Current News: Djokovic drops Wimbledon Final to Alcaraz! - - -Vondrousova upset Jabeur for Ladies' Chp.! - - - - On to the US Open! - - - - - Have a great Summer! ;-)
***** Congratulations SB LVII MVP Patrick Mahomes & The Kansas City Chiefs *****
***With Serena's career over, we're left w/ a 3-headed GOAT: Navratilova, Graf, Serena, w/ Evert & Court a hair behind.
ReplyDeleteSuch a huge gap btw. those 4 (or 5) & everyone else.
...Serena, ...when she was on her game. Her career, while long, was erratic w/ lots of ups & downs. A > consistent Serena w/b the easy GOAT, but I don't think we can ignore the fact that she won < 1/2 the titles of Chris & Martina, & it took her longer to complete her Slam ct. > all of them:
Serena: 23 Slams in 19 yrs ('99-17)
Steffi: 22 Slams in 13 yrs ('87-99)
Martina: 18 Slams in 13 yrs ('78-90)
Chris: 18 Slams in 13 yrs ('74-86)
In Serena's 1st 13 yrs (w/ her 1st Slam), she won "only" 13.
Or we can parse it this way:
Serena: 23 Titles of 81 Slams played (28.4%)
Steffi: 22 Titles of 54 Slams played (40.7%)
Martina: 18 Titles of 67 Slams played (26.9%)
Evert: 18 Titles of 56 Slams played (32.1%)
Seles: 9 Titles of 31 Slams played (29.0%)...or 8 of her 1st 14 (57.1%)
And that's just Slams. Serena's low title total works vs her, & the other 3 match up well in rankings - & all were far > consistent.
...Steffi's flaws are 2-fold: A slightly shortened career, & the M. Seles prob. Meaning, how can she be the GOAT when she had been surpassed by another player in the middle of her peak? Does anyone actually think that '93-96 whh if tragedy hadn't struck Seles? In that case, we m/b talking about a Big 5.
OTOH, Seles' dom. over Steffi is a bit over-stated. She was 3-1 vs her in Slams in '90-92, but Steffi's win was a blowout & Seles' wins were all very close matches.
It is tempting to give it to Martina, but I think at their best, Steffi and Serena were more dominant.
So if I combine overall career rec. & peak dom., I've got to go w/....damn:
1. Steffi
2. Martina
3. Serena
4. Chris
5. Court
6. Seles
...and then King, Goolagong, Henin, Venus, Hingis in some form or fashion.
I don't like having Serena 3rd, but I can't imagine Steffi not in the top 2, & I don't want to slip Martina down to 4th. So I'm going w/ that for now.
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ITA, esp. about Martina, but the CYGS's confined to a single cal. yr.; makings it so difficult. It was shocking to me when she lost that SF in '84, & I think her 6-in-a-row is one of the > achievements ever, certainly an evidence of how great & dom. she was @ her peak. The lack of a CYGS hasn't diminished her in any way.
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At the X, though, Martina's Dec.'83 - AO'84 USO was widely considered a CYGS. It was only yrs. later that people retroactively removed the desig. I won't b/c to me, the def. of a CYGS is winning the AO, FO, Wimbl., & USO in that order. J/b the AO was moved to Dec. in the late 70s doesn't shift the start of the tennis yr. to FO for those yrs ('77 a "long" yr. & '86 a "short" yr.). To me, the tennis GS yr. begins w/ the AO & ends w/ the USO. I'll always consider the Dec. AO t/b the following GS yr. For me:
Jan.'77 AO = '77 GS yr.
Dec.'77 AO = '78 GS yr.
Martina's Dec.'83 AO win = '84 GS yr.
Martina's Dec.'84 AO loss = '85 GS yr.
Here's why:
1. In '77, if a player had won the Jan. AO, FO, Wimbl., & USO, but not the Dec. AO, should that negate the CYGS = though the player had won all 4 events during the yr.?
2. In '86, if a player had won the FO, Wimbl., & USO, but lost the AO B4 (Dec.'85) & after (Jan.'87), should that be considered a CYGS = though the player didn't win the AO?
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The AO was only played in Dec. back then, there was no “Jan.'77 AO.” They wisely switched the tourn. back to to Jan. in '87.
...Martina’s achievements are so grand that she doesn’t need the CYGS t/b considered as great or >er > anyone who ever played. She’s fairly remarkably unique as it is.***
Thanks! ;-)
***Poor Rafa. If it wasn’t for horrendous bad luck he'd've 47 majors & 150 masters titles.***
ReplyDeleteWhat an a-hole! The disresoect for other players & the tour knows no bounds w/ this jackass! Never cared for him & never will! What a POS! He's truly disgusting!
***I'm unimpressed w/ Martina's #'s below.
Slam Career win/loss % 1.Tie Court & Graf 90% 3. Evert 89% 4. Serena 87% 5. Martina 86%
% of majors champ won 1. Court 51.1% 2. Graf 40.7% 3. Evert 32.1% 4. Martina 29.9% 5. Serena 28.4%
% of majors reached final 1.Court 61.7% 2. Evert 60.7% 3. Graf 55.6% 4. Martina 47.8% 5. Serena 40%
Slam finals conversion 1. Court 83% 2. Graf 73.1% 3. Serena 71.9% 4. Martina 56.3% 5. Evert 52.9%
% of major reached SF's 1. Evert 92.9% 2. Court 83% 3. Graf 66% 4. Martina 65.7% 5. Serena 49.4%
SF's conversion 1. Court 86.6% 2. Serena 82.5% 3. Graf 81.1% 4. Martina 72.7% 5. Evert 65.4%
% of major Reached QF's 1. Evert 96.4% 2. Court 91.5% 3. Martina 79.1% 4. Graf 74.1% 5. Serena 66.7%
QF's conversion rate 1. Evert 96.2 2. Graf 88.1% 3. Court 83.7% 4. Martina 83% 5.Serena 74.1%
*Here a low # is a >er #
* % of slam losses - Rds 1-3 1. Evert 3.6% 2. Court 6.4% 3. Graf 13% 4. Martina 13.4% 5. Serena 21%
Martina's NEVER in the top 2 in any of these categories while Evert's among the top 2, 5 X's. Evert does substant. >er in every category, but 2 to win the same 18 slams & reach 2 > finals. Martina doesn't excel in any of these stats. I think you have to conclude that both Evert & Graf have >er GS success in singles > Martina.***
Many factors made Martina's development taking longer! Besides being exposed to the Western world & eating herself into oblivion, she was trying to overcome getting asylum, separation from her family, & subsequent citizenship in '81! She was terribly talented, but mentally she wasn't there until much later! When she got there, she ruled like few others in the past, delivering bread sticks & bagels to every match poss.! She was the reason they took the VS CHP to BO5 just to keep her on the court longer > an hr.! By '84, Navratilova was = toying w/ Evert on clay! I think what hurt her the > was overplaying! She played every poss. event, winning all 3 USO events in '87! It mhb worth it to have 377 total titles (167 sing., 177 doub.)! She has a BOX SET, finishing it up w/ '03 MxD win "down under!" (59 Majors in Pro Era won't ever be beat)
***Martina has 3 problems w/ these slam #'s above. 1. She took her sweet X getting her game & brain together from '73-77 reaching 2 slam finals in '75, & then nothing for 2 > yrs.
2. She has a major slump in '80 thru the early Summer of '81 dropping from #1 to #4 in the world & goes 7 cons. slams reaching only 1 final B4 she finally wins the Aussie of '81.
3. She plays 7 yrs from '87-94 only winning 1 slam the entire X.
I thought considering how often she beat Chris in slam finals that her conversion rate w/b excel., but it's not that > >er >than Evert's. That's b/c of course Evert takes her share of bites & Steffi takes her share, w/ Hana, Tracy, Goolagong, Seles, & Martinez nibbling as well. My pt.'s that Evert's singles slam rec.'s def. >er > Martina's. Martina didn't achieve anything > Evert & sustained a whole lot > losses & > of them earlier to do it. You have to include doubles & mixed in slams to get Martina up there, & then of course she soars w/ only Court in her league. but if you do that, then you might end up pushing Evert & Graf below King & Bueno.***
ReplyDelete***There were 2 matches in the same tourn. -Wimbl.'77. First was Evert playing Austin - ...the Final & excitement of Virginia Wade winning.***
I couldn't have been happier for a player! Mentally, Wade's people put her thru it! ...Her nerves being in chk began after her haircut! ...She cut & just let it blow & bounce in the wind like Steffi Graf later! When getting by Chris Evert in the 3rd set, there was a debated double bounce on Chris! She accepted the call vs her after Wade missed the volley! Back in those days, nothing was easy! Playing w/ wood, it was still a crapshoot if you hit the strings, the sweet spot was so small! Wade got thru that match & overcame "nerves of the moment" w/ the Queen onlooking, serenely came back in 3 sets to def. Navr.'s dubs's ptnr., Betty Stove!
***'95 was a VERY good X t/b a tennis fan.***
It was thought a GOLDEN Age for tennis w/ so many good players from the US! We've struggled since those kids retired! A-Rod got lit'l out of his career due to dom. of Fed who beat him like a drum! Even I feel sorry for for him in that '09 Wimbl. loss in 5 ext. sets! He had it w/ X set pts. in the 2nd set TB t/b up 2-0! Fed said he was toast but for the wildest high BH-volley of all X from A-Rod!
***I was following tennis back in '04 very casually. I recall being vaguely familiar w/ Fed b/c I had seen him do a pre-match interview @ some pt. in either '03 or '04. The 1st X that I actually saw him play was in the '05 Wimbl. Final vs Roddick. I'd no idea who he was & was shocked to learn that he had beaten Roddick the prev. 2 yrs. @ Wimbl. I can say that Fed was not well known to the people outside of the tennis community. I talk to people all of the X who've absol. no idea who he is. But many of these same people know Borg, Connors, McEnroe.***
That's why it was hard to think of Fed as ICONIC early on b/c = I wasn't paying > attn. to men's tennis during that period! I saw A-Rod as a perennial "pigeon" for Roger, then owned early by some kid named Nadal! IMO the talent & star power was lacking & if I wasn't paying attn., few were! IDK Massu who'd won OG in '04! Henin, Clijster, Capriati, & The Wms.' kept the women's game jumping! ...Fed acquired GOAT status in '09 snatching his lone FO & 6th Wimbl. title! He surpassed Sampras & acquired the CGS! Everything else since has been gravy until Nadovic creeped up on him; now zoomed past in the major & Masters' race! Fed beat the NG'rs, but consistently fell to Nadovic! Laver still has gravitas w/ his 2 CYGS, but Roger'll end up being in 3rd place for all X & no one'll give him the bene. of the doubt in the distant future!
***The one thing I love about a RR's; that moment when people start scribbling hasty obits. after the 1st match.***
Well let me get my "Scib'l" out there! I had already predicted Rafa wouldn't do well regard< of his group! He sorta mentally shuts down after the FO; always has! He's had a few good Summers &'s taken 4 USO, but over all these yrs, his rec.'s been dismal after Paris!
***After the FO he's won plenty during the NA HC Summer as well as Wimbl. a few X's.***
A few X's? TWICE! Let not get ridiculous!
***The next X Fedovic played Wimbl.,, it was the final in '14, w/ Roger nearly 33, & it still took Novak 5 sets.***
In that '14 final, he was up @ least one brk. & allowed Roger to steal that 4th set in a TB! Looking back, it's happened X & X again! I lit. predicted "real X" that he'd brk. Nadal & try to serve out '11 USO Final! As usually he got broken, lost set in TB, & had to win it in 4 sets!
***You could remember watching a match in '63 & be 65 yo today. 65 is hardly "very old."***
ReplyDeleteUnless outside the USA, mhb a MovieX Reel B4 a movie @ the local theater! I don't recall tennis on TV until the 70's!
***Well, I's born in '78. But I believe that Wimbl. was 1st on BBC TV in '37 & in colour from '67!***
Then you're nowhere near old! I grad. HS B4 you were born in '75! Tennis had just "blown up" here in the States w/ Evert & Connors winning Wimbl. in '74! We had the >est tennis event w/ Bobby Riggs & BJK in '73, & Bjorn had taken on Paris as his pet tourney w/ only 1 person to defeat him there; Panatta!
***Yeah, beating Fed @ Wimbl. in '08 was IMO Nadal's >est achievement. Fed was practically invincible @ Wimbl. around that X. He was on a 41 match winning streak @ SW19 going into the '08 final!***
That was a > season for Nadal! Too bad it never seems to last! His '09 was almost as bad as his malaise of '15-16! Lucky he won '09 AO over Fed earlier that yr.! Soderling worked him over in Paris & Del Po finished him off @ the USO! Dropping all 3 matches @ the '09 YEC was just gravy for me! Nadal had a > '10 w/ 3 Major wins! Lucky for some of us, Novak came into his own & put a stop to a dom. that might've solidified Nadal's GOAT-ness very early on! Novak won 6 str. over Rafa in '11 so it was him & no one else! Cons. > seasons has eluded Rafa! I guess we should all feel fort. to have seen all 3 of these guys! Fedalovic on = pedestals? NOT!
***Nadal goes down in Str. sets to FAA. Rafa needs matches. A lot of people don't understand practice is practice, but it's not the GRIND. It w/b cool if he could play some challenger type of events, but it's not poss. w/ his current status.***
I just don't understand why people are coming up w/ this now? It's always been the case! Rafa needs practice & a lot of matches to play his game w/ confidence! This has happened B4 when he's unprepared or coming back from injury; really bad play! People saying he was ready to win this event for the 1st X & overtake Carlos for #1 were on drugs or needing them! I pat myself on the back not for being prophetic (obvious), but now I get to see & laugh @ the misery of delusional fans getting crushed by their hero's effort or lack thereof! Novak being able to go "down under" is just gravy!
***Every OE > has won the YEC:
Federer – ’03, ’04, ’06, ’07,’10,‘11
Sampras – ’91, ’94, ’96, ’97, ‘99
Lendl – ’81, ’82, ’85, ’86, ‘87
Bjorn Borg – ’79, ‘80
John McEnroe – ’78, ’83, ‘84
Jimmy Connors – ‘77
Andre Agassi – ‘90
Novak Djokovic – ’08,‘12,'13,'14,'15
Stefan Edberg – ‘89
How can Rafael “I wish the WTF was played on clay” Nadal be considered an all-X > when he can't accomplish something that every > player of the OE has?
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Nadal's an exceptionally good player, but compared to the others, he's the least versatile. He can go from being virtually indestructible on high bouncing clay, to looking like a journeyman on indoor HC. His game's the > impacted by the actual conditions in which he plays. They all have some degree of variance, but Nadal's borders on the extreme here.
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I think Rafa's good indoor, but a couple of levels below the best of the best (Fedovic).
In short, it's a mix of things:
Most importantly, Rafa's game does < damage on indoor HC, b/c of the lower bounce
His FH in particular ain't bringing the same level of pain. Instead of being above shoulder ht., it's in the hitting zone
His defence is < effective b/c of the speed & the lower bounce, i.e. his opps has an easier X hitting winners
Indoor HC allows his opps to take his X away as there's no wind & no bad bounce
Indoor HC tends to play on the faster side, giving Rafa < X to set up his shots & "play w/ strategy" (see his' & Fritz' quotes here)
...
IMO, Rafa shouldn't be expected to win matches vs. Novak or Fed on an indoor HC. They're simply >er > him @ that kind of tennis.***
***Another > game btwn. the Pukers & Cowpies. Good news is that the Cowpies lost. The bad news' that the Pukers won. Now if only the Iggles can p/up a few losses.***
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see the face of anguish on Skip Baseless tmrw. on "Undisputed!" I'd almost hear him screaming @ his TV as Dax throws another "pick" or GB's RB, Jones brks. containment for a big gainer! That was a 14 pt. lead & blew it!
***Looked to me like Josh Allen just dropped the handoff on the fumble. - M/b, but the center appeared to snap the ball w/ the pt. of it pointing @ Allen. They normally have the ball turned lengthwise as it hits the QB’s hands.***
Expl. on ESPN, Hasslebeck said the snap is diff. on Goal-line sit. due to how guys submarine in there! The snap's usually a very quick handoff so the Center can protect himself! The camera got in there & the ball was a quick snap to the right & Allen had no chance! I still blame him for the interc.'s when about to score! All I've been hearing about is Josh Allen & the Buff. Bills! They're supposed to steal Home Field Adv. from KC! Now they might miss the playoffs for all we know!
***Allen's a > player. Makes > plays & drives. But he seems to not have the karma. He has had chances the last 2 yrs & now this yr. That game was winnable yesterday vs Minn., & he gave it away. Going thru KC to get to the SB again may not be as desirable as playing their playoff games @ home.***
M/b Allen's been listening to the commentators & sport experts too much! They only had glowing praise until the last 2 wks! Mahomes seems t/b the only one immune to constant flattery!
***Doesn't Allen have a injured elbow? He can't take 2 wks off. His team's in 3rd of div. I can't believe that > team is 3rd. Jets & Bills have the same rec.
Crazy yr. huh?
I can't believe Cowboys are 3rd in their div.
I can't believe GB can still make the playoffs & Dallas might not. GB (4-6) - Cowboys (6-3)
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Minn.'s always close & play tough, but it's like they're cursed. Their fans need a SB win. The Vikings game was SB caliber def. Buff.***
They're raving about it being the best game; 4th Qtr. & OT! Worthy, but memories' are short! Last season's Playoffs had loads of unbelievable games! Mahomes only needed :13 left in a game to take it to OT & win!
***The Bills are in > of the > games lately, but they usually lose unfortunately. The ways they come up w/...lol
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4th & 18, you don't go for the interc. Bat it out of bounds. The Bills have 3 All Pro def. backs out blah blah blah.***
Football players have to be the dumbest athletes seeing as they do incomprehensibly stupid acts in a game every Sunday! I'll never understand trying to catch a ball thrown deep on 4th down! You lose all that yardage if intercepted & give the opp. a chance to catch it too! The Buff. player was trying to catch the ball giving Minn. receiver a chance to steal it from him! Should've just knocked it down! This is nothing compared to the brain freeze of catching a ball in the End Zone, then trying to run it out only t/b tackled inside their own 5 yard line & the player injured! Happens every yr! At least they've finally learned the rule about catching missed FG's! They c/b run out & to a TD like Devon Hester of Chgo. Bears yrs ago used to do!
***Big miss by the refs on MNF. Commies get another FG out of it. 32-21 Commies over Eagles.***
I hope the Head Off. does something; m/b fine some players w/ helmet hits! A receiver was hammered by 2 players near the sideline; finally given pers. foul as if it was a late hit! Both feet in, but just about to step out as he's almost killed on a 2nd hit, helmet to helmet! Comm's about to win this game! They ran the ball down Phili's throat & just held onto the ball for twice the plays & X of poss.! Heineke took a knee & still slammed down! Game over!
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It's the >est problem I have w/ college or pro football; players lit. trying to kill one another! After someone's hurt, they give weak apologies & regrets! Who TF are they kidding! The next play c/b their last!
***...If you mean that the Dems didn't do as well as I'd have liked, you're wrong about that. They did much >er > expected. If you believe that I'm incapable of independent thought.***
ReplyDeleteThe Dems have done >er > expected since the majority of voters care > about party than country! 'You a rapists, child molester, or fraud? Come on; we'll vote for you if you have an "R" behind your name!" I was hoping t/b long gone B4 the country fell this far! Women set themselves back 50 yrs. & I have lit'l to no sympathy for them!
***That's what happens when Reps take charge. They dereg. & take their chances on what might happen. PB Oil Spills happen. They dereg. credit card companies & their predatory lending & charge loan shark int. rates. Bush actually lowered the amt. of $$ banks need to keep on hand in case of an emergency, right B4 the Great Recession hit. It almost seems like he did that on purpose.***
It's hard to have any sympathy for the country when this scenerio occurs again & again! Dems save our bacon only t/b turned out w/ unfair practices or LIES! I have nothing for Reps after trying to destroy our very democracy! I'm disgusted w/ 1/2 the country's people! IDK how you forgive this kind of treachery!
***It's the American people's fault. Clinton did >. Al Gore whd >er > Bush. But Americans got sick of the same old same old & forgot how bad his daddy was. They could see themselves drinking a beer w/ Bush > Gore. That's how the American people decided to give Bush 2 a chance. They're really getting dumb. Even us. We are being manipulated w/ Twitter. Even if we don't have a Twitter acct., which I don't, we are affected by it.
And don't ever forget they stole 2000 & Trump tried to use many of the tactics used in FL in 2000 to steal 2020. He wanted it to go to the Supreme Court. He started a riot just like Reps did in 2000. In fact Roger Stone takes credit for the 2000 Brooks Brother Riots & if I'm not mistaken, he was involved in the 2020 insurrection.
Gore should've ran the country in the 2000's. We'd be > >er off today. He shouldn't have picked LIEberman as his running mate. He should've used Clinton, a great campaigner, but he ignored him. Error.
Murdoch s/b tossed out of the country for telling so many incredibly hateful, destructive lies or allowing them t/b spread. The Rep. base has always been political ignoramuses lol. But the silent majority's now the loud-mouth majority; OMG.
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Americans have short memories. 2 yrs. They forgot why they voted for Clinton in the 1st place. They should've rewarded Gore for those 8 > yrs. Then we would've seen how Gore handled that recession Bush was hit w/ early on. He'd've handled it > >er.
One thing Gore wouldn't have done' passed the Bush tax brks using the Clinton Sur+ as reason for giving the people their $$ back. He would've invested in infrastructure like Biden has. And m/b he wouldn't have been hit on 9-11. Bush was warned. He told the guy, "thanks, you covered your ass, now get" after the guy flew all the way to Crawford to tell him. He was too busy painting or clearing brush on the ranch.
Gore wouldn't have lied us into Iraq. So besides giving the surplus away to rich people & the spending we did in Iraq for 20 yrs., imagine how much richer we w/b if Gore won. Just take away the Bush tax cuts & NO Iraq war. We'd be 10 or $20T >er >we are now.
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If Gore would've won his home state, he'd've won = w/o FLA. Tenn. was won by Gov. George W. Bush by a 3.87% margin of victory, despite having voted for Clinton in '92 & '96 & being the home state of VP, Gore. Picking a Jew t/b his VP did not help in TN, let me tell you right now.***
That's the dumb side of Dems; not politiking where they need! Hillary didn't bother going to Wisc. It cost us all!
***Reps are > @ getting elected & bad @ governing. Dems the other way around.***
***When will Novak be allowed into the US now that his AO ban's over?***
ReplyDeleteNext yr.! Looks like Novak s/b able to play a full schedule! USO here he comes!
***As if Djokovic didn't lose to FAA recently. On his best surface BTW.***
Why people ct. Laver Cup matches is beyond me?! It's a glorified exh. that few people care about other > nastalgic oldsters like me I guess!***
***People somehow cared a lot when Djokovic won a match there. But the moment he lost, it turned into an exh.? You've got to choose something. Anyway, it counts in the H2H.***
It doesn't matter what you call it! The LC still means nothing in the grand scheme of things! Novak also lost 2 matches back in '18 after winning Wimbl. & The USO! To me it's all stagecraft to make this event relevant! Europe owned it & to save it, I believe they allowed the The World to win; esp. w/ a Novak loss again!
***I’m not awarding anyone moral slams. - But if a player w/b a heavy fave vs anyone else in the world, then he has a claim to the title of world #1, b/c it means he's widely considered the best player.
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I'll agree that Djokovic has a legit. claim to have been the best tennis player in the world in '22, & I say this despite the fact that I don't care for him in the least bit.
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Some of those vac'd are still getting sick from artificial immunity vs natural immunity. Djokovic may've lost in AO or USO in '22. Nothing lasts forever. There's always a 1st X. The dude lost in '21 USO final. No excuses. A loss is a loss un< you're blatantly injured or fatigued like in the Thiem-Zev final.***
I'll give you the USO, but Novak owns the AO & starts his seasons out quickly every yr. by winning it & the Sunshine Double X X's
***He owns it? Then it c/b stolen too just like a Lamborghini or Porsche, right? Sports has injuries & breakthroughs always happen. What if his shoulder started giving him pain again? (Edit) - Actually he has played hurt & won it. Yep, he's Ultron.
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Mektic/Pavic are looking really good. I can see them winning the YEC.***
I have no idea who they are! Doubles isn't featured like it used to! Top singles' players don't play > @ all unlike McEnroe way back when! In my day, the dubs was almost as important! It was a lit'l pocket $$ for players who weren't earning > in singles! You don't have memorable teams like the Gully's, Gottfried & Ramirez, Hewitt & McMillan, Stewart & McNair, & of course McEnroe & Fleming! The women were = > notable w/ BJK/Casal, Stove/Durr, Court/Wade, & Nav'lova/Shriver! I do miss those days!
***Djokovic would've > rec. He was denied...:
- 26 wks. @ #1 b/c of the frozen ranking btw Mar. & July '20. Prob. a lot > 26 wks. if he had played everything wanted in '22.
- Wimbl.'20 (huge fave, but tourn. cancel)
- AO'22 (huge fave)
- USO'22 (not fave like Wimb.'20 & AO'22, but still a top-contender... top-5 fave)
- 3 cons. Shanghaï Masters, which was/is one of his > successful Masters 1000 (4 wins/ 8 att.)
- 2000 pts from Wimbl.'22
He'd already have > 400 wks @ #1.
And I think he'd've won @ least 1 of those Slams... either Wimbl.'20 or AO'22. Poss. both.
The frozen ranking in '20, Wimbl.'20, Shanghaï '20/'21/'22 & no pts. in Wimbl.'22 had nothing to do w/ vacc.. It's linked to the pandemic, but those decisions impacted him the >.
-
What has Nadal lost b/c of Covid, in comparison?
0 wk. as world #1.
His pet Slam was resched. when Wimbl. cancelled.
700 pts. from his Wimbl. SF (we know now he still wouldn't have finished '22 as #1, = w/ +720).
MC & Madrid '20? 2 clay Masters were cancelled... But was he really the big fave of those tourns? He hasn't won Monaco & Madrid since '18, so I'm not so sure...
... Covid had lit'l if no neg. impact on Nadal's #'s. It had catastrophic consequences for Djokovic.***
***Bottomline, you can only be the GOAT of your era:
ReplyDeleteFor the men ...
GOTE '60s - Laver
GOTE '70s - Connors & Borg
GOTE '80s - McEnroe & Lendl (Wilander needed Wimbl.!)
GOTE '90s - Sampras
GOTE 2000 - '07 - Federer
GOTE '08 - '18 - Nadal
GOTE '18 to present day - Djokovic
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Fed's pretty much the undeniable GOAT @ this pt. (basically the Michael Jordan =valent) while Novak's the LeBron of tennis.***
I'm no fan of LeBron's; esp. being from Chgo, but as a "mercenary," he's the top! He leaves his drafted team, goes to Miami to win 2 titles, then goes back to Cleveland to win a Chp.! It didn't look good for him going to LA, but was saved by the Pandemic & won once under those conditions of "lock up!" He'll never get to 6, but 4 over 3 teams is impressive in the history books!
***I think LeBron like Kobe are > ex. of why it's subjective to compare older basketball players to modern NBA players. This is b/c the 2 aforementioned players went str. to the NBA out of HS. Imagine if Kareem did the same thing & skipped UCLA? This means his NBA #'s would likely be diff. since he had the body & skills t/b comp. out of HS or @ min. 1 or 2 yrs. out of college. Even Magic Johnson, his future teammate only played 2 yrs. in college & Jordan went to NC for 3 yrs. Both Magic & Jordan had an immediate impact in the NBA w/o = finishing college.
The ATP/WTA tour does have many teenagers that have been comp. & won slams as teenagers. Imagine if players like Graf, Seles, Becker, Chang, & Sampras went to college for 4 yrs. then joined the tour? I know some Tennis players have taken the college route.
---
GOAT debate will never be over b/c it's impossible to ascertain GOAT per., best player of his own era? Yes, he c/b or > likely w/b.***
Unfortunately for overall tennis fans who've a fave or 2, the rec.bks w/b littered w/ the names of Fedalovic, Djokovic boasting the > categories already!
***Yes, but still it doesn't make any one of them GOAT. Can you fault Laver, Sampras & other >s for playing in diff. conditions, circumstances? Or is there anyway to prove how Big 3 would've fared in those condition vs them & their field?***
There are certain players that'll still be either compared or elevated to stay close to these guys going back to Tilden, Perry, Gonzales, Rosewall, & of course Laver! Borg still has recs. unbroken to this day so his legend's certain! Sampras is hurt by not = making a FO title! We elevated him to GOAT status 20 yrs. ago looking to see history being made, but just as quickly, 3 players surpassed him easily! I might still go from Laver to Borg to Sampras before Fedalovic in OE!
***well, you can pick anyone from past & make a case for him. Sampras was a dom. king in his condition & players retired early in his days. He was undisputed king of his own era & vastly diff. conditions. Until Big 3 don't go to 90s ...Sampras will have as much of GOAT claim as anyone from other eras. Bottomline's you can only be best of your own era & rest is pure fanboyism.
---
...And Djokovic needed a 10-8 5th Set to beat Nadal @ '18 Wimbl. w/ the roof closed.***
Novak had just arrived from the wilderness! For over a yr. he was being upset early & often in every tourn. he played thru '17 & into '18! It was a miracle he = got to the Wimbl. SF where Rafa had his best chance to def. Novak off clay! True enough, everything went his way to survive Nadal's > rec. in '18! It all started w/ Isner & Anderson going 6+ hours, 26-24 in the 5th in their SF! That made an = slower match to start rather late! There was a curfew so Novak was lucky to finish off the 3rd set t/b up 2 sets to 1 B4 play suspended until the next day! Roof had been closed the night B4, Novak had the right to demand to play under the same conditions which helped! He had the 4th set to get over nerves & hang in there to steal that Wimbl. from Rafa in 5! It was Nadal's for the taking w/ a pigeon of a player in Anderson just 3 str. sets from winning a 3rd title!
***FFS, keep a day btw SF & finals of a Masters event..Is it so difficult to understand @ YEC? Novak's exhausted taking out Med in 3 sets; 3rd set TB.***
ReplyDeleteNovak was huffin' & puffin' def. Medvedev, but he has to go back out there tmrw. while the NG'rs have a day off! If he takes this; oooh the embarrassment!
***Is it wrong that I get so much enjoyment from watching Stefanos go sideways?***
It used t/b that way w/ me when watching Nadal go down in flames! The thrill is gone as he looks so bad outside early Majors & Masters! He stunk it up when he was a kid playing late season events! Thinking he'd do >er @ his age & mindset w/ a new babe, it was lit. insane to believe anything but what actually happened! He prob. shb shutout, but that's how it is w/ players today! They someX's simply can't close! No lead is safe when playing vs Nadovic! How many X's have they come back from MP's? Novak's made his career off saving matches vs the best!
***You're becoming the GOAT of the Rafa Haters!***
Nadal's gamesmanship very early on as a punk back in '05 set the tone! I had the same prob. w/ Agassi from day 1! There was an attitude that offended & they weren't able to change me = as they've aged out! I wasn't one who'd of missed Rafa if he'd quietly left the game in '16! Fedal Redux in '17 revitalized him into hanging in there! Now Novak's surrounded by so many rivals when I have to listen to BS about a weak era due to his unprecedented success over the last decade! ...If the era's so weak, why isn't Nadal winning > w/ no Fed? The men's tour truly is blessed w/ a lot of talent! Fedalovic unfortunately overshadowed > of it making the tour their own private plaything for almost 20 yrs.!
***I've always liked Andrey Rublev & he's my top choice for most over-due to win a big title.***
As I said, Rublev's too much like a "David Ferrer" going into lockdown-mode & being a human backboard trying to take the cover off the ball!
***David Nalbandian only ever won 11 titles, & he's considered one of the > also-rans. (Great under-achiever, too, but you get the pt.)***
Nalbandian was quite dangerous & surprisingly eff. in def. some of the best players in the world! He made a Wimbl. final in '02 & beat Fed in a YEC final in 5 sets! Roger was supposedly hurt, but he was up 2 sets-0 when David charged & stole the title in '05! He was good enough & crazy enough t/b DQ'd @ '12 Queens final after injuring an official by kicking his chair! That gave the champ. to Cilic who was totally out of the match! Nalbandian was a good & versatile player!
***Everyone knows what a (potentially) > player Nalbandian was. But his highlights fit on a postage stamp. Weak head. Distracted by the trappings of fame, such as fast cars.
---
Big 3 were not in their primes in '18. They simply played in the weakest era in tennis history.***
Their legend preceeds them! They've walked over the graves of sev. gens of good players, but for the excel. of Fedalovic, things whb > bal.! Murray whh his X @ the top! Milos might've stolen a Wimbl. & Kei a USO! You never know, but each X we kick dirt on the graves of the Big 3, they've made us eat it! Roger's gone & Rafa's > a 6 month player > Nole who was forced to cut his past season's sched.! I can't wait for '23! S/b a firecracker of a season w/ Novak being allowed @ the AO! He w/b the 5th seed if all top players make the trip "down under!"
***I know you always put wks @ #1 right up there & now the eye-test comes in.
ReplyDelete1. Who did a > impressive job of wrestling the top spot from his prior > > Rafa over Roger? Lit. in epic & comprehensive fashion.
2. Rafa was king of the hill of his peer group for @ least 7 yrs.?
If these are part of the new criteria for >ness.
1. Novak had a good '11 for wresting control of Rafa, but then leveled off & got > into a 3-way battle. It took him sev. > yrs., = from there to lead the h2h w/ either.
2. ?? w/ Novak is: what's his peer group? He basically led the pack all around, = Fedal, but still lost big moments to both. Surely he did in '11, '15-16, & >.
...As to the nd pt., no single Lost Gen'r separated himself from the pack & dom. his own peer group. Dimitrov's the > accomplished w/ 3 big titles, includ. a WTF; no Slams, & only 2 other Masters winners (Sock & PCB).
...But we m/b seeing a true coup by the Millenial Gen., led by its youngest members, Alcaraz & Rune, but also w/ Sinner & FAA as wing-men -- players that, it seems, will surpass the NG'rs, @ least. Notably, Alcaraz def. both Novak & Rafa in Madrid, signaling his arrival; & Rune just beat Novak in the Paris Masters final.
Now of course to truly seal the deal, we'll need to see one of them win a Slam final vs Rafa or Novak. All of the prev. gens have failed thus far: Vs the Big 3 in Slam finals, Lost Gen is 0-2, Next Gen is 1-9, w/ Med's def. of Novak in the '21 USO being the lone win.
Who's beaten one of the Big 3 in a big title final - other > members of the Big 3 + One (Murray)?
'22: IW's - Fritz d. Nadal; Paris - Rune d. Djokovic
'21: USO - Medvedev d. Djokovic
'19: IW's - Thiem d. Federer
'18: IW's - Del Potro d. Fed; Paris - Khachanov d. Djokr; WTF - Zverev d. Djokovic
...
The Big 3 have lost big title finals to other players all along, except for a 4-yr. gap in '10-13 when Novak & Rafa were arguably @ their shared peak. '14-16 saw 3 Slams by Stanimal, 2 @ the expense of Novak; after '16, 1 of the Big 3 didn't lose a Slam final to a non-member til '21 -- 5 yrs. later.
Only 3 players (other > the Big 4) have def. a member of the Big 3 in a Slam final: Wawrinka 3 X's, Del Potro & Med once each.
The Alcaraz & Rune victories this yr. don't imply the kind of mythic narrative that I want them too. Certainly, we can see how Zverev in '17-18 seemed to be on the cusp - def. Roger once & Novak twice in big finals. And then Medvedev over Novak in '21, but then he lost to Rafa @ the '22 AO & slipped back. The full coup just never happened....until now? Well, another thing we'll look for in '23...
...The prob. w/ your #1, for this gen.'s also pt.'d out by above: Roger's retired, Rafa has 1 foot in the tennis grave, & = Novak won't last forever.
---
Birth yrs w/o Slam win'rs:
'04-on - Don't = know what to call this next group. Gen. Apocalypse? ...way too early to get a sense of this group.
'97-02 Late NG, early Millenials...we'll see some Slams here.
'94-95 - Early NG...un< Kyrgios can pull one off, this is a weak group that's sort of the younger sibling to Lost Gen.
'89-92 - The heart of Lost Gen. We've only seen a few big titles & no Slams. These guys are in or entering their 30s & on the way out.
'83-84 - The end of Gen-Fed & beginning of Djokodal. Verdasco, Soderling, Tipsarevic, etc.
'79 - 1st yr. of Gen-Fed, sort of transitional from the earlier Gen. Ljubicic, Blake, Massu.
'77 - A weak yr., w/ Canas prob. the best player. Also Clement & Kiefer.
'73 - End of Sampras' Gen. Rusedski, Portas, Berasategui.
'69 - The bookend of the Sampras gen. Wheaton, Pioline, Mancini.
61-63 - After Lendl & McEnroe, the '59-63 gen. was rel. weak, w/ Noah the 3rd best player & Gomez the only other Slam winner. Players include Leconte, Nystrom, Pernfors, Gilbert.
'57 - Borg gen's was = weaker. No big title winners born this yr., or any players worth mentioning.
'55 - Borg gen again. McNamara, Fleming, Pecci.
'53 -End of Connors gen. Higueras & Ramirez were very good 2nd tier types.
'47-48 - End of the Newcombe-Nastase group. No one worth mentioning.***
Thx! ;-)
***It w/b an uphill battle for Ruud, but he has to give it everything & get over that hump of losing big event finals. Taking out Novak & winning his >est title to date would certainly help the convo. for '23.***
ReplyDeleteW/ the way Novak's been a lit'l shakey of late gives me pause! Anything can happen! Expectations says he's a fave, but after dealing w/ Med, he's lucky to still be in the tourn.! The comp's fierce = w/o Nadal! Ruud's made 2 major finals, but so far, he's still only king of 250's! If Novak can keep it together one > day he w/b poised to retake #1 very easily w/ ATP's w/i a 1000 of the top! It used to take months, but the parity has finally arrived where the wealth's being spread! I think it's > that > players have shared major events! The eyes cross seeing every conceivable rec. has Fedalovic all over it!
***It w/b > of a story of Novak wins. As he w/b the oldest champ., tie the rec. w/ 6 titles as well as join Fed winning it in 3 diff. venues. This is event now dom. by the younger players since '17 so let’s see what happens tmrw.***
I hear they're offering "rec. $$;" over $4+ M to win all 5 matches! How X's have changed! It has gone up & down in prestige, but that $$ amt. gives it tons of legitamacy! Rafa complains about it being stuck on indoor HC! I think it's something to discuss! Move the event around the world & change surfaces like the early 70's! One of the 1st matches I saw on TV had Vilas def. Nastase in the final on grass of Kooyong Stadium "down under!" It was in '74 & event was called "The Masters" like the golf event! Nastase was thought t/b the true Master since he could lose a match & still win the Champ.! He took 4 of 5 finals!
***Djokovic wins YEC def. Ruud in str. sets. Casper just doesn’t seem to have the athleticism & weapons to match the very elite consistently so w/b tough. I admire Novak > & > as X goes by. He keeps setting the bar >er & >er w/ his unparalleled discipline, dedication to his craft. He's an inspiration. ...This ends the yr. arguably the best &'ll go down as GOAT, no doubt in my mind. Djokovic's an indomitable force & not only the >est to ever play, but as a person, sets the bar high as-well. He's the epitome of work ethic, dedication, perseverance, courage & IMO sets a >er standard > = Rafa or Roger as these 2 do as everyone tells them to do. Novak shows us to stay true to your beliefs & have the courage to stay the course, it always pays off.
---
The real YE ATP rankings w/ Wimbl. pts.:
1. Alcaraz - 7000
2. Djokovic - 6820
3. Nadal - 6740
4. Ruud - 5865
5. Tsitsipas - 5640
6. Auger-Aliasime - 4205
7. Medvedev - 4065
8. Rublev - 3930
9. Fritz - 3715
10. Norrie - 3165
11. Kyrgios - 3070
12. Hurkacz - 2915
13. Rune - 2898
14. Sinner - 2770
15. Zverev - 2700
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Which "important rec." has Novak shattered?***
You're kidding right? YE #1, wks @ #1, Has 80+ wins @ all 4 majors, won YEC 6 X's (oldest winner now) over 3 decades, Nole-slam (3 surfaces), Masters rec. of 38, won 31 str. Masters matches, & def. a rec. 240 top 10 players! I could go on, but these are just OTTH!
***...not = this man (Federer) achieved a CYGS. #lavergoat***
Fed was never close! Talks of a CYGS shouldn't even be referenced w/ him as he lost the 2nd event vs his nemesis Nadal again & again until '09! He only has the 1 FO due to Soderling helping him out w/ the >est upset in tennis history @ the X! Novak's the only 1 that s/b invoked as he was just 1 match away @ the USO, but lost to Medvedev in str.! I still say Nole had a >er chance if he hadn't gone to Japan for the Olympics, wasting his efforts on that glorified exh. ;-)
***...Novak's 1st Slam @ an older age > Rosewall w/b the '24 USO, I believe.***
ReplyDeleteLike winning this past YEC/WTF, it only matters about being the oldest champ. if it happens! It doesn't mean much; but gives bragging rights! IMO, nothing was > impressive > Novak's season in '21, being just 1 match from a CYGS @ 34! I'd like Nadal or Fed to have done that! Stealing 1 major is 1 thing, but to take all 4, now that w/b monumental either way; now or later!
---
Novak was limited in his access to quite a few tournaments, but somehow got enough out of it that it wasn't a wasted season w/ 1 major, a Masters, & the YEC!
***'22 ATP Top 10 by Win %:
1. Djokovic 42-7 (85.7%)
2. Nadal 39-8 (83%)
3. Alcaraz 57-13 (81.4%)
4. Kyrgios 37-10 (78.7%)
5. Sinner 47-16 (74.6%)
6. Zverev 29-10 (74.4%)
7. Berrettini 32-12 (72.7%)
8. Rublev 51-20 (71.83%)
9. Tsitsipas 61-24 (71.76%)
10. Medvedev 45-19 (70.3%)***
Well Novak avoided dropping too many matches to the Mill. NG'rs! He prob. shouldn't've dropped either to Alcaraz or Rune but for indecision by him @ the net late! Rafa was going down in flames to many; FAA, Tiafoe, Alcaraz, Fritz, Shapovalov, & Coric! Changing of the guard? Perhaps! We'll see!
***The person who'll brk. Rafa’s 14 FOs has not been born yet.
- 81 match winning streak on clay, m/b broken.
- 10 cons. yrs of winning @ least a major & a masters. (Alcaraz might brk this).***
Well Novak's the GOAT if M-1000 determines it as he owns a rec. 38 events, has a DGM's; def. 31 top 10 players in '15! Cont. the >est season, '15 had him entering 8 of 9 events, made all 8 finals, winning 6! All his own recs, then +ing the YEC having him take 10 of the top 14 ATP major events of the season! I think a bunch of these recs. will last a very long X as no one's taken care of themselves the way Novak does to this day! It's allowed him t/b one match from a CYGS @ 34 yo in '21! I'm surprised > conspiracies haven't been created as he's done super-human feats of excel. no matter his bad press over the yrs!
***Nadal ended sev. of Peak Fed's streaks, includ. 65 str. wins on grass, 56 str. wins on HC's, 237 cons. wks @ #1, 5 str. Wimbl. titles, 4 str. yrs of YE #1 (likely hits 7 str. w/ no Nadal). Prime Fed had his hands entirely full w/ Nadal. Nothing vs Djoker, other > passing or matching many of Fed's key recs. ...I want Nadal to get that slam rec. Had Djoker come up ahead of X, I might think diff.
---
Honestly, just enjoy Nadal & Djokovic while they're still here. Imagine when all 3 are retired.***
...Fedal've lasting affects to the history of the game due to their excel. & longevity! ...If not for Novak, it whg > & > boring as NG after Lost NG, to the new Mill. NG'r brk'n thru a lit'l as Fed fades into obscurity! It's all about the FINAL GOAT which's making Rafa hang in there an extra-ord. amt. of X trying to finish on TOP for good! It's really going t/b btwn. Nadovic as their #'s have overwhelmed Roger B4 he = retired!
