Andy Roddick :Roland Garros 2016 will be decisive for Rafael Nadal´s career.

Checkmate

Checkmate

Legend
ww.**************.org/Andy-Roddick-Roland-Garros-2016-will-be-decisive-for-Rafael-Nadals-career-articolo28732.html

Published on 18 Dec 2015

Interviewed by ATP Website, the American and former world no. 1 Andy Roddick spoke about top players and especially Fab Four. 'I hope that people enjoy them because we'll miss them when they won't play anymore'.

Regarding Rafael Nadal, the American confessed how he believes upcoming edition of Roland Garros will be crucial for him. ''He can find confidence again winning that tournament. But to lose on that court(again) knowing to be a big dominator on that surface...i'm very curious to see what will happen''.

Roddick also expressed his views on World No. 1 Novak Djokovic: ''He is certainly the favourite in every tournament. He is very solid and never loses in the first rounds. In every tournament you know he's always there. During US Open they had said that it would have been difficult for him to win and he then won the tournament. He doesn't have any weakness. He moves in an incredible way on the baseline. I think they don't speak enough about him. Watch Roger Federer, he has become one of the best players in the history just like Rafa and even Andy Murray who is world no. 2... it's a very special moment to watch tennis''.

Speaking about tennis players outside the Fab Four, he said(On Cilic): ''I call him microwave because he warms-up quickly and he's able to beat everyone. Last year Cilic showed that it's not only about Fab Four. It will be interesting to see how Raonic, Nishikori and Dimitrov will return even if they are a couple of steps behind them, but we will see if they are able to raise the level and be competitive with Fab Four''.
 
Zoolander

Zoolander

Hall of Fame
^^^^^ at the hands of Fabio , that would be great! 2016 could be decisive in that if Rafa has an average clay season and gets owned at RG again i cant see him going on in 2017. Clay season is everything to him, he wouldnt hang around to take any more beatings from guys like Fognini or Brown.
 
D

Dave1982

Professional
Nothing ground breaking in Roddick's comments...in fact that what I like about Roddick, doesn't get wrapped up unusual analysts B/S...keeps a simple mentality making it tough to disagree with him.

No doubt this years FO is big for Nadal & his legitimate chances of adding to his 14 Slams. His opportunities are only going to become fewer & further in between from here & that's due to many many reasons.
 
MichaelNadal

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Zoolander said:
^^^^^ at the hands of Fabio , that would be great! 2016 could be decisive in that if Rafa has an average clay season and gets owned at RG again i cant see him going on in 2017. Clay season is everything to him, he wouldnt hang around to take any more beatings from guys like Fognini or Brown.
Click to expand...

Clearly you don't know Nadal.
 
D

Deleted member 743561

Guest
vive le beau jeu ! said:
a decisive 1st round exit sounds great :)
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Your avatar has a Dali effect. Reminds me of 'The Persistence of Memory'

Yes, Nadal has a tendency to get bounced by journeymen and unknowns these days, so perhaps an early round dusting at the hands of a rookie would fit the bill. He could celebrate his 30th in style!
 
tennis_pro

tennis_pro

Bionic Poster
Zoolander said:
I think Andy is a year late.....
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Nah, Nadal was bound to lose there again some day. Andy is right - it depends on how Nadal is going to react to that loss cause if he loses again? I'm fairly sure that Nadal ain't winning more Slams if he doesn't win the 2016 FO.

There are visible signs of improvement so the door ain't closed just yet.
 
H

helterskelter

G.O.A.T.
tennis_pro said:
Nah, Nadal was bound to lose there again some day. Andy is right - it depends on how Nadal is going to react to that loss cause if he loses again? I'm fairly sure that Nadal ain't winning more Slams if he doesn't win the 2016 FO.

There are visible signs of improvement so the door ain't closed just yet.
Click to expand...

