Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Come on man, he looked so cool.
Still have my Darth Maul figure from when I was little. Loved that dude even if his lightsaber is stupid.
+1 for me being sucker for childhood action figure memories. lol
Come on man, he looked so cool.
Still have my Darth Maul figure from when I was little. Loved that dude even if his lightsaber is stupid.
Sincere question for those who really believe the injury- shouldn't he have withdrawn earlier in the tournament and given Khachanov or Thiem the opportunity?
Take away 3 from Murray and 1 or 2 from Stan.. sounds right
Problem there is Nadal still has tons of clay points. Delpo's body won't hold that long.OK until that spot. Very difficult for him will be he goes all the way to #1.
Pretty fair assessmentI’ve been thinking about this. In his presser he seemed to suggest that the problem went away after the Kachanov match but returned for this one.
In all honesty, I think he should be listening to his body better. Which means that, given what we know, he perhaps should not even have played the Khachanov match. This is a player who knows what his knee troubles are all about; first sign of a problem and he should be throttling back, maybe looking to end points very early with higher risk. It just seems he can’t.
I think much will depend on how long he’s out for now, in terms of how much playing on has cost him. I’m certain he’ll be advised to rest for a while at least.
In answer to the opportunity thing, they say never give a sucker an even break. I’ve no problem that he makes them earn it. But you’re right, playing those matches may have hurt him more in the long run.
SupNanananana
If you kids say you love new Star Wars, I am definitely going to sign off forever from TT.+1 for me being sucker for childhood action figure memories. lol
@Incognito --Props!! It's unfortunate Rafa is injured, but you deserve credit for your prediction.He is retiring after this set
Age catches up to everyone. Nadal retired in 2/4 majors this year at age 32. That's all inevitable.Sad way for it to end. I feel genuinely bad for all the decent Nadal fans on here.![]()
. I don't want to see him in a wheelchair at 40, so for your own sake Rafa....please protect your health over all else!
I will admit I have multiple reasons to want Nadal to skip AO and/or USO.Translation: For Nole fans sake, please retire!!!! Please get out with 17 slams so Nole might have a tiny chance of passing you. Rafa....PLEASE retire NOW!![]()
Injury and endurance are conected. Injury did him in because of all the long matches he has played this year. His Wimb and USO campaigns this year were brutal.his knee problems were not because of long matches.
started after his 1st rd win, which was a quick one.
this loss was not due to some endurance issue, it was because of an injury!
Nah, I say he should lessen his focus on hard court and focus on the IW-Wimbledon stretch (natural surfaces are easier on his body), and maybe Paris/WTF since he's never won thereRafa is at a point in his career where he should just focus on 1-2 slams...He should just avoid playing wimbledon since that is his weakest surface and probably alternate between the US and Australian open.....He has nothing left to prove....If he wins the french open in the next couple of years, I would consider those as bonus slams......Roger and Rafa's careers are near the end....That's very hard to admit as a fan but all good things come to an end.....
But then the rivalry is dead. I want Djokovic to win, but not at the cost of his great rival's retirement.Translation: For Nole fans sake, please retire!!!! Please get out with 17 slams so Nole might have a tiny chance of passing you. Rafa....PLEASE retire NOW!![]()
Christopher ClareyVerified account @christophclarey 7m7 minutes ago
"I hate to retire" - Nadal. He confirms the problem was the right knee. "The pain in the knee is always very similar when I have it," he said. "This time it was something a little more aggressive because it was in one movement, not progressive."
Have people even watched this tournament at all? Nadal’s knee has been an issue for a few matches now and it showed. “He’s tanking to avoid Djokovic!” seems to be something a lot of Federer fans seem to be saying when their man got smacked around by a bum even without any ailments.
They can't handle a full schedule anymore.
Nadal in particular has only played 40 matches and has still got injured twice.
You saw the Khachanov match. His knee was bothering him. The Thiem match must have been the breaking pointI watched the entire Nadal-Thiem match. Rafa outgrinded the fittest guy on Tour in a 5-hour match. His knee was absolutely fine.
