Nadal nervous about coming back!

[RAFA2005RG]

Originally Posted by Mike Sams

Nadal became mentally stronger since losing the 2012 AO which is why he got broken immediately in the crucial 5th set of the 2nd round of Wimbledon by a #100 ranked player. So much for clutch!

Nadal said he could see an early exit at Wimbledon coming, even before he took to the court. He knew he was just fortunate to have lasted through Roland Garros. He was relying on his serve (Nadal served 19 aces in the Rosol match). The injection Nadal used to numb his knee at Roland Garros was no longer doing its job.

[sbengte]

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

Nadal said he could see an early exit at Wimbledon coming, even before he took to the court. He knew he was just fortunate to have lasted through Roland Garros. He was relying on his serve (Nadal served 19 aces in the Rosol match). The injection Nadal used to numb his knee at Roland Garros was no longer doing its job.

Did he say that before he played at Wimbledon or after he lost to Rosol ?
If it is the former, provide a link please.

[6-1 6-3 6-0]

Nadal gets nervous, just like every other tennis player out there. It says so in his biography (he gets nervous before matches). So naturally he'd be nervous about returning after a long hiatus. But we shouldn't have any major worries about Nadal's performance, and since Nadal has the mental edge over Djokovic, I can't see him losing their match at the AO, especially if it goes to a fifth set.

[RAFA2005RG]

Originally Posted by sbengte

Did he say that before he played at Wimbledon or after he lost to Rosol ?
If it is the former, provide a link please.

After, but I'll provide a link anyway-
http://www.tennis.com/news/2012/12/n.../#.UNmmnayzk44

Nadal said he took a risk in the semifinals of Roland Garros, where he posted a quick win despite playing with inflammation in his knee, but that he was solely focused on winning his seventh title there. He also said he was not surprised Lukas Rosol upset him in the second round of Wimbledon, because for the two weeks prior he was only able to train one hour a day, without running. “It was very bad, and I was playing with the knee asleep,” he said. “You always think you can do it, but it was not possible even though I did my best.”

Nadal added that his defeat to Rosol could not be compared to when Robin Soderling upset him at the 2009 French Open.

“There is no point of comparison,” he said. “Both have in common that my knee was bad, but I could compete at Roland Garros. In Wimbledon, no. The defeat to Rosol as was a death foretold for me.”

[Tennis_Hands]

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

Nadal said he could see an early exit at Wimbledon coming, even before he took to the court.

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

After, but I'll provide a link anyway-
http://www.tennis.com/news/2012/12/n.../#.UNmmnayzk44

10GONADS

[RAFA2005RG]

Originally Posted by Tennis_Hands

10GONADS

You don't understand?

Nadal said (very recently) that he could see (prior to Wimbledon) an early exit at Wimbledon coming, even before he took to the court (he 'could see', he didn't 'say').

[Hitman]

He is going to be a bit nervous, because in way, he has to rebuild his aura once again. He is coming back from extended time off, so there will be doubts, there will be questions, and since Nadal is probably the ultimate momentum player...he is basically coming in with zero momentum. This does change his mindset alot, plus other players might be courageous enough to fancy their chances against him while he is still finding his way back in. And a few more cracks of his armour, could break his mental hold on the tour, and more and more players might be wanting to take shots at him.

So, a critical time for him, no doubt.

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by tusharlovesrafa

In India too,LLB(law course) is of 3 years,and then you got be become an Article under another Lawyer..

It is 3 years after college, right?

And did you mean Apprentice?

[Tennis_Hands]

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

You don't understand?

Nadal said (very recently) that he could see (prior to Wimbledon) an early exit at Wimbledon coming, even before he took to the court (he 'could see', he didn't 'say').

Oh, the irony is, that you don't understand.

Precisely the fact, that he said it after his loss to Rosol, makes your usage of "before" and "after" totally useless.

[Mike Sams]

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

Nadal said he could see an early exit at Wimbledon coming, even before he took to the court. He knew he was just fortunate to have lasted through Roland Garros. He was relying on his serve (Nadal served 19 aces in the Rosol match). The injection Nadal used to numb his knee at Roland Garros was no longer doing its job.

Nadal also said "He is the favourite, I have to play my best to have chances to win" against opponents ranked outside of the top 100. Nadal sees an early exit in every tournament he plays. He hates expectations and pressure.

[Mike Sams]

Originally Posted by Hitman

He is going to be a bit nervous, because in way, he has to rebuild his aura once again. He is coming back from extended time off, so there will be doubts, there will be questions, and since Nadal is probably the ultimate momentum player...he is basically coming in with zero momentum. This does change his mindset alot, plus other players might be courageous enough to fancy their chances against him while he is still finding his way back in. And a few more cracks of his armour, could break his mental hold on the tour, and more and more players might be wanting to take shots at him.

So, a critical time for him, no doubt.

They're also seeing that he's nearing 27 years of age, having more and more physical problems and confidence issues and saw a guy ranked #100 blow him off the court on the biggest stage in the sport. Who doesn't fancy their chances?

[RAFA2005RG]

Originally Posted by Tennis_Hands

Oh, the irony is, that you don't understand.

Precisely the fact, that he said it after his loss to Rosol, makes your usage of "before" and "after" totally useless.

