Rafa's Silent Victory

rubberduckies · May 18, 2009

The Madrid Masters is over. While Roger Federer has come away with the title, it seems clear that, in the grand scheme of things, the true victor emerging from the mountain dusts is Rafael Nadal.

Now this is not to take any credit away from Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. They're great players. But we must understand and accept the reality of what happened in Madrid.

Nadal played horribly throughout the event. Anyone who follows Nadal could see that he didn't stand a chance at taking the title because he is not the type of player who can turn on his form midway through a tournament. It either had to be there from the start, or it would never be there. After the semifinal ended, I predicted a repeat of Hamburg 2007.

In the semifinal, Djokovic came out blazing, playing some of the best tennis of his career. Nadal played horribly, spewing error after error. In the end, Nadal was able to take the match by a razor-thin margin by emptying his tank of every ounce of mental energy he could muster. After the match, Novak lamented that he couldn''t imagine how he could have played so well and still lost.

Nadal carried the same poor play that had been dodging him the entire tournament into the final. The major difference between Saturday and Sunday was that the semifinal had drained him of his mental strength. Federer came out playing the tennis of life. He pushed to and even reached beyond the limits of his talents and abilities. Fed had given the performance of a lifetime while Rafa had laid the ultimate egg. And yet, it took two careless errors in the final game to secure victory. Now, Roger played great and fully deserved to claim to title. I am not taking anything away from Roger's glorious triumph. He beat his opponent in the final, but he did not beat The Rafa.

You could see the pain on Federer's face the moment the match ended. He is looking to the bigger picture, and at that moment it became clear to him that Nadal had evolved to level of ability that could no longer be beaten by conventional means. It required a combination of unfavorable conditions, non-existant play, and an empty mental tank to finally overcome The Rafa.

Therein lies Nadal's ultimate triumph. Even without winning the title, he has convinced his chief rivals that he is now beyond their reaches.

LanceStern · May 18, 2009

You constantly troll and degrade Federer, even on neutral topics.

I have never been so close to putting someone on my ignore list as I have you...

So give me 1 reason why I should read this topic, and I'll read it. Is it thoughtful and unbaised or does it take silent swipes at other players?

P_Agony · May 18, 2009

Federer played his C game. rubberduckies is the 2nd biggest troll in this forum.

Nanshiki · May 18, 2009

Stop making excuses for him. A loss is a loss. Just in the same way that a win is a win.

If anything this victory shows that Federer CAN still beat Nadal.

<3tennis!!! · May 18, 2009

you know nothing about tennis

GasquetGOAT · May 18, 2009

sureshs · May 18, 2009

I agree with the OP. It required a 150% Federer + a whole lot of dumb luck to defeat a 50% Nadal. No chance for Fed in FO.

veroniquem · May 18, 2009

Hilarious. Thanks for the laugh!

ronalditop · May 18, 2009

damn, all the trolls are coming out of their caves today.

papucla10 · May 18, 2009

Your are so out of your mine, Fed played an standard game not the game of his life are you are nuts, I can see Nadal didn't play well but in no way fed played his A game, maybe his C+ Game.

papucla10 · May 18, 2009

NO logic at all at what you say.

LanceStern · May 18, 2009

I wouldn't say that was a C+ game from Fed.

6 Aces
1st Serve Percentage over 60%
25 winners
25 unforced errors
Movement was AWESOME

That was a good B to B+ game. He played high risk and hit a LOT of lines.

sureshs · May 18, 2009

papucla10 said:
Your are so out of your mine, Fed played an standard game not the game of his life are you are nuts, I can see Nadal didn't play well but in no way fed played his A game, maybe his C+ Game.

Is that why he himself said it was a perfect match? Because he played his C+ game? LOL.

danb · May 18, 2009

rubberduckies said:
The Madrid Masters is over. While Roger Federer has come away with the title, it seems clear that, in the grand scheme of things, the true victor emerging from the mountain dusts is Rafael Nadal.

Now this is not to take any credit away from Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. They're great players. But we must understand and accept the reality of what happened in Madrid.

