USO 2010 Men's Draw

[CMM]

Agreed. He should. I'm talking about the entire draw...not his quarter only.
In the ENTIRE DRAW there are 2 players (if that) who can beat Federer, but AT LEAST 5 or 6 who can beat Nadal...which is why "fanboys" are scared.
It's just the way it is, face it...embrace it...deal with it.

And who cares if there are 5-6 players "in the entire draw" who can beat Nadal?
He doesn't have to play against all of them. I'm not so sure if there are only two players who can beat Federer either. You probably would have said the same thing for Wimbledon and look what happened this year. Falla almost sent him home in the first round. Anything can happen.

 

[0d1n]

And who cares if there are 5-6 players "in the entire draw" who can beat Nadal?
He doesn't have to play against all of them. I'm not so sure if there are only two players who can beat Federer either. You probably would have said the same thing for Wimbledon and look what happened this year. Falla almost sent him home in the first round. Anything can happen.

Look man...I know perfectly well that anything can happen. Both of them could get hit by a car and not make the finals. Both of them could get injured.
Both of them could have a really bad day and lose to nobody's.
It is POSSIBLE. However...I'm talking about "odds" here.
And the "ODDS" in my view are as follows (if both of them show up and play even reasonably well):
- 2...maybe 3 (if that ... like I said) have realistic chances of beating Federer
- at least 6 have realistic chances of beating Nadal.
This ... by my calculations makes Nadal some 3 times more likely to lose (or to lose earlier) than Federer.
This is the reason why we see all this b1tching about draws, due to FEAR.

 

[CMM]

- at least 6 have realistic chances of beating Nadal.

Who are those 6?

 

[MichaelChang]

I can't wait till the matches start. Come on Roger, let's go again.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

This is actually a good post...and a rare one in this thread.




This is one of the posts where you don't actually make a fool out of yourself by stating that Nadal's draw is some "titanic struggle" as opposed to Federer's.
The bolded part is true...in which case Nadal SHOULD lose in the quarter or the semi.
And he probably will. Federer and Murray are currently the two best hard court players. As a consequence...they SHOULD make it to the final...and they probably will.
How's that "unfair" ? If anything ... that's how IT SHOULD BE.

Also ... people b1tching about Nadal's OR Federer's draw should STFU. Djokovic has by far the toughest quarter, and it's not even close.The other 3 are pretty much balanced with Murray's being probably slightly tougher than the other two.
And EVEN THAT is normal...the no 1 and 2 seeds should have slightly easier draws than the no 3 and 4 seeds...and they DO.
Nadal fans that keep complaining about "Gabashvili" "Istomin" and "Gulbis" do nothing more than show for everybody that they know deep down that Nadal is a comparatively weak hard court player (when compared to himself on other surfaces ... or when compared with other players on HC). So ... if they admit he is a comparatively weak HC player ... why do they keep b1tching about the fact that Federer or Murray (or X or Y or Z) will win the USO and not their beloved Rafa ???
Isn't that NORMAL ??!??! Isn't it EXPECTED ??!? Don't you want the one who deserves the win ... to get it ??
I for one ... although I know it's improbable REALLY REALLY want Nadal to be in the final. I would LOVE to see him in the final.

Yes, if only people would stop worshipping their hero and looked at the draw with a more unbiased view. None of the top four would want Joker's quarter.

 

[CMM]

Agreed, Nadal will easily get to the semis.

I didn't say that he will get there. He should get to the semifinals, but of course he can lose earlier.

 

[namelessone]

Rafa fans...please replace Djoko with Nadal and tell me with a straight face that you would rather have Davydenko, in form Fish, in form Baggy, Roddick ...etc in his quarter.
Please do that...and make my day.

Also...let's take Fed's quarter for a minute...and move Nadal into that one.
Then ... you would start b1tching about the "huge hitting Tursunov", very experienced/tough Hewitt, big serving/hitting Cilic, and oh GOD OH GOD ... Soderling the m3nace.
As it stands ... you're just disregarding all those players and making a big fuss about "Gabashvili".
Are you people serious ???!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!? Gabashvili ?? Istomin ??? "Extremely dangerous" ???!
REALLY ?!?!