***...Nice intern. of D. Nalbadien; "no regrets."***
ReplyDeleteDavid N.'d regret his act in Queens, getting DQ'd by injuring a linesman! Blood was involved al> 10 yrs. ago! Did he forget?
***It's a shame that happened. As he w/b always remembered for it...***
B4 Queens, I really wasn't paying as much attn. to the men's game, but he came up again & again! He was a smooth & talented player, but in > ops. around "an underachiever!" He made a Wimbl. final! Then thwarted early success @ YEC by def. Roger in 5 tough sets! Supposedly Roger's ankle was injured! Roger already a GOD by '05 got the ben. of the doubt I'm sure!
***Well, I'm a Fed fan, so obviously Novak deserves Nadal is, but Novak's steadily closed the gap that was 17-14-12!
***Novak won 3 out of those 7 by beating the "grass court" GOAT in a final. Too early to say anyway. He‘ll end up w/ 8-10 Wimbl. titles.
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Djokovic deserves > 7 Wimbls. It s/b 8 b/c Wimbl. in '20 was cancelled, but we all know he'd’ve won.***
Same w/ AO earlier this yr! Novak's DQ allowed Rafa to finally get his 2nd title "down under" & =s Novak having a Dub. CGS!
***Someone tell me what's a Career Golden Slam & a Big title sweep?***
OTTH a Career Golden Slam's been accompl. only twice; Agassi & Nadal w/ all 4 majors & an OGM! Andre has a Super CGnS since he took 1 YEC! Only Novak has a Big Title sweep w/ a CGS & GM's owning all 9 Masters events & the YEC! Novak's the only player w/ a Double GM as well, not to mention his Nole-Slam over '15-16!
***Top 128 - some old-X'rs. That leaves Tilden, Laver, Borg, McEnroe, Fedalovic unacct'd for.6
8. Rosewall
9. Gonzales
10. Lendl
11. Sampras
12. Budge
13. Connors
14. Kramer
15. Murray
16. Becker
17. Vines
18. Perry
19. Agassi
20. Edberg
21. Vilas
---
...Djokovic has the advantage @ the ATP Cup which he won & got a win vs Nadal. ...Djokovic's 69-28 Bo3 Finals (71.1%) & he's 22-11 in Bo5 Finals (66.66%). Nadal's 31-9 in Bo5 Finals (77.5%) while he's 61-29 in Bo3 Finals (67.78%). ...It's obvious that Nadal prefers the Bo5 Finals &'s stated this. In a total of 40 Singles Bo5 Finals he lost in str. sets only ONCE. Djokovic has lost in Bo5 str. set finals to Fed, Murray, Nadal, & Medvedev. There's a diff. btwn Bo3 & Bo5.
---
Djokovic's won 9 slams past 30, while Nadal has won 7 & vultured 1 >, so not much diff. overall. It's just that Djoko's career started > later > Nadal's. Comparing their 'prime,' '11-16 Djoko won 11 slams, & '08-13 Nadal won 10.
The diff.'s that Nadal started winning RG @ 19, & has been able to do it until this day thanks to the weakest clay era ever.
Same thing @ Wimbl. Djoko wasn't any good on grass until '11 & only had 5 chances during his prime, winning 3 titles.
If the comp.'s weak, well m/b Nadal should do something about it, the way Djoko is doing @ RG. B/c let's face it, w/o him, the clay comp. whb an utter joke, & not only since like few yrs back, rather since '08.
Oh, & one small thing, that Nadal has won the same # of USO's past 30 as in his prime, & also vultured the same # of AOs. The only place he hasn't been able to do it is... Wimbl. Wonder why. lol, m/b that weak comp. again.***
***The YEC prob. the hardest event for Nadal; easiest for Djokovic.***
ReplyDeleteObvious myth that the top 8 players are there! Never happens! Someone's always being left off or injured! Alt.'s are usually weak & lose 2 or 3 matches in the RR!
***Nadal is epic.***
But may never win = 1 YEC/WTF! That's either KARMA or a bal. of power as he's the "clay GOAT!" Roger & Nole own the grass & HC's!
***Wait, who won WTF in '10? I just assumed that only Nadal could def. #1, 3, 4, 5, & #7***
Rafa's never won this tourn.! He made 2 or 3 finals over the last decade or so, but that's been about it! He actually lost all 3 of his RR matches in '09 OTTH! Novak def. him in his best season of '13 in the final in str. sets actually!
***Fed, Sampras, Becker, Lendl, Mac. All >er > Djokovic indoors. Yes.***
Possibly, but we'll never know as they come from diff. eras! We need to get over it! Djokovic'll still own all the recs b/c he's "The Man" now!
***Djokovic winning > w/ nothing special level in inflation era isn't going to change things level wise.***
Well, when it comes to Roger, I'm not so sure! Nole proved himself early & often def. Fed at the USO, AO, & Wimbl.; often saving MP's! He wasn't over the hill!
***'10 YEC was prob. around a similar level as good '12 Fed, Fall '12 Fed was a bit below. Certainly good '12 Fed has a decent chance to beat Djokovic in that YEC final, but not a lock.***
Hon, did you = look @ the tourn. rec.? We know Novak was able to beat Fed on one of his fave surfaces b/c he did it in '12, '13, '15 & '14 W/O! He did it in str. sets as well! I m/b missing someone's pt.! Hilarious, regard< as Djokovic takes, brks, & owns tons of recs. Fedal used to hold!
***That's true, the '14 walkover's really the straw that brks the camel's back here dahlin'.***
Besides Rafa not winning a YEC, he was destroyed in str. sets by Novak in Nadal's super-season of '13!
***Looking @ the list of players def., easily Fed.
Finals alone we have:
Djokovic:
'08: Davydenko
'12: Fed
'13: Nadal
'14: W/O
'15: Fed
'22: Ruud
Federer:
'03: Agassi
'04: Hewitt
'06: Blake
'07: Ferrer
'10: Nadal
'11: Tsonga
Federer went 5-0 in 5 of his 6 WTF titles. ('07) Loss to Gonzales
Djokovic went 5-0 in 4 of his 6 WTF titles. ('08 & '15). Losses to Tsonga & Fed)
Players def. in their > recent WTF Title:
Djokovic '22:
Rublev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Fritz, Ruud
Fed '11:
Nadal (bagelled), Tsonga, Fish, Ferrer, Tsonga
Fed w/ a clear advantage. Every stat other > the # of titles goes Fed's way as it is. Another thing is that one of his titles Djokovic won w/ a WO in the final. No tea, no shade, Novak had no choice in the matter, but in a practical sense it still means he won 5 finals for his 6 titles. Fed won 6 for 6.***
***Slam Difficulty Factors:
ReplyDeleteBO5 vs BO3 -
Can only lose once vs. 1-2 X's @ YEC, & might = 3 X's in RR if something really weird goes wrong.
Need to win 7 matches vs need to win min. of 3, > likely need to win @ least 4.
YEC Difficulty Factors:
< days off vs every other day play in Slams.
Indoor-majority of tour outdoor vs. varired surfaces for the slam favoring some players over others depending on surface.
Guaranteed to play roughly a top 10 players in every match (depending on injury, I wonder what's the > diff. to win a slam, esp. due to single elim.
But, the comp's usually going t/b > harder in YEC, but being able to lose a match in the RR again gives you a lit'l wiggle rm.
Fed out of Wimby after having a bad day vs Anderson. At YEC, he'd easily avenge a bad B03 match & still win the RR.***
I just don't think people understand how the LEVEL of tennis ability has gone up exp'tially over the decades! Going 5 sets "back in the day" is nothing like what players of today have to contend w/! In the 70's, you'd lit. have a beer-belly & still win if you had a big serve! Playing w/ twigs & fish-string from the the ancient X's of the 1800's forced > skill > anything! Today you have t/b a real athlete to deal w/ the pace of shot & the leg-work entailed to survive 21st century tennis! I apprec. giving top players a brk by going BO3 in Masters, but the abberation of Fedalovic made it seem > unfair allowing them to hoard the spoils of the last 20 yrs! After Nadovic retires, things'll bal. out & > winners'll have >er chances to take Majors & Masters events!
***Until we have a player who is the top in titles as well as endorsements, there's no GOAT. Sampras & Borg had a claim when they retired, but is not clear any<.***
I keep saying Fed could've saved some mystique where = today we'd muse to ourselves, "what if?" He left no doubt by hanging on 2 yrs. too long! It's now btwn Nadovic! Roger didn't get that grace per. on top Sampras got after he left the stage! Pete was surprisingly overtaken in majors by Fed in 8.5 yrs @ the '09 Wimbl. win over A-Rod w/ 15! Fed got the endorsement lead, but he's already going to wind up in 3rd All X!
***But the World still regards him as the best & reflected in endorsements. He does not have the recs.
Nadovic can't surpass = 1/2 of RF’s endorsements = when RF's retired & that shows public don’t value their impact as >.
To me GOAT means they need to have recs as well as endorsements.***
It can't get old as the #'s flip ever so often! This m/b Novak's last chance to tie YEC's w/ Fed! The #'s now 6 apiece! That means something in the grand scheme of things! It all +s up! The argument will continue well past when it's settled w/ Nadovic w/i a 2 or 3 seasons!
***There never w/b a GOAT. Too many variables. Everyone knows this. Which is why this topic is getting old.
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Prior to Wimbl. this yr., I'd've said Nadal, but Djokovic surpassed Nadal this yr. w/ a Wimbl./YEC title. - I don't think > of this has to do w/ why Djokovic is #1 in top 10 win % indoor.
Indoors, Djokovic is 6-4 vs Fed, 4-2 vs Nadal, 4-1 vs Murray, 6-1 vs Wawrinka, 3-0 vs Del Potro, 5-1 vs Cilic, 7-0 vs Berdych, 3-1 vs Medvedev, 2-2 vs Zverev, & 4-0 vs Tsitsipas.
The only H2H's he lost vs one of his real rivals is 1-4 vs Tsonga ('08 & '09 B4 he turned around the H2H w/ no matches after '12) & 1-2 vs Thiem. So his >er % is not coming from the Casper Ruud's out there. He pretty much dom. the H2H's vs his gen. & the NG of players. Saying he's not among the best indoors is just incorrect.
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...who want to act like Olympic Singles Gold & ELO are important historical metrics.***
I've personally been disgusted w/ tennis being re-installed into the Olympics! It was ok once in '84 as an exh. sport, but to actually give it value is obscene! Nothing like globe-trotting millionaires competing where supplanted amateurs use to be!
***Fed's >er > Djokovic @ the YEC. Djokovic's the superior player overall, w/ < shotmaking skills though. No one will ever make people want to pick up a racket > Fed.***
ReplyDeleteRoger's prob. the superior player @ Wimbl., but it won't stop Novak from attempting to tie him @ 8 Chp. next season! What will you do then when we have the same scenerio; Fed def. Novak a couple X's early in his career, but succumbing 3 finals to his arch rival; 1 w/ 2 MP's on serve?
***I'd prob. say peak Fed's the best Wimbl. player, but Djokovic is >er player overall. He's already passed that pt., so I don't think my opinion will change. It gets muddy trying to decipher who's the best when it's so close. I'd very well be wrong w/ all my opinions b/c there are many variables I can't take into acct.
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Djokovic hit his grass prime aged 24, only a yr. or 2 older > Fed & Sampras were, so I really don't get what the problem is?***
Just a lame attempt @ deflection! It's like cons. pols, keep undermining progressive thinking! It's becoming > & > of a stretch as fandom for Fedal's getting very desperate! Novak caught up w/ them &'s surpassed their achievements in just about every catagory besides being behind by one skinny major he was prevented admission "down under!" I'm no fan, keeping my old powder drive w/ Laver, Borg, & Edberg leading my fave list!
***Some of Fedr’s runs @ WTF were tourn. performances that might never be replicated in terms of who he beat & how he beat them.
But you’ve also got very lean yrs for the WTF where players have won who've never sniffed a major.
The tourn. victories that are the > underrated for me are really diff. M-1000 wins where a player plows thr- a very tight 64 player draw from a < seeding where there's very lit'l rest. They're playing extremely good players in a sudden death format from the 3rd or 4th Rd. onwards.
Ljubicic '10 IW's is a good ex. That run was = > shocking / impressive given his age @ the X. Just a monumental achievement that'd get way > credit IMO. It’s not a marathon like a major & there's nowhere near the same ext.ended pressure.***
SomeX's it's just bad Fk'n luck! Nadal's never won Miami or Paris Masters either! You can't = Novak's DGM's w/o @ least 1! Roger's missing a few events off his resume! Novak's been quite fort. to have won all the major events of the ATP X X's! His name's just all over all over the rec.bks = though many think tennis begins & ends w/ Fedal! It makes sense Roger held the rec. for the > YEC's, but like him @ RG, Nadal's not been able to steal 1 of these YEC's over the yrs.!
***Yes! Luck's also a factor @ WTF. SomeX's good luck, someX's bad luck. It’s kind of a cool novelty watching the group stages & the quirks of circumstances that can occur. It’s a unique aspect of the RR format that we don’t often get to see during the tennis yr.
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Lol, the Excuse Brigade never sleeps! Either excuses for Nadal losing or for Novak winning. - Nadal lost @ Wimbl. to #100 Rosol, #135 Darcis, #144 Kyrgios, & #102 Brown when he was 26, 27, 28 & 29, yet he can't stop talking about Djokovic's well earned titles. If I was a Nadal fan, I'd sit this 1 out. He s/b happy he has 2.
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7. McEnroe
...Borg & Tilden are al> certainly up next. Oh, & any > gripes about Mac over Pete? ;-)
Seriously, though, I can only assume this is the result of his Elo formula, & perhaps heavy wt. on a player's peak yr. - Mac's '84 was >er > any season by Sampras by a good margin & among the 4 best ever (along w/ Laver '69, Roger '06, Novak '15).***
***The only people dying these days of Covid are basically people that weren't vac'd. Masks work just fine. The only prob. w/ all this is that children as it turned out were not badly affected, but there's no way of knowing that.***
ReplyDeleteWe might get some bad news yrs. down the line about the kids! Hopefully it won't be as bad as FLINT. MI!
***The diff. btwn. him & Trump, Perot chose to run as an indep. which game him a serious handicap to begin w/. However, if he hadn't revealed his > crazy side when somebody(ies)--prob. politically motivated--threatened him, he might've won the 1st election.***
Hmm, I was thinking the crazy came from Sarah Palin! Thanks for reminding us how crazy Perot was back then!
***Rep. are always doing corrupt reg. like in the 20s you'd buy on margin, pay only 10% of the actual cost- which's just > til something goes wrong. They caused the Great Depr. & then they were the isolationists. The S+L boom of the 80s, the corrupt real estate boom of the 2000s, & then the worst pandemic reaction anywhere & leading the world in conspiracies about the vaccine etc, etc. They are always a catastrophe. You gotta be an idiot to vote for them or a greedy idiot.
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Gavin Newsom has a suspicion that he wouldn't be as popular nationally as cheating makes him locally.***
Why is there this double standard btw "R" & "D" where it's okay for the cons. red stater t/b a hypocritical, cheating, & FAKE POS, but the progressive has t/b pure as the driven snow? It's pathetic that Trump can do no wrong, include as he said, "shoot somebody on 5th Ave. & get away w/ it!" What does that say about the support? I already think these a-holes are irredeemable; esp. after ignoring Jan 6th! These criminal fks can't ever go back & excuse their choices, actually undermining our very democracy!
***...Some see Newsom's baggage as being a prob. But as long as they can control the message via their surrogate MSM, I don't think that worries them a whole lot. Newsom certainly appears t/b the > electable cand. on the scene right now.***
This is just '22! It's ok to get Gavin's name out there since there's a distinct poss. Biden won't run if he can help it! He can't announce it this early! He's gonna be fighting for his life when Reps take over the HOUSE & start being a thorn in the coll. USA arse! Of course Dems'll follow the rules & accept being beaten over the head by subpoenas & committee hearings after Trump thumbed his nose @ any investigation!
***The Dems have never followed the rules B4. I doubt they will now either.***
Gawd, the delusions are rampant w/ you people! It's so disturbing we have such unpatriotic a-holes who think "party" over country! It's so pathetic I can't describe how disappointed I am w/ a good chunk of the country who've collectively lost their fk'n minds!
***It's at least becoming poss. that Trump could s/b a factor, but gov't has learned that playing softball w/ a fascist threat isn't the solution.***
It appears these people don't care about Jan. 6th, Trump refusing to transfer power to Biden in a X'ly fashion, & took classified, secret docs w/ him to play w/ & poss. sell! Why the Dems = listen to Reps w/ such mental liabilities makes lit'l sense! Hunter Biden s/b ok since we know these idiots will overreach! M/b the Dems in the Senate should chk out the Trump kids! Playing nice hasn't done the Dems ANY good! Use their tactics; be a-holes!
***You Cons are absolutely right to fear her. Whitmer will make an incredibly hard to beat Presidential cand. I look forward to your dishonest smears.***
It'll start early & often! They can't just politik! There's a need to destroy that's quite pathetic & insecure!
***Whitmer has an IQ well above 100. None of the others are over 50.***
Btwn. Trump & Hillary, IQ had nothing to do w/ it as long as there's an "R" behind their name! It's been going downhill ever since "W!" It's gotten worse each election cycle w/ cons. candidates finally threatening our very democracy! ;-)
***...Saw the 1st half of the Cowpies blowout of the Vikings. The Vikings were coming off a huge emotional miracle win over the Bills. They came out flat & unprepared vs a very good Cowpies team. Same thing happened to them in '17 when they beat the Saints w/ the Minn. Miracle & then flopped vs the Eagles the following wk. Sure hope they come out better prepared vs the Pats on Thksgiv'n. I'd caution vs crowning the Cowpies just yet.***
ReplyDeleteIt balances out w/ mediocre teams! They have a great comeback win, but then drop the next game inexplicably! Now "The Boys" are likely to lose another classic @ home on Thksgiv'n! I can't wait! - Eagles pull it out in tight 1; 17-16! Didn't see it, but Coach Saturday may have a lot t/b proud of w/ his team! ;-)
***...The Cowboys not making it back to the Super Bowl for that long a per. of X is poor ownership. Jones has run that franchise into the ground. Johnson left b/c Jones is the most difficult person on the planet to get along w/. His constant meddling trying to tell the coach how to run the team has been the problem for The Cowboys. Jones is a cancer to the Cowboys & to the NFL. As long as he's their owner, the Cowboys are fucked.***
The Cowboys have been cursed since firing Jimmy Johnson! He was the best assessor of talent &'d've kept them fresh & winning for yrs. to come! I thought it was a joke when I saw him leaving w/ a suitbag over his shoulder! I said "no one's that ego-driven to throw it all away!" I was wrong & The Boys have found a way to waste the talent they've had over the decades winning 1 playoff game & hasn't sniffed the SB outside of caressing old trophies since the 90's! I've seen them lose to backup QB's, rookies, & made old vets look like Joe Montana! It's dropping those Nat'l tele'd games that amuse me the >!
***Phili barely beat a crappy team like the Colts coming back in the final mins. to have to win is downright embarrassing. The Eagles after looking like the dom. team to beat in the NFC all of a sudden look pretty shitty barely beating the hap< Commies & now barely beating the hap< Colts. The way their playing now I'd've to go w/ the Cowturds as the NFC team that goes to the SB now.
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When Barry Sanders retired he mentioned he was fed up w/ the ownership, that they were not committed to winning a chp.***
Whenever I think of the Lions, I keep recalling when they actualy made the playoffs, but embarrassed themselves like in '95! QB Mitchell had t/b taken out due to throwing repeatedly bad Int's to Phili Eagles; @ least 6! I can still see Fontes telling him he was being replaced & Mitchell asking "why?" Delusional, concussed, or just plain stupid I guess!
***The Lions beat the Cowboys in the playoffs in '92, only to lose to the Redskins who later won the SB. The Lions went on to lose for 30 > yrs., while the Cowboys w/ Aikman & crew won 3 SB's.***
Now the Cowboys are about to go 30 yrs. w/o = playing a SB, much < play one since '96!
***Still confident he'll blow away every previous stat holder to EASILY become the GOAT
That's a tall order, = for Mahomes.
He's a good QB, I believe some of his success c/b attrib. to Andy Reid's offense. But, Reid may not have many > seasons in him.
Then we'll find out how good Mahomes really is.***
Mahomes needed to stop Brady from winning that last SB to assure ending as GOAT! The team blew it twice unfortunately; Conf., then SB vs Brady! Mahomes may well own a bunch of stats & recs, but those 7 SB's w/b hard to match! Players are selfish, comp. people or Hill'd still be in the fold! I lived the "Buff. Bills" '90's run & lamented how they lost players every yr. = while making 4 SB's in a row! That's hard to do w/ free-agency the way it is!
***Agreed. There's no reason to think @ this X he'll ever come close to 7; esp. after he stunk up the last 1. The only reason Mahomes won the 1st X is Jimmy G. stunk up in the SB as well = worse > he did. When he gets to the big game, he panics it seems.***
***Nadal holds the rec. of > tourney wins @ a single slam; 14 @ RG
ReplyDeleteNovak holds the rec. of > tourney wins @ 2 separate slams; (@ least) 7 each: WB & AO
Fed holds the rec. of > tourney wins @ 3 separate slams; (@ least) 5 each: WB, USO, AO
Nadal & Novak hold the rec. of > tourney wins @ all 4 slams; (@ least) 2 each: The DCGS
What could change?
Nadal could extend wins @ RG. Obviously no one else can threaten this.
If Novak wins > @ WB, he extends the > wins @ 2 slams. No one else comes close.
Fed's 5x3 c/b tied by Novak, but requires 2 > USO. Not very likely.
Reaching the TCGS c/b done by Nadal (1 > WB & 1 > AO) or Novak (1 > RG). Novak's road's > likely, but still pretty hard. M/b '23 the last chance?***
Nadal had had a > '10! If not for Novak coming of age, Nadal might've sown up the GOAT race already! Djokovic stopped Nadal in final after final; 6 on all surfaces!
***I'll give them '11, Djokovic's unreal. The only "excuse" I'd make for Nadal is after battling Fed for 5 yrs. & finally getting #1 back & conquering all surfaces after all the wars & mileage from '05-10. He was JUST ready to sit on the throne & get to coast a bit & then a FREAK came thru. I really just don't think Rafa was ready mentally to have to deal w/ all that right away.
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Watch the '11 USO & Wimbl. finals & you'll see that Nadal didn't play well @ all on those occasions & his BH was pretty weak.***
I guess you need something to get over those many losses back in '11! It's pretty sad that acceptance & peace w/ it hasn't occurred after all these yrs! Pathetic really!
***Look @ Nadal's 2 USO finals in those yrs: They are like night & day!***
IDK why it matters! I give Nadal credit for defending all those FO's, but Novak won't ever get a brk when it comes to his success "down under" & 10 Titles btw Wimbls. & USO's! Poor guy has only won anything due to a weak era, old Fed, or much injured Nadal! It's just sad to keep hearing or reading it when Djokovic did all his damage w/i a dec. while Fedal took a lit'l bit longer! Regard< of the comp., he still had to compete wk. in & wk. out! Matches weren't just donated; esp. overcoming Nadal so many X's on HC & grass!
***How does Nadal have > titles @ USO then?***
I think it's what's called "bad fk'n luck!" The USO's been that 1 title a # of players failed to conquer; includ. Borg who had many chances on 3 surfaces! Bjorn had all the bad luck poss. w/ injury, surface change, playing BO3 early on, & superior play by Connors & McEnroe! Novak's prob. going to say later he was lucky to win 3; esp. in '18 when he had been in the wilderness all of '17 allowing a Fedal Redux!
***Do you know how many X's Rafa hasn’t played the USO b/c of injury?***
Too many X's! His history after the FO makes me think > of the X he lit. shut down after a FO win! Any success after June was happenstance; hence no YEC's!
***...BO5 was dropped for good reason @ M-1000 events. It's either rejig the calender or BO3. There doesn't seem like a readjustment of the cal. is on, so going to stay BO3.***
Some might think the change from BO5 to BO3 was to accommodate Fedalovic, but I think it had > to do w/ making sure they played @ least 8 events! Players are still dropping like flies when it comes to the next event! BO5 was just too much w/ how fast the game has become in the last decade!
***Not only the M1000 had BO5 finals, but also some of those Int'l Gold events & prev. YEC. Even modern ATP 500 events as Hamburg, Vienna & Barcelona had BO5 Finals. This is why this entire disc. of "Big titles' is very subjective. How many Big titles does Lendl have? M/b in the mid 30's if you include Slams, Grand Prix, & YEC. Some of those 500 draws actually had > diff. comp. > some of the M1000 draws. This explains why Borg (38), Sampras (33), Fed (35), & Nadal (31) all have > 30 titles that required a BO5 final.***
***Slam results:
ReplyDeleteGS W-F-SF-QF (total Slams)
Evert: 18-16-18-2 (56)
Navratilova: 18-14-12-9 (67)
Graf: 22-8-6-5 (54)
Serena: 23-10-7-14 (81)
Now let's convert those to pt. values, using 10 pts. for a Slam win, 5 for a final, 3 for SF, & 1 for QF. We get:
Evert: 316
Nav'ova: 295
Graf: 283
Serena: 315
Now let's divide them by Slams played:
Evert: 5.6
Nav'ova: 4.4
Graf: 5.2
Serena: 3.9
In other words, Evert comes out ahead in both categories, in terms of how deep she went in Slams. It's absol. crazy that she reached the SF or >er in 52 of 56 Slams she played in...one of the > remarkable recs. in tennis history. ...in this regard, Evert shines.
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Funny how dear @Fiero425 -- aka Captain Hyperbole (love you, Fiero) -- never gets on Martina about her being rel. mediocre for the last 7 yrs -- ...not to mention her brief lit'l comeback in the 2000s. Meaning, he doesn't extend the same "courtesy" he does to Roger (& prob. Rafa, c. '15-16).
More seriously, it is interesting how different their careers are, and how they mostly peaked at diff. X's. Monica was by far the > accomp. thru '92. She peaked as a teenager...although for specific, tragic reasons.
Chris prob. peaked in the 19-21 range, but had a very high plateau for a dec. after. Martina was slow to build up & didn't really peak until the latter 1/2 of her 20s. Steffi also peaked in the 19-21 range, but then again @ age 24-27.
Serena is all over the place. That early peak @ age 20-21, but then again in her late 20s, then again in her mid-30s.***
Players develop @ diff. rates; esp. when under the thumb of the USSR @ the X! IDK why you guys do this! It just embarrasses you when I pt. out the oppr. & what Eastern Euros had to deal w/ back in the early pro days! I also think her playing doubles so much hurt her in some of those longer major finals! She lit. sabotaged herself by overplaying!
***Well I'll give you that...being raised in the Czechoslovakia of the 1950s-60s is quite diff. > the US. But, wealth is wealth, to some degree, & > tennis players were born & raised wealthy.
Anyhow, Martina was still a very good singles player until the end. The 90s had some really good female players - not just Graf & Seles, but Arantxa, Conchita, Sabatini, Capriati, etc. She was holding her own, finishing #8 = in her last yr. 1988-94 for her was pretty similar to Roger from '14-21.***
Martina had to overcome sev. waves of > players! Early on it was the est. stars like BJK, Court, Wade, & Goolagong w/ a newbie in tow, Evert! For a while it was just Chris & Martina w/ the next wave of Czech players in Mandlikova, Sukova, & Novotna! Then along comes Graf, Sabatini, then Seles @ the end of the 80's! It's a wonder Martina wasn't run off long B4 that last Wimbl. final in '94, just 20 yrs. after her debut vs Evert in Akron! Her doubles play kept her relevant to the last! No one will ever come close to Nav'ova's #'s! OTTH w/ 59 Major titles, 167 single chp., 177 in doubles, 7 YE #1's, a Box Set, & 2 CGS (6 majors in a row), & being the only player over 200 wks @ #1 in both singles (332 wks) & doubles!
***Biden Released Brittney Griner from Russian Prison - ...Yes, but are they black, a woman and gay? B/c that's the bare min. for Biden to care about you.***
ReplyDeleteCare? What's to care about? WNBA's most paid athlete w/ a Nike endorsement decided to gamble playing in Europe going thru Russia! If she had been stuck there forever, it whb Karma! Greed's what put her ass in prison! Now she may never catch back up! I hope people don't start throwing $$ @ her to comp.her own stupidity!
***Griner released. But I'm not hearing anything about the American guy who's been in jail for longer. I don't think his 'crime' was anymore serious. Is it b/c she's a famous woman?
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No. Apparently they tried to get both, but Russia's claiming Whelan is a spy, accused of espionage, therefore they wouldn’t include him in such a deal. And, yes, this was almost all certainly b/c she’s famous.***
Famous, stupid, & greedy! It's not like she was broke! She's prob. the >est paid athlete in the WNBA w/ a Nike endorsement! Gambling by playing B-ball in Europe by way of Russia just leaves a bad taste in my mouth! She may not have known we were close to all out war w/ them due to Ukraine invasion, but that's why I'm holding "congrats!" That trade was not worth it IMO! I'm very disappointed & we were "taken" again by Putin!
***Your boy Biden is a total loser & this trade only highlights that.***
Biden's done such an admirable job he did what no other Dem. President's done since FDR; not only retained the Senate, he increased it by 1. No one pushed by Trump to elected office won including Walker, Dr. Oz, & Lake!
***Senate seats in midterms? A shoddy metric @ best, as only a 3rd of the Senate seats are decided @ any given midterm.
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It’s incredible really, ...galling for the officers - American, Thai & Interpol - who tracked, traced & caught so-called The Merchant of Death, Viktor Bout, only to see him exchanged for a brat who never says anything good about her country. Being a “black, queer, woman” seems t/b the only proof of her innocence, & as we know, that’s no proof @ all. It’s a shameful thing.***
She m/b haunted by the deaths of Ukranians as Russia now have a means to re-supply & re-fortify "arms" their cause needed by this Xchange! If I's stupid enough to commit a crime abroad, I wouldn't be whining about how unfair it was! 'Stupid is as stupid does' as they say! Why don't people take respons. for their own actions & quit blaming others?
***A book's forthcoming & an overpaid speaking tour after she does the news/talk show route, and then a Netflix docum. w/ a bigly $$ in. She's set for life if she lays off the hash vape's & has a great financial manager. It still looks like a fair trade to me. - White House is propping her up as the “best of America”***
The same thing goes on if a cons. admin. does this! It has t/b justified! They can't have any regrets after such a mismatch'd trade! They needed to + 2 > of our people as now Russia's officially screw'd us yet again! Putin's suckered "W," Obama, esp. Trump, & now Biden trying to pacify the masses!
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***Mahomes has been very impressive early in his career & has demo'd the ability to take matters into his own hands when his team has to come from behind to win (which as a Chiefs fan, is far too often IMO.
I personally feel that early comparisons to all X >'s, like Brady are premature & not really fair to him. Mahomes has also demo'd other excel. traits early on, such as being a team player & remaining humble.
If a young NFL QB's well liked by his teammates, = by the vets, that's a bonus, since these guys are pros & this is their job.
If the QB has excep'nal ability, like Mahomes, it contributes = > to > results.
If he stays on track & continues to produce as he has, he's sure to end up in the HOF.
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Tampa's on top of the worst div. in the NFL. That is true.***
Funny how Brady seems to need a weak div. to survive & flourish! Heaven know the AFC East was horrible while he owned it when on the NE Patriots!
***2012. Simply the >est Big 3(4) yr. where no one player has used dom. over the others & the level of play was insanely good. Also arguably the only yr. where all 3 & Murray, were prime-ish & in good physical shape (except Rafa after Wimbl.).
ReplyDelete---
'12 always sticks out in my mind as the last yr. where the "Big 4" were all playing @ a really high level for (> or <) the whole yr. Plus there are so many great matches too. Every yr. after that @ least one of them was really struggling w/ something, & Murray has never been the same since '17.
'08 & '09 were both >, & = though I'm not a Djokovic fan, I actually did enjoy '11 a lot too. It felt like it was totally out of left field for Djokovic to just start dom. all of the sudden, & everyone was wondering how long the streak was going to last.
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Federer never beat a top-2 in the HC Slams. His score is 0-8.
vs #2 Agassi UO '01
vs #1 Nadal AO '09
vs #1 Djokovic UO '11
vs #2 Nadal AO '12
vs #1 Nadal AO '14
vs #1 Djokovic UO '15
vs #1 Djokovic AO '16
Update: vs #2 Djokovic AO '20
I was curious about how all ATGs & a few multi-Slam champs stacked up in this stat:
Connors 2-5
Borg 0-3
McEnroe 4-6
Lendl 3-10
Becker 1-1
Edberg 0-6
Wilander 4-3
Courier 2-7
Agassi 5-7
Sampras 3-4
Safin 2-3
Federer 0-8
Nadal 2-4
Djokovic 8-7
Murray 4-9
Wawrinka 4-7
...@ a quick glance:
Borg, Edberg, & Fed have the worst recs, w/ Lendl also having a bad rec. Lendl prob. had it the worst out of everyone on the list being that he was caught btwn. the Borg/Connors/Mac gen. & the Becker/Edberg/Wilander gen., so his #'s aren't too surprising. Edberg & Fed's are though, but then again Edberg only has 2 Slams
Djokovic played them the > & has a respectable H2H— another feather in his cap & +s to his already strong argument of being the >est on HC
Murray & Wawrinka did pretty darn well vs them considering they are the least accomp. on the list other than Safin
Wilander's underrated; Nadal is 3-4 now (ct. the Med win @ AO Med was #2 in the World)
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I've found that there are sev. tiers of players. Looking @ OE recs only, we have:
GOAT Tier: Djokovic, Federer, Nadal
ATG Tier A ("inner circle"): Lendl, Connors, McEnroe, Borg, Sampras, Laver
ATG Tier B ("outer circle"): Agassi, Becker, Murray, Edberg, Wilander
Near Greats: Nastase, Vilas, Rosewall, Ashe, Newcombe, Hewitt, Courier, Roddick, Smith
Very Goods: Chang, Kuerten, Kafelnikov, Ivanisevic, Ferrer, Muster, Okker, Gerulaitis, etc....
The above is w/ the caveat that if we included pre-OE recs, Laver would move to GOAT tier, Rosewall up 2 to the "inner circle," Newcombe up one to the "outer circle." We also don't know who might join the 1st 4 tiers among current players. Medvedev & Zverev both have good chances of it, & of course there's Alcaraz, Rune, etc.
(And in case you're wondering about tiers and ordering, that's how they fell using a formula that averaged career GOAT Pts, best 5 yrs GP, best single yr. GP, & then I X-plied it by one-100th of their best Elo...an attempt to bal. career & peak level...the obvious caveat applies: it isn't meant t/b a def. system, just another angle on things).
There's a huge gap btw the 1st & 2nd tier, another btw 2nd & 3rd, & another btw 3rd & 4th. The gap btw the 4th ("Near >s") & everyone else is rather small...meaning, after the 1st 3 tiers, everyone else is, well, just that...everyone else. The "near >s" are the top of the class, but it's a smooth curve from Nastase on down.
So while I understand why the 3 1st tiers are of diff. levels - though it is interesting to me that they are separated by large gaps - what I find > interesting, & am wondering about, is why there's that big gap btw Wilander & Nastase...there are no in-btw players. - I counted Novak as "100" & everyone else as a % of that).
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Sounds like you fancied Rafa when he was younger.***
Out of the Big 3, no one takes a >er advert. pic > Nadal!
***Novak wasn't a patch on them when Roger was young & Rafa was fit.***
***Cry about Nadal's rec.***
ReplyDeleteWell, we'll see who's crying in a few yrs. after all's said & done by Fedalovic! Nadal mhb able to fake it to Goat-dom but for the late brilliance of Djokovic! You can undermine his character if you like, but the rec.-bks have been taken over by Novak! He prob. should've overtaken Rafa B4 now in Majors so there w/b no doubt! Fortun. we've witnessed unparallel'd achievements by not 1, not 2, but 3 > players! I've written in the past that Fed or if both Fedal had retired earlier, their fans could argue what they're doing now, believing a weak era being taken advantage of by Djokr! I guess it c/b mused by future fans, but I think you'd have t/b nuts! Fedalovic just changed the course of sev. top players who might've done rather well & been #1 for a few yrs. @ least; Murray, Del Po, Wawrinka, & = Roddick who was Roger's personal pigeon! They've =ly ruled the ATP Tour for 20 yrs & counting! It's now up to the current NG'rs to overtake Nadovic who've another yr. or 3 in them! Alcaraz has the best chance, ability, & mind to do it!
***Novak's success in his latter yrs is due mainly to Rafa's frequent injuries. Novak had a lot of catching up to do which is why w/ all his successes since '11, their h2h is 30-29.***
That's so insulting to the rest of the players on tour & it's a wonder Rafa doesn't get > backlash for bitchin' about injuries as he wins from incred. comebacks again & again! So no one's really good enough to beat a healthy Nadal? Screw Rafa, his whiny support staff, his fans, & you!
***Nole was clearly the best HC player in the world & whb favored @ both HC Slams! Instead, thru lack of Vac., he endeavored to miss both. He's aging rapidly & missed 2 golden opps. this yr. This is not a good stat. It's emblematic of a wasted season.***
No season c/b wasted w/ a Wimbl. Chp., a Masters' win in Rome, & a YEC! That's a career season for > players! IIRC, this is a rec. 11th season w/ @ least 4 tourn. wins & he didn't do it w/ a bunch of 250 & 500 events! Just another rec. of consistency that can't be matched of The Real GOAT!
***Nothing's wasted when you've the > Big titles rec., well ahead of the other Big 3 members.***
No player comes close to Novak's rec.! Nadal's barely able to stay ahead in Majors! He's woefully behind in all the other catagories w/ lit'l to no chance to get a GM's, YEC, & Miami or Paris Masters' win!
***Nole has 6 > ATP Finals trophies > Nadal.***
Amen & hallujah to that! Being from early days of pros, I just never got into stars competing for an OM which is useless in the grand scheme of a pro career! It's ridiculous IMO! Only Edberg winning it as an exh. event in '84 to go along w/ his Jr. GS! That wasn't offensive as he was a new pro & young! Fedal embarrass themselves w/ all they've accomp. to = care about something like an OM! Trying for it cost Novak his CYGS last yr.! That Japan trip was use< & zapped his emotions after dropping the Bronze medal match vs Pablo C.B.! Winning that 6th YEC capped off a good season after missing 2 major events!
***Despite missing 2 Slams & USO Series & playing fewer tournaments. Nole had > top 10 players wins > Nadal & Alcaraz.
# of victories vs Top 10 players in '22:
Djokovic 11
Alcaraz 9
Rune 9
Nadal 8
Tsitsipas 8
The incredible thing is, he did this while missing out of 2 Slams & 4 Masters events on his best surface.
Djokovic's the >est @ beating top 10 players, but to still top the list in a yr. in which he basically missed 1/2 of the big events is truly incredible.***
It shouldn't be a surprise as he holds so many recs. concerning the def. of Top 10 players! Obviously '15 showcased his best efforts taking 31 matches over top 10'rs!
***He's a human wrecking machine, esp. when it comes to beating top 10 players. No one does it better as the #'s show. - Djokovic has achieved 11 victories vs TOP 10 players despite missing 2 GS tourns. & 4 Masters 1000's on HC's, which basically indicates he was the > superior player in '22.***
***I've a feeling '23 w/b repeat of '21. USO w/b too much for Novak @ this age.***
ReplyDeleteIt's happened a lot in the past! One of my old faves was Lew Hoad & his CYGS was stopped @ the USO final in '56! The USO's always been tough from not only the comp., but to the hot humid weather, then dealing w/ repeated airplane traffic! Even though one of the oldest, it's stature always w/b in ?? from how poorly the tourn.'s been run for yrs! It's changed surfaces twice, going from grass to Har-Tru clay in '75 in Forest Hills, then to HC in '78 when relocated to Flushing Meadows! Scheduling has always been a nightmare! I can still recall some poor sap finishing his match after Midnite, but sched. to play Connors in an early match around Noon that same day! Back then there was no recourse outside of cussing out officials! Also during those early yrs. of flux, the matches might start BO3 early on in the tourn., then go to BO5 in the Rd. of 16! There have been @ least 2 doc. cases of the Men's draw having t/b redone due to the appear. of shadiness!
***Wawrinka def. Djokovic in AO '14 B4 facing Nadal in final. ...In FO he def. Fed - Tsonga - Djokovic b2b. His USO win was unimpressive - Now come to Murray's wins. USO '12 - Wind helped him big X beating Berdych & Djokovic. ...His worst slam performance in slam final til USO '21 happened. Wimbl. '16. Both have 3 Slams. But Wawrinka' had > impressive wins.***
Seeing as both Murray & Wawrinka underachieved, they have quite a few similarities in their careers & results! Stan def. had an issue of the mind; esp playing Roger! Murray was just being a stubborn jerk who thought playing that idiotic def. game'd make him > successful!
***'89: Becker won 2 Slams, but finished 2nd to Lendl who won 1 Slam.
'16: Player coached by Becker won 2 Slams, but finished 2nd to a player coached by Lendl who won 1 Slam.***
Like Novak these days, Lendl was a machine back in the 80s! He worked harder > & along w/ Navratilova changed players' training & nutritional regime for all X! He was consistent on all surfaces, but came up short on grass! Becker OTOH could have good days & awful days! He seemed to peak @ Wimbl., scratching out 6 major wins! He's one of the > underachievers; saved by Edberg allowing Becker in his head!
***Djokovic had the > top 10 wins in '22, '21, '20, '19 (4-way tie), '18 (despite bad 1/2 yr.), '16, '15, '14, '13 (tied w/ Nadal), '12 & '11. So only 1 yr. in the last 12 did he not have the >. This has t/b unprecedented & why he has the > overall in the OE & did it so quickly. He has truly carved his own era in tennis. He w/b studied & analyzed long after he's retired, & I think his influence on the game w/b like Lendl's.***
That's why I created blog for Novak! He's undervalued in tennis since Fedal are the fan faves! He's making his mark just like Lendl had to w/ Borg, Connors, & McEnroe soaking up the adulation!
***Just put Novak & Rafa on the opposite side & the GOAT tennis Gods will handle the rest.***
Well @ least you acknowledge Roger's out of the convo.! If he had retired sooner, there mhb musings of "what if," but he hung on too long & now we know for sure! Fed has a losing rec. vs Nadovic & > of his ATP recs. have been broken, including some having to do w/ longevity & consistency as they have somehow kept up their fitness to compete closing in on 40!
***...Roger won 3 Majors post 35, & made finals of @ least 1 Wimbl. What's bad about that? When'd YOU have had him quit?***
ReplyDeleteWillful ignorance! I already have said the best X to retire whb after '12 Wimbl.! The best exs. of what early retiring does to a legacy is so obvious w/ a player like Borg! In football it's Jim Brown who held the rushing rec. for almost 30 yrs = though he only played 9 yrs. & limited to 12 games! In basketball it was Jordon who retired twice only to return w/ limited success the 3rd X around! He hurt his legacy too & ended up doubly tragic when his mgmt. of a basketball team came into ??! He's been the worst GM in the league! If you're still saying "duh, IDK WTF," sorry bout that! I've never dealt w/ "special needs!"
***Here's why Djok won 4 Wimbl. in a row @ age 31+:
'18: Easy draw to sf having to only play Nishikori whilst Nadal had to play an 'on fire' Delpo for nearly 5 hrs... no argument from Djok fans saying he'd've handled Delpo >er... we all saw in '13 that the Delpo match destroyed him for the final. Oh, & there's the +ed advantage of closed roof... still just barely got past 32 yo Nadal.
'19: Draws a weak qf + sf op. whereas Fed got Nadal. Nadal & Djok were both playing lower level > '18 so having a sf w/ Nadal.. then if he gets past that, he's not beating Fed in the final.
'21: garbage draw
'22: horse piddle draw
It's all about the luck w/ draws for him. That's why his inflated Wimbl. title ct. is the >est crime poss. in tennis history...***
Wow! What's amazing is Nadal fans go nuts calling his detractors "trolls" for pointing out the same things you're mentioning to undermine Djokovic's accompl.! If Novak ties & surpasses Fed, no amt. of ugly trolling will discourage future fans of the game not to anoint his the BOAT! I personally think his AO results are > noteworthy; winning 3 in a row twice (never done B4), he owns the tourn. like Nadal owns Paris, & has quite a few recs. "down under" that'll prob. never be broken!
