Nole Watch: US Open 2011

I used to do this in the good old days of 606, where nobody complained about my fan passion.

Now that Nole's number one and winning everything, some have complained that I am over the top, put too many smileys in, need to cool down etc. etc.



Why should I?

Nole is still the best, and I am still Noleisthebest

So here we go....again! Those of you with tendency towards , please avert your eyes...

Well, round one: by the time I made meself my customary wake-up coffee (I have to have a wake-up coffee at the start of Nole's matches even if it's the 5th one of the day ), for after all, aren't we, fans allowed a few rituals and habits (coo, I'm beginning to sound like a sad case to my own self now )

Anyway, back to the actual tennis and USO, well it was 4:0 in the first set when I sat at the computer and by the time I finished the coffee, the match was over.

Sadly, I have already forgotten the guy's name, I can vaguely remember it began with N and he is Irish. Never heard of him before. BTW is there such a thing as Irish Open?

So,Nole is in the 2nd round, and from what my beady eye could see, he is in some sizzling form ALREADY....I have fastened MY seatbelt and am ready for one stunning set of matches from my favourite ever number one.

GO NOLEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


P.S.

Did you see the depth and accuracy of those groundstrokes? Dear me.....


Round 2 - same score , same unfamiliar face and name: Berloque from Argentina. triple bagel avoided, I was not sure whether the Argentine played very badly or did Nole just ground him to dust?


Round 3, Davy, the old fox....good, but still an easy prey for the Hunted!
And what can I say about that post match dance...that's why I LOVE him Go Nole, show 'em what joie 'd vivre is all about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH8sTnibxrs

Just Kidding

Nothing wrong with a bit of Nole love!

legendkillar wrote:

Just Kidding

Nothing wrong with a bit of Nole love!

I say , make tennis love not war

Nitb, he didn't have to use up too much juice on the shoulder this match should help leave a little bit in the tank come the later rounds. I am glad he got a good hit for 45 minutes and then can take a bit of break. He has a good draw till the semis.

socal1976 wrote:Nitb, he didn't have to use up too much juice on the shoulder this match should help leave a little bit in the tank come the later rounds. I am glad he got a good hit for 45 minutes and then can take a bit of break. He has a good draw till the semis.

I had a shoulder problem two years ago, it was inflammation, I soldiered on with it taking no notice until it ground me to a halt, I was barely able to lift my right arm. Then I got it sorted and it went away like nothing!

So unless it's some internal damage or tear, he should be fine. If it's tendonitis, that can go away fine after a 10 day break; I mean, there are creams, massages, then there's THE EGG

Djoking aside, he may have trouble if he played6 5 set slugfests against the likes of Davydenko or Murray, but that ain't going to happen, I must say I was impressed with what I saw today, he was ruthless like Nadal in his best days...finally learnt the lesson

Yes, Nitb he is jumping all over the opposition at the first hint of weakness. In the past he would play loose sets in the earlier rounds and force himself to expend a lot more energy on his route through the tournament. He looks a lot fresher and criper with his serve and groundies than he looked at the two us masters series. I know this isn't the toughest opponent but he really played a bit poorly in the last two tourneys and still managed to win one and reach the final of the other. He plays like we know he can and the rest of the field don't have much of a chance.

socal1976 wrote:Yes, Nitb he is jumping all over the opposition at the first hint of weakness. In the past he would play loose sets in the earlier rounds and force himself to expend a lot more energy on his route through the tournament. He looks a lot fresher and criper with his serve and groundies than he looked at the two us masters series. I know this isn't the toughest opponent but he really played a bit poorly in the last two tourneys and still managed to win one and reach the final of the other. He plays like we know he can and the rest of the field don't have much of a chance.

All I can say is, I'm pretty happy with what I saw....I dare say, that's the best I've ever seen him play. (OK, he was playing a journeyman, but he still hit all those lines and corners....and served super...and....)

BTW, are in the US at the moment Socal?

Looks pretty hot in NY...I just came back from a week of "summer"holiday by the sea and I didn't even have a swim, that's how cold it was

TBH it's hard to judge much about Djokovic's form on today's performance, given how his opponent was clearly struggling (with a stomach upset apparently). Nole played some very fine shots, one or two wild ones (which is normal for a first round match of course), but more importantly for him showed no ill effects from his shoulder injury as he was hitting his serves and forehands flat out.

