Australian Open 2019
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going to need to hit forehands down the line rafa. match could change if he can do that consistently, needs court position though, and he's having no time to build that position.
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can win points, but also causes doubt for novak... can't just sit waiting for the next backhand.
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too good from Novak. things have to change if Nadal's going to get into this.. no sign yet.
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this is why i think djokovic is the best player ever. level wise, rather than pure number of titles. it's like battling heroic level pong.
Thanks for the detailed info NT.Nero Tulip wrote: ↑Sun Jan 27, 2019 6:47 amThey've played each other 52 times, and among them are some of the best matches you'll ever see... including the final here in 2012, which was 7 minutes short of 6 hours long, no chance of that again due to tie breaks..
it's 27-25 to djokovic, 14-5 on hard courts, 5-8 in best of 5s, but Nadal on clay is a bit of an issue for most people. But - *Nadal hasn't beaten Djokovic since 2013 on a hard court*
Likely a close match, I don't see it being much different to previous encounters. Both returning well, there'll be chances to break for both... Interesting that most hype around their respective games centers around Nadal's improved serve, so we'll see if Djokovic gets as many break chances, I think he will personally, improving a serve by an increment or two won't make much difference against the best returner ever.
If I was guessing, I think Djokovic will take it. Things to watch -
how deep are Nadal's shots landing? if they are deep and with pace on them, then it's definitely game on, short and too much spin, then he's going to have one of his bad hard court days (he's been ripping it deep all tournament).
is Djokovic winning the cross court backhand to Nadal's forehand battle, if he is, Nadal's forehand will drop short for Djokovic to hurt him with shots down the line to Nadal's backhand.. this is the classic way to hurt Nadal, the strategy most people try, Murray was one of the earliest to do this...most struggle to get enough on the CC shot and to hit the line ball consistently enough, Djokovic is good enough.
That said, Djokovic has also taken a different strategy by hitting nearly everything to Nadal's BH. So it'll be fun seeing what approach he takes today.
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I'm just happy the market got punished for not giving enough momentum to Djokovic, too much lay the leader going on, a well overdue beating in this sort of match. Was a reversal in behaviour from earlier rounds, but I think the big player going down on the Serena match may have had something to do with it.
While it's been far from an exciting final to watch or for trading I don't think anyone can take anything away from Novak's performance and despite making history again I suspect he'll still won't be given the credit he deserves.
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