"Rafa, mounting a furious fightback, broke Nadal Djokovic to take a 4-2 lead in the fifth set."

Rafa was able to break Nadal Djokovic?! Man, that Rafa is one hell of a fighter!

first

More seriously, though, interesting article. I do think Rafa will only be haunted by it in his dreams, and maybe not even that-- not in his play, anyway.

Rafa will be fine. He's a better player than Coria and Roddick.

On a different note, I'm a pretty big Fed fan and during his 09 Wimbledon final with Roddick, I found myself at ease with the concept that Roddick could well have won that match. I think I'm in the minority because I actually like Roddick.

Ok, lets get over the idea that Rafa is the kind of person who is "haunted" by anything!

Otherwise, he would have been frozen against Soderling at FO 2010!

It was 2004 French open final and not 2005

Rafa also commented in his post match presser on the unlikelihood of the love-40 game comeback of his own in the 4th immediately after he was asked about missing the backhand wide at 4-2. In brief he downplayed the importance of the single pt. I can't help but feel, though, that if Rafa had gone up 5-2 in the fifth that Nole would NOT have come back to win the match. Impossible to say, of course. But Nole's body language had gone completely negative until Rafa missed that bh wide.

by Pete Bodo

Can a single point, or series of points, have a career-shaping influence on a player?
--------------
Absolutely NOT!

Remember that AO Final when Novak won over Tsonga?..Now look how Novak's career has turned to be and where is Tsonga's.
From bigger point of some Universal view and all this time, we clearly see that Tsonga then by any case couldn't won that match,..and even if he won nothing latter wouldn't be affected by it.

The only thing what's count is work, dedication, will, character and for that matter Champion Personality behind it.

Someone can 'upset',...but in long run doesn't mean anything
You can not win 7 strait finals against someone as Rafa with stories woulda, shoulda, coulda

Andy Roddick is hardly a good example he was a long shot to even get to the final that year, and had to play the best tennis of his life to beat murray and push fed to five sets. Its not as if anyone really expected him to win more slams if he had only made that shot.

In terms of Nadal I could have gone along with that until hearing his comments after the match, he was so positive even after losing a slam final. I think the W 2007 inal still hurts him the most of any defeats and we all know how he turned that around the year after.

Pete

I was there 'live' at that match

Rafa's serve also let him down apart from that b/hand

Regardless I was soo impressed with Rafa and remember he did have BP when Nole was serving for the match

A Player has to Move On after any dedeat...if not they are doomed.

Knowing Rafa as I do after all the years I have followed him.He will take the positives from that match and move forward.I have always admired his 'work ethic'.

Nadal can win everything and beat down whoever he want if "things went well".
He can go south faster than anybody if "things didn't went well".
It is very painful to see his rituals, water bottles, picking underware, etc etc. You can't say he is mentally very strong. Explain me why he does those crazy things if he is mentally so strong.

That raises the question, will Rafael Nadal be permanently marked by that critical, backhand miss in the Australian Open final a few days ago?
===============

Player as Federer's had 40:15 with TWO match points he couldn't convert.
It is only YOU having regrets

In the last six majors, Djokovic has won four times—beating Nadal three times and Murray once. He lost to Nadal in the U.S. Open final in 2010, and lost to Federer in that French Open semi last year and has a record of 38-2 in those events. But four of those 38 wins were great escapes: In the 2010 and 2011 U.S. Open semis, in which Federer held two match points in each match but lost, and in the just-completed Australian Open semi and final.

In the semifinal, Murray led on Djokovic's serve, 15-40, at five games all in the fifth set. In the final, Nadal was up a break at 4-2 and up 30-15 when he missed an easy backhand pass. In each of those four matches, Djokovic came back from the brink, and won, each time by a 7-5 score.

