The Most Significant Match Of 2012

The French Open final doesn't top many peoples list of their favorite match of the year as it was hardly the prettiest but in terms of significance it would be difficult to top.

For both Nadal and Djokovic the stakes could hardly have been higher. Djokovic had played one of the best seasons in tennis history to get himself in the position where he needed just one more match to be the holder of all four slams. There was talk that if he did this he could claim to be greater than Nadal and Federer (Not by me...). The FO was also the slam that he needed to put him in the select group who have won each of the slams. In contrast Nadal was playing to hold on to what must have felt like the only thing that Djokovic hadn't taken from him over the last year. Having lost three slam finals to Djokovic to lose a fourth to the same player would have made history too. Losing at the French on his best surface would have been particularly painful.

With so much to play for it's understandable that the match wasn't the prettiest. Both players did well to hold racquets without visibly shaking. The match started off looking like a routine win for Nadal but Djokovic wasn't going to go down without a fight. With the weather deteriorating Djokovic did what he is best at when played into a corner. He swung out and went for winners. The match was suspended over night with both players were forced to sleep on the prospect of what could have been a twist in the match outcome. It was not to be and Nadal won yet another French Open. More than any other player but because the more dramatic result would have been a Djokovic win it was greeted with a yawn rather than a fanfare.

But as a reminder of just how significant the match was imagine for a moment that it had resulted in a Djokovic win. Would a "grand" slam winning Djokovic been thrashed at Wimbledon by Federer? Would he have lost in such a scrappy way to Murray at the US Open? And for Nadal things really would have looked disastrous if he had been forced to take 6 months off after losing his French crown

The French Open Final IMO was clearly the most significant match of 2012. In fact I'm struggling to think of a single match in recent history that had quite so much resting on it.

Rosol against somebody.

i swear you have done an article on this HE, getting a bit too tautological!

No real contest here as I see it. Murray V Djokovic to win the US Open to become the first British man in 76 years to win a slam. Aside from that feat it also signified a crucifying blow to all the doubters insistent that Murray would never win a slam. I rest my case.

djlovesyou wrote:Rosol against somebody.

Shame that some people think that they are original with this kind of post... Its been done to death

Haddie-nuff seems like over a quarter of a million Rosol fans on you tube would beg to differ. Here's the link for those who can't get enough of their hero in action-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRBRcoP2F38

15 minutes of fun for that post Christmas dinner viewing perhaps? After all better than anything on the telly this year by the looks of it.

newballs wrote:Haddie-nuff seems like over a quarter of a million Rosol fans on you tube would beg to differ. Here's the link for those who can't get enough of their hero in action-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRBRcoP2F38

15 minutes of fun for that post Christmas dinner viewing perhaps? After all better than anything on the telly this year by the looks of it.

How many of them are Rosol fans though? I'd say more like...dare I say it.......Federer fans. Damn shouldn't have said that.

newballs wrote:Haddie-nuff seems like over a quarter of a million Rosol fans on you tube would beg to differ. Here's the link for those who can't get enough of their hero in action-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRBRcoP2F38

15 minutes of fun for that post Christmas dinner viewing perhaps? After all better than anything on the telly this year by the looks of it.

I dont subscribe to You Tube thanks for the link anyway... I subscribe to 606v2 I dont give a damn what the other quarter of a million cant get enough of.. Rafa has multi-million fans so I doubt he cares much about a mere 250,000 and I think its been well debated on several threads here already- But great what ever gives you your laughs. I cant wait for Rosol to meet Federer... now that really should be fun


Be nice to get something else to talk about.

OK maybe it's about time to move on but one last thought for you.

Joking aside (whether or not Nadal fans can see it that way) the match was very significant as Rafa hasn't appeared on tour since and there must be question marks as to how quickly if ever he'll reach the top as a player again.

Rafa can best put this one to bed though by being ready and able to defend his French Open title. That'll give you something else to talk about for sure.

He is coming back and he will play but to what standard even he cannot say.
His knee is still causing problems but he will return for Abu Dhabi. Im not holding my breath about any major wins.. I just want to see him back on court and hopefully with knees that will not let him down.

The points you have raised newballs have been chewed over by Nadal fans the world over for the last 6mths... you are not coming up with anything new.

But frankly the Rosol debacle has been milked dry and I will say just one more time if you seriously believe he is a threat to a fit and well Rafa then he is a threat to EVERY other player on tour perhaps thats why they were "resting" him at the DC Saving him for the BIG GUNS

Agree with HE, Nadal breaking Borg's record in FO was very significant.

If Federer can break Pete's record in Wimby next that will be very significant as well.

