More People Watched The Australian Open Women’s Final Than The Men’s Final In The USA

I am not surprised at all. Serena Williams is American and superstar. Probably will end up as GOAT. Maria Sharapova is arguably the biggest female superstar in the world. The mens final had neither Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal: the 2 biggest superstars in the sport. Naturally interest would fall without them. Tournament directors are on record saying ticket sales drop when these 2 don’t show up and it’s for a reason: fans turn up for the stars and these 2 are the stars. Another interesting fact that underlines the lack of star appeal outside fedal: Rafael nadal exited in the QF stage. 5 days layers after the Australian Open finished, post final: the Australian Open announce the most searched individual on social media was Rafael Nadal. After an exit, post final: he was still the one who generated the most interest. And by over 300,000 on the nearest one! And the biggest single day hit after Nadal? You guessed it: Roger Federer. So this is not a surprise to me since the simple truth is: novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are not stars on the level of fedal, shazza and even Serena. They lack the charisma, immediate interest those guys can draw.

February 6th, 2015 at 10:35 am

http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2015-02-01/rafa_the_social_king_.html
@Brando. I posted this on another thread. The others can only dream of being on a par with Rafa’s popularity.

February 6th, 2015 at 10:50 am

off topic, but there are a lot of tweets suggesting bouchard may’ve hired azarenka’s coach.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:10 am

This is funny. Even lower than Novak/ Wawrinka. So much for Murray Mania.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:13 am

The world does not comprise solely of the US where tennis is on par with ten pin bowling in popularity.
The US Open with Andy winning was one of the biggest, bigger than the year before with Nadal and Novak (probably due to UK interest however).
Don’t buy it that Sharapova is a draw either, or with `Charisma` (lol), it’s not quite how I’d decribe it anyway.
Novak & esp Andy will inevitably have their star power raised somewhat if they keep winning, once Fedal (finally) get out out of the way, and the whole marketing machine tilts towards them by necessity.
Time moves on even for great champions.
It’s how it works.
And it can’t be long now, at least for one of them anyway.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:14 am

Andy confirmed for Rotterdam. Excellent field: muzza, wawa, birdman. Strong field that.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:18 am

Also although that US Open final was (worldwide) a bit bigger than the men’s the year before, the Serena final the day before was still viewed by more.
Serena is a GOAT in waiting and has a huge following esp with
Black Americans for obvious reasons.
Had it been a Halep versus Radwanska final, I think we all know know that it would have been slightly less popular.
lol

February 6th, 2015 at 11:20 am

as for the us ratings, it makes total sense given that serena is american and going for historic records at the slams.

also, the men’s final was on the same day as the superbowl this year. people would’ve had to stay up all night on saturday (like i did!) and still have energy for the superbowl that afternoon. a lot of people plan parties etc for that sunday. it could be a contributing factor.

i do know that in terms of AO attendance, they hit an all-time record this year. so the tournament itself is not suffering at all.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:22 am

“The world does not comprise solely of the US where tennis is on par with ten pin bowling in popularity.”

i laughed out loud; i think this is sad but it seems to be true to some extent too, sadly.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:23 am

People dont watch mediocracy and lets face it that is Murray.
Mr. 0 and 1.

Djokovic was handed this slam by aan horen sting in Federers hand.
UNBELIEVABLE.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:26 am

hornet sting….

February 6th, 2015 at 11:26 am

the bloody hornet sting hampered Feds serve. #18 was up for grabs without Cilic.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:30 am

I thought you were a `canuck` Jane?
Once the Brand `Fedal` goes I think tennis will decline somewhat with the general public, they’re `tennis` to many. But the structural building up with more committed fans that has occured should remain as part of their legacy
Andy also seems to be very popular in certain places like Australia and yes the States too, but he won’t `work it`.
Its just not his style.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:44 am

`People dont watch mediocracy and lets face it that is Murray.
Mr. 0 and 1.`

You hold on to that WTF win like your life depended on it.
But there were extenuating circumstances that even a dimwit should accept.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:47 am

Keep in mind that watching Djokovic-Murray matches is a lot like watching track and field. As much as I love tennis and am a big Murray fan, at some level fatigue sets in when these two guys play one another.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:47 am

Bar 2 The Shanghai and Rome masters, where the matches were frankly awesome.
I am not a huge fan of this matchup either.
But I’ll always waych them together as it could potentially be something massive I have missed.
Although usually not.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:50 am

“at some level fatigue sets in when these two guys play one another.”: well as Novak said ‘it was a cat and mouse game’ how many people realistically want to tune into that?

February 6th, 2015 at 11:50 am

Poor Andy Murray. If he wasn’t playing in this golden age of the ATP, he would have been running the table on the rest of the field and would probably have 9 or 10 slams by now. But because he’s up against 3 of the all time greatest players, he gets treated as a journeyman rather than a hall-of-famer.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:51 am

`up for grabs without Cilic..`

?!
Say WHAT?
Bwahahahaha!

February 6th, 2015 at 11:51 am

cdp, yes i am a canuck. but we still see some of that superbowl fervour over here (not with me, that’s for sure!). i was just pointing out that american ratings could’ve been impacted accordingly.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:52 am

`Poor Andy Murray..`

Screw the `poor` stuff
Andy was always the youngest (in mind or matches or age) of the 4 of em.
WE HAVEN’T SEEN THE BEST OF HIM YET…..