***#1: ...Djokovic had the much tougher road to Wimbl. finals. ...It w/b ridiculous to think '14 & '15 Murray'd beat Djokovic.
#2: How come Fed gets to start being good on grass @ 22, but Djokovic has t/b good enough to take on early-career prodigy Nadal (as an = younger player)? He faced Nadal in '07 (@ 20 to Nadal's 21, in his 2nd-ever SF to Nadal's 5 GS SF (& 17th in Big Titles). Then he needs to take out Nadal in Queen's Club in the same yr. Nadal beats 5-X str. Wimbl. champ (& 27 yo) Fed? Unreasonable.
Djokovic does fail to meet Nadal in '10, but succeeds in meeting him (& winning) in '11 (aged 24 vs Nadal's 25). Then Nadal's the one who proceeds to fail to meet him until '18 (whereas Djokovic made the SF's in 4 of those 6 yrs. - where Nadal would've been aged 26-31. Plenty of prime yrs. left).
#3: Djokovic didn't have many ops to stop Fed B4 he turned 32. In '07, Fed was already 26. It's safe to say Djokovic wasn't beating any Fed B4 '10, but why'd he w/b expected to either? In '10, Novak was 23, just a yo'er > Fed himself was when he won his 1st Wimbl. If we hold Novak to Fed's standards, he should've met Fed in '09, '10, '11, & '12 (B4 Fed was 32).
...
09 - He failed. Nothing else to say.
10 - He wouldn't have made it, but Fed lost too. Can't hold it against him.
11 - Fed's the one to fail to make it here.
12 - Fed wins their 1st Wimbl. match. Novak should've won here if he were a grass great. But OTOH, Fed's 31 to Novak's 25. Physical advantage for Novak yes, but Fed's a def. exp. gap, partic. on grass.
So, 1 failure each & a matchup. Of all the yrs. Novak had to face a pre-32 Fed & beat him, he just failed to do so twice. OTOH, from that moment on he made 7/9 Wimbl. finals. He faced Fed a further 3 X's, beating him every X. He faced Nadal again as well. Beat him also, as well as everyone else except for Querrey & Berdych.
...What I'm arguing is that Djokovic did not wait for Murray/Nadal to age. Nor did he necess. wait for Fed - that was simply a byproduct. Similar to how Roger didn't wait for Agassi to get old in the AO.***
***Holy shit! Jags got a 'pick 6' in OT to beat the Cowpies 40-34. Woot!***
ReplyDeleteIt seemed to happen just 2 min. B4 KC Chiefs won in OT over Houston! Amazing Sunday so far! Sorry I missed Sat.'s games! Had no idea! Can't wait for tomorrow's sports shows! Dallas' going t/b eviscerated after coughing up yet another lead! Looking ahead? That w/b the excuse; but > like The Boys ain't 1/2 as good as people think! Beating my miserable Bears in their run to 10-3 means nothing @ this X! They'll still wind up getting knocked out in the 1st Rd.! I can't wait!
***Didn’t = mention the fk'n hilarious way the Patriots lost to the Raiders. All tied up & could've just gone to OT, but idiot Pat player laterals to another idiot who backward passes the ball right to a Raider who stiff arms Pats QB into the turf & then runs the ball in for a TD. One of the funniest plays I’ve ever seen.***
Couldn't happen in a better instance w/ the Patriots finally receiving Karma for their luck & despicable past acts! Watching again from the middle of the 3rd qtr. w/ TB still up 17-6! They killed themselves w/ penalties & not having their heads in the game after getting a lead! The Defense had to rue the day there was a "holding call" on their sack of Burrow that had Cinci. losing 23 yds! Wow; what a game changer after being knocked out of FG range! All that hotdogging catches up w/ you I guess! Skip Baseless couldn't make anyone believe his speel trying to save Brady by saying he had such a great 1st 1/2, but admitting to the worst 3rd qtr. of his career! Bayless just offends w/ his lack of objectivity when it comes to his faves like Brady & Jordan!
***About the only thing to cap the whole wkend off w/b the Pukers losing to the Rams tonight.***
It wasn't meant t/b; esp. in GB! Mayfield's already been thrashed there once B4 when w/ Clev. last season! I couldn't watch it after the 1st Qtr.! After listening to Skip Baseless heaping praise on Mayfield for wks hoping to justify his #1 pick from a few yrs. ago! Baker was ticking me off as he stood "in the pocket" surveying the whole field thinking he had a mythical amt. of X to decide! The "pump fakes" & delaying of just throw'n the ball away instead resulted in taking a beating & risking a "T/O!" We'll see how Bayless can continue justifying & making excuses for him after that performance!
***Indeed,the Rams cant get Stafford back fast enough. Bayless'll prob. deny reality on that. Same as Cheatriot fans do, that their team has disgraced the sport of football.
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NFL football replays disrupt the flow of the game according to Bill Mahar.***
True enough, but the league tried to elim. TV replays for 2 yrs. B4! Some of the most egregious calls weren't able t/b overturned! The league couldn't wait to get back w/ a new system to deal w/ the problem! Giving option w/ red flag made sense, but = that's been abused by coaches slowing down the game! All they can do now is have >er officiating which's needed! They say a flag c/b thrown on every play, but @ X's officials do just "let them play" & someX's crimes are committed w/ justice only being dealt out after the game! That's too late! Protested calls can only be remedied w/ a fine or suspension! Karma doesn't always swing vs offenders of the rules!
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***...Ranking Wilt ahead of LeBron is a dead giveaway. All of the criticism that has been leveled @ LeBron applied 10-fold > to Wilt who also wasn’t productive for anywhere close to as long as Bron, and his teams, rather than cratering after he left, remained competitive.***
That's the only thing Bron has on any of those past greats! He started sooner, not going to college, & has been a physical marvel by holding up for 20+ yrs! Jabbar, Chamberlain, & Russell will all be >er as they had to deal w/ football tactics on the court, taking hits that'd suspend players today!
***Curry's a > player, but to say he's >er > LeBron is a joke. - LeBron never revolutionized the game like Curry did.***
***Who's beating Djokovic @ Wimbl.? He's gonna be the overwhelming fave @ the AO. That's 2 slams he's a very big fave @ out of 4. Not saying he'll win both, but to just stupidly look for attn. saying he's not going to win another slam ...(face-palm)***
ReplyDeleteThere are people who feel Djokovic is already the defacto #1 w/ that "winning kick" this past season! His only real blemish was finishing off Rune in Paris final! It's amazing that he took the YEC undef. = if he's rested > of the yr.! Alcaraz & Rune might come back to Earth & Zverev of the NG'rs still only dangerous in B03 vs Nole! It appears all Djokovic has to do is win the AO to take over the top ranking! I don't see any reason why he shouldn't win it 2 or 3 > X's w/ another Wimbl. or 2!
***I think you're right that Novak s/b favored in the upcoming AO, & > likely Wimbl. though a long way off. He'll be 36 by the Summer. I don't see why it's a complete 'face-palm' to say that he may not win 1 or = both. You act as if there are no youngsters chasing him. I thought you were a fan of Medvedev. ...Young Alcaraz IS the world #1.***
Medvedez's struggling = w/ all that mobility & skill! It's a shame he couldn't hold onto the #1 ranking = while Novak unable to play early on! It's like Djokovic's absense inspired Nadal to finally take his 2nd AO! WTF? He's fooling himself along w/ others that believe it made lit'l to no diff. that Novak was barred from playing!
***Even if Djokovic wins the AO, either Alcaraz or Ruud c/b # 1 in the ranking.***
The pts are quite close & Djokovic has none to defend! It's already been calc. that if Nole or Stefanos win the event, they'll prob. take #1! If neither win it, the "also rans" like Alcaraz just needs to win a few matches to keep #1 ranking & Ruud to make the final!
***Why is Federer > popular > Rafa?
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Fed got promoted by the sports writers & commentators as the ult. tennis player & > popular; the sheep bought into the hype. Some of the sheep never = watched tennis & still don't know that Federer has retired.***
For yrs. on end, the Tennis Intelligentsia believed tennis begins & ends w/ Fedal, but putting Fed on a pedestal above all to this day = though he limped out!
***And Fed was no match for Rafa from the off & retired w/ a neg. h2h vs Nadovic. ...they had no idea Fed wasn't in the draw & had hardly played for 2 yrs.***
I think Fed's legacy would't have taken such a BIG hit if he had retired after winning Wimbl.; either in '12 or '17, = w/ the bad H2H to Nadovic! IMO, it just wasn't worth it = though he took 3 > majors when Novak "going walkabout/injured" in '17! He just looked awful the last 2 yrs., barely getting past "also-rans" like Mannarino who retired in their early Rd. Wimbl. match in '21! It was sad watching Roger get rolled by Hurkacz in the QF! What made him hang on those last 2 yrs. other > the $$ that c/b made?
***...Do you ever apply that logic when Rafa has to miss 1/2 a season injured?***
I'm starting to believe Nadal's FOS! I think he just takes off to "take off!" Mentally I think he shuts it down after FO! His rec. after Paris sucks for "a GOAT" cand. w/ 2 Wimbls., 4 USO's (Novak's 3 undervalued), & no Paris Masters or YEC to his name! JMO!
***Novak's 3 are undervalued?***
On this site & others, Novak haters kvetch about him making so many USO finals, but having only 3 titles! He's just been unlucky w/ injury, a Disq., then stress of trying to complete his CYGS! He was = on a list of underachieving b/c of it! He @ least has 3, unlike BORG w/ none!
***I just find the notion that Novak was somehow a victim last yr. of his choices absurd. Rafa's a >er prospect @ the USO & he similarly made a choice in '20.***
Well he was def. victimized "down under!" Of the 3 governing bodies, someone told him to "fly over babe! We gotcha covered!"
***Six secs. on Google told him 'no.' Then a fraction of the $$ he spent on a flotilla of Johnny Cochranes would've also told him 'no' if he’d asked them 1st. He knew this, but he thought he was too big to fail. He lied, he cheated, he got caught. Get over it, bro.***
***For the haters, Griner's only a symbol, as she was for Putin.***
ReplyDeleteWe're all going to just have to forgive Griner's stupidity of putting herself in jeapardy, but it was an all or nothing trade! She was lucky an obsolete prisoner was available! Supposedly this "Merchant Of Death" doesn't have the connections we thought after his many yrs locked up! I'm gonna try to get over this imbalanced trade! We're lucky Putin had enough sense to take advantage of the photo optics since Russia so isolated! Int'lly he's being crushed & they're included in nothing as his athletes are being banned from competing in many events around the world! The Russians were def. missed on the FS GP that ended today! Wimbl. was punished when players banned from Russia & Belarus! There were no ATP pts awarded to this past Wimbl. Champ. in July!
***Every person who dies b/c of weapons brokered by Viktor Bout is on Britanny.***
Well "they" say he doesn't have those connections after being locked up for yrs. here in the States! Hopefully!
***Trump Org. Found Guilty in Tax Fraud Scheme - Will this disqualify him from running for office?***
You'd think, but how's he eligible after condoning Jan. 6th? He has judges who he nom., ruling vs him & he still thinks he has a right to run!
***No, b/c it involves his org. I believe the law's written so that he'd've t/b personally charged w/ a felony t/b disqual.***
Always a loophole! Trump said he could shoot someone on 5Th Ave., NY & get away w/ it! Seems so! No offense too egregious for Repubs.!
***Putin’s going nowhere…meanwhile Biden lost 15 seats in the House & the American people overwhelming voted to investigate & check his power.***
I guess you guys have to keep saying this stuff to keep from crying! The "red wave" wound up > like a splash w/ Reps barely taking over the House! McCarthy's already having trouble w/ a few of those nutty rightwingers demanding the impossible since his majority is so slight! It won't take but 3-5 Congressman to thwart his election as Speaker & he'll need to beg Dems for votes he won't be getting un< he repents his alliances w/ Trump & his minions! As for the Senate, they +ed a Dem. solidifying their majority so they won't need Kamala Harris sitting there everyday brk'n ties! Up & down the ballots filled across the country, Biden didn't lose any support; if anything his support has grown! In Penn., they'd rather have a stroke victim over Dr. OZ! Go ahead & investigate Biden! I promise you won't find similar Trump malfeasence in Biden's Admin.!
***...It really is worse t/b called a racist > it is t/b a victim of racism in this country.***
Trump & his white Nat'list supporters have decided to embrace being bigots & racists! Heaven knows he's shown his entire ass over the yrs. & his support is still up there polarizing the party @ around 35%! If they fill a stage of Rep. candidates again in '24 he'll win! They're such idiots that need to just blow up that party & start over; m/b go back to being called Whigs!
***Novak outperformed the next best guy by +100 Elo. He was, by a solid margin, the best #-for-# player in '22. He played 1/2 of all Slams & Masters, 2 & 3 Alcaraz & 11 tourns. to Alcaraz's 17. You don't think that Novak playing the AO, the USO & = just 2 > Masters would've made up the 2000 pt. diff. in the ATP rankings? He wouldn't = had to win 1 of the Slams - just go deep & m/b win another Masters. Or two Slam SFs (720 each) & 1 Masters final (600) gets him past Alcaraz. This isn't bad-mouthing Alcaraz, just pointing out that his #1 ranking was helped by bad policies & faulty science.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, it isn't the same thing as the age-old "if only Rafa were healthy" adage that Rafa fans always fall back on. Rafa did still play 2 > Slams > Novak, & 1 > Masters, & still finished just +1200 pts. over Novak. One Slam final by Novak bridges the gap. Rafa's weak 2nd 1/2 is for reasons that are very diff. > the reasons behind the holes in Novak's schedule. And to say it was Novak's choice, & all he had to do was get a measly lit'l shot, is sort of like saying, "It's on Novak--his choice--that he didn't want to play Russian roulette."
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Why should there be an asterisk on Alcaraz's #1? Do I remember that Fed fans insisted there s/b no asterisk on Roger's RG title? Then where do we begin & where do we stop w/ selling short someone's accomplishment, given what was in front of them?***
W/ my memory, there are plenty of majors that deserve to have an asterisk posted behind the names of the eventual winners going back to Vilas taking the '77 USO when Borg had to WD due to a shoulder injury! Vilas couldn't beat Borg if 1/2 asleep & on Coke! More recent, it's beginning to stack up on one another due to the selfishness of the Big 3 not allowing too many major events to fall outside their possession! Skipping the biggie of Nadal being upset by Soderling in '09, Thiem only got his USO due to Novak being DQ'd @ the '20 USO! If Nadal was so great he should've won his 2nd AO B4 Nole was barred from playing last season! He had his chances in '17 & '18 when Novak was 'walkabout/injured!" We make commentary like this b/c it's true; "a what if" can def. be declared due to how the Big 3 have owned the tour for almost 20 yrs.! Going to BO3 for Masters 1000 & the YEC also helped to extend their careers & facilitated their winning ways!
***Yes, all true - but this is just the nature of the sport. Not all Slam titles are created =ly. I w/b the 1st to admit that some of Roger's early titles were relatively easy, or @ least compared to, say, his '17 AO. Novak & Rafa also have their "easy Slams."
But me, the cake is taken by Johan Kriek, whose 2 Slams were both the AO @ its weakest. 1981 was still a 64-player tourn. Kriek didn't = face a top 10 player in either tourn., I believe, & beat Steve Denton--a guy who never made it into the top 10 @ any pt. in his career--in both finals.
The worst Slam final player was undoubtedly John Marks, who lost to Vilas in one of the 2 '78 AO's. But @ least Marks def. some good players to do get there, including an aged Ashe. But Marks' best ATP ranking was #60, & his best Elo was 1872, & his highest Elo rank #79.***
I've had to muse about the physio of past gens. & I've mentioned you could have a beer belly & still be in the top 20 a few eras ago! Denton had a beer belly, but > of his success occurred in doubles IIRC! He's a beast now!
***Unexpected losses for Rune & FAA in Adelaide.***
Unexpected? I think we're conflating the Big 3 w/ "also rans!" I'm not the least bit surprised! Rune & FAA had a nice stretch @ the end of the season, but there's no reason to think it'd carryover to the next! We can't = be that sure of Dokovic @ his age = though he won the YEC! Players are tougher today & the top of the draw has the > talent! Rune's a bit stronger in his game, but mentally has to catch up to the best to stay there! Both Rune & FAA are still rather young! FAA w/o the weapons to upset X top players in a row!
But who TF cares about Nadal's injuries? This is just part of his MO! It's 1 of the many reasons I've disliked him from the very beginning of his career! He's an A-hole!
ReplyDelete***You have a serious empathy gap for player injuries. You still blame Murray for his. Does it really make them a-holes, or is it part of their "MO" to get hurt? Is del Potro a jerk for his inability to play healthy? Let's face it, you don't like Nadal or Murray, & any excuse to slag them & you're in there...= things they can't control.***
It's just an overall farce TALKING about Nadal's injuries yr. in & yr. out! When it concerns Nadal it seems > of an excuse if he loses a match! His opps are given lit'l to no credit many X's! Nadal says 'he's not injured, but a player w/ an injury!' WTF does that mean? I understand his foot defect, ...game of attrition, he's only brk'n himself down & I just say "cry me a river!" ...I find him t/b a total drama queen out there; esp. when it seemed he'd retire from that Fritz match @ Wimbl.! ...I've this thing w/ underdogs! I felt the same way about Lendl when he'd to contend w/ the elites of his X; BORG, McEnroe, & Connors! He had just as > to overcome as Novak & I marvel w/ the similarities as they stole the show @ the end of their resp. careers; sans Borg of course!
***When a supposed HC GOAT has twice as many losses > wins in USO finals, he deserves t/b mentioned w/ a guy w/ 0 titles...> so considering the losses are to 5 diff. players.
What a ridiculous & ludicrous POV. In no scenario should a 3 X champ. be listed w/ a group of guys who've never won once. He can lose 10 finals & he'll still be X levels above them.***
I'm gobsmacked! The desp. to drag this man down is relent<, & embarassing to see & hear just about everyday! Lendl made 8 str. USO finals winning 3! It seems as if > were > impressed by his making the 8 finals over winning 3! I, of course think it's ridiculous, but that kind of strange thinking can't be helped!
***Coming from this poster, we know that poster latching onto this POV to have a go @ Djokovic based on his history.
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Which player'd a Triple CGS be > accurate?
1) Djokovic needs 1 > RG to do it (so he prob.ably will anyway).
He has lost 5 RG finals, all to Nadal except 1 to Stan where Djoker beat Nadal en route in '15.
He also lost 2 'nearly' SFs, including '11, where he whb fave in the final vs Rafa, but faced a GOATing Fed, & '13 where he was a brain fart away from prob. going up 5-3 in the final set of the SF vs Rafa.
2) Nadal needs 1 > Wimbl. & 1 > AO to do it.
He has lost 3 Wimbl. finals, 2 vs peak Fed from '06-07 & 1 vs Peak Nole in '11. He also lost the '18 SF in a close match indoors to Djokr.
He has lost 4 AO finals, including '12 where he was a brain fart away from prob. going up 5-2 in the final set vs Nole & '14 w/ the injury in the final. He also blew a final set lead in '17 to Fed.
3) Federer needed 2 > RGs to do it.
He lost 4 RG finals, to supersonic claydal from '06-08 & again in '11. '07 & '08 are considered kinda peak RG Nadal as far as I can tell.
He also lost SF's vs Nadal & Djokovic in '05, '12 & '19. He never got as close as Djoker to beating Rafa @ RG, but this is partly b/c he never faced '15dal or Footdal, and in retrospect one might argue his level in the '07 final (i.e.) would've fared >er vs an older Nadal, such as '12-14.
4) Agassi needed 2 > Wimbls. & 2 > RGs to do it.
Why is he here? He was born a few yrs too early - his baseline game style on grass would've served him super well in the late 00s onwards, but like Djokodal whd, he struggled in the superfast grass era of the mid 90s.
He went down to X-RG-winning ATGs in epics (lost in 5 sets to 3-X-champ Wilander in '88 & to 2-X-champ Courier in 5 sets in '91) & fell short vs RG champs like Muster.
5) Laver needed 1 > US Open & 1 > RG to do it.
He lit. missed 5 yrs of tennis & won a CYGS the year B4 this hiatus AND the yr. after it. C'mon guys. It's Laver.***
***Pittsburgh was the shittiest team for decades. Bradshaw was a practice dummy for defenses until '74. QB's got the piss beat outta them. 68% completion ratios were unheard of. Running the ball was run for your fucking life....lol - He was an elite QB.***
ReplyDeleteI go back to that era & thought Bradshaw elite as well, but he NEVER got as much credit as the DEFENSE! Then it was all about the receivers & running game! He had pinpt. accuracy as any elite QB, but to this day he's still underrated for whatever reason!
***Dude, 52% career accuracy is hardly pinpt. accuracy. For career passing %, he's 181st on the list & his accuracy sucked.***
Bradshaw's the perfect ex. of that old colloquialism; "there are lies, damn lies, then there are statistics!"
***ITA. Bradshaw at least played in an era where real QB's played the game. QB's these days, esp. Brady has a skirt on them. Had he played in the era Bradshaw did he wouldn’t have lasted one season back in those days. A QB was allowed t/b thrown around like a ragdoll & players could play defense. Brady couldn't = take a mere hit to the knee from a helmet w/o being knocked out & missing the entire season. Best modern day QB in the past 25 yrs. yeah, but enough of this GOAT BS when you can’t = take a hit to the knee w/o missing an entire year of football in a day & age when QB's play w/ skirts on them.
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Buffalo Bill SS Hamlin's done. After that hit & going down, I can't imagine any doctor clearing him to play again.***
You're a fool! There's always a quack out there that'll say anything the athlete wants if he's paid well enough! How soon we forget Reggie Lewis of the Boston Celtics! Many doctors told him it was over for him, but he found someone who thought his condition c/b taken care of w/ meds! He dropped dead just shooting around! There are plenty of athletes that just don't care & want to compete = if it causes their death! Heaven knows all the steroid users of the past in football & baseball showed how far they'd go to get back on the field of play!
***There are X's when team doctors have to step up & protect the players from themselves. Young athletic men many X's think they’re invincible. The spotlight & the glory c/b very addicting.
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Thx! That’s pretty much the understatement of the century. He makes excuse after excuse for the way the cheatriots have tainted the sport of football w/ their cheating so what else you expect from him? This stupid Fk. still addresses me in the 1st person when I've had him on ignore for ages now.
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This player has > likely received similar blows in a similar location B4. It was an above avg. impact, but not unusual. What changed in him?***
Just a fluke thing! I can't remember a guy giving out a hit, then stood up B4 collapsing! Too strange!
***Well, = if they replayed the game tmrw, that leaves the Bills a REALLY short wk. to play the Pats on Sun.! ...Screwing around now could actually end up changing the outcome of the season & could screw the Steelers out of going to the Playoffs.
...ITMT, when you sign up to play the game, you know the risks, you accept the risks, & are paid really well for those risks. Time for the Bills to man up & get out there & finish the game. That's their job & responsibility. The game in the past was 10X rougher > today. All of these protections & restrictions are really TBH actually making players MORE susceptible to injury b/c they just are not conditioned & used to taking the hits. ...As for Hamlin, my guess is that he'll live & be OK, but'll never play again.***
***Karma's a bitch. Anyone feel sorry for Kevin McCarthy? This is what happens when you're a spine< prick w/ no core. If he doesn't win this Speaker vote, how humiliating will it be when he has to move his stuff out of the Speaker's office? The gall of the man to act so pre-emptively. He fully deserves this. He was the one who chin gobbled Trump's nut sack & revived him after he lost the election. I love it!***
ReplyDeleteThe Reps w/b = > sorry > they are now w/ an idiot like McCarthy leading them! He's not well spoken & has never shown any leadership skills! He couldn't = ct. votes as the Majority Leader dropping the 1st 3 votes they pushed! McCarthy was up for the job after Boehner resigned, but his stupid comments forced Ryan to take the Speakership who didn't want it! This country is screwed save Dems still in charge in the Senate! We c/b assured of a gov't shutdown in the next yr. or 2 w/ these morons "on the right!"
***No legis.'s going t/b passed. I'm actually surprised the financial markets haven't figured it out yet. The only way it happens is if McCarthy does a deal w/ the Dems, & given his acceptance that he c/b voted out by his caucus, it's hard to see how that happens. So how on Earth is the next budget going t/b passed? Perhaps Stefanik will end up as the compromise candidate. Otherwise the markets are in for a rude awakening.
I'm not that bothered by a split legis. from a >er pic. view. These woke laws that they're trying to pass are the thin end of the wedge for me. It shows you how bat shit fk'g crazy the Dems are that I'm actually not that upset about it.***
And so so it continues into a 2nd day! McCarthy's still looking t/b val. as SOH, but's losing again in the 4th vote! Trump endorsement failed him! What a joke! J/b Dems coop. & work together, they're assumed t/b puppets! What does that make Reps when they can't get their shit together, unable to ct. a simple vote? Fk'n idiots "on the right!" They're such an embarrassment, showing their asses to the world!
***And lost again on a 5th vote. I heard that Gaetz wrote a letter to the Architect of the Capital, asking why McCarthy's occupying the Speaker’s office after losing so many votes. Ouch!***
In the mid'l of a 6th vote, it appears they'll have to adjuourn Congress w/o a Speaker, rules passed, or sworn-in members!
***W/o immigrants, our economy'd suffer greatly. Hard to have an economy w/o labor. Not enough labor means >er inflation. It means Joe Biden & the bleeding heart Dems pay them to lay around on welfare doing nothing.***
You mean the lazy Fks. that won't work if you double the pay? Please! You're living in a past era! This country's labor has turned into "lazy, slovenly looking a-holes" that feel quite entitled to do nothing!
***We need to reform welfare also & kick able-bodied adults off welfare. - It's the Dem. open border policy that's destroying the country. The Dems do have a lot of allies in the RINO wing of the GOP.***
So when Reps. owned all 3 branches of gov't, why didn't they pass legis. to deal w/ the prob.?
***The swamp rat Reps. entrenched in Wash'ton are no >er > Dems. on this issue. Rank & file Reps. prevent the swamp rats from completely caving in.
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Immigrants are here to work & improve their lives. Make it easier for them to work & we all win. Unfortunately, we know that hard right Reps. don’t base their immigr. policy on what’s best for the economy.***
Well it's become 7 failures w/ another vote going against McCarthy! Jeffries' holding steady w/ 212 Dem votes as McCarthy seems to lose strength each Rd. of this Congressional farce! Trump actually received a nom. vote from the ct.!
***McCarthy has got to put his ego aside & step away. He won’t do it himself, though — members are going to have to tell him it’s over. Even after all of the concessions he supposedly made last night, none of the holdouts voted for him.***
***Well the NFL, did make it mandatory that players take the vac. & > took it so I think it’s safe to say we can put that to rest on if he took the vac.***
ReplyDeleteDjokovic's still battling "the poke!" He's "down under" as we post playing in Adelaide this wk! He was barred from playing in the AO last yr; starting Jan. 16th! The US ban's still on for Djokovic until April so he'll miss out playing in IW's & Miami Open held in March! This'll hurt his season, but not as > as last yr. missing out playing 2 Majors!
***What's w/ the fist pumping after every pt.?***
That type of gesticulating began about 40 yrs. ago w/ Lendl & Navratilova! They were the superior athletes on the tour & other players slowly picked up the practice to "get themselves up" & motivated! It's only gotten worse w/ the primal screams & exhorting of the player for the crowds to cheer them on!
***I don't want Djokovic to get back to world #1 "b/c Alcaraz wasn't there" @ AO.***
I'm sure whoever wins AO will prob. get the "**" treatment making a big deal that Alcaraz wasn't there! W/ Novak def. Shapovalov today, he's now won 100 matches "down under;" all events from AO, ATP Cup, & now Adelaide! - There are only 2 players I'm concerned w/ when it comes to Novak winning his 10th AO & re-acquiring the #1 ranking! Alcaraz's out anyway! Med on tap in the SF of Adelaide tmrw! That s/b the final!
***Other > the hamstring scare, Djoker pretty > controlled the match. There were moments when it seemed he was toying w/ Med. His choice to battle Daniil in a throwaway game in Turin made a statement. The Russian seems to have lost belief in his ability to win vs him. Side note: Novak looks as though he’s +ed btwn. 5-10 #'s.
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'...19 Djokovic v Tsitsipas had a H2H of 2-2. People were touting Stefanos as the next world beater. It’s now 10-2. Djokovic, like all champions, endeavors to make a statement vs the up & coming champions. Under Goran’s tutelage, his serve has become a true weapon & his net approach & volley has gone from comical to skilled. It w/b interesting to see what he brings to the court when he & Carlos play again.***
I'm glad Djokovic's keeping up w/ his serving skills! It's usually the 1st thing to go! You don't have the legs to jump into the serve & really reach up the older you get! I pulled a stomach muscle or 3 going "Edberg!" When a player like Martina or Roger lose a few mph off the serve, it's attacked by the newbies! W/ today's rackets "you're done!" I know my service games were > work to win in the 90's! The ball'd actually come back faster > the serve! Novak helps his own cause w/ a lit'l S/V action! He started that in their Paris Masters final in '21! He's still scary, really making Novak work for it @ X's!
***Djokovic saves a MP vs Korda in the 2nd set to win his 8th career title after saving a MP. Now @ an astounding 48-7 MP saved/lost.***
Korda was tough! He made Novak work for this one going over 3 hrs! He got his workout that's for sure! Djokovic's 92 titles!
***19 & already an injury case. Enjoy his USO win cause it's prob. his only one. When you're already picking up injury after injury that age, you're pretty > Lleyton Hewitt. Great early peak & then done.***
I was concerned he mhb pushing his training to an extreme level w/ the "overnight" development showing him ripped! Dehydration has a lot to do w/ being cut!
***I'd figure that's the goal @ the eotd., double digit titles @ the AO & Wimbl. Then the YEC rec. @ 7.***
...You have to believe an upset or 3 is due in the coming yrs! Novak has foils out there who're just plain bad match-ups on any surface! There's Vesely who's knocked him out of clay events early in a tourney! How many X's can he save himself from a player "on a heater" & needing to win in 5 sets? Nole has a H2H lead on all his contemps., but you just never know; esp. w/ age creeping up on him! As flexible as he is, how long can it last w/ how hard he works to win pts., games, sets, & matches?
***"Weak era" is the opium of the people.***
ReplyDeleteIt's also a misrepres. of the current state of affairs! Sooner or later we're all going to have to realize this era of tennis ran quite long w/ 3 players dom. the tour! This has been unpreced. excel. from Fedalovic making it seem as if a weak era helped! That's just so much BS! There were plenty of players that might've ruled for a few yrs. as #1 but for the Big 3! J/b they've overcome sev. gens. of newbies, it's not their fault they didn't brk thru! As hard as Murray worked @ it, it was only good enough to covet one YE #1! Wawrinka w/ the same # of 3 majors doesn't = get an honorary mention due to his ineptitude competing vs Fedalovic! The rec.bks have been forever changed in their favor! I'm not going to blame Thiem, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Medvedev or past NG'rs like Raonic, Dimitrov, Kei, & Cilic!
***By the X some people realize how ridiculously good Novak has been in these recent yrs. & his whole career, he w/b gone. And instead of apprec. his world class quality & contrib. to tennis, yrs were wasted on all that neg. energy for no good reason. A shame tbh.***
That "MIMIC" of Fed covering his eyes over that FH winning service return of Novak's @'11 USO SF prob. burns in the memories of the Djokovic family! Fed was serving for another major final w/ 2 chances & blew it! Roger really has been the weakest of the Big 3 allowing > people to rain on his undeserved parade!
***...the cringey delusions, but @ the same X I do think by now Djokovic has est. himself as the Goat; the insane Nadal dom. on clay being the only "**" left.
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...only Nadalfan2013 that endlessly goes on about Novak & Rafa having a +1 Slam edge. At least the rest show some moderation.***
I prefer to go w/ hardcore facts & #'s rather > muse about what shh if not for an age disparity, a weak era, & physical encumbrement! I've been blogging about this BS for yrs.! This site's mild in its fanaticism considering how delusional some fans c/b fawning over Nadal! They don't = see the embarrassment of it all where Novak owns & has smashed the rec.bks. save the "major's race!" It's only a matter of X! My all X faves cont. t/b Borg, Lendl, Sampras, Fed early on, now Djokovic!
***There are only 3 wks. btwn. end of RG & the start of Wimbl.***
They systematically have moved the starting date of Wimbl., now totally in the month of July! Makes Borg's accomps. all the > unprec. @ 3X's; winning Wimbl. after a FO victory! W/ just 6 days to adjust to grass in the 70's, now there are 3 wks. & 6 warm-up events avail. to play instead of just Queens!
***And Borg didn't play any warm up events. - Had Borg played the AO he'd > likely have had 1 or 2 "3-slam" seasons, same w/ Mac (close in '84). Three slam seasons were not such a rare thing B4 the "Big 3."***
Borg was a "genius" for the X's playing from the baseline & still winning when S & V was the style of the day! Many top players just didn't think it worth traveling "down under" to a tourn. out in the middle of nowhere! Since the original site, Kooyong was built off the ocean, wind could change the direction of the ball by 90 degrees! Then there are the bugs; esp. @ night matches! My guess is they can't use sprays to curtail the swarms! Now we get to the courts that were as choppy a surface as c/b had! They might as well have just thrown a front lawn out there & just rolled it! The $$ finally started catching up as Lendl, Wilander, & Edberg made the event relevant again in the 80's! The women joined in as Navratilova & Evert started going regularly as well! ;-)
***If Med does face & beat Nadal (he won’t face him IMO), it'll give him a huge confidence boost for the following Rds. & make an eventual final vs Djokovic > interesting. I still think he’s not close enough to actually beat Djoker though. His game is too pushy and his serve has declined.***
ReplyDeleteMed's a player I tend t/b concerned w/ when it comes to Novak keeping a run of good results going! ...He's been on a downward spiral since allowing Rafa to "rise from the dead" to steal his 2nd AO Chp.! Med still c/b scary good out of nowhere, but he needs to turn it around on Nadovic who've owned him for the > part!
***He's only 26. Imagine how pathetic to not bounce back from such a loss "down under" He choked it away. He has no one but himself to blame. "Man up & get over it."***
This is why I get tired of Nadal kvetchin' about his injuries! As much as Med chokes away ops. vs Nadovic, they still have to perform to complete comebacks!
***Andy Roddick was 26 when he lost Wimbl.'09. Borg, Wilander, McEnroe, etc were all over the hump by 26. Med'll prob. recover anyway, but there's no shame in flaming out by 26. A loss for the sport though.***
Hey, never invoke the names of Borg, Wilander, & McEnroe in ref. to any comparison to that pigeon of Fed by the name of A-Rod! ;-)
***Nadal's, The Goat by a hair b/c I value slams above all, but it's very clear Novak has a case. If = @ slams, then Novak has too > on his resume to put Rafa above him.***
Amen & hallelujah to that! Hard to beat someone w/ 7 YEC #1's, 373 wks @ #1, 6 YEC's, a Nole-Slam, 3 seasons w/ 3 majors, a double GM's, etc., etc., etc.!
***Yeah pretty hard...un< you have > slams.***
By 1....not worth = thinking about w/ the rest of that resume of Djokovic's! Laver was 2 behind Sampras, but's still thought of as >er w/ 2 CYGS's! That's the way it is!
***Since barred from IW's & Miami, what'd Novak do in the interim of those Masters' events? I think Dubai & Rotterdam make the > sense.***
...I hope Novak doesn't sit around for 2 months B4 the clay season in Europe! He was terribly rusty & didn't get back in real shape until Rome! Still lost in 4 @ FO w/ a 4th set lead that's depressing! W/ Nadal whining about being injured, it just pains me to see him win X & X again in Paris! It's like Novak's the desig. player to take him down as the rest of the tour has "suck'd" trying to take Nadal down on the Terre Battue of RG!
***Novak can't play @ 2 Masters so he chose other tourns. he can enter.***
It's so ridiculous to make a big deal of Novak playing 250's & 500 level events to make up lack of playing in 5 Masters last season! People are such idiots I can't take it!
***# of 500/250 tourns. entered:
Nadal: 97
Novak: 70
Chk. the #'s 1st?***
Why should facts get in the way of their "hating on?" Rafa's only real advan. over Novak is 1 major when he was barred from 2 last season! He'd already have tied or taken the lead after last yr.'s AO!
***I get trolling, but @ least know what you're talking about. No Nadal (or Fed fan) should EVER make an issue of Novak playing 500/250s when those 2 players have both played > such tourneys & a >er % of their tourneys won are from these “Mickey Mouse” events as they like to call them.***
Novak not playing 250's & a bunch of 500 level events is what kept him from another YE #1 in '16! He had 2 major wins & finalist in a 3rd, w/ +ition of 4 Masters titles! He wound up 2nd behind Andy who broke himself down playing every event poss. in the FALL to catch up to Novak; stealing YE #1 in the YEC Final!
***That’s Novak; a generous guy. He gives away YE #1's, but still ends up w/ the rec. May the same happen w/ the slams!***
***Something that's really fk'd is the Lions have a >er rec. > the Bucs do, but the Bucs are going to the playoffs & the Lions aren't. What's this, college football?***
ReplyDeleteIt's happened B4 & it'll happen again! Remember Seattle's the 1st team to go into the playoffs w/ a losing rec. 7-9 a few yrs. ago! I recall the 1st whiners in this vein had (AFC Central Div. winner) Cleveland 8-8 in '85 going to the playoffs while Denver couldn't make it as a WC @ 11-5! Elway wasn't happy!
***How's this for an idea: Cross-Conf. WC games. Instead of the top 3 Run'rs-up in each conf., take the top 6 in the whole league. It may lead to some wacky but interesting playoff scenarios. And if there's a 10-7 or 11-6 Run'r-up sitting home in 1 conf., chances are there's a 9-8 or 8-9 squeaker in the other that can hit the showers. Also: I predict Cowboys & Giants wins; all other home fields take it.***
Well that ain't happening any X soon! I recall thinking 20 yrs. ago that the NBA'd open things up by merging the seeds! The 2 or 3 best teams were in the West while the scrubs were all in the East getting a free ride w/ no real comp.!
***SB = Bengals / Niners***
So you're another one that thinks Burrow's, Mahomes' Kryptonite? It w/b hard to beat last season's playoffs!
***If Gruden wins his suit, he'll've NFL over a barrel, a backwater team GM Or Coaching Job is not Far fetched ...
The >er the org., the > arrogant! They believe laws have been legis. to allow them "carte blanche" to run their own affairs no matter the 'conflict of int.!' They lose these cases X & X again, but they have the country by the lavaliers! A sport of something like the NFL has become a YEARLY sport that's spoken of in the HEAT of Summer! It's an addictive thing! Nothing else was spoken of in Chgo. when the Bears went on their "SB Shuffle" of '85! The country had anointed the Bears, America's team w/ every act performed w/ Bear Uniforms on their backs! Sister Sledge used the uniform in their video! Something like that hasn't been dup'd! Heaven knows they've tried over the decades!
***Did you see a few ??able calls?***
The obvious was a block from behind on that Cinci T/O run-bk.! It was a clip on the 40 yd. line! A Personel Foul on QB, Cousins; slinging him down? I think not! He was lit. cradled & laid to bed like a baby! Getting sick of these missed calls w/ a "my bad" later from officials! It's too late!
***Did you see yet another loss for the Minn. Vikings when it counted?***
Today's receivers stink! They demand all kinds of $$ & respect, but when it cts., hitting them in the hands isn't enough! What happened to Miami's Rec. Core? I'm thinking Tyreek wished he'd've stayed in KC!
***He likely does. The concussion eps w/ Tua torpedoed Miami's season. They seemed to have a totally diff. team chemistry w/ him & Tyreek on the field.***
***Cousins carried Vikes all yr. They need defensive help Big X.***
ReplyDeleteThere comms. said the game would come down to the last possession b/c neither team's Defense showed up until it absol. had to! The Giants played their usual ball grinding game of "keep away" w/ long sustained drives!
***The deeper Brady goes into playoffs the > likely he's to land a starting job elsewhere.***
Well lets hope he's destroyed tonight! I'm no fan of either team, but to get rid of Brady once & for all, I'll root for the BOYS just this once! Going down in flames next wk. would also finish them off going almost 30 yrs w/o doing > of anything in the post season since firing Jimmy Johnson! They changed their heritage w/ that one stupid incident! I can't stand the Cowboys, but was a fan of Johnson's going back to his tenure in Miami!
***I can’t believe I'm actually rooting for the cowturds. Would like to see them win, but after they stunk it up vs Wash'ton I don’t have faith. I think we'll have to wait til next wk. to see Shady Brady go down. I don’t think he'll want to go out on a losing note. I could see him being w/ the Jets or Raiders next yr. They w/b good fits for him. They just lack a QB t/b a contender.
The dumbass should've retired last yr. If he goes to another team as expected, he'll look desperately trying to hold on in his final days now that he had his 1st losing season. Made no sense not to retire as he said he was going to last yr. when he was on top. The class< bi-sexual prick cares > about playing football than he does raising a family.***
It appears he mhb going thru "the change" as he forces a return to the NFL, getting rid of his family, & now involved w/ that Crypto crook making both Brady & Gisele look corrupt! Both have moved on w/ alternative "significant others!"
***Well, Tom has proved that he's officially washed up. Everyone should know when to retire. M/b Tom will realize it's X.***
He had it all, but's obviously a total a-hole throwing it all away trying to prove something to himself! He had the $$, the fame, a gorgeous wife, beautiful kids, & on good terms w/ his baby's momma, Bridget M., but it wasn't enough! I guess it wasn't enough $$; hence Crypto Currency assoc.! Now he's got nothing in comparison to last yr.! What an idiot!
***He’s had impressive durability, &'s still prob. a top 15 QB. He got a ring in Tampa, but needed a very good defense to hold the opp. to 3 pts to win. Tom has nearly always benefited from high level defense.***
The team struggled all season b/c the Defense couldn't stop the opp., but their main prob. was Offense; barely able to muster 16-19 pts a game! Even w/ all those rules to protect him, Brady wasn't getting the job done! He had his usual receiving core so he can't blame it on them, but commentators who slurp this MF'r relentlessly give him that OUT! "Oh, Gronk didn't come back in Nov. as I thought!" IDIOTS; esp. Skip Baseless!
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No one picked The Bucs t/b drubbed like this vs The Boys! Many thought Dallas'd win, but not like this; a true massacre!
***I expected a bounce back game from Dak after he stunk it up in the Commanders game, but I thought the Bucs'd stay close.***
***How was Novaks “hamstring?” Is this a strategic injury, or a real thing?***
ReplyDeleteHe's 35 & having to compete vs kids! I believe Nole has aches & pains all the X like Rafa, but doesn't use them as a crutch when he does lose a match! I wish both'd stop it & just play the game! If hurt, don't play! It's just a way of stealing thunder of the players able to def. them IMO! Not sure how > longer I'll watch the tour after Nadovic retire! W/ so many top women falling by the wayside, I have lit'l to no interest! I'm enthusiastic to see how Holger & Carlos progress though! Players like Khachanov, Hurkacz, Shapovalov, & Kyrgios have so disappointed me after looking so good early on!
***Novak has refused to follow public health measures to mitigate the spread of C-19 in foreign contries (Austr. & the USA).***
He was only barred from 2 continents; No. Amer. & Austr.! Compared to the rest of the World, what does that say about how this all went down?
***Everyone always pts out that Rafa has a good rec. vs lefties. What's Draper?***
Nadal won 1st set TB, but's down 2 brks in the 2nd set, 0-4! I heard Novak tweaked his leg, but Kyrgios' the 1 who's WD'ing from AO w/ injury!
***Rafa playing poorly & now coming up gimpy in the 3rd set, down 0-2.***
Well I'm glad someone said it! Soon as he pulled up on that > shot by McDonald, I said, "right on X!" MTO here we go! All players pull this!
***FAA has righted the ship in his match. Won the last 2 sets after dropping the 1st 2.***
All these guys can't keep dodging that bullet! They're not Matrix Agents for Gawd-sake!
