Did Nadal make a mistake by withdrawing from Cincinnati?

[Deleted member 77403]

On surfaces other than clay he is definitely the 3rd wheel in the Big 3 these days.

Agree. On clay still the man. Outside of it, he is the 3rd wheel. I put Federer ahead of him at USO now all things being equal.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

It’s good that Nadal is shortening his Schedule. He need to stay healthy. He is very injury-prone on hard courts.

Tennis shouldn't even be played on HC period, at least not so much. It is devastating to all players, long term. Clay and grass are much healthier, but since grass is mega-expensive clay should be the dominant surface. Ideally it would be clay and grass 8 months of the season, the rest HC.

 

[Sephiroth]

Nah it's pretty clear Nadal can't play back to back hard courts these days. He used to have problems on grass, now it's hard the guy can't catch a break and he's missed TOO MANY hc tournaments these couple of years or just outright forced him to stop playing because of injuries.

This schedule is fine.

 

[3fees]

No, Saving himself for the US Open.

Cheers
3Fees

 

[Shaolin]

RF gets easy draws more often than any of the Big 3.

Like

I needed a good laugh this morning.

 

[Mainad]

Agree. On clay still the man. Outside of it, he is the 3rd wheel. I put Federer ahead of him at USO now all things being equal.

Agreed although that probably doesn't say as much for his chances there as it used to do.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Agreed although that probably doesn't say as much for his chances there as it used to do.

True. It doesn't. Especially if it becomes a semi and final back to back issue.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

Like

I needed a good laugh this morning.

Not nearly as much as I was guffawing when I realized they gave RF an Italian nobody in Cincinnati who never won a HC match in a slam, because he failed 8 times to qualify for one... at the age of 26. To make sure the other guy would be harmless too, they paired him up with Berrettini in the 1st round... Surprised they didn't give Wild Cards to the younger Federer twins and had them play off in R1 to have a chance to play Federer Senior in R2...

 

[Mainad]

True. It doesn't. Especially if it becomes a semi and final back to back issue.

Big 3 order per surface (as I see it now):

Hard:

1. Djokovic
2. Federer
3. Nadal

Clay:

1. Nadal
2. Djokovic
3. Federer

Grass:

1. Djokovic
2. Federer
3. Nadal

 

[UnderratedSlam]

Big 3 order per surface (as I see it now):

Hard:

1. Djokovic
2. Federer
3. Nadal

Clay:

1. Nadal
2. Djokovic
3. Federer

Grass:

1. Djokovic
2. Federer
3. Nadal

This isn't your order or opinion, this is fact.

 

[Mainad]

This isn't your order or opinion, this is fact.

They almost always tally.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Big 3 order per surface (as I see it now):

Hard:

1. Djokovic
2. Federer
3. Nadal

Clay:

1. Nadal
2. Djokovic
3. Federer

Grass:

1. Djokovic
2. Federer
3. Nadal

Yes, that is the correct pecking order IMO

 

[UnderratedSlam]

Yes, that is the correct pecking order IMO

Now I realize why they took away the like option on TTW...

It's to make us post more comments.

 

[Mainad]

Now I realize why they took away the like option on TTW...

It's to make us post more comments.

There may be some truth in that.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

Big 3 order per surface (as I see it now):

Hard:

1. Djokovic
2. Federer
3. Nadal

Clay:

1. Nadal
2. Djokovic
3. Federer

Grass:

1. Djokovic
2. Federer
3. Nadal

I don’t agree to Hard.

1:Novak
2:Rafa
3: maybe, but only maybe Federer
Think betting companies right putting Rafa better than Fed, but I think Fed should have had even lower chances than it says now.

 

[Mainad]

I don’t agree to Hard.

1:Novak
2:Rafa
3: maybe, but only maybe Federer
Think betting companies right putting Rafa better than Fed, but I think Fed should have had even lower chances than it says now.

