RG - Days 12 and 13: Women's and Men's semis

First topic message reminder :

Have combined Thursday and Friday as will be tied up with UK Gen Election in early part of Friday. Two seed plays three seed in the women's, with Halep a slight favourite IMHO. I reckon Ostapenko may find the occasion a bit much against Bacsinszky. I gather either Pliskova or Halep will reach number one with an RG title win.
   Can Thiem upset Rafa? Well, if he hits the ball like he did against Djoko he has a good chance. But I doubt he'll play as well in the semi. But he's beaten Rafa on clay this season so there's hope, at least and at last, of Rafa bing given a decent match.
   Some will make Stan favourite against Murray but the Scot can take heart from his magnificent performance against The Man this time last year at RG. Probably a bit more pressure on Stan as neither Murray nor his fans thought Andy would get this far. If both men are at their best it could be a five-set classic.

Jermaine2015 wrote:If Stan wins he'll have 4 majors. More than the overrated bottle job Andy Murray. I'll let you enjoy this parting fact.

If Stan wins 4 majors then good for him.  It will still leave you with nothing apart from your trollhood.

But what peeves me off with you Jermaine2015 is that some people here have stated they have a history of depression - and you knowing this continue to provoke them into it. That makes me think of you as a piece of sh*t on the pavement - that should be removed and thrown in the garbage.

Wawrinka in the final set went into 'that zone'. When he does he is unplayable as Novak found out a couple of years ago in the final and Federer in the semi before that. He is capable of the absolute sublime and his power is off the scale.

Just wish he could bring that level more consistently. Credit to Murray for making him go there and he made a real match of it. Considering his form coming into the French open I think SF was a very good return for him. I think Stan is a better and more natural clay courter than him.

I hope Stan can bring a similar level to the final to at least make it interesting. If he plays like the 5th set he has every chance. I expect Rafa to come through today in either 3 or 4 sets but the first two sets could be tight. I still think its a bit soon for Thiem and the Novak match may have been his final.

No name Bertie wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:If Stan wins he'll have 4 majors. More than the overrated bottle job Andy Murray. I'll let you enjoy this parting fact.

If Stan wins 4 majors then good for him.  It will still leave you with nothing apart from your trollhood.

But what peeves me off with you Jermaine2015 is that some people here have stated they have a history of depression - and you knowing this continue to provoke them into it.  That makes me think of you as a piece of sh*t on the pavement - that should be removed and thrown in the garbage.

You want some salt with that chip on your shoulder. If you can't handle the heat stay off the forum. I couldn't careless about any Tom, dick or harry claiming they have depression

Only saw some of the Murray-Stan match but looked a tremendous one. Wonder whether Stan's easier passage to the semi paid off in the end. Let's hope he's got something left for the final after this bruising encounter. 
   It's been a good tournament for Andy after this stuttering start to the season. He's got wins, big points and long matches under his belt and should be fine for the grass and the US hard-court season.

So the crowd disappear, to be replaced a new bunch for the next semi-final. I wonder if the tickets for the semis are half the price of last year?

Jermaine2015 wrote:

No name Bertie wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:If Stan wins he'll have 4 majors. More than the overrated bottle job Andy Murray. I'll let you enjoy this parting fact.

If Stan wins 4 majors then good for him.  It will still leave you with nothing apart from your trollhood.

But what peeves me off with you Jermaine2015 is that some people here have stated they have a history of depression - and you knowing this continue to provoke them into it.  That makes me think of you as a piece of sh*t on the pavement - that should be removed and thrown in the garbage.

You want some salt with that chip on your shoulder. If you can't handle the heat stay off the forum. I couldn't careless about any Tom, dick or harry claiming they have depression

We know you are troll. We know you are a sociopath - taking pleasure pushing people over the edge. If I was a moderator you would be banned. If I met you in person I would rip your face off. But don't take it personally.

NNB the answer to that is not to respond.. because that's what he wants .. ignore and don't feed the trolls carry on as norm

Thiem is certainly providing a challenge for Nadal - but I think Nadal's consistently good play should prove to be the decisive factor.

Haddie-nuff wrote:NNB the answer to that is not to respond.. because that's what he wants .. ignore and don't feed the trolls carry on as norm

 Remember the Sam Goldwynism: "Don't listen to the critics. Don't even ignore them."

If the Austrian bloke changed it up a little more this match could become competitive. Don't see Nadal getting smashed off the court

sirfredperry wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:NNB the answer to that is not to respond.. because that's what he wants .. ignore and don't feed the trolls carry on as norm

 Remember the Sam Goldwynism: "Don't listen to the critics. Don't even ignore them."

We are not speaking of critics we are speaking of those who don't discuss but spout mindless garbage.. i.e. a troll

Really disappointed with Thiem today. He's not gone full out attack and lashed everything out, but way too many basic errors.