You don't give him any chance at the AO 2016? I can see that if he won neither AO nor RG this year, that would damage him a great deal going forward. But there's still another Slam before RG and it's always dangerous to write him off. Depending on how the draw works out, he may well go into the AO favorite to make the final. It's at least arguable that he's favorite against anyone other than Djokovic in Melbourne this year.
 
tennisaddict

tennisaddict

Bionic Poster
Rafa has not figured out how to solve the Djokovic puzzle. Unfortunately for Rafa, Novak will be super motivated at FO. At other majors, many other players can beat Rafa. I still expect him to come back to top 4 and make multiple SF this year losing repeatedly to Andy and Novak.
 
tennis_pro

tennis_pro

Bionic Poster
helterskelter said:
You don't give him any chance at the AO 2016? I can see that if he won neither AO nor RG this year, that would damage him a great deal going forward. But there's still another Slam before RG and it's always dangerous to write him off. Depending on how the draw works out, he may well go into the AO favorite to make the final. It's at least arguable that he's favorite against anyone other than Djokovic in Melbourne this year.
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Of course Nadal has a chance to win the 2016 AO - if he doesn't have to face Djokovic or beats him he's actually the favorite in my eyes. I just can't imagine Nadal winning AO and losing the FO, that's all. If he's good enough to win the AO at this stage, he's got the FO in his pocket.
 
H

helterskelter

G.O.A.T.
tennis_pro said:
Of course Nadal has a chance to win the 2016 AO - if he doesn't have to face Djokovic or beats him he's actually the favorite in my eyes. I just can't imagine Nadal winning AO and losing the FO, that's all. If he's good enough to win the AO at this stage, he's got the FO in his pocket.
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I don't agree about that. At this stage of his career, he's not going to be as consistent as he was in the past. Injuries will become increasingly common, as will loses of confidence. Also, imagine this scenario: Nadal wins AO but not by beating Djokovic. Rather, Djokovic loses to Wawrinka in the semis, but Wawrinka doesn't show up in the final and Nadal beats him. Or Djokovic is injured at some point at the AO. Then, Nadal might well win the AO without playing well enough to challenge Djokovic. In that scenario, it's at least possible and perhaps even likely that Djokovic would still beat Nadal at RG. Djokovic wouldn't beat the best Nadal at RG but he might beat a Nadal that's better than the Nadal of 2015 but not as good as the best Nadal.
 
tennis_pro

tennis_pro

Bionic Poster
helterskelter said:
I don't agree about that. At this stage of his career, he's not going to be as consistent as he was in the past. Injuries will become increasingly common, as will loses of confidence. Also, imagine this scenario: Nadal wins AO but not by beating Djokovic. Rather, Djokovic loses to Wawrinka in the semis, but Wawrinka doesn't show up in the final and Nadal beats him. Or Djokovic is injured at some point at the AO. Then, Nadal might well win the AO without playing well enough to challenge Djokovic. In that scenario, it's at least possible and perhaps even likely that Djokovic would still beat Nadal at RG. Djokovic wouldn't beat the best Nadal at RG but he might beat a Nadal that's better than the Nadal of 2015 but not as good as the best Nadal.
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It's technically possible but the odds of this happenening are pretty low. Nadal would also be high on confidence if he won the AO no matter who he beat en route to the title and since 2005 if you're looking for the best tournament for Nadal almost each and every year - it's been the FO. It's the indicator of his form - that's why the 2009 loss against Soderling is still (at leas in my eyes) considered the biggest upset of all time, especially because Nadal was just dominating a very strong field in 2009 until that point.

If I were a betting man - I'd bet on Nadal winning the FO in 2016 and no other Slam this year. Djokovic really missed his only chance in 2015 - the same that Federer had in 2009.
 
H

helterskelter

G.O.A.T.
tennis_pro said:
It's technically possible but the odds of this happenening are pretty low. Nadal would also be high on confidence if he won the AO no matter who he beat en route to the title and since 2005 if you're looking for the best tournament for Nadal almost each and every year - it's been the FO. It's the indicator of his form - that's why the 2009 loss against Soderling is still (at leas in my eyes) considered the biggest upset of all time, especially because Nadal was just dominating a very strong field in 2009 until that point.

If I were a betting man - I'd bet on Nadal winning the FO in 2016 and no other Slam this year. Djokovic really missed his only chance in 2015 - the same that Federer had in 2009.
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I think it's a plausible scenario - but the odds on it are definitely lower than him winning RG but not the AO, yes.

