heninfan99
Talk Tennis Guru
Yes some of us picked Fognini and were correct.
Wow some are thinking fognini has a chance
Wow some are thinking fognini has a chance
atp site....twitter tennis media..us open site..click video usually does itcheers
Fed looked for help to improve. Nadal doesnt
From a different perspective, Rafa has been improving steadily from where he was at the beginning of the year. Compared to the losses at AO,FO and Wimbledon, this was a much better performance.
The sad part is once the field knows that you are not as strong as you were , the belief comes and more losses follow.
But Rafa is an incredible fighter and he will not go without giving it all.
No he doesnt know how to fix them. He thinks he knows, but he does notHe has hard decisions to make...he said at the press conference he knows what they are and how to fix them, and then the video cuts off, with me yelling "how?' at the screen...maybe kidnap Isner and transport his serving blood into Rafa's brain, because he's got Errani's now
Does the court tend to play slower in the evening?
No he doesnt know how to fix them. He thinks he knows, but he does not
N_N : While Rafa can improve, I think it is not realistic to expect that he would reach the same levels of the past.
Rafa played great for 2 sets when Fog was just ordinary. Once Fog stepped it up, Rafa was not able to handle it. Old Rafa would have never allowed it to go for 3 sets.
Rafa needs to get a good serve and pop in his FH which went AWOL today in the later stages of the match
As with most things, his racquet smash would come in second to Fed's
No he doesnt know how to fix them. He thinks he knows, but he does not
Agreed. Some of the sickest tennis I have ever witnessed. Ridiculous shotmaking!Rafa and Fognini put on the best show of this year's US Open, hats off to both for providing such epic entertainment.
One of the most unique tennis matches ever played!
Um...hitting with topspin and keeping the ball inside the court is easy because the spin will bring the ball down inside the court. Hitting flat winners is HARD because there's less spin to bring the ball inside the court so there's a lot less margin for error.Hitting with heavy topspin takes the most skill and power. Anyone can hit flat and fluke winners.
Um...hitting with topspin and keeping the ball inside the court is easy because the spin will bring the ball down inside the court. Hitting flat winners is HARD because there's less spin to bring the ball inside the court so there's a lot less margin for error.
why is that players always redline against nadal????
If you have never won the WTF, you might think it is rinky dinky.Is there any rinky dink clay tournaments left this year in Samoa or somewhere that rafa can play and win
If hitting with topspin is so hard, why and how is everyone hitting with topspin these days? Seems everyone can do it.In terms of physics, yes. In terms of tennis skill, no.
Wow I can believe itYes some of us picked Fognini and were correct.
Here is another POV. The technology of rackets continues to improve. It's not enough to have the latest shoes, to slide better on HCs.Yes, Ralph wasn't quite at his old best level, but his performance was very spirited and tenacious. Right now, he just isn't getting enough purchase on his first strikes and it seems that opponents are able to read his forehand. I don't think it's just a case of Rafa declining but also the field is more able to understand the probable placement of his forehands even when he really rips them.
Here is another POV. The technology of rackets continues to improve. It's not enough to have the latest shoes, to slide better on HCs.
Fed made a decision to change rackets about a year and a half ago. But initially he had to back away from the new racket. He didn't have enough time to adjust.
Rafa changed rackets sometime in the spring, saying he needed more easy power. Then he too backed off because he could not control the new racket.
Tonight he hit one forehand at 96 mph, but Fognini was winning the battle of pace. I'd wager the shots Rafa was hitting tonight would have blasted most people off the court even a few years ago. The game is changing.
I suspect he will be experimenting again with another racket, but it's going to take time to make the adjustment.
If he doesn't do this, he simply won't be able to compete in 2015 and 2016. For him to continue using his old racket now is a bit like continuing to play with a wooden racket after everyone else has moved on.
In 2012 Fed won 92% of his service games on hardcourts. In 2004 it was the same, 92. In 2005 it was 91. 91 in 2006. 91 in 2007. It's 94 this year. I think a huge amount of that is because of the racket. He gambled, and it paid off.
Watch to see if Nadal makes a racket change between now and the next FO...
Pretty much everyone on this forum does. It's that obvious. It's not even an elephant in the room anymore. It's a bloody T-rex!But you do, right? ;-)
Here is another POV. The technology of rackets continues to improve. It's not enough to have the latest shoes, to slide better on HCs.
Fed made a decision to change rackets about a year and a half ago. But initially he had to back away from the new racket. He didn't have enough time to adjust.
Rafa changed rackets sometime in the spring, saying he needed more easy power. Then he too backed off because he could not control the new racket.
Tonight he hit one forehand at 96 mph, but Fognini was winning the battle of pace. I'd wager the shots Rafa was hitting tonight would have blasted most people off the court even a few years ago. The game is changing.
I suspect he will be experimenting again with another racket, but it's going to take time to make the adjustment.
If he doesn't do this, he simply won't be able to compete in 2015 and 2016. For him to continue using his old racket now is a bit like continuing to play with a wooden racket after everyone else has moved on.
