Wimbledon

[jimlosaltos]

I don't remember Carlos standing that far back to return. I imagine Carlos is out of view because the serve is very wide.

One of the standout features of the match was how well Carlos positioned himself to return Novak's serve. It was perfectly tailored; not too far back not too far in. This was a major factor. It allowed Carlos enough time to return almost every serve and knife umpteen down the middle, which Novak dislikes.

Carlos's camp really did their homework. Carlos had to be consistent and stable and not have the usual erratic and give-points-away moments, because Novak would make him pay for that. I believe Novak was expecting Carlos to have his usual erratic moments...but they never came.

No one responds and bounces back from defeats like Novak. He takes a lot in and gets you next time. But this time he couldn't deal with Carlos's spontaneity. There is no way even Novak can predict a player who hits out-of-the-blue drops shots on a dime or rips the most improbable forehands. He does things no one expects. It's genius. If he had a beautiful serve, people would start talking about him in the same way as Roger. Alas, it's ugly so they won't.

Novak volleyed poorly off chipped shots from Carlos that were awkward to deal with. This happened at least six times and was another decisive feature of the game as they happened when Novak was in position to win games or at decisive points. Edberg or Henman would deal with that kind of volley easily but Novak can't volley that well. He doesn't close in enough and lacks the feel of a really good volleyer.

Your line is amusing >> If he had a beautiful serve, people would start talking about him in the same way as Roger. Alas, it's ugly so they won't. <<

[jimlosaltos]

Andy & Uncle Tony: "What was Novak thinking?"

Two men with success and quite different roles in pro tennis, echo what I've asked about Novak Djokovic's tactics vs Alcaraz in the men's final.

After first complementing Djokovic's tactical excellence, Andy Roddick wondered on his podcast why he played the way he did.

“Novak for his entire career has been the master of kind of extending points, playing within himself, forcing you to attack from tough positions, and today I felt like whether it was the serve and volley, whether it was going line very early, not sticking Carlos into that backhand to backhand rally, it seemed like Novak was in a hurry to get out of that.

“I don’t fully understand, maybe his read on the first couple of points getting bullied, obviously the knee issue, he must know something that we don’t. I was surprised how quickly he went to that all-out aggressive play. I didn’t mind the coming in, I didn’t mind the approaching line but kind of taking random shots line very, very early in rallies in a very aggressive nature, not wanting to switch the direction of a rally.

“I’m surprised he didn’t put more volume on Carlos’ backhand.”

Toni Nadal, the legendary former coach of nephew Rafael, claimed that the Serbian’s approach “ultimately proved suicidal” in a scathing criticism of the all-time great.

“The decision was not easy to make,” said Nadal. “How to approach the match, with our usual weapons and our own style, or try to neutralise the opponent by looking for other solutions and moving away from our characteristic game? Personally, I have always opted for the first solution. If it is already difficult to play well by doing what you are used to doing, it has always been much more difficult in my opinion to play well, especially in the final, by doing what you are not used to doing.

“Djokovic opted for the second solution. Knowing that neither his legs nor the precision of his shots are those of yesteryear, and that a long and physical match would not favour him either, he tried a tactic that ultimately proved suicidal.”

#

[stotty]

For some reason Novak feels he has to make the first move against Carlos...like a pre-emptive strike. In last year's final and last year's FO he came straight of the blocks being very assertive and tried to smother Carlos and give him as little time as possible. There has to be a reason why Novak feels he has to play that way. I tend to agree with Novak. Being a wall does Meddy no good whatsoever against Carlos so why would it Novak. In Carlos, Novak senses a terrible threat, and it's easy to understand why.