The draws in Masters are always brutal. Starting with the second round matches, top seeds will face dangerous players. That is what makes Novak and Rafa’s 35+ Masters titles so incredible.
Alex yup masters are the toughest draws for the fact unless u get a W/O u play every day or 5 matches in 6 days if u start on Tuesday in this format of a master 1000 not the 2 week format
"Three" is my favorite tennis show/podcast/program. I watch it regularly for years now. I consider it the best program for tennis, informative and competent. In addition, I watch Gill Gross UA-cam show every week. Congratulations Amy, Joel, and Gill, you are the best! ❤
YEAHHHH!!!! Another episode 🙂 Think it's tricky to tell on not playing Toronto but also think the additional time to prepare/train works well for Novak. Looking forward to seeing how Nole's NoAm return plays out in Cinci and then USO-23. Thought of the 'Theme Song' from the 70's sitcom "Welcome Back Kotter". Let's see what happens. Thanx Amy, Joel & Gill! CU guys soon 🙂 Cheers, Milan
Awesome show guys:)! Amazing dissection of Canada-Cincy. Does Rafa’s 2013 hard court defy the odds? IW. Skipped Miami. Then did the unthinkable Canada, Cincy, US Open. Hard to comprehend that he pulled that off. Also having to beat Novak in Canada, Roger in Cincy, then Novak again in New York.
Novak's most unlucky slam is the US open where he made a record 9 finals, but won just three, a very poor conversion ratio by his edifying standards. I hope that Novak finds the necessary motivation and goes on to win the US open, he truly deserves.
His draw at the 2010, 2013 and 2021 US opens were brutal, relative to his finals opponent. He was injured in 2016. And faced a far more experienced and confident Federer in 2007. The US Open has definitely been his unluckiest major.
@@naysayer1238novak had some brutal semifinals against Federer and zverev, which drained all his energy before the final. Rafa has never had to face Federer during his entire career there.
K yea totally tired players ADF deep run in Toronto Alex deep run the last 2 weeks Norrie out of form He should make qtrs or semis at least unless he’s just not feeling the ball and playing bad tennis
out of the 4 slams.... us open is the most difficult to win....... played in late August, it could be 95 plus degrees or 70 and windy............. planes constantly flying overhead, etc....
Agreement in full my friend... Ever since it moved from Forest Hills to Flushing Meadow in 1978, the US Open dropped like a lead weight to the bottom of the 4 Grand Slams re: player conditions, predominantly due to being right in La Guardia Airport's traffic pattern. I saw this then as I do now as an expedient, pathetic joke and insult to every player, let alone fan; it represents the crass/crude/clueless side of America--kind of like the greedy, neanderthal mentality that destroyed NYC's magnificent cathedral-like original Penn Station in 1963, leaving behind a depressing sewer rat "modern" station (Google "Original Penn Station New York City" if you've not seen pictures and you'll know what I mean). @@fransiscoscaramanga674
@@LeadershipAlliance another troll, another loser.............who's got nothing else better to do than to troll social media and launch from the comfort of his slimey hidey hole.............
Novak's goal-with this schedule-is to win the US Open? Nooo? You don't say! So, if he had played in Canada, his goal would have been to only make the semi's? No matter how Novak approached his schedule with his team, his goal would have been to win the US Open!
@@edkiely2712 Yes of course. If Novak thought playing Canada would have been best for his US Open prospects he most certainly would have played. But I totally trust him and his team doing what is best for him. Him skipping Madrid back in May now seems like a great decision.
Interesting that Nadal would usually play Canada but skip Cincy post 2017. Perhaps because Canada was more similar to NY when NY was slower (pre 2021).
I think the Cincy courts are a lot faster than Canada! Novak's won it twice, but once when moved to Flushing Meadows dealing w/ the Covid situation! - fiero4251.blogspot.com/2016/08/fan-page-novak-nole-djokovic.html
Hob fed career was done pretty much at 38 years old if u wanna be 100% honest with yourself once he got hurt at AO 2020 he made poor poor decisions and I hate saying this as huge Fed fan but it’s true he should’ve never played AO semis or play the match with Rafa for charity that was the end of Fed right then and there
OK, Amy, it has NOT been an exceptionally hot and humid summer in the parts of North America where they are going to play tennis. For example, Cincinnati's and New York's temperatures have been average.
