ATP United Cup 2023/24

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Will The Nadal Kordarize the British lefty? Can he pluck defeat from the jaws of Cameron the Conqueror and turn it into another victory for Humbalito?

All we know is he will try his best.
 
It is not to be for The Nadal today but it’s still almost a month before the AO final. Unfortunately for him, it’s probably not a choking clown across the net for him if he gets that deep in the draw.
 
WarriorRafa said:
Rafa losing to Norrie..another sign of the end not being too far away.
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Alcaraz also lost to Norrie in Cincinnati, and then he won the USO.
Rune lost to Norrie in straight sets in the USO, and then he won 3 tournaments and beat 5 top-10 in Paris.

I wouldn't worry too much about this loss. However it's interesting to point out he's lost his 5th consecutive match (outside of the dead rubber vs a tanking Ruud)... Tiafoe, Paul, Fritz, Auger and Norrie.
 
stringertom said:
Another trollish response. It’s still a major drag on the body to barnstorm across the globe for these “clown shows.” Do you not remember fedr’s fateful exho tour of the Americas in 2019 and his physical breakdown at the start of 2020? Or how Seppi knocked him out 3R at AO’15 on the heels of fedr’s participation in the IPTL?

Once these aging legends deviate from their regular off-season rituals they become vulnerable to either inferior but rested players or, even worse, injury from lack of the usual preparation.
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Nadal had 5 exhibition matches from November 23-29. His last exho match was a month ago. That's over 4 weeks of rest he's had since then. And the exhos helped him keep his reflexes sharp and confidence intact. If he's still tired after a month of rest then he should retire. Nobody should be tired after having a month off from the tour. His body is fully healed. There's no rib injury or ab tear or anything. Can't keep making excuses for these guys. He didn't do anything that he hasn't done in prior seasons. We'll see how he fares when the AO comes about in a couple of weeks.
 
Mike Sams said:
Nadal had 5 exhibition matches from November 23-29. His last exho match was a month ago. That's over 4 weeks of rest he's had since then. And the exhos helped him keep his reflexes sharp and confidence intact. If he's still tired after a month of rest then he should retire. Nobody should be tired after having a month off from the tour. His body is fully healed. There's no rib injury or ab tear or anything. Can't keep making excuses for these guys. He didn't do anything that he hasn't done in prior seasons. We'll see how he fares when the AO comes about in a couple of weeks.
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The point is he didn't had a normal off season like he usually does. Basically 3-4 weeks between the money grab Sud American exho tour and the first match in Australia. Not to mention that chasing the YE #1 he had a pretty hectic 2022 indoors fall season by his regular standards. Usually in October- December period he is back in Mallorca, resting, recuperating, rejuvenating, Dr. Cottoro is healing his wounds, but for some reason that wasn't the case this year. So lets see what happens. The whole period of preparation for the upcoming season was kinda unusual for him.
 
Nadal_Django said:
The point is he didn't had a normal off season like he usually does. Basically 3-4 weeks between the money grab Sud American exho tour and the first match in Australia. Not to mention that chasing the YE #1 he had a pretty hectic 2022 indoors fall season by his regular standards. Usually in October- December period he is back in Mallorca, resting, recuperating, rejuvenating, Dr. Cottoro is healing his wounds, but for some reason that wasn't the case this year. So lets see what happens. The whole period of preparation for the upcoming season was kinda unusual for him.
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Wasn’t that his choice to go and play a money grabbing exho?
 
Nadal_Django said:
The point is he didn't had a normal off season like he usually does. Basically 3-4 weeks between the money grab Sud American exho tour and the first match in Australia. Not to mention that chasing the YE #1 he had a pretty hectic 2022 indoors fall season by his regular standards. Usually in October- December period he is back in Mallorca, resting, recuperating, rejuvenating, Dr. Cottoro is healing his wounds, but for some reason that wasn't the case this year. So lets see what happens. The whole period of preparation for the upcoming season was kinda unusual for him.
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He's also had extensive off seasons with plenty of rest and come back worse.
 
Nadal_Django said:
The point is he didn't had a normal off season like he usually does. Basically 3-4 weeks between the money grab Sud American exho tour and the first match in Australia. Not to mention that chasing the YE #1 he had a pretty hectic 2022 indoors fall season by his regular standards. Usually in October- December period he is back in Mallorca, resting, recuperating, rejuvenating, Dr. Cottoro is healing his wounds, but for some reason that wasn't the case this year. So lets see what happens. The whole period of preparation for the upcoming season was kinda unusual for him.
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Thanks for pitching in to try and explain how the slightest change to routine can come back to haunt ATGs when they face the pigeons they normally dispatch easily. Look at Seppi vs fedr at AO’15 after fedr gave up his normal training block in Dubai to cash a check with the IPTL. He had lost one set in 10 matches to the veteran Italian yet loses in 4 in 3R at the slam where he has had his most consistent results. It’s all about the rhythm the body develops and that was a massive change to play those phony money grabs and then replace a training block with Paganini in Dubai with a 250 in Brisbane, which he won BTW (don’t tell Mike that fact…the season doesn’t begin until AO unless your Ruud or Coric:-D)

#SuccessComes FromPreparationAndRoutine
 
Nadal - looked physically fine. But over the past few years, he's been a really slow start after long breaks. He's oddly uncomfortable for a while. The pace on his serve was very good.