Nah, I say he should lessen his focus on hard court and focus on the IW-Wimbledon stretch (natural surfaces are easier on his body), and maybe Paris/WTF since he's never won there
Exactly what I've been saying forever. Though whether that's relevant now is unclear, since Nadal is very likely burning out before 36, unless he gets with a spiritual guru and starts doing daily yoga and meditation like Djokovic.All true, but I can't stop interjecting: Nadal isn't even a generational rival of Fed he's five years younger than he is. That is an enormous difference past 30. Fed still stumbled to one major in 2018 at age 36. Nadal is still three slams behind Roger, which is the same differential as 5 years ago.
You saw the Khachanov match. His knee was bothering him. The Thiem match must have been the breaking point
Um... no. Just plain no. Name any younger (or older) player on tour who can look this good in this kit:It doesn't look good on him anymore either. He's too old for the sleeveless look.
Come on....Djokovic would whip Nadal at AO. Wimbledon should be Nadal's biggest focus now, as he already showed a return to form on grass this year, so he should try to make up for those lost years on grass. An aggressive game like he adopted this year would be helpful too.I don't know...I still believe that he has a higher chance of winning a slam on hard courts than on grass...If he wants to maximize his slam winning potential in the coming years, he should just avoid wimbledon....Besides, I want to see Nole get some competition on the hard courts....
he's always going to have 'long' matches, thats his game and overall its served him very well.Injury and endurance are conected. Injury did him in because of all the long matches he has played this year. His Wimb and USO campaigns this year were brutal.
He looks like Bane. He's even more ripped now than he was in 2008.Um... no. Just plain no. Name any younger (or older) player on tour who can look this good in this kit:
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I say he plays nothing for the rest of the year. The stats pundits here can figure out how that impacts the YE #1 ranking.Will he be back running 100 mph in Davis Cup in a few weeks?
I won't weigh in on that, the question was-- what other male pro could look this good in this kit? Fucsovics is the only one.He looks like Bane. He's even more ripped now than he was in 2008.
but apparently according to some the 90s was all serve and boring with no rallies..never mind that baseliners were plenty successful iiirc from that era.
Monfils and Del Potro come to mind (look back to 2009).I won't weigh in on that, the question was-- what other male pro could look this good in this kit? Fucsovics is the only one.
Um... no. Just plain no. Name any younger (or older) player on tour who can look this good in this kit:
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Which is good news, as 3 weeks ago he had to withdraw from Toronto due to a bad wrist.Just stop! Juan has been playing well these whole two weeks. Even if Rafa wasn’t injured, delpo could still have beaten him. DelPo is also very fresh and his backhand is back.
Still, the sleeveless look was for Nadal as the young challenger. Nadal the champion needs something more classy, like USO10 or Miami/MC 11-esque outfits (this year's clay, RG, and Toronto kits too)Um... no. Just plain no. Name any younger (or older) player on tour who can look this good in this kit:
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Sincere question for those who really believe the injury- shouldn't he have withdrawn earlier in the tournament and given Khachanov or Thiem the opportunity?
Do you remember the last time Nadal went out of a major without losing in 5 sets aside from withdrawing due to injury?No he is not avoiding Djokovic but he is avoiding a bad score line perhaps. Delpo took the first set and that is pretty good for his prospect even if Nadal was healthy.
RAFA retiring
What a fighter
AO 2015 against Berdych. Good times.Do you remember the last time Nadal went out of a major without losing in 5 sets aside from withdrawing due to injury?
We’ll never know what could have happened in this match if his knee was healthy this tournament.
We’ll never know what could have happened in this match if his knee was healthy this tournament.
He was also fine during the AO in January until he was drug into a long match against Cilic. He retired there as well.How is it he was fine the rest of the tournament?
Right up there with the great Greek philosophers and modern day geniouses eh?Wow that is some profound statement!![]()