:57 pm

You’re right Ben/contador, I take it all back.

Fed denied it? What does that even mean??? Any link to where he was asked if he tanked and his denial?

Rafa tanked all of his losses to Federer and Djokovic. So obvious to me now.

Sure. Madrid match point down, Nadal hits a perfect ace to stave off the loss temporarily. What an actor. Should have earned an Oscar for that one.

Man, please. Dysfunctional just reached a new level.

April 14th, 2014 at 3:04 pm

Ben, maybe Fed is the tank GOAT.

April 14th, 2014 at 3:05 pm

I read interesting theories here.

About tanking: I didn’t watch the match in question against Berdych, but, seeing the result, I thought that Novak wanted to avoid playing against Rafa before the FO. Did he tank that match? I am not sure, but who knows?

About Montreal and Cincy. I watched the Rafa-Novak match in Canada. Rafa was simply the better player. Novak FH didn’t work, his backhand DTL didn’t work either, and Novak was completely out of shape.

I don’t believe that it was the consequence of the FO, but rather of his match against Murray in the Wimby final. Novak came out completely flat after the grueling semi he played against DelPo. His serve didn’t work, he made unusual UE and he was utterly beat.

April 14th, 2014 at 3:14 pm

“Fed denied it? What does that even mean??? Any link to where he was asked if he tanked and his denial?”

Couldn’t find the link. I don’t know what’s confusing about this. He lost. Carillo said she thought he tanked. He was asked about it in a later interview and he said he didn’t tank.

“Sure. Madrid match point down, Nadal hits a perfect ace to stave off the loss temporarily. What an actor. Should have earned an Oscar for that one.”

Watch the entire match and stop focusing on one or two points. Nadal was up 5-2 against a guy he never lost to on his favorite surface. All of the sudden Verdasco wins 5 straight games. It wasn’t like Verdasco got hot. Nadal just starting pushing balls and hitting terrible errors he never hits. If he was Dolgopolov you would think he was fixing the match on purpose. Nadal wanted out. He gave the win to someone he’s pretty friendly with. That’s why he was so pissed that Verdasco dropped to his knees and acted like he won a slam.

“Ben, maybe Fed is the tank GOAT.”

TA, maybe you just never have anything smart to say ever.

April 14th, 2014 at 3:38 pm

Ben I’ve just never seen a commentator nor journo outright ask a player if they tanked or didn’t put forth their best effort.

Ben, I did look at different key points and I can see what you mean but just a bad day at the office on a dumb since-banned blue clay.

I also think that at different points Verdasco did get hot. He realized he needed to go for his shots to have a chance. He was hitting very deep and Nadal hit a lot of errors.

It’s insulting to suggest such a lack of professionalism and integrity among the elite and both self serving and naive as well.

“TA, maybe you just never have anything smart to say ever.”

I don’t have to resort to personal insults.

TA to you too.

April 14th, 2014 at 3:53 pm

^exception would be dumb-a$$ Tomic but he is unprofessional and certainly not elite at the ATP level.

April 14th, 2014 at 3:55 pm

And don’t go saying dysfunctional is an insult. It’s the name of this forum, no?

Y’all need to chillax.

April 14th, 2014 at 3:59 pm

Tanking is cheating, full-stop. So, Ben Pronin, a self-styled Djokovic fan is telling the whole world that his idol is a cheat.

I am not a Djokovic fan but I find it hard to believe that he, including any of the top tier guys would tank/cheat.

I would never, ever be a fan of Rafa if I suspected, for one moment he was a cheat.

So, I find it incredulous that some people are quite happy that their guy tanked a match i.e. cheated.

Incredible.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:02 pm

hello @mat4 and glad you stopped by :D

What made sense to me is that after the 5th set heart breaker loss to Nadal in the FO 2013, Nole’s confidence was not at the best level going into Wimbledon. After losing that final, there was an additive effect, in a negative way, to his confidence. He needed some time and wins over Nadal on his terms last fall.

The finals of GS’s I suspect are rarely, if ever, a planned tank, or a tactical tank; but I do notice some performances that appear to be a decision made during the match. Not a great example but Djokovic vs Cilic recently at IW made me question if Nole was having a long moment of decision during their first set. Marin Cilic appeared pretty baffled after that match.