Nadal played horribly throughout the event. Anyone who follows Nadal could see that he didn't stand a chance at taking the title because he is not the type of player who can turn on his form midway through a tournament. It either had to be there from the start, or it would never be there. After the semifinal ended, I predicted a repeat of Hamburg 2007.

In the semifinal, Djokovic came out blazing, playing some of the best tennis of his career. Nadal played horribly, spewing error after error. In the end, Nadal was able to take the match by a razor-thin margin by emptying his tank of every ounce of mental energy he could muster. After the match, Novak lamented that he couldn''t imagine how he could have played so well and still lost.

Nadal carried the same poor play that had been dodging him the entire tournament into the final. The major difference between Saturday and Sunday was that the semifinal had drained him of his mental strength. Federer came out playing the tennis of life. He pushed to and even reached beyond the limits of his talents and abilities. Fed had given the performance of a lifetime while Rafa had laid the ultimate egg. And yet, it took two careless errors in the final game to secure victory. Now, Roger played great and fully deserved to claim to title. I am not taking anything away from Roger's glorious triumph. He beat his opponent in the final, but he did not beat The Rafa.

You could see the pain on Federer's face the moment the match ended. He is looking to the bigger picture, and at that moment it became clear to him that Nadal had evolved to level of ability that could no longer be beaten by conventional means. It required a combination of unfavorable conditions, non-existant play, and an empty mental tank to finally overcome The Rafa.

Therein lies Nadal's ultimate triumph. Even without winning the title, he has convinced his chief rivals that he is now beyond their reaches.

Are you a Rafa fan? I am.
Fed played well and won. He deserved it. Well done Roger.
Downplaying the greatness of his opponents means in the end disrespecting Rafa because he measures up against these other guys. According to your post Rafa plays with no competition. Are you really a Rafa fan?

LanceStern · May 18, 2009

Nadal played horribly throughout the event. Anyone who follows Nadal could see that he didn't stand a chance at taking the title because he is not the type of player who can turn on his form midway through a tournament.

Well 76 people said he would take the title, according to the poll in the "Nadal vs. Federer - Madrid Final 2009" topic. Are none of them people who follow Nadal?

And yet, it took two careless errors in the final game to secure victory. Now, Roger played great and fully deserved to claim to title. I am not taking anything away from Roger's glorious triumph. He beat his opponent in the final, but he did not beat The Rafa.

You are contradicting yourself there. You ARE taking away from him.

But the last 3 paragraphs did make me laugh. It was worth the read just from the slight delusion you put in there haha.

vtmike · May 18, 2009

You Fail!

sheq · May 18, 2009

P_Agony said:
Federer played his C game. rubberduckies is the 2nd biggest troll in this forum.

who is the first

ı think nadal_freak had deserved it but in these days ı have been reading some sensible and fine comments and some fair its interesting right

my pick is gj011

NickC · May 18, 2009

rubberduckies said:
Anyone who follows Nadal could see that he didn't stand a chance at taking the title because he is not the type of player who can turn on his form midway through a tournament.

You just solidified your ranking as the number one winner-picker (and idiot) on this site, because this comment has absolutely ZERO truth to it, and if you saw some of his matches from before he was winning slams other than the French, you'd realize that your statement is 100% wrong.

2006 Wimby R64:

#2 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) def. #237 Kendrick, Robert (USA)
6-7(4), 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5, 6-4

Kendrick had a large number of match points, and had a very tight 3-setter with Alex Bogdanovic, [sarcasm] a real world-class player [/sarcasm] in the previous round. He then dropped one more set before the final, where he put up a decent fight against Roger. Can't turn around his form, eh? You're an idiot.

A true epic fail.

vtmike · May 18, 2009

sheq said:
who is the first

ı think nadal_freak had deserved it but in these days ı have been reading some sensible and fine comments and some fair its interesting right

my pick is gj011

Yes, that will be my pick too! Hands down winner and also the GOAT in that category!

gj011 · May 18, 2009

LOL Insulting people behind their back is the new standard among Fed trolls here.

