2013 Indian Wells Final: (5) Rafael Nadal vs (7) Juan Martin Del Potro

[ruerooo]

What's crazy is Rafa is 17-1 so far and headed to the clay now. He may have an amazing year!

I'm just happy that he's healthy, moving well, feels like he's playing well, back in the pack, biting a glittery trophy.

Also, top 4 need to watch out. Del Guapo gets a little more stamina, they'll need to make it the Fab Five. People forget he was once world #4.

 

[Towser83]

I don't think anyone but NSK predicted this :lol:

I assumed he would be rusty and win 2 out of 3 warm up clay events (though i thought the 1st and 3rd) a loss here and Miami and MC before winning all on clay. But Now I have to say Nadal is playing great and going for his shots on HC. So I have to predict a 9th MC sadly, followed by usual stuff the rest of the season.

Nadal really could have turned up got to a few finals and no one would have questioned him. But he's a true champion and second best is not good enough. He went all out more than before as if he had MORE to prove.

I do think Delpo ran out of gas in the 3rd and it would have been a lot harder vs Djokovic or maybe even Murray, but credit to Nadal for exploiting Delpo's jitters in the second, Nadal suddenly raised his game and tehn there was only one winner.

Not playing Miami is interesting since it puts all of this on pause

 

[bullfan]

Nadards getting WAY over their heads. We need see Nadal face Djokovic before making any bold predictions.

I'm not making any bold predictions, I'm enjoying the moment.

 

[Atherton2003]

Couldn't ESPN stay on a little longer to show the trophy presentation?

 

[eliars]

Amazing. A few months ago people were calling for Nadal's retirement and saying "he may never come back" and here he is with his first HC M1000 title in 4 years. Feel a bit bad for Delpo, he played amazing tennis throughout the week. Also played great today throughout and managed to fend off 3 MPs and saved a ton of BPs. I hope he keeps this form up, so he can start mingling with the Top 4. So happy for Nads. And good on him taking some time off now. Rejoice.

 

[forzamilan90]

I don't think anyone but NSK predicted this :lol:

I assumed he would be rusty and win 2 out of 3 warm up clay events (though i thought the 1st and 3rd) a loss here and Miami and MC before winning all on clay. But Now I have to say Nadal is playing great and going for his shots on HC. So I have to predict a 9th MC sadly, followed by usual stuff the rest of the season.

Nadal really could have turned up got to a few finals and no one would have questioned him. But he's a true champion and second best is not good enough. He went all out more than before as if he had MORE to prove.

I do think Delpo ran out of gas in the 3rd and it would have been a lot harder vs Djokovic or maybe even Murray, but credit to Nadal for exploiting Delpo's jitters in the second, Nadal suddenly raised his game and tehn there was only one winner.

Not playing Miami is interesting since it puts all of this on pause

damn I forgot about that thing. It's gonna get messy tomorrow.

 

[Mustard]

Not playing Miami is interesting since it puts all of this on pause

Nadal clearly wants to focus on the clay now. It's a gruelling period to play Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, the French Open, Queen's Club/Halle and Wimbledon in a 3 month period, with the aim of winning all of them.

 

[TheF1Bob]

I'm not making any bold predictions, I'm enjoying the moment.

Not necessary you BRAH! just some Nadards will go over the top and say he'll win everything this year. :lol:

damn I forgot about that thing. It's gonna get messy tomorrow.

NSK is not with us anymore.

RIP BROTHA!

 

[Gonzo_style]

I dont know if Murray and Nole are the best hardcourt players. The way Nadal has came roaring, he may be the best HC player right now.

That's............stupid.

 

[forzamilan90]

NSK is not with us anymore.

looks like insider information....champagne anyone?

 

[kragster]

That's............stupid.

Djokovic yes , there is no way nadal is a better HC player than him. But it is questionable right now based on accomplishments if Murray is a better HC player. I personally think Murray's results will eventually catch up but as of now , Rafa is still marginally the better HC player because of 1 extra HC slam . Rafa also leads the hard court H2H 6-5.

 

[pound cat]

Couldn't ESPN stay on a little longer to show the trophy presentation?

The live streams showed it

 

[Atherton2003]

ESPN finally televised it....but didn't show the trophy celebration.

 

[Atherton2003]

Miami tournament will be boring with Nadal and Fed not playing

 

[tudwell]

Djokovic yes but it is questionable right now based on accomplishments if Murray is a better HC player. I personally think Murray's results will eventually catch up but as of now , Rafa is still the better HC player.

