Ladies and gentleman. If one believes that Federer I still the best player in the world then you need to dig in deep and ask yourself some questions. Rafael Nadal right now, is the best player in the world. He will gain the number one spot during the clay court season, and he will win Wimbledon. If anybody wants to add, I'm more than happy to listen.
We are witnessing a Nadal era.
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Nadal_Freak
Banned
I agree. Great thread. 
KhaosBaseliner
Rookie
I hope so... i love nadal. He brings such heart into every match. It drives me to play better tennis. =)
daddy
Legend
13 people won a tourney this year, none of them is named Nadal. Few of those won a couple of tourneys. In fact last time Nadal won a tournament was .. I dont remember really but I think there is at least like 7-8 months if not more.
I agree clay is coming and he is bound to make up for this but so far he is not the best player this year so far.
I agree clay is coming and he is bound to make up for this but so far he is not the best player this year so far.
stormholloway
Legend
Djokovic has a slam and masters title under his belt this year. Let's not jump the gun.
And please, don't count Federer out. What does he have to do to prove himself?
And please, don't count Federer out. What does he have to do to prove himself?
bluescreen
Hall of Fame
i think djokovic by far has been the #1 player this year. this is the first final nadal has been in this year and he, like federer, is title-less in 2008. i think its a bit farfetched to call this a nadal era.
thalivest
Banned
Maybe start playing some half decent tennis again.
Based on the performances so far this year you would have to say Roddick is #2 if he wins this week.
bluescreen
Hall of Fame
oh u're right. i forgot about that, and i think nadal did as well, lol.
Al Czervik
Hall of Fame
Which is to say he is a one trick pony who will sit at number two for eternity. :wink:
Seriously, though, I know this sounds absurd, but I think the two Wimby finals appearances are an aberration. You can't just chalk him up as a winner there. It's a combo of lack of grass specialists right now, plus slower courts. Rafa's best chance ever there might have been last year, same way with Federer at Roland Garros the last two years. He is not a guaranteed finalist the next ten years. Rafa reminds me a lot of a faster Jim Courier. Dominating physicality for a couple of seasons, but might flame out a little after that. I hope not. The kid is great for the game, and I really would love to see him win the U.S.
Seriously, though, I know this sounds absurd, but I think the two Wimby finals appearances are an aberration. You can't just chalk him up as a winner there. It's a combo of lack of grass specialists right now, plus slower courts. Rafa's best chance ever there might have been last year, same way with Federer at Roland Garros the last two years. He is not a guaranteed finalist the next ten years. Rafa reminds me a lot of a faster Jim Courier. Dominating physicality for a couple of seasons, but might flame out a little after that. I hope not. The kid is great for the game, and I really would love to see him win the U.S.
Tennis_Monk
Hall of Fame
It is NOT absurd and lets all agree on that. One wimbledon final could be an aberration but not two finals. They are not similar. Yes they both have 23 titles and made about 14 million but Jim courier is done and Nadal isnt. The competition they both faced is different and one cannot say Nadal has it easy.
PROTENNIS63
Hall of Fame
Let's see: Fed has 12 slams, Nadal has 3 slams. Wow, you are absolutely correct, Nadal is superior to Fed!
saram
Legend
daddy
Legend
I am sure this will not be taken well but so what.
Mark my words, Djokovic can take him out on grass. He should really pray hard that Fed gets Joker in his side of the draw or if he gets to the semis, he will lose. Also few other guys can be a trouble for Nadal like Roddick or even Hewitt on grass. He just did not have to meet any great grass court players.
On the other hand he proved he can play by getting to two consecutive Wimby finals and seriously contesting one of them, so it is not hard to believe he can replicate this if in form and injury free.
daddy
Legend
Easily, focus on what you read and .. on atp race. We are talking about who is currently the best. He is 2nd in race and will extend this position and gain on Joker with this weeks performance.
Tennis_Monk
Hall of Fame
Djokovic can take just about anybody out. Nadal isnt worried about facing Djoker on Grass. IMO He is worried abt facing him on Hard courts not on other courts.
daddy
Legend
I give the edge to Joker on HC and grass vs Nadal. He can take anyone out but still I think he would lose to Federer on grass most of the time and defeat Rafa most of the time. That is what I said, basically if they meet he will take him out.
