Indian Wells 2018 (5th-18th March)

gaelictiogar

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 23, 2006
8,474
3,627
east melbourne
AFL Club
Richmond
Sounds like he didnt have the fitness.

A lot of seeds lost in the 2nd round. That extra match on court produces a lot of upsets i reckon. Fed wasnt great today either.

Novak is 31 in May. His last slam was Paris 2016. He is now on a run of 7 slams without a win. I haven't done the stats on this but it would be interesting to know if any among previous players have gone on a 2 year slam famine aged 29 to 31 and returned to winning multiple slams at 31 or older.

I doubt its been done. If it has been done it is extremely rare.......history says he may well be finished.
 

Pedantic

Club Legend
Jun 7, 2016
1,436
2,249
AFL Club
Melbourne
Novak is 31 in May. His last slam was Paris 2016. He is now on a run of 7 slams without a win. I haven't done the stats on this but it would be interesting to know if any among previous players have gone on a 2 year slam famine aged 29 to 31 and returned to winning multiple slams at 31 or older.

I doubt its been done. If it has been done it is extremely rare.......history says he may well be finished.
Federer and Nadal. Agassi almost fits, started winning again aged 30 after a fair drought.
 

stoisle

Team Captain
Jul 9, 2001
449
299
Melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
Delpo takes out Alex 2 & 1. He appears the only one that can stop Federer winning. Good day for the Greeks / Cypriots with Baggy beating Schwartzman and Sakkari upsetting Coco (including a smashed racquet).

Like how timezone friendly this tournament is for us with matches going to late afternoon.
 
That was a horrible match from Djoker. 61(!!) UEs. Definitely not ready, and we might be sticking a fork in him. He's lost a lot of weight, almost looks like a skeleton out there... still on that vegan diet? Anyway, I don't think he'll be back to 2015 levels... if his body can't handle his style of play then he's pretty much done.

And what to make of Zverev? Couple of people here were really offended when I said he was overrated... now he just lost to Sousa after leading 4-1 in the 3rd.
 
Last edited:

Pedantic

Club Legend
Jun 7, 2016
1,436
2,249
AFL Club
Melbourne
That was a horrible match from Djoker. 61(!!) UEs. Definitely not ready, and we might be sticking a fork in him. He's lost a lot of weight, almost looks like a skeleton out there... still on that vegan diet? Anyway, I don't think he'll be back to 2015 levels... if his body can't handle his style of play then he's pretty much done.

And what to make of Zverev? Couple of people here were really offended when I said he was overrated... now he just lost to Sousa after leading 4-1 in the 3rd.
Zverev was also leading 5-2 in the first and then lost 5 straight games to drop the set.
 
Dec 18, 2005
16,254
7,908
Perth
AFL Club
West Coast
I am unwilling to write off Djokovic on the condition that he still has the mental hunger. If that's gone then I can't see any success coming now, but given what a fighter he was I think he'll come back and prove himself, just like Nadal, just like Federer. They're arguably the 3 greatest to ever play.
 

gaelictiogar

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 23, 2006
8,474
3,627
east melbourne
AFL Club
Richmond
Federer and Nadal. Agassi almost fits, started winning again aged 30 after a fair drought.

Federer won Wimbledon as a 30 year old and Nadal won Roland Garros as a 30 year old so neither is a true comparison to the 29/30 year old total drought Djokovic has suffered.

Novak has simply not counted in the slams as a 29 or 30 year old and as he approaches 31 horribly out of form and now 2 whole years away from his last slam it is unarguable that he is in the kind of hole neither Rafa nor Roger found themselves in at that age.

All precedence suggests that a 29/30 year old total absence from the winners enclosure is followed by steep career ending decline. He may buck the trend but it would be an extreme outlier.
 
Last edited:

Pedantic

Club Legend
Jun 7, 2016
1,436
2,249
AFL Club
Melbourne
Federer won Wimbledon as a 30 year old and Nadal won Roland Garros as a 30 year old so neither is a true comparison to the 29/30 year old total drought Djokovic has suffered.

Novak has simply not counted in the slams as a 29 or 30 year old and as he approaches 31 horribly out of form and now 2 whole years away from his last slam it is unarguable that he is in the kind of hole neither Rafa nor Roger found themselves in at that age.

All precedence suggests that a 29/30 year old total absence from the winners enclosure is followed by steep career ending decline. He may buck the trend but it would be an extreme outlier.
Screen Shot 2018-03-13 at 8.11.53 pm.png

They both went through a slamless stretch at a roughly similar age (the numbers from this image are age at end of season). Nadal in particular was not only not winning but not even coming close for a while – and his game is physical like Djokovic's. I do agree Djokovic would be an outlier to even most of the all-time greats to start winning slams again. But I would never rule anything out with him, likewise with Federer and Nadal.
 

Alesana

Premiership Player
Oct 13, 2011
3,809
5,707
AFL Club
West Coast
Federer won Wimbledon as a 30 year old and Nadal won Roland Garros as a 30 year old so neither is a true comparison to the 29/30 year old total drought Djokovic has suffered.

Novak has simply not counted in the slams as a 29 or 30 year old and as he approaches 31 horribly out of form and now 2 whole years away from his last slam it is unarguable that he is in the kind of hole neither Rafa nor Roger found themselves in at that age.

All precedence suggests that a 29/30 year old total absence from the winners enclosure is followed by steep career ending decline. He may buck the trend but it would be an extreme outlier.
Nadal couldn't get past the 3rd round for four consecutive grand slams aged 29/30. He has since gone on to win grand slams. If anything, recent evidence suggests the complete opposite to what you're saying. Unlikely yes, but definitely won't be bucking the trend as that is the trend. Some really inane theories in this forum :drunk:
 
Apr 28, 2008
11,211
8,194
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Arsenal Kilmarnock
Borna Coric has made an intriguing run thus far, dishing out bagels and breadsticks to reasonable opponents. Maybe another underwhelming young star making an Indian Wells run on to greater things?
 

bixente

Team Captain
Feb 21, 2017
513
512
AFL Club
Melbourne
Osaka v Halep will be interesting... Osaka has been in top form since working with her new coach Sascha Bajin.
 
Apr 28, 2008
11,211
8,194
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Arsenal Kilmarnock
Borna Coric has made an intriguing run thus far, dishing out bagels and breadsticks to reasonable opponents. Maybe another underwhelming young star making an Indian Wells run on to greater things?
Now through to the SFs after wins over competitive wins against Fritz and KAnderson. Previously never liked him, but always a good thing when a touted young player shows signs of putting it all together.

Big missed opportunity for Kevin, could have even won an Indian Wells Masters title.
 
Last edited:

gaelictiogar

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 23, 2006
8,474
3,627
east melbourne
AFL Club
Richmond
Chung isn't going to win any GS outside of the FO if he doesn't improve his serve. After a tight tussle in the first set, Fed just dominated him. Only Delpo can stop him from the remaining players.

It is almost worryingly easy if you are in Federer's camp. He has won his last two matches for a total loss of nine games. He'll take that any day but where on earth is the opposition?
 
Back