February 6th, 2015 at 11:53 am

@brando – I really enjoy watching “cat-and-mouse” tennis, but I actually don’t think that’s the type of tennis played with Novak-Andy matches for the most part. I see it more as the two of them running down everything. In the early stages I’m usually in awe of what they chase down and get back, but then start to feel exhausted watching as it goes on longer.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:53 am

rz, do you really think so? usually andy’s been included in a “big 4” by pundits/media, so to me he hasn’t been treated like a journey man. he’s definitely high profile; higher profile than cilic, wawa or delpo.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:54 am

Andy versus Rafa is Cat and Mouse (when Andy is on) as they are both tactical players at heart.
Novak thinks he’s being more tactical but to me he’s more a rhythmic baseliner with aggressive instincts.
Although he’s always adding stuff, so.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:55 am

@CDP – I’m all for seeing the bet of Murray in the next few years. My point is that tennis fans and media often overlook how good Murray has been these last few years.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:56 am

I saw a poll a few months ago which asked people to rate their favourite rivalries.
Rafa/Nole was top very closed followed by Rafa/Fed, then there was a healthy vote for Nole/Fed. The remaining 3 rivalries involving Murray got a tiny percentage of the vote. Nole/Murray was the highest but even so only got something like 3.5%
This isn’t just about marketing because they tried to hype that rivalry ie Nole/Murray like crazy when rafa was out injured over 2012/13 and everyone was saying he was finished (as Fed really) and that this was going to be THE rivalry.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:57 am

@Jane – I also see Andy as part of the Big 4, and I agree that some media members and fans treat him that way. I was responding to the general negative treatment Murray gets by some posters on Tennis-X and other sites as well as some of the media because he hasn’t won as many big titles as the other 3. I think it’s often overlooked what a high level he has played at consistently over the past few years to be a member of the Big 4.

February 6th, 2015 at 11:59 am

You saw a `poll` then eh
Well that settles it!
Doesn’t it?
hehehe

February 6th, 2015 at 12:00 pm

i think the andy-nole rivalry is changing. they both came to net way more: nole nearly 40 times (winning 26 of 37 approaches for 70%) and andy just over 30 times (winning 23 of 33 approaches for 70%). and that’s over 4 sets.

compare that to fed who approached 50 times in 4 sets versus seppi but won only 29 (or 58%) of those approaches, or to rafa who approached only 8 times versus berdych, and about the same amount of times as nole did in 4 sets in his 5 set match versus smtczek (25/38 for a 66% win rate).

my point is that nole and andy both came in more in the final and both were very successful at net too.

they also used more slice, drop shots, etc., too, this time around. it’s a myth that they just defend or retrieve. they were much more aggressive in this match, and actually that was evident at the us open last year, especially from nole’s end. one of his and becker’s goals is to keep working on shortening points, as they talked about in 2014.

February 6th, 2015 at 12:04 pm

The only way Andy will truly break out is if he starts winning some more effing slams
Looking gorgeous for Sports Illustrated (shudder)
won’t cut it for him!
Nadal 14
Fed 17
Novak 8
Nothing like success to bring on an avalanche of shallow, fair weather fans to your cause.

February 6th, 2015 at 12:04 pm

cdp

yeah you know that thing where large numbers of people get to have their say
it was either in sports illustrated or tennis com

should be banned shouldn’t it…people actually being allowed to express their preferences

February 6th, 2015 at 12:09 pm

`my point is that nole and andy both came in more in the final and both were very successful at net too..

I noticed him coming to the net in every slam final against Andy, once he had won one against him. It seemed to be a specific tactic, I think Novak definitely respects Andy’s game a lot more than your average Tennis X’er does, let’s put it that way.

February 6th, 2015 at 12:10 pm

@Alice

Oh dear, sorry but usually when people say `I saw a poll on blah blah` i switch off.
Now if you could produce it, Id be all ears/eyes :)

February 6th, 2015 at 12:11 pm

@RZ: completely disagree. Should, would, could, if’s are all BS, sorry excuses individuals engage in when reality is not to their liking. As Nadal said: IF does not exist in sport. It is what is. You either accept reality, deal with it or make excuses and start feeling sorry. The way I see it is this: you are in the time you are in. Moping about some other time and how life would be then is pure idiocy. But moreso I agree with Federer: if your good enough, you’ll win regardless of who the opponent is. If your not: you’ll make excuses. For example: Federer was ruling beating everyone left, right. Then came Nadal. Now rafa could easily- and no one would have blamed him- rolled over and lost to time saying “oh I. Am 17, 18,19 I am just developing whilst this guy is number 1, peak age. Excuse me I am too young to be expected to beat him’. He could have said that sorry BS: but he did not. He knew he was good enough: and he won. So for the excuses made by Djokovic fans or Murray fans of the ‘oh they were unlucky to be in fedal era’ is not good enough. Nope. It’s a ridiculous excuse. If your good enough: you beat them and make your name. If not: you cry some sorry ass story. Look at Nadal: he took Federer down when he could easily have excused himself as too young to deal with him. He got whupped 0-7 by Novak, could have chucked in the towel yet he turned that around winning big ones. So it’s simple, clear and correct: if you got the goods- you’ll win regardless of the situation. If you haven’t: you’ll cry some BS story painting yourself as some sad victim. Hence why I never believed in this big 4 crappier. It suggests an equality of status which the trophies suggest ain’t anywhere near the truth. It goes like this: GOAT, GOAT contender, big gap oh about 6 slams worth, an all time great, big gap oh about 6 slams worth, a slam winner with a respectable career. Period. To believe they are on the same level is just pure folly just like the sorry ‘but he was in fedal era excuse BS’. You accept your reality and step up. Period.

February 6th, 2015 at 12:15 pm

`My point is that tennis fans and media often overlook how good Murray has been these last few years..`

They don’t in England.
I think its right too, he simply hasn’t accomplished anything close to what the others have.
My point is you can’t be growing up, getting used to, having surgery, etc forever
There’s no reason now for him not contending for the biggest tournaments.
He needs to have NONSENSE free period where he simply gets his head down and gets on with it!

February 6th, 2015 at 12:15 pm

cdp

I’m pretty sure it was in Sports Illustrated so shouldn’t be very difficult to find!! was a few months ago I think – trying to work and comment at the same time…
Peace!
PS you must be pleased with the outcome of the tournament overall? first slam final after Wimby so really a very positive result overall?
will be favourite for Wimbledon I think

February 6th, 2015 at 12:16 pm

PEACE
And as for the other, we shall see :)

February 6th, 2015 at 12:24 pm

@Brando – I’m not saying that to make excuses for Andy, and obviously my saying that he would have won X slams if others weren’t at the same time is purely hypothetical. I’m just adding context to his “tennis resume”. Andy’s numbers of titles, match wins, etc., are well below those of Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal. But they are much, much higher than any other player out there. The overall point I’m trying to make: Murray is NOT a mediocre player as some are stating.

