Cesc Fabregas
Legend
Have CMM and Babs made up?
I heard he is supposed to resume practicing on the 17th. Lord knows he needs it.
Buddy, don't expect too much too quickly. I think Nadal needs rest more than anything to heal his body. Plus, solutions like a horrid matchup in Djoko, don't happen overnight. It will take a few months at least. I would think Nadal will come out strong @ start of 2012 as he did in 2010..
I'm not expecting anything to be honest. I don't see Nadal ever solving Djokovic,nor do I see him beating him again. My expectations of Nadal are at rock bottom right now. I have said multiple times I think he's done winning slams,and won't win anymore. He's finished,imo.
Keep thinking that. Nadal likes being the underdog.
Keep thinking that. Nadal likes being the underdog.
Im not sure why u guys are constantly attacking Rafa and saying he's finished because 1 person is having a better season than him. Seriously? If he isn't winning EVERYTHING he should retire? Wtf? I don't think his hunger is missing AT ALL. He was outplayed as simple as that. He's going to keep trying, stop saying he can't do it.
Clarky21, TennisFan3 and namelessone... Rafa's toughest critics.
Clarky21, TennisFan3 and namelessone... Rafa's toughest critics.
The first one is just a petty troll.
All 3 need some sweet chin music
I'm not a troll,but you're free to think whatever you want.
Are you a Nadal fan?
Agreed. Nadal has never dominated a thing except for clay. He's dirt baller through and through,and the fact that he has never even defended one single title off of clay is not only pathetic,but even further substantiates the fact he is a one dimensional clay court specialist.
Nadal ain't winning the WTF this year,or probably any year. He sucks indoors and always has.
Um,hell no. He will be lucky to make it to the final of just one slam next year much less win one. It's practically a given that he will go slamless next year with the way things have unfolded. He's done.
LOL!!!! I can imagine it, all three standing in a line!
Obviously.
Im not sure why u guys are constantly attacking Rafa and saying he's finished because 1 person is having a better season than him. Seriously? If he isn't winning EVERYTHING he should retire? Wtf? I don't think his hunger is missing AT ALL. He was outplayed as simple as that. He's going to keep trying, stop saying he can't do it.
I don't think his hunger is missing AT ALL. .
If you don't see this, I don't know what to tell you.
Sure, Nadal has miles on his body, but there is NO WAY that at 24 yrs you suddenly lose "significant" foot speed/explosiveness and endurance. Did you ever see Nadal bending over after a 3 set match, as he did in Miami 2011 F? Why is he out of position so many times while hitting a backhand (thereby shanking it)? Fact is, his movement has not been up to his usual standards. The only "likely" reason for this is that Nadal is not putting enough fitness work off court. If he puts in the hard drills, during the off-season, he should be able to get back some of the lost speed and explosiveness, and that will help with his shotmaking.
You're just not going to be as fast at 25 as you were at 18. But I don't think he has slowed down all that much, he's playing a different style. He was as fast as ever in the FO final just a couple months ago.
Buddy, I didn't say Nadal is finished. Nor did I say he definitely will not win more. That's ridiculous.
My point is that it's unreasonable and unrealistic to expect Nadal to magically start beating Djoker in what has traditionally been the worst part of his season. There are no overnight solutions to beating Djokovic. If there were, Nadal would have made the changes before Wimbledon final itself.
To counter Novak, Rafael will need to become a better player, overall. This will take time, and if you are a realist you would acknowledge that early 2012 is the soonest for this.
Buddy, don't expect too much too quickly. I think Nadal needs rest more than anything to heal his body. Plus, solutions like a horrid matchup in Djoko, don't happen overnight. It will take a few months at least. I would think Nadal will come out strong @ start of 2012 as he did in 2010..
So, if Nadal plays Ferrer, or Tsonga at the AO, Fed at Wimbledon, Soderling at the Dirtball Open, or Ferrer or (shudder!) Del Potro at the US Open, you're just chalking it right up as a Nadal win, huh?
And Nadal has played Soderling 3 times at Roland Garros, and twice at Wimbledon, and in those 5 meetings Nadal has won 4 of them.
Nadal has played against Soderling 4 times at the French Open.
Rafael Nadal 6-2 Robin Soderling
2006 French Open R128: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-2, 7-5, 6-1)
2007 Wimbledon R32: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6, 7-5)
2009 Rome R16: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-1, 6-0)
2009 French Open R16: Robin Soderling def. Rafael Nadal (6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6)
2009 World Tour Finals RR: Robin Soderling def. Rafael Nadal (6-4, 6-4)
2010 French Open F: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-2, 6-4)
2010 Wimbledon QF: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1)
2011 French Open QF: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-1, 7-6)
Hardcourt: 1-0 to Soderling
Clay: 4-1 to Nadal
Grass: 2-0 to Nadal
Carpet: 0-0
In Slams: 5-1 to Nadal
Well, I was talking about people who have shown the ability to beat him on surfaces played at Slams, and to pretend that losses in those circumstances don't have an impact on matches played in Slams is silly, much as you'd like to pretend otherwise.
