[florentine]

And don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming Nadal - it's not his fault he got that kind of draw, but facts are facts and that's how it turned out. Would he have still won the USO had he faced Fed or a top 5/10 player that year? We'll never know, but we can all agree he significantly benefited from that draw

Indeed, it's not Nadal's fault, and IMO, he would have beaten any top 5 player that year, precisely... including Federer, Murray, Stan or Djokovic if they played, because he was simply the fittest player.

Even though Federer was very good in 2017, this wasn't the case during the HC summer. He was injured in the Canadian Open final, was withdraw in Cincinnati (his best MS HC...), and had to fight for 5 sets in his first two rounds US open against Tiafoe and Youzhny.
With a back so painful that he didn't go to Flushing on his off days to avoid traffic, and stayed to hit a few balls at Central Park.
Del Potro put an end to his suffering , and in this context.
I have no doubt that under these conditions, Nadal would have beaten him even more easily.

 

[howyesno]

Classic Fedtards, can dish it, can't take it

I really really hope Rinderknech makes the final, that would make a lot of people here lose their collective minds and finally fall off the proverbial cliff they've been hanging on by bare nails LOL

 

[AntiTardDefenseSystem]

Classic Fedtards, can dish it, can't take it

Aren't you the dude who said that if Federer came up with the likes Murray and Djokovic he wouldn't become the Federer he turned out to be?

 

[Time Violation]

Aren't you the dude who said that if Federer came up with the likes Murray and Djokovic he wouldn't become the Federer he turned out to be?

Yea, early 2010s were perfect time for someone with ohbh to develop

 

[YonaMX]

Gosh... they're not "much better."
If they're ranked higher, DP rank 3 in US Open 2018 and Kevin rk 8 in Wimb 2018, it's precisely the result of their performance since last year... so what they did, including.... at the 2017 US Open.

It's pretty easy to point out because Del Potro in particular wasn't exactly a standout with consistent performances, getting injured quite often and falling in the rankings.

And if Nadal beat them both at the 2017 US Open, it's exactly the same thing when Djokovic beat them in the 2018 Wimbledon and US Open finals, nothing else.

Specifically during the second part of 2017 Del Potro's relatively low ranking wasn't a result of absentees related to injuries - he has played a full 52-week period, but similarly to 2011 and the first half of 2012 he was still in process of coming back to form and to his top level. At best, this process was in its diapers during the 2017 US Open and completed around half a year later.
It was a similar case with Anderson who had some deep runs in 2015 and suffered from injuries during 2016, though he wasn't a top 10 player in his 20s like Del Potro was. Anderson of the 2017 US Open came fresh to the final but lacked big match experience against the elite; Anderson of 2018 Wimbledon had that experience but had nothing left in the tank for the final.

 

[Drango]

Gosh... they're not "much better."
If they're ranked higher, DP rank 3 in US Open 2018 and Kevin rk 8 in Wimb 2018, it's precisely the result of their performance since last year... so what they did, including.... at the 2017 US Open.

It's pretty easy to point out because Del Potro in particular wasn't exactly a standout with consistent performances, getting injured quite often and falling in the rankings.

And if Nadal beat them both at the 2017 US Open, it's exactly the same thing when Djokovic beat them in the 2018 Wimbledon and US Open finals, nothing else.

It's 100% not the same thing and not even the same surface, but by all means think and believe whatever you want lol

 

[stabiljka]

Interestingly, despite Shanghai being 8th ATP tournament Djokovic has played this year, he is yet to face a Top 10 player in best-of-3-sets format in 2025. (He played seven Top 10 matches at slams.)
If De Minaur fails to reach Shanghai final and Djokovic skips Paris (extremely likely) and YEC (very much possible) it will be the first time in his tour level career that Novak goes entire season without meeting a Top 10 player in Bo3.

He only played 4 best-of-3-sets format tournaments, one of which was ATP 250. Out of 3 remaining Masters, he only reached the final in one, and lost his first match in other two. The probability of facing a top 10 player in those circumstances is very low.

 

[TheBigThree]

He only played 4 best-of-3-sets format tournaments, one of which was ATP 250. Out of 3 remaining Masters, he only reached the final in one, and lost his first match in other two. The probability of facing a top 10 player in those circumstances is very low.

No, Lucas is correct (see below). You make a good point, though, that he exited early in many of these tournaments, and he's obviously unlikely to face a top 10 player in the early rounds:

Brisbane (QF - 3 matches)
Qatar (1R - 1 match)
IW (2R - 1 match)
Miami (F - 6 matches)
MC (2R - 1 match)
Madrid (2R - 1 match)
Geneva (W - 4 matches)
Shanghai (SF - 5 matches thus far)

So he's only played 22 Bo3 matches thus far (counting the Shanghai SF), and he only won more than two matches/went deep in 3 tournaments, with one of them being an ATP250.

 

[florentine]

but by all means think and believe whatever you want lol

Indeed, I don't judge a player's level based only on the opponent he meets, that's not really what I want. 😌

What is certain is that claiming that beating DP and Kevin at the 2017 US Open would be the weakest run of all time, and beating these two opponents in the following year's Wimbledon and US Open finals would be a great achievement, is a blatant case of goalpost shifting.

Let's say you can assume that in 2017...but that's not the case in 2018.
but as you would say it, you can think it.. if it makes you feel better

 

[Lucas_4ever]

He only played 4 best-of-3-sets format tournaments

He has played 8 Bo3 tournaments this season.

 

[stabiljka]

He has played 8 Bo3 tournaments this season.

Indeed. When I read your comment I thought that GSs count as ATP tournaments. When you mentioned 8 ATP tournaments, I knew he played 4 Grand Slams and tried to remember the rest four. My memory came up with the four ATPs I mentioned and I thought that was what you referred to.
Then I thought why would one write about the best-of-three sets stats of 8 tournaments when only 4 were best-of-three.
Obviously I was wrong, but I learned that Grand Slams are not considered ATP tournaments

 

[stabiljka]

Anyways, this was an entertaining thread, but I think it's run its course.
To answer the OP's worried concerns that no player reached a M1000 final without facing a single seed - it's not true. It happened many times before. Djokovic himself did it once, and it seems Federer is the record holder with 6 occasions.

 

[alypen]

Were any of the Federer wins back in the days when there were fewer seeds anyway?

 

[Litotes]

Were any of the Federer wins back in the days when there were fewer seeds anyway?

Yes, 16 seeds for all of them