Nadal News

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TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
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..
 

Clarky21

Banned
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.
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
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.
 

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
Keep thinking that. Nadal likes being the underdog.

LOL. Why would Nadal care what people think on TalkTennis messageboards? If someone says here, doesn't mean he is actually the underdog.

The question now would be whether Nadal has enough motivation to improve, and make one last push, given that he's already achieved so much, and is a legend in his own right. It's not easy to make changes to something that won you 10 slams.

I think USO 2010 came a little too soon for Nadal. The hunger is missing this yr. The 2008/2010 Nadal would have found a way to win in IW/Miami against Novak (for ex), and then the matchup scenario would have been totally different.
 

Clarky21

Banned
Keep thinking that. Nadal likes being the underdog.

He has been the underdog for a while now,yet he is still losing to Djokovic convincingly. It doesn't hold water anymore to keep saying that. He was the underdog in that Wimbledon final yet he still rolled over and died in it.
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
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.
 
D

Deleted member 77403

Guest
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.
 

CMM

Legend
Are you a Nadal fan?

Obviously.

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.
 

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
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.

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.
 
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TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
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.
 
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MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
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.
 

FeVer

Semi-Pro
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.

Rubbish. Most reach their peak physical condition as an athlete when they're 25-28. At 18 you're not fully developed.
 

FeVer

Semi-Pro
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.

Exactly, there's no quick fix. But you can bet your life Nadal will find a way. He's made a tidy sum in tennis by doing that.

There is no way Nole's invincibility will continue beyond this year. Sure he will remain the main slam contender along with Nadal and they will battle it out for world no.1 for many years to come. I don't see Nadal beating him much this year, but by AO 2012, you can bet your life he'll have a strategy against him. It's what Nadal's done all his career. You don't see Soderling beating Nadal on clay anymore, in fact, he hammers the Swede these days. Djokovic was s more likely favourite for the US last year and look what happened. He uses December to improve and develop aspects of his game. This is a clay courter we're talking about, who has been in 5 Wimbledon finals. He seems to be the only guy on the tour who can always adapt.

As for Nole's high level currently, there is a difference between 'level' and his 'skill'. The improvements he's made to his skill are permanent, they will only improve. He will be one of the two best players in the world for a long time. But these improvements have been distorted by a rise in his level, and that is only temporary. Take Nadal. His level was ridiculously high in 2008, much higher than it is now. But his skill is much higher now than it was then.

Djokovic's dominance this year is all about match ups. The way Nadal has been playing against an in-form Djokovic will inevitably end in defeat. How do you expect to win by continually peppering the best backhand in the world? The way Nadal played in some of the matches vs Djokovic this year hasn't been his best, but it is his tactics that have ensured his defeat on each occasion. The only difference this year, as opposed to last, is that Djokovic has been good enough to take advantage of these failings.

Now Federer hasn't played that well this year, but when he started to play his best game at RG he beat Nole convincingly. Federer has the game to beat Novak. Rafa has the game to beat Federer and Novak has the game to beat Nadal at the moment. The difference between Nadal and Federer is that the former is able to adapt his game consistently year on year to be able to cope with new challenges. That is why Nadal has overcome the power hitters like Soderling and Delpo (although I realise he's on the comeback). I can't understand why people believe that Nadal can't do it again.

The crucial point to note is that all it takes for Nadal to get back on level terms with Djokovic is a change of tactics and the improvements to his shots that he makes every year. How long do people honestly think Nadal, the most adaptable guy in tennis, is going to carry on hitting to Djokovic's backhand?

This is what he needs to do:

Bring out the big serve again. I guarantee Djokovic won't have any easy wins against him when he's serving big and consistently.

Hit deeper on both wings and change up the rallies. In the past he's been to predictable. It's worked against Federer who has a noticeable weakness but it won't against Nole.

Hit bigger off the return and sharpen up his return game generally. I don't believe this will happen until the AO next year when he's had the whole of December to work on his game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtvlK-i8oWU

Basically, if he plays like this ^^ again, Djokovic will have a lot on his hands.

I think people are forgetting that this is the most adaptable guy in tennis. The bigger the challenge, the more determination Nadal has to overcome it. He used to be the most unnatural grass court player when he started out, but he worked hard to improve and now he's been in 5 Wimbledon finals. He's always struggled on fast hard courts, but he worked hard on his aggressive game and won the US. Now that game has disappeared a little bit, but when he revives it, he'll be more than a match for Nole on hard courts. I don't believe this bull5hit that he's forgotten how to do it.

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.
 

RAFA2005RG

Banned
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..