February 6th, 2015 at 12:28 pm

nole won 8 slams – joining elite historical company himself – by beating the 2 best players in slam-winning history in either the semis or finals, for all but 2 of his wins (AO 13, 15 where he beat andy). i should think we wouldn’t need to make excuses. :) rather, i feel immensely proud.

February 6th, 2015 at 12:32 pm

@RZ: only a clown would call him mediocre. So forget the idiots who call him that since it takes an idiot to do such a thing. 2 grand slams, Olympic gold medal, 10 master series title, gs final wins v novak, slam wins, major matches won v fedal and that guy is mediocre? Only a tool would say that.Andy and Novak have had a career as good as fedal: they bust their backside and got the titles their tennis merited. You cannot ask for more than doing your best, and then whatever your labor is worth you’ll gain. They are happy with their lot and so they should be. If you look at them individually: you’ll appreciate them. But if you start the comparison game: then they’ll start looking quite inferior in some cases. So best just appreciate them for what they are rather than comparing them to someone else.

February 6th, 2015 at 12:34 pm

To me, someone stating Andy is a `mediocre player` is one of those barometer things where I judge a persons intellect.
It’s like if they said they would use their tongue to check if their car battery was not flat.
Or think Sarah Palin would have made a good President.
One of those kind of statements really.
The fact that `spelling bee champion` Sienna up there made this claim says as much as we need to know about that character really.
lol

February 6th, 2015 at 12:36 pm

“i should think we wouldn’t need to make excuses. “: best remind yourself that next time you drop the 1.0,2.0 BS no?

February 6th, 2015 at 12:40 pm

The widely popular global sports tend to have lesser popularity in US. Take for instance, football ( the one they play with the foot), a sport that’s so widely followed in any continent but not that much in the US barring the pacific northwest and California to some extent.
With no real big superstars from the American side in male tennis today, tennis popularity has naturally declined over the years.

Besides, it’s a place where people are crazy about Handegg … I mean football … American football that is. Wasn’t the superbowl scheduled to be played within 12 hours after the AO final ?

February 6th, 2015 at 12:52 pm

“1.0,2.0 BS” i have no idea what this is?

February 6th, 2015 at 1:00 pm

The commentators were talking about how great the crowds were at the AO this year, attributing it to the run of the Aussie players. Fed or Rafa not being in the finals against Novak made a big difference in the interest, which I’m sorry to say, but that’s a fact, like it or not. I, a loyal Rafa fan, watched every bit of the final and stayed up all night to boot! I would have loved for Andy to win it, but Novak was just too good. I watched Serena and Shazza and endured the shrieks and screams. That’s a great rivalry. However, Maria made a comment that you could hardly call it a rivalry, being she hadn’t beaten her in forever. I watch tennis even though my guy fell by the wayside! I love me some tennis!!

February 6th, 2015 at 1:08 pm

^grow a brain cell and you’ll work it out Sherlock. I’ll give you a clue: its sorry BS yapped by a fanbase that wish to EXCUSE their fav from certain years. You should be familiar to them when your not being a busy bee making excuses about pregnancy, weather, fedal, facing mighty granollers, oh the ball doesn’t bounce high, rigged draws etc and the colossal load of supporting drivel a ‘proud’ fan makes.

February 6th, 2015 at 1:11 pm

…and i thought we were having a civil discussion on here. carry on then.

February 6th, 2015 at 1:12 pm

Murray is mediocre compaired to the elite and only big 3.
with fed far from being caught.

Murray willnever win slams with the tennis Cilic showed.
dominating tennis and slam wins look who is not there….

Laver, Connors, Borg, Mcenroe, Lendl, Becker, Wilander, Sampras, Agassi, Krajicek, Kuerten, Hewitt, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Cilic.

Those are the slamwinners in modern era who totally where on top of tennis world and won there slam accordingly.

These winners where not to be denied by anyone and dominated the slam they won.

with all the other winners the feeling is someone else would do a better Job.

February 6th, 2015 at 1:12 pm

http://www.sportsnet.ca/tennis/report-bouchard-hires-sumyk-as-new-coach/

so does anyone know if bouchard hired azarenka’s coach “away” from azarenka, or had they had already split after the AO?

February 6th, 2015 at 1:19 pm

Brando, how about you relax and take some time off from posting nonsense no one cares about?

February 6th, 2015 at 1:32 pm

‘Civil discussions’? Lmao that’s courtesy I’ll extend to those who merit it. Not cowardly, hypocritical weasels who engage in double standards. Not with them no. Especially when they poodle after your posts, respond sheepishly, and when addressed: respond abysmally. I only wish such tools do not read or refer to my posts in any way, shape or form. A task I imagine even a child can manage, let’s see if lassie can.

February 6th, 2015 at 1:35 pm

Lmao: I speak of lassie, and enters the poodle who follows me around on here. That’s called timing!

February 6th, 2015 at 1:37 pm

wow, what a sad little pickle.

February 6th, 2015 at 1:46 pm

Two things:
I keep hearing two things over and over again:
‘Andy is better tactician then Novak’….
so why he can not beat Novak??
He hits harder and he is fit as Novak.So if he was also better tactician then why he can bloody win????
‘Andy is much better grass player the Novak’….
2 Wimby vs 1 Wimby…
Andy could be better grass player, right? But until he has 2 Wimbledons like Novak ,it is kind of silly claim?
I like Andy and other two (Fed and Rafa ) but with constant talk that Novak is mentally weak, Andy better in this and that, Fed is incarnation of Jesus himself, Rafa is biggest warrior in the world, I wonder how this skinny dipstick of Novak manages to win 7 GS ( and tones of Masters and No1 weeks…) in last 4 years????

