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Australian Open 2017 OT

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H

Helmholtz

Member
I haven't been keeping up with tennis for a few years, used to regularly watch the opens but kind of stopped for whatever reason.
Did not miss this match (taped it) and thankfully watched it unspoiled. AMAZING match, I felt like I was witnessing history. Federer forever the goat, and a classy as hell ceremony at the end.
 
S

sam777

Member
PedroPanache said:
I didn't feel that bad because I've been rooting for Federer to win his 18th for some time. I would have much preferred a Rafa win and it would have put a skip in my step for the rest of the day, but the fact that they delivered on the hype and gave us a great five setter was a good enough consolation prize. I'm happy he came this far and nearly won the damn thing, because last year was super depressing. First round loss to Verdasco. Still, nothing can come close to the pit of depression that was the 2012 final. I was in a foul mood for the rest of the day after that one.

Looking forward to the clay court season. That French Open withdrawal last year was gutting because, prior to that, I felt he'd been playing well enough to win it. Him puling out was a complete shock and watching his presser was a little bit heartbreaking. I think he's in with a great chance this year, providing he manages his schedule properly.
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Yeah lets hope he gets that French title. The last two times he lost the AO final he won the French straight after, so the same this time please.
 
B

Bigfoot

Member
henhowc said:
gonna have to root for djoker at the French. gotta shake things up some more in these GOAT debates.
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Clayray is going to win the French. It's his time.

Stan is going to win Wimbledon to keep his streak of winning a different slam each year going.

Fed is going to win the US Open and retire right after.

Nadal will finally win the WTF because the rest of the big 4 and Stan will skip it.
 
T

T-0800

Member
Assuming Federer never wins another Slam, Novak will need to win 7 slams after the age of 30 to surpass him. The mountain just got a whole lot steeper.

I'm so happy Fed won. I was too stressed to even watch the match after the first set.
 
8

88random

Member
I believed in Fed before the match started but I also turned off the TV after Nadal broke in the 5th set. I have witnessed so many heartbreaking losses over the years and I couldn't take another one, especially because Fed was a better player today, he should have finished it much sooner.

18 GS titles, at least 5 at three different slams, beating his worst nightmare at 35 while trailing in the 5th set... This man is The Tennis.
 
J

JBwB

Member
There was no way I was going to turn off the TV before the beginning of that fifth set. I was all-in emotionally by that point.

Federer may have burned us fans in past finals but this one was different. History was being made, like hell I was going to turn my TV off. For better or worse.

Sure, I had my doubts before the match started (I predicted 60 - 40 in Rafa's favor) but once I saw how well Fed was handling himself in the long rallies it was then where I totally believed that he could win it.

And he did! What a comeback in that final set!

Ah... Such an amazing match haha. I'm still so happy at the moment.
 
T

Tekniqs

Member
when roger got broken in the first game in the 5th, i ALMOST turned the TV off to go to bed. But something kept me watching and i'm so freaking happy I did. down 1-3 and then reels off 5 straight games against his kryptonite! crazy
 
S

Smellycat

Member
I actually didn't watch a large portion of the second set (I simply couldn't. I was too stressed and my body couldn't handle it. So I had to turn off the match for a bit). I also didn't catch the first part of the 4th when Federer got broken because I had other obligations.

But there was no way I was going to miss the 5th set even after Federer got broken!! I wanted to watch him fight till the bitter end, even if it meant he was going to lose.
 
L

Lion Heart

Banned
Can't believe Nadal lost up 3-1 in the fifth. The old Nadal would have made it happen, sucks that he will never touch that form again. It's depressing.

Losing to a 35 yo Fed, I hate life. Tennis can go back to being an afterthought for me again.
 
A

activatethesmile

Member
That 26 shots rally tho........... O_O O_O

Point of the match, point of the tournament, if not point of the forever. At such a grand stage too, these guys are inhuman.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
You know he'll run himself into the ground chasing number 20.

Roger Federer, 39 years old and the 85th ranked player in the world still going at it.
 
S

scarlet

Member
Speevy said:
You know he'll run himself into the ground chasing number 20.