Thiem did break Nadal in the first game, but Nadal upped his level. It must be difficult to play Nadal at Roland Garros on the main court, but Thiem seems to be someone who will learn from his experiences and get better.

Thiem is definitely someone that learns quickly and he's played better than he did in last years semi against Djokovic, but he's played quite poorly. Nadal hasn't been brilliant at all, but hasn't needed to be.

Thiem needs to play very well for it to be close and he's been bad today.

Thiem is doubtless a future champion.. but he met the "master" on a good day playing in his own back yard. He has had a good tournament all credit to him

Well played Nadal - another final awaits.  Bad luck Thiem - but excellent achievement getting to the semi-final - showing that last year was no fluke.  

I think the two current best clay court players have got to the final.  The 2015 winner Wawrinka and what looks to be a fully patched up Nadal - up for the challenge.

I wonder about Thiem. He plays like a 17 year old at times. OK, when you are playing Rafa at RG you are gonna be up against it. But at times he seemed to be saying to himself: "Just how hard can I hit the ball?" All a bit mindless.
   Surely someone can give Rafa a decent match and we're now left with Stan, who may be just the man to do it. But few would bet against Rafa.

Three hours longer on court getting to the semis done for Andy today I reckon. Cracking match though and gread to see Andy finding form in time for the grass court season. 

Stan will find it tough to recover from this marathon but even tougher to beat the greatest clay-courier courier of all-time in Rafa Nadal who made short work of Thiem.

Rafa in four for me.

If Wawrinka brings the same power like the fifth set vs Murray, I will back Wawrinka in four vs Nadal. IMHO he is unlikely to make the first set 5-3 mistakes he made vs Murray. Magnus will see to it with a stern talking-to.

to both gladiators.

LF, a big IF! Rafa is not Murray, he'll not let that happen, just like he would not let Thiem blow him off the court. Stan only had his way in the fifth set against Murray because Murray was physically spent, not difficult to notice that.

Rafa has more fire power than Murray, as crafty if not more crafty than Murray esp on clay, moves better too. I doubt Stan could do what he want with Rafa. Stan's SHBH won't help him on clay vs Rafa.

I think Stan should be able to do better than Thiem - he hits bigger and more consistently, and (perhaps even more critically) he also defends better.

Nevertheless, I expect he will lose, quite possibly in straight sets

But I hope I am wrong

Rafa has his improved serve and backhand too, to counter Stan's big FH as well. Stan doesn't have a great ROS, and Rafa's crafty lefty serves will give him troubles. Rafa has won a higher % on his second serve points than his first serves, throughout this FO. I think by doing that, he no longer is as nervy when he loses his first serve, he certainly has improved his second serves and he's winning 70+% on his second serve, quite ridiculous!

Stan didn't hit bigger than Thiem, Thiem hits a bigger FH (ave 84mph to Stan's 81) and he hits with higher topspin than Stan, making his FH heavier and with more pace. No wonder Djoko succumb to that in the QF.
It's just that Thiem couldn't do it in consecutive matches vs the top guys. He was over hitting his shots vs Rafa, trying to blow Rafa off the court but without success.

Rafa is playing more inside the court these days, being more aggressive even on clay, so he may take the ball earlier or forces his opponent to go for too much too soon. Thiem was making many errors in his match against Rafa; Djoko couldn't do that here at RG against Thiem (he did that to Thiem at Rome and annihilated Thiem there!) as Djoko wasn't playing well here at the FO all tournament.

I think Stan will certainly give Rafa more of a match than Thiem. Thiem relied too heavily on fire power against Rafa and in doing so made too many UE ; Rafa handles big hitters really well so I don't think Stan will blow him off court he will have to have a better game plan than that. But I agree with BLB .. Andy was spent in the last set and remember that Rafa will be much fresher than Stan should it go past three sets..Is Stan more "hungry" that Rafa .. I don't think so

@BLB.. After Thiem had Nadal pinned, the second shot was a middle-of-the-court tame one, instead of hitting the corners, so it was indeed a strange tactic by Thiem. Wawrinka has a BHCC which is much more acute than Thiem's so it can create problems. Thiem's BH needs a lot of work, to try and get it to be as lethal as Wawrinka's.

By no means am I discounting Nadal. He has shown some excellent thinking, including stepping in and using the drop shot.

Rafa on clay has the advantage over SHBH players, so Stan's CCBH may not be as lethal against Rafa than say against Djoko. It was Rafa pinning Thiem at his BH corner, extracting errors directly, or weak returns from Thiem at that corner before attacking Thiem's FH and Thiem was rushed to cover his FH and thus the overhitting.

Rafa was rarely pinned by Thiem in the match, in fact it was Rafa controlling the points and rushing Thiem, forcing Thiem to go for more and thus the overhitting.

I think Stan will come out all guns blazing, so Rafa has to serve well for a start and not loses his serve right away. Rafa is very good at neutralizing big hitter's power on clay, I think he'll look to move Stan around all over the place, mixing in drop shots or whatever.