Better grass court player: Roddick or Nadal

The better grass court player.

  • Total voters
    104
edmondsm

edmondsm

Legend
It is hard for me to come up with who I think would win a grass court match between these two. Especially if it came in the late rounds of Wimbledon. Both players have been there, both have done great things on grass, but neither with a Wimbledon title. A would have to say that Roddick has the better grass court resume with all the Queens titles. But then again Roddick never took Fed to 5 sets.

What do you guys think?
 
with wimbledon playing as slow as it does nowadays I would have to give the advantage to Nadal. A few years back though, roddick all the way.
 
I would have to say Nadal is the better player on grass. Roddick is the better server but Nadal is better in everthing else such as forehand, backhand, and movement.
 
Just because it's grass doesn't mean that only serves matter... my money is on Rafa...
 
Nadal has been getting better results than Roddick virtually everywhere now. I still remember the beating he served Roddick last year at Indian Wells on hard courts.
 
Grass Resume........

Roddick has the better grass court resume in the long run, due to his Queens results with Wimbly. But I only give Roddick a chance if they met in the first week at Wimbly, before the courts turn into clay with a weed growing on it. After that Rafa is too comfortable on the surface. Rafa is always in danger in the first week when the grass is still slick (well as slick as it is now at Wimbly :cry: ).

TennezSport :cool:
 
TennezSport said:
But I only give Roddick a chance if they met in the first week at Wimbly, before the courts turn into clay with a weed growing on it. After that Rafa is too comfortable on the surface. Rafa is always in danger in the first week when the grass is still slick (well as slick as it is now at Wimbly :cry: ).

TennezSport :cool:
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Interesting, I gave Rod the edge if it were later in the tournament, but you make a good point. Nadal does seem to get better match after match. He went from almost losing to Soderling to almost beating Federer in less than 2 weeks.
 
Wimbly surface

edmondsm said:
Interesting, I gave Rod the edge if it were later in the tournament, but you make a good point. Nadal does seem to get better match after match. He went from almost losing to Soderling to almost beating Federer in less than 2 weeks.
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What has been happening at Wimbly the last 6 years is that the surface has been pounded instead of rolled, which makes a harder surface (better bounce). At first (even with the new slower grass the court is slick and slippery for footing) it's very difficult on Rafa to play his game (especially against big servers and flat hitters), but as the tourney goes on the grass is destroyed leaving dirt, which like clay Rafa loves.

In the old days when the court was rolled, the grass wore away by the second week but the surface was soft and still gave you an inconsistent bounce, thus more S&V tennis back then.

TennezSport :cool:
 
obviously roddick. nadal isnt the good on real grass. hes never won queens or been to the finals. he had a complete cakewalk draw for wimbledon 06 and the grass at wimbledon is not real grass. if the grass at wimbledon were real grass lik e it was in the before and during the 90s roddick would always go deep (if playing well), nadal would struggle to reach even the 4th round. however the grass in now not only slower slower but high bouncing (nadal was able to hit ball at shoulder height last year).
 
pow said:
Nadal has been getting better results than Roddick virtually everywhere now. I still remember the beating he served Roddick last year at Indian Wells on hard courts.
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on a very slow high bouncing hard court. i would love to see these two play that the uso. roddick could win the match on serve alone because nadal doesnt return big serves that well (roddick didnt serve or play great in the iw match and roddick still had aces in the double digits). i would really have like to seen roddick versus nadal at the uso with roddick playing how he did against federer (hitting incredible flat and powerful), because that wouldve been a straight set vcitory). unfortuantely its only a matter of time before the uso slows down as every fast surface is these days to help nadal and the other dirt ballers. indian wells,miami,canada,madrid,and paris are all slow. wimbledon is getting slower and the the ao surface isnt that fast either.
 
Career wise Roddick has achieved far more on grass than Nadal. Roddick has won Queens 4 times. Queens is probabely the 2nd biggest grass court event on the ATP tour. Nadal has yet to win a grass court title. Of course both players have 2 Wimbledon final losses to Federer which cancel each other out in a comparison.
 
edmondsm said:
It is hard for me to come up with who I think would win a grass court match between these two. Especially if it came in the late rounds of Wimbledon. Both players have been there, both have done great things on grass, but neither with a Wimbledon title. A would have to say that Roddick has the better grass court resume with all the Queens titles. But then again Roddick never took Fed to 5 sets.

What do you guys think?
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You forget in 2004 Roddick was crushing Federer before the rain came, Federer was actually showing signs of frustration and mental break down. The rain saved that final for him.
 
