This final showed that tennis is badly missing Nadal

[zagor]

Originally Posted by GOAT BAAH!!!

The difference between Nadal and Murray or any of the other guys for that matter is that Rafa would've done everything in his power, even when getting destroyed by Novak, to make him suffer for 6 hours on the court in the hopes of getting the win. Even if it's for naught...the effort is unreal. These other guys seem bemused by high level play
That's why Rafa is important... when outmatched, he's one of the few guys in the game to step up, win or lose. He stood tall years ago when Federer was making a mockery of the rest of the field.
..and recently,when Djokovic systematically dismantled him match by match, Rafa continued to make finals, loss after loss until he eventually made a breakthrough.

None of these guys bring this consistently...

And when Novak was making a mockery of the rest of the field in 2011 (to arguably the same degree Fed did in your example) it was 29-30 year old Fed who stood tall and gave him a challenge, Nadal in one of his prime years was getting smacked 7 times in a row across different surfaces and couldn't even push their Wimbledon and USO matches to 5 sets, sure he got Novak in 2012 when Novak wasn't on that level anymore (heck Jo had him on the ropes at the FO) and that was on clay (where Nadal should still be at an advantage over everyone else).

Not to mention that Nadal had several straight set losses in slams when outmatched like say to Tsonga in 2008 AO, Murray in 2010 AO, Gonzo in 2007 AO, Delpo in 2009 USO etc. so no he doesn't always raise his level when outmatched.

You say Nadal made Novak suffer for 6 hours at last year's AO, well Murray gave Novak a heck of a match at AO last year as well and was almost as close to winning and that was against the Novak with a fresher set of legs than in the eventual final.

Sure this year's AO final was lackluster but Murray started having some physical issues and gave the best effort he could against a Novak who was playing better than in 2012 AO (especially serving much better), let's not belittle it, as I'm sure you're aware of Nadal's performance also at times suffered from some physical ailments and many bring down his loss (or poor performance atleast) to JCF in 2008 Rome down to blisters.

Is Nadal the mentally strongest player on tour? I'd say yes overall but the gap isn't nearly as big as you and some of his other fans make it out to be. That's not to say that the game doesn't miss him, it definitely does for various reasons (1st or 2nd most popular player at the moment, unique playing style, energy he brings on court, Ferrer being a weak link etc.).

[rafan]

Yes Rafa is good at the net and it has been honed by all the doubles he has played. When he does come in it is terrifying for his opponent

[tudwell]

Originally Posted by Sentinel

Rafa is chemically unstable at high altitudes and therefore cannot be used as rocket propellant.

So that's why he lost in Madrid!

[Steve0904]

It wasn't the final that showed how badly tennis misses Nadal, it was the Djokovic/Ferrer SF. Sure a "healthy" Nadal probably would've lost to Novak as well, but he would've made it much more competitive. We need Nadal back because he balances out draw so that the top guy that gets Ferrer doesn't get a sizable advantage.

[Stinkdyr]

What tennis needs is to shorten the matches to 2/3.

[Steve0904]

Originally Posted by Stinkdyr

What tennis needs is to shorten the matches to 2/3.

Shorten GS to best 2 out of 3???

Ahhhhhh...........NO!

[DeShaun]

Originally Posted by tusharlovesrafa

Post of the thread.Like last year AO when he was getting thoroughly out-played by djokovic,he kept on fighting and some how found a way to drag that match to 5th set,thats what separates him from the rest.

Well, I think Federer did some of this against Andy in the semis. Andy was owning Roger in terms of aces, winners, and total points won, the entire match. Still, Roger dragged it into a 5th set somehow. It was not pretty but if that's what you like, fighting spirit, he displayed it abundantly.

[veroniquem]

The best finals in the last 5 years at AO have been Nadal/Fed in 2009 and Djoko/Nadal in 2012. No offense and nothing personal against Murray either but one has to admit that the 3 finals involving Murray there (2010, 2011 and 2013) were not up to par.

[Top Jimmy]

I'm sorry but the courts ARE too slow. Shots that should be winners are being retrieved and it's not because these guys are so much better than anyone that has ever played.

Obviously I am not anywhere near the same level as these guys but they recently resurfaced the courts at my local college. They intentionally put in a slower surface, and by slower I mean incredibly slow. It's like 80 grit sand paper out there. Every other court I hit winners past anyone I play. Now, out of shape hacks can dig everything out and just send up moon balls. Playing there is not fun anymore, everyone hates it.

I felt the same way watching these guys smoke shots up the line but then watch either one of them slide and smack one back. There is no reward for going for it anymore.