Agreed Gil. Historically, players that go deep usually dont last long next tournament.unless u the big three old murray and med , alcaraz. Hopefully this trend continues and novak gets in enough time to peak for US. I think if the standard is the same as 2022. Novak will take down the US open
@@colethomas903 the standard of uS open was not great. You think novak would lose to tiafoe ? Obviously novak did nothing on outdoor hardcourts.he banned from all the events from standing up to taking experimental drugs.
L the standard of USO he’s 3-6 in finals and 7 of those 9 finals he was the favorite to guys he own and lost no of course I don’t tiafoe could beat Djokovic at USO Imao
Calendar Slam? Not for Novak. He had his chance in 2021 and came short. He's now 36. Novak may have one or two more majors in him at this stage, or he might not win another one. People from his entourage were talking 30 a few months back. As it is right now, Novak and Carlos together have 25 majors. Let's see what the split is once they reach 30. Anything between 23 and 7 and 28 and 2.
@mangstadt1, Nothing is certain for Novak at this point, not because he doesn't have the weapons. As a matter of fact, his first serve is the best it has ever been (even better than when Boris was his coach), but his second serve is not what it was in 2015-16 under Becker. It was a serious weapon and a big reason for his dominance. His forehand is huge today no question but it's causing him forearm arm , and wrist issues. Plus he is 36 and the injuries are becoming more frequent, thigh, hamstring etc despite his amazing fitness. He will always be a threat indoors or at Melbourne with a low bounce or medium conditions, but I'm not sure how his body will hold up with younger opponents who are closing the gap every day. Slowly but surely. Alcaraz neutralized his first serve brilliantly at Wimbledon and did to Novak what Novak does to everyone else. Blocked percentage returns that landed deep and impossible to attack. That was the difference in set 1 of the French open and Wimbledon. Alcaraz made him rally and Novak is trying to end points quickly nowadays, and if novak can't dominate with his serve, he won't be able to play multiple five setters in a slam and have enough energy to win. The clock stops for no one
Great insights, but not sure about Djoko loss at Wimbledon as being motivational for him, sure it was close, and Novak put his heart and soul and all bag of tricks and came up short, this match may have taken a toll such that it may push him closer to retirement
Why taken a toll.?.did you know what happened in australia 2022.he was humiliated in front of whole world.he came back wins next year ao.he lost Rafa in fo 2020.next year he beat Rafa on winning fo.with what you said did you really think he is able to grab 23 slams .an open era record.you mention he left all tricks.really. are you serious.did you ever seen nole hitting poor lazy shots on massive set points.really.this is man that beat Roger 3 times trailing match points.he win this year fo tiebreaks.without having any unforced errors.if he was brilliant .did you really think Alcarez had any chance.btw you are mentioning about greatest player of all time.hands down
It didn't. On the same day, Nole was joking with the Serbian journalists and genuinely looked relaxed. He knew he had him. He knew he uncharacteristically missed three shots in TB which would have put him at 2:0 lead. Alcaraz himself said that was the key to the match and that it would have probably be 3:0 for Novak had he won that TB. That match was a freak loss for Novak but he summed it up himself perfectly - there were probably matches he won that he shouldn't have.
Novak has not played in Canada since 2018, and he will likely never play there ever again. In 2024, the Olympics will again force Novak to skip it. And as of 2025, he will probably skip Canada and go straight to the Cincinnati.
I have just a point to make here I respect Alcaraz but if he wants to go deep in Cincy or USO he needs to avoid Hubi because i'm more than 100% sure the moment he finds the way to go on top in tiebreaks he can beat anyone on hard courts. Hubi has very powerful game but he lacks mental push at the business end, once he figure that out he will be a lethal weapon no one wants to encounter.... especially younger generation Nole and Rafa can handle him though.
@@AD98.Really? Forgotten his backhand? His incredible reach and defensive skills? Or are you forgetting he has won the Miami masters on medium hard and beaten federer at Wimbledon?
@@z1az285 OP said "powerful game" and I said there is nothing powerful about his game apart from his serve, his bh is better than his fh but not an offensive weapon. His defensive skills are also not an offensive weapon obviously, so if he has nothing apart from his serve to damage his opponent then how can he have a powerful game? His game has actually regressed if anything. He's becoming more and more dependent on his serve and his groundstrokes are disappearing fast. Used to be no.10 in the world, he's no.20 now, that's all you need to look at.
