balotellishaircut
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I agree but I don’t think any final will top the Wimbledon 2008 final Nadal v Federer.
Tennis Thread
- Thread starter MCFC1993
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Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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I think it changed Wimbledon 2023 and after the US Open 2023, we just didn't realize it might be for good at the time.
SInce then, both of these players have shown the near consistent ability to defeat Djokovic in a best of 5 event. Djokovic may get past 1, but can he get past both? Not yet.
Djokovic got the Gold on Clay in a best of 3 and kudos for that, but as we saw today, winning 3 of 5 takes an extra gear that few can run down.
I am not that concerned about Djokovic beating either of these 2 at Wimbledon 2025 given what I saw today.
It wasn't like either of these players were making errors for the most part, the winners and then the winners to beat what would have been a winner against anyone else in the world is what I am pointing to, on both sides. No one I've watched other than these two over the past 2 weeks has come close to what I saw today. Not even close.
yeah, i remember that one also pretty well ,as a lifelong huge Nadal fan ,that was one of the best feelings :D
Thank god Djokovic time is coming to an end ,he already went past Nadals 22 grand slam ,its time to stop :D :D He is still phenomenal for an 38 year old...definetly 3rd best atm
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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Today's is now second longest Grand Slam final match in history at 5.29. Well deserved.
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Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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Jim Courier has dubbed them the "New Two":
Courier: Alcaraz and Sinner are the "New Two"
Tennis Now's blog, covering everything from player rankings, to tennis player birthdays, to news, analysis, predictions, and coverage of off-court happenings. We will also include any tennis-related bits that we stumble upon from the internet. Tweets? Facebook status updates? Player blog...
“We came out of the error of the Big Three and the Big Four, and this is now for me the era of the “New Two,” Courier said in a conference call to promote TNT’s coverage of Roland-Garros.
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
Well-Known Member
Alcaraz had never won when trailing 0-2 in sets, so something had to give today. He's now 1-8...
First Roland-Garros men's singles final to reach a 5th set tiebreak too, for those looking for more historical firsts.
Oh, and for anyone keeping track of total points today:
SInner 193
Alcaraz 192
Amazing match!
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Lovebitesandeveryfing
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I think what's potentially fascinating is this.
For a pretty long time, most of the noughties, you had a big rivalry between two players, but one of them was pretty much the undisputed king of one surface — grass, and the other was the undisputed king of one surface — clay. They shared the hard court titles between them, with Djokovic coming more and more into the picture as the decade ended. In the next decade both were waning somewhat, with Nadal especially starting to be plagued with injuries, while Djoko was clearly coming right into his prime. So it didn't feel to me like a head-to-head rivalry between Djoko and either of the other two, in any case not as clearly demarcated as it had been in the previous decade. (It may be unpatriotic, but sorry I just don't count Murray as being in the same rank as the other three — bloody good tennis player, maybe the best Britain's ever produced, but it was his misfortune to be around with that generation. Like being a bloody good footballer who has the misfortune to be of the same generation as Messi and Ronaldo).
But what's fascinating here is that these guys seem to be very comfortable on every surface. True, Sinner has yet to prove himself on grass, but I have no doubt it'll come. As far as I'm concerned, he proved himself on clay today, even if he lost.
And they are 22 and 23 respectively. This rivalry could go on and on, and on every surface. Everything seems to be finely balanced and set up for titanic struggles at Flushing Meadows, Wimbledon, Paris, Melbourne.
This will be like looking at two young lions going at meat.
Unless injury intervenes. Looking forward to this.
For a pretty long time, most of the noughties, you had a big rivalry between two players, but one of them was pretty much the undisputed king of one surface — grass, and the other was the undisputed king of one surface — clay. They shared the hard court titles between them, with Djokovic coming more and more into the picture as the decade ended. In the next decade both were waning somewhat, with Nadal especially starting to be plagued with injuries, while Djoko was clearly coming right into his prime. So it didn't feel to me like a head-to-head rivalry between Djoko and either of the other two, in any case not as clearly demarcated as it had been in the previous decade. (It may be unpatriotic, but sorry I just don't count Murray as being in the same rank as the other three — bloody good tennis player, maybe the best Britain's ever produced, but it was his misfortune to be around with that generation. Like being a bloody good footballer who has the misfortune to be of the same generation as Messi and Ronaldo).
