2014 French Open Men's Final

[CDu]

So for those of you who love good tennis, I would HIGHLY recommend watching the men's final of the French Open on Sunday. The two best players in the world (and the two best by a large margin at the moment) in Nadal and Djokovic will face off. Both made relatively quick work of their semifinal opponents and should be well-rested for the final.

The odds are in Nadal's favor. He's the greatest clay court player ever, and he has to be in the discussion for best overall players ever as well now that he's won 5 grand slams on the other two surfaces. But Djokovic is probably the one guy who can consistently challenge Nadal on clay. Neither is a big server, and both are in incredible shape physically, so the amount of shot-making to be done in this match will be off the charts.

These are, stylistically speaking, my two favorite players on tour. They are incredible on the groundstrokes and cover SO much of the court with their quickness/stamina that they can just pound you into submission, even without the big serve that we've seen so much of in the game.

Will Nadal win his 9th French Open (14th grand slam event overall), or will Djokovic complete the career slam and pick up his 7th grand slam title? Here's hoping for 5 glorious sets of epic tennis.

[snowdenscold]

So for those of you who love good tennis, I would HIGHLY recommend watching the men's final of the French Open on Sunday. The two best players in the world (and the two best by a large margin at the moment) in Nadal and Djokovic will face off. Both made relatively quick work of their semifinal opponents and should be well-rested for the final.

The odds are in Nadal's favor. He's the greatest clay court player ever, and he has to be in the discussion for best overall players ever as well now that he's won 5 grand slams on the other two surfaces. But Djokovic is probably the one guy who can consistently challenge Nadal on clay. Neither is a big server, and both are in incredible shape physically, so the amount of shot-making to be done in this match will be off the charts.

These are, stylistically speaking, my two favorite players on tour. They are incredible on the groundstrokes and cover SO much of the court with their quickness/stamina that they can just pound you into submission, even without the big serve that we've seen so much of in the game.

Will Nadal win his 9th French Open (14th grand slam event overall), or will Djokovic complete the career slam and pick up his 7th grand slam title? Here's hoping for 5 glorious sets of epic tennis.

Just getting around to this thread, but absolutely want to echo CDu's sentiments. Tennis fans have been waiting a whole year for this - the Rafa/Djokovic rematch in the French Open, a year after they played one of the greatest matches ever on clay. (unfortunately it was in the semis, but was really the de facto final)

I've really picked up my tennis watching the past several years and would agree they are my two favorites now to watch on tour. Personally, if I were starting out (and actually athletic), I would model my game on Novak's. Nadal is just a freak of nature, with his crazy left-handed top-spin RPM's and crazy desire for every point*, while Djokovic plays with such crisp precision and astonishing defensive skills - either one is something special to watch. [Back in the day, Federer's ability to effortlessly glide above the court was right up there as well]

Anyway, back to this match - these 2 have now met the most times head to head in the Open era. And it's an extremely tight race. Furthermore, they've constantly pushed each other to become better players - out of necessity. Watching them go back and forth the past 4 years, adapting and re-adapting to each other's games is pretty awesome. Djokovic can now consistently handle the uniqueness of Nadal's game in a way that very few other players can.

I am absolutely stoked for tomorrow - I'll be pulling for Novak given the disappointment of last year (up a break in the 5th when he foolishly/accidentally ran into the net, giving away the game, and eventually losing the set 9-7), and the fact that it would put 3 current men's players on the tour with career grand slams (absolutely ridiculous). I do feel bad for Rafa though, given that his back problem in the Melbourne final essentially cost him a 14th major and double career slam. So let's hope tomorrow is more in line w/ the Australian Open 2012 final, not 2014. Well, maybe not quite as long...


* Jimmy Connors had a great line about Nadal: "He plays like he's broke."

[CDu]

First set did not disappoint. Djokovic took it with a late break and hold.

Unfortunately for me the feed from NBC is now failing!

[CDu]

Nadal wins an epic 2nd set. That puts the pressure on Djokovic. This is where Nadal frequently starts to impose his will on his opponent.

[CDu]

Just getting around to this thread, but absolutely want to echo CDu's sentiments. Tennis fans have been waiting a whole year for this - the Rafa/Djokovic rematch in the French Open, a year after they played one of the greatest matches ever on clay. (unfortunately it was in the semis, but was really the de facto final)

I've really picked up my tennis watching the past several years and would agree they are my two favorites now to watch on tour. Personally, if I were starting out (and actually athletic), I would model my game on Novak's. Nadal is just a freak of nature, with his crazy left-handed top-spin RPM's and crazy desire for every point*, while Djokovic plays with such crisp precision and astonishing defensive skills - either one is something special to watch. [Back in the day, Federer's ability to effortlessly glide above the court was right up there as well]

Anyway, back to this match - these 2 have now met the most times head to head in the Open era. And it's an extremely tight race. Furthermore, they've constantly pushed each other to become better players - out of necessity. Watching them go back and forth the past 4 years, adapting and re-adapting to each other's games is pretty awesome. Djokovic can now consistently handle the uniqueness of Nadal's game in a way that very few other players can.

I am absolutely stoked for tomorrow - I'll be pulling for Novak given the disappointment of last year (up a break in the 5th when he foolishly/accidentally ran into the net, giving away the game, and eventually losing the set 9-7), and the fact that it would put 3 current men's players on the tour with career grand slams (absolutely ridiculous). I do feel bad for Rafa though, given that his back problem in the Melbourne final essentially cost him a 14th major and double career slam. So let's hope tomorrow is more in line w/ the Australian Open 2012 final, not 2014. Well, maybe not quite as long...


* Jimmy Connors had a great line about Nadal: "He plays like he's broke."

It is just a shame that these two guys aren't 4-5 years older. It would have been fun to see them with Federer all three in their primes.

[Blue in the Face]

After seeming to turn the tide a bit, that was an awfully anti-climactic end for Joker.

[CDu]

After seeming to turn the tide a bit, that was an awfully anti-climactic end for Joker.

Yeah, disappointing end to what was about to get really interesting. Djokovic was puking and Nadal was showing rare fatigue. Unfortunate ending. These two guys just pushed each other a bit too far I think.