@@AD98. Did you see his average groundstroke speed on both FH and BH vs Alcaraz? Look at the stats again. If that's not powerful I don't know what is. His forehand has plenty of power but his exaggerated backswing (like many next generation players) is why he is late and makes errors when it's targeted by top players plus it can get loopy and not penetrate the court. Incidentally he hit 15 winners off his FH vs Alcaraz though he hit a lot of errors too
@@z1az285 The Wilson balls used in Toronto are very light and hard to control, maybe that's why a guy like Hubi who doesn't have the racket head speed to generate enough pace on the fh wing could hit winners. Cannot say more than that since I couldn't watch his match due to timezone differences.
What will you guys do when Novak retires, as he's already 36 years of age and Nadal won't return next year, as his injury turns out to be just too severe to return? Similar when Federer thought he could return one last time for Wimbledon, and his body just couldn't hold up anymore? Nadal is done, mark my words, he won't come back next year. And Djokovic will be done soon too.
The human side of me would love to see Novak stick it to the Biden administration in New York just like he did to Australia. The tennis side of me would love to see Alcaraz win in New York to keep this exciting run going for him.
The draws in Masters are always brutal. Starting with the second round matches, top seeds will face dangerous players. That is what makes Novak and Rafa’s 35+ Masters titles so incredible.
Alex yup masters are the toughest draws for the fact unless u get a W/O u play every day or 5 matches in 6 days if u start on Tuesday in this format of a master 1000 not the 2 week format
"Three" is my favorite tennis show/podcast/program. I watch it regularly for years now. I consider it the best program for tennis, informative and competent. In addition, I watch Gill Gross UA-cam show every week. Congratulations Amy, Joel, and Gill, you are the best! ❤
YEAHHHH!!!! Another episode 🙂 Think it's tricky to tell on not playing Toronto but also think the additional time to prepare/train works well for Novak. Looking forward to seeing how Nole's NoAm return plays out in Cinci and then USO-23. Thought of the 'Theme Song' from the 70's sitcom "Welcome Back Kotter". Let's see what happens. Thanx Amy, Joel & Gill! CU guys soon 🙂 Cheers, Milan
It's been very mild in the Midwest Amy :) Super rainy too. The US is more than the east coast and southern California.
Awesome show guys:)! Amazing dissection of Canada-Cincy.
Does Rafa’s 2013 hard court defy the odds? IW. Skipped Miami.
Then did the unthinkable Canada, Cincy, US Open. Hard to comprehend that he pulled that off. Also having to beat Novak in Canada, Roger in Cincy, then Novak again in New York.
He had just recovered from injury. Miami would have been a step too far, but what a summer hard court run he had. So much for the "clay courter" tag.
Hopefully 24th Major & 4th USO title this year 💯
Novak's most unlucky slam is the US open where he made a record 9 finals, but won just three, a very poor conversion ratio by his edifying standards.
I hope that Novak finds the necessary motivation and goes on to win the US open, he truly deserves.
His draw at the 2010, 2013 and 2021 US opens were brutal, relative to his finals opponent. He was injured in 2016. And faced a far more experienced and confident Federer in 2007. The US Open has definitely been his unluckiest major.
@@alextabet9247 Wholeheartedly agree 👍👍👍👍
I hope Novak wins; nobody deserve it more.
Motivation isn't the problem. It just isn't his best slam.
@@gmailcgs Hot, windy, usually beat up/exhausted at that time of year. Probably Nadal's two greatest hard court matches he ever played.
@@naysayer1238novak had some brutal semifinals against Federer and zverev, which drained all his energy before the final. Rafa has never had to face Federer during his entire career there.
Brutal as usual! Fixed as usual. Don't at me...
K yea totally tired players ADF deep run in Toronto Alex deep run the last 2 weeks Norrie out of form
He should make qtrs or semis at least unless he’s just not feeling the ball and playing bad tennis
out of the 4 slams.... us open is the most difficult to win....... played in late August, it could be 95 plus degrees or 70 and windy............. planes constantly flying overhead, etc....
A joke of a Grand Slam environment wise; planes ✈️ overhead? SERIOUSLY?
@@LeadershipAlliance i don't know if your being sarcastic or agreeing with me.....
Agreement in full my friend... Ever since it moved from Forest Hills to Flushing Meadow in 1978, the US Open dropped like a lead weight to the bottom of the 4 Grand Slams re: player conditions, predominantly due to being right in La Guardia Airport's traffic pattern. I saw this then as I do now as an expedient, pathetic joke and insult to every player, let alone fan; it represents the crass/crude/clueless side of America--kind of like the greedy, neanderthal mentality that destroyed NYC's magnificent cathedral-like original Penn Station in 1963, leaving behind a depressing sewer rat "modern" station (Google "Original Penn Station New York City" if you've not seen pictures and you'll know what I mean). @@fransiscoscaramanga674
Fran it’s the most difficult slam because everyone has tread on there tires after playing tons of tennis
@@LeadershipAlliance another troll, another loser.............who's got nothing else better to do than to troll social media and launch from the comfort of his slimey hidey hole.............
