DO Nadal fans NOT believe Rafa can be GOAT??

[byealmeens]

I've noticed quite a few posts claiming Federer is not the GOAT despite the 15 slams (and many other achievements). And although the existence of these threads is not surprising considering the constant Fed/Nadal wars on these boards, the logic often is. Now that Roger has broken record, has won the French, and become #1 in the world again it seems odd that Nadal supporters (and often others) would point to Federer's head-to-head record as a reason to not deem him GOAT. Don't get me wrong, I get the concept - as flawed as it may be. But rather than focus on why Roger has a poor record against Nadal, or re-hash the same debate over whether that affects his GOAT status, I have another question ... Why can't Rafa be GOAT? Here's what I mean:

I've been a Federer fan for quite some time but I greatly admire Nadal and I love the rivalry. However, despite the fact that Nadal already has 6 slams of his own, and has achieved this at such a young age, it seems Nadal supporters are wasting their time finding ways to discredit Roger's achievement. Why is this necessary? Why can't we focus on Nadal and simply claim that he will one day hold these records himself. After-all he is only a US Open away from a career grand-slam of his own, and a few slams a year away from his own record. So what's the issue? Is there some doubt? Is it the injury? To be honest, I'm not sure that's the reason. But I'd like to know yours. Will Nadal get there? If so, why can't we say Federer is the "current" GOAT and wait to see if Nadal's achievements outweigh his? Do the Nadal fans now feel he will not be able to accomplish this?

 

[JoelDali]

Rafa will only win the FO in the future.

He will never win Wimbledon again.

He will never win the USO.

Who cares about the AO.

 

[Nadalfan89]

*******s act like Federer beat Nadal to become 15 GS winner. That fact is that Nadal would have absolutely crushed Federer at the French (see 2005-2008) and Wimbledon would have been a toss up.

Federer would still have been at 13 slams if Nadal didn't get injured and the *******s don't have the humility to admit that.

 

[Rippy]

*******s act like Federer beat Nadal to become 15 GS winner. That fact is that Nadal would have absolutely crushed Federer at the French (see 2005-2008) and Wimbledon would have been a toss up.

Federer would still have been at 13 slams if Nadal didn't get injured and the *******s don't have the humility to admit that.

Nadal wasn't good enough to get to the final of the French.

 

[Fedace]

Nadal will WIN Exactly 19 grand slams and surpass Federer's 18 slams and become the GOAT.

 

[Turning Pro]

^Exactly............Next year won't be so lucky for Fed when Nadal is on the comeback. A healthy Nadal > Healthy Fed at THIS STAGE of their careers. Even at their peak Nadal was giving Fed trouble.

 

[Al Czervik]

Rafa just turned 23 and has 6 majors, two more than Fed when Fed had just turned 23. Let's say Rafa boots the Open this year. I still think 2 a year for the next five years is doable and not outrageous. That puts him at 16 and right in the thick of it unless Fed piles up a ton more.

 

[boojay]

While getting off to a much better start, Nadal's career will turn out like Hewitt's. He's burnt out, worn out, and I would be surprised if he ever made another final. As it is right now, it looks like Nadal's done. 6 Grand Slams is a very impressive number, but that's it for Nads.

 

[Rippy]

Rafa just turned 23 and has 6 majors, two more than Fed when Fed had just turned 23. Let's say Rafa boots the Open this year. I still think 2 a year for the next five years is doable and not outrageous. That puts him at 16 and right in the thick of it unless Fed piles up a ton more.

I agree. I think Rafa has a great chance of being a GOAT contender, but he is not there yet.

 

[zagor]

It's possible he may end up being GOAT but it's too ealy to tell.He's on a great pace so far,6 slams by the age 22-23 is quite amazing.

*******s act like Federer beat Nadal to become 15 GS winner. That fact is that Nadal would have absolutely crushed Federer at the French (see 2005-2008) and Wimbledon would have been a toss up.

Federer would still have been at 13 slams if Nadal didn't get injured and the *******s don't have the humility to admit that.

He played the FO and lost,if you're injuried you don't play,Nadal didn't lose a set before the match with Soderling(in fact he gave Hewitt the beating of his life).

Soderling was the better player on the day and Nadal lost period(and before someone brings 2008 AO,yes Fed lost in that one fair and square as well)so quit your whining,it's embarassing.

 

[IvanAndreevich]

Don't think so. But he will have a very good career, 10+ slams IMO.

 

[byealmeens]

Rafa just turned 23 and has 6 majors, two more than Fed when Fed had just turned 23. Let's say Rafa boots the Open this year. I still think 2 a year for the next five years is doable and not outrageous. That puts him at 16 and right in the thick of it unless Fed piles up a ton more.

If that's the case, then why can't we say Federer is GOAT "FOR NOW" and wait until Rafa surpasses him. Why is it necessary to downplay his achievements?