How remarkable is it to come back late in the fifth set of a major semifinal or final against a top opponent? So rare that his three chief rivals have done it just twice, combined, in their illustrious careers. Murray has never won a fifth-set Grand Slam match past the round of 16. Nadal faced a break point while trailing Federer at 3-4 in the fifth set of their classic encounter in the 2008 Wimbledon final. And in the next year's Wimbledon final, Federer saved two break points well into the overtime stage of the fifth set of his epic match against Andy Roddick, then went on to win the set, 16-14. Djokovic himself had never even played a fifth set in a semifinal or final before starting his string in 2010.

I want to personally thank Nole for upping his level and taking it to Rafa. For the last two years it has only been Roger but he is a puzzle (outside of The French) that Rafa solved in 2008. He suffered 2 heart breaking losses at Wimbledon before he broke through. I felt that 2011 was not only a result of a grueling but spectacular 2010 but a loss of passion. I know he hasn't won the world tour finals, but I don't think he had that on his checklist, bucket list maybe but he has never came out and made it a goal as he had with everything else.

Now he has a clear and present target in Nole. But greater than Nole, I believe the bigger fight was him trying to find his fight again. AO 2012 will be defining not because he let it slip away but because he just got re-aquainted with "the suffering" that defined his game since he first came on the scene. VAMOS!

To get a sense of how unlikely Djokovic's comebacks have been, we estimated the probability he would win each match at the lowest point in each of the fifth sets by following the assumptions of Jeff Sackmann, the tennis-stats guru, who built a win-probability model on the reasonable basis that the server on hard courts has a 65% chance of winning the point, and 60% on clay. (All the Big Four are better-than-average servers and better-than-average returners, so the averages should roughly apply to them.)

By those assumptions, Djokovic had a 9.7% chance of breaking Nadal when he was down 30-15 in that fateful seventh game of the fifth set Sunday, and a 42.7% chance of winning the set and match if he did win the game. He also had a 5.9% chance of winning the match even if he lost the game. Combine those probabilities and he had a 9.5% chance of winning the match at that point. Using the same logic, he was a little more likely to win at his lowest points in the 2010 U.S. Open semi and this year's Australian Open semi, and a lot less likely to come back at last year's U.S. Open semi

Even accounting for the fact that Djokovic didn't quite come back from the dead in his two losses at majors in that span, winning four of those six tight matches is truly incredible. From the moment in each match when his chances were lowest, Djokovic had about a one-in-4,500 chance of winning at least four of those six matches. That's overstating the case, because it's based on cherry-picking his low point in each match. But it gives a sense of how much Djokovic has overcome to survive those four tough matches.

Rafa's rituals have always amused me and many other sport stars have them.

Unfortunately, he made too many errors in the match, he's human and don't we all make errors at times.

I felt a pang when he finally lost but felt much better quickly when I thought about the match afterwards as I think he is getting much closer to beating Nole. It is just a matter of time.

Posted by Aussiemarg,Madame President,With A New Head In 2012! 02/01/2012 at 06:25 PM

Pete

I was there 'live' at that match

Rafa's serve also let him down apart from that b/hand
-----------------

Numbers do not lie, It's not true that anything let Rafa down, specialty serv and BH.

I think ultimately that missed backhand will haunt Rafa fans more than Rafa himself. In the moment, it felt like a turning point, like the match was about to turn in Rafa's favor. Can anyone say it would have turned out that way? Surely not, but we all have seen how powerful a thing momentum alone can be. There were plenty of other mistakes and missed opportunities throughout the six hours, naturally -- but that was the one that had the FEEL of the great ship momentum turning about.

I agree Pete, I don't think it will weigh on Rafa the same way Roddick's miss at Wimbledon has become a deadweight on his career. Rafa's just too strong mentally to let something like that get to him. Of course the miss was significant at the time and he would have been in a commanding position had he closed the game out, but the positive Rafa took was that he was in a position against Djokovic that he's not been in for over a year; being close to actually closing a match out. I can't imagine there won't be more chances for him to eventually beat Djokovic, whether at RG or Wimbledon, and he knows now what he has to do.

