Nadal [2] vs. Monaco

[J-man]

He did take a break last year....and he played like ass then too. Nadal just does not like the summer hardcourts.

I am trying to remeber and I think you might be right. You are right he does not play well period on the fast American summer hardcourts. This is probably his most vernuable part of the tennis season for him.

But today he seemed very worn out on the court with no energy. You don't see Nadal like this alot. Montreal must have taken alot out of him. As we all know when he is rested he is tough on every surface. He won Montreal a couple of years ago vs Aggasi. Hopefully he can get rested for the Open.

 

[edmondsm]

I am trying to remeber and I think you might be right. You are right he does not play well period on the fast American summer hardcourts. This is probably his most vernuable part of the tennis season for him.

But today he seemed very worn out on the court with no energy. You don't see Nadal like this alot. Montreal must have taken alot out of him. As we all know when he is rested he is tough on every surface. He won Montreal a couple of years ago vs Aggasi. Hopefully he can get rested for the Open.

That Montreal result was as good as it has been for Nadal during this stretch of the season. If memory serves me, that was the year prior to him making the two Wimby finals. However, following that win in Canada he lost to Berdych in the first round of Cincy and then lost to Blake in the second round of the USO.

I think that it might just be that his playing style, and the fact that he plays a full compliment of matches in most of the tourneys he is in, finds him worn out this part of the year.

 

[Shabazza]

I thought Nadal was like Agassi who never retired. I forgot about 2006 Queens.

lol That made me actually smile...Agassi never retired?! Your memory of him is really screwed up. Stop glorifying him too much, he had more than enough of 'questionable' retirements in his career.

 

[Shabazza]

Wow, has Nadal ever retired in a match before?

He did at least 3 times. Everytime was in the tournament a week before a GS.

 

[TennisandMusic]

He did at least 3 times. Everytime was in the tournament a week before a GS.

That's an interesting stat.

 

[bluetrain4]

They really have to stop with the back to back Masters Tourneys, except for Indian Wells/Miami, which doesn't lead up to a major. The second tourney and its fans get screwed by dropouts, injuries, and indifference on the part of many of the players.

That said, these are pro players who are getting a lot of money. The could at least try to give a sh*t.

 

[NamRanger]

Nadal played too many tournaments in the first half of the year. It is catching up to him now. Stuttgart didn't help.

Exactly. He played way too hard to try and catch up to Federer in the rankings. He should have saved his body for the most demanding courts (U.S. Hardcourts), now he's left a HUGE hole for Federer to just suck up the free points.



And does anyone find it ironic that at Cincy there are so many random upsets? I'm thinking something's going on here (i.e. fixing the contest).

 

[NamRanger]

Won't be able to watch the match until tonight. Was Monaco serving as well as the stats indicate? His first-serve percentage was way up there. Was it effective?

His first serve was pretty effective, good placement. His second serve was excellent, he was able to kick it up so high at times Nadal had to stand quite some distance to even get a hit on the ball.

 

[Shabazza]

And does anyone find it ironic that at Cincy there are so many random upsets? I'm thinking something's going on here (i.e. fixing the contest).

That's just the way it is with back to back Masters right before a GS. Just like blutrain4 said it's a bad schedule for the top players and they are tired and much more likely to retire or throw a match to save some energy for the US-Open, when they would play through some minor pain or injury otherwise.
No fixing, just plain old selfishness from the pro's. Understandable but anoying for the fans nonetheless. The schedule needs to be fixed ASAP.

 

[prince]

did he try to play right handed at all?

 

[fastdunn]

This doesn't sound good at all.
He has issues with his knee, arm and wrist.

 

[ken1d]

I think nadal needs to rest up for next year's clay court season.

 

[jmsx521]

Golfer's Elbow?

From what I saw on TV, the trainer was treating/rubbing the inner side of Nadal's arm... on the other side of his elbow. A poster at TW had thought me that that is what's called Golfer's Elbow. It results from stiff rackets and strings, and also tight string tension. It doesn't really feel as big pain, but the inner side of the arm feels paralyzed. That's what I think the trainer was rubbing, the numb area. It fades slowly after you stop playing tennis, and it takes several days for it to completely go away.

I used to have that many times; the best solution for me was to change to looser string tension and softer strings. Also, in my case, it resulted mainly from hard serving, not really that much from any other shots.

 

[TennisandMusic]

From what I saw on TV, the trainer was treating/rubbing the inner side of Nadal's arm... on the other side of his elbow. A poster at TW had thought me that that is what's called Golfer's Elbow. It results from stiff rackets and strings, and also tight string tension. It doesn't really feel as big pain, but the inner side of the arm feels paralyzed. That's what I think the trainer was rubbing, the numb area. It fades slowly after you stop playing tennis, and it takes several days for it to completely go away.

