Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
(Firstly, I realize that the semi-final is far from over and that Rafaello could still turn it around. This thread is not meant as a prediction.)
My query here is regarding Nadal's current level on grass and whether he's displaying peak grass level or has flattered us. There seems to be widespread opinions that Nadal is more or less back to playing peaky grass tennis. Gone are the Rosolizations and Brownifications of the recent years. Ahead of the Delpo match a widespread mantra sounded that 'Delpo is toast and will win 8 games tops.' I've heard it suggested that if he faced Fed this year, the latter would receive a drubbing.
In contrast to that view, one match preview of the Nadal–Delpo match pointed out that it would be the first time Nadal plays a top player at Wimbledon since he lost to Novak way back in 2011, and should therefore likely struggle. Which ended up being correct. And I think it's a point to be stressed: Rafaello has not been tested against players of a top caliber on grass for 7 years, that's a long time without a top-level measuring stick, so how much do we really know about where stands on grass? He's been cruising in the early rounds this year, but now when he's facing an inspired Delpo and resurgent but still slightly inconsistent Novak, it's life-and-death matches.
So there you have it. What say ye: is Nadal in world beating form or is his false grass dawn in the process of being exposed? I truly do not know based on what we have seen, although Djokovic may be starting to provide more puzzle pieces to the answer.
My query here is regarding Nadal's current level on grass and whether he's displaying peak grass level or has flattered us. There seems to be widespread opinions that Nadal is more or less back to playing peaky grass tennis. Gone are the Rosolizations and Brownifications of the recent years. Ahead of the Delpo match a widespread mantra sounded that 'Delpo is toast and will win 8 games tops.' I've heard it suggested that if he faced Fed this year, the latter would receive a drubbing.
In contrast to that view, one match preview of the Nadal–Delpo match pointed out that it would be the first time Nadal plays a top player at Wimbledon since he lost to Novak way back in 2011, and should therefore likely struggle. Which ended up being correct. And I think it's a point to be stressed: Rafaello has not been tested against players of a top caliber on grass for 7 years, that's a long time without a top-level measuring stick, so how much do we really know about where stands on grass? He's been cruising in the early rounds this year, but now when he's facing an inspired Delpo and resurgent but still slightly inconsistent Novak, it's life-and-death matches.
So there you have it. What say ye: is Nadal in world beating form or is his false grass dawn in the process of being exposed? I truly do not know based on what we have seen, although Djokovic may be starting to provide more puzzle pieces to the answer.
