"I'll say it right here, right now, Nadal will finish the year as number 1"

cknobman · Sep 21, 2007

rafan said:
Oh come on who made Fed cry at Wimbledon ? Don't you remember what he said after the match -he said that it was Nadal's match as well -and it was. Rafa has done so much by the time he was 20 - who cares if he finishes 1st 2nd or 3rd - he will always be one great player who has brought the excitement back into tennis

Agreed, in fact for the last 2 years the only time I was excited to see Roger play anyone was when he played Nadal for the simple fact that Nadal has been the only player to prove that he can consistantly compete, even win, against Federer.

ninman · Sep 21, 2007

johnny ballgame said:
Rafael Nadal at 21 yrs old:

Hard Court Masters Titles: 3
Wimbledon Finals: 2
Hard Court Slam Titles: 0

Roger Federer at 21 yrs old:

Hard Court Masters Titles: 0
Wimbledon Finals: 0
Hard Court Slam Titles: 0

Yeah lets bring the old age argument into it, you're stats are of course totally incorrect anyway. He had already won 4 hard court titles, and a Grand Slam when he was 21, but what you people who bring up this whole age argument forget is that different people peak at different times. Nadal is experiencing or has experienced his peak right now. Federer didn't start experiencing his peak until he was 21/22. Nadal had a massive leap up the rankings, Federer's was more gradual, and hence more attributed to someone who will last longer in the game. Nadal has had his 3 good years, look for 3 slightly worse years to come, followed by his eventual decline into nothing more than a mere memory.

superman1 · Sep 21, 2007

Gilbert just throws these things out there and hope they stick. Nadal will probably finish next year as #3. He's unfortunate to be playing in the Federer era.

The tennis guy · Sep 21, 2007

johnny ballgame said:
Rafael Nadal at 21 yrs old:

Hard Court Masters Titles: 3
Wimbledon Finals: 2
Hard Court Slam Titles: 0

Roger Federer at 21 yrs old:

Hard Court Masters Titles: 0
Wimbledon Finals: 0
Hard Court Slam Titles: 0

Roger Federer at 21 yrs old:

Hard Court Masters Titles: 0
Wimbledon Titles: 1
Hard Court Slam Titles: 0

drakulie · Sep 21, 2007

Rhino said:
is that why Rafa is always picking his butt? He's trying to get Brad out?

LOL. Good one.

Nadal_Freak · Sep 21, 2007

ninman said:
So what, almost isn't good enough. He was lucky to get to both of those finals, 2 points away from going down in the second round in 06, and Soderling had break points for a 5-3 lead in the fifth, plus 2-0 down against Youzhny, and then Djokovic got injured.

BS. If Federer wasn't there, Nadal would've won 2 Wimbledon's. Nadal had some bad luck to with all the rain delays.

drakulie · Sep 21, 2007

Nobody had bad luck. Not Federer, Not Nadal. They both deserved to be there. Period.

Challenger · Sep 21, 2007

rafan said:
Oh come on who made Fed cry at Wimbledon ?

Man, that was crazy how Fed started to unravel. During that last Wimby, it was the first time in a long while I heard him curse to the chair in a match. It was as if his temperament almost went back to his "pre-Fed" days. I would've been afraid to see would've happened if he lost the match...

But having said that, I don't think Nadal can keep this up, physically. He's given Fed a great push, but just how much longer before his body gives out under all this strain from his playing style? We've already started to see the hints surfacing.

It sorta sucks, because I figured Nadal would finally get his day in the sun at #1 when Fed makes his exit...but as time goes on, it seems like Djokovic will trump him by then.

ninman · Sep 21, 2007

Nadal_Freak said:
BS. If Federer wasn't there, Nadal would've won 2 Wimbledon's. Nadal had some bad luck to with all the rain delays.

And yet he had a bit of good luck having to play 2 five setters in a row and Djokovic withdrawing because of injury.

Federer_pilon · Sep 21, 2007

ninman said:
So what, almost isn't good enough. He was lucky to get to both of those finals, 2 points away from going down in the second round in 06, and Soderling had break points for a 5-3 lead in the fifth, plus 2-0 down against Youzhny, and then Djokovic got injured.

you said it right...ALMOST going out isn't enough -.-

Federer_pilon · Sep 21, 2007

ninman said:
So what, almost isn't good enough. He was lucky to get to both of those finals, 2 points away from going down in the second round in 06, and Soderling had break points for a 5-3 lead in the fifth, plus 2-0 down against Youzhny, and then Djokovic got injured.

