French Open 2013 Finals Thread - David vs Goliath ,Rafa to roll for 8th Crown in history?

[invisiblecoolers]

First topic message reminder :

Massive favorite vs major underdog could be the theme of the finals, can David beat the Goliath for a career rewarding title?

I guess I owe a good thread in this FO series and here I go, the match starts roughly at 3.00 PM, nice start time for Canadian fans, as it will be 9 AM in the morning.

Let Analyze do David have it in him to win Rafa aka slay Goliath? the straight forward answer would be no, some of them has gone so far saying I won't mind betting my house on Rafa win even if David is 2 sets up, such is the impact of Rafa. What I find strange is punters fear, they are giving only 4 odds on David to win the first set, are they seeing the match to be closer than what a general tennis fan would see? Indeed Djoko got 2.9 odds on him, so chance of upset tomorrow is only marginal compared to Rafa's semifinal opponent?

Rafa to win 3-0 gets 1.72 odds and 3-1 gets 3.50.

Whoever gonna win it was an eventual tiresome tournament with so many upsets, with Robredo being the chief culprit, it was a fun enjoyable tournament and I hope we get a fitting finale with the biggest upset.

Let the game Begin.

[Guest]

What a rubbish slam.

Clay is really the worst surface for tennis entertainment.

[laverfan]

I can't believe we've come to this after him having 7 months out and on the verge of retirement.

Congrats to Nadal fans, to bask in reflected glory.

LF, for a mod, you sure have WUMy tendencies...mhmm.

I am a WUM, with some reasonable comments rather infrequently.

[JuliusHMarx]

What a rubbish slam.

Clay is really the worst surface for tennis entertainment.

If it wasn't for Rafa, that might well be the case. Even he couldn't save the fnal though.

[User 774433]

What a rubbish slam.

Clay is really the worst surface for tennis entertainment.

[laverfan]

What a rubbish slam.

Clay is really the worst surface for tennis entertainment.

The Galactic Emancipator should have an OFF switch somewhere to press and turn off the idiot box in front of their noses, gollum, gollum,....

[summerblues]

LF, I do not really mind, plus I am ok even with real WUMing (within reason), it is all part of a forum. Some of the best posters in the old old days on 606 (and even before it was called 606) were outright WUMs.

[kingraf]

AIR - in his peak years was the Lord of Wummery.. So was NewZulu. Jewel of East...

[Guest]

Nadull is the most boring, negative, retrieving, grinding, ugly, 1-dimensional player ever.

Geez, the guy even targets Ferrer's BH.

Ferrer, for god's sake. The guy who doesn't have any weapons. Still The Nadull plays all of his shots to the Ferrer BH.

Nadull relies on his engine to grind people into the ground. So boring and negative.

But I will give him credit for one thing - he has mastered the art of winning UGLY



emancipator

[JuliusHMarx]

AIR - in his peak years was the Lord of Wummery.. So was NewZulu. Jewel of East...

I never rated Jewel of East - a pretty poor WUM, IMO.
Sugar Harris was the best.

[User 774433]

Look's like we have a few sore losers here

Suck it

[JuliusHMarx]

Look's like we have a few sore losers here

Suck it

Sore winner?

[michael_o]

What a rubbish slam.

Clay is really the worst surface for tennis entertainment.

I, and millions like me, think the opposite. You cannot have the remotest understanding of the game if you can come out with a statement like that. We've had the match of the decade on Friday, which contained all the excitement and artistry you can only get on clay. Contrast the feast of tennis we've witnessed for the last 15 days with the dispiriting rubbish which will be served up next week at Queens.

No doubt you'll be watching that and imagining you're being "entertained".

[lydian]

Oh I love a good bit of wumm'ing when done in good humour and tongue in cheek. The old 606 was hilarious at times, even the Fed fans would laugh at AIRs Basel Bungler quips.

Anyway, the fact we're discussing this is a symptom that this final was terribly anticlimactic under leaden skies. I think clay tennis is exciting and demands a lot from its players...after all its a surface Murray can't master given his prowess elsewhere, yet Rafa has 4 non-clay slams. More and more promising juniors get packed off to further hone their game on this surface because it builds complete players. All of the top 6 or so players learnt their craft on clay...Murray from 14/15. What was boring was today's match...but no-one could say the same of Friday's semi. Unfortunately, Federer couldn't make it through...and Tsonga disappointed.

Anyway, Wimbledon is around the corner

[HM Murdock]

Wow. I've just seen that, after being ruthless all tournament, David Ferrer has just succumbed rather easily to Nadal.

Everyone knows that Ferrer is a really brave, so Nadal must have been AMAZING!

[User 774433]

Look's like we have a few sore losers here

Suck it

Sore winner?

I was responding to Eman's comment directly, so no.

[Jahu]

Rafa the clay GOAT, otherwise the second GOAT after Fed.

Anyway, well done to Rafa, thought for me the win over Djoko overshadows this match.

Ferret should take his Koolaid and go knock the wall with his head, for being scared of Nadal all his life.

[User 774433]

Rafa the clay GOAT, otherwise the second GOAT after Fed.

