Could 2005-2008 Nadal beat 2022 Medvedev at the Australian Open Finals?

[Entername]

I've been browsing a bit on this site and I've seen a lot of posters on here saying that Medvedev would be crushed by young Rafa because he lost to 35 year old Rafa...but I don't think it's that simple. Young Rafa wasn't that good on HC yet and Medvedev is no slouch on HCs as he's been the in-form guy on the hard surface for the past 2.5 years. I'm certain Rafa from 2009-2013 beats Med at HC slams but before that...not so sure.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Hard to tell. A lot of what bothers Medvedev in particular is the lefty GOATYness. So I'd say Rafa would still get him.

 

[malbaker86]

Yes because his losses in 07 and 08 was where he literally was blasted off the court and Med isn’t built like that

 

[Mustard]

Nadal 2005-2008 was vulnerable to hard, flat hitters on hardcourt, like Blake, Youzhny, Berdych. 2005 Nadal still beat Youzhny at the Australian Open after saving match point.

Does that describe Medvedev? No. Nadal would win.

 

[Sport]

If Nadal shows his Olympics 2008 form, no chance for the Bear.

Slayyyyyy.

 

[Milanez82]

If Nadal shows his Olympics 2008 form, no chance for the Bear.

Slayyyyyy.

Didn't realize Djokovic nearly baggeled him back then

 

[Sampras-Bruguera 1993]

Easily.. Med has nothing in his game to hurt even pre-pubescent Nadal

 

[Mustard]

Didn't realize Djokovic nearly baggeled him back then

In the 2008 Hamburg semi final (then a M1000 event), if Djokovic had won, he would have replaced Nadal as world number 2, which some pundits had been predicting since the 2008 Australian Open or before. Nadal beat Djokovic at Hamburg and soon became world number 1.

 

[AnOctorokForDinner]

Would be quite funny, I suspect he could. Sure Gonzalez and Tsonga destroyed him but they were playing at an excellent peak level, something Sadmadev was very far from after set 1.

 

[beast of mallorca]

If Nadal shows his Olympics 2008 form, no chance for the Bear.

Slayyyyyy.

The "great" Smash of Djokovic did him in

 

[metsman]

Hmm 2022 Nadal beat Medvedev by running around and keeping the ball in, wonder if 05-08 Ned was any good at that?

 

[Blahovic]

Early career Nadal would struggle Vs Medvedev on a hard court because of the serve disparity. Young Rafa's serve was useless a lot of the time.

Say whatever you want about 30+ year old Nadal, but the way he dominates his service games is unbelievable and a massive improvement on young Nadal. I can't imagine a young Tsonga basically teeing off on his returns the same way against Oldal as he did Vs 2008 Rafa.

Both Rafa's first and second serve are miles better than they used to be, and he's incredible at capitalising on the way he can either take his opponent off court and/or get a short return. His serve+1 combo is as potent as anyone's the last few years.

Don't underestimate the importance of the serve on a hard court.

 

[The Blond Blur]

If Nadal shows his Olympics 2008 form, no chance for the Bear.

Slayyyyyy.

Such an epic match on a legit fast HC which features the birth of the first Djokosmash

 

[NeutralFan]

Nooooo, big no.

 

[Entername]

Hmm 2022 Nadal beat Medvedev by running around and keeping the ball in, wonder if 05-08 Ned was any good at that?

I feel like his serve, variety and agression was what beat Med cuz he clearly cannot out-rally Med anymore. 05-08 Rafa was a physical beast but he has so many more weapons he can hurt you with today

 

[Kralingen]

2008 Rafa would have hammered him been watching Rafas matches from 2008 and tbh it is justice he is now undisputed Goat. 2008 Nadal was unplayable on any surface. The power and movement was jaw dropping. Over 5 sets he was as close to unbeatable as a player could be.

Well, 21 year old Andy Murray was able to solve the puzzle.

 

[Entername]

Well, 21 year old Andy Murray was able to solve the puzzle.