But what's fascinating here is that these guys seem to be very comfortable on every surface. True, Sinner has yet to prove himself on grass, but I have no doubt it'll come. As far as I'm concerned, he proved himself on clay today, even if he lost.
And they are 22 and 23 respectively. This rivalry could go on and on, and on every surface. Everything seems to be finely balanced and set up for titanic struggles at Flushing Meadows, Wimbledon, Paris, Melbourne.
This will be like looking at two young lions going at meat.
Unless injury intervenes. Looking forward to this.
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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Wow, 5 titles to the day in age for both Alcaraz and Nadal. Spooky weird!
Sheikh rattle and roll
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Great match I was fortunate to see both play in the 1/4 finals earlier this week in Paris
I think Djokovic can maybe sneak one more if the draw goes in his favour
He is a different player on hardcourt and grass
But the future of the game is in good hands it would be nice for Musetti and Draper to close the gap a little and challenge
But they are certainly a level above at present
Fantastic tournament
I think Djokovic can maybe sneak one more if the draw goes in his favour
He is a different player on hardcourt and grass
But the future of the game is in good hands it would be nice for Musetti and Draper to close the gap a little and challenge
But they are certainly a level above at present
Fantastic tournament
BlueHammer85
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He had 3 match points !!
Then he had plenty opportunities to break if the following sets and lost on a final tie break.
Must be absolutely devastated.
But he has the right mentality, determination and ability to bounce back soon enough, he will win many more majors for years to come.
RobMCFC
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That's very cheeky. As B&W pointed out, I was referring to the semi-final v Djokovic.
Barring injury, it's Sinner vs Alcaraz for the next two grand slams at least. The ridiculous consistency of Sinner (as Jim Courier noted, the difference between Sinner's worst and best is very small) vs the maverick Alcaraz.
An incredible match - one of the best I've ever seen. So many swings in fortune and in the final reckoning, there was nothing between them.
That will haunt him for a while. Not only did he have 3 championship points, but even with those blown, he was still serving for the match. An incredible gutsy performance and well-deserved win from Alacarz.
I was disappointed to have to pay £31 to watch the tournament on TNT this year after the mere £7 on Eurosport for the last few years. But one thing that hasn't changed is the quality of the coverage. The analysis from Mats Wilander and Tim Henman is superb and Nick Mullins and Jim Courier in the commentary box were great as well. For me, this is the best grand slam.
Lovebitesandeveryfing
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I agree, but I just don't see anybody coming up in the outside lane. These two just seem miles ahead of the opposition. Now anyone can have an off day — so either of them could be beaten if they just got up on the wrong side of bed, that happens — but both of them having an off day in the same tournament? It seems highly unlikely.
It won't get boring, because the quality of the tennis will ensure that. And at their age, the mad thing is that they're not even in their prime.
Lovebitesandeveryfing
Well-Known Member
Just watching those three championship points slip away. For the second and third, Sinner is going for the killer shot too early. He's going absolutely full blast, too early in the exchange. He doesn't need to. Either the occasion, or Alcaraz, gets into his head. Just a little bit more patience, and I think it would have been him Roland-Garros champion this morning.
He'll learn from that.
Don't snatch at the prize. You know you've got the reach. So just reach for it.
He'll learn from that.
Don't snatch at the prize. You know you've got the reach. So just reach for it.
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Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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I finally got to watch that after the Men's finals yesterday.
Wow, that was quite moving and certainly not much of a dry eye on screen or in viewing. ;-)
What a tribute to him, his family (Uncle Tony!), and the fans of the French Open. I especially enjoyed the Big Four together on the court and the side jokes and laughs they were having that unfortunately the mic wasn't ever going to capture.
