Did USO just troll Nadal with this video? :-/
- Thread starter Hitman
- Start date
RS
Bionic Poster
That Blake beats USO 15 Djokovic if it's proper 2005 court or at least goes 5.
Federer and Del Potro
Bionic Poster
James Blake - the legendary gatekeeper to Federer's Olympic Gold Singles quest. Vamos & Bamos
RS
Bionic Poster
The slow court in 2015 allows the ball to be kept in play.
nolefam_2024
Bionic Poster
nolefam_2024
Bionic Poster
Blake never cracked 66% service pts won. Nadal never did NOT crack 66% of service pts won. And Nadal is unbelievable returner with his ground game. That's the difference between both.
Djokovic never NOT win 66% of service pts post 2010 even in dreaded 2017. And he is probably greatest returner ever.
let us pause and take a step back. Blake has nothing on them.
Djokovic never NOT win 66% of service pts post 2010 even in dreaded 2017. And he is probably greatest returner ever.
let us pause and take a step back. Blake has nothing on them.
ChaelAZ
G.O.A.T.
That Blake Agassi match is one of my all-time favorite matches. Was out of my chair on so many points watching that live at home.
That is all.
messiahrobins
Legend
Was a great match that with great hair as both look like me so like that match alot. Blake i guess now takes extra gratification from that event after beating Nadal who went on to take Federer's mantle as the most dominant USO player for the next decade.
USO next year will be great, America is now the country to be in from Jan 20th onwards. cannot wait to go next year.
messiahrobins
Legend
Not sure about Roddick or Hewitt. Nalbandian Davydenko for sure . Baghdatis as well on quicker hard courts. USO slowed down a bit 2010-2019
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Yeah, Roddick only beat him in Slams at the USO 2004, when Nadal was merely 18 and thus basically a child.
Saying Nadal "struggled" with Roddick because of that match, it's like saying Federer struggled against Kafelnikov because 19 years Roger lost against him at W 2000:
Nadal convincingly dominates the H2H over Roddick with 70% of victories in their meetings.
It's also worth mentioning how, when both were at their absolute peak at the USO 2011, with Nadal being 25 and Roddick merely 29 (thus not old, perfect age to compete), Nadal utterly demolished the American player in 3 sets.
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nolefam_2024
Bionic Poster
Roddick at least was near retirement in 2011. This Blake guy would get smashed to bits if facing nadal at USO. Andre himself would of 2005. He was old and unlike Djokovic today, his movement was reduced a lot.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Yes; Roddick retired shockingly young. To think he was born AFTER Federer and still retired an entire decade before the Swiss...
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
When you put it that way it sounds wild lol
messiahrobins
Legend
Roddick was made for Rafa. Rafa loved one dimensional huge hitters who had a weak wing .
Cabeza del Demonio
Professional
I mean.....
Nadal of 2008 would have beaten that version of Blake.
Not sure.
RoddickAce
Hall of Fame
To preface, I have no beef with Rafa, have tremendous respect for what he has achieved and I agree that in no way did Rafa struggle against Roddick.
However, let's not run with hyperboles or mistatements about the version of Roddick that Rafa faced at USO 2011, which in no way was his "absolute peak". Roddick's peak is well acknowledged to be 2003 and to an extent perhaps 2004. From 2005 onwards, because of trying to develop a consistent game as a countermeasure to Fed, he lost his big forehand and turned into a big serving counterpuncher 90%+ of the time.
Age alone cannot be the determinant of one's peak, as other posters have mentioned, Roddick was 1 year away from retirement. Those who followed Roddick closely know that he retired "early" because of constant nagging shoulder problems (imagine your biggest weapon being the serve and it hurts everytime you serve) which escalated his motivation issues after being dominated by the big 3, and it was normal for players to retire around age 30 back then. Fed was considered an anomaly for retiring late and then set the bar for his remaining peers to also retire later.
If age is the only metric for "peak" level, then let's look at Rafa's year as a 29 year old, i.e. 2015.
AO - Bagelled in straight set loss to Berdych in QF
FO - Lost in straight sets to Djokovic in QF, who was not even the eventual champion
W - Lost to world #102 Dustin Brown in 2nd round
USO - Lost to Fognini after winning the first 2 sets, in 3rd round
So unless 29 year old Nadal is considered his peak, then let's accept that other factors outside of age can affect whether someone (i.e. Roddick 2011) was at their peak level.
