Meles
Bionic Poster
Please no!
ATP 250 Buenos Aires Semi-final: Nadal vs Thiem (Who's the King of Clay)
- Thread starter Meles
- Start date
marc45
G.O.A.T.
that was some kind of reverse in the park home run
Uncle Ebeneezer
Rookie
I know. That one just killed me. Those are the kinds of mistakes I make on the court.
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
lol. Believe me I would love to have seen Rafa play at an extremely high level. Saying we are criticizing Rafa and calling us butthurt at the same time hardly makes sense.
Thiem played okay and I wish he had played better too so that Rafa's loss could be more excusable.
marc45
G.O.A.T.
15-0 for Ferrer
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
Looks more like a goat.
marc45
G.O.A.T.
Somebody called it before, forget who. They said if Rafa doesn't break here, he'll lose the match. Sure enough
I think that was me, but quite frankly I was surprised he held at 5 all
marc45
G.O.A.T.
I think "Nadal's best" is very debatable at this point...but Thiem is good...what really wasn't good for Nadal is Thiem looking gassed at the end, down match point, and still winning....Nadal can't accept that in good demeanor
Djokovic2011
Bionic Poster
Well surely it's better than the standard "well done Thiem!", no?
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Says the guy who thinks Thiem is a legend
nolefam_2024
Bionic Poster
Thiem sure looked gassed in whole third set but he has big serve, got few free points.
PeteD
Legend
Now "c4pyb4r4" is off limits too?
marc45
G.O.A.T.
the drop shots put him in position to win, but he did choke them away at the end...still, he needs them and more diversity to his game, because he can't out grind or outhit a young stud like this anymore....Thiem was gassed at the end but still won, that's troubling for Nadal...would have been interesting if this was RG and it went to the fourth, or fifth...who was actually fitter?...Nadal didn't seem tired, and Thiem did, but it didn't matter
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marc45
G.O.A.T.
yep, he kind of Samprased that third set... and Rafa gets no free points off serve
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Current Rafa is better in best of 3 than in best of 5. And it seems that he's now getting worse in best of 3, so...
marc45
G.O.A.T.
Says the guy who thinks Thiem is a legend
I think Thiem is a legend?!...you must be thinking of someone else....he is a good player though, and certainly could be a French Open champion someday
marc45
G.O.A.T.
idk here, he seemed pretty much the same physically at the end, and Thiem seemed worse
I think b of 3 is better for him now...on the other hand, with his nerves being what they are, b of 5, especially on clay, still provides him with some leeway for mid-match chokes..like that tb...was Thiem going to get stronger in the fourth?..or was that all he had?
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Yogi's son, Cappy Berra, has been verboten for a long time.
Meles
Bionic Poster
List please. Djokovic is above Thiem until Thiem proves otherwise. I wouldn't put Murray, Wawrinka, Ferrer, or Federer above Thiem. Thiem is top 20 and clay is by far his best surface. No other candidates come to mind.
Meles
Bionic Poster
Very young player and his early clay season was derailed by Austrian military training. Won Nice. Tuckered out at FO. Two more clay titles. Looking good for 4th tomorrow. He could get upset, but Thiem set to do a lot of damage on clay and should be in top ten by FO.
LinePainter
Professional
As much as I like his eccentric fitness coach, maybe he should get some help from all the new technology available today.
E
Emperor of Belgrade
Guest
Anyone knows the number of clay titles won by Vilas and Nadal?
Meles
Bionic Poster
Clay #
1. Argentina Guillermo Vilas 49
2. Spain Rafael Nadal 47
3. Austria Thomas Muster 40
4. Sweden Björn Borg 30
5. Czechoslovakia/United States Ivan Lendl 28
6. Argentina Jose Luis Clerc 21
7. Sweden Mats Wilander 20
8. Spain Carlos Moyá 16
Ecuador Andres Gomez
10. Spain Jose Higueras 15
Thiem going for 4. Not bad, not bad.
LinePainter
Professional
By best I mean this is not '2009' FO Nadal, but for a young player on tour this is a huge win because of Nadal's status in the sport.
E
Emperor of Belgrade
Guest
Thanks.
Nadal missed a good opportunity here. He better take every minor clay event very seriously if he wants to get to #50.
StannisTheMannis
Hall of Fame
All of those guys are above Thiem on clay...cmon he was defeated by Cuevas at RG last year.
marc45
G.O.A.T.
BUENOS AIRES: Defending champion Rafael Nadal suffered another setback Saturday when he squandered a match point before losing 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) to Austria's Dominic Thiem in the Argentina Open semi-finals.
Top seed Nadal, playing on his favourite clay surface, finally wilted in the 32-degree heat in Buenos Aires after two hours and 50 minutes on court against Thiem, the world number 19, who goes on to face either David Ferrer or Nicolas Almagro in Sunday's final.
"It was a tough match. I had a chance to win and missed it but Thiem played well," said Nadal, whose claycourt title total remains on 47. "I'm not worried. I just lacked consistency and need to make fewer unforced errors, but that's nothing."
Nadal now heads for Rio next week where he will again be top seed and where he was champion in 2014. He is expecting similarly gruelling conditions in the Olympic host city.
"I struggled a bit to adapt to the extreme conditions here. I felt more tired than usual. I know that in Rio de Janeiro it's not going to be better, so I must continue to adapt."
On Saturday, Nadal, in his first tournament since his shock first round exit at the Australian Open, dropped serve in the ninth game of the opener to allow 22-year-old Thiem to serve out for a one-set lead.
The 29-year-old Spaniard fought off a break point in the seventh game of the second as the big-hitting Thiem, the youngest member of the world top 20, threatened to run away with the contest.