You are saying a player is not allowed to reflect later on the thoughts he had in the past? Then that makes all autobiographies "totally useless".

[nethawkwenatchee]

You forgot about Nole loosing out in the bronze metal match to Del Potro at the Olympics. Also, I have to disagree with a few things:

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

He lost Roland Garros final (by far the biggest match of Djokovic's career to this point.

I'd say No to this because several matches were a bigger opportunity including his first slam win AO 08', Wimbledon 2011 where he realised #1 in the world for the first ime and accomplished his stated goal of winning the biggest tournament in the world. Winning the grand slam and French Open aren't as much pressure because he isn't considered a favorite.

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

Nadal whereas, has become mentally stronger since losing the 2012 Australian Open.

It's really hard to state where Nadal is mentally right now considering the substantial loss he took at Wimbledon and the injury ridden season that plagued him. He's a proven champion but there's really nothing to base his current state on. He had a great clay season but this is expected and he's already proven that he is the superior clay court player in the world. Hell, he could win the whole clay season, even on bad knees.

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

Nadal has never faced more pressure in his life than the 2012 Roland Garros Final.

Again, Nadal is by far the odds on favorite in this match and proved once again his superiority on Court Philippe Chatrier.

[Tennis_Hands]

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

You are saying a player is not allowed to reflect later on the thoughts he had in the past? Then that makes all autobiographies "totally useless".

Nо, I said that your usage of "before" and "after" is useless.

[RAFA2005RG]

nethawkwenatchee, Nadal already said that before he played Wimbledon he knew the loss was foretold. He knew what was about to happen, because he knew he had pushed his knee too far in winning Roland Garros. Some people ask why he played Halle. He played Halle because he knew he had to adjust to grass to stand any chance (Don't forget, Nadal was down 2 sets to 1 TWICE in the 1st week of 2010 Wimbledon, so he struggles terribly to adjust to grass even after good preparation). So he went through the routine of adjusting to grass and then hoped for the best against Rosol, but he knew the loss was eminent. So for you to say that the Rosol loss was a "substantial loss" is pathetic, considering Nadal expected the loss, and considering it was entirely physical and in no way mental. Nadal has won his last 3 matches over Djokovic, including 2 of them in straight sets. Whereas in 2011, Djokovic beat Nadal in straight sets TWICE on clay. Nadal has radically turned himself around mentally since then. And by the way, one of the best serving performances I've seen from Nadal in the last 3 years was the Rosol match when Nadal served 19 aces. He knew his knee wouldn't allow his groundstrokes to flourish, so he upped his serve.

[RAFA2005RG]

Originally Posted by Tennis_Hands

Nо, I said that your usage of "before" and "after" is useless.

No, your reading comprehension skills are useless.

[RAFA2005RG]

nethawkwenatchee, also, Uncle Toni said during the Roland Garros final after they left the court with Djokovic up a break in the 4th set, Nadal cried. Nadal had lost 3 slam finals in a row to Djokovic, and that is why it was the most pressure Nadal has ever been under in his life. Its ok to lose Wimbledon or the US Open or Australian Open, but to lose Roland Garros is a tragic event that Nadal was already destroyed by in 2009.

[Tennis_Hands]

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

No, your reading comprehension skills are useless.

Concentrating on words and not meaning is totally in line with your comprehension skills.

[RAFA2005RG]

Originally Posted by Tennis_Hands

Concentrating on words and not meaning is totally in line with your comprehension skills.

That's exactly what you are doing right now, concentrating on words and not meaning. You would understand the meaning of my original sentence if you had comprehension skills.

[veroniquem]

Originally Posted by RAFA2005RG

Well, at the hardcourt slams, they've played:
2010 US Open Final - Nadal in 4
2011 US Open Final - Djokovic in 4
2012 Australian Open Final - Djokovic in 5 (7-5 fifth set, 6 hours)

If Djokovic is ahead in their hardcourt rivalry, its only by the smallest of margins, regarding their slam hardcourt meetings anyway.

And Djokovic leads in the non-slam hardcourt meetings, although Nadal beat Djokovic at the 2010 World Tour Finals in straight sets and Nadal also beat Djokovic at the Olympics. So those are big events.

Nadal hasn't "conquered" Djokovic on hardcourts, but in terms of head2head Nadal is a lot closer to Djokovic on hardcourts than Djokovic is to Nadal on clay. Apart from 2 wins over Nadal in 2011 (Madrid and Rome), Djokovic has done nothing to Nadal on clay.

The funny thing about Djoko/Rafa stats on hard court is that Rafa's best event against Novak is... who would have thought? Indoor!: WTF is the only hard court event where Rafa leads: 2-1. They're tie at USO and Novak leads in IW, Miami, Canada, Cincy, Paris (in other words all masters on hard) and AO (11-5 Novak overall) but to me the most unforgettable win Rafa got over Novak on hard is still the Olympics, the most emotional one too. I think Novak is always the favorite vs Rafa on hard (same as Rafa vs him on clay) but that doesn't mean Rafa can't score some big ones. Rafa has had more significant wins over Novak on hard as you rightfully pointed out (USO, WTF, Olympics) than Novak has had vs Rafa on clay (2 masters).