Carlos Moya exclusive - Rafael Nadal’s Calendar Grand Slam goal is ‘realistic’ ahead of bid to win Wimbledon

D

Deleted member 791948

Guest
First week is going perfectly to plan, Nadal in no danger of losing while hitting enough balls to find a high level on grass in time for the Final :happydevil:
 

Subway Tennis

G.O.A.T.
I do want to see Rafa win Wimb and then reach the USO F.

He's already passed Fed, so might as well go all in.

As a Rafa fan I know that the better Rafa goes in these later years, the better it makes Federer look.

Fed was scary good against Rafa in those late career matches between the two of them especially IW 2017 where Federer was on another planet for most of that match and WI 2019.
 
D

Deleted member 791948

Guest
Youre lucky this trolling has worked so far this year lol. I hope you still get to next week :D
Actually I'm guilty of underestimating Nadal :-D
Yes, considering Djokovic has won only ONE of their last SIX clay meetings, I do feel kind of stupid predicting Djokovic to win this. But being stupid is fun :happydevil:
Nadal has a colossal mental edge over anyone he plays at Roland Garros, so I'm quite certain Nadal will beat Alcaraz in the SF, but I think Djokovic will beat Nadal :happydevil:
If Nadal beats Djokovic then it means Nadal is no longer making the uncharacteristic errors that have plagued him recently. But I'm assuming those errors will continue.....
Even though Felix played way better than Diego, and even though Djokovic played very passively, I predict Djokovic will beat Nadal.
Nadal was very error-prone today and he's usually playing cleaner tennis before beating Djokovic.
But I tend to underestimate Nadal, so maybe I'm wrong :happydevil:
This is the end of Djokovic's life if he loses this, the Slam Record will belong to Nadal for probably a few decades, and given their obsession with records the entire Djokovic family AND Goran will only live in disgrace :happydevil:
But don't worry, I'm sure Djokovic WILL WIN.
Even though I don't think Nadal will win, and I predict a Djokovic victory, I just hope we see another 5-0 start (2020RG Nadal won the 1st Set 6-0, and 2021RG Nadal led 5-0 in the 1st Set), because that is a tremendous experience and will give me the thrill of Nadal appearing to be the victor :happydevil:
The stats indicate Djokovic is in worse form than Nadal.
Djokovic = 29 winners, 31 unforced errors in 3 sets.
Nadal = 44 winners, 41 unforced errors in 5 sets.
But I actually saw both matches, and I didn't get that impression at all.
I'm going to trust the eyes, and the eyes say Djokovic wins :happydevil:
 

Subway Tennis

G.O.A.T.
Moya should know better. That type of talk, even though rational and within reason, tends to always be the kiss of the death. Like a commentator talking how strong someones serve is then they double fault.

Agree it can be a potentially risky and damaging thing to do.

Patrick Mouratoglou piled pressure on Serena in a similar way with his remarks about her getting the major titles record.
 

ChrisRF

Legend
Would be interesting to see the link where he predicted or was confident of a nadal win over Djokovic at rg. Very few if any did.
Honestly, why should Djokovic have been the favourite at RG this year? Only because he beat a hampered Nadal last year? All this was rather absurd, because nothing Djokovic did before in 2022 showed that he's even fit enough to have a chance. In Belgrade he even physically struggled in 3rd sets.

It wasn't his fault, he was undeservedly banned from many tournaments and that will likely have hurt his fitness. But as it was in May, Djokovic was surely not the favourite against Nadal at RG.

Even now I don't fully trust his fitness if he has to play the full distance against for example Alcaraz or again Nadal himself.
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Honestly, why should Djokovic have been the favourite at RG this year? Only because he beat a hampered Nadal last year? All this was rather absurd, because nothing Djokovic did before in 2022 showed that he's even fit enough to have a chance. In Belgrade he even physically struggled in 3rd sets.

It wasn't his fault, he was undeservedly banned from many tournaments and that will likely have hurt his fitness. But as it was in May, Djokovic was surely not the favourite against Nadal at RG.

Even now I don't fully trust his fitness if he has to play the full distance against for example Alcaraz or again Nadal himself.

Ultronians talked so much crap, they convinced the world ;)
 

Federev

G.O.A.T.
That’s because Nadal and Djokovic and the number 1 and 2 best players of all time, as proven by the amount of wins they have against fellow ATGs, their longevity and consistency.
Federer had his time in the sun, when an extraordinary piece of fortunate allowed him to mop up slams post Sampras and pre Nadal/Djokovic fully maturing, with virtually no ATG opponents, just your Roddicks your Hewitts your Bagdhatis.
He did well to vulture additional slams in 2009 without Nadal there and in 2017-2018 without Djokovic (he had lost 3 slams to both players within the previous year). He was the ultimate flat track bully but has his place in the top 10 ATGs.

