Brasil Open 2013
- Thread starter Tammo
- Start date
Onehandedbackhand
Professional
Aren't you the one that never thinks he'll win, whether he's healthy or not?
11 GS says otherwise.
Far as what I say...I just know he'll be. He'll play his way back. The best always do.
Love Game
Talk Tennis Guru
For David's sake, I hope you're right ..... and it seems like that to me also .... Nalby lookin calm, relaxed, self-contained ..... rafa lookin distracted and annoyed, tho I'm sure he'll get himself up for it mentally as much as possible between now and the final.
food for thought is that rafa owns their H2H 5-2 .....
BUT
those two taken by Nalby were 1) on carpet; 2) on indoor hard
nadal will have to try to bully from the beginning, cuz even tho nalby's more agile atm, rafa's still stronger ..... nalby's strength is his experience and his mind ...... even tho rafa's a better player now than he was when he lost to nalby in 2007, he's vulnerable now due to his being in recovery mode ..... rafa's as good a tennis mind as nalby, it seems to me, but nalby's still got the edge there due to having to use it more, put the mental into physical expression
nalbandian will do his best to run rafa all over the court .... and even tho rafa knows that's what nalby's gonna do, rafa may not be willing to run down everything the way he's used to doing when he's a hundred percent.
Steve0904
Talk Tennis Guru
If you see Nadal lose MC or Barcelona then you should be worried. Until then, people need to relax, seriously. I can't believe I am defending Nadal.:razz:
Nadal looks bad now but he will improve. Federer looks worse to me and he has not been off for 7 months.
Get real. I agree that Nadal can get back to at least some semblance of what he was, but Federer is not playing worse than Rafa right now by a long shot. Federer has recently made the AO SF, and lost to Benneteau on an indoor HC. Nadal has lost to Zeballos, and has been pushed by Berlocq and Alund (who?) on clay, where he used to breadstick competent players for fun.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
But Federer has not been off for 7 months. Rafa will get back into things, he is still young enough. Federer is long in the tooth. What we saw last year was phenomenal from Federer and we were lucky to see it, but what I have seen of him so far this year makes me doubt that he will win any big tournaments especially where he has to face both Murray and Djokovic to win the tournament. He is very inconsistent from one day to the next. What I saw happen at the AO against Murray, made me ill.
In any case, we are not mind readers so time will tell.
ruerooo
Legend
I think part of the problem is not only the court conditions, but the conditions of the balls. I've seen articles in Spanish citing that Uncle Toni took to remonstrate with the court organizers about the conditions.
If I were afraid of falling and hurting myself I wouldn't be moving with abandon either (which is, ironically, one of the reasons I'm concerned about Rafa v. D-Nal – Rafa is the better mover, but D-Nal has some deadly angles and when he has his head on straight, can beat even Rafa or Roger on the day).
I think we will see Rafa playing more like himself in the next tournament, where he doesn't feel like he has to be so cautious.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
not anymore!
the older, lower-ranked nalbandian just took care of bolelli in straights and now awaits the winner of Nadal/Alund (wonder who that might be?)
well i meant if bolelli won.
I just do what you do back to you sometimes when I'm bored. so you just described yourself as a troll. less than 1% of my posts deal with you so the fact that you count me as one of the top 5 trolls shows that mentally i own you. In fact since you troll to annoy the vast majority of people here, everyone owns you. Sad really.
Murrayfan31
Hall of Fame
Perfect conditions for Nalbandian. Indoor clay. I see why he entered this tournament. He always preferred indoors but also clay.
Onehandedbackhand
Professional
Sorry wishers, but Nadal's beating Nalby tomorrow.
Clarky21
Banned
Onehandedbackhand
Professional
RAFA2005RG
Banned
His doctors have told him his tendons are 100% according to all tests, but he is playing in pain and will continue to because he knows the knee is medically sound.
Mustard
Bionic Poster
Nadal is still trying to play his way into form at the moment. We'll have a better idea of things in the longer term come Monte Carlo. But Nadal at his present level is clearly way below what he needs to be by late May, but did anyone really expect Nadal to be at peak level after 7 months out? We'll just have to watch carefully at how things unfold tomorrow and in the upcoming weeks and months.
RAFA2005RG
Banned
Nadal won't need to be at 100% to win Roland Garros, that is for sure. And he probably won't need to be at 100% to win Wimbledon either (although that event isn't really a priority).
Cesc Fabregas
Legend
I'm quite drunk right now, how was the Nadal match?
RAFA2005RG
Banned
3rd set was Nadal's best set since his comeback. Hit a bunch of clean winners off both wings in that set. Certainly in that set he played better than Nalbandian played in the other semi.
kishnabe
Talk Tennis Guru
It was priority for you in 2011 and 2012! LOL Nadal will need 100 percent ability to get past more Natural grass courters like Murray and Federer.
RG...he can win at 70 percent!
Doubles
Legend
He snuck past a guy with a losing record in the challenger level. Simple as that.
RAFA2005RG
Banned
Nah, in 2010, 2011, 2012 Nadal has repeatedly said that Roland Garros makes it a great year, and that anything else is a bonus. And all he's talked about since last year is Rio 2016 and Roland Garros. The only time Wimbledon was a priority was 2008 (before he won it the first time).
RAFA2005RG
Banned
Nadal actually skipped Wimbledon in 2009, despite being fit enough to play it. He played a couple of exhibition matches before Wimbledon began and got through it without a physical problem, but still withdrew. Roland Garros is all that matters to him.
but dont u think Nadal needs to have at least 2 cygs to be better than fed
RAFA2005RG
Banned
Nadal is the only man EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD to win slams on clay, grass and hardcourt in a Calendar Year, the rarest and most difficult feat in the history of tennis, and that is why he is already greater than Federer. Plus he's won 7 Roland Garros titles from 8 attempts, equally rare and difficult.