This poll is a true joke. Even the biggest Nadal hater out there (and for the record I am far from a Nadal fan) should be able to admit Nadal is a better player then Roddick on every surface now.

What a shock, as soon as I vote I see an equal poll. :rolleyes: Haha, too funny. Does anyone really think Roddick would ever beat Nadal if they played each other on grass today? Does anyone really think Roddick would have done as well vs Federer as Nadal did in last years final?
 
NamRanger said:
You forget in 2004 Roddick was crushing Federer before the rain came, Federer was actually showing signs of frustration and mental break down. The rain saved that final for him.
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I did remember that, but didn't want my OP to get to preachy. In that match Roddick was closer to beating Fed at Wimbledon than anybody else the last 5 years. In the 3rd set, I was all but positive that Rod was going to win it. Which I can't say about any other Wimbley match that Fed has played.
 
federerfanatic said:
This poll is a true joke. Even the biggest Nadal hater out there (and for the record I am far from a Nadal fan) should be able to admit Nadal is a better player then Roddick on every surface now.

What a shock, as soon as I vote I see an equal poll. :rolleyes: Haha, too funny. Does anyone really think Roddick would ever beat Nadal if they played each other on grass today? Does anyone really think Roddick would have done as well vs Federer as Nadal did in last years final?
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Probably. In my opinion Federer could have played a fair bit better for his standards against Nadal in the last final. From what I recall Federer seemed quite tentative until right at the end where he started to hit his shots better.

:edit: I will also point out that Roddick's game matches up quite well for Federer on Wimbledon grass. Nadal doesn't return as well as Federer for starters and I think this would give Roddick a good edge over Nadal if they played at Wimbledon.
 
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federerfanatic said:
This poll is a true joke. Even the biggest Nadal hater out there (and for the record I am far from a Nadal fan) should be able to admit Nadal is a better player then Roddick on every surface now.

What a shock, as soon as I vote I see an equal poll. :rolleyes: Haha, too funny. Does anyone really think Roddick would ever beat Nadal if they played each other on grass today? Does anyone really think Roddick would have done as well vs Federer as Nadal did in last years final?
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A joke? Do you think it's magic that the vote is basically split 50/50? Obviously you have some kind of warped perspective, like maybe you didn't start watching tennis until two months ago. In the real world Roddick is still arguably the 2nd best grass courter in the world. Sure he has faultered at Wimbledon the last 2 years. But the 4 titles at Queen show that his game is built for the grass and the poll proves my point that it would be hard to pick a winner between these two on grass.
 
edmondsm said:
A joke? Do you think it's magic that the vote is basically split 50/50? Obviously you have some kind of warped perspective, like maybe you didn't start watching tennis until two months ago. In the real world Roddick is still arguably the 2nd best grass courter in the world. Sure he has faultered at Wimbledon the last 2 years. But the 4 titles at Queen show that his game is built for the grass and the poll proves my point that it would be hard to pick a winner between these two on grass.
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The only warped perspective is the biased anti-Nadal perspective on these boards, and that is the only thing the joke of a 50/50 split reflects. In the real world you say? In the real world Nadal has been in the last 2 Wimbledon finals and taken Federer to 4 and 5 sets, while Roddick has lost to Murray and Gasquet. So you have to go back to 2005 to come up with an argument for Roddick being better on grass, back when Nadal was a totally different player then today.
 
In the classic sense, Roddick. He's got that serve...and some good results (he has more grass titles, doesn't he?).

Nadal doesn't strike me as a good grass player-but he's a GREAT slow court player, meaning he can play well on ANY slow surface, whether it's clay or the slower post2001 Wimbledon surface. Get them both on the grass before it was slowed down, and Roddick would STILL be a good grass player while Nadal would flounder, just as he often flounders on ANY fast court.
 
NamRanger said:
You forget in 2004 Roddick was crushing Federer before the rain came, Federer was actually showing signs of frustration and mental break down. The rain saved that final for him.
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Yeah 1 set all, and up 1 break in the 3rd (when Roddick had already lost his serve 3 times in the 2nd set so was far from safe to win the 3rd) is crushing someone on what planet. Roddick won the first set by one break, taking his only break point, and having to save 0-40 in another game. The second set he lost 7-5 to Federer, but was down 4-0 at one point. Some crushing. Make any excuses you wish, Nadal was still much closer to beating Federer in last years Wimbledon final then Roddick ever has been in 3 chances of playing Federer on grass.
 