Nole is very smart and he also knows he has the tennis game to beat Nadal. It is perhaps best that he do it in the lead up to FO. Makes sense to change the plan. Not sure he needs to talk about his change of plans though! The less Uncle Tony knows, the better, imo.

That is my hypothesis of the moment.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:03 pm

Well I guess you didn’t follow tennis in 2006.

You say he had a bad day, I think he tanked.

Self serving to who?

April 14th, 2014 at 4:05 pm

“Not sure he needs to talk about his change of plans though!”

Djokovic really does give a lot away. It’s nice to hear what the players think and whatnot but sometimes I feel like Djokovic needs to play his cards closer to his chest.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:07 pm

To fans who like to believe that their personal favourites are in control of their losses.

Yeah, I didn’t bother to watch tennis when there was zero competition outside clay.

Pretty dull.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:10 pm

Epic acting job on the Blue Clay in Madrid. And who was going to bust him? He had already made a huge deal of the surface – he couldn’t go on even if his prior match was perfectly fine.

And no one here is singling out Nadal. Don’t start that again, please. TA/ ATL

This is about tanking and evidence of tanking. There is no proof – no admissions on the record – only the many smoking gun performances.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:12 pm

What exactly is this “new plan” Djokovic is giving away? Focussing on a tournament one at a time, that is the BIG plan to win RG? Pfft…..

So, y’all believe he collided with the net at RG ‘coz he had not focused enough on Madrid and Rome? WTF………….

Forget the hocus-pocus theories, hubris did him in at Madrid and Rome. He believed the propaganda floating around that it was his year, he was a more complete player than Rafa, he is the new King of Clay blah, blah blah and he lost focus at key moments, simple. Come RG semis, he ran into the better player, simple.

Now, he’s trying the humble route, trouble is: that market’s cornered……..

April 14th, 2014 at 4:17 pm

But lets us continue ignoring Elephants when they are in the room.

There are even bigger reasons in tennis to hide your head in the sand than tanking. But I can’t go there. Not singling out Nadal either.

I love tennis and have mixed feelings about all of it. Waiting for more evidence, which will in time, come. Dreading that day. Conflicted about it. Think about it.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:20 pm

“I didn’t watch bother to watch tennis when there was zero competition outside clay”

really! Then tell me, Who were making “the competition” on clay? Must be people outside the ATP cause i think ATP players were playing all the other tournaments without making any competition

April 14th, 2014 at 4:23 pm

IMO tanking exists in tennis even among elites just like the advanced sports “medicines”.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:23 pm

Contador, it’s going to be an awesome effing day.

The humble market is cornered? I keep thinking now I’ve heard everything but clearly nadalista has a million crazy sayings up her sleeve.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:23 pm

Hey, you can single out Nadal for all the tea in China, personally: couldn’t care less. Been there got the Rafa-hate t-shirt.

I don’t need to smear Novak with cheat innuendo to feel good about Rafa. I’ll leave that to his fans, so-called!

Seriously, there are lots of sports out there to follow. Can’t see why I would choose to drift into the orbit of a sport I did not trust. Life really is too short.

That’s just me.

Vamos Rafa!

April 14th, 2014 at 4:28 pm

“There are even bigger reasons in tennis to hide your head in the sand than tanking. But I can’t go there.”

But let me venture into it.

I truly and honestly believe that without those special medicines we would not have seen great sporting feats from the likes of Maradona, Messi, Rafa, Federer, Nole, Contador, etc.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:28 pm

It’s just hilarious that the fans who think a 4 year period in which one player dominated was a weak era but a decade of the same player winning every title on clay signifies a strong era/healthy competition. There’s a reason one of Nadal’s nicknames is Nadull.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:29 pm

“I love tennis and have mixed feelings about all of it. Waiting for more evidence, which will in time, come. ”

We will have to wait for eternity. ATP will kill their cash cows.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:30 pm

Don’t worry Ben Pronin, my sleeves are huge enough! You of course have the personal insults/swear market cornered. Bet you’ve heard of that one too….

April 14th, 2014 at 4:31 pm

Oops…

ATP will NOT kill their cash cows.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:31 pm

Name one sport that can be trusted.

