Actually mad how much Nadal's draw would have opened up if he'd managed to find some form
- Thread starter jl809
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Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Another day, another parlay.
WarriorRafa
Professional
Korda would have been harder than Medvedev
Nadal_King
Hall of Fame
Yes he would have surely reached sf if he was in form
Kralingen
G.O.A.T.
He arrived in Melbourne on Jan 4, and played his first match on Jan 15th… are you saying 3 extra days would’ve transformed his level?
ChrisJR3264
Professional
Korda did it. Man
ADuck
Legend
The_Order
G.O.A.T.
Hahaha coming from a Fed fan boy....
Did you know he had only one top 2 win at AO, RG and US combined
Oh and that win was vs Djok at RG11 ... so none at the hc slams...
Kralingen
G.O.A.T.
He played United Cup but his last match was Jan 2nd, he then went immediately to Melbourne.
i don’t think lack of prep time in Melbourne was the issue I think mainly he didn’t have a proper off season due to the baby, the SA tour, and general rehab from abdominal tear. Basically he never got back to 100% and the AO came too early for him.
Seems to be the logical conclusion based on all available evidence.
ADuck
Legend
I guess the 2 weeks really flew by for me
Kralingen
G.O.A.T.
I just think it was a perfect storm last year for Rafa and 2022-23 in comparison was very much the opposite.I guess the 2 weeks really flew by for me
off season:
2021: hurt in June, takes 6 month break for rehab and focuses on getting his body right
2022: hurt in July, rushes back for USO swing, hurt again, plays indoor season, not much rehab
2021: no Laver Cup and no preseason tour
2022: takes SA preseason tour and has young child
pre-season:
2022: plays Melbourne 250 on literally Rod Laver Arena, gets full match practice vs easy players on exact AO conditions
2023; plays United Cup in Sydney vs Norrie/De Minaur, only 2 matches of high intensity, then Dunlop balls in AO are different
jl809
Hall of Fame
Welcome back
StrongRule
G.O.A.T.
Looks like Medvedev is already done. Yet some Djokovic fanboys will claim this is a strong era.
RF-18
Talk Tennis Guru
mike danny
Bionic Poster
It wasn't a strong era even with Medvedev in it though.
ADuck
Legend
I think Nadal should end season after USO from now on then.
StrongRule
G.O.A.T.
Unfortunately, Nadal had to deal his whole career with real injuries which made him skip lots of tournaments. Not with magic injuries which only hurt between matches and tournaments, but never during the game itself.
StrongRule
G.O.A.T.
Korda in a slam final will be a totally new level of a weak era though.
RF-18
Talk Tennis Guru
Enjoy Mcdonalds bro.
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal killed him
mike danny
Bionic Poster
We've seen Kyrgios in one already.
Korda could have straightsetted him in his current form even without injury. Last year Korda had MPs before choking.
Djokovic_is_the_best#1
Talk Tennis Guru
Love your posts haha!
80s New Wave
Rookie
And Ruud in 2.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
True, but Kyrgios's is literally asterisked and undeserved.
Sampras-Bruguera 1993
Legend
Nadal is capable of losing to everyone on tour at this state. A draw opening up for him really doesn’t matter at 37 years old IMO
his speed is gone, his explosion is gone, his serve is non existent, his grounds are short. No depth. It’s too easy to smash all the balls back to him
he’s basically a top 20-30 player now. He’ll go out early at the French too. 4th round or so. He doesn’t have the ground game any longer. 2022 was his swan song. What a great one though. It is possible without the injuries last year he was in a legit hunt for a calendar slam. Djoker in the finals would have been the major hurdle
his speed is gone, his explosion is gone, his serve is non existent, his grounds are short. No depth. It’s too easy to smash all the balls back to him
he’s basically a top 20-30 player now. He’ll go out early at the French too. 4th round or so. He doesn’t have the ground game any longer. 2022 was his swan song. What a great one though. It is possible without the injuries last year he was in a legit hunt for a calendar slam. Djoker in the finals would have been the major hurdle
ibbi
G.O.A.T.