Just face it. You are scared because you know full well that there are PLENTY of players who can beat Nadal @ the US Open...and only 1 or 2 (if that) who can beat Federer...and even those 2 have to be inspired and maybe Fedster be slightly "uninspired" for that to happen.
Now go reflect on that for a minute.

You complain that Nadal fans "*****" about the draw yet the style in which you wrote your posts seems more like *****ing to me. I for one have actually agreed with what you say indirectly so why the bothered tone ?
We are talking about POTENTIAL upsets and Nadal has more bad match-ups in the early rounds(in which upsets are far more likely cause the one causing the upset doesn't have as much pressure as in a SF or F and big guys are usually rustier in the first rounds) relative to his HC level. Even if Nadal isn't the best HC'er out there, there are only a couple of guys that could bother him match-up wise and guess what, a lot of them are on his side of the draw. It is possible for Nadal to have a easy draw at USO, see last year's draw, where he met no big hitters or in-form players until SF and met only slowcourt players until then.

Gabashvili may not be great but he hits hard and is tricky for a first round, istomin nearly beat Nadal on grass, took out wawrinka and schuetler in WB and got eliminated by the finalist Berdych in five sets, Gulbis is dangerous no matter in what section he is, Nalbandian is Nadal's worst matchup along with Murray and DelPo, basically the only round in which Nadal will have it easier will be 4R and that's if he gets lopez, who is hopeless on this surface.

Let's take a look at the switch-a-roo you propose: Tursunov was once a guy with great promise but he hasn't amounted to much and he would pose no trouble to Rafa, Hewitt would be dangerous to Rafa on a good day so I agree here and Cilic, I would agree most times, but he has been absolutely awful since AO, I don't know what happened to him. And Soderling, who would be a threat normally, has been on a downward spiral cause he has had physical issues and Nadal already beat him three times this year.

Regarding djoker's draw: the only ones that are dangerous for Nadal would be a davydenko and roddick. I sincerely doubt that fish keeps this form going into USO(see what happened to ljubicic after his MS final this year) and three out of five is a different ball game. Ditto for Baghdatis's form.

I am merely STATING what I think about Nadal's draw, the degree of tougness, not that it should be easier, poor rafa and yadda yadda. I think it is a tough draw and from what I've read online so far, so do most people, including a couple of supposedly neutral journalists.
Compare it to last year's draw, which relatively easy: gasquet-kiefer-almagro-monfils-gonzalez(this one was tricky) up until SF.

 

[0d1n]

I'm not sure if I agree with all of your options, but that's not the point. Since Nadal can only meet two of Murray/Davydenko/Djokovic/Roddick/Soderling/Federer/Berdych, why would Nadal fans be afraid? Those who b1tch about the draw are doing it because they like to b1tch (about everything). They do it even for Roland Garros.

[me] Very true, I agree, not sure why they would be afraid...if anything they might be pleased that he gets the EASY draw, not the tough one since most of the people that can beat him are in Federer's half.
Also agree with the "because they can and they like it" bit. [/me]

Nalbandian can beat anyone (including Federer) when he's on fire, but that doesn't happen very often, especially in Grand Slams. Baghdatis? Really? He beat Nadal last week, but I doubt that Nadal will make so many unforced errors again and you have to remember that best of five sets are completely different matches.

[me] Also agree, and that's why I put him in the "second group".
I honestly expect Rafa to get to the semi, he has a big chance to do it.
I also honestly expect him to lose to Murray, if Murray gets there. I would WISH Rafa gets to the final because I want to see a Federer - Nadal final "for the fun of it", and also to silence some people on this board.

P.S. Nu sunt barbat.

[me] Hmm, in acest caz presupunand ca nu esti nici martian, nici androgin, o sa ma aventurez sa afirm ca esti femeie. This might explain the "pushy" part :twisted:...Glumesc.

See above.

 

[0d1n]

You complain that Nadal fans "*****" about the draw yet the style in which you wrote your posts seems more like *****ing to me. I for one have actually agreed with what you say indirectly so why the bothered tone ?
We are talking about POTENTIAL upsets and Nadal has more bad match-ups in the early rounds(in which upsets are far more likely cause the one causing the upset doesn't have as much pressure as in a SF or F and big guys are usually rustier in the first rounds) relative to his HC level. Even if Nadal isn't the best HC'er out there, there are only a couple of guys that could bother him match-up wise and guess what, a lot of them are on his side of the draw. It is possible for Nadal to have a easy draw at USO, see last year's draw, where he met no big hitters or in-form players until SF and met only slowcourt players until then.