Gotta agree with ST but at some point something’s gotta give. It’s happened in enough high profile sports already. Don’t forget Armstrong, though. He’s the best.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:34 pm

“Don’t forget Armstrong, though.”

Armstrong was not caught just because of doping. He was singled out and exposed for other reasons.

As long as players do not go against the establishment they will never be exposed.

If you hope for a full blown exposure of dopers in tennis, you will be disappointed.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:37 pm

“It’s just hilarious that the fans who think a 4 year period in which one player dominated was a weak era but a decade of the same player winning every title on clay signifies a strong era/healthy competition. There’s a reason one of Nadal’s nicknames is Nadull.”

Domination ONLY during a 4 year period was precisely why that was considered as a weak era. If he was that good he would have continued to dominate for a longer time. He was beating nobodies dominantly and when he had to face tough players he was different. There is a reason one of Federer’s nick names is Federina.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:42 pm

So you’re saying there’s a lot of competition on clay?

April 14th, 2014 at 4:53 pm

If rafa was that good he’d have dominated like 2010.
If novak was that good he’d have dominated like 2011.

Fed was really good enough to keep that high level of play for that long. You can’t be expected to keep playing at the highest level of your game everytime

April 14th, 2014 at 4:56 pm

———-
Djokovic really does give a lot away. It’s nice to hear what the players think and whatnot but sometimes I feel like Djokovic needs to play his cards closer to his chest.
———-
Agree.

April 14th, 2014 at 4:58 pm

You guys have to define domination, because Federer was Year End #1 in 2009 (two years after his “dominant” years), and for a patch in 2012. Even the end of 2011 he was “dominating”.

who else gets close to him? Djokovic dominated for a stretch of 9 months in 2011. Nadal dominated 5 months in 2008, 7 motnhs in 2010 and 7 months in 2013. Nadla and Djokovic were not able to dominated for a single whole year yet, not being able to be #1 for a whole year. To me that is dominance.
If a player can be #1 for every single week of a year, than he can say he dominated that year, adding the Slams to it.

As of now, Nadal is not even number one of the last 6 months, so his “dominance was from IW 2013 to US Open 2013 and that’s about it. Djokovic is clear the better player of the last half year and by what happened in IW/Miami and his dominance of the last 4 Masters plus WTF, getting back to #1 seems a matter of when: May, July or September?

April 14th, 2014 at 5:02 pm

It has been interesting Slice Tennis and Ben. (Was waiting to see if you would return, mat4), must log off now.

April 14th, 2014 at 5:04 pm

There was not much of a competition on any surface from 2001 till 2007. In no other era a 17 yr old will be allowed to win FO in his first attempt. During that era there was one great player and one decent clay courter who was a kid and virtually nothing else to talk about apart from a great wasted sensational talent.

April 14th, 2014 at 5:04 pm

Daniel,
The point is Nadal’s is almost the same during the last 8 yrs or so. There was no short window of abnormal dominance and then being dominated by others especially youngsters. Rafa’s level or standard of play is not yet passed by anyone and he is 28 now. But Fed was comfortably passed by a 21 yr old Rafa when he was just 25-26 from which he never recovered.

April 14th, 2014 at 5:10 pm

“As of now, Nadal is not even number one of the last 6 months, so his “dominance was from IW 2013 to US Open 2013 and that’s about it. Djokovic is clear the better player of the last half year and by what happened in IW/Miami and his dominance of the last 4 Masters plus WTF, getting back to #1 seems a matter of when: May, July or September?”

I will tell you a simple fact so that you get a correct perspective of whats happening right now.

Rafa’s total points he accumulated after USO 2013 till Miami 2014 is by faaar the highest ever he has accumulated in his career after USO till Miami next year.

Perspective !!!!

April 14th, 2014 at 5:18 pm

“Comfortably passed by a 21 year”

yeah, needing 2 five setter ( 9-7 in one) to beat the “weak era” king despite having the matchup upperhand is comfortably passing

April 14th, 2014 at 5:18 pm

Sirius,

A 21 yr old guy beating a 26 yr old five consecutive times including 3 grandslams on three different surfaces IS passing. Federer never recovered.

In 2011 it appeared that Nole passed Rafa comfortably. But Rafa recovered well and won 3 more slams where Nole could win only 1 more. The jury is still out regarding Nole-Rafa rivalry. There are no facts to claim that Nole (5 masters, rank 2) is a better player now than Rafa (2 slams and 4 masters, rank 1).