I am not a fan of Nadal. But I dont think it will be career-changing thing for Nadal. As compared to those two guys mentioned, Nadal has been winning slams and tournaments. And as compared to those guys, Nadal has a more stable and mature mind and physicality as a player. He wouldn't have won 10 Slams if he doesn't have those qualities.

http://myballsmyballs.blogspot.com/2012/01/djokovic-wins-his-fifth-grand-slam.html

I watched this final to see where Rafa is with Novak's game. He's in a good place. What I saw was first of all, the "colm." I saw the determination and focus that has seen Rafa through to many titles - some in some very tight places. I saw a confident Rafa. He did get nervous on some points that could have won him the title. But he's surrounded by a great team and they are working on that. I am most impressed by the "uncles" being there. Imagine having all of that very masculine support in your corner!!!
I also read his presser to see where his attitude is. He's in a very good place. He declared that Novak is not in his head and that there is no longer anything mental going on. That's a good thing.
Finally, I'm going to say something bold and that is that Novak did not win this match - as much as Rafa lost it. You know what I mean???
I'm excited about what this season will bring Rafa.
Happy watching!

Rubbish:):):)
Evry time Nadal see Novak across the net he is simply scared and unsure.

qt54ruyazet]0mjpn7y6t7

Joker will be playing French open for a carrear Grand slam as well as for a
Grand slam award to win 4 majors in a row. I hope Fed will not beat him
and then lose to Nadal. Even though I am Fed fan I donot want him to beat Joker and then lose to Nadal. Let Joker get a GS

Nah, Humble Bull won't be haunted by that miss, he's a grinder. The only thing ever getting into his head is losing on clay. The Le Söd loss had more mental effect than physical, while he looked even worse following the 0-4 set defeat at Madrid/Rome, luckily he had the mental midget in the Paris final.

Djokovic will once again dominate Rafa on clay, and if opportunity comes, he'll crush him at the Garros. And THEN he'll have nightmares.

"Is something unbelievable how he returns, no? His return probably is one of the best of the history. That's my opinion, no? I never played against a player who's able to return like this. Almost every time."

A Nadal fan might be moved to wince by the obvious note of awe in that remark...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't think so. A Nadal fan might be proud to notice Rafa's lucidity even at such a difficult moment. You can't change what you don't acknowledge. With that comment, Rafa showed that he's very much aware what he's up against. He's not in denial thinking that Novak got lucky... So he'll prepare to play against the best returner in history and he'll have a better chance next time. He almost did it this time... Who knows what'll happen next time they meet.

Nadal will be fine...even this Fed fan knows that. (His leg will be fine. His will be fine.)

On the other hand, the chair that attacked him is likely to be firewood by now.

Don't think it will haunt Rafa, he is still a great champ. Amazing that he had a great year last year compared to all other tour players except for djoke. I wouldn't count Rafa out just yet and he seemed like he got a lot more mojo back than last years finals.

Btw, I think it was wertheim who noted something about Roddick ridiculing djoke's so called injuries and ailments in the past. Clearly Andy loved in the past to show his disdain for djoke, wonder how he feels now! Green with envy?

Interesting article Pete, but the true(and in many ways, FINAL ) test for Nadal will come in a few months....at Roland Garros.

The 2012 French Open final AKA Nadal's Last Stand, will be a ferocious battle. And if Djokovic wins that...well, Rafa may be mentally 'broken' like a horse....forever

Bone,

I agree with you on your point that Rafa losing on clay is gut busting to him but this year he will not meekly cede ground on clay to Nole. He sent that message loud and clear at the finals. If they battle on clay like they have in the last two slams, someone or both is going home on a stretcher.

Interesting article Pete, but the true(and in many ways, FINAL ) test for Nadal will come in a few months....at Roland Garros
-----

.................fq3525......

Interesting article Pete, but the true(and in many ways, FINAL ) test for Nadal will come in a few months....at Roland Garros

Just there???
Lets spin that till FO 2020

so how many wins will it take for Rafa to 'solve' novak? just one? what about the 7 losses in a row, 3 Slam finals, etc,? i mean, its amazing to me how upbeat the media is about a clearly sliding rafa .. u simply cant erase these results, can you?