But is Djokovic even relevant to Nadal's future? Nadal only needs 4 slams to equal Sampras, and then he's right on Federer's tail, so unless you think Djokovic will win EVERY slam each year, its obvious Nadal gets the slams he needs. Federer just beat Djokovic this year in a slam anyway, so theoretically even if Nadal never beats Djokovic again, Nadal still racks up the slams.
 
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RAFA2005RG

Banned
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? :rolleyes:

Wait, so if Nadal faces Ferrer, Tsonga, Federer and Soderling at slams you are chalking it up as a Nadal loss? Ask yourself, who are the odds in favor of in each of those meetings?

And Nadal has played Soderling 4 times at Roland Garros, and twice at Wimbledon, and in those 6 meetings Nadal has won 5 of them. And Nadal hasn't lost to Federer at a slam since 2007. Nadal is 2-1 vs Del Potro at slams, and the one victory Del Potro did have was when Nadal was nursing a torn muscle. The other slam head2heads are all in the past, a different era, except the Ferrer match this year, and we all know what happened there. Ferrer even said he wouldn't have won if Nadal was uninjured.

In fact the Australian Open is the slam Nadal is getting injuries in the most, and it happens to be Djokovic's favorite slam. So that won't really have much of an affect on Nadal's future, he was always unlikely to win the Australian Open due to injury regardless of what Djokovic does :D
 
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Mustard

Bionic Poster
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
 

RAFA2005RG

Banned
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

Thanks. I guess like most other players, Soderling's main success over Nadal came in 2009.
 

RAFA2005RG

Banned
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.
 
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.

It looks like not winning Queens hurt his chances to win Wimbledon also.
 

RAFA2005RG

Banned
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.

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.
 

8PAQ

Banned
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.

He has plenty of time before USO to revise his game. Last year he improved his serve. This year he just needs to do whatever he did last year so it should be even easier. His problem is that he doesn't stay calm and goes for too much when playing Novak this year. This is exactly how Fed used to be against Nadal in his prime. Fed used to play an amazing match in the semi and then play like crap the next day against Nadal.
 

Semi-Pro

Hall of Fame
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
 

babbette

Legend
Janko posted this with the cap "How much $$$ would Rafa gief [give]...;)? "
Those serbs, there's a thin line between pride and arrogance. :twisted:
 

Clarky21

Banned
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.
 

babbette

Legend
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.

This surprises me from him. I mean you can be happy and proud of your friend but this is too much. He's good friends with Feliciano and of course feliciano is good friends with Rafa so I would have thought he would be a bit more respectable with this. Might be a bit more classless than how Noles brother was on twitter.
I wonder which serb's next to show their respects? Noles mum has spoken, Janko has been making himself clear.
Mister Miyagi voice: those that get to the top with arrogance, fall harder to the bottom with deep shame :mrgreen: Good luck Novak :p
 

RAFA2005RG

Banned
Janko posted this with the cap "How much $$$ would Rafa gief [give]...;)? "
Those serbs, there's a thin line between pride and arrogance. :twisted:

You sure know how to pollute a thread (do we really have to see ugly Djokovic pictures in a Nadal News thread?) :mad:
 

Crisstti

Legend
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?

He/she already clarified that...
 

Crisstti

Legend
I assume you're being sarcastic. If not, where exactly did he do that?

I'd say he/she explained it here:

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.
 

babbette

Legend
You sure know how to pollute a thread (do we really have to see ugly Djokovic pictures in a Nadal News thread?) :mad:

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.

To all the morons who think I"promote guns" or have anything against these two champion,PLEASE stop following and leaving idiotic comments
jajajaja. I'm loving all the ones going on about being examples for children. Do they really give a freak.
 

Photoshop

Professional
Janko posted this with the cap "How much $$$ would Rafa gief [give]...;)? "
Those serbs, there's a thin line between pride and arrogance. :twisted:
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.

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.


My question is -- how much $€£ would you gief, Janko?? Don't you want to be #1 in your country? ;)
 

Crisstti

Legend
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.

Yeah. Thinking about it better, I guess it's just banter from Novak. They're friends, after all. Probably Rafa doesn't mind. It's actually kinda funny.

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?

RAFA2005RG didn't say that Nadal didn't take those games seriously. Yet you kept asking the same thing.

BTW, if you don't like someone else commenting, then don't post the questions in a public forum, just send him a PM.
 

Crisstti

Legend
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.

How not to love Rafa? :)

That's the attitute.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Some of the Serbian pride marches and antics have been ridiculous since Nole's ascention!

They should know better, try learning from history!
 
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