April 14th, 2014 at 5:26 pm

This rivalry talk is funny as heck. Like players care?

Why don’t all you rivalry fans ask the players what is important? The goal is to win tourneys….Slams. That is objective #1.

April 14th, 2014 at 5:41 pm

“Federer never recovered”

wrong. He reached 4 straight gs finals and won 3 of them. Then won another at the age of 31

April 14th, 2014 at 5:52 pm

Slice Tennis

There are explanations, events, timelines, responses and theories about the disappearance of teenagers at the top in tennis. Would be fascinating to have a chat with you. Not here, though.

You raise some good questions with the points you make about age. But ease up, man. Happy talk time. Don’t want to see you thrown out of here Can’t believe you are more questioning and skeptical than I am. At least try to stick around to see what happens this clay season ; )

April 14th, 2014 at 5:57 pm

In no other era would a 17 year old win the FO? Good point. That’s why Nadal was 19. Oh yeah and how about Boris Becker winning Wimbledon at 16? During a golden era, no less. And Sampras winning the US Open at 19. Jesus, cmon ST. Some tennis knowledge would be helpful on your part.

April 14th, 2014 at 6:17 pm

“In no other era would a 17 year old win the FO? Good point. That’s why Nadal was 19.”

Never mind. That was just a typo.

“how about Boris Becker winning Wimbledon at 16?”

Nothing much because he was 17 then. LOL.

I thought you have some tennis knowledge.

April 14th, 2014 at 6:54 pm

^lol. The only knowledge is based only and solely on Rafa, didn’t you know?

April 14th, 2014 at 7:02 pm

Ben,
Maybe she thought Rafa was really Michael Chang, who, at 17, won FO.
But this happens often when the chest puffing infactuated post.

April 14th, 2014 at 7:05 pm

Skeezer, how puffy is your Fed chest?? Lol

April 14th, 2014 at 7:13 pm

Discussions here remind me of my club, which is at least as dysfunctional as this forum, but at the same time can be a lot of fun…

Question(often discussed, never answered): what is it about tennis that attracts all the eccentrics?

April 14th, 2014 at 7:18 pm

@Conty, Ben:

I watched Novak-Rafa in Miami 2007 today. There is a link on youtube, in French, with excellent comments.

Change their apparel, and you could have the impression that only the haircut has changed, the way they were playing: the overall physiognomy of their matches there didn’t change too much.

But… Novak didn’t search for angles that often, but he had a clearly better forehand then with the Wilson racquet, less spin, usually hit flatter that it is now, especially IO.

He also had a better serve, hitting 130, 132 mph easily.

I believe that his change of racquet was a disastrous decision.

April 14th, 2014 at 7:36 pm

———-
In 2011 it appeared that Nole passed Rafa comfortably. But Rafa recovered well and won 3 more slams where Nole could win only 1 more.
———-
Actually Novak won 2 (two) more slams. I guess that was a typo too, no?

April 14th, 2014 at 7:37 pm

^lol BKR!
—–
5 guys from Spain got through there first match on the Dirt @MC so far. Why is nobody talkin about it?
#nobodycares
#itsnotrafawhocares?
#nothingbutrafamattersinlife,no?
#wednesdayismyrafadayohjoy
—–
“There was not much of a competition on any surface from 2001 till 2007.”
Thats because someone dominated the scene like no other in the history of the game with elegance, grace, and awesomeness. Competition? He owned the word.

April 15th, 2014 at 12:19 am

Slice Tennis should change his/her moniker to “Typo Tennis”, no?

April 15th, 2014 at 1:41 am

#wednesdayismyrafadayohjoy……….You nailed it Skeezer. I hope you’re not too upset about having to wait until Wednesday to see The King……things will pick up a whole lot after he hits the courts on Wed……LOL

April 15th, 2014 at 1:41 am

@Skeeze
Really like RBA, hope he makes some waves.

April 15th, 2014 at 2:13 am

@Okiegal April 15th, 2014 at 1:41 am

Too good………..

