sillymonkey
Hall of Fame
Rafa looking fierce and unbeatable.
2012 RG SF: [2] Rafael Nadal vs [5] David Ferrer
- Thread starter jm1980
- Start date
bluetrain4
G.O.A.T.
That's right. For the open era it's:
Fed - 10
Fed - 8
Nadal - 5
Laver - 4
Agassi - 4
Pre-open era, there's a number of men with 5 and 6, and one with 7.
Rocky89
Professional
jakemcclain32
Banned
I have nothing to say but WOW!
Rafa just looked like the killer I remember he once was. After 2-2, he made so few errors, had mind deflating shots, and just played like an absolute god. No errors, no constant deuces like he had all tournament. He just destroyed Daveed.
And Ferrer, to his credit, just kept swinging away and getting a few winners, no matter what. Credit to him, he never ever EVER quits. That's what makes him one of my favorite players. You just can't do a thing to a guy like Rafa. If Rafa played like he did a few times in that tournament, with multiple errors, both forced and unforced, it would've been different. Today, that wasn't going to happen.
And I can accept that. Nadal still has to beat one of the big two tomorrow, but that was otherworldly today.
Rafa just looked like the killer I remember he once was. After 2-2, he made so few errors, had mind deflating shots, and just played like an absolute god. No errors, no constant deuces like he had all tournament. He just destroyed Daveed.
And Ferrer, to his credit, just kept swinging away and getting a few winners, no matter what. Credit to him, he never ever EVER quits. That's what makes him one of my favorite players. You just can't do a thing to a guy like Rafa. If Rafa played like he did a few times in that tournament, with multiple errors, both forced and unforced, it would've been different. Today, that wasn't going to happen.
And I can accept that. Nadal still has to beat one of the big two tomorrow, but that was otherworldly today.
ruerooo
Legend
Rafa was elegantly impressive, very very focused.
And I agree with you about Daveeed. Mentally, those DFs cost him, I think. He can beat Rafa on his day (though I don't think it's happened on clay yet) but if Rafa isn't making any errors, and his opponent is making some he can't afford to, well ... that won't end well for the other guy, usually.
Props to Daveeed, though. I still can't quite get past the fact this was only his first RG semi, as good as he is on clay.
pds999
Hall of Fame
Best Federer wouldn't win a set. Djok 2.0 maybe one set.
Federer wasn't just beating one guy. He was beating everyone. Nadal consistently gets his Spanish compatriots deep into the slams quite often, and pretty much beats them every time.
THUNDERVOLLEY
G.O.A.T.
No one has a chance against Nadal in the final.
BigServer1
Legend
Yes, the one year Federer destroyed Gonzo in a Major final was the year Gonzo destroyed Rafa en route to that Major final.
Next time Fed draws Stan Warwinka in a slam semi and Stan lays down and dies, let me know.
Crisstti
Legend
Haven't seen the match yet. But wow at the result 
"Everyone" being players like González or, at best, Roddick.
"Everyone" being players like González or, at best, Roddick.
BigServer1
Legend
Or Safin, Hewitt, Agassi, Nadal, Djokovic.
Clarky21
Banned
I'm watching the match right now,and so far,it's been nothing special. No chance against Rolaids in the final,I'm afraid. He's doomed before they even take the court.
jakemcclain32
Banned
Bye Clarky. Been nice knowing ya.
Clarky21
Banned
Bye,bye. Don't forget to place another $1000 bet on Nadal winning the final so you can lose some more money.
Crisstti
Legend
He hardly ever played Nadal (except in RG) and Djokovic in his prime.
Mind you, he could only play who was in front of him, but this has to be pointed out if Fed fans are going to come here to complain about the players Nadal has had to beat...
Last edited:
zagor
Bionic Poster
That depends on what you consider to be Fed's prime.
I'd probably say 2003-2009 and in that period overall he played Nadal and Novak in slams more so than anyone else.
Crisstti
Legend
Well, Fed fans usually say Fed's prime was until 2007 (and it was, after all, when he won most of his slams). When did he play Nadal or Djokovic in finals or semis?, three times in RG, twice in Wimbledon, one USO final... maybe there are others.
ruerooo
Legend
Clarky will be around tomorrow if Rafa doesn't do as well in the final as we all – sorry, a lot of us – hope he will.
