For Nadal's fans: Most devastating loss in his career?

Most heartbreaking Rafael Nadal's loss ever?

  • Total voters
    43
lud

lud

Hall of Fame
2005 Miami FINAL: Federer vs Nadal 2-6,6-7,7-6,6-3,6-1
2007 Wimbledon FINAL: Federer vs Nadal 7-6,4-6,7-6,2-6,6-2
2009 Roland Garros 4.ROUND: Soderling vs Nadal 6-2,6-7,6-4,7-6
2011 Miami FINAL: Djokovic vs Nadal 4-6,6-3,7-6
2011 Madrid FINAL: Djokovic vs Nadal 7-5,6-4
2012 Australian Open FINAL: Djokovic vs Nadal 5-7,6-4,6-2,6-7,7-5
2014 Australian Open FINAL: Wawrinka vs Nadal 6-3,6-2,3-6,6-3
2015 Us Open 4.ROUND: Fognini vs Nadal 3-6,4-6,6-4,6-3,6-4
2017 Australian Open FINAL: Federer vs Nadal 6-4,3-6,6-1,3-6,6-3
2018 Wimbledon 1/2 FINAL: Djokovic vs Nadal 6-4,3-6,7-6,3-6,10-8
 
Surecatch

Surecatch

Semi-Pro
The 17' AO final had to sting.....he had the fifth set wrapped up and Roger dead in the water before Fed's monumental nut check won him the title.
 
TennisFan3

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
All his AO final losses and injury retirements before finals, have been his hardest losses.

Nadal has underachieved at the AO. He's had so many retirements and injuries on that court. Then also lost 5 set matches where he was a break up in the 5th.

AO 2017 was obviously super critical. That loss kind of sealed the whole GOAT debate. (IMO - Nadal wouldn't have been the GOAT even if he won that match, but still..)
 
Sabrina

Sabrina

Hall of Fame
AO 12 and Wimby 07/18. However If I had to choose one it would be Wimbledon 2018. Nadal could at least tie Fed GS record by now had he managed to won that Wimbledon IMO.
 
Sport

Sport

G.O.A.T.
OldschoolKIaus said:
AO2017

Biggest loss in tennis ever.
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Not worse than Wimbledon 2008, losing in your favorite Slam. AO is not Nadal's favorite Slam. And not worse than AO 2009, with Federer crying after losing to Nadal on hard courts, when Federer is a better hard court player than Nadal.

Sure, AO 2017 was painful. But to say that it is "the biggest lost in tennis ever" is a little bit too much.
 
MeatTornado

MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
Sport said:
Not worse than Wimbledon 2008, losing in your favorite Slam. AO is not Nadal's favorite Slam. And not worse than AO 2009, with Federer crying after losing to Nadal on hard courts, when Federer is a better hard court player than Nadal.

Sure, AO 2017 was painful. But to say that it is "the biggest lost in tennis ever" is a little bit too much.
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AO 17 determined the GOAT. nO eXcUsEs
 
aman92

aman92

Legend
2012 Australian open... He had already suffered so much at the hands of Djokovic and losing that one after being a break up in the 5th was simply devastating
 
TennisFan3

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
StrongRule said:
AO 2014 and Wimbledon 2018.
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I'd say AO 2014 and Soderling's F.O 2009.

Both of those matches, I never expected Nadal to lose.

Wimbledon 2018 SF because of Djokovic, Nadal was the underdog anyway - as he always is against the Serb. So you kind of expected Rafa to lose.

But heck, losing to Wawrinka in a slam final (because of injury), and Soderling at freaking RG - was insane.
 
S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
TennisFan3 said:
I'd say AO 2014 and Soderling's F.O 2009.

Both of those matches, I never expected Nadal to lose.

Wimbledon 2018 SF because of Djokovic, Nadal was the underdog anyway - as he always is against the Serb. So you kind of expected Rafa to lose.

But heck, losing to Wawrinka in a slam final (because of injury), and Soderling at freaking RG - was insane.
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I was never too upset about RG 2009. Soderling played some unreal tennis that day and deserved to win. Nadal had to lose in RG at some point, and it was the best way to lose there.
 
TennisFan3

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
StrongRule said:
I was never too upset about RG 2009. Soderling played some unreal tennis that day and deserved to win. Nadal had to lose in RG at some point, and it was the best way to lose there.
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I don't know about that. In R4 of RG - where Nadal never looked more dominant than in 2008.

I think Soderling match was the greatest upset in tennis history. It is to Nadal's credit that he had such an aura in RG. But for him to lose so early was unimaginable.
Even with dodgy knees.
 
S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
TennisFan3 said:
I don't know about that. In R4 of RG - where Nadal never looked more dominant than in 2008.

I think Soderling match was the greatest upset in tennis history. It is to Nadal's credit that he had such an aura in RG. But for him to lose so early was unimaginable.
Even with dodgy knees.
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Soderling played an unbelievable match. That was higher level than anything both Federer and Djokovic ever showed in RG. He was hitting bombs from all over the court and almost everything was going in.
 
