He is playing the worst tennis off year right now.This wont cut the deal against his big rivals (djoko Fed),but ı think he will lose before the final. I think Rafa mental game declined a lot as the years go by becomes a little bit off a choker but at least he was still hitting the ball really well in Wimbledon despite not being clutch in key moments.Now he plays so avreage it wont even comes up to being clutch in big moments. I can see him being blown away from the court against a red hot player who has bigger experience than his last 2 opponents. Best case scenerio for him now he reaches the semis and reatain no 1 ranking for now and hope that there will be surprise winner in Us Open, which gives him a chance to finish no 1 this year.The way he is playing he wont win anthing.
Rafa wont win US Open with this performance.
- Thread starter mistik
- Start date
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
32 years old. About time.
Milehigh5280
Professional
He still hasn't beaten a top 25 opponent at the USO since 2013. I think if he meets DelPo in the semis, he's going down
Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil
Talk Tennis Guru
Not a big deal. Going deep but looking vulnerable is not a rare case with Nadal on hard courts. He is still very likely to finish the year as #1.
A repeat of the 2009 demolition at the hands of Del Potro 6-2-,6-2,6-2 perhaps?
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Journeymen have a habit of hitting tons of winners against Nadal when he's out of form.
For some reason, whenever Nadal is struggling, his journeyman opponent is "playing out of his mind."
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
delpo is the only one who can stop him getting to the final and he's been beaten by Nadal at 3 of the last 4 slams so I think Nadal has got him mentally. Vs Nole it's pretty much 50/50 against Fed, Nadal is my favourite unless Fed really improves or the reversed match up advantage works even with Fed playing lacklustre
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weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
Khachanov a journeyman lol
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
So far his career is worse than generation useless at the same age. Against a far weaker field. So... yeah.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
I thought the same thing last year. Was convinced of it. There was no doubt!
We know what happened...
I just dont like the way he serves and hits the ball. It isnt about how many winners his opponents hits. Rafa can make you look better than you actually are when he isnt playing well,because his balls land so short we have seen this film before.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
If he meets Djokovic in the final, it won't be a vulturing.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Nadal's balls didn't land short at all. The Georgian just played great and aggresive the 3th and 4th set.
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
You obviously haven't seen THIS film because he's pounding deep.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Yeah it will. You're supposed to have to win more than 1 match at a slam.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
See: 2010 and 2013 USO's
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Nadal won 6 matches before reaching the USO 2010 final and 6 matches before playing the USO 2013 final.
So your statement "You're supposed to have to win more than 1 match at a slam" is common sense.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Practice sessions against bums like Gasquet in the semis aren't real matches.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Lets be honest, the only thing that could truly make Nadal's path hard was if he had to play Djokovic and Federer back to back. And they both got drawn in the same quarter.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Cool weather or the guy he lost to at the last hard court slam. There are many things.
And of course they got drawn together. Wouldn't be the USO without it.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Federer had a practice session against Gasquet at the Australian Open 2018. Federer also faced Gasquet in the Wimbledon 2007 SF.
Now, I want to see you displaying your typical double standard logic.
Nadal faces Gasquet: weak opponent.
Federer faces Gasquet: strong opponent.
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
Do we need to dig up some 2017 threads? We heard the same thing back then, verbatim. After his upsets at Montreal & Cincinnati, then dropping sets to Mayer & Daniel, the same things were said about him. The sky was falling.
But he did what he always does, finds a way to escape and then raises his level in the 2nd week.
But he did what he always does, finds a way to escape and then raises his level in the 2nd week.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Cilic?
The guy who couldn't get it together for two sets just a few weeks ago? Not in this slower court IMO. The weather is something we cannot control.
So apart from Djokovic, what else is there really?
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Federer had a cakewalk at 2007 Wimbledon. But he didn't have a cakewalk every time he won it like Nadal has at the USO.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Let us not ignore Del Potro, Hitman. You are the objective poster here, I am surprised you do not even mention Del Potro after the 5 sets against Nadal at Wimbledon 2018. Del Potro is the #3 for a reason. Definetely a hard rival in Nadal's quarter.