***Wawrinka in '14, which's why I think a healthy Nadal had a good chance to win that match.***
That's what people muse about when Nadal drops a match! He's never beaten, just pulling up a lit'l lame in so many ways IMO! "Just go Rafa!"
***Well, that's that. Rafa's out in str.'s to McDonald. Hopefully Rafa can get healthy for a strong clay run.***
Anything w/b an improvement over last season, not picking up one event on clay; 250, 500, or Masters 1000! It was all Carlos then!
***I'm sure Carlito would've traded all of those warm-up events for a title @ the big dance in Paris.
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So Father X's calling Nads home early in Aus. Unfortunate he couldn't make a good run @ his title defense. Credit to his ability to play fairly. He didn't want to retire from the match & rob Mackie of a legit win.***
But the talk still w/b bandied about! McDonald'll never get full credit for this win = though he was beating Rafa long B4 the "injury!"
***I don't agree w/ that. As you said, he was getting handled well B4 the injury. So = B4 the MTO, he was staring at 2 sets to love. The win's on the books & that'll always matter.
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WTF is going on when Rafa's playing so passively. He shb swinging for the fences instead of letting a journeyman tennis player boss him around the court.***
Been saying this for yrs.! Nadal plays so passively @ X's allowing "nobodies," WC's, LL's, & "never-weres" to extend him to the limit! This has contrib. to him brk'n down when he was fully capable of being > aggress. to shorten his matches over the yrs.! Such an idiot! "DOUBLE HIP surgery, here we come!"
***I can't imagine Rafa'll come back "down under" next yr.***
It wouldn't be worth it IMO! Thinking about it, to get to a Triple CGS, it'd entail pk'n up another Wimbl.; NOT LIKELY! Novak has a chance if he goes all out to win this coming FO while Rafa's so hobbled in mind & body!
***That 1 pt. @ the beginning of the 2nd set… it shb Rafa’s 3 or 4 X's, but then MCDonald wins it. I love how flat this kid hits.***
Rafa's news conf. was typical! "I didn't want to retire! I couldn't hit my BH! I couldn't run!" What a fk'n idiot! Cry me a river; like Xisca!
***I'd love to see Rublev win a Slam. But he's too one-dimensional, IMO.***
ReplyDeleteSo many of the players are like that; just diff. levels of consistency, stamina, & skill to get the job done! Ruud just a step above! They're still just gloried 250 & 500 level champs IMO! A step ahead of them are the likes of Alcaraz, Tsitsipas, Zverev, & Med! The > vers. players like Fritz, FAA, & Sinner are > entertaining, but still haven't proved they're going to excel over all others!
***I think the CYGS ship has sailed.***
I w/b perfectly happy w/ Djokovic winning 2! No one needs t/b greedy! He's had a blessed career w/ 3 seasons winning 3 majors; 1 w/i a match of a CYGS! It's all gravy now! Any +tions to Novak's resume can only push his legend to new hts. yrs. down the line!
***You surely have to recognize who's the > injury-plagued. Djokovic complains a lot, but doesn't seem to lose > X to injury.***
Which's worse; someone who has a twinge in an arm or leg & announces it early or the person who can't ever lose a match un< there's evidence of an underlying injury? Nadal can never drop a match un< he had a rib, groin, shoulder, knee, or FOOT injury?? Novak's getting older & I can guarantee there are always underlying injuries when it comes to pushing himself to his elite hts.! Around 36 I was taking Advil B4 & after I played the simplest of matches w/ a neighborhood kid! Stretching has saved Novak a lot of serious injury! I usually roll my eyes when Rafa actually does have a legit problem, but he shouldn't be surprised! He pushes himself above & beyond & his body's paying for it! You don't win 14 FO's w/o saying, "never say never!" He wanted it > or else he'd've lost @ least 2 > of those SF & Finals to Novak! Djolovic seems to've a distorted mirror of achievement "down under!" He stopped Fedalray many X's to claim 9 AO's so far, but he's > likely to WD rather > push it! What else ya got?
***Novak tried to make a lit'l push @ 2-0 in the 4th to get the brk back, but once he consol, in their 2nd Rd. match, Couacaud knew it was over.***
Top players depend on it @ X's when not @ their best! I can still recall Novak saving 4 MP's vs Tsonga in Paris @ '12 RG QF! They're in a 4th set TB IIRC & JWT was athletically flying all over the court being very aggressive! I'm pretty sure he had 4 MP's (2 B4 TB) & Novak saved them all taking the TB! Tsonga was emotionally & physically done after 4 hrs. on court, succumbing to Novak 1-6 in the 5th!
***If Novak wasn't injured, he'd've finished match off quickly. He's clearly struggling & un< it improves dramatically, he's not getting past Q/F. He may = WD B4 Sat. or lose to Grigor for that matter.***
No doubt from here on out, we've to expect that to wt. on Novak that it's no cakewalk out there any>! We can have all kinds of expectations, but our being spoiled by the excel. & consistency of Djokovic can't last forever! Look @ Rafa who's just a yr. older! He's lost 7 of his last 9 matches includ. LC, Paris Mstr., YEC, & The UC! This 2nd RD. loss by Rafa @ the AO shouldn't surprise anyone! He's looked bad & over-extended himself since last season when obviously hurt & laboring! I guess he was determined not to spend 6 months on the sidelines w/ Novak unable to play 2 majors & 5 Masters! Nadal had a chance to close the YE #1 rec. Novak holds @ 7; Nadal's 5! Now he's paying for it & prob.'d shut things down! From what I hear, he's +ed extra play w/ exhs.; 1 in Vegas just B4 IW's!
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***Pat Cash hated Lendl, accusing him of being racist & a shit to the lower ranked players. He said that beating Lendl in strs. in the '87 Wimbl. final was the icing on the cake for him!***
Cash never got over that '84 USO SF (The longest day) where he had MP vs Lendl & dropped the match! An ACE down the mid'l by Cash was called out & the rest is history after that 5th set TB! The next day Lendl was too worn out to play McEnroe who was also hurting from his 5 set marathon vs Connors in the other SF! This really was a poorly run major back then, never really thinking of the players!
***The only rigged draws (early 10's) put obstacles for Djokovic/Fed & gave Nadal free sailing thru to the finals!***
ReplyDeleteI saw a video on YouTube showing there had t/b a conspiracy when it came to those Men's draws back then! The odds of Novak getting Roger again & again in SF major draws can't be explained other > shenanigans & chicanery! Unfort. it blew up in their faces as Novak systematically took matches Roger was favored to win! It wound up turning into the Rafa & Nole show in '11 w/ Roger making sporadic final appearance w/ the same results! Even on his beloved grass where he was thought t/b KING after surpassing Sampras' 7 Wimbls., Novak has a very good chance of overtaking him there as well w/ 7 in his pocket; 3 in finals over Fed!
***Why must a player be "the next great champion" or "next #1" t/b worthy of consideration? This is my issue w/ your view, @Fiero425, that keeps popping up. Every player that isn't a modern day Borg sucks.***
Alcaraz did the job last season! The ex. isn't in front of us, but he did what needed t/b done for the world to take notice! He not only def. Nadovic, he won events, getting to #1! It was aided due to Novak being hampered by Covid sit.! I don't understand why you're confused? I keep saying Americans seem t/b on the rise, but their winning w/b limited due to inability to finish off past champions > once or twice! Players you have t/b impressed w/ & has some real weapons are still coming out of Europe like Carlos, Holger who put on a show last Fall, Borna (= though upset), Matteo, & Cameron! Players like Francis, Sebastian (def. Daniil), & lately w/ Tommy Paul still haven't gotten over the hump w/ the last Gen. (Stefanos, Sascha, & Daniil)! I guess we'll have t/b confused together!
***After Fed, I don't want to see another ATG bow out b/c of injuries. Is there any other way Nadal'll bow out other > injuries/total brk-down of body? He w/b playing til he actually forced to go on wheelchair. - Yeah, hard agree. To get to the top these guys have been almost pathological comps. & > only bow out due to physical constraints.***
A few have bowed out due to mental strain! W/ Borg it was burnout! I think I heard he asked for 2 months off instead of faking an injury & he was turned down! Hence the ATP new rule dealing w/ seniority! Back then, if you could walk, the tour wanted their top players out there! They blew it & changed the rules, but I feel Nadal's still making his own rules for on & off court behavior!
***...Nastase still didn't win Wimbl. due to the strike of '73. Lost to Sandy Mayer.***
As skilled as Nastase was, he had no major weapons back then! His serve improved as he got older feeling he needed the free pts. that aces'd give him! He was a cagey player who'd place the ball anywhere on the court w/ touch & feel that's still unmatched by any player to this day! His major prob. was he didn't hit the ball hard enough; esp. to compete vs the likes of Borg who def. him @ Wimbl. & the USO w/ lit'l difficulty! A comparable player w/b Safin except Marat could # the ball w/ power & touch!
***Now Ostapenko, who sent Gauff packing, seems t/b in really fine form, even upsetting the tops seeds in the MxD's draw. If she can survive the serving of Rybakina, I see her coming thru the top 1/2 of the draw.***
Gauff played like an idiot! She didn't move Ostapenka around @ all, hitting right down the mid'l & choreographed her own upset! Poor Jelena should've stayed w/ the frilly penifors to hide how out of shape she's become! Watching her now & it takes me back to the 70's when = Evert was lugging around a few extra #'s!
***Nooo. Them outfits were horrid, please leave them in the past. And Chrissy carrying a lit'l baby fat's completely diff. > Osta carrying the add'l wt. of a 7 yo.***
***I blame the Vikings horrid defense for the shit show of a game. It shouldn't have come down to a last gasp attempt w/ X running out.
ReplyDeleteThat's been the story of Minn. Vikings history; lost opps! From Fran Tarkenton's futile attempts in 4 SBs to their teams of the late 90's w/ Brad Johnson/ Cunningham & Carter/Moss connection, going 15-1 in '98! Of course it came down to a needed FG in the Conf. Game vs ATL Falcons! Old man Gary Anderson blew a chip shot FG allowing a very cons. Reeve's team to make his 2nd SB, losing to his old team; Denver!
***Hey, don’t knock the Vikings history w/ the Tarkenton yrs of losing 4 SB's. The city of Minn. would do anything on the planet to have those glory days return again of having a team from a decade get to the SB 4X's & lose all 4 again & rack up the # to losing SB's up to 8 instead of never getting back there again in a heartbeat.***
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The Cowboys were knocked out of the playoffs by SF, 19-12! They'll talk about the Dallas all day tmrw. on the sport's shows! Right now Jerry Jones is taking ??s in the HALLWay instead of players & the HC! ...This team w/b cursed until Jerry takes his final dirt-nap!
***Dak isn't the guy. Now is it obvious? It was to me long ago. I knew he wasn't worth the $$. Nice guy sure, but as far as being a champ. No way. Two almost 3 interceptions. He did nothing yesterday. It was pathetic. He = got the ball back w/ a chance to tie. Did he pull a Brady? Nope.
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Dak Prescott's no Hurts. That's like saying Dak looked good beating Tampa Bay; a playoff team that had a losing rec. BFD. So I'm going w/ Eagles. I hope Bengals win. I don't think they will, so I'll predict KC - And then I'll say Eagles win the SB.
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I'm def. not saying that Dak = Hurts. I ...the 49'r defense did a good job in bottling up a mobile QB. Whether or not they can contain Hurts remains t/b seen. I'm also going w/ the Eagles over the 49'rs. Prob. w/b another low scoring def. battle.***
Dax's just overrated AF! Jerry was stupid enuf to overpay him, so they constantly pump him up as being great!
***...America's team? How arrogant. So as much as I love my Lion's, I hate Dallas. I'm not happy about Dak pulling this over Jones. DP signed a 4 yr., $160 M contract w/ the Dallas Cowboys, including a $66 M signing bonus, $126 M guar'd, & an avg. annual salary of $40 M. In '23, Prescott will earn a base salary of $31 M, while carrying a cap hit of $49,130,000 & a dead cap value of $89,070,000.
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Yeah, I really don't see what Jerry Jones sees in him. Basically Dax's a 2nd or 3rd tier QB who does OK when surrounded by talent. Kind of like a > mobile Cousins. They prob. whd about as well w/ Cooper Rush. Dak's def. not a Staubach or Aikman type player & leader who'll get them a Chp. And since I hate the Cowpies, I hope they keep on doing the same thing.
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Well, the Div. playoff games are done. We have the final 4 teams. The Eagles will host the 49'rs for the NFC Chp. game & the Chiefs will host the Bengals for the AFC Chp. The NFC game looks like a > matchup. The 49'rs have the #1 defense & the Eagles are #2. I think the Eagles offense has an advantage w/ Jalen Hurts, but the 49'rs Defense did a good job of bottling up Dak Prescott. S/b a very good game. Think I'll go w/ the Eagles @ home. The AFC game, I don't give the Chiefs much chance of winning un< Mahomes is a very quick healer. I'll go w/ the Bengals to win.***
So far I'm waiting for the thrills of last yr.'s playoffs! It hasn't been there & the games are going according to Vegas! The Cincy win wasn't an upset! Buff. hadn't looked good the last 2 wks. of the season barely getting past an injured Miami team! I'm gonna go Phili & KC regard< of Mahomes' gimp!
***Who beat Tom Brady? Eli twice & Nick Foles threw the go-ahead TD pass w/ 2:21 to go & the Phil. Eagles won their 1st SB by outscoring Brady & the New England Pats 41-33 on Sun. night.***
I think Mahomes lost out the > this past off-season w/ the loss of Tyreek Hill! That was his big play guy! I wonder is Hill calling the backwoods of KC?
***So that’s why Borg never won the USO; a thumb injury in '78?***
ReplyDeleteBorg's best chances had him w/ a shoulder injury in '77! He WD mid-match vs Stockton! The '78 Final vs Connors w/ the thumb issue discussed! In '76, he had a good chance, but he wasn't ready mentally = though they played on clay in the final! Connors won that 1 last match in '78 B4 Borg in the rivalry, owned Jimmy for the rest of his X on the tour! Even on grass, Connors just couldn't def. Bjorn, then along came McEnroe! Most top players have an event that's their bugaboo! For Lendl & Rosewall it was Wimbl., a bunch had prob. winning on clay @ the FO, & the USO was just jinxed for Borg who played enough to fail on grass, clay, & HC!
***I don’t begrudge Safin anything. IMO he squandered his talents & career.***
You can say that for A LOT of players! It's not like the old days where the big winners were the only ones who got > out of playing the game! Early on in the pros, the top 20 barely got to YE $$ of $150-200 K! Now a 1st Rd. loser can make living expensives just by making the main draw of a major! I recall outrage from Connors late in his career after receiving a huge check @ a major when he dropped a 2nd Rd. match! The $$ has gotten insane so it shouldn't surprise anyone that players' ambitions & competitiveness c/b railroaded by getting huge rewards w/ lit'l effort! On the men's side it was doubly apparent since Fedalovic owned the tour for over 2 decades!
***People thought Orantes w/b knackered after the SF. Instead, it went the other way, w/ Orantes beating Connors in str. sets, as if Orantes was still riding the high of SF win over Vilas. Only left-handers won the men's singles title @ the USO from '74-84.***
I still can't believe Orantes won that match over Connors in '75! Jimmy had already missed out def'n his AO & Wimbl. titles after dropping finals to "old guys" like Newcombe & Ashe Wimbl. resp.! Orantes was like "The Phoenix, rising from the ashes!" Vilas was up 2 sets to 1 w/ a 5-1 lead! He began choking like a dog as he allowed Orantes to come back to win that match well after 2 AM! I figured Orantes wouldn't last long in the final; esp. since he had a history of cramping up! He kept the ball in play for the > part! That was always Connors "Achilles Heal;" UFE's! Nastase "performed it" perfectly! This era takes me back when tennis was a lot > thoughtful due to tech. @ the X! Pounding the ball just wasn't enough to win; esp. on clay!
***...despite the field, another thing was Nadal was improving. How much slippage & improvement were factors are again all speculative opinions.***
Fed's last "BIG," season was '09! He won 2 majors & made the final of the other 2! He had cried dropping that '09 AO final to Nadal! Supposedly a lot went on w/ Rafa after that 'on & off' the court w/ family! He came up injured & was summarily dismissed by Robin Soderling in the FO R16 in 4 sets! That gave Roger his only FO! His CGS was complete B4 either Nadovic! The good X's rolled for Fed as Nadal skipped Wimbl. & @ the USO, Del Po blew him out of the SF in blistering str. sets! Even though I wasn't impressed w/ Roger's play, I didn't think he'd lose that Final vs Del Po up 2-1 in sets!
***Fedalovic don't just have unusual talents. They've also combined it w/ a lot of hard work, discipline, a natural competitiveness, & a willingness to sacrifice for what they want. They're just > committed. We keep waiting for the younger ones to get the memo about dedication.***
Looks as if Roger extended the careers of "The Big 3," rewriting the rec.bks for all X IMO! I think Nadal might've retired by now if not for Roger winning those last 3 majors! That made him stay & push Novak to new limits to overtake them both!
***Roger pushed Nadal & then both pushed Novak, that can't be denied. But we can talk about how much other players were "stifled." They could've tried harder, trained harder, played harder. Weren't we just talking about Safin & Nalbandian? I don't see who was "stifled," if they were out-played.***
***Slam #22. Congrats to Novak. #1 in the World again as he def. Tsitsipas in AO Final in str. sets.***
ReplyDeleteAnother "dart to the heart" as Newbie touts Novak as "The Goat!" It's been repeatedly said by Sascha, Daniil, & now Stefanos!
***Stefanos called him the greatest to have ever held a racquet. Kind words. - It all falls back in place. Novak wasn't = pushed this slam.
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Tsitispas reminds me of Fed a lit'l. Similar serve, big FH & 1-handed BH. I think he c/b #1 & battle Alcaraz for it in next few yrs. Stefanos faced arguably the GOAT today so = Fed in his prime could've lost in strs. here @ AO vs this Djokovic. I think Stef needs to improve his slice & volleys.... then he w/b closer to Fed. I feel Stef needs a better slice & BH to beat in-form Novak, @ least on some big occasions.
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'a lit'l bit >'
- Nole's also the oldest YE #1.
- Only player to win at least 80 matches at all 4 slams
- Only player to make at least 7 slam semis all 4 slams
- Only player to win at least 7 slams at 2 diff. events
- Only player to win at least 7 slams at diff. events on diff. surfaces (Hard,Grass)
- Only player to win 4 slams in a row on 3 diff. surfaces
- Most Sunshine Dubs - 4 ('11,'14,'15,'16)
- Most cons. Sunshine Dubs ( '14,'15,'16)
- Most AO-IW-Miami triples ( '11, '15, 16)
- Most big titles won in a row on the Cal. - 7 ( USO '15, Shanghai '15, Paris '15, WTF '15, AO '16, IW '16, Miami '16)
- Only player to win the 1st 4 big events of the season - (AO '15, IW '15, Miami '15, MC '15)
- Only player to win the 1st 3 Masters of the season (IW, Miami, MC '15)
- Longest X btwn. 1st & last YEC win - 14 yrs
Djokovic also owns the rec. for the > cons. appearances in big titles finals in events played - 17 big finals in 17 big events played.
Paris '14, YEC '14, AO '15, IW '15, Miami '15, MC '15, Rome '15, RG '15, Can. '15, Cincy '15, USO '15, Shanghai '15, Paris '15, YEC '15, AO '16, IW '16, Miami '16
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Djoker vs Rafa:
- More grass titles overall
- More grass slams
- More HC titles overall
- More HC slams
- More Indoor titles overall
- Djokovic also dethroned all of Nadal's '10 wins ( MC '10 - dethroned in '13, Madrid '10 - dethroned in '11, Rome '10 - dethroned in '11, RG '10 - dethroned in '15, Wimbl. '10 - dethroned in '11, USO '10 - dethroned in '11)
- Beaten Nadal @ all 4 major clay events ( MC, Madrid, Rome, RG)
- Beaten Nadal in all clay masters finals ( MC '13, Madrid '11, Rome '11, '14)
- After losing in his 1st ever Masters final in IW '07, Djokovic has never lost a masters final on HC to Nadal again, & only actually lost one match on HC in masters play in Montreal '13
- Two winning streaks of 7-0 against Nadal across all surfaces.
- Djokovic is also the 1st & only player to beat the world #1 (Nadal) in 5 cons. finals ( IW '11, Miami '11, Madrid '11, Rome '11, Wimbl. '11)
- Djokovic's only player to beat the same player in the final in 3 cons. slams, that being Nadal ( Wimbl. '11, USO '11, AO '12)
A few trival ones:
Djokovic has not lost on HC in over 9 yrs, he's 19-0 in sets played
Djokovic has not lost on grass in over 14 yrs.
Djokovic has str. set Nadal @ 2 diff. slams on diff. surfaces (RG '15, AO '19)
Djokovic has won > sets vs Nadal @ MC & are tied 2-2
Djokovic has beaten Nadal @ all 4 slams, the opp's not true
Djokovic is only player to beat Nadal X X's in clay slams
Djokovic only player to have dethroned Nadal twice @ RG ('15, '21)
Djokovic has wins over Nadal @ 8 of the 9 masters, w/ the 9th being Shanghai, where they've not played.
Djokovic has perfect recs over Nadal @ AO, Miami, Cinci & Paris
Djokovic only player to beat Nadal both outdoors ('11) & indoors ('18) @ Wimbl.
Djokovic's only player to beat Nadal @ RG & then win the title
Djokovic has a DCS which includes a win over Nadal @ RG, the opp. for Nadal having a win over Djokovic @ AO is not true.
Djokovic has defended slams on 2 diff, surfaces @ 2 diff. venues
Djokovic has won 3 slams in a row @ 2 diff. events, Nadal only @ one.***
Thanks! ;-)
Logic say that choices, no matter how sacrosanct have to evolve w/ the X's! In my day, Borg was head & shoulders above all others = w/ the holes in his resume; no USO! He still owned the > majors in the OE w/ 11! Along came Sampras who snuck up on us...being dull AF! He ended his career w/ the new rec. of 14! We were so desp. to make Pete the GOAT that we ignored the fact he never = played a FO final! His throne wasn't held long as Fed went on a tear eclipsing him in just 8.5 yrs. IIRC! Even I justified his GOAT-dom w/ 2 players who lit. owned him early & late! No one thought Nadovic'd catch up to Roger; giving himself > of a cushion w/ a late surge adding 3 > majors ending his career w/ 20 Majors! Nadovic have been able to overcome a few NG'rs eras, holding them off, greedily hoarding > major events! At least the kids picked up a Masters event here & there, then taking YEC's in Nov.! This past season, = @ 35, Novak zipped thru the field taking all 5 of his matches tying himself w/ Roger w/ 6 Chp. each! Now Roger's being left in the dust in Masters wins & majors as Nadovic now have 22 majors; 2 > Roger! We have to drop Fedal as top dogs (ALL X) = if the Tennis Intelligentsia anointed them Demi-Gods a decade ago! Times change & recs fall! We all know that w/ Novak owning all the relevant recs. right now, it's only a matter of X that he'll evolve as the BOAT, GOAT, & now "the greatest to have ever held a racket!"
ReplyDelete***Djokovic also won 4 slams w/o having to play GS Champ. which is the > of the Big 3. He's become a vulture.***
IMO, no one's vultured > events than Fedal! Besides the 'weak era' where Roddick was Roger's >est obstacle to Rafa owning Euro. clay for quite a while waiting for Novak to knock them both off their coll. pedestals! Djokovic has played < 250-500 > Fedal I'm sure! Last season was an aberration due to missing out on 2 Majors & 5 Masters events; Un-Vax C-19 Ban! Novak had it tougher as he's set recs. having to do w/ def. top 10 players to win his events! I'd check the rec. B4 using that term "vulture!"
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I told you women's tennis is almost unwatchable! I saw a possibility of stabiity w/ Swiatek after loss of Barty, Osaka, & other seasoned vets!
***Rybakina, if she wins the AO, could become a rival to Swiatek. That'd make the last 4 slams Swiatek/Rybakina/Swiatek/Rybakina.***
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...I'd never pt. fingers @ any other major musing about violence! It's a shame a stray bullet came flying into Forest Hills exacerbated their move to Flushing Meadows! Then of course there was the unfortunate tourist murder in the Subway off the facility decades ago! I'm surprised The USO hasn't taken a bigger hit as one of the worst events run out there! The scheduling of matches was criminal @ X's! The stories I'd tell you going back to the 70's!
***Martina won 6/8 over 2 yrs., losing the other 2 slams vs slam< players in the 4R & the SF. Steffi won 7/8 in '88-89, only lost the FO final vs an ATG claycourter. I’d took the latter, as it includes a CYGGS.***
I wonder how long they'll turn a blind eye to Martina's accomps. in Doubles! They're as incomparable recs. as the Single's rec. holding #1 in both disciplines!
***Mats isn’t a great thinker; a bandwagon jumper. He believes Nole's The GOAT. He shouldn’t be lowering the tone this way, but he can never help himself.***
Novak was already anointed "The GOAT" by sev. past >'s, including Wilander after Novak won his 1st FO back in '16! He only had 12 Majors @ the X, but acquiring them in bunches winning 2 or 3 almost every season! IDK how Nadal still c/b considered; j/b of his clay excel.? That won't fly now or in the future! That's Nadal's main claim to fame now; "clay master!" Novak's destroying the comp. = when he isn't 100 %! Everything's gravy from here on out as he's become #1 again; 374 wks. & counting! ;-)
***Bro, I’m surprised @ you. If Carlos wins the FO this yr., Mats w/b just as likely to anoint him goat. Rafa has barely played “bunches of slams” in a season, yet he’s got the >est rate of winning them among the Big 3. Do you hear me declaring him t/b the Goat?***
ReplyDeleteTouting Nole's rec. isn't putting Nadal down! It's putting things in perspective! Right now Rafa winning those FO's the only rec. he has over Novak!
***It’s very difficult to win the Channel Slam brother, you know that.***
What about it? Borg did it 3 str. seasons, Nadal 2 over 3! Fed & Djokovic did it in '09 & '21 resp.! Will that alone elevate Rafa? NOPE!
***Clearly Novak's still the guy to beat, & if he can remain healthy, has a good chance of spending the whole yr. @ #1 & piling on > accomps. He's back to #1 w/ 374 wks in the books, & thus can reach the absurd 400 benchmark by July. He's now tied w/ Rafa w/ 22 Slams &'s likely to take the lead, & @ 38 Masters & 93 titles.
...I favor Novak over Rafa for the RG title. But that's still almost 4 months away, & I've learned never to write him off. But as things stand right now, I think there's a good chance that he's on his last legs. But there's a fairy tale that I wouldn't mind seeing unfold: 1 > rise in clay season, 1 > RG title, & a retirement announcement as he hoists that trophy.
...After the "Biggish 3" of the Next Gen, we have Rublev, Berretini, Ruud, Fritz, HHurkacz, & sev. others like Tiafoe & Kyrgios who'd conceivably win a Masters and/or go deep in a Slam or 2. Rublev just seems over-ripe to win @ least a Masters, but while he's been comp. @ Slams, still hasn't made it past the QF's & doesn't have a diverse enough game to win one, IMO unless he's helped by the draw &/or an upset or 2. The other guys are in a similar boat: Masters contenders, but I don't see any of them winning a Slam unless the stars align just right. ...More talented guys like Alcaraz & Rune aren't yet fully "hatched." But there's a narrowing window.
...*Note: While only Roger has also reached 300 wks. during the Open Era, if we had the same system in place, sev. other players would likely have reached 300, & possibly = 400: Laver, Gonzales, & Tilden.
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I think both Rune & Carlos certainly show the right levels of intensity & fight to have a brilliant rivalry @ the top of the game. Sinner too, m/b. I’m getting a bit worried about Felix. He’s too Canadian, or something! He could do w/ somebody riling him up B4 he goes on court. I like his coolness, but it isn’t coolness the way Borg or Pete were, which was they were cool b/c they were tough & busy handling things.*** ;-)
***Hard to see Djokovic failing to win @ least 3 DC’s w/ Ferrer, Verdasco, Almagro, Lopez (both Feli & Marc) & JCF, RBA, etc. as country-mates. Now team Serbia is no slouch either, but it’s not like-for-like that’s for sure.
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When I discussed Nat'l Repres., I always mentioned singles rec. as well. McEnore, if you include doubles does rate among the best DC players in the OE. However, Becker & Borg I think rank >er in the OE. Becker was 38-3 in DC singles & 8-0 vs GS champs. Borg was 37-3 & 9-2 vs GS champs. Nadal's 29-1 in DC & 4-0 vs GS champs. (Delpo, Djokovic, & Roddick twice). BTW, that win vs Roddick was a teenage Nadal going vs the #2 player in the world in a critical match. He played a key role in 4 out of 5 wins. Djokovic went 38-7 in DC & went 4-3 vs GS champs. Nadal's also 10-2 in Olympics (no match in clay) & Djokovic's 13-6 (no match in clay). Djokovic did >er in ATP Cup 8-0 & Nadal went 4-2. Overall, Nadal's 43-5 (89.5%) in singles Nat'l repres. & Djokovic's 59-13 (81.9%). Moreover, Nadal's also 2-1 H2H (2 played in HC) in Nat'l Repres. so any impartial observer'd concede that in this cat. Nadal has had > success. I didn't include United Cup as Djokovic never played or will I include Laver or Hopman Cup.
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As the yrs. have gone by, I find it hard to believe these draws aren't rigged; tbh.***
Oh, they are rigged! I just watched a YouTube vid where statistical analysis was done which show men's draws were rigged to have Roger play Novak SF thinking he had a >er chance @ getting a Fedal final! They were foiled X X's & #'s that just don't + up to this day! X & X again it was a Nadovic final; esp. a dec. ago!
***I wouldn't doubt it b/c back then, Fedal was the only marquee blockbuster match. Djokovic or Murray wasn't as exciting of a prospect for the public or media.
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Making Fed face Djokovic & Nadal face Murray for cons. 16 Slams for a per. of 4 yrs., isn't just Rigging draw, but a shameless Rigging Ep. & shame< & blatant disrespect for the viewers who love the sport. Any person who thinks that's just accidental is actually Ally of those who make such draws or beneficiaries of such draws. Any genuine person will laugh at this "accidental" draw. lol.
Plus, Andy & Novak changed their ranking many X's. But the draw remained the same for cons. 16 slams. Believe it or not, Murray was seen as a rel. >er threat to Roger as compared to Novak in the late 2000s despite Novak winning his 1st slam & doing >er overall. I'm sure Fed would've beaten Murray = if Murray was on his end of the draw, but his 2-6 h2h to Murray in '09 raises doubts on such a coincidence existing.
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Fed was being marketed as the GOAT right after USO '04 when he had 4 slams in total. He wasn't 2nd man or 3rd man or 4th man, he was the Man.***
Tis true, Fed was never undermined & the Tennis Intelligentsia proclaimed him the GOAT quite early! The same was done w/ Novak, but didn't stick due to popularity or lack thereof! The masses were sold on Fedal being the >est players ever!
***I think that there needs t/b a 2-month midseason brk. after the FO, & that Wimbledon s/b moved to Aug. Then, the USO Series could take place in late Aug. & thru Sept., w/ the USO in Oct. That'd les'n the gap btw the USO & the ATP/WTA Finals.***
I never thought we s/b fooling around w/ the cal. like that! It was bad enough when they +ed wks btw FO & Wimbl.! I liked the orig. sched. which made it > impressive winning b2b! Now it's nothing as 3 players have won the Chan'l-Slam; facilitated by that huge brk. to acclimate to grass! Hard to believe how Borg & Evert won it back it the 70's after winning Paris, they had 6 days B4 Wimbl.'s 1st Rd.; Often enough, Borg had t/b there early to open the tourn. that Mon. afternoon! There are 4 events to get ready these days = though courts have been homogenized to make baseliners like Nadal & Djokovic winners w/ 9 Chp. btwn. them. Borg doing it season after season playing w/ a stick elevates him above all others! Nadal's had all kinds of warm-ups, but hasn't taken a Wimbl. title since '10, def. Berdych who upset Fed!
***... But Novak's sleepwalking thru slams & > tourns. for that matter. And he's 35 yo.***
ReplyDeleteSeek help babe! J/b Roger was playing so pathetically in '09, winning thru a weak field, he was able to steal a FO & Wimbl. titles! Over the yrs. Roger had no comp. B4 Nadovic! Safin & Nalbandien broke up the party for him a couple X's, but that was about it! Get off the fanboy platform & see reality!
***I dont need to seek any help @ all. A guy just walked thru the AO @ 35 & didn't lose a set. That tells me 2 things. - He's good, & his comp. isnt. Not only that, but w/ a hamstring injury. He did drop a set though. ...Tsitsipa's 25, & he still dropped 3 sets. Heck, I w/b > open to Novak just being amazing if these dudes @ least like made him sweat or something. - - Fedal winning @ 35, they're just epic. Djokovic's winning @ 35 "Houston we have a problem- the Tour stinks."***
Hypocrisy reigns globally w/ these idiots who can't keep their complaints str. on the sad state of affairs concerning the ATP!
***Yeah, they act like '17 was 2 centuries ago & that we don't recall what was written about the Heroical, spectacular, mythical, can't do any wrong Goat w/ unseen longevity Fed, j/b he won a Slam as a 35 y/o.***
WTF are you talking about? Did you forget Roger resurgence, winning Masters & Slams in '17-18? GAWD save us from the stupidity & ignorance out there!
***I just said that. Roger did play well into his mid 30s, but he wasn't just smoking people. He lost 7 sets @ the AO in '17.***
The rec.bk. of accomps. will obviously mean > than Nadovic close H2H in majors; esp. overall Majors, Masters, YE #1, & wks. @ #1!
***I was discussing simply H2H. As for overall this has gone back & forth so long that it's best to wait for the FO until we have this disc. again. In fact, = when Nadal took a 2-slam lead, I said Djokovic had a shot in getting = w/ him. I cited 60 + advantages that Nadal has over Djokovic in a diff. thread. I never said he was >er, but he does have some advantages. He still has a >er overall BO5 %, >er GS winning %, 5 DC's, 2 OGM's, 11 double titles, >er outdoor winning %, & his 31-9 BO5 finals rec.'s still >er > 23-11. Presently, the debate has slightly tilted in Djokovic's direction, but I've learned not to ct. Nadal out. - - One USO that stands out to me is in 1980: McEnroe had to def. Lendl, Connors, then Borg. Hard to top that.***
That was a true "Golden Age" of tennis w/ so many >'s & diff. winners of majors includ. Borg, McEnroe, Connors, Lendl, Edberg, Becker, Wilander, Courier, Agassi, & Vilas! At any given major, there c/b a dozen players who won @ least 1! W/ the hoarding of the Big 3, it can end up being devoid of X winners; esp. this past AO where Novak was the loner after Nadal upset early in the tourn.!The current era has what's left of the Big 3, overall = w/ such talent, it still w/b thought of as "weak" allowing just 3 players to own the ATP tour for 20 yrs.!
***McEnroe shone so brightly from '79-84--he was the gatekeeper for the hard & grass court majors, w/ '84 being the apex for him.***
Overall you're prob. right, but I marveled @ how an artisan like Ivan Lendl actually tamed McEnroe for 2 seasons beating him like a drum in '81! He got some advise from a past >, I'm thinking Don Budge who told him to relentlessly attack the net & not allow Ivan to run him around like a chicken w/ its head cut off! That got him thru '83 & of course a very successful '84, but after that "John was done!" I can still see him rolling around on the grass of Wimbl. looking "out of it" in the '85 QF going down to Kevin Curren! McEnroe took one > WCT Final title in '89 & then turned into another J. Connors just "hanging on" thru the early 90's!
***McEnroe’s demise was brutally sudden, wasn’t it? In '85 he still looked like a top player, but was beaten in strs. by Lendl in the USO final that yr. & that surprised me. He tried to change to cope, then yrs later realised he shouldn’t have tried to change. Whatever it was, he prob. went fastest from hero to 0, among the >'s - until Mats' lights blinked out in '89.***
***Peak Elo by surface - m/b not as "objective" as you want, but still gives us a sense of peak levels of various players on diff. surfaces:
ReplyDeleteCLAY
1. Nadal 2669
2. Borg 2650
3. Djokovic 2538
4. Lendl 2536
5. Vilas 2521
6-10: Clerc 2469, Muster 2458, Fed 2453, Nastase 2440, Connors 2439
GRASS
1. Borg 2562
2. Laver 2561
3. Fed 2547
4. Connors 2542
5. Djokovic 2540
6-10: McEnroe 2517, Sampras 2501, Rosewall 2500, Murray 2487, Edberg 2482
(#14. Nadal 2401)
HARD
1. Djokovic 2670
2. Fed 2637
3. Sampras 2524
4. Lendl 2512
5. Nadal 2506
6-10: Agassi 2500, Murray 2490, Laver 2459, McEnroe 2453, Edberg 2429
(#33. Borg 2295)
CARPET
1. McEnroe 2690
2. Borg 2582
3. Lendl 2563
4. Becker 2542
5. Laver 2540
6-10: Connors 2530, Edberg 2444, Smith 2441, Sampras 2407, Ashe 2405)
Note that Novak's the only player who's top 5 in all 3 current surfaces.***
...It's been unprecedented dom.; esp. by a player going into his mid 30's! Besides being consistent & durable over the last 2 decades, he got to > SF & F +ing to his wear & tear; sorta like making the playoffs yr.-ly! Novak seems t/b taking it to a new level wanting to pull a "LeBron" or "Tom Brady" eating up the tour as a Sr.!
***...seeing > & > of "Not so fast," & "there is no GOAT," Etc. I don't believe for a min. that El's a Djokovic fan-wolf in Fed's clothing.***
I tend to think the fans who believe there's no GOAT just can't defend their own fave! I'd personally put Fed ahead of Nadal = if the major's lead extends to 5! His lopsided resume can't be overlooked by experts "in the know!" I'd still put Laver, Gonzales, & Rosewall ahead of Rafa = though grass was the main surface during their era! Novak owns all the meaningful recs. &'ll inevitably put the race out of reach for all X! I doubt anyone will come close to the achievements of the Big 3 so if Novak settles in "at the top," he w/b there for quite a while = if the ATP finally goes to the "NG scoring" of "1st to 4 games, no Ad, TB @ 3 All!" It did help the Big 3 when they took Masters events to BO3! It made it easier for Fedalovic to win X events in a season that wouldn't be poss. 10-20 yrs. ago! I hope it doesn't happen, but if majors finally get away from BO5, it'd really be corrupt trying to match & surpass past accomps., diminishing them to a certain extend!
***...aside from m/b Fiero, no one's going to not rank the Big 3 outside of the top 5 of all X, & the vast majority will put them in a quartet w/ Laver, some in a trio ahead of Laver. And all 3 will always have specific qualities & accomps. that the other 2 don't have: Roger's early dom. of his peers & elegant, archetypal play; Rafa's clay dom. & his un=ed fighting spirit; & Novak's usurpation & overall career resume that edges past everyone else, = if he doesn't have the "sex appeal" of Fedal.
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...Hell, we're still talking about Gonzalez & Rosewall, FFS. ...There's a lot of jockeying around there, but not really settling. M/b it's X for a poll!***
I know I shouldn't want to + on players from a X long ago; just harking back a lit'l! The Big 3 have made it all moot as their #'s are far & away superior to any players past, present or future! We have to acknowledge Borg w/ a limited 11 Majors, but a rec. in the Pro Era @ the X B4 Sampras! There's > of an argument on the ladies' side of things! There are many contenders w/ advantages to take the crown! The list: Navratilova. Graf, Serena Wms., Court, Evert, King, Seles, Henin OTTH!
***It's not that I think Novak is the clear & obvious GOAT, or that he is/was clearly a >er player > Rafa or Roger, but that he's the "least bad answer," @ least of the OE. Historically, that m/b Rod Laver.***
I see it as some others; Fed prob. the > artistic & > player of the game, but not the GOAT due to neg. H2H vs his 2 rivals! Nadal has the heart to hang on out there = when injured! Novak's obviously the > complete of players ever, winning on all surfaces, & looks to continue his run to = >er hts. in his old age! - My era fave players still Borg, Edberg, Safin, & Sampras! ;-)
***The only thing Rafa has over Fed is clay h2h, a few heartbrk'rs btwn. '08-09, & > Slams...otherwise Fed's ahead on everything else. So if the GOAT disc. is btwn. those 2, it's easier to make a case for Fed.
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I fail to understand how can a true fan of Fed of 2000s ever want Nadal to win slams race? What selfish reasons are we talking about here? Nadal made his bread & butter by spamming Fed's BH w/ that FH all day. ...Don't you recall the dejected look on Roger's face when Rafa beat him @ Wimbl.? Then the AO that followed? You think Nadal is his friend? Nadal only finds Roger easier to co-exist w/ due to some cultural similarity, so he plays the nice guy PR, he is no friend, not = close. ...Did you like it when Rafa broke tiers w/ Fed? Novak was always gonna get #21 & 22 come what may, he's that good, but Nadal marched ahead of Fed w/ that trophy, didn't it bother you? Did he really deserve to get 21 there? Think about it, Nadal should bother you > Novak IMO.
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Everything you say about Rafa is true. And it sucks that he edged ahead of Fed, b/c of the past matches like W'08 & AO'09. But Djokovic became a Bond villain during the pandemic. And he really, really hates Fed--unlike Nadal. Nadal & Fed have been friendly for a long X & Rafa has paid him the ult. compliments.***
People can't stand these truths! We'll all be considered haters! I'll live! Faith, hope, or desire can't be a reason for a player t/b considered GOAT! You have to back it up!
***For me RG -> Wimbl. @ this pt. of Novak's career. Winning > Wimbls. won't do > for his legacy, I doubt surpassing or = tying Fed's grand haul of 8 titles will sway the public perception in the sense of who the GOAT of the surface or = the tourn. is! Novak's 7 titles @ Wimbl. is good enough for me! He needs > USO and RG titles IMHO!***
You're kidding? Haters are going to hate out there! Fedal always w/b the fan fave for the X being, but that'll change eventually! Novak taking over Fed's last real accomplishment/rec. is well worth it as he w/b on top of the mount in so many ways! Borg winning his 5 in a row put him on a pedestal that's still lasting! Novak's close to achieving that & > since he needs only 1 > to tie Fed & 2 to pass him up!
***W/ CD-19 ban on foreigners' elim., finally Nole's allowed to lose his 7th USO final; bout X.***
Well after all's said & done it won't matter b/c Novak will take over just about every memorable/ or noteworthy rec.! He became the 1st player to win 80 matches @ each slam! I still SMH @ the wonder of Novak's consistency! That stretching addiction has saved him some injury below the waist! His elbow & shoulder issues will persist! IDK how we can't expect him t/b near the top for @ least 2 or 3 yrs.! Nadal's looking a lit'l haggard! Is it finally X w/ this last brk.? There's talk of him actually skipping the FO & going directly to Wimbl.! Prob. a "pipe dream!"
***Who's the best of the "also rans?"
1. Murray (3 GS, 11 GS Finals, 20 GS SF, 18 Big Titles, 46 Titles, 75.4 W%, 78.9 GS W%, 41 W#1, 1 YE#1)
2. Roddick (1 GS, 5 GS Finals, 10 GS SF, 6 Big Titles, 32 Titles, 74.1 W%, 74.4 GS W%, 13 W#1, 1 YE#1)
3. Hewitt (2 GS, 4 GS Finals, 8 GS SF, 6 Big Titles, 30 Titles, 70.2 W%, 69.8 GS W%, 80 W#1, 2 YE#1)
4. Wawrinka (3 GS, 4 GS Finals, 9 GS SF, 4 Big Titles, 16 Titles, 62.5 W%, 70.9 GS W%)
5. Safin (2 GS, 4 GS Finals, 7 GS SF, 7 Big Titles, 15 Titles, 61.2 W%, 71.4 GS W%, 9 W#1)
Murray is objectively 1st.
The other 4 are debatable, but there's pretty clearly a stronger case for anyone of them t/b >er > Safin > visa/versa.
Roddick vs Hewitt vs Wawrinka has all very strong case t/b #2.***
Safin's my choice! He has every shot in the book, can hit w/ power & touch, & a > serve! His prob. was btwn. the ears!