Yet another thread where Fed trolls insult everyone who they do not agree with. Even people who never posted on it.

vtmike · May 18, 2009

gj011 said:
LOL Insulting people behind their back is the new standard among Fed trolls here.

Yet another thread where Fed trolls insult everyone who they do not agree with. Even people who never posted on it.

Truth hurts? and who's trying to do it "behind" your back? :-?

fastdunn · May 18, 2009

I am not so sure if this is Nadal's victory. Nadal looks a bit over-spent or even might have been slightly injured (right knee).

He probably shouldn't have played Madrid. Earlier this year, he was negative about the Madrid and then went ahead and played. He had been probably pressured to stage another Nadal-Federer final from the promoters of turnament in his home country.

gj011 · May 18, 2009

vtmike said:
Truth hurts? and who's trying to do it "behind" your back? :-?

What truth? Delusions of couple of Fed fanboys are not the truth. Far from it.

sheq · May 18, 2009

gj011 said:
LOL Insulting people behind their back is the new standard among Fed trolls here.

Yet another thread where Fed trolls insult everyone who they do not agree with. Even people who never posted on it.

soryy man but ı am not a fed troll ı like nadal murray and even your man djokovic..

and of course ı have a favorite player and he is roger federer..However ı know giving credits to all the players that deserve it..this is the difference between trolls and fans..

gj011 · May 18, 2009

sheq said:
soryy man but ı am not a fed troll ı like nadal murray and even your man djokovic..

and of course ı have a favorite player and he is roger federer..However ı know giving credits to all the players that deserve it..this is the difference between trolls and fans..

Sorry but you are indeed a fed troll. You would not comment like you did on this thread if you are not.

sheq · May 18, 2009

gj011 said:
Sorry but you are indeed a fed troll. You would not comment like you did on this thread if you are not.

where am ı supposed to comment like this ? it is not the first time people talking about something off topic issues on a thread

vtmike · May 18, 2009

sheq said:
where am ı supposed to comment like this ? it is not the first time people talking about something off topic issues on a thread

Don't worry he does that to everyone who does not hate Federer...Anyways its funny that people are accusing you of trolling in a thread that is the definition of trolling...

Docalex007 · May 18, 2009

rubberduckies said:
.Federer came out playing the tennis of life. He pushed to and even reached beyond the limits of his talents and abilities. Fed had given the performance of a lifetime while Rafa had laid the ultimate egg.

This is a failure. LOL. I chuckled. How wrong you are. :shock:

Sorry man.

IvanAndreevich · May 18, 2009

Oh boy. If Djoker played to him FULL potential in that semi he would have wiped Nadal off the court in straights.

Docalex007 · May 18, 2009

gj011 said:
What truth? Delusions of couple of Fed fanboys are not the truth. Far from it.

No that you are the biggest troll on the boards.

CyBorg · May 18, 2009

I don't think Nadal played horribly at all. He didn't look injured. He was a bit more tired than usual - I understand this.

I think he may have been a bit negative about Madrid's clay and probably wasn't crazy about the bounce.

Stchamps · May 18, 2009

rubberduckies said:
In the semifinal, Djokovic came out blazing, playing some of the best tennis of his career. Nadal played horribly, spewing error after error. In the end, Nadal was able to take the match by a razor-thin margin by emptying his tank of every ounce of mental energy he could muster. After the match, Novak lamented that he couldn''t imagine how he could have played so well and still lost.

Damn I never knew that people have a certain amount of "mental energy," and when it gets depleted we have to wait for it to refill. I guess somehow that three setter against Novak took all of rafa's mental energy, but in the AO this year Nadal was able to go 5 sets against Verdasco and still have enough mental energy to go 5 sets with Fed in the final.

jelle v · May 18, 2009

rubberduckies said:
The Madrid Masters is over. While Roger Federer has come away with the title, it seems clear that, in the grand scheme of things, the true victor emerging from the mountain dusts is Rafael Nadal.

