2019 French Open

[Green Wave Dukie]

The finals should be a war.

Hope Thiem can give Djoker a bit of resistance, but expect a #1 vs #2 final.

You and I both, brother.

But both of our expectations were not met, as Thiem pulled it out. Not a thing of beauty by any means, but after completely choking a 5-3, 40-15 lead in the 5th by losing 6 straight points (and the 2 match points particularly were incredibly passive), he gutted it out for a break when Novak was serving at 5-6. Well done.

However, agree w/Paul Annacone of Tennis Channel when he said beating Rafa tomorrow (on a LOT less rest) will be one of the toughest assignments in tennis. I'm still waiting for my pie from UVA getting past the Sweet Sixteen to be delivered (now expected 6/12), but if I were to put it at risk, I think I'd be willing to put it on Rafa in straight sets.

[throatybeard]

There is little I enjoy in sport as much as Djouchekovic losing. He certainly did a lot of postgame whining about the same weather Thiem played in.

Agree--Thiem is really good but I don't know how well he's gonna play against a well-rested Nadal.

[CDu]

Thiem took the 2nd set off of Nadal... and then Nadal reminded everyone why he is the greatest clay court player to ever walk the Earth, destroying him 6-1, 6-1 in rapid fashion to end it.

Thiem has some majors in his racket yet, but it was not meant to be today.

On to Wimbledon!

[howardlander]

Thiem took the 2nd set off of Nadal... and then Nadal reminded everyone why he is the greatest clay court player to ever walk the Earth, destroying him 6-1, 6-1 in rapid fashion to end it.

This may be the most remarkable athletic accomplishment of my lifetime (and I'm 60!). I really thought this might be the year that Nadal couldn't quite pull it off, but those last 2 sets were amazing. To win a tournament in an individual sport that requires the athleticism of the French Open 12 times is just incredible. Don't expect to see anything like it soon.

[CDu]

This may be the most remarkable athletic accomplishment of my lifetime (and I'm 60!). I really thought this might be the year that Nadal couldn't quite pull it off, but those last 2 sets were amazing. To win a tournament in an individual sport that requires the athleticism of the French Open 12 times is just incredible. Don't expect to see anything like it soon.

Only 3 other men have won more total slams than Nadal has won at Wimbledon. And his 6 non-French slams alone would tie him for 21st all-time in slams.

Pretty good career, but an absolute joy to watch on his best surface. Thiem is one of the very best players in the world, but at times looked completely overwhelmed by Nadal.

I forget who said it (maybe Thiem himself), but Nadal has an uncanny ability to make great players play worse. I think that is a pretty nice description of his genius on the court. The tactical changes throughout a match, the “never ever give up on a point” approach, the ground strokes with absurd RPMs. All of it just makes all but the top opponents (and even then, sometimes them too) wobbly. Federer have Nadal a phenomenal compliment saying there is no player on tour remotely like Nadal (Nadal said the same of Fed).

[robed deity]

Only 3 other men have won more total slams than Nadal has won at Wimbledon. And his 6 non-French slams alone would tie him for 21st all-time in slams.

Pretty good career, but an absolute joy to watch on his best surface. Thiem is one of the very best players in the world, but at times looked completely overwhelmed by Nadal.

I forget who said it (maybe Thiem himself), but Nadal has an uncanny ability to make great players play worse. I think that is a pretty nice description of his genius on the court. The tactical changes throughout a match, the “never ever give up on a point” approach, the ground strokes with absurd RPMs. All of it just makes all but the top opponents (and even then, sometimes them too) wobbly. Federer have Nadal a phenomenal compliment saying there is no player on tour remotely like Nadal (Nadal said the same of Fed).

I believe it was Tsitsipas who said that after the AO. The young Greek seems to be the most promising of the young guns, and he's always good for a great quote or insta post. I think he'll win multiple majors, that is-if the top 3 EVER slows down.

[Green Wave Dukie]

Thiem took the 2nd set off of Nadal... and then Nadal reminded everyone why he is the greatest clay court player to ever walk the Earth, destroying him 6-1, 6-1 in rapid fashion to end it.

Thiem has some majors in his racket yet, but it was not meant to be today.

On to Wimbledon!

This may be the most remarkable athletic accomplishment of my lifetime (and I'm 60!). I really thought this might be the year that Nadal couldn't quite pull it off, but those last 2 sets were amazing. To win a tournament in an individual sport that requires the athleticism of the French Open 12 times is just incredible. Don't expect to see anything like it soon.

Howardlander - when I first read your comment, I thought you meant Thiem winning a set off Nadal was the most remarkable athletic accomplishment of your life. Which, amazingly, was not THAT far fetched for me to think. Nadal's dominance at the French is really hard to fathom. Don't know of anything else in tennis to compare it to. When I was a kid, I thought Borg's ability to win the French on slow red clay, then come back a month later in multiple years and win Wimbledon (going from memory - too lazy to look it up, but I remember it that way) on the fast grass was unbelievable. But that was nothing compared to this (though admittedly different and still very impressive).

[Reddevil]

Howardlander - when I first read your comment, I thought you meant Thiem winning a set off Nadal was the most remarkable athletic accomplishment of your life. Which, amazingly, was not THAT far fetched for me to think. Nadal's dominance at the French is really hard to fathom. Don't know of anything else in tennis to compare it to. When I was a kid, I thought Borg's ability to win the French on slow red clay, then come back a month later in multiple years and win Wimbledon (going from memory - too lazy to look it up, but I remember it that way) on the fast grass was unbelievable. But that was nothing compared to this (though admittedly different and still very impressive).

Oh, but the stroke of doom! God I loved Borg. That was an entirely different sport though. The standard size racquet era required setting up points almost like a chess match at times. I think Rafa could've competed well in that era and of course Roger could have. Some of the guys just bang away though and that would not fly. Anyway, fun to think about.

[curtis325]

Howardlander - when I first read your comment, I thought you meant Thiem winning a set off Nadal was the most remarkable athletic accomplishment of your life. Which, amazingly, was not THAT far fetched for me to think. Nadal's dominance at the French is really hard to fathom. Don't know of anything else in tennis to compare it to. When I was a kid, I thought Borg's ability to win the French on slow red clay, then come back a month later in multiple years and win Wimbledon (going from memory - too lazy to look it up, but I remember it that way) on the fast grass was unbelievable. But that was nothing compared to this (though admittedly different and still very impressive).

Borg retired at the age of 26! It is not inconceivable that he may have won a few more French titles if he had not retired. Winning French and Wimbledon in the same year is also very impressive (Rafa has done it but not as many times as Borg). Nadal has an incredible inner drive to compete--he is willing to put in the work that Borg eventually was not willing to do.

[Troublemaker]

Just caught up.

Thiem - Djokovic was a very good 5-set match, albeit spread across two days. And Thiem - Nadal was a great match... for two sets... until likely Thiem started to tire from his schedule the previous 3 days.

Thiem has now beaten Djokovic twice at Roland Garros and has earned the moniker of being the current "Prince of Clay". We all know who the "King of Clay" is.

Thiem holds a respectable 4-8 record against Rafa on clay. With Thiem a spry 25-yr-old and Rafa exiting his prime at 33, it'll be very interesting to see just how many years it takes for the Prince to dethrone the King. It'd be shameful if, for example, Rafa is 40 and still beating a 32-year-old Thiem at Roland Garros.

My official prediction: The Prince dethrones The King within two French Opens. Rafa will not match Roger's 20 Slams unless he can win one or two of the other Slams.