But the 14-time major winner, who won the pair's only other meeting against at Roland Garros in 2014, made the most of his lifeline to break in the 10th game to level the semi-final.
Thiem, who once trained for his matches by carrying tree trunks on his back to beef up his physique, nipped ahead for 2-0 in the decider.
But back came Nadal to level at 2-2 before Thiem saved a match point in the 10th game.
In the tiebreak, however, it was Thiem who proved the stronger, stretching to a 6/1 lead.
Nadal saved three match points but the fifth-seeded Austrian held his nerve to give himself a shot at a fourth career title on Sunday in what will be his fifth final, all of which have been on clay.
- AFP/ec
Top seed Nadal, playing on his favourite clay surface, finally wilted in the 32-degree heat in Buenos Aires after two hours and 50 minutes on court against Thiem, the world number 19, who goes on to face either David Ferrer or Nicolas Almagro in Sunday's final.
"It was a tough match. I had a chance to win and missed it but Thiem played well," said Nadal, whose claycourt title total remains on 47. "I'm not worried. I just lacked consistency and need to make fewer unforced errors, but that's nothing."
Nadal now heads for Rio next week where he will again be top seed and where he was champion in 2014. He is expecting similarly gruelling conditions in the Olympic host city.
"I struggled a bit to adapt to the extreme conditions here. I felt more tired than usual. I know that in Rio de Janeiro it's not going to be better, so I must continue to adapt."
On Saturday, Nadal, in his first tournament since his shock first round exit at the Australian Open, dropped serve in the ninth game of the opener to allow 22-year-old Thiem to serve out for a one-set lead.
The 29-year-old Spaniard fought off a break point in the seventh game of the second as the big-hitting Thiem, the youngest member of the world top 20, threatened to run away with the contest.
But the 14-time major winner, who won the pair's only other meeting against at Roland Garros in 2014, made the most of his lifeline to break in the 10th game to level the semi-final.
Thiem, who once trained for his matches by carrying tree trunks on his back to beef up his physique, nipped ahead for 2-0 in the decider.
But back came Nadal to level at 2-2 before Thiem saved a match point in the 10th game.
In the tiebreak, however, it was Thiem who proved the stronger, stretching to a 6/1 lead.
Nadal saved three match points but the fifth-seeded Austrian held his nerve to give himself a shot at a fourth career title on Sunday in what will be his fifth final, all of which have been on clay.
- AFP/ec
marc45
G.O.A.T.
I know, and agree on both points.....but still, I don't know what Nadal's best is now, what he's capable of
nolefam_2024
Bionic Poster
How is even Murray not better than Thiem or even Ferrer? Thiem has not done anything big on clay until now. I would not count him even in top 5 on clay with list being Djokovic, Nadal, Wawrinka, Kei, Murray for 2016. He may win French this year or in few years but he is not top 5 and is barely top 10 on clay.
J
JRAJ1988
Guest
HE DID IT
123456789
Professional
@marc45 I really have faith in the Fog for this FO. The era is so weak right now, that pretty much anything can happen. This is clay, so that further lowers the chances for Murray. Murray and Fed have no chance. Wawrinka, sure, but he is pretty darn inconsistent, so who knows. Nadal....well looks like he is done. There is Djokovic and the top 5-25 have pretty good chances to make a deep run.
Aussie Darcy
Bionic Poster
Don't know if it's been posted but Thiem is now the only active player to win a final set tiebreak against Nadal on clay
D
Deleted member 21996
Guest
Yap .. This fórum policies are pathetic
swordtennis
G.O.A.T.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
My grandmother could win a final set tiebreak against Nadal these days. That isn't anything to brag about! The old Nadal left the building a good year and a half ago and it doesn't look like that version will reappear. Beating this Nadal at the FO in 2015 is nothing to brag about either. It's a Nadal who has lost what made him Nadal.
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
Are you insane? Fognini has greater chances to win the FO if Djokovic goes out than Murray, Federer or Wawrinka? Please don't be silly. First of all we need to see if Murray's head will be set on straight in time for the FO. He may not care about winning the FO and may still care more about his fatherhood duties. Secondly, we need to see how Federer is and if he is injured or not. IF Murray and Federer decide to be ready to compete for the FO (a slam neither one competes their hardest at especially at this stage in their careers) surely they will be tougher than a journeyman like Fognini. Come on now! As for Nadal, forget about him. This version will likely go out by the QF.
123456789
Professional
Thats not the context I was saying it in. Its just a bold prediction that is even remotely possible because of a weak era. My prediction was a Fognini Novak final.
D
Deleted member 21996
Guest
Lololollollloloollo.... poor rafito.... not even funny anymore
cc0509
Talk Tennis Guru
It's definitely not funny. Even if you hate him you have to have some degree of empathy for him these days.
123456789
Professional
Federer is getting old now and he can lose to anyone at the FO. Same can be said for Murray on clay.
They have higher chances, I'm not denying that. But I think Fognini will reach the finals, thats why its a bold prediction.
nolefam_2024
Bionic Poster
I don't find it funny but why should people have empathy for him?
E
Emperor of Belgrade
Guest
Empathy? The guy won so much before and won more matches that were on his opponents' racket than any other player. It is not funny, but he was asking for it with his game. He shouldn't be getting much empathy really.
nolefam_2024
Bionic Poster
E
Emperor of Belgrade
Guest
Whoever you are referring to 123..., the bandwagoning accusations are getting really old.
The most depressing movie ever isnt even as depressing as rafas tennis now. He needs a steam gun like the hitman in that movie.Exactly. No empathy for old Rafa
marc45
G.O.A.T.
every Nadal advantage is being erased....it's like a white sale at Macy's
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