I used to have that many times; the best solution for me was to change to looser string tension and softer strings. Also, in my case, it resulted mainly from hard serving, not really that much from any other shots.

And he has just changed up his serve recently...

 

[Zaragoza]

I think nadal needs to rest up for next year's clay court season.

I´m sure he would like to defend his Indian Wells title

 

[caulcano]

I think nadal needs to rest up for next year's clay court season.

It looks like Nadal wants the #1 ranking badly but I think Nadal needs to manage his schedule better like Federer. Minimal tournaments to prolong his career & around the GS is what is needed. The #1 ranking will take care of itself.

 

[welcome2petrkordaland]

saw the match and yeah, nadal played horrible-superlow 1st serv.%, high UEs, sluggish in movement, etc. looked like a didn't wanna be there. ya know, borg was notorious for tanking first rd. matches once he "made the tourney appearance."

like others have said, i blame scheduling. 2 TMS in a row RIGHT before a slam? no wonder fed totally tanked last year against murray. i see serious problems and unfairness in scheduling: wimby too close to clay season, no grass TMS, grass season too short, there should be no back2back TMS tournies, just to name a few.

and look what's happened in cincy. nadal, djokovic, & ivanovic ALL OUT! just after great showings in montreal. others out include youhzny, gonzo, gasquet, murray, ljuby, mathieu, etc.

unless nadal's hurt, though, i give him a shot in ny. don't forget it's best 3 of 5 and we know how the heat's been this year. rafa's a proven warrier and frankly, the joker has yet to prove his stamina in 7 consecutive 3 of 5 set matches.

i know. here's a shocker, but you gotta favor fed at the open.

 

[welcome2petrkordaland]

saw the match and yeah, nadal played horrible-superlow 1st serv.%, high UEs, sluggish in movement, etc. looked like a didn't wanna be there. ya know, borg was notorious for tanking first rd. matches once he "made the tourney appearance."

like others have said, i blame scheduling. 2 TMS in a row RIGHT before a slam? no wonder fed totally tanked last year against murray. i see serious problems and unfairness in scheduling: wimby too close to clay season, no grass TMS, grass season too short, there should be no back2back TMS tournies, just to name a few.

and look what's happened in cincy. nadal, djokovic, & ivanovic ALL OUT! just after great showings in montreal. others out include youhzny, gonzo, gasquet, murray, ljuby, mathieu, etc.

unless nadal's hurt, though, i give him a shot in ny. don't forget it's best 3 of 5 and we know how the heat's been this year. rafa's a proven warrier and frankly, the joker has yet to prove his stamina in 7 consecutive 3 of 5 set matches.

i know. here's a shocker, but you still gotta favor fed at the open.

 

[Benhur]

That small grip of his needs to get thicker. He said:

"I had some cramps... I couldn't keep a tight grip on the racquet, and I wasn't feeling well when I went out on the court. I couldn't play more than three balls per point, and I had no strength in my legs."

"Tuve algunos calambres ... No estaba apretando muy bien la raqueta y no me sentía bien cuando salí a la cancha. No podía jugar más de tres pelotas por punto y no tenía fuerza en mis piernas," dijo a periodistas el número dos del tenis mundial.

http://tinyurl.com/3aarv5

 

[ShooterMcMarco]

i like how people vote after the match has ended lol

 

[TennisandMusic]

Here is his post match interview. Scary stuff for Nadal.

http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=44912

 

[8PAQ]

Here is the weird part in the interview:

Q. Did you feel some pain during the warm up this morning?
RAFAEL NADAL: No. I feel great. Playing well. Nothing bad. Strange. When I go to the court definitely I feel pain, but...

Maybe he ate something bad for breakfast.

 

[Andres]

He told the reporters in spanish: "I had no energy. I could barely run, I was feeling tired since the match started. Yeah, the arm bothered me a bit, but it was the legs, not the arm what costed me the match".

He spoke with ESPN Latin America.

 

[mileslong]

If Monaco loses to an injured Nadal after leading a set and a break he must retire immediately.

i missed all these excuses for nadal for his loss to monaco, they're very funny to read...

 

[ChiefAce]

Just like every grinder before him at some point you hit -the wall-. I don't think his time has come, but with another hardcourt season nearly come and gone his results still aren't impressive on the quicker courts. Hopefully he gets these injuries figured out but if not he's in for a rough time at the open.