Anyway, well done to Rafa, thought for me the win over Djoko overshadows this match.

Ferret should take his Koolaid and go knock the wall with his head, for being scared of Nadal all his life.

Statistically, Sampras and Federer are higher, and will remain so.

[User 774433]

Wow. I've just seen that, after being ruthless all tournament, David Ferrer has just succumbed rather easily to Nadal.

Everyone knows that Ferrer is a really brave, so Nadal must have been AMAZING!

HM, I think Djokovic probably deserves this as much if not more than Nadal.

He has a great chance next year, even though Ferrer got to the final- Djokovic is miles ahead of him and probably joint first best on clay with Nadal.

[laverfan]

@Eman... let us not turn this into a Nadal bashing session. You may want to consider a new article on that subject, and let the GOAT discussions begin, yet again, to die inconclusively on the vine, as they always do.

Nadal won. His style of Tennis has give him 12 big ones, a few MSes and a 92%+ winning percentage on clay. There is no one else with that kind of record, and as Federer says, Nadal is unique.

Is Halle or London on the idiot box yet? It would perhaps give you some Grass to chew on.

[kingraf]

The funny thing is guys like Gulbis and Soderling are so fearless of Nadal, yet they have a combined hth of 2-11 vs Nadal. Maybe he's just a better player??

[lydian]

So he's now won a slam every year for 9 years running, the only guy in history to do that. Not bad for a guy many thought would have no longevity.

The absurdity from today is that Ferrer overtakes Nadal in the rankings tomorrow. Such is life. Wimbledon should be interesting given Murray is well rested, Federer will love being back on the grass, Djokovic and Nadal in good form...plus Tsonga should get a boost too from RG. It's hard to pick a winner for Wimb13.

[HM Murdock]

Here's the league table of games taken from Rafa this tournament:

25 games - Novak
19 games - Brands
15 games - Klizan
14 games - Fognini
8 games - Nishikori and Ferrer
6 games - Wawrinka

Take a bow, 'Chasing Pack', great effort. You took fewer games off Rafa than any other group.

It's pathetic really.

[User 774433]

Here's the league table of games taken from Rafa this tournament:

23 games - Novak
19 games - Brands
15 games - Klizan
14 games - Fognini
8 games - Nishikori and Ferrer
6 games - Wawrinka

Take a bow, 'Chasing Pack', great effort. You took fewer games off Rafa than any other group.

It's pathetic really.

Djokovic won 25 I think.
Djokovic for me, came closer than anyone before apart from Soderling.

If it's anyone who can be proud of himself- it's him.
Brands and Klizan also battled well.

[kingraf]

I thought the 2008 chasing pack only took 41 games?

[lydian]

But Djokovic is the only stand out really. We know that all being well Nadal normally loses 6-12 games per round. The chasing pack are not up to the job but then how many are against all time greats?

[User 774433]

But Djokovic is the only stand out really. We know that all being well Nadal normally loses 6-12 games per round. The chasing pack are not up to the job but then how many are against all time greats?

Rosol?

[HM Murdock]

Brands and Klizan take great credit.

Novak should too.

Fognini - I don't really expect more.

Nishikori - Poor but at least he's still young.

Wawrinka and Ferrer. Abysmal. Both top ten players and couldn't muster a threat between them.

[User 774433]

Brands and Klizan take great credit.

Novak should too.

Fognini - I don't really expect more.

Nishikori - Poor but at least he's still young.

Wawrinka and Ferrer. Abysmal. Both top ten players and couldn't muster a threat between them.

Wawrinka was very tired.
And Ferrer was overwhelmed- it's his first final. Plus he doesn't really have the game to take on Nadal.

[summerblues]

The absurdity from today is that Ferrer overtakes Nadal in the rankings tomorrow.

Well that is more the absurdity that you get with a seven month break. Anyway, it will not last long, Rafa is extremely likely to move up to #2 fairly soon. #1 will likely be trickier (though doable by YE) - a lot will depend on how Nole is doing also.

[User 774433]

SB- Nadal may not remain fit and healthy so let's see.
This win was really important to take him above Borg in terms of slams won.

[summerblues]

SB- Nadal may not remain fit and healthy so let's see.

I think he will be ok.

This win was really important to take him above Borg in terms of slams won.

I am pretty sure - regardless of what he says - that he wants to overtake Roger's 17. He may or may not do it - as he is getting older he will be running out of time. I gather he will need to cover good ground by the end of 2014 if he wants to get there, and quite a lot will actually depend on how he does at Wimbledon and the USO this year.

[User 774433]

I don't see him overtaking 17, no way.

[JuliusHMarx]

What a rubbish slam.

Clay is really the worst surface for tennis entertainment.

I, and millions like me, think the opposite. You cannot have the remotest understanding of the game if you can come out with a statement like that. We've had the match of the decade on Friday, which contained all the excitement and artistry you can only get on clay. Contrast the feast of tennis we've witnessed for the last 15 days with the dispiriting rubbish which will be served up next week at Queens.

No doubt you'll be watching that and imagining you're being "entertained".