***Eagles making it look easy vs the #1 defense. They took opening drive all the way for a TD. 7-0 Iggles. Oh shit, Iggles got away w/ a big non-call. Catch was not a catch.***
ReplyDeleteSeems like all athletes are willing "cheater!" That guy knew he dropped the ball which is why he rushed to snap the ball for the next play! They just have no shame & when rebuked, they put it on the officials!
***In half of Bart Starr's seasons he had > INT's > TD's. BTW Starr & Young's career compl. rate is the same, & their passer rating is only 2 pts diff. both al> 20 pts. behind Brady.***
You'd rough up receivers & lit. do anything to prevent a recep. back in the 50's & 60's! It was brutal out there compared to the "kid-glove" treatment receivers get these days! Don't get me started on QB's! Give it X & I promise their uniforms will look > like a cheerleading costume in a dec. or so!
***You’re tracking that the WRs in today's game are nearly as big as the lineman back then right? They are also way faster > the WRs. The DBs might want to rough them up, but want to ...are 2 diff. things.
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Back in the 50s and 60s there was no showboating by receivers celebrating how > they are or whining about pass interf. If they did, they'd've their heads ripped off next X they jumped up to catch a pass or ran a route across the mid'l.***
W/ penalties, they're trying to stop it! I recall Emmitt Smith would rip off his helmut after scoring a TD to make it all about him rather > the team! He forced the league's hand in elim. that practice! The showboating c/b stopped, making these a-holes act > mature rather > kids!
***The worst is… "Ladies & Gentlemen, let’s all take a min. while we watch a team celeb. their TD w/ a lit'l dance.
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A successful QB must have physical attributes, but the mental part of the game is what sets the truly great ones apart.
I'm assuming this is "modern" era since there's no Johnny Unitas
1) Brady- Most chps., TDs, wins, yds., playoff wins, trips to the CCG. Chps. on 2 diff. teams.
He was not the > physically talented ever, but his intangibles were on another level.
2) Montana- Chps., big plays & mentally tough.
3 & 4) Tied btwn. Manning & Elway. Great players w/ not > separating them. Both won SB w/ Denver.
5) Not Elway- I'd prefer Kurt Warner here. 1 Super Bowl win & 2 other trips. Greatest Show on (Turf) Earth.***
Sorry, but being from the old school, I can't leave off Terry Bradshaw! I know "The Iron Curtail" was given > credit for their SB wins, but the Steeler Offense had HOF'rs as well in the form of ATG receivers like Stallworth & Swan! Someone had to get the ball to them! Excluding a 4 X winner, only to make exceptions for a couple 2 X'rs just makes no sense = w/ all their throwing recs!
***Aaron Rogers w/b in the HOF & he won 1 SB. Dan Marino's treated like a god; has zero. Brady has been to 10 SB's. Won 7.***
Winning a SB isn't the "be all, end all!" Many players have other accomp.s to entitle their induction!
***TD passes in a SB? Pretty much what a QB gets paid to do in today's NFL. Brady has that rec. too.***
I'm living proof, anything c/b ignored! I haven't gotten all caught up w/ SB wk.! It w/b nice to see Mahomes back up all the hype w/ his 2nd SB so early in his career! He's on pace to brk. any & all recs! He's had an unprecedently start & sucess that w/b hard to match in the future = if he retired after the SB!
***If Mahomes stays healthy, he's likely the only QB in the game right now who could threaten some of the recs. Brady has.
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Well said @Fiero425. Indeed winning the SB as a mark of >ness is overrated. Football's a team sport. Judging a player for how > they are for winning SB's absurd.***
***But let me ask this, if Mahomes doesn't fall from the moderate push (not hit) does that play get called 15 yd. penalty? I say the answer is "no" b/c I have witnessed count< situations where the defender's momentum carried him into the runner & he makes contact & = causes a push. And in almost all of those cases, if that is all that took place, there is no flag.---- I also believe when a QB takes off running he should no longer be treated as a QB, but just a runner & can get hit as hard as anyone else. The exception, of course, being if he attempts to slide.***
ReplyDeleteIt was about as much a criminal assault as c/b had @ a crucial X; not many secs. left in the game! I thanked Ossai seeing as Mahomes was way out of bounds when hammered! It made the FG all that much > makeable! As w/ any great team, they need the help of their oppo. someX's! Cinci truly worries KC & they had a chance to win again in OT, but that last flagrant foul on Mahomes extends his legend helped by the Oppo. Defense!
***W/ Brady gone, the lamestream media will now start kissing his ass as they did Brady's & start calling him the >est QB ever 10 yrs. from now. First it was Montana, then Brady, now it w/b Mahomes; to keep the viewers int'r'ed. ...The fact Brady played in an era w/ skirts on QB's & defenses can't play defense any>, is NOT even 1 of the top 20 BOAT, so eoungh of this BS already.***
It w/b nice to see Mahomes back up all the hype w/ his 2nd SB so early in his career! He's on pace to brk. any & all recs.! He's had an unprecedently start & sucess that w/b hard to match in the future = if he retired after the SB!
***Not anywhere near the lines of where MY FACTS are always ignored ...If Mahomes' able to do as Brady & win X SB's, unlike w/ Brady, it W/B impressive b/c he doesn't play in a weak div. that any HS team could've beaten anyday of the yr. as Brady did for 20 yrs. ...Mahomes actually has some real comp. to face every yr., having to face the Chargers twice whom look to have another future HOF QB in Justin H.***
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Cinci.'s like my beloved Buff. Bills of the 90's; "striving for 5!" They're cursed to m/b never win; no matter the talent! Seems like '84 & '89 was just yesterday, but lost both to Montana!
***Joe Burrow may change all that, but I know what you mean. Cinci comes close, then the next yr. they suck. Remember Chad Ochosinko? That was a good Cinci. team. The Vikings are the same way. They come close, but then regress.***
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I was almost thankful Elway & Denver had gotten close to a SB, "but no cigar" until near retirement! I had a lot of resentment w/ him thinking "I run this shit" turning down his Balt./Indy Draft assign.! A trade was worked, but I hoped he'd fail! At the end I didn't care! Same w/ that scum-bag Eli Manning yrs. later! Fortunately he def. Brady twice w/ the Giants saving Mahomes a few < SB's needed to brk. the rec.!
***Happy for Mahomes & Reid, but I honestly think Philly was a far superior team. It's just a Special Team's disaster and a fumble for 6 that cost them dearly.***
I was quite concerned KC'd fall since they really weren't stopping the Eagles as they marched down the field! The Defense was hitting hard & punishing the running backs of KC who successfully "ate clock!" Reid's a bonafide genius as those 3 wide open plays got TDs for Mahomes, making him another MVP SB winner!
***Sorry, you can throw our way all the "Elo" stats that you want, but Djokovic can't be GOAT if he can't win the prize he has wanted the > in his career; OG.***
ReplyDeleteGet over youself! You really don't want to get on the subject of missed ops & events that'll never be on Rafa's resume! The list is long; including YEC's, Paris, & Miami Masters OTTH! It's such a joke trying to undermine Novak @ this stage of his career, absolutely flying high as #1 closing in on 36! It's embar. for the NG'rs who've allowed a "Sr. Citizen" to rule the tour for the last decade or so!
***Seasons when a player made 3 slam finals in a yr. & didn't YE #1
'77 - Vilas
'78 - Borg
'93 - Courier (was YE #3 - 22% lower than rank 1)
'08 - Federer (lost by 25.8% margin in pts)
'11 - Nadal (lost by 42.1% margin in pts)
'13 - Djokovic (lost by 6% margin in pts)
'16 - Djokovic (lost by 5% margin in pts)
25 yo Nadal made 5 str. GS finals from '11 FO til '12 FO & still Novak exerted a 42% dom. on him.
Can we call Novak the BOAT for this performance?
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Murray & Hewitt are close, Hewitt has the #1 wks for him, but Murray won OGM & way > M1000 titles, & played < GS finals. Most importantly he had way tougher comp. to face w/ Djokovic & Fedal.
Roddick's last, don't see why we'd value > someone who had so many ops to win a 2nd slam, but always failed. Even Fed was able to def. his nemesis 2 X's in slam finals, so the match up prob. is no excuse. And yeah, Wawrinka & Safin > peak level wise anyway, & both > talented & tough mentally. - - Brutal, but true.
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If we're giving Roddick props for losing final after final, slam after slam b/c he played 20s Fed (going an impressive 3-21), it's only fair we do the same for Murray since he played peak Novak, Nadal, & Fed.
Based on this:
1 - Murray
2 - Hewitt: weapon< midget who managed a yr. & 1/2 @ #1 is extremely impressive. Battles btwn. him & Murray w/b interesting on an intellectual level, torturous on an excitement level.
3 - Wawrinka: extra slam & >er peak is > just 9 wks @ #1 by Safin in a weak era.
4 - Safin: unfulfilled, but nearly un=ed talent who won 2 slams in extremely impressive fashion.
Gap
5 - Roddick: hard worker who fought, but just didn't have the level nec. to def. an ATG of Roger's caliber operating @ = 50% capacity while all the other guys up here could. Just 13 wks. @ #1 & promptly brushed aside by Fed's rise to power.***
***"Djokovic's movement & professionalism is 2nd to none" - Darren Cahill***
Back in the day, the same moniker of "total professional" was bestowed on Lendl! He was the artisan of the Big 3 in his era w/ McEnroe & Connors! Other detractors showed up in Edberg, Becker, Agassi, Courier, & Wilander! No one had to deal w/ as many truly > players who made their own marks = though Lendl held his own! Very impressive!
***Wu's very good, & Isner thought he'd blow him off the court in Dallas.***
Isner's like Doc IVO; just barely hanging on w/ a serves & hoping to squeak by winning TB'rs! Just plain unwatchable IMO; = his past upsets of Fed & Agassi! He'll wind up being "the guy who lost 2 of the > classically long matches" in Wimbl. history! You recall Mahut & 70-68 in the 5th? Then there's the SF vs Anderson in '18, 26-24 (5th) announcing Novak's return to #1 after a '17 of en oui!
***Yes it's like watching paint dry w/ the tall one. Wu confused John who was being made to lumber from corner to corner. It's not enough these days to rely on just a big serve.***
He had > to his game, but eventually just started relying on holding serve & taking TB's! It's just plain ugly scoring dealing w/ the guy!
***Novak's behaviour last yr. in Austr. was disgraceful. ...he was when he claims he'd tested + for Covid, then decided it's a > idea to hang around being photographed w/ a bunch of kids, & do a TV inter. Regard< of anyone's ops on wearing masks, that was either arrogant or stupid, & it flouted the law.***
ReplyDeleteI was ok until you got to "arrogant or stupid!" No one at the top of anything c/b any < a POS @ X's; sans Stefan Edberg! Players like Nadal double down w/ being incommunical after all these yrs! ...stunted his ability to absorb conversational English! Being top dog on the tour is one of the many reasons to rise to mythical hts. of fame, riches, & entitlement! Who wouldn't love t/b excused for something an "ordinary Joe" w/b arrested? Who're we KIDDING? Fedal have run the tour on & off the court w/ impunity for yrs.! Novak has been their only "downer!"
***ChatGBT:
1. Djokovic
2. Sampras
3. Federer
4. Nadal
5. McEnroe
6. Borg
7. Connors
8. Lendl
9. Laver
10. Becker
Yeah, not buying it. Sampras ahead of Fedal? Laver @ #9 kinda makes sense if it's considering OE only, & I don't hate Becker over Agassi.***
As X's gone on, I've stayed w/ notion of Rod Laver being near the top All X no matter the era considered! He did so much as an Am/Pro! The only event missing from his resume was the WCT Chp. in Houston/Dallas! Rosewall stopped him in 5 set classics in '71 & '72 Finals! His last big chance was in '75, but ran into Borg in the SF! If Bjorn had allowed the old man this one match, he prob. would've won seeing as Arthur Ashe was his personal pigeon!
***I think the surfaces def. play a role in dictating who'll win. Rafa v Novak H2H is almost identical, w/ Rafa leading on clay by an almost similar amt. as Novak leads on HC's. If 2/3 of the MS tourneys, 100% of WTF’s & 50% of slams were on clay, we’d have to still be careful in declaring Rafa’s the GOAT, for the same reason we s/b wary of declaring Novak or Roger as GOAT's for playing largely on home courts. And that’s = B4 we go slightly back in X to an era when grass & clay were as opp. as ice & mud.***
I miss those days when the surfaces were quite distinct & gave "also rans" of the tour a chance to upset an elite player! Times have changed to accom. the top pros; going 32 seeds, homogenizing the court surfaces, PR's, etc.! Like we discussed a wk. or so ago, the tour overcompensated when Fedal had to WD from a Masters' event after going 5 long sets in Hamburg final 15 yrs. ago! The same players wouldn't make cons. finals often enough for the need after the Big 3 retire! They need to go back to BO5 finals IMO to make them special & above 250 & 500 events!
***ITA w/ this. They ought to've kept BO5 for MS finals. So what if the Big 3 couldn’t recover in X? Somebody else would get a taste of winning & that opens up things immed. to a whole diff. long term scenario, far as the hierarchy's concerned.
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Djokovic has a HUGE prob. named Alcaraz. Also, Medvedev will give him headaches. Couple that w/ the new kids coming up that can cause him problems; Rune, Sinner, Felix. Djokovic's vulturing window is closing @ a rapid pace.***
Djokovic is near the end of his career! Why in TF would he stress over NG'rs who can barely hold his jockstrap? He owned the last few months of last season & has started off brilliantly this season! "Hater" need to find a new way of trying to undermine Novak! It's pathetic when they can't look @ results & acknowledge the tour is being beaten by someone extraordinary, not just taking advantage of a weak era! That says every one else sucks @ the same X haters say Novak's in trouble w/ Carlos & Daniil! Make up your fk'n mind; which is it?
***Some people don’t like Novak irrespective of how many titles he wins. He m/b ‘extraordinary,’ but he isn’t liked very much by a large # of tennis fans. ...Not sure why it bothers you if you think he's the >est anyway.***
Novak's passed just about all the meaningful recs. sooner > Fedal & people are still undermining his accomps.! It's sad & stupid! Ignoring the #'s makes no fk'n sense!
***Novak has things going for him as far as padding his rec. For one, it doesn't seem like he's fallen off from being able to channel his A game when needs to or, @ the least, his B game is good enough to match the other top players on tour, except Rafa on clay.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, he doesn't have a GOAT-esque player coming up behind him. People who criticize Roger for falling off after '09 (or '12) ignore the fact that as he entered his 30s, he had 2 guys of similar talent in their primes. And as his 30s commenced, those 2 were always 5-6 yrs. younger > him.
Thirdly, Rafa seems t/b trending downward. M/b he rises again for clay season, but it seems likely that he's starting to slip a bit further behind Novak. So if Rafa slips further, Novak w/b the only true close-to-peak-level ATG...@ least until one of the pups reaches their level.
Rafa & Novak have had to deal w/ each other in their primes - + a still pretty good Roger & Andy, but part of what we're seeing as far as them still winning Slams in their mid-30s is that there aren't any true greats yet in their primes. M/b Alcaraz, Rune & 1 or 2 others get there, but those 2 only turn 20 this yr. & are prob. still a yr. or 2 away from their true primes, & sev. yrs. from their absolute peaks. So Novak & Rafa have had this nice window. Still lots of good to very good players, but nothing =valent to what they were respective to Roger.
Novak (& m/b Rafa) might still have some X left as the guys to beat, but it's going to get harder & harder for them to fend off rising contenders, esp. now that it seems like "Gen Millennium" (Alcaraz, Rune, Sinner, FAA, etc) m/b >er > Next Gen.
It isn't that diff. from the field when Sampras & Agassi were aging, the late 90s, & early 00s saw no ATGs in their primes until Roger entered his prime in '03 or so. Note that's also the last yr. that Agassi won a Slam, turning 33 + Roger's new level pretty much shut the door for him. Some guys like Kuerten, Hewitt & Safin were there, but we have similar players to that in Thiem 2 yrs. ago, Medvedev, & Zverev.
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Holger Rune had to retire trailing 0-4 in the 2nd set w/ Brouwer. Hopefully it's not a serious injury.***
I think we need to "get over" the resilience of the Big 3 b/c it's not going to happen w/ any other player! Rune was prob. just "in the zone" & has come back to Earth! We shouldn't expect that much from today's players in comparison to past eras! That ball's traveling fast, furious, & relentlessly! It's gonna brk all these guys down! Thiem may = be done!
***I do think that Alcaraz & Rune are the > likely t/b the top players of the next dec., & that FAA & Sinner w/b a step behind. But given that Rafa & Novak are now in the latter 1/2 of their 30s, & it's unlikely that Alcaraz & Rune are Big 3 level dom., I do think both FAA & Sinner are good bets to win Slams...just prob. not ATG level....m/b 1-3 range.***
IMO, there's no comparison when it comes to the likes of Rune & Alcaraz if you bring up other top players who have solid, compact games like FAA, Fritz, & Tiafoe! They don't have the overall weapons to keep up their standings like the Big 3! Like Medvedev (for now), their rankings will fluxuate >ly! The so called elite players look rather strange to me; esp. since few have won anything w/ Daniil out of the top 10!
***Djokovic has 2 slams on his Fave surface HC's while Fedal only has 1. ...Not to mention Borg & laver are > Talented players compared to Djokovic.***
ReplyDeleteSafin had > talent > > players, but unfort. his head wasn't on str.! He was a > powerful "Ilie Nastase" w/ plenty of touch & feel, but could # the ball & run a guy from side to side that could rival Fedalovic; hence def. Roger in his prime @ '05 AO SF IIRC! Talent means nothing in the end if the #'s don't corroberate that talent! Memories are fleeting & X eventually moves on w/ the latest & >est! Laver & Borg have sustained their >ness longer > > legends w/ their names being invoked quite often! ...W/ the hoarding of major events by The Big 3, anything & everyone may never register as a blip on the radar if they can't = get to Pete's accomplishments, much < Fedalovic!
*** I'm pointing out that part of the reason Novak & Rafa are winning so many Slams in their mid-30s is b/c there are no young all-X >'s taking over the tour, @ least not as of now.***
The Big 3 have just been so dom.; nothing like the past! I can still remember when NG'rs came on the scene & made an impression on all the top players; = w/ McEnroe, Connors, & Lendl! You had Wilander, then Edberg, Becker, & eventually having to deal w/ Sampras, Agassi, Chang, & Courier! Today's players have the talent & stamina, but it isn't enough to finish off the old guard for some reason! MP's c/b w/i their grasp, but are unable to finish them off > of the X!
***Thanks - that's sort of what I've said. The Big 3 really only had each other, except for the occasional challenger here & there. Novak presumably w/b the last man standing, & when he's fully supplanted, it w/b in the latter 1/2 of his 30s. Previous cohorts of >'s were all supplanted @ much younger ages.***
The Big 3 w/b a debatable topic of disc. for @ least 20 yrs. or so no matter the agreement on most issues; real #'s & length of dom.! The problem w/ the desenters is > subjective as to go "off the grid!" The passion was = w/ me early on giving Roger every benefit of the doubt when Rafa was schooling him on all surfaces by the end of '09 AO! We couldn't keep saying it was all about "the clay!" HC & grass wasn't a sanctuary to keep the H2H @ least close! That was why I welcomed the ascent of Novak in '08! He brought me back to the tour as it was just too sad after Rafa was embarr. Roger by then! I saw the potential & started Nole-blog when it appeared he was going to catch up after '16 FO & a total of 12 majors @ the X!
***Roger: 4 Slams after turning 30, 3 after 35
Rafa: 8 Slams after turning 30, 2 after 35
Novak: 10 Slams after turning 30, 2 after 35
...From '73-2016--a per. of 44 yrs--there were no 35 yo Slam winners. Gimeno was 34 when he won his, but that was still '72. The closest thing was Agassi in '03 when he was 32.
I'd also suggest that the discrepancy btwn. Roger's "mere" 4 post-30 & Rafa's 8 & Novak's 10 is that Roger had to deal w/ peak Nadovic during his 30s, whereas, those 2 didn't have the =valent as they entered their 30s. And Roger's 3 Slams in '17-18 @ age 35-36 is almost certainly @ least partially due to Novak's down X during those yrs. I'm not sure Roger in '17-18 was significantly better, if >er @ all than he was in '14-15 when he lost 3 finals to Novak (although t/b fair to Roger, that was Novak's absol. peak).
The Big 3 were just so much >er > everyone else. It's kind of like mountain ranges: they are akin to the Himalayas. So = if they're not playing @ "Everest level" (say, Roger in '06, Rafa in '13, Novak in '15), they can still play @ "Annapurna level" & be >er > everyone else, b/c there are no Himalaya-caliber players on tour, except for m/b Andy in '16.
...We haven't had any elite guys like that in decades other > the Big 3 & Andy for a few yrs. LostGen certainly weren't there, & NextGen while >er > LostGen--still maxed out. We can hope that w/ the young Mill-Gen, we might get one or 2 Andes caliber players, but they're not there yet. Again, the 2 guys w/ > upside, Alcaraz & Rune turn 20 this yr.***
***Murray's too ambitious to hang around for the fun. He wouldn't be taking 50 WCs if he just wanted t/b on court. Clearly he wants to come back on top.***
ReplyDelete"Want" & "able" are 2 diff. states of affairs! Even B4 surgeries, Murray's game was vulnerable to the NG'rs! Getting satisfaction out of winning long, drawn out pts. c/b "just satisfying" for so long, then you see Murray's tongue hanging out of his mouth SPENT!
***Andy getting 53 WC is what is cheap.***
Murray doesn't owe anyone anything, but every X he takes advantage of a WC, he's taking away an opp. from a young up & comer! He had his X! Earn it the old fashion way; truly "earn it Sir Andy!" It's been too long for him t/b gifted all these exemptions directly into a draw! Either qualify or move up in the rankings! It's hard for it to move if he can't win @ least 3 or 4 matches in a tourn.!
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Watching Wolf in Delray Beach! He so reminds me of a past era! His slightly overbuilt body's reminiscent of Wawrinka or Nalbandian! Most players are bean poles w/ spindly legs! He's not fat, but looks it in comparison to other players!
***It was kind of funny, like some frat guy just wandered onto the court… hat, sunglasses, sunscreen. Was waiting for the "Body by Budweiser" poster t/b draped over front of one of the rails, but then I recall it was Nalbandian that posed for it!***
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Fritz's now #5 in the World after winning Delray Beach title! Who would've "thunk it?" Certainly not me! Even though winning, = def. Rafa last yr., I didn't think it'd last! We'll see if he defends that IW title! I'm doubting it, but that's my mid'l name now after witnessing >ness throughout the Pro tour history! It started w/ Laver, then Borg, Sampras, topping it all w/ The Big 3! I'm always hopeful of players like Khachanov, Hurkacz, & Coric, but coming up short! The newest crop looks good, but we'll have to see how they fare physically! Tennis' truly grueling these days & all the newbies will have a lot to think about trying to not just win, but to stay healthy & uninjured!
***In 2 wks. (379) Novak will have as many wks. @ #1 as Rafa & McEnroe combined.***
It confuses me so much that die-hard Nadal fans can overlook that HUGE shortcoming of wks. @ #1! There are so many players ahead of him!
***It confuses me that diehard Rafa haters haven’t noticed that he’s barely played 2 full seasons in a row since he won his 1st GS title, & in that same per., has had to skip > 2 whole seasons worth of GS tourneys, WD from others, & bunches of tourns. too. I’m @ a loss to know how he could've gotten > wks.? Novak & Roger have never been injured, apart from that X Novak had SARS…***
What are we supposed to do; CRY? Why should anyone outside of Rafa's family & team care? I think of Rafa's '10 when he was on top of the tour alone! Unfort. for your argument, his run wasn't cut off by an injury; > in the guise of the future GOAT, Djokovic! They played in final after final in '11, including 3 of 4 majors into '12 AO! He's an athlete like any other! We're supposed to give him dispensation b/c he's injury prone? IMO he does it to himself getting into wars w/ every player no matter their rank due to that stupid, defensive way he plays the game; same for Murray! Those typical aches & pains didn't affect Fed due to his > aggressive style & Novak kept himself on the court "stretching!" Rafa fans need to find another excuse for his rec. being so lacking in comparison to other greats of the game!
***I've never thought pros s/b permitted to play in the OG's, regard< of sport. Further>, the Olympics didn't allow tennis until many yrs. into the OE, so I've never held it in as high regard. I'd if they were amateurs, but X has passed me by. ...I just don't think it's anywhere near major level (BO3 matches) or = DC due to its historicity in the game.***
It was acceptable to play the Olympics back in '84 as an Exh./Demo. sport w/ 2 "babes in the woods" who won in Edberg & Graf! I didn't mind that! I hate seasoned pros are playing all thru the Games in Baseball, Basketball, & Hockey!
***WTF '11, Basel '15, Miami '17 @ the very least. And there were many other matches where Nadal was far from his best.***
ReplyDeleteAre we going to go back & now handicap matches to see which were > contested? If we listen to Nadal & his camp, he's always hurting or injured; esp. if coming off a loss! Since Novak was in Gawd-mode in '11 & rarely gave up sets to Nadal, injury w/b a kinard; esp. after a > '10! That was m/b his last chance to put away the Major's race! It would've blunted Novak's ascension = if he had won 2 or 3 of those matches in '11, dropping all finals to Novak @ IW, Miami, Madrid, Rome, Wimbl., USO, & WTF going into '12 AO!
***We all know that the Big 3 - & Andy Murray @ his very best have played @ a level significantly above the rest of the pack, w/ only 8 players other > those 4 winning Slams from '04 on (Gaudio, Safin, Del Potro, Cilic, Wawrinka, Thiem, Medvedev, & Alcaraz). Or to put that another way, the Big 3 have won 63 of the last 76 Slams, & the Big 4, 66 of 76, w/ Stan the only other multi-Slam winner during that per. Nothing new, just a reiteration of the dom. of 3 players over the last 2 decades.
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A lot of Fed fans sneered @ Rafa's rec. wks. @ #2 for yrs. But Rafa got to #2 vs Roger @ just 19, & stuck to him like glue until he finally matured enough to pass him, which took 3.5 yrs. And then they still traded 1-2 for another 3 yrs.? Djokovic didn't supercede them until '11. Which's why I find grouping Rafa & Novak a bit too much. Novak was def. a late-bloomer, in elite terms, for all of his early promise. It wasn't that Rafa & Novak were there to torture Roger. It was all Rafa for quite a while, from '04-5 torturing Roger. Novak didn't really crack the code until '11. Miles on the odometer. ...Medvedev could push Nadal back another notch by winning Doha tmrw. He'd pass him by 5 pts., & push him to #8.
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Jo-Will has acknowledged that Novak spoiled > a few things for him. I forgot about that Wimbl. run. Interesting comparison to Berdych. While I didn't like Berdych's game @ all, & loved Tsonga & his, I get the comparison. I think each made one GS final, 1 losing to Novak, 1 to Rafa. Otherwise, the best they did was QFs & SFs.***
For some reason, it seems the French have a way of sabotaging >ness; esp. in individual sports like tennis & fig. skat'n (Bonaly & Candeloro)! Like Spain, they do have quite a few in the ATP top 100, just not elite players! I forgot about Mauresmo & Bartoli, but IMO they should've won a lot >! Other > them, somehow they've been mired in mediocrity since the days of Noah in '83! There last real chance for a major OTTH was in '08 w/ Tsonga in the final of AO vs Novak!
***Here are the top Frenchmen by GOAT Pts. in the OE:
Yannick Noah 87
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 71
Gael Monfils 44
Richard Gasquet 38
Guy Forget 36
Henri Leconte 36
Cedric Pioline 35
Sebastien Grosjean 35
Gilles Simon 29
Lucas Pouille 16
It's interesting to note how rel. closely 3-9 are clustered in terms of GP, esp. 4-8. Tsonga's the clear #2, but then the rest are pretty close, w/ a big drop-off after Simon (w/ Escude & Clement 11th & 12th).
Jo-Wil lost a heart-brk.'r to Novak @ RG in '12 in the SFs, having, I think, 4 MPs. Monfils waited too long to start caring. Gasquet was pegged too young & over-hyped. The surprise on that list to me is Grosjean. Do I recall him poorly? I thought of his as pretty > a journeyman. And Lucas Pouille. What's he doing these days? Tik Tok?***
***I'm in favor of having women's & men's recs. being separate. Can't compare men's tennis to women's tennis for starters. Graf's rec. of 377 wks was outstanding & Novak has just surpassed that rec.
ReplyDeleteConnors who still holds the most men's rec. singles titles @ 109, which's a separate category to women. Navratilova has 167 & Evert 157 titles? So are we going to recognize that stat, that women are superior to men in that area? I think I know the answer to that ??.***
As good as Navratilova & Evert were, the women's game still made people pause "back in the day;" esp. in Europe! The WTA matches were > likely t/b taped & seen later; = a major final like the FO & Wimbl.! They just weren't that deep in talent as in the 60's & 70's w/ Court, BJK, Goolagong, Wade, Evert, Austin, & Mandlikova! To make sure they got the > coverage, the WTA only had one event being contested @ any given X until > later w/ the likes of Graf, Sabatini, Seles, & Navratilova still going strong to stretch out & grow the new WTA!
I never really thought > of trying to blend the recs. of men vs ladies, esp. since the ladies tended to have players who easily blew away the men's recs. in # of majors as Borg had only 11, leading in the OE! Same w/ tournaments won as Graf is just 2 tournaments from overtaking Connors who had 109 under his belt! As you noted, Navratilova & Evert blows up that # w/ 167 & 157 resp.! The Tennis Intelligentsia is going to mold the history, future, & consciousness of the sport no matter what we think! Fedal's still leading the way holding fewer & fewer recs. as X goes on! Seems as if Novak'll eventually own all the important recs. out there; man or women!
***...B/c of homogenized courts, some have argued Agassi's the only player in history w/ a 'true GS,' winning on 4 distinct surfaces when they played very diff.***
You mean a CGS! Djokovic & Nadal own 2 CGS's w/ Novak on path to make it 3 if he takes another FO this season! Nadal can't get there due to needing a Wimbl. & another AO! Don't forget "The Golden Masters;" Novak winning each Masters event @ least TWICE! Fedal unable to complete that feat!
***If Rome had been played 1 yr. in Hamburg & Fed won, I doubt you'd consider it a legal Rome title. If Miami had been played 1 yr. in NY & Nadal won, I doubt you'd consider it a legal Miami title.***
It's already happened w/ Cinci held @ F.M.'s during the Pandemic! I guess you can take away one of Novak's ATP Masters: a G/M by this logic!
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***I meant if you are intentionally throwing a match, you wouldn't get it to 5 MP's.***
When you have supreme confidence to overcome a deficit, back in the day, I did it all the X vs someone considered a pigeon! No lead was safe! Happened enough X's to Fed in Paris vs Nadal; OMG! The man couldn't gift his good buddy 1 of those many FO FINALS? Rafa's been merci< in Paris w/ 14 titles!
***The WTA & ATP share a similar quality: they have a small group of ATGs that have dom. the OE. The WTA is a bit diff., though, in that they're > spread out. We have Court/King, followed by Evert, overlapping w/ Navratilova, who in turned gave way to Graf & Seles. Then there's a short gap & we have Serena, w/ no one comparable since (yet).
Sans Court & King, the "Big 5" of the WTA--Evert, Navratilova, Graf, Seles*, Serena--won a whopping total of 90 GS's over a span of 44 yrs. ('74-17), meaning almost exactly 1/2 of all Slams.
Those 5 also amassed 1456 wks. @ #1, w/ only Hingis (209) in similar territory. After Seles @ 178, there's a bit drop to Barty @ 121, Henin @ 117, etc.
The ATP is similar, but clustered over the last 2 decades, w/ the Big 3 being similarly dom. over the rest of OE history. Borg was similar in terms of peak dom., & in a way is the "Seles" that makes it a Big 4. And there's a smaller drop-off to guys like Sampras, McEnroe, & Connors. And of course Laver has t/b considered in the mix.***
***Limiting to under 25 as Borg retired @ the end of '81. Their careers are remarkably similar though - born 30 yrs. apart almost exactly (3 June vs 6 June 3 day diff.) - youth prodigies who were unbeatable on clay yet also saw success on grass & other surfaces, & had iconic rivalries w/ other ATGs @ the X.
ReplyDeleteBorg from '74-81: 11 Slams - 6 RG, 5 WB, 3 YECs, 2 YE #1s, 109 wks. @ #1
Nadal from '04-12: 10 Slams - 6 RGs, 2 WB, 1 AO, 1 USO, 2 YE #1s, 102 wks. @ #1
Borg was forced into retirement by a much diff. set of circumstances > a player'd see today. However his early career stacks up w/ anyone’s accomplishments @ age 25 in tennis history. If we limit to just 25 & under w/ Nadal who w/b regarded as the >er player?
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Borg competed in 3 slams per yr. only, as the AO was as prestigious & important as Beijing is today. He still managed to end up w/ > majors.
He was also the real #1 in '78 and had a monstrous season, regardless of that idiotic computer ranking system back in the day, so YE #1s s/b 3 for Borg.
What separates them is the >est diff. is Borg's ability to dom. the tour for 3 cons. yrs., Nadal never had such a streak in his career.
BTW, Bjorn won the Masters twice (b2b), so YECs s/b 2 for Borg. You were prob. counting the WCT Finals he won in '76, but that's a diff. tourn.
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Borg won 3 end of yr. chps. - 2 End of YE Masters chps. + 1 WCT final. I think Borg had a bit > breadth in terms of surface adaption - truly fast surfaces like fast grass & fast indoor carpet to Clay. Whereas Nadal has won on slow medium HC's & medium-paced grass & clay.
I think it is very telling that Borg has a superior H2H over McEnroe on Indoor (of which it was mostly indoor carpet then) when McEnroe was prob. the co-#1 of Indoor (w/ Lendl) for the '80's. Borg could play really well on very fast surfaces.
We don't know enough about Borg on outdoor hard, except to say he beat McEnroe on outdoor hard in Canada in '79 & of the 4 Slam HC tourns. he entered (USO '78, '79, '80, '81), he made the final in 3 of them.
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Meddy's out-Novaking Djoke in Dubai. He's a wall out there in lockdown-mode. Answering every ?? Djoke has & putting every ball back in play. Let's see if he serves it out.***
Med's the only player that really concerns me when it comes to Djokovic! He has "that thing" like Murray or Wawrinka who sneak a win or 2 out of 10 matches! When Novak going for his CYGS in '21, I well said "Med needs t/b upset!" Djokovic wasn't = in that match @ the USO! I saw where the match was going & turned away per.! Med played well, but we saw a lot of Nole UFE's in this loss!
***Novak was playing w/ a target on his back. He escaped narrowly some prev. meetings w/ Meddy, so Russian showed up determined today to change the flow in their h2h w/ 4 matches losing streak. He's =ly good player on HC when in form, can't expect him to lose every match vs Novak. He isn't in a same basket as a certain Greek guy.***
***...But Djokovic was allowed to go "down under." He chose not to enter Australia legally. Wimbl. banned whole nationality of players & as a result 0 ranking pts. were awarded.***
ReplyDeleteTwo of the 3 gov. bodies of tennis told him to come over; one of them Tennis Austr.! Blame it on the PM due to pol. pressure!
***Djokovic posed no threat to anyone & everyone admitted it. The Russians are lit. invading & murdering people. To pretend this is = close to =valent is completely divorced from reality.***
Well, some are desperate t/b right no matter other people's sacrifice! They try not to think about the other side of the argument!
***Rafa's low pt. was in '15, when he slipped to #10 for a bit. Roger slipped as low as #17 in early '17 B4 his Ind. Sum'r surge. Novak was out of the top 10 for the >er part of a yr., falling to #22 in mid '18.
...In his worst season ('15), Rafa made up quality w/ quantity. He played in 23 events that yr., the > of his career, so was able to stay in the top 10, despite teetering on the edge.
In Roger's worst season ('16), he not only missed 2 Slams, but only played 2 Masters & 7 tourns. overall. Novak played a bit > in '17, but still only 10 events. But his main issue was poor performances @ Slams. He went out in the AO in the 2nd Rd. & only reached the QF of RG & Wimbl., not playing the USO or WTF's. So he couldn't make up the diff. w/ extra tourns., playing in only 10.
Rafa stayed in the top 10 in '15 by playing a lot of tourns. When Roger & Novak had their dips, they played a lot <. IIRC, the reason Rafa played so > in '15 is that he was coming off a long injury in '14 & played a lot in the effort to find his form. It really took him 2 yrs., until '17, but it was also a gen. quite healthy span playing 39 tourns. in '15-16.
Another element is that Rafa has never missed a clay season; been utterly dom. since '05. He's missed tourns. w/i clay season, but has always played RG & @ least 1 of the Masters. Consider that t/b in the top 10, you need about 3000-3500 ATP pts., which's about his usual haul during clay season. And given that he's won it 14 out of the last 17 yrs., that's > 1/2 of the pts. needed to stay in the top 10.
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There's no hard & fast rule. But I'm comparing it w/ comp. Fed faced from younger side - two 20+ slam winners, 2 3X slam winners & sev. other good players. Now compare it w/ what Big 2 are facing - two gens. post Nadal-gen. have won 1 Slam title in total. It's total vacuum post '14. Nobody can deny it.
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It's not 2 gens. man, it's 1 gen. There isn't much diff. btwn. Thiem & Zverev. One guy turned pro in '12 & peaked by late 2010s. The other guy turned pro in '13, peaked in '20, Med turned pro in '14, peaked B4 Zverev. These are all same gen. We are dividing them in groups of 5 to justify Fed dissapointing us for > a dec. vs Nadal. Next gen. can't be blamed. They're 1 gen. who'd always be use< since the 1980s guys are too talented.***
Medvedev's the only one that shakes me up! He has all kinds of ability, but's a mild mental case! He's obviously good enough to beat anyone, but's only managed to crack the Novak elite factor, allowing Nadal to come back a few X's in majors!
***The Big 3've lapped everyone else - including Sampras. For me the ??'s not who the heir of the Big 3 w/b, b/c that's just unfair, but who's the next guy who'll win X Slams & perch @ the top of the rankings for an ext. per. of X? That's inevitable, but being the heir to the Big 3 isn't & may not happen for decs. to come, if ever. I'm not saying that an Alcaraz or Rune, or some guy currently playing @ the Jr's level couldn't be that guy, just that it's very unlikely considering tennis history as a whole. We haven't seen someone w/ similar dom. since Rod Laver, whose prime was >ly in the 1960s. And we haven't seen anyone who'd consistently play @ such a high level since McEnroe, or m/b Borg (or m/b Sampras, if we ignore clay). And the Big 3 were > consistent > those guys, w/ far >er longevity.***
***Jimmy G. will get $25-30M a yr. min. from someone. You're high if you think he signs for < that.***
ReplyDeleteHave we seen anything like this is the history of the game? Jimmy G. has a winning rec. overall & made a SB, but gets no respect or concession from people who report on football! It's so fk'n strange after all these yrs.!
***I know what you mean, but Brock Purdy, the last dude drafted last yr. looked as good or >er > Jimmy G. in that offense. JG is a decent QB, but he's prob. a notch below Carr.
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There's 0 chance Rodgers retires. He has $60M reasons not to.***
A trade's still possible! No one wants to pk. up that tab, but GB has t/b fed up w/ Rodgers' "Hamlet" act!
***The other issue they have is that Jordan Love's going to want to play. He's going into his 4th yr. & has zero playing X. If Rodgers comes back, I wouldn't be surprised if Love asks t/b traded.***
They're allowing this scenerio again; same w/ Favre & Rodgers in the exact same circumstances & actions!
***You're correct. They're lucky. They have had HOF QB play for 30 yrs. now.
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I find Brady irritating & I'm glad he retired but...he's the GOAT. That said, football's a bit diff. > tennis, & I really think you have to consider it pos. by position. Meaning, there's really no pt. in comparing Brady to Jerry Rice or Jim Brown.***
No other QB in history w/ so much controversy doing his job! It's been a real ride, from "The Tuck Rule" to "Spy-gate, cell phone-gate, deflate-gate..."
***Plus I've never seen a QB get so many favorable "pass interf. " calls.***
Don't forget the unwarranted personal fouls of his body if he's = breathed on too hard!
***Jim Boeheim not to return to Syracuse after 47 yrs.***
I'll never understand these big institutions that hold onto a so called "legend" as their coach until it starts getting ugly! Boeheim was ready to take it there no matter how humble he sounds! He didn't retire, Syracuse had to push him out the door! I so hate when these guys pull this shit; "it's up to Syracuse" in answering about a return! One of the worst exits IMO was w/ Gramblings, Eddie Robinson! He'd coached for over 50 yrs. there, but the public & lack of backbones in the pol. ranks of LA. saved him X & X again until they finally let him finish up '97! Coach K wouldn't leave the stage either until pushed = w/ health issues! Shula had t/b kicked to the curb after giving him 1 > chance to do something w/ Marino speading $18 M for free-agents! I just SMH w/ this kind of situation going on yrs. w/ the coach the only person truly satisfied getting what he wants; "to keep his job until he keels over in a wheelchair!"
***You can't stop Durant now & you couldn't stop him way back when. He was great on every team he's been on.***
The problem's Durant stops himself w/ "being thin skinned" & injury prone! Out for few games w/ a bum ankle! - After he bailed on NJ Nets w/ wasted effort w/ Kyrie Irving & James Harden; both subsequently left as well! Durant goes to Phoenix, looking as if a good fit, promptly turns his ankle on a practice lay-up B4 last night's game! They expect him t/b out for a wk. or so! This is the person believed's the best player on the planet, but can barely get to playing 1/2 his games due to bad luck & brk'n down! Some ego he has there when he's such a bad ex. of a team player! It has t/b all about him or he's not happy; hence leaving a dynastic team like GS Warriors b/c it was Curry's team! What a fk'n idiot!
***He could miss the rest of the reg. season! OMG.
Hey, @ least he has a ring. Prob. 2 or 3? Anyways, he has enough. He's a HOFer for sure. He made OKC great, then went somewhere else & they were >. He whm the Nets >, & I'm sure he'll make the Suns > if he's healthy come playoffs. I wouldn't ct. the Suns out.
Honestly, I wouldn't ct. the Lakers out. If they're all healthy @ the end of the season. How many teams make the playoffs in the West? Let's say 10. I'dn't ct. on the top seeds to beat the btm. seeds this yr. in the West.***
***Boris Becker was the 'King of Wimbl.' from '85 til early 90s. ...Murray's Wimbls. are quite lucky as well. Novak was in bad form in '13 & Big 3 all in bad form in '16. This is pure luck; no iconic wins. You can't glorify him vs a guy who @ 17 was a physical freak. Murray was a pigeon to = Fed in this per. He's like 3rd or 4th best on grass in his era. Shameful to compare him to Becker.***
ReplyDeleteAfter so many yrs. waiting, the Brits will take it = though he's a Scot! His wins are under-recognized due to his def. way of playing! He made the highlight reel by running down every shot & stealing pts; BORING after a while! The ironic thing is, he's still trying to do it after surgery & recovery! He just isn't smart! Anyone else w/b trying to close pts. out sooner! Real fk'n idiot!
***Well, it always goes both ways. You say Murray was pigeon to "= Fed", which are absurd words. As if being "pigeon" to the real 'King of Wimbl.' w/b a disgrace. Becker actually invented power tennis, but when others figured out how to play the same way, there wasn't > about "king of Wimbl." any>. Or otherwise he wouldn't have won just one > title after being 18.
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I can't imagine a special talent like Becker being anybody's pigeon despite being 6 yrs. younger. That won't happen. ...Also Boris is known for non-performing in 20s due to his off court issues that hindered him. Murray never had anything like that & yet he was mediocre. I'd say Andy max'd his abilities @ 3 while Boris is a big underachiever @ 6 for his talents. It isn't a comparison @ all. Boris is much > > superior.***
Believe it or not, Agassi was Becker's tormenter @ X's; = on grass! Boris might get jack'd up a lit'l > to win in Davis Cup, but I'm sure Agassi had a huge advantage over Becker in the H2H & c/b classified as "Agassi's pigeon!"
