15 Responses

  1. Tennisfan
    Tennisfan April 21, 2013 at 8:34 am |

    Looking forward to this one, got my popcorn ready that’s for sure. Damn rain delay, the later this thing goes on, the less sleep I get. Ah the perks of the clay season when you live in Australia. Actually the perks of the whole tennis season apart from January when you live in Australia. #JankoSigh…

    Who do you think wins this one Juan? I’m picking Nadal but if Novak gets first set, who knows! Also whoever wins this one I also believe foreshadows Roland Garros.

  2. Ed
    Ed April 21, 2013 at 9:02 am |

    Nadal is so tense right now. Leaving so many balls short in the court that it’s even catching Novak by surprise.

  3. Tennisfan
    Tennisfan April 21, 2013 at 9:45 am |

    So so so impressed with Djokovic at the moment. Funny how there were doubts about his ankle a week ago and if he would even play and NOW he has taken a set of Nadal at no other than Monte Carlo. A 6-2 set as well! Not the best final but it’s interesting seeing how Nadal responds to Djokovic on clay, hope he gets the next set to take us to a decider.

  4. Ophelia
    Ophelia April 21, 2013 at 11:11 am |

    I missed watching this match because it took place during my bedtime (damn you, time zone differences!), and I have just two things to say:

    1) WHOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!
    2) Your LifeAnalysis is a godsend as usual. I’m going to read it while waiting impatiently for the final to be posted on Youtube. :)))

  5. Max
    Max April 21, 2013 at 4:02 pm |

    One things that seriously bug me about the ATP is how often whoever wins the title has fought a “serious” injury throughout the week.

    Sharapova barely talked about her shoulder and everything she went through but Nadal and Djokovic are so open about their knee and ankle. Just bizarre, really.

    If they lose, they have the excuse and if they win they can say how badass they are.
    These two are the biggest whiners in tennis.

    1. takako
      takako April 21, 2013 at 10:57 pm |

      You misunderstood Sharapova’s shoulder problem and Djokovic’s ankle injury are two different thing.
      Djokovic got his ankle injury during Davis Cup two weeks ago that everybody knew why he should keep that secret ?
      Sharapova’s shoulder and Nadal’s knee problem I doubt they really had such a serious problem.

      1. Max
        Max April 22, 2013 at 3:40 pm |

        Sharapova had a serious surgery.
        Djokovic had no structural damage but went on to cry during an interview and made quite a scene on court.

        You can say “My ankle is fine/I will not answer any medical questions, thank you for your concerns.”

        It doesn’t look good the ATP when an injured player wins a Title.

  6. mat4
    mat4 April 21, 2013 at 6:46 pm |

    JJ,

    I like your analysises, although I don’t quite agree with this one. I believe that Rafa had troubles to change the direction of his BH and play it efficiently DTL because Novak just plays with more spin (it was especially clear toward the end of the second set). Then, yes, he was probably more nervous, but he had to play on Novak’s terms from the beginning until the end of the match, without a clear plan, although he could have tried to play more low sliced BH DTL, since it was quite successful.

    But I agree that Rafa, once again, showed that he remains the ultimate competitor in tennis.

  7. Fernando
    Fernando April 22, 2013 at 7:23 pm |

    Fernando says well done Juan Jose; your stock is rising.

    Fernando and his staff have looked at legions of videos and completed the analytics to determine why Rafa lost. We cannot tell you everything obviously, but The Team has allowed us to reveal the following:

    Problem: Rafa’s incredible defense and lack of unforced errors result in grueling sustained rallies. Eventually, Rafa’s opponent loses the point for one of two reasons; either the opponent tries to do too much to try to hit a winner or fatigue or law of averages produces a short ball and then Rafa pounces with his FH.

    If Djoker is playing at a high level, we cannot break him down this way. Djoker can rally for a long time and more importantly maintains great depth on all his shots. And it is Djoker who gets aggressive first with his great ability to change ball direction to control the point.

    Solution: Rafa must and will get aggressive first to control the point. It is a strategic, tactical adjustment- a mindset- which we can make for Rafa. Djoker’s play is not preventing this. Rafa will go for more much earlier in the point with the proper margin.

    Problem: Rafa did not serve poorly. Djoker is just a fantastic returner and too many times Rafa is backing up to hit a service return. Rafa’s serve speed is not the issue.

    Solution: Our analytics lead us to Maestro.who, when he is Maestro, is a creative spot server who actually can make life a bit difficult for Djoker on the return. When Fernando taught Rafa a new grip to to increase serve speed for the US Open- Rafa became the champion. In the period leading up to RG, Rafa will become a great spot server too. He can make the change. And the serving will be very tactical and creative.

    These two adjustments wil be made. And Djoker will fall.

    I am Fernando @vivafernando

  8. Nadal News » Blog Archive » RafaLint: April 24th

    […] LiveAnalysis: Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal in the 2013 Monte Carlo Final – by Juan José (changeovertennis.com) […]

  9. v.arunachalam
    v.arunachalam April 28, 2013 at 1:42 am |

    a good analysis indeed.as long as fight is equal, it ll be a feast to fans all over the world.hope other young players learn & come upto rafa- djoko level in the interest of tennis as a game.

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