Beating Nadal in the Roland Garros Final is the toughest feat in tennis history?
- Thread starter RAFA2005RG
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Sentinel
Bionic Poster
YouCantBeSerious
Banned
HAHAHAHAHA. Why didn't I think of that before? Brilliant!Beating Donald Young in the final of any slam is the toughest feat. No one has done it, no one will ever do it. Not even ********* or Freudal or Freudovic.
Start da Game
Hall of Fame
he is 68-1* in best of 5 sets matches on clay.......
*could easily have been 72-0......it would not be absurd to say he has never lost a best of 5 sets match on clay.......i don't think anybody will ever dominate or has ever dominated any of the two original surfaces in tennis(clay and grass) as much as nadal did.......
*could easily have been 72-0......it would not be absurd to say he has never lost a best of 5 sets match on clay.......i don't think anybody will ever dominate or has ever dominated any of the two original surfaces in tennis(clay and grass) as much as nadal did.......
YouCantBeSerious
Banned
Yes, Nadal's dominance on clay is unparalleled in any surface. I still find Borg's achievements in clay and grass more impressive as a whole, but Nadal is the boss on clay, and I don't see anybody touching his record there in the foreseeable future.
djokovic figured out how to beat nadal consistently in 2011 but failed to get it done at rg in 2012. the key to defeating nadal on clay is to take advantage of his deep court position by forcing him into a scenario where he's forced to hit short replies because of his extreme forehand grip.
Flash O'Groove
Hall of Fame
On clay Nadal can do it.
Clarky21
Banned
You are hating on a top player. You are not allowed to do that based on your own comments, you hypocrite.
zagor
Bionic Poster
Regarding Sampras if you're talking about Wimbledon final then yes but Wimbledon overall it's debatable, at his peak he lost to Krajicek in straights.
6-1 6-3 6-0
Banned
Certainly not the man in your avatar. And if Nadal is playing well enough to reach the final of Roland Garros, no one will EVER be able to stop him.
ark_28
Legend
But that was Pete's only loss at Wimbledon in 8 years! Nadal has also won the French 7 times in the last 8 years and lost to Soderling in 4 in his peak!
Krajicek went on to win Wimbledon that year lest we forget...
I can't speak for full history, but i would say beating nadal on clay at all is one of the toughest feats in tennis history.
I really don't think there's too much of an argument anymore that he's the clay GOAT.
Again, thanks to Soderling for running hot in '09 allowing Fed to get the career slam.
I really don't think there's too much of an argument anymore that he's the clay GOAT.
Again, thanks to Soderling for running hot in '09 allowing Fed to get the career slam.
Chanwan
G.O.A.T.
And Nadal lost to Söderling at his peak - so?
Chanwan
G.O.A.T.
Except that he has, which makes it pretty absurd to say that he hasn't...
zagor
Bionic Poster
A good point but I still feel like you could also make arguments for Fed and even Borg in regards to Sampras at Wimbledon (I'm talking about who's tougher to beat, not getting into who's better argument)), they both won 5 in a row (unlike Sampras), Borg won a Wimbledon dropping a set and in what I consider Fed's prime (2003-2009) he only lost one match at Wimbledon against the 2nd best grasscourter of his generation 9-7 in the decider.
Regarding Nadal at FO I don't know if anyone does come close enough to argue in his favour regarding this topic except maybe Borg.
ark_28
Legend
I see your point mate but, while Pete didn't win 5 in a row like Borg or Roger he has won more than Borg and has won his 7 in a shorter period than Federer (Pete did it in 8 years Federer in 10) to me this shows more dominance on Pete's part at Wimbledon compared to Borg and Federer.
Indeed I believe Nadal will go on to win more RG's but as it stands now his record at RG is virtually identical to Pete at Wimbledon only reason we think of Nadal on clay as perhaps tougher than Pete on grass is that the clay season is far longer.
Beating Nadal in a Roland Garros final is almost impossible (up to now).
Almost the same can be said about beating Sampras or Federer in a Wimbledon final (Federer lost once, but it was 10-8 in the fifth set, that makes you understand how tough it is to beat him in a Wimbledon final).
Those three players (Sampras, Nadal and Federer) are the only ones (in the Open Era) to have won the same GS tournament seven times. It is an amazing achievement, really.
