cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Seriously! I like Nadal but not this whole part of the Nadal experience with the "is he or isn't he injured or prepared enough?" Get out there and play and STFU. :roll:
Nadal in doubt for the Australian Open?
- Thread starter Zain786
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Seriously! I like Nadal but not this whole part of the Nadal experience with the "is he or isn't he injured or prepared enough?" Get out there and play and STFU. :roll:
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Not this again! I wouldn't have cared if Fed had skipped WTF. My criticism had nothing to do with that. Once you go all out to reach the final of one of the main tennis events, you give the final a shot at least, which is something so obvious that indeed everybody always had until last WTF.What is wrong with him now?
He is not injured! He had a supposed appendectomy, otherwise he was playing at the end of last season just not playing well.
Stop making all these excuses for Nadal. You don't see Federer, Djokovic and Murray missing all of these slams because they may have a hang nail or don't feel prepared. So what if he is not prepared to win the AO? The other players have had the same amount of time off over the Christmas vacation. So Nadal doesn't play well in Doha and the "injury" or lack of preparation excuses come out? Please! What "injury?"
What a hypocrite you are suggesting that Federer missing the WTF final because he had back spasms was a big monumental crisis but you have no problems suggesting Nadal should miss the whole AO because he may not feel ready? LMAO, the hypocrisy is delicious.
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
Why do you think Rafa can rest anytime he is not in form ?
Dont you know Majors and Masters are mandatory for top 30 players because the tour relies on the top shots showing up ?
Rafa has abused this time and again and got away with it.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
But that is not how real life works. Sometimes players get injured at inopportune moments. It still does not explain how you can pick Federer apart for missing a final when the man has barely retired or withdrawn from matches in his entire career but you are all for Nadal missing an entire slam(something he does on a regular basis) because he may not feel mentally prepared and may have some sort of mysterious injury unknown to medical science. It is hilarious how you don't see the hypocrisy there, that is all I am saying.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
He'll be there.
Gary Duane
G.O.A.T.
I'm more worried about him losing in the first couple rounds than skipping the AO. He needs to win matches. The way back for him is on clay courts.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
I don't think clay vs hard matters at this point. He had horrible losses on clay last year and didn't look in any better form than he did on HC tbh. He needs match practice and rhythm, no matter what court. The problem is these guys are going to keep hitting every ball at him at "200ks" as he likes to say, because it's his kryptonite.
Russeljones
Talk Tennis Guru
An early exit is the last thing anyone wants but not playing for fear of losing is not a champion's way. Only an overzealous armchair expert would want his favourite player to do that.
beltsman
G.O.A.T.
To the integrity of sports, yes.
NatF
Bionic Poster
This x 1000
Quite pathetic that certain members don't even want to see their favorite give the AO a shot incase he loses early. From my own perspective I love to see my favorites win more than I hate to see them lose.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Absolutely this. I want him to give it all he has and do as well as he can there.
W.P. Mayhew
Semi-Pro
Craig Tiley just mentioned he spoke to Nadal's team and that he was looking forward to the Australian Open. Unless a Deus Ex Injury comes along, not much doubt.
irishnadalfan1983
Hall of Fame
Agreed - I will be disgusted if he doesn't play Australia for fear of losing.
He is not injured so what is the problem?? Why did he even make those comments?
The last 6 months have been really bizarre - nothing is making sense with Rafa.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Was never in doubt.
TheMusicLover
G.O.A.T.
This. Some 'fans' really have a very twisted opinion on the mindset of a top athlete/great champion.
It is strange, indeed.
The only 'explanatation' that comes to my mind is that perhaps Nadal isn't as much fearful of losing as such, but rather fearful of the first signs of a (slight?) decline - a prospect which eventually is inevitable, but of course not a happy one. It is however a harsh reality all of them, and in a different sense, all of us, will have to face sooner or later.
It's all too natural that when having had a long period of great successes, it may take some time to realize that it won't go on forever, and all athletes deal with that prospect differently.
I well remember that ever since the first cracks in Fed's performance started to show (as early as in 2009 at least), I've seen 'fans' asking him to hang up the racket. Fortunately he never listened but just continued to give his best as much as he still can, even knowing that the Big Glory Days may well be over. I can only wish for Nadal to be able to do the same, but as I said, everyone's different in this. Only time will tell.
And once again - don't write off a great champion before he indeed stops playing altogether. Be sure he WILL play the AO.
irishnadalfan1983
Hall of Fame
Really Michael??!
Come on now - Rafa is incredibly unpredictable these days in terms of performance, mood and injuries and has been the last 6/7 months.
You just don't know what is coming next with him - very unsettling as a Rafa fan.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Yes really. I didn't think Nadal was skipping the AO because he lost a match yesterday.
irishnadalfan1983
Hall of Fame
Nor did I.
But I couldn't rule out Rafa skipping the tournament for some reason or another and he suggested this yesterday so there was doubt and kind of always is with Rafa these days really I suppose.
irishnadalfan1983
Hall of Fame
P.S. Has Rafa suggested playing in Sydney at all???