***Yeah, Agassi did have some advantage. The h2h m/b 10-5 or something like that. But Andre did lose to Becker in '95 W, so there's no pigeon thing here. I guess Becker = in declined state was > to beat Andre on grass in Andre's best yr. or so. On HC's I guess it was a diff. story, pigeon for sure.
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OE top 5 @ each Slam - Prime level according to @abmk.
Austr. Open:
Djokovic
Federer
Agassi
Edberg
Sampras
Rol. Garros:
Nadal
Borg
Kuerten
Lendl
Wilander
Wimbl.:
Federer
Sampras
Borg
McEnroe
Becker
US Open:
Federer
Sampras
McEnroe
Connors
Lendl
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You can m/b argue Mac over Djokovic if talking peak level @ Wimbl. No way Becker though.***
Regardl< of peak perf., McEnroe w/ 3 titles to Novak's 7's ridicuous!
***Shelton’s serve seems t/b the >est weapon on court today. Let’s talk about that kid; esp. after his AO showing.***
He looks quite seasoned for a newbie! The > I watch him, the > he looks like a reincarnated Andres Gomez w/ the loopy lefty FH & sliced BH! Won FO '90!
***The really young guys like Carlos, Holger, Ben, etc. seem to +ed really good finesse to extreme power compared to the few gens. that came B4 them.
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I think it’s a lit'l optimistic, but the really deep college background & good team help a lot, yes?
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Agassi's closer to Big 3 > Murray's to Agassi.
Agassi'd stretch 11 yrs. younger Peak Federer while Murray got whooped by 6 yo post peak Fed.
Tier 1 - Djokovic, Sampras, Nadal, Fed
Tier 1.5 - Borg
Tier 2 - McEnroe, Lendl, Connors & Agassi
Tier 3 - Becker, Edberg, Wilander
Tier 3.5 - Courier, Vilas
Tier 4 - Murray, Kuerten, Wawrinka, Hewitt, Safin
Tier 4.5 - Ivanisevic, Roddick
Tier 5 - Medvedev, Tsonga, Berdych, Nalbandian, Zverev, etc.
Tier 6 - Philippoussis, Johansson, Gaudio, Coria, etc.
Tier 7 - Kyrgios, Rudd & the other mugs
Tier 8 - The remaining top 100 who'll remain nobodies
Someone might say Murray deserves t/b w/ Courier in 3.5 ? I'm not too sure of that.***
Courier had a run > significant winning B2B AO's & FO's, holding the #1 ranking longer & not just in the dead of "off season!"
***My country's so very, very broken.***
ReplyDeleteIt's been notably terrible since 911 IMO! There was such a divide produced around then where Trump just escalated it; the "hate!" How we can criticize any other country when something like this happens every night is beyond me! IDK how those a-holes can work their mouths to say "not guilty!"
***This is insane! Cops w/ guns are afraid of a double amputee? Lock them up for yrs! I'm so sick of this!***
We only know the truth about Tyree Nichols due to a private sec. cam nearby! The police were already setting up their defense covering body-cams, but that lack of care once subdued was just animalistic! It proves when it comes to cops & race, BLUE is the color of the day as it was 5+ Blk cops that perpetrated this Nat'l disgrace! If only this was the worst of it! Something like this happens somewhere in the country every fk'n nite! I can't tell you how many X's I drive by what appears t/b a simple traffic stop turning into the entire force getting involved! Backup is called if the guy's the least bit nervous & it turns into a "shit-show!" We've become apathetic un< we can see the horror! Will it change ANYTHING? Only X'll tell! I've been waiting since I lived out in Cal. where I saw Rodney King getting "the treatment" 30 yrs. ago!
***It's really sad, but I think it helps that Tyree Nichols was the "perfect victim" -- gainfully employed, a father, had no drugs or alcohol on him, etc. I've been following the super duper right-wing outlets & no one has tried to victim blame him the way they did w/ George Floyd.***
They tried their best to dirty him already! I think it w/b futile w/ how that footage went on & on for over an hr. in X angles! They messed up thinking this was going t/b a routine cover-up! These guys have t/b real idiots b/c as cops, they should know cameras are everywhere! They're in cars, homes (inside & out), traffic cams, sec. for businesses & banks, on & on! These guys really Fk'd up! They should go away for a very long X if they try to defend their actions!
***One of the 5 police officers charged originally was raised in my town. Suffice it to say, people were totally flummoxed by the news, including fellow football teammates from Bloomfield HS.
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Russias economy shrunk 2.5% last yr. Even Putin said that. They have massive inflation. 11.8% last month alone. The Ruble's close to an all X low vs the $$ & Euro. They're tech. by any economic def. in a recession. 100's of 1000's of their young men have left the country. There isn't anything good going on in Russia right now. Many Western Euro. countries have taken a hit, but nothing like Russia.***
I couldn't believe that nonsense about the sanctions "being a failure!" That's total BS as Russia's being choked off from the rest of the Western world! China, Iran, & N. Korea it's only real allies! Where are they getting their info?
***It's crazy. The only economy worth anything is China. North Korea's a literal Hell hole. And Iran is another economic mess. These are their "partners." People are out of their minds.***
***I'll use Fed & PETE as an ex. concerning USO. Both won 5 titles, but in diff. fashions. Fed has 6/7 high level runs @ the USO in his prime w/ 2 of those being @ least among the very best by level IMO. But past 30, he has only one run worth mentioning in '15 & won all 5 titles in a single run. OTOH, PETE had a longer spell of 12 yrs. winning titles & made 3 str. finals in his 30's. He trounces Fed in terms of longevity, but certainly outside his prime by @ least '01 nor was he prime in '90, so do we not ct. those titles for the OP? Across his career he was better > Fed, but if you compare just their primes, Fed is def. ahead w/ PETE winning 3 titles in his actual prime...
ReplyDelete---
Look at Sampras' 1st win though at 19. Beat Muster, Lendl, McEnroe and Agassi. That's killer. Federer doesn't have a run like that. If you brk it down, I'd say Fed's era was a bit > top heavy w/ younger Djokovic, older Agassi, Roddick & Murray. Sampras' had a bit more overall depth. Case in pt., look @ '01. He played in the QF in one of the >est matches I've ever watched & was completely depleted by the final. Still had to beat the younger guns & didn't have enough in the tank. That's why I'd rate Sampras slightly >er, not necess. only looking @ when he won.
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Safin played like a GOAT tbf & Hewitt put on a return & passing clinic vs a tired Sampras who went thru a rough draw. Both Hewitt & Safin were magnif. in those finals. Not sure how well '10 Fed does vs Safin for ex. '11 Fed had > stamina > '01 Pete, but that draw'd still be tough for him = if he could do it. On the flip side, I do think '12 Fed has a shot @ '02 in Pete's place. His only roadblock w/b Agassi who wasn't firing @ 100% after a tough SF w/ Hewitt.
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McEnroe's peak was easily the best IMB.
'79: dropped only one set that entire tourney(to Hall of Famer Nastase). Spanked Hof'rs Connors & Gerulaitis in str. sets in the SF & final.
'80: beat Lendl, Connors, & Borg in that order to win the title.
'81: beat Gerulaitis & Borg in succession to win the title. That makes 3 str. titles.
'84: beat Connors in the SF, then absol. pistol-whipped Lendl in the final by allowing only 8 games to him.
To me, I like to see a player defend his title @ least twice in a row (3-peat) in order t/b eligible for the best peak. You can apply that to any slam event as well.
2nd place is a tough call for me. Sampras never had a 3-peat. But his peak was very high. He's good candidate. Lendl had a 3-peat & made 8 str. finals. Post high-cholesterol Lendl was a completely diff. animal that showed up in '85 after listening to his doctor after that blood test in late-'84. Fed made 6 str. finals w/ a 5-peat. That's tough to overlook IMB; despite not having the comp. that Mac & Lendl did. He's also in the running.
I'll go-
tier 1: McEnroe. This guy was insane @ his peak. His '84 season's still the > dom. season I've ever seen (something like 22-1 vs top 10)
tier 2: Sampras, Lendl, Fed
tier 3: Edberg, Connors
tier 4: Nadal, Djokovic. Djokovic prob. belongs in tier 3. But w/ no repeat, it's tough to get him there. He was a beast in '11 & '15 though. Absol. insane. Nadal was insane in '10; near-GOAT level perf. him and Djoker. But this is about a sustained peak. Otherwise, Safin's 2000 final performance is perhaps the best I've seen, except McEnroe's slaughtering of Lendl.
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Jimmy Connors' 7 yr. > Mac & 8 yo'er > Lendl.
Despite this Connors went to the extreme 5 sets twice w/ Mcenroe in '80 & '84, this suggests that Peak Connors'd beat McEnroe.
Connors also beat Lendl twice in 82 and 83, then 1985 (age 33..big deal back then) onwards he started to lose to Lendl
Connors owned Borg 3-1 in NY (twice on clay) & finally in '81 he lost to Borg... excuse of groin pain/blisters won't cut, Borg lost, that's all that matters.
So keeping these things in mind, he was the best of his era & you can't blame his comp., the fact that he beat Lendl 2 X's, Borg 2 X's & McEnroe 1 X en route to his titles makes his comp. stronger > any of Roger's rivals in his peak.***
***"In '82, Bjorn Borg, the defending champion and holder of 6 FO titles, was refused direct entry into Roland Garros. If he cared to compete, he was told he’d have to qualify for the tourn. While there’s little doubt that he would've won his way into the main draw, he declined to do so. “Stubborn as a square-headed Swede,” as the saying goes, Borg dug in his heels and as a point of pride wouldn’t participate in the qualies. He did exactly the same thing at Wimbl. where the All England Club were just as Draconian as the French, convinced that as the winner of 5 titles and a finalist for the 6th str. year in 1981, he deserved a direct route to Centre Court, which he virtually owned.
ReplyDeleteIt’s crucial to recall what crime Bjorn Borg had committed to get banned from the Grand Slams. He wasn’t guilty of a doping offense. He hadn’t spat in an opponent’s face, ala Ilie Nastase. He hadn’t thrown histrionic conniption fits a la John McEnroe. No, he had simply done what Roger Federer is did. As a reigning champion and future Hall of Famer, he decided that he preferred to limit his schedule and play only those tournaments that suited him. But a bunch of bureaucratic suits decreed that he had to compete in a minimum of ten tournaments in addition to the Grand Slams. When he wouldn’t bend to this dictate, he found himself faced with an ultimatum – take it or leave it.
Borg left it! You can’t really say that he retired. Pig-headed tennis authorities ran him out of the game. They accused him of selfishness, as did some players and many journalists who wrote that he demanded preferential treatment so that he could go on a shopping expedition for GS titles.
All of this sounds woefully stupid and unfair now. Borg received the worst punishment; his career was cut short in mid-stream. But tennis fans also suffered, and never got a chance to see one of history’s greatest competitors continue his confrontations w/ McEnroe & Connors. The game was poorer for his absence, & one can only ponder the imponderable. How many major titles would the Swede had won if he had played on til 35 like Roger, or 31 like Rafa? To put it slightly differently, consider Roger’s and Rafa’s records. If they had been shouldered aside at the age of 26, tennis history would have been dramatically different."***
...I was watching '82 YE Masters Chp. in NY when it was announced by a shocked Trabert & Summerall that Borg had retired! Those tour idiots actually allowed him to walk away! In '90 the rules changed so that Sr. players had the option of skipping Majors & Masters events! Too lit'l, too late for Bjorn, but Heaven knows the Big 3 has taken advantage of it!
===
***If Fed @ 35+ can make Rafa his pigeon, then Moya/slowing down isn't the reasons for it. Him changing his racquet BH is the only reason. Had he used such a racquet in his peak, then he'd not be so vuln. despite Rafa's speed. This is called figuring out how to beat your nemesis. You can't attribute Fed's success (quite late) to Rafa's failure/random chance.
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I can't warm-up to the Greek Crown Prince's BH b/c Tsitsipas' BH isn't "heavy" nor can it dictate play. That shot better have some punch & uumph to work in today's ATP. Theim & Wawrinka's BH's have that.***
Heaven knows when Djokovic has gone up vs Tsitsipas, he's peppering the BH side! It's a no-win sit. for Stefanos playing vs Novak since he's able to take advantage of his placements! I never really worried about that match in '21 Paris final, down 0-2 or AO earlier this season where people thought it w/b > comp. due to "Novak's comeback" after missing tourn. last yr.! In the end it was no contest as Novak continued his run from last season! He's likely to lose that edge again since unable to compete @ IW's & Miami; Sunshine Dbl.!
***Did Fed get old? If not, how do you explain the change in fortunes in Fedovic rivalry?***
ReplyDeleteIt has the same dynamics as a past era rivary; McEnroe vs Lendl! Lendl broke thru early! A resurgence allowed John to win from '83-84, but the dom. was over & became one-sided after the '85 USO! It happened w/ Novak getting those early Masters & AO in '08 over Fed! Roger got a lit'l back B4 the rivalry became somewhat one-sided by '11! Roger's only real chance of stealing a match or 3 was on grass & fast indoor courts aside '11 FO upset! THE pressure of that winning streak had to weigh on Novak! What was it, 43 match wins in a row going back to '10 DC?
***Fed never had a very physical game which isn't suited for modern conditions. As he got older & physically declined, it was > > easier to grind him out. That's why he only started beating Djokovic on faster BO3 surfaces & when matches get physical & longer, Djokovic just ground him out.***
It became > a mental game @ X's! Remember, Roger had his chances, but he couldn't finish Novak off! Besides those mythical comebacks from MP's @ the USO & Wimbl., Djoker pretty > owned him "down under;" stopping Roger in the SF X & X again! Roger was up, but a mental edge began in '11!
***Krajicek heaped praises on Federer's >ness. Interview to Volkskrant web., the '96 Wimbl. champ. recalled the seasons from '04-08 when Fed had no rivals.
'Nadal couldn't threaten Roger on other surfaces. It was a transition per. Roger also played w/ the stars of the prev. gen. like Agassi & Safin for 2 yrs. Players of his same age like Roddick, Hewitt, Ferrero, Davidenko & his current coach Ljubicic didn't have weapons to hurt him in the GS's.
So Fedal were able to split al> all the GS's w/ each other & also win > Masters (1000s),' Krajicek said. About his becoming the world #1 again, Krajicek said, 'Roger's (#1) b/c his major rivals are injured.' He noted that's why Fed becoming the world #1 again in '12 was his '>est result, b/c he managed to overcome Djokovic & Murray who're in good form that yr.' Krajicek also noted, 'What makes Fed special is that he played @ the >est level for 16 yrs. & achieved the rec. GS titles.
He's also the > beautiful player to watch. But Djokovic won > of the matches vs him. I think that he's = > complete (> Fed). Djokovic was holding all the GS titles in '16; 'Fed never managed to do it.' Krajicek also praised Edberg's work w/ Fed in '14 & '15: 'Edberg taught him to finish the rallies, now Roger knows how to come to the net & cover the court.'
'Roger never tries to win the pt. w/ the 1st volley. He puts the opp. off balance & chooses the open angle, just like Edberg was doing.'
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So Krajicek gave a lot of praise to Roger, but thinks he dom. a trans. era when there were no rivals, that he's #1 only b/c his rivals are injured & thinks Djokovic's > complete. A Wimbl. chp. basically said everything that others have been saying for yrs.
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...When Djokovic won his 1st slam (AO'08), Rafa had won only 3, all @ RG, & Roger had won 12! And again, Djokovic was only 20 when he won his 1st, & Rafa was only 21. Fed didn't = win his 1st slam til he was close to 22. Those 5/6 yrs. do make a diff.!
...Rafa & Novak too have taken advantage of sev. weaker yrs. to inflate their resumes. ...By the X Djokovic was 21, Fed had won not 2 or 3 majors, but 12! What I orig. posted was that Fed had a > easier path to his 1st 10 or 12 majors > either Rafa or Fed did. I'm very firm in that view. I didn't = mention "weak era" to do this, as you are trying to do. Once Novak turned 21, Fed had 4 yrs. as YE #1, over 200 wks @ #1, & 12 of his 20 majors.***
***...Carlos actually battled Ruud & won that USO t/b the #1 player in the world, so it's not like he backed into that top ranking.***
ReplyDeleteBoth Djokovic & Medvedev have fallen into 1st place for the last yr.+ due to pols & injury! The race hasn't been this tight @ the beginning of the season in yrs. due to the Big 3 monopolizing the Majors & Masters! No doubt if allowed to compete in the Sunsh. Dbl., Novak would've stayed #1! He's getting it back for a wk. waiting for result of Miami! Alcaraz needs to win it to get #1 back!
***...Rune's the real deal - m/b not Alcaraz real, but by my est., Carlos' having the 5th best teenage career in OE history, w/ only Borg, Wilander, Becker, & Rafa ahead of him.***
You can actually argue Carlos s/b elevated since he's the only one of these kids who not only had early success, he acquired the #1 ranking B4 age 20! The others were nowhere near overtaking the top players in their 1st 2 or 3 seasons!
***Alcaraz's toying w/ Fritz.***
In boxing terms "they're in diff. wt. classes!" It's the reason I pull back when it comes to celebr. & being > hopeful about Fritz's career! He's way up there in terms of "cracking a shot," but you have to do it consistently to stay on top! Elite players can still hold him off! You can't take too seriously his wins over Nadal last yr.! It was embarrassing the losses Rafa took! This season's been no >er dropping match to de Minaur in The UC! I don't think Fritz can keep it up = though Novak fans'd apprec. the assist! Novak takes back #1 ranking if Carlito doesn't win Miami! On the live rankings it's already been given back to Novak!
***Miami: Alcaraz d Fritz - 6-4, 6-2 — a solid win in just 1:18.***
It's a diff. class of play w/ Alcaraz! Taylor has t/b on "a heater" to beat an elite player IMO! He may get >er, but he still will have bad losses where you won't expect it! Same w/ others who are marginally good like Tiafoe & FAA! "Big 3" consistency is just not in the cards!
***I still can't figure out why Edberg was somewhat problematic for Pete @ X's. ...T/b a champ. you have t/b an Assassin...Rafa, Roger, & esp. Novak, Alcaraz Borg are all 'pure' exs. of Assassin's mentally.***
Sampras also had trouble w/ Richard Krajicek! Guys w/ a big serve & could volley well c/b problematic for any player; = BORG!
***When Brad Gilbert cracked the top 5, he'd played 20 Majors & made only one QF. Finished his career w/ 2 QF's in 37 Majors played.***
From what I recal about Gilbert playing, it was > a mental thing > physical! He'd upset Becker in a 1st Rd. BO3 or BO5 major match, but promptly lose to some nobody in a Rd. or 2 later! The consistency just wasn't there, but the ability was! Like Berdych, Ferrer, & Cilic to Djokovic, Lendl owned & wore out Brad! He was a > >er coach to the 3 Andys & Network comm. since leaving the tour!
***Martina Navr.'s got some ego.***
She has all the "right" t/b! It's as if she's gone the way of "BJK" & just an afterthought w/ all her accomps.! They give her all due deference in her presence, but all too often the convo centers around Serena & Graf, w/ a sprinkling of Court! She had a lot to overcome & lost yrs. getting to where she ended up! Martina's still done > any other player; male or female! This isn't hero worship! Her #'s proliferate the rec.bks just like Djokovic! They own it all! She did things that never w/b achieved w/ the state of affairs in women's tennis where consistency's a thing of the past! IDK how anyone can ever come close to 167 singles titles, 177 Dubs., 332 wks. @ #1, 7 YE #1's, #1 in Dubs for over 200+ wks., 6 Majors won in a row, 2 CGS, a Box Set, ...I could go on OTTH! The #'s are staggering, so she's a lit'l put off she w/b forgotten after she retires from TCC! She has a HUGE ego, but doesn't take away from her dom. in the game; Singles & Dubs!
***Personally, I hope Trumps does get the nom. It'd assure a victory for the Dems. again.***
ReplyDeleteHopefully! The country shows its ignorance all too often! We're al> described as "insane" looking for diff. results doing the same stupid thing! Lowering of taxes come to mind! And we wonder why the Nat'l Debt is over $30 T when it was under $6 w/ Clinton actually paying it down! Our own need t/b right depending on our pols isn't so slowly turning us into a Banana Republic! You can't get worse > electing a creature like Trump! I never want to hear ANYTHING from women talking about a lack of repres. when they had a chance to elect our 1st female president! They're the ones who elected that lying SOS who tainted & undermined every instit. poss.; his office to Justice & State Dept.!
***Trump indicted in NY by the SDNY DA. He's sched. to surrender himself early next wk.***
I'll believe something'll happen after he's actually dragged in, finger-printed, w/ a bond set on his ass! He's been skating thru since the 70's!
***...since '08 when Obuma took us from $9 to $18 T Nat'l Debt. Biden's been spending like a drunken sailor on unnec. stuff like funding other people's wars & building us back >er to poverty w/ JACK to show for it.***
Typical! Pt. all the objec. occurances from the Dems, but ignore Repuklican a-holes! How soon we forget Clinton actually had a sur+ budget during his last yrs. in office & actually paying the Nat'l Debt "down!" "W" said, "fk. that. We need to go > in the hole so I'm going to cut taxes for the rich & to placate the masses, I'll give them a worth< chk. of $300!" I'm disgusted w/ all concerned!
***The Clinton 'budget sur+' was an acct'ing trick, nothing >.***
Of course! It was just a mirage the Nat'l Debt doubled under "W!" Obama had to fix his mess, then Trump turned us into a Banana Rep. o/n, bearly hanging on to respect.! It's a wonder we didn't totally collapse as a country after "the right" trashed every institution we have! As a Sr. it's hard to care! We believe if we cont. as we are, it'll all turn around on its on eventually! Both sides of the spectrum are responsible for this sad state of affairs!
***Crime shot up in '20 w/ a Trump Recession, Trump Riots, & the Trump Plague. Why do you wingnuts all try to pretend '20 didn't happen?***
Hypocrisy, double standards, & sel. memory's nothing new to these people! It's > embarrassing that they have no shame thinking it's ok to LIE thru their teeth to get their way!
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***My circle of women, young & old are very wise. Not w/ worldly wisdom, but Godly wisdom. No we aren't clue< by any means. Nor are we silly women being led around by anyone.***
As KS has invoked so many X's after "led around" comment, "...& die alone!" Many are delusional enough to believe they can have it all b/c their moms have brainwashed them! They'll all end up taking care of those moms b/c they've been suckered! My mom was a career woman, in responsible pos. of autho., but allowed my step-dad to run the house! The ERA hadn't been passed, but = though strong-willed, she had enough sense to let him lead! I apprec. him so >! He took a chance w/ my mom & 2 kids! Saved my life!
***...Yes, I'e always been strong-willed. My husband understood that & no one dealt w/ it like him. At this age I'll die w/o him b/c one of us had to go 1st; duh. ...We had no prob. in our marriages. That's a myth.***
Seemed like you were pushing feminist view about educ., career, $$ B4 starting a family in "the danger zone" of 27-35! Seems like you're arguing both sides!
***I argued vs what I consider t/b an unfair targeting of black women in these podcasts. And yes, I strongly advocate for women to receive educ. b/c it's no guarantee they'll not have t/b heads of their homes. Even if they aren't HOH, they c/b an asset, not a liability. ...So I'm trying to figure out why this site tears down & has so much animosity toward black women when all of our mothers are black as well as our sisters & daughters.***
***I think I actually hate other people - I love my wife, kids, siblings & parents, but gen. people piss me off. They tend t/b complete morons, self obsessed & annoying. A few days a wk. I just want to punch people in the face.***
ReplyDeleteI feel your frustration! I've been gen. PO'd w/ the world since the 90's! The idiocy of the masses came thru, turning the US over to cons. who want to control everything while politiking telling supporters "the gov't's hijacking basic rights!" Yrs. ago, if you were caught lying about anything, you were DONE! Now it's a way of life; esp. after 30,000+ listed lies coming off the tongue of Donald Trump in just 4 yrs. in office! I have a gen. dislike of woman of late! I threw away my feminist card in '16 when women put that slime in WH over one of their own, HILLARY! So > for a lack of repres.! It's how they want it b/c they truly hate each other! They are so critical of each other! Besties & sisters can stab each other in the back over a man, job, or gen. comp. that mothers inflict on them as kids! I really hoped to expire to avoid the pain of stupidity ravaging the country & the world! Now I want to hang on as long as poss. to help drain resources! It's my revenge on the gen. ass-holery of the country!
***What's really sad IMO is that this criminal was elected President & not Hillary Clinton.***
Sorry, but no matter what he did, & it was a lot, women still supported him > another woman, Hillary! I SMH to this day after the Jihad he's had vs women; esp. after being elected & he still has them in his pocket! You can't get > disturbing after all that's happened since this man was GIVEN the reins of our country! Women proved what I've been sayiing for yrs., "women hate other women!" I threw out my feminist card! I'm so done trying to help those who won't help themselves!
***I don't think women actually Hate other women, but they often don't support them or help them move up. About voting for Trump, many women placed party over a highly qualifiEd dem. nominee. The Rep. women placed a Rep. w/ extremely low morals over a woman.
Another thing was some women criticized Hillary for staying in her marriage after Bill's infidelity, particularly after the Monica Lewinski affair. IMO it's strictly a decision of that family, & these women have no right to judge her on this. Hillary may have lost some votes due to this. Anyway, it was disgrace that the USA elected this clown for Potus.
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I didn't think it was a weak case, I didn't really have any idea. Trump's done so many things, I can't follow the details. When something comes down like this, then I pay attn. I just listened to Bragg's remarks. Very clear. Also given Donald Trump's history, not = remotely surprising & just takes me back to feeling PO that our country's being put thru this by voters who just didn't care.***
It shows stupidity goes all the way to the top! As much a flim flam man, Trump gets attorneys sucked into his cases knowing he's going t/b problematic! They were cringing as he couldn't help himself making a statement when he got back to Fla.! He freely admitted papers he keeps c/b declassified! These guys are still banging their heads against door-jams! :-)
***Federer's the GOAT, but no one in their right mind would've believed that the field would get so weak to the pt. Djokovic & Nadal'd vulture their way to the slam rec. Luckily YouTube exists so people can see w/ their own eyes that Fed dwarfs the other 2 when it comes to talent & shotmaking.***
ReplyDeleteOCO, seek serious help! No matter how weak an era, for both Nadal & Djokovic to overtake Fed is a > achievement, staying right w/ him early on & destroying 2 gens. of newbies who were quite talented! Get over that BS about a weak era pls! Makes you look quite foolish w/ the likes of Murray, Del Po, Wawrinka, Ferrer, Berdych, Zverev, Thiem, & Tsitsipas! These players'd dom. past eras! The Big 3 were just very special players w/ talent, consistency, & longevity unmatched by past eras of players!
***Nobody could predict the "*" era back then.***
Fed had already been deified! By '07-08 he had won 3 majors 3X's & was preparing to surpass Sampras in rec. X! I was hopeful w/ Novak, but had no expectations! It was > that he eventually was able to outdo Fedal & has taken over the rec.-bks after Roger had made his mark!
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It's truly sad & delusional to keep thinking Fed's the GOAT! He's fallen behind both Nadovic b/c he hung on too long! If he had retired after winning his Wimbl. in '12 or '17, an argument c/b made that if he had hung on a bit longer, he might've held off his comp.! Unfortunately he allowed them to abuse him, stealing many majors right from under his nose, esp. Djokovic @ '19 Wimbl.!
***He'd already been abused by both of them prior to '17, but yes, if he'd retired around '07, or after brk'n the rec. in '09, then a Borg-like aura'd surround him. People would wonder if he was >er > the Big 2. Now they know he's not.
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I thought the GOAT w/b Nadal. I was right.***
Nyah! Too many holes in Nadal's resume; SORRY! His >est achievements have been on clay when > tourns. on HC, grass, & indoors where he sucks! He has no YEC, is 2 behind Novak in YE #1's, took him over a decade to acquire his 2nd CGS, &'s way behind Fedovic when it comes to wks @ #1! Who are you kidding; yourself? IDK how you thought he'd come thru to overtake Fed = though he owned their H2H rec.! Other players still kept him from achieving a Golden Masters, signif. wks @ #1, & so few majors off clay, hogging Paris w/ 14 titles! All he's done is outdo Borg on the surface due to hanging on for > 8 seasons! Borg will continue t/b just as immortal as the Big 3 IMO!
***I thought Fed's 20 would likely stand. My hope @ that in '18 was that m/b Rafa can surpass Fed's tally (I wanted both Rafa & Djo to surpass Fed). I was always rooting for Rafa & Djo in slams so that they can inch closer to the rec. Whenever there was Djo-Rafa final (like '19 AO or RG '20) I felt relaxed b/c one or the other would in. closer to Fed's tally. Whenever they played someone else that can't in. closer to Fed (like Del Po/Anderson in '18 or Thiem/Med in '19) I'd feel nervous as they might "ruin" the rec. hunt. Now that they both surpassed Fed, I'm full X Djo supporter to get the rec. Although If Rafa is in RG final vs anybody other > Djo, I'll likely root for Rafa. It'll likely keep both players motivated to stay longer on the Tour.
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I don't see anyone ever touching Djokovic's recs. @ this X. There wont be a "Big 2," > < a "Big 3" again. Carlos' showing promise, but he can't keep his health. His best bet's an Agassi type career. Djoker's gonna have some recs. that'll take a major outlier to accomplish it & the mindset of these gens. of kids just dont match that. Dedication's something that someone can't teach. You have to want to achieve it internally.***
***What exactly has Lamar Jackson done as a person that makes him not the model franchise player?***
ReplyDeleteLamar c/b all it's meant t/b as a franchise player, but Balt.'s well w/i their rights to deny giving him a guaranteed contract of over $230 M when he's had problems w/ injuries missing many games per season! J/b Cleveland was crazy enough to give that ridiculous contract to Watson doesn't mean the league has to follow suit! It can very easily be called collusion, but I don't blame The Ravens @ all for being hesitant! Jackson did this to himself by not having an official agent to barter in good faith! I'd guarantee problems allowing "MOM" to fight his battles for obscene $$ & yrs.! It never works out; esp. when making extreme demands of compensation!
***No one said the Ravens have to pay Jackson anything. It's unprecedented that a QB of his caliber plays out his rookie contract. And certainly none have been on the market for trade. Daniel Jones got an ext. FFS. Jackson did everything he was supposed to. Played when they didn’t get a long term deal done. How many guys have held out in the past? He played assuming the Ravens would take care of him. They haven’t. I don’t blame him for wanting out. They didn’t surround him w/ any talent @ the WR pos. Like none. The only decent WR they had they traded. He’s running b/c the Ravens are asking him to run. Look @ his MVP yr. He was throwing from the pocket, & running when he had to/when it was given to him. Since then they have basically said Lamar, go get us wins.
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Odell Beckham Jr.’s one-yr. deal w/ the Ravens' said to include $15M guaranteed. - 2 yr. deal. He was a really good WR for 2 yrs. That’s it. Outside '15-16 he was just a decent WR.***
His deal shb pulled when he used it as a carrot chk'n w/ the JETS! This guy's a "real tool!"
***He & Lamar are bro's, & they want to get Lamar back. No doubt he's a > QB, but = if he does come back, OBJ isn't gonna be happy. Just remember that Balt. has always been successful w/ their personnel moves in the past. Seems like a huge miss on this one.***
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***I think raising the age is the best thing the sport of FSkt.'ns done in a long X.***
All I'd was SMH 2 yrs. ago as Russian skaters got younger & younger; malnourished w/ a short shelf-life! It was shocking to see how fast Alina Zagitova disappeared after a > season! She just fell off a cliff barely able to keep up w/ the next wave of kids their program abused over the yrs! The tech. used to propel those tiny bodies was systematically brk'n them down IMO! I'd stopped watching as > skate'n after Asado & Kim Yuna era! It started w/ Evgenia Medvedeva who was anointed future queen of the ice! AZ pulled a "Tara" who stole Nagano from Kwan back in '98! It came down to that 1 combo that the Vets wouldn't = try thinking their artistic maturity would go further > doing extreme jumps! It was a repeat; includ. the inevitable that Alina wasn't going to last! M/b raising the age limits will stop the cycle!
***Tara & Johnny >xN Ashley Wagner as comms., but the lot of them suck. Will also forever laugh @ defenders of Wagner's commentary on social media being like "you hate her!!" Then tearing down T&J & saying things like how Scott Hamilton made sex & constipation noises. Three of the least empathetic & > abhorrent personalities I've had the displeasure of listening to. ...Dick Button is GOAT.***
I can only go by what I've seen & heard, but I've already cut back my need to watch FS events to begin w/ these days! If I had to deal w/ that self-entitled brat, Wagner I'd be done, done, done! Even though no fan of Kwan, Wagner always seemed the > spoiled of mean girls in her era that cared lit'l for other people's feelings! She was gifted Nagasu's spot on the Oly. team of '14 & lobbied for it tbd again in '18 = though behind Mirai's scores both X's!
***Murray says he may skip the rest of the clay season after losing in his 1st Rd. match to Alex de Minaur, 6-1 6-3. He described it as 'awful, demoralizing,' & one of the worst of his career. Murray's ranked @ #54 & he wants t/b seeded @ Wimbl., so he may rethink his decision NTP clay tourns. this yr.
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He could go to smaller tourns. just to get some pts., such as Munich, Geneva, & Stuttgart. I’m sure Queen’s Club would let him in no matter what.***
Sir Andy was dismissed easily! He had nothing to prevent de Minaur from making him look bad! The clay season c/b long @ this pt. so Murray may feel he has no choice, but IMO it's only going to get worse for him trying to compete w/ these kids playing so defensively!
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We may never see the likes of the Big 3 again! Get ready for mediocrity, stunted talent, injuries, w/ no consistency to players abilities!
***Think of it this way, Fiero - there's a pro & con of the "Big 3."
Pro: Un=ed talent in tennis history, except perhaps in Borg & McEnroe (> 22-23.
Meaning, in '03 there was no predicting what'd start in '04 when the Swiss "long hair" became The One, then a yr. later the Bull of Manacor joined him. In hindsight, @ least, it looked like it was the blossoming of an era that had started in 2000 when Safin won his 1st Slam, cont. in '01-02 when Hewitt reigned as #1, & then came to fruition in '03 as this new young gen. finally took the reins, winning 3 of the 4 Slams, w/ 5 diff. Slam winners by the end of '03 (Safin, Hewitt, Ferrero, Federer, Roddick). Certainly no one thought that 3 of those 5 were done winning Slams, or that Safin'd only win 1 >, or that talented young guys like Coria & Nalbandian would never win Slams.
Right now it looks like Alcaraz is the next guy, but the Danish Brat m/b right there w/ him, & we have Sinner & a host of other guys who are & should claim big titles, = Slams. So in a way, we're back in '03, but likely w/o the eventuality of the tour becoming utterly dom. by just 3 players for the next 2 decades.
Tbh, I hope we don't see another Big 3 - at least not yet, or at least not as big. I want to see > comp. I want to see guys who win 2-3 Slams, or 5-8. Sure, I'd like to see a GOAT caliber player again, but let's enjoy something a bit diff. 1st.***
***Djokovic is the HC GOAT. If he's getting banned from USO's, that doesn't mean he isn't good enough to win it. 9 finals > 6 finals.
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Not all HC plays same. Also, if you look @ who beat good playing Djokovic @ USO over last decade, then list is Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka, Nishikhori, & Med while @ FO he lost to Nadal, Stan or Thiem (not counting '18) & all 3 brought >er level > players who beat him @ USO. One win @ '13 FO vs Nadal & you w/b seeing his legacy set in stone as 3rd best FO player after Nadal & Borg. That's huge.
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Murray says he may skip the rest of the clay season after losing in his 1st Rd. match to Alex de Minaur, 6-1 6-3. He described it as 'awful, demoralizing,' & one of the worst of his career. Murray's ranked @ #54 & he wants t/b seeded @ Wimbl., so he may rethink his decision NTP clay tourns. this yr.
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He could go to smaller tourns. just to get some pts., such as Munich, Geneva, & Stuttgart. I’m sure Queen’s Club would let him in no matter what.***
Sir Andy was dismissed easily! He had nothing to prevent de Minaur from making him look bad! The clay season c/b long @ this pt. so Murray may feel he has no choice, but IMO it's only going to get worse for him trying to compete w/ these kids playing so defensively!
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We may never see the likes of the Big 3 again! Get ready for mediocrity, stunted talent, injuries, w/ no consistency to players abilities!
***Think of it this way, Fiero - there's a pro & con of the "Big 3."
Pro: Un=ed talent in tennis history, except perhaps in Borg & McEnroe (> 22-23.
Meaning, in '03 there was no predicting what'd start in '04 when the Swiss "long hair" became The One, then a yr. later the Bull of Manacor joined him. In hindsight, @ least, it looked like it was the blossoming of an era that had started in 2000 when Safin won his 1st Slam, cont. in '01-02 when Hewitt reigned as #1, & then came to fruition in '03 as this new young gen. finally took the reins, winning 3 of the 4 Slams, w/ 5 diff. Slam winners by the end of '03 (Safin, Hewitt, Ferrero, Federer, Roddick). Certainly no one thought that 3 of those 5 were done winning Slams, or that Safin'd only win 1 >, or that talented young guys like Coria & Nalbandian would never win Slams.
Right now it looks like Alcaraz is the next guy, but the Danish Brat m/b right there w/ him, & we have Sinner & a host of other guys who are & should claim big titles, = Slams. So in a way, we're back in '03, but likely w/o the eventuality of the tour becoming utterly dom. by just 3 players for the next 2 decades.
Tbh, I hope we don't see another Big 3 - at least not yet, or at least not as big. I want to see > comp. I want to see guys who win 2-3 Slams, or 5-8. Sure, I'd like to see a GOAT caliber player again, but let's enjoy something a bit diff. 1st.***
***Did Borg actually care about Laver's 11 Slams (or other recs., pro slam dom., etc)?***
ReplyDeleteBack in the 70's I can tell in the new pro ranks starting in '68, they just didn't think of a major's ct. being important or they all would've played the FO & AO! Many top players like Connors, Borg, & McEnroe skipped AO until Lendl, Wilander, & Edberg started going "down under!" There was so much going on w/ WTT, lucrative exhs., & the fragmented indep. tours! Evert & Navratilova started going to AO as well in the 80's!
***Hard to explain to people today, but Borg winning 5 Wimbls. in a row on a fast, slick, bad, un= grass surface AND winning 6 FO's on slow as molasses red dirt clay. It's hard to quantify how impressive that is. From winning DC matches @ age 15/16 to being like a rock star icon w/ his public image, there hasn't been anyone comparable to him in men's tennis.***
Well we all know Nadal w/b the last of the BIG 3 t/b able to complete the Channel Slam! You had 1 warm-up event @ QUEENS & that was it B4 the 6 days btwn. the FO end & Wimbledon start! After a few yrs. > X was given & > events created to prepare! Borg won the Channel Slam 3 str. yrs. & no one's been able to = that = w/ the extra X & improvement of the grass surface!
***Bjorn was a beast. A slight challenge to the Borg myth suggests that in those yrs. he faced no grass court specialists until he beat McEnroe in '80. That's not to diminish his achievement, which is stuff of the very >est level, & I think he’d have beaten McEnroe every season until McEnroe peaked, but Bjorn had his great Wimbl. run btwm. > eras of grass court players - the Aussies had flown & the 1st gen. pros had yet to give us the > players it gave us in the 80’s.
It's worth comparing all this w/ nowadays, where Novak has 7 Wimbl. titles & Rafa has 2, & I think they’d struggle to reach finals back in the wild days of tennis in 80’s & 90’s…***
What'd you call the 1st "Breakfast At Wimbledon" in '79 w/ Roscoe Tanner? He = def. Connors once or twice on grass! Borg in 5!
***Was Roscoe a grass court specialist? I know he had a huge serve, still fast by todays reckoning, but did he have much behind it? That was one of the >est finals, tense all the way. Why do you call it "Breakfast at Wimbl. in '79? The TV channels started showing tennis then? Jimbo was a baseliner, good low flat shots, but once Bjorn came of age it was grist to the mill beating Jimbo. BTW, I always suffered nightmares thinking of how the lads he beat in his last 3 Wimbl. finals all got revenge in NYC that same yr. It still hurts!***
Roscoe was all S & V! Like > players of his X, his groundstokes were serviceable to keep him in a pt. until able to attack the net! In '79, this was t/b the 1st X Wimbl. w/b televised here in the States LIVE; 8 AM in Chgo! Throughout the 70's & early 80's, we got taped footage only! ...Back then the women's final was on Fri., while the men played Sat. to stay w/ deal not to play on Sun.! ,,,Borg should've won that '76 final over Connors when played on Har-Tru clay! That TB still haunts me! He had 2 set pts., but Connors stole it w/ 2 line skippers! Borg just had really bad luck in NY along w/ planes flying over constantly, a shooting, & dilapidating facility!
***So was Vitas Gerulaitus, but they weren’t > in the way McEnroe, Becker, Laver, & Sampras were > grass court specialists. Roscoe was a one-off that season. That’s interesting about '79. Tennis was only starting to get going then, eh, w/ regards to TV. We were lucky, we grew up w/ the BBC. I think '79 & '80 were the best yrs. for Bjorn to get that CYGS. McEnroe still hadn’t peaked in '79, Borg owned Jimmy, & he lost to Roscoe? In '80, he choked a lit'l I think, in that game @ 3-all, 2 DFs. Still hurts! - Not completely accurate Jelefan. There were @ least 2 yrs. w/ a wk. btwn. them; someX's 3 wks. until '77, when it became fixed @ 2 wks.***
***'73 had a 3 wk. brk. (boycotting Wimbl.?). '74 -76 was only a 1 wk. brk., interesting enough '76 Borg lost to Panetta @ the FO & then won Wimbl. & then in '77 he won Wimbl., but didn't play the FO. Thus, his 3 Channel doubles were w/ a 2 wk. brk., as was Rod Lavers ('69), Nadal ('08 & '10), Fed ('09), & Djokovic had 3 wk. brk. ('21). The only player to accomplish the Channel double w/ only a 1 wk. brk. was Evert ('74 & '76).
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Kieran, you're absol. right. Fiero, your memory isn't bad enough to quite put you in the Home, or m/b I'll join you there! - Traditionalists have NEVER accepted that Borg could've won Wimbl. 5 X's w/ his game since he proved them wrong w/ all their predictions. As Fiero can attest, the grass was so much > un= than today; very slick & hardly an “advantage” for Borg b/c big servers could blow you off the court. Groundstrokers were @ a huge disadvantage. Ashe used to claim it was >er to hit a “bad” volley on grass than a good one b/c the bounce w/b = > erratic. IIRC, Victor Amaya, a huge server 1 yr. came close to upsetting Borg.
Borg beat in his finals, Nastase, Connors (twice), Tanner, & Johnny Mac. The 1st 4 players had all won Slams on grass prior to playing Borg so it wasn’t as if they were patsies. Tanner was considered to have the > monster of all serves. Nastase had lost a classic 5 set W final match to Stan Smith previously, & Connors hit the ball so > on the rise, he was considered the best ROS until Agassi, & least we forget he subsequently beat Mac @ Wimbl. in '82.
Borg was the original Iceman, nerves of steel, an underrated serve, & unflappable on the court who ran like a gazelle. Sorry, but my blood boils when others try to rationalize that Borg won b/c of a “weak” era. Borg could've won that 6th Wimbl. & had he not retired, been on par w/ Johnny Mac in future yrs. IMO.
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I didn’t say Borg won b/c of a weak era. I said it was ‘a slight challenge to the Borg myth’. Not a definitive argument, but it’s certainly true that he didn’t face any > grass court specialists of the order of the Aussies who came B4, & the players of the 80’s.
Does that make it a weak era? In gen., not necess., but it makes it better for him to achieve what he achieved. Remember, I’m a Borg man. I rate him as high as anyone in the game, >er > >. He faced > players to win those Wimbls. & astonishingly, he dug himself out of every hole he found himself in, & in the early Rds. he found himself in many holes. The grass back then famously took care of his weak volleys & relatively weak serves. They became >er due to the surface. But his 5 in a row was one of the >est recs. in any sport.