Now this is not to take any credit away from Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. They're great players. But we must understand and accept the reality of what happened in Madrid.

Nadal played horribly throughout the event. Anyone who follows Nadal could see that he didn't stand a chance at taking the title because he is not the type of player who can turn on his form midway through a tournament. It either had to be there from the start, or it would never be there. After the semifinal ended, I predicted a repeat of Hamburg 2007.

In the semifinal, Djokovic came out blazing, playing some of the best tennis of his career. Nadal played horribly, spewing error after error. In the end, Nadal was able to take the match by a razor-thin margin by emptying his tank of every ounce of mental energy he could muster. After the match, Novak lamented that he couldn''t imagine how he could have played so well and still lost.

Nadal carried the same poor play that had been dodging him the entire tournament into the final. The major difference between Saturday and Sunday was that the semifinal had drained him of his mental strength. Federer came out playing the tennis of life. He pushed to and even reached beyond the limits of his talents and abilities. Fed had given the performance of a lifetime while Rafa had laid the ultimate egg. And yet, it took two careless errors in the final game to secure victory. Now, Roger played great and fully deserved to claim to title. I am not taking anything away from Roger's glorious triumph. He beat his opponent in the final, but he did not beat The Rafa.

You could see the pain on Federer's face the moment the match ended. He is looking to the bigger picture, and at that moment it became clear to him that Nadal had evolved to level of ability that could no longer be beaten by conventional means. It required a combination of unfavorable conditions, non-existant play, and an empty mental tank to finally overcome The Rafa.

Therein lies Nadal's ultimate triumph. Even without winning the title, he has convinced his chief rivals that he is now beyond their reaches.

You know, in spite of your reputation, i'm gonna attempt a serious post as a reaction to your post:

I get your point, but you are exaggerating a lot.. if this match has made anything, clear, it is that Rafa still needs to play his best tennis to beat Federer when Federer plays well. When Nadal doesn't play really really well, it is clear that he CAN (not will but can) get beaten on clay by top guys as Djokovic and Federer.

You're making it sound as if Federer has played his best tennis ever in this match and Nadal was about 50% of his normal level of play. I do not agree with this at all. Imo Federer was at about 90% of the game he should/can play and Nadal was at about 80 - 85%. I do not believe he was tired, but I do think that there is some truth when one claims that the height helped Federer's game more than it did Nadal's game.

Imo, if Federer shows up at Roland Garros at 100%, playing like he did on sunday, Nadal needs to play his best tennis to beat Federer. If Nadal can get to 100% too however, I do believe that there is not a single player alive on this earth that can beat him at Roland Garros.

gj011 said:
LOL Insulting people behind their back is the new standard among Fed trolls here.

Yet another thread where Fed trolls insult everyone who they do not agree with. Even people who never posted on it.

I thought that according to your standards, insulting and trolling is the same as "giving your opinion"..?

Docalex007 · May 18, 2009

Stchamps said:
Damn I never knew that people have a certain amount of "mental energy," and when it gets depleted we have to wait for it to refill. I guess somehow that three setter against Novak took all of rafa's mental energy, but in the AO this year Nadal was able to go 5 sets against Verdasco and still have enough mental energy to go 5 sets with Fed in the final.

That's because mental energy only comes back in the second 24hr rest period. It's been scientifically proven by all *******s out there.

zagadka · May 18, 2009

OP said...

Federer came out playing the tennis of life. He pushed to and even reached beyond the limits of his talents and abilities. Fed had given the performance of a lifetime while Rafa had laid the ultimate egg. And yet, it took two careless errors in the final game to secure victory.

LOL.

Rhino · May 18, 2009

Without posters like rubberduckies, TW forums would be so much more popular with actual tennis fans. Whats the point of checking this forum if it's just littered with this amateurish pointless rubbish?

rubberduckies · May 18, 2009

<3tennis!!! said:
you know nothing about tennis

LOL Whatever. You create this account for the sole purpose of trolling against Nadal. That was your whole reason for making another account to hide behind instead of using whatever your real account is. That's the definition of pathetic.

rubberduckies · May 18, 2009

LanceStern said:
Well 76 people said he would take the title, according to the poll in the "Nadal vs. Federer - Madrid Final 2009" topic. Are none of them people who follow Nadal?