2015 wasn't Djokovic's "only" chance. He certainly had a chance in 2013, too, given that Nadal was still on his way back to full form after his 2012 injury.
 
tennis_pro

tennis_pro

Bionic Poster
helterskelter said:
2015 wasn't Djokovic's "only" chance. He certainly had a chance in 2013, too, given that Nadal was still on his way back to full form after his 2012 injury.
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We can still attribute his failure to facing Nadal, though. Last year he faced a very weak version of Nadal, got to the final and even won the first set and still couldn't get it done.

There is just something about Wawrinka (not even neccessarily a GOATing one) that Djokovic can't do anything about. The last 5 times they played in the Slams Wawrinka either won or pushed him to 5 sets.
 
#Stanimal

#Stanimal

Rookie
I think his Australian Open performance is gonna be decisive for the rest of the season, but Roland Garros is still Rafa's playground, so he should aim to be in a good level to challenge Djokovic.
 
Zoolander

Zoolander

Hall of Fame
MichaelNadal said:
Clearly you don't know Nadal.
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You really think Nadal, already 29, is going to hang around playing into his 30's with his injuries if hes getting dominated through his favourite claycourt season?

Seriously i would say theres a 98% chance that if Rafa gets beat through this clay season then he will retire by the end of FO next year, at the latest.
 
Mainad

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Checkmate said:
ww.**************.org/Andy-Roddick-Roland-Garros-2016-will-be-decisive-for-Rafael-Nadals-career-articolo28732.html
Speaking about tennis players outside the Fab Four, he said(On Cilic): ''I call him microwave because he warms-up quickly and he's able to beat everyone. Last year Cilic showed that it's not only about Fab Four. It will be interesting to see how Raonic, Nishikori and Dimitrov will return even if they are a couple of steps behind them, but we will see if they are able to raise the level and be competitive with Fab Four''.
Click to expand...

Curious that he makes mention of Cilic but not of Wawrinka, the guy who has really been challenging the Big 4 this past 2 years!
 
Uncle Ebeneezer

Uncle Ebeneezer

Rookie
Depends on how he feels and how he plays. If he is healthy and loses in a close match to Nole or Stan (when he's on), I think Nadal would want to stick around for awhile and have another shot the following year. Plus, a healthy and well-playing Nadal will be able to go deep in just about every major. Even if he's not the favorite, all it takes is a good draw for him to have a significant shot.
 
xan

xan

Hall of Fame
Mainad said:
Curious that he makes mention of Cilic but not of Wawrinka, the guy who has really been challenging the Big 4 this past 2 years!
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pretty sure it just slipped off his mind as wawrinka is in between two groups he mentioned.
 
MichaelNadal

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Zoolander said:
You really think Nadal, already 29, is going to hang around playing into his 30's with his injuries if hes getting dominated through his favourite claycourt season?

Seriously i would say theres a 98% chance that if Rafa gets beat through this clay season then he will retire by the end of FO next year, at the latest.
Click to expand...

Not a chance.
 
M

Midaso240

Legend
Back in 2011,Nadal had a challenge trying to win a match against Djokovic. Now,I think it's going to be a challenge for him to win a set against Djokovic on any surface,I really do
 
D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
xFedal said:
Why does Nadal have to win 10 French Opens for, Swiss vultures like fed and Wawrinka took full advantage of absence of the true king of RG.
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Serbian vultures can't even do that. :oops:
 
D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
xFedal said:
Novak isn't a vulture he has beaten Nadal the most on clay and at RG pummeled him.
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So everyone other than Novak is a vulture?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
xFedal

xFedal

Legend
Firstservingman said:
Or maybe they just won fair and square because they were the better player(s) on the day.
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Fair and square I don't think both players Nole and Wawrinka were playing on an equal playing field, Nole Played 3 consecutive days. There is where it says, Wawrinka deserved to win but Novak was at a disadvantage before entering the match.
 
D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
xFedal said:
Fair and square I don't think both players Nole and Wawrinka were playing on an equal playing field, Nole Played 3 consecutive days. There is where it says, Wawrinka deserved to win but Novak was at a disadvantage before entering the match.
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But all players are probably at a "disadvantage" to some degree, for different reasons.
The size of the disadvantage will vary, so how big does it have to be before we count it?

Stan might have had a headache (which would legitimately affect your level).

In reality, it's easier and fairer to just say no excuses.
That way there is no subjectivity.
 