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
So you believe that Fed has a 'duty' to play when he believes he is not fit to do so (and risk further injury)?
Thankfully, he, and anybody else who matters, does not share your opinion.
Also you would be singing a different tune if we were talking about Nadalovic.
NatF
Bionic Poster
Don't waste your time, some posters are just unreasonable.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
For once I agree with you. That said, I saw through it and knew he'd be there.
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
Rafa tweeted:
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
But that is precisely what she IS doing. She is trying to make it sound like Federer missing a final after he has withdrawn/retired from matches three times in his entire career is criminal but it is ok for Nadal to miss countless tournaments and slams for many years because he may not feel ready to play. Such hypocrisy. According to her it is worse to miss ONE final rather than miss a dozen entire tournaments.
TheMusicLover
G.O.A.T.
But that is precisely what she IS doing. She is trying to make it sound like Federer missing a final after he has withdrawn/retired from matches three times in his entire career is criminal but it is ok for Nadal to miss countless tournaments and slams for many years because he may not feel ready to play. Such hypocrisy. According to her it is worse to miss ONE final rather than miss a dozen entire tournaments.
Like NatF already said: don't waste your time, some posters are just unreasonable.
RF-18
Talk Tennis Guru
But that is precisely what she IS doing. She is trying to make it sound like Federer missing a final after he has withdrawn/retired from matches three times in his entire career is criminal but it is ok for Nadal to miss countless tournaments and slams for many years because he may not feel ready to play. Such hypocrisy. According to her it is worse to miss ONE final rather than miss a dozen entire tournaments.
It's disgusting quite actually.
Shows why you can't take some seriously and why you waste your time trying to tell them whats the matter altough they know pretty well whats going on.
It's fun revealing these rafa fans.
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
Noleberic123
G.O.A.T.
He is not injured. Just inconsistent
Even if Rafa decides to withdraw from Aussie open today, ITF won't allow him to declare so early because they want to sell tickets. IMO if Nadal skips Aussie open, he'll announce it 2-3 days before tournament. Before he'll keep saying on Twitter or in interviews that recovery process is going on and he's hoping to participate, comeback is difficult etc.
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octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
Loyal Rafans support Rafa - no matter what!
Nadal apparently hurt his back during the AO final last year (probably psychosomatically since he was losing as we've seen countless times in the past).
Do you honestly believe Nadal would have played the final if he had hurt his back the way he apparently did, right before the match?
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
Rafa injured his back during the warm-up before the 2014 AO final.
LOL, that's only for the gullible. If you actually watch the match he was perfectly fine for the 1st set and a half. Then you actually seen an abrupt change in his play in the second set. So whatever he said about "during the warm-up", it was nowhere near as problematic as it was during the second set, that was clear to anyone watching. I'm saying if he had that problematic level before the match, does anyone honestly think he would have played? LOL, if you answer in the affirmative. Because his entire history negates that stupid line of thought.
clayqueen
Talk Tennis Guru
Rafa has been misquoted, he didn't say he may not play the AO.
Q. You have a history in the past of coming off a season where you have had injuries and whatever even stronger than you had been before that. Are you confident that you can do the same after the 2014 season?
RAFAEL NADAL: If I am stronger, I gonna be the best of the history, so that's not gonna happen. I don't gonna be stronger than before, no. So no, no, no, no.
I'm sure that it's gonna takes time. I was not ‑‑when I came back, I was not stronger than before. I had amazing year, but ‑‑ 2005 was amazing year. 2008 was a fantastic year and without coming from injury. And 2010 was a great year after a tough year, 2009, for different things, no, but especially for the knee.
But two toughest, three toughest time that was injury for me was 2005 to 2006, you know, and take a little bit of time for me to be back on my best, even if I won at Dubai, the second tournament that I played, then was tough to feel a little bit that I was in rhythm.
And 2013 was amazing comeback, but as I say the other day, I come back on perfect conditions for me, on clay, 250 tournaments. All the facts was on my favor.
This time is a little bit different. This one is the third one, so we will see. We will see how the thing goes in a couple of months. I wanted to start well. Was not the case today. I want to play well in the Australian Open. That's a tournament that I like a lot. I don't know if it will be the case, but I gonna work for it. If not, you know, I gonna play in Rio de Janeiro, I gonna play in Buenos Aires. I need to be ready for that. The season is long. After, when you come back after an injury, you cannot only see the immediate moment. You have to take a look a little bit farther. That's normally, during my career, I was looking always tournament by tournament.
But now in my mind is practice well, try to be ready for Australia, but knowing that can happen that I gonna go to Australia and lose early. It is true if I'm able to practice well and find my rhythm, if I'm able to win a couple matches there, then anything can happen.
Can happen that I gonna arrive there and I gonna lose early, but I don't know.
Q. You have a history in the past of coming off a season where you have had injuries and whatever even stronger than you had been before that. Are you confident that you can do the same after the 2014 season?
RAFAEL NADAL: If I am stronger, I gonna be the best of the history, so that's not gonna happen. I don't gonna be stronger than before, no. So no, no, no, no.