Anyone can have an off day. I just hope Rafa's doesn't turn out to be Sunday.
Though we can certainly celebrate how he played today. And Ferru didn't do that badly; he had his winners – though IMO he couldn't afford the errors he made, the way Rafa was playing – but Rafa's placement, his backhand, his focus … he's done great, all tournament long. May it continue.
Vamos!
zagor
Bionic Poster
I think his peak was 2004-2007 (like say Nadal's peak so far was 2008 and 2010) but I think a player's prime is a longer period of time.
During 2003-2009 he played Nadal in 3 Wimbledon finals, 3 FO finals and FO SF and one AO F. Novak he played 3 times at USO and two times at AO.
Clarky21
Banned
Yeah,and Satan is also building snowmen in h*ll. In other words,it's not happening.
For Rafa fans a great site with extended highlights in HD and slow mo of Puntazos (best points I guess ). Rafa vs Ferrer is already up
Highlights and whole match.
http://rafapedia.com/
). Rafa vs Ferrer is already upHighlights and whole match.
http://rafapedia.com/
Last edited:
Crisstti
Legend
For Rafa fans a great site with extended highlights in HD and slow mo of Puntazos (best points I guess
http://rafapedia.com/
It is a great website.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
Well Satan has got enough snow in hell to build the snowmen already - everytime you said there was not a chance nadal would win, make a final, beat rolaids etc, hell snowed. That's a lot of f***ing snow!
Clarky21
Banned
We'll see,but 7 finals in a row,3 of them in slams tells me that Nadal doesn't have a prayer of beating Rolaids on Sunday. Especially with him playing the way he is.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
It's true anyone can have an off day, I don't see that happening to nadal though unless Novak just starts very well and puts him under pressure.
Personally, no offence to Nadal, but I hope Djokovic finds a way to win. Nadal has enough French Opens and still has time for more. I'm glad both Federer and Nadal completed their career slams and now it would be nice to see Djokovic do it. This year if he beats Nadal to win the title he will really, really deserve it and it will make history.
There are plenty of nadal fans but also plenty of neutrals who'd like to see Djokovic complete something incredible. Lots of people also want him to fail but I think Fedal have records he won't touch so Djokovic doing the Djokoslam would just make this ear even more incredible.
Anyway, I just hope it isn't a total blowout.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
the 7 finals in a row are in the past, the streak has ended. I might as well bring up Nadal's 5 match streak he had a while back and the 5 slam matches he won in a row.
Ndal is playing great. Djokovic barely survived the draw you pronounced cake, having to save 4 match points against clay novice Tsonga and being 2 sets down to Seppi. Nadal with his almost impossible draw of clay giants like Ferrer, Monaco, Almagro, came through without breaking a sweat.
Just enjoy it clarky. You're so wound up over how many more times nadal can or can't win, you can't even enjoy the wins he does get.
Clarky21
Banned
Well,Rolaids has enough slams,and still has time for more. He is a year younger than Nadal,and has won 5 out of the last 6 slams. Unfortunately he is a lock to win RG,but I can't say that I think he deserves it more than anyone else does. Only a homertard would say something like that.
If the final is to be a blowout,it will be in favor of Rolaids. Nadal won't even take a set,and I fear a Fed like beatdown like he got in 2008 inflicted upon Nadal by Rolaids.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Man I can't wait till this match is over to see what Clarky has to say then. "Rolaids didn't play well" blah blah blah.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
wtf? Nadal is like you said only one year older and has twice as many slams. He has more RG titles than Djokovic has more total slams. So only a **** would try and argue Djokovic has enough slams but nadal does not.
And it's not a homertard argument, I didn't say he deserved to win RG more, I said IF HE DOES WIN it, he will really deserve it because he's beaten Nadal to win it (not that Federer didn't deserve it, but I think Djokovic's win would be more impressive) course you would think beating Gulbis would be more impressive than beating Nadal :lol:
Anyway, Djokovic has beaten the defending champ in every slam he has ever won apart from this year's AO where HE was the champ. He's beaten Nadal at Wimbledon, Nadal at the US Open, plus Fed there too who was not defending champ but best US Open champ in the currect game, and beaten 4 time AO winner Fed when he was defending champ. To win all 4 slams by defeating the defending champ, is hugely impressive.