Phil said:
In the classic sense, Roddick. He's got that serve...and some good results (he has more grass titles, doesn't he?).

Nadal doesn't strike me as a good grass player-but he's a GREAT slow court player, meaning he can play well on ANY slow surface, whether it's clay or the slower post2001 Wimbledon surface. Get them both on the grass before it was slowed down, and Roddick would STILL be a good grass player while Nadal would flounder, just as he often flounders on ANY fast court.
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I can agree with that. The thing is this new slowed down grass is the grass that will likely be around for many years to come. We are going to have to start evaluating the current and future players ability on grass these days by their ability on this grass, rather then the hypothetical grass of how most feel grass "should" be, since it isnt that anymore, and likely wont be going back anytime soon, for better or worse (personally I feel for worse).
 
federerfanatic said:
The only warped perspective is the biased anti-Nadal perspective on these boards, and that is the only thing the joke of a 50/50 split reflects. In the real world you say? In the real world Nadal has been in the last 2 Wimbledon finals and taken Federer to 4 and 5 sets, while Roddick has lost to Murray and Gasquet. So you have to go back to 2005 to come up with an argument for Roddick being better on grass, back when Nadal was a totally different player then today.
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How is Nadal a totally different player in 2005? He won all the clay court tourneys and Canada and Madrid. Seems like his results were pretty well rounded then. The fact is that you look at both of them, and Roddick still has a better grass court record. They've never played on the surface before so to say that it is some kind of no-brainer in favor of Nadal is ridiculous.
 
edmondsm said:
How is Nadal a totally different player in 2005? He won all the clay court tourneys and Canada and Madrid. Seems like his results were pretty well rounded then. The fact is that you look at both of them, and Roddick still has a better grass court record. They've never played on the surface before so to say that it is some kind of no-brainer in favor of Nadal is ridiculous.
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Roddick only has a better grass court record if you go back as far as 2004 and 2005. To do that and overlook the fact Nadal did much better then Roddick two straight Wimbledons now is ridiculous. Along with that apparently ignoring the fact Nadal did much better in the last 2 finals with Federer at Wimbledon combined, compared to the 3 finals/semis Roddick played vs Federer at Wimbledon combined.

Also to ignore Nadal's very obvious improvements on grass since 2005 is plain ignorant. How is he different? Well on grass especialy he is hitting his shots much flatter then he did then, he is much more comfortable moving on the surface (he was slipping and sliding a ton in 2005, now he is very sure footed), he is much more comfortable at the net.

If Nadal was not so outrageously hated on these boards this wouldnt even be a topic for discussion, and I also hate Nadal but atleast I have a shread of objectivity unlike alot of others apparently.
 
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federerfanatic said:
Yeah 1 set all, and up 1 break in the 3rd (when Roddick had already lost his serve 3 times in the 2nd set so was far from safe to win the 3rd) is crushing someone on what planet. Roddick won the first set by one break, taking his only break point, and having to save 0-40 in another game. The second set he lost 7-5 to Federer, but was down 4-0 at one point. Some crushing. Make any excuses you wish, Nadal was still much closer to beating Federer in last years Wimbledon final then Roddick ever has been in 3 chances of playing Federer on grass.
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Hillarious Federer fan fiction. Roddick was in control of the third set and was well on his way to winning it. He had come out firing from his forehand to serve, Federer could not deal with the power Roddick was throwing at him. Without that rain delay, Federer would have lost the third set and would be down 2-1.


Nadal only survives because the way the court has been rebuilt, on a true grass surface that has been used for tennis the past what, couple hundred years or so, he would get crushed on.
 
NamRanger said:
Hillarious Federer fan fiction. Roddick was in control of the third set and was well on his way to winning it. He had come out firing from his forehand to serve, Federer could not deal with the power Roddick was throwing at him. Without that rain delay, Federer would have lost the third set and would be down 2-1.


Nadal only survives because the way the court has been rebuilt, on a true grass surface that has been used for tennis the past what, couple hundred years or so, he would get crushed on.
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Who's to say Roddick would be able to sustain that level even without that rain delay?
 
federerfanatic said:
Roddick only has a better grass court record if you go back as far as 2004 and 2005. To do that and overlook the fact Nadal did much better then Roddick two straight Wimbledons now is ridiculous. Along with that apparently ignoring the fact Nadal did much better in the last 2 finals with Federer at Wimbledon combined, compared to the 3 finals/semis Roddick played vs Federer at Wimbledon combined.