Gabashvili may not be great but he hits hard and is tricky for a first round, istomin nearly beat Nadal on grass, took out wawrinka and schuetler in WB and got eliminated by the finalist Berdych in five sets, Gulbis is dangerous no matter in what section he is, Nalbandian is Nadal's worst matchup along with Murray and DelPo, basically the only round in which Nadal will have it easier will be 4R and that's if he gets lopez, who is hopeless on this surface.

Let's take a look at the switch-a-roo you propose: Tursunov was once a guy with great promise but he hasn't amounted to much and he would pose no trouble to Rafa, Hewitt would be dangerous to Rafa on a good day so I agree here and Cilic, I would agree most times, but he has been absolutely awful since AO, I don't know what happened to him. And Soderling, who would be a threat normally, has been on a downward spiral cause he has had physical issues and Nadal already beat him three times this year.

Regarding djoker's draw: the only ones that are dangerous for Nadal would be a davydenko and roddick. I sincerely doubt that fish keeps this form going into USO(see what happened to ljubicic after his MS final this year) and three out of five is a different ball game. Ditto for Baghdatis's form.

I am merely STATING what I think about Nadal's draw, how tough it is, not that it should be easier and bla bla. I think it is a tough draw and from what I've read online so far, so do most people, including a couple of supposedly neutral journalists.

I am only b1tching because I saw too much b1tching in the thread before responding to it, and got absolutely bored of reading all that cr4p.
If we talk about match ups, read my little "exchange" with CMM with regards to people who have realistic chances of beating Nadal.
As you can see ... from that 1st group of 7, only 2 are actually in his half, and the other 5 are in Federer's half.
Now...we can agree or not with regards to those names, but I think they are not really that far off.
Like I said before, if everybody does what they "should" do...I fully expect Nadal, Murray and Federer to be in the semis.
The only surprise in my view should come from Djoker's quarter.
We will live and see I guess. Fingers crossed for a Nadal - Federer final ... <evil laughter>

Edit.
Actually, the other 4 are in Federer's half, because obviously Federer will be in his own half =)). Oh well...it is Friday afternoon.
One more thing...with regards to the rest of your comments about Tursunov, Cilic ...etc.
I can agree with them, I'm just saying how the "complaining" would be transformed in case we switched the no 1 and 2 seeds.
Also, if we agree Tursunov is a has been and not really a threat...I can tell you that currently, it looks like both Gabashvili AND Gulbis ... will be "Tursunovs" in a few years time.
Like Tursunov they have some ball striking ability (a LOT of it in the case of Gulbis), but no brains and/or work ethic and/or that special "je ne sais quoi" that makes a player truly succeed at the top level.

 

[namelessone]

I am only b1tching because I saw too much b1tching in the thread before responding to it, and got absolutely bored of reading all that cr4p.
If we talk about match ups, read my little "exchange" with CMM with regards to people who have realistic chances of beating Nadal.
As you can see ... from that 1st group of 7, only 2 are actually in his half, and the other 5 are in Federer's half.
Now...we can agree or not with regards to those names, but I think they are not really that far off.
Like I said before, if everybody does what they "should" do...I fully expect Nadal, Murray and Federer to be in the semis.
The only surprise in my view should come from Djoker's quarter.
We will live and see I guess. Fingers crossed for a Nadal - Federer final ... <evil laughter>

This isn't likely to happen. I am a Nadal fan but having Murray in his semifinal basically means Rafa can't get to the final unless he has a monster form that day and even then it may not be enough. If Murray was on Fed's side(and Fed can beat Murray) and Nadal got Djoker in SF maybe it would have happened just because Djoker is so inconsistent these days that I could totally see an upset before SF and a darkhorse joining Nadal in the SF.

The toughness of the draw depends on the bad matchups and such but all we are doing is preliminary "analysis" so to speak. Nadal, for example, may not even meet gulbis/nalbandian for example or murray could be taken out by a big hitter in his section and then it looks like the easiest road in the final ever. A lot of things can happen along the way.