Norrie - looked primed and ready to go, but also more aggressive, flattening out down the line more. Not sure if that was a tactic for Nadal, a systemic change to his game, or he was just amped up.

I think Nadal needs a slower surface these days. Doesn't quite have the lateral speed for a quick court. Hence, I think, the aces and serve-and-volley. Sydney is notoriously faster than Melbourne and the balls are very quick out of the can, which will be used in Melbourne.
 
Offense intended, it's a very bad look to start the season losing against someone like Norrie.

Edit: offense intented to Norrie.
 
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Carax said:
Offense intended, it's a very bad look to start the season losing against someone like Norrie.

Edit: offense intented to Norrie.
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I'm sure he's sobbing himself to sleep after reading this................


...........not!
 
Very happy with Nadal's level, Norrie played brilliantly and still almost lost that break in the 3rd Set.
If that match was played at the AO, with the pressure of grand slam tennis, Nadal wins that.
But that is the best Norrie has played vs. Nadal, blasting the cover off the ball.
Nadal looked like he was experimenting with regular serve volleying, a good idea.
 
Winners or Errors said:
Nadal moving like a statue back there. Not winning the AO unless he finds some legs.
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Legs were definitely not his problem, he ran everything down, just lacked timing on his forehand.
Winning this AO.

djokovic the conqueror said:
No way Nadal is winning AO when he’s doing this bad against Norrie. :-D
Djokovic would’ve won this match 6-3 6-2.
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Because everybody peaks in the first match of the year, right? In your dreams.
 
thepaint19 said:
Very happy with Nadal's level, Norrie played brilliantly and still almost lost that break in the 3rd Set.
If that match was played at the AO, with the pressure of grand slam tennis, Nadal wins that.
But that is the best Norrie has played vs. Nadal, blasting the cover off the ball.
Nadal looked like he was experimenting with regular serve volleying, a good idea.
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Yeah Norrie is a great player future GOAT, similar to Tommy Paul, Fritz and Tiafoe
 
ark_28 said:
Yeah Norrie is a great player future GOAT, similar to Tommy Paul, Fritz and Tiafoe
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Nadal didn't move or serve well vs. Paul, Fritz, Tiafoe.
Whereas Nadal moved like lightning in the Norrie match, however his forehand was error-prone (but his other shots were in-form), and Norrie was sharp and aggressive.
Nadal is in good enough form to cruise through the 1st week of the AO.
 
thepaint19 said:
Nadal didn't move or serve well vs. Paul, Fritz, Tiafoe.
Whereas Nadal moved like lightning in the Norrie match, however his forehand was error-prone (but his other shots were in-form), and Norrie was sharp and aggressive.
Nadal is in good enough form to cruise through the 1st week of the AO.
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Nadal seemed physically fine, just a bit off and uncomfortable. Remember the same thing last year playing Berankis and then Cressy...he was out of sorts against both for a while. Melbourne is a slower court and he will need that.
 
Zverev seemed to have a lot of rust. Everytime he went for a little bit extra juice on shots/serves, he missed. You could also see that he didn’t feel very confident in tight moments. I guess it is really hard to come back from a long layoff especially after a major injury to your lower limbs where you are still not sure about your movement.
 
socallefty said:
Zverev seemed to have a lot of rust. Everytime he went for a little bit extra juice on shots/serves, he missed. You could also see that he didn’t feel very confident in tight moments. I guess it is really hard to come back from a long layoff especially after a major injury to your lower limbs where you are still not sure about your movement.
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The biggest challenge for Zverev and his comeback is he's not a guy who has faced a lot of adversity in his life. He's a super, natural talent and has basically been up and to the right from the beginning. I think Ferrero dumped him early on bc, according to the anecdote, the kid wasn't willing to put in the work.
 
jdx2112 said:
The biggest challenge for Zverev and his comeback is he's not a guy who has faced a lot of adversity in his life. He's a super, natural talent and has basically been up and to the right from the beginning. I think Ferrero dumped him early on bc, according to the anecdote, the kid wasn't willing to put in the work.
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Yeah plus he's not good at controlling his emotions, so he would not be easy to be around.
Agassi would have been similar early in his career, except he won Slams, so well worth coaching.
 
stringertom said:
That’s a nice win for my favorite current lefty Czechmate Kvitova over World #3 Pegula. The tie was already clinched but Pegula is trying to keep her 2022 momentum so she was personally motivated.

I would love to see another Kvitova slam run but I’m probably dreaming.
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I remember watching live her Wimbledon final win in 2014 - the only singles match I've ever seen live at Wimbledon. It was brutal.

I'd like to see Petra win another slam - or at least make another deep run at Wimbledon.
 
Nadal speeds kmh
Set 1: 128 forehand, 125 backhand
Set 2: 121 forehand, 114 backhand
 
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