Nadal may have two slams to Murray's one, but Murray has five slam finals to Nadal's four, eight Masters titles to Nadal's six, and 21 overall titles to Nadal's 12.

 

[ruerooo]

Not playing Miami is interesting since it puts all of this on pause

If you remember, Rafa and his team decided after Acapulco that he would play IW, but not Miami.

They only said it once, and there was so much cacophony from fans -- and anti-fans -- that it got lost in the translation.

And my guess is that tactically, that was okay with them -- and probably with the Miami organizers too -- because as long as that decision was perceived to be up in the air, people would keep buying Miami tickets.

And he did say in the last on-court interview that he loves the tournament ... but he's got an awful lot of points to defend from MC to RG, and nothing is ever certain.

And health comes first. So it makes sense.

 

[bullfan]

Not necessary you BRAH! just some Nadards will go over the top and say he'll win everything this year. :lol:



NSK is not with us anymore.

RIP BROTHA!

What happened to NSK?

 

[Towser83]

If you remember, Rafa and his team decided after Acapulco that he would play IW, but not Miami.

They only said it once, and there was so much cacophony from fans -- and anti-fans -- that it got lost in the translation.

And my guess is that tactically, that was okay with them -- and probably with the Miami organizers too -- because as long as that decision was perceived to be up in the air, people would keep buying Miami tickets.

And he did say in the last on-court interview that he loves the tournament ... but he's got an awful lot of points to defend from MC to RG, and nothing is ever certain.

And health comes first. So it makes sense.

Yeah I totally missed that about Miami until today.

I said before when all the rumours were flying that the best thing in my opinion (or at least it made sense) was exo with Delpo as a warm up, then play one of IW or Miami but not both. Sensible decision though now he's got something going on HC so i dunno if he should now enter Miami and just drop Barca

 

[kragster]

Nadal may have two slams to Murray's one, but Murray has five slam finals to Nadal's four, eight Masters titles to Nadal's six, and 21 overall titles to Nadal's 12.

Yes but 1 slam is a more important difference than 6 vs 8 masters. And Nadal has the OG on HC. Neither has a WTF. Look I fully expect Murray to win at least 1 more HC slam. But until then, for consistency purposes, I like to rate players based on accomplishments not potential. And slams are the ultimate benchmark of accomplishment.

 

[bullfan]

Yeah I totally missed that about Miami until today.

I said before when all the rumours were flying that the best thing in my opinion (or at least it made sense) was exo with Delpo as a warm up, then play one of IW or Miami but not both. Sensible decision though now he's got something going on HC so i dunno if he should now enter Miami and just drop Barca

No way would Rafa choose a non-Spain event over a Spain event.

 

[ruerooo]

I'm not making any bold predictions, I'm enjoying the moment.

I know, right? Why are people begrudging fans a little joy? Anybody who was with him from the first moment of Viña del Mar, I'm sure, had no thought he was going to get this far.

 

[ruerooo]

Amazing. A few months ago people were calling for Nadal's retirement and saying "he may never come back" and here he is with his first HC M1000 title in 4 years. Feel a bit bad for Delpo, he played amazing tennis throughout the week. Also played great today throughout and managed to fend off 3 MPs and saved a ton of BPs. I hope he keeps this form up, so he can start mingling with the Top 4. So happy for Nads. And good on him taking some time off now. Rejoice.

Don't feel bad for Del Guapo, he played some thunderous tennis (and, I believe, improved his ranking ...?).

He gets more stamina, and all four of the top four will need to make room for the Fab Five.

 

[Nostradamus]

Have we Just seen preview of French open final 2013 ?

 

[NadalAgassi]

Yes but 1 slam is a more important difference than 6 vs 8 masters. And Nadal has the OG on HC. Neither has a WTF. Look I fully expect Murray to win at least 1 more HC slam. But until then, for consistency purposes, I like to rate players based on accomplishments not potential. And slams are the ultimate benchmark of accomplishment.

Agreed. At this point Nadal is the 3rd best hard court player of his era over Murray. That could change, but it hasnt yet. Of course talking about current abilities he would still be top 3 on hard courts right now, as clearly Federer is an inferior player to all of Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray right now except for possibly Djokovic on grass and Murray on clay.