 

[egn]

The point I was making was that of POTENTIAL upsets and Nadal has more guys that could potentially upset him, just cause of matchup issues, than Fed does on his side. I will be the first to recognize that Nadal had a easy draw up until QF last year(and he really struggled with gonzalez for the first two sets)meeting mostly slowcourt players and there were few potential upsets for him in the early rounds but here he meets big hitters and bad matchups. It could only have been harder if he had a roddick or davydenko in his path.

Gabashvili can hit big and this is a early round. If Gabashvili gets a bit hot and Nadal starts rusty on these fast courts, problems could occur. Gabashvili in AO would have been easier to handle.

Gulbis is a major darkhorse. The guy can play like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoaBEQwmnws
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AO1U3nfGH0

when he is on, though he himself is ripe for upset because he is a mental midget at times and is inconsistent.

Nalbandian has been on a roll and Rafa really struggled with him on slower HC in Miami after Nalby had just come back from injuries. A problematic matchup made even more problematic by the fast courts.

Ljubicic comes in with confidence against Nadal, very important. A lot of these guys that hit big or have terrific very good BH have seen Nadal on HC this year and they will feel more confident about their chances.

The other opponents from QF onwards are pretty tricky as well.

My point is there is basically a good chance none of them will do damage and I doubt he has more of a chance of upset than Fed. I know how Gublis can play I personally like him a ton. However the guy has only to be one QF of a slam on clay and you don't think Hewitt and Melzer on a hot streak can be tons of trouble for Roger (Not to mention we won't bring up Soderling or when Cillic is on but if you want to argue that I'll just remind you of there actual proven hotstreaks in majors.) Nadal fans are making it sound like Nadal has the toughest draw ever when frankly all the tough top lower seeds are nowhere to been seen in his section. Where is Fish? Baghdatis? Roddick? Querrey? The guys who played really good over the summer. He drew Verdsaco for his QF hands down the worst of the group with Berdych being best Soderling 2nd and then Davydenko. The only thing tough about his US Open draw is Murray. Has it come this pathetic that you guys have to hype up a big hitting top 75 player at best. l'll give you Nalbandian being a legitimate danger to Nadal if he makes it to him but I'm sorry I'm doubting all the others. If you really believe that if Gabashvili playing at his best will be able to take out Nadal sure thing then fine but unless Gabashvili starts hitting a much stonger second serve and plays a better return game if not smacking the living crap out of the ball is just going to end in a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 beatdown. Nadal has too much of a well rounded game to let a big hitter with nothing other than big hits beat him.

 

[egn]

Regarding djoker's draw: the only ones that are dangerous for Nadal would be a davydenko and roddick. I sincerely doubt that fish keeps this form going into USO(see what happened to ljubicic after his MS final this year) and three out of five is a different ball game. Ditto for Baghdatis's form.

So fish and bags won't keep there form but Gublis who has none, Ljubicic who has none as of late and Nalby are all going to play much better than the on fire Fish and Baghdatis. Oh and you do realize Bags has been to a slam final and slam semi before right? He has no problem in best of 5. I refuse to respond to the rest of your posts as your still claiming Nalbandian and Gublis are more dangerous to Nadal than Cilic and Soderling are to Federer.

 

[0d1n]

This isn't likely to happen. I am a Nadal fan but having Murray in his semifinal basically means Rafa can't get to the final unless he has a monster form that day and even then it may not be enough. If Murray was on Fed's side(and Fed can beat Murray) and Nadal got Djoker in SF maybe it would have happened just because Djoker is so inconsistent these days that I could totally see an upset before SF and a darkhorse joining Nadal in the SF.

The toughness of the draw depends on the bad matchups and such but all we are doing is preliminary "analysis" so to speak. Nadal, for example, may not even meet gulbis/nalbandian for example or murray could be taken out by a big hitter in his section and then it looks like the easiest road in the final ever. A lot of things can happen along the way.