In 2012 Fed won 92% of his service games on hardcourts. In 2004 it was the same, 92. In 2005 it was 91. 91 in 2006. 91 in 2007. It's 94 this year. I think a huge amount of that is because of the racket. He gambled, and it paid off.
Watch to see if Nadal makes a racket change between now and the next FO...
The latter. The level of play got to insane levels.I fell asleep at the end of the second set when Rafa was in total control and Fognini looked like he was going to fall apart. Did Rafa melt down or was Fognini on fire?
If this was a WTA match the people here would holding it up as a prime example of why the WTA sucks. 7service bresks in a row. Missed overhead from the net. 32 seed upsetting the #8. The higher player too mentally weak to protect a 2 set and break lead, etc...For those who think this match was incredible (quality wise), in parts it was but the consistently mediocre serving allowed this match to look way better than it actually was. Nadal wasn't remotely close to Slam winning form. That's the reality. Those saying Nadal played very well are kidding themselves if they are truly comparing Nadal to the actual "playing very well" Nadal - the one who overall at the Slams makes a mockery of Federer and Djokovic and has won 14 Slams.
Get real yo.
Great champions know what worked to get them to the top. Of course they are very reluctant to change what used to be a winning game.I agree (that the game changes over time and that the same thing that worked before won't work so often now and that adaptation is needed).
Does Fogini play still with his trusted PD 1st edition (no woofer)?Here is another POV. The technology of rackets continues to improve. It's not enough to have the latest shoes, to slide better on HCs.
Fed made a decision to change rackets about a year and a half ago. But initially he had to back away from the new racket. He didn't have enough time to adjust.
Rafa changed rackets sometime in the spring, saying he needed more easy power. Then he too backed off because he could not control the new racket.
Tonight he hit one forehand at 96 mph, but Fognini was winning the battle of pace. I'd wager the shots Rafa was hitting tonight would have blasted most people off the court even a few years ago. The game is changing.
I suspect he will be experimenting again with another racket, but it's going to take time to make the adjustment.
If he doesn't do this, he simply won't be able to compete in 2015 and 2016. For him to continue using his old racket now is a bit like continuing to play with a wooden racket after everyone else has moved on.
In 2012 Fed won 92% of his service games on hardcourts. In 2004 it was the same, 92. In 2005 it was 91. 91 in 2006. 91 in 2007. It's 94 this year. I think a huge amount of that is because of the racket. He gambled, and it paid off.
Watch to see if Nadal makes a racket change between now and the next FO...
Great champ
Great champions know what worked to get them to the top. Of course they are very reluctant to change what used to be a winning game.
That's probably one of the biggest things that stop players around age 30 from evolving who have "ruled the world". If you have been winning slams from age 18 or 19 and in the top five for ten years, it's going to take a lot to make a change.
By contrast someone like Wawrinka who has never really been at the top has nothing to lose. No one is even paying attention to what racket he is using, as opposed to what he used a couple years ago. When you are not at the top, you are free to experiment.
Asking Nadal right now to change his racket is probably as hard as asking Novak to change his diet (again).
In general people blame Uncle Toni for everything that has gone wrong (I do this sometimes too), but Toni did not teach him to waste time serving by going through an OCD routine, and he probably has just as little control over some of the negative things Nadal does.
At the root of it all is that Nadal hates change, and sometimes a player only accepts the idea of change when he is losing. Fed's racket change happened after his disastrous 2013. It can't be pure coincidence that he stuck with the old racket in 2012, when he still won a slam, but was open to change when he could no longer win a slam.
For Nadal 2015 is going to be a wake-up call. For the same reason that I think Fed has the best chance at winning the USO this year he has had in years, I also think that Nadal can come back and win more slams in the future, if he stays healthy. But he has to change rackets. I don't think it is so much that he has less power now as that all the other players in 2015 have more. The easy power Fognini got tonight makes me think that Foggy is playing with the best and newest technology, as Fed is, and that Nadal is not.
Wow I can believe it
kudos to Fognini congratz to him and his fans
In 2012 Fed won 92% of his service games on hardcourts. In 2004 it was the same, 92. In 2005 it was 91. 91 in 2006. 91 in 2007. It's 94 this year. I think a huge amount of that is because of the racket. He gambled, and it paid off.
Watch to see if Nadal makes a racket change between now and the next FO...
seems like a decent level match. maybe the serving was bad and not evident in the highlights.
You're welcome. Also forgot his 09 RG defeat (4R)Wow crazy, couldn't believe the scoreline. First pre QF defeat in a slam for Nadal since 2007 (off grass). His annus mirabilis sort of needed a signature loss, Brown wasn't really as it had happened at SW19 before.
@The Green Mile , thanks mate
edit. or not, vid taken down lol
What happened?!?! Nadal lost from 2 SETS UP? Did Fognini do a Tsonga 2011? But even so I can't imagine Rafa not having opportunities to put him away
The 5th set drama was real!Apparently he was a break up in the 3rd set, a break up in the 4th set, broke Fognini 3 times in the 5th set but still lost?
What a chokeApparently he was a break up in the 3rd set, a break up in the 4th set, broke Fognini 3 times in the 5th set but still lost?