2013 Monte Carlo F: Nadal vs. Djokovic

[brokenshoelace]

Is that a ball in his pocket or is he just glad he won!? :exclamation:

I think it's two balls... and he's really glad he won.

 

[BalaryKar]

Is that a ball in his pocket or is he just glad he won!? :exclamation:

He must have been glad to have the ball in the pocket:exclamation:

 

[Mog]

Congratulations to Djokovic. He played very well and controlling most of the time. He did create amazing angles on both sides.

 

[Kieran]

Is that a ball in his pocket or is he just glad he won!? :exclamation:

I think it's two balls... and he's really glad he won.

Haha! He certainly had them today, alright...

 

[BalaryKar]

Can somebody correct me? I think Nole not only became first man in 9 years to win Monte Carlo, I think he had become the first man in history to win 3 matches against Nadal. Please confirm

Not sure I understand. Obviously, you mean "first man outside of Nadal to win Monte Carlo in 9 years" for the first one.

But the second question? Do you mean win 3 matches against Nadal on clay? Gaston Guadio has done so.

Its obvious that first man outside of Nadal. I don't insist on history not be written 2005-12 for Monte Carlo

Did Gaudio win 3 matches against Nadal on Clay? Verified, and Nole needs to wait for one more win

 

[calitennis127]

As I stated almost a year ago, after the French Open, Djokovic is going to be the best player in the 2013 clay season - assuming he doesn't lose a step in the next two or three weeks.

 

[brokenshoelace]

assuming he doesn't lose a step in the next two or three weeks.

See, this is actually funny (I'm serious), given that it was simple, subtle, not forced, to the point, and you didn't have to create a whole thread about it.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Great win for Djoker and congrat to his fan.. I am being honest, if Rafa was going to loose I glad it was to a worthy adversary such as Djoker. He played superb tennis today and out played Rafa in every aspect of the game. Rafa fought bravely in the later part of the 1st set and throughout the 2nd set. I saying it here 1st, MC this year was not the Goal.. its the slams now.. Rafa needs to regroup, continue to work on mixing up his 1st serve and keep moving forward. This to shall pass, life goes On.. At least for this Rafa fan it does.

 

[Postpre]

Great win for Djoker and congrat to his fan.. I am being honest, if Rafa was going to loose I glad it was to a worthy adversary such as Djoker. He played superb tennis today and out played Rafa in every aspect of the game. Rafa fought bravely in the later part of the 1st set and throughout the 2nd set. I saying it here 1st, MC this year was not the Goal.. its the slams now.. Rafa needs to regroup, continue to work on mixing up his 1st serve and keep moving forward. This to shall pass, life goes On.. At least for this Rafa fan it does.

This is correct. Due to his lengthy absence (and even the layoff after Indian Wells), Nadal's 2013 clay court season should be judged by his results at Roland Garros, and nothing more.

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As stated, Nadal's Monte Carlo preparation wasn't normative for him. He took two weeks off after Indian Wells, and only began practicing for MC a week before the start of the tournament. Since his comeback, Nadal hasn't had much time to establish any rhythm and consistency. He needed precautionary rest before the start of the clay season. In the future weeks, we will see him develop his usual consistency and prowess on clay.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Great win for Djoker and congrat to his fan.. I am being honest, if Rafa was going to loose I glad it was to a worthy adversary such as Djoker. He played superb tennis today and out played Rafa in every aspect of the game. Rafa fought bravely in the later part of the 1st set and throughout the 2nd set. I saying it here 1st, MC this year was not the Goal.. its the slams now.. Rafa needs to regroup, continue to work on mixing up his 1st serve and keep moving forward. This to shall pass, life goes On.. At least for this Rafa fan it does.

This is correct. Due to his lengthy absence (and even the layoff after Indian Wells), Nadal's 2013 clay court season should be judged by his results at Roland Garros, and nothing more.

---

As stated, Nadal's Monte Carlo preparation wasn't normative for him. He took two weeks off after Indian Wells, and only began practicing for MC a week before the start of the tournament. Since his comeback, Nadal hasn't had much time to establish any rhythm and consistency. He needed precautionary rest before the start of the clay season. In the future weeks, we will see him develop his usual consistency and prowess on clay.

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We can't look at it from this side alone. I would have to assume that losing a tournament he hadn't lost in for the past 9 years to his biggest rival and threat will have some bearing on his chances at Roland Garros.

 

[Riotbeard]

I actually think Novak deals well with difficult volleys that require a lot of flexibility and getting low (he's such a great athlete so it helps), but struggles with volleys that require less stretching but more technical proficiency.

Agreed. Had a couple glaring moments of that today, but overall he continues to improve his technical proficiency as well.

And yes... Rafa was MUCH better at net than the past few matches.

Nehmeth and Broken: Did you catch when Djokovic successfully served and volleyed against nadal? That was a happy moment for me. And I agree, he has become much better at the net overall, but will sometimes drop the ball on some surprisingly easy volleys.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

yay as I told everyone I was right about the weather and the result..except I was expecting rafa/wafa to scrape a set somehow..but he just gave up like joey deacon facing a long slow climb up a hill in a gale..nadal knew it was all over..

so much for all those that understand nothing of injuries or tennis, claiming nadal would walk off with the title and hardly lose a game..still its amusing I suppose..but some folk need to respect not only the opponents but also tennis..

it would be a fiasco if wafa/rafa and djoko met in qf of French open..hopefully he will have his seed bumped up a few places..or do we face the prospect of a 7 time winner being seeded 5.

the French seem to hate nadal (drugs this/doping that) so they prob wont push his seed up..hmmm the vendetta continues. :huh:

maybe they don't like him pulling his knickers out of his hole 800 times a match..lets face it, its pretty hideous.