February 6th, 2015 at 1:48 pm

Lets immediately send some chill pills to Brando…

February 6th, 2015 at 1:53 pm

I see the faker’s fans have become much too vocal since his controversial victory in AO. Here’s hoping someone or something will shut them up soon. This is too much already!

February 6th, 2015 at 1:54 pm

That stung. Deeply. Very deeply. Being considered as such from a pessimistic whinge bag. Oh the pain.

February 6th, 2015 at 1:54 pm

@courbon: lol: don’t worry I’m through with the miser who poodles after me around here. As for Novak: it’s this. Tactically Andy being considered superior? That’s a long held old opinion. Mainly because he can have a plan A,B,C. Him being better on grass? That’s mainly because of their tennis. The naked eye for many favours Andy over Novak on grass. How skinny dipstick wins 7 slams? Easy. You wait for Federer to turn 30, make hay for a one off year, and win when Nadal ain’t around. I think they call it: the mice nimbles at the cheese when the cat ain’t around! Just taking piss: I can get how some of his fans think he never gets credit.

February 6th, 2015 at 2:03 pm

Courbon, I wanna try answering this:
‘Andy is better tactician then Novak’
I think this is overblown because of how hyped Murray was when he was coming up. There’s no question Murray has a great tennis mind. And it’s not like he can’t beat Djokovic. Meanwhile everyone continues to overlook Djokovic even while he’s number 1 and holding 2 slams. But to get that far in the first place, he’s gotta be pretty smart, right? So yeah, I think that’s a classic case of undermining Djokovic because everyone hates him and thinks you can luck your way into 8 slams.

‘Andy is much better grass player the Novak’
Well, again, because everyone wants to assume Djokovic sucks on grass. Even though he has 3 semifinal finishes and 1 additional final to go with his 2 titles. In fact, he’s been the Wimbledon player in the last 4 years. But they’re also his only 2 grass court titles. And while they’re the biggest, that doesn’t take anything away from Murray’s multiple Queens titles. Plus he’s 2-0 and 5-0 in sets against Djokovic. So while Djokovic might be the greater player, I think we should admit Murray is probably better on grass from a technical standpoint. Not that it couldn’t change.

February 6th, 2015 at 2:18 pm

also ben, nole won his wimbledon titles against rafa and federer in the finals, rafa in 2011 when he was #1. and nole stopped playing queens and halle after 2010 so he hasn’t put himself in contention for any other grass titles than wimbledon since then, which is worth noting. all that said, agree with you that andy’s own record over nole suggests that he’s better on the surface, given that nole hasn’t even won a set against him.

February 6th, 2015 at 2:29 pm

@ Ben Pronin:
I completely agree with the first point and second point?-you explained well.Andy is probably better grass player, as you pointed to me,but watching Novak-Delpo latch last year , I thought that was one of best grass matches I have seen, so Novak ain’t that bad on the grass.

February 6th, 2015 at 2:37 pm

“I wonder how this skinny dipstick of Novak manages to win 7 GS ( and tones of Masters and No1 weeks…) in last 4 years????”

Lol loved it. Go courban;)

February 6th, 2015 at 2:38 pm

Lmfao: this is really good. “What Is Andy Murray thinking looking at Djokovic”:http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/02/andy-murray-novak-djokovic-photo-australian-open-what-is-andy-thinking

February 6th, 2015 at 2:38 pm

This one killed it: 6. “You told me you voted for my mother on Strictly Come Dancing, the UK’s version of Dancing With the Stars, but they don’t accept international phone calls, Novak. They. Don’t. Accept. International. Calls.”

February 6th, 2015 at 2:41 pm

“watching Novak-Delpo latch last year , I thought that was one of best grass matches I have seen”

corboun, i loved that match too! it was fabulous tennis but also played in such good spirit and sportsmanship. delpo was very entertaining that day, joking around, but fighting hard, as it turned out the longest semi in wimbledon history. in fact delpo played well on grass in 2012 generally. hoping he’s back to his best soon.

February 6th, 2015 at 2:44 pm

^oops sorry for misspelling: courbon.

February 6th, 2015 at 2:45 pm

If the grass played like that of old I think Andy would have more of a clear advantage in grass. Nole imo still weak in the transition game. But its not the old days, and grass gives you a nice bounce these days. As others have mentioned his results on grass are not too shabby. Also Nole covers that up so dang well with the rest of his game. His serve( not appreciated enough, remember when his serve sucked? ), return, awesome movement, and still the best technical GS in the game today.

February 6th, 2015 at 2:47 pm

: Brando Same as Nadal gets stick for being ‘one dimensional’, ‘doper’ ( not guilty until proven ) and other things, You ( and any other Nadal fan ) get fed up. Same is with Novak and his fans, as myself.
In every joke there is truth so let me put my point of view:
If Novak winning in last 4 years is due to Federer’s age and Nadal injury, then surely Nadal and Fed have dominated because Novak ( and Andy) have been too young, and if my memory serves me right, Nadal have been winning GS from beginning and he was injured in the past also ( 2009, 2007?).?? And arguments can go and go forever…but simple truth is Fed and Rafa have been superior players until 2011 and then Novak ( and Andy to certain point ) catch up with them.Sure, it is easier with Fed being older but then it was easier for Fed having kid Novak across the net in 2007 ( for example ) then today’s Novak…and so on, so on…
you mentioned couple of times same thing_17/14/8 and you are right. That matters the most-when, how, weak or strong era-it matters only to tennis enthusiast as us, but generally it does not.

February 6th, 2015 at 2:58 pm

skeezer, honest question that i don’t know the technical ins/outs of – if nole’s transition game is still weak would he be less successful at net? i ask because generally he’s been winning around 70% of points at net for the last year or so. i feel like it’s improved in that area with becker? also agree with you that the serve has also.

February 6th, 2015 at 3:03 pm

@Courbon – something to consider is the difference between tactics and execution. Being a great/better tactician doesn’t do a whole lot if you can’t execute on it. I would think that all players would have a hard time working their tactics against an in-form Djokovic because he has such a comprehensive game that involves both good offense and good defense. That’s why some of his matches in particular against Rafa and Murray seem to become a war of attrition.