Such a simple thing, right? After having hardly played a good match since the US Open, after fading in numerous matches since then, playing with balls completely antithetical to his game (Berrettini, Ruud, also with heavy topspin, also out. Felix almost joined them too) expecting him to just find some form like it's something you can pull out of a hat is a remotely reasonable thing to have expected?
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Well, it worked last year.Such a simple thing, right? After having hardly played a good match since the US Open, after fading in numerous matches since then, playing with balls completely antithetical to his game (Berrettini, Ruud, also with heavy topspin, also out. Felix almost joined them too) expecting him to just find some form like it's something you can pull out of a hat is a remotely reasonable thing to have expected?
ibbi
G.O.A.T.
Before last years Aussie Open he won the only matches he'd played in months at the Melbourne 250! This year he came in with a 4-6 record since Wimbledon.
Last year they also weren't playing with balls that everyone and their mother is acknowledging are slow as crap and fluffing up after about 3 games.
The Blond Blur
Legend
Eh, he got the title last year. All I wanted was another AO title and the way the capped off last year’s title by beating the most in form HC player from down 2-0 was a storybook ending. Sure, it sucks that he’s out so early, but the guy is about to be 37 and has been struggling with form and injuries for the better part of 6 months. I just hope he has enough in the tank for RG and can hold on until the Paris Olympics in 2024. I think that’d be the perfect place to end his career.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Big facts
Julius Caesar
Semi-Pro
He's in your head.
StrongRule
G.O.A.T.
Yeah, honestly, after last year I don't care if he never plays AO again. The USO loss last year was much more disappointing.
Tennfan123
Hall of Fame
Hubie would have got him in the quarters
Sampras-Bruguera 1993
Legend
I don’t want to see him play until the end of 2024 because it’s going to be an absolute crap show between now and then. It’s better to go out at least close to the top. He deserves better than to go out with a whimper
just call it a career after this year. The last thing I want to see is one of the greatest to ever played be reduced to a train wreck before retirement. Heck it was sad to see Fed going out like that post 2019 Wimbledon. Just call it a day
just call it a career after this year. The last thing I want to see is one of the greatest to ever played be reduced to a train wreck before retirement. Heck it was sad to see Fed going out like that post 2019 Wimbledon. Just call it a day
The Blond Blur
Legend
He made bad decision after bad decision regarding his rehab last year. Should have just rested and healed up with no warm up before the USO and definitely no SA exho tour in the off-season.
Federer_pilon
Professional
I mean people still make threads about retired players in the general pro section lol
GimmeBackMyDog
Rookie
Problem is, I don't think it's his "form" that's the problem.
He's not getting to the ball like he used to, causing him to chip too many shots back.
Also causing him to force drop shots at bad times, giving his opponent easy winners.
I believe it's his health hurting his mobility, not his "form".
He's not getting to the ball like he used to, causing him to chip too many shots back.
Also causing him to force drop shots at bad times, giving his opponent easy winners.
I believe it's his health hurting his mobility, not his "form".
The Fedfather
Legend
I'd argue that with how mentally suspect the current top players are, some earlier-round lower ranked opponents are more dangerous to Djokodal. Those guys just want a round victory badly, they are not competing for the title, the whole 'so much pressure' thing isn't about them. So if they see a vulnerable Djokovjc or Nadal across the net, they are like sharks so if they catch fire - bam, an upset. Djokovic said something along those lines yesterday about guys who rarely come out on the big stage and that in itself is a great experience for them.
On the other hand, the generally better, higher-ranked players on the tour have time and time again showed that in place of killer instinct, they have nerves and self-doubt when facing even poorly-playing versions of Djokovic and Nadal in Slams.
On the other hand, the generally better, higher-ranked players on the tour have time and time again showed that in place of killer instinct, they have nerves and self-doubt when facing even poorly-playing versions of Djokovic and Nadal in Slams.
Chanwan
G.O.A.T.
not a Rafa fan, but so much this. AO 2022 was a tournament he, on paper, had no business winning yet somehow did. Anything else is gravy and there's been plenty of gravy already