Australian Open

[bambam]

Nadal in 5. What a warrior. I think he is becoming my favorite contemporary athlete. Reminds me of what Rocky said about Ivan Drago in Rocky 4: "I'm willing to die to win this fight. I don't know if he is." The guy plays 5:14 to win the semis and less than 48 hours later, plays 4+ hours in 5 sets, and in the 5th set, he was the one dominating Federer.

An amazing match. I'm so glad I got up at 4 AM to watch it (missed the first couple games).

[nevetsllim]

Yes, I just admire Nadal's sheer intensity and competitive-edge. I think it's fair to say that Federer is the more complete player but Nadal is the better competitor. However, I still favoured Federer at the beginning of the fifth because Rafa was beginning to sag but Rog still has some demons to bury and he definitely won't win the French Open.

This match proves that Federer is NOT the GOAT yet, despite people saying he is. Not only is he still one away from equalling Sampras' record, but he still hasn't won the French and he has a losing record against Nadal, so how can you be the GOAT if you aren't the greatst player in your day?

[guru]

Sure seemed like after Federer lost the break in the fifth he packed it in. First time I've ever seen that from him.

[guru]

This match proves that Federer is NOT the GOAT yet, despite people saying he is. Not only is he still one away from equalling Sampras' record, but he still hasn't won the French and he has a losing record against Nadal, so how can you be the GOAT if you aren't the greatst player in your day?

It now would be hard to argue Nadal may not be the GOAT. Yes, his longevity is not yet equal to Federer or Sampras, but with a 5-2 edge in Grand Slam finals over RF, and a title on three surfaces, one of only three men to accomplish that feat(not including Federer, as noted). And oh yeah, he also has an Olympic Gold, and only Agassi has that as well as the career slam.

Should Nadal pull off a calendar Slam this year, that will seal it. Best ever.

[catson52]

Re: Australian Open

Nadal in 5. What a warrior. I think he is becoming my favorite contemporary athlete. Reminds me of what Rocky said about Ivan Drago in Rocky 4: "I'm willing to die to win this fight. I don't know if he is." The guy plays 5:14 to win the semis and less than 48 hours later, plays 4+ hours in 5 sets, and in the 5th set, he was the one dominating Federer.

An amazing match. I'm so glad I got up at 4 AM to watch it (missed the first couple games).

Just looked at the match stats. Two things stand out beyond intensity and perseverance. Nadal's superiority in % first serves, and much lower number of unforced errors.

[eldrick]

Not only is he still one away from equalling Sampras' record, but he still hasn't won the French and he has a losing record against Nadal, so how can you be the GOAT if you aren't the greatst player in your day?

i woudn't go too much on head-to-head records - sampras had a -ve record against kraijcek & probably edberg & fed had one against henman ( lost virtually all their initial 5 matches ) & nadal has one against blake

nadal always has vulnerability that if someone has a big game ( serve + forehand ) & they use it they can blow him of the court ( no offense to fed but he doesn't have the biggest serve or forehand ( see berdych match ) - the cleverest of each but not the biggest ) - like tsonga here last year

however, at the moment there is only tsonga with that game, possibly berdych & maybe del potro/cilic if they put some meat on their bones

btw, who the f*** is gilles simon & how did he get to number 5 ???

[Per Andersen]

btw, who the f*** is gilles simon & how did he get to number 5 ???

Well, he's ranked #8 in the world and he has beaten them all and has several wins over Federer. He has also beaten Nadal after he became #1.
Watch him a couple of times. He is a smart and very interesting player.

[nevetsllim]

I only look at head-to-heads when both players are at their peak (or very close) and Nadal has now beaten Fed five times in a row, so I really cannot consider him the GOAT (even though I hate that acronym) yet.

I agree that Nadal can be vulnerable against someone with a big game, but only on hard-courts now. I think Nalbandian can pose a threat to Nadal because he's got the ability to move the ball around and get the opponent on the run before finding an opening on the court but rather like Berdych, he's not all there mentally at the best of times.

Yes, Simon was the real surprise of 2008. He improved enormously because he played Nadal at the AO in January and had break-points at 5-2 in the first set but he didn't convert and ended up losing the match in straight-sets and in the Madrid Masters, he managed to save seven or eight match-points to beat Rafa in his home country. He's a very consistent baseliner and he's strong on both wings but I'm still surprised how he's got so high in the rankings because he hasn't had many big tournament wins (last year he won Indianoplis, Bucharest and one other) and it seems like he's got to where he has a bit like Jelena Jankovic, by playing so many tournaments (29 last year.)

[gh]

Local tennis writer (whose analysis usually seems spot on) indeed thinks Federer may have met his match. Good piece:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 01&sc=1000