 

[tudwell]

Don't feel bad for Del Guapo, he played some thunderous tennis (and, I believe, improved his ranking ...?).

He gets more stamina, and all four of the top four will need to make room for the Fab Five.

No, he needed to win the match to jump up to six. But with clay coming up soon, maybe he can overtake Berdych before too long.

 

[Talker]

Congrats to Nadal. He did what was needed.

Too much for DelPo, he dropped down on his power and movement and didn't have enough left.

Going through Murray and Djokovic's type of play is draining expecially after 3 sets with both.

Then playing Nadal who also requires a lot of endurance to beat was more than DelPo had.

He had to win in 2 sets and was close, seemed the argument with the chair about something in the middle of the second set took away some focus, then lack of endurance did the rest.

DelPo did great though, he changed a little bit of his game and it's good to have some options.
He has to get his endurance a little bit higher, be confident he can go the distance. In slams he has to be able to handle a couple 4/5 setters like the top 5 can do.

For Nadal fans, it must feel good to have your player holding a HC masters trophy again.

Nadal is back though he can get a little more consistent still and cut down some UE's. Some were due to DelPo's pace but some were just lack of play I think.

 

[NadalAgassi]

Hopefully Ferrer will also be behind Del Potro soon. Ferrer is a 7-10 level player, definitely not a top 5, or heaven forbid #4.

 

[Atherton2003]

I think Nadal is lucky to have won...he had so many break chances and couldn't convert. I think if he wore underpants, he'd be more effective - less flopping around.

 

[Towser83]

No way would Rafa choose a non-Spain event over a Spain event.

if it's a health choice fair enough, but playing barca over a masters because of geography is stupid

Don't feel bad for Del Guapo, he played some thunderous tennis (and, I believe, improved his ranking ...?).

He gets more stamina, and all four of the top four will need to make room for the Fab Five.

No I think he needed to win, so he'll be still number 7. He's made up some ground but Berdych is only defending 45 points in Miami, Delpo only has 90 but after the heartbreak and physical stress of this week I kind of expect him to lose early

 

[ark_28]

Congrats to Rafa and his fans! He is playing some phenononal ball and it must be all the more sweet after the long lay off! Good for the game to have a great champion back!

 

[crazyups]

Congrats to Rafa and his fans! He is playing some phenononal ball and it must be all the more sweet after the long lay off! Good for the game to have a great champion back!

Yes, congrats to the great one. He is only going to improve.

 

[clayman2000]

Hopefully Ferrer will also be behind Del Potro soon. Ferrer is a 7-10 level player, definitely not a top 5, or heaven forbid #4.

Hes more of a 5-6. He has been extremely consistent in slams. He obviously doesnt pose much of a threat to the big 4, but he is better than Murray on clay, and he doesnt lose before a slam QF

 

[Towser83]

Congrats to Rafa and his fans! He is playing some phenononal ball and it must be all the more sweet after the long lay off! Good for the game to have a great champion back!

Didn't really earn this title as he didn't beat Isner though. He's curtains next time he meets him, probably at MC.

 

[Mike Sams]

Congrats to Rafa and his fans! He is playing some phenononal ball and it must be all the more sweet after the long lay off! Good for the game to have a great champion back!

He'll be nabbing a good amount of Masters titles this season. Monte Carlo and Rome are basically guarantees. He may skip Madrid though. He'll be the strong favourite for RG unless he gets a mad draw and meets a significant threat like Del Potro in the quarters or Djokovic in the semis. Even still, I got Nadal for RG.

 

[Nickzor]

Seriously is this whole thing with Nadals knees even real???

He and his camp claim the knees stop him from doing this and that, but when he plays even with supposed knee issues he's still able to win slams, beat the best in the world and run his ass off and hit the most amazing passing shots you'll ever see! Are his knees even holding him back at all? After an 8 month break he comes back and has already beaten like half of the top 10, if it really is true then if he didn't have any knee problems whatsoever then he'd have 20 slams??

 

[Mike Sams]

Yes, congrats to the great one. He is only going to improve.

It's tough to say considering Nadal's body is extremely well rested after 8 months vacation. He's mentally fresh and hungry. Once he goes fully back to the grind, things may start to get tough again. This is after all his 12th year on the tour. He'll be 27 in three months and nothing gets easier for anybody. That's why managing his schedule is so important.
I think he'll be skipping Barcelona or Madrid or both.