There is a certain balance that needs to be achieved. I always thought we had it perfect before: Wimbledon, fast quick points, rewards moving forward. French, so we could get our fix of grinding baseline tennis. US and Aussie Open, somewhere in between.

[ruariatp]

now wimbledon is very slow - thats the one that needs to change i think. i think if they made that fast again, then the US and Aussie would fall somewhere in between.
Regardless, they were all saying how much quicker the courts in Melbourne were this year - surely that supports the fact that DJoko and Murray are unbelieveable athletes. And the long rallies do make for great drama!

[veroniquem]

There is nothing wrong with the surface as evidenced by the # of spectacular 5 setters we've had at AO. And although, we didn't get one in the final, we got lots of great ones during the fortnight. Retrospectively, the real final seems to have been Djokovic/Wawrinka: unforgettable, breathtaking battle over the equivalent of almost 6 sets. The courts were faster this year than last year according to a number of players and people are still complaining. Unreal. AO is not supposed to be faster than USO and W. There's supposed to be 2 slower slams: AO and RG and 2 faster W and USO. That's perfectly fair and people have 0 basis for complaining about it.

[steenkash]

Grass courts have been slow the last 4 years, I seriously think its ruining the game. The game on grass is supposed to encourage attacking tennis tactics, however due to the slowness of the current courts we get rally after rally.

[tusharlovesrafa]

Originally Posted by veroniquem

There is nothing wrong with the surface as evidenced by the # of spectacular 5 setters we've had at AO. And although, we didn't get one in the final, we got lots of great ones during the fortnight. Retrospectively, the real final seems to have been Djokovic/Wawrinka: unforgettable, breathtaking battle over the equivalent of almost 6 sets. The courts were faster this year than last year according to a number of players and people are still complaining. Unreal. AO is not supposed to be faster than USO and W. There's supposed to be 2 slower slams: AO and RG and 2 faster W and USO. That's perfectly fair and people have 0 basis for complaining about it.

LOLWUT?? Surface is ****ing slow at AO.Just because we have had Spectacular matches in last 5 years doesn't change the fact the surface is just sooo slow.Initially I wanted everything to be slowed because i wanted rafa to win everything,but its evident in last few years that slow surfaces are not good for body and it could kill you and finish your career per-maturealy.

[Pet]

Originally Posted by Stinkdyr

What tennis needs is to shorten the matches to 2/3.

Yes, I think that too.

Except for the epics Nadal-Federer 5 sets matchs, the rest are holy crapy.

[Nostradamus]

Some people still dont' like nadal though. saying he is just topspin trick pony. and knows nothing else.

[Prisoner of Birth]

Yeah, can't wait till he is back. I want Federer to win the FO (yes, I know it's unlikely) but if he doesn't, I hope it's because Nadal beat Murray, Djokovic and Federer back-to-back-to-back to claim his title as the French Open Champion.

[Clarky21]

Originally Posted by veroniquem

There is nothing wrong with the surface as evidenced by the # of spectacular 5 setters we've had at AO. And although, we didn't get one in the final, we got lots of great ones during the fortnight. Retrospectively, the real final seems to have been Djokovic/Wawrinka: unforgettable, breathtaking battle over the equivalent of almost 6 sets. The courts were faster this year than last year according to a number of players and people are still complaining. Unreal. AO is not supposed to be faster than USO and W. There's supposed to be 2 slower slams: AO and RG and 2 faster W and USO. That's perfectly fair and people have 0 basis for complaining about it.

Wrong. The courts are so slow it's painful. Slow courts encouraged Nadal's grinding style of play have now destroyed his knees. I guess a few 5 setters were totally worth his career being cut short.

[Mike Sams]

I'm calling BS! If you look at the play by play thread of the AO final, everybody was enjoying the match because it was a very closely contested match for the first 2.5 sets up until Murray began to wilt. But up to then, Djokovic was very vulnerable and unsure of himself. People here were impressed by Murray's display of shot making and aggression. It was a quality match between 2 top level baseliners who were also going for their shots.
The match was high quality for 2.5 sets and there was no sign at all of who was going to win the match until Murray began to feel the physical effects of his previous match against Federer.
Only until Murray went away after 2.5 sets is when everybody on here is now claiming that the match was boring and how much they miss Nadal, etc, etc.
What hurt the quality of the match is Murray's inability to go to the trenches and fight hard! I don't know how bad his blisters or hamstring were but the fact that he didn't fight is why people can't accept him on the level of the greats in the game. If he had taken the match to 5 sets by fighting, people on here would've been impressed. But he didn't, hence the quality of the match suffers.