Yeah 2008 Rafa was a beast on clay and grass but definitely not HCs yet. He got bullied by Jo-Willy and Murray in the two HC majors. 2010 was Rafa's all-around peak as he won a major on every surface that year

 

[Kralingen]

Yeah 2008 Rafa was a beast on clay and grass but definitely not HCs yet. He got bullied by Jo-Willy and Murray in the two HC majors. 2010 was Rafa's all-around peak as he won a major on every surface that year

I get that Rafa was run down after the Olympics and the crazy summer run he had. I don’t think the Murray loss was an awful one. But, on the other hand, “prime Nadal” i.e. pre 2014-15 only played at a high level at basically 5 HC slams and was either meh or injured at quite a few more than 5.

 

[Entername]

I get that Rafa was run down after the Olympics and the crazy summer run he had. I don’t think the Murray loss was an awful one. But, on the other hand, “prime Nadal” i.e. pre 2014-15 only played at a high level at basically 5 HC slams and was either meh or injured at quite a few more than 5.

Yeah that's why 2009-2013 is Rafa's peak on HCs. He won 3 titles and played in 6 finals overall, among the 9 he contested overall. I feel like his game has aged quite well on HCs though as he's still highly competitive on it at 35.5 years old whereas with grass, he hasn't made a Wimby final in 11 years

 

[Incognito]

In the 2008 Hamburg semi final (then a M1000 event), if Djokovic had won, he would have replaced Nadal as world number 2, which some pundits had been predicting since the 2008 Australian Open or before. Nadal beat Djokovic at Hamburg and soon became world number 1.

Rafa’s winning streak in 2008 could have been longer if he didn’t have those blisters on his foot in Rome

 

[Mustard]

Rafa’s winning streak in 2008 could have been longer if he didn’t have those blisters on his foot in Rome

He got the blisters during the Barcelona final against Ferrer. He shouldn't have played Rome really, but having won it 3 years in a row, he wanted to defend it.

 

[Incognito]

He got the blisters during the Barcelona final against Ferrer. He shouldn't have played Rome really, but having won it 3 years in a row, he wanted to defend it.

So that would have been MC, Barcelona, Rome, Hamburg, FO, Queens, Wimbledon and Canada and a couple of rounds at Cincy.

 

[Third Serve]

Ned was a bit unlucky with the 2007 and 2008 AOs because he ran into legit god-mode opponents, and 2005 was not a terrible loss either—actually a decent match. Y’know, he almost fell prey to the randomly GOATing opponent pattern again in the 2009 SF but his level was there to match it that time around. He skipped 2006.

Let’s not forget that Nadal was actually terrible in those first two sets of Sunday’s match, probably worse than what he showed in the 2005, 2008, and even 2007 losses, and while he did improve as the match went on, I still felt he was vulnerable and nowhere near his best in the last three, but Med couldn’t capitalize. Not gonna make a definitive call here but it’s not a slam dunk of a comparison, especially factoring in Nadal’s matchup advantage.

 

[Tshooter]

No, because time travel is not a real thing.

 

[kishnabe]

2005-06 Toss Up

2007-08 Absolute YES

Medvedev had no business losing a to a 35 year old Nadal on Meddy best surface. Yet he did.

Nadal was good on HC in 2005-6. He did beat Federer in Dubai 2006. Won MS1000 on Indoor Hard against a top Indoor/Fast Court Player. Beat Oldassi at Rogers Cup.

 

[Daniel Andrade]

Hmm 2022 Nadal beat Medvedev by running around and keeping the ball in, wonder if 05-08 Ned was any good at that?

someone didn't watch the match

 

[The Big Foe fan]

I've been browsing a bit on this site and I've seen a lot of posters on here saying that Medvedev would be crushed by young Rafa because he lost to 35 year old Rafa...but I don't think it's that simple. Young Rafa wasn't that good on HC yet and Medvedev is no slouch on HCs as he's been the in-form guy on the hard surface for the past 2.5 years. I'm certain Rafa from 2009-2013 beats Med at HC slams but before that...not so sure.

Yes,
6-3 6-2 6-2
Nadal 2005-08 would be a nightmare matchup for Med,
Because if he could not hit through even 35,5 yo slow Nadal there's no way he's hitting through young nadal; plus, the youngdal had much better passing shots and he'd kill the droppers even more effectively due to superior movement.