Pistol10

Pistol10

Professional
vive le beau jeu ! said:
i'm a bit puzzled by the thread title... a "devastating nadal loss" ? :unsure:
(is that what you guys call an oxymoron ?)
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oxymoron.jpg
 
TennisFan3

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
StrongRule said:
Soderling played an unbelievable match. That was higher level than anything both Federer and Djokovic ever showed in RG. He was hitting bombs from all over the court and almost everything was going in.
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I'd disagree with that. Nadal also played CRAP in the R4 match.
He was just surprised and hit short all freaking match. See the statistics on Nadal's avg shot depth. He seemed shocked at Soderling's intensity and could not really change strategy or hit with depth at all.

See their final in 2010. And yeah Soderling did not play as well, but Nadal had a plan. In 2009, Nadal was just not prepared and he didn't fight fire with fire - but instead hoped for his opponent to play bad.

Djokovic played better than Soderling in 2009, multiple years at F.O. The 2013 final loss to Nadal, and even the year that he won and even in the 2015 QF when he beat Nadal in straights.
 
S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
TennisFan3 said:
I'd disagree with that. Nadal also played CRAP in the R4 match.
He was just surprised and hit short all freaking match. See the statistics on Nadal's avg shot depth. He seemed shocked at Soderling's intensity and could not really change strategy or hit with depth at all.

See their final in 2010. And yeah Soderling did not play as well, but Nadal had a plan. In 2009, Nadal was just not prepared and he didn't fight fire with fire - but instead hoped for his opponent to play bad.

Djokovic played better than Soderling in 2009, multiple years at F.O. The 2013 final loss to Nadal, and even the year that he won and even in the 2015 QF when he beat Nadal in straights.
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:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D
Dude, just stop. I know you are one of the biggest Djokovic fans on this forum, but everything has limits. Nadal was playing well enough in RG 2009. I guess you by mistake watched highlights of his RG 2015 1/4 final instead-that was indeed a terrible performance from Nadal which had nothing to do with Djokovic.
 
TennisFan3

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
StrongRule said:
Dude, just stop. I know you are one of the biggest Djokovic fans on this forum, but everything has limits. Nadal was playing well enough in RG 2009. I guess you by mistake watched highlights of his RG 2015 1/4 final instead-that was indeed a terrible performance from Nadal which had nothing to do with Djokovic.
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Did you read what I wrote? Nadal was playing super pathetic in 2015 I know that. And yeah 2009 RG Nadal was better than that.

But we were talking about Djokovic's level. I think Djokovic was playing well enough in 2013 and 2016 and 2015.
You don't think that Nadal had to play amazing tennis in set 5 of 2013 Final to beat Novak? That level was higher than Soderling's in 2009 - let's be realistic here.
 
S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
TennisFan3 said:
Did you read what I wrote? Nadal was playing super pathetic in 2015 I know that. And yeah 2009 RG Nadal was better than that.

But we were talking about Djokovic's level. I think Djokovic was playing well enough in 2013 and 2016 and 2015.
You don't think that Nadal had to play amazing tennis in set 5 of 2013 Final to beat Novak? That level was higher than Soderling's in 2009 - let's be realistic here.
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He was playing well, but not that great. Nadal should have won their RG 2013 semifinal in 4 sets but he choked. As a result he had to work harder in the fifth. For sure Djokovic's level was not higher than Soderling's in RG 2009 fourth round. (I never said Soderling is the better player on clay overall. That was one performance, he never played like this again. Though he was also great when he beat Federer the next year)
 
lud

lud

Hall of Fame
How come nobody vote for Wim 2007??
Wim 2007 and AO 2009 are extremely similiar matches.

Even as a Fedfan I admit Nadal was overall better player in WIM 2007 Final. Fed just played better important points and that's it. Those break points in 5th set were crucial. Nerves get to Nadal on those points, obviously.
 
S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
lud said:
How come nobody vote for Wim 2007??
Wim 2007 and AO 2009 are extremely similiar matches.

Even as a Fedfan I admit Nadal was overall better player in WIM 2007 Final. Fed just played better important points and that's it. Those break points in 5th set were crucial. Nerves get to Nadal on those points, obviously.
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He won it next year so it's ok. What makes the AO losses so bad is that he never won that tournament again.
 
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lud

lud

Hall of Fame
in terms of playing Miami 05,Wim 07 and Wim 18 are def. most crushing.
In all three matches Nadal was better player most of the time.

In all others,Nadal wasn't better player during match.
 