NBP

NBP

Hall of Fame
xFedal said:
Fair and square I don't think both players Nole and Wawrinka were playing on an equal playing field, Nole Played 3 consecutive days. There is where it says, Wawrinka deserved to win but Novak was at a disadvantage before entering the match.
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That was Djokovic's fault. He should have broken at 3-3 in the third against Murray on the Friday. But that's how it goes. Wawrinka was screwed in 2014 at Wimbledon and became sick against Federer in the QF. Again, Federer was screwed last year at the French playing three days in a row and then lost to... Wawrinka! But that's tennis. Unfortunate, but that's the way it goes sometimes.
 
D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
NBP said:
That was Djokovic's fault. He should have broken at 3-3 in the third against Murray on the Friday. But that's how it goes. Wawrinka was screwed in 2014 at Wimbledon and became sick against Federer in the QF. Again, Federer was screwed last year at the French playing three days in a row and then lost to... Wawrinka! But that's tennis. Unfortunate, but that's the way it goes sometimes.
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This too.
It all evens out.

Stan had a sh*tty call vs. Novak at AO 2013 which may have cost him the match.

But it all evens out, so no excuses, for anyone.
 
terribleIVAN

terribleIVAN

Hall of Fame
Midaso240 said:
Back in 2011,Nadal had a challenge trying to win a match against Djokovic. Now,I think it's going to be a challenge for him to win a set against Djokovic on any surface,I really do
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This.

Remember Becker never lost a match again to Edberg after being beaten in that W 1990 final.

Rafa has about 854236105896 miles on him and he showed since 2011 he could only win by attrition vs Nole.

Novak will easily crush Rafa from here on.
 
cockneyDjoker

cockneyDjoker

Hall of Fame
The only thing Nadal can look forward to at RG this year is another straight sets defeat to the legend that is.

Novak Djokovic
 
nmanimaran15

nmanimaran15

Rookie
Nadal won't win RG, 2016. Djokovic is going to win it. Even though nadal can't win RG, 2016, he will stay alive to win few other titles. No one must underestimate nadal.Because, he is a good fighter
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
tennis_pro said:
Of course Nadal has a chance to win the 2016 AO - if he doesn't have to face Djokovic or beats him he's actually the favorite in my eyes. I just can't imagine Nadal winning AO and losing the FO, that's all. If he's good enough to win the AO at this stage, he's got the FO in his pocket.
Click to expand...

They said that in 2009. Nothing is guaranteed for Nadal at this point. Not that I'm counting him out at RG or anywhere because I'm not.
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
As far as Nadal winning the AO goes, I would be surprised. I'd even go as far as to say very surprised. He's surprised me before, but I don't see it happening. He had an upturn at the end of the last year, but that won't be enough to actually win the AO. Even when he was winning the matches late last year it didn't look like the "old" Nadal that he would probably need to be to win the AO. In essence, I don't think he has enough time to adjust his game enough to surprise everybody and win. It's his worst slam title wise and Djokovic dominates it. Even if he loses I would put Stan favourite before Nadal. And even if we just assume he can beat Federer with his eyes closed (a sketchy assumption at least), there's still Murray and a host of others these days that could beat/upset him along the way. He's very susceptible on the slow AO HC these days.
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
To extend on my previous point, Nadal's history at the AO is not very friendly to him. Every year he's made at least the finals and busted his body trying to win that title he's had a bad season. 2009, 2012, 2014. All have their own defining characteristics and long matches at the end. 2010, 2011, where he was great, but for Djokovic, and 2013 were all good/great years for Nadal and in those years he made QF's or less. And then 2015 was bad anyway even though he "only" made the QF's, but that's more because he's getting old. I think the grind that Nadal has to go through when he goes far in Australia hurts him in the long run of the season. Ridiculously slow HC like the AO is now is not good for Nadal.
 
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tennisaddict

tennisaddict

Bionic Poster
At AO, Rafa has to hope he gets Fed in the QF. Anyone of Novak / Stan / Murray is danger time. That said, players ranked 9-12 are not beating him in 4R. The only player that can beat him in R3 is Kyrgios.

If Rafa gets an easy opponent for R1, he is going to be in the QF. But that is how far he will go .
 
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