 

[Postpre]

Hi postpre.

Rafa has been to the finals of the five tournaments he's played, 3 of which were on clay. His clay season began a while ago. He lost to a guy who sprained his ankle a week before the tournament and did not practice until a day or so before his first match. I agree with you that winning RG is the primary objective for Rafa, but his clay court season is not about the one tournament.

Broken and Nehemeth have good points. But, I don't think the competition within the South American tour forced him to play under duress (Ferrer and Almagro showed up rather small). I don't think losing Monte Carlo will shake his confidence in future encounters against Nole. Nadal already knows that Nole has the potential to beat him on clay. IMHO, if Nadal plays at his absolute best on clay, he won't lose Roland Garros. The big question is can he get back to this level?

 

[huntingyou]

Clean tennis from Novak with high intensity during the big points; Rafa couldn't match that level and probably felt desperation during the later part of the second set.

Bodes well for the Djoker, regardless of what happens in Madrid/Rome he will have this victory in the back of his head and this will give him the confidence at RG IF they face each other.

The good thing for Rafa is, he has plenty of room for improvement........the tactical part especially which is a must for him against Novak.

I laugh at those who disregard weather as a big factor for Rafa on clay......it's day and night. Anyways, time for Rafa to be the hunter; at least when he says he is not favorite people will believe his modesty for the rest of the clay season.

 

[imjimmy]

To me the future Djoko - Nadal matches will come down a lot on Nadal's serve.

I know Rafa serves slower on clay, and yes his serve tends to go haywire these days a little too often. But against Djokovic, unless Nadal has a good serving day, he's at a massive disadvantage. On any surface. This is almost regardless of Djokovic's level. He got clobbered on his second serve today winning just close to 30% of the points. If you get pushed on the defensive immediately when you serve, always keep on struggling to hold - it's just massive pressure.

Of course, Nadal probably won't get his 2010 serve back. But his serving this week, has been abysmal to say the least. He might be able to get away with it playing others, but not Djokovic. His team has to figure out a way to have a consistent first serve that enables him to have the ascendancy in the rally, as well as win cheap points. It's more complicated because he cannot have a very low % - as then his second serve gets exposed. He definitely needs more pace. Serves under 110 mph won't cut it IMO.

Djokovic actually came down to earth in the 2nd set. He wasn't at the Rome 2011 Final level for instance. Otherwise the match might have been less closer.

Rafa has his work cut out. He can definitely get better, and probably will. But RG is dicy for sure. He has to get one win over Djokovic before that, otherwise it might be a tough ask.

 

[Postpre]

Rafa plays Barcelona next week. If he wins there, does he skip Madrid and head to Rome?


Kieran, very much exactly the perspective you said he'd have on the MC final:

http://www.monte-carlorolexmasters.com/News/Tennis/2013/Tournament/Monte-Carlo-Final-Nadal-Reaction.aspx

I don't think Nadal skips Madrid this year. In previous years he could get away with it-- at this point he needs to work his way to form on the clay, especially considering he could potentially play a powerhouse (Djokovic, Federer, Tsonga, etc) in the 1/4's at Roland Garros.

 

[Kieran]

Kieran, very much exactly the perspective you said he'd have on the MC final:

http://www.monte-carlorolexmasters.com/News/Tennis/2013/Tournament/Monte-Carlo-Final-Nadal-Reaction.aspx

That's it. I think people here get carried away (to say the least), so when Ralph dispatched Calbandian and others in his initial burst on his return, some people thought the false dawn was the full light. If you had said before his return that he'd lose the MC final to Novak, I would have taken it. I'd have thought it's all foundational work and there's no way he can go from nought to sixty in less than ten seconds. It would require time and patience and the parts would be assembled by degrees. Some days he'd be magnificent and then there'd be steps backwards.

My only concern is that his confidence doesn't take a hiding. I doubt it will, but losses to Novak in 2011 struck something in his psyche, a something he'd expunged before he went lame last year. From the interview, it seems he's taking a balanced and reasonable approach to this loss...

 

[herios]

Rafa plays Barcelona next week. If he wins there, does he skip Madrid and head to Rome?

Rafa never skips Madrid. Why would he do it this year? What is different?

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My only concern is that his confidence doesn't take a hiding. I doubt it will, but losses to Novak in 2011 struck something in his psyche, a something he'd expunged before he went lame last year. From the interview, it seems he's taking a balanced and reasonable approach to this loss...

It depends if he will redeem himself at Madrid/Rome or not. Any subsequent defeat from Nole , or let's say from Roger in Madrid could be a further hit to his confidence. I am very curious how the seeding will play out there, where everyone will be back and Rafa gets seeded 5th again. In IW didn't matter as we saw it, but it could be a factor, depending who meets whom

 

[Kieran]

Maybe I should ask it differently: Does anyone think it's a good idea to play Barca, Madrid, and Rome leading up to the French Open?

No.

I'd skip Barca...

 

[Kieran]

Maybe I should ask it differently: Does anyone think it's a good idea to play Barca, Madrid, and Rome leading up to the French Open?

No.

I'd skip Barca...

Me too.

He said he's playing Barca, so I thought the next best thing would be to forgo Madrid since it plays the least like RG's surface.

That would be the next option.

Also, I wouldn't get hooked on superstitious musings that he 'has to beat' Novak before Paris. He doesn't. He has to improve his game as the priority, then he can plot his course against Novak...