By your standards, almost winning but not winning is not enough.
But you're talking about him almost losing but not losing.
Can you see the bias? lol

federerfanatic · Sep 21, 2007

Federer_pilon said:
you said it right...ALMOST going out isn't enough -.-

Just like almost winning (2007 Wimbledon final) isn't enough. If one wants to bemoan how close Nadal was to winning the final or how unlucky he was, he was closer to losing in the 3rd round to Soderling or 4th round to Youzhny then he was to winning the final. Also he benefited greatly from injuries to Youzhny and Djokovic in the semis.

Federer_pilon · Sep 21, 2007

federerfanatic said:
Just like almost winning (2007 Wimbledon final) isn't enough. If one wants to bemoan how close Nadal was to winning the final or how unlucky he was, he was closer to losing in the 3rd round to Soderling or 4th round to Youzhny then he was to winning the final. Also he benefited greatly from injuries to Youzhny and Djokovic in the semis.

Didn't Federer benefit from Nadal's injury in the final?
If Djokovic had beaten Nadal, would Fed have benefited from Djokovic's extreme fatigue/injury in the final? of course not... right? he's federer, he doesn't get free wins just like Nadal does -.-

ninman · Sep 21, 2007

Federer_pilon said:
Didn't Federer benefit from Nadal's injury in the final?
If Djokovic had beaten Nadal, would Fed have benefited from Djokovic's extreme fatigue/injury in the final? of course not... right? he's federer, he doesn't get free wins just like Nadal does -.-

From what I saw, Nadal was not any in way hampered by an injury during the final. In fact he was probably helped by the fact that Federer was feeling the pressure of being expected to get to 5 in a row, especially with Borg watching in the crowd.

ninman · Sep 21, 2007

Federer_pilon said:
By your standards, almost winning but not winning is not enough.
But you're talking about him almost losing but not losing.
Can you see the bias? lol

Exactly, everyone is talking about how he nearly beat Federer, but are ignoring the fact that 3 other players nearly beat him before he reached that stage.

federerfanatic · Sep 21, 2007

Federer_pilon said:
Didn't Federer benefit from Nadal's injury in the final?

No, he benefited from the fact Nadal couldnt put some easy shots in the court on break points, his own fault and nothing to do with his injury.

If Djokovic had beaten Nadal, would Fed have benefited from Djokovic's extreme fatigue/injury in the final?

The final never took place so there is nothing constructive to go by. If Djokovic had beaten Nadal it would almost certainly meant he was healthy in the first place since a too-injured-to-play Djokovic wont beat a healthy Nadal at this point.

of course not... right? he's federer, he doesn't get free wins just like Nadal does -.-

I was just pointing out talking about how close Nadal came in the final is pointless since he came even closer to losing in the 3rd or 4th rounds, and as for his injury he was in the final because of 2 other guys being injured. He had much more great luck then bad luck at Wimbledon this year.

Nadal_Freak · Sep 22, 2007

federerfanatic said:
I was just pointing out talking about how close Nadal came in the final is pointless since he came even closer to losing in the 3rd or 4th rounds, and as for his injury he was in the final because of 2 other guys being injured. He had much more great luck then bad luck at Wimbledon this year.

You are so full of it man. Federer had much more luck than Nadal. Who knows what would have happened if both were equally fresh. Nadal was supposed to be tired after 7 days of playing. It was amazing that he was able to take Federer to 5 sets despite fatigue.

federerfanatic · Sep 22, 2007

Nadal_Freak said:
You are so full of it man. Federer had much more luck than Nadal. Who knows what would have happened if both were equally fresh. Nadal was supposed to be tired after 7 days of playing. It was amazing that he was able to take Federer to 5 sets despite fatigue.

:lol: Yeah right. Federer was the one who was so close to losing in the 3rd round, and would have had his opponent converted 1 of 2 break points late in the 5th set? No, that was Rafa. Federer was the one who was down 2 sets to 0 vs an oppenent in the 4th round who had beaten him the last 2 times they played on a non-clay court but then incured a back injury? No, that was again Rafa. Federer was the one who in the semis was playing an opponent who had a good chance of beating him but was not healthy enough to even finish a 3rd set and still won the first set? No, again Rafa. Federer luckier then Nadal, ROTFL!!!! Nadal must have made some deals with the heavens for his run to the Wimbledon final this year. Unlucky Rafa is comedic, he was lucky as heck to even be playing on Sunday at all.