 

[cknobman]

*******s act like Federer beat Nadal to become 15 GS winner. That fact is that Nadal would have absolutely crushed Federer at the French (see 2005-2008) and Wimbledon would have been a toss up.

Federer would still have been at 13 slams if Nadal didn't get injured and the *******s don't have the humility to admit that.

*******s dont have the dignity to admit the injury had little to do with Solderlings crushing of him and the knees werent even mentioned until the loss happened, hell Nadal was even playing without knee wraps. *******s also dont have the grace to legitimize Rogers win over Rafa in Madrid. Kinda pathetic.

 

[maddogz32]

Nadal will WIN Exactly 19 grand slams and surpass Federer's 18 slams and become the GOAT.

im glad you can predict the future

 

[cknobman]

Of course Rafa could become a GOAT even as a FedFan I can clearly see it as a possibility.

Yes Rafa has more slams than Fed for his age but more importantly Rafa has been injured 100% more than Fed at the same age as well, and that isnt good.

2 slams a year would be a cakewalk for Nadal if hed stop playing so much and focus on masters and slams.

 

[lambielspins]

*******s act like Federer beat Nadal to become 15 GS winner. That fact is that Nadal would have absolutely crushed Federer at the French (see 2005-2008) and Wimbledon would have been a toss up.

Federer would still have been at 13 slams if Nadal didn't get injured and the *******s don't have the humility to admit that.

Nadal played the French and lost round of 16 to a little heralded opponent who Federer spanked in the final. Those are the facts. If you show up you declare yourself fit to play.

 

[All-rounder]

imo Nadal will never be at his 2008 level of play again he may show some signs of it but he will never win a FO without dropping a set that's for sure its like Federer in 2006. On top he has countless injuries which has cost him slam opportunities and his ranking. I see nadal getting 10-12 slams in his career but thats if he's healthy

 

[380pistol]

Nadal played the French and lost round of 16 to a little heralded opponent who Federer spanked in the final. Those are the facts. If you show up you declare yourself fit to play.

Except when you have a mono, a back injury in Europe, a sprained ankle from 2 months ago, like someone we know.

 

[lambielspins]

Except when you have a mono, a back injury in Europe, a sprained ankle from 2 months ago, like someone we know.

I never said Federer wasnt fit to play those times. Every tournament loss Federer has had where he has been entered is legit as well. Like I said if you show up you declare yourself fit to play.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Of course it is possible. It's also possible that he could not win one more slam. The competition is tough and there might be another player emerge that could be dominant.

 

[All-rounder]

Except when you have a mono, a back injury in Europe, a sprained ankle from 2 months ago, like someone we know.

Yet that person managed
semi final at AO
Final FO
Final Wimbledon
Us open title
AO 06'
masters cup final 05

 

[brc444]

After these last 2 slams, it's going to be hard for Nadal to catch Fed in terms of most slams. Now Fred has 15 and Nadal 6. If Nadal had won these last 2 slams (which seemed quite likely before Madrid), then Fed would have 13 and Nadal 8. So instead of a possible 5 gap slam total it's up to 9. With that large gap plus Nadal's knee situation, it doesn't look good for Nadal.

 

[edmondsm]

*******s act like Federer beat Nadal to become 15 GS winner. That fact is that Nadal would have absolutely crushed Federer at the French (see 2005-2008) and Wimbledon would have been a toss up.

Federer would still have been at 13 slams if Nadal didn't get injured and the *******s don't have the humility to admit that.

But Nadal wasn't really a threat to Fed's dominance 2003-2005. He wasn't even making the second week at AO, Wimby, and the USO those years. If he had, then his legs would have been burning out back in 2005, 2006, rather than now.

Either way you slice it, Federer's career was always going to be longer and healthier then Nadals and it didn't really matter if he ever figured out how to beat Nadal or not.

 

[P_Agony]

*******s act like Federer beat Nadal to become 15 GS winner. That fact is that Nadal would have absolutely crushed Federer at the French (see 2005-2008) and Wimbledon would have been a toss up.

Federer would still have been at 13 slams if Nadal didn't get injured and the *******s don't have the humility to admit that.

Huh? But Nadal lost at the French before the final...! And to Soderling no less :|

Nadal, other than 2008, never crushed Federer at the FO. The matches were always very close with Federer choking rather than Nadal winning.

 

[FedFan_2009]

Nadalfan89 added to my ignore list.

 

[flyinghippos101]

*******s act like Federer beat Nadal to become 15 GS winner. That fact is that Nadal would have absolutely crushed Federer at the French (see 2005-2008) and Wimbledon would have been a toss up.

Federer would still have been at 13 slams if Nadal didn't get injured and the *******s don't have the humility to admit that.