Novak will win the US Open! That is his goal with this schedule.
That's his goal but one would have expected djokovic to win Wimbledon as well.
I hope you are right, but he wouldn’t be my first choice. But he proved me wrong at Roland Garros so of course he can do it.
Novak's goal-with this schedule-is to win the US Open? Nooo? You don't say! So, if he had played in Canada, his goal would have been to only make the semi's? No matter how Novak approached his schedule with his team, his goal would have been to win the US Open!
@@edkiely2712 Yes of course. If Novak thought playing Canada would have been best for his US Open prospects he most certainly would have played. But I totally trust him and his team doing what is best for him. Him skipping Madrid back in May now seems like a great decision.
@GaryLyons I know! I'm being somewhat sarcastic. No matter what Novak decided to do, his goal is still to win the US Open!
Interesting that Nadal would usually play Canada but skip Cincy post 2017. Perhaps because Canada was more similar to NY when NY was slower (pre 2021).
I think the Cincy courts are a lot faster than Canada! Novak's won it twice, but once when moved to Flushing Meadows dealing w/ the Covid situation! - fiero4251.blogspot.com/2016/08/fan-page-novak-nole-djokovic.html
Min correct
After Nadal and djoko call it quits, is that the end of this podcast?
I reallllly don't hope so 😢
All good things…well, I suppose the show will focus on the next generation of players. But we have another 2 years of Novak, so we are good for now?
@@alextabet9247 why two years, do you think? I mean, Federer was over 40.
Hob fed career was done pretty much at 38 years old if u wanna be 100% honest with yourself once he got hurt at AO 2020 he made poor poor decisions and I hate saying this as huge Fed fan but it’s true he should’ve never played AO semis or play the match with Rafa for charity that was the end of Fed right then and there
OK, Amy, it has NOT been an exceptionally hot and humid summer in the parts of North America where they are going to play tennis. For example, Cincinnati's and New York's temperatures have been average.
Gil is so much better as one of three
I am pretty sure, if ADF plays Djokovic, he will focus on Djokovic...that's how he is, not a long term strategist...
Agreed Gil. Historically, players that go deep usually dont last long next tournament.unless u the big three old murray and med , alcaraz.
Hopefully this trend continues and novak gets in enough time to peak for US. I think if the standard is the same as 2022. Novak will take down the US open
What standard of 2022 ? what did he get done in 2022 on outdoor HC
@@colethomas903 the standard of uS open was not great. You think novak would lose to tiafoe ? Obviously novak did nothing on outdoor hardcourts.he banned from all the events from standing up to taking experimental drugs.
L the standard of USO he’s 3-6 in finals and 7 of those 9 finals he was the favorite to guys he own and lost no of course I don’t tiafoe could beat Djokovic at USO Imao
First. Novak will win US Open mark my words. Time stamp this. If I'm wrong I'll do a nudie run in the CBD during peak time
nobody cares whatever you do or not. don't ruin the comment section of this channel 😋
@@aayushjindal8117lol such a hater. Clearly Alcaraz lover
@@Roman-cv2pd😂
Go Nole!
Sure thing random internet man
Calendar Slam? Not for Novak. He had his chance in 2021 and came short. He's now 36. Novak may have one or two more majors in him at this stage, or he might not win another one. People from his entourage were talking 30 a few months back. As it is right now, Novak and Carlos together have 25 majors. Let's see what the split is once they reach 30. Anything between 23 and 7 and 28 and 2.