Almost the same can be said about beating Sampras or Federer in a Wimbledon final (Federer lost once, but it was 10-8 in the fifth set, that makes you understand how tough it is to beat him in a Wimbledon final).
Those three players (Sampras, Nadal and Federer) are the only ones (in the Open Era) to have won the same GS tournament seven times. It is an amazing achievement, really.
Hood_Man
G.O.A.T.
It was 9-7 by the way, just in case Mustard tells you off
hahaha, OK (I see my memory starts to fail sometimes now. It never failed when I was young though....not a funny thing to get older and older....)
Fiji
Legend
If ******* beats Oldal in the RG final, it will be impressive since Federer is really old at almost 32(for a tennis player) and Nadal is a bad matchup for him.
If Djokovic beats Nadal in the RG final, then it will not be as impressive since Djokovic is going through his peak years while Nadal because of his brutal playing style and with that used up body is past it.
I wouldn't be surprised if Nadal retires this year and Federer retires soon after that, at the end of 2014.
I would like to see Federer beating Nadal this year in the RG final. It would be very close and Federer might very likely finally win.
Two Career Slams for Federer would be fully deserved. He would have 6 RG finals.
If Djokovic beats Nadal in the RG final, then it will not be as impressive since Djokovic is going through his peak years while Nadal because of his brutal playing style and with that used up body is past it.
I wouldn't be surprised if Nadal retires this year and Federer retires soon after that, at the end of 2014.
I would like to see Federer beating Nadal this year in the RG final. It would be very close and Federer might very likely finally win.
Two Career Slams for Federer would be fully deserved. He would have 6 RG finals.
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Gonzo_style
Hall of Fame
Backhanded Compliment
Legend
The only player I can conceive of beating Nadal in the final would have to be Guga. He had the weapons and the belief and I feel like Nadal's forehand owes a lot to Guga's backhand. Too bad Guga's injuries made it so we never saw this matchup.
That said, Nadal has made this year's RG interesting... Nole might get the career slam but Id like to see someone new.
That said, Nadal has made this year's RG interesting... Nole might get the career slam but Id like to see someone new.
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
On the other hand, if Djokovic loses to Nadal or Federer this FO, he will be really beaten up mentally that at his so called prime , he is not able to beat "retired" players. He may win more majors beating Murray, but he will feel hollow.
Nadal is 7-0 at the French Open final.
Sampras is 7-0 at the Wimbledon final.
Although both are 7-0, I give the slight edge to Sampras, for 2 reasons.
1)
Wimbledon is generally accepted by most to be the world’s biggest and most important tennis event. It is the event most players if not all dream of winning above all others. The Wimbledon final is the pinnacle match of tennis’ pinnacle tournament. When the French Open final is on, most of the tennis world watches. When the Wimbledon final is on, all of the tennis world watches. The pressure is just that little bit more in the Wimbledon final against any other match anywhere and therefore that should count for something.
2)
In Sampras’ 7 Wimbledon finals, he had to beat:
2 x Ivanisevic
1 x Courier
1 x Becker
1 x Pioline
1 x Agassi
1 x Rafter
Sampras faced 6 different challengers. In and amongst that group of 6 challengers, there’s 3 Wimbledon champions and 5 Wimbledon titles.
In Nadal’s 7 French Open finals to date, he’s had to beat:
4 x Federer
1 x Puerta
1 x Soderling
1 x Djokovic
By comparison, Nadal has faced only 4 different challengers. In and amongst that group of 4 challengers, there’s 1 French Open champion and 1 French Open title. Federer and Djokovic may well be GOAT contenders, but the jury is still out on where history will place them at the French Open. Nadal has had the luxury of facing his French Open easy beat 4 times. By the time of their third final, (fourth match overall), Federer was mentally shot against Nadal at the French Open. Sampras had no such luxury in the Wimbledon final as he was constantly coming up against different challengers and the guy he beat twice, Ivanisevic, beat him at Wimbledon in 1992.
So for 2 these reasons, at this stage, I give the slight edge to Sampras. If of course Nadal wins the French Open this year, then that places him above Sampras’ Wimbledon final achievements. But if he makes it to the final and loses, then Sampras’ 7-0 achievement will stand alone atop the perch. This will have to be revisited if Djokovic keeps winning the Australian Open final.
Sampras is 7-0 at the Wimbledon final.
