US OPEN, Flushing Meadows, NY, USA, GRAND SLAM (Men)

Billie

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I think so. All the momentum with Stan. Like you said before Billie, he should have wrapped that third set up far more easily than he did.

Yeah, I think this is almost mission impossible for Kei. Had he stolen that 3rd set, I would have given him some chances.
 

JesuslookslikeBorg

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stan cracks topspin bh into kei's toes and breaks for 2-0..is it fork sticking in time for nish?
 

Carol

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Gooo Stan, you are the man today, who knows on Sunday :dance3:
 

Billie

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Unless Stan shoots himself in a foot, I don't see him losing this.
 

EdbergsGhost

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Back on serve. You may be able to blast him off the court, but the little samurai will not quit.
 
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britbox

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The fat lady was just warming up her voice in the locker room... Kei's hidden the song sheet but it's only a matter of time, surely.
 

Billie

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A bit of momentum for Kei might be stopped if he gets broken back immediately.
 

Billie

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Credit to Kei, he was fighting for as long as he could. Stan overpowered him. Stan the man in another major final, 1 a year since 2014, he has a great record in them too.
 

Billie

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Couple of quotes from today's presser from Gael:




Q. You didn't seem to be able to give it your full effort.

"No, at the beginning I think, you know, Novak was playing good. I didn't serve great, you know. It was very quick 5-0. I get to change a little bit, you know. I get to change. That's a little bit tough, because for sure people are not really ready to see that. You know, because, you know, why I will stay and lose 6-0 and not change anything? So, yeah, definitely I try to get in his head. You know, try to create something new for him, you know, to see. And that was it. When the guy is too good, you know, playing clean and you're playing very bad, I mean, not that good, you know, you need to change. At the end, that's why I think it was necessary, and I almost get back to the first set."



And he's another, more "quotable" clip from the presser:



Q. Have you had opponents do that to you, as well, change up the tactics?

"No, because everyone not doing it because of all the question they gonna receive and all the -- is not natural, and I know it is not natural. Because first question is like you're not competing. Fuck, yes, I'm competing, you know. Even I'm like at my best actually. The guy is too good. I just have to change, you know."
 
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Moxie

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I don't have huge affection for Stan, though I have respect for his (occasional) game. Also, he is the most likely to beat Novak, who, let's not put too fine a point on it, barely deserves the title. This is the closest we've come to the old days, when the defending champ only had to play the final. (That might have been Wimbledon only?) Do I sound crabby? I will be, if Wawrinka loses due to being more tired than Djokovic.
 

Billie

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More quotes from Monfils:

After the match, Monfils was asked about McEnroe's comments.

"I'm very sad to learn that such a legend criticize me, because at the end what I can say to John is, 'John, I want to be the best,'" Monfils said. "It's tough, you know. And I try my best.

"I'm sorry if you think I'm unprofessional, but I guess I'm working, I'm learning."

"It's not academic, but I try to win. I'm sorry, every time, to hear that I get destroyed. For what? At the end, for what? To tell me I'm so talented I waste my time," Monfils said. "Sorry, I"m not wasting my time. I think I know how to try to play the best, and to play the best sometime is to improve. And when the guy is too good, you change. Not academic, but I try to be better."

Djokovic acknowledged that Monfils's unusual tactics flustered him.

"I was completely caught off guard when he just stood there and chipped the ball back and didn't do much. If I would get to the net he would go for the passing shot and hit some impossible gets and balls," Djokovic said. "But that's Gael."

Monfils said he knew his strategy to close the first set wouldn't be enough to win the match, but he wanted to disrupt Djokovic's rhythm. By the third set, Monfils looked much more comfortable hitting conventional groundstrokes against Djokovic and didn't use his slice as much.

"F--- yes, I'm competing. Even I'm like at my best actually," Monfils said. "[Djokovic] is too good."

http://www.si.com/tennis/2016/09/09...ifinal-criticism-novak-djokovic?xid=si_social
 

EdbergsGhost

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I don't have huge affection for Stan, though I have respect for his (occasional) game. Also, he is the most likely to beat Novak, who, let's not put too fine a point on it, barely deserves the title. This is the closest we've come to the old days, when the defending champ only had to play the final. (That might have been Wimbledon only?) Do I sound crabby? I will be, if Wawrinka loses due to being more tired than Djokovic.


Barely deserves the title? Lol. He played the people in his draw like everyone else... it's not his fault they were no shows.
 
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Billie

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I don't have huge affection for Stan, though I have respect for his (occasional) game. Also, he is the most likely to beat Novak, who, let's not put too fine a point on it, barely deserves the title. This is the closest we've come to the old days, when the defending champ only had to play the final. (That might have been Wimbledon only?) Do I sound crabby? I will be, if Wawrinka loses due to being more tired than Djokovic.

LOL but it's fine when Nole has to play 3 days in a row like here in 2012 or in Paris in 2015 and gets tired? When I look at his H2H record against most of top ten, it shows he played +20 matches against all of those that are close to his age and older. The first time he gets some breaks in 1 major, he doesn't deserve it. Oh well. Whoever wins on Sunday will be a deserving champion, whether it be Nole or Stan. That guy will be the one navigating through these 2 weeks best of all.
 
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Moxie

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To your point, that's exactly it. A men's Major is a marathon, not a sprint. That's the point of best-of-5. Of course, you can only deal with the matches and opponents in front of you, but barely playing a few matches is hardly the way a Major is expected to go, especially for a guy who was wounded and looked barely able to get out of his next round, a week and a half ago. If he wins, he wins, but let's just say that he'll have been one lucky SOB. Who won't think that? It's no shame for even a fan to recognize that he's been lucky. Luck happens, too.
 
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