February 6th, 2015 at 3:13 pm

@courbon: lol are you kidding me? Nadal is only a year older than andole so his so called advantage is BS. And Fed? Who’s the one who best Novak ending his run in 2011? Who slapped him off court in Shanghai last year? Who barely last a grand slam final aged nearly 33? Oh yeah: the same guy who kept on spanking him in big ones: Fed. Everyone knows Federer matches up brilliantly with Novak, has no matchup issues with him and the simple truth is: physically, mentally, technically and talent wise is the superior player. Do you honestly think a 27 year old Federer would go into a Wimbledon final as the underdog like he was last year v novak? That he would lose to a novak who was mentally crumbling badly at times? We all know the answer to that one: he’ll spank him in straight sets. Murray can: Federer would do even worse. So sorry: Nadal is only a year older than these ‘junior’ players, and Federer: come on now- barring Nadal whose butt did he not kick badly? He’s just a superior talent who Nadal aside would dominate today had he been the same age. Physically Federer is a specimen and mentally, gamewise he’s clearly the superior to Novak in his prime. Had all these guys been the same age how much difference would be there? Rolland garros- still Nadal would top them. Wimbledon- straight to Federer. Only ones affected would be AO/USO: who would that affect most? Novak. He’s barely 2-2 v Nadal in HC finals, has his struggles v Andy: imagine if he had to deal with 9 HC slam Federer in his prime. He’d get spanked. It is what it is. Fed has 17 for a reason, Nadal 14 and the others what they do: since that’s how their tennis stacks up over the course of their career.

February 6th, 2015 at 3:15 pm

@ jane:I’m glad you said that, because I remember that match very well.Delpo was a class, so it was Novak.I think, everybody miss Delpo.

@ skeezer:You have to fight for your rights (Beastie Boys§)
I get your point, you are right.
I think Novak will get better on the grass because of-Boris Becker.You see, I heard it through the grapevine ( Belgrade is big village, everybody are cousins there-somebody in Novaks team is married to sister of my childhood friend etc,etc;;;; ) that year and half ago, Novaks team decide it to go Federer’s way.It is simple-Courts are getting faster, Novak is getting older, so his game had to get changed ( but slowly)-he has to serve better, shorten points with better net play and so on….He has to play faster tennis, more agressive ,’shorter’ tennis.And hence hiring of Becker ( Sampras would be maybe better? )… We will see.

February 6th, 2015 at 3:24 pm

jane,
I guess what I meant and was hoping to say was that the transition game for Nole is the weakest part still, not that it’s that bad. And yes he has improved.
I see that when he played Fed at times, when Fed was in form, exploited this by mixing up short chips and slices where Nole needed to step in and attack and follow through to the net. He seemed uncomfortable and it made him get out of his GS rhythm. That said, yes he is improving and I hope he keeps Becker around longer. IMO if he brought him on board to help him with that area, he’s a great guy to have on board.
Whats laughable is ….does he really need a strong transition game? Probably not, not until he loses a bunch of matches as a result of it. The guy is a stud right now, and if he wins a couple more Slams this year, there will be lots more to talk about gong into his future…

February 6th, 2015 at 3:31 pm

Frenchie, how is it going, you are on a roll:)

February 6th, 2015 at 3:31 pm

@ Brando: You have to be right always, don’t you?
You did not understand or even read my post properly.
Fed in his prime lost to Novak plenty of times-(2010 US open) and Nadal lost plenty times from Novak ( for some reason 2011 springs to my mind…hmmm…) in his prime. But my point was not about who is better , if they are all in their prime-my point was that Novak plays great tennis in the last 4 years regardless of Fed and Rafa.

February 6th, 2015 at 3:47 pm

Hey Skippy, what’s up down under?

February 6th, 2015 at 3:48 pm

@ RZ: Agree.Execution and tactics-two separate things

February 6th, 2015 at 3:53 pm

@courbon: lol C: I like you too much to beef with you chief. Your point that Novak has played great tennis over last 4 years…….. I agree to. 2011 is obvious, and the fall season every year he’s been Federer like clinical. grand slam wise? His best grand slam play for me was in USO 12′: that was some epic HC tennis and he deserved that title I thought. His tennis especially v del Porto was amazing. And I also thought his performance was good in Wimbledon 13′ until final. Again: del potro match was good. Yes: he has been good.

February 6th, 2015 at 3:58 pm

Frenchie, I am am just about to leave for the biggest Serbian festival in the world outside Serbia. It last two days in the heart of Sydney, have a look at this link and how it was previous years, first klip was made north of Sydney, wine region called Hunter valley, the place I wanted to buy skeezer some Shiraz, second is event itself:

http://youtu.be/qXpshIu_StI

http://youtu.be/SzAhAMYalvk

Jane, ignore the loser Louie the Fly:)

February 6th, 2015 at 4:02 pm

skeezer, thanks for the feedback. yes, after all becker seems like he’s been good for nole. i think they work; they “get” each other. and becker has specific skills that he can help nole with, as evidenced by his more consistent serving. until the semis at the AO nole had been broken only once. and in the final versus fed, i don’t think (?) he was broken until the 4th set. we’ll see if he can keep working on the transitions but hopefully. whether he needs to, as courbon says, the goal is to follow fed’s lead and try to shorten points.

wog boy, no worries. have fun at the festival.

February 6th, 2015 at 5:18 pm

^ should say *wimbledon final versus fed…

February 6th, 2015 at 5:19 pm

Enjoy the festival bad knees rules.

February 6th, 2015 at 5:26 pm

Speacking of Becker, I realized that all those who cast a doubt on Becker’s hiring back in December 2013 have been proven so wrong. I remember there were a lot of people on tennis-x who thought this was a dumb hiring. I guess there were quite a few in the entire tennis fraternity who thought so. I ,for one, can say I wasn’t among them. In fact, all the Nole fans I know here were very excited about it.

There is an important lesson in this: the best decisions a grown-up can make for himself(herself) are more likely to come from himself(herself).

