Did Coria have the ability to beat Nadal at RG?

[Wynter]

After watching their Rome match again.

If Coria had been able to maintain the same level he showed in 2004/05 (which may have occurred has he beaten Gaudio) Do you feel he was capable of beating Nadal at Roland Garros, or would he have also been another player to get close but ultimately just fall short?

I feel if they met ten times at Phillipe Chatrier, Coria could at win at least once, though Nadal would still have bossed the H2H 9-1/8-2

 

[okdude1992]

Coria was a monster on clay. He could have been a rival to Rafa. Especially with the added confidence of having a RG title rather than choking it away to Gaudio. I could see him MAYBE getting a win or 2 during Rafa's off years

 

[Supertegwyn]

Until someone else beats Nadal at RG I just have to work under the assumption that he is impossible to beat (bar the Soderling incident).

 

[daddy]

Until someone else beats Nadal at RG I just have to work under the assumption that he is impossible to beat (bar the Soderling incident).

That was not an incident. It was a defeat hence he was beaten which implies he is not impossible to beat.

 

[Supertegwyn]

That was not an incident. It was a defeat hence he was beaten which implies he is not impossible to beat.

I'm more referring to the claims of marital issues that affected Nada's game. I haven't seen the match nor do I know much about Nada's family life, so it seems to me like a freak occurrence. I'd love to be proven wrong, but it's just hard to bet against Nadal.

 

[Wilander Fan]

Soderling was on his way to being a monster before mono. I dont think the RG victory was a fluke. IIRC, Soderling made it back into the finals or semis the very next year to lose to Nadal so he was not a fluke clay player. He could very easily have captured 2 RG titles back to back.

 

[daddy]

Guillermo Coria was a very specific player. He was a great clay court player and not all that bad on other surfaces but there are mainly two issues with him which I would like to point out :

1 - Coria is a fairly small guy standing at 175cm. In my honest opinion this is a huge disadvantage in tennis especially in a matchup vs Rafa. The speed and movement which these smaller guys have doesn't give that big enough advantage compared to disadvantage of lacking the power and strength. You can not blow Rafa off court on clay with 175cm and you can not win being defensive, that much we all know.

I will add another proof to this by putting Nikolay Davydenko in the argument. He was one of the guys who was smaller, good on his feet and with excellent clean hitting and execution. He was awkward matchup for Rafa which their record shows ( 6-5 to Davy ). Everything being said, he only came close to Rafa on clay once and afterwords he said ( as did Ferrer any times ) 'I have no stamina to endure a match vs Rafael on clay'.

And another fact - to this day the the only player ever to beat Rafa on RG is actually a powerhouse with a huge serve and groundies.

2 - Coria featured in 20 finals losing 11 of those. Mentally, to beat Rafa you have to be a giant. To beat Rafa on clay you have to be in godlike mode. To beat Rafa in RG in his prime years ( when Coria would be facing him ) you'd have to be ... you get the point. So did Coria's game suddenly fell apart by accident? Well no, he was just not that strong to overcome defeat in RG final, injuries and in my opinion the rise of Rafa did no good to him either.

In my mind Gullermo Coria could have beaten Rafael Nadal in RG but that could have happened only in 2005, only if he had previously won it in 2004 and only if Rafa had an extremely bad day. Nothing such happened and Coria bumped into Davydenko in 2005 RG, who as I pointed out was not a guy you like to see across the net on clay.

 

[daddy]

I'm more referring to the claims of marital issues that affected Nada's game. I haven't seen the match nor do I know much about Nada's family life, so it seems to me like a freak occurrence. I'd love to be proven wrong, but it's just hard to bet against Nadal.

Soderling had his number from the clash in Wimbledon and the swedes are specific for that matter. He was not impressed nor was Rafa but let's face it, Robin is a two time finalist in RG. That was no fluke.

 

[NatF]

He had the ability to take him to 5 sets but I don't think he had the ability to beat him. Maybe in 2006 he would have had a shot with Nadal feeling the pressure of following up his awesome 2005.

 

[LapsedNoob]

Confident CorIa? Yes.

Broken Coria? Well, we know how successful he was...

 

[jg153040]

Ability yes, but ability alone is not enough to beat Nadal. Fed/Nole both have it. You also need mental fortitude and Coria doesn't have that to beat Nadal. Maybe one fluke win, but that is as far as we can go, no way Coria beats him consistently.

Also, mental tougness is about matchups too, it's not black and white. You are more confident vs some players and less confident vs others.