Nadal_Freak · Sep 22, 2007

federerfanatic said:
:lol: Yeah right. Federer was the one who was so close to losing in the 3rd round, and would have had his opponent converted 1 of 2 break points late in the 5th set? No, that was Rafa. Federer was the one who was down 2 sets to 0 vs an oppenent in the 4th round who had beaten him the last 2 times they played on a non-clay court but then incured a back injury? No, that was again Rafa. Federer was the one who in the semis was playing an opponent who had a good chance of beating him but was not healthy enough to even finish a 3rd set and still won the first set? No, again Rafa. Federer luckier then Nadal, ROTFL!!!! Nadal must have made some deals with the heavens for his run to the Wimbledon final this year. Unlucky Rafa is comedic, he was lucky as heck to even be playing on Sunday at all.

Nadal was unlucky that he had to play 5 sets with Soderling. The rain came at the worst time and kept coming throughout that match. Nadal's fatigue was much higher after that match. Nadal caught on fire against Youzhny. No way Youzhny would've beaten him after that. Nadal had a much tougher schedule than Federer. Bad luck with that but Nadal got through it. Nadal is just much more comfortable on grass than hard courts. I don't know why but it is noticeable.

Hot Sauce · Sep 22, 2007

What an incredibly stupid thing to say.

rafan · Sep 22, 2007

Yes but the deciding tournament at Wimbledon for me was when Nadal beat his old opponent Berdych SO easily - I thought he would have trouble there. As regards the other matches after seeing him play Youzhny at Wimbledon I really think the change to grass meant slight loss of confidence rather than his performance. And remember noone else had the effect Nadal had on
Fed during the tournament or any matches since Federer knew he had met his match - Rafa was exhausted and Fed had a much easier time there

bangchu · Sep 22, 2007

Nadal_Freak said:
Nadal was unlucky that he had to play 5 sets with Soderling. The rain came at the worst time and kept coming throughout that match. Nadal's fatigue was much higher after that match. Nadal caught on fire against Youzhny. No way Youzhny would've beaten him after that. Nadal had a much tougher schedule than Federer. Bad luck with that but Nadal got through it. Nadal is just much more comfortable on grass than hard courts. I don't know why but it is noticeable.

Totally dumb argument. Just tell Nadal to get better next time so he doesn't have to play all the freaking 5 setters against inferior players before getting to the final. He had a tough schedule because he played like craps. I agree that Nadal is more comfortable on the green clay than on hard court, though.

Nadal_Freak · Sep 22, 2007

bangchu said:
Totally dumb argument. Just tell Nadal to get better next time so he doesn't have to play all the freaking 5 setters against inferior players before getting to the final. He had a tough schedule because he played like craps. I agree that Nadal is more comfortable on the green clay than on hard court, though.

On green clay Nadal would've won the tournament. Grass has some of the characteristics of clay though. Slippery and unpredictable bounces. Hard courts are totally different from clay though. I don't see much difference in the speed of the courts between grass and hard courts. I'd say they are close to the same.

coloskier · Sep 26, 2007

Nadal_Freak said:
You are so full of it man. Federer had much more luck than Nadal. Who knows what would have happened if both were equally fresh. Nadal was supposed to be tired after 7 days of playing. It was amazing that he was able to take Federer to 5 sets despite fatigue.

If Nadal would have played better against Soderling and won in straight sets he wouldn't have been injured or tired in the final. Every match takes it's toll. One of the reasons Federer makes it to finals of so many GS's is that he blows everyone away so quickly that he doesn't use up any energy, which is a big part of a GS, whether you like it or not. The French Open is the only place where Federer gets tired because you have to stay on the court so long. So, your argument about Nadal at Wimbledon can also be used by Federer at the French Open.

coloskier · Sep 26, 2007

Nadal_Freak said:
On green clay Nadal would've won the tournament. Grass has some of the characteristics of clay though. Slippery and unpredictable bounces. Hard courts are totally different from clay though. I don't see much difference in the speed of the courts between grass and hard courts. I'd say they are close to the same.

There is a huge variation in hard courts. There are the slow hard courts (the spring hardcourt season Miami and Indian Wells) and there is the fast hard court season (everything after Wimbledon) These courts are like night and day. If you play on them like I have, you will see the difference.