"Ok, lets get over the idea that Rafa is the kind of person who is "haunted" by anything!"

Indeed. :)
He was smiling, genuinely, during his speech, also after the ceremony, and during presser, in the Melbourne airport video messages (Spanish + English), in the plane posing with a fan, at the airport when arriving home. And he had a lot of reasons to be happy and satisfied.
As a fan I'm thrilled to have The Rafa back - missed him last year.
And I'm very, very proud to be a fan.

Nadal's already collected nice silverware set of plates for 6 person. He goes for second set
What can you do? Man has a big family

I am not sure about a single backhand miss but Nadal IS and WILL be haunted by this loss despite of what he says to the press. Also, I was able to observe over last two days that his fans are even more haunted - a typical example is Steve Tignor who on these pages gave Rafa the same mark as the winner of the tournament. That is simply defying any common sense!

Rafa knows deep inside that he will never again have opportunity against Novak who played a 5-hour match just 36 hors ago while Rafa had 48 hour rest.

This was his only chance and he knew it - why else did he go down on his knees in extasy after winning just a set!!! By the way that was the best possible/imaginable tribute to Novak's greatness, something that both Bodo and Tignor failed to note in their reports.

I like Nadal a lot (a bit less after seeing him challenging his own serve, though) and he is a great tennis player and super nice human being. I have no problem with his jumping fist pumps, 'lawnmower' pumps, bottle rituals or butt unwedgings, because bottom line he's and will always be a good guy in my book.

However, the last 7 losses against Nole, especially the last one, have left unrepairable damage in his psyche and he will never beat Novak in a GS match again.

Here is a credit card comercial analogy, but using loss of confidence as the mental currency (mentals) instead of money:

Loosing seven finals in a row from a same guy - 350 mentals
First in history to loose three GS finals in a row - 800 mentals
Challenging your own serve in utter desperation - 2000 mentals
Going down on your knees after winning a set - priceless!

Nadal's already collected nice silverware set of plates for 6 person. He goes for second set
What can you do? Man has a big family

"I think the W 2007 final still hurts him the most of any defeats and we all know how he turned that around the year after."

Oh absolutely. This wouldn't come close to that.

This one wasn't a particularly bad loss - heck, even last year's Wimbledon was worse, because he really let himself down there, barely showed up to play.

Tuulia: totally agreed. The new positive attitude will be waay more impactful on his year than any shot.

seems to me that Bodo(and few more) is much more sorry about that missed backhand by Nadal than Nadal himself. Sore looser,,,,it hurts I know,I know but nothing else to do now. Just keep it in yourself and please don't let it get out.
Regards!

"I don't think so. A Nadal fan might be proud to notice Rafa's lucidity even at such a difficult moment. You can't change what you don't acknowledge. With that comment, Rafa showed that he's very much aware what he's up against. He's not in denial thinking that Novak got lucky... So he'll prepare to play against the best returner in history and he'll have a better chance next time. He almost did it this time... Who knows what'll happen next time they meet."

Thanks Yolita. :) And yes, that's how I see it, too.

The Gaudio/Coria French Open match was 2004.

Coria had shoulder surgery three months afterwards, the surgery effectively ended his career.

just horsen is living under a rock? I'm not sure if I should lol or be sad about that.

Nadal was obviously injured and had no business being in the tournament much less ahead in the 5th set in the final against Novak. Rafa, truly a performance for the ages, we thank you for your guts and spirit!

Why is there such a need for SOME Nole fans to keep asserting that Rafa will never beat Nole again? I mean the man has won the last 7, do you think that has gone unnoticed? I usually ignore this noise but really, who exactly are you trying to convince?

What it sounds like to me is a lot of insecurity in the fact that Rafa is on his heels and some are a little, shall I say, weary?

And Tim...