Onehandedbackhand
Professional
He's not greater than Federer at all, but he's an all time great.
RAFA2005RG
Banned
Your statement is a joke. Put them on the same court and Federer is a crying mouse more times than not. Nadal has won their last 5 slam meetings, including 2 on hardcourt, 2 on clay, and 1 on grass. Federer is still beating Djokovic at slams (2011 RG, 2012 Wimbledon) but is simply not good enough to beat Nadal at a slam (apart from when Nadal was age 20/21 at Wimbledon).
Onehandedbackhand
Professional
Yawn dude, should we please go to EVERY SINGLE RECORD Roger owns?
Forget the head to head. Rafa has him beat, there's no question. Rafa's not better than Roger all time, and that's the point.
Forget the head to head. Rafa has him beat, there's no question. Rafa's not better than Roger all time, and that's the point.
Onehandedbackhand
Professional
Ok, you know, forget it. Not going to get into this like everyone else and make this fourteen more pages than it should be.
Newland Archer
Banned
Nalby's taking this.
RAFA2005RG
Banned
But kudos to Federer for a great QF streak. QFs truly are great.
ViscaB
Hall of Fame
This quote I'm gonna guard well for if Nadal beats your one slam wonder again.
P
PureTennis
Guest
vernonbc
Legend
Maria never interned for Mapfre. She interned right out of college at the big national power company for about a year and then got a job on her own with Mapfre. It was a contract job on a particular big event they were sponsoring (nothing to do with tennis) and it required her to spend about 10 months in their London office. Since that ended she has been working with Rafa's Foundation.i-n-t-e-r-e-s-t-i-n-g ... maybe
so she's the little hometown girl who dated the big tennis star as a teenager, then went to work for a giant corporation that sponsors her childhood boyfriend ... and still does, but now she gets a cut of the action?
And yes they are still very much together. She saw him off at the airport when he left for Chile.
Clarky21
Banned
Oh, please. I guess her interning(and yes she DID intern with them)with MAPFRE had nothing to do with Nadal being sponsored by them or anything. Now she "works" for Nadal's foundation. I guess she got that job on her own too, right? I'm sure there was no one more qualified to do her "job" with his foundation than she is, right? She's been using Nadal for years to get ahead. Wake up to reality, will you?
And she never spent 10 months in London. I don't know where you heard that from but it's bogus.
Oh, and that picture is not her seeing him off to Chile. It was taken Jan 25th at the Barcelona airport.
Last edited:
RAFA2005RG
Banned
Nadal won Brazil 6-2 6-3.
realplayer
Semi-Pro
No wonder since they slowed down the surface at wimbledon.
Clarky21
Banned
Yep, and Fed won every single one of his Wimby titles on the same slowed down surface.
President
Legend
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Excellent start to the 2013 season for Rafa!! His second final and his first title of the year (plenty more to come I'm sure ). This was the 2nd time he won the Brasil Open (the first time was in 2005, a win initiating one of his 3 best seasons on the tour). It is his 6th 250 and his 4th on clay, his 51st title overall and his 37th clay title. There are now 6 clay events Rafa has won more than once (Brasil, Barcelona, Stuttgart, M-C, Rome and RG), 7 if one counts Hamb/Madrid as 3rd clay master. The other events he's won more than once are: Wimbledon, IW and Canada.
Congrats to Rafa for a brilliant return to competition. He still has lost only 5 finals on clay in his entire career. Hopefully, he will win Acapulco for the 2nd time soon!
). This was the 2nd time he won the Brasil Open (the first time was in 2005, a win initiating one of his 3 best seasons on the tour). It is his 6th 250 and his 4th on clay, his 51st title overall and his 37th clay title. There are now 6 clay events Rafa has won more than once (Brasil, Barcelona, Stuttgart, M-C, Rome and RG), 7 if one counts Hamb/Madrid as 3rd clay master. The other events he's won more than once are: Wimbledon, IW and Canada.Congrats to Rafa for a brilliant return to competition. He still has lost only 5 finals on clay in his entire career. Hopefully, he will win Acapulco for the 2nd time soon!
Clarky21
Banned
Lol, you seem to have quite the grudge against Xisca. Jealous?
Nah, I don't have a grudge against her. I'm just calling it as I see it.
kalyan4fedever
Legend
Xisca is looking different from what we have seen her cheering in the matches, looking better actually
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
I agree she looks happier. Maybe her studies, exams were putting some strain on her? Or maybe she was just well rested or in a good mood that day!
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
That was definitely an amazing feat. And still unique!
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Awesome looking trophy. Thanks for the pics!
vernonbc
Legend
Didn't see this until it was quoted as you're on my Ignore list but I'll just say, you don't know what you're talking about.
Clarky21
Banned
I think that's the other way around, my dear. You were wrong about everything in your post, even your description of the picture you posted was wrong. You're still as clueless as ever.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
hmm I think I have to be less hard on Nalbandian. Forgot this is his event back in 6 months. If he had been playing more I'm sure he would play better and at least give a way under par nadal a decent match as Nadal's last two opponents did. A miracle he even beat Almagro and made the final really. Both players being out of action for roughly the same time, it's logical that Nadal would destroy Nalbandian even if he did struggle to get to the final. Nadal's opponents might have taken Nalbandian out to be honest.
Similar threads