Roger Federer, 39 years old and the 85th ranked player in the world still going at it.
Click to expand...

His last 5 slams results were F F SF SF W, so it's not that shocking he'd be in another final, but winning against Rafa is the surprising part.
 
B

-bakalhau-

Member
Psycho_Mantis said:
tumblr_okjktpnYhl1rms66oo2_1280.jpg
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Great shot. Nadal was heartbroken in the end of course and sad for the loss, but in all honesty, by the time they both were speaking, and after, I could really sense this feeling both of them were very happy. Never seen Nadal so positive and smile so much and so naturally after a final. I felt soo good for both of them.

I wanted the 18th for Federer, finally he got it. I want Nadal to take the FO, he deserves it. Djokovic can take the other 2.

I love these 3 guys forever.
 
W

watdaeff4

Member
As a VERY casual tennis fan, I really enjoyed this. Two of the GOAT in their twilight years going at it one more time.

For me at least this cements Federer as #1. Nadal is without question the greatest Clay guy ever by a solid mile and still one of the best on the other surfaces but Fed is inhuman.

Regarding the GOAT discussions, I know that Nadal fans always bring up the h2h but isn't the big disparity due to the clay court matches? I thought I read somewhere if you take those out it is extremely even.

For Federer to win three of the majors 5+ times is astonishing - no one else has done that correct?
 
B

BorkBork

The Legend of BorkBork: BorkBorkity Borking
watdaeff4 said:
As a VERY casual tennis fan, I really enjoyed this. Two of the GOAT in their twilight years going at it one more time.

For me at least this cements Federer as #1. Nadal is without question the greatest Clay guy ever by a solid mile and still one of the best on the other surfaces but Fed is inhuman.

Regarding the GOAT discussions, I know that Nadal fans always bring up the h2h but isn't the big disparity due to the clay court matches? I thought I read somewhere if you take those out it is extremely even.

For Federer to win three of the majors 5+ times is astonishing - no one else has done that correct?
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No one has ever won more than 14 slams, so yeah.
 
N

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
Incidentally:

Q. Your comment on the court where you said, If I’m back next year, it does invite some comment on that. How much should we read into what you said there?

ROGER FEDERER: I mean, this is all about, you know, knowing that I have only so much tennis left in me. If I do get injured, you know, maybe if I miss next year. Who knows what happens.

So it was just a way ... You never know when your next Grand Slam is going to be, if ever. You never know if you’re going to have an opportunity at this stage, I felt I could thank so many people at once. It’s a live audience. It’s a moment for me to be appreciative of them.

Yeah, I mean, look, I’ve had a tough year last year. Three five-setters are not going to help. I just meant it the way I meant it. There wasn’t something planned behind it, that this is my last Australian Open. I hope can I come back, of course. That’s my hope right now.
 
L

Lion Heart

Banned
Nadal is GOAT, you cant have someone be considered GOAT when he was absolutely owned by another player during his era. Too bad about this loss because it would have cemented Nadal as the greatest.
 
A

AoM

Member
Lion Heart said:
Nadal is GOAT, you cant have someone be considered GOAT when he was absolutely owned by another player during his era. Too bad about this loss because it would have cemented Nadal as the greatest.
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I think you're the first person I've seen say this after the win (although there are undoubtedly others who feel the same).
 
S

Sax Russel

Banned
Lion Heart said:
Nadal is GOAT, you cant have someone be considered GOAT when he was absolutely owned by another player during his era. Too bad about this loss because it would have cemented Nadal as the greatest.
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I mean, you should probably just stick to tennis being an afterthought for you, like you said earlier =)
 
E

Elaugaufein

Member
Lion Heart said:
Nadal is GOAT, you cant have someone be considered GOAT when he was absolutely owned by another player during his era. Too bad about this loss because it would have cemented Nadal as the greatest.
Click to expand...

Only if you assume their eras are the same. Which they aren't really. Federer is 5 years older than Nadal ,and reached No 1 , 4 years before Nadal (5 years is a lot in a sport where your entire career is often 16-30). Federer is playing at a level most pros never reach, 5 years after most of them retire.
 