April 15th, 2014 at 3:54 am

Skeezer @12.19am just to say i congratulated Verdasco on his title win,and also the other title winners,where nobody else did,and i also congratulated Andrea Petkovic on her title last week where nobody else did,and will congratulate all the spanish players that got through,and also the Brits and any other players that got through,but i wont congratulate Rafa for getting through for fear of sounding like a fanatic,from now on ill keep my congratulations for the other players,and i promise never to congratulate or celebrate another Rafa victory or title ever again,and that will keep everybody happy….

April 15th, 2014 at 4:33 am

Why are Nadal fans obligated to care about other Spanish players? I don’t care about Tipsarevic or Troicki. And I didn’t care for Wawrinka until last year. Now I still don’t care much for him, to be honest, but I have more respect for his game.

Can we all agree that Janowicz is terrible and is never going to be a contender for slams?

April 15th, 2014 at 7:32 am

Ben exactly,also why are Rafas fns crucified for not been interested in Novaks interview?are all Novaks fans interested in everything that Rafa does?err no,why is it an issue that Rogers fans to root for Novak too?and why is it an issue that Rafas fans root for Murray too?

April 15th, 2014 at 7:50 am

And yes i agree in that JJ is the most overated player….

April 15th, 2014 at 7:51 am

Newsflash some of us are not interested in each and eveything that these people say and do when they are not doing their everyday job of playing tennis,some people live their lives through these players,and thats their perogative,some of us dont really care,and are not interested in interviews,TV shows,Autobiographies,award shows,humanitarian gestures(although noteworthy dont get me wrong,but not all of us want to fawn,and back slap these people for it),and thats our perogative,and we shouldnt be crucified for it either….

April 15th, 2014 at 8:05 am

@Nadalista

Yeah, thanks!! I love CC season……..and I’m so ready for Wednesday!!

April 15th, 2014 at 9:24 am

Tanking is not cheating, nadalista.

April 15th, 2014 at 11:24 am

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines tanking thus:

“to make no effort to win a contest (such as a tennis match) : to deliberately lose a game, match,”

During the Olympics in London, a certain Asian team (can’t remember which one exactly) was disqualified for deliberately losing a match i.e. they were deemed to have cheated, contravened the spirit of the sport, connived to fix the outcome of the match.

So Ben Pronin, what exactly is your definition of cheating? Don’t bother. That is a rhetorical question. For you, cheating only applies if it relates to Rafa.

April 15th, 2014 at 12:01 pm

Hippy Chick, any more ambiguous comments without addressing me personally? Stop pouting and reread the posts above and then tell me if the negativity is not omnipresent regarding this player rivalry. Enough said, this tit for tat is just a bit juvenile. I made a tongue in cheek quip and you have taken it personally. Bang a steel drum and blow bugles for whom ever you wish. No one gives a fig! My point was that supporting one player doesn’t mean you have to dislike another. My mistake.

April 15th, 2014 at 12:45 pm

Wheels when im talking about a person i do address them as i dont make indirect sly digs,my post wasnt about you it was a generalisation,i agree supporting one player doesnt mean belittling another,enjoy the tennis….

April 15th, 2014 at 12:57 pm

Cheating: act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, esp. in a game or examination.

Tanking isn’t gaining an advantage. And putting forth a not-best effort isn’t really dishonest or unfair. But it certainly hurts the integrity.

Either way, it doesn’t matter what’s defined by what. The fact remains that there is reason to believe that everyone tanks.

And Nadal cheats regularly by going over the allotted time between points. Why are you a fan again?

April 15th, 2014 at 2:16 pm

So when you say Novak tanked at Rome, why did he tank if not to gain an advantage? Oh yes, he tanked because he felt sorry for Berdych. He had to draw a diagram, “look Ben, I am going to tank so I can gain an advantage like this” or according to you, he tanked because……..he could.

Do you have a brain?

Don’t bother, your friend Sean Randall is going to protect your sensitive Federazzi soul by deleting my post. That is how you people behave. Pathetic. You can start a stupid fight but you do not have the balls to end it. You hide behind the moderators.

I hope Rafa wins everything on clay and you drown in your hate-filled bile.

Make my day, hit the delete button. I’m done.

April 15th, 2014 at 3:01 pm

Nadalista, how old are you? You insult me and then get upset that your post will be deleted. If anything, I’d like for Sean to keep your post so that everyone can see how zany you are.

