Some perspective on Nadal

[unjugon]

I won´t lie, I try to watch Nadal as much as possible. I like him.
But I´ll try to be objective. He has his little annoying tics, takes too long to serve, takes him too much energy to win points, some of his shots are rather ugly, he is sometimes ineffective with the serve, and many times with the return, especially the forehand return after a first serve. Also, I am with the people that think he is likely to be injured for a few months every year. And lastly, there´s the shadow of doping on him. He seems to be almost too fit. He runs as much as anybody every single point...and still is the more fresher of the 2 players in a 5 setter? Who buys this? Big shadow there.

Having said that, I think he is underrated in this forum and in general...the target of lots of praise, true, but also of lots of trashtalk. I have been following the pro tour for like 10 years -and Nadal since early 2004, and my opinion of the guy is as follows:

-He will have a greater career than Federer. As good as Fed is now, Nadal will be even more of a legend in the future, when he is gone from the game. The mere sound of his name will make people pay attention and shiver at the sight of him running around the court in a picture stuck in memmory. Kinda like Braveheart. "He killed 50 people!...no, no, a hundred!"

-He is the toughest mentally...that I have seen. Tight? Nadal doesn´t get tight. He sometimes starts slow, and there are matches now and then where he looks ordinary. Nothing to do with nerves. Whoever watched the Nadal-Ljubicic final in Madrid can tell. Nadal looked in complete despair after the first 2 sets. Aces flying right past him left and right. He was really frustrated, and he turned it around. Make no mistake, the Madrid Masters Series courts are darn fast. I am not sure why Ljubicic goes on and on with the trashtalking: if he didn´t beat Nadal that day he won´t beat him ever, period.

-The proofs of how good he is/will be are right there, out in the public, and nobody seems to have noticed. The proofs are none other than Fed being scared of him only, and Agassi paying so much reverence to a damm kid.
Federer routinely beats everyone. It´s almost laughable. But from the first match between the 2, the swiss star has looked scared, unsure. He has found someone of equal value...or does Fed really think this? Truth is Fed ackowledged Nadal as someone special. Fed doubts he is the best player in this very moment, and knows the gap in the rankings will shrink, and the pressure will grow bigger. And Agassi? Notice how you never hear Roddick, or Djokovic, or Ljubicic...or Nalbandian praise Nadal? However, Agassi has been out there on tour for what, 18 years? He has seen and played hundreds of players. And yet he is astonished by this Nadal. Agassi himself seems scared just by talking about him. If they asked him now if Nadal is better than Becker was, than Edberg was, etc, what´d he say? He´d say "Yes" . Better than Federer or Sampras? That´s dubious, but I´d bet my house Agassi would be cautious not to count Nadal out, and wouldn´t say a straight "Federer", or "Sampras".

[tlm]

I didnt care for nadal at first,but after watching him the last couple of years i have to admire this kid.In every sport a special player comes along once in a while,in tennis it is nadal.

This kid is special he will dominate tennis in the near future.To me he brings so much excitement+energy to the game.I dont understand all the people on this site knocking him.

I have loved listening to all the detractors having to eat thier words,nadal can only play on clay+slow hardcourts.He will never do anything on grass,he is a pusher+on+on.

These same people that talk about fed being the g.o.a.t.,turn and say nadal is no good.There is no question about feds domination the last few years.That is why it is so remarkable that nadal has beat him in 4 finals this year.

As far as his play being ugly i dont understand that,this kid brings more excitement to the court than anybody.

Almost everytime i see him play he comes up with shots that seem impossible.He definitely make shots that nobody else can make.As you pointed out mentally he is unmatched,he is the future#1.

[SunFlash]

I dunno. I think nadal will improve over time and take the number 1 spot but until then ill keep rooting him on, VAMOS RAFA!!!!!!!!

[FEDEXP]

Well Unjugon, you cannot have instant history; by definition, it takes time. Who can say for sure what will happen?