Also how is nadal not going to win a set when he at least won one set in every other slam match Djokovic has won, even on hardcourt?
Last edited:
Clarky21
Banned
I think you're jumping the gun a bit here. Nadal has lost the last 3 slam finals he played against Rolaids. He isn't playing that great,and Rolaids owns him mentally. Where are you getting all of this chest beating confidence from? It certainly can't be from Nadal's recent slam performances,as they have been one step away from the gutter since the USO in 2010. There is nothing from which to draw any hope from when it comes to Nadal ever beating Rolaids in a slam again.
Last edited:
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
I hope for once she gets a prediction right :twisted:
I mean like nadal eventually stopping the rot against Djokovic, surely she has to be right sometime? :lol:
Clarky21
Banned
Not when they are both past their prime. I would love to know where Rolaids was when both of these guys were playing their best tennis. Dr. Igor might have the answer to that one.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
Well I'd like to know where Nadal was outside of the French Open when fed was winning all his slams? I mean Djokovic beat Fed in a slam outside the French before Nadal did, so it's clear his AO and Wimby wins don't count yeah?
Of course Federer is a bit past it, but he's still a great player and Djokovic gave him trouble back when he was still number one. Djokovic 2.0 would have gone to 5 sets with Federer in 2007 at the US Open.
As for Nadal, yes he instantly went past his prime the moment after the US Open final. Amazing how that happened... I guess Dr Uncle Toni will have to answer that one, must have upped the recipe they've been using since he started playing tennis, but then lost the formula.. Or maybe Nads got lucky for 2 weeks. Hilarious **** arguments from bitter Djokovic haters. What's laughable is you actually say he's more talented than nadal but then you talk about him never beating Fedal in their prime. You also constantly attack nadal but jump to his defence if any Federer or Djokovic fans say the slightest thing against him. You sure you don't have a split personality?
Clarky21
Banned
Nadal is 5 years younger than Fed. That alone tells you why he wasn't able to do much outside of clay until he matured a bit. Plus,as I have said before,Nadal is not a talented shotmaker. He doesn't have the talent Fed,Rolaids,Murray etc have when it comes to technique. I have also said that Nadal is a dirtballer through and through,and was lucky to win anything outside of clay with such a defensive/pusher style. He's not good enough ability/talent wise to do that consistently.
I do think Rolaids is more talented than Nadal technically,but not athletically. He could not hang with him physically before,and then suddenly he shows up and smokes everyone,and is able to outlast everyone on the tour. This coming from a guy who had stamina problems throughout his entire career. Sorry if I don't buy that kind of physical transformation took place in the span of one month at the end of 2010.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
Well Novak is 6 years younger than Federer, but you expect him to have been around challenging Federer. Nice double standard. Also Novak being one year younger than Nadal means Nadal should be able to keep up with Djokovic now. Another nice double standard.This is the part when you say Nadal bloomed early so he can't keep up with Djokovic now. Fine. Well then he should have been challenging fed's HC and Grass dominance before 2008/2009. Check mate.
As for the stamina thing, you just fall for a common misconception that Djokovic had weak stamina. The truth is he was sometimes a baby mentally and unable to fight through discomfort on certain occaisons. Way before 2011 he had a good 5th set records. Go back and research his early matches where he went 5 sets a lot of times (one of the big criticisms was he wasted energy early) he had several long matches at Wimbledon 2007 back to back (3, 4 and 5 hours) before retiring to Nadal. He had an epic 5 setter with stepenek in 2007 at the US Open. He played nearly 100 matches in 2009 including a 4 hour match with Nadal, and even outlasted fed in the indoor season. Other players were skipping tournaments all over the place, Djokovic never dropped an event from his schedule which all other top players did. No one siad anything because he lost in a lot of finals instead of winning them.
Another point, you distrust him outlasting everyone, but then when he actually started to fall apart at the end of last year like you would expect, you said he was faking. Nice contradiction.