I'm sure that it's gonna takes time. I was not ‑‑when I came back, I was not stronger than before. I had amazing year, but ‑‑ 2005 was amazing year. 2008 was a fantastic year and without coming from injury. And 2010 was a great year after a tough year, 2009, for different things, no, but especially for the knee.
But two toughest, three toughest time that was injury for me was 2005 to 2006, you know, and take a little bit of time for me to be back on my best, even if I won at Dubai, the second tournament that I played, then was tough to feel a little bit that I was in rhythm.
And 2013 was amazing comeback, but as I say the other day, I come back on perfect conditions for me, on clay, 250 tournaments. All the facts was on my favor.
This time is a little bit different. This one is the third one, so we will see. We will see how the thing goes in a couple of months. I wanted to start well. Was not the case today. I want to play well in the Australian Open. That's a tournament that I like a lot. I don't know if it will be the case, but I gonna work for it. If not, you know, I gonna play in Rio de Janeiro, I gonna play in Buenos Aires. I need to be ready for that. The season is long. After, when you come back after an injury, you cannot only see the immediate moment. You have to take a look a little bit farther. That's normally, during my career, I was looking always tournament by tournament.
But now in my mind is practice well, try to be ready for Australia, but knowing that can happen that I gonna go to Australia and lose early. It is true if I'm able to practice well and find my rhythm, if I'm able to win a couple matches there, then anything can happen.
Can happen that I gonna arrive there and I gonna lose early, but I don't know.
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
The journos skipped the word well and totally changed the meaning of Rafa’s text!
Rafa's post-match press conference, R1 (transcript)
Source: FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
I have watched the first set at least 10 times and I can see no sign of any injury with Rafa. Just that Stan was smoking. He was still at the same high as he was in his 2 previous matches against Novak / Berdych.
The first signs of injury came after he lost serve in the second set.
RF-18
Talk Tennis Guru
Funny thing about all this that rafa is saying, is that he is securing himself if a fiasco were to happen. Just read carefully about what he is saying and how he is making a big deal out of his surgery to overshadow his fiasco IF it where to happen, he has turned all attention into his injury, just read carefully
If he does come back and prove everyone wrong, he will be called a warrior and all amazing things there is.
BUT: If his season, or first 6 months turns out to be a fiasco , it will be because of his injury. I don't think Nadal will directly say it out open, but the tennis world who has read/heard his words in the beginning of the season will remember what he said and instead the fiasco will be because of:
''He wasn't in form, hard to come back from such injury'' etc
Must say Nadal is truly a smart man. He knows what to say to gain benefits and he is taking advantage of it. No matter how it goes for him, he has secured himself
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MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Funny thing about all this that rafa is saying, is that he is securing himself if a fiasco were to happen. Just read carefully about what he is saying, read please.
If he does come back and prove everyone wrong, he will be called a warrior and all amazing things there is.
BUT: If a fiasco happens, it will be because of his injury. I don't think Nadal will directly say it out open, but the tennis world who has read his words in the beginning of the season will remember what he said and instead the fiasco will be because of:
''He wasn't in form, hard to come back from such injury'' etc
Must say Nadal is truly a smart man. No matter how it goes for him, he has truly secured himself
Does Nadal need to say anything for us to know it's hard to come back from an injury? You're making something out of nothing as usual. It WOULD be amazing if he won the AO given the circumstances. Sorry if that bugs you
I imagine the headlines would give you cataracts.
Chanwan
G.O.A.T.
Amen to that!
And thatBut that is precisely what she IS doing. She is trying to make it sound like Federer missing a final after he has withdrawn/retired from matches three times in his entire career is criminal but it is ok for Nadal to miss countless tournaments and slams for many years because he may not feel ready to play. Such hypocrisy. According to her it is worse to miss ONE final rather than miss a dozen entire tournaments.
Nevertheless, this is my approach to this Vero-thing from now onLike NatF already said: don't waste your time, some posters are just unreasonable.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Ha, ha. Oh come on Chanwan, you know you will respond to Veronique on this issue. What she is saying on the matter is so nonsensical and maddening you won't be able to stop yourself.
RF-18
Talk Tennis Guru
Does Nadal need to say anything for us to know it's hard to come back from an injury? You're making something out of nothing as usual. It WOULD be amazing if he won the AO given the circumstances. Sorry if that bugs you
No, what bugs me is Nadals behaviour. He is so desperat to reach Federers records that he along the way plays mindgames with the whole tennis world. Even on court he is bullying the opponents psychologicaly. It's sickening how he piles up excuses every damn year before the season is about to start so he has something to rely on later. And no, there is no circumstances. All players suffers some kind of injury, and when it heals, he can play. No one puts this kind of attention to the media on an injury. But, he has secured himself if he were to fail, just as he has done every year after a ''new'' injury.
How can anyone even fall into his crap all the time? Even his fans?
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Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
so is he pulling out or not ???
He should try to reach Federer's record by losing to him 23 times and surrendering his Olympics singles gold medal
Nadal has already topped Federer in that department by losing even more than that to guys ranked above 50! LOL.
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