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Keep in mind that un=, slick grass also negated some of his groundies. I do laugh a bit when Fed fans claim the grass has slowed down enough that it’s homogen. to mean the grass' interchangeable w/ other surfaces. Such BS, other > Rafa, we don’t see clay courters excelling on the grass do we?
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Well that’s true. The surfaces haven’t completely homogenised; the evidence being that Roger has 8 Wimbos & only 1 FO & Rafa has 14 FO & only 2 Wimbos.***
And Borg came back "from the dead" in early Rd. matches w/ a wooden stick & strings so tight Bud Collins called the racket surface a "pane of glass!" I actually utilized 76# in my rackets for 2 yrs., but had to compensate by taking > vicious swings since it was a dead feel! It was > for indoor tennis though! The serve sounded as if a canon had gone off! Many of those wooden rackets I played w/ just collapsed! I didn't have to smash it on the ground!
***Djokovic's the only player in tennis history (male or female) to have won all of the biggest events in 3 separate decades. - He's won a Slam + Tour Finals + Masters title in the 2000s, 2010s & 2020s. He's the past, present & future.
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Novak has no OGM's.***
Nole personally cares, but in the GOAT race, OGM's are worthless! Murray won 2! Will it elevate him to somewhere "near GOAT-dom?" I don't think so! Winning every major event on the ATP tour at least 2 or 3 X's is > a measuring stick of >ness! Heaven knows Fedal w/ their OM's still far behind the rec. of Djokovic who's name has taken over the rec.-bks w/ Standalone accomp. that may never be achieved again! He's been doing it going into his 3rd decade of excel.!
***...And the Djokovic who lost in 4 to Querrey.***
Novak sabotaged himself in that match! There was this strange game they played at Wimbl. where he challenged 2 calls knowing they were failures! Then Querrey actually hit a shot that was way out, but Novak didn't have any> challenges! He went on to lose after completing his Nole-Slam in Paris! It was the start of his injury ridden decline; finalist @ USO & YEC, then early Rd. losses to "nobodies" @ the AO, FO, Wimbl. WD to Berdych, & the USO WD in '17 allowing a "Fedal Redux!"
***Slam Title Defenses done
01. Graf - 10 X's Defended
02. Nadal - 10 X's Defended
03. Federer - 10 X's Defended
04. Djokovic - 9 X's Defended
05. Borg - 8 X's Defended
06. Navratilova - 8 X's Defended
07. Evert - 6 X's Defended
08. Serena - 6 X's Defended
09. Sampras - 6 X's Defended
Nole has 9 successful defenses of GS titles. 5 X's @ AO ('12, '13, '16, '20, '21) & 4 X's @ Wimbl. ('15, '19, '21, '22).
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Most GS Finals W/O a Title:
3 Tony Roche (though he won 1 B4 the OE)
2 Denton, Curren, Mecir, Pioline, Martin, Corretja, Philippoussis, Soderling, Anderson, Ruud, Tsitsipas
Most GS SF's W/O a Title:
8 Tony Roche (see above)
7 Tomas Berdych
6 Martin, Henman, Ferrer, Tsonga, Tsitsipas
5 Okker, Nalbandian, Zverev
I think we can ignore Roche, for reasons stated. Interesting to note that other than Roche, no 1 has reached 3 Slam finals w/o winning one. Could TsiTsipas be the 1st? Ruud?***
Roche as one of the origional "Handsome 8," I considered him > a double's specialist playing w/ Newcombe by the X I started watching tennis! I know him better for his coaching Lendl to get that left-handed perspective since the other top 2 players were Connors & McEnroe!
***He's a bit historically overlooked &'s prob. the 2nd best player in '69, but we know what happened that yr.
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Iga Swiatek claims there s/b = pay b/c men & women "work =ly as hard"***
I threw away my feminist card after silly women put Trump in office as President! That proved them t/b self-hating idiots who aren't living in reality! They wouldn't = select "one of their own" in Hillary Clinton! It's been a total lie about = pay for as long as I can remember! Overall they never make as much as men is b/c they don't work as hard! It's total BS to believe any diff.! If it was the case that they earned <, > w/b hired to save $$! How many cities have they built from the ground up? Do they work the sewers? Where are their inventions (outside Madam Curie)? The NBA tells the complete story IMB! They're totally subsidized by the NBA, give huge salaries to a select few, but is a losing endevour! They can't get their own families to watch obviously! I'm so done w/ women's caterwauling! BJK got > they deserved yrs. ago! Anything given to them now is greed & manipulation, but what else is new w/ them?
***The self-described “< gov't” Party which can’t stop inserting themselves into peoples’ private lives.***
ReplyDeleteBut the populous' such that they insanely keep giving them power! Running Congress, nothing will get done or laws passed! We're such fk'n idiots!
***Let's face it, they're both bat shit crazy parties. One party can't = tell you what a woman is. The other doesn't feel real women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies. It's the diff. btw. swallowing poison over jumping off a cliff.***
One party's > malicious w/ hate! The Dems m/b just as screwed up, but they aren't purposefully screwing over the people! Cons. are really a lot > malevolent, not caring the consequences of their actions! Why keep fooling around w/ our credit rating, shutting the gov't down periodically? Sick AF MF'rs! Rep. have so much HATE in their heart, twisting anything Liberals do, I'm gonna give it right back! At my age, there's no X for forgiveness! You have to want to repent & make things right! They just don't GAF, so neither do I! I'm so done! I'll just watch as they destroy just about everything!
***It seems like their main motivation is to 'own the libs' which isn't > of a plan. They need t/b beaten badly for a few cycles to change their ways.***
Dems have been beating "Repuklicans" the last 3 cycles of elections, but not enough to make it hurt! The country's so polarized that the mess'll cont. for a lot longer; until something really catastrophic occurs to make them all act right! Covid-19 wasn't enough so I'm not hopeful!
***Proposed GOP cuts would slash $30 B from veterans spending.***
What kills me has been Reps' hypocrisy saluting Veterans while they try to cut benefits & allowing VA hosp. to run down last I heard! The care was reputed to be the best in the world if you can actually get it! The system has just become so cumbersome, a large chunk of their budgets are eaten away by the bureaucracy! Can't be sure of anything these days w/ how the country's being run!
***Swiatek claims there s/b = pay for men & women.***
...Women proved t/b self-hating idiots who aren't living in reality! They wouldn't = select "one of their own" in Hillary Clinton! It's been a total lie about men getting paid > women! They don't make as much as men is b/c they don't work as hard! If it was the case that they earned <, > w/b hired to save $$! How many cities have they built from the ground up? Do they work the sewers? Where are their inventions (outside Madam Curie)? I'm so done w/ women's caterwauling! BJK got > they deserved yrs. ago! Anything given to them now is greed & manipulation, but what else is new w/ them?
***So are Tucker Carlson & Don Lemon going to do a switcheroo after being canned?***
I just heard; FIRED, FIRED, FIRED! Bout X; esp. for Carlson! He's far too pompous & full of himself to perpetuate such lies about things he knew were probably false! Too bad he couldn't personally be sued since he has so much $$ by way of the Swanson Enterp.!
***I have some sympathy for Lemon being fired. He made some stupid, sexist comment about women being in their prime in their 20’s, 30’s & 40’s, which is not a defendable comment, & it’s one he tried to wheel back = as he made it. Was it a sackable offense? For me, it certainly wouldn’t be. Aren’t we allowed to make a mistake now and then?***
Don't be sorry for Lemon! His head got too big! He's been a problem for the last 2-3 yrs.; truly feeling himself that he can get away w/ murder! He's finding out that he can't! They already took him off the evening, prime X CNN telecast giving him a brk. by allowing him to perform in the morning! He wasn't apprec., so he was finally fired! It was inevitable if you've heard 1/2 the stuff he's perpetrated on men & women alike; on the show & people just in his orbit!
***Martina Navratilova: She won 18 GS titles, but the qualification, like Evert, is that she skipped the AO 10 X's & the FO 10 X's during her career, 1/2 of those X's in yrs. she either won other slams or @ least reached slam finals. Like Evert, if slams mattered > in the 70s when the AO & FO had weak draws, Navratilova could very well have had 23 major wins.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing about Evert & Navratilova is that, unlike these other GOAT-contenders, they had each other as their >est rivals throughout the primes of their career. They played each other 80 X's, 60 X's were in finals, & 14 X's in slam finals. Yes, their era didn't have as > depth as later on, but they had to deal w/ waning, but still strong Court, BJK, & Wade early on, a very comp. Goolagong, Austin, & Mandlikova in the middle, & an ascendant Graf & Seles @ the end.
It’s one thing to have to play another good player many X's. It’s another to have to play another GOAT-contender 80 X's in their prime. Any weaker comp. in the early Rds. for Evert & Navratilova were compensated for by far stronger comp. in the later Rds. Btwn. Evert (80 X's), Graf (18 X's), & Seles (17 X's), Navratilova played them 115 X's. Between Davenport (14), Hingis (13), Venus (30), Henin (14), Clijsters (9), & Sharapova (20), Serena played them 100 X's, & prime Graf, Evert, & Seles are >er > ALL of Serena’s strongest comp., some by a signif. margin. Navratilova played a pre-stabbing Seles > X's > Serena has played anyone other > Venus, Azarenka, & Sharapova.
The only area in which Serena surpasses Navratilova is w/ majors, but Navratilova played Evert in 14 major finals & Graf in 6. That’s 20 X's vs a fellow GOAT-contender. Evert played Navratilova 14 X's, Graf once ('88 Graf won GS), & Court once ('73 Court won 3 majors) in SF's. Serena has never had to play another GOAT-contender @ any stage of a slam, > < a final.
Here are some #'s:
Major wins:
Court 24
Williams 23
Graf 22
Evert 18
Navratilova 18
Major finals:
Evert 34
Williams 33
Navratilova 32
Graf 31
Court 29
Wks @ #1:
Graf 377
Navratilova 332
Williams 319
Evert 260 (but this s/b >er as official rankings only began when Evert was already the current #1)
Court – not applicable
Career winning %:
Court 91%
Evert 90%
Graf 89%
Navratilova 87%
Williams 85%
YE Chps:
Navratilova 8
Graf 5
Williams 5
Evert 4
Court – not applicable
Premier titles won:
Navratilova 32
Graf 31
Evert 25
Williams 22
Court 3, but really not applicable
Titles won:
Court 192
Navratilova 167
Evert 157
Graf 107
Williams 73
Longest winning streaks:
Navratilova 74
Graf 66
Court 57
Evert 55
Williams 34
My conclusion: There is no GOAT in women's tennis, not b/c there aren't supremely > players, but b/c their achievements are too close to differentiate one as clearly superior.***
Thx! ;-)
***It's just circular reasoning IMO. "Novak lost to Murray, ergo Novak must be playing bad b/c ... he lost to Murray."
ReplyDeleteMurray played very well on grass in 2012-13. More > well enough to beat Djokovic in his prime. Fact is, Novak never beat peak Fed or Murray or - = Nadal (who peaked very ealry) - on grass.***
...Most prob. thought that w/b Nole's highlight reel after '11! He outdid it in '15 w/ 3 > majors & +ed 5th YEC to his coll.! He once again outdid himself in '21, well over 30 yo. winning 3 > majors, but this X 1 match from a CYGS! I'm bringing this up b/c of expectations! Even his "Hatah's" expect him to win though al> 36 yo.! IMO, you can't win them all = though Novak's tried his best by overtaking > of the top recs. over Fedal in rec. X! He's +ing to his wks. @ #1; now @ 386 wks.! I think the > amazing is how he's taken over Wimbl. when that was supposed t/b Fed's sanctuary, owning Ctr. Crt.! Hard to believe he's just 1 behind Fed's rec. 8 titles! I look forward to Wimbl. & the USO!
***I'm a big Becker fan, but higher > Agassi? No way. Agassi's > accomplished & @ the very least as famous as him. He's an absolute legend though, higher > Wilander & OFC > Murray.***
Boris or Andre due to their massive egos, ...both woefully underachieved! Agassi & Becker exploded about the same X in '85, but Andre blew his early chances to major victories! Agassi came on late after '92 Wimbl. & USO win in '94 unseeded! He got to #1 for a lit'l while, but Sampras was in his prime & dom. the era as much as he could w/ so > good comp. out there! It was a rare per. where @ any given X we could have 10-12 winners of majors unlike now where we're scratching to have 3 or 4!
***Becker played in a stronger era > Agassi; wasn't it? Becker didn't have any weak per. to rely on. He had X ATGs surrounding him & w/ him, OTOH, Agassi benefited a lot in the last yrs. He was so pathetic that he had only 3 slams @ age 27 while Becker had like 5 slams. ...in 80s/90s slam ct. was not end of all.
Why does Becker have > top 10 wins (121) in his career > Agassi's 109? Was Agassi's longevity useless? Agassi played 12 > matches vs top 10 & has 12 < wins ... lol ... Boris also has a higher % of wins vs top 5 ranked opps. too.
Agassi was always rated below Becker by old X'rs 22-23 yrs. ago. His stock has increased due to how tennis shaped in the baseline era. Recs. like CGS weren't important in 90s, but today suddenly it sounds like a deal-brk'r for old players.
---
There's so > revisionism on many Seles fans when it comes to all the facts pertaining to her rivalry w/ Graf & just in gen. ...Seles, = during her reign of '91-93 was 2-3 vs Graf, including a loss on every surface, 2 blow out losses, includ. a Wimbl. final, & both wins being 3 sets, one 10-8 in the 3rd. The only h2h edge was 2-1 in both slams & slam finals, but she did not dom. Graf.***
I was no fan of either Seles or Graf! Their brand of tennis was boring AF, & no matter what they did, I didn't think they'd come close to rec. produced by Martina = in her last yrs.! Seles was on her way to dom. the tour & you already mentioned her 1st HC major win "down under" in '93 over Graf! I was actually hoping Graf'd finish Seles off in str. sets, but up a set & a brk., she choked away the match! Steffi had so many opps to attack the net & finish off points, but wouldn't do it allowing Monica to hang around & win it in 3! There was no doubt if she hadn't been stabbed, she was on her way to yet another FO victory & 4 in a row! ...For the > part, it looks as if Graf totally took advantage of her main rival down for over 2 yrs. w/ just a smattering of comp. from Sanchez-Vic. & Mary Pierce!
***Was Graf supposed to give up pro tennis?***
I can't imagine being responsible for someone losing their job, > < assault! Then to go about her business as if nothing happened, I SMH to this day! ...The excuse that Monica didn't come back to Germany to testify is a 'lame excuse' letting that psycho, Gunther Parche t/b released after just 2 yrs. in a hospital!
***Yes, just got thru watching GS d Sac. Kings in 7th game, 1st Rd. Curry showed out. ...I'll poss. be pulling for Denver. Would love to see N. Jokic in the Finals.***
ReplyDeleteLived out in Sac. for a decade back in '90! Spent 2 yrs. in the Bay Area! It's Deja Vu! Been a while for the Kings & they represented by taking GS to 7 games! It m/b too much to deal w/! I want to like GS, but that jerk Green is such an embarrassment! He cost them a dream season sev. yrs. ago brk'n up 4 CHP. in a row w/ rec. 73 wins! Then he punches a rookie; Poole in practice!
***Sac. going t/b tough for yrs. to come if they can keep the core of that team together. ...ITA about D. Green. ...too much drama. I've been hearing this m/b his last yr. w/ G.S.
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...The Knicks didn't beat Jordan. Chgo lost in '94 after his 1st retirement, then to the Orlando Magic the following mid-season. Jordan's conditioning & skill weren't quite there & they needed some help.
In my mind the '96-98 Bulls (esp. '96) were the best team I've ever seen & unlike > teams of that era, I think they could've fit right into the modern era of fast-brk. & 3-pt. shooting. Defensively as good as any team I can remember.***
The Knicks won on a bad call @ the end of game 7; HUGH Hollins' a "forever" d!ck! When it came to Orlando the following season's playoffs, The Bulls allowed too many off. rebounds, giving The Magic 3 or 4 chances to make a basket! That was the reason they brought in Rodman to help w/ the problem! They went as far as to ask Scotty Pippin if he could handle Dennis being on the team after so > bad blood w/ The Pistons!
***Good analysis. I'd forgotten that they brought Rodman in the following yr., but you're spot on. The Bulls ran into a buzz saw in the up-and-coming, but mentally fragile Orlando Magic. They went out & thrashed them the following yr. Same O-town team. But total beat-down.
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NY Yankees & Mets too; the big markets. I'm surprised the Knicks aren't always good.***
Bad ownership! Dolan's an idiot; rich & can waste his $$ if he likes, but a terrible owner! Remember blowing all that $$ on long term contracts for players that didn't pan out like Allen Houston? The behind the scenes "goings on" w/ Isiah Thomas & the lawsuit paying out well over $11M didn't help! Then there was the thinking everything would change for the better hiring Phil Jackson!
***The Suns were almost undef. in games Durant played in during the reg. season. But who did they play? Now they're playing a really good team. I hope the Suns experiment falls apart like the Dallas exper. w/ Kyrie Irving. You need to play together for awhile in order to learn how to play together. It's just not right that Kevin's so good he instantly improves your chances on the court. Glad to see other teams have a solution. He's not as young as he used t/b.***
You & me both! Never cared for someone like KD who's so thin-skinned! Golden St. all but begged him to play in Oakland, paid him the max, & deferred to him, stroking that ego though the team belonged to Curry! I loved him assembling his own "dream team" in NJ, only to see it self-destruct & lose early in the playoffs! I hope The Suns go down in flames to Denver = though I'm a big Devin Booker fan!
***Oh God, you think KD was the bad guy?***
Most stars are bad guys; = LeBron! Their egos are out of control, it's never enough $$, & they think nothing of "dogging" it if it isn't a contract yr.! Injury prone players should def. be > humble, like that beast Zion Williamson! He knows his chronic injuries have to do w/ conditioning & carrying around all that wt., but that huge salary isn't enough for him to exert some self-control & lose some that lard! In baseball it's = worse; again w/ guar. contracts & zero acct.abil. w/ failures!
***That '10 for Nadal was some crazy stuff. I may put it up there w/ any yr. from any player ever. Whb my GOAT yr. had he converted the YE title. I know one can argue '08-early '09 was better, but to win the 3 final slams of the yr. on 3 diff. surfaces was pretty amazing.***
ReplyDeleteIt whb > impressive if Fedovic hadn't done it sev. X's to Rafa's one! They've dwarfed Rafa's resume since his dom. was on clay alone! No other top champ. has had such an unbal. resume; = Connors, McEnroe, & Borg! They showed their versatility winning cons. grass & HC majors, holding the #1 ranking a lot longer > Nadal!
***Yea, that was always a problem w? Nadal. His resume was just so dang clay heavy & he just couldn't defend titles off clay like Fed/Nole could.
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Sad news, but not a surprise that Nadal's WD from FO. ...Remember Andy's sit, a few yrs. ago, & look what he's become. It w/b truly sad if we don't get to see him 1 > X & RG. Hope he can make it back next yr. for it.
Nadal's rec.:
22 GS's (tied w/ Novak for 1st)
92 titles (5th w/ Novak @ 93 & Lendl @ 94)
36 Masters (2nd, behind Novak w/ 38)
59 Big titles (2nd, behind Novak w/ 66)
40 clay Big titles (1st, Novak's 2nd w/ 13)
2552 Peak Elo (4th)
83.0 W% (2nd, behind Novak @ 83.49%)
93.1 W% on Clay (1st, Borg's 2nd w/ 85.71%)
209 wks. @ ATP #1 (6th)
596 wks. ATP Top 2 (1st, Novak's 2nd w/ 535)
912 cons. wks. in ATP top 10 (1st, Connors' 2nd w/ 788)
816 wks. @ Clay Elo #1 (1st, Lendl's 2nd w/ 367)
522 cons. wks. @ Clay Elo #1 (1st, Rafa's 2nd @ 291)
14 Clay Slams (1st, Borg's 2nd w/ 6)
63 Clay titles (1st, Vilas' 2nd w/ 49)
81 match Clay winning streak (1st, Vilas 2nd w/ 53)
A few fun misc.:
1 of 3 players to win 100% of matches on a spec. surface in a given yr. - he's done it twice, w/ Borg & Laver doing it once each.
24 bagels @ RG - > of any player at any tourn.
W/ 14 titles @ RG, 12 @ Barcelona, & 11 @ MC., has > titles @ 3 tourns. than any player has @ any tourn., & has 10 @ Rome. Only Roger (2) & Novak (1) have 10 titles @ any tourn.
He's won 57.27% of all clay tourns. he's entered - BOAT on clay & on any surface; 2nd is Borg w/ 42.11% on clay. 57% - & 15% > any player on any surface!
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I’m waiting for your excuse when Djokovic loses & how you’re going to blame it on his elbow. I guess his constant, end< pushing vs nobodies caused him that injury, no?***
Nyah, not like you! No delusion here! Novak's done well to win anything w/ the way his schedule's been an absolute mess the last 2 yrs.! He hasn't been himself since dropping that USO match to Medvedev in '21 final! As I've said, he's not = my fave player! I just like what he's been doing to annihilate the aura of Fedal, believing the game of tennis begins & ends w/ them on a pedestal > will never reach! I w/b perfectly satisfied if he only wins Wimbl. to = Fed @ 8 chps.! Only able to play 2 majors last season, it was > gratifying that he took another grass court title! You've been subsisting on Rafa winning FO's for yrs.! Now what you got for me?
***If Pete, Novak, Roger & Nadal came up @ the same X, I'd predict Pete'd land closer to the top of that group > the bttm. He was an EXCEPTIONAL athlete; power, explosive moment, incredible hands, & a champion's mindset. His speed doesn't get talked about enough. I think there's very lit'l diff. btwn. him, Nadal, & Fed in their late teens to mid 20s honestly. Nadal's game was predicated > on retrieving, so we tend to recall all the running he did, but str.-line accel., a young Pete (& Fed) were very, very close to Nadal.***
ReplyDeleteWe've spoken about Sampras in the past compared to the Big 3 & tend to give him > credit > he deserves; esp. since he never = played 1 FO Final!
***I'm a traditionalist so I think grass is the surface of them all, followed by the others. But, as I have said many X's B4, the best surface that allows all types of players from S & V's to clay "ralliers" is HC. It gives a true bounce &'s in btwn. grass & clay.***
Wimbledon's still "The Championship!" Newbies can't stand it that a surface only played on for a few wks. a season has so > reverence in the minds of purists! It w/b so for another decade or 2 until after we're all gone, buried, & forgotten! Early on, clay didn't have it until Borg took over the FO! He made clay relevant along w/ other clay court experts; Vilas, Wilander, Kuerten, Lendl, Nadal, & Djokovic! Federer mhb listed there, but couldn't overcome Nadal who beat him like a drum in so many finals!
***I guess that means Wimbl. w/b making the transition to HC someX btwn. '33-43, when I'm 45-55 yo. I s/b around for it.***
Hopefully I w/b long gone! It so diminished the USO back in the 70's when tennis exploded going from grass, to clay in '75, then finally HC in '78! It fell back in prestige IMO! FO & AO (though HC '88) zoomed past them, now a 2nd rate major though in my own country! I'm embarrassed they haven't gotten their act together in all these yrs. to move it out of that Hell hole in NY!
***...Djokodal were a non-factor @ USO last yr. yet they still failed. The youngest guy of the group's about to turn 25, how many slams did the Big 3 have @ his age individually? Five slams for Djoker, 9 for Rog, & 10 for Rafa. That's @ least > twice as many slams won as the other 4 combined. :-)
...The last 2 gen-eras have been quite disappointing, starting w/ Dimitrov & Kei thru to Thiem & Zverev! Alcaraz looks like a star in the making w/ poss. asst. from Sinner & Rune! I'm still not ready to give that kind of potential to FAA, Fritz, & Tiafoe! They might blast thru a draw once or twice to steal a major or 2! The longevity isn't going t/b there unfortunately! They're all rather fragile! END RANT!
***Alcaraz has a shot @ being as good as the Big 3; no one else. I can sense @ least a Sampras-like career for him.***
At least 12 majors, but he's already overplaying! It takes a lot out of you to not only have a > season as he did in '22, but to defend titles +'s a bit > stress! I think if he goes deep in Rome, it might hurt him in Paris! True enough he's young, but a candle burns out eventually! It's up to his handlers if they want to extend his career or not! Nadal abused himself enough over the yrs., but being a part of elite athletes, he still ends up playing over 20 seasons on tour! That's just astounding for Fedalovic in gen., > < stay in the top 4 or 5!
***You should support Tsitsipas who gave your idol a Major title.***
Medvedev's just as bad "gifting" Nadal his 2nd AO last season! IMO that was worse since Rafa's on his way out & Med had def. Novak a few X's already! That was a complete choke job that's unforgiveable to this day IMO!
***Medvedev took our guy's CYGS & gave Nadal a slam after being 2 sets up. I'm ambivalent for him now as my next fave after Nole retires.
===
MLB is such a joke.***
Baseball's definitely the biggest joke! Who really watches anymore? A bud went to Cubs game last wk.! The concessions floored him getting billed over $50 for a beer, glass of wine, & a nachos!
***The 50 Big 3 Slams by yr. & age:
ReplyDeleteBig 3 Slams by year
(with players ages at start of year)
2005 Big 3 slams 4
Federer (age 23): 2
Nadal (age 18): 1
Djokovic (age 17): 0
2006: Big 3 slams -3
Federer (age 24): 2
Nadal (age 19): 1
Djokovic (age 18): 0
2007 Big 3 slams -4
Federer (age 25): 3
Nadal (age 20): 1
Djokovic (age 19): 0
2008 Big 3 slams -4
Federer (age 26): 1
Nadal (age 21): 2
Djokovic (age 20): 1
2009: Big 3 slams -3
Federer (age 27): 1
Nadal (age 22): 1
Djokovic (age 21): 0
2010 4 Big 3 slams -4
Federer (age 28): 1
Nadal (age 23): 3
Djokovic (age 22): 0
2011 4 Big 3 slams -4
Federer (age 29): 0
Nadal (age 24): 1
Djokovic (age 23): 3
2012: 3 Big 3 slams -3
Federer (age 30): 1
Nadal (age 25): 1
Djokovic (age 24): 1
2013: 3 Big 3 slams -3
Federer (age 31): 0
Nadal (age 26): 2
Djokovic (age 25): 0
2014 Big 3 slams -3
Federer (age 32): 0
Nadal (age 27): 1
Djokovic (age 26): 1
2015 Big 3 slams -4
Federer (age 33): 0
Nadal (age 28): 0
Djokovic (age 27): 3
2016 Big 3 slams -1
Federer (age 34): 0
Nadal (age 29): 0
Djokovic (age 28): 1
2017 Big 3 slams -2
Federer (age 35): 2
Nadal (age 30): 0
Djokovic (age 29): 0
2018 Big 3 -3
Federer (age 36): 1
Nadal (age 31): 0
Djokovic (age 30): 2
2019 Big 3 slams -4
Federer (age 37): 0
Nadal (age 32): 2
Djokovic (age 31): 2
2020 Big 3 slams -1
Federer (age 38): 0
Nadal (age 33): 0
Djokovic (age 32): 1
---
Djokovic is the same age now as Fed was in 2014-15
Indeed.
Age 30-33
Federer: 1 Big 3 slam. (1 slam total)
Nadal: 2 Big 3 slams (5 slams total)
Djokovic: 5 Big 3 slams (5 slams total)
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Fed's main opps:
Peak Djokovic playing best ever seasons.
Prime Nadal
Murray
Wawrinka
Berdych
Tsonga
Djokovic/Nadal main opps:
Thiem the choker
37 yo. Fed
Schwartzman
Raonic
RBA
Zverev
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This is starting to look like Federer's 2022 after Nadal bows out of Wimbl. as well as the FO.***
Some players don't know when to just leave the game gracefully! Fedal are much too old t/b this stupid to leave "limping out" instead of w/ grace! Fk'n idiots!
***Ironically enough he was perfectly fine w/ ducking out of matches. - Dude Djokovic's also moving in the same direction.***
He's still not there! You seem to forget he won the AO w/ lit'l trouble! The only reason he bombed on clay recently was due to ban from 2 Masters in the States!
***I like Djokovic, but unless he don't win slam war, he'll keep on trying & end up w/ bad body like Fedal. The whole reason they ended up this way b/c of slam war. All depends on how much sooner Djokovic can win this war.
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Did he not literally say a wk. ago that Rafa had no plans to play for months?***
Some just haven't accepted it! They got a warning w/ Fed already gone! Rafa had t/b going soon after as they played in the same era!
***But remember: Nad's ducking out of his late career losses 5 yrs. earlier > Frederick.***
The losses already started last yr.! After the FO he was pretty much done w/ his only highlight being @ Wimbl. avoiding upset by Fritz! He = lost Masters 2nd Rd. match to Coric in Cinci.! The USO wasn't > >er & he totally wasted X going to the YEC! It only makes sense for him to "bow out" ASAP!
***Tis true. - So, the guy that didn't = been in Wimbl. final for decade & a 1/2 won't play Wimbl.? Big deal.***
He prob. thinks he w/b gifted one like his AO last season! He kept going 'down under' & getting nowhere; not = a final until Novak was expelled from the event!
***Djokovic @ AO: 10 titles; 2 of them went to a 5th set
ReplyDeleteBorg @ RG: 6 titles; 1 went to 5th set
Fed @ Wimbl.: 8 titles; 2 of them went to a 5th set (considering wins not losses)
Djokovic @ Wimbl.: 7 titles; 2 went 5 sets
Sampras @ Wimbl.: 7 titles; 1 went 5 sets
Basically, Nadal won an insane 14 RG titles & nobody was able to take 2 sets off from him in any those 14 finals, absurd!
One > thing:
7 3-set wins (4 of those str.-set wins were AFTER he turned 31 yo, crazy!)
7 4-set wins
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Here's why Djokovic's the fave to win RG:
Alcaraz
...He won both Barcelona & Madrid. We have to look @ the players he beat to win.
In Barcelona he beat...
Borges (#79), Bautista Agut, -Davidovich Fokina, -Dan Evans -Tsitsipas (awful clay level)
In Madrid he beat...
Ruusuvuori, -Dimitrov, -Zverev (bad this yr.), -Khachanov, -Coric, -Struff
He also lost to Fábián Marozsán in strs. in Rome, #135. Marozsán'd follow up by losing his next match & fail to qual. for this RG.
Djokovic
He might have had a bad clay season pre-RG, but has already showed levels above that in his 1st 2 matches.
Djokovic has won 6 of his last 8 slams, only losing to Nadal in RG '22 & Medvedev in USO '21
Djokovic's really a diff. player in slams > other tourns., & has won his last 23 sets in GS
22 slams vs 1 slam, mentality is much stronger > Alcaraz
It feels pretty similar to Medvedev in '21, where Djokovic destroyed him in the final
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Djokovic: I was never friends w/ Fedal whom he formed the tennis "Big 3" for a long X.
...Djokovic does not think it's poss. to have such ties w/ rivals. "We were never enemies either. I've always respected Fed. He's one of the GOATs. He had an incredible influence, but we were never close," said Djokovic.
There's no diff. between his relationship w/ the Swiss & the one w/ the Spaniard.
"Rafa is only a yr. older > me. We're both Gemini in the Zodiac, & @ 1st we = went out to dinner twice. But = w/ him, friendship is impossible. I've always respected him & admired him a lot. Thanks to Fed & him I became what I am. It will unite us forever, and that's why I feel grateful to them. Nadal is a part of my life, in the last 15 yrs I've seen him > my mother," concluded Djokovic.***
People can't stand this kind of honesty! It's nothing new since Novak's dad had already reinterated quite a bit of this! They can't take offense!
***Idk why y'all were riding fistpumps’ train so hard to begin w/ w/ Sinner? lol. He already hit his ceiling.***
IDK how far people went on the subject, but I personally hate the faux fist pumping! It's fake AF & eye-balling his opp. made me want him to go down in flames! It just isn't nec.; esp. if a player DF's! It's tacky, classless, & not considered sportsman-like IMO! Rafa does it so I guess it's ok w/ his fans!
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I see Fritz got boo'd off the court after win! Another case of "The Ugly American" acting out, trying to quiet the crowd? What an idiot!
***He provoked them? The French are strange. They resort to boos too easily. I think of all the slams, the Wimbl. crowd are my fave, followed by NY. Both of these places behave diff., but have knowledgeable fans. ...They had the king of clay dom. their city for decades & they cheered for the choc. box Swiss.***
It couldn't get much worse than the Wimbledon fans propping Federer up vs Novak in '19! ...It just wasn't respectable of the crowd to treat him that way as he's won Wimbl. so many X's!
***Lendl @ 22 had already won 5 Masters (SS)
ReplyDeleteAlso 2 ATP finals (GP Masters)
And the WTC finals
Lendl was big!***
As far as I can recall Ivan was prob. the 1st player to dom. the tour enough to become #1 w/o winning a major! He owned McEnroe early & late! John got a lit'l help from Jack Kramer who suggesting he attack Lendl relentlessly to finally take a few Chp. in '83 & '84! The tide turned back in his favor in '85 w/ his 2nd major win overall @ the USO down a brk in the 1st set! He won in strs. & never looked back taking over the H2H over both Connors & McEnroe! Wilander, Becker, & Edberg started giving him heartburn, but remained #1 for the most part until '90 when he skipped the FO to train on grass early!
***Good take. Ivan wasn't my fave player back in those days, but I have to give credit for having the most awesome FH of his gen.
In a X when #1's like Connors, Borg, Mac were under 6', he towered over those guys, & was powerful enough to handle that sledgehammer of a racket he had, a whole oz. heavier > Pistol Pete's, & 2 oz heavier > any racket Federer ever played w/.
Lots of tournaments on carpet back in those days, his FH was unreturnable. Great serve as well, too bad he never was able to become proficient @ volleying, but then who can volley w/ a racket that weights 15 oz. That stop'd him from winning on grass.
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I stopped believing in the ATP ranking back in '77 when Vilas won 16 tourns. including the FO & USO. The #1 ranking was gifted to Connors who won 8 tourns. None of those 8 were a slam. When someone like Rios, Safina, Jankovic, Wozniacki become #1 w/o winning a slam, it devalues the meaning of ranking.***
Vilas' rec. was undermined for the > part playing B level GP events like So. Orange avoiding the likes of Borg & Connors until the USO! He won FO only due to Borg skipping it that one season to prepare defending his Wimbl. crown! Vilas' biggest rival that season was Brian Gottfried of all people!
***...Gottfried? Are you for real man? Ain't you forgetting that Vilas beat Connors that yr. @ the USO?
That fateful yr. of '77, Vilas & Connors played 2 matches, Vilas won them both.
Most people acknowledge that Vilas deserved t/b #1 that yr.
BTW, I never liked Vilas, & I always hated Connors.***
Same here! Vilas did play lower level GP events that Bud Collins commentated on w/ Donald Dell on Monday evenings on PBS here in the States! The bigger events had Borg, Connors, Ramirez, Tanner, & The Bagel Twins (Dibbs & Solomon)! Vilas played & won over Connors twice, but it wasn't meaningful until that USO on clay! Borg beat him like a redheaded stepchild from beginning to end!
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***Rodgers' a prima donna that has choked in the playoffs.***
Hard to believe I felt so sorry for Rodgers way back when Favre was the current prima donna! It's the same act of playing "Hamlet" about coming back @ all, not attending OTA's, demanding top $$, but @ the same X winning in a weak div. only to lose in the playoffs again & again! How pathetic, he's going down the path of Favre by going to the Jets for the X being! He'll limp out of the NFL w/ no further accomplishments; > likely barely making the playoffs w/ so many > QB's in the AFC!
***T/b fair, blindly backing the police is a stupid idea. We shouldn’t necessarily think the police are out to get us. That doesn’t mean though that everyone who's a police officer is a decent person or is = doing their job properly.***
ReplyDeleteI know from videos how bad some cops c/b, but I've been lucky to never have run into one of the a-holes! I've been treated fairly & gotten off when they had the authority to give me a hard X! Some of the bad ones have had to deal w/ the dregs of life & it can affect them! It can't be excused, but I wouldnt do their job if they doubled the salary!
***...Sounds to me he enjoys the victimhood mentality he was raised by. Sad there's > to life > being filled w/ hate. M/b if y'all stood up to back the police to drive out crime instead of hiding behind that mentality, then crime would finally start to decline.***
The real problem is single motherhood. This fool would prob. need to point his finger @ his own mother in the end. Ghettos w/ these bad kids who terrorize & destroy where they live. Deflection does them no good. There w/b no change unless people start putting the blame where it should & m/b bring "shame" back. The worst thing that happened to the poor &/or minorities is the stigma of single motherhood being elim.!
***Go raise 3 kids on ur own no help. Tell us how they turn out when ur forced to live in a neighborhood that's low income. Ur gonna have to have ur phone on speed dial or spend alot of X watching ppl to clean it up as u would put it.***
Who's forcing silly, young girls to have kids out of wedlock? I can't & won't understand that! They complain about how hard it is t/b a single mother! Is there emaculate conceptions going on in the ghetto I didn't know about? I can still picture a "Geraldo" ep. from the 90's where a 14 yo had 4 kids; 1 @ 12 & 13, then twins! Where's this girl's mother? Is she being pimped out RAW? W/ 40 diff. kinds of birth control, I just can't work up sympathy for any of these people! It's stupid AF & can't be rationalized no matter how hard you try!
***Dems passed laws that give incentives to single mothers + the welfare act which decimated black communities. In the 50s and 60s 2 parent black households were higher > white households. They also had the same or higher chance of raising children who'll become upstanding citizens. In the mid 80s they were also taking out very big crime families, the 2 main ones in Chgo. are an ex. Their whole leadership was taken down & now you have young kids running things along w/ rap culture to fuel the fire. It was honestly a recipe for disaster.***
The father either left or wasn't there in the 1st place! All too often we're hearing of girls having a kid purposefully w/o a dad to help raise them! Some are just plain stupid, picking scumbag donors, but others do it b/c they want a kid! They want something to love & to love them back unconditionally! It's all fk'd up either way!
***There are X problems & nobody wanting to foster an environment to solve them.***
The initial solution was to give a handout to single mothers! I was all for it way back when, but these stupid bitches saw it as something to take advantage of rather than a safety net! This is on women! They control their own bodies & sleeping raw w/ some a-hole that doesn't care about them is their own fault! They give license to Reps. & cons. to point fingers @ them for being so irresponsible! Immaculate conceptions can't be to blame!
...I find Carlos t/b the future of men's tennis along w/ Rune & Sinner! As much as I like them, Novak needs this FO just to put himself ahead of the tennis gods of Fedal! Everything w/b gravy then & he can retire happy that he gave it his all! He's still holding on for now & I'll try to apprec. him like the Fedal fans out there who didn't want them to leave the tour prematurely! Novak just won another AO & is in the SF of the FO! Why should he think of retiring? I'll give him a good 2 yrs. to + to his resume!
ReplyDeleteI give Novak > credit for his non-stop conditioning! He stretches religiously, utilizes "The EGG" in his regimen to stay in shape mentally & physically! Fedal didn't go that far! Players still have to play out of their minds to defeat him = @ 36! His 36 isn't the same as anyone's IMO! He's not = my fave player, but I respect his work ethic & winning ways!
***His devotion's 2nd to none. This is also why I consider him still in his prime, not peak, although he needs to cut schedule to maintain @ this level.
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Carlos didn't play w/ his CALM today. I could see it in his decision making during a lot of the rallies. He was swinging to hit thru the wall of Novak when all what needed was just to hit the ball to the open court.***
Players know they need > just play consistently! They tend to feel a need to hit something spectacular & a lot of the X it's true!
***I’m curious as to who the crowd will back Sunday after Novak knocked off Alcaraz in 4 sets? Ruud's his op. after def. Sascha in str.!***
It'd make sense to cheer on Novak b/c he's making history brk'n the Major's rec. held by Rafa for about a min. last season! I've been saying Nole won just about everything in bunches in rec. X making Fedal look like grumpy old men hanging on trying to protect their turf! Federer was praised for overtaking Sampras in < 9 yrs. taking Wimbl. in '09 to make 15! Novak only had 1 @ the X from '08 AO! He went on a run for the ages taking 3 majors in '11, then again in '15 & '21, zipping past Fed's 20! He's overtaken both Fedal in many of recs. thought to stand for yrs. to come! He has them all now; esp. if he wins this 3rd FO! His haters may stop watching tennis for a while; they can't stand it! I understand! The tennis intelligentsia had proclaimed them Gods, put on a golden pedestal & Novak still overtook them in rec. X!
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I can still recall how brutal the fans & commentators burned Novak's ass when he seemed to wilt under pressure early on! It was found he needed septum surgery & a change of diet to gluten-free! It's amazing how people forget so soon, but accept Carlos has to do something to improve his stamina & fitness! I just smh how "what's good for the goose" isn't always good enough for the entire gander; esp. if you hate one of them!
***Djoker roaring when his opp. was prone was both shocking & unsurprising. Djokovic seems to think that all ailments are a game - like his own are. That’s why he thought nothing of insulting his opp. He thought the injury was like his hamstring, his elbow, his wrist - a fake, a plot twist, a deception that’s all part of the game.***
OMG, you're starting to sound like another special mental case on the board! You're grasping @ straws trying to undermine this man's victory! He was only acting out as much as Carlos who was exhaulting the crowd for support when he did something great! I'm shocked you've gone this route when we all know Novak is prob. the > diplomatic when it comes to his comp! He gives them huge props, commiserates if they lose to him, & embraces the ones who def. him! Come on; you're >er > that!
I can still picture Navratilova def. Graf in the SF of the '86 USO! At the net she tried to pat her back & Graf twisted away! That wasn't condescension, but rude behavior on Graf's part IMO!
ReplyDelete***Yeah, I recall that. And I don’t = think Martina was trying to patronise her, but Steffi reacted!
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I was not a fan of Steffi's 80s behavior. Very robotic, reminds me of Swiatek today. To her credit, Steffi's personality improved in the 90s.***
Martina had a lot of bad luck @ the USO winning only 4, but she all but owned Steffi there winning 4 of 5 matches! The lone loss '89 final!
***You know, she was like Borg @ 1st, then Bjorn retired, but she didn’t & won it the following yr.!***
No one was > unlucky > Borg @ the USO! He played on all 3 surfaces, but something'd always happen to thwart a win! He was injured 2 X's; shoulder ('77), thumb ('78), & in '79 Tanner serving in the mid'l of the night!
***We tend to slightly ignore that the “clay goat” has 4 USO's from his last 9 played, which is only one short of the rec.***
I never ignored that fact! The USO's one of those freaky majors that for many reasons, success & failure can't be predicted! I lived thru Borg's attempts on 3 diff. surfaces, the notable 8 str. finals of Lendl w/ 3 wins, Martina going thru her growing pains ending up w/ only 4, & then unpreced. success of 5 in a row w/ Federer B4 he dropped off the map getting burned by Novak again & again! I've always been embarrassed by the USO; a 2nd rate major being played under horrible conditions @ X's w/ bad weather, oppressive heat, gun play, asaults, a murder, planes flying over non-stop back in the day, & fraud needing the draw to be redone @ least twice! It shb moved somewhere else yrs. ago!
***And if Novak can't capitalize on Nadal not playing FO, I don't wanna hear it. lol***
I don't understand why Nadal's name is being invoked? He hadn't done shit since FO last season! He went down again & again to solid ground. Are you slightly glad & acknowledging that? ...Do you apply the same conjecture & reasoning there?***
No argument here, but @ the same X there was no guarantee Nadal'd make it out of the 1st Rd. here! His rec. since last season's FO has been abysmal, going down to WC's like Coric in Cinci., Tiafoe @ the USO, & his horrible showing @ the YEC losing 2 matches; Taylor & FAA in str. sets! Luck's always part of the =tion IMO; esp. when a top player wins! It certainly helped Roger in '17 that Novak was injured & going "walkabout!" He +ed 3 > majors to his resume after going over 5 yrs. w/o a win! I won't be a hypocrite!
***ITA. That's why I said transcendent GOAT b/c he w/b perceived t/b by > casual observers who'll look @ that statistic w/o any nuance. However, when you look @ the body of work w/ context, it doesn't really change >, indeed might = rubber stamp it. Incidentally, when the media crowned Pete "the GOAT." It was purely based on overtaking Roy Emerson's major ct. No serious tennis observer ever had Emerson as the mystical GOAT. In fact, the whole GOAT phenomenon seemed to get traction courtesy of Michael Jordan & B-ball. Prior to that, being "one of the >est ever" was > sufficient.