February 6th, 2015 at 5:29 pm

@patson: vajda told him to hire Becker.

February 6th, 2015 at 5:34 pm

Wog Boy: It really looks good-Guca, down under!
Hunter valley has some good wines and Cloudy Bay ( Chardonnay )

Thank you for the links, once more

February 6th, 2015 at 5:40 pm

some pretty awesome hard court players playing right now on the men’s side.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B82HUFrCIAEGMAs.png

February 6th, 2015 at 11:17 pm

^ that’s number of titles – and 3 of the most winningest of all time.

not to mention the top clay courter ever.

we really should appreciate it all a little more than we sometimes do. whether you want to argue weak era or new technology or whatever, it doesn’t matter. their achievements have entered the realm of greatness.

and they’re not done yet. <3

February 6th, 2015 at 11:20 pm

@Brando

source ? I don’t really think you have any source to back your claim.

February 7th, 2015 at 2:14 am

If you’ve read “approved and supported by Vajda” at different places, that doesn’t necessarily mean “Vajda told him to do so”.

February 7th, 2015 at 2:17 am

Wogboy i wont mention the bromance thing ever again promise,its just when you see a player whom is your favorite/second favorite whatever?,then it becomes irritating when youve lost 4 finals at the same GS,3 to the exact same player,so that sometimes clouds my judgement as it does with all of us at times i wouldve thought?and because Andy hasnt contested a GS final since Wimbledon 2013,or beaten Novak since then,i had hopes of him getting back into the winners circle,sadly it wasnt to be so better luck to him next time,i just want him to GET some wins under his belt against his rival,in what seems to be the top rivalry ATM,i just sometimes get irritated with all the hard luck stories that come with Andy and his career,enjoy the festival i wish i was going….

February 7th, 2015 at 6:52 am

Since when has mass popularity had anything whatever to do with quality? If it had, Joan Sutherland (Australia’s top opera singer of recent decades) would have been as rich as Kylie Minogue.
That’s just one example; there are endless others.

In the UK, except when Wimbledon’s on, it’s hard to find much mention of tennis in the tabloids amongst all the goddam football. As for the Aussie Open, said tabloids were more interested in the Kim Sears vocabulary than in the tennis.

February 7th, 2015 at 7:01 am

@patson: to be honest I cannot be bothered to search for an article. My understanding is based on what I read at the time: that vajda was the coach, who left due to a ill wife, suggested go for Becker since he can x,y,z for your game. Then a move was made. Either way: I have no issue about your point. andy did so more than anyone really. Hiring a female coach when no one else would: that definitely is brave and individual ridden decision.

February 7th, 2015 at 7:50 am

Colin i wonder how the tabloid press,and also the posters on this forum wouldve reacted about Tomas Berdych girlfriend Esthers vocabulary had it been her rather than Kim Sears,especially given the negativity Berdych has to stomach on this forum?….

February 7th, 2015 at 8:04 am

“to be honest I cannot be bothered to search for an article.”
And there ya go. Proof.

February 7th, 2015 at 8:06 am

^I hope you take that attitude the next time idiots baselessly start a rafa and doping attack. Or maybe you’re too much of a hypocrite to apply the same standard in all cases? Based on your previous history…….I won’t hold my breath!

February 7th, 2015 at 8:57 am

I have to say that I am impressed with Ms. Lady Forehand’s (aka Kim, the Swearess) vocabulary.

It is the first time in my life I was able to understand a scotsman (or woman).

February 7th, 2015 at 10:19 am

Today Djoker is struggling with youngsters already…every slam he goes through need 5 setters.

The 5 setters will turn into losses.

People keep dreaming he will stay the same condition, the older the player is he loses flexibility. The ROS,FH,BH defensive will drop, volley bricks will stuck at net.

February 7th, 2015 at 10:33 am

Brando,
Read articles. Books. Research. Get educated, posting all the time does not make one an authority on a topic.
Oh and about this ;
“Hiring a female coach when no one else would: that definitely is brave and individual ridden”

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/09/toni-nadal-davis-cup-coach-spain-woman-rafael-gala-leon-garcia

Not the only one who hired a female coach.

February 7th, 2015 at 10:38 am

jane,
Nice stat. So do you think Nole has a shot at surpassing Fed on HC wins? C’mon now don’t be shy …;)

February 7th, 2015 at 10:41 am

Lots of intelligent discussion from Jane, Patson and Skeezer.

A shame the same can’t be said for brando who clearly needs to get into the shoes of calm down please.

A few of you have commented on Murray. I think he did well to reach the final, as he said, after so many criticisms about Amelie. Still, he just fell short, but honestly? Can anyone stop Novak right now?

I don’t believe so. He is unstoppable and though they started out together, him and Murray, I think Murray will beat him in the next 12 months. Novak cannot keep up that level of play surely it will be impossible to do so?

Seemed Murray had a bit of a melt down in the third set, because the first two sets were mesmerising. It’s a shame that people concentrate on the negatives all the time and not the positives.

He is still part of the elite and there is no one in the GB team who comes close to Murray. James is doing well, having broken into the top 100, but still has a way to go.

Murray still needs to shape and craft his game, but then, who doesn’t?

Roll on Wimbledon. That’s what I say! Oh. Of course, it’s clay court now, smash, bang, wallop. I hope there is more variety and competition because clay court swing is becoming a tad boring.

February 7th, 2015 at 11:03 am

Yep, what retort does the poodle provide? Another Nadal pot shot. Surprised? Not.

February 7th, 2015 at 11:03 am

Madmax. Fed is talking to a parrot on another thread. Would you like to join him and share some unintelligent conversation? Yeah, go on you can do it! Lol

February 7th, 2015 at 11:42 am

^you guys as usual provide no substance to a post…yakkity yak.
go talk to a parrot, what does a poodle provide, and so on. What was a tennis discussion gets relegated to the usual Rafa fan duo throwing insults, or at least tries to.

February 7th, 2015 at 12:45 pm

“Rafa fan”: another day, same old obsession for dinosaur.