I'll play your game... "How many time do Rafa has to play Nole"...As many as it takes while he is still willing to pick up a racket and play. What always seems amazes me about your schtick is the fact that Rafa is a great tennis player and that is what feeds your Rafa Fetish. If he wasn't, all your nonsense yammering would be irrelevant, no? For this alone you should kiss the hand that Rafa he uses to pick his shorts. He actually gives a reason to be, snarky but lovable Tim on TW.

ATP Thursday Order of Play

Zagreb at 5:30 AM: Baghdatis vs Kubot and Youzhny vs Zemlja scheduled
Montpellier at 8 AM: Mahut vs Mayer
Zagreb at 8 AM: Lacko vs Bogomolov Jr
Montpellier at 10 AM: Berdych vs Serra
Zagreb at 11:45 AM: Garcia-Lopez vs Dodig followed by Sela vs Karlovic
Vina del Mar at Noon: Delbonis vs Bellucci and Berlocq vs Junqueira scheduled
Montpellier at 1 PM: Russell vs Monfils followed by Nieminen vs Mathieu
Vina del Mar at 3:45 PM: Souza vs Gonzalez
Vina del Mar at 6:45 PM: Zeballos vs Chela

Tim,it's amazing how tireless you are in pointing out how Rafa and his fans ought to feel,what happen to leaving individuals alone with what and how they want to feel about given situations?
Don't you realise by now that repeating it a zillion times will not make the world think like you want them to think about Rafael?give it a rest already...

It is also true that Novak could have won in 4 sets - he had missed opportunities when he was leading in the breaker and up love-40 on Nadal's serve - Rafa himself said that to put things in the right perspective.

The difference is far bigger than any similarity. Coria had never won a slam. Roddick won only one, and had to listen to a lot of carping over his failure to win a second. Those were HUGE let-downs for those exact reasons. Nadal has won 10, including the AO. He has nothing huge left to prove, so give it a rest.

Youre right slick, i really wish Nadal had dropped out of the tournament, too, chairs cause serious knee damage and fatalities to moonpies and leads in blown leads in 5th sets...the fact that he could run alley to alley for 6 hours is a clear sign of injury, how obvious does it have to be? you might wanna join my Facebook page, Ban the Moonpie, intended to save Rafa from himself, save his knees, and take up full-time fishing!

netter

Pardon Me

I was talking about the 5th set when Rafa was trying to consolidate the break he had

May I suggest if you have a tape of the match like I do

Rafa's serve let him down and his b/hand as well to consoldiate the break

Tim

May I suggest you Stop Watching Rafa's Matches from now on

It clearly pains you to do soo

Also its getting Painful you always seem to say the Same Old Things regarding Rafa

The fact is, Rafa was very close to losing in four sets, just like his two previous slam finals against Djoko.

That said, we do know that Rafa was #2 to Fed for, like, 5 years, but kept tweaking and tuning his game until he snatched Wimbledon, AO, and #1 spot from Fed. He can do it -- well, he did it before, now, can he do it again?

And that is the big question. 2011/2012 Rafa looks a bit deflated. He started talking about a lack of motivation, about a season being too long, about golf career, etc. Which makes me think that, no, he won't pull it again because his motivation is not 110% as before, it looks more like 85% these days. I expect Djoko to snatch the French Open this year.

And all this time you employ to analyse Nadal's decline and what not,why don't you channel it to the inimitable MASTER's quest for the 17th slam,he'll be very grateful to you for he's got one equation to solve,talk about diverting attention o your very own worries!

'In other words, Nadal probably won't be haunted by that backhand miss. He feels the game was about Djokovic's returning skill. The next time they meet, Nadal will be less likely to fret about missing a similar shot or opportunity than about what Djokovic's return skills demand of his serve game.'

Agreed. The greatest test to mind Rafa's set will be the clay swing since he feels he has somewhat narrowed the gap on hard court. Should make for an interesting year between these two.

"Rafa himself said that to put things in the right perspective."

Rafa is indeed good with perspective.

