callmethedoctor
Banned
So we all know Nadal is the favorite, but is this the year for him to be beat? Expect him to cruise through the first two rounds, but already in round three: Lleyton Hewitt. Not good, cuz of his Nadalesque will to win- he has the physical ability to upset most people in the FO (other than Nadal, right?), but, he probably won't. That's okay. But fourth round, here they come.
Nadal will probably play Thomaz Bellucci or Ivan Ljubicic. Bellucci is a beast on clay, despite his ranking. We all saw Ljubicic beat Nadal earlier this year. But this is Nadal's turf, so he should sail, right? Wrong. On to the quarterfinal, where Nadal would be playing Fernando Verdasco, Fernando Gonzalez, or Nicolas Almagro. These are all high-ranking clay court specialists. Though Almagro may not have the stamina to last more than three sets, he surely has the firepower to beat most on clay. Gonzalez has arguably the biggest forehand in the game, and this is his favorite surface, though he's not really a specialist. Verdasco was my personal favorite to make it to at least the semis, maybe finals. Another very dangerous forehand on clay. That's pretty difficult for just the quarters so far.
In the semis he would play Novak Djokovic, Victor Hanescu, Juan Carlos Ferrero, David Ferrer, Andy Roddick, or Juan Monaco. Hanescu, Ferrero, Ferrer, and Monaco are more clay court specialists. They are extremely dangerous on clay, especially Ferrer. Here is proof. http://statracket.net/?view=stats/category.php As you can see, all the tough opponents play Nadal early.
The only tough ones in the other half are Federer and Soderling. So is Nadal still a favorite, with all those opponents wearing him down with possible many-set matches for someone in a late round to finally take him out? Or will he make it look like child's play once again?
Nadal will probably play Thomaz Bellucci or Ivan Ljubicic. Bellucci is a beast on clay, despite his ranking. We all saw Ljubicic beat Nadal earlier this year. But this is Nadal's turf, so he should sail, right? Wrong. On to the quarterfinal, where Nadal would be playing Fernando Verdasco, Fernando Gonzalez, or Nicolas Almagro. These are all high-ranking clay court specialists. Though Almagro may not have the stamina to last more than three sets, he surely has the firepower to beat most on clay. Gonzalez has arguably the biggest forehand in the game, and this is his favorite surface, though he's not really a specialist. Verdasco was my personal favorite to make it to at least the semis, maybe finals. Another very dangerous forehand on clay. That's pretty difficult for just the quarters so far.
In the semis he would play Novak Djokovic, Victor Hanescu, Juan Carlos Ferrero, David Ferrer, Andy Roddick, or Juan Monaco. Hanescu, Ferrero, Ferrer, and Monaco are more clay court specialists. They are extremely dangerous on clay, especially Ferrer. Here is proof. http://statracket.net/?view=stats/category.php As you can see, all the tough opponents play Nadal early.
The only tough ones in the other half are Federer and Soderling. So is Nadal still a favorite, with all those opponents wearing him down with possible many-set matches for someone in a late round to finally take him out? Or will he make it look like child's play once again?
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