S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
lud said:
You guys are so unfair.
In AO '14 Stan totally dominated Nadal from first point.
Nadal try to play mindgames,it didn't work.
I can tell why is this loss painfull(GOAT status,double slam,possible NCYGS...).
Neverthless, Nadal was outplayed.
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Stop being a hater. Nadal was nowhere near his best from the beginning. In the last game of the first set he had a triple break point which he missed after making 3 second serve return errors in a row. What that has to do with Wawrinka's level? Wawrinka played very well but he played exactly the same tennis when they met in Shanghai and WTF 2013. Yet Nadal won both matches because he also played well. In AO 2014 final he didn't. And I don't understand how can somebody doubt there was an injury. Nadal was pretty much out of the game for THREE YEARS after that loss. He only started to recover in 2017. (please, don't even try to mention his "win" in RG 2014. Thank you)
 
lud

lud

Hall of Fame
StrongRule said:
Stop being a hater. Nadal was nowhere near his best from the beginning. In the last game of the first set he had a triple break point which he missed after making 3 return errors in a row. What that has to do with Wawrinka's level? Wawrinka played very well but he played exactly the same tennis when they met in Shanghai and WTF 2013. Yet Nadal won both matches because he also played well. In AO 2014 final he didn't. And I don't understand how can somebody doubt there was an injury. Nadal was pretty much out of the game for THREE YEARS after that loss. He only started to recover in 2017. (please, don't even try to mention his "win" in RG 2014. Thank you)
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Jes **** Chr. I just can't believe it. I'm NOT hater. Neither of Rafa or Nole. But, I'm fair. Nadal was outplayed. Just like Djokovic was outplayed in USO 16 FINAL and Federer being outplayed in 2014 MC Final.
 
S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
lud said:
Jes **** Chr. I just can't believe it. I'm NOT hater. Neither of Rafa or Nole. But, I'm fair. Nadal was outplayed. Just like Djokovic was outplayed in USO 16 FINAL and Federer being outplayed in 2014 MC Final.
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Nadal was playing very bad. You will never see a good Nadal making 3 second serve return errors in a row, especially in such an important moment. There were more than enough matches where Nadal played on a good level and lost them-Wimbledon 2007, RG 2009, Wimbledon 2018 and more. In AO 2014 he was nowhere near his best.
 
The Blond Blur

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
I get why Rafa fans would vote for any of the AO finals since it's the only slam he hasn't won multiple times. But for me, it still has to be the Soderling loss in 09. Not only was this the biggest upset in tennis history, as no one came even close to beating prime Nadal at RG. It also had huge implications for the GOAT status. If he wins, he goes undefeated in his prime, and he'd be equal to Roger with 19 slams a piece. Additionally, Roger doesn't have the career slam if Rafa wins again. If you've had a career as long and as successful as Rafa you're bound to have some devastating losses. Sure, I'd absolutely love it if he had an extra AO or 2, but I'd love it even more if he went undefeated at RG and he has a career slam and Roger doesn't. And no, I don't hate Fed. It would just be cool if Rafa had something that he didn't.
 
S

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
The Blond Blur said:
I get why Rafa fans would vote for any of the AO finals since it's the only slam he hasn't won multiple times. But for me, it still has to be the Soderling loss in 09. Not only was this the biggest upset in tennis history, as no one came even close to beating prime Nadal at RG. It also had huge implications for the GOAT status. If he wins, he goes undefeated in his prime, and he'd be equal to Roger with 19 slams a piece. Additionally, Roger doesn't have the career slam if Rafa wins again. If you've had a career as long and as successful as Rafa you're bound to have some devastating losses. Sure, I'd absolutely love it if he had an extra AO or 2, but I'd love it even more if he went undefeated at RG and he has a career slam and Roger doesn't. And no, I don't hate Fed. It would just be cool if Rafa had something that he didn't.
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Nadal was never going to win 10 RG titles in a row. Forget it. Nobody wins forever. Nadal had to lose in RG at some point. Well, it happened in 2009 when Soderling played an unreal match. I don't see why it has to hurt. That was the best possible way to lose in RG.
As for your last sentence, Nadal has records which Federer doesn't have. Last time I checked Federer was not even close to winning a slam 12 times. But Federer is obviously the greater player overall.
 
maratha_warrior

maratha_warrior

Hall of Fame
Wimbledon 2018 - Nadal had 5 break points in final set ,and if he converted one he could serve for match .

Also if he won it , maybe djoker won't be able to comeback and win USO and AO back to back . So Rafa could have been even bagged one more .
Resurgence of Novak is threat to Rafa's slam record chances .
Another Wimbledon title would have enhanced his legacy .
Wimbledon is the biggest trophy in tennis .

I think wimby 18 put brakes on Nadal"s GOAT chances .
 
BeatlesFan

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
beltsman said:
Did you forget that Bull just destroyed Fed in a slam?
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Did you forget you said Rafa is "great at avenging his losses." ? If what you said is true, why did it take him 1.5 years to get around to "avenging" his 2017 AO loss? He proceeded to lose three straight times to Fed. I merely exposed your "theory" as the bogus BS it is.
 
J

Jonesy

Legend
2018 Wimby Rafa choked badly, Djoker had no place winning that considering how long he was without winning anything of worth. I don't think even the roof excuse can make for that because Rafa was playing so well during the whole tournament.
 
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