(The same cannot be said about some Novak fans aound here. Success - even if not their own - does go to some people's head that way...)

May I also add in that game Rafa was trying to consoldiate he didnt get a first serve in from memory.Hmmm.

izidane did you see the news about Vee on the first page?

"The difference is far bigger than any similarity. Coria had never won a slam. Roddick won only one, and had to listen to a lot of carping over his failure to win a second. Those were HUGE let-downs for those exact reasons. Nadal has won 10, including the AO. He has nothing huge left to prove, so give it a rest."

Indeed.

Nadal is such a champion that one point does not change his mind set. If it was like that, he would not have won as many slams and made as many records in his career. Also, this point is not like a tie breaker point or anything.. instead of 30-30 it would have been 40-15. Nadal played bad points afterwards.. What makes you think he wont lose that game even with 40-15? Like Nadal said, the point to focus is -- He was so close to beating Novak.

Now, the question will be: Will he use it as a positive energy, and turn it around? or will it be like Roddick, coming so close to beating Fed, but going back to getting beaten. I am willing to bet, he will turn it around, given how tough he mentally is.

But, to me in the Current scenario, it looks like Novak, with the current game if he stays fresh, has 10 out of 10 chances of beating Rafa, 9 out of 10 chances of beating Federer and Murray.

It remains be seen whether Novak can emulate The Master (Federer) in not just winning titles, no. 1 but also staying hungry.. Rafa needs to come back big with big serves..

I am yet to see Rafa at Roland Garos be defeated in 5 sets

He owns that court.

Being there live in 2005 which was a defining point in Rafa's career when he won his 1st GS title

Then again I had the pleasure of seeing him live in the final at RG 2011 where again he showed why he is the Greatest Clay Player and in winning his 6th title and equalling Borgs record.Borg was my idol.I never thought I would see the day that another player would take that title away from him

Forget about Rafa

I am now watching the womens final on TC for the 1st time and boy is this a killer for a Maria fan I know that there are not too many of us here..
Hard to watch but I must say that Victoria has put her time in and was due.
I am thrilled to have a new #1 with a slam, so deserving. As a Maria fan, I wish she could have done it but I am happy for Vika, she desered the win.

"2011/2012 Rafa looks a bit deflated."

2011 yes.
2012 no.

He sounds and seems *very* motivated and happy playing tennis.

I don't know where you got the golf career thing, lol - it's just a hobby for him.

X tennis fan is just horsen?

And why are you under a rock?

Come out and play!

I agree, Pete, that Rafa will not let that missed opportunity haunt him. It's surely behind him now, and probably was within a point or two of making that error. As you say, great players have short memories, and Rafa is likely no different.

That said, that was a huge miss, and it was likely the game-changer for both men. At that juncture in the match, Rafa was, as the quote you shared above reveals, feeling very strong, hitting his forehands and serves huge. Djokovic,in comparison, was not looking well at all. He was sluggish, even favoring his right leg or hip, and looked down and out -- beaten. He was lifting his arms in despair and frustration, and looking at his box with a smile that said, "What can I do against that?!"

So, there are two realities here as I see it. The first is that Rafa's mentality was unaffected by that miss over the remainder of the match. The second is that it did make a difference; it was a game-changer and momentum-swinger; and it did appear to instill a bit of hope into Novak. And as we've seen, and Rafa's old rival Roger knows all too well... give Novak a little hope and he'll turn it into gold-plated trophies.

And one thing is sure,the more NOLE beats Nadal,the sweeter the one final time Nadal beats him back,and I will wait for that one for as long as I'm given the chance to!

"I am yet to see Rafa at Roland Garos be defeated in 5 sets

He owns that court."

well, everyone said that Rafa owns 5 set Slam Finals too...and look what happened with that.

Tuulia,

"(The same cannot be said about some Novak fans around here. Success - even if not their own - does go to some people's head that way...)"