;)
If only Fed had played Nadal when Nadal was “mature”.

If only Nadal was “mature” enough to ever make more than one hard court final in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 when Fed was always waiting.

Alas somehow baby-dal was mature enough to mop up on clay like an absolute monster and show up at Wimby during that time. But otherwise he was such a wee lass.

Lucky Fed.

Good thing he didn’t have to face the onslaught of the Andersons, Thiems, Medvedev’s, Tsitsipases, and Berrittinis. These ATGs poor Djokdal have had to stare down.

Thanks for throwing Fed a bone. #1 Nads hasn’t beaten him out taken off clay in almost 9 years but I’m sure he’s glad to know he’s got a place in your top 10.
 
Last edited:

D.Nalby12

G.O.A.T.
I swear you have predicted Nadal to get decimated by Medvedev at AO and also by Djokovic at RG this year but both times Nadal found a way to win. Nadal's mental game this year has been top notch. He has getting out of precarious positions all year

Medvedev almost did it. It's not mental game but his luck has been extraordinary this time. The level he has shown in last two Slams wasn't impressive at all. Even in this pathetic vacuum era - I don't see him winning remaining two Slams.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
Medvedev almost did it. It's not mental game but his luck has been extraordinary this time. The level he has shown in last two Slams wasn't impressive at all. Even in this pathetic vacuum era - I don't see him winning remaining two Slams.
I beg to differ. It is the highest level I’ve seen from Rafa in many years - he is more offensive and it is very effective as he is looking like the best player in the world. He shocked Novak with his unusually offensive mindset at the FO. His level on grass will be closer to Novak and title-winning potential than ever before since 2010.
 

zuluzazu

Hall of Fame
Medvedev almost did it. It's not mental game but his luck has been extraordinary this time. The level he has shown in last two Slams wasn't impressive at all. Even in this pathetic vacuum era - I don't see him winning remaining two Slams.
Can you tell me how he got lucky against Med?
 

D.Nalby12

G.O.A.T.
I beg to differ. It is the highest level I’ve seen from Rafa in many years - he is more offensive and it is very effective as he is looking like the best player in the world. He shocked Novak with his unusually offensive mindset at the FO. His level on grass will be closer to Novak and title-winning potential than ever before since 2010.

Are you arguing that this Nadal is better than 2020 FO Nadal?
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
Are you arguing that this Nadal is better than 2020 FO Nadal?
Easily, In 2020, it was cool Fall conditions where he ran around, played defense and no one could hit through him. This year, he took the racquet out of Djokovic’s hands with power and the anti-science fool was the only opponent he had to worry about on clay as the likes of Alcaraz, Tsitsipas and Zverev got upset or injured.
 

D.Nalby12

G.O.A.T.
Lol, Nadal just magically winning slams huh? :D

Djokovic was thrown out of Aus for political reasons. It's why Nadal won it. Otherwise I have no doubt Djokovic would beat him in straights. Even Med almost did. With little bit of luck on BPs - he would beat Nadal in straights.
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Djokovic was thrown out of Aus for political reasons. It's why Nadal won it. Otherwise I have no doubt Djokovic would beat him in straights. Even Med almost did. With little bit of luck on BPs - he would beat Nadal in straights.

Gimme that big cope energy to power my morning :love:

https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5d9848b0-4c0c-4d4d-beb5-080fee10569c_480x266.gif


#Luck! :cool:
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
You wil keep acting like we are witnessing peak Nadal till he receives giant Kick in his arse. After that you will suddenly remember he is 36 yo and he has heavily declined.

I don’t need him to be peak lol, I was here for ALL of his peak. He was still playing better than anyone else on tour, and that is something I would not imagine I would get to say with him in his mid 30s, regardless of how much you think they suck. This year has been more gravy than my moms place at thanksgiving 8-B

#22Slams #TheGOAT #DealBestie ;)
 

octobrina10

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic was thrown out of Aus for political reasons. It's why Nadal won it. Otherwise I have no doubt Djokovic would beat him in straights. Even Med almost did. With little bit of luck on BPs - he would beat Nadal in straights.
Djoko was thrown out of Australia because he did not meet the requirements for entry into the country. The medical exemption from vaccination he presented to the border officials was based on an invalid reason.
The medical exemption Tennis Australia (TA) granted (arranged, sent) to Djoko was approved by an expert panel established by the Victorian state government in December 2021, though the Australian federal government officials had told Craig Tiley (CEO of TA) twice in writing in November 2021 that having Covid within the last 6 months was not a valid reason for an exemption from vaccination in order to be allowed to enter Australia. So, Djoko (with the help of TA) tried to find a loophole to enter Australia, but he was caught by the border guard (subordinate to the federal government) at the airport, because the exemption he presented to the border people was based on an invalid reason.
 