Tanking isn’t cheating. I have no problem discussing this until the sun sets then comes back up again. Tanking to gain a psychological advantage over your opponent? I mean, honestly, we saw how that worked out.

April 15th, 2014 at 3:46 pm

And saying that tanking is cheating depends on your perspective, clearly. But blatantly violating a rule isn’t open to interpretation. You called Djokovic a cheater for not giving Murray the point in Miami. So by those standards Nadal is a cheater for not giving up a serve, a point, a match, etc. And so is Djokovic and any other offender, for that matter. But you said you’d never be a fan if you thought Nadal was a cheater. It’s an oxymoron.

April 15th, 2014 at 3:49 pm

What if tanking a match was done in order to fix a match? Is it cheating then??

April 15th, 2014 at 4:24 pm

Do you seriously believe tanking is NOT cheating and taking time between points is cheating ?
Sometimes people stoop to ridiculously insane levels to protect their favorites and attack the players they hate.

April 15th, 2014 at 4:26 pm

One is an interpretation and the other is a rule violation. I’m not stooping anywhere.

Okiegal, I wouldn’t call it cheating. Cheating in a sport is when you do something that gives you an advantage over your opponent. That’s my take on it. Tanking is for personal benefit, for the most part. It helps your opponent(s) more than it hurts them. So I don’t think it can be called cheating.

Match fixing is worse than tanking because you don’t want to play someone as far as integrity goes. But I’m not necessarily opposed to it although it is definitely a breach of trust the sports organization puts in the player(s).

April 15th, 2014 at 4:45 pm

Wow. I thought it cannot get funnier. If violating a rule is cheating then breaking racquets and yelling at opponents are also cheating. Fabulous.

April 15th, 2014 at 5:02 pm

If/when a player tanks a match IMO its not cheating,but its unsporting,as it takes away from the opponents victory,i wouldnt like to think any of my favorite(s)doing that,not only that but its hardly fair the public who have paid good money to watch these players,it might help the opponent but the gloss has gone from the win….

April 15th, 2014 at 5:14 pm

@Ben

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve read articles wherein match fixing and tanking showed up in the same sentence. That might be advantageous to the tanker if throwing a match had to do with betting. I personally don’t think I’ve ever seen a match that I felt the player was losing on purpose. It’s probably happened before, but I’ve never seen it. Let’s hope a player would never stoop that low.

April 16th, 2014 at 12:42 am

@5:02 post. Yeah well it just got funnier.
“If violating a rule is cheating then breaking racquets and yelling at opponents are also cheating”
That is the biggest crock post I have seen yet. You’re jokin, right? Dude, know the rules! Show us where in the rule book, not giving your best effort is cheating. There for sure is a rule about too much time in between points. Its no surprise that these types are more involved in what a player looks like than knowing and enjoying the game.
#getarulebook

April 16th, 2014 at 1:45 am

I stream a lot of matches from sportlemon and wow, do the bettors get angry when an apparent fix in on.

Match fixing, I have read, happens more in challengers than atp tour level. Not sure where chatango chatters get the information.

There is all kind of reasons for tanking a match. To me, it is not an honest choice because the fans are not getting a proper competition. Who would pay to see a match if you knew it was going to be a tank job? On the other hand, it is one way of managing a busy schedule, setting one up for a bigger prize, saving wear and tear, ect. A tanker has to be careful about who to tank to and when, I’d guess. I think most of them do it. Do they feel good about it? I would feel dirty and too guilty to do it; but I’m no elite athlete in pro competition.

aijde Nole! he’s looking really good.

April 16th, 2014 at 2:00 am

@Contador

I used to watch live streaming from Sportlemon too. I would chat with those idiots on chat tango. Whoever the administrator of that site was blocked me where my comment couldn’t be read. I could see the comment but no one else could. I don’t know what I did wrong to make them upset……..but I wouldn’t believe anything they said on that goofy chat room…..they said some weird stuff!!

April 16th, 2014 at 2:17 am

@Ok and Conty
The open racism on there is horrible too. Never seems to be moderated.
Wondering if players do “tank” it’s because the schedule is too heavy? Seems to be a straw man to me, how can you prove or disprove? Olympics episode seems to be an exception.