Although both are 7-0, I give the slight edge to Sampras, for 2 reasons.
1)
Wimbledon is generally accepted by most to be the world’s biggest and most important tennis event. It is the event most players if not all dream of winning above all others. The Wimbledon final is the pinnacle match of tennis’ pinnacle tournament. When the French Open final is on, most of the tennis world watches. When the Wimbledon final is on, all of the tennis world watches. The pressure is just that little bit more in the Wimbledon final against any other match anywhere and therefore that should count for something.
2)
In Sampras’ 7 Wimbledon finals, he had to beat:
2 x Ivanisevic
1 x Courier
1 x Becker
1 x Pioline
1 x Agassi
1 x Rafter
Sampras faced 6 different challengers. In and amongst that group of 6 challengers, there’s 3 Wimbledon champions and 5 Wimbledon titles.
In Nadal’s 7 French Open finals to date, he’s had to beat:
4 x Federer
1 x Puerta
1 x Soderling
1 x Djokovic
By comparison, Nadal has faced only 4 different challengers. In and amongst that group of 4 challengers, there’s 1 French Open champion and 1 French Open title. Federer and Djokovic may well be GOAT contenders, but the jury is still out on where history will place them at the French Open. Nadal has had the luxury of facing his French Open easy beat 4 times. By the time of their third final, (fourth match overall), Federer was mentally shot against Nadal at the French Open. Sampras had no such luxury in the Wimbledon final as he was constantly coming up against different challengers and the guy he beat twice, Ivanisevic, beat him at Wimbledon in 1992.
So for 2 these reasons, at this stage, I give the slight edge to Sampras. If of course Nadal wins the French Open this year, then that places him above Sampras’ Wimbledon final achievements. But if he makes it to the final and loses, then Sampras’ 7-0 achievement will stand alone atop the perch. This will have to be revisited if Djokovic keeps winning the Australian Open final.
Start da Game
Hall of Fame
this is a solid assessment, i can't disagree.......
It's '*******'.
The-Champ
Legend
Both are unbeaten in finals but Nadal has only lost once in 8 tries at RG. Won the tournament twice without losing a set. I'd give the slight edge to Nadal.
D
Deleted member 3771
Guest
It's a close call, both Sampras and Nadal are 7/7 in Wimbledon and FO finals, with Sampras winning 5 of those 7 finals without being broken! Hail the kings of Wimbledon and Roland Garros!
DropShotArtist
Banned
Bastl, nuff said :twisted:
Federev
G.O.A.T.
You were right.Notice I didn't just say "beating Nadal at Roland Garros". See, Soderling beat Nadal in the 4th Round. Soderling also beat Federer at Roland Garros (in the QF I believe). But Soderling lost to Nadal and Federer in Roland Garros Finals. Beating a legend in the final is far tougher than going for broke in a 4th Round or even a QF. The pressure is on both players in the final, even the mass underdog.
I don't believe its possible to beat Nadal in a Roland Garros Final. His self-belief is off the charts at Roland Garros, and more importantly for Nadal to be in the RG final it would mean he's in acceptable physical condition. He had the injections to numb his knee before the 2012 RG semi and the final, so even though he was injured (and most likely a bit off-balanced) he was in acceptable physical condition. He is so comfortable on clay (far more than on grass, as we saw vs Rosol) that his definition of 'acceptable physical condition' can be something like 60% and he'd still beat everyone at Roland Garros.
That final vs Djokovic is the centerpiece of why beating Nadal in a Roland Garros Final is the toughest feat in tennis. Djokovic had beaten Nadal in 3 straight slam encounters and still looked lost for most of that match. Compare that to Djokovic at his favorite slam - the Australian Open - it took him 6 hours to dispose of Nadal! The domination we see from Nadal is at a whole other level to anyone in the history of tennis. Nadal is the Dexter Morgan of tennis. And clay is his blood.
jackson vile
G.O.A.T.
Yes
TripleATeam
G.O.A.T.
No. Beating Nadal R2 of RG is.
18 victories without a loss. Only 1 set lost during that whole time, to Martin Klizan. No one ever even threatened 5 sets. It was never close.
It's definitely R2.
18 victories without a loss. Only 1 set lost during that whole time, to Martin Klizan. No one ever even threatened 5 sets. It was never close.
It's definitely R2.
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