I know, and I can actually agree with pretty much everything you say in this post.
It's nice to actually have some "thinking fans" around, even if they like (gasp) Nadal.
For the record, I like/respect him as well...I just PREFER other players...who play more after my own heart (Federer being one of them).
I like all court and/or attacking players, because that's the style I also prefer to PLAY, it is more enjoyable to play it, and it is also more enjoyable...to watch it...for me.
I also absolutely HATE reading posts by so called fans (of either of those 2 players) who have totally lost touch with reality, reason, logic, and simply worship one and hate the other ... just for the sake of it. Everything that the one they like does is "good" and "beautiful" and "humble" and ...whatever else, and everything that the other does is "bad" and "ugly" and "arrogant" and "cheating" and ...all that nonsense.
IMO those are not true tennis fans, they are either kids, or mature (in age) morons, who most likely don't really play or know the game themselves and are just wasting time on this forum, especially in the "pro players discussion" section of it.
End rant

 

[namelessone]

My point is there is basically a good chance none of them will do damage and I doubt he has more of a chance of upset than Fed. I know how Gublis can play I personally like him a ton. However the guy has only to be one QF of a slam on clay and you don't think Hewitt and Melzer on a hot streak can be tons of trouble for Roger (Not to mention we won't bring up Soderling or when Cillic is on but if you want to argue that I'll just remind you of there actual proven hotstreaks in majors.) Nadal fans are making it sound like Nadal has the toughest draw ever when frankly all the tough top lower seeds are nowhere to been seen in his section. Where is Fish? Baghdatis? Roddick? Querrey? The guys who played really good over the summer. He drew Verdsaco for his QF hands down the worst of the group with Berdych being best Soderling 2nd and then Davydenko. The only thing tough about his US Open draw is Murray. Has it come this pathetic that you guys have to hype up a big hitting top 75 player at best. l'll give you Nalbandian being a legitimate danger to Nadal if he makes it to him but I'm sorry I'm doubting all the others. If you really believe that if Gabashvili playing at his best will be able to take out Nadal sure thing then fine but unless Gabashvili starts hitting a much stonger second serve and plays a better return game if not smacking the living crap out of the ball is just going to end in a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 beatdown. Nadal has too much of a well rounded game to let a big hitter with nothing other than big hits beat him.

Who is you guys? I speak for myself, not for the Nadal fan community

These guys are dangerous for Nadal exactly because it is in the earlier rounds and because they hit big, there is little pressure on the little guys and Nadal, as most top guys, will be pretty rusty in the first rounds.
No one is saying that Nadal will DEFINITELY get beat around but there is a higher degree of danger for him when faced with big hitters on fast courts.

But again, this is preliminary. For all we know Nadal may not meet gulbis,nalbandian or murray and this will have been in vain.

 

[meg0529]

This isn't likely to happen. I am a Nadal fan but having Murray in his semifinal basically means Rafa can't get to the final unless he has a monster form that day and even then it may not be enough. If Murray was on Fed's side(and Fed can beat Murray) and Nadal got Djoker in SF maybe it would have happened just because Djoker is so inconsistent these days that I could totally see an upset before SF and a darkhorse joining Nadal in the SF.

The toughness of the draw depends on the bad matchups and such but all we are doing is preliminary "analysis" so to speak. Nadal, for example, may not even meet gulbis/nalbandian for example or murray could be taken out by a big hitter in his section and then it looks like the easiest road in the final ever. A lot of things can happen along the way.

We need to buy you some faith. Rafa CAN beat Murray. It also isn't necessary for all the stars to align in order for this to happen. Yes, Rafa must be playing his best tennis, and it would def help, if the weather is cooler. Murray can be playing his best, but Rafa has the ability to really give it his all for 5 whole sets, and play the last game, with the same determination as the first. I believe it will be a difficult match, but all Rafa needs, is to play his best and to not lose that determination that has won him 8 slams. I think we are looking too much into the future, let them get there first. If by the 4th round Nadal isn't back in form, then there is no question that even if he made it to semis somehow, he'll probably get beat up bad there.

 

[onyxrose81]

Fed and Rafa fans are funny. Djokovic has the toughest draw...BY FAR. Please stop being so ridiculous.

 

[namelessone]

So fish and bags won't keep there form but Gublis who has none, Ljubicic who has none as of late and Nalby are all going to play much better than the on fire Fish and Baghdatis. Oh and you do realize Bags has been to a slam final and slam semi before right? He has no problem in best of 5. I refuse to respond to the rest of your posts as your still claiming Nalbandian and Gublis are more dangerous to Nadal than Cilic and Soderling are to Federer.