 

[Mike Sams]

Seriously is this whole thing with Nadals knees even real???

He and his camp claim the knees stop him from doing this and that, but when he plays even with supposed knee issues he's still able to win slams, beat the best in the world and run his ass off and hit the most amazing passing shots you'll ever see! Are his knees even holding him back at all? After an 8 month break he comes back and has already beaten like half of the top 10, if it really is true then if he didn't have any knee problems whatsoever then he'd have 20 slams??

The knees could be real but remember that he's physically well rested. 8 months off will do wonders. It's the constant and consistent grinding battles day after day which is when the body feels the wear and tear. So Nadal is smart to skip certain tournaments.

 

[ark_28]

Didn't really earn this title as he didn't beat Isner though. He's curtains next time he meets him, probably at MC.

There will be that asterix you are quite right but it's been 7 months for Rafa and his fans so now is not the time to focus on the fact that Rafa managed to win the title and not face the biggest server of our generation who can get the pace up to around 148 mph.

 

[Atherton2003]

I don't think Nadal had a knee injury...certainly not as severe as they made it seem. It's just too fishy he comes back after 7 months out and manages to win 3 tournaments and finish as a finalist in the other tournament - all in about 5 weeks.

 

[Atherton2003]

Butt, I'm glad he's back....no other player has that huge butt....and such nice biceps

 

[Antonio Puente]

Pretty amazing. Three weeks ago he was "struggling vs. chumps on clay and would never be the same." Today, he's back on top. Could not have been better. Three weeks ago it was questionable whether he would still have the mental edge on clay. After this result, yes. Opponents will be scared ****less, as always.

 

[ark_28]

I don't think Nadal had a knee injury...certainly not as severe as they made it seem. It's just too fishy he comes back after 7 months out and manages to win 3 tournaments and finish as a finalist in the other tournament - all in about 5 weeks.

Then why was he out for 7 months if it wasn't a knee injury?

 

[crazyups]

It's tough to say considering Nadal's body is extremely well rested after 8 months vacation. He's mentally fresh and hungry. Once he goes fully back to the grind, things may start to get tough again. This is after all his 12th year on the tour. He'll be 27 in three months and nothing gets easier for anybody. That's why managing his schedule is so important.
I think he'll be skipping Barcelona or Madrid or both.

Good observation. This is the last season that Nadal can have his greatest season yet. From age 28 on it will likely slow down but he can still catch Federer slam count.

 

[Mike Sams]

Pretty amazing. Three weeks ago he was "struggling vs. chumps on clay and would never be the same." Today, he's back on top. Could not have been better. Three weeks ago it was questionable whether he would still have the mental edge on clay. After this result, yes. Opponents will be scared ****less, as always.

I thought Djokovic was still #1?

 

[Mike Sams]

Then why was he out for 7 months if it wasn't a knee injury?

Nadal's been vocal lately about the tour and how tough it is. He even talked smack on Federer. Remember the comments? "Everything is good to him, everyone else can burn!" -Nadal on Federer

 

[Antonio Puente]

I thought Djokovic was still #1?

For the time being. It's a cheap, one slam #1 ranking.

 

[Mike Sams]

For the time being. It's a cheap, one slam #1 ranking.

Don't know. Djokovic DID tear the ranking away from Nadal's grip in 2011 and Nadal still hasn't proven he can stop Djokovic anywhere off clay. Nadal is going to have to put some serious effort in to get back to #1 let alone stay there. Djokovic is by far Nadal's biggest rival.

 

[Mike Sams]

BTW, Nadal can only defend points from here all the way to the end of clay season.

 

[Bud]

Nadal is tired or injured.

C'mon Del Po.

Another proof that Claydal ain't winning **** off clay.

Three years without hc or grass titles shows it.

take back what i said earlier, im picking delpo cruising from here

Nadal flops when somebody is not afraid of his bullying.

Should Nadal retire?

Bye, bye, dirtballer.

:lol::lol::lol:

 

[Antonio Puente]

Don't know. Djokovic DID tear the ranking away from Nadal's grip in 2011 and Nadal still hasn't proven he can stop Djokovic anywhere off clay. Nadal is going to have to put some serious effort in to get back to #1 let alone stay there. Djokovic is by far Nadal's biggest rival.

Djoker has to hold up his end of the bargain too, right? With Nadal now back, he won't stay there by default. He's playing nowhere near his 2011 level, and hasn't in quite some time.