Nadal L'Equipe Interview: "I want to become like before"

[MichaelNadal]

Originally Posted by DropShotArtist

Q: The best? You’ve won more in 2008, 2009 or 2010…
Rafa: Yes, but in 2012, I really played better. The Australian Open final against Djokovic, even if I lost it, was great. I continued to win Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland Garros. I exploded on court.


Nadal admits his level of play was better in 2011/2012 than 2008.

Get out of here. He said 2012, specifically the AO, which I don't necessarily disagree with.

[DropShotArtist]

Originally Posted by MichaelNadal

Get out of here. He said 2012, specifically the AO, which I don't necessarily disagree with.

Are you sure you know how to read? He was asked specifically, you won MORE in 2008. His response YES. BUT. I PLAYED BETTER IN 2012. eg. AO and CLAY.

[marc45]

Originally Posted by President

Nadal sounds a lot more confident about himself and his chances in Spanish than he does in English. He isn't nearly as dismissive of his ability and a lot more assertive in his native language.

this truly doesn't get mentioned enough.....with all the irrational nadal-hate the dumbest is that he is dumb...of course he doesn't sound great while speaking english..he's clearly not as proficient as fed or novak but his interviews in spanish are great...of course i need translation there and i know that's an issue...so really i never really get to hear nadal at his best because i don't speak spanish and he's not great at english...i still enjoy his top-spin forehands, doesn't really have to comment on those

[marc45]

Originally Posted by vernonbc

He always does. In Spanish he is very articulate and bright and philosophical and well spoken. It's unfortunate his image has taken a beating in the English language media because of his difficulties with what is his fourth language.

again, absolutely..nativist bs...but i don't know about the media...i just see it in idiots on comments boards

[always_crosscourt]

Originally Posted by marc45

this truly doesn't get mentioned enough.....with all the irrational nadal-hate the dumbest is that he is dumb...of course he doesn't sound great while speaking english..he's clearly not as proficient as fed or novak but his interviews in spanish are great...of course i need translation there and i know that's an issue...so really i never really get to hear nadal at his best because i don't speak spanish and he's not great at english...i still enjoy his top-spin forehands, doesn't really have to comment on those

Well if he's so bright, why hasn't he learned to speak English fluently like the rest of the Big Three for whom English is also not their mother tongue?

In fact, forget it, I still maintain that the only way you know how bright someone is is when you give him a speed math/IQ test and see how well he does.

[The_Order]

Originally Posted by DropShotArtist

Q: The best? You’ve won more in 2008, 2009 or 2010…
Rafa: Yes, but in 2012, I really played better. The Australian Open final against Djokovic, even if I lost it, was great. I continued to win Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Roland Garros. I exploded on court.


Nadal admits his level of play was better in 2011/2012 than 2008.

First of all he didn't mention 2011.

Secondly, in 2012, he won every clay event apart from stupid blue clay Madrid. In 2008 he lost early in Rome. In 2012 he was within a bee's dick from winning the AO, in 2008 he got thumped in the sf. In Wimbledon he was clearly injured with needle marks all over his left knee.

So technically his first 6 months in 2012 were better than 2008.

[vernonbc]

Originally Posted by always_crosscourt

Well if he's so bright, why hasn't he learned to speak English fluently like the rest of the Big Three for whom English is also not their mother tongue?

He does speak English quite fluently. It's just heavily accented but for someone who just learned it in his teens, he speaks it quite well.

As for the rest of the big three, English IS Fed's mother tongue. His mother is from South Africa and it is the first language he learned to speak. It is also the language he and Mirka use with their girls. I don't know what Djokovic's background is in relation to the English language but credit to him because he does speak it very well. I'm guessing that he learned it quite young.

[Goosehead]

Originally Posted by The_Order

First of all he didn't mention 2011.

Secondly, in 2012, he won every clay event apart from stupid blue clay Madrid. In 2008 he lost early in Rome. In 2012 he was within a bee's dick from winning the AO, in 2008 he got thumped in the sf. In Wimbledon he was clearly injured with needle marks all over his left knee.

