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*Official* Tennis Thread

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
Rafa has to go through his nemesis and the man he took #1 rank from to win his first ever ATP Tour Final.

Going to be a difficult task, especially indoors where Novak is king.
 

Cabinet96

Hall of Fame Member
So what are peoples thoughts on how the Rafa-Novak rivalry shapes up to the Rafa-Roger one now? I'd assume most would still go for Rafa-Roger, but IMO there's now a real case for Rafa-Novak being the greatest rivalry of the last decade. Nadal and Djokovic have played each other more than any other players in the open era, and Novak has a better record against Rafa than any of the other big four. What more, Djockovic is the guy who has troubled him the most on clay, winning three clay finals in the last few years and taking Nadal closer than anyone bar Sodeling at Roland Garros the last couple of years. Finally, no one's ever done what Djokovic did to Nadal in 2011 and the 2012 Australian open, beating him seven times in a row, all in finals.

Nadal-Federer obviously has nostalgia value, thanks to a few fantastic finals when it was common thought that Federer was unbeatable. But IMO, Nadal always had the wood on Federer, and Roger never really troubled him enough on clay. Of course, the whole thing has been amplified in the last few years, as Federer's decline has left a wider gap between the two.

But I dunno know. Thoughts?
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
So what are peoples thoughts on how the Rafa-Novak rivalry shapes up to the Rafa-Roger one now? I'd assume most would still go for Rafa-Roger, but IMO there's now a real case for Rafa-Novak being the greatest rivalry of the last decade. Nadal and Djokovic have played each other more than any other players in the open era, and Novak has a better record against Rafa than any of the other big four. What more, Djockovic is the guy who has troubled him the most on clay, winning three clay finals in the last few years and taking Nadal closer than anyone bar Sodeling at Roland Garros the last couple of years. Finally, no one's ever done what Djokovic did to Nadal in 2011 and the 2012 Australian open, beating him seven times in a row, all in finals.

Nadal-Federer obviously has nostalgia value, thanks to a few fantastic finals when it was common thought that Federer was unbeatable. But IMO, Nadal always had the wood on Federer, and Roger never really troubled him enough on clay. Of course, the whole thing has been amplified in the last few years, as Federer's decline has left a wider gap between the two.

But I dunno know. Thoughts?
I think you raise a good point, but there's a charm to Federer vs. Nadal, particularly because of the love for Federer, that will always ensure it is the more fondly remembered rivalry I think. Unless Nadal and Novak go for another 4 years or so with some classic, I think it will always play second fiddle.
 

Burgey

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Bog Brush v The Arse Picking Sneer is like Warner v Kohli. A couple of hard hitters who have no redeeming features as human beings between them.
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
Novak won Paris Masters 1000 and the World Tour Finals back-to-back. That's a ridiculous achievement so late in the year, 2 straight weeks of tennis and he won every single match he played.
 

Burgey

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Best player in world wins back to back tournaments with a lot of money at stake.

Yeah, ****ing unprecedented.
 

The Battlers Prince

International Vice-Captain
I've only been with the fanatics once. But having seen the two fanatic girls massaging breasts on the side of the Dellacqua match in Brissy today. I'll join up for the tennis fanatics next...they'd been injured by a wayward shank off Casey's hit, but II'll take it
 

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