Federer has beaten Nadal in their last 6 hardcourt meetings so I am confident that he is now ahead of Nadal on that surface.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Now I realize why they took away the like option on TTW...

It's to make us post more comments.

I agree.

Federer has beaten Nadal in their last 6 hardcourt meetings so I am confident that he is now ahead of Nadal on that surface.

Yes, too many hard court wins in a row now for Federer over Nadal. Nadal has not beat him on HC since AO 2014, that is a long time ago in tennis terms. The last few were straight set wins also. Logic states on hard Federer is ahead of Nadal between them direct match up wise.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

Federer has beaten Nadal in their last 6 hardcourt meetings so I am confident that he is now ahead of Nadal on that surface.

Oh I thought you talked about odds for USO
Sorry

 

[victorcruz]

Federer has beaten Nadal in their last 6 hardcourt meetings so I am confident that he is now ahead of Nadal on that surface.

While that is definitely true, he is also more prone to lose to a non top 3 than Rafa is nowadays.

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Yeah, in summary that is how it now looks at this stage of their careers.

Funny thing is Nadal has more wins over Djokovic in the last three seasons than he does over Federer, though all wins have been on clay. So while Nadal remains top dog on clay, on the other surfaces, it is Djokovic followed by Federer.

Next gen should just drown into cold water if a 33 year old veteran is still the top dog on clay, another 32 year old veteran is world no.1 and is top dog everywhere minus clay; and a Jurassic era' 3800 year old player is 2nd favorite behind him

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

I agree.



Yes, too many hard court wins in a row now for Federer over Nadal. Nadal has not beat him on HC since AO 2014, that is a long time ago in tennis terms. The last few were straight set wins also. Logic states on hard Federer is ahead of Nadal between them direct match up wise.

Could be 6 in a row if duckdal showed courtesy of playing IW19 SF

 

[Roddick85]

Had he lost early in Montreal, I would think maybe it was a mistake to skip Cincinnati. I wouldn't call Nadal win in Montreal particularly impressive given who he faced and his overall form, but it still got the job done and he secured the #2 seed for the USO. From what I saw of his matches, he looked like someone who could use another 1-2 week off to recover, he looked a bit tired and unfocused at times. I do expect him to be fully dialed in for the USO since it's the last major of the season and his last sanctioned tournament before the WTF in November so I think he'll give it all in NYC.

When I look at the top 3 for the USO, it's a rather interesting situation. When you look at each player's resume on hard court, you'd probably favor Djokovic, Federer and Nadal respectively to win this. With news that Djokovic is nursing some elbow problems again, I wonder how this will impact his performance going into the USO. Federer looks like he's checkout mentally right now, who knows in what kind of spirit he'll be at the USO or when he starts to face stronger opposition. Nadal might have the weakest hard court resume of the 3, I still like his chances better than the other 2 unless Djokovic is 100% fit and in form. It's always surprising to see that Nadal and Djokovic each have 3 titles at the USO, given Djokovic hard court dominance, you'd expect him to have been more successful than Nadal.

 

[Mainad]

Oh I thought you talked about odds for USO
Sorry

Ditto for USO (on the same basis).

 

[The Blond Blur]

There is literally no reason to play Cincy and I say this as a ridiculously proud Ohioan. He played Montreal (since he has had more success there anyway) with the goal to defend his points from last year and lock up the #2 seed. He got in some hard court matches on a fast hard court (Montreal played at 43.6+ this year), collected a record extending MS1000, and gained confidence going into the USO. Now he just needs to be healthy, get in more practice, be rested, and he should have a solid shot at winning the USO this year. When Fedal are drawn together for the 4th time this year, I give Rafa a better chance at winning here since the ball will be bouncing higher and Rog isn't playing like it's 2017 where he was in this absolute zone against Rafa. That and Rog hasn't been too successful at the Open the last couple of years by his standards (not making the semi's) so he might not even make it to Nadal if they drawn together. Going forward Joker will be the favorite for all the slams outside RG, but I think Rafa is the #2 favorite to win here.