Nalbandian has looked better to me than Baggy but both are inconsistent in Slams so who knows, both could go out in the first couple rounds.

Fish reaches top form every once in a while but it doesn't last. Just like Gulbis. But Gulbis only needs to have good form a couple of matches and he reaches Rafa on a fast court and they rarely meet on fast court. If Gulbis can pose trouble to Nadal on clay he can do it on fast HC. And I think he knows it.

Cilic and Soderling would be very dangerous to Fedal but honestly, after seeing Cilic bomb in tourney after tourney since AO I am not that worried if he would meet Nadal(hypothetically) in a slam right now. Soderling is dangerous but I think his hype has died down a bit and honestly he hasn't played that great on HC till now, making 3R in Toronto and 2R in Cincy, though to be fair, he wasn't defeated by nobodies(nalbandian and hewitt).

To me, Nalbandian and Gulbis are more dangerous because they believe they can beat Nadal on this surface. I doubt Cilic has the self belief or the game right now to beat the five time champ and Soderling has seen his efforts thwarted by Fed time and time again. Meanwhile, Nalbandian took it to Nadal in Miami even though he just came back from a injury and Gulbis knows that he had many close matches with Nadal and came very close to beating him ON CLAY this year.

Nalby/Gulbis will start with a higher confidence level against Rafa because of their past and match-up issues, not just cause Rafa is not on the same level as Roger on HC.

 

[namelessone]

We need to buy you some faith. Rafa CAN beat Murray. It also isn't necessary for all the stars to align in order for this to happen. Yes, Rafa must be playing his best tennis, and it would def help, if the weather is cooler. Murray can be playing his best, but Rafa has the ability to really give it his all for 5 whole sets, and play the last game, with the same determination as the first. I believe it will be a difficult match, but all Rafa needs, is to play his best and to not lose that determination that has won him 8 slams. I think we are looking too much into the future, let them get there first. If by the 4th round Nadal isn't back in form, then there is no question that even if he made it to semis somehow, he'll probably get beat up bad there.

Sorry, I am a skeptic and realist by nature

Sure, I guess Nadal could surprise us all(I did not think he would win WB 10' after seeing his first week effort) but he has lost 4 out of the last five HC matches with Andy and that speaks volumes.

 

[P_Agony]

Of course no one can know for sure if Fed would beat Nadal had they met more on fast HC, but by the same token 5-4 off-clay is not necessarily the best gauge of the outcome. Just like 2-0 after the 2007 W was not the best indicator of future grass matches. 2-0 automatically implies he would win any future meetings, but 2 is hardly a large number. And I say to you 9 is also not a large number, albeit larger than 2. Moreover, after W2007 you could at least see how close it was between the two and might predict another closer one in 2008, which is indeed what happened. But you can't say anything for fast HC at all because Nadal was never really close to getting to the final at the USO. Yes he got a couple of semis, but he really had cream puff draws there and was dismantled thoroughly in the semis as soon as he met anyone with a credible resume on HC.

Let me ask you this. After Fed's past matches with Nadal and his mental game against him, do you really think he'll be able to beat him assuming they meet in the final of the USO?

 

[WhiskeyEE]

some of you guys are dumb. of course fed is going to have a lopsided H2H against most people, regardless of what draw he has. He and Nadal have pretty even draws. Nadal's might be slightly harder due to Murray in the semis, but Fed has the harder QF.

Djokovic does have the hardest draw since he drew Fish.

 

[P_Agony]

I think Federer is by far the better player tennis wise. But he does have a mental problem against Nadal. That being said, given his age now countered by the speed of the fast HC and how Nadal has looked on fast HC lately, I think Fed definitely has a good chance.

Well, I hope you're right, because a Fedal final sounds more likely than ever before (although we have been saying that for years and every time Nadal reached the semis and lost). If they meet I really hope Fed takes it. He's been long due for a big win against Nadal especially after all the close ones he lost (W 08, AO 09). Go Rog!

 

[MichaelChang]

Djokovic does have the hardest draw since he drew Fish.

I hope Fish doing well but I don't see him reaching far.

 

[P_Agony]

some of you guys are dumb. of course fed is going to have a lopsided H2H against most people, regardless of what draw he has. He and Nadal have pretty even draws. Nadal's might be slightly harder due to Murray in the semis, but Fed has the harder QF.

Djokovic does have the hardest draw since he drew Fish.

Fed even has the slightly harder draw, because he gets to face Soderling and then either Roddick, Djokovic or Davydenko in the semis. Ouch.

Nadal has a tougher semis-final against Murray who is the hottest name in HC tennis today, but Nalby in the QF? Give me a break.

 

[bolo]

Hmmn, I think nadal has a pretty easy draw early on even after you take into account matchups. Gabashville and istomin hit hard, but gabashville is pretty much bottom of the non-qualifying group in terms of rank; he is one of the more uncoordinated unathletic guys I have seen on the tennis tour. Similarly with istomin, hard hitter but not very athletic although I think he is more coordinated than gabashville. One question is when does the difference in rank trump the matchup issue.

Let's put everything side by side. Would nadal rather face a 98 ranked guy in Gabas. and a 46 ranked guy in istomin or

would he rather face
troicki (rank 45, 1st round, poor guy is djokovic)/petz(rank 51, hits hard, all court too),
russell (also hits hard, ranked 80, 18 places higher than gabas.) /gasquet,
qualifier/falla (~rank 40 great hands, a creative player),
Lacko(72, easy power, again 26 ranking players higher than gabas.)/hidalgo(~90),
fognini (85, fast court player, dangerous in a similar fashion to gabas. but 13 places higher in ranking)/Riba(76).

It's pretty clear from above that nadal did well in this section and then he gets injured kohli, senior citizen ljubcic and then he has to face the winner of the verdasco/gulbis/nalbandian melee. The first real competitor, two guys who haven't performed well in a while (dasco/gulbis) and another guy (nalbandian) who is now perenially unfit/injured, basically comes in the 5th match.

THat's a great draw. Except at wimbledon, nadal has gotten excellent draws this year.

 

[rovex]

Fed even has the slightly harder draw, because he gets to face Soderling and then either Roddick, Djokovic or Davydenko in the semis. Ouch.

Nadal has a tougher semis-final against Murray who is the hottest name in HC tennis today, but Nalby in the QF? Give me a break.

Roddick Or Djokovic "ouch"? Lol. these guys are Federer's pigeons. Federer got it easier this time.

it's funny, cause federer's draw is almost the same as last year, in terms of the players he is expected to play.

 

[cknobman]

For fracks sake why dont they just pencil Nadal in now for the semis!!!!!!!!!!

Talk about biggest joke draws of all time. I mean Verdasco and thats it? Really... even if he was playing 150% he is still Nadals spanking post.
Lets go over the other gems in the quarter:
Donald young - wow hes dangerous!!!
Simon, Lopez, Kohlslobber? Please only decent name there is Nalbandian and it will be interesting to see how 5 sets affect him.

Just bend over and take it now Verdasco so you can save yourself a week and a half.

Congrats to Nadal on the easiest quarter draw in grand slam history.

 

[BreakPoint]

And who cares if there are 5-6 players "in the entire draw" who can beat Nadal?
He doesn't have to play against all of them. I'm not so sure if there are only two players who can beat Federer either. You probably would have said the same thing for Wimbledon and look what happened this year. Falla almost sent him home in the first round. Anything can happen.

Well, the *********s obviously care, because no matter where Nadal is in the entire draw, at least one or two of these guys that can beat Nadal will be lurking. Not true with Federer. He probably won't face anyone that can beat him until the final.

 

[CMM]

Not true with Federer. He probably won't face anyone that can beat him until the final.

Yes, you might be right. But how many of us expected Berdych to beat him at Wimbledon?

 

[BreakPoint]

Who are those 6?

Dude, there are way more than 6 guys in the draw that can beat Nadal on a fast hardcourt:

Here's just a short list:

1. Davydenko
2. Ferrer
3. Cilic
4. Murray
5. Federer
6. Djokovic
7. Nalbandian
8. Fish
9. Soderling
10. Roddick
11. Berdych
12. Youzhny
13. Verdasco
14. Isner
15. Hewitt
16. Ljubicic
17. Baghdatis
18. Querrey
19. Gulbis
20. Kohlschreiber

And that's just a short list. And Nadal is VERY lucky that Del Porto and Tsonga are not playing.

Here's a more complete list of people who can beat Nadal: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/Singles.aspx

 

[intrepidish]

Some "impressive" posts here. Djokovic does have a tough draw and Federer does have quite an easy one. Federer only has one real potential threat on paper and that is in Soderling.

Gulbis, Nalbandian, Fish, Baghdatis or even Simon in his case are the tougher floaters and Federer has none of them.

 

[CMM]

Here's a more complete list of people who can beat Nadal: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/Singles.aspx

Do you think you're funny?

 

[Commando Tennis Shorts]

Do you think you're funny?

Yeah, it was pretty good.

 

[intrepidish]

Dude, there are way more than 6 guys in the draw that can beat Nadal on a fast hardcourt:

Here's just a short list:

1. Davydenko
2. Ferrer
3. Cilic
4. Murray
5. Federer
6. Djokovic
7. Nalbandian
8. Fish
9. Soderling
10. Roddick
11. Berdych
12. Youzhny
13. Verdasco
14. Isner
15. Hewitt
16. Ljubicic
17. Baghdatis
18. Querrey
19. Gulbis
20. Kohlschreiber

And that's just a short list. And Nadal is VERY lucky that Del Porto and Tsonga are not playing.

Here's a more complete list of people who can beat Nadal: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/Singles.aspx

I suppose you make sense if by "can beat Nadal" you also mean "can beat anyone if they play well enough."

And Nadal is "lucky" Tsonga isn't playing since Tsonga has lost the last 4 straight on hard court for a total of 5-1 for Nadal on hards. Great reasoning.

 

[CMM]

And Nadal is "lucky" Tsonga isn't playing since Tsonga has lost the last 4 straight on hard court for a total of 5-1 for Nadal on hards.

Those were not hard courts. The surface was blue/purple clay and if Nadal somehow manages to win the US Open, that court will suddenly become blue clay too.

 

[Stinkdyr]

It's all about selling advertising, folks.

 

[bolo]

Well, the *********s obviously care, because no matter where Nadal is in the entire draw, at least one or two of these guys that can beat Nadal will be lurking. Not true with Federer. He probably won't face anyone that can beat him until the final.

Fed's fallen and can't get up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc4T6tBs3mg

 

[Cesc Fabregas]

Once Nadal wins the US Open, he will be forever known as Nadal Balboa. Let's hope Nadal's life doesn't become as sad as Rocky's.

 

[P_Agony]

Roddick Or Djokovic "ouch"? Lol. these guys are Federer's pigeons. Federer got it easier this time.

it's funny, cause federer's draw is almost the same as last year, in terms of the players he is expected to play.

Djokovic is the world #3 and Roddick is a player who beat Djokovic, Rafa, and Murray in the last matches he played against them. The fact you hate Roddick doesn't make him less of a player. He's sure tougher than Verdasco who will be more than happy to see his hero beat him again.

 

[BreakPoint]

Do you think you're funny?

I'm totally serious. Nadal is vulnerable to any of those guys on that list.

 

[Sentinel]

Here's a more complete list of people who can beat Nadal: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/Singles.aspx

 

[0d1n]

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=345153
Funny ... eh ???

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Once Nadal wins the US Open, he will be forever known as Nadal Balboa. Let's hope Nadal's life doesn't become as sad as Rocky's.

Federer is Rocky and Nadal is MR T.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz0qwiy92cs

Makes sense.

 

[0d1n]

So...huge hitting Gulbis is a serious threat to Nadal...right ??!?

 

[namelessone]

So...huge hitting Gulbis is a serious threat to Nadal...right ??!?

He would be if he could make it far enough. Didn't you watch Gabashvili against Rafa? He was dangerous for Rafa, just like I said he would be.

 

[cknobman]

He would be if he could make it far enough. Didn't you watch Gabashvili against Rafa? He was dangerous for Rafa, just like I said he would be.

To be fair (and completely honest) the majority of the top 100 CAN be dangerous to Rafa on a hard court.