Those Nole fans have a lot to learn about life, where reality dictates there are no absolutes. I can deal with the level headed Nole fans who don't "go shark jumping" because they have the maturity to understand this fact. But to the ones who own the ability to foresee the future, I have only one request, could they pass along some winning lotto number while they're at it?

Tim, I have no excuse for...

Hi Aube.
I did, can't wait for the Fed cup to kick off.
Sorry, I crashed on Sunday while we were still talking...that's what happens when you spend more than 24hrs awake.

Btw, not surprised by the CWoz loses a coach news.

Aussiemarg,

What is your take on Nadal challenging his own serve against Novak?

I have posed this question to another declared Nadal fan who I respect(Fernando) and he answered it.

Slice

Rafa did have BP when Nole was serving for the match

Being there live I didnt give up hope

Luck also favours the Brave in situations.

"Tim, I have no excuse for..."

Tim is Tim. Same as BP is BP. no-one makes excuses for them, and no-one changes them, but everyone misses them when they're gone.

it's ok izidane,believe me I have overdosed on sleep so far to be able to recover,I think it was Tuesday that I slept from 8 AM to 1PM,oh! what time zone differences do to us tennis buddies!lol!

I am talking about Clay

Harcourts is another thing.

Rafa probably was biding for some time:)

Rafa seemed not-too-down after his loss to Djoko because -- he expected to lose. By the time someone beats you 6 times in a row, you've probably realized that the other guy is just better. It's seven in a row now, including clay, grass and hardcourt. If you look at the Trivalry, that has not happened before, not even close. It is embarassing and Rafa knows it. Do you think that, after this finals, he popped the champaigne and celebrated his "improvement" against the evil Djoko? Like, seriously. More likely, he cried himself to sleep.

Ex-Tennis Fan,

Does Tim own snark? I don't think so. If you have ever read any post I've addressed to him, I get him totally. But thanks anyway...

Anyway who is this imposter 'ex tennis fan'

Come out as I am in no mood for games:)

?
what's going on??
I can post this short thing but not longer one? It's only three parahraphs long?? Is there any limitations?

I think I am going to cut it in 5 pieces, and post it 5 times to get one whole thing.

Eri

Let it go....it's usual to have some super aggressive Nole fans assert themselves for a few days , dissing whoever he defeated,( oh wait, that would be Rafa) , after a slam, at least the last 3 or 4 that Novak has won. I

BTW, I do not include fans like Zeljana, Yolita and some others in this group.

Tim can and should be ignored......he obviously was not taught what we all were taught in childhood...screaming the same thing over and over and over again , makes people tune you out.

Any professional tennis player has to Move on from any defeat if not that are doomed.Full stop.

Rafa will take the positives from that match and move on

I also know he understands his b/hand and serve need to improve

I mean his b/hand in the final of AO 2009 was just Lethal and I have always been of the opinion especailly on a hard court Rafa needs his b/hand clicking

"--- everyone misses them when they're gone."

I agreed with you until you finished with this. :)

(I do miss BP, too.)

I beg to differ Carter Rafa will nevergo in court expecting to loose,plus if he was why would he fight back from love-forty in the fourth set and kill himself physically if he so knew he was going to loose?

Champions fight till the end,they don't anticipate loosing!

"Tim is Tim. Same as BP is BP. no-one makes excuses for them, and no-one changes them, but everyone misses them when they're gone."

Ummm, no.

Eri: its all cool. and believe me, i'm fully aware of the fact that Tim does not own snark. i was just making a general statement in response to yours. :)

AM: sorry, but i can't comply with that demand. you know my condition for "coming out". just horsen is out of commission until then. :)

If Tim ever falls off a chair we will never hear about it.

But I would laugh myself silly if we did.

Get a life, Bodo!
Loser...writes about losers. How about one article about the winner of the 2012 AO?? Noo...you can't do it...beacuse Djoko Djokovic is not a loser. Go and cry with Nadal together. You desreve each other.