Nitb, i am just glad that his shoulder looked good. I live in the westcoast Nitb when i am in the states. We don't have humidity here it is dry and warm. Quite perfect, never gets too hot or too cold that is why southern california has the best weather in the states.



MFC, his serve looked like it had the snap back, that was what was important to take away from the match that the shoulder was not causing problems.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:TBH it's hard to judge much about Djokovic's form on today's performance, given how his opponent was clearly struggling (with a stomach upset apparently). Nole played some very fine shots, one or two wild ones (which is normal for a first round match of course), but more importantly for him showed no ill effects from his shoulder injury as he was hitting his serves and forehands flat out.

It would be a great shame if the shoulder hampered his play during USO, for me as a fan, I'm really enjoying his tennis now, Nole's always played his most attractive tennis in NY.

socal1976 wrote:Nitb, i am just glad that his shoulder looked good. I live in the westcoast Nitb when i am in the states. We don't have humidity here it is dry and warm. Quite perfect, never gets too hot or too cold that is why southern california has the best weather in the states.



MFC, his serve looked like it had the snap back, that was what was important to take away from the match that the shoulder was not causing problems.

sounds great for holiday....

I play for a midweek rugby team along with quite a few Irish guys, and the majority of them know Conor Niland (Djokovic's opponent) quite well, since they all come from Limerick. A few of them didn't turn up this evening so they could watch him play...bet they regretted that decision!

Chazfazzer wrote:I play for a midweek rugby team along with quite a few Irish guys, and the majority of them know Conor Niland (Djokovic's opponent) quite well, since they all come from Limerick. A few of them didn't turn up this evening so they could watch him play...bet they regretted that decision!

Please let us know some of their thoughts next time you catch up with them....the poor guy was puffed out after the first set it's admirable he lasted as long as he did....I'm glad he managed to win at least one game...

Such a shame for poor Conor Niland - what a fantastic experience it should have been for him to play the No 1 player on Arthur Ashe - he put up a valiant fight but was obviously physically done in.

Nole looked good - really relieved to see him hitting serve and his forehand so well - hopefully that means the shoulder is just fine.

Niland did what he could, and he wasn't that bad, there were a lot of rallies etc, he just couldn't keep up with Novak's pace.

noleisthebest wrote:Niland did what he could, and he wasn't that bad, there were a lot of rallies etc,he just couldn't keep up with Novak's pace.

Had a nasty dose of sickly food poisoning more like, such a shame we get these uncompetitive first rounds in nearly every major, I really feel they should cut the slams down from 7 rounds into 5, get more closer matches from the first outing!

This chap wasn't even up for the task of giving djokovic a good warm up, let alone playing a competitive match against him! what a shame.....

Jeremy_Kyle wrote:This chap wasn't even up for the task of giving djokovic a good warm up, let alone playing a competitive match against him! what a shame.....

I must say, If I'd scripted it, it couldn't've worked out any better

Round 2 - same score , same unfamiliar face and name: Berloque from Argentina. triple bagel avoided, I was not sure whether the Argentine played very badly or did Nole just ground him to dust?

Now round 3....time to start the tournament properly...Davydenkko.....now, Davy why don't you do a Fognini and let Nole have a rest....

We all know what happened when Fognini pulled out and it didn't result in a Slam for Nole!!

where's socal - is he okay? Is he afraid of jinxing Nole during Open - he is unnaturally quiet!

Wherever you are socal - hope all well, and that you are enjoying the serene demolition process

Wow, Mr Djokovic...

I wish I had a dodgy shoulder!!!

Djokovic will easily beat Davydenko. The first challenge will be Berdych.

bogbrush wrote:Djokovic will easily beat Davydenko. The first challenge will be Berdych.

I hope so. The quicker the better. He must not let Davy into the match, grinding rallies could tire the shoulder.

You don't seriously think there's a shoulder problem do you? Come on, Nole is a bit of a drama queen when it comes to these things, he's fine.

bogbrush wrote:You don't seriously think there's a shoulder problem do you? Come on, Nole is a bit of a drama queen when it comes to these things, he's fine.