Nah, of course Rafa would've definately destroyed Roger in the finals. He just instead took out the guy that beat Rafa in the 4R...

 

[samprasvsfederer123]

how can nadal be the goat if he clearly isn't the best in hard court grass or indoor courts, that goes to federer, to be the goat i think you have to be the best all round player, and win a good amount of titles, even if nadal wins more than fed, i would never acknoledge him as the goat, he just isnt, thats why i dont think nadal will win as many as federer anyways.

 

[miyagi]

It's hard to predict what will happen I never thought Fed would get 15 slams with such ease. We saw Sampras try for a fews years to equal the record without success.
But one thing we know is Rafa is a "tryer" is nothing else so I expect him to certainly get to around 10 - 12 slams (including USO) what happens after that who knows.
I just hope he gets fit again and gives us some more great tennis and rivals Fed once more.

BTW no need to discredit Fed he has done a great job and his achievements are unmatched! Congratulations to him!

 

[The-Champ]

When Sampras left the game, he left a power vacuum waiting to be filled and for me, Nadal did exactly that. Pete brought the most dominating attacking style ever, that at his very best would obliterate ANYONE on a tennis court, and Nadal showed us how grit, combined with the best defensive skills ever, can become one hell of a destructive weapon. Two totally opposing styles but equally exciting. So, for a true Nadal fan like myself, he doesn't need to break tennis records to be a greater champion than the record holder. He has already done that with his mere impact on tennis.

 

[flyinghippos101]

Nadal is surely a great player, but at some point in his career, his body will pay back the bio mechanical instability of his motions and at this point, he will no longer be able to play as great as now. The problem is that he forces his shots rather than trying to be fluent, like Federer for example. And, it's starting to get him. Having such serious knee problem at this age isn't normal. We usually hear this each year by the US Open, but this present season showed us a forfeit at Wimbledon from Nadal.

Can he reclaim his title? I seriously doubt he will do any good at the Us Open, I bet he is quite chocked after being thrown out of his game by Federer on clay, then loosing to Soderling and adding to the insult, being forced to forfeit Wimbledon.

From what I saw when Federer defeated him before the French Open, is that he was mentally destabilized; this year Federer got passed each clay master before the Open and never showed any sign of weakness during this Rolland-Garros. But, Nadal, who apparently was affected by his lost to his rival, gave up his title loosing to Soderling.

Against any player in the world, it works quite fine. But, when it comes to Roger Federer, if a ball is lower and not far enough, the rally is ended quite quickly and as we saw him at Wimbledon, I would rather say the rally is immediately over.

Because of his actual physical shape, I am forced to say he might have trouble finding power and will have a harder time move fast on a longer period. Not for his whole life, but for an other moment. I wish him to be perfectly in shape by the next Grand Slam; both for that he is a great player and the show would benefit from a healthy Nadal, but also because I'd seriously like Federer to face him in a Grand Slam an avenge his defeat in front of him.

But, this might be a dream; as Roddick recently showed world top three level tennis, it's only a matter of time for him to get higher. We should not forget the American is a very solid hitter and that Nadal could have problem to face him the way he now plays. And, playing against Nadal is the fast hard court up coming season. And with his knees in a precarious state, it is perhaps a hard court season to forget for Nadal.

He will probably slow down and fall a bit sooner or later.

Federer is seriously an amazing tennis player and unlike Nadal is game is all about being able to play for a long time and this makes him lesser injury prone and way more efficient than any other player in a Grand Slam.

His footwork is perfect, his forehand and backhand motions are impressively fluent and, well, I don't have to go on, because he is a rare player to be absolutely incredible on each and every stroke. This outstanding adapting ability and his amazingly effortless playing style made him the greatest player of all time and will make him be great until the very end.

I truly think Federer has shown with this very lenghty game that he can handle a game for longer than any player. With this newly remade Federer, I don't know if anyone on the circuit has anything strong enough to beat him. I mean Roddick has played the very best game in his life and Roger wasn't especially great on Roddick's serves and he only needed Roddick to fail once to win. This shows how small is the margin to make errors when you play Federer.

What I predict is a rise of great number 2s with Federer on top of that. Each top players excluding themselves from the first rank for that they beat each others.

Why? Because, if Roddick can play like he did, he will face and probably defeat Nadal. And Murray wasn't bad too on Roddick. If he raises his play he could beat both of them as much as both of them can beat him. See? The second place will come into a tie and this should keep them far from Federer. We know how great he can play and how long he can handle to play great. It took mononucleosis to beat Federer after 4 years!

Now, I hope he will be as good as in England and stands out. the first tournament is coming soon and a title would give him more confidence although we know he might have some... well, that would be surprising to see him underestimating himself after 15 Grand Slams titles

Damn, sorry for the huge piece of writing.