The footprint we saw during various times of the recent tournament was quite a well done and an emotional reveal. It spoke volumes of what Rafa accomplished since winning his very first French Open in 2005. I went back through all of his tournaments yesterday and while each of others in the Big Four were obviously well represented, a special shout out to Robin Söderling, David Ferrer (very unlucky numerous times), Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, and Alexander Zverev for being big part of his runs and at rare times, a defeat.
Watching Carlos two weeks ago view that from the stands with the other players who had yet to play this tournament, I'd bet him and Sinner have something like this in the future if things keep going as they are now. Not sure where, but somewhere, and Carlos is making an early claim for clay at the moment (as well as on grass at Wimbledon ironically).
If you haven't seen it, it's worth the watch.
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Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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Probably time for me to chime in on (US) TNT's (free broadcast) coverage as well as watching all matches on (HBO) Max, already subscribed to.
First, given the barren wasteland in the US that used to be the French Open in the past without having a Tennis Channel subscription, this was quite the upgrade this year. ESPN already does a great job in covering Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open, I didn't think TNT could really compare to or top it.
Boy, was I pleasantly wrong.
The "Live At Roland Garros" pre and post match coverage on TNT was top notch and the on-site set on the grounds was really well done. TNT did a good job of adding in ESPN tennis talent including both McEnroes, Jim Courier, Chris Everet, Chris Eubanks, Caroline Wozniacki, and Darren Cahill (at select times he was able to). Other newcomers such as Sloane Stevens, Sam Querrey and others helped round out new host Adam Lefkoe, who did a fine first job at covering tennis for TNT. Ben Shelton as a guest on the set early on even mentioned how much of a difference having this at home he was hearing from friends who were all watching unlike they could in prior years. He even credited the TNT presence in the US performance with increased interest back home. Who knows, but glad it helped them even a little if it did, realizing the increased visibility and influence from prior years.
Having player interviews at the desk after select matches along with former great guest visits of Serena Williams (early on) and Andre Agassi for the final weekend also were great touches. Agassi and Courier calling the Sinner-Musetti semifinal was a great watch and insightful for Andre's analysis.
John McEnroe still talked about his prior matches too much for my tastes (especially yesterday), and he glaringly misinterpreted the 1vs.2 stat for both Women's and Men's in thinking the last time the top seeds in Men's made the final was in 1984 - no, it was 2020 with Djokovic and Nadal. Better to remember Johnny Mac the player (despite those temper flaws) vs. the announcer these days.
All in all, it was a pleasant surprise in getting end to end coverage of the French Open with the option of watching select matches on Max that perhaps weren't aired on TNT or trueTV during week 1 with a crowded slate. Big improvement and difference from prior French Opens in the US.
Lovebitesandeveryfing
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Wow, just watched that. I do not get teary-eyed about things, especially not sporting events (well, one exception — 13 May 2012, obv.). But that was hard. Must have got misty-eyed.
Goosebumps when they showed the footprint. What an inspired idea! No other player in the history of tennis has been honoured like that, anywhere. Ok, yes, certain tennis stadia are named after the greats, i.e. Rod Laver Arena, Arthur Ashe Stadium, etc. But that is unique. If Rafa genuinely didn't know, I simply don't know how he held it together. I think I would have broken down sobbing, and said “OK, that's it, I'm overwhelmed, I've gotta go!”
I hope other venues don't imitate it, so that it remains unique in the world. In fact, it's unique in the world of sport, I believe. I sort of have a sneaking desire — against myself — for them to do it for Roger at Wimbledon, somehow. But then again, not…
When Rafa burst onto the scene, I will admit to wondering, “Ok, but will this guy be able to win on other surfaces?” He seemed to be born for clay, and clay for him. Well, he answered that one fairly rapidly, first at Wimbledon, then in Australia. But I'm absolutely sure that within my lifetime his record at Roland-Garros is safe.
Unless Alcaraz………… no, stop it!
Lovebitesandeveryfing
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You cannot be serious!
jimharri
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I guess that's what you'd call a bad loser.