April 16th, 2014 at 2:25 am

@Margot

You are so right about the racism. It gets very vulgar too. I’m no prude but it got down right disgusting. There were some decent posters but for the most part, not! They have some type of moderator, they banned me and never did no why.

I suppose tanking does happen, but I think it’s very dishonest. Some on this forum don’t think it’s cheating, but not so sure. If it’s not in the rule book that tanking is cheating, I think it should
be, imo.

April 16th, 2014 at 2:45 am

Good Morning, Margot : )

Spent some time looking at Andy and Kim photos. Hope they are as happy as they look. Very nice couple. Her hair is fabulous.

Anyway… yeah it is a vulgar cesspool that chattango chat. There are a few regulars that are knowledgeable tennis fans and give out some good betting tips. ChiChiback – I think he used to go by another nickname – chatting tennis with him seems too familiar. And a couple others there that I tend to believe. Otherwise…lol..

There is no proving or disproving. In cycling the governing/ regulating body, UCI, has been complicit in making sure tests are negative for certain players. Pat McQuaid is out and a new guy is in. Hoping new guy is not a sleezeball.

April 16th, 2014 at 2:54 am

Oops went from tanking to advanced medical practices. Meant to say – …no proving or disproving tanking just like in the case of new enhanced medical science in cycling due to corruption in high places.

April 16th, 2014 at 2:59 am

lol, Okie, Sportlemon is a trip.

April 16th, 2014 at 3:04 am

There are some credible tennis fans, though. The frenchies. several of them and a ChiChi the Italian, are quite good. But I have been watching those stream channels since 2009.

I’ll watch challengers if no ATP/WTA matches I like are on. The serious bettors are up for the challengers.

April 16th, 2014 at 3:09 am

How could tanking be proved? If tanking had to do with gambling, it would take someone to blow the whistle to get it out in the open, otherwise it would go on unpunished. I know what I mean, but not sure if anyone else does!! Lol If tanking has to do with match fixing, then that’s cheating…..pure, plain and simple……end of story!

April 16th, 2014 at 3:12 am

@Contador

You got that right! They’re a bunch of nuts on that site. Now, like you said, there are some knowledgeable tennis fans that seem to know the game……but they gave Okiegal the axe!!

April 16th, 2014 at 3:18 am

Watch the score line for oddities when a favored player has a dramatic dip in level and loses. In Davydenko’s case, a some years ago, he tanked a match so obviously – that it was called ‘throwing the match’ ( type of tanking) to make the ‘fix’ work. I feel like such a gangster using these terms, lol.

April 16th, 2014 at 3:24 am

The moderating is really random. I am not a registered chattango user – just stay with anonymous or think up a temporary username. The registered users have more weight when they flag someone to get the axe. Anons are the peasants on there – I can flag all day and night and the offensive or annoying poster will remain. Usually I will ask for everyone to flag the so and so.

April 16th, 2014 at 3:29 am

I’m off to get some sleep, Okiegal. Another busy day – going on 2 in the morning here!

Only watched highlights of matches – missed them yesterday and will miss today too. cheers.

April 16th, 2014 at 3:33 am

@Contador……Yes I too need to hit the sack…2:45 in Ada, Ok. I hope I don’t sleep through Rafa’s match……told hubby to get me up. I hope ESPN live streams MC, I better check that out now! Nite nite!

April 16th, 2014 at 3:50 am

Dolgopolov was well known for tanking matches to appease bettors. I don’t think he’s doing it too much now, though.

April 16th, 2014 at 7:48 am

@Ben

How would anyone know that for sure?

April 16th, 2014 at 8:55 am

Watching his matches, watching the betting patterns. I’m not an expert but I know people who bet regularly and this was just a known thing.

April 16th, 2014 at 9:26 am

@Ben
Yeah, thanks Ben. Not being a gambler, I would not pick up on that at all. Is what you’re saying the tanker is involved in the betting? Ben, I guess you’re gonna have to draw me a picture, I don’t grasp this at all……

#thickheadedokielol

April 16th, 2014 at 9:37 am

First set to Ramos against Grigor. I’m gonna scoot over to another court and watch Stan and Marin. This could be a good competitive match. We will see!

April 16th, 2014 at 9:43 am