February 7th, 2015 at 1:09 pm

skeezer, it’s possible by the time nole retires? but it’s an outside chance, and it depends on so much: how much longer will roger play? will nole stay injury-free? he’s 19 behind so that’s a lot of catching up to do. let’s say he wins 4-5 a year and plays 5 more years, that would get him close. i think he’d have to add smaller events too. if roger keeps playing, he keeps adding. so who knows? it’s just amazing that we have 3 of the highest hard court title players playing right now. hard court competition is high.

patson, FYI, nole’s website said this:

“Marian Vajda has been together with Novak since 2006, and as he says, they both decided to invite Becker to join the team.”

maybe they discussed potential options since it was clear marian wanted to travel less and they came up with becker together.

February 7th, 2015 at 1:19 pm

“let’s say he wins 4-5 a year ….”
I thought there were 4 grand Slams in a year. Of course joker is a superman and therefore he can win 5 GS’s when there are only 4! These joker fans are getting carried away me thinks.

February 7th, 2015 at 1:36 pm

I will guarantee you one thing, Nole didn’t come up with Boris by himself. As long as Marian has been his coach, I feel like Nole would ask him who would be best for his game. I wouldn’t be surprised if Marian didn’t drop Becker’s name first. I remember last year when Novak lost some matches the TX

February 7th, 2015 at 1:36 pm

I will guarantee you one thing, Nole didn’t come up with Boris by himself. As long as Marian has been his coach, I feel like Nole would ask him who would be best for his game. I wouldn’t be surprised if Marian didn’t drop Becker’s name first. I remember last year when Novak lost some matches the TX talk was all about blaming Boris for the losses. Some thought he should be relieved of his coaching duties. Now, I don’t know if these naysayers were Novak fans or not, but I do remember the discussions. But now look at the situation…..Boris is in the box, and I don’t believe I saw Marian??
TBH, I’m not sure. But none the less, Novak is playing great and I guess we will have to give Boris some of the credit……but personally I think Novak could play fabulous tennis if his box was empty! :)

February 7th, 2015 at 1:45 pm

jane,

I agree, he has a shot, but there are a lot of variables in play. He has the potential to dominate the HC series if he stays focused, minimal injuries and doesn’t burn out in the years to come. Navigating his schedule will be important also. It will be exciting to see.
Am most interested to see how he is going to do in the upcoming CC season.
Thanks for clarifying the Vajda/Becker issue.

February 7th, 2015 at 1:46 pm

Oops, sorry peeps, I didn’t realize that post was sent before I was finished……excuse me plz….bad
PC skills….. :(

February 7th, 2015 at 1:48 pm

okie, from the beginning of the becker coaching relationship, it was decided that vajda would attend only 4 tournaments a year so that’s why we don’t see him in the box much. i think iw or miami is one of those events, so we should see him at one of them. roma might be another.

there’s an interview with nole where he says that he, marian and the whole team were already talking about getting another person to work with them as early as mid-2013, someone who could add new things to nole’s game and be around more. in the same interview, nole says he wanted becker so he could improve his german. hee hee ;)

February 7th, 2015 at 2:10 pm

Giles,
read 11:17 post…and the link….read it again, and again…an repeat,,,,,maybe then you can understand the conversation, no?
These rafa fans…

February 7th, 2015 at 2:15 pm

giles i guess you don’t even know what we’re talking about eh? maybe read the thread / look at links before you pipe in! we’re talking about hard court titles in general.

February 7th, 2015 at 2:15 pm

“These rafa fans… Always on my mind. I poodle after them, harrass them shamelessly.”: fixed for you grandpa.

February 7th, 2015 at 2:18 pm

@Giles: lol, easy my man. Discussion is about whether novak can pass Federer’s HC title count. Probably will. Records always get broken, set, broken again: nature’s law. He’d deserve it also as Federer’s record is packed out with 250 points titles. Hrs the all time 350 title winner, which beefs his haul up big time. Won a 250 title earlier this year even. Whereas novak only played his first 250 in 4 years and probably at least 5 since last 250 on HC. But ultimately, 9 HC with a perfect 5 USO, 4 AO > 6 HC with 5 on AO.

February 7th, 2015 at 3:07 pm

250 title not 350. He’s won an insane 23 of them. Rafael in comparison has won only 7. So you can how that may have beefed up his title count, especially on HC.

February 7th, 2015 at 3:11 pm

Brando,
Don’t speak on my behalf or you’ll get reported.
Speak for yourself, you’re good at that.

February 7th, 2015 at 3:38 pm

@brando. Oh ok.

February 7th, 2015 at 3:39 pm

@Jane…….Well, whatever it is that they’re doing…….it’s working!! I think I heard someone comment that his different language skills were better than Federer…….could that even be
possible?? Lol

February 7th, 2015 at 5:40 pm

@Okiegal, I’m really curious about your language skills comment. I don’t think Nole’s English is quite on par with Federer’s, and doesn’t Federer natively speak Swiss-German, German, and French just by virtue of growing up in Switzerland? So how would that even work? I think Novak might (at least partially) speak more languages at this point, but I don’t know (Jane?). Anyway, I’m always in awe of these guys’ and gals’ multilingualities.

And, no, I’m not trying to start a language GOAT argument here.

February 7th, 2015 at 6:52 pm

Djokovic by language experts who have commented, is a more talented polyglot than Federer. Federer is very good, but Djoker is more articulate and covers a wider range. He is now fluent in French, working on widening his CHinese and some Japanese conversational skills, and told people on his Latin American exo in 2013 that he will be trying to get Spanish very soon. He already is somewhat conversational in Spanish, and has the pronunciation down. And he reads Russian.
Rafa is very good at the skill of translating English into English.
I believe Daniela Hantuchova is another polyglot.

================
Many posts about that edge of your seat thriller between Delpo and Nole at Wimbledon in 2013. And you also had Djoker in the 5 setter with STan at the AO and Rafa in the FO semi that were also best of the best, Top 3 matches of 2013.
But there’s something about Delpo playing the Top 3. He had times when he showed he was as good or better. You get a sense of what could have been if the injuries and surgeries and rehab hadn’t happened to Juan from 2010 onwards.