So technically his first 6 months in 2012 were better than 2008.

soooooo..apart from when he lost..he won ..vamos.

[DropShotArtist]

Originally Posted by The_Order

First of all he didn't mention 2011.

Secondly, in 2012, he won every clay event apart from stupid blue clay Madrid. In 2008 he lost early in Rome. In 2012 he was within a bee's dick from winning the AO, in 2008 he got thumped in the sf. In Wimbledon he was clearly injured with needle marks all over his left knee.

So technically his first 6 months in 2012 were better than 2008.

So you think he was better on clay in 2012 than 2008?

[vernonbc]

Originally Posted by DropShotArtist

So you think he was better on clay in 2012 than 2008?

Rafa thinks that he was better in 2012 so that's what matters...far more than the looney opinions of some tennis forum posters.

[merwy]

Very good interview from Rafa. He sounds confident and realistic. I like what he said about the doping issue. Obviously Nadal isn't going to admit that he's doping, but what he said here makes me trust him a lot more. He's like "Everyone shut the f up with all the rumours! Just make the test results public and this whole discussion would be over."

You know, when you consider the possibility that he really is clean, it's quite a sad story. The guy is playing great, is finally starting to win matches against Djokovic again, won RG. Then he suddenly has to stop playing because of injury (not the first time either..). This pauze takes longer than expected and he misses 2 Grand Slams, 1 WTF and the Olympics. This must be incredibly depressing.. but on top of that, instead of people showing sympathy for the guy, they're accusing him of doping.
Not gonna lie, I'd be ****ed.

[DragonBlaze]

Yea and Federer thinks he's a better player now.
And Sampras thought he was playing near his best level 1999-2002.

They're all wrong, obviously.


Great interview though. I thought his reply to watching the Australian Open was hilarious, especially comments regarding Djokovic. Almost seemed a bit bitter there Rafa!

[cc0509]

Originally Posted by vernonbc

He does speak English quite fluently. It's just heavily accented but for someone who just learned it in his teens, he speaks it quite well.

As for the rest of the big three, English IS Fed's mother tongue. His mother is from South Africa and it is the first language he learned to speak. It is also the language he and Mirka use with their girls. I don't know what Djokovic's background is in relation to the English language but credit to him because he does speak it very well. I'm guessing that he learned it quite young.

No, Federer's first language is Swiss German. That is his mother tongue. He also learned English because his mother is from South Africa but he lived in and was raised in Switzerland and his mother tongue is Swiss German:

"Federer speaks three languages: German, French and English, although his mother tongue – but not his mother's tongue – is Swiss German."

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/...html?cid=62098

Re Federer's language with his twins, he just stated in an interview that his girls understand English, Swiss German and Slovakian but they speak Swiss German:

"Q: How many languages do your three-year-old daughters speak?

RF: They understand three - English, Swiss-German and Slovakian (wife Mirka's native tongue) - and they speak one (Swiss-German)."

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/arti...roger-federer/

Stick to your obsessive knowledge about Nadal, you are lousy at Federer facts.

[The_Order]

Originally Posted by DropShotArtist

So you think he was better on clay in 2012 than 2008?

As a whole, yes. 2012 I feel he was more dominant. He won Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome without losing a set and only lost one set in RG to a guy that had his measure in the past 3 majors.

In 2008 his RG level was probably higher but it's hard to tell he didn't have to face anyone with Novak 2012's level so that's probably why he never lost a set.

But in the 2008 masters events he struggled againt Federer in Monte Carlo (down 5-0 in the first set IIRC), lost sets in Barcelona and lost sets in Hamburg.

The Rome loss cancels out with the Madrid loss.

So technically he had better clay results in 2012 than in 2008.

[marc45]

Originally Posted by merwy

Very good interview from Rafa. He sounds confident and realistic. I like what he said about the doping issue. Obviously Nadal isn't going to admit that he's doping, but what he said here makes me trust him a lot more. He's like "Everyone shut the f up with all the rumours! Just make the test results public and this whole discussion would be over."