 

[junior74]

Now I realize why they took away the like option on TTW...

It's to make us post more comments.

A post is worse for the climate than a like.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

Ditto for USO (on the same basis).

Ditto me? Or ditto yourself?

 

[StrongRule]

He kind of did, because if Medvedev beats Djokovic today it would’ve been a quick and easy title. But then again, he got injured almost every time when he played on hard courts over the last 2 seasons, so it’s fine.

Well, he did. I don't think Nadal would beat him as easy as in Montreal to be honest, but he would definitely have a chance to win another easy title. The bottom half was a total joke.

 

[xFedal]

Well, he did. I don't think Nadal would beat him as easy as in Montreal to be honest, but he would definitely have a chance to win another easy title. The bottom half was a total joke.

Nadal vs Medvedev in the USO Final..... Nadal in 4.

 

[MichaelNadal]

 

[MeatTornado]

This still shouldn't change anything. Maybe if he'd never won Cincinnati this would look like a lost opportunity.

But right now health before NY is most important. And he's not realistically catching Novak for #1 anyway, so the points aren't a huge deal.

 

[sbengte]

He definitely missed a chance at Cincy. Weakest draw I can remember there.

That said, USO will is preparing a nice molasses slow court and futures level draw for him as we speak so itll still be a very successful summer season for him.

Like.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

It was a good decision to not play Cincy regardless of the draw. He seems to understand the limits of his body these days and has been pretty consistent everywhere lately.

He’ll now go into the USO confident and rested

 

[Subway Tennis]

I don't get the reasoning.

1. What constitutes a weak draw? Fewer than three of The Big 3 in the semis? How would he have known that going in?

2. I don't agree that his US Open chances are extremely low? Is that based on Djokovic, Djok and Fed, or the grind of 7 Best of 5 matches?
He has played well enough for most of the last three years to win anywhere - with the probable exception of indoors. The extra rest, given all of the HC tourneys he's had to retire/withdraw from, can only help.

Rafa was not obligated to make the Cincy tournament "at least a bit interesting". According to the ATP rules, he is allowed to skip all the Masters 1000 tournaments.

No, want him injury free for USO!
This was the best move ever! Those low bouncing courts are horrid for the knees

No he didn't. Nadal doesn't need to play back to back masters on hard at this stage. He got a couple of matches in, is resting now with the aim to be fully fit for USO.

It’s good that Nadal is shortening his Schedule. He need to stay healthy. He is very injury-prone on hard courts.

Agree

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

It was a good decision to not play Cincy regardless of the draw. He seems to understand the limits of his body these days and has been pretty consistent everywhere lately.

He’ll now go into the USO confident and rested

I’m so glad he is doing what he is doing now and saving his body.
As long as he stays at this level he will be there to have the chance for more slam titles.
People seem to forget it isn’t only Rafa getting injures.
I look so forward to USO
I also love how people in here sees Rafa as the big underdog for the title hehe.
Even after what we have seen in Montreal and Cincy.
Rafa f bageled Med. and Med been playing a lot.

 

[MugOpponent]

Agree. On clay still the man. Outside of it, he is the 3rd wheel. I put Federer ahead of him at USO now all things being equal.

Oddsmakers don't agree. My bookie has Nadal at +350, Federer at +500.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

I’m so glad he is doing what he is doing now and saving his body.
As long as he stays at this level he will be there to have the chance for more slam titles.
People seem to forget it isn’t only Rafa getting injures.
I look so forward to USO
I also love how people in here sees Rafa as the big underdog for the title hehe.
Even after what we have seen in Montreal and Cincy.
Rafa f bageled Med. and Med been playing a lot.

Yes, I've been very pleased with his consistent performances over the last couple of years. He is scheduling well and found a way to shorten points. I have a good feeling about the US Open.