Also to ignore Nadal's very obvious improvements on grass since 2005 is plain ignorant. How is he different? Well on grass especialy he is hitting his shots much flatter then he did then, he is much more comfortable moving on the surface (he was slipping and sliding a ton in 2005, now he is very sure footed), he is much more comfortable at the net.

If Nadal was not so outrageously hated on these boards this wouldnt even be a topic for discussion, and I also hate Nadal but atleast I have a shread of objectivity unlike alot of others apparently.
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I'm not ignoring anything. You are the one who is ignoring the fact that Roddick is a mofo on grass, so that you can somehow completely dismiss the idea that he could beat Nadal on that surface. You seem to forget that prior to both Wimbledon finals Nadal was barely scraping by in those tournaments. Remember when he only beat Robert Kendrick because the journeyman choked big time? Roddick would never have had that much trouble with Kendrick. Remember when Nadal lost to Mahut at Queens? Do you remember who ended up beating Mahut in the final after that?

If you actually consider all of the information, rather then ignore most of it and only talk about two matches, you will see that Roddick is at least as good on grass as Nadal if not better.
 
NamRanger said:
Then who's to say Nadal wouldn't have won if he didn't get injured? Exactly.
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I would say an injury effects a players performance more than a rain delay. Especially since Roddick only had 1 set on Federer while Nadal had 2 about the time the injury happened.
 
Nadal_Freak said:
I would say an injury effects a players performance more than a rain delay. Especially since Roddick only had 1 set on Federer while Nadal had 2 about the time the injury happened.
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Roddick was serving for that third set, and had Federer mentally beat. Once you crack Federer's mental wall, then you really have him beat. The rain delay allowed Federer to settle himself and break Roddick's momentum.
 
Nadal_Freak said:
I would say an injury effects a players performance more than a rain delay. Especially since Roddick only had 1 set on Federer while Nadal had 2 about the time the injury happened.
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Kind of like the 2 sets that Youzhny had on Nadal before his back gave out.
 
^^^ well we have a match in dubai, we can watch closely and check out some facts. I know its not grass but I think people here underestimate Arod's performance on grass and overrate Nadal's but thats just my opinion. I think its a no brainer and no contest that in every way Roddick's game is better suited for classic grass, I only hope he proves it cause I am sure I can not prove ut until it happens.
 
Nadal_Freak said:
Nadal got aggressive and no proof Youzhny's back gave out. He probably would've retired if that happened. Nice try though troll.
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No proof?! LOL. What about Youzhny hobbling around clutching his back? You obviously didn't even watch the match. Judging by your maturity level, in making a benign argument personal, you must have been watching cartoons while Nadal was rolling over an injured man. Thanks for injecting some name calling into the debate and showing me what sort of character we are all dealing with when Nadal Freak comes to the boards.
 
edmondsm said:
No proof?! LOL. What about Youzhny hobbling around clutching his back? You obviously didn't even watch the match. Judging by your maturity level, in making a benign argument personal, you must have been watching cartoons while Nadal was rolling over an injured man. Thanks for injecting some name calling into the debate and showing me what sort of character we are all dealing with when Nadal Freak comes to the boards.
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Yes and players haven't pulled a stunt like that before after points. Heard of Pete Sampras. Played great during points and acted injured after points. Youzhny was playing fine but Nadal was in a zone. And yes you are being a troll trying to discredit Nadal's achievements.
 
I agree Youzhny was injured in that Wimbledon match with Nadal, but that is sport. Injuries are part of it, if you get them tough, you try and deal the best you can and that is that.
 
Nadal is better as evidenced by the fact he has made the last two Wimby finals.

Everyone who voted Roddick is stuck in a time warp from 3 years ago.
 
NamRanger said:
Roddick was serving for that third set, and had Federer mentally beat.
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Yeah and I bet you felt Agassi had Federer mentally beat in the U.S Open final where it was also 1 set all and 4-2 in the 3rd for Agassi right. Wrong, Federer stormed back with a barrage of forehand, backhand, and service winners, and smoked Agassi the rest of the way winning 11 of the last 14 games. Last I checked Agassi was a more imposing and scarier opponent then Roddick ever was. You have no proof at all Roddick had Federer mentally beat, that is your own very biased speculation. Federer is the one with the enormous mental edge over Roddick, it will take more then a puny lead like that in a match for him to have Federer "mentally beaten".
 
Are we talking about Youzhny or Roddick here? Youzhny is currently much better player than Roddick, so all these talks about Nadal vs Youzhny on Wimbledon are no argument when it comes to Roddick.

Roddick is a joke and his funboys here should finally admit that.
 
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