[Moose Malloy]

He will have a greater career than Federer

I don't see that happening. But he has a chance to be the best Spanish player of all time. No Spaniard has made the Wimbledon final since Santana in '66.

He is the toughest mentally...that I have seen

Yes, that aspect is impressive. Esp considering how mentally fragile most top 10 players of the last 15 years have been.

was looking up to see how FO chamions have fared at W since Borg in '81.

These are the only reigning FO champions to go on to make (at least) the quarters of W since Borg:

Lendl '84/'86/'87
Wilander '88
Courier '91
Agassi '99
Nadal '06

[omniexist]

Ugly strokes? Ineffective serve?

What're you talking about? His strokes and serves have been very effective. His returns may not be ripping but they do come back.

Although, I agree he takes WAY too much time getting ready to serve.

As for being greater than Federer...hmm...dunno about that.

[dh003i]

Nadal's beaten Federer in 4 finals on clay. He hasn't proven he can even get to a final in another surface. Although I'm hoping he gets to the Wimbledon final this year -- he had the easiest draw -- because then we'll see why Federer's the best player in the world, as he demolishes Nadal on grass.

[tlm]

Nadal has beaten fed 2 times on hardcourts,one was this year at dubai,in a final.You fed fans keep leaving that out.

Must be hard to admit after most of you said nadal would not beat fed on hardcourt.

[dh003i]

TLM,

So what? Federer: 7 GS, 3 last year. Nadal: 2 GS, only 1 last year. Fed, 3 of the last 4 GS, Nadal 1.

Nadal isn't even in Federer's league on grass. Sorry, loser, he'd get his clock cleaned. Of course, what will probably happen is Nadal will get beaten, and then Federer will be whoever beats Nadal, or the person who beat the person who beat Nadal; and then the Nadal-fanboys will keep on bring up this ******** that Nadal would beat Fed if they played on grass.

The people who think Nadal has a chance of beaten Federer on grass are as stupid as nadalfangirl.

[Moose Malloy]

Although I'm hoping he gets to the Wimbledon final this year -- he had the easiest draw -- because then we'll see why Federer's the best player in the world, as he demolishes Nadal on grass.

you don't want that to happen. if nadal gets to the final, the gap between 1 & 2 will narrow, regardless of fed 'destroying' him since nadal lost 2nd round last year. and their rivalry will reach new levels, since it is on another surface.

also nadal being in the final would finally prove he is an all surface player. and pretty much make him a strong contender for any slam he enters in the next few years(since grass was always thought of as the most difficult for him, the us & australian opens will be much easier for him to adjust to)

and it would put him in some select company: lendl & agassi are the only reigning FO champs since Borg to reach the W finals. that would gain him a new level of respect from the media, fans, other players. I can only imagine the praise that John McEnroe & Mary Carillo will be showering him with should he make the final, regardless of the result. They will probably spend most of the final talking about nadal not federer, since this is such a rare & unexpected result.

[BERDI4]

Originally Posted by dh003i

TLM,
So what? Federer: 7 GS, 3 last year. Nadal: 2 GS, only 1 last year. Fed, 3 of the last 4 GS, Nadal 1.

How many GS did Fed won when he was Nadal's age?

[dh003i]

Moose,

Yes, and that would be completely idiotic, anyone talking about Nadal more than Federer in a Wimbledon final, since Federer has simply been in a class of his own throughout the entire event. As for the rankings, it would be a minor fallout, but Federer would wipe him out, and it would help him beat Nadal on clay and slow hard-courts as well. Federer has the most all-around game probably of any player ever; he certainly can handle Nadal, on any surface.

Of course, it's extremely unlikely to happen: Nadal was lucky to get this far, with a very very easy list of players to play against.

[dh003i]

Originally Posted by BERDI4

How many GS did Fed won when he was Nadal's age?

You dimwitted Nadal fans keep bringing that up. Federer has a more complete and complex game -- every shot in the book -- and it took more time for it to mature. He also wasn't mentally tough at age 19. I think most of the greats with his kind of game matured around when he did.

