So much for Nadal's "decline"

[mandy01]

Originally Posted by cc0509

Disagree with you there. Federer was the firm favorite. He had won W 5 times in a row prior to that and in 2006 and 2007 defeated Nadal there. Sure some people thought Nadal may win but Roger was the favorite.

WHAT? Roger was DEFINITELY not the FIRM favourite to win. Yes, generally people tended to pick him for every slam except RG till 2010 because till then he was by far, the most reliable, safe bet. But how many people thought Nadal would win in 2008? Many. Particularly after the clay season. Greats like Borg had been saying since the 2007 final that Nadal would probably win. He only changed his prediction at the last moment. Infact very few when Nadal won it.
And I'm not talking of just commentators. Even fans thought Nadal was the fav alongside Roger. I remember Star Sports running a clip where they asked various fans who they thought would win and even the Roger fans were reluctantly saying Nadal had more than a fair chance of winning.

[cc0509]

Originally Posted by mandy01

WHAT? Roger was DEFINITELY not the FIRM favourite to win. Yes, generally people tended to pick him for every slam except RG till 2010 because till then he was by far, the most reliable, safe bet. But how many people thought Nadal would win in 2008? Many. Particularly after the clay season. Greats like Borg had been saying since the 2007 final that Nadal would probably win. He only changed his prediction at the last moment. Infact very few when Nadal won it.
And I'm not talking of just commentators. Even fans thought Nadal was the fav alongside Roger. I remember Star Sports running a clip where they asked various fans who they thought would win and even the Roger fans were reluctantly saying Nadal had more than a fair chance of winning.

As I have stated in my previous posts, I changed it from firm favorite to favorite. Federer was still the favorite for W 2008, a touranment he owned for 5 years prior to that. Even though I knew Nadal was a threat at the time and that some people picked Nadal to win, I still figured Roger would squeak by and get that win. I was wrong.

[NamRanger]

I remember Nadal was in decline in 2009 for most of the year according to namelessone, and for the better half of the 2nd half of 2008. Same with 2010, etc.


Nadal is in perpetual decline guys, he's just that good if you know what I mean.

[monfed]

Originally Posted by NamRanger

I remember Nadal was in decline in 2009 for most of the year according to namelessone, and for the better half of the 2nd half of 2008. Same with 2010, etc.


Nadal is in perpetual decline guys, he's just that good if you know what I mean.

The Nadal is undefeated when he wins!

BAMOS RALPH! BAMOS!

[rafan]

Originally Posted by ASantana

Just because he had a good tournament doesn't mean he is still playing great. Also, it was on clay. His hard court play has completely deteriorated very much. And not taking away from his win but other than Djokovic, who did he beat? Lower ranked players, for the most part, that were lucky to be there. Im sorry but one tournament does not mean that he hasn't lost any form.

Nadal never favoured the hard courts because of his knees and he gets out of that season as fast as he can ..win or lose

[tennis_pro]

Originally Posted by mandy01

WHAT? Roger was DEFINITELY not the FIRM favourite to win. Yes, generally people tended to pick him for every slam except RG till 2010 because till then he was by far, the most reliable, safe bet. But how many people thought Nadal would win in 2008? Many. Particularly after the clay season. Greats like Borg had been saying since the 2007 final that Nadal would probably win. He only changed his prediction at the last moment. Infact very few when Nadal won it.
And I'm not talking of just commentators. Even fans thought Nadal was the fav alongside Roger. I remember Star Sports running a clip where they asked various fans who they thought would win and even the Roger fans were reluctantly saying Nadal had more than a fair chance of winning.

Borg has been spot on with some of his predictions. He also said after 2008 Wimbledon that Federer will bounce back next year.

[Numenor]

I am shocked by Nadal's decline. Truly, by winning the Rome Masters in such decisive fashion and handing out so many bagels and breadsticks so far in the French Open, he has shown that he is in the doldrums. The one fact that would cement this sharp decline would be him winning the French Open...

[Nathaniel_Near]

Nadal is still prime, clearly. He might even be about to peak like he did in 2008 and 2010. The level of his play suggests that there's a realistic possibility of this happening.

[Nadalgaenger]

Originally Posted by sbengte

What decline ? Nadal has been playing at his best all of last year as has been proved over and over again with stats. Nothing has changed in Nadal's game , it is funny that Djoker's fluctuating level is fooling people into thinking it is Nadal who is in decline or peaking.

Djoker 1.0 was a non-factor prior to 2011
Djoker 2.0 owned Nadal in 2011
Djoker 1.3 barely managed to get a win against Nadal at AO 2012
Djoker 0.8 who showed up at MC yesterday got straight setted by Nadal.

Bottom line, if Djoker 1.0 or less had showed up in 2011, Nadal would be sitting on 13 slams and 5 more masters with a record breaking 2011 and instead of Nadal decline threads, this place would be swarmed with "Nadal is the most important living person" threads.

Great post. But if Djoker's game varies so much, why can't we say the same of Nadal's?

[sbengte]

Originally Posted by Nadalgaenger

Great post. But if Djoker's game varies so much, why can't we say the same of Nadal's?

Djoker has been losing to or gets stretched by a host of players when his level fluctuates. Nadal pretty much lost all finals to one guy last year.

[ViscaB]

The truth is that if Rafa was born just a few years earlier when the treatment of his tendinitis was not yet available his career could have been over by now.

[Sentinel]

Originally Posted by tennis_pro

Borg has been spot on with some of his predictions. He also said after 2008 Wimbledon that Federer will bounce back next year.

He got a tip from the WADA guys abt some other/s.