For britain the USO was huge, as first winner in ages.

hawkeye wrote: There was talk that if he did this he could claim to be greater than Nadal and Federer (Not by me...). The FO was also the slam that he needed to put him in the select group who have won each of the slams. In

Yes there was, but it came from Socal. I mean, how can anybody take seriously anything coming from that guy......

Anyway back on topic: for me the most significant match was Nadal - Rosol at Wimbledon 2012. It's been the real turning point of the season and hopefully we will hear more from Rosol nexy year

Matches tend to have significance with historical perspective and it is too early to know if RG 2012 was the most significant match of the year.

If Nadal comes back and has Djokovic's measure in a way he did not in 2011, then the final of the French Open is a very significant match indeed - probably the most significant because it would most likely be settling who will be No 1 and scoop the most major finals. It looked at the time as if it might be the most significant battle of the year, but then with Nadal unable to continue on the tour after defeat at Wimbledon, it didn't seem to have so much significance after all. I guess this year will tell us if we can 'read' anything from the battle and the result - hard to make a case either way at this moment in time.

Conversely, if Murray manages another slam title this year, we might look back at the US Open final as being the most significant match because it got the monkey off his back and allowed him to play more freely and confidently in future slam finals.

At the moment, RG might be the most significant match for Nadal fans, but it is unlikely to be so for fans of Fed, Djoker and Murray.

It Must Be Love

Ha ha! It's nice to know that I am not the only one to see this match as very significant. Just how significant it was is that Nadal breaking Borgs record was hardly even a talking point. Most of the talk at the time centered on Djokovic and the potential for him to get the four slams and the possibility of Nadal losing them and his clay "stronghold".

It says much about Nadal that a single win against him can earn a player such notoriety. I always think Federer had the right reaction to it when he laughed. I agree that it will be remembered but for it's freakishness rather than its significance. Oh and of course it will be remembered and celebrated by all those who enjoy watching Nadal lose. They have to look for crumbs wherever they can find them. Bless...

Caladonian Craig. Of course Murrays's US Open win was highly significant for him and for British tennis and of course his fans. But not in the grand scheme of things.

I think that you are perhaps misusing the word significant HE that's what is confusing. Of course the RG was massive historically, and established Nadal as unquestionably the greatest clay courter of all time.

However, did it have any significance to the tour as a whole? Only if it means that Nadal has discovered answers to Djokovic Mark II at least 50% of the time.

time please

I am using the term in the broadest way. Winning or not winning a single slam can never in the grand scheme of things be as significant as winning a "grand" slam or breaking the record of number of wins at a single slam. Both were on the line in that match in addition to other unique circumstances such as the potential loss of four slam finals to one player and Nadal losing a slam final on clay. Matches with so much on the line don't happen that often.

But If you are just looking at the significance of the RG final on the rest of the year. Don't you think losing it affected Djokovic?

none of the above, me returning from a 3 year long hiatus due to injury and playing tennis for the first time

Oh! LuvSports that's great and I agree significant.

Most significant historically? Probably Rafa winning the French open and Roger winning Wimbledon.

Most significant for the tour now? Murray's win in New York. That's the only one that changes the landscape for the current. Rosol's win would only become significant if Rafa fails to get back up to his previous level and never ascends the heights he did previously.

I believe he will get back to his best, or close to anyway. So whilst it was a big story and a tremendous match, I don't think it will change much at all when we look back at it in a few years.

significant is a relative term - ie signified what exactly?

It certainly didn't turn out to augur well for the rest of Rafa's year. It may turn out eventually to signify that Djokovic's dominance was temporary, or again it may turn out to signify absolutely nothing of the kind.

hawkeye wrote:Oh! LuvSports that's great and I agree significant.

cheers buddy , crying with happiness, ya really can't beat it just love playing sport (specio tennis) so much!

The significant event, was Murray winning his first Slam - simply because

1) It justified those who put him in the same category as the Top 4 as opposed to numbers 4 to 8
2) It makes him more of a contender for future slams
3) It sends a signal out to his peers - as witnessed by Roger who had to be at his awesome best to beat Murray at O2, as opposed to often only having to turn up, i.e. he now has a new respect for Murray knowing he has to pull on all his reserves to beat him, like he has to do for Nole and Rafa
4) It adds more of a lottery to who will win the next few slams. Quite honestly, we could toss a coin between the Top 3 for Aus

My top 10 matches of the year:
http://sportpulse.net/content/tennis-top-10-greatest-matches-2012-5907

Enjoy

Only Nadals incredible 7th RG can challenge 7, 17 & 300.

Everything else was routine.

bogbrush wrote:Only Nadals incredible 7th RG can challenge 7, 17 & 300.

Everything else was routine.

You must mean 7, 17, and 287 because 300 was not decided by the same match.

Otherwise I agree - nobody has ever won 7 RG's before, but nobody has ever won 17 slams before.