Those people may follow Nadal superficially but clearly were just hoping against hope or simply do not understand him fully.

You are contradicting yourself there. You ARE taking away from him.

Welll...............DUH

But the last 3 paragraphs did make me laugh. It was worth the read just from the slight delusion you put in there haha.

Well, thanks.

Guamanian G · May 18, 2009

yeah this thread is a FAIL

AlpineCadet · May 18, 2009

rubberduckies said:
The Madrid Masters is over. While Roger Federer has come away with the title, it seems clear that, in the grand scheme of things, the true victor emerging from the mountain dusts is Rafael Nadal.

Now this is not to take any credit away from Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. They're great players. But we must understand and accept the reality of what happened in Madrid.

Nadal played horribly throughout the event. Anyone who follows Nadal could see that he didn't stand a chance at taking the title because he is not the type of player who can turn on his form midway through a tournament. It either had to be there from the start, or it would never be there. After the semifinal ended, I predicted a repeat of Hamburg 2007.

In the semifinal, Djokovic came out blazing, playing some of the best tennis of his career. Nadal played horribly, spewing error after error. In the end, Nadal was able to take the match by a razor-thin margin by emptying his tank of every ounce of mental energy he could muster. After the match, Novak lamented that he couldn''t imagine how he could have played so well and still lost.

Nadal carried the same poor play that had been dodging him the entire tournament into the final. The major difference between Saturday and Sunday was that the semifinal had drained him of his mental strength. Federer came out playing the tennis of life. He pushed to and even reached beyond the limits of his talents and abilities. Fed had given the performance of a lifetime while Rafa had laid the ultimate egg. And yet, it took two careless errors in the final game to secure victory. Now, Roger played great and fully deserved to claim to title. I am not taking anything away from Roger's glorious triumph. He beat his opponent in the final, but he did not beat The Rafa.

You could see the pain on Federer's face the moment the match ended. He is looking to the bigger picture, and at that moment it became clear to him that Nadal had evolved to level of ability that could no longer be beaten by conventional means. It required a combination of unfavorable conditions, non-existant play, and an empty mental tank to finally overcome The Rafa.

Therein lies Nadal's ultimate triumph. Even without winning the title, he has convinced his chief rivals that he is now beyond their reaches.

Let me guess, you're in love with Nadal?

Cindysphinx · May 18, 2009

Federer finally figured out a way to beat Nadal: drop shots, FH DTL conservatively to apply pressure. Those two things were the differences in how Fed played.

Federer now knows what Federer needs to do.

The problem is that Nadal also knows what Federer needs to do.

Poor Federer. He peaked too soon, I'm afraid.

rubberduckies · May 18, 2009

sureshs said:
Is that why he himself said it was a perfect match? Because he played his C+ game? LOL.

EXACTLY.

Federer said it was his perfect match. Several threads have been started by Fedfans paying homage to the level of Roger's play that day.

Then I come along and explain what this actually means to the greater Nadal-Federer rivalry and how disastrous it is for Roger to have played perfect (by his standards) tennis against an already drained Nadal and only come out 6-4, 6-4 (with ample opportunity for Nadal to have pushed it further).

Now they are backtracking on their earlier praise.

IvanAndreevich · May 18, 2009

Cindysphinx said:
Federer finally figured out a way to beat Nadal: drop shots, FH DTL conservatively to apply pressure. Those two things were the differences in how Fed played.

Federer now knows what Federer needs to do.

The problem is that Nadal also knows what Federer needs to do.

Poor Federer. He peaked too soon, I'm afraid.