Nadal_Freak · Sep 26, 2007

coloskier said:
There is a huge variation in hard courts. There are the slow hard courts (the spring hardcourt season Miami and Indian Wells) and there is the fast hard court season (everything after Wimbledon) These courts are like night and day. If you play on them like I have, you will see the difference.

Well I think grass is closer to a fast hard court than a slow hard court. Probably somewhere in the middle.

WillAlwaysLoveYouTennis · Sep 26, 2007

I really don't see how considering he's bypassed this last, and didn't do as good of showing as Federer overall the year, only equal to at best, so I don't know how he could surpass him.

kingdaddy41788 · Sep 26, 2007

Wimbledon grass these days is damn close to clay - it's not surprising he should make the final there. Change it back to Wimbledon grass of the old days (even a few years ago) and Nadal would be embarassing to watch on grass.

zagor · Sep 26, 2007

kingdaddy41788 said:
Wimbledon grass these days is damn close to clay - it's not surprising he should make the final there. Change it back to Wimbledon grass of the old days (even a few years ago) and Nadal would be embarassing to watch on grass.

I'm not so sure,he does pretty well at Queens which is fast and low bouncing,IMO Nadal likes to play on natural surfaces,I think he would always be more successful on grass than on hard courts because hardcourts are hard on his legs and because of predictable bounce hard court specialist like Youzhny and Blake can take the balls on the rise so it's harder for Nadal to run down their shots

drakulie · Sep 26, 2007

I think nadal needs to switch to a larger frame.

zagor · Sep 26, 2007

drakulie said:
I think nadal needs to switch to a larger frame.

Dude in every thread about Nadal you show up with this larger frame thing,is that some joke? I'm new here so I don't get it.

Nadal_Freak · Sep 26, 2007

zagor said:
I'm not so sure,he does pretty well at Queens which is fast and low bouncing,IMO Nadal likes to play on natural surfaces,I think he would always be more successful on grass than on hard courts because hardcourts are hard on his legs and because of predictable bounce hard court specialist like Youzhny and Blake can take the balls on the rise so it's harder for Nadal to run down their shots

I agree totally. Nadal is much more comfortable on grass because of this. Grass specialists that can take it early there like Soderling and Federer can give Nadal problems to though.

drakulie · Sep 26, 2007

zagor said:
Dude in every thread about Nadal you show up with this larger frame thing,is that some joke? I'm new here so I don't get it.

^^^ Yes, that is a joke. Earlier this year, when Fed lost to Canas two tournaments in a row, there were hundreds of threads and posts by Nadal fans stating that Fed needed to switch to a larger frame.

It's payback time.

zagor · Sep 26, 2007

Nadal_Freak said:
I agree totally. Nadal is much more comfortable on grass because of this. Grass specialists that can take it early there like Soderling and Federer can give Nadal problems to though.

He was one point away from beating Soderling in straight sets,in third set tiebreak he hit a forehand that was very close to the line,so I think Nadal was a bit unfortunate there.In Wimbledon guys who can beat Nadal IMO are Federer,Djokovic and maybe Youzhny and I expect to see either Nadal or Djokovic next year in a Wimbledeon final.

zagor · Sep 26, 2007

drakulie said:
^^^ Yes, that is a joke. Earlier this year, when Fed lost to Canas two tournaments in a row, there were hundreds of threads and posts by Nadal fans stating that Fed needed to switch to a larger frame.

It's payback time.

Thanks for clarifying that and as for Fed he definitely shouldn't change anything about the racket that got him 12 slams by the age of 26,although I like the way he played with ProStaff Original 6.0 85 against Sampras,he hit some great volleys in that match.

FedSampras · Sep 26, 2007

zagor said:
Dude in every thread about Nadal you show up with this larger frame thing,is that some joke? I'm new here so I don't get it.

when it comes to being a high-volume, short-post troll, drakula's probably about as good as I've seen on TW. it takes a certain skill and/or mindset I think, to be able to read a post and then respond so quickly with a one-liner, and then do that again and again without getting bored. Of course, the downside of this is that a good percentage of his posts are utter ****e, or just outright troll posts.

drakulie · Sep 26, 2007

FedSampras said:
when it comes to being a high-volume, short-post troll, drakula's probably about as good as I've seen on TW. it takes a certain skill and/or mindset I think, to be able to read a post and then respond so quickly with a one-liner, and then do that again and again without getting bored. Of course, the downside of this is that a good percentage of his posts are utter ****e, or just outright troll posts.

This is true. It is also true that it takes a moron to read all those posts.