D

Deleted member 791948

Guest
You wil keep acting like we are witnessing peak Nadal till he receives giant Kick in his arse. After that you will suddenly remember he is 36 yo and he has heavily declined.
2022 is the mentally strongest version of Nadal we've ever seen, and may be the mentally strongest player in the history of tennis - we'll decide after this year's US Open :happydevil:
 

BGod

G.O.A.T.
It becomes incredibly realistic if he makes Final here.

And let's be real this year's USO looking pretty dirt.
 

LETitBE

Hall of Fame
As a Rafa fan I know that the better Rafa goes in these later years, the better it makes Federer look.

Fed was scary good against Rafa in those late career matches between the two of them especially IW 2017 where Federer was on another planet for most of that match and WI 2019.
Shanghai was a bigger flogging
much too fast for nadsy:)
 

DSH

Talk Tennis Guru
As a Rafa fan I know that the better Rafa goes in these later years, the better it makes Federer look.

Fed was scary good against Rafa in those late career matches between the two of them especially IW 2017 where Federer was on another planet for most of that match and WI 2019.
Nadal did not play a great match in that semifinal, tactically he did not do well and the Spaniard played conservatively, allowing his rival to play aggressively, which is essential on this type of surface.
:(
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru

Entername

Professional
Shame his body couldn't hold up, it would've been interesting to see how he does in the semis and/or finals. Not saying he wins the whole thing or even gets by nick but I would've liked to see him actually play it out
 

jl809

Legend
As i said before it was inevitable that something would befall Ned as soon as Moya said this. I remembered this thread and was expecting him to lose to Berankis when Berankis was a break up in the 4th tbh
 

GabeT

G.O.A.T.
Just saying you used to be one of the better Joker fans. I and many others thought you were better than this Gabe. Sad.
Well, in my defense I’ve mainly gone after those trolling Novak. Since the AO close to 20 different posters have come to the Novak News thread to troll and their comments were deleted by mods. Over and over again. Many were asked nicely to leave and kept trolling. Every single one of them a Nadal fan. I don’t think the Nadal news thread went through anything like this.

As for this thread several Nadal fans have almost obsessively posted threads making fun of Novak or members of his team For much less than what Moya said.

so we sit back and enjoy it!
 

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
Well, in my defense I’ve mainly gone after those trolling Novak. Since the AO close to 20 different posters have come to the Novak News thread to troll and their comments were deleted by mods. Over and over again. Many were asked nicely to leave and kept trolling. Every single one of them a Nadal fan. I don’t think the Nadal news thread went through anything like this.

As for this thread several Nadal fans have almost obsessively posted threads making fun of Novak or members of his team For much less than what Moya said.

so we sit back and enjoy it!
So your response is to sink to their level or even go lower? Earlier in the year you were in basically every Nadal match thread mocking his injuries. Does that make you any better than them? If the mods came in and deleted those post in the Novak New thread doesn’t that mean they did their job? And there have been plenty of incidents where Maestronians or ********* come into the Nadal News thread calling him a doper, cheater, and a faker when it comes to his injuries.

And what Moya said was technically true. He won the 1st 2 schlems of the year. which means that the CYGS was a possibility. Regarding your earlier post in this thread Goran has said far more outlandish things. Chiefly among those was that “Nadal has no chance” in an RG F of all places. Joker was then handed the biggest GS F beatdown of his career.
 

GabeT

G.O.A.T.
So your response is to sink to their level or even go lower? Earlier in the year you were in basically every Nadal match thread mocking his injuries. Does that make you any better than them? If the mods came in and deleted those post in the Novak New thread doesn’t that mean they did their job? And there have been plenty of incidents where Maestronians or ********* come into the Nadal News thread calling him a doper, cheater, and a faker when it comes to his injuries.

And what Moya said was technically true. He won the 1st 2 schlems of the year. which means that the CYGS was a possibility. Regarding your earlier post in this thread Goran has said far more outlandish things. Chiefly among those was that “Nadal has no chance” in an RG F of all places. Joker was then handed the biggest GS F beatdown of his career.
hmm… I don’t think I mocked Nadal’s injuries. Or at least that wasn‘t my intention. I did mock those posters that every time Nadal loses claim it’s because of injuries. Not the same thing.

sorry if the Nadal thread was also spammed. I may have missed it. But the spamming of the Novak thread has been particularly vicious and all after AO and all by Nadal fans. Not sure what motivated that.
 

GabeT

G.O.A.T.
Where was the delusion? An ATG who has won the first two slams of the season should always be setting their sights on the Grand Slam.
In his best years Nadal never came close to a CYGS and his record at Wimbledon is not particularly good. For much less Novak and his team were repeatedly made fun of. Such is life
 
Top