From your text:

"The next time they meet, Nadal will be less likely to fret about missing a similar shot or opportunity than about what Djokovic's return skills demand of his serve game."
--------

The next time they met, Djokovic won't let Nadal come even that close. Federer must be your close realtive. You, as himself, try to analyse 6 hour GS match through ONE SINGLE SHOT??????? ohh...my! I am crying and don't know how to write it here, so other people can hear me!!

Nam1,

Let go of what? If I have an opinion about what is being said, I will express it. Isn't that allowed here, or did I miss something?

As brutal as the last two weeks were I am, for the first time ever looking forward to the clay season and FO. It would be nice for Nole to defend all his IW and Miami points, but that's a big ask. The target is squarely on his back now for every single match and he will have to respond every single time. The clay swing will get tricky with his home tourney sandwiched in between. I'd also like to see how Rafa's improvements measure up at IW and Miami.

We really are trying to find ways to fill column inches aren't we!!

I also find the mention of this missed pass mystifying since so much has been made of it. I do not see a mention of the fact that had Djok not made two really lousy forehand errors on two of the last three tie break points in the 4th set we would have never been in the 5th to have had this discussion!!

Novak has also something to regret for, namely he would've been sorry he had not finished the match in 4 sets. Shoulda, coulda, woulda, Nole is the King of Australia.

Aube, I miss the "old" Rafa. You know that curve-around down-the-line forehand? He used to make it, like, 75% of the time, or maybe more. These days, it is more like 30%, including the missed one at 30:15 at 4:2 in the 5th against Djoko. That shot requires enormous strength, and Rafa seems to just not have it anymore.

You know what year Rafa snagged the most titles? Eleven titles, back in 2005, including a slam and four masters. 2011? Three titles, including a slam and one master.

Eri

What I meant by "Let it go" was just ignore it.

As I recall the point, Nadal played a short ball, Djokovic approached to Nadal's FH, Nadal's attempted FH pass was haigh, Djokovic's attempted drop FH volley arced high, Nadal had a ton of time to make the pass into the open court, and...

Against Federer, I think Nadal hits a winner on the first FH pass. If he hits the same shot, I think Federer hits a better volley, and Nadal makes a tougher BH pass anyway.

In other words, this was one of those occasions when the mental game stood out in high relief - Nadal's two attempts to pass Djokovic were both weaker than he'd expect against other opponents.

I do expect Nadal not to dwell on a single shot. But Djokovic was there to be taken, after a first set where he played like a man who'd put in a lot of running two nights before, and in a fifth set where momentum had swung, seemingly decisively, to his opponent.

One thing Nadal has always been ruthless about is stopping an opponent seizing momentum - see, for example, USO F 2010. On Sunday, he couldn't do this. He let Djokovic back into the match in set two (as Federer did three nights before), and he couldn't close from a winning position. A single shot isn't the issue. Being able to execute on the big points - Nadal's calling card - is.

Andrew

Thanks

I have to agree with you on that point...Rafa should have played it to the open court he was his for the taking...I just closed my eyes after that point.Enough said.

you guys are a hoot! trust me, If I had anything to say about Fred federer at this point, I would ... he's a bit MIA now, another lousy performance vs. Rafa, this goes way back to 2006, missd break points by the buckets, what's there to say?

now Rafa and his fans offer such riches I cant resist... i really wish some of you would have more fun, and to be clear, tons of other posters say the EXACT same thing about Rafa... i think its hysterical you blame me for these opinions, they're all over TW from posters NOT named Tim!

the good news is, Rafa will be hibernating the month of February, presumably avoiding all chairs, and Fred Fed is playing Davis Cup...something to talk about not moonpie related, gifts from above!

Nam1,

Gotcha ;). I usually do but today I'm in the mood...lol.

Don't worry Carter,that Nadal is still on! what is undeniable is NOLE is on big time,what part of he's on an incredible run don't people understand?

who knows we're talking right now may be NOLE will win 20 grand slams in his career,what is so hard to believe?

Sampras won 15,Federer won 16 may be NOLE 20,what's not to love?

Praise The Lord Tim!!!!