You know, when you consider the possibility that he really is clean, it's quite a sad story. The guy is playing great, is finally starting to win matches against Djokovic again, won RG. Then he suddenly has to stop playing because of injury (not the first time either..). This pauze takes longer than expected and he misses 2 Grand Slams, 1 WTF and the Olympics. This must be incredibly depressing.. but on top of that, instead of people showing sympathy for the guy, they're accusing him of doping.
Not gonna lie, I'd be ****ed.

well said, it's pathetic....it really caught me off-guard when it started, but what can you do..he'll handle it

[MichaelNadal]

Originally Posted by merwy

Very good interview from Rafa. He sounds confident and realistic. I like what he said about the doping issue. Obviously Nadal isn't going to admit that he's doping, but what he said here makes me trust him a lot more. He's like "Everyone shut the f up with all the rumours! Just make the test results public and this whole discussion would be over."

You know, when you consider the possibility that he really is clean, it's quite a sad story. The guy is playing great, is finally starting to win matches against Djokovic again, won RG. Then he suddenly has to stop playing because of injury (not the first time either..). This pauze takes longer than expected and he misses 2 Grand Slams, 1 WTF and the Olympics. This must be incredibly depressing.. but on top of that, instead of people showing sympathy for the guy, they're accusing him of doping.
Not gonna lie, I'd be ****ed.

Very good post man, kudos.

[marc45]

Originally Posted by always_crosscourt

Well if he's so bright, why hasn't he learned to speak English fluently like the rest of the Big Three for whom English is also not their mother tongue?

In fact, forget it, I still maintain that the only way you know how bright someone is is when you give him a speed math/IQ test and see how well he does.

i don't know why, i don't really care...he is a tennis player not a lecturer..he speaks it well enough for me....i'd give him the benefit of the doubt that he has made strong efforts...i think that's clear from following his career, but it is a bit of a shame he can't quite express his thoughts as clearly as he does in spanish/catalon because he really is quite impressive...deep at times and funny and thoughtful

and c'mon you don't just measure intelligence or "brightness" with math tests...none of these guys are going to be running their countries science programs when they're done

[Rocky89]

That was a good interview.

It's nice to see him optimistic and confident for a change. The next few months are going to be very interesting. I'm more pumped now that I hear he is motivated and that he is positive he will get back on top.

[vernonbc]

Originally Posted by cc0509

No, Federer's first language is Swiss German. That is his mother tongue. He also learned English because his mother is from South Africa but he lived in and was raised in Switzerland and his mother tongue is Swiss German:

"Federer speaks three languages: German, French and English, although his mother tongue – but not his mother's tongue – is Swiss German."

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/...html?cid=62098

Re Federer's language with his twins, he just stated in an interview that his girls understand English, Swiss German and Slovakian but they speak Swiss German:

"Q: How many languages do your three-year-old daughters speak?

RF: They understand three - English, Swiss-German and Slovakian (wife Mirka's native tongue) - and they speak one (Swiss-German)."

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/arti...roger-federer/

Stick to your obsessive knowledge about Nadal, you are lousy at Federer facts.

I read an article this past summer where he said himself that the first language that he learned was English because that's what his mother spoke to him, but that he naturally learned Swiss-German almost at the same time. He also said that he and Mirka speak to their girls in English at home because they realize it will be beneficial for them to grow up knowing the language. Can't be bothered to look for the link because it really doesn't matter to me what Federer does or doesn't do.

And I'll stick to my knowledge of Nadal if you'll stick to yours about Federer and quit posting a gazillion accusatory and false posts about Nadal.

[albatros_forehand]

Originally Posted by vernonbc

He always does. In Spanish he is very articulate and bright and philosophical and well spoken. It's unfortunate his image has taken a beating in the English language media because of his difficulties with what is his fourth language.

Yes, no? My body is perfect, no? No? Yes.. Physically speaking.. ;D