If you think that Queen's, one of the most prestigious grass court tournaments for many, many years, will serve up "dispiriting rubbish" then I can only say that you cannot have the remotest understanding of the game

[User 774433]

Queens is also a great tournament, but FO is more important and for me more entertaining.

[JuliusHMarx]

Queens is also a great tournament, but FO is more important and for me more entertaining.

Clearly the FO is more important, and we all have different tastes, I was merely replying in kind to the argument of that poster.

[lags72]

What a rubbish slam.

Clay is really the worst surface for tennis entertainment.

I, and millions like me, think the opposite. You cannot have the remotest understanding of the game if you can come out with a statement like that. We've had the match of the decade on Friday, which contained all the excitement and artistry you can only get on clay. Contrast the feast of tennis we've witnessed for the last 15 days with the dispiriting rubbish which will be served up next week at Queens.

No doubt you'll be watching that and imagining you're being "entertained".

Weird post !!

[User 774433]

Queens is also a great tournament, but FO is more important and for me more entertaining.

Clearly the FO is more important, and we all have different tastes, I was merely replying in kind to the argument of that poster.

Yeah, fair enough.

Although it was Eman who made the initial jibe, perhaps you should respond to him too.

[The Special Juan]

Very well done Rafa!! There's probably a few more FOs to add to that tally now too. I don't think he'll win another hard court major but he has a sniff at Federer's tally now with FOs and Wimbledons alone.

Commiserations to Daveed but he can take a lot away from the past two weeks. It's just a shame who he came up against in the final in the end.

[JuliusHMarx]

Queens is also a great tournament, but FO is more important and for me more entertaining.

Clearly the FO is more important, and we all have different tastes, I was merely replying in kind to the argument of that poster.

Yeah, fair enough.

Although it was Eman who made the initial jibe, perhaps you should respond to him too.

I should - it wasn't a rubbish slam, just a rubbish final. Clay is my least favourite for entertainment value - always has been since the 1970s, but not to eman's extent, I suspect

[User 774433]

Queens is also a great tournament, but FO is more important and for me more entertaining.

Clearly the FO is more important, and we all have different tastes, I was merely replying in kind to the argument of that poster.

Yeah, fair enough.

Although it was Eman who made the initial jibe, perhaps you should respond to him too.

I should - it wasn't a rubbish slam, just a rubbish final. Clay is my least favourite for entertainment value - always has been since the 1970s, but not to eman's extent, I suspect

I think tbh the real final was always on Friday- that was an extremely hard match for Rafa.
I find grass the second most enjoyable behind clay in terms of entertainment value.

[Guest]

Queens is also a great tournament, but FO is more important and for me more entertaining.

Clearly the FO is more important, and we all have different tastes, I was merely replying in kind to the argument of that poster.

Yeah, fair enough.

Although it was Eman who made the initial jibe, perhaps you should respond to him too.

I should - it wasn't a rubbish slam, just a rubbish final. Clay is my least favourite for entertainment value - always has been since the 1970s, but not to eman's extent, I suspect

I was just giving my honest opinion.

This slam was boring.

Clay court tennis in general is extremely boring.

It' just a shame that the homogenisation of surfaces has made this form of tennis ubiquitous.

[User 774433]

Well I love it.
Djokovic-Nadal semi was stunning.

[User 774433]

If the surfaces are so homogenised, then why is Nadal favourite against Djokovic on clay, but Djokovic favourite against Nadal on hard courts?

[invisiblecoolers]

Poor Oh David was all on sea in the finals.

Congrats to Rafa for historic 8th win.

[summerblues]

I don't see him overtaking 17, no way.

I do not think it will be easy (it is not supposed to be ) but he has a shot.

Also, your opinion on the topic of Nadal's chances has been discredited beyond redemption, so I will discount that

[lydian]

Speeds are homogenised but clay still stands alone as different. Otherwise Murray would be doing great on clay. Lets not forget all top 4-5 players are beneficiaries of homogenisation.

Agree the 7 mth layoff creates an oddity. The headache for Wimb is what do they do with Nadal's #5 ranking going in? Ferrer got to the QF last year, his only time, surely they don't want Nadal meeting Federer, Murray or Djokovic in the quarters...

[Silver]

Also, your opinion on the topic of Nadal's chances has been discredited beyond redemption, so I will discount that

Well done to Nadal, all arguments aside it's difficult to put into words how astonishing winning 8 RGs actually is. Hugely impressive, and congrats to Ferrer on his first slam final. Shame the final wasn't a spectacle, but they can't all be classics.

Looking forward to the grass season!

[User 774433]

Yh same

Silver, you got my PM

[lydian]

True silver, we probably take it for granted what Nadal is doing but on the most gruelling of surfaces to have won titles from 2005 to 2013 is staggering. Most guys are happy to get to a final like Ferrer. The enormity of what guys like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are achieving will likely only sink in once they're all retired.

[summerblues]

The headache for Wimb is what do they do with Nadal's #5 ranking going in?

My view on that is same as always - tough luck, but need to use the same formula as always.

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