I sure hope you don't think that this is the best Federer can play. Cause it's 25 winners and 25 errors. He can do better than that

P_Agony · May 18, 2009

sheq said:
who is the first

ı think nadal_freak had deserved it but in these days ı have been reading some sensible and fine comments and some fair its interesting right

my pick is gj011

You're spot on with your pick.

raiden031 · May 18, 2009

The OP is slightly delusional. This was not victory for Nadal in any way, shape, or form. At most, this loss is benign and means nothing. It certainly doesn't help anything. I'd say the most likely realization is that Nadal is actually vulnerable. He is only human and can't sustain both the superhuman physical and mental strength he has up to now to accomplish what he has. His time is definitely running out.

rubberduckies · May 18, 2009

P_Agony said:
Federer played his C game. rubberduckies is the 2nd biggest troll in this forum.

All you can do is make Fed glorification comments and insult other posters.

You seem to think any opinion directed against Federer is trolling and that the only non-trolling opinions are those that praise him to no end.

P_Agony · May 18, 2009

rubberduckies said:
EXACTLY.

Federer said it was his perfect match. Several threads have been started by Fedfans paying homage to the level of Roger's play that day.

Then I come along and explain what this actually means to the greater Nadal-Federer rivalry and how disastrous it is for Roger to have played perfect (by his standards) tennis against an already drained Nadal and only come out 6-4, 6-4 (with ample opportunity for Nadal to have pushed it further).

Now they are backtracking on their earlier praise.

Federer played great for the 2008-2009 Fed standards. He wasn't even close, however, to the 2005-2007 Federer.

The reason Fed won was because he had a gameplan this time. He tried something new. He realized he needs to play his own style and dictate points rather than playing on Nadal's terms. He used the FH DTL to Nadal's BH and the results were simply great. He made some godly drop shots. He served well, but he also made a lot of unforced errors. This time, however, he was able to back them up.

The old Federer would make far less errors, and move even better. That's the main difference I think,

P_Agony · May 18, 2009

rubberduckies said:
All you can do is make Fed glorification comments and insult other posters.

You seem to think any opinion directed against Federer is trolling and that the only non-trolling opinions are those that praise him to no end.

This whole thread is a troll thread intended to take any credit away from Federer and downgrading his abilities/talent (like you do in each of your posts). All I did was counter attack.

rubberduckies · May 18, 2009

P_Agony said:
Federer played great for the 2008-2009 Fed standards. He wasn't even close, however, to the 2005-2007 Federer.

The reason Fed won was because he had a gameplan this time. He tried something new. He realized he needs to play his own style and dictate points rather than playing on Nadal's terms. He used the FH DTL to Nadal's BH and the results were simply great. He made some godly drop shots. He served well, but he also made a lot of unforced errors. This time, however, he was able to back them up.

The old Federer would make far less errors, and move even better. That's the main difference I think,

Thanks for at least giving an opinion.
The 2005-2007 Federer was dominated by Nadal on clay.
Back then, he made huge numbers of errors, especially during the earlier part when his backhand weakness was first exposed by Nadal.
Back then, Nadal wasn't nearly as strong of a player as he is now.

I would argue that he was able to dictate play because of how poorly Nadal played and that he usually cannot control rallies and direction because of the depth and kick of Nadal's shots.

P_Agony · May 18, 2009

rubberduckies said:
Thanks for at least giving an opinion.
The 2005-2007 Federer was dominated by Nadal on clay.
Back then, he made huge numbers of errors, especially during the earlier part when his backhand weakness was first exposed by Nadal.
Back then, Nadal wasn't nearly as strong of a player as he is now.

I would argue that he was able to dictate play because of how poorly Nadal played and that he usually cannot control rallies and direction because of the depth and kick of Nadal's shots.

On clay and versus Nadal yes. I think you didn't get what I meant:

Federer was a better player then, but against Nadal in Madrid had the better gameplan, which is sometimes, or even all the time, is more important than anything else.

Is Nadal the better player on clay? Of course he is. No question about it. But trying to downgrade Fed's talent (I know what you think of it, and quite frankly you're just wrong), abilities, and most importantly his win is just sad. Why can't you just say what Federer fans said when Nadal won the AO: Congratulations Nadal, you deserved it.

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