RedAssedApe

RedAssedApe

Banned
Lion Heart said:
Nadal is GOAT, you cant have someone be considered GOAT when he was absolutely owned by another player during his era. Too bad about this loss because it would have cemented Nadal as the greatest.
Click to expand...

I'll go with the tennis pundits point of view that Federer is the GOAT after that match. But there's still time for Nadal to definitively prove otherwise by winning more slams.
 
E

Elaugaufein

Member
henhowc said:
I'll go with the tennis pundits point of view that Federer is the GOAT after that match. But there's still time for Nadal to definitively prove otherwise by winning more slams.
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Unless he suddenly starts a major steak of losing clay slams and winning the others that probably still wouldn't settle things.
 
S

Shadowhelper

Banned
Lion Heart said:
Nadal is GOAT, you cant have someone be considered GOAT when he was absolutely owned by another player during his era. Too bad about this loss because it would have cemented Nadal as the greatest.
Click to expand...

Sure you can. There isn't one single metric, for GOAT. At one point Nalbandian used to own Nadal, and Fed used to beat Nalbandian. Maybe not the best example, because I'm assuming Nadal corrected the lop sided record eventually, but I believe players like Nalbandian and that little bald Russian whose name escapes me, had winning records against Nadal and losing ones to Fed.

Styles make matches. Just because a single player gets the better of a rival doesn't mean they are the better pro tennis player. You gotta look at it all really, Slams, masters and titles. Big occasions. This was one of them. Not just an ordinary slam win either, an old Fed coming off 6 months injury rest too, making it an even bigger win and more impressive.
 
E

Elaugaufein

Member
Shadowhelper said:
Sure you can. There isn't one single metric, for GOAT. At one point Nalbandian used to own to Nadal, and Fed used to beat Nalbandian. Maybe not the best example, because I'm assuming Nadal corrected that, but I believe players like Nalbandian and that little bald Russian whose name escapes me, had winning records against Nadal and losing ones to Fed.

Styles make matches. Just because a single player gets the better of a rival doesn't mean they are the better pro tennis player. You gotta look at it all really, Slams, masters and titles.
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Tennis has pretty much no objective measures at all yeah, it's not like running where you can point to a clock or events where you can point to distance. Its not even like cricket where you can look at runs or wickets because the way Tennis scoring works you can lose on points and games but win the match.
 
D

Dizzan

MINI Member
I'd love to see Nadal win the French and Roger win Wimbledon and retire.

What a game, what a great 2 weeks and what an amazing crescendo to a career. I teared up last night. To see him win after a long title drought where he had always been there or thereabouts. It was tough and I honestly thought he wouldn't win another slam. Bravo Feds (and Nadal).
 
K

KeRaSh

Member
What an incredible match. I'm a huge Nadal fanboy and even started playing tennis because of him so I was a little sad that he lost. Federer is such a great guy, though so I'm not holding any grudges.
What a great sport. Love that everyone respects each other so much.
 
G

GaimeGuy

Volunteer Deputy Campaign Director, Obama for America '16
Lion Heart said:
Nadal is GOAT, you cant have someone be considered GOAT when he was absolutely owned by another player during his era. Too bad about this loss because it would have cemented Nadal as the greatest.
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Nah. People have already brought up most of the other counterarguments, but another few points:

Roger Federer has only 3 years of professional play on nadal, but roughly 350 matches. that's a byproduct of Federer having some more longevity as well as better peak performances.

Also, Rafael Nadal on Clay is probably the best single surface tennis player ever. It happens to be Federer's worst surface (although he still has a 75% WR on it). The lopsided head to head matchup between Nadal and federer is a result of them playing so many matches on Nadal's best surface (Clay) and so few matches on Federer's best surface (Grass).

On Hard Courts, Nadal's youth has allowed him to edge federer, although most people would say Federer is a better Hard Court player than Nadal, as well. They're just from different eras (5 years of age in Tennis is like 7-8 years in Basketball).
 
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