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A change of lyrics is noticeable to connoisseurs. When something is helpful, it’s diff. to an absolute claim that one thing is dependent on another thing. So for this reason I agree w/ you - Rafa didn’t win AO in '22 b/c Novak was absent.
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Bullshit!***
The truth hurts! It'll only get > painfully as Nadal's ranking'll cont. to plummet! Roger at least stayed respectable in his old age! Rafa's just a broken down has-been now & w/b lucky to compete after running himself ragged so unnecess. over the yrs. vs WC's, Qual.'s, & "also-ran!" It finally caught up w/ him!
***Fiero, you know we love ya! All we're saying is you bitch as > as the rest of us do! LOL***
ReplyDeleteI said I'm old & just plain tired! Add on the stress & frustration of the political climate around the world, I'm so ready for my "dirt nap!" I also kvetch a lot about the state of women's rights = though they've sabotaged themselves, setting back the movement 50 yrs.! I threw away my feminist card after they helped elect Trump! I'm done in so many ways! It truly makes me sad how things have just gone downhill w/ all the + possibilities being overlooked & ignored! No one's paying attn. to climate change w/ wildfires blazing across Canada, Calif., & elsewhere! The Pandemic did > harm > we know to economies around the world! I know I have too much X on my hands retired thinking about these issues! END RANT!
***...There are quite a few countries w/ these types of views. Why is that a problem? Our country allows children t/b mutilated & transitioned to another sex. We're far from perfect.***
W/ our internal politics, the US s/b the last country passsing judgements & pointing fingers, but we do every day of the week due to being "world leaders!" Hypocrisy's a part of us unfortunately & we really don't stand for anything = though we perpetrate that fraud all too often!
***Yes, our country once had the moral high ground, but we have regressed in the past decade. Christians are being persecuted & the LGBTQ community has been put on a pedestal. The DOJ has become a pol. weapon vs cons. & the MSM lies to the American people.***
Oh, the victimhood "of the right!" You have criminals running things in Congress & the Supreme Court w/ Trump leading your party over a cliff! Pls spare me! The Dems are no saints, but they aren't breaking laws & precedent like Reps.! You really don't want to get into a battle w/ me! I've seen Repuklicans fall from grace from how they tried to undermine the good X's under Clinton to the outright racial hatred & contempt they showed Obama! You don't want to do that!
***The Saudis did this (911) to America, have cut oil production, killed Jamel Khagghogi, & paid Kushner $2 B. Are you seriously that greedy? May your golf courses get root rot & sand fleas.***
People in this country have short memories; esp. the stupid ones! To me it's willful ignorance of current affairs! It's bad enough forgetting about 911, but the present shame of civil rights there is mindblowing! Assassinating journalists can't be overlooked, but some idiots like being left in the dark!
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W/ some people, Novak will always be their afterthought; sorta like Barry Bonds in baseball! His "at bats" were "must see," but the haters made every attempt to undermine his abilities! If they don't like you, you don't count!
***Of course you have a massive advantage in batting power when you triple in size using PE's!***
He didn't start doing the Steroid thing until he was old & almost out of the game! He was jealous of McGuire & Sosa's notoriety who also got caught w/ PE's & were drummed out of Baseball! Those are facts! Bonds missed out on a couple league MVP's due to "writers" just hating his guts! He was a great player B4 steroids & was = bigger (no pun intended) after he started in the late 90's! On ESPN, they broke into other games to show his "at bats" = though they suspected him of taking PE's! He truly was must see TV in 2000-01 making his World Series appearance! He was someone that was walked = w/ no one on base! He was walked w/ the bases loaded which hadn't been done in over 40 yrs.! He was feared & hated @ the same X!
***The PTB of major league baseball knew damn well that McGuire & Sosa were “legally” juiced & didn't care as it brought in $$. I'd go as far as to say they tacitly approved & encouraged it for the players. When it all was revealed later, the pearl clutching from the Commissioner & the owners was pathetic & so self serving. Steroids in Casablanca?!***
***Djokovic wins FO over Ruud in str. sets! This makes his tally #23, surpassing Fedal's 20-22 majors resp.! Novak's tied w/ Serena Wms. & just 1 behind Court! He has 3 CGS: 10 AO's, 7 Wimbls., 3 USO's, & now 3 FO's! He re-acquires the #1 ranking, now set @ 388 wks. & counting! Like '21, he's on course for another big rec., a CYGS! He still needs to pick up his 8th Wimbl.! He's now allowed in the States w/ no Covid vaccine so he w/b @ the USO! The recs. just keep piling up! "Congrats Nole!"
ReplyDelete---
The Big 3 & the GS race 🏆
'10:
16 - Federer
9 - Nadal
1 - Djokovic
'20:
20 - Federer
20 - Nadal
17 - Djokovic
'23:
23 - Djokovic
22 - Nadal
20 - Federer
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GOATković:
A rec. 23 GS titles
A rec. 67 Big Titles
A rec. Triple Career GS
A rec. 10 AO Titles
A rec. 34 Slam Finals App's
A rec. 387 Wks. #1
A rec. 7x YE #1
A rec. tying 6x ATP Finals titles
A rec. 38 Masters 1000 titles
A rec. Double Career Golden Masters
A rec. 80+ wins in all 4 slams
A rec. 16,950 ATP pts. - single season
A rec. holder of 4 str. slams @ once in 3 diff. surfaces
Only man to def. Fed @ Wimbl. Finals 3x
Only man to def. Nadal @ RG 2x
Pos. H2H > Fed
Pos. H2H > Nadal
>est vs top 10 ever
>est win % in TB's
>est all X returner
>est 2 hand-BH ever
>est off. to defense ever
>est mover ever
>est champ. > age 36
Since '10, GOATković alone has won 22 GS tourns., while Fedal together have won 20.
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...It was Djokovic who got me back to men’s tennis avidly. His comic impressions of Becker & Sharapova made me a fan & his blossoming rivalry w/ Fedal. That Federer-Nadal '08 Wimbl. final made men’s tennis fun again. I tend to start rooting for a player when they’re underdogs & Djokovic started off as a big underdog to Fedal. I started rooting for Seles when she was 13 & a big underdog to Graf. I love watching Alcaraz play, but I root for Sinner when they go vs each other.
Until '11, I never thought Djokovic had a chance of catching up w/ Fedal in slam titles. Even after going 10-1 vs them that yr., the chance was tiny. After '15, I thought it was a real poss. Today, Djokovic has done it.
For all of the claims of weak era on this forum, it’s a stunning & remarkable achievement b/c Djokovic has gotten older & slower. To compensate, he's improved his serve, net play, & tactics. Handily beating a fit 24-yo Ruud, arguably the 3rd best clay courter right now behind Nadal & Djokovic is no small feat. And this era is weaker, but Djokovic’s prime era was one of the strongest ever. He has had to play 2 other all-X GOAT contenders throughout his career: 59 matches vs Nadal, 18 of them in slams, 50 matches vs Fed, 17 of them in slams. Borg-McEnroe is considered one of tennis’ >est rivalries & only played each other 14 X's, 4 X's in slams.
Now Djokovic leads the slam race, not just ahead of Fedal, but ahead of every man who has ever played tennis. He returns to #1 today & his X @ #1 is >er > any other man or woman ever. It w/b notably longer had his Wimbl. pts. counted. There's no official GOAT in any sport, but just going by objective measures alone, going by the #'s, Djokovic is the GOAT & by no small margin. I never imagined that when I started rooting for this “underdog.”***
***Serena still has 23 major titles including 7 Wimbledons for us to remember her by.***
ReplyDeleteSerena has plenty to hang her hat on! I won't deny it, but compared to past champs like Navratilova, Evert, & BJK, she was a part-timer who came & went as she pleased short-changing her resume! Too often instead of working out, she'd play herself into shape in a tourn.; someX's the AO @ the beginning of the season!
***Whatever, the fact is that Serena won 23 slams. Evert & Navratilova have 18. Therefore, tier 1 ATG chronologically are: Court, Evert, Navratilova, Graf, & Serena. Tier 2: Bueno, King, Seles, Goolagong, Henin, w/ Evonne being the weakest of the group having never ended a y.r @ #1 & very few wks. @ #1. She did, however, win over 50 tourns. & sev. YEC's & 7 slams. - With Serena, Rafa, & Roger gone, the casual fan can't name another tennis player.***
I had a serious prob. watching tennis when Hingis & Henin retired from the ladies' tour! I can't keep the women's names in my head! They = look alike; all blond w/ a pony-tail! I = had trouble w/ Fedal winning everything 15+ yrs. ago! It took a detractor like Djokovic to bring me back! Overall tennis isn't "must see" as it was for me yrs. ago w/ the mind< aggression & wild UFE's due to trying to take the cover off the ball! The net-play is horrific w/ top players looking like deer in the headlights all too often if the pt. isn't virtually won w/ their approach shot! I miss sev. players who've either retired or on walkabout; Barty & Osaka! Not sure how long I'll care after Novak retires or if Rune, Alcaraz, & Sinner don't fullfil their promise!
***Thanks for that. I mean, it feels like the tennis powers-that-be aren't entirely @ fault here. Not my imagination, I think, that the planet's sort of spinning off its axis. M/b an individual sport requiring global travel is just not so feasible any longer.
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The ‘greatest’ of all time cannot be scientifically proven but novak djokovic is by all acconts, the most acconplished and it’s not even close anymore.
in order of importance:
1. Most GS
2. Rec. wks @ #1
3. Won 4 slams in a row - Nole Slam
4. Won each slam @ least 3 X's
5. Most Masters titles includ. only player GM twice
6. Most wins vs Top 10
7. Most wins over Top 5
8. >est ELO rating ever - a measure of peak dom.
9. Most ranking pts. in a season
10. Winning rec. vs Fedal
11. Player w/ > wins over Fed @ Wimbl., 3-0 Finals vs him
12. Player w/ > of wins of Rafa @ RG, arguably > difficult
13. Tied for > EOY Cup wins
14. > Slam Finals
I’ll tell why he's The GOAT. On top of the absurd stats & recs. he has, it’s his perseverance & work ethic. This man had to deal w/ Fedal. Fedal destroyed other careers, but made Djokovic's stronger. All the haters, elite media & gov'ts, all have been vs him. ...To me, nothing c/b > inspirational.
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Djokavic turned pro '03. From '03-10 he won 1 major, Fed won 16 Majors, Nadal won. From '03-10, Fed led the H2H 13-6, 4-2 in slams.
Bottom Line: Djokavic couldn’t beat the Big 2 while they were in their prime. His ascent was in line w/ Fed's descent, along w/ lasting longer physically than Nadal.***
The delusion is real! If Djokovic hadn't played Fedal in their PRIME, what was this last decade of dom. by the man? BTW, Nadal's just a yr. older! That argument about "Prime" & a weak era is plain delusional!
***Guys, did Federer really go 0-3 vs Novak in Wimbledon Finals?***
They don't like to talk about it; esp. '19 Final w/ 2 MP's! His fans say he was "past it" by then & Novak can't take credit for def. an old man! It doesn't matter that Fed beat Nadal 2 yrs. B4 that! You won't get rational discussions w/ Fedal fans! The frustration runs too deep!
***I've been told some very odd tales by some old X'rs in our town...
ReplyDeleteSupposedly, getting to the net used t/b an advantage & there was a skillful shot called a volley'
Supposedly, in ancient X's, there was a Swede who constantly S & V'd; actually winning some matches that way'
Supposedly, there was a contrast in playing styles that could make for interesting rallies'
Supposedly, players had t/b skillful in many areas of the court'
And =ly hard to believe, there were very fast surfaces that were so demanding of varied skills that slow court players'd just stay away w/ a shrug @ the impossibility of the task...
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It's weird; every yr. it seems someone does very well in 1 or 2 warm-up grasscourt tennis, raising hopes of a 'dark horse' cand. & then crashes early @ Wimbl. I hope this yr. the jinx doesn’t fall on Francis.***
It's become a mental thing! Talent & good physical attributes mean nothing w/ remnants of the Big 3 still around! It's amazing how Novak went into Wimbl. last season w/ limited warm-up & prep, but still destroyed the field! He's due for an upset so I won't be upset or care after taking the 1st 2 majors! We don't need that hype of a poss. CYGS anyway! If he actually completed the feat, the "haters" will swarm talking about how weak the era is w/o Fedal which is BS!
***Still a Novak fan? ;-) ***
Nole w/b the last of the true elites of the GAME! Fedalovic are characters we may never see again! We've had some > players over the decades, but they didn't rule their eras for 20+ yrs.! Few've been able to overcome the Big 3 from = taking the peanuts out of the bowl of 250's, 500's, or M-1000's when their concentration or desire might not've been @ their best! There was lit'l in the way of dips; esp. w/ Fedovic! They maintained their levels @ the top for a very long X w/ Novak being the > consistent getting to final after final after final! No one'll surpass that '15 season getting to all 4 majors finals (winning 3) & playing 8 M-1000's, got to all the finals, then won 6! His name's already riddled the rec.-bks, over-writing Fed'! You have to apprec. the Tennis Intel.'s talking CYGS already w/ the man being 36! That has nothing to do w/ a weak era which's asinine! He still has to go out there to perform vs the best! It's real apprec. that he's thwarted Nadal ascending to a "palacial tennis heaven!" That spot's reserved for Djokovic now!
***Great post buddy. The players Novak has beaten in his last 7 slam victories have been the best, unfort. Ruud, Tsitsipas, Kyrgios, Berretini, Tsitsipas, Medvedev, & Thiem. One match v Rafa in Paris in '21 was a full match vs an actual player. Not a weak era @ all!
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Djokovic is NOT an anti-vaxer! It's a personal trust issue. He's had health issues in the past NEVER heard him say anything bad about vaccines themselves, only that he doesn't want to take one.***
It's not like there aren't others who skipped getting "poked!" Novak just scared up an Int'l incident due to being the #1 men's tennis player! Our idiot US president back then didn't exactly "push" vacc.; esp. after getting C-19 himself! ...Even w/ missing out on 2 majors & sev. Masters in Nor. Am., Novak still surpassed Nadal in majors! SHOCKING! I never would've thought! It took Sampras to brk. Emerson's rec. of 12 lasting over 30 yrs.! Fed squashed Pete's 14 in 8 1/2 yrs. w/ 15 @ SW19 over Roddick! Nadovic caught Roger's 20, flying by w/ Rafa's 22, then Nole's 23 & ct'n.!
***The queen has spoken. Venus knows what she's talking about. She's endured a lot from racism on tour, the media & other players.***
ReplyDeleteSorry, but I'm not gonna take her word on that or anything these days! I used to give women the benefit of the doubt, but I've found of late they exaggerate, feel a certain way & intrepret it differently, or just outright lie looking for commiseration! I'm over it & all their BS! I'm gonna make Venus confirm such bad treatment when she's rich, can go anywhere she damn well pleases in the world, & receive thunderous applause just walking into a room! "CRY ME A FK'N VENUS!" We didn't grow up the same, but I know in these days & X's, you have to go looking for something to offend! A lot of it is just in their heads!
***Saudis are going to jack up the prices & relocate tourns. to the ME & Asia if they take over the men's tour! You're delusional if you don't think they will.***
Well I'm already done w/ the gutless PGA! It was bad enough when some supported the LIV Tour & pocketed millions w/ no repercussions! I hope the men's tour doesn't go > further > the handful of events in the ME! It w/b so easy to drop them like a bad habit! So much disenchants me already w/ them!
***Djokovic fans are in ruins over the poss. of his #'s overtaken. Saudi might want a 5th GS in Dubai. This is how Big 3's recs. w/b broken, a 5th slam in Saudi.***
Nyah! I'm hardly concerned of Novak's recs. being eclipsed no matter how much they try to make it easier for another player! Today's "snow flakes" can't stay on court long enough! The game's so fast & withering, = the best of the Newbies' struggling for some physical consistency! The ATP can also go w/ the New Gen. scoring of their final in Milan to cut some of the wear & tear! No one's going to rule the tour for 20+ yrs. again in our lifeX as the game's played today! Alcaraz couldn't outlast a 36 yo who they say is vulturing a weak era! They've had their chances & it's taking retirement to finally overthrow the Big 3 after all this X! Novak's on the verge of @ least having a 4th season of 3 majors won &'s still on course for another try @ the CYGS!
***Alcaraz's a 20 yo #1, already a slam champ, &'s > a bone for tennis fans. It’s tennis history.***
You're ignoring the obvious! There are fans out there who can't stand that Novak's the "last man standing" of the B3 after all's said & done! He's not only winning, he's still @ the top of the ranks! W/ Carlos #1, they'll stop talking about a weak era; until Novak takes over again after Wimbl.! Remember, he didn't get his 2000 pts. for taking '22 crown! I love the delusion & "carrying on" over how tennis history's being changed/formed from expectations of the Tennis Intell.!
***Well, he’s the youngest of the Big 3 and never gets injured so it’s hardly unlikely Novak’s the last man standing. But isn’t it poss. to enjoy a unique 20 yo w/ incredible gifts for the game? Isn’t Alcaraz a breath of fresh air? A player we didn’t expect to see? I mean, we don’t all argue like kids about GOAT's. I’ve been watching tennis since '76 & I’m a GOAT agnostic. I’ve seen all sorts of inconsistent measurements applied to the conundrum & usually they end up like a square-circle floundering in a Bermuda Triangle. But I'm consistent in enjoying the achievements of > players, = morally ambiguous ones.***
I started playing in '71 & Laver was the consensus ">est" w/ his closest rival being Rosewall! Tech. ...No one saw Fedalovic coming to wipe out the memory of past >'s! I seem t/b the only one to invoke the names of Tilden, Budge, Kramer, & Gonzalez, but they owned the tour as much as the B3 except for the duration of X! Soon they'll stop = thinking about Laver, Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Agassi, & Sampras! It's all about Fedalovic now & for the foreseeable future!
***Well, @ least until Charley or someone else starts racking up scores. Tennis so-called ‘experts’ have very short memories.***
Looks as if The Golden St. Warriers have completed their deal w/ the Devil! It was bad enough they allowed Draymond Green to continue going about his business w/ no punishment after his A & B of Poole! They damaged the kid = > by trading him away! I hope he comes back to destroy them in the playoffs one day! Now Chris Paul's salvaged yet again to soak up adulation & deference = though he's broken down & useless when it really cts!
ReplyDelete***Paul's slightly overrated, but mainly pretty unlucky when it comes to playoff health. I recall he was having a monster series as the Rockets went up 3-2 on eventual champion Golden St., but he got hurt & couldn’t play game 6 or 7 they lost.
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Personally I think Paul's not a good fit on the Warriors & I predict he’ll end up getting bought out of his contract by midseason. - ...Chris Paul's a > player, but he's too old. For the last 3 yrs. in a row his body brks. down in the playoffs. It's not going to happen for him.***
Some players just aren't meant to win! I've seen a bunch going back to Ewing, Miller, Barkley, Malone, & of course Paul! I apprec. quiet assassins who do the job w/o pumping up their chests like Duncan, Akeem O., & Curry! Curry's ego was so in check, he turned his team over to Durant! It wasn't enough for him & decided to form his own team in NJ, then traded to Phoenix! He hasn't come close since! KARMA?
***You could say the same about Harden & Westbrook...and I'd = put Durant & Kyrie in that category too.***
Idiots like Skip Bayless actually said Durant saved Curry! IMO it was the other way around! Durant was lucky he was accepted & won those 2 chp. in Golden State! It was so rude to just walk away thinking he was so great he could win on his own w/ handpicked asst.! What a moron! He chg down in history as a true great, but he fk'd it up for himself & his legacy!
***It's all about ego. Durant has a big one. After his 2 w/ GSW, he figured he could manufacture his own. He thought wrong.
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Durant's a puzzle. I was pretty impressed how quickly he incorporated into the Suns offense. If Vogel can get Ayton's head out of his butt & play to his potential consistently & get a high level PG, the Suns are a legit contender Imo.***
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***Was Drew Brees ever a top 3 QB in his era? He has a ring & was SB MVP so there's that.
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He has massive stats, but he played in the same era as Tom Brady (3x MVP), Peyton Manning (5x MVP), & Aaron Rodgers (4x MVP).***
IMO Bree's the epitome of the new def. of Karma! He made himself "Mr. Chistian," but still held the Saints hostage over $$; some'd say just a $1M! That lone SB was a gift by the Colts, but Payton's used to coming up short when it really counted = w/ his gawdy #'s! Manning's another QB w/ 2 SB's & all kinds of rec. #'s, but like Rodgers, would find a way to blow it so they inevitably underachieved! Brady's given too much credit in winning a lot of those games! His defense was stellar! Early wins were done by his kicker! There's some sort of taint to many of his wins; a ref's bad judgment, Spy-gate, Cell Phone-Gate, Deflate-gate, etc.! I'll never understand ATL SB & their 25 pt. lead late! Someone's gonna burn in Hell over that one; both sides of the =tion!
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***Your trolling Ali doesn’t work.***
It's not trolling admitting that the poor guy's brain had t/b scrabbled w/ that "rope-a-dope" BS! Whether Ali was getting hit directly or not, his own gloves were pounding his own head repeated just trying to outlast an opp. taking punishment! Joe Frazier abused him & Ken Norton broke his jaw! A monster like George Foreman lost, but had Ali absorbing a lot of blows in Zaire! Back in those days, the fights were featured on the radio & later telecast on TV! Ali made Howard Cosell! There was a decline that was precipitous! Many fights after that had him barely winning vs poor comp.! The rest was sad w/ exhs. for TV $$!
***You got to figure Ali was in the ring from the late 50s to the early 80s. That's a lot of shots to the head.***
***It's McEnroe's 82-3 in '84 that's the > dom. & may never be broken. Worth noting that it's an Open Era rec., like Djokovic's youngest SF'ist rec. They don't hold those recs all X since Budge & Laver were younger > Nadal to complete the CS & Rosewall was younger > Djokovic to make the SF of all 4 Slams.***
ReplyDeleteYa gotta acknowledge Novak's '15 outdoing his '11 by winning a 6th Masters & the YEC @ the end of the season capping rec. pts. & $$ @ 16,585 & $21+ M resp.! He played 13 of 14 major ATP events making all the finals, winning 10; finalist @ FO, Can. M-1000, & Cinci!
***Yea, I forgot about the pts. rec. & not sure if he set a cons. big finals rec., but I think so. The pts. rec. though is another one that's going t/b tough to brk. The Big 3 have some > recs.
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The USO's essentially open for anyone to win. Has been for yrs. now.***
It's odd how things have changed over the decades! Back in the day, it was the AO & FO which c/b up for grabs by just about any odd player in the top #10-20 b/c "some" top players just skipped the event! The most anonymous winners @ AO were Edmondson, Kriek, & Johansson! In Paris a clay court specialist was assured of winning! On grass, upsets were the norm w/ odd wins by Cash, Stich, Krajicek, & Ivanisevic! Now all 3 have players that own them; Roger @ SW 19, Novak "down under," & Rafa in Paris! Now the USO has become a WC event where just about anyone can sneak in & steal a Champ.! Since Fed's 5 in a row, we've had 1st X winners of Medvedev, Cilic, Thiem, & of course, Alcaraz out of nowhere!
***You create parity by earning your place, not by being handed an easier opp. to succeed.***
But that's what has been occurring the last 15 yrs.! The ATP accommodated Fedal in particular by changing M-1000 finals from BO5 to BO3! They played a few 4-5 set finals necessitating one or both to WD from the next event! Going to BO3 really helped Fedalovic over the yrs in acquiring just about all the major ATP events, including the YEC which blew my mind when it went BO3! The season couldn't end on a BO5 match? No wonder Fedovic own 12 of them; Nalbandian stealing '05 final over Roger in 5!
***ITA bro, & further watering it down makes it easier for nonentities to become historic champs. The achievements of the Big 3 have been facilitated partly by that decision to make things easier for them, as if they weren’t already made easier > ever by the opp.
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Looks like the Fedal GOAT discussion has been put to bed & Fed fans can finally relax, and now everyone is talking about >est Athlete of All X. You know you're doing well when the comparisons are no longer w/ other tennis players, but w/ guys like Brady, Bolt, Jordan, LaBron, & Ali.***
Yeah, that kind of talk about other athletes in other sports due to Novak's excellence @ 36 yo! All of a sudden he's being compared to best athletes of all X!
***Djokovic, at 35-36, has won cons. Wimbl., the WTF's, the AO, & RG (DNP USO). Four cons. "Big 5" tournaments...at that age. Ten cons. yrs. of weaker & weaker NG's are ineludibly to blame in a big part. (Fedal ALSO benefited tremendously of this anomaly, but Djokovic is taking it to ridiculous proportions).
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Nole's GOAT feats in the last 12 months:
Wins 7th Wimbl. title to = Sampras, winning 21st slam to brk. tie w/ Fed
Wins rec. =ing 6th YEC w/ Fed
The oldest winner of the YEC title
Joins Fed in winning the YEC @ 3 diff. venues
Longest gap btwn 1st YEC title ('08) & last YEC title ('22) 14 yrs.
Wins 10th AO title - =s Nadal's slam total of 22 slams
1st player to win a HC slam 10 X's
Brks. the all X rec. for > wks @ #1 held by a male or female, beating Graf's total
Wins 3rd RG Title - Brks the GS rec., sole owner of the rec.
1st player to win a triple CS
1st player to win @ least 3 slams on 3 surfaces***
***Against which type of players did the Big 3 struggle?
ReplyDeleteNadal, for ex., lost a few X's to serve-bots @ Wimbl. in the 1st wk. This rarely happened to Djokovic & Fed.
Djokovic seems to struggle vs Wawrinka > > Fedal. Though I can’t really say which other player Djokovic struggled vs which plays like Wawrinka.
Federer seems to lose > often @ slams to Delpo & Tsonga, then Djokovic & Nadal. Fed also lost to Cilic @ USO'14. I can see some similarities btwn. those players.
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Federer - well, I’m not sure if we can call Nadal an archetype, but his main & only real struggle was w/ Rafa Nadal in his peak yrs. of '03-09… What Nadal could do is unique. It’s way > just topspin to da BH… it’s elite passing shots from both wings, superhuman speed, ability to attack slice expertly, spiny 2nd serve, etc.
After he somewhat lost a step post '08/09 though the archetype, he struggled w/ was def. the big hitters, esp. dual winged big servers. DelPo, Tsonga, Berdych, Soderling, Cilic, = Gulbis, Anderson, Raonic, etc. all beat him. By taking the racquet out of his hands early they could elim. the Fed wizardry & expose his somewhat lacking footspeed & defense post-'10.
...Nadal: well, no one really gives him trouble on clay so focusing on grass and HC, def. players w/ stable BH's who are willing to take the ball early & rush him either w/ power or precision. ...If you can rush him off both wings, his high RHS topspin strokes can def. be exploited, & you can take the racquet out of his hands by capitalizing on the short spinny balls he’ll cough up.
At Wimbl. this is an = >er issue, he’s always had issues w/ big servers & people who bring the game to him, esp. on that 1st wk. grass. Even in '07,'10, etc., he went down 2-0 to guys like this. In '12-15, he just started losing to them. Post-'14 physical decline he has also struggled w/ raw power.
Oh, & he hates when you can take his 2nd serve early & jump on it. In recent memory Tiafoe & McDonald did this actually quite well, but it’s a strategy that Davydenko used expertly & = guys like Hewitt, Blake, Youzhny, Tsonga, & Murray in their early HC wins over Rafa from '05-09.
Djokovic: I think you need to look @ the BH wing of the player 1st. You need to disrupt Novak’s comfortable BH-BH advantage, if you can’t, the match w/b over quickly. You look @ his losses - Nishikori, Murray, Wawrinka, obviously Fedal, recently Zverev, Medvedev, Thiem, but also guys like Cecchinato, Haas, Kohlschreiber, etc… You can disrupt it 3 ways:
#1, extreme solidity w/ a 2-hander & > power - Murray, Nishikori, Medvedev, Zverev, Safin. basically Novak doesn’t have a noticeable BH-BH advantage due to their solidity & BH.
#2, slice, slice, slice, - this is the Fed playbook, but Wawrinka, Murray, & = Nadal used it to > effect. He isn't amazing @ generating offense off a slice & you can reset rallies using it, as well as using the short slice to draw him into the forecourt.
#3 - creating angles off the BH & giving him difficult balls off that wing - this is the one-hander formula which has beaten him @ RG 6 X's now. Wawrinka's the poster boy of this, but Fed also does it. You create > spin off the BH w/ a one-hander & it throws off his rhythm.
...If you can’t match Novak’s intensity from the baseline it isn’t a match, he’ll just outlast you. But what he lacks is that elite offensive gear IMO, the Sampras, Federer, McEnroe gene of creating pure attacking brilliance out of nothing.
if you can keep the ball deep, esp. in return his serve+1 isn't that damaging, he doesn’t like to go big un< necess. Murray, Wawa, Nadal, & Fed all had > success w/ the block return, Med & Thiem also got good depth on their returns in their wins. You’ve got to make rallies neutral & be brave.***
Thanks! ;-)
***I'm afraid Court's 24 Slams do exist b/c the rec.bks. say so & rightly so. Rosewall did not win 23 Slams. He won 8 (4 of them in the OE). The so-called pro-Slams don't ct.***
ReplyDeleteIn the early days of tennis being broadcast on TV, it was never brought up there were Pro Majors being played back in the 60's! It seemed to jump from Laver's CYGS of '62 as an Am. to Open tennis in '68 when he repeated the feat in '69 as a Pro! The rivalry btwn. Laver & Rosewall was > about exhs. that weren't recorded, played on any surface they could find to play on including a gym floor! Early on it was all about Borg w/ his 11 Majors in the OE! Court's name was rarely invoked due to many not going "down under" to play AO so she had free reign to stack up 11 of them over her career! No one cared about Emerson's Am. rec. of 12 until it was surpassed by Sampras @ Wimbl. 2000, wrapping up his career w/ 14 after USO win in '02! Now Fedalovic have re-written the rec.bks. w/ Djokovic taking over just about every rec. that's meaningful or not!
***Quality of draws was small in Court's X. In Serena's X it was a solid 128 player draw. Serena's the GOAT & Court isn't.***
Oh, it was embarrassing for quite a few yrs. B4 the 80's! At Wimbl. the top seeds had a bye! They couldn't fill a 128 draw! Early "down under," they might only have 4 seeds & the draw was rittled w/ Aussie players! At the USO when they changed to that gray clay (Har-Tru) in '75, it was embarrassing to see Evert just slaughter her opps. "Luv" & "Luv/3" until the SF & Final! There was t/b a t/o soon w/ older players aging out; Court, King, Casals, Wade, Goolagong, & Stove! Martina was a lady in waiting along w/ Austin & not much else! Goolagong came & went w/ injury & motherhood! The 80's brought Madlikova, Shriver, & Jaeger! THE Ranks were thin for quite a while w/ Martina & Evert splitting the spoils outside the odd upset of Austin or Mandlikova!
***Dominating 3 slams simultaneously:
'04-10 AO: 4 titles, 1 final, 2 SF's (lost to eventual champ)
'03-09 WB: 6 titles, 1 final
'04-09 USO: 5 titles, 1 final***
I was on the bandwagon @ the X that Fed was class personified in '10! That was his real last gasps of being on top, barely winning the majors he stole in '09! I still say Roger owes Soderling @ least a house for facilitating that lone FO win! Roddick choked away his Wimbl. chance that same yr. up a set & X set pts. to go up 2-0! A-Rod wasn't broken until the last game in the 5th set! He butchered a high BH volley & the whole match turned around on him! He stayed in it b/c Fed was a shadow of his former self, but in the end Andy remained Roger's pigeon! Playing & winning the "Chan'l-Slam" hasn't happened too often; B4 & after the filler events btwn. the "fortnites!" Borg did it 3 X's in a row, Nadal twice, & Fedovic once each! Novak's going for a CYGS, another "Chn'l-Slam," an 8th Wbldn. to match Roger, & @ least 3 majors won in a season for the 4th X setting himself up = >er as the GOAT disc. continues!
***ESPN Laying Off Top On Air Talent - "Talent" is a subjective descrip. of Keyshawn Johnson; who. Thankfully he's gone. Getting rid of him & Max Kellerman is a huge win for viewers.***
ESPN's just not a big deal on my radar regard< of the talent! Periodically they go thru "purges" w/ big egos & demanding stars! They've lost the Thurs. Nite NFL game! I 1/2-pay attn. to basketball! Sportscenter hasn't been "must see" for yrs.! I still watch PTI & ATH during the wk.!
***Chris Eubanks looks very confident & mature on the grass. If I'm not mistaken I recall he has been a guest analyst on TC.***
He did and has! TC's bringing in > & > newbies to m/b edge out the oldsters like Navratilova, Courier, & Daventporte! Wozniaki was a prize hire, but going back on tour, I'm not sure how it'll affect their choice! Arias' getting a lot of play on the desk!
***Navratilova's untouchable. She's the >est player in women's tennis history & has earned the right to go out on her own terms. But yeah, Courier & Davenporte are expendable. TC can do >er > them.***
***Nole can only play who’s in front of him, based on the randomness of the draw. The pathetic thing is that there’s no one younger than a 36 YO who'll beat him. The last person who = came close was a 37 yo Fed. But, again, Novak can’t be criticized for this; if anything, the reverse is true: it’s a testament to his longevity & >ness. But it is a criticism of the rest of the field.***
ReplyDeleteHeaven knows I've been calling the men's tour weak all these yrs. allowing Nadal to take 14 FO's! Soderling the only 1 outside of Novak to test him!
***Rank Name Matches Won % in GS
1 Bjorn Borg 89.81%
2 Novak Djokovic 88.10%
3 Rafael Nadal 87.96%
4 Roger Federer 86.01%
% W–L Finals record
83.3 5–1 Rod Laver
77.8 14–4 Pete Sampras
73.3 22–8;30 Rafael Nadal
71.4 5–2 John Newcombe
68.8 11–5 Björn Borg
67.6 23–11;34 Novak Djokovic
64.5 20–11;31 Roger Federer
% W–L Australian Open
91.8 #1 89–8 Novak Djokovic
90.6 48–5 Andre Agassi
88.5 23–3 Guillermo Vilas
87.2 #4 102–15 Roger Federer
84.8 56–10 Stefan Edberg
83.7 36–7 Mats Wilander
83.3 45–9 Pete Sampras
82.8 #8 77–16 Rafael Nadal
# Australian Open F Record
10 Novak Djokovic 10–0; 100%
7 Roger Federer 6–1; 86%
6 Rafael Nadal 2–4; 33%
% W–L French Open
97.4 #1 112–3 Rafael Nadal
96.1 49–2 Björn Borg
85.2 #3 92–16 Novak Djokovic
83.9 47–9 Mats Wilander
81.8 36–8 Gustavo Kuerten
81.6 40–9 Jim Courier
81.5 53–12 Ivan Lendl
81.1 #8 73–17 Roger Federer
# French Open F Record
14 Rafael Nadal 14–0; 100%
7 Novak Djokovic 3–4; 43%
6 Björn Borg 6–0
5 Ivan Lendl 3–2
5 Mats Wilander 3-2
5 Roger Federer 1-4; 20%
% W–L Wimbledon
92.7 51–4 Björn Borg
90.0 63–7 Pete Sampras
89.7 #3 87–10 Novak Djokovic
88.2 #4 105–14 Roger Federer
88.0 22–3 Rod Laver
86.5 32–5 John Newcombe
85.5 71–12 Boris Becker
84.3 59–11 John McEnroe
83.6 61–12 Andy Murray
82.9 #10 58–12 Rafael Nadal
# Wimbledon Record
12 Roger Federer 8–4; 67%
8 Novak Djokovic 7–1; 80%
7 Pete Sampras 7–0
7 Boris Becker 3-4
6 Björn Borg 5–1
6 Jimmy Connors 2-4
5 John McEnroe 3–2
5 Rafael Nadal 2-3; 40%
% W–L US Open
88.8 71–9 Pete Sampras
86.4 #2 89–14 Roger Federer
86.2 #3 81–13 Novak Djokovic
85.2 98–17 Jimmy Connors
84.9 73–13 Ivan Lendl
84.8 #6 67–12 Rafael Nadal
# US Open F Record
9 Novak Djokovic 3–6; 33%
8 Pete Sampras 5–3
8 Ivan Lendl 3-5
7 Jimmy Connors 5–2
7 Roger Federer 5-2; 71%
6 Andre Agassi 2–4
5 John McEnroe 4–1
5 Rafael Nadal 4-1; 80%
No1e in top 3 OE in W% in all 4 slams: 1,3,3,3
Fed: 4,8,4,2
Rafa: 8,1,10,6
No1e in top 2 OE in # of F in all 4 slams: 1,2,2,1
Fed: 2,4-6,1,4-5
Rafa: 3,1,7-8,7-8***
Thx!
***Wimbl.'s maddening b/c for a 100+ yr. run tourn., w/ 2 roofed stadiums & a friggin long history of bad weather & rain delays, you'd think they'd've a full blown contingency plan for just such a situation.***
ReplyDeleteThey've survived well over 100 yrs. w/o a roof! They've had bad wks.; '85 comes to mind! The water was running down the stairs like a river! The event still didn't run over by > a day & that's skipping 1st Sat. of the fortnite! That's part of the luck of the event; getting "your" match in while others fall behind! It's been terrible over the decades, but somehow we've only lost 1 tourn. due to COVID 3 yrs. ago! Change isn't always nec.! They didn't go to optic yellow balls until the 80's! The TB in '76 was @ 8 all except in the 5th! Clothing's still white, but style has been overlooked!
***I always agree w/ this, & in fact said it many X's that Rafa’s dominance in Paris reflects as much on the field as on him. The Big 3 are either like 100m runners posting 6 secs. for the race, which is ??able, or they’re doing what >s have always done, but the field are running the 100m slower > a marathon…
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True, nobody can step up to the plate. It’s also important for Nadal fans to remember that Nadal himself has benefited from the situation, just like Djokovic. I understand that it's painful to watch when Djokovic is threatening to gobble up the slams, a few yrs. B4 he retires. Aside from that, let’s give credit to him. His game has become > complete as he ages. He's now > complete > the > stylish Fed. Djokovic is almost untouchable!
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Tennis era concept isn't strictly defined, so it's prone to subjective & descriptive defin.
Two dom. criterias for descriptive def. of tennis era's are 1. Decades, 2. Players.
You can say "2000s era" or "Federer era"
"Big 3 era", "2010s era" or "Novak's era",...
The "Big 3 era" is not yet finished, so we don't have a historical perspective on it, but it surely w/b remembered as a pinacle of tennis sport.***
Well there's one thing you can't give a moniker to & that's "a Nadal era!" He couldn't stay on the court long enough! His best op. of course was starting in '08 or '10, but injury in '09 & the evolution of Novak in '11 squashed it!
***...Djokovic was never the fan-fave among the Big 3. Fans loved Fedal; Fed a bit >. Fed revolutionalized & popularized the game of tennis to a whole new diff. level. ...Fed had a >er impact on the game = though Djokovic will end up being > successful.
The era will end up w/ Djokovic becoming the “GOAT,” but let’s not forget that it began w/ the Fedal dom. The pair’s rivalry defined the era. They lifted over 20 GS's together by the X Djokovic won his 1st Wimbl. At the end of the day, 3 players have each other to thank for pushing themselves up to raise the level of the game.***
As far as I'm concerned, all the stats are a lit'l inflated w/ the changes made over the last decade or so! Earlier than that there was a tech. upgrade in rackets & strings! Conditioning & nutrition also helped players & gave them longevity on tour! Then the game went BO3 in just about every event except the Majors! All that contributed to the Big 3 owning the last 20+ yrs. giving only scraps to the rest of the players!
***...It's the Hurkacz who should've won @ least 1 TB vs Djokovic in the 4th Rd. match @ Wimbl. He has the testicles of 1 month infant.***
If any of these players could finish off the Big 3, they'd all have won X Masters & Majors vs them! Hubi isn't the 1st & he won't be the last t/b in control of a set or match only to squaunder the advantage or lead allowing an escape! They can have it going all their way w/ service %'s, Aces, winners, etc., it can turn on one UFE to alter the result!
***Nole didn’t beat Hubi either. He's beating himself.***
ReplyDeleteSame w/ Nadal back in the day! No lead was safe b/c of the "yips!" ...Fedalovic have parlayed a # of choked matches to amass their recs. & wealth that m/b legit. out of reach no matter how much they raise prize $$! The Big 3's consistency over 2 decades' why they're on top of all the recs.! As good as Sascha, Dom, Stefanos, & Daniil are, they all allowed Fedalovic to escape in major SF's & Finals!
***This is where I differ from you Fiero. I don't think they can't finish off the Big 3 b/c they lack kahunas, but b/c the Big 3 are so damn hard to beat! It's both really, but I see it as 25/75...mainly the >ness of the B3. Players like Tsitsipas & Zverev are very good, but they're just not good enough. ...Very good players, but not > ones (aka, "2nd tier").***
This kind of dom. wasn't uncommon in the Am. days! It makes no sense that 3 aging men have owned this era going thru 2-3 NG'r crops! It's truly sad no matter how good The Big 3 were! No way should they have snapped up so many Majors & Masters events! It looks bad for the X's!
***Absolutely. It really stinks. But the Tour execs kind of made their own bed w/ this. Not sure what they expected quite honestly. - Historians will see it as it is. They'll celebrate Novak as the greatest ever, no doubt about it. Rafa & Roger w/b remembered as worthy opps., the true warriors of the best tennis era ever.
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Figure self-respect has to kick in @ some pt.!***
Nyah! They lost that during "The Lost Gen." era! W/ Dimitrov, Cilic, Kei, & Milos just to get up out of bed, they had to go = further & just have "no shame!" As yrs. dragged on, The Big 3 just consol. their hold on the tour! Another crop show up w/ all kinds of faith in them that they'd turn the tide! The success was modest @ best, but @ least they tried by overcoming past gen. & are firmly in line to take over as The Big 3 "retire out" as broken down old men! Unfort. they're giving no reason to believe Novak's in need of rest! He's still killing it @ 36+! Thiem, Medvedev, & Zverev have snuck in a few good wins, but still w/ tongues dragging to barely hold off the new guns of Alcaraz, Rune, FAA, Fritz, & Tiafoe! Tsitsipas still has a lot to prove = w/ a major or 2 finals under his belt! Like Sascha, they still haven't closed the deal = w/ an injured Nadal & aging Djokovic in their path!
***lol... I chuckled a few X's. Honestly, no Hollywood mega-screenwriter could script this.
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Djokovic will not lose any> sets here on out @ Wimbl.***
It w/b nice, but he still goes "walkabout" out of nowhere = w/ a lead in a set! If he takes this Wimbl., be ready for the hype over another CYGS attempt!
***Yeah. It'd be a miracle for Djokovic not to lose a set. Like you said he always has these mental lapses during matches where he unexpectedly drop sets. I remember that AO'16 final vs Fed where Djokovic was unplayable & the level btwn. the 2 was just too far apart. Djokovic was destroying Fed in that game including a breadstick, then out of nowhere Fed wins a set b/c Djokovic went into his usual "walkabout" during the game. Djokovic's an odd guy someX's. No matter how high his level is compared to his opp., he always has that 1 set he'll let slip somehow.
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Nadal won the > majors btwn. '05 to '22. Is that not his era? I say that as he got overtaken after he stopped playing.***
Nadal never got his own era! He couldn't stay on the court long enough to = stay #1 for over a yr.! He has no YEC wins & has 1/2 the wks. @ #1 behind both Fed & Djokr! The only thing that sets him apart are his clay court wins; taking 14 FO's! Outside of that, his resume's a lit'l "wanting" for an ATG!
***Wanting? He won the > slams over a 17 yr. per. while his main rivals were playing. Slams are > important > the regular tour.***
In comparison to Fedovic, Nadal's resume's just too imbalanced! Fedovic have so many wins outside of their fave slam unlike Nadal who just acquired his DCGS w/ win "down under" after a decade of his last victory!