2013 Wimbledon SF: Djokovic vs. Delpo
- Thread starter kskate2
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There isn't many players that are what I call 'bad' matchups for Novak in the same sense of Fedal, Del Potro, Berdych and others. (Perhaps players with power games who also have good slices) I mean it's clear that for example Roger and Rafa both have very specific types of players and gamestyles that they don't like to play against and seem to steamroll everything else.
Novak on the other hand doesn't really seem to have that same Achilles heels. The flip side is that his gamestyle isn't necessarily a bad matchup for the rest of the tour. It's really pretty basic aggressive control style tennis, simply executed at a very high level and I don't really think it makes most tennis players uncomfortable perse.
So perhaps more than Fedal, he is vulnerable to simply being beaten by a hot player who's in rhythm while he himself is not, even if that player perse doesn't really have a style that bothers him. So I think If DelPo has a great day, he can outright beat Novak. I just don't think its likely, considering Novaks overall level is number 1 for a reason.
Novak on the other hand doesn't really seem to have that same Achilles heels. The flip side is that his gamestyle isn't necessarily a bad matchup for the rest of the tour. It's really pretty basic aggressive control style tennis, simply executed at a very high level and I don't really think it makes most tennis players uncomfortable perse.
So perhaps more than Fedal, he is vulnerable to simply being beaten by a hot player who's in rhythm while he himself is not, even if that player perse doesn't really have a style that bothers him. So I think If DelPo has a great day, he can outright beat Novak. I just don't think its likely, considering Novaks overall level is number 1 for a reason.
tented
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Denisovich said:
I agree. After watching parts of the match again, I can't believe DP didn't retire in the first game. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, and simply masked it at the time with ibuprofen. But look out! His knee could easily be the size of a grapefruit today.
Novak by asterisk.
Riotbeard
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nehmeth said:
This is somewhat decontextualized, i watched the whole interview on espn that I think these quotes come from, and he says after this stuff that he is pretty sure his knee is fine, but if he hadn't broken early in that first he might have withdrawn, but that throughout the match his knee improved and he feels good about his game overall. He is talking about how he felt during the medical timeout not how he felt about his knee by the end of the match.
Very different imo. The interview I watched made seem like there was virtually no chance of him pulling out.
Andrew William
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Can't see JMDP hanging with DJokovic if he's not 110%. Unless he becomes wolverine (looks kinda like him) and regenerates his health quickly this is going to be Novak in straights.
Sundaymorningguy
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Unless Del Po has an amazing adrenaline rush that makes playing on that knee virtually painless. I think this goes to Djokovic. You have to be able to move well to play Djokovic. Unless the Del Po plan is to take large chances on the serve and large cuts at the return and hope for the best, but even that strategy will only last so long against Djokovic.
Djokovic in 3. Djokovic in 4 if Delpo is 100% which i doubt. Whatever the condition of the knee, I think Delpo will still show up and play the match.
Front242
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Bad knee or physically 100% I just can't see Del Potro winning. I missed his match yesterday but unless he's executing his DTL BH (which he hasn't properly really since 2009) he's at a major disadvantage against Djokovic in particular imo. Djokovic will run him ragged to expose the mobility issues and going crosscourt won't win DP long rallies. He simply has to find his DTL BH again.
Moxie
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Unexpectedly, Del Potro played really well, after the knee scare. However, I do agree that if he's not 110%, he won't get the better of Novak tomorrow. He managed to keep Ferrer's movement out of the match yesterday, but he'll have to have an amazing serving day to have a half-chance.
tented
The GOAT
Kieran said:
I agree. It reminds me of the '07 Wimbledon, when Roger got a walkover in the middle of the tournament when Haas withdrew. Lots of people kept saying he was lucky, etc., but Roger insisted it was a bad thing -- it messed up the rhythm of the tournament. I believed him then, and I think it holds true today, in this instance with Novak.
tented
The GOAT
Kieran said:
Sure he did. That was the year Rafa played Soderling for 5 days, and it was during the same period when Roger got the walkover and stood around for several days. He definitely noticed Haas wasn't there.
the AntiPusher
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nehmeth said:
JMDP is gonna wish that he had pulled out because Djoker is going to run his groin into the dirt. The only way to defeat Djoker is PAIN, you have got to endure the pain because the Serbian Slayer is a body destroyer, imo.
tented
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Kieran said:tented said:
Yeah, I'm sure he missed the practice.
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make, Kieran, but the fact remains that Roger was forced out of the tournament's natural rhythm, as would happen to Novak if JMDP were to pull out. In both cases, I feel certain they would prefer to go through the standard rhythm of the tournament, and play the matches, regardless of their level of difficulty.