Roger Federer retires

Rafa - Wins both matches in his comeback tournament, and now got a rest with his opponent withdrawing in the QF.

Novak - Hasn't played a match since November, and won't be able to play a warmup tournament or train for 3 days.

It's not looking good for Novak. The Australian authorities went and found a female player who also got the same exemption, and have cancelled her visa too. She has withdrawn from all tournaments. Even if he is successful, he won't have any preparation. Huge blow in the race to 21.

Who do you think, all things considered is the best between Federer, Nadal, and Novak at their best? I'd say Federer unless the game was played on clay in which case I think it's Nadal. McEnroe with a modern racquet makes short work of all three unless it's Nadal on clay.

Hard - Novak
Clay - Rafa
Grass - Roger

Highest peak - Rafa (clay)
Most talented - Roger
Most clutch - Novak

I never got to see Roger play at his peak, so it's hard to judge. But from the sounds of it Roger is the most talented, but Novak has superior mentality. Roger is a choker vs high ranked players. Rafa has the highest peak (French Open), but is weaker on other surfaces. Rafa has a singles gold medal, but zero ATP Finals titles (year-end tournament between the top 8 players). Roger and Novak have no singles gold medal, but many ATP Finals titles.

Roger is clearly the best overall ever. I would say Rafa is a clear second. Novak is great, but he rose as Rafa was constantly injured and Roger was aging. Nothing he can control, but beating Murray was all he had to do sometimes.

That said, if Novak keeps piling on the titles, it will be hard not to say he is the best ever. Much like Brady.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Jan 8th 2022 »

No love for Sampras, McEnroe, Borg and the rest of the golden oldies who were the best of their generation? I'd like to see Novak beat McEnroe with a wooden racquet. Novak called him out from the court a little while back and McEnroe came down from the broadcasting booth and embarrassed him. Novak's face was in shock and the organisers quickly put an end to it. You can see it on Youtube, it's worth seeing just to see the expression of Novaks face.

Novak has won his court appearance, and is allowed to stay and play.

He is the big favourite to win the tournament. 21 is coming.

Dennis: I have Sampras at 4th. Hard to argue with the newer guys when they have so many titles. lol

Matt: Looks like Rafa gonna have to win the old fashion way. ;)

Warrior - Rafa has no chance. He is too rusty. His path to the title last week was as cakewalk as they come, and he didn't look convincing. He is a long way behind Novak, Zverev & Medvedev.

Meanwhile, US Open champion Emma Raducanu was destroyed 0-6 1-6 in her first round match of a warmup tournament. She was playing a good player, but is still a very ugly scoreline.

My picks for the AO are still Novak and Osaka.

Matt, I'm still trying to figure out if the new guys as you call them are that much talented than everyone else or everyone else just so happens to be average in this generation. I can't recall another player being as dominant for so long as those three guys. The only one that had a string of wins worth mentioning was Borg and his 5 French Opens.

Any chance Radacanou wins the Australian Open or is it not her surface?

If anything, it's the opposite. Guys like Medvedev, Thiem, Zverev, Tsitsipas are good enough to win multiple slams, but the issue is Novak at 3 slams and Rafa at the French. That's also why Andy Murray only won 3 slams despite being one of the best returners in history. He had to deal with peak Roger, Rafa, and Novak.

Raducanu is the underdog in her 1st round match vs 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens. I don't see her winning a round, let alone 7. That said, she has played 2 GSs in her career and has made the 4th round (retired injured) and won a tournament.

Naomi Osaka has been put in Ash Barty's quarter of the draw. Hopefully she will be sent packing. She withdrew during a warmup tournament again, because of a fake injury (said she had a tough match physically despite winning 6-1 6-1).

Matt: If you believe in Rafa, he will win. We need you to believe, Matt. ;)

I believed Roger could win #21, but he got bagelled in his last set at Wimbledon...

An Australian minister has now cancelled Novak's visa for a second time! He will have to attend another court hearing at 8am tomorrow, and will possibly be held in detention again.

Regardless if whether he wins the outcome, this month has destroyed his PR. He has applied for a fake medical exemption, visited places maskless after testing positive in December, and is an anti-vaxxer. Novak will win the GS battle, but he will never have a legacy close to Roger and Rafa.

I kind of like Novak more for those same reasons... XD XD XD

I'm hearing Novak could be facing jail time for his contempt of Covid regulations. That would go down as one of the biggest sports shocks ever.

No shot he faces jail time lol. Australia is just going a little overboard with their draconian nanny state.

It's purely a political move. People complained that Novak was allowed in the country without being vaccinated, and it would've looked hypocritical. They tried the exemption route, but the court proved it was a 'valid' exemption. So they tried a route which is basically one person saying 'I want him out".

Personally I don't think he should be allowed in, since all other unvaccinated players were banned from entering the country. The circumstances around his convenient positive result are fishy. But if you're looking purely at a legal stance, he applied for an available exemption, and won a court appearance after having his visa cancelled. He should be allowed in from a legal perspective.

I still fully expect Novak to be holding the trophy in 2 weeks time.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Jan 14th 2022 »

Come on, Matt, we wanna see Rafa win! lol

I prefer Nadal to win too, Novak is devoid of a personality that endear's you to him.

Novak has lost his appeal on his second visa cancellation, and is OUT of the Australian Open! He has boarded his flight to Dubai, and play starts tomorrow. It is official. He is out, and will be staying on 20 slams for now!

This is a massive blow for Novak. If he had played, he would've surely won the tournament and taken the lead in the grand slam tally. Now the next slam he will play is the French Open, where (if healthy) Rafa will be the favourite. It was revealed in the 2021 French Open semi final which Rafa lost in 4 tight sets, he was injured most of the match. A healthy Rafa would've won that match. Also, it seems likely that Novak will never play the Australian Open again. He does not want to get vaccinated, and Australia will probably keep this rule for the long-term.

Meanwhile, it is a huge opportunity for the rest of the field, including Rafa. I don't think he can do it, but if everything clicks he has a chance.

My picks are now Alexander Zverev and Naomi Osaka.

I think you mean Rafa and any one but Osaka/Williams, Matt. ;)