February 7th, 2015 at 7:50 pm

@autoFilter……Oh no, don’t want to start a GOAT war on the most affluent language person on the circuit either! Just conversation to Jane. The commentators at the AO this year brought it up. I watch here in US so it was either P-Mac or Chris Fowler, I believe……but can’t be totally sure…but someone did. I suppose Novak speaks Serbian, of course. He speaks French and English, but don’t know what else……maybe German?? His faithful follower Jane needs to tell us. How about it Jane?? Enlighten us.

February 7th, 2015 at 9:11 pm

I should have read the post by Chris Ford1 before I put in my two cents, he seems to know all about Novak and his language speaking skills……sorry!

February 7th, 2015 at 9:15 pm

Main difference is that Roger was born, raised and grew up with German, French, English and Afrikaner (his mother is South African) and partly Italian, Nole had to learn to speak all this languages in later stages of his (young) life, you will have to admitt that is quite an effort regardless of who speaks more languages, I think Roger does, but will not put my money on it.

February 7th, 2015 at 9:31 pm

sorry, am late to the conversation. to be honest, i have no idea who’s better, or even if it matters. however, i do think it’s cool that the top players are so adept with languages: fed and nole with a number of them. impressive.

February 7th, 2015 at 10:08 pm

Fed and Nole, kudos to there language skills. Should be expected in this global sport, and shows there desire to communicate the Tennis game to the world. Others wishing to contribute to the Tennis games greater good should take notice!

February 7th, 2015 at 11:02 pm

Madmax @February 7th 11.03am,the CC swing was quite open last year,not the usual Rafa dominance that people dont care for which is understandable i suppose unless your a fan,if i remember rightly Ferrer,Almagro,Nole,all beat Rafa on clay,and Nishikori should have won Barcelona but for his injury,and Grigor won Acapulco,hes getting older now so its inevitable that the dominance will start to fade,if it hasnt already,time will tell,wouldnt be surprised if we have a new champion at RG this year too?….

February 8th, 2015 at 1:59 am

@Okiegal,

Fair enough. I am just very curious about how these players do it with languages. It’s one thing if you are like Federer and are lucky to have grown up in a region where multiple languages are in common use, but to achieve fluency as a teenager or adult with limited and sporadic opportunity for immersion is exceptionally difficult.

As far as I’ve been able to find, Djokovic is fluent in Serbian, English, and perhaps Italian. His French seems about a 2 on the ILR scale (probably somewhere between A2 and B1 on CEFR), which is very cool but nowhere near native fluency. And unverifiable sources say his German is maybe slightly more advanced than his French, I dunno.

Hantuchova, evidently, is fluent in German, Slovak, and English, speaks some Italian, and additionally understands Czech, Slovenian, and Croatian. Also, she is a classically trained pianist — you can find various clips of her playing on youtube, but the several I clicked on all feature Für Elise, so…

February 8th, 2015 at 7:13 am

Hippy Chick Says:
Madmax @February 7th 11.03am,the CC swing was quite open last year,not the usual Rafa dominance that people dont care for which is understandable i suppose unless your a fan,if i remember rightly Ferrer,Almagro,Nole,all beat Rafa on clay,and Nishikori should have won Barcelona but for his injury,and Grigor won Acapulco,hes getting older now so its inevitable that the dominance will start to fade,if it hasnt already,time will tell,wouldnt be surprised if we have a new champion at RG this year too?….

February 8th, 2015 at 1:59 am

Hey Hippy, how are you?

You know I wasn’t actually referring to Rafa which brando, WRONGLY thought. Seems they need to get their pipes cleaned out in a big way. Go for the rear clean out, if you know what I am saying.

I find that there are too many CC tournys. Simple as that. The reason why I said, roll on Wimbledon.

The creme de la creme. Even if the fed doesn’t come close to the final. It’s just days and days of wonderful bliss to me. Love that tournament, and in my own back yard, so to speak.

So shuve that where the sun don’t shine brando.

You have become a first class old grump.
Yes Hippy, as you rightly mention, Rafa wasn’t around so much, and didn’t win the tournys outright – good to know that there is a real rafa fan out there,someone who doesn’t spew crap.

Brando Says:
Yep, what retort does the poodle provide? Another Nadal pot shot. Surprised? Not.

February 7th, 2015 at 11:03 am

Brando, get a life. Your posts are clogging up this site with ordinary conversation.

February 8th, 2015 at 10:36 am

Hi Madmax im good thanks,Rafas arguably the best ever when it comes to clay,however im not arrogant enough that i expect him to dominate outright every year just because its clay,as nothing lasts forever,i love all the surfaces,and as much as i love what Rafas done on clay im realistic enough to know it will end eventually,i know its small by comparison but i actually treasure the 5 GS hes won off clay now,even though he doesnt get much credit for them,but thats life it is what it is….

February 8th, 2015 at 10:46 am

Lmfao: now I have retard poodling after me when no reference was ever made to the clown. The fanclub just keeps on growing.

February 8th, 2015 at 11:37 am

“These rafa fans… “

February 8th, 2015 at 12:01 pm

@autoFilter

I really don’t know how they have time to even work language lessons into their busy schedules. They all should be commended for it. When the summer Olympics were held in China, Michael Phelps learned Chinese by using the Rosetta Stone series. Maybe that is how our smart tennis players are learning all these different tongues! All the power to them for wanting to give their thank you speeches in the native tongue of the host tournament……

February 8th, 2015 at 12:29 pm

@Skeezer 12:01…….Are you talking about me??

February 8th, 2015 at 12:35 pm

^Or me?^….

February 8th, 2015 at 12:40 pm

No and no. If you read the thread you’ll know who ;). Maybe should have clarified it with “these types”.🎾

February 8th, 2015 at 12:44 pm

@Skeezer….OK……just wondering! [:)))…My smiley has a crew cut and double chins…..anyone like my creation?? Lol

February 8th, 2015 at 1:15 pm