PROTENNIS63 · Sep 26, 2007

drakulie said:
This is true. It is also true that it takes a moron to read all those posts.

I have to give it to you... That was well said.

federerfanatic · Sep 26, 2007

zagor said:
He was one point away from beating Soderling in straight sets,in third set tiebreak he hit a forehand that was very close to the line,so I think Nadal was a bit unfortunate there.In Wimbledon guys who can beat Nadal IMO are Federer,Djokovic and maybe Youzhny and I expect to see either Nadal or Djokovic next year in a Wimbledeon final.

I agree one of Djokovic or Nadal will be in next years Wimbledon final. It will depend which is ranked #2 and which might end up in Federer's half. Whoever is in Federer's half wont be in the final. If Djokovic and Nadal are in the same half, I am going to tip Djokovic to make it at this point. Gasquet might have a shot too, although obviously not vs Federer. Berdych, Baghdatis, Murray or Youzhny could play spoiler for someone, but wont make it to the end of the tournament.

Nadal_Freak · Sep 26, 2007

federerfanatic said:
I agree one of Djokovic or Nadal will be in next years Wimbledon final. It will depend which is ranked #2 and which might end up in Federer's half. Whoever is in Federer's half wont be in the final. If Djokovic and Nadal are in the same half, I am going to tip Djokovic to make it at this point. Gasquet might have a shot too, although obviously not vs Federer. Berdych, Baghdatis, Murray or Youzhny could play spoiler for someone, but wont make it to the end of the tournament.

Why is that? Who won this years semifinals on grass? I believe it was Nadal. Hardcourt is totally different from grass as far as style of play goes. You can't really take the ball early on grass or not often.

Nadal_Freak · Sep 26, 2007

zagor said:
Dude in every thread about Nadal you show up with this larger frame thing,is that some joke? I'm new here so I don't get it.

Yeah it's a joke that has been overplayed. Get a new line Drakulie.

dukemunson · Sep 27, 2007

Damnit...coming into a thread and seeing Drakulie is present in it is like sitting down for a movie and realizing Whoopi Goldbergs in it...you instantly know its going to be completely worthless and filled with crap...

federerfanatic · Sep 27, 2007

Nadal_Freak said:
Why is that? Who won this years semifinals on grass? I believe it was Nadal. Hardcourt is totally different from grass as far as style of play goes. You can't really take the ball early on grass or not often.

I dont know how you can refer this years Wimbledon semis as meaning anything. I am sure you recall Djokovic retired midway through the 3rd set too injured to continue. He also won the first set despite being too injured to finish the match apparently. I am not going to say Djokovic would have won that match, I am not going to say he would have lost it, since it isnt conclusive. However I dont see how you can refer to that as an actual "win" in the normal sense of the word.

ninman · Sep 27, 2007

federerfanatic said:
I dont know how you can refer this years Wimbledon semis as meaning anything. I am sure you recall Djokovic retired midway through the 3rd set too injured to continue. He also won the first set despite being too injured to finish the match apparently. I am not going to say Djokovic would have won that match, I am not going to say he would have lost it, since it isnt conclusive. However I dont see how you can refer to that as an actual "win" in the normal sense of the word.

I wouldn't really listen to anything he says, he sees Nadal through Rose tinted glasses, a man who can do no wrong but is still only number 2.

Nadal_Freak · Sep 27, 2007

federerfanatic said:
I dont know how you can refer this years Wimbledon semis as meaning anything. I am sure you recall Djokovic retired midway through the 3rd set too injured to continue. He also won the first set despite being too injured to finish the match apparently. I am not going to say Djokovic would have won that match, I am not going to say he would have lost it, since it isnt conclusive. However I dont see how you can refer to that as an actual "win" in the normal sense of the word.

Nadal wasn't exactly a 100% either. I guess enough to beat Djokovic. I kinda get the idea Nadal would've won on grass as I said before. Djokovic is not nearly as comfortable on grass as Nadal. The only one more comfortable on grass is Federer.

ninman · Sep 27, 2007

Nadal_Freak said:
Nadal wasn't exactly a 100% either. I guess enough to beat Djokovic. I kinda get the idea Nadal would've won on grass as I said before. Djokovic is not nearly as comfortable on grass as Nadal. The only one more comfortable on grass is Federer.

Fatigue cost Djokovic the semi's at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Don't expect a repeat of it next year.

"I'll say it right here, right now, Nadal will finish the year as number 1"

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