 

[abmk]

Hmm 2022 Nadal beat Medvedev by running around and keeping the ball in, wonder if 05-08 Ned was any good at that?

hey 2022 Nadal was also smashing winners ......... off med mid-pace HITMEs and awful dropshots ...... come on

 

[abmk]

Early career Nadal would struggle Vs Medvedev on a hard court because of the serve disparity. Young Rafa's serve was useless a lot of the time.

Say whatever you want about 30+ year old Nadal, but the way he dominates his service games is unbelievable and a massive improvement on young Nadal. I can't imagine a young Tsonga basically teeing off on his returns the same way against Oldal as he did Vs 2008 Rafa.

Both Rafa's first and second serve are miles better than they used to be, and he's incredible at capitalising on the way he can either take his opponent off court and/or get a short return. His serve+1 combo is as potent as anyone's the last few years.

Don't underestimate the importance of the serve on a hard court.

nadal served mediocre in the AO 22 final.
So that gets thrown out of the window here.

 

[The Big Foe fan]

Early career Nadal would struggle Vs Medvedev on a hard court because of the serve disparity. Young Rafa's serve was useless a lot of the time.

Say whatever you want about 30+ year old Nadal, but the way he dominates his service games is unbelievable and a massive improvement on young Nadal. I can't imagine a young Tsonga basically teeing off on his returns the same way against Oldal as he did Vs 2008 Rafa.

Both Rafa's first and second serve are miles better than they used to be, and he's incredible at capitalising on the way he can either take his opponent off court and/or get a short return. His serve+1 combo is as potent as anyone's the last few years.

Don't underestimate the importance of the serve on a hard court.

And old rafa served below 50% for a large part of the match, med was returning close to 100% for the most part.

 

[abmk]

As far as thread question goes. vs 2022 AO QF/F rafa, yeah, for sure, 05-08 nadal would have the edge.
SF is a bit trickier considering he faced off vs Berr who only played well for set and half and didn't test him much.

 

[metsman]

I feel like his serve, variety and agression was what beat Med cuz he clearly cannot out-rally Med anymore. 05-08 Rafa was a physical beast but he has so many more weapons he can hurt you with today

even in the last 2 sets he had a total of two aces, served around 60%, and faced 9 break points.

He didn't win due to any "reason", he won an extremely ugly match where no one was doing anything well

 

[Entername]

even in the last 2 sets he had a total of two aces, served around 60%, and faced 9 break points.

He didn't win due to any "reason", he won an extremely ugly match where no one was doing anything well

I wouldn't call it an ugly match, both players hit like 70 winners in this match. Was it 2008 Wimbledon quality, no absolutely not, but it wasn't a low quality five-setter like Coria/Guadio for e.g.

 

[abmk]

I wouldn't call it an ugly match, both players hit like 70 winners in this match. Was it 2008 Wimbledon quality, no absolutely not, but it wasn't a low quality five-setter like Coria/Guadio for e.g.

well, when nadal's defense/movement is not that good and med gives mid-pace balls for nadal to tee off along with messed up dropshots, you get winners.
and yes, it was absolutely low quality like Coria/Gaudio.

 

[Entername]

well, when nadal's defense/movement is not that good and med gives mid-pace balls for nadal to tee off along with messed up dropshots, you get winners.
and yes, it was absolutely low quality like Coria/Gaudio.

High or low quality it was still an epic match, it's been a while since I was out of my seat watching a sporting event for an hour plus straight

 

[abmk]

High or low quality it was still an epic match, it's been a while since I was out of my seat watching a sporting event for an hour plus straight

no.
there has to be a minimum quality. there wasn't.
people criticize coria-gaudio and thiem-Z. this should be no different.

 

[duaneeo]

No version of Nadal would lose a slam final to Medvedev.

 

[MichaelNadal]

2008 Rafa would have hammered him been watching Rafas matches from 2008 and tbh it is justice he is now undisputed Goat. 2008 Nadal was unplayable on any surface. The power and movement was jaw dropping. Over 5 sets he was as close to unbeatable as a player could be.

It was crispy AF lol

 

[Kralingen]

2005 - Lleyton Hewitt - 5’9” - L
2007 - Fernando Gonzalez - 6’0” - L
2008 - Jo Wilfried Tsonga - 6’2” - L

Daniil Medvedev - 6’5”

I fear the evolution of tennis would be far too much for poor Nadal and he would lose in two sets