Anyone can beat Nadal or Federer in a best of 3 set match. For example, Nadal doesn't even want to win Queens, he knows it will hurt his Wimbledon chances. Also, I think Nadal takes more risks in the non-slams and doesn't care as much about making errors. Same with Federer. They hit more freely and sometimes blow the match with carelessness.
So, Nadal basically laid down and/or didn't give a ***** against Djoke, all four times, prior to Wimbledon, is that your story? And treating IW and Miami as "some tournament" is patently absurd. Actually, his results in the Slams this year, a crushing loss in the AO, and getting pretty much "routined" at Wimbledon, haven't exactly been stellar either, have they? He should get down on his knees and kiss Fed's hairy bean bag for taking out Djoke, otherwise we'd be talking about 0-6 and a Slamless year for that t.urd.
I don't expect him to revive that high octane gamestyle for this US open but by the beginning of 2012 in Melbourne, I believe he will have developed new strategies and lagging parts of his game. Constant improvement is the essence of Nadal's game and he's not going to stop that just because Djokovic has hit a run of good form.
Nadal has played against Soderling 4 times at the French Open.
Rafael Nadal 6-2 Robin Soderling
2006 French Open R128: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-2, 7-5, 6-1)
2007 Wimbledon R32: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6, 7-5)
2009 Rome R16: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-1, 6-0)
2009 French Open R16: Robin Soderling def. Rafael Nadal (6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6)
2009 World Tour Finals RR: Robin Soderling def. Rafael Nadal (6-4, 6-4)
2010 French Open F: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-2, 6-4)
2010 Wimbledon QF: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1)
2011 French Open QF: Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-1, 7-6)
Hardcourt: 1-0 to Soderling
Clay: 4-1 to Nadal
Grass: 2-0 to Nadal
Carpet: 0-0
In Slams: 5-1 to Nadal
Of the 8 times they've played against each other only once was on a hardcourt. Astonishing considering the season is ~70% HC
Janko is more than happy to be Novak's b*tch so of course he would post something disrespectful and rude like that. I never liked him anyway as he is a homophobic pig. Maybe he should focus more on actually winning one title in his career rather than picking on Nadal,who has won close to 50 of them. Loser.
Janko posted this with the cap "How much $$$ would Rafa gief [give]...? "
Those serbs, there's a thin line between pride and arrogance. :twisted:
Thank goodness we don't get ugly pictures of Nadal biting trophies any more, now he just bites the pillow...
Still waiting for clarification of your (seemingly irrelevant) comments about Nada's attitude and style in Slams and non-Slams: are you saying that Nadal laid down and/or didn't give a ***** against Soderling in the non Slam loss, and in his non Slam losses vs Del Potro? And are you also saying that multiple losses in non Slam have no impact on his play in Slams?
I assume you're being sarcastic. If not, where exactly did he do that?
No, you just made that all up, I said nothing about Djokovic. And I never said Nadal laid down at any time. I'm saying Nadal and Federer, and many others approach non-slams very differently to the way they approach slams. There is a more careful approach in slams, a tendency to avoid unforced errors more so. Not for somebody like Monfils, but for many players who have a healthy fear of failure in the biggest events.
It varies a lot from one event to the next. Not saying EVERY non-slam is played with less care, but generally speaking I've noted that Nadal plays higher percentage tennis in the slams. He's trying to win every event, non-slam and slam, but he will only take great risk in the slam matches when required. Whereas in the non-slams he will go for broke more often.
Federer isn't quite the same, but I do think he takes more unnecessary risks in the non-slams, but its not as obvious, because he is a high-risk player anyway compared to Nadal.
You sure know how to pollute a thread (do we really have to see ugly Djokovic pictures in a Nadal News thread?)
jajajaja. I'm loving all the ones going on about being examples for children. Do they really give a freak.To all the morons who think I"promote guns" or have anything against these two champion,PLEASE stop following and leaving idiotic comments
He/she already clarified that...
Thank goodness we don't get ugly pictures of Nadal biting trophies any more, now he just bites the pillow...
LOL he's got jokes! What a funny guy... I'm sure someone like Tipsy who's never won a title in his life secretly wishes misfortune on his competitions, but Nadal clearly does not. On the contrary, he loves the competition and it fuels the fire inside him.Janko posted this with the cap "How much $$$ would Rafa gief [give]...? "
Those serbs, there's a thin line between pride and arrogance. :twisted:
Oh please. Cause it was going swimmingly well with all the trolls in this thread? :lol: I posted it because Janko posting that pic was kind of relating to rafa if you read the cap. Anyway Janko replied to the Rafa mob on twitter.
jajajaja. I'm loving all the ones going on about being examples for children. Do they really give a freak.
That reply is ambiguous, at best, since it implies that Nadal's 4 losses to Djoke were prior to Wimbledon were because he didn't take them seriously, and/or was playing differently than he would in a Slam, which is why I asked for "clarification." I also asked if he felt that those losses in any impacted Nadal's play at Wimbledon, a question which he didn't just skirt, he simply didn't answer. Are you his lawyer?
When one player is better than you, at this moment the only thing you can do is work, try to find solutions, and try to wait a little bit for your time.
Last five times wasn't my time. I gonna wait and I gonna try to a sixth. And if the sixth doesn't happen, to the seventh. It's going to be like this. That's the spirit of the sport.