Nadal does not have the edge on clay, he absolutely dominates it Borg style.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
IMO, it's much more difficult to go far in major tournaments than to win minor ones. There's only one player who has won majors so far this year (not a bunch): Novak (1 slam and 1MS) and Rafa could well match that or do better in the near future. On the other hand Almagro has won a couple of minors in SA, does that make him the actual #2 or 3 in the world? Think not! (and what has he done in the majors so far? Same goes for Murray in 2008.)13 people won a tourney this year, none of them is named Nadal. Few of those won a couple of tourneys. In fact last time Nadal won a tournament was .. I dont remember really but I think there is at least like 7-8 months if not more.
I agree clay is coming and he is bound to make up for this but so far he is not the best player this year so far.
Nadal_Freak
Banned
Stop living in the past. The present is what matter and Nadal has had better results this year so far and it will most likely continue in the clay season.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
How can Fed playing bad (relatively) unlikely when it's already happening right now?
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Yep and Nadal is 21, Fed is 26, you really think Nadal is not gonna win anything in the next 5 years? Lol
orangettecoleman
Professional
on clay you are right. on any other surface he is one of many contenders to win, but i wouldn't put him above fed, roddick, or djokovic on hard courts or grass. his tournament results bear this out. also he is going to be trying to defend all his points through the clay court season so even if his knees don't give out on him his ranking will probably drop unless he can mantain total dominance on clay. realistically the next few years will probably see fed, nadal, djokovic and possibly roddick dividing up the majors between them. murray, nalbandian might get a couple too, maybe gasquet might get one.
He made the final in his first tournament of the year. Anyway he made the SF in the AO and IW and (at least) the final in Miami, the only 3 big tournaments played this year, all of them on his worst surface. He is the 2nd best player this year so far and he has played only on his worst surface.
Tennis_Monk
Hall of Fame
Yea right. Nadal record at Hardcourts this year is no less stellar than Roddicks but you still think Roddick is better.
Nadal made two wimby finals and Roddick ???.
Isnt it time you put "Him" above Roddick.
Nadal_Freak
Banned
Yeah I definitely would. Dubai was the exception but those were on lightning fast hardcourts. Nadal got further in the Aussie Open, Indian Wells, and now Miami. Nadal>Roddick on most hardcourts.
daddy
Legend
Roddick made two Wimby finals also and has great record this year ? He is a HC slam winner also ..
Just giving a different perspective, Nadal is better imo but on grass or hc I can not bet Nadal is going to win. With Roddick and his on and off moods you never know what is going to happen but you surely know he is capable of beating just about everyone on tour, as he is capable of losing from just about anyone.Djokovic should pray that Kiefer,Hewitt and Baghdatis are not in his side of the draw or he will be forced to retire if he reaches the SF ;-)
crazylevity
Hall of Fame
We are witnessing a fanboy era.
daddy
Legend
Zaragoza my friend - those are 3 guys which are not easy to beat especially not on grass, Hewitt is a former winner, Kiefer has a great serve, Baghdat is a very capable all rounder on grass. Do not make me remind you that all these are slam semifinalists of finalists or winners. It is hard enough to get those 3 in your part of the draw, but to dismiss them all is even harder.
Do not make me remind you about other things. Like Kendrick who was on route to show nadal his way to Mallorca after the 2nd round in Wimby.
orangettecoleman
Professional
indeed. thomas muster is one of my favorite players but i'm not going to go around insisting that he was a better hard court player than agassi.
Tennis_Monk
Hall of Fame
Roddick made two Wimby finals also and has great record this year ? He is a HC slam winner also ..
Their head to head record is 2-2 and on hard courts 2 (roddick)-1 . Not exactly a stellar record.
You can say Roddick is a high wire act and can lose or win on any given day. My opinion is Roddick always struggled against quality opposition .Yesterday's victory against federer though spectacular and satisfying doesnt exactly make him an instant favorite. it sure does make him an emotional fav.
It is hard to do 75% first serves all night.
daddy
Legend
He was 76% tonight.
I know it does not mean anything but he is winning against good players if his serve is clicking ( usually ) - and he did take out all 3 top players this year. He can play against quality oponents, have no doubt about that. He can win any match - have no doubt about that either. He is a mentalcase ... have no .. you know. :?
Lionheart
Rookie
Two semis and a quarter final,those results are not bad for anyone except Roger Federer nowadays... if those were his results in the clay court season Nadal could become the number 1 if defended all his points, but he would have a very small lead..Nadal is the best on clay but don´t take for granted that he will win everything again, many things can happen..just look at Roger at the moment..
