Nadal vs Davydenko (aka #76)

Whatever you say shabazza, i just got home from playing tennis so i checked on this thread to see what was happening.Now tell me is there this many davydenco fans out there?

I dont think so, just a bunch of nadal haters who start talking so much trash when they think rafa is going down.These guys are praying for rafa to lose, it is so funny. But then when the master of clay comes through again + wins they shut up real quick.

This is not my imagination, it is exactly what was going on.Thats what makes all you nadal haters so mad, i just tell the facts+ you boys know its true!!!!!!!!

Morrissey said:

I've mainly watched him on clay and he doesn't show a big serve on it, IMO. But he doesn't really have a big bomb for a serve. At least he's not known for it.

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He doesn't trust in a big 1st serve and he can't bomb it big enough to be sure it's almost certainly a service winner when it goes in (like Roddick or Karlovic), which makes him go for the percentage more than the big one, esp. on clay.
He can rip a big serve once in a while, but it isn't his style. He's contend with starting the rally similar to Nadal.

tlm said:

Whatever you say shabazza, i just got home from playing tennis so i checked on this thread to see what was happening.Now tell me is there this many davydenco fans out there?

I dont think so, just a bunch of nadal haters who start talking so much trash when they think rafa is going down.These guys are praying for rafa to lose, it is so funny. But then when the master of clay comes through again + wins they shut up real quick.

This is not my imagination, it is exactly what was going on.Thats what makes all you nadal haters so mad, i just tell the facts+ you boys know its true!!!!!!!!

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Whatever makes your day.

Just telling the truth shabazza+you know it, but you just cant admit it.

Shabazza said:

He doesn't trust in a big 1st serve and he can't bomb it big enough to be sure it's almost certainly a service winner when it goes in (like Roddick or Karlovic), which makes him go for the percentage more than the big one, esp. on clay.
He can rip a big serve once in a while, but it isn't his style. He's contend with starting the rally similar to Nadal.

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Yeah, exactly. I haven't seen the guy hit a big bomb or anything like that on break points or crucial moments. He's got more trust in his groundies than his serve. But when he was struggling holding serve around 2-2 in the third set he should have probably taken a few bigger cuts at the first serve instead of rolling in the box. His serve cost him the match in my opinion. He relied too much on his ground game in tight moments, thus putting even more pressure on it when it got close to the end. He needed some cheap points and didn't get them.

Shabazza said:

Aha. So the 2 MP's from Federer in last years Rome final were not as close as this match?!

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And Coria being 6-6 in the Tiebreak of the 5th set in Rome 2005.

Morrissey said:

I've mainly watched him on clay and he doesn't show a big serve on it, IMO. But he doesn't really have a big bomb for a serve. At least he's not known for it.

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He is.
Check the indoor tournaments and Davis Cup last year. He was clocking 130s with EASE.

Morrissey said:

Yeah, exactly. I haven't seen the guy hit a big bomb or anything like that on break points or crucial moments. He's got more trust in his groundies than his serve. But when he was struggling holding serve around 2-2 in the third set he should have probably taken a few bigger cuts at the first serve instead of rolling in the box. His serve cost him the match in my opinion. He relied too much on his ground game in tight moments, thus putting even more pressure on it when it got close to the end. He needed some cheap points and didn't get them.

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Yep, I was telling myself the same, but Nadal's return on clay is way better than on carpet or grass. He can reach the serve almost everytime and if he does he'll find a way to get the ball in play (often in a neutral position) and then it's baseline slugging.
I think Nadal's return of serve on clay is very underrated. I'm impressed how often I think "Yeah, great serve." and than Nadal slice the ball deep to the baseline and is in the game before the server could take any advantage of it.
It's no surprise Nadal can break tha serve so often on clay. But that kind of serve (very defensive) isn't nearly as effective on grass and carpet than it is on clay. But with his extreme western grip it will be hard to be more agressive on his return games. He'll be rushed into return errors more often than not.

Andres Guazzelli said:

And Coria being 6-6 in the Tiebreak of the 5th set in Rome 2005.

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That was a great match. Poor Coria. Will he ever come back?

You gotta hand it to Nadal. The guy fights like a pitbull, he never goes away. Even when he's playing badly. Tomorrow's match is going to be interesting.

Just like the commentator said, the match was basically on Davy's racket the whole time. It was up to him to go for shots and be in control of the points. Rafa did well looping and chasing everything down while being aggressive on short balls, but Davy had serious chances and dictated from the baseline the majority of the time. The shot that he really killed Nads with was short angled forehands and backhands because Nadal stands so far behind the baseline to retrieve shots.

If they meet again in Hamburg or at the French Davy will certainly employ this strategy a little more early on in the match. I can't remember the last time I've seen Nadal look tired during a match, Davy pretty much ran him ragged. Nadal had plenty of moments where he displayed bad body language and you usually don't see him doing that. It was definitely one of the best matches I've seen this year, but Nadal definitely looked worried and it was nice to hear the crowd chanting "Davydenko" during the match. The guy gets so little respect it was nice to see them cheering for him like that.

Will Rafa have enough in the tank for Nando tomorrow? Probably, but I'm sure Gonzo was happy to see this match go so long with so much running.

Many thanks for the download Nadal Freak and what a match ! Nadal does look tired though - I think a rested Nadal would have played a different game - don't think he should play Hamburg

I remember watching Davydenko v Fed at last years Australian Open quarter final. It was a very tight match, Davy was running Fed ragged and it also seemed to be on Davys racket. Pity hes not taller so he could have an easier time serving. He lost 4-6 6-3 6-7(7) 6-7(5)

TheNatural said:

I remember watching Davydenko v Fed at last years Australian Open quarter final. It was a very tight match, Davy was running Fed ragged and it also seemed to be on Davys racket. Pity hes not taller so he could have an easier time serving. He lost 4-6 6-3 6-7(7) 6-7(5)

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And he had 5 SP in the 3rd set. That match was realy close. But Davydenko has the problem to get just a little bit tight at the important points or when he has to go for the kill and that's the difference between him and Nadal and Federer.
He should have a Slam already, imo. But if he can'z get that little extra belief he'll never make it...

Shabazza said:

And he had 5 SP in the 3rd set. That match was realy close. But Davydenko has the problem to get just a little bit tight at the important points or when he has to go for the kill and that's the difference between him and Nadal and Federer.
He should have a Slam already, imo. But if he can'z get that little extra belief he'll never make it...

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Yes and yesterday he could have won, but he couldn't make it and made mistake at important points:-(