Nadal's kind of game is in it's prime at his current age, due to it's physical nature.

In short, it is completely meaningless how many grand slams Federer won when he was 19. Nadal is in his prime now -- sorry, Nadal fanboys, he cannot last very long with his physically demanding game and frequent injuries, especially when he slows a step.

Both players are in their prime right now. Nadal isn't going to get better, but will most likely quickly get worse (like Hewitt, who's lost a step or two). Federer's game is built to last. In any even, with both of them basically in their prime right now, Federer owns 3 of the last 4 GS. Nadal hasn't even shown he can get to a GS final outside of RG, never-the-less win one.

[tlm]

So what,your the one telling the lies, if it doesnt mean anything then why lie about it?Nadal beat fed in a final this year on hardcourt, but you somehow left that out.

So after being caught in that lie,you have to compare gs titles even though that is not fair, being nadal has not been around half as long as fed.By the way nadal has 2 gs at 20 years old,fed had none at that age.

But the real stat that sticks out is nadal 6-1 over fed,there is no way of hiding from that one.That is why you fed lovers hate nadal so much,he has forever tarnished your god of tennis.

I never said nadal would beat fed on grass,anything is possible but i think fed would win on the grass.So what nadal has already surpassed everybodys expectations at wimbledon.

This is just a preview of what nadal will be doing on the hardcourts in the future,cant wait for that.Then it will be they slowed the hardcourts down for nadal.

You guys just keep hiding from the obvious that nadal will be taking over in the near future.

By the way do you have to call me names like loser i guess that shows your pretty upset+ cant face the truth. But i think that name applys more to fed when he plays nadal!!!!!!

[bluescreen]

u're both quiet immature. this went from a "perspective" of nadal (more like a personal opinion) to a senseless argument. just let time unravel and wait for what happens. there's no need to to make 5-paragraph posts explaining why someone is wrong for having his or her own opinion.

[tlm]

Ya it is dimwitted to compare something in a fair way.dhooi3 already knows nadal will not improve anymore .Were in the hell do you come up with this bs.

It apears he has already improved his serve in the last couple opf months+his backhand has also improved.But i guess that is it dhooi3 says that is the end of nadal improvement at the age of 20.

I guess nadal will go down for the rest of his playing days.He has peaked+that is it.This guy dhooi3 calls other people dimwhitted,thats pretty funny.

[FedererUberAlles]

Originally Posted by tlm

Ya it is dimwitted to compare something in a fair way.dhooi3 already knows nadal will not improve anymore .Were in the hell do you come up with this bs.

It apears he has already improved his serve in the last couple opf months+his backhand has also improved.But i guess that is it dhooi3 says that is the end of nadal improvement at the age of 20.

I guess nadal will go down for the rest of his playing days.He has peaked+that is it.This guy dhooi3 calls other people dimwhitted,thats pretty funny.

You're not making yourself any less immature by trying to side with bluescreen and mock dh003i. You both need to sit back and respect each other's opinions.

[tlm]

To federeruberalles,check the comments i made.All i did was point out that fed lost to nadal on a hardcourt in a final,which is a fact.I did not start the name calling.

[FedererUberAlles]

Originally Posted by tlm

To federeruberalles,check the comments i made.All i did was point out that fed lost to nadal on a hardcourt in a final,which is a fact.I did not start the name calling.

I didn't start name calling, sorry, you did, which was the problem with your post, even while you pointed out facts.

[Grimjack]

Originally Posted by tlm

All i did was point out that fed lost to nadal on a hardcourt in a final,which is a fact.

The sand-mixed, high-bouncing clay-styled hardcourts of Dubai. On slowcourts, Nadal is awesome. On anything else, Fed would kill Nadal, if Nadal were anywhere near good enough on any first-world surface to get to a point where he could face Federer. On surfaces where one loses to Gilles Muller and James Blake, it's a foregone conclusion that Federer would stomp one into dust.