Another fun fact, Djokovic has never retired in the 5th set of a match, which suggests it's not long matches that kill him, it was just random occurences.
Plus, Nadal being ripped from his mid teens is not suspect? Despite him never doing weight training? Ok... fitness can be improved (murray has vastly improved too, no one accuses him cos he doesn't win slams) but being ripped without lifting weights is more suspect
Last edited:
Clarky21
Banned
Yep. If Nadal was challenging him,why wasn't Rolaids? Especially since Rolaids is a better hard courter than Nadal is.
Yep again. He couldn't even hang with Roddick of all people at the AO in 2009,and retired from their quarter final match because he was too hot. He also struggled mightly in the first round of the USO in 2010 against Troicki because of the heat. He withdrew from Madrid in 2010 because of supposed allergies. Those are just a few of his maladies that seemed to suddenly disappear at the end of 2010. His physical transformation is far too good to be true,imo.
Nadal was never ripped in his mid teens. He's not even ripped now at 26. Have you ever seen the guy in person?
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
yes but nadal wasn't challenging for any slams outside of RG. Nadal is probably the GOAT on clay so that's understandable. Where was he at the other 3 slams? Oh he was too young? Well Djokovic is even younger.
Heatstroke is a serious issue. Also these a few occaisons but there are other times when he lasted fine through multiple 5 set matches such as Wimbledon 2007. It wasn't every single time. After that roddick match in 2009 he played his full shcedule for the rest of the year,played more matches than anyone else and battled nadal for 4 hours. Also it's not as if he didn't fall apart last year. So there before 2011 he had some matches where he quit and some where he didn't and exactly the same afterwards.
I mean last year he couldn't hang with Murray, or Tipsy or Ferrer, or Nishikori. So Obviously he was still physically weak? But no, ignore the facts that don't support your case.
he had a very developed physique for a teenager, for someone who never lifted weights. And no I've never met him in person.
Last edited:
Clarky21
Banned
So? He is also a better hard court player than Nadal,and should have been putting up a whole lot more resistance at the hard court events than he did. If Nadal can give Fed trouble at that age,Rolaids should have been able to do the same.
I would tell you exactly why I think he underperformed last fall,but it would get me banned so I will not go into it.
No he didn't.
Then you have no idea how he really looks. He is slim,and very lean. He is not muscle bound at all. He's got a typical athletic build. The Hulk he is not.
ruerooo
Legend
For Rafa fans a great site with extended highlights in HD and slow mo of Puntazos (best points I guess
Highlights and whole match.
http://rafapedia.com/
That looks absolutely awesome, but I can't get the entrevistas to play. Do things just take a little while to load?
Breaker
Legend
This is true, I lol'd hard at McEnroe fawning over his body when shirtless saying how intimidating it was to other players as if he was competing in some professional bodybuilding competitions on the side, people go way over the top with how muscular he is outside of his left arm.
Towser83
G.O.A.T.
erm he did put up resistance, he beat federer in canada 2007, gave him a good match in the us open that year and beat him in straight sets in australia 2008. We both know Nadal developed way younger than Djokovic, he was phsyically strong very early on and turned pro at 15.
Yeah I know you must have your crackpot theories so you don't have to deal with reality. The reality is Djokovic has improved on fitness about 15% and on mental attitude about 35%. In many ways he was actually fitter back in 2009.
If you think Nadal is lean, you've never seen lean. He's not the hulk but not many players have a body like his at 17 without doing some serious training including weights.
Anyway my original point was not that Djokovic has beaten Nadal and Federer, but he beat them when they were defending champions of slams. So don't give me this decline crap. Fed has been slightly in decline since 2008, both Nadal and Djokovic have taken slight advantage. Djokovic still beat these guys when they were winning slams (in nadal's case they continue to)
Last edited:
Loads very quickly for me. Looks like most of the videos are hosted on dailymotion. There is a babolat promo video with moya which is really nice.
Crisstti
Legend
You seem to think he was good at a young age simply because of being physically strong. You do know he was winning since he was just a kid. He won an under 12 tournament when he was 8. I bet he wasn't ripped then at all.
Similar threads
- Poll
- Poll
- Poll
- Poll