FHtennisman
Professional
It might not be great or even good, but Fed's level so far has been far from lacklustre, it's been as decent and as good as it needed to be to advance past each round - he's the only one of the big 3 to not drop a set so far and they've all had fairly comparable competition.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Even if we don't, because of the way Del Potro has lost three straight slams to Nadal, it is only really Djokovic who would stop people from saying Nadal has a cake walk draw. You know this also.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Cilic lost to Federer in Canada in 2014 and then destroyed him at the USO. Sorry, but that's a poor argument.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Not really. Cilic beat a Federer who had no ground game in 2014. Nadal's ground game is the best it has been for years. No a like for like comparison. Nadal would have grinded Cilic down again. Court is playing slower than even 2014.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Your argument was the Cilic couldn't beat Nadal in best of 3 and, therefore, wouldn't do it in best of 5. And I just highlighted an example for why that's poor reasoning.
Everything else about your posts have been conjecture at best. Nadal's hold game is garbage. It's not like he's playing better than Federer was.
AlexanderTheGreat08
Hall of Fame
Federer was tired
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Your argument is that if Cilic beat a Federer with no ground game in 2014, he would beat a Nadal who has one of the best aggressive ground games of his career on a much slower court than 2014. I am afraid there is poor reasoning, but it is not coming from me...
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
My argument is that results from a few weeks ago are not necessarily that important. Because Cilic could perform better and Nadal could perform worse. Which is exactly what happened in 2014. On top of that, their match in Canada was not lopsided. It was a close 3 setter.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Right. So what makes you think Del Potro cannot do it? Why do you not ack Del Potro as a legit threat?
If you say it is because he lost his last couple of slam finals, then let me take you back to AO, when everyone was saying Nadal was making the final and that Cilic was just a mug. Just the fact he beat Nadal that day, on a much faster lower bouncing court, with Nadal retiring in the fifth, all of a sudden he is a massive threat...yet Del Potro who pushed a much better, healthier Nadal all the way to hell and back in Wimbledon isn't...
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Del Potro has no real backhand and is one of the slowest movers around. Cilic is basically a better version of Khachanov.
Del Potro himself said his best chance to beat Nadal is at Wimbledon. And he couldn't do it there, so I don't think he can do it now.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Del Potro's backhand held up just fine for five hours at Wimbledon. Slowest mover...with the biggest forehand. Just because Del Potro said that doesn't mean he can't do it elsewhere. He has beaten Nadal at USO before, and Ashe is his best court to play on. He also has much more mental strength than Cilic. To completely push Del Potro to one side and say Cilic would be a tough draw is not something I personally agree with.
The only player who would silence everyone would be Djokovic. If Djokovic was on Nadal's side, there would be no talk of a weak draw IMO.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
Del Potro used to have success against Nadal when Nadal covered both sides of the court with his forehand.
The only reason there is so much talk about a weak draw is because Nadal gets them so often. Especially at the USO. And he practically never draws Novak in his half off clay. This year's Wimbledon being an exception.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Sure. And only having Djokovic in his half or quarter this USO would have unanimously stopped that talk. No one else can do it.
WhiskeyEE
G.O.A.T.
He could have gotten Cilic in his quarter and that would've stopped it. Not only is he avoiding playing Novak, he gets clay courter Thiem in the QF.
Having to play both Cilic and Del Potro would have been some sort of compromise to avoiding Novak. But no.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
The part in bold....I highly doubt it personally. Maybe from you, but not everyone else. Cilic before that five set injury win at AO was considered a walkover for Nadal, since he had never beat him in nearly nine years....
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
LOL, exactly. I'm laughing for a different reason, though.
Khachanov and Basilashvili hit that many winners against Nadal. KHACHANOV AND BASILASHVILI.