Actually, I am very worried about the shoulder. In the third set he dropped his serve back to back times and started rubbing his shoulder and stretching it out constantly. Berlocq was overran, but if Novak's shoulder is bothering him in round #2 I am not optimistic about the later rounds. Deeply concerned about his shoulder as in set #3 he was obviously having discomfort. Do you even watch the matches BB?

By the way did you see Novak's crazy tweener shot from behind the baseline, berlocq was so stunned that he netted the volley?

socal1976 wrote:

bogbrush wrote:You don't seriously think there's a shoulder problem do you? Come on, Nole is a bit of a drama queen when it comes to these things, he's fine.

Actually, I am very worried about the shoulder. In the third set he dropped his serve back to back times and started rubbing his shoulder and stretching it out constantly. Berlocq was overran, but if Novak's shoulder is bothering him in round #2 I am not optimistic about the later rounds. Deeply concerned about his shoulder as in set #3 he was obviously having discomfort. Do you even watch the matches BB?

By the way did you see Novak's crazy tweener shot from behind the baseline, berlocq was so stunned that he netted the volley?

That is not good news at all socal . I haven't seen Nole play yet. I know he was criticised for retiring in the final of Cincy, but I wish he had withdrawn in earlier rounds or missed altogether if the shoulder was troubling him at the beginning. Hope it's all going to be okay, but this is what I was afraid of - that he would physically run out of gas before the big one.

Well, it's Davy time tonight. Nole had better made it short and sweet. That shoulder needs to last him another week...

Timeplease, I agree in tennis a physical individual sport there is little to no point in toughening it out if your body really doesn't feel right. I know as fans that we want to see player tough it out, but in tennis when you can't rely on teamates to carry on if you get hurt the best and most effective strategy is to shut it down as soon as something feels serious or somewhat serious. You pay the price later and you can't just sit in the stands in suit while your team continues to compete for you like in team sports.

Just seen the score - Novak obviously despatched Davy pretty comprehensively.

Socal, did you see? Did the shoulder look okay?

I only got to look at about 3 games so wasn't really able to tell anything to be honest. And in the berlocq match he really only looked to tighten up in the third set. He looks to have lost a bit on the serve over the last 5 matches. The one service game of Novak's I saw he looked ok which is encouraging.

Nole's the biggest hypocondriac in the sport; he's still putting on the exhausted look during matches now. It's just his way, nothing sinister of gamesmanship about it, just how he is.

You guys should relax, he's at the peak of his career, still young and is fine.

I watched the entire match.

Davy started off shakily and throughout the match couldn't find any consistency.

However, there were stretches of play were Kolya hugged the baseline and sent Nole sprawling and stretching in total retrieval mode. As is his MO, Kolya took the ball early and took time away from Djokovich. Unfortunately Kolya has no confidence in his second serve at the moment and therefore was rolling in his first serve at around 105 mph. He was basically playing all his service games from a neutral start.

He was also making a lot of uncharacteristic errors. Kolya used to be so solid, hardly ever giving away cheap errors. Nole was steady, nothing spectacular. It;s obvious that he doesn't enjoy playing Kolya because of the latter's ability to dictate rallies and go toe to toe from the baseline.

This match highlighted the ignorance of posters who claim that Kolya is a product of a 'weak era'. Kolya is a fantastic talent, similar to Agassi in his innate ability to take the ball early and use of angles to open up the court. Unfortunately for Kolya he hasn't been the same player since his wrist surgery in early 2010. If the Kolya of 05-09 had played last night, this match would have been a toss up.

Yes, I will agree Davy is a much more legitimate top 5 player than Ljubi and James blake, or Tommy Robredo.

Round 3, Davy, the old fox....good, but still an easy prey for the Hunted!
And what can I say about that post match dance...that's why I LOVE him Go Nole, show 'em what joie 'd vivre is all about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH8sTnibxrs

bogbrush wrote:Nole's the biggest hypocondriac in the sport; he's still putting on the exhausted look during matches now. It's just his way, nothing sinister of gamesmanship about it, just how he is.

You guys should relax, he's at the peak of his career, still young and is fine.

Yes he faked arming in serves for the 3 matches at cincy, he thought that if he hit his first serve 105 miles an hour for a couple of matches that the opposition would get psyched out. What is your beef with the guy exactly BB? Is this just your attempt to somehow denigrate him like you did with Nadal for years, what is your agenda?