Oh and who cares about the race, players are remembered as number 1 in the entry ranking, not on the race, last year Nadal was number 1 in the race until Wimbledon and nobody made a fuss about it
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drive
Semi-Pro
Obviously this year Djokovic has been the best player, he has won AO and IW, but from now on Nadal has the chance to win Miami, Montecarlo, Rome, Hamburg, and Roland Garros. If he do this, he will be the best player of the year by far.. and about Djokovic beating him on grass, I wouldn't be that sure...
It's the same damn #### every year, and every year I mock you dimwits for it.
The calendar changes, and it's a new year.
The Nadal groupies claim that this is finally Nadal's year at the Aussie, where he invariably gets pounded, because it's a hardcourt slam.
But then the ass-slow spring hardcourt events roll around and Nadal looks good again. Then, we have to hear it. "See! Nadal IS the new hardcourt force on tour!" As if we haven't seen this same #### for five years. He does well this time of year because these courts play like clay. Every---damn---year.
Then, the clay season rolls around and it's, "He wins EVERYTHING! He looked great on the hardcourts in the spring, and he's UNBEATABLE on clay! He'll win Wimbledon and the USO 4 SURE!!!!!1111"
Then, I have to come out, remind you we see the same ####, year after year, and that he still gets his ass handed to him all year long starting in June.
Then, he fails to win another tournament, and all that Nadallies wonder what happened.
I've never seen a bigger lot of dumb####s in my life.
Even a mentally handicapped child figures out that fire burns after only a few touches.
The calendar changes, and it's a new year.
The Nadal groupies claim that this is finally Nadal's year at the Aussie, where he invariably gets pounded, because it's a hardcourt slam.
But then the ass-slow spring hardcourt events roll around and Nadal looks good again. Then, we have to hear it. "See! Nadal IS the new hardcourt force on tour!" As if we haven't seen this same #### for five years. He does well this time of year because these courts play like clay. Every---damn---year.
Then, the clay season rolls around and it's, "He wins EVERYTHING! He looked great on the hardcourts in the spring, and he's UNBEATABLE on clay! He'll win Wimbledon and the USO 4 SURE!!!!!1111"
Then, I have to come out, remind you we see the same ####, year after year, and that he still gets his ass handed to him all year long starting in June.
Then, he fails to win another tournament, and all that Nadallies wonder what happened.
I've never seen a bigger lot of dumb####s in my life.
Even a mentally handicapped child figures out that fire burns after only a few touches.
albino smurf
Professional
Is Djokovic going to have to choke a....
Thor
Professional
Well i agree about those predictions of previous years,it was too premature to judge anything and there were no real indications for any change in #1.
But if you take into fact that this is Nadal best start of the year in his career, and add THE MOST IMPORTANT thing - Fed's worst start of year since at least 2004(Has not won any tournament this year),this is oh so close.
If Nadal gets there it'll have a lot to do with the decline of Fed.He is currently 670 points behind,and if he wins he is 520 behind.
Sure,Nadal has plenty to defend, but there is nothing that leads me to believe he will not win those clay titles for thr 4th consecutive year.
Federer on the other hand is a mystery,and contrast to what you think if he doesnt shift gears he'll lose plenty of points during clay season.
random guy
Professional
Era = This week. The concept of time in this forum is weirder that in the island of Lost.
No. I don't think so! Yes he beat Berdych and Blake, two great chokers on the tour. But there are plenty of other players that own him on HC and grass ie Federer, Djokovic, Roddick, Nalbandian and now even Davydenko.
Some else did the hard work for him by taking out Djokovic and Federer, and yet he still failed to win the title. Nadal will always just be an one trick pony. There will be no such thing as "a Nadal era". Dream on Nadal fans.
Some else did the hard work for him by taking out Djokovic and Federer, and yet he still failed to win the title. Nadal will always just be an one trick pony. There will be no such thing as "a Nadal era". Dream on Nadal fans.
obnoxious2
Semi-Pro
I don't think so after watching him get destroyed by Davydekno today. He pretty much gave up during that 2nd set.
Tennis_Monk
Hall of Fame
Thank you so much for allowing Nadal fans to dream...
Btw how many times have you played tennis and how many times have you lost?...Never?
Cup8489
G.O.A.T.
you seem to be implying that Davydenko is a push over...
how wrong you are..
my personal opinion is that while i enjoy watching Nadal play, i don't think he's gonna get to number 1 this year, since it appears that much of the top 20 are picking their games up considerably.
however, nadal has only been in the limelight for 3 years since the RG win in '05, so to say that this has happened over and over for 5 years is an exaggeration. but we'll just have to wait and see.
because you never DO know, do you?
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