Nadal knew he was in trouble even before the match started

Nadal slams Madrid ahead of Masters
May 10, 2009
Rafael Nadal believes his hopes of a fifth successive French Open title could be compromised by playing in Madrid's 500 metre altitude this week.

The world No.1 said on Saturday the new Madrid Masters is the wrong event as a lead-in to Roland Garros which begins in 15 days' time.

"The altitude is a serious problem so close to Paris. It would be better if Rome were the last event before Paris since the altitudes are similar," said the top seed.

Nadal also hit out at the dream of tournament boss Ion Tiriac, who has hopes of perhaps moulding this new, combined ATP and WTA event into a fifth major.

The combined prize money of 7.2 million euros ($A12.77 million) already assures the biggest player payday outside of the Grand Slams.

"There are four Grand Slams, not five," said Nadal.

"Madrid is a great venue but tradition says there are only four majors. Madrid is great - but so are Rome and Monte Carlo."

The top seed also took a sideswipe at the practice court at the multi-million euro Caja Magica (Magic Box) venue which is using blue clay, a surface which also drew criticism from Roger Federer.

"Orange is the perfect colour, I'm totally against blue," said the world No.1.

"The colour is historical, clay is red, not blue. Tennis not only is show-business, it has more value than that including history and tradition. Some things should just remain the same.

"The facilities here are good, but things are a little disorderly," he added of the huge complex which still resembles a building site.

"The bounce is complicated. I trained on Friday and had a lot of bad bounces on the courts."

So everything that doesn't fit the needs and preferences of Nadal are bad ideas. He's just making an excuse in case he loses so he can say, "see, told you so, this is why I lost at RG". When instead he knows that the gap between him and the others is closing on clay. The human side of Nadal is starting to show. His body is slowly starting to give in and he knows it. The only way for him to remain dominant is for every single aspect of each tournament and scheduling to be to his liking.

Yes, I've noticed that too.

Also his 2-year ranking idea. He knows he is on his way out the door, so he keeps trying to change up the game so he can win more.

What's next, he will demand that all slams be held on his favorite type of clay?

Both of these things affected all the players in the tournament, including Federer, Djokovic, etc.

slicefox said:

Yes, I've noticed that too.

Also his 2-year ranking idea. He knows he is on his way out the door, so he keeps trying to change up the game so he can win more.

What's next, he will demand that all slams be held on his favorite type of clay?

Click to expand...

Why not? They were for Laver on grass

IvanAndreevich said:

Both of these things affected all the players in the tournament, including Federer, Djokovic, etc.

Click to expand...

No question.....but I think the slower the conditions are the more they favor Nadal.

Following that line of logic since the FO is slower I would say Rafa is favored.

slicefox said:

Yes, I've noticed that too.

Also his 2-year ranking idea. He knows he is on his way out the door, so he keeps trying to change up the game so he can win more.

What's next, he will demand that all slams be held on his favorite type of clay?

Click to expand...

How is he on his way out the door? He has the number one ranking locked up for the second year in a row.

slicefox said:

Yes, I've noticed that too.

Also his 2-year ranking idea. He knows he is on his way out the door, so he keeps trying to change up the game so he can win more.

What's next, he will demand that all slams be held on his favorite type of clay?

Click to expand...

What is his 2-year ranking idea? Haven't heard about that one yet.

Another similar sign from Nadal was when he said that it was absurd for someone to defend the ranking points of previous years (maybe it's the same interview of his idea).
Interesting enough, it's the same system that helped him become number #1.

I think he's starting to feel the pressure of holding his spot and being the one to be caught up.

slicefox said:

Yes, I've noticed that too.

Also his 2-year ranking idea. He knows he is on his way out the door, so he keeps trying to change up the game so he can win more.

What's next, he will demand that all slams be held on his favorite type of clay?

Click to expand...

On his way out the door? :shock: Just because he lost a final after winning 1 slam, 3 master shields and a 500 tournament in 4 months? Lol there are a lot of players out the door then!

He even lied flat out on a line call!

Fate Archer said:

What is his 2-year ranking idea? Haven't heard about that one yet.

Another similar sign from Nadal was when he said that it was absurd for someone to defend the ranking points of previous years (maybe it's the same interview of his idea).
Interesting enough, it's the same system that helped him become number #1.

I think he's starting to feel the pressure of holding his spot and being the one to be caught up.

Click to expand...

The guy is 4000+ points ahead of anyone. That's an entire 2 GS titles ahead. You are saying he has problems holding on? Hahaha.

GameSampras said:

Why not? They were for Laver on grass

Click to expand...

Laver did not demand it and coped and won on two slams on clay anyway

Tennis: Nadal will be tested at Madrid Masters
Home » Sport » Tennis News
Sun, 10 May 2009
Tennis

The Madrid Masters will provide Rafael Nadal with a difficult final warmup ahead of the French Open.

The top-ranked Nadal, who will be going for a record fifth straight title at Roland Garros later this month, leads the new-look Madrid tournament, which has been transformed from a men's hard court event into a clay event - the surface that the Spaniard loves best.

And although he carries a 30-match unbeaten clay run, Nadal's not a big fan of the Spanish capital's altitude, which could negate his advantage in long rallies with high bounce and provide a possible upset.

Madrid's 600-metre altitude provide challengers Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic some hope going into the euro3.7 million (($NZ8.44 million) event.

"Yesterday and today I trained outside, and the court gave out some pretty bad bounces," Nadal said. "If you add in Madrid's altitude, it's going to be tough to play here."

Serena and Venus Williams and top-ranked Dinara Safina lead the women's side of the bracket, which will be without injured Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova.

Nadal has won five titles from six finals this season and comes to Madrid off clay wins at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.

Most impressively, the 22-year-old Mallorcan can move to within one of Andre Agassi's record Masters Series titles haul of 17, in front of a home crowd. It would also be the first time sine 1990 that a player has won all three clay court Masters titles in one season.

"Now is the time for him to let someone else win a tournament," said Fernando Verdasco, who was drawn to potentially meet Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Federer is defending 700 rankings points, with Djokovic and Murray poised to take over his No. 2 ranking due to the Swiss star's lost momentum since the Australian Open final loss to Nadal.

Murray is playing his first event since taking over the No. 3 spot from Djokovic.

Serena Williams will be looking to snap a three-match losing streak and prove she is in fact the "real No. 1" as she proclaimed at Rome before losing in the first round, while the current No. 1 Safina will face Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final on Saturday.

Williams' first test is Italy's Francesca Schiavone while Safina gets a bye into second round, where a tough match against Spanish player Carla Suarez Navarro could await.

The Williams sisters could meet in the quarterfinals of the $4.5 million event, where nearly every player in the top-20 is playing, including Jelena Jankovic.

One of the biggest attractions will be the state-of-the-art "Magic Box" stadium designed by French architect Dominique Perrault. It features retractable roofs over the three main stadiums, with center court holding a capacity 12,500 spectators.

The site underwent an inspection by the International Olympic Committee, as it is a key feature of Madrid's 2016 Olympics bid.