M exactly it’s never gonna happen for Djokovic I bet anyone in here it won’t happen even next year
@mangstadt1, Nothing is certain for Novak at this point, not because he doesn't have the weapons. As a matter of fact, his first serve is the best it has ever been (even better than when Boris was his coach), but his second serve is not what it was in 2015-16 under Becker. It was a serious weapon and a big reason for his dominance. His forehand is huge today no question but it's causing him forearm arm , and wrist issues. Plus he is 36 and the injuries are becoming more frequent, thigh, hamstring etc despite his amazing fitness. He will always be a threat indoors or at Melbourne with a low bounce or medium conditions, but I'm not sure how his body will hold up with younger opponents who are closing the gap every day. Slowly but surely. Alcaraz neutralized his first serve brilliantly at Wimbledon and did to Novak what Novak does to everyone else. Blocked percentage returns that landed deep and impossible to attack. That was the difference in set 1 of the French open and Wimbledon. Alcaraz made him rally and Novak is trying to end points quickly nowadays, and if novak can't dominate with his serve, he won't be able to play multiple five setters in a slam and have enough energy to win. The clock stops for no one
Zlaz exactly my friend
Great insights, but not sure about Djoko loss at Wimbledon as being motivational for him, sure it was close, and Novak put his heart and soul and all bag of tricks and came up short, this match may have taken a toll such that it may push him closer to retirement
Why taken a toll.?.did you know what happened in australia 2022.he was humiliated in front of whole world.he came back wins next year ao.he lost Rafa in fo 2020.next year he beat Rafa on winning fo.with what you said did you really think he is able to grab 23 slams .an open era record.you mention he left all tricks.really. are you serious.did you ever seen nole hitting poor lazy shots on massive set points.really.this is man that beat Roger 3 times trailing match points.he win this year fo tiebreaks.without having any unforced errors.if he was brilliant .did you really think Alcarez had any chance.btw you are mentioning about greatest player of all time.hands down
It didn't. On the same day, Nole was joking with the Serbian journalists and genuinely looked relaxed. He knew he had him. He knew he uncharacteristically missed three shots in TB which would have put him at 2:0 lead. Alcaraz himself said that was the key to the match and that it would have probably be 3:0 for Novak had he won that TB. That match was a freak loss for Novak but he summed it up himself perfectly - there were probably matches he won that he shouldn't have.
Novak has not played in Canada since 2018, and he will likely never play there ever again. In 2024, the Olympics will again force Novak to skip it. And as of 2025, he will probably skip Canada and go straight to the Cincinnati.
Alex agree with the analysis
Novak was classy at Wimbledon? Almost destroyed the net post. Amy obviously lives in a parallel universe.
I have just a point to make here I respect Alcaraz but if he wants to go deep in Cincy or USO he needs to avoid Hubi because i'm more than 100% sure the moment he finds the way to go on top in tiebreaks he can beat anyone on hard courts. Hubi has very powerful game but he lacks mental push at the business end, once he figure that out he will be a lethal weapon no one wants to encounter.... especially younger generation Nole and Rafa can handle him though.
Hubi has a weaker fh than many wta players. Apart from his serve there is absolutely nothing powerful about his game.
@@AD98.Really? Forgotten his backhand? His incredible reach and defensive skills? Or are you forgetting he has won the Miami masters on medium hard and beaten federer at Wimbledon?
@@z1az285 OP said "powerful game" and I said there is nothing powerful about his game apart from his serve, his bh is better than his fh but not an offensive weapon. His defensive skills are also not an offensive weapon obviously, so if he has nothing apart from his serve to damage his opponent then how can he have a powerful game? His game has actually regressed if anything. He's becoming more and more dependent on his serve and his groundstrokes are disappearing fast. Used to be no.10 in the world, he's no.20 now, that's all you need to look at.
@@AD98. Did you see his average groundstroke speed on both FH and BH vs Alcaraz? Look at the stats again. If that's not powerful I don't know what is. His forehand has plenty of power but his exaggerated backswing (like many next generation players) is why he is late and makes errors when it's targeted by top players plus it can get loopy and not penetrate the court. Incidentally he hit 15 winners off his FH vs Alcaraz though he hit a lot of errors too
@@z1az285 The Wilson balls used in Toronto are very light and hard to control, maybe that's why a guy like Hubi who doesn't have the racket head speed to generate enough pace on the fh wing could hit winners. Cannot say more than that since I couldn't watch his match due to timezone differences.
What will you guys do when Novak retires, as he's already 36 years of age and Nadal won't return next year, as his injury turns out to be just too severe to return? Similar when Federer thought he could return one last time for Wimbledon, and his body just couldn't hold up anymore? Nadal is done, mark my words, he won't come back next year. And Djokovic will be done soon too.
The human side of me would love to see Novak stick it to the Biden administration in New York just like he did to Australia.
The tennis side of me would love to see Alcaraz win in New York to keep this exciting run going for him.
Human side is more important than tennis side
I think Novak will call it quits at the end of 2024. He has other things on the Horizon.
I agree, he has already declined physically.
A I could see that I wouldn’t be shock if he played AO 2025 but we see