Fish on The Sand
Untouchable
Match ended very fittingly, with Thiem spraying 3 errors to lose the deciding game. My guess is he ran out of gas, because he was playing so well up until the middle of the 4th set.
Tennis: Australian Open 2020
- Thread starter Tuggy
- Start date
Savi
Registered User
Only thing Djokovic did in that 5th set was just calmly bring everything back and wait for Thiem to make the mistakes. This feels more like a Thiem loss than a Djokovic win tbh.
Maybe Thiem played too agressive? I don't know.
Maybe Thiem played too agressive? I don't know.
PensandCaps
Beddy Tlueger
- May 22, 2015
- 27,647
- 18,021
i would never count out Djokovic to win on clay, he probably is the 2nd best clay player behind Nadal.
discostu
Registered User
If Thiem played it safe, he'd be criticized for not pushing for it harder.
There's no real easy way to beat Djokovic on what is his best surface. Thiem wasn't quite up for it today, but he made it interesting. Thiem will hopefully be better for the experience.
Thiem has made the final at the French Open the last two years, so there is no reason to think he isn't. Just a matter of time before he wins there.
Say Hey Kid
Gonna get some albums by The Status Quo
Fish on The Sand
Untouchable
Thiem is firmly ahead of Djokovic on clay at this point. Djokovic is still 3rd though with a huge gap to whoever 4th would be. Can't count him out, but if he draws Thiem in his half of the draw it's going to be really tough for him. His best chance would be for Nadal/Thiem to draw each other and tire each other out.
Fish on The Sand
Untouchable
It's literally impossible for Djokovic to pass Federer in slams this year. If he pulls off the calendar slam he'd tie Federer, but that's unlikely.
PensandCaps
Beddy Tlueger
- May 22, 2015
- 27,647
- 18,021
how? Djokovic's resume on clay is more impressive. having beat Nadal multiple times on clay
JianYang
Registered User
- Sep 29, 2017
- 17,920
- 16,401
Yeah, and there's no point in playing it safe against novak or Rafa. They allow very few points through mistakes of their own. If you're going to beat them, you have to do it yourself, because they won't do it for you.
I think thiem played his points with the right mentality. It's just his execution that was not quite good enough.
tony d
Registered User
I think so. Two big threats await him, but until someone actually knocks him off at Roland Garros, he has kind of earned the benefit of the doubt several times over.
JianYang
Registered User
- Sep 29, 2017
- 17,920
- 16,401
I'm not as sophisticated in the realm of tennis. What type of players are best suited for clay court?
Roland garros is a slam that I never watch for whatever reason, but my perception is that clay is the slowest Court, so it makes sense that nadal is so good at it, since he covers so much court.
But then why would Novak not have more success... A guy who I think is the best returner in the world, and another guy who is as good as anyone in court coverage?
What is it about clay that makes Rafa so much more successful?
Them has to be a little disgusted with himself today. Up two sets to one and he basically ran out of gas, couldn't get the job done. That's a bitter pill.
And here's the Super Bowl. Gotta love these Australian hours--until tomorrow anyway.
And here's the Super Bowl. Gotta love these Australian hours--until tomorrow anyway.
Fighter
Registered User
Nole has looked beatable in this final, but Thiem ran out of gas in the fifth. It's all good for experience, I have no doubts Thiem will win a GS rather soon, his shot making today was awesome up to the third. As for Djoker, he's a mental giant, he manages to win games when he plays at 70-80% no matter how bad is the situation for him, I thought he was done at the end of the third but Thiem is not Wawrinka.... yet.
Fish on The Sand
Untouchable
Thiem has beat Djokovic multiple times on clay and Djokovic hasn't done it recently
The prototypes on clay are Nadal and Borg. They are well suited for clay because of their tremendous groundstrokes, their speed, their ability to play great defense from the backcourt, their familiarity with clay court peculiarities, like sliding and coping with the (relatively) slower speed of the surface, their understanding of clay court strategies, and their superb fitness level which allowed both to play at a high level of intensity without tiring greatly. So basically they are the role models. In the '60s and '70s South and Central Americans and Europeans, players who grew up on clay courts, were dominant on the surface. While this is less cut-and-dried today, it still helps a lot to be familiar with the surface from an early age. The reason Novak hasn't had more success is the reason that Federer, who made five French Open finals and was the second best clay court player in the world for half a decade, hasn't had more success. In two words: Rafa Nadal, the most dominant player on a single surface in the history of tennis dating back to the 19th century. Minus Rafa, Roger and Nole would have likely won more French Open Grand Slams than they have even though their games are better suited to faster surfaces..
I think the French Open is the toughest Slam to win because you have to be good at so many different aspects of the game and have to have the stamina and mental toughness to stay out there all day because of the longer rallies due to the slowness of the surface. While we are developing more all-court players these days and more uniform speeds from surface to surface, it is interesting to look at who doesn't play well on clay--including most serve and volleyers whose opponents have more time to react than on other surfaces. For one example, Pete Sampras was never consistently a threat on clay in the big European tournaments because his game was far better suited to hard courts and grass.
It's probably due to thiem winning 3 of the last 4 encounters with djokovic on clay? Thiem has been the 2nd best clay player for several years now.
Loosie
The Eternal Optimist
If you're going by that stat, then Thiem has beat Djokovic multiple times on clay including their last 2 French Open encounters.
PensandCaps
Beddy Tlueger
- May 22, 2015
- 27,647
- 18,021
who has a french open title?
or
if i told you Nadal faces Djokovic or Thiem in the French open final, who gives him a tougher game? i think we all know the answer to that.
Loosie
The Eternal Optimist
Djokovic was the 2nd best clay courter, the argument is that Thiem is surpassing him. The fact that Djokovic has and FO and Thiem doesn't, does not make Djokovic a better clay court player right now.
Also one player being a better matchup against someone once again does not make them better than another.
I would say Djokovic has a better chance of betting Nadal at RG than Thiem does, but I would also say that Thiem could beat Djokovic more than Djokovic can beat Thiem.
I think djokovic is 7-15 against nadal h2h on clay while thuem is 4-8. There is no significant difference in their h2h‘s, where are you getting your information from?Thiem has both shown to be a harder opponent for nadal than djokovic and has also beaten djokovic 3 out of the last 4 meetings on clay.
Everyone and their grandmother know thiem is the 2nd best claycourter, why are you making this stand here? When was the last time djokovic even won a clay match against nadal? 2016? 2015? Since then thiem best nadal 3 or 4 times.
Ad
Upcoming events
-
-
-
-
-
Game 3 Florida Panthers @ Tampa Bay Lightning - Florida Panthers leads series 2-0Wagers: 1Staked: $100.00Event closes- Updated: