Ferrer: Rafa doesn't have pain in the knees.

[cknobman]

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

The most valuable game in tennis history. If not for that 18-minute game, Nadal would have won THE RAFA SLAM. 2014 AO will be his next shot at THE RAFA SLAM.

LOL your assumptions are laughably stupid.

Of course if it had not been for that one game Rafa would have won, it was a foregone conclusion!!! No one else could have done anything in the world. All you Nadal haters thank your lucky stars he got injured in that game and was denied his rightful crown at the AO and THE RAFA SLAM!!!

Get a grip on reality.

[Gorecki]

this moment i would like to quote peter grifin on caring!!!!

[Cup8489]

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

Yes I did enjoy that game, it was the best game of the match. And at the time it wasn't apparent that it would cost Nadal the match. Still, I'd much rather Nadal lose THE RAFA SLAM that way than the way Djokovic lost THE DJOKOVIC SLAM.

That's dumb. Djokovic was closer to 4 in a row than Nadal was, why would u wanna lose sooner? fail.

[Amelie Mauresmo]

I am sure Ferrer is a friend of Nadal but I remember Serena Williams coach saying that his mentality is all wrong concerning the top 4 and I agree. Ferrer tries to bend over backwards for the top guys he has no confidence in his ability to beat them. Yes, Ferrer is at a disadvantage due to his height but Davydenko is only an inch taller than Ferrer but he has a winning record against Nadal and he's knocked off Murray and Djokovic multiple times as well. Ferrer is too nice I feel and I think his lack of confidence is what has really hurt him in his career. I think mentality is very important in sports, if you don't believe you can beat the best then you won't beat them.

[reversef]

Originally Posted by nethawkwenatchee

Don't mistake humility for weakness. Ferrer is a guy who is very proud and has everything to play for, not subserviant in the disgraceful way you put it. It's true that he will overtake Nadal in the next few weeks, and he'll do so with class. Ferrer will do everything humanly possible to climb the ladder. In no way, shape, or form is this guy dependant on a pat on the head by any other player to show him the way. He'll show the grit that has defined his career by kicking, scratching, or biting Nadal or anyone else who gets on the other side of the net from him. Truth!

Great post.
+1

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by Amelie Mauresmo

I am sure Ferrer is a friend of Nadal but I remember Serena Williams coach saying that his mentality is all wrong concerning the top 4 and I agree. Ferrer tries to bend over backwards for the top guys he has no confidence in his ability to beat them. Yes, Ferrer is at a disadvantage due to his height but Davydenko is only an inch taller than Ferrer but he has a winning record against Nadal and he's knocked off Murray and Djokovic multiple times as well. Ferrer is too nice I feel and I think his lack of confidence is what has really hurt him in his career. I think mentality is very important in sports, if you don't believe you can beat the best then you won't beat them.

The only guy Ferrer bends over for is Federer. The rest of the top 4 he gives a hard effort for.

[Clarky21]

Originally Posted by NadalAgassi

The only guy Ferrer bends over for is Federer. The rest of the top 4 he gives a hard effort for.

This is true. Ferrer's record against Fed is just plain .

[sdont]

Originally Posted by NadalAgassi

The only guy Ferrer bends over for is Federer. The rest of the top 4 he gives a hard effort for.

Interesting theory. And why woudn't he give a hard effort for Federer, in your opinion?

[Onehandedbackhand]

Matches with Federer, at least in the past 6 or 7 or so, go like this...

Federer wins his serve handily, Ferrer has to fight like hell to win his serve. It's 3-3 or 4-4, and Ferrer will blow a 40-15 service lead and give up the game. It's over from there. He fights like crazy against Fed like he does everyone else, but no success. Happens like that sometimes.

Against the rest of the 3? He's kicked the hell out of all three of them in a match at least once(Nadal at AO 11, Djokovic at WTF 11, and Murray at RG 12).

[veroniquem]

Originally Posted by Amelie Mauresmo

I am sure Ferrer is a friend of Nadal but I remember Serena Williams coach saying that his mentality is all wrong concerning the top 4 and I agree. Ferrer tries to bend over backwards for the top guys he has no confidence in his ability to beat them. Yes, Ferrer is at a disadvantage due to his height but Davydenko is only an inch taller than Ferrer but he has a winning record against Nadal and he's knocked off Murray and Djokovic multiple times as well. Ferrer is too nice I feel and I think his lack of confidence is what has really hurt him in his career. I think mentality is very important in sports, if you don't believe you can beat the best then you won't beat them.

That's a hilarious example given that Davydenko has only beaten Djoko twice whereas Ferrer has beaten him 5 times. He's also beaten Murray 5 times while Davy has only beaten him 4 times. It looks like your elaborate reasoning is all wrong. Ferrer has also beaten Nadal in 2 slams. (And he leads Delpo 6-2). Ferrer is perfectly competitive vs all top players except Fed (rather more competitive than Davy actually and not less, that's for sure and Davy has exactly the same problem as Ferrer: being over-intimidated by Fed)

[Crisstti]

Well, Rafa had said rather recently that his knees still bothered him. I hope Ferrer has more recent info and he's feeling well now.

And I hope he's right about Nadal coming to South America...

Originally Posted by smoledman

I agree that win is Ferrer's biggest of his career without a doubt. Bigger then any of his titles from a historic standpoint. The only thing that would eclipse it would be to win a slam.

A win against a clearly injured Nadal?. His Paris win must surely be better.

[Crisstti]

Originally Posted by sdont

So you still enjoy it even though it injured Rafa?

You seem to like it when Rafa gets injured.

He's not sounding much like a Rafa fan lately.

Originally Posted by Amelie Mauresmo

I am sure Ferrer is a friend of Nadal but I remember Serena Williams coach saying that his mentality is all wrong concerning the top 4 and I agree. Ferrer tries to bend over backwards for the top guys he has no confidence in his ability to beat them. Yes, Ferrer is at a disadvantage due to his height but Davydenko is only an inch taller than Ferrer but he has a winning record against Nadal and he's knocked off Murray and Djokovic multiple times as well. Ferrer is too nice I feel and I think his lack of confidence is what has really hurt him in his career. I think mentality is very important in sports, if you don't believe you can beat the best then you won't beat them.

In a way you're probably right, but on the other hand there's a clear difference between his game and that of the top 4 and he simply knows and admits that. Seems like a healthy attitude, especially at this point... he's not going to get better now.

[President]

Originally Posted by NadalAgassi

The only guy Ferrer bends over for is Federer. The rest of the top 4 he gives a hard effort for.

He gives a hard effort against Federer too, Roger is just a nightmare matchup for him and Ferrer has nothing to hurt him with at all. Federer can hit winners on Ferrer's normal rally balls; the rest of the top 4 don't have this ability and so he can give them much tougher matches by trying to out grind them with his super fitness. It's a similar problem that Davydenko and Hewitt have against Federer.

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by President

He gives a hard effort against Federer too, Roger is just a nightmare matchup for him and Ferrer has nothing to hurt him with at all. Federer can hit winners on Ferrer's normal rally balls; the rest of the top 4 don't have this ability and so he can give them much tougher matches by trying to out grind them with his super fitness. It's a similar problem that Davydenko and Hewitt have against Federer.

This is mostly true and it is also true of when he plays Nadal on clay. Ferrer has absolutely nothing to hurt Nadal with on clay, his shots dont have enough power to penetrate through the clay, nor does he hit with enough spin or a heavy enough ball to make Nadal uncomfortable or push him back off the clay at all. He obviously cant outgrind, outmaneuver, outdefend, or outlast Nadal on clay either. Ferrer although a very good clay courter, with his game and playing style, is effectively useless vs Nadal on clay, yet people seem to take his constant defeats to Nadal on clay as lying down. On hard courts where he actually does have some game to play with Nadal, he has had some success, proof that theory is bollocks.

I do think Ferrer, while not having a good game for Federer at all, also has a mental block with him though. I saw a match in Cincinnati, I think in 2007, where Federer was just terrible. He all but tried to throw the match, and Ferrer still wouldnt take it. He definitely should have and easily could have won that one. Also a